Bill > HR5055

This bill, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, provides funding for fiscal year 2017 for various government agencies and projects, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE) for energy programs and atomic energy defense activities, and independent agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Key provisions include restrictions on how appropriated funds can be reprogrammed, prohibiting new programs or the elimination of existing ones without specific approval, and limiting increases or decreases in program funding to $2 million or 10%, whichever is less, with certain exceptions for specific flood control and water resource projects. The bill also addresses the use of funds for contract modifications, allows for the transfer of funds to the Fish and Wildlife Service for fisheries mitigation, sets conditions for the disposal of dredged material from Lake Erie, and prohibits the use of funds for certain water supply reallocation studies and for changing regulations regarding "fill material" or "waters" under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (also known as the Clean Water Act) from their October 1, 2012, status. Furthermore, it includes provisions related to firearm possession at water resources development projects, specific allocations for the Central Utah Project and Bureau of Reclamation, and detailed directives for managing water pumping rates in California's Delta region to balance water supply needs with the protection of endangered fish species, while also safeguarding state water rights and allocations for various water users. The bill also appropriates funds for various DOE programs, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, nuclear energy, fossil energy research, science activities, and defense-related environmental cleanup, and sets limitations on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's reprogramming of funds and its response to Congressional information requests.