I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4776 
To establish a national program to identify landslide hazards and reduce 
loss from landslides, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2016 
Ms. DELBENE (for herself, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. LEE, Mr. KILMER, and Mr. HECK of Washington) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, 
and Technology, 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 establish a national program to identify landslide hazards 
and reduce loss from landslides, 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 ‘‘National Landslide 
Loss Reduction Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) While landslides can and do occur in every 
State and territory of the United States, the type, 
including sink holes, ground fissures, and subsid-
ence, the severity, and frequency of landslides vary 
from place to place, depending on the terrain, geol-
ogy, seismicity and climate. 
(2) Landslides in the United States cause an 
estimated $3,000,000,000 in damage each year, and 
that estimation could be improved through better 
tracking of landslide occurrences and losses. 
(3) The most recent official estimate of deaths 
from landslides in the United States was in 1985, 
and it found that landslides kill an estimated 25 to 
50 people each year. 
(4) On March 22, 2014, a massive landslide 
near Oso, Washington, killed 43 people, engulfed 42 
homes, and severely damaged public infrastructure 
and private property. 
(5) There is no collective landslide inventory for 
most counties, States, or the United States, nor is 
there an agreed-upon methodology for creating one, 
since the availability of Light Detection and Rang-
ing (LIDAR), a powerful tool for creating landslide 
inventories, is uneven and the quality is highly vari-
able. 
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and local elected and appointed officials and Federal, 
State, local, and tribal emergency managers. 
(d) INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 
LANDSLIDES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—There is established an 
Interagency Coordinating Committee on Landslides 
(in this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’) 
chaired by the Director of the United States Geo-
logical Survey. 
(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be 
composed of the Directors, or their designees, of— 
(A) the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency; 
(B) the National Science Foundation; 
(C) the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology; 
(D) the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy; 
(E) the National Weather Service; and 
(F) the Office of Management and Budget. 
(3) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet not 
less than 3 times a year at the call of the chair. 
(4) PURPOSE
AND
DUTIES.—The Committee 
shall— 
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(A) oversee the planning, management, 
and coordination of the program established 
under subsection (a); 
(B) develop, not later than 6 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, and up-
date periodically— 
(i) a strategic plan that establishes 
goals and priorities for such program; and 
(ii) a detailed management plan to 
implement such strategic plan; and 
(C) develop a coordinated interagency 
budget for such program. 
(5) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The Committee shall 
transmit an annual report to Congress which shall 
include— 
(A) the budget developed under paragraph 
(4)(C), reported by agency and by each goal es-
tablished under paragraph (4)(B)(i); 
(B) a description of the activities of the 
Committee under this subsection and the re-
sults of such activities during the previous year; 
and 
(C) a description of the extent to which 
any recommendations of the Advisory Com-
mittee have been implemented. 
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(6) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Director of the 
United States Geological Survey shall establish 
an Advisory Committee on Landslides (in this 
subsection referred to as the ‘‘Advisory Com-
mittee’’). 
(B) MEMBERSHIP.—There shall be at least 
11 members of the Advisory Committee, none 
of whom may be an individual described in sub-
paragraphs 
(A) 
through 
(F) 
of 
section 
7342(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code. The 
Advisory Committee shall include representa-
tives of— 
(i) State geologists; 
(ii) research and academic institutions 
who are qualified to provide advice on 
landslide hazards reduction and represent 
all related scientific, architectural, and en-
gineering disciplines; 
(iii) industry standards development 
organizations; and 
(iv) State, local, and tribal emergency 
management agencies. 
(C) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Advisory 
Committee may submit recommendations to the 
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Committee, which shall consider any rec-
ommendations so submitted. 
(e) GRANT PROGRAMS.— 
(1) COOPERATIVE
LANDSLIDE
HAZARD
MAP-
PING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 
Interior 
shall 
make 
grants, 
administered 
through the United States Geological Survey, 
on a competitive basis to support the efforts of 
State and local governments to map and assess 
landslide hazards within the jurisdictions of 
such governments. 
(B) PRIORITY.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
consult annually with State Geological Sur-
veys to establish priorities for the grant 
program established under this paragraph. 
(ii) 
MATCHING
FUND 
PRIORITIZATION.—The 
Secretary 
shall 
prioritize a grant for a project under this 
paragraph to an entity that provides such 
assurances as the Secretary considers nec-
essary that the entity will receive up to 50 
percent of the total cost of the project 
from non-Federal sources. 
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(C) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary $8,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2017 and each fiscal year thereafter to 
carry out this paragraph. 
(2) PARTNERSHIPS FOR LANDSLIDE LOSS RE-
DUCTION PROGRAM.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 
Interior, working with the National Science 
Foundation, shall make grants, on a competi-
tive basis, to support efforts by institutions of 
higher education, State and local governments, 
and nongovernmental entities to research land-
slides. 
(B) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated $10,400,000 for fiscal year 2017 and 
each fiscal year thereafter to carry out this 
paragraph. 
(3) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary of the 
Interior shall annually submit to Congress a report 
on the grants awarded under this subsection with re-
spect to a year, including the following information: 
(A) A list of activities under such grants 
during such year. 
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(B) The results of such activities. 
Æ 
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