I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6207 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act to improve recovery and hazard mitigation activities with respect 

to major disasters, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 

Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN (for herself and Mr. PETERSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to improve recovery and hazard 

mitigation activities with respect to major disasters, 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 ‘‘Rural Flood Mitigation 

5 and Recovery Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CORPS OF ENGINEERS FLOOD DAMAGE REDUCTION 

2 PROJECTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a study for a flood 

4 damage reduction project to be carried out for a flood 

5 prone disaster area, the Secretary of the Army may deter6 mine that the project is justified and recommend the 

7 project solely on the basis that the non-Federal interest 

8 for the project has demonstrated that the project is appro9 priate and needed to protect the long-term economic via10 bility of the area. 

11 (b) FLOOD PRONE DISASTER AREA DEFINED.—In 

12 this section, the term ‘‘flood prone disaster area’’ means 

13 an area determined by the President at any time to be 

14 a flood prone disaster area under section 428 of the Rob15 ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

16 Act (as added by section 3 of this Act). 

17 SEC. 3. FLOOD PRONE DISASTER AREAS. 

18 Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

19 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating the second section 425 (42 

22 U.S.C. 5189e; relating to essential service providers) 

23 as section 427; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 428. FLOOD PRONE DISASTER AREAS. 

2 ‘‘(a) DETERMINATION OF FLOOD PRONE DISASTER

3 AREAS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the President declares 

5 under section 401 that a major disaster exists in an 

6 area due to flooding, the President shall determine 

7 at the time of the declaration whether the area 

8 qualifies as a flood prone disaster area for the pur9 poses of this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The President shall determine 

11 an area to be a flood prone disaster area under 

12 paragraph (1) if the area has experienced at least 2 

13 other major disasters due to flooding during the 5- 

14 year period preceding the date of the declaration re15 ferred to in paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—The determination that 

17 an area is a flood prone disaster area in connection 

18 with a major disaster shall apply to assistance made 

19 available under this Act with respect to that dis20 aster. 

21 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES FOR FLOOD PRONE DISASTER

22 AREAS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) CONTRIBUTIONS FOR HAZARD MITIGATION

24 MEASURES.— 

25 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.—In making con26 tributions for hazard mitigation measures under 


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1 section 404 for the benefit of a flood prone dis2 aster area, the President shall treat the ‘75 per3 cent’ specified in the first sentence of sub4 section (a) of that section as— 

5 ‘‘(i) 90 percent; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) 100 percent, if the President de7 termines that the measures would not be 

8 carried out without additional Federal 

9 funding and are necessary to protect the 

10 long-term economic viability of the area. 

11 ‘‘(B) TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—In making 

12 contributions for hazard mitigation measures 

13 under section 404 for the benefit of a flood 

14 prone disaster area, the President shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) treat the ‘15 percent’ specified in 

16 the last sentence of subsection (a) of that 

17 section as 20 percent; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) treat the ‘20 percent’ specified in 

19 section 322(e)(1) as 25 percent. 

20 ‘‘(2) REPAIR, RESTORATION, AND REPLACE21 MENT OF DAMAGED FACILITIES.—In making con22 tributions for the repair, restoration, reconstruction, 

23 or replacement of facilities under section 406 for the 

24 benefit of a flood prone disaster area, the President 


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1 shall treat the ‘75 percent’ specified in subsection 

2 (b)(1) of that section as— 

3 ‘‘(A) 90 percent; or 

4 ‘‘(B) 100 percent, if the President deter5 mines that the activity would not be carried out 

6 without additional Federal funding and is nec7 essary to protect the long-term economic viabil8 ity of the area. 

9 ‘‘(c) FLOOD PRONE DISASTER AREA TASK

10 FORCES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In each State that in12 cludes a flood prone disaster area, the President 

13 shall establish a task force to ensure that activities 

14 in response to the major disaster in that area are co15 ordinated and carried out appropriately. 

16 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The President shall en17 sure, to the extent practicable, that each task force 

18 established under paragraph (1) is composed of the 

19 heads of all Federal and State agencies relevant to 

20 disaster response activities in the flood prone dis21 aster area.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. HAZARD MITIGATION. 

23 Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

24 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) TIMING OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—In making con2 tributions for hazard mitigation measures under this sec3 tion with respect to a major disaster, the President, to 

4 the extent practicable, shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) review an application for assistance not 

6 later than 3 months after the date on which the ap7 plication is received; and 

8 ‘‘(2) begin providing contributions to the cost of 

9 the measures not later than 6 months after the date 

10 on which the major disaster is declared.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUALS AND 

12 HOUSEHOLDS. 

13 Section 408(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re14 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(a)) 

15 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN FACTORS.— 

17 In determining whether to provide financial assist18 ance or direct services under this section to an indi19 vidual or household affected by a major disaster, the 

20 President shall give consideration to— 

21 ‘‘(A) the economic impact of the major dis22 aster on the area in which the individual or 

23 household is located; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the number of other major disasters 

2 that have been declared with respect to that 

3 area during the preceding 5-year period.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. EMERGENCY RELIEF. 

5 Section 120(e) of title 23, United States Code, is 

6 amended by inserting after ‘‘natural disaster or cata7 strophic failure’’ the following: ‘‘, or accomplished more 

8 than 180 days after the actual occurrence if the Secretary 

9 determines that inclement weather or flooding prevented 

10 accomplishment within 180 days,’’. 

11 SEC. 7. REPAIR, RESTORATION, AND REPLACEMENT OF 

12 DAMAGED FACILITIES PILOT PROGRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the 2-year period begin14 ning on the date of enactment of this Act, the President 

15 shall select 3 major disasters declared under section 401 

16 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 

17 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) for the use of modified 

18 response procedures in accordance with subsection (b). 

19 (b) MODIFIED RESPONSE PROCEDURES.—With re20 spect to a major disaster selected for modified response 

21 procedures under subsection (a), the President, in car22 rying out section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

23 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172), 

24 shall make contributions to a State or local government 


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1 for a repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement 

2 project— 

3 (1) at the time that a bid is selected for award4 ing the contract with respect to the project; and 

5 (2) in an amount based on the bid selected. 

6 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 30 months after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 

8 to Congress a report on the results of the use of modified 

9 response procedures under this section, including a de10 scription of— 

11 (1) any benefits that resulted from the use of 

12 the procedures; and 

13 (2) any overpayments that resulted from the 

14 use of the procedures. 

15 SEC. 8. INDIAN TRIBE DISASTER RESPONSE MANAGEMENT 

16 PILOT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

18 an Indian tribe disaster response management pilot pro19 gram (in this section referred to as the ‘‘program’’) in ac20 cordance with this section. 

21 (b) PARTICIPANTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Presi24 dent shall select 5 Indian tribes (as such term is de25 fined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-DeterminaVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:00 Sep 25, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6207.IH H6207

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1 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

2 450b(e))) to participate in the program. 

3 (2) CONSIDERATION OF PAST MAJOR DISASTER

4 DECLARATIONS.—In considering an Indian tribe for 

5 participation in the program, the President shall 

6 give consideration to the number of major disasters 

7 that have been declared with respect to the lands of 

8 the Indian tribe by the President under section 401 

9 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer10 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). 

11 (c) TREATMENT AS STATES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 102 

13 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer14 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122), an Indian 

15 tribe selected for participation in the program shall 

16 be treated as a State for purposes of— 

17 (A) requesting, under section 401 of such 

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), a declaration by the 

19 President that a major disaster exists with re20 spect to lands of the Indian tribe; and 

21 (B) managing response activities under 

22 that Act with respect to a major disaster de23 clared. 

24 (2) DURATION.—An Indian tribe selected for 

25 participation in the program shall be treated as a 


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1 State in accordance with paragraph (1) during the 

2 5-year period beginning on the date on which the In3 dian tribe is selected for program participation. 

4 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANTS.—The 

5 President is authorized to provide technical assistance and 

6 grants to an Indian tribe selected for participation in the 

7 program to ensure that the Indian tribe has the appro8 priate personnel for and is prepared to manage disaster 

9 response activities during program participation. 

10 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 30 months after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 

12 to Congress a report describing the results of the program 

13 and any related recommendations, including a rec14 ommendation on whether to make the program permanent 

15 and allow the participation of all Indian tribes. 

16 SEC. 9. STUDY AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN GRANTS WITH 

17 RESPECT TO ROAD PROJECTS. 

18 The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man19 agement Agency is authorized to make a grant to a State 

20 to assist the State to— 

21 (1) conduct a study to determine and prioritize 

22 road projects that need to be completed for the State 

23 to be prepared for flooding or other potential disas24 ters; and 


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1 (2) develop an implementation plan for projects 

2 determined to be a priority under paragraph (1). 

3 SEC. 10. REPORT ON COMMUNICATION. 

4 Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

6 Management Agency shall submit to Congress a report 

7 that includes— 

8 (1) a description of the efforts of the Adminis9 trator to improve communication with State and 

10 local officials with respect to the disaster response, 

11 recovery, and hazard mitigation programs of the 

12 Agency; and 

13 (2) recommendations for continuing to improve 

14 such communication. 

15 SEC. 11. HAZARD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE REPORT. 

16 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

17 of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress a re18 port that includes— 

19 (1) a description of the efforts of the President 

20 to utilize contributions made under section 406 of 

21 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer22 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172) for hazard 

23 mitigation projects; 


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1 (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of the ef2 forts described in paragraph (1), including a speci3 fication of impediments to effectiveness; 

4 (3) recommendations for improving the effec5 tiveness of the efforts described in paragraph (1); 

6 and 

7 (4) a description of the interaction between the 

8 efforts described in paragraph (1) and contributions 

9 for hazard mitigation measures made under section 

10 404 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c). 

11 SEC. 12. GAO STUDIES AND REPORTS. 

12 (a) ASSISTANCE TO DISTRESSED COMMUNITIES.— 

13 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall 

14 conduct a study on the effectiveness of the major 

15 disaster declaration process and other response ac16 tivities under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

17 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et 

18 seq.) in providing assistance to distressed commu19 nities, including Indian tribes (as such term is de20 fined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determina21 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

22 450b(e))). 

23 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 


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1 General shall submit to Congress a report on the re2 sults of the study conducted under paragraph (1). 

3 (b) PAPERWORK REDUCTION FOR HAZARD MITIGA4 TION PROJECTS.— 

5 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall 

6 conduct a study on the application processes and pa7 perwork required for programs under the Robert T. 

8 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) that provide assistance 

10 for hazard mitigation activities, including whether 

11 application process complexity prevents certain enti12 ties from applying for the assistance. 

13 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

15 General shall submit to Congress a report on the re16 sults of the study conducted under paragraph (1), 

17 which shall include recommendations for stream18 lining the application processes and paperwork re19 quired for programs that provide assistance for haz20 ard mitigation activities. 

Æ 


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