Sec. 2401. Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act

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The first section of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1001 ) is amended to read as follows: This Act may be cited as the . Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act Congress finds that erosion, floodwater, drought, and sediment damages in the watersheds of the rivers and streams of the United States cause loss of life, declines in agricultural production, harm to fish, birds, wildlife, and recreation opportunities, and damage to property, thereby constituting a menace to the national welfare.

It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should cooperate with local organizations for the purposes of— preventing the damages described in subsection (b); furthering the conservation, management, development, utilization, and disposal of water, and the conservation and utilization of land; and thereby preserving, protecting, and improving land and water resources and the quality of the environment. . Section 2 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1002 ) is amended to read as follows:

In this Act: The term conservation of water means a reduction in total annual consumptive water use, as compared to total annual consumptive water use before a work of improvement is carried out under this Act. The term local organization means— any State, political subdivision of a State, soil or water conservation district, flood prevention or control district, or combination thereof; or any other governmental agency having authority under State law to carry out, maintain, and operate a work of improvement; any irrigation district or reservoir company, water users’ association, canal company, ditch association, acequia, or similar entity, or nongovernmental organization that is not being operated for profit, with— the capacity to engage in the planning or implementation of land treatment and related conservation measures; or the authority to construct and maintain structural measures; or any Indian Tribe or Tribal organization (as those terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 )) having authority under Federal, State, or Indian Tribal law to carry out, maintain, and operate a work of improvement.

The term management of water means any project or activity carried out to increase the efficiency of water use, transfer, diversion, or conveyance. The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture. The term work of improvement means any undertaking carried out in a watershed or subwatershed area not exceeding 250,000 acres (including on Federal land necessary to accomplish the purposes of the undertaking) for— flood prevention (including structural and land treatment measures); the conservation, management, development, utilization, and disposal of water; or the conservation and proper utilization of land.

The term work of improvement does not include any single structure that provides— more than 12,500 acre-feet of floodwater detention capacity; and more than 25,000 acre-feet of total capacity. Each undertaking described in subparagraph

(A)shall contain benefits directly related to agriculture, including communities in rural areas (as defined in section 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1991(a) )), that account for at least 20 percent of the total benefits of the undertaking. 1 or more subwatersheds, when the subwatersheds are components of a larger watershed, may be planned together at the discretion of the local organization sponsoring the applicable undertaking. A work of improvement may provide 2 or more public benefits or ecosystem services in addition to a purpose described in subparagraph (A). . Section 3 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1003 ) is amended— by redesignating subsection

(b)as subsection (f); in subsection (a)(6), in the first sentence, by striking occupiers, individually and inserting the following: “occupiers in accordance with subsection (b). The Secretary may enter into agreements under subsection (a)(6) with landowners, operators, and occupiers, individually ; in subsection

(b)(as so designated)— by striking supplemented. Applications and inserting the following: “supplemented. Applications ; in paragraph

(2)(as so designated)— in the first sentence, by striking such conservation plans and inserting conservation plans described in paragraph

(1); and by striking such district. In return and all that follows through interest. The portion and inserting the following: “that district. The Secretary may agree to share the costs of carrying out a work of improvement, or specific practices and measures described in such an agreement, if the Secretary determines that cost sharing is appropriate and in the public interest. ; The portion ; and in subparagraph

(B)(as so designated)— by striking programs. The Secretary and inserting the following: “programs. The Secretary ; in paragraph

(4)(as so designated)— in the first sentence, by striking hereunder, as he and inserting under this subsection, as the Secretary ; and by striking herein. Notwithstanding and inserting the following: “under this subsection. Notwithstanding ; and in paragraph

(5)(as so designated)— by striking he and inserting the Secretary ; by striking paragraph and inserting subsection ; by striking hereunder for

(1)preservation and inserting the following: “under this paragraph for— preservation ; and in subparagraph

(A)(as so designated), by striking crop; or

(2)surrender and inserting the following: “crop; or surrender ; and by inserting after subsection

(b)(as so designated) the following: The Secretary shall provide a State Conservationist final authority to approve watershed plans for works of improvement within the State. The Secretary and a State Conservationist shall, on the approval of the State Conservationist, allow a local organization sponsoring a work of improvement to use funds made available under this Act to pay a third party to conduct preliminary investigations and pre-planning activities relating to the work of improvement. The Secretary may provide authority to a State Conservationist to support a streamlined process. Subject to paragraph (2), not later than 45 days after the date on which an application for a work of improvement is submitted to the Secretary, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove the application. The Secretary may extend the deadline described in paragraph

(1)by 45 days, if necessary. Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary may not provide funds under this Act for the costs of designing or constructing a work of improvement without an approved watershed plan. Paragraph

(1)shall not apply if— the Secretary determines that the circumstances are so exigent that not providing funds is against the public interest; or the Secretary has waived the requirement for a watershed plan under subsection (f). . Section 3A of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1003a ) is amended— in subsection (a), by inserting , as determined by the Secretary, after assistance ; and by adding at the end the following: Any funds provided for a work of improvement through any Federal department or agency other than the Department of Agriculture shall be considered to be part of the non-Federal share of the cost of the work of improvement provided by the sponsor of the work of improvement. . Section 4(2) of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1004(2) ) is amended by inserting management, after conservation, The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act is amended by inserting after section 4 ( 16 U.S.C. 1004 ) the following: No amounts shall be provided under this Act for any plan for a work of improvement involving an estimated Federal contribution to construction costs in excess of $50,000,000, or that includes any structure that provides more than 2,500 acre-feet of total capacity, unless, not less than 90 days before amounts are provided for the plan, the Secretary submits to the appropriate committees of Congress described in subsection

(b)a notice of the approval of the plan, including a description of the justification for the approval and a copy of the plan. The appropriate committees of Congress referred to in subsection

(a)are— in the case of a plan involving no single structure providing more than 4,000 acre-feet of total capacity, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives; and in the case of a plan involving any single structure providing more than 4,000 acre-feet of total capacity, the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. . The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after section 4A (as added by subsection (f)) the following: Subject to the requirements of this Act, the Secretary shall— review and update as necessary the engineering standards and requirements to be used for works of improvement under this Act; and in collaboration with each State Conservationist and State technical committee established under section 1261(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3861(a) ), review and update as necessary the acceptable variances from national engineering standards that are appropriate alternatives suited to the geomorphology of, and purpose for which works of improvement are established within, each State. A State Conservationist and State technical committee engaged in collaboration pursuant to subsection (a)(2) may consult with local municipalities undertaking works of improvement within that State under this Act. . Section 5(1) of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1005(1) ) is amended— by inserting , in consultation with the State Conservationist, after and the Secretary ; and by inserting : before the period at the end. , That if insufficient data exists to monetize the benefits of wildlife habitat or water quality improvement against the costs, these benefits shall be quantified to the extent practicable and described in sufficient detail to be considered against the cost Provided further Section 7 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (68 Stat. 668, chapter 656; 74 Stat. 131; 76 Stat. 610) is amended, in the last proviso, by inserting management, after conservation, . Section 8 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1006a ) is amended, in the last sentence, by striking five million dollars and inserting $10,000,000 . Section 13 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1010 ) is amended— in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking collect and maintain and inserting collect, maintain, and publish on the website of the Department of Agriculture ; and in paragraph (1), by striking control and conservation and inserting control, conservation, and drought resilience . Section 11 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1001 note; 68 Stat. 668; 70 Stat. 1090) is repealed.

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