I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5516 

To establish a National Flood Research and Education Center to provide 

research, data, and recommendations on physical science, social science, 

economic analysis, policy analysis, risk analysis, monitoring, predicting, 

and planning as they relate to flooding and flood-related issues. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 16, 2016 

Mr. LOEBSACK (for himself, Mr. COOPER, and Mr. ISRAEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology, and in addition to the Committee on 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 Flood Research and Education Center to provide research, data, and recommendations on 

physical science, social science, economic analysis, policy 

analysis, risk analysis, monitoring, predicting, and planning as they relate to flooding and flood-related issues. 

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 Flood Re5 search and Education Center Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL FLOOD RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 

2 CENTER ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

4 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a 

5 National Flood Research and Education Center (in this 

6 Act referred to as ‘‘NFREC’’) which shall consist of— 

7 (1) an office within the National Oceanic and 

8 Atmospheric Administration; 

9 (2) one public university or college selected by 

10 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At11 mospheric Administration (in this Act referred to as 

12 the ‘‘Administrator’’), which shall serve as the lead 

13 partner institution with the National Oceanic and 

14 Atmospheric Administration; and 

15 (3) a consortium of other public universities or 

16 colleges selected by the Administrator and the lead 

17 partner institution based on their ability to fulfill 

18 specific purposes of NFREC. 

19 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of NFREC are as fol20 lows: 

21 (1) To plan, conduct, and arrange for com22 petent public research, data, education, and rec23 ommendations within the following categories as 

24 they relate to flooding issues nationwide, regionally, 

25 and locally: 


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1 (A) Physical sciences, including engineer2 ing, hydrology, environmental, and atmospheric 

3 sciences, of flooding and flood-related events. 

4 (B) Social science of flooding and flood-re5 lated events focused on increasing community 

6 resilience. 

7 (C) Economic analysis of flooding and 

8 flood-related events in addition to analysis of a 

9 variety of existing and new strategies and tech10 niques to reduce, manage, and prevent flooding 

11 and flood-related events. 

12 (D) Policy analysis and recommendations 

13 on flooding-related policy on a Federal, State, 

14 and local governmental basis. 

15 (E) Risk analysis and risk management of 

16 flooding and flood-related events. 

17 (F) Improvement of existing, and testing 

18 of new, risk assessment tools, methods, and 

19 models for flooding and flood risks used by 

20 Federal, State, and local governments and other 

21 interested organizations. 

22 (G) Improvement of existing, and testing 

23 of new, monitoring and predicting strategies 

24 and techniques of flooding and flood-related 

25 events. 


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1 (H) Improvement of existing, and testing 

2 of new, flood management and prevention strat3 egies and techniques. 

4 (2) To carry out this Act within a variety of re5 gions in the United States which are identified and 

6 categorized by NFREC based on their specific flood7 ing and flood-related issues, hydrology, weather, and 

8 related issues so that diverse flood situations are 

9 represented and examined through NFREC’s work. 

10 (3) To identify opportunities for increased effi11 ciency in allocation of resources, coordination, co12 operation, and consolidation of efforts as they relate 

13 to local, statewide, regional, and Federal flood-re14 lated efforts with respect to NFREC’s purposes. 

15 (4) To develop or improve undergraduate and 

16 graduate degree programs and other programs at 

17 the consortium-member public universities and col18 leges to advance the entry of new talent into flood19 ing-related fields. 

20 (5) To collaborate with other colleges and uni21 versities in the region that have demonstrated capa22 bility for research, information dissemination, and 

23 graduate training in order to develop regional net24 works that are knowledgeable on regional flooding 

25 issues. 


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1 SEC. 3. CONSORTIUM SELECTION AND COLLABORATION. 

2 (a) SELECTION OF THE LEAD PARTNER INSTITU3 TION.—The Administrator, within 180 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, shall select the lead partner insti5 tution described in section 2(a)(2). The Administrator 

6 shall select a public university or college which— 

7 (1) has demonstrated and proven expertise in 

8 physical and environmental science, flooding, hy9 draulic research, hydroscience, engineering, and me10 teorological issues; 

11 (2) is located in a State which frequently expe12 riences inland flooding; 

13 (3) has previously partnered with, or received 

14 funds from, Federal and international agencies for 

15 flooding, hydrology, and watershed issues, including 

16 the Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Ge17 ological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmos18 pheric Administration, the Department of Agri19 culture, the Federal Emergency Management Agen20 cy, the National Science Foundation, the Depart21 ment of Housing and Urban Development, and the 

22 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural 

23 Organization; 

24 (4) has the capacity to develop and submit a 

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1 tion it would undertake, and how it would incor2 porate its previous work on issues related to the pur3 poses of NFREC into its new mission as the lead 

4 partner institution; 

5 (5) can demonstrate an ability to take the lead6 ing role of coordinating and fulfilling the purposes of 

7 NFREC; 

8 (6) can demonstrate an ability to provide tech9 nical assistance and demonstration project manage10 ment and oversight both of grantees demonstration 

11 projects and of demonstration projects initiated 

12 through consortium members; 

13 (7) can demonstrate an ability to incorporate 

14 NFREC work into undergraduate and graduate edu15 cational programs within the public university or col16 lege; and 

17 (8) can demonstrate an ability to contribute the 

18 required non-Federal matching funding to maintain 

19 a lead partner institution center. 

20 (b) SELECTION OF CONSORTIUM MEMBERS.—The 

21 Administrator, in partnership with the lead partner insti22 tution, shall select, within 90 days after the selection of 

23 the lead partner institution, additional universities and 

24 colleges to participate in a consortium through criteria as 

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1 stitution which shall, among other criteria determined by 

2 the Administrator and lead partner institution, prioritize 

3 institutions that— 

4 (1) have a focus or expertise in at least one of 

5 the categories described in section 2(b)(1); 

6 (2) have the ability to plan, conduct, and ar7 range for competent public research, data, edu8 cation, and recommendations as they relate to flood9 ing in diverse regions of the United States identified 

10 and in the categories described in section 2(b)(1) 

11 and meet the purposes of NFREC; 

12 (3) can demonstrate an ability to provide tech13 nical assistance and demonstration project manage14 ment and oversight; 

15 (4) can demonstrate an ability to incorporate 

16 NFREC work into undergraduate and graduate edu17 cational programs within the university or college; 

18 and 

19 (5) can demonstrate an ability to contribute the 

20 required non-Federal matching funding to maintain 

21 a consortium member center. 

22 (c) CONSORTIUM PARTNERSHIPS.—The member in23 stitutions of NFREC shall partner for the purposes of this 

24 Act in the following ways: 


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1 (1) NOAA PARTNERSHIP.—The National Oce2 anic and Atmospheric Administration shall partner 

3 directly with the lead partner institution for the pur4 poses of NFREC. 

5 (2) LEAD PARTNER INSTITUTION PARTNER6 SHIP.—The lead partner institution shall partner di7 rectly with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

8 Administration and the consortium members for the 

9 purposes of NFREC. 

10 (3) CONSORTIUM MEMBER PARTNERSHIP.—The 

11 consortium members shall partner with the lead 

12 partner institution for the purposes of NFREC. 

13 SEC. 4. PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION WITH FED14 ERAL, REGIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOV15 ERNMENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS. 

16 (a) PARTNERSHIPS.—NFREC shall partner with the 

17 United States Geological Survey and the Army Corps of 

18 Engineers for the purposes of this Act. 

19 (b) COLLABORATION.—NFREC shall— 

20 (1) collaborate on Federal flood-related issues 

21 with Federal agencies such as the Federal Emer22 gency Management Agency, the Environmental Pro23 tection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space 

24 Administration, the National Science Foundation, 

25 and the Department of Agriculture; 


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1 (2) collaborate and share best practices on re2 gional, State, and locally specific flooding and flood3 related issues with— 

4 (A) State, county, and local governments; 

5 (B) local councils of governments or re6 gional planning organizations; 

7 (C) State agriculture, natural resource, en8 vironment, economic development, and water 

9 agencies; 

10 (D) floodplain managers; 

11 (E) State Homeland Security personnel, 

12 county disaster recovery coordinators, emer13 gency management personnel, and first re14 sponders; 

15 (F) resource conservation and development 

16 councils; 

17 (G) watershed organizations and boards; 

18 (H) agriculture and commodity organiza19 tions and farmers; 

20 (I) environmental organizations; and 

21 (J) business and development organiza22 tions; and 

23 (3) explore opportunities to collaborate, when 

24 appropriate, on Federal flood-related issues with 

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1 lamation, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Bu2 reau of Land Management, the National Park Serv3 ice, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Public Health 

4 Administration, the National Science Foundation, 

5 the Department of Defense, the Department of the 

6 Interior, the Department of Housing and Urban De7 velopment, and various national laboratories. 

8 SEC. 5. INFORMATION COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION. 

9 (a) NOAA.— 

10 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall 

11 publish annually a report containing the activities, 

12 partnerships and collaborations, Federal policy rec13 ommendations, previous and continuing budgets, 

14 findings, and any other applicable information from 

15 the consortium members, and shall provide each re16 port to Congress and the President and make it 

17 available to the public in an easily accessible elec18 tronic format on the National Oceanic and Atmos19 pheric Administration’s website. 

20 (2) REVIEW OF REPORTS FROM CONSORTIUM

21 MEMBERS.—The Administrator shall review the re22 ports from the consortium members to ensure that 

23 funds are being spent properly according to the pur24 poses of this Act and that the consortium members 

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1 cation, and recommendations in regard to flooding 

2 and flood-related issues. 

3 (3) REVIEW OF CONSORTIUM OPERATIONS.— 

4 The Administrator shall periodically review the oper5 ation of consortium members to ensure that funds 

6 are being spent properly according to the purposes 

7 of this Act and that the consortium members are 

8 producing competent public research, data, edu9 cation, and recommendations in regard to flooding 

10 and flood-related issues. 

11 (b) LEAD PARTNER INSTITUTION.— 

12 (1) COMPILATION OF ANNUAL CONSORTIUM

13 MEMBER REPORTS.—The lead partner institution 

14 shall compile annually reports from consortium 

15 members, along with its own report, containing the 

16 activities, partnerships and collaborations, Federal 

17 policy recommendations, previous and continuing 

18 budgets, findings, and any other applicable informa19 tion from consortium members, and shall provide 

20 this information to the Administrator annually by a 

21 date determined by the Administrator. 

22 (2) ANNUAL LEAD PARTNER INSTITUTION RE23 PORT.—In addition, the lead partner institution 

24 shall publish annually a report specific to its activi25 ties, partnerships and collaborations, State and local 


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1 policy recommendations, previous and continuing 

2 budgets, findings, and other applicable information 

3 by a date determined by the Administrator which 

4 shall also be made available to the public in an easily 

5 accessible electronic format on the lead partner insti6 tution’s website. 

7 (c) CONSORTIUM MEMBERS.—The consortium mem8 bers shall each publish annually a report containing the 

9 activities, partnerships and collaborations, State and local 

10 policy recommendations, previous and continuing budgets, 

11 findings, and other applicable information by a date deter12 mined by the lead partner institution which shall also be 

13 made available to the public in an easily accessible elec14 tronic format on the consortium members’ websites. 

15 (d) NATIONAL FLOOD RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

16 CENTER WEBSITE.—NFREC shall establish a website 

17 which shall contain at least the following information: 

18 (1) Key findings and best practices. 

19 (2) Collaborations and partnerships. 

20 (3) Annual reports and other pertinent informa21 tion on its purposes. 

22 (4) The location and contact information for 

23 the consortium members. 

24 (5) Federal, State, local, and regionally specific 

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1 ommendations which shall be updated in a timely 

2 manner with new information. 

3 (6) The variety of regions in the United States 

4 which are identified and categorized by NFREC, 

5 based on their specific flooding and flood-related 

6 issues, hydrology, weather, and related issues. 

7 (7) Approved demonstration projects and their 

8 progress in addition to information on applying for 

9 demonstration project assistance. 

10 (8) Tools for monitoring, predicting, and mod11 eling flooding as they become available. 

12 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DEMONSTRATION 

13 PROJECTS. 

14 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DEMONSTRATION

15 PROJECTS.—NFREC may provide technical assistance 

16 and demonstration project grant assistance to eligible enti17 ties on a competitive basis to assist with implementing rec18 ommendations of NFREC or testing new or improved 

19 strategies or technologies for the categories described in 

20 section 2(b)(1). 

21 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The following are eligible 

22 entities for purposes of this section: 

23 (1) State governments. 

24 (2) County governments. 

25 (3) Local governments. 


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1 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Consortium members 

2 may provide technical assistance at their discretion to eli3 gible entities that have limited capacity for developing an 

4 application for demonstration project grants. Consortium 

5 members may also provide technical assistance at their 

6 discretion in implementing demonstration projects ap7 proved by the Administrator. 

8 (d) COMPETITIVE CRITERIA.—The Administrator, in 

9 partnership with the lead partner institution, shall develop 

10 criteria required for submitting a competitive demonstra11 tion project grant application and for the approval of such 

12 an application. 

13 (e) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Grantees may use funds 

14 only for flooding-related projects which implement rec15 ommendations of NFREC or for testing of— 

16 (1) improved existing and or new risk analysis 

17 and risk management of flooding and flood-related 

18 events; 

19 (2) improved existing and or new risk assess20 ment tools, methods, and models for flooding and 

21 flood risks used by Federal, State, and local govern22 ments and other interested organizations; 

23 (3) improved existing and or new monitoring 

24 and predicting strategies and techniques of flooding 

25 and flood-related events; or 


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1 (4) improved existing and or new flood manage2 ment and prevention strategies and techniques. 

3 (f) SUBCONTRACTING.—Eligible entities may sub4 contract a portion of grant funds received for necessary 

5 construction-related costs to pursue an eligible activity. 

6 (g) APPLICATIONS.— 

7 (1) CONSORTIUM REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

8 Within 60 days of receiving a completed application, 

9 the consortium member in whose region the project 

10 will take place and the lead partner institution shall 

11 review and approve or disapprove the application. 

12 (2) ADMINISTRATOR APPROVAL.—Within 30 

13 days of receiving an application that has been ap14 proved by the applicable consortium members, the 

15 Administrator shall determine whether to provide 

16 the project final approval. 

17 (h) GRANT SIZE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Demonstration project grant 

19 awards under this section shall not exceed $250,000 

20 per project. 

21 (2) WAIVER OF GRANT SIZE LIMITATION.—The 

22 Administrator may waive such grant size limitation 

23 if— 

24 (A) all consortium members approve of 

25 such a waiver; 


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1 (B) the eligible entity has the expertise, or 

2 will work with partners that have the expertise, 

3 to manage the proposed project; and 

4 (C) the eligible entity can show that a 

5 project involves multiple watersheds or jurisdic6 tions, benefits multiple communities, has broad 

7 community support, and incorporates multiple 

8 aspects of NFREC’s work in the project. 

9 (i) MATCHING FUNDS.—Entities receiving a dem10 onstration project grant under this section shall be re11 quired to provide a 30-percent non-Federal cost share. 

12 (j) TOTAL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT GRANT

13 AMOUNT AVAILABLE.—There shall be not more than 

14 $2,000,000 available annually for demonstration project 

15 grants under this section nationwide. 

16 (k) MONITORING AND REPORTING.—For a dem17 onstration project that receives a grant under this section, 

18 the applicable regional consortium member shall monitor 

19 the effectiveness, efficiency, and progress of the project 

20 and report on these factors and their involvement periodi21 cally to the lead partner institution. The applicable re22 gional consortium member shall make this information 

23 available through its website and additionally provide this 

24 information in its annual reports. 


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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each of the fiscal years 2017 

3 through 2022, there are authorized for NFREC, 

4 $10,000,000, of which— 

5 (1) not more than $2,000,000 each fiscal year 

6 shall be for the operation of the National Oceanic 

7 and Atmospheric Administration’s center; and 

8 (2) not more than $3,000,000 each fiscal year 

9 shall be for the operation of the lead partner institu10 tion’s center, matched by a 20-percent non-Federal 

11 cost share. 

12 (b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION.— 

13 (1) LEAD PARTNER INSTITUTION.—There are 

14 authorized such sums as may be necessary for the 

15 lead partner institution to improve its facilities to a 

16 level that meets the requirements of the role of lead 

17 partner institution. 

18 (2) PLAN.—Before the lead partner institution 

19 receives any funding under this subsection, a plan 

20 detailing what type of facility construction or im21 provements will take place must first be approved by 

22 the Administrator. Such plan shall include any land 

23 acquisition, engineering, design, and staffing and 

24 equipment needs, in addition to other information as 

25 required by the Administrator. 


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1 (3) NON-FEDERAL COST SHARE.—There shall 

2 be a non-Federal cost share of 20 percent for facility 

3 improvement or construction projects pursued by the 

4 lead partner institution. 

5 (4) WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS.—Any author6 ized and funded construction activity shall meet 

7 Federal prevailing wage requirements as determined 

8 by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sub9 chapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of 

10 title 40, United States Code (commonly referred to 

11 as the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’). 

12 (c) CONSORTIUM MEMBER CENTERS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not more than $3,000,000 

14 each fiscal year shall be for the operation of all con15 sortium members’ centers, matched by a 20-percent 

16 non-Federal cost share. 

17 (2) LIMITATION.—Any one consortium member 

18 shall not receive more than $500,000 in Federal 

19 funds in one fiscal year. 

20 (d) GRANTS.—Not more than $2,000,000 each fiscal 

21 year shall be made available for demonstration project 

22 grants nationwide. 

Æ 


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