[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5250 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5250
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 with respect to the
emergency watershed program, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 22, 2023
Mr. Davis of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Molinaro, Ms. Spanberger,
and Mr. Nunn of Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Agriculture
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A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 with respect to the
emergency watershed program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and
Restoration Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROGRAM.
Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203)
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Level of Restoration.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary may undertake measures that increase the level of protection
above that which would be necessary to address the immediate impairment
of the watershed if the Secretary determines that such restoration is
in the best interest of the long-term health and the protection of the
watershed from repetitive impairments.''.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE FLOOD VULNERABILITY STUDY.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a national agriculture flood
vulnerability report containing the results of a conservation effects
assessment project studying flood risk on agricultural lands,
including--
(1) an analysis of economic losses of crops and livestock
resulting from flooding under different recurrence scenarios;
(2) an analysis of the downstream effects of mitigation
activities carried out as part of a watershed management
approach;
(3) an analysis of available Federal and State data
relating to flood risk, as applicable to agricultural land,
including data relating to riverine flooding, coastal flooding,
storm surge, extreme precipitation, and flash flooding; and
(4) a description of ongoing producer-level conservation
practices and broader government initiatives to manage flooding
impact and flood risk within and across watersheds, and
recommendations for additional practices and initiatives to
further address such impact and risk.
SEC. 4. REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURAL MEASURES NEAR, AT, OR PAST THEIR
EVALUATED LIFE EXPECTANCY.
Section 14(b)(2) of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention
Act (16 U.S.C. 1012(b)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
``(2) Amount of assistance; limitations.--
``(A) In general.--The amount of Federal funds that
may be made available under this subsection to a local
organization for construction of a particular
rehabilitation project shall be equal to 65 percent of
the total rehabilitation costs, but not to exceed 100
percent of actual construction costs incurred in the
rehabilitation.
``(B) Limited resource areas.--Notwithstanding
subparagraph (A), the Secretary may contribute up to 90
percent of the total rehabilitation costs to a local
organization for construction of a particular
rehabilitation project that serves a limited resource
area, as determined by the Secretary, but not to exceed
100 percent of actual construction costs incurred in
the rehabilitation.
``(C) Costs of resource rights and permits.--The
local organization shall be responsible for the costs
of water, mineral, and other resource rights and all
Federal, State, and local permits.''.
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