I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7426 
To require development and implementation of an interagency plan to assist 
communities affected by climate change in the Ohio River Basin, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 30, 2020 
Mr. LAMB (for himself, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, and Mr. 
RYAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees 
on Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Agriculture, and Natural 
Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require development and implementation of an inter-
agency plan to assist communities affected by climate 
change in the Ohio River Basin, 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 ‘‘Ohio River Basin Pre-
paredness Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army, 
acting through the Chief of Engineers, in coordination 
with the head of each agency described in subsection (d), 
shall develop and issue an interagency plan for the agen-
cies described in subsection (d) to assist States, Indian 
Tribes, and communities in the Ohio River Basin in pre-
paring for, and responding to, the effects of climate 
change, including by— 
(1) informing such States, Indian Tribes, and 
communities of existing Federal resources available 
to such States, Indian Tribes, and communities, 
based on the analysis described in subsection (b)(2); 
and 
(2) providing assistance through the Environ-
mental Protection Agency’s Smart Growth Program, 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Pre- 
Disaster Mitigation Grant Program, the Department 
of Housing and Urban Development’s Community 
Development Block Grant program, the Economic 
Development Administration of the Department of 
Commerce, and the Department of Agriculture, to 
such States, Indian Tribes, and communities to help 
them prepare for extreme weather, major floods, ris-
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ing temperatures, and potential economic losses 
from such threats. 
(b) DEVELOPMENT.—In developing the interagency 
plan under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Army, act-
ing through the Chief of Engineers, in coordination with 
the head of each agency described in subsection (d), 
shall— 
(1) consult with States, Indian Tribes, and 
communities in the Ohio River Basin that may be 
affected by climate change; and 
(2) include in such interagency plan— 
(A) identification of the particular needs of 
such States, Indian Tribes, and communities in 
order for such States, Indian Tribes, and com-
munities to adequately prepare for, and respond 
to, the effects of climate change; and 
(B) an analysis of— 
(i) the availability of existing and po-
tential Federal resources, including pro-
grams, grants, loans, and other assistance, 
that the agencies described in subsection 
(d) may provide to assist States, Indian 
Tribes, and communities in the Ohio River 
Basin in preparing for, and responding to, 
the effects of climate change (including as-
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sistance in building or modernizing infra-
structure), including— 
(I) Corps of Engineers resources 
related to— 
(aa) modernizing and hard-
ening levees, floodwalls, and flood 
control projects for more extreme 
weather flooding events; 
(bb) restoring wetlands so 
that such wetlands may absorb 
rain; 
(cc) reconnecting floodplains 
to rivers in order to allow for 
natural flood storage; 
(dd) developing a basin-wide 
water management plan, in col-
laboration with the Department 
of Agriculture, Tennessee Valley 
Authority, and water manage-
ment agencies of the States in 
the Ohio River Basin; and 
(ee) updating and modern-
izing 
operations 
manuals 
for 
dams and reservoirs operated by 
the Corps of Engineers to ac-
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count for future water risks, pre-
cipitation, flow patterns, and 
usage; 
(II) 
Environmental 
Protection 
Agency resources and Department of 
Agriculture resources related to mod-
ernizing drinking water and waste-
water treatment and stormwater man-
agement; 
(III) Department of Transpor-
tation resources related to raising or 
hardening critical transportation in-
frastructure that may be vulnerable to 
flooding; 
(IV) United States Geological 
Survey resources and Environmental 
Protection Agency resources related to 
water quality and flow discharge mon-
itoring and modeling; and 
(V) Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency resources related to up-
dating and modernizing flood hazard 
maps to incorporate the latest science 
and future risk projections; and 
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