Snow water supply forecasting

This section may be cited as the “Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Authorization Act”. In this section, the term “program” means the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program established by subsection (c). The Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program is hereby established within the Department of the Interior. To implement the program, the Secretary shall— When determining water supply forecasts or allocations to Federal water contractors, the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, shall incorporate, to the greatest extent practicable, information from emerging technologies for snowpack measurement, such as— In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall coordinate data use and collection efforts with other Federal agencies that use or may benefit from the use of emerging technologies for snowpack measurement. Not later than October 1, 2021, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that— After submitting the report required under subsection (d)(3), the Secretary shall participate with program partners in implementing activities to improve snowpack measurement in particular watersheds. The program shall focus on activities that will maintain, establish, expand, or advance snowpack measurement consistent with the report required by subsection (d)(3), with an emphasis on— The Secretary may provide information collected and analyzed under this section to program partners through appropriate mechanisms, including interagency agreements with Federal agencies, States, State agencies, or a combination thereof, leases, contracts, cooperative agreements, grants, loans, and memoranda of understanding. Program partners with whom the Secretary enters into cooperative agreements pursuant to paragraph (5) may include water districts, irrigation districts, water associations, universities, State agencies, other Federal agencies, private sector entities, non-governmental organizations, and other entities, as determined by the Secretary. The Secretary may— Nothing in this section shall modify any obligation of the Secretary to comply with applicable Federal and State environmental laws in carrying out this section. Not later than 4 years after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, that includes— There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $15,000,000, in the aggregate, for fiscal years 2022 through 2026.