SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation announced today ongoing congressionally mandated contract conversions pursuant to the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act). Today’s release includes a draft repayment contract from the Central Valley Project Westside Water District for a 60-day public comment period. This is one of over 86 repayment contract conversions requested by federal Central Valley Project contractors.
Reclamation plans to release an additional seven draft repayment contracts with north-of-delta contractors, for public review in 2020. Reclamation will continue to release more draft repayment contracts throughout the year.
Section 4011 of the WIIN Act directs Reclamation to convert water service contracts to repayment contracts upon a contractor’s request and authorizes prepayment of outstanding CVP construction costs. Under Section 4011, full repayment is due within three years of the contract conversion.
Both the prepayment and accelerated repayment of the contracts will result in the federal government being repaid well in advance of the original repayment deadline. These dollars will be placed in an account to fund much-needed storage projects. Increasing storage capacity will allow Reclamation’s projects to capture additional water in wet years to help meet the water needs for project purposes in dry years.
Written comments on this contract must be received by close of business on Aug. 28, 2020, and sent to Jacob Berens, Northern California Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 1140 West Wood Street, Willows, CA 95988 or faxed to 530-934-7679; or emailed to jberens@usbr.gov. Check the following links to learn more about WIIN Act CVP contract conversions:
All negotiated contracts are available at: https://www.usbr.gov/mp/wiin-act/negotiated-conversion-contracts.html.
The entire list of contract conversion requests can be viewed here: https://www.usbr.gov/mp/wiin-act/docs/the-wiin-act-9d-conversion-tracker.xlsx.
View contract and WIIN Act information at https://www.usbr.gov/mp/wiin-act/.
Contact Ryan Everest for more information at 530-892-6220 or reverest@usbr.gov (TTY 800-877-8339).
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
