I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5250 

To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 with respect to the emergency 

watershed program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 22, 2023 

Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. MOLINARO, Ms. SPANBERGER, 

and Mr. NUNN of Iowa) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 with respect 

to the emergency watershed program, 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 ‘‘Flooding Prevention, 

5 Assessment, and Restoration Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROGRAM. 

7 Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 

8 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) LEVEL OF RESTORATION.—In carrying out this 

2 section, the Secretary may undertake measures that in3 crease the level of protection above that which would be 

4 necessary to address the immediate impairment of the wa5 tershed if the Secretary determines that such restoration 

6 is in the best interest of the long-term health and the pro7 tection of the watershed from repetitive impairments.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE FLOOD VULNERABILITY 

9 STUDY. 

10 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to 

12 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa13 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

14 Forestry of the Senate a national agriculture flood vulner15 ability report containing the results of a conservation ef16 fects assessment project studying flood risk on agricul17 tural lands, including— 

18 (1) an analysis of economic losses of crops and 

19 livestock resulting from flooding under different re20 currence scenarios; 

21 (2) an analysis of the downstream effects of 

22 mitigation activities carried out as part of a water23 shed management approach; 

24 (3) an analysis of available Federal and State 

25 data relating to flood risk, as applicable to agriculVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Aug 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5250.IH H5250

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1 tural land, including data relating to riverine flood2 ing, coastal flooding, storm surge, extreme precipita3 tion, and flash flooding; and 

4 (4) a description of ongoing producer-level con5 servation practices and broader government initia6 tives to manage flooding impact and flood risk with7 in and across watersheds, and recommendations for 

8 additional practices and initiatives to further address 

9 such impact and risk. 

10 SEC. 4. REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURAL MEASURES 

11 NEAR, AT, OR PAST THEIR EVALUATED LIFE 

12 EXPECTANCY. 

13 Section 14(b)(2) of the Watershed Protection and 

14 Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1012(b)(2)) is amended 

15 to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE; LIMITATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of Fed18 eral funds that may be made available under 

19 this subsection to a local organization for con20 struction of a particular rehabilitation project 

21 shall be equal to 65 percent of the total reha22 bilitation costs, but not to exceed 100 percent 

23 of actual construction costs incurred in the re24 habilitation. 


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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITED RESOURCE AREAS.—Not2 withstanding subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

3 may contribute up to 90 percent of the total re4 habilitation costs to a local organization for 

5 construction of a particular rehabilitation 

6 project that serves a limited resource area, as 

7 determined by the Secretary, but not to exceed 

8 100 percent of actual construction costs in9 curred in the rehabilitation. 

10 ‘‘(C) COSTS OF RESOURCE RIGHTS AND

11 PERMITS.—The local organization shall be re12 sponsible for the costs of water, mineral, and 

13 other resource rights and all Federal, State, 

14 and local permits.’’. 

Æ 


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