Sponsors (2)
This bill redirects federal IIJA-related funds to repair and replace Carey Act dams, improving safety and lowering local repair costs for rural communities, at the trade-off of diverting funds (and potential costs) away from other infrastructure projects and onto federal budgets and taxpayers.
Downstream residents and rural communities near Carey Act dams face lower risk of dam failure because federal funds can be used to rehabilitate, reconstruct, or replace aging dams.
Rural communities with Carey Act dams can get federal funding to improve local water infrastructure through rehabilitation or replacement of aging dams.
Local governments and water districts operating Carey Act dams can reduce their repair and capital costs by accessing federal funds for major dam work.
Taxpayers and other IIJA project beneficiaries may see delays or reduced funding for other listed infrastructure projects because funds under 40901(2)(B) could be used for additional Carey Act dam work.
Taxpayers may face higher federal spending or re-prioritization of infrastructure dollars to cover expanded Carey Act dam projects, increasing fiscal costs or shifting investments away from other needs.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Permits the Interior Secretary to use remaining IIJA funds to rehabilitate, reconstruct, or replace Carey Act dams after primary projects are funded and funds remain.
Official title: Amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to authorize the use of funds for certain additional Carey Act projects, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 2, 2025 by James Risch · Last progress April 2, 2025
Allows the Secretary of the Interior to use remaining funds from a specific Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act account to pay for rehabilitation, reconstruction, or replacement of Carey Act dams that remain in operation, but only after the projects originally prioritized under the statute have been funded and only if those IIJA funds are still available. The change reorganizes the existing paragraphing and adds this explicit secondary-projects authority to clarify when leftover funds may be applied to Carey Act dams.