Union Calendar No. 306

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 728

[Report No. 106–484, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood

Prevention Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide cost share assistance for therehabilitation of structural measures constructedas part of water resource projects previouslyfunded by the Secretary under such Act or related laws.

APRIL 4, 2000

The Committee on Resources discharged

APRIL 4, 2000

Reported from the Committee on Agriculture with an

amendment, committed to the Committee of the WholeHouse on the State of the Union, and ordered to beprinted
IB

Union Calendar No. 306

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 728

[Report No. 106–484, Parts I and II]

To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to authorize

the Secretary of Agriculture to provide cost share assistance for the

rehabilitation of structural measures constructed as part of water resource projects previously funded by the Secretary under such Act or

related laws.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 11, 1999

Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma (for himself and Mr. WATKINS) 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

NOVEMBER 18, 1999

Reported from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure with

amendments

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

APRIL 4, 2000

Additional sponsors: Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. GOODE, Mr. DEAL of

Georgia, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. WICKER, Mr.

TRAFICANT, Mr. WISE, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. MORAN of Kansas, Mr.

GONZALEZ, Mr. SCHAFFER, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. RILEY,

Mr. SHERWOOD, Mr. POMBO, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr.

CHAMBLISS, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. THUNE, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr.

GILCHREST, Mr. ISTOOK, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr.

BURR of North Carolina, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. BRYANT, Mr.

HINOJOSA, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. BEREUTER,

Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. BOUCHER, Ms. DANNER, Mr. LINDER, Mr. BLILEY,

Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr.
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EVANS, Mr. COOKSEY, Mr. FROST, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr.

BERRY, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. ROGERS, Mr. FLETCHER, Mr. EDWARDS, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mr. STRICKLAND

APRIL 4, 2000

The Committee on Resources discharged

APRIL 4, 2000

Reported from the Committee on Agriculture with an amendment, committed

to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and

ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in boldface roman]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 11, 1999]

A BILL

To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention

Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide

cost share assistance for the rehabilitation of structural

measures constructed as part of water resource projects

previously funded by the Secretary under such Act or

related laws.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Watershed Reha5 bilitation Amendments of 1999’’.
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1 TITLE I—DAM REHABILITATION

2 SEC. 101. REHABILITATION OF WATER RESOURCE STRUC3 TURAL MEASURES CONSTRUCTED UNDER

4 CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

5 PROGRAMS.

6 The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act

7 (16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

8 the following new section:

9 ‘‘SEC. 14. REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURAL MEASURES

10 NEAR, AT, OR PAST THEIR EVALUATED LIFE

11 EXPECTANCY.

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

13 ‘‘(1) REHABILITATION.—The term ‘rehabilita14 tion’, with respect to a structural measure constructed

15 as part of a covered water resource project, means the

16 completion of all work necessary to extend the service

17 life of the structural measure and meet applicable

18 safety and performance standards. This may include

19 (A) protecting the integrity of the structural measure

20 or prolonging the useful life of the structural measure

21 beyond the original evaluated life expectancy, (B) cor22 recting damage to the structural measure from a cata23 strophic event, (C) correcting the deterioration of

24 structural components that are deteriorating at an

25 abnormal rate, (D) upgrading the structural measure
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1 to meet changed land use conditions in the watershed

2 served by the structural measure or changed safety

3 criteria applicable to the structural measure, or (E)

4 decommissioning the structure, if requested by the

5 local organization.

6 ‘‘(2) COVERED WATER RESOURCE PROJECT.—

7 The term ‘covered water resource project’ means a

8 work of improvement carried out under any of the fol9 lowing:

10 ‘‘(A) This Act.

11 ‘‘(B) Section 13 of the Act of December 22,

12 1944 (Public Law 78–534; 58 Stat. 905).

13 ‘‘(C) The pilot watershed program author14 ized under the heading ‘FLOOD PREVENTION’ of

15 the Department of Agriculture Appropriation

16 Act, 1954 (Public Law 156; 67 Stat. 214).

17 ‘‘(D) Subtitle H of title XV of the Agri18 culture and Food Act of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3451

19 et seq.; commonly known as the Resource Con20 servation and Development Program).

21 ‘‘(3) STRUCTURAL MEASURE.—The term ‘struc22 tural measure’ means a physical improvement that

23 impounds water, commonly known as a dam, which

24 was constructed as part of a covered water resource
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1 project, including the impoundment area and flood

2 pool.

3 ‘‘(b) COST SHARE ASSISTANCE FOR REHABILITA4 TION.—

5 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary

6 may provide financial assistance to a local organiza7 tion to cover a portion of the total costs incurred for

8 the rehabilitation of structural measures originally

9 constructed as part of a covered water resource

10 project. The total costs of rehabilitation include the

11 costs associated with all components of the rehabilita12 tion project, including acquisition of land, easements,

13 and rights-of-ways, rehabilitation project administra14 tion, the provision of technical assistance, con15 tracting, and construction costs, except that the local

16 organization shall be responsible for securing all land,

17 easements, or rights-of-ways necessary for the project.

18 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE; LIMITATIONS.—

19 The amount of Federal funds that may be made

20 available under this subsection to a local organization

21 for construction of a particular rehabilitation project

22 shall be equal to 65 percent of the total rehabilitation

23 costs, but not to exceed 100 percent of actual construc24 tion costs incurred in the rehabilitation. However, the

25 local organization shall be responsible for the costs of
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1 water, mineral, and other resource rights and all Fed2 eral, State, and local permits.

3 ‘‘(3) RELATION TO LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT

4 REGULATIONS.—As a condition on entering into an

5 agreement to provide financial assistance under this

6 subsection, the Secretary, working in concert with the

7 affected unit or units of general purpose local govern8 ment, may require that proper zoning or other devel9 opmental regulations are in place in the watershed in

10 which the structural measures to be rehabilitated

11 under the agreement are located so that—

12 ‘‘(A) the completed rehabilitation project is

13 not quickly rendered inadequate by additional

14 development; and

15 ‘‘(B) society can realize the full benefits of

16 the rehabilitation investment.

17 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR WATERSHED

18 PROJECT REHABILITATION.—The Secretary, acting through

19 the Natural Resources Conservation Service, may provide

20 technical assistance in planning, designing, and imple21 menting rehabilitation projects should a local organization

22 request such assistance. Such assistance may consist of spe23 cialists in such fields as engineering, geology, soils, agron24 omy, biology, hydraulics, hydrology, economics, water qual25 ity, and contract administration.
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1 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITED USE.—

2 ‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE OF OPERATION AND MAINTE3 NANCE.—Rehabilitation assistance provided under

4 this section may not be used to perform operation and

5 maintenance activities specified in the agreement for

6 the covered water resource project entered into be7 tween the Secretary and the local organization re8 sponsible for the works of improvement. Such oper9 ation and maintenance activities shall remain the re10 sponsibility of the local organization, as provided in

11 the project work plan.

12 ‘‘(2) RENEGOTIATION.—Notwithstanding para13 graph (1), as part of the provision of financial assist14 ance under subsection (b), the Secretary may renego15 tiate the original agreement for the covered water re16 source project entered into between the Secretary and

17 the local organization regarding responsibility for the

18 operation and maintenance of the project when the re19 habilitation is finished.

20 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION FOR REHABILITATION ASSIST21 ANCE.—A local organization may apply to the Secretary

22 for technical and financial assistance under this section if

23 the application has also been submitted to and approved

24 by the State agency having supervisory responsibility over

25 the covered water resource project at issue or, if there is
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1 no State agency having such responsibility, by the Governor

2 of the State. The Secretary shall request the State dam safe3 ty officer (or equivalent State official) to be involved in the

4 application process if State permits or approvals are re5 quired. The rehabilitation of structural measures shall meet

6 standards established by the Secretary and address other

7 dam safety issues. At the request of the local organization,

8 personnel of the Natural Resources Conservation Service of

9 the Department of Agriculture may assist in preparing ap10 plications for assistance.

11 ‘‘(f) RANKING OF REQUESTS FOR REHABILITATION

12 ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall establish such system of

13 approving rehabilitation requests, recognizing that such re14 quests will be received throughout the fiscal year and subject

15 to the availability of funds to carry out this section, as is

16 necessary for proper administration by the Department of

17 Agriculture and equitable for all local organizations. The

18 approval process shall be in writing, and made known to

19 all local organizations and appropriate State agencies.

20 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN REHABILITATION AS21 SISTANCE.—The Secretary may not approve a rehabilita22 tion request if the need for rehabilitation of the structure

23 is the result of a lack of adequate maintenance by the party

24 responsible for the maintenance.
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1 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary

3 $60,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2000 through 2009

4 to provide financial and technical assistance under this sec5 tion.

6 ‘‘(i) ASSESSMENT OF REHABILITATION NEEDS.—Of

7 the amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (h) for fis8 cal years 2000 and 2001, $5,000,000 shall be used by the

9 Secretary, in concert with the responsible State agencies,

10 to conduct an assessment of the rehabilitation needs of cov11 ered water resource projects in all States in which such

12 projects are located.

13 ‘‘(j) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTS.—

14 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall maintain

15 a data base to track the benefits derived from reha16 bilitation projects supported under this section and

17 the expenditures made under this section. On the

18 basis of such data and the reports submitted under

19 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall prepare and sub20 mit to Congress an annual report providing the sta21 tus of activities conducted under this section.

22 ‘‘(2) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Not later than 90

23 days after the completion of a specific rehabilitation

24 project for which assistance is provided under this

25 section, the local organization that received the assist-
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1 ance shall make a report to the Secretary giving the

2 status of any rehabilitation effort undertaken using

3 financial assistance provided under this section.’’.

4 TITLE II—DAM SAFETY

5 SEC. 201. DAM SAFETY.

6 (a) INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT OF OTHER DAMS.—

7 (1) INVENTORY.—The Secretary of the Army (in

8 this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall estab9 lish an inventory of dams constructed by and using

10 funds made available through the Works Progress Ad11 ministration, the Works Projects Administration, and

12 the Civilian Conservation Corps.

13 (2) ASSESSMENT OF REHABILITATION NEEDS.—

14 In establishing the inventory required under para15 graph (1), the Secretary shall also assess the condition

16 of the dams on such inventory and the need for reha17 bilitation or modification of the dams.

18 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

20 transmit to Congress a report containing the inventory and

21 assessment required by this section.

22 (c) INTERIM ACTIONS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines

24 that a dam referred to in subsection (a) presents an

25 imminent and substantial risk to public safety, the
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1 Secretary is authorized to carry out measures to pre2 vent or mitigate against such risk.

3 (2) EXCLUSION.—The assistance authorized in

4 paragraph (1) shall not be available to dams under

5 the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior.

6 (3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the

7 cost of assistance provided under this subsection shall

8 be 65 percent of such cost.

9 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

10 There is authorized to be appropriated a total of

11 $30,000,000 for fiscal years beginning after Sep12 tember 30, 1999, of which not more than $5,000,000

13 may be expended on any 1 dam.

14 (d) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the

15 Secretary shall coordinate with the appropriate State dam

16 safety officials and the Director of the Federal Emergency

17 Management Agency.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend the

Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide cost share

assistance for the rehabilitation of structural measures

constructed as part of water resource projects previously

funded by the Secretary under such Act or related laws,

and for other purposes.’’.

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

19 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Water20 shed Rehabilitation Amendments of 1999’’.
12

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1 SEC. 2. REHABILITATION OF WATER RESOURCE STRUC2 TURAL MEASURES CONSTRUCTED UNDER

3 CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

4 PROGRAMS.

5 The Watershed Protection and Flood Pre6 vention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended

7 by adding at the end the following new sec8 tion:

9 ‘‘SEC. 14. REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURAL MEASURES

10 NEAR, AT, OR PAST THEIR EVALUATED LIFE

11 EXPECTANCY.

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

13 section:

14 ‘‘(1) REHABILITATION.—The term ‘reha15 bilitation’, with respect to a structural

16 measure constructed as part of a covered

17 water resource project, means the com18 pletion of all work necessary to extend

19 the service life of the structural measure

20 and meet applicable safety and perform21 ance standards. This may include (A) pro22 tecting the integrity of the structural

23 measure or prolonging the useful life of

24 the structural measure beyond the origi25 nal evaluated life expectancy, (B) cor26 recting damage to the structural measure
13

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1 from a catastrophic event, (C) correcting

2 the deterioration of structural compo3 nents that are deteriorating at an abnor4 mal rate, or (D) upgrading the structural

5 measure to meet changed land use condi6 tions in the watershed served by the

7 structural measure or changed safety cri8 teria applicable to the structural meas9 ure.

10 ‘‘(2) COVERED WATER RESOURCE

11 PROJECT.—The term ‘covered water re12 source project’ means a work of improve13 ment carried out under any of the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘(A) This Act.

16 ‘‘(B) Section 13 of the Act of De17 cember 22, 1944 (Public Law 78–534;

18 58 Stat. 905).

19 ‘‘(C) The pilot watershed program

20 authorized under the heading ‘FLOOD

21 PREVENTION’ of the Department of Ag22 riculture Appropriation Act, 1954

23 (Public Law 156; 67 Stat. 214).

24 ‘‘(D) Subtitle H of title XV of the

25 Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (16
14

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1 U.S.C. 3451 et seq.; commonly known

2 as the Resource Conservation and De3 velopment Program).

4 ‘‘(3) STRUCTURAL MEASURE.—The term

5 ‘structural measure’ means a physical im6 provement that impounds water, com7 monly known as a dam, which was con8 structed as part of a covered water re9 source project. The term includes the re10 sulting immediate impoundment area

11 and the immediate flood pool of the phys12 ical improvement.

13 ‘‘(b) COST SHARE ASSISTANCE FOR REHABILI14 TATION.—

15 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—The

16 Secretary may provide financial assist17 ance to a local organization to cover a

18 portion of the total costs incurred for the

19 rehabilitation of structural measures

20 originally constructed as part of a cov21 ered water resource project. The total

22 costs of rehabilitation include the costs

23 associated with all components of the re24 habilitation project, including acquisition

25 of land, easements, and rights-of-ways, re-
15

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1 habilitation project administration, the

2 provision of technical assistance, con3 tracting, and construction costs, except

4 that the local organization shall be re5 sponsible for securing all land, ease6 ments, or rights-of-ways necessary for the

7 project.

8 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE; LIMITA9 TIONS.—The amount of Federal funds that

10 may be made available under this sub11 section to a local organization for con12 struction of a particular rehabilitation

13 project shall be equal to 65 percent of the

14 total rehabilitation costs, but not to ex15 ceed 100 percent of actual construction

16 costs incurred in the rehabilitation. How17 ever, the local organization shall be re18 sponsible for the costs of water, mineral,

19 and other resource rights and all Federal,

20 State, and local permits.

21 ‘‘(3) RELATION TO LAND USE AND DEVEL22 OPMENT REGULATIONS.—As a condition on

23 entering into an agreement to provide fi24 nancial assistance under this subsection,

25 the Secretary, working in concert with
16

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1 the affected unit or units of general pur2 pose local government, may require that

3 proper zoning or other developmental

4 regulations are in place in the watershed

5 in which the structural measures to be

6 rehabilitated under the agreement are lo7 cated so that—

8 ‘‘(A) the completed rehabilitation

9 project is not quickly rendered inad10 equate by additional development;

11 and

12 ‘‘(B) society can realize the full

13 benefits of the rehabilitation invest14 ment.

15 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN REHABILI16 TATION ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

17 not approve a rehabilitation request if

18 the Secretary determines that the need

19 for rehabilitation of the structure is the

20 result of a lack of adequate maintenance

21 by the party responsible for the mainte22 nance.

23 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR WATER24 SHED PROJECT REHABILITATION.—The Sec25 retary, acting through the Natural Resources
17

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1 Conservation Service, may provide technical

2 assistance in planning, designing, and imple3 menting rehabilitation projects should a local

4 organization request such assistance. Such

5 assistance may consist of specialists in such

6 fields as engineering, geology, soils, agron7 omy, biology, hydraulics, hydrology, econom8 ics, water quality, and contract administra9 tion.

10 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITED USE.—

11 ‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE OF OPERATION AND

12 MAINTENANCE.—Rehabilitation assistance

13 provided under this section may not be

14 used to perform operation and mainte15 nance activities specified in the agree16 ment for the covered water resource

17 project entered into between the Sec18 retary and the local organization respon19 sible for the works of improvement. Such

20 operation and maintenance activities

21 shall remain the responsibility of the

22 local organization, as provided in the

23 project work plan.

24 ‘‘(2) RENEGOTIATION.—Notwithstand25 ing paragraph (1), as part of the provi-
18

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1 sion of financial assistance under sub2 section (b), the Secretary may renegotiate

3 the original agreement for the covered

4 water resource project entered into be5 tween the Secretary and the local organi6 zation regarding responsibility for the

7 operation and maintenance of the project

8 when the rehabilitation is finished.

9 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION FOR REHABILITATION AS10 SISTANCE.—A local organization may apply to

11 the Secretary for technical and financial as12 sistance under this section if the application

13 has also been submitted to and approved by

14 the State agency having supervisory responsi15 bility over the covered water resource project

16 at issue or, if there is no State agency having

17 such responsibility, by the Governor of the

18 State. The Secretary shall request the State

19 dam safety officer (or equivalent State offi20 cial) to be involved in the application process

21 if State permits or approvals are required.

22 The rehabilitation of structural measures

23 shall meet standards established by the Sec24 retary and address other dam safety issues. At

25 the request of the local organization, per-
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1 sonnel of the Natural Resources Conservation

2 Service of the Department of Agriculture may

3 assist in preparing applications for assist4 ance.

5 ‘‘(f) JUSTIFICATION FOR REHABILITATION AS6 SISTANCE.—In order to qualify for technical or

7 financial assistance under this authority, the

8 Secretary shall require the rehabilitation

9 project to be performed in the most cost-effec10 tive manner that accomplishes the rehabilita11 tion objective, however, the Secretary is not

12 required to develop a cost-benefit ratio anal13 ysis or a cost-benefit ratio. The benefits of,

14 and the requirements for, the rehabilitation

15 project shall be documented to ensure the

16 wise and responsible use of Federal funds.

17 ‘‘(g) RANKING OF REQUESTS FOR REHABILITA18 TION ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall estab19 lish a system for the timely consideration and

20 approval of rehabilitation requests, recog21 nizing that such requests will be received

22 throughout the fiscal year and subject to the

23 availability of funds to carry out this section.

24 The Secretary shall ensure that the system

25 provides for proper administration by the De-
20

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1 partment of Agriculture and is equitable for

2 all local organizations. The approval process

3 shall be in writing and shall be made known

4 to all local organizations and appropriate

5 State agencies.

6 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to

8 the Secretary $60,000,000 for each of the fiscal

9 years 2000 through 2009 to provide financial

10 and technical assistance under this section.

11 ‘‘(i) ASSESSMENT OF REHABILITATION

12 NEEDS.—Of the amount appropriated pursu13 ant to subsection (h) for fiscal years 2000 and

14 2001, $5,000,000 shall be used by the Sec15 retary, in concert with the responsible State

16 agencies, to conduct an assessment of the re17 habilitation needs of covered water resource

18 projects in all States in which such projects

19 are located.

20 ‘‘(j) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTS.—

21 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall

22 maintain a data base to track the benefits

23 derived from rehabilitation projects sup24 ported under this section and the ex25 penditures made under this section. On
21

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1 the basis of such data and the reports

2 submitted under paragraph (2), the Sec3 retary shall prepare and submit to Con4 gress an annual report providing the sta5 tus of activities conducted under this sec6 tion.

7 ‘‘(2) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Not later

8 than 90 days after the completion of a

9 specific rehabilitation project for which

10 assistance is provided under this section,

11 the local organization that received the

12 assistance shall make a report to the Sec13 retary giving the status of any rehabilita14 tion effort undertaken using financial as15 sistance provided under this section.’’.

16 SEC. 3. NONINTERFERENCE WITH STATE AND LOCAL

17 FLOOD DEBRIS REMOVAL EFFORTS.

18 The Watershed Protection and Flood Pre19 vention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended

20 by inserting after section 14, as added by sec21 tion 2 of this Act, the following new section:

22 ‘‘SEC. 15. NONINTERFERENCE WITH STATE AND LOCAL

23 FLOOD DEBRIS REMOVAL EFFORTS.

24 ‘‘The Secretary of Agriculture and other

25 executive branch officials and employees may
22

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1 not prohibit or condition the ability of a State

2 or local government to remove from land or

3 waters any rocks, vegetation, soil, or other de4 bris deposited by flood waters when the pri5 mary purpose of the removal operation is to

6 reduce the risk and severity of subsequent

7 flooding.’’.

8 SEC. 4. PRIVACY OF PERSONAL DATA RECEIVED BY DE9 PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND DATA

10 GATHERING LOCATIONS.

11 The Food Security Act of 1985 is amended

12 by inserting after section 1243 (16 U.S.C. 3843)

13 the following new section:

14 ‘‘SEC. 1244. PRIVACY OF PERSONAL DATA RELATING TO

15 NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION PRO16 GRAMS.

17 ‘‘(a) INFORMATION AND DATA RECEIVED FOR

18 TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Not19 withstanding any other provision of law and

20 except as provided in paragraph (c), informa21 tion and data provided to, or developed by,

22 the Secretary of Agriculture (including a con23 tractor of the Secretary) for the purpose of

24 providing technical or financial assistance to

25 a landowner or operator with respect to any
23

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1 natural resources conservation program ad2 ministered by the Natural Resources Con3 servation Service or the Farm Service Agency

4 shall not be released or disclosed to any agen5 cy or person outside the Department of Agri6 culture.

7 ‘‘(b) INVENTORY, MONITORING, AND SITE SPE8 CIFIC DATA.—Notwithstanding any other pro9 vision of law and except as provided in para10 graph (c), in order to maintain the personal

11 privacy, confidentiality, and cooperation of

12 landowners and operators, and to maintain

13 the integrity of sample sites, the specific geo14 graphic locations of the National Resources

15 Inventory of the Department of Agriculture

16 data gathering sites and the information and

17 data generated by such sites are not public in18 formation and shall not be subject to manda19 tory disclosure or released to any local, tribal,

20 State, or Federal agency outside the Depart21 ment of Agriculture.

22 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) RELEASE AND DISCLOSURE FOR EN24 FORCEMENT.—The Secretary of Agri25 culture may release or disclose informa-
24

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1 tion or data covered by subsection (a) or

2 (b) to the extent necessary to enforce the

3 natural resources conservation programs

4 referred to in subsection (a).

5 ‘‘(2) LIMITED DISCLOSURE TO COOPER6 ATING PERSONS AND AGENCIES.—The Sec7 retary may release or disclose informa8 tion or data covered by subsection (a) or

9 (b) to a person or a local, tribal, State, or

10 Federal agency working in cooperation

11 with the Secretary of Agriculture in pro12 viding technical and financial assistance

13 described in subsection (a) or collecting

14 information and data from National Re15 sources Inventory data gathering sites.

16 However, the person or local, tribal,

17 State, or Federal agency that receives the

18 information or data may release the in19 formation or data only for the purpose of

20 assisting the Secretary in providing the

21 requested technical or financial assist22 ance or in collecting information and

23 data from National Resources Inventory

24 data gathering sites.
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1 ‘‘(3) LIMITED EXCEPTION FOR STATIS2 TICAL AND AGGREGATE DATA.—The Sec3 retary may release information or data

4 covered by subsection (b), if the informa5 tion or data has been transformed into a

6 statistical or aggregate form that does

7 not allow identification of the individual

8 landowner, operator, or specific data

9 gathering site.

10 ‘‘(d) VIOLATIONS.—Section 1770(c) of the

11 Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 2276) shall

12 apply to any person who releases or causes to

13 be released information or data in violation of

14 this section.’’.