[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4959 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4959

To require to Comptroller General to submit to Congress a report on the 
             status of dams in the USDA watershed program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2023

 Mr. Van Orden (for himself, Ms. Kuster, and Mr. McGarvey) introduced 
      the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 
  Agriculture, and Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require to Comptroller General to submit to Congress a report on the 
             status of dams in the USDA watershed program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REPORT ON DAMS IN USDA WATERSHED PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
to Congress a report on the status of covered dams, including, with 
respect to each covered dam--
            (1) the location, ownership, and structural conditions of 
        the dam, including any need for repairs;
            (2) whether the dam is in compliance with the principles 
        and requirements described in the document published by the 
        Council on Environmental Quality entitled ``Principles and 
        Requirements for Federal Investments in Water Resources'' and 
        dated March 2013, and the related interagency guidelines 
        published by the Council on Environmental Quality and dated 
        December 2014;
            (3) the most recent hazard classification assessment of the 
        dam for purposes of the National Dam Safety Program Act (33 
        U.S.C. 467 et seq.), and whether downstream changes have been 
        accounted for in such assessment;
            (4) whether the dam is meeting its intended purpose;
            (5) whether the dam is a candidate for decommissioning 
        because--
                    (A) the dam is not meeting, or not cost-effectively 
                meeting, its intended purpose;
                    (B) the dam is a safety hazard and has deferred 
                maintenance;
                    (C) the environmental benefits of decommissioning 
                and removal of the dam outweigh the benefits provided 
                by the dam; or
                    (D) the owner of the dam is requesting 
                decommissioning; and
            (6) whether the dam has exceeded its life expectancy, and 
        what the end-of-life care plan is for the dam.
    (b) Covered Dams.--For purposes of this section, the term ``covered 
dam'' means a dam for which assistance has been provided under--
            (1) the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 
        U.S.C. 1001 et seq.);
            (2) the Act of December 22, 1944 (chapter 665; Public Law 
        78-534);
            (3) the Pilot Watershed Program carried out pursuant to the 
        Department of Agriculture Appropriation Act, 1954 (Public Law 
        83-156); and
            (4) the Resource Conservation and Development Program 
        carried out pursuant to the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962 
        (Public Law 87-703).
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