I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4793 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land south of Lake 

Okeechobee, Florida, for the purpose of flood damage reduction and 

water storage, treatment, and conveyance purposes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2016 

Mr. CLAWSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee 

on the Budget, 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 authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land 

south of Lake Okeechobee, Florida, for the purpose of 

flood damage reduction and water storage, treatment, 

and conveyance purposes, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Everglades Land Ac5 quisition Act of 2016’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LAND ACQUISITION, SOUTH OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE, 

2 FLORIDA. 

3 (a) LAND ACQUISITION AUTHORIZED.—The Sec4 retary of the Interior shall carry out land acquisition 

5 projects south of Lake Okeechobee, Florida, for flood 

6 damage reduction and water storage, treatment, and con7 veyance purposes. Not later than December 31, 2016, the 

8 Secretary shall identify all of the land proposed to be ac9 quired under the authority of this subsection. 

10 (b) CONSIDERATION.—As consideration for the ac11 quisition of land under subsection (a), the Secretary of 

12 the Interior may not pay more than the fair market value 

13 of the land. The Secretary may accept donations of land 

14 under such subsection. 

15 (c) RESTORATION AND USE.—Upon acquisition of 

16 land under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior, 

17 in consultation with the Chief of Engineers of the Army 

18 Corps of Engineers, shall provide for— 

19 (1) restoration of the acquired land for flood 

20 damage reduction and water storage, treatment, and 

21 conveyance purposes; and 

22 (2) utilization of the acquired land in conjunc23 tion with projects implementing the Comprehensive 

24 Everglades Restoration Plan. 

25 (d) LAND TRANSFER AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte2 rior may transfer or sell the land acquired under 

3 subsection (a) to the Army Corps of Engineers, the 

4 State of the Florida, a political subdivision of the 

5 State, or a nonprofit conservation organization. 

6 (2) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.—If the 

7 Secretary transfers or sells the land under this sec8 tion, the Secretary of the Interior and the entity 

9 that receives or purchases the land shall execute a 

10 written agreement relating to the operation and 

11 maintenance of the land and any improvements to 

12 the land. 

13 (e) SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS.—For an addi14 tional amount for fiscal year 2016, to remain available 

15 until December 31, 2019, there is hereby appropriated, 

16 out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro17 priated, $500,000,000 to the Secretary of the Interior for 

18 the purpose of purchasing and restoring land south of 

19 Lake Okeechobee, Florida, for flood damage reduction and 

20 water storage, treatment, and conveyance purposes: Pro21 vided, That such amount is designated by the Congress 

22 as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 

23 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

24 Deficit Control Act of 1985. 

Æ 


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