The Inflation Reduction Act appropriates $4 billion to the Department of the Interior’s (“DOI”) Bureau of Reclamation for drought mitigation activities, with priority placed on activities in the Colorado River Basin and other systems experiencing long-term drought conditions. On September 22, 2022, the DOI announced that it will establish a two-step process to solicit requests for funding for short-term conservation and longer-term system efficiency projects. According to the announcement, “longer-term projects could include initiatives such as canal lining, re-regulating reservoirs, ornamental and non-functional turf removal, salinity projects and other infrastructure or “on the ground” activities. Projects could also be related to aquatic ecosystem restoration and impacts mitigation, crop water efficiency, rotational fallowing, and marginal land idling. ”
The announcement states that the Bureau of Reclamation will host a listening session on September 30, 2022, to solicit input from states, Tribes, water managers, farmers, and other stakeholders about implementation of the funding programs established via the IRA.