I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6710 
To modify certain requirements of the Corps of Engineers relating to periodic 
nourishment of private beaches, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2020 
Mr. CRIST (for himself and Mr. BILIRAKIS) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To modify certain requirements of the Corps of Engineers 
relating to periodic nourishment of private beaches, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clarifying Easement 
Requirements for Existing Projects Act’’. 
SEC. 
2. 
EASEMENT 
REQUIREMENTS 
FOR 
EXISTING 
PROJECTS. 
(a) For purposes of sections 103(d) of the Water Re-
sources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2213(d)) 
and an Act of July 28, 1956 (33 U.S.C. 426e(d)), the 
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Secretary shall consider a privately owned shore to be sub-
ject to public use if such shore is subject to public use 
from the low-water line landward to the line of permanent 
vegetation or to the place where there is marked change 
in material or physiographic form, excepting and excluding 
any dune areas to which access is prohibited by local or 
State law. 
(b) Notwithstanding that sections 103(d) of the 
Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 
2213(d)) and an Act of July 28, 1956 (33 U.S.C. 
426e(d)), condition Federal financial participation in 
projects benefiting privately owned beaches on public use 
of such beaches, the Secretary shall not require a non- 
Federal interest to acquire additional rights after the date 
of enactment of this Act to permit public use of any pri-
vately owned beach, and Federal financial participation in 
beach nourishment, if, prior to the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary periodically nourished such beach 
as part of an authorized and constructed coastal storm 
risk management project without requiring the non-Fed-
eral interest to fund all costs associated with nourishing 
any part or parcel of such beach that was not subject to 
public use in accordance with the standard described in 
subsection (a). 
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(c) In the case of any privately owned beach described 
in subsection (b), the Secretary shall permit the non-Fed-
eral interest, in lieu of acquiring permanent easements 
over such beach, to obtain rights-of-entry to such beach 
from each private landowner prior to any scheduled activ-
ity for periodic nourishment, operation and maintenance, 
or emergency repair and restoration that requires use of 
private property. 
(d) In the case of any privately owned beach de-
scribed in subsections (a) or (b), the Secretary is author-
ized to permit the non-Federal interest to release perma-
nent easements or other rights, including the right of pub-
lic access, acquired from private owners prior to the date 
of enactment of this Act if the Secretary determines that 
release of such easements is advisable to foster equal 
treatment of similarly situated private landowners. 
(e) Nothing in this section affects easements or other 
property interests required by the Secretary to provide 
perpendicular public access to the beach for any coastal 
storm risk management project. 
Æ 
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