The Restore Aging Infrastructure Now Act (RAIN Act) amends existing federal law to allow the Secretary of the Interior to modify aging water infrastructure projects when performing major maintenance work in order to provide additional public benefits beyond the original project design. The bill applies to water projects managed under federal reclamation law, affecting water agencies, communities, and irrigation districts that depend on these systems. Project modifications can add up to 25 percent to the cost of the original maintenance work, but at least half of the new benefits created must be public benefits, such as improved drinking water for low-income communities. Existing water customers must consent to any modifications that would reduce their water supply, though the law provides a one-year timeline for obtaining consent with a possible one-year extension. The bill creates cost-sharing incentives that reduce participating beneficiaries' share of capital costs by 15 percent for projects that increase public benefits without increasing water deliveries to existing users.
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