Sponsors (2)
The bill directs federal funds to rehabilitate Carey Act dams—improving rural water infrastructure and reducing local safety risks while lowering local repair costs—but does so by reallocating limited IIJA funds and potentially increasing federal/taxpayer costs or delaying other projects.
Downstream residents and rural communities with Carey Act dams will face lower risk of dam failure because the bill authorizes federal funding to rehabilitate, reconstruct, or replace aging dams.
Rural communities and water systems operating Carey Act dams gain access to federal funds to upgrade water infrastructure, improving reliability of irrigation and local water storage.
Local governments and water districts that operate Carey Act dams can reduce their out‑of‑pocket capital and repair costs by tapping federal funding for major dam work.
Using IIJA funds (section 40901(2)(B)) for additional Carey Act dam projects could divert money from other IIJA-listed projects, risking delays or cancellations of those projects.
Taxpayers may face higher federal spending or a re‑prioritization of infrastructure dollars to cover expanded dam projects, effectively shifting costs or reducing funding for other priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows the Interior Secretary to use specified IIJA funds to rehabilitate, reconstruct, or replace operating Carey Act dams after prioritized 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 IIJA funds (the amounts referenced in section 40901(2)(B)) to rehabilitate, reconstruct, or replace Carey Act dams that remain in operation, but only after two conditions are met: (1) projects that met the prior statutory funding criteria have already received necessary funding, and (2) funds under that subsection remain available. The change reorganizes paragraphing and adds this explicit additional-projects authority to existing law governing reclamation and water infrastructure funding.