I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5717 
To require the Army Corps of Engineers to notify the public of certain 
flood predictions regarding the Missouri River System, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2012 
Mrs. NOEM (for herself and Mr. BERG) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To require the Army Corps of Engineers to notify the public 
of certain flood predictions regarding the Missouri River 
System, 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 ‘‘Army Corps of Engi-
neers Communications Accountability Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. NOTIFICATION AND CONSULTATION REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Chief of Engineers makes 
an upper quartile determination or an upper decile deter-
mination, the Chief of Engineers shall notify the public 
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of such determination, and consult with affected govern-
ments, in accordance with this section. 
(b) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 7 days after 
making a determination described in subsection (a), the 
Chief of Engineers shall notify the public that such deter-
mination has been made. 
(c) CONSULTATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Chief of Engineers 
makes an upper decile determination, an affected 
government may request a consultation with the 
Chief of Engineers. 
(2) DEADLINE.—If an affected government re-
quests a consultation under paragraph (1), the Chief 
of Engineers shall provide such consultation not 
later than 7 days after receiving the request. 
(3) CONTENTS.—The Chief of Engineers may 
provide in a consultation under this subsection— 
(A) information regarding expected water 
levels; 
(B) advice regarding appropriate prepared-
ness actions; 
(C) technical assistance; and 
(D) any other information or assistance 
determined appropriate by the Chief of Engi-
neers. 
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(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) AFFECTED GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘af-
fected government’’ means a State, local, or tribal 
government with jurisdiction over an area that will 
be affected by a flood occurring in the Missouri 
River System, as determined by the Chief of Engi-
neers in an upper decile determination. 
(2) ANNUAL OPERATING PLAN.—The term ‘‘an-
nual operating plan’’ means a plan prepared by the 
Chief of Engineers that describes potential water 
conditions scenarios for the Missouri River System 
for a year. 
(3) UPPER
DECILE
DETERMINATION.—The 
term ‘‘upper decile determination’’ means a deter-
mination that runoff conditions in the Missouri 
River System are likely to reach the upper decile 
scenario specified for a year in an annual operating 
plan. 
(4) UPPER
QUARTILE
DETERMINATION.—The 
term ‘‘upper quartile determination’’ means a deter-
mination that runoff conditions in the Missouri 
River System are likely to reach the upper quartile 
scenario specified for a year in an annual operating 
plan. 
Æ 
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