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S 1780 114th Congress Senate Public Lands and Natural Resources Aquatic ecology Disaster relief and insurance Endangered and threatened species Environmental assessment, monitoring, research Fires Fishes Floods and storm protection Forests, forestry, trees Government trust funds Lakes and rivers Land use and conservation Parks, recreation areas, trails Public contracts and procurement Roads and highways Water quality Water resources funding Water use and supply Watersheds Wetlands

Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015

Introduced: July 15, 2015 Introduced by: Heinrich, Martin Democratic · New Mexico See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 15, 2015
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Jul 15, 2015
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015

Directs the Forest Service to establish a Water Source Protection Program for National Forest System land derived from the public domain.

Authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enter into water source investment partnerships with specified end water users to protect and restore the condition of National Forest watersheds that provide water to non-federal partners.

Authorizes USDA to produce a water source management plan.

Directs the Forest Service to establish a Watershed Condition Framework for System land derived from the public domain to:

  • evaluate and classify the condition of watersheds,
  • identify for restoration up to five priority watersheds in each National Forest and up to two priority watersheds in each national grassland,
  • develop a watershed restoration action plan for each priority watershed,
  • prioritize restoration activities for each watershed restoration action plan,
  • implement each watershed restoration action plan, and
  • monitor the effectiveness of restoration actions and indicators of watershed health.

Requires USDA, before awarding a contract funded by the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund, to determine whether the contractor has the ability to complete the proposed restoration activities, including:

  • the financial ability to raise the funds necessary, and
  • sufficient capacity to perform the type and scope of those activities.

Reauthorizes the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund for each of FY2016-FY2024.

What's happening now July 15, 2015

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1