Pub. L. 110-161, div. C, tit. II, sec. 205

Sec. 205. (a) Section 209 of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2004 (Public Law 108–137; 117 Stat. 1850) is repealed.(b) The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”) shall establish an Executive Committee of the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program (referred to in this section as the “Executive Committee”) consistent with the bylaws of the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program adopted on October 2, 2006.(c) In compliance with applicable Federal and State laws, the Secretary (acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation), in collaboration with the Executive Committee, may enter into any grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, interagency agreements, or other agreements that the Secretary determines to be necessary to comply with the 2003 Biological Opinion described in section 205(b) of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2005 (Public Law 108–447; 118 Stat. 2949) as amended by section 121(b) of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109–103; 119 Stat. 2256) or in furtherance of the objectives set forth in the collaborative program long-term plan.(d)(1) The acquisition of water under subsection (c) and any administrative costs associated with carrying out subsection (c) shall be at full Federal expense.(2) Not more than 15 percent of amounts appropriated to carry out subsection (c) shall be made available for the payment of administrative expenses associated with carrying out that subsection.(e)(1) The non-Federal share of activities carried out under subsection (c) (other than an activity or a cost described in subsection (d)(1)) shall be 25 percent. The non-Federal cost share shall be determined on a programmatic, rather than a project-by-project basis.(2) The non-Federal share required under paragraph (1) may be in the form of in-kind contributions, the value of which shall be determined by the Secretary in consultation with the executive committee.(f) Nothing in this section modifies or expands the discretion of the Secretary with respect to operating reservoir facilities under the jurisdiction of the Secretary in the Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico.