Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and Restoration Act of 2023

Bill: 118-hr-5250
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1]
Introduced: 2023-08-22
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Agricultural conservation and pollution

Congressional oversight

Farmland

Floods and storm protection

Government studies and investigations

Water resources funding

Watersheds
Latest action: action_date: 2023-09-25
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-08-22
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and Restoration Act of 2023</strong></p><p>This bill modifies Department of Agriculture&nbsp;(USDA)  watershed programs.</p><p>The bill modifies the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program to allow USDA to undertake certain measures that go beyond addressing the immediate impairment of the watershed. Specifically, USDA may undertake measures that increase the level of protection of the watershed if USDA determines that the restoration is in the best interest of the long-term health and the protection of the watershed from repetitive impairments. (The EWP Program assists sponsors, landowners, and operators in implementing emergency recovery measures for runoff retardation and erosion prevention to relieve imminent hazards to life and property created by natural disasters.)&nbsp;</p><p>In addition, for Watershed Rehabilitation Program (REHAB) projects that serve a limited resource area, the bill increases the federal cost-share to up to&nbsp;90% of the total rehabilitation costs. Currently, the federal cost-share for all projects is&nbsp;65% of the total rehabilitation costs. (REHAB assists&nbsp;project sponsors in rehabilitating aging watershed dams that are reaching the end of their design life or no longer meet federal or state safety criteria or performance standards.)</p><p>USDA must also submit a national agriculture flood vulnerability report to Congress that contains the results of a conservation effects assessment project that studies flood risk on agricultural lands.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5250 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES August 22, 2023 Mr. Davis of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Molinaro , Ms. Spanberger , and Mr. Nunn of Iowa ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 with respect to the emergency watershed program, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and Restoration Act of 2023 . 2. Emergency watershed program Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 2203 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (c) Level of restoration In carrying out this section, the Secretary may undertake measures that increase the level of protection above that which would be necessary to address the immediate impairment of the watershed if the Secretary determines that such restoration is in the best interest of the long-term health and the protection of the watershed from repetitive impairments. . 3. National agriculture flood vulnerability study Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a national agriculture flood vulnerability report containing the results of a conservation effects assessment project studying flood risk on agricultural lands, including— (1) an analysis of economic losses of crops and livestock resulting from flooding under different recurrence scenarios; (2) an analysis of the downstream effects of mitigation activities carried out as part of a watershed management approach; (3) an analysis of available Federal and State data relating to flood risk, as applicable to agricultural land, including data relating to riverine flooding, coastal flooding, storm surge, extreme precipitation, and flash flooding; and (4) a description of ongoing producer-level conservation practices and broader government initiatives to manage flooding impact and flood risk within and across watersheds, and recommendations for additional practices and initiatives to further address such impact and risk. 4. Rehabilitation of structural measures near, at, or past their evaluated life expectancy Section 14(b)(2) of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1012(b)(2) ) is amended to read as follows: (2) Amount of assistance; limitations (A) In general The amount of Federal funds that may be made available under this subsection to a local organization for construction of a particular rehabilitation project shall be equal to 65 percent of the total rehabilitation costs, but not to exceed 100 percent of actual construction costs incurred in the rehabilitation. (B) Limited resource areas Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Secretary may contribute up to 90 percent of the total rehabilitation costs to a local organization for construction of a particular rehabilitation project that serves a limited resource area, as determined by the Secretary, but not to exceed 100 percent of actual construction costs incurred in the rehabilitation. (C) Costs of resource rights and permits The local organization shall be responsible for the costs of water, mineral, and other resource rights and all Federal, State, and local permits. .