REPORT ON ANTECEDENT HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS.

SEC. 226. REPORT ON ANTECEDENT HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS. (a) Report.— (1) In general.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report on the use by the Corps of Engineers since 2010 of data relating to antecedent hydrologic conditions in the Missouri River Basin (including soil moisture conditions, frost depths, snowpack, and streamflow conditions) in— (A) conducting Missouri River mainstem reservoir operations under the Missouri River Master Manual; (B) developing related annual operating plans; and (C) performing seasonal, monthly, and daily operations. (2) Inclusions.—The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include— (A) a review of— (i) the approach of the Corps of Engineers to forecasting basin runoff in developing annual operating plans of the Corps of Engineers; (ii) the assessment of existing and alternative algorithms that could improve basin runoff forecasting; (iii) the approach of the Corps of Engineers for reservoir releases in the winter, spring, summer, and fall, based on basin runoff forecasts; (iv) the technical report of the Corps of Engineers entitled “Long-Term Runoff Forecasting”, dated February, 2017; (v) the use by the Corps of Engineers of data from Federal and State entities in basin runoff forecasts; and (vi) the use by the Corps of Engineers of advanced data collection, including through the use of unmanned aerial systems, forecasting, and modeling; (B) findings and recommendations on how to best incorporate antecedent basin conditions in annual operating plans and Missouri River mainstem reservoir operations; and (C) the results of the peer review conducted under subsection (b). (b) Peer Review.—The Secretary shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences or a similar independent scientific and technical advisory organization to establish a panel of experts to conduct a peer review of the report to be submitted under subsection (a). (c) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary— (1) $5,000,000 to carry out subsection (a); and (2) $5,000,000 to carry out subsection (b).