I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3824 
To direct the Secretary of the Army to submit to Congress a report with 
respect to dams, reservoirs, lakes, and other water retention facilities 
in Texas, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 
Mr. POE of Texas (for himself, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. BABIN, Mr. 
CULBERSON, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, and Mr. OLSON) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Army to submit to Congress 
a report with respect to dams, reservoirs, lakes, and 
other water retention facilities in Texas, 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 ‘‘Texas Flood Account-
ability Act of 2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. REPORT ON DAMS, RESERVOIRS, LAKES, AND 
OTHER WATER RETENTION FACILITIES IN 
TEXAS. 
(a) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army, act-
ing through the Chief of Engineers, shall submit to Con-
gress and make publicly available a report with respect 
to covered facilities. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 
shall include the following: 
(1) For each covered facility— 
(A) the maximum water capacity that 
would necessitate an unplanned release of 
water; 
(B) the water level at which the facility 
and each spillway of the facility will overflow; 
and 
(C) existing plans to notify first respond-
ers, local officials, and communities of flood 
emergencies and the projected water levels dur-
ing such emergencies. 
(2) A description of steps taken by the Sec-
retary to limit or prevent unplanned releases of 
water or overflows from covered facilities. 
(3) Recommendations of the Secretary for in-
frastructure improvements and dredging of existing 
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covered facilities needed to limit or prevent un-
planned releases of water or overflows from covered 
facilities. 
(4) Existing plans to coordinate among covered 
facilities during a flood emergency. 
(5) A list identifying the covered facilities under 
the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission that includes, with respect to each such 
facility, a description of the process for lowering 
water levels at the facility. 
(c) SECURITY EXCLUSION.—The Secretary may ex-
clude from the report information that the Secretary de-
termines necessary to exclude for national security pur-
poses. 
(d) INFORMATION
FROM
NON-FEDERAL
ENTI-
TIES.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT
FOR
NON-FEDERAL
ENTI-
TIES.—Upon the request of the Secretary, a non- 
Federal entity that owns, operates, or has jurisdic-
tion over a covered facility shall provide to the Sec-
retary the information described in subsection (b)(1) 
with respect to that facility. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AS-
SISTANCE.—An entity that fails to comply with 
paragraph (1) is not eligible for Federal financial as-
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sistance otherwise available to the facility owned or 
operated by or under the jurisdiction of the entity 
until such time as the entity complies with such 
paragraph. 
(3) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (2) shall apply 
with respect to Federal financial assistance made 
available on or after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
(e) COVERED FACILITY DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘‘covered facility’’ means a dam, reservoir, lake, 
or other water retention facility in Texas. 
Æ 
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