Cooperative Watershed Management Program Reauthorization Act of 2026

#4041 | S Congress #119

Last Action: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. (3/17/2026)

Bill Text Source: Congress.gov

Summary and Impacts
Original Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4041 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4041

 To reauthorize the Cooperative Watershed Management Program, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 10, 2026

Mr. Daines (for himself and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To reauthorize the Cooperative Watershed Management Program, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Cooperative Watershed Management 
Program Reauthorization Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. COOPERATIVE WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 6001 of the Omnibus Public Land 
Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 1015) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (7) as 
        paragraphs (5) through (8), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
            ``(4) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).''; 
        and
            (3) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated), in subparagraph 
        (B)(v)--
                    (A) in subclause (I), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subclause (II), by inserting ``or'' after 
                the semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(III) has ancestral lands within 
                                the watershed;''.
    (b) Program.--Section 6002 of the Omnibus Public Land Management 
Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 1015a) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(B)--
                            (i) in clause (i), by striking ``interests; 
                        or'' and inserting ``interests, including 
                        Indian tribes;'';
                            (ii) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause 
                        (iii); and
                            (iii) by inserting after clause (i) the 
                        following:
                            ``(ii) demonstrate significant need due to 
                        drought, wildfire, or other natural disaster; 
                        or'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 
                        ``$100,000'' and all that follows through the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``$150,000 each 
                        year for a period of not less than 3 years, 
                        subject to the sufficiency of applications 
                        submitted and the availability of 
                        appropriations.'';
                            (ii) by striking clause (iii);
                            (iii) by redesignating clauses (iv) and (v) 
                        as clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; and
                            (iv) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(v) Continuation and extension.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--The Secretary 
                                may, at the discretion of the 
                                Secretary, issue a continuation of the 
                                first-phase grant for not more than 2 
                                additional years if the recipient of 
                                the first-phase grant has demonstrated 
                                satisfactory performance with 
                                implementation of the proposal under 
                                the initial grant, as determined by the 
                                Secretary.
                                    ``(II) Amounts.--A grant continued 
                                pursuant to subclause (I) shall be in 
                                an amount not greater than $150,000 
                                each year, as determined to be 
                                appropriate by the Secretary.'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii), by striking 
                ``quantity.'' and inserting the following: ``quantity, 
                including--
                                    ``(I) grant writing;
                                    ``(II) project management; and
                                    ``(III) technical assistance, such 
                                as feasibility, design, preliminary 
                                environmental review, and 
                                engineering.''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Continuous enrollment.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) make funding opportunities for the program 
                available on a regular basis; and
                    ``(B) allow applications for grants under the 
                program to be submitted and evaluated multiple times 
                during a calendar year.'';
            (2) in subsection (f), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``, and make available to the public,'' after 
        ``House of Representatives''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the following:
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $40,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2027 through 2031.''.
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