I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4959 

To require to Comptroller General to submit to Congress a report on the 

status of dams in the USDA watershed program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. VAN ORDEN (for himself, Ms. KUSTER, and Mr. MCGARVEY) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, 

and Natural Resources, 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 require to Comptroller General to submit to Congress 

a report on the status of dams in the USDA watershed 

program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. REPORT ON DAMS IN USDA WATERSHED PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

7 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 


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1 on the status of covered dams, including, with respect to 

2 each covered dam— 

3 (1) the location, ownership, and structural con4 ditions of the dam, including any need for repairs; 

5 (2) whether the dam is in compliance with the 

6 principles and requirements described in the docu7 ment published by the Council on Environmental 

8 Quality entitled ‘‘Principles and Requirements for 

9 Federal Investments in Water Resources’’ and dated 

10 March 2013, and the related interagency guidelines 

11 published by the Council on Environmental Quality 

12 and dated December 2014; 

13 (3) the most recent hazard classification assess14 ment of the dam for purposes of the National Dam 

15 Safety Program Act (33 U.S.C. 467 et seq.), and 

16 whether downstream changes have been accounted 

17 for in such assessment; 

18 (4) whether the dam is meeting its intended 

19 purpose; 

20 (5) whether the dam is a candidate for decom21 missioning because— 

22 (A) the dam is not meeting, or not cost-ef23 fectively meeting, its intended purpose; 

24 (B) the dam is a safety hazard and has de25 ferred maintenance; 


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1 (C) the environmental benefits of decom2 missioning and removal of the dam outweigh 

3 the benefits provided by the dam; or 

4 (D) the owner of the dam is requesting de5 commissioning; and 

6 (6) whether the dam has exceeded its life ex7 pectancy, and what the end-of-life care plan is for 

8 the dam. 

9 (b) COVERED DAMS.—For purposes of this section, 

10 the term ‘‘covered dam’’ means a dam for which assistance 

11 has been provided under— 

12 (1) the Watershed Protection and Flood Pre13 vention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); 

14 (2) the Act of December 22, 1944 (chapter 

15 665; Public Law 78–534); 

16 (3) the Pilot Watershed Program carried out 

17 pursuant to the Department of Agriculture Appro18 priation Act, 1954 (Public Law 83–156); and 

19 (4) the Resource Conservation and Develop20 ment Program carried out pursuant to the Food and 

21 Agriculture Act of 1962 (Public Law 87–703). 

Æ 


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