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Updated March 1, 2016


Bureau of Reclamation: FY2016 Appropriations


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Most of the large dams and water diversion structures in the
West were built by, or with the assistance of, the Bureau of
Reclamation, part of the Department of the Interior.
Whereas the Army Corps of Engineers built hundreds of
flood control and navigation projects, Reclamation's
mission was to develop water supplies, primarily for
irrigation to reclaim arid lands in the West.

Today, Reclamation manages hundreds of dams and
diversion projects, including more than 300 storage
reservoirs in 17 western states. These projects provide
water to approximately 10 million acres of farmland and
31 million people. Reclamation is the largest wholesale
supplier of water in the 17 western states and the second-
largest hydroelectric power producer in the nation.
Reclamation facilities also provide substantial flood
control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits.
Operations of Reclamation facilities often are controversial,
particularly for their effects on fish and wildlife species and
conflicts among competing water users.

Reclamation's single largest account, Water and Related
Resources, encompasses the majority of the agency's
traditional programs and projects, including construction,
operations and maintenance, dam safety, and ecosystem
restoration, among others. Reclamation also requests funds
in a number of smaller accounts, including California Bay-
Delta Restoration, the Central Valley Project Restoration
Fund (CVPRF), and Policy and Administration. Figure 1
shows recent appropriations for Reclamation accounts.

Figure I. Bureau of Reclamation Appropriations,
FY201 0-FY2016
(nominal $ in millions)


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        FY1C   F Y11 FY12  FY13l_ F Y14 F#IS. P}l:E




Source: Prepared by the Congressional Research Service with data
from the Bureau of Reclamation.
Note: CVPRF = Central Valley Project Restoration Fund.


FY 20,,6 ApprN'Siak -3
The President's budget for FY2016 proposed $1.09 billion
for the Bureau of Reclamation, a decrease of $32 million
from the FY2015 enacted level. (This figure included $805
million for Reclamation's largest account, Water and
Related Resources.) Final FY2016 enacted appropriations
from Congress provided $1.26 billion for Reclamation.

  The FY2016 President's budget proposed $1.09 billion
  for the Bureau of Reclamation, a decrease from the
  FY2015 enacted level. Final enacted appropriations for
  FY2016 provided $1.26 billion for Reclamation.


In its budget, the Administration proposed to create new
accounts for San Joaquin River restoration and Indian water
rights settlements activities, both of which previously were
funded in Water and Related Resources. These new
accounts also were proposed in previous budget cycles but
were rejected by Congress. Activities that would have been
funded in the San Joaquin River restoration account
encompass ongoing Reclamation actions under a
congressionally authorized settlement act (P.L. 111-11).
The Administration also requested $112 million in funding
for a separate Indian water rights settlements account to
fund ongoing expenses associated with four congressionally
authorized Indian water rights settlements: the Aamodt
Settlement, the Crow Settlement, the Navajo-Gallup
Settlement, and the Taos Settlement. The proposed $112
million for these activities would have been an increase
from the FY2015 enacted level of $90 million, which was
provided within the Water and Related Resources Account.
Although the enacted bill for FY2016 generally agreed with
the Administration's proposed funding levels for Indian
water rights settlements and San Joaquin River restoration,
Congress again rejected the Administration's request for
new accounts for these activities.


The Reclamation budget is made up largely of individual
project funding lines and contains relatively few programs.
Recently, these Reclamation projects have been subject to
earmark moratoriums that restrict the addition of funding
for geographically specific project line items that the
Administration did not request. In lieu of these additions,
Congress has included additional funding for selected
categories of Reclamation projects (e.g., rural water
projects, water conservation, and drought response) and
directed the bureau to report on project-level allocations of
this funding in an annual work plan. Enacted appropriations
for FY2015 added $97 million to the President's requested
budget for ongoing work in various categories. This
funding was allocated at the program and project levels in
the bureau's FY2015 work plan. In FY2016, Congress
added $166 million for various categories of work, which


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