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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1368 Introduced in House (IH)]

109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1368

   To provide the Secretary of the Army with additional and enhanced 
   authority with respect to water resources projects, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 2005

  Mr. Burgess (for himself, Mr. Poe, and Mr. Marchant) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To provide the Secretary of the Army with additional and enhanced 
   authority with respect to water resources projects, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Integrated Water Resources 
Management Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. SUPPORT OF STATE, TRIBAL, INTERSTATE WATER RESOURCES 
              ORGANIZATIONS, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

    The Secretary of the Army shall include as a primary mission of the 
Army Corps of Engineers the provision of technical services and 
assistance to support planning, conservation, and responsible 
integrated management of water resources by State, tribal, interstate 
water resources organizations, and local governments.

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    Section 22 of Water Resources Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
1962d-16) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a) by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
        inserting the following:
    ``(a) Federal State Cooperation.--
            ``(1) Comprehensive plans.--The Secretary'';
            (2) by inserting after the last sentence in subsection (a) 
        the following:
            ``(2) Technical assistance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--At the request of a governmental 
                agency or non-Federal interest, the Secretary may 
                provide, at Federal expense, technical assistance to 
                such agency or non-Federal interest in managing water 
                resources.
                    ``(B) Types of assistance.--Technical assistance 
                under this paragraph may include provision and 
                integration of hydrologic, economic, and environmental 
                data and analyses.''.
            (3) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ``this section'' each 
        place it appears and inserting ``subsection (a)(1)'';
            (4) in subsection (b)(2) by striking ``Up to \1/2\ of the'' 
        and inserting ``The'';
            (5) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by striking ``(c) There is'' and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) Federal and state cooperation.--There is'';
                    (B) by striking `` except that not more than 
                $500,000 shall be expended in any one year in any one 
                State'';
                    (C) by striking ``the provisions of this section'' 
                and inserting ``subsection (a)(1);''; and
                    (D) by inserting at the end the following:
            ``(2) Technical assistance.--There is authorized to be 
        appropriated $10,000,000 annually to carry out subsection 
        (a)(2), of which not more than $2,000,000 annually may be used 
        by the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with 
        nonprofit organizations and State agencies to provide 
        assistance to rural and small communities.''; and
            (6) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Annual Submission.--The Secretary shall provide a listing of 
the individual activities proposed for funding under subsection (a)(1), 
based on performance criteria developed by the Secretary.''.

SEC. 4. WATERSHED AND RIVER BASIN ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 729 of the Water Resources Development Act 
of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2267a; 114 Stat. 2587-2588; 100 Stat. 4164) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (1) of subsection (f) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(1) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the 
        costs of an assessment carried out under this section on or 
        after December 11, 2000, shall be 25 percent.''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (g).
    (b) Revision of Partnership Agreement.--The Secretary of the Army 
shall revise the partnership agreement for any assessment being carried 
out under section 729 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to 
take into account the change in non-Federal participation in the 
assessment as a result of the amendments made by subsection (a).

SEC. 5. CREDIT FOR MATERIALS AND IN-KIND SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Army is authorized to allow a 
non-Federal interest credit toward its share of the costs of any 
authorized water resources development project or study for the cost of 
materials and in-kind services, including planning (including data 
collection), design, management, and construction services, provided by 
the non-Federal interest for implementation of the project or study. 
The credit shall include the cost of materials and services provided 
prior to signing a partnership or feasibility cost sharing agreement 
for the project or study, including efforts on constructed elements 
incorporated into the project, and materials and services provided 
after the partnership or feasibility cost sharing agreement, subject to 
the limitations in subsection (b).
    (b) Limitations.--Credit authorized under subsection (a)--
            (1) shall not exceed the non-Federal share of project 
        costs;
            (2) shall not alter any other requirements that require a 
        non-Federal interest to provide lands, easements, rights-of-
        way, and dredged material disposal areas for the project;
            (3) shall not exceed the actual and reasonable costs of the 
        materials or in-kind services provided by the non-Federal 
        interest, as determined by the Secretary; and
            (4) shall be allowed unless the Secretary has determined 
        that such materials or services, including activities on 
        previously constructed elements, are not compatible with and 
        necessary for the project.

SEC. 6. IMPROVING WATER MANAGEMENT AT CORPS OF ENGINEERS RESERVOIRS.

    (a) Measures to Improve Water Management at Corps of Engineers 
Reservoirs.--In addition to ongoing efforts to assess and address the 
water resources needs of the Nation, the Secretary of the Army shall 
undertake, as part of the operation and maintenance of all Corps of 
Engineers reservoirs, measures to more effectively and efficiently meet 
the current water resources needs of the areas impacted by the 
reservoirs. Such measures shall be undertaken in cooperation and 
coordination with State, tribal, and local governments and their 
ongoing initiatives and may include the following:
            (1) reallocation of storage at such reservoirs;
            (2) review of operational plans and implementation of 
        changes to improve performance of such reservoirs in meeting 
        current needs and priorities;
            (3) improvements to data collection systems and forecast 
        models that enhance operational performance of such reservoirs; 
        and
            (4) sediment studies and implementation of sediment 
        management or removal measures that improve project operations.
    (b) Costs of Water Supply Storage.--Storage charges for future 
contracts and contract renewals for water supply storage at existing 
Corps of Engineers reservoirs shall not exceed the net change in 
receipts or outlays, or both to the Treasury due to the reallocation of 
storage at such reservoirs.

SEC. 7. ACCESS TO WATER RESOURCES DATA.

    (a) General.--The Secretary of the Army shall undertake a program 
to provide public access to water resources and related water quality 
data currently within the custody of the Corps of Engineers.
    (b) Data.--The date to which subsection (a) applies shall include, 
but not be limited to, data generated in water resources project 
development and regulation under section 404 of the Federal Water 
Pollution Act (33 U.S.C. 1344), and the Secretary, in providing access 
to data under subsection (a), shall employ appropriately geographic 
information system technology and linkages to water resources models 
and analytical techniques.
    (c) Partnerships.--To the maximum extent possible, the Secretary 
shall integrate State, tribal, and local governments into activities 
that carry out this section.
    (d) Appropriations.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
$5,000,000 per fiscal year to carry out this section.

SEC. 8. WRITTEN AGREEMENT FOR WATER RESOURCES PROJECTS.

    (a) Partnership Agreements.--Section 221 of the Flood Control Act 
of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 1962d-5b) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``under the provisions'' and all 
                that follows through ``under any other'' and inserting 
                ``under any'';
                    (B) by inserting ``partnership'' after ``written'';
                    (C) by striking ``Secretary of the Army to furnish 
                its required cooperation for'' and inserting ``district 
                engineer for the district of the Corps of Engineers in 
                which the project will be carried out under which each 
                party agrees to carry out its responsibilities and 
                requirements for implementation or construction of'';
                    (D) by striking ``if the Secretary'' and inserting 
                ``if the Secretary of the Army''; and
                    (E) by inserting after ``$25,000.'' the following: 
                ``Such agreement may include a provision for liquidated 
                damages in the event of a failure of one or more 
                parties to perform.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Limitation.--Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed as 
limiting the authority of the Secretary to ensure that a partnership 
agreement meets all requirements of law and policies of the Secretary 
in effect on the date of entry into the partnership agreement.''.
    (b) Local Cooperation.--Section 912(b) of the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 1962d-5b; 101 Stat. 4190) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``shall'' the first place it 
                appears and inserting ``may''; and
                    (B) by striking the last sentence; and
            (2) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) by inserting after ``injunction, for'' the 
                following: ``payment of liquidated damages under a 
                partnership agreement entered into by a district 
                engineer of the Corps of Engineers or, for'';
                    (B) by striking ``to collect a civil penalty 
                imposed under this section,''; and
                    (C) by striking ``any civil penalty imposed under 
                this section,'' and inserting ``any liquidated 
                damages,''.
    (c) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) 
only apply to partnership agreements entered into after the date of 
enactment of this Act; except that at the request of a non-Federal 
interest for a project the district engineer for the district of the 
Corps of Engineers in which the project is located may amend a project 
partnership agreement entered into on or before such date and under 
which construction on the project has not been initiated as of such 
date of enactment for the purpose of incorporating such amendments.
    (d) References.--
            (1) To cooperation agreements.--Any reference in a law, 
        regulation, document, or other paper of the United States to a 
        cooperation agreement or project cooperation agreement shall be 
        treated to be a reference to a partnership agreement or a 
        project partnership agreement, respectively.
            (2) To partnership agreements.--Any reference to a 
        partnership agreement or project partnership agreement in this 
        Act (other than this section) shall be treated as a reference 
        to a cooperation agreement or a project cooperation agreement, 
        respectively.

SEC. 9. ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

    Section 219 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 (106 
Stat. 4835-4836; 110 Stat. 3957; 113 Stat. 334) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``(b) Non-Federal Share.--The'' and 
                inserting the following:
    ``(b) Non-Federal Share.--
            ``(1) In general.--The''; and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as so 
                designated by subparagraph (A)) the following:
            ``(2) In-kind credits.--The non-Federal share may be 
        provided in the form of materials and in-kind services, 
        including design, construction, and management services, that 
        the Secretary has determined are compatible with and necessary 
        for the project.''.
            (2) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (7);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (8) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) $40,000,000 for the project described in subsection 
        (c)(18).''.

SEC. 10. TEXAS ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment of Program.--The Secretary of the Army shall 
establish a program to provide environmental assistance to non-Federal 
interests in the State of Texas.
    (b) Form of Assistance.--Assistance under this section may be in 
the form of planning, design, and construction assistance for water-
related environmental infrastructure and resource protection and 
development projects in the State of Texas, including projects for 
water supply, storage, treatment and related facilities, water quality 
protection, wastewater treatment and related facilities, environmental 
restoration, and surface water resource protection and development as 
identified by the Texas Water Development Board.
    (c) Public Ownership Requirement.--The Secretary may provide 
assistance for a project under this section only if the project is 
publicly owned.
    (d) Partnership Agreements.--Before providing assistance under this 
section, the Secretary shall enter into a partnership agreement with a 
non-Federal interest.
    (e) Cost Sharing.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal share of project costs under 
        each agreement entered into under this section shall be 75 
        percent. The Federal share may be in the form of grants or 
        reimbursements of project costs.
            (2) In-kind services.--The non-Federal share may be 
        provided in the form of materials and in-kind services, 
        including planning, design, construction, and management 
        services, that the Secretary has determined are compatible with 
        and necessary for the project.
            (3) Credit for design work.--The non-Federal interest shall 
        receive credit for the reasonable costs of planning, design, 
        construction work completed by the non-Federal interest before 
        entering into a partnership agreement with the Secretary.
            (4) Lands, easements, rights-of-way and relocations.--The 
        non-Federal interest shall receive credit for lands, easements, 
        rights-of-way, and relocations provided by the non-Federal 
        interest toward the non-Federal share of project costs.
            (5) Operation and maintenance.--The non-Federal share of 
        operation and maintenance costs for projects constructed under 
        an agreement entered into under this section shall be 100 
        percent.
    (f) Applicability of Other Federal and State Laws.--Nothing in this 
section shall be construed as waiving, limiting, or otherwise affecting 
the applicability of any provision of Federal or State law that would 
otherwise apply to a project to be carried out with assistance provided 
under this section.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $40,000,000.
                                 <all>
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