Understanding H.R. 23 - Gaining Responsibility on Water Act of 2017

Title I: Central Valley Project (CVP) Water Reliability

This section aims to make water delivery from the Central Valley Project more reliable by:

• Ensuring water dedicated to fish and wildlife is replaced for water users by the end of 2018.
• Facilitating and speeding up water transfers and better water management.
• Supporting contracts that allow for 40-year water delivery agreements, charging only for water actually delivered.
• Improving measurement and management of water deliveries.
• Protecting fish and restoring habitats while balancing water deliveries to farmers and cities.
• Creating advisory boards to oversee restoration fund spending and to encourage stakeholder participation.
• Encouraging additional water storage projects and infrastructure upgrades.
• Operating the CVP and State Water Project according to 1994 Bay-Delta Accord without interruption from certain species protection laws.

Title II: CALFED Storage Feasibility Studies

This part directs the government to complete feasibility studies on various water storage projects by specified deadlines and encourages cooperation with local agencies and universities. It emphasizes understanding groundwater conditions and exploring forest and watershed restoration to improve runoff and storage.

Title III: Water Rights Protections

This section ensures:

• The government respects California's existing water rights laws and priority system.
• That no new laws or actions will reduce water supplies involuntarily to water users with contracts or rights.
• Water supply allocations provide fair minimum water deliveries to Sacramento Valley agricultural contractors.
• Protection of municipal and industrial water supplies.
• Water rights remain protected and unchanged by the act.

Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions

This title covers various related provisions like:

• Tracking and reporting water use and environmental benefits.
• Ensuring operations of Trinity River Division limit water releases to levels previously agreed upon.
• Extending programs protecting native fish species in certain rivers.
• Limiting federal funds used for land/water purchases only to new environmental programs.

Title V: Water Supply Permitting Coordination

Sets up a system where the Bureau of Reclamation coordinates all federal reviews, permits, and approvals for new water storage projects to speed development while working closely with federal, state, and local agencies.

Title VI: Bureau of Reclamation Project Streamlining

This section improves how water infrastructure project studies are done by:

• Setting time and cost limits on feasibility studies to speed them up.
• Encouraging concurrent, coordinated environmental reviews by all agencies involved.
• Establishing schedules, transparency, and prompt resolution of issues that might delay projects.
• Applying financial penalties for federal agencies that delay permitting beyond set deadlines.

Title VII: Water Rights Protection Act

This last section protects water rights holders by prohibiting federal agencies from:

• Conditioning permits or land use agreements on water rights transfers to the federal government.
• Requiring a water user to get a water right in the name of the federal government as a permit condition.
• Interfering with state water laws or adjudication of water rights.

Overall Purpose and Impact

The law’s main goal is to improve water reliability during drought by balancing the needs of agriculture, cities, and the environment in California. It provides a clear framework for managing water rights, protecting existing water supplies, restoring fish and wildlife, studying and developing storage projects, and speeding up water project permitting. It reinforces state authority over water rights while encouraging cooperation between federal and state agencies.

In essence: It’s about managing scarce water resources carefully and collaboratively to support California’s economy, environment, and communities through drought and beyond.