I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2871

To establish a National Drought Council within the Department of Agriculture, to improve national drought preparedness, mitigation, and response efforts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2003

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. 

BEREUTER, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. EDWARDS, Mr. OTTER, Mr. 

UDALL of Colorado, Mr. KOLBE, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. CUBIN, 

Mr. CASE, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Ms. JACKSONLEE of Texas, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of 

Florida, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, 

Mr. SPRATT, and Mr. FOLEY) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Resources, and Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 establish a National Drought Council within the Department of Agriculture, to improve national drought preparedness, mitigation, and response efforts, and for other 

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•HR 2871 IH 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘National Drought Preparedness Act of 2003’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Effect of Act. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL DROUGHT COUNCIL 

Sec. 101. Membership and voting. 

Sec. 102. Duties of the Council. 

Sec. 103. Powers of the Council. 

Sec. 104. Council personnel matters. 

Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 106. Termination of Council. 

TITLE II—NATIONAL OFFICE OF DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS 

Sec. 201. Establishment. 

Sec. 202. Director of the Office. 

Sec. 203. Detail of government employees. 

Sec. 204. Office Personnel Requirement. 

TITLE III—DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS PLANS 

Sec. 301. Drought Assistance Fund. 

Sec. 302. Drought preparedness plans. 

Sec. 303. Federal plans. 

Sec. 304. State and tribal plans. 

Sec. 305. Regional and local plans. 

Sec. 306. Plan elements.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) drought is a natural disaster; 

9 (2) regional drought disasters in the United 

10 States cause serious economic and environmental 

11 losses, yet there is no national policy to ensure an 

12 integrated and coordinated Federal strategy to pre13 pare for, mitigate, or respond to such losses; 
3

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (3) drought has an adverse effect on resource2 dependent businesses and industries, including 

3 recreation- and tourism-based businesses and indus4 tries; 

5 (4) State, tribal, and local governments have to 

6 increase coordinated efforts with each Federal agen7 cy involved in drought monitoring, planning, mitiga8 tion, and response; 

9 (5) effective drought monitoring—

10 (A) is a critical component of drought pre11 paredness and mitigation; and 

12 (B) requires a comprehensive, integrated 

13 national program that is capable of providing 

14 reliable, accessible, and timely information to 

15 persons involved in drought planning, mitiga16 tion, and response activities; 

17 (6) the National Drought Policy Commission 

18 was established in 1998 to provide advice and rec19 ommendations on the creation of an integrated, co20 ordinated Federal policy designed to prepare for and 

21 respond to serious drought emergencies; 

22 (7) according to the report issued by the Na23 tional Drought Policy Commission in May 2000, the 

24 guiding principles of national drought policy should 

25 be—
4

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (A) to favor preparedness over insurance, 

2 insurance over relief, and incentives over regu3 lation; 

4 (B) to establish research priorities based 

5 on the potential of the research to reduce 

6 drought impacts; 

7 (C) to coordinate the delivery of Federal 

8 services through collaboration with State and 

9 local governments and other non-Federal enti10 ties; and 

11 (D) to improve collaboration among sci12 entists and managers; and 

13 (8) the National Drought Council, in coordina14 tion with Federal agencies and State, tribal, and 

15 local governments, should provide the necessary di16 rection, coordination, guidance, and assistance in de17 veloping a comprehensive drought preparedness sys18 tem. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

22 National Drought Council established by section 

23 101(a). 

24 (2) CRITICAL SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

25 ‘‘critical service provider’’ means an entity that pro-
5

•HR 2871 IH 

1 vides power, water (including water provided by an 

2 irrigation organization or facility), sewer services, or 

3 wastewater treatment. 

4 (3) DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Di5 rector of the Office’’ means the Director of the Of6 fice appointed under section 202(a). 

7 (4) DROUGHT.—The term ‘‘drought’’ means a 

8 natural disaster that is caused by a deficiency in 

9 precipitation—

10 (A) that may lead to a deficiency in sur11 face and subsurface water supplies (including 

12 rivers, streams, wetlands, ground water, soil 

13 moisture, reservoir supplies, lake levels, and 

14 snow pack); and 

15 (B) that causes or may cause—

16 (i) substantial economic or social im17 pacts; or 

18 (ii) physical damage or injury to indi19 viduals, property, or the environment. 

20 (5) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

21 Drought Assistance Fund established by section 

22 301(a). 

23 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

24 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the
6

•HR 2871 IH 

1 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

2 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

3 (7) INTERSTATE WATERSHED.—The term 

4 ‘‘interstate watershed’’ means a watershed that tran5 scends State or Tribal boundaries, or both. 

6 (8) LEAD FEDERAL COORDINATING AGEN7 CIES.—The term ‘‘Lead Federal coordinating agen8 cies’’ means the Federal departments and agencies 

9 identified in section 101(f)(3). 

10 (9) MITIGATION.—The term ‘‘mitigation’’ 

11 means a short- or long-term action, program, or pol12 icy that is implemented in advance of or during a 

13 drought to minimize any risks and impacts of 

14 drought. 

15 (10) NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT SYS16 TEM.—The term ‘‘National Integrated Drought Sys17 tem’’ means a comprehensive system that collects 

18 and integrates information on the key indicators of 

19 drought, including stream flow, ground water levels, 

20 reservoir levels, soil moisture, snow pack, climate 

21 (including precipitation and temperature), and fore22 casts, in order to make usable, reliable, and timely 

23 assessments of drought, including the severity of 

24 drought. 
7

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (11) NEIGHBORING COUNTRY.—The term 

2 ‘‘neighboring country’’ means Canada and Mexico. 

3 (12) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

4 National Office of Drought Preparedness established 

5 under section 301. 

6 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

7 means the Secretary of Agriculture. 

8 (14) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the sev9 eral States, the District of Columbia, American 

10 Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

11 Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

12 and the United States Virgin Islands. 

13 (15) TRIGGER.—The term ‘‘trigger’’ means the 

14 thresholds or criteria that must be satisfied before 

15 mitigation or emergency assistance may be provided 

16 to an area—

17 (A) in which drought is emerging; or 

18 (B) that is experiencing a drought. 

19 (16) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

20 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Agri21 culture for Natural Resources and Environment. 

22 (17) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

23 States’’, in a geographical sense, encompasses the 

24 States. 
8

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (18) WATERSHED.—The term ‘‘watershed’’ 

2 means a region or area with common hydrology, an 

3 area drained by a waterway that drains into a lake 

4 or reservoir, the total area above a given point on 

5 a stream that contributes water to the flow at that 

6 point, or the topographic dividing line from which 

7 surface streams flow in two different directions. In 

8 no case shall a watershed be larger than a river 

9 basin. 

10 (19) WATERSHED GROUP.—The term ‘‘water11 shed group’’ means a group of individuals, formally 

12 recognized by the appropriate State or States, who 

13 represent the broad scope of relevant interests with14 in a watershed and who work together in a collabo15 rative manner to jointly plan the management of the 

16 natural resources contained within the watershed. 

17 SEC. 4. EFFECT OF ACT. 

18 This Act does not affect—

19 (1) the authority of a State to allocate quan20 tities of water under the jurisdiction of the State; or 

21 (2) any State water rights established as of the 

22 date of enactment of this Act. 
9

•HR 2871 IH 

1 TITLE I—NATIONAL DROUGHT 

2 COUNCIL 

3 SEC. 101. MEMBERSHIP AND VOTING. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Office 

5 of the Secretary of Agriculture a council to be known as 

6 the ‘‘National Drought Council’’. 

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

8 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be com9 posed of—

10 (A) the Secretary (or the designee of the 

11 Secretary); 

12 (B) the Secretary of Commerce (or the 

13 designee of the Secretary of Commerce); 

14 (C) the Secretary of the Army (or the des15 ignee of the Secretary of the Army); 

16 (D) the Secretary of the Interior (or the 

17 designee of the Secretary of the Interior); 

18 (E) the Director of the Federal Emergency 

19 Management Agency (or the designee of the Di20 rector); 

21 (F) the Administrator of the Environ22 mental Protection Agency (or the designee of 

23 the Administrator); 

24 (G) 4 members appointed by the Secretary, 

25 in coordination with the National Governors As-
10

•HR 2871 IH 

1 sociation, each of whom shall be the Governor 

2 of a State (or the designee of the Governor) 

3 and who collectively shall represent the geo4 graphic diversity of the Nation; 

5 (H) 1 member appointed by the Secretary, 

6 in coordination with the National Association of 

7 Counties; 

8 (I) 1 member appointed by the Secretary, 

9 in coordination with the United States Con10 ference of Mayors; 

11 (J) 1 member appointed by the Secretary 

12 of the Interior, in coordination with Indian 

13 tribes, to represent the interests of tribal gov14 ernments; and 

15 (K) 1 member appointed by the Secretary, 

16 in coordination with the National Association of 

17 Conservation Districts, to represent local soil 

18 and water conservation districts. 

19 (2) DATE OF APPOINTMENT.—The appointment 

20 of each member of the Council shall be made not 

21 later than 120 days after the date of enactment of 

22 this Act. 

23 (c) TERM; VACANCIES.—

24 (1) TERM.—A non-Federal member of the 

25 Council appointed under subparagraphs (G) through
11

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (K) of subsection (b)(1) shall be appointed for a 

2 term of 2 years. 

3 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Council—

4 (A) shall not affect the powers of the 

5 Council; and 

6 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 

7 the original appointment was made. 

8 (3) TERMS OF MEMBERS FILLING VACAN9 CIES.—Any member appointed to fill a vacancy oc10 curring before the expiration of the term for which 

11 the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be ap12 pointed only for the remainder of that term. 

13 (d) MEETINGS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall meet at 

15 the call of the co-chairs. 

16 (2) FREQUENCY.—The Council shall meet at 

17 least semiannually. 

18 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

19 Council shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number 

20 may hold hearings or conduct other business. 

21 (f) COUNCIL LEADERSHIP.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a Federal co23 chair and non-Federal co-chair of the Council. 

24 (2) APPOINTMENT.—
12

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (A) FEDERAL CO-CHAIR.—The Secretary 

2 shall be Federal co-chair. 

3 (B) NON-FEDERAL CO-CHAIR.—The Coun4 cil members appointed under subparagraphs 

5 (G) through (K) of subsection (b)(1) shall se6 lect, on a biannual basis, a non-Federal co-chair 

7 of the Council from among the members ap8 pointed under those subparagraphs. 

9 (3) LEAD FEDERAL COORDINATING AGEN10 CIES.—

11 (A) For the purpose of implementing sec12 tion 102(a)(4), the Secretary of Commerce, in 

13 coordination with the Secretary, shall act as the 

14 lead Federal coordinating agency. 

15 (B) For the purpose of implementing sec16 tion 102(a)(5), section 102(a)(6), and section 

17 302, the Secretary of the Interior and the Sec18 retary of the Army shall jointly act as the lead 

19 Federal coordinating agency. 

20 (C) For the purpose of implementing sec21 tion 301, the Secretary, in coordination with 

22 the other Lead Federal coordinating agencies, 

23 shall act as the lead Federal coordinating agen24 cy. 

25 (g) DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE.—
13

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office 

2 shall serve as Secretary of the Council. 

3 (2) DUTIES.—The Director of the Office shall 

4 serve the interests of all members of the Council. 

5 (h) COOPERATION FROM OTHER FEDERAL AGEN6 CIES.—The head of each department and agency of the 

7 executive branch shall cooperate when appropriate with 

8 the Lead Federal coordinating agencies to carry out the 

9 requirements of section 101(f)(3). 

10 SEC. 102. DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall—

12 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of the 

13 first meeting of the Council, develop a comprehen14 sive National Drought Policy Action Plan that—

15 (A)(i) delineates and integrates responsibil16 ities for activities relating to drought (including 

17 drought preparedness, mitigation, research, risk 

18 management, training, and emergency relief) 

19 among Federal agencies; and 

20 (ii) ensures that those activities are coordi21 nated with the activities of the States, local 

22 governments, Indian tribes, and neighboring 

23 countries; 

24 (B) is consistent with—
14

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (i) this Act and other applicable Fed2 eral laws; and 

3 (ii) the laws and policies of the States 

4 for water management; 

5 (C) is integrated with drought manage6 ment programs of the States, Indian tribes, 

7 local governments, watershed groups, and pri8 vate entities; and 

9 (D) avoids duplicating Federal, State, trib10 al, local, watershed, and private drought pre11 paredness and monitoring programs in exist12 ence on the date of enactment of this Act; 

13 (2) evaluate Federal drought-related programs 

14 in existence on the date of enactment of this Act and 

15 make recommendations to Congress and the Presi16 dent on means of eliminating—

17 (A) discrepancies between the goals of the 

18 programs and actual service delivery; 

19 (B) duplication among programs; and 

20 (C) any other circumstances that interfere 

21 with the effective operation of the programs; 

22 (3) make recommendations to the President, 

23 Congress, and appropriate Federal Agencies on—
15

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (A) the establishment of common inter2 agency triggers for authorizing Federal drought 

3 mitigation programs; and 

4 (B) improving the consistency and fairness 

5 of assistance among Federal drought relief pro6 grams; 

7 (4) coordinate and prioritize specific activities 

8 that will improve the National Integrated Drought 

9 System by— 

10 (A) taking into consideration the limited 

11 resources for—

12 (i) drought monitoring, prediction, 

13 and research activities; and 

14 (ii) water supply forecasting; and 

15 (B) providing for the development of an ef16 fective drought information delivery system 

17 that—

18 (i) communicates drought conditions 

19 and impacts to—

20 (I) decisionmakers at the Fed21 eral, regional, State, tribal, and local 

22 levels of government; 

23 (II) the private sector; and 

24 (III) the public; and 
16

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (ii) includes near-real-time data, infor2 mation, and products developed at the 

3 Federal, regional, State, tribal, and local 

4 levels of government that reflect regional 

5 and State differences in drought condi6 tions; 

7 (5) encourage and facilitate the development of 

8 drought preparedness plans under subtitle C, includ9 ing establishing the guidelines under sections 301(c) 

10 and 302(a); 

11 (6) based on a review of drought preparedness 

12 plans, develop and make available to the public 

13 drought planning models to reduce water resource 

14 conflicts relating to water conservation and 

15 droughts; 

16 (7) develop and coordinate public awareness ac17 tivities to provide the public with access to under18 standable, and informative materials on drought, in19 cluding—

20 (A) explanations of the causes of drought, 

21 the impacts of drought, and the damages from 

22 drought; 

23 (B) descriptions of the value and benefits 

24 of land stewardship to reduce the impacts of 

25 drought and to protect the environment;
17

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (C) clear instructions for appropriate re2 sponses to drought, including water conserva3 tion, water reuse, and detection and elimination 

4 of water leaks; 

5 (D) information on State and local laws 

6 applicable to drought; and 

7 (E) opportunities for assistance to re8 source-dependent businesses and industries in 

9 times of drought; and 

10 (8) establish operating procedures for the Coun11 cil. 

12 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, 

13 the Council shall consult with groups affected by drought 

14 emergencies, including groups that represent—

15 (1) agricultural production, wildlife, and fishery 

16 interests; 

17 (2) forestry and fire management interests; 

18 (3) the credit community; 

19 (4) rural and urban water associations; 

20 (5) environmental interests; 

21 (6) engineering and construction interests; 

22 (7) the portion of the science community that 

23 is concerned with drought and climatology; 
18

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (8) resource-dependent businesses and other 

2 private entities, including recreation and tourism3 based industries; and 

4 (9) watershed groups. 

5 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—

6 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of the first meeting of the Coun9 cil, and annually thereafter, the Council shall 

10 submit to Congress a report on the activities 

11 carried out under this title. 

12 (B) INCLUSIONS.—

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The annual report 

14 shall include a summary of drought pre15 paredness plans completed under title III. 

16 (ii) INITIAL REPORT.—The initial re17 port submitted under subparagraph (A) 

18 shall include any recommendations of the 

19 Council under paragraph (2) or (3) of sub20 section (a). 

21 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 7 years 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Council 

23 shall submit to Congress a report that rec24 ommends—

25 (A) amendments to this Act; and 
19

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (B) whether the Council should continue. 

2 SEC. 103. POWERS OF THE COUNCIL. 

3 (a) HEARINGS.—The Council may hold hearings, 

4 meet and act at any time and place, take any testimony 

5 and receive any evidence that the Council considers advis6 able to carry out this title. 

7 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may obtain di9 rectly from any Federal agency any information that 

10 the Council considers necessary to carry out this 

11 title. 

12 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

14 subparagraph (B), on request of the Secretary 

15 or the non-Federal co-chair of the Council, the 

16 head of a Federal agency may provide informa17 tion to the Council. 

18 (B) LIMITATION.—The head of a Federal 

19 agency shall not provide any information to the 

20 Council that the Federal agency head deter21 mines the disclosure of which may cause harm 

22 to national security interests. 

23 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council may use the 

24 United States mail in the same manner and under the 
20

•HR 2871 IH 

1 same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Govern2 ment. 

3 (d) GIFTS.—The Council may accept, use, and dis4 pose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

5 (e) FEDERAL FACILITIES.—If the Council proposes 

6 the use of a Federal facility for the purposes of carrying 

7 out this title, the Council shall solicit and consider the 

8 input of the Federal agency with jurisdiction over the fa9 cility. 

10 SEC. 104. COUNCIL PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

11 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—

12 (1) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of 

13 the Council who is not an officer or employee of the 

14 Federal Government shall serve without compensa15 tion. 

16 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

17 Council who is an officer or employee of the United 

18 States shall serve without compensation in addition 

19 to the compensation received for services of the 

20 member as an officer or employee of the Federal 

21 Government. 

22 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Council 

23 shall be allowed travel expenses at rates authorized for an 

24 employee of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 

25 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the home 
21

•HR 2871 IH 

1 or regular place of business of the member in the perform2 ance of the duties of the Council. 

3 SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this title $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 

6 2010. 

7 SEC. 106. TERMINATION OF COUNCIL. 

8 The Council shall terminate 8 years after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act. 

10 TITLE II—NATIONAL OFFICE OF 

11 DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS 

12 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT. 

13 The Secretary shall establish an office to be known 

14 as the ‘‘National Office of Drought Preparedness’’ to pro15 vide assistance to the Council in carrying out this title. 

16 The Office shall be under the jurisdiction of the Under 

17 Secretary. 

18 SEC. 202. DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE. 

19 (a) APPOINTMENT.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

21 appoint a Director of the Office under sections 3371 

22 through 3375 of title 5, United States Code. 

23 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director of the Of24 fice shall be a person who has experience in—

25 (A) public administration; and
22

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (B) drought mitigation or drought man2 agement. 

3 (b) POWERS.—The Director of the Office may hire 

4 such other additional personnel or contract for services 

5 with other entities as necessary to carry out the duties 

6 of the Office. 

7 SEC. 203. DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except for the requirements of 

9 section 204, an employee of the Federal Government may 

10 be detailed to the Office without reimbursement, unless 

11 the Secretary, on the recommendation of the Director of 

12 the Office, determines that reimbursement is appropriate. 

13 (b) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of an em14 ployee shall be without interruption or loss of civil service 

15 status or privilege. 

16 SEC. 204. OFFICE PERSONNEL REQUIREMENT. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall have at least 5 

18 full-time staff, including the personnel detailed to the Of19 fice under subsection (b). 

20 (b) DETAILEES.—There shall be detailed to the Of21 fice, on a nonreimbursable basis—

22 (1) by the Director of the Federal Emergency 

23 Management Agency, 1 employee of that agency 

24 with expertise in emergency planning; 
23

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (2) by the Secretary of Commerce, 1 employee 

2 of that department with experience in drought moni3 toring; 

4 (3) by the Secretary of the Interior, 1 employee 

5 of the Bureau of Reclamation with experience in 

6 water planning; and 

7 (4) by the Secretary of the Army, 1 employee 

8 of the Army Corps of Engineers with experience in 

9 water planning. 

10 TITLE III—DROUGHT 

11 PREPAREDNESS PLANS 

12 SEC. 301. DROUGHT ASSISTANCE FUND. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

14 the Department of Agriculture a fund to be known as the 

15 ‘‘Drought Assistance Fund’’. 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The Fund shall be used to pay the 

17 costs of—

18 (1) providing technical and financial assistance 

19 (including grants and cooperative assistance) to 

20 States, Indian tribes, local governments, watershed 

21 groups, and critical service providers for the develop22 ment and implementation of drought preparedness 

23 plans under title III; 

24 (2) providing to States, Indian tribes, local gov25 ernments, watershed groups, and critical service pro-
24

•HR 2871 IH 

1 viders the Federal share, as determined by the Sec2 retary, in consultation with the other members of 

3 the Council, of the cost of mitigating the overall risk 

4 and impacts of droughts; 

5 (3) assisting States, Indian tribes, local govern6 ments, watershed groups, and critical service pro7 viders in the development of mitigation measures to 

8 address environmental, economic, and human health 

9 and safety issues relating to drought; 

10 (4) expanding the technology transfer of 

11 drought and water conservation strategies and inno12 vative water supply techniques; 

13 (5) developing postdrought evaluations and rec14 ommendations; and 

15 (6) supplementing, if necessary, the costs of im16 plementing actions under section 102(a)(4). 

17 (c) GUIDELINES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta19 tion with the non-Federal co-chair of the Council 

20 and with the concurrence of the Council, shall de21 velop and promulgate guidelines to implement this 

22 section. 

23 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The guidelines shall ad24 dress the following: 
25

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (A) Ensure the distribution of amounts 

2 from the Fund within a reasonable period of 

3 time. 

4 (B) Take into consideration regional dif5 ferences. 

6 (C) Take into consideration all impacts of 

7 drought in a balanced manner. 

8 (D) Prohibit the use of amounts from the 

9 Fund for Federal salaries that are not directly 

10 related to the provision of drought assistance. 

11 (E) Require that distribution of amounts 

12 from the Fund granted to States, local govern13 ments, watershed groups, and critical service 

14 providers to meet the requirements of sub15 section (b)(1) be coordinated with and managed 

16 by the State in which such local government or 

17 critical service provider is located, consistent 

18 with the drought preparedness priorities and 

19 relevant water management plans within the 

20 State. 

21 (F) Require that distribution of amounts 

22 from the Fund granted to Indian tribes to meet 

23 the requirements of subsection (b)(1) be used to 

24 implement plans that are, to the extent prac25 ticable, in coordination with each State in which 
26

•HR 2871 IH 

1 lands of the Indian tribe are located and con2 sistent with existing drought preparedness and 

3 water management plans of such States. 

4 (G) Require that a State, Indian tribe, 

5 local government, watershed group, or critical 

6 service provider that receives Federal funds 

7 under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (b) 

8 cover not less than 25 percent of the overall 

9 cost incurred in carrying out the project for 

10 which the Federal funds are provided. This cost 

11 sharing requirement may be satisfied using 

12 non-Federal grants or cash donations made by 

13 non-Federal third parties. 

14 (d) SPECIAL REQUIREMENT FOR INTERSTATE WA15 TERSHEDS.—

16 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF DROUGHT PREPARED17 NESS PLANS.—In order to receive funds under sub18 section (b)(1) to develop drought preparedness plans 

19 for interstate watersheds, the guidelines shall also 

20 require the relevant States, Indian tribes, or both, in 

21 which the watershed is located, to coordinate in the 

22 development of the drought preparedness plan. The 

23 development of such plans shall—

24 (A) be consistent with the relevant States’ 

25 and Tribal water laws, policies, and agreements;
27

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (B) be consistent and coordinated with any 

2 existing interstate stream compacts; 

3 (C) include the participation of any rel4 evant watershed groups located in the relevant 

5 States, Indian tribes, or both; and 

6 (D) recognize that implementation of the 

7 interstate drought preparedness plan will in8 volve further coordination among the relevant 

9 States, Indian tribes, or both, except that each 

10 State and Indian tribe has sole jurisdiction over 

11 implementation of that portion of the watershed 

12 that exists within their boundaries. 

13 (2) IMPLEMENTATION OF DROUGHT PREPARED14 NESS PLANS.—In order to receive funds under sub15 section (b)(1) to implement drought preparedness 

16 plans for interstate watersheds, the guidelines shall 

17 also require, to the extent practicable, the relevant 

18 States, Indian tribes, or both, in which the water19 shed is located, to coordinate in the implementation 

20 of the drought preparedness plan, recognizing the 

21 sovereignty of the States and Indian tribes. Imple22 mentation of interstate drought preparedness plans 

23 under subsection (b)(1) shall—

24 (A) be contingent upon the existence of a 

25 drought preparedness plan, but not require the 
28

•HR 2871 IH 

1 distribution of funds to all States and Indian 

2 tribes in which the watershed is located; 

3 (B) consider the level of impact within the 

4 watershed on each of the relevant States, In5 dian tribes, or both; and 

6 (C) not impede on State water rights es7 tablished as of the date of enactment of this 

8 Act. 

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums 

11 as are necessary to carry out subsection (b). 

12 SEC. 302. DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS PLANS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior and 

14 the Secretary of the Army shall—

15 (1) with the concurrence of the Council, jointly 

16 develop guidelines for administering a national pro17 gram to provide technical and financial assistance to 

18 States, Indian tribes, local governments, watershed 

19 groups, and critical service providers for the develop20 ment, maintenance, and implementation of drought 

21 preparedness plans; and 

22 (2) promulgate the guidelines developed under 

23 paragraph (1). 

24 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—To build on the experience and 

25 avoid duplication of efforts of Federal, State, local, tribal, 
29

•HR 2871 IH 

1 and regional drought plans in existence on the date of en2 actment of this Act, the guidelines may recognize and in3 corporate those plans. 

4 SEC. 303. FEDERAL PLANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, the Secretary of 

6 the Interior, the Secretary of the Army, and other appro7 priate Federal agency heads shall develop and implement 

8 Federal drought preparedness plans for agencies under 

9 the jurisdiction of the appropriate Federal agency head. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Federal plans—

11 (1) shall be integrated with each other; 

12 (2) may be included as components of other 

13 Federal planning requirements; 

14 (3) shall be integrated with drought prepared15 ness plans of State, tribal, and local governments 

16 that are affected by Federal projects and programs; 

17 and 

18 (4) shall be completed not later than 2 years 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 304. STATE AND TRIBAL PLANS. 

21 States and Indian tribes may develop and implement 

22 State and tribal drought preparedness plans that—

23 (1) address monitoring of resource conditions 

24 that are related to drought; 
30

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (2) identify areas that are at a high risk for 

2 drought; 

3 (3) describes mitigation strategies to address 

4 and reduce the vulnerability of an area to drought; 

5 and 

6 (4) are integrated with State, tribal, and local 

7 water plans in existence on the date of enactment of 

8 this Act. 

9 SEC. 305. REGIONAL AND LOCAL PLANS. 

10 Local governments, watershed groups, and regional 

11 water providers may develop and implement drought pre12 paredness plans that—

13 (1) address monitoring of resource conditions 

14 that are related to drought; 

15 (2) identify areas that are at a high risk for 

16 drought; 

17 (3) describe mitigation strategies to address 

18 and reduce the vulnerability of an area to drought; 

19 and 

20 (4) are integrated with corresponding State 

21 plans. 

22 SEC. 306. PLAN ELEMENTS. 

23 The drought preparedness plans developed under this 

24 title—
31

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (1) shall be consistent with Federal and State 

2 laws, contracts, and policies; 

3 (2) shall allow each State to continue to man4 age water and wildlife in the State; 

5 (3) shall address the health, safety, and eco6 nomic interests of those persons directly affected by 

7 drought; 

8 (4) shall address the economic impact on re9 source-dependent businesses and industries, includ10 ing regional tourism; 

11 (5) may include—

12 (A) provisions for water management 

13 strategies to be used during various drought or 

14 water shortage thresholds, consistent with State 

15 water law; 

16 (B) provisions to address key issues relat17 ing to drought (including public health, safety, 

18 economic factors, and environmental issues such 

19 as water quality, water quantity, protection of 

20 threatened and endangered species, and fire 

21 management); 

22 (C) provisions that allow for public partici23 pation in the development, adoption, and imple24 mentation of drought plans; 
32

•HR 2871 IH 

1 (D) provisions for periodic drought exer2 cises, revisions, and updates; 

3 (E) a hydrologic characterization study to 

4 determine how water is being used during times 

5 of normal water supply availability to anticipate 

6 the types of drought mitigation actions that 

7 would most effectively improve water manage8 ment during a drought; 

9 (F) drought triggers; 

10 (G) specific implementation actions for 

11 droughts; 

12 (H) a water shortage allocation plan, con13 sistent with State water law; and 

14 (I) comprehensive insurance and financial 

15 strategies to manage the risks and financial im16 pacts of droughts; and 

17 (6) shall take into consideration—

18 (A) the financial impact of the plan on the 

19 ability of the utilities to ensure rate stability 

20 and revenue stream; and 

21 (B) economic impacts from water short22 ages.

Æ