F23AS00329 Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act Fiscal Year 2023

Description

The Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act (FRIMA) (Public Law 106-502) of 2000 was established with the goals of decreasing fish mortality associated with the withdrawal of water for irrigation and other purposes without impairing the continued withdrawal of water for those purposes; and to decrease the incidence of juvenile and adult fish entering water supply systems. FRIMA is a voluntary fish screening and passage program targeted to Pacific Ocean drainage areas of Idaho, western Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Eligible projects include fish screens, fish passage devices, and related inventories by the States. FRIMA was Reauthorized in FY2009. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 provided $5 million to the National Fish Passage Program (NFPP) for the implementation of FRIMA and added the Pacific Ocean drainage areas of California as eligible for FRIMA funds.The National Fish Passage Program (NFPP) is a voluntary program that provides direct technical and financial assistance to partners to remove instream barriers and restore aquatic organism passage and aquatic connectivity for the benefit of Federal trust resources. In doing so, NFPP aims to maintain or increase fish populations to improve ecosystem resiliency and provide quality fishing experiences for the American people. Funds provided to NFPP for the implementation of FRIMA will support the development, improvement, or installation of fish screens, fish passage devices and related features to mitigate impacts on fisheries associated with irrigation water system diversions in Pacific Ocean drainages in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and California.The NFPP is delivered through the Fish and Aquatic Conservation Program (FAC). We use our staff and cooperative partnerships to provide: (1) information on habitat needs of fish and other aquatic species; (2) methods for fish to bypass barriers; (3) technical support to review project designs and recommend the most cost-effective techniques; (4) assistance to partners in planning and prioritizing fish passage projects; and (5) assistance in fulfilling environmental compliance requirements.Activities proposed under this award for FRIMA: (1) must be located in areas of California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, or western Montana that drain into the Pacific Ocean, (2) participation must be voluntary, (3) must have 35% Non-Federal cost share per Public Law 106-502. Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) funding can be applied to the Non-Federal cost share, (4) project type must be voluntary irrigation diversion passage, screening, barrier inventories, and ‘related features’, (5) project components that receive funding under this Act shall be ineligible to receive federal funds from any other source (with the exception of BPA funds) for the same purpose, (6) the project will be agreeable to Federal and non-Federal entities with authority and responsibility for the project, (7) award minimum will be $100,000; award maximum will be $1,000,000, and (8) the non-Federal participants in any project carried out under the Program on land or at a facility that is not owned by the United States shall be responsible for all costs associated with operating, maintaining, repairing, rehabilitating, and replacing the project.

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