II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 802 

To establish a National Drought Council within the Department of Agriculture, to improve national drought preparedness, mitigation, and response efforts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 14, 2005 

Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BURNS, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. 

ROBERTS, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SMITH, Mr. 

HAGEL, and Mr. BROWNBACK) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

Forestry 

A BILL 

To establish a National Drought Council within the Department of Agriculture, to improve national drought preparedness, mitigation, and response efforts, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘National Drought Preparedness Act of 2005’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1 Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2 Findings. 

Sec. 3 Definitions. 

Sec. 4 Effect of Act. 

TITLE I—DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS 

SUBTITLE A—NATIONAL DROUGHT COUNCIL

Sec. 101 Membership and voting. 

Sec. 102 Duties of the Council. 

Sec. 103 Powers of the Council. 

Sec. 104 Council personnel matters. 

Sec. 105 Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 106 Termination of Council. 

SUBTITLE B—NATIONAL OFFICE OF DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS

Sec. 111 Establishment. 

Sec. 112 Director of the Office. 

Sec. 113 Office staff. 

SUBTITLE C—DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS PLANS

Sec. 121 Drought Assistance Fund. 

Sec. 122 Drought preparedness plans. 

Sec. 123 Federal plans. 

Sec. 124 State and tribal plans. 

Sec. 125 Regional and local plans. 

Sec. 126 Plan elements. 

TITLE II—WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION 

Sec. 201 Grants for prepositioning wildfire suppression resources. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) drought is a natural disaster; 

4 (2) regional drought disasters in the United 

5 States cause serious economic and environmental 

6 losses, yet there is no national policy to ensure an 

7 integrated and coordinated Federal strategy to pre8 pare for, mitigate, or respond to such losses; 
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1 (3) drought has an adverse effect on resource2 dependent businesses and industries (including the 

3 recreation and tourism industries); 

4 (4) State, tribal, and local governments have to 

5 increase coordinated efforts with each Federal agen6 cy involved in drought monitoring, planning, mitiga7 tion, and response; 

8 (5) effective drought monitoring— 

9 (A) is a critical component of drought pre10 paredness and mitigation; and 

11 (B) requires a comprehensive, integrated 

12 national program that is capable of providing 

13 reliable, accessible, and timely information to 

14 persons involved in drought planning, mitiga15 tion, and response activities; 

16 (6) the National Drought Policy Commission 

17 was established in 1998 to provide advice and rec18 ommendations on the creation of an integrated, co19 ordinated Federal policy designed to prepare for and 

20 respond to serious drought emergencies; 

21 (7) according to the report issued by the Na22 tional Drought Policy Commission in May 2000, the 

23 guiding principles of national drought policy should 

24 be— 
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1 (A) to favor preparedness over insurance, 

2 insurance over relief, and incentives over regu3 lation; 

4 (B) to establish research priorities based 

5 on the potential of the research to reduce 

6 drought impacts; 

7 (C) to coordinate the delivery of Federal 

8 services through collaboration with State and 

9 local governments and other non-Federal enti10 ties; and 

11 (D) to improve collaboration among sci12 entists and managers; and 

13 (8) the National Drought Council, in coordina14 tion with Federal agencies and State, tribal, and 

15 local governments, should provide the necessary di16 rection, coordination, guidance, and assistance in de17 veloping a comprehensive drought preparedness sys18 tem. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

22 National Drought Council established by section 

23 101(a). 

24 (2) CRITICAL SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

25 ‘‘critical service provider’’ means an entity that pro-
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1 vides power, water (including water provided by an 

2 irrigation organization or facility), sewer services, or 

3 wastewater treatment. 

4 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

5 the Director of the Office appointed under section 

6 112(a). 

7 (4) DROUGHT.—The term ‘‘drought’’ means a 

8 natural disaster that is caused by a deficiency in 

9 precipitation— 

10 (A) that may lead to a deficiency in sur11 face and subsurface water supplies (including 

12 rivers, streams, wetlands, ground water, soil 

13 moisture, reservoir supplies, lake levels, and 

14 snow pack); and 

15 (B) that causes or may cause— 

16 (i) substantial economic or social im17 pacts; or 

18 (ii) physical damage or injury to indi19 viduals, property, or the environment. 

20 (5) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the 

21 Drought Assistance Fund established by section 

22 121(a). 

23 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

24 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 
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1 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

2 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

3 (7) INTERSTATE WATERSHED.—The term 

4 ‘‘interstate watershed’’ means a watershed that 

5 crosses a State or tribal boundary. 

6 (8) MITIGATION.—The term ‘‘mitigation’’ 

7 means a short- or long-term action, program, or pol8 icy that is implemented in advance of or during a 

9 drought to minimize any risks and impacts of 

10 drought. 

11 (9) NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFOR12 MATION SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘National Integrated 

13 Drought Information System’’ means a comprehen14 sive system that collects and integrates information 

15 on the key indicators of drought, including stream 

16 flow, ground water levels, reservoir levels, soil mois17 ture, snow pack, and climate (including precipitation 

18 and temperature), in order to make usable, reliable, 

19 and timely assessments of drought, including the se20 verity of drought and drought forecasts. 

21 (10) NEIGHBORING COUNTRY.—The term 

22 ‘‘neighboring country’’ means Canada and Mexico. 

23 (11) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 

24 National Office of Drought Preparedness established 

25 under section 111. 
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1 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

2 means the Secretary of Agriculture. 

3 (13) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

4 (A) each of the several States of the 

5 United States; 

6 (B) the District of Columbia; 

7 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

8 (D) Guam; 

9 (E) American Samoa; 

10 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

11 Mariana Islands; 

12 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

13 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

14 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 

15 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 

16 (14) TRIGGER.—The term ‘‘trigger’’ means the 

17 thresholds or criteria that must be satisfied before 

18 mitigation or emergency assistance may be provided 

19 to an area— 

20 (A) in which drought is emerging; or 

21 (B) that is experiencing a drought. 

22 (15) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

23 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Agri24 culture for Natural Resources and Environment. 
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1 (16) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

2 States’’, when used in a geographical sense, means 

3 all of the States. 

4 (17) WATERSHED.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘watershed’’ 

6 means— 

7 (i) a region or area with common hy8 drology; 

9 (ii) an area drained by a waterway 

10 that drains into a lake or reservoir; 

11 (iii) the total area above a designated 

12 point on a stream that contributes water to 

13 the flow at the designated point; or 

14 (iv) the topographic dividing line from 

15 which surface streams flow in 2 different 

16 directions. 

17 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘watershed’’ 

18 does not include a region or area described in 

19 subparagraph (A) that is larger than a river 

20 basin. 

21 (18) WATERSHED GROUP.—The term ‘‘water22 shed group’’ means a group of individuals that— 

23 (A) represents the broad scope of relevant 

24 interests in a watershed; and 
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1 (B) works in a collaborative manner to 

2 jointly plan the management of the natural re3 sources in the watershed; and 

4 (C) is formally recognized by each of the 

5 States in which the watershed lies. 

6 SEC. 4. EFFECT OF ACT. 

7 This Act does not affect— 

8 (1) the authority of a State to allocate quan9 tities of water under the jurisdiction of the State; or 

10 (2) any State water rights established as of the 

11 date of enactment of this Act. 

12 TITLE I—DROUGHT 

13 PREPAREDNESS 

14 Subtitle A—National Drought 

15 Council 

16 SEC. 101. MEMBERSHIP AND VOTING. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Office 

18 of the Secretary a council to be known as the ‘‘National 

19 Drought Council’’. 

20 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

21 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be com22 posed of— 

23 (A) the Secretary; 

24 (B) the Secretary of Commerce; 

25 (C) the Secretary of the Army; 
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1 (D) the Secretary of the Interior; 

2 (E) the Director of the Federal Emergency 

3 Management Agency; 

4 (F) the Administrator of the Environ5 mental Protection Agency; 

6 (G) 4 members appointed by the Secretary, 

7 in coordination with the National Governors As8 sociation— 

9 (i) who shall each be a Governor of a 

10 State; and 

11 (ii) who shall collectively represent the 

12 geographic diversity of the United States; 

13 (H) 1 member appointed by the Secretary, 

14 in coordination with the National Association of 

15 Counties; 

16 (I) 1 member appointed by the Secretary, 

17 in coordination with the United States Con18 ference of Mayors; 

19 (J) 1 member appointed by the Secretary 

20 of the Interior, in coordination with Indian 

21 tribes, to represent the interests of tribal gov22 ernments; and 

23 (K) 1 member appointed by the Secretary, 

24 in coordination with the National Association of 
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1 Conservation Districts, to represent local soil 

2 and water conservation districts. 

3 (2) DATE OF APPOINTMENT.—The appointment 

4 of each member of the Council shall be made not 

5 later than 120 days after the date of enactment of 

6 this Act. 

7 (c) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

8 (1) TERM.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (B), a member of the Council 

11 shall serve for the life of the Council. 

12 (B) EXCEPTION.—A member of the Coun13 cil appointed under subparagraphs (G) through 

14 (K) of subsection (b)(1) shall be appointed for 

15 a term of 2 years. 

16 (2) VACANCIES.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy on the 

18 Council— 

19 (i) shall not affect the powers of the 

20 Council; and 

21 (ii) shall be filled in the same manner 

22 as the original appointment was made. 

23 (B) DURATION OF APPOINTMENT.—A 

24 member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring 

25 before the expiration of the term for which the 
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1 predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 

2 only for the remainder of the term. 

3 (d) MEETINGS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall meet at 

5 the call of the co-chairs. 

6 (2) FREQUENCY.—The Council shall meet at 

7 least semiannually. 

8 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

9 Council, including a designee of a member, shall constitute 

10 a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings or con11 duct other business. 

12 (f) CO-CHAIRS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a Federal co14 chair and non-Federal co-chair of the Council. 

15 (2) APPOINTMENT.— 

16 (A) FEDERAL CO-CHAIR.—The Secretary 

17 shall be Federal co-chair. 

18 (B) NON-FEDERAL CO-CHAIR.—Every 2 

19 years, the Council members appointed under 

20 subparagraphs (G) through (K) of subsection 

21 (b)(1) shall select a non-Federal co-chair from 

22 among the members appointed under those sub23 paragraphs. 

24 (g) DIRECTOR.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall serve as 

2 Director of the Council. 

3 (2) DUTIES.—The Director shall serve the in4 terests of all members of the Council. 

5 SEC. 102. DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall— 

7 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of the 

8 first meeting of the Council, develop a comprehen9 sive National Drought Policy Action Plan that— 

10 (A)(i) delineates and integrates responsibil11 ities for activities relating to drought (including 

12 drought preparedness, mitigation, research, risk 

13 management, training, and emergency relief) 

14 among Federal agencies; and 

15 (ii) ensures that those activities are coordi16 nated with the activities of the States, local 

17 governments, Indian tribes, and neighboring 

18 countries; 

19 (B) is consistent with— 

20 (i) this Act and other applicable Fed21 eral laws; and 

22 (ii) the laws and policies of the States 

23 for water management; 

24 (C) is integrated with drought manage25 ment programs of the States, Indian tribes, 
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1 local governments, watershed groups, and pri2 vate entities; and 

3 (D) avoids duplicating Federal, State, trib4 al, local, watershed, and private drought pre5 paredness and monitoring programs in exist6 ence on the date of enactment of this Act; 

7 (2) evaluate Federal drought-related programs 

8 in existence on the date of enactment of this Act and 

9 make recommendations to Congress and the Presi10 dent on means of eliminating— 

11 (A) discrepancies between the goals of the 

12 programs and actual service delivery; 

13 (B) duplication among programs; and 

14 (C) any other circumstances that interfere 

15 with the effective operation of the programs; 

16 (3) make recommendations to the President, 

17 Congress, and appropriate Federal Agencies on— 

18 (A) the establishment of common inter19 agency triggers for authorizing Federal drought 

20 mitigation programs; and 

21 (B) improving the consistency and fairness 

22 of assistance among Federal drought relief pro23 grams; 

24 (4) in conjunction with the Secretary of Com25 merce, coordinate and prioritize specific activities to 
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1 establish and improve the National Integrated 

2 Drought Information System by— 

3 (A) taking into consideration the limited 

4 resources for— 

5 (i) drought monitoring, prediction, 

6 and research activities; and 

7 (ii) water supply forecasting; and 

8 (B) providing for the development of an ef9 fective drought early warning system that— 

10 (i) communicates drought conditions 

11 and impacts to— 

12 (I) decisionmakers at the Fed13 eral, regional, State, tribal, and local 

14 levels of government; 

15 (II) the private sector; and 

16 (III) the public; and 

17 (ii) includes near-real-time data, infor18 mation, and products developed at the 

19 Federal, regional, State, tribal, and local 

20 levels of government that reflect regional 

21 and State differences in drought condi22 tions; 

23 (5) in conjunction with the Secretary of the 

24 Army and the Secretary of the Interior— 
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1 (A) encourage and facilitate the develop2 ment of drought preparedness plans under sub3 title C, including establishing the guidelines 

4 under sections 121(c) and 122(a); and 

5 (B) based on a review of drought prepared6 ness plans, develop and make available to the 

7 public drought planning models to reduce water 

8 resource conflicts relating to water conservation 

9 and droughts; 

10 (6) develop and coordinate public awareness ac11 tivities to provide the public with access to under12 standable, and informative materials on drought, in13 cluding— 

14 (A) explanations of the causes of drought, 

15 the impacts of drought, and the damages from 

16 drought; 

17 (B) descriptions of the value and benefits 

18 of land stewardship to reduce the impacts of 

19 drought and to protect the environment; 

20 (C) clear instructions for appropriate re21 sponses to drought, including water conserva22 tion, water reuse, and detection and elimination 

23 of water leaks; 

24 (D) information on State and local laws 

25 applicable to drought; and 
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1 (E) information on the assistance available 

2 to resource-dependent businesses and industries 

3 during a drought; and 

4 (7) establish operating procedures for the Coun5 cil. 

6 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, 

7 the Council shall consult with groups affected by drought 

8 emergencies, including groups that represent— 

9 (1) agricultural production, wildlife, and fishery 

10 interests; 

11 (2) forestry and fire management interests; 

12 (3) the credit community; 

13 (4) rural and urban water associations; 

14 (5) environmental interests; 

15 (6) engineering and construction interests; 

16 (7) the portion of the science community that 

17 is concerned with drought and climatology; 

18 (8) resource-dependent businesses and other 

19 private entities (including the recreation and tourism 

20 industries); and 

21 (9) watershed groups. 

22 (c) AGENCY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

23 (1) DESIGNATION OF LEAD AGENCIES.— 

24 (A) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—The 

25 Department of Commerce shall be the lead 
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1 agency for purposes of implementing subsection 

2 (a)(4). 

3 (B) DEPARTMENTS OF THE ARMY AND

4 THE INTERIOR.—The Department of the Army 

5 and the Department of the Interior shall jointly 

6 be the lead agency for purposes of imple7 menting— 

8 (i) paragraphs (5) and (6) of section 

9 subsection (a); and 

10 (ii) section 122. 

11 (C) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—The 

12 Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with 

13 the lead agencies designated under subpara14 graphs (A) and (B), shall be the lead agency 

15 for purposes of implementing section 121. 

16 (2) COOPERATION FROM OTHER FEDERAL

17 AGENCIES.—The head of each Federal agency shall 

18 cooperate as appropriate with the lead agencies in 

19 carrying out any duties under this Act. 

20 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

21 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

23 after the date of the first meeting of the Coun24 cil, and annually thereafter, the Council shall 
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1 submit to Congress a report on the activities 

2 carried out under this title. 

3 (B) INCLUSIONS.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—The annual report 

5 shall include a summary of drought pre6 paredness plans completed under sections 

7 123 through 125. 

8 (ii) INITIAL REPORT.—The initial re9 port submitted under subparagraph (A) 

10 shall include any recommendations of the 

11 Council under paragraph (2) or (3) of sub12 section (a). 

13 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 7 years 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Council 

15 shall submit to Congress a report that rec16 ommends— 

17 (A) amendments to this Act; and 

18 (B) whether the Council should continue. 

19 SEC. 103. POWERS OF THE COUNCIL. 

20 (a) HEARINGS.—The Council may hold hearings, 

21 meet and act at any time and place, take any testimony 

22 and receive any evidence that the Council considers advis23 able to carry out this title. 

24 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council may obtain di2 rectly from any Federal agency any information that 

3 the Council considers necessary to carry out this 

4 title. 

5 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), on request of the Secretary 

8 or the non-Federal co-chair, the head of a Fed9 eral agency may provide information to the 

10 Council. 

11 (B) LIMITATION.—The head of a Federal 

12 agency shall not provide any information to the 

13 Council that the Federal agency head deter14 mines the disclosure of which may cause harm 

15 to national security interests. 

16 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Council may use the 

17 United States mail in the same manner and under the 

18 same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Govern19 ment. 

20 (d) GIFTS.—The Council may accept, use, and dis21 pose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

22 (e) FEDERAL FACILITIES.—If the Council proposes 

23 the use of a Federal facility for the purposes of carrying 

24 out this title, the Council shall solicit and consider the 
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1 input of the Federal agency with jurisdiction over the fa2 cility. 

3 SEC. 104. COUNCIL PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

4 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

5 (1) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of 

6 the Council who is not an officer or employee of the 

7 Federal Government shall serve without compensa8 tion. 

9 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

10 Council who is an officer or employee of the United 

11 States shall serve without compensation in addition 

12 to the compensation received for services of the 

13 member as an officer or employee of the Federal 

14 Government. 

15 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Council 

16 shall be allowed travel expenses at rates authorized for an 

17 employee of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 

18 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the home 

19 or regular place of business of the member in the perform20 ance of the duties of the Council. 

21 SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

23 this title $2,000,000 for each of the 7 fiscal years after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 106. TERMINATION OF COUNCIL. 

2 The Council shall terminate 8 years after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act. 

4 Subtitle B—National Office of 

5 Drought Preparedness 

6 SEC. 111. ESTABLISHMENT. 

7 The Secretary shall establish an office to be known 

8 as the ‘‘National Office of Drought Preparedness’’, which 

9 shall be under the jurisdiction of the Under Secretary, to 

10 provide assistance to the Council in carrying out this title. 

11 SEC. 112. DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE. 

12 (a) APPOINTMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

14 appoint a Director of the Office under sections 3371 

15 through 3375 of title 5, United States Code. 

16 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director shall be a 

17 person who has experience in— 

18 (A) public administration; and 

19 (B) drought mitigation or drought man20 agement. 

21 (b) POWERS.—The Director may hire such other ad22 ditional personnel or contract for services with other enti23 ties as necessary to carry out the duties of the Office. 
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1 SEC. 113. OFFICE STAFF. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall have at least 5 

3 full-time staff, including the detailees detailed under sub4 section (b)(1). 

5 (b) DETAILEES.— 

6 (1) REQUIRED DETAILEES.—There shall be de7 tailed to the Office, on a nonreimbursable basis— 

8 (A) by the Director of the Federal Emer9 gency Management Agency, 1 employee of the 

10 Federal Emergency Management Agency with 

11 expertise in emergency planning; 

12 (B) by the Secretary of Commerce, 1 em13 ployee of the Department of Commerce with ex14 perience in drought monitoring; 

15 (C) by the Secretary of the Interior, 1 em16 ployee of the Bureau of Reclamation with expe17 rience in water planning; and 

18 (D) by the Secretary of the Army, 1 em19 ployee of the Army Corps of Engineers with ex20 perience in water planning. 

21 (2) ADDITIONAL DETAILEES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any em23 ployees detailed under paragraph (1), any other 

24 employees of the Federal Government may be 

25 detailed to the Office. 
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1 (B) REIMBURSEMENT.—An employee de2 tailed under subparagraph (A) shall be detailed 

3 without reimbursement, unless the Secretary, 

4 on the recommendation of the Director, deter5 mines that reimbursement is appropriate. 

6 (3) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of an 

7 employee under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be with8 out interruption or loss of civil service status or 

9 privilege. 

10 Subtitle C—Drought Preparedness 

11 Plans 

12 SEC. 121. DROUGHT ASSISTANCE FUND. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

14 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 

15 ‘‘Drought Assistance Fund’’. 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The Fund shall be used to pay the 

17 costs of— 

18 (1) providing technical and financial assistance 

19 (including grants and cooperative assistance) to 

20 States, Indian tribes, local governments, watershed 

21 groups, and critical service providers for the develop22 ment and implementation of drought preparedness 

23 plans under sections 123 through 125; 

24 (2) providing to States, Indian tribes, local gov25 ernments, watershed groups, and critical service pro-
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1 viders the Federal share, as determined by the Sec2 retary, in consultation with the other members of 

3 the Council, of the cost of mitigating the overall risk 

4 and impacts of droughts; 

5 (3) assisting States, Indian tribes, local govern6 ments, watershed groups, and critical service pro7 viders in the development of mitigation measures to 

8 address environmental, economic, and human health 

9 and safety issues relating to drought; 

10 (4) expanding the technology transfer of 

11 drought and water conservation strategies and inno12 vative water supply techniques; 

13 (5) developing post-drought evaluations and 

14 recommendations; and 

15 (6) supplementing, if necessary, the costs of im16 plementing actions under section 102(a)(4). 

17 (c) GUIDELINES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta19 tion with the non-Federal co-chair and with the con20 currence of the Council, shall promulgate guidelines 

21 to implement this section. 

22 (2) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—The guidelines 

23 shall— 
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1 (A) ensure the distribution of amounts 

2 from the Fund within a reasonable period of 

3 time; 

4 (B) take into consideration regional dif5 ferences; 

6 (C) take into consideration all impacts of 

7 drought in a balanced manner; 

8 (D) prohibit the use of amounts from the 

9 Fund for Federal salaries that are not directly 

10 related to the provision of drought assistance; 

11 (E) require that amounts from the Fund 

12 provided to States, local governments, water13 shed groups, and critical service providers 

14 under subsection (b)(1) be coordinated with and 

15 managed by the State in which the local govern16 ments, watershed groups, or critical service pro17 viders are located, consistent with the drought 

18 preparedness priorities and relevant water man19 agement plans in the State; 

20 (F) require that amounts from the Fund 

21 provided to Indian tribes under subsection 

22 (b)(1) be used to implement plans that are, to 

23 the maximum extent practicable— 
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1 (i) coordinated with any State in 

2 which land of the Indian tribe is located; 

3 and 

4 (ii) consistent with existing drought 

5 preparedness and water management plans 

6 of the State; and 

7 (G) require that a State, Indian tribe, local 

8 government, watershed group, or critical service 

9 provider that receives Federal funds under 

10 paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (b) pay, 

11 using amounts made available through non12 Federal grants, cash donations made by non13 Federal persons or entities, or any other non14 Federal funds, not less than 25 percent of the 

15 total cost of carrying out a project for which 

16 Federal funds are provided under this Act. 

17 (3) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO

18 INTERSTATE WATERSHEDS.— 

19 (A) DEVELOPMENT OF DROUGHT PRE20 PAREDNESS PLANS.—The guidelines promul21 gated under paragraph (1) shall require that, to 

22 receive financial assistance under subsection 

23 (b)(1) for the development of drought prepared24 ness plans for interstate watersheds, the States 
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1 or Indian tribes in which the interstate water2 shed is located shall— 

3 (i) cooperate in the development of 

4 the plan; and 

5 (ii) in developing the plan— 

6 (I) ensure that the plan is con7 sistent with any applicable State and 

8 tribal water laws, policies, and agree9 ments; 

10 (II) ensure that the plan is con11 sistent and coordinated with any 

12 interstate stream compacts; 

13 (III) include the participation of 

14 any appropriate watershed groups; 

15 and 

16 (IV) recognize that while imple17 mentation of the plan will involve fur18 ther coordination among the appro19 priate States and Indian tribes, each 

20 State and Indian tribe has sole juris21 diction over implementation of the 

22 portion of the watershed within the 

23 State or tribal boundaries. 

24 (B) IMPLEMENTATION OF DROUGHT PRE25 PAREDNESS PLANS.—The guidelines promul-
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1 gated under paragraph (1) shall require that, to 

2 receive financial assistance under subsection 

3 (b)(1) for the implementation of drought pre4 paredness plans for interstate watersheds, the 

5 States or Indian tribes in which the interstate 

6 watershed is located shall, to the maximum ex7 tent practicable— 

8 (i) cooperate in implementing the 

9 plan; 

10 (ii) in implementing the plan— 

11 (I) provide that the distribution 

12 of funds to all States and Indian 

13 tribes in which the watershed is lo14 cated is not required; and 

15 (II) consider the level of impact 

16 within the watershed on the affected 

17 States or Indian tribes; and 

18 (iii) ensure that implementation of the 

19 plan does not interfere with State water 

20 rights in existence on the date of enact21 ment of this Act. 

22 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such sums 

24 as are necessary to carry out subsection (b). 
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1 SEC. 122. DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS PLANS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior and 

3 the Secretary of the Army shall, with the concurrence of 

4 the Council, jointly promulgate guidelines for admin5 istering a national program to provide technical and finan6 cial assistance to States, Indian tribes, local governments, 

7 watershed groups, and critical service providers for the de8 velopment, maintenance, and implementation of drought 

9 preparedness plans. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—To build on the experience and 

11 avoid duplication of efforts of Federal, State, local, tribal, 

12 and regional drought plans in existence on the date of en13 actment of this Act, the guidelines may recognize and in14 corporate those plans. 

15 SEC. 123. FEDERAL PLANS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, the Secretary of 

17 the Interior, the Secretary of the Army, and other appro18 priate Federal agency heads shall develop and implement 

19 Federal drought preparedness plans for agencies under 

20 the jurisdiction of the appropriate Federal agency head. 

21 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Federal plans— 

22 (1) shall be integrated with each other; 

23 (2) may be included as components of other 

24 Federal planning requirements; 

25 (3) shall be integrated with drought prepared26 ness plans of State, tribal, and local governments 
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1 that are affected by Federal projects and programs; 

2 and 

3 (4) shall be completed not later than 2 years 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 124. STATE AND TRIBAL PLANS. 

6 States and Indian tribes may develop and implement 

7 State and tribal drought preparedness plans that— 

8 (1) address monitoring of resource conditions 

9 that are related to drought; 

10 (2) identify areas that are at a high risk for 

11 drought; 

12 (3) describes mitigation strategies to address 

13 and reduce the vulnerability of an area to drought; 

14 and 

15 (4) are integrated with State, tribal, and local 

16 water plans in existence on the date of enactment of 

17 this Act. 

18 SEC. 125. REGIONAL AND LOCAL PLANS. 

19 Local governments, watershed groups, and regional 

20 water providers may develop and implement drought pre21 paredness plans that— 

22 (1) address monitoring of resource conditions 

23 that are related to drought; 

24 (2) identify areas that are at a high risk for 

25 drought; 
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1 (3) describe mitigation strategies to address 

2 and reduce the vulnerability of an area to drought; 

3 and 

4 (4) are integrated with corresponding State 

5 plans. 

6 SEC. 126. PLAN ELEMENTS. 

7 The drought preparedness plans developed under sec8 tions 123 through 125— 

9 (1) shall be consistent with Federal and State 

10 laws, contracts, and policies; 

11 (2) shall allow each State to continue to man12 age water and wildlife in the State; 

13 (3) shall address the health, safety, and eco14 nomic interests of those persons directly affected by 

15 drought; 

16 (4) shall address the economic impact on re17 source-dependent businesses and industries, includ18 ing regional tourism; 

19 (5) may include— 

20 (A) provisions for water management 

21 strategies to be used during various drought or 

22 water shortage thresholds, consistent with State 

23 water law; 

24 (B) provisions to address key issues relat25 ing to drought (including public health, safety, 
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1 economic factors, and environmental issues such 

2 as water quality, water quantity, protection of 

3 threatened and endangered species, and fire 

4 management); 

5 (C) provisions that allow for public partici6 pation in the development, adoption, and imple7 mentation of drought plans; 

8 (D) provisions for periodic drought exer9 cises, revisions, and updates; 

10 (E) a hydrologic characterization study to 

11 determine how water is being used during times 

12 of normal water supply availability to anticipate 

13 the types of drought mitigation actions that 

14 would most effectively improve water manage15 ment during a drought; 

16 (F) drought triggers; 

17 (G) specific implementation actions for 

18 droughts; 

19 (H) a water shortage allocation plan, con20 sistent with State water law; and 

21 (I) comprehensive insurance and financial 

22 strategies to manage the risks and financial im23 pacts of droughts; and 

24 (6) shall take into consideration— 
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1 (A) the financial impact of the plan on the 

2 ability of the utilities to ensure rate stability 

3 and revenue stream; and 

4 (B) economic impacts from water short5 ages. 

6 TITLE II—WILDFIRE 

7 SUPPRESSION 

8 SEC. 201. GRANTS FOR PREPOSITIONING WILDFIRE SUP9 PRESSION RESOURCES. 

10 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

11 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 205. GRANTS FOR PREPOSITIONING WILDFIRE SUP14 PRESSION RESOURCES. 

15 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

17 ‘‘(A) droughts increase the risk of cata18 strophic wildfires that— 

19 ‘‘(i) drastically alter and otherwise ad20 versely affect the landscape for commu21 nities and the environment; 

22 ‘‘(ii) because of the potential of such 

23 wildfires to overwhelm State wildfire sup24 pression resources, require a coordinated 
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1 response among States, Federal agencies, 

2 and neighboring countries; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) result in billions of dollars in 

4 losses each year; 

5 ‘‘(B) the Federal Government must, to the 

6 maximum extent practicable, prevent and sup7 press such catastrophic wildfires to protect 

8 human life and property; 

9 ‘‘(C) not taking into account State, local, 

10 and private wildfire suppression costs, during 

11 the period of 2000 through 2004, the Federal 

12 Government expended more than 

13 $5,800,000,000 for wildfire suppression costs, 

14 at an average annual cost of almost 

15 $1,200,000,000; 

16 ‘‘(D) since 1980, 2.8 percent of Federal 

17 wildfires have been responsible for an average 

18 annual cost to the Forest Service of more than 

19 $350,000,000; 

20 ‘‘(E) the Forest Service estimates that an21 nual national mobilization costs are between 

22 $40,000,000 and $50,000,000; 

23 ‘‘(F) saving 10 percent of annual national 

24 mobilization costs through more effective use of 
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1 local resources would reduce costs by 

2 $4,000,000 to $5,000,000 each year; 

3 ‘‘(G) it is more cost-effective to prevent 

4 wildfires by prepositioning wildfire fighting re5 sources to catch flare-ups than to commit mil6 lions of dollars to respond to large uncontrol7 lable fires; and 

8 ‘‘(H) it is in the best interest of the United 

9 States to invest in catastrophic wildfire preven10 tion and mitigation by easing the financial bur11 den of prepositioning wildfire suppression re12 sources. 

13 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is 

14 to encourage the mitigation and prevention of 

15 wildfires by providing financial assistance to States 

16 for prepositioning of wildfire suppression resources. 

17 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to the availability of 

18 funds, the Director of the Federal Emergency Manage19 ment Agency (referred to in this section as the ‘Director’) 

20 shall reimburse a State for the cost of prepositioning wild21 fire suppression resources on potential multiple and large 

22 fire complexes when the Director determines, in accord23 ance with the national and regional severity indices con24 tained in the Forest Service handbook entitled ‘Inter25 agency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations’, 
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1 that a wildfire event poses a threat to life and property 

2 in the area. 

3 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—Wildfire suppression resources of 

4 the Federal Government, neighboring countries, and any 

5 State other than the State requesting assistance are eligi6 ble for reimbursement under this section. 

7 ‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may reim9 burse a State for the costs of prepositioning of wild10 fire suppression resources of the entities specified in 

11 subsection (c), including mobilization to, and demo12 bilization from, the staging or prepositioning area. 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—For a State to receive 

14 reimbursement under paragraph (1)— 

15 ‘‘(A) any resource provided by an entity 

16 specified in subsection (c) shall have been spe17 cifically requested by the State seeking reim18 bursement; and 

19 ‘‘(B) staging or prepositioning costs— 

20 ‘‘(i) shall be expended during the ap21 proved prepositioning period; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall be reasonable. 
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1 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The amount of all reim2 bursements made under this subsection during any 

3 year shall not exceed $50,000,000.’’. 

Æ