IB 

Union Calendar No. 350 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4650 

[Report No. 109–609] 

To direct the Secretary of the Army to carry out programs and activities 

to enhance the safety of levees in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 22, 2005 

Mr. DUNCAN (for himself, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 

YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. BAKER, and Mr. 

MELANCON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

JULY 28, 2006 

Additional sponsors: Mr. HERGER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. JINDAL, Mr. 

MURPHY, Mr. FORD, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. CALVERT, and Mr. CARNAHAN

JULY 28, 2006 

Reported 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 italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on December 22, 2005] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Army to carry out programs 

and activities to enhance the safety of levees in the 

United States. 


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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 ‘‘National Levee Safety 

5 Program Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

8 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na9 tional Levee Safety Advisory Board established under 

10 section 4(d). 

11 (2) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ means 

12 the Interagency Committee on Levee Safety estab13 lished by section 4(a). 

14 (3) LEVEE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘levee’’ means 

16 an embankment (including floodwalls)— 

17 (i) the primary purpose of which is to 

18 provide hurricane, storm, and flood protec19 tion relating to seasonal high water and 

20 storm surges; and 

21 (ii) that normally is subject to water 

22 loading for only a few days or weeks during 

23 a year. 

24 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘levee’’ includes 

25 structures along canals that constrain water 


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1 flows and are subject to more frequent water 

2 loadings but that do not constitute a barrier 

3 across a watercourse. 

4 (4) FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Federal enti5 ty’’ means a Federal agency or entity that designs, fi6 nances, constructs, owns, operates, maintains, or reg7 ulates the construction, operation, or maintenance of 

8 a levee. 

9 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of the Army. 

11 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

12 (A) a State; 

13 (B) the District of Columbia; 

14 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and 

15 (D) any other territory or possession of the 

16 United States. 

17 (7) STATE LEVEE SAFETY AGENCY.—The term 

18 ‘‘State levee safety agency’’ means the State agency 

19 that has regulatory authority over the safety of any 

20 non-Federal levee in a State. 

21 (8) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United States’’, 

22 when used in a geographical sense, means all of the 

23 States. 


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1 SEC. 3. INSPECTION AND INVENTORY OF LEVEES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

3 program under which, as soon as practicable after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall inspect levees 

5 in the United States for the purpose of protecting human 

6 life and property. 

7 (b) LEVEES TO BE INSPECTED.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 

9 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall inspect— 

10 (A) each levee in the United States con11 structed by the Secretary; 

12 (B) each levee in the United States main13 tained by the Secretary; 

14 (C) each levee constructed by a Federal enti15 ty and identified to the Secretary by the head of 

16 such entity; 

17 (D) each levee constructed by a federally 

18 recognized Indian tribe, located on tribal lands, 

19 and identified to the Secretary by the head of 

20 such tribe; and 

21 (E) each levee located in a State identified 

22 by the Governor of the State in a list trans23 mitted to the Secretary. 

24 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

25 (1), in carrying out the program under subsection 

26 (a), the Secretary shall not be required to inspect— 


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1 (A) any levee that has been inspected by a 

2 State levee safety agency during the 1-year pe3 riod immediately preceding the date of enact4 ment of this Act if the Governor of the State re5 quests an exception; and 

6 (B) any levee that the Secretary determines 

7 would not pose a significant threat to human life 

8 or property in case of failure. 

9 (c) STATE PARTICIPATION.—On request of a State 

10 levee safety agency with respect to any levee subject to an 

11 inspection under this Act and the failure of which would 

12 affect the State, the Secretary shall— 

13 (1) allow an official of the State levee safety 

14 agency to participate in the inspection of the levee; 

15 and 

16 (2) provide information to the State levee safety 

17 agency relating to the location, construction, oper18 ation, or maintenance of the levee. 

19 (d) DETERMINATION.— 

20 (1) INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS.—For the pur21 pose of determining whether the failure of a levee, in22 cluding the release of any water constrained by the 

23 levee, constitutes a danger to human life or property, 

24 the Secretary shall take into consideration the possi25 bility that the levee may be in danger of failing due 


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1 to disparities in floodwall height or construction ma2 terials, overtopping due to flooding or storm surges, 

3 seepage, settlement, piping or internal erosion, crack4 ing, earth movement, earthquakes, hurricanes, the 

5 failure of bulkheads or sheet walls, flashboards, gates 

6 or conduits, wetlands erosion, soil erosion, hydrologic 

7 modification, or other conditions that exist or may 

8 occur in any area in the vicinity of the levee. 

9 (2) PREVIOUSLY-INSPECTED LEVEES.—For any 

10 levee with respect to which the Secretary made any 

11 determination regarding the safety of the levee before 

12 the date of the inspection of the levee under this sec13 tion, the Secretary shall review the determination, 

14 taking into consideration information most recently 

15 available to the Secretary relating to the matters re16 ferred to in paragraph (1). 

17 (e) INSPECTION RESULTS.— 

18 (1) NOTICE TO STATES.—As soon as practicable 

19 after the inspection of a levee under this Act, the Sec20 retary shall notify the Governor of the State in which 

21 such levee is located, the Governor of any other af22 fected State, any affected local government authority, 

23 and any affected federally recognized Indian tribe of 

24 the results of the inspection. 


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1 (2) HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS.—If the Secretary 

2 finds a hazardous condition during an inspection, the 

3 Secretary shall— 

4 (A) immediately notify the Governor of the 

5 State in which such levee is located, the Governor 

6 of any other affected State, any affected local 

7 government authority, and any affected federally 

8 recognized Indian tribe; and 

9 (B) provide to a Governor or entity referred 

10 to in subparagraph (A), upon request, advice re11 lating to timely remedial measures necessary to 

12 mitigate or obviate the hazardous condition. 

13 (f) NATIONAL LEVEE INVENTORY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 1, 

15 2007, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall 

16 publish and submit to the Committee on Transpor17 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa18 tives and the Committee on Environment and Public 

19 Works of the Senate an inventory of— 

20 (A) levees subject to inspection under this 

21 Act, and a characterization of the risk posed by 

22 such levees; and 

23 (B) levees identified by a State under sec24 tion 5(e)(2)(H). 


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1 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the risk 

2 a levee poses under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary 

3 shall consider the condition of the levee and the poten4 tial impact on human lives and property if the levee 

5 fails. 

6 (3) CONTENTS.—An inventory to be submitted 

7 under paragraph (1) shall include for each levee the 

8 following information: 

9 (A) The location of the levee. 

10 (B) The owner of the levee and any other re11 sponsible party. 

12 (C) The physical condition of the levee. 

13 (D) The probability and consequences of a 

14 failure of the levee. 

15 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON LEVEE SAFETY. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com17 mittee to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Committee on Levee 

18 Safety’’. 

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be composed 

20 of 5 members as follows: 

21 (1) The Secretary (or the Secretary’s designee), 

22 who shall serve as the chairperson of the Committee. 

23 (2) The Secretary of Agriculture (or the Sec24 retary’s designee). 


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1 (3) The Secretary of the Interior (or the Sec2 retary’s designee). 

3 (4) The Director of the Federal Emergency Man4 agement Agency (or the Director’s designee). 

5 (5) The United States Commissioner of the Inter6 national Boundary and Water Commission (or the 

7 Commissioner’s designee). 

8 (c) DUTIES.—The Committee shall support the estab9 lishment and maintenance of effective Federal programs, 

10 policies, and guidelines to enhance levee safety for the pro11 tection of human life and property through coordination 

12 and information exchange among and between Federal and 

13 non-Federal entities concerning the implementation of Fed14 eral guidelines relating to levee safety. 

15 (d) NATIONAL LEVEE SAFETY ADVISORY BOARD.— 

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Committee shall es17 tablish an advisory board, to be known as the ‘‘Na18 tional Levee Safety Advisory Board’’, to advise the 

19 Committee on— 

20 (A) the safety of levees in the United States; 

21 (B) the implementation of this Act by State 

22 levee safety agencies; and 

23 (C) policy relating to national levee safety. 

24 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be composed 

25 of 14 members appointed by the Secretary as follows: 


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1 (A) A representative of State levee safety 

2 agencies for each of the 8 civil works divisions of 

3 the Corps of Engineers. 

4 (B) 2 representatives of the private sector 

5 who have expertise in levee safety. 

6 (C) 4 representatives of local and regional 

7 governmental agencies with expertise in levee 

8 safety. 

9 (3) DUTIES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall support 

11 the activities of the Committee and the establish12 ment and maintenance of effective programs, 

13 policies, and guidelines to enhance levee safety 

14 for the protection of human life and property 

15 throughout the United States. 

16 (B) COORDINATION AND INFORMATION EX17 CHANGE AMONG AGENCIES.—In carrying out 

18 subparagraph (A), the Board shall assist the 

19 Committee in coordination and information ex20 change among and between Federal entities and 

21 State levee safety agencies that share common 

22 problems and responsibilities relating to levee 

23 safety, including planning, design, construction, 

24 operation, emergency action planning, inspec25 tions, maintenance, regulation or licensing, techVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:13 Jul 28, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4650.RH H4650

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1 nical or financial assistance, research, and data 

2 management. 

3 (4) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—A member of 

4 the Board shall serve without compensation. 

5 (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—To the extent amounts 

6 are made available in advance in appropriations 

7 Acts, the Secretary shall reimburse a member of the 

8 Board for travel expenses, including per diem in lieu 

9 of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee of 

10 an agency under subchapter 1 of chapter 57 of title 

11 5, United States Code, while away from the home or 

12 regular place of business of the member in perform13 ance of services for the Board. 

14 (6) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM15 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

16 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Board. 

17 SEC. 5. NATIONAL LEVEE SAFETY PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

19 the Committee and State levee safety agencies, shall estab20 lish and maintain a national levee safety program. 

21 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program under 

22 this section are— 

23 (1) to ensure that human life and property pro24 tected by new and existing levees are safe through the 

25 development of technologically, economically, socially, 


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1 and environmentally feasible programs and proce2 dures for hazard reduction and mitigation relating to 

3 levees; 

4 (2) to encourage acceptable engineering policies 

5 and procedures to be used for levee site investigation, 

6 design, construction, operation and maintenance, and 

7 emergency preparedness; 

8 (3) to encourage the establishment and imple9 mentation of effective levee safety programs in each 

10 State; 

11 (4) to develop and support public education and 

12 awareness projects to increase public acceptance and 

13 support of State levee safety programs; 

14 (5) to build public awareness of the residual 

15 risks associated with living in levee protected areas; 

16 (6) to develop technical assistance materials for 

17 Federal and State levee safety programs; 

18 (7) to develop methods of providing technical as19 sistance relating to levee safety to non-Federal enti20 ties; and 

21 (8) to develop technical assistance materials, 

22 seminars, and guidelines to improve the security of 

23 levees in the United States. 

24 (c) STRATEGIC PLAN.—In carrying out the program 

25 under this section, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) prepare a strategic plan to achieve the pur2 poses of the program under this section; and 

3 (2) transmit, not later than 120 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the plan to the Com5 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on Envi7 ronment and Public Works of the Senate. 

8 (d) FEDERAL GUIDELINES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 

10 under this section, the Secretary, in consultation with 

11 the Committee, shall establish Federal guidelines re12 lating to levee safety. 

13 (2) INCORPORATION OF FEDERAL ACTIVITIES.— 

14 The Federal guidelines under paragraph (1) shall in15 corporate, to the maximum extent practicable, activi16 ties and practices carried out by a Federal entity as 

17 of the date on which the guidelines are established. 

18 (3) INCORPORATION OF STATE AND LOCAL AC19 TIVITIES.—The program under this section shall in20 corporate, to the maximum extent practicable— 

21 (A) the activities and practices carried out 

22 by States, local governments, and the private sec23 tor to safely build, regulate, operate, and main24 tain levees; and 


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1 (B) Federal activities that foster State ef2 forts to develop and implement effective pro3 grams for the safety of levees. 

4 (e) ASSISTANCE FOR STATE LEVEE SAFETY PRO5 GRAMS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—To encourage the establish7 ment and maintenance of effective State programs in8 tended to ensure levee safety to protect human life 

9 and property and to improve State levee safety pro10 grams, the Secretary shall provide assistance, using 

11 amounts made available to carry out this Act, to as12 sist States in establishing and carrying out levee safe13 ty programs. 

14 (2) CRITERIA.—To be eligible for assistance 

15 under this subsection, a State shall be in the process 

16 of establishing or have in effect a State levee safety 

17 program under which the State levee safety agency, in 

18 accordance with State law, shall— 

19 (A) review and approve plans and speci20 fications to construct, enlarge, modify, remove, 

21 and abandon levees; 

22 (B) perform periodic inspections during 

23 levee construction to ensure compliance with ap24 proved plans and specifications; 


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1 (C) require or perform the inspection, at 

2 least once every 5 years, of all levees that would 

3 pose a significant threat to human life and prop4 erty in case of failure to determine the continued 

5 safety of the levees and a procedure for more de6 tailed and frequent safety inspections; 

7 (D) require that all inspections of levees be 

8 performed under the supervision of a State-reg9 istered professional engineer with experience in 

10 levee design and construction; 

11 (E) issue notices, when appropriate, to re12 quire owners of levees to perform necessary 

13 maintenance or remedial work, improve security, 

14 revise operating procedures, or take other ac15 tions, including breaching levees when necessary; 

16 (F) provide necessary funds from State 

17 sources or by requiring levee owners to pay for 

18 timely repairs or other changes to, or removal of, 

19 a levee in order to protect human life and prop20 erty; 

21 (G) establish a system of emergency proce22 dures to be used by the State, or required to be 

23 used by levee owners, if a levee fails or the fail24 ure of a levee is imminent; 


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1 (H) identify and provide information to the 

2 Secretary on— 

3 (i) each levee the failure of which could 

4 be reasonably expected to endanger human 

5 life and property; 

6 (ii) the maximum area that could be 

7 flooded if the levee failed; and 

8 (iii) critical public facilities that 

9 would be affected by the flooding, including 

10 costs and consequences of the flooding; and 

11 (I) issue regulations necessary to carry out 

12 the program. 

13 (3) BUDGETING REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible 

14 for assistance under this subsection, a State shall allo15 cate sufficient funds in its budget to carry out a State 

16 levee safety program. 

17 (4) WORK PLANS.—The Secretary shall enter 

18 into an agreement with each State receiving assist19 ance under this subsection to develop a work plan 

20 necessary for the State levee safety program to reach 

21 a level of program performance specified in the agree22 ment. 

23 (5) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Assistance may 

24 not be provided to a State under this subsection for 

25 a fiscal year unless the State enters into such agreeVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:13 Jul 28, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4650.RH H4650

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1 ment with the Secretary as the Secretary requires to 

2 ensure that the State will maintain the aggregate ex3 penditures of the State from all other sources for pro4 grams to ensure levee safety for the protection of 

5 human life and property at or above a level equal to 

6 the average annual level of such expenditures for the 

7 2 fiscal years preceding the fiscal year. 

8 (6) APPROVAL OF PROGRAMS.— 

9 (A) SUBMISSION.—To be eligible for assist10 ance under this subsection, a State shall submit 

11 to the Secretary a State levee safety program 

12 and receive the Secretary’s approval of the pro13 gram. 

14 (B) APPROVAL.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary de16 termines that a program submitted by a 

17 State under subparagraph (A) substantially 

18 meets the requirements of this subsection, 

19 the Secretary shall approve the program 

20 and immediately notify the State in writ21 ing of the approval. 

22 (ii) DEEMED APPROVAL.—A program 

23 submitted by a State under subparagraph 

24 (A) shall be deemed to be approved by the 

25 Secretary on the 120th day following the 


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1 date of the Secretary’s receipt of the pro2 gram unless the Secretary before such 120th 

3 day approves or disapproves the program. 

4 (C) NOTIFICATION OF DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

5 Secretary determines that a program submitted 

6 by a State under subparagraph (A) does not sub7 stantially meet the requirements of this sub8 section, the Secretary shall disapprove the pro9 gram, immediately notify the State in writing of 

10 the disapproval, and provide the reasons for the 

11 disapproval and the changes that are necessary 

12 for the program to be approved. 

13 (7) REVIEWS OF STATE LEVEE SAFETY PRO14 GRAMS.— 

15 (A) PERIODIC REVIEWS.—The Secretary 

16 shall periodically review State levee safety pro17 grams. 

18 (B) REVOCATION OF PROGRAM APPROVAL.— 

19 If the Secretary finds that a State levee safety 

20 program has proven inadequate to reasonably 

21 protect human life and property, the Secretary 

22 shall revoke approval of the State levee safety 

23 program, and withhold assistance under this 

24 subsection, until the State levee safety program 


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1 again substantially meets the requirements for 

2 approval. 

3 (f) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 2007, and 

4 every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the 

5 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on Environ7 ment and Public Works of the Senate a report describing— 

8 (1) the status of the program under this section; 

9 (2) the progress made by Federal entities during 

10 the 2 preceding fiscal years in implementing Federal 

11 guidelines relating to levee safety; 

12 (3) the progress made by State levee safety agen13 cies participating in the program; and 

14 (4) recommendations for legislative or other ac15 tion that the Secretary considers to be necessary, if 

16 any. 

17 SEC. 6. RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in cooperation with 

19 the Committee, shall carry out a program of technical and 

20 archival research to develop and support— 

21 (1) improved techniques, historical experience, 

22 and equipment for rapid and effective levee construc23 tion, maintenance, rehabilitation, and inspection; 

24 (2) the development of devices for the continued 

25 monitoring of levee safety; 


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1 (3) the development and maintenance of infor2 mation resources systems required to manage levee 

3 safety projects; and 

4 (4) public policy initiatives and other improve5 ments relating to levee safety engineering, security, 

6 and management. 

7 (b) PARTICIPATION BY STATE LEVEE SAFETY AGEN8 CIES.—In carrying out the program under subsection (a), 

9 the Secretary shall— 

10 (1) solicit participation from State levee safety 

11 agencies; and 

12 (2) periodically update State levee safety agen13 cies, the Committee on Transportation and Infra14 structure of the House of Representatives, and the 

15 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

16 Senate on the status of the program. 

17 SEC. 7. LEVEE SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM. 

18 Upon request of a State that has (or intends to de19 velop) a State levee safety program, the Secretary shall es20 tablish a program under which the Secretary shall provide 

21 training for State levee safety agency staff. 

22 SEC. 8. EFFECT OF ACT. 

23 Nothing in this Act— 


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1 (1) creates any liability of the United States or 

2 its officers or employees for the recovery of damages 

3 caused by an action or failure to act; or 

4 (2) relieves an owner or operator of a levee of a 

5 legal duty, obligation, or liability incident to the 

6 ownership or operation of a levee. 

7 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

9 to carry out this Act $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2007 through 2012. Such sums shall remain available until 

11 expended. 


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Union Calendar No. 350 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4650 

[Report No. 109

–609] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Army to carry out 

levees in the United States. programs and activities to enhance the safety of 

JULY 28, 2006 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with BILLS