House subcommittee presses Reclamation on aging Western water infrastructure, permitting and budget cuts

Chair Hageman opened a May subcommittee hearing on the federal reclamation program by warning that many Bureau of Reclamation facilities have exceeded their expected service lives and that ‘‘projects often spend years, if not decades, trapped in planning gridlock,’’ citing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s $8.3 billion for reclamation and a 30‑year rehabilitation need that has grown from $20.3 billion (2023) to nearly $25 billion (2025).

The hearing focused on three recurring themes: constrained agency staffing and budget proposals, litigation and procedural delays that slow projects, and a new delivery approach the Department of the Interior is pursuing to accelerate work.

Acting Commissioner Scott Cameron, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, told the panel that Reclamation manages nearly 500 dams and 300 reservoirs and is advancing programmatic title transfers under the Dingle Act to improve efficiency. Cameron said Secretarial Order 3446 encourages qualified nonfederal partners to take a lead role in delivering some construction and maintenance projects so work can proceed faster while maintaining federal oversight. ‘‘Our goal is to get more work done faster, cheaper, but still done right,’’ he said.

Members of the subcommittee described competing priorities. Ranking Member Huffman criticized the administration’s proposed cuts to Reclamation — he said the budget would reduce program capacity and eliminate the WaterSMART program — and warned that the agency has lost staff, while other members urged preserving environmental protections. Chair Hageman and several witnesses said litigation and lengthy reviews can add years to project timelines and raise costs; Cameron said litigation is often ‘‘process based as opposed to substance based’’ and that Interior and the Council on Environmental Quality have adjusted NEPA‑related guidance to streamline some reviews.

Witnesses representing regional water authorities and irrigation districts described specific challenges: subsidence that reduced the Delta Mendota Canal’s conveyance by roughly 20%, a decade‑old project backlog for the Central Valley Project, and the June 2024 Saint Mary’s siphon failure on the Milk River project. Several witnesses argued that a predictable, coordinated permitting framework and multi‑year federal funding are needed so projects can be planned and built.

Committee members pressed for more detail on costs, and Cameron recommended Congress consider authorizing projects after feasibility studies rather than at appraisal level to avoid underestimates. He also said Reclamation is actively recruiting to fill vacancies and that the agency has posted approximately 100 vacancy announcements.

The subcommittee left the record open for written questions and responses; the hearing concluded without votes. Members and witnesses said follow‑up work would include written responses from the agency and continuing engagement on policy changes and potential legislative fixes.

The subcommittee will accept additional written testimony and follow up questions for the record as it evaluates funding, statutory adjustments, and administrative tools to speed repair and modernization of Western water infrastructure.