Title: Ohio River Basin Preparedness Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Ohio River Basin Preparedness Act
This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop, implement, and publish an interagency plan for assisting states, Indian tribes, and communities in the Ohio River Basin to prepare for, and respond to, the effects of climate change.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7426 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ohio River Basin Preparedness Act''.

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 agencies described in subsection (d) to assist States, 
Indian Tribes, and communities in the Ohio River Basin in preparing 
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 Environmental 
        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, rising temperatures, and potential economic losses from 
        such threats.
    (b) Development.--In developing the interagency plan under 
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Army, acting 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 communities to 
                adequately prepare for, and respond to, the effects of 
                climate change; and
                    (B) an analysis of--
                            (i) the availability of existing and 
                        potential Federal resources, including 
                        programs, 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 assistance in 
                        building or modernizing infrastructure), 
                        including--
                                    (I) Corps of Engineers resources 
                                related to--
                                            (aa) modernizing and 
                                        hardening 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 
                                        collaboration with the 
                                        Department of Agriculture, 
                                        Tennessee Valley Authority, and 
                                        water management agencies of 
                                        the States in the Ohio River 
                                        Basin; and
                                            (ee) updating and 
                                        modernizing operations manuals 
                                        for dams and reservoirs 
                                        operated by the Corps of 
                                        Engineers to account for future 
                                        water risks, precipitation, 
                                        flow patterns, and usage;
                                    (II) Environmental Protection 
                                Agency resources and Department of 
                                Agriculture resources related to 
                                modernizing drinking water and 
                                wastewater treatment and stormwater 
                                management;
                                    (III) Department of Transportation 
                                resources related to raising or 
                                hardening critical transportation 
                                infrastructure that may be vulnerable 
                                to flooding;
                                    (IV) United States Geological 
                                Survey resources and Environmental 
                                Protection Agency resources related to 
                                water quality and flow discharge 
                                monitoring and modeling; and
                                    (V) Federal Emergency Management 
                                Agency resources related to updating 
                                and modernizing flood hazard maps to 
                                incorporate the latest science and 
                                future risk projections; and
                            (ii) the limitations of existing Federal 
                        resources that the agencies described in 
                        subsection (d) may so provide, including--
                                    (I) the limitations of such 
                                resources in meeting the particular 
                                needs of such States, Indian Tribes, 
                                and communities identified under 
                                subparagraph (A); and
                                    (II) recommendations--
                                            (aa) for Congress regarding 
                                        any statutory changes regarding 
                                        existing Federal programs, or 
                                        additional Federal funding, 
                                        that the agencies determine are 
                                        necessary to assist such 
                                        States, Indian Tribes, and 
                                        communities in preparing for, 
                                        and responding to, the effects 
                                        of climate change; and
                                            (bb) for additional 
                                        Federal, State, and local 
                                        resources that the agencies 
                                        determine are necessary to so 
                                        assist such States, Indian 
                                        Tribes, and communities.
    (c) Publication and Implementation.--
            (1) Publication.--Upon issuance of the interagency plan 
        developed under subsection (a), the plan shall be published on 
        the public internet website of--
                    (A) the Environmental Protection Agency;
                    (B) the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil 
                Works; and
                    (C) the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division of the 
                Corps of Engineers.
            (2) Deadline.--Not later than 30 days after the interagency 
        plan developed under subsection (a) is issued, each head of an 
        agency described in subsection (d) shall implement such 
        interagency plan.
            (3) Technical assistance.--In implementing the interagency 
        plan developed under subsection (a), the heads of the agencies 
        described in subsection (d) shall provide technical assistance 
        and expertise to States, Indian Tribes, and communities in the 
        Ohio River Basin.
    (d) Agencies Described.--The agencies described in this subsection 
are as follows:
            (1) The Corps of Engineers.
            (2) The Environmental Protection Agency.
            (3) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
            (4) The Department of the Interior.
            (5) The Department of Agriculture.
            (6) The Department of Transportation.
            (7) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
            (8) The United States Geological Survey.
            (9) The Department of Housing and Urban Development.
            (10) The Department of Commerce.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON ELECTRIC UTILITIES.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Energy shall publish, on the public internet website of 
the Department of Energy, a report that includes--
            (1) an analysis of--
                    (A) the potential vulnerabilities of electric 
                utilities that are located in, or serve electric 
                consumers in, the Ohio River Basin, to climate change 
                and extreme weather; and
                    (B) the impacts of climate change and extreme 
                weather on such electric utilities; and
            (2) recommendations and technical assistance, as 
        appropriate, to assist such electric utilities in preparing for 
        climate change and extreme weather.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``Ohio River Basin'' means the Ohio River 
Basin as identified in the Corps of Engineers' study titled ``Ohio 
River Basin-Formulating Climate Change Mitigation/Adaptation Strategies 
through Regional Collaboration with the ORB Alliance'' (May 2017).
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