ACT OF JUNE 22, 1936 (Commonly known as the “Flood Control Act of 1936”) ACT OF JUNE 22, 1936 Chapter 688 of the 74th Congress, as amended 49 Stat. 1572, as amended ACT OF JUNE 22, 1936 (Commonly known as the “Flood Control Act of 1936”) ch688 115–270 Statute Compilation United States House of Representatives Office of the Legislative Counsel text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. GPO Statute Compilations USLM converter, version 20240419 2026-07-24 Flood Control Act of 1936 18417 74 1936-06-22 ACT OF JUNE 22, 1936 (Commonly known as the “Flood Control Act of 1936”) [Chapter 688 of the 74th Congress; 49 Stat. 1572] [As Amended Through P.L. 115–270, Enacted October 23, 2018] [Currency: This publication is a compilation of the text of chapter 688 of the 74th Congress. It was last amended by the public law listed in the As Amended Through note above and below at the bottom of each page of the pdf version and reflects current law through the date of the enactment of the public law listed at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/comps/] [Note: While this publication does not represent an official version of any Federal statute, substantial efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of its contents. The official version of Federal law is found in the United States Statutes at Large and in the United States Code. The legal effect to be given to the Statutes at Large and the United States Code is established by statute (1 U.S.C. 112, 204).]
AN ACTAuthorizing the construction of certain public works on rivers and harbors for flood control, and for other purposes.
declaration of policy Section 1. [33 U.S.C. 701a] It is hereby recognized that destructive floods upon the rivers of the United States, upsetting orderly processes and causing loss of life and property, including the erosion of lands, and impairing and obstructing navigation, highways, railroads, and other channels of commerce between the States, constitute a menace to national welfare; that it is the sense of Congress that flood control on navigable waters or their tributaries is a proper activity of the Federal Government in cooperation with States, their political subdivisions, and localities thereof; that investigations and improvements of rivers and other waterways, including watersheds thereof, for flood-control purposes are in the interest of the general welfare; that the Federal Government should improve or participate in the improvement of navigable waters or their tributaries, including watersheds thereof, for flood-control purposes if the benefits to whomsoever they may accrue are in excess of the estimated costs, and if the lives and social security of people are otherwise adversely affected.
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flood control act of 1936 Sec. 5. [33 U.S.C. 701h] That pursuant to the policy outlined in sections 1 and 3, the following works of improvement, for the benefit of navigation and the control of destructive flood waters and other purposes, are hereby adopted and authorized to be prosecuted, in order of their emergency as may be designated by the President, under the direction of the Secretary of War and supervision of the Chief of Engineers in accordance with the plans in the respective reports and records hereinafter designated: Provided, That penstocks or other similar facilities, adapted to possible future use in the development of adequate electric power may be installed in any dam herein authorized when approved by the Secretary of War upon the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers. Provided further, That the Secretary of War is authorized to receive from States and political subdivisions thereof and other non-Federal interests, such funds as may be contributed by them for work, which includes planning and design, to be expended in connection with funds appropriated by the United States for any authorized water resources development study or project, including a project for navigation on the inland waterways, whenever such work and expenditure may be considered by the Secretary of War, on recommendation of the Chief of Engineers, as advantageous in the public interest, and the plans for any reservoir project may, in the discretion of the Secretary of War, on recommendation of the Chief of Engineers, be modified to provide additional storage capacity for domestic water supply or other conservation storage, on condition that the cost of such increased storage capacity is contributed by local agencies and that the local agencies agree to utilize such additional storage capacity in a manner consistent with Federal uses and purposes: Provided, That the Secretary is authorized to receive and expend funds from a State or a political subdivision thereof, and other non-Federal interests or private entities, to operate a hurricane barrier project to support recreational activities at or in the vicinity of the project, at no cost to the Federal Government, if the Secretary determines that operation for such purpose is not inconsistent with the operation and maintenance of the project for the authorized purposes of the project: Provided further, That the Secretary is authorized to receive and expend funds from an owner of a non-Federal reservoir to formulate, review, or revise operational documents for any non-Federal reservoir for which the Secretary is authorized to prescribe regulations for the use of storage allocated for flood control or navigation pursuant to section 7 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (33 U.S.C. 709): Provided further, That when1 contributions made by States and political subdivisions thereof and other non-Federal interests, are in excess of the actual cost of the work contemplated and properly chargeable to such contributions, such excess contributions may, with the approval of the Secretary of War, be returned to the proper representatives of the contributing interests: Provided further, That the term “States” means the several States, the District of Columbia, the commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States, and Federally recognized Indian tribes2: Provided further, That the term “non-Federal interest” has the meaning given that term in section 221 of the Flood Control Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 1962d–5b).1

Section 1015(a)(3) of Public Law 113–121 provides for an amendment as follows: ... by striking “Provided, That when” and inserting “Provided, That the Secretary is authorized to receive and expend funds from a State or a political subdivision thereof, and other non-Federal interests or private entities, to operate a hurricane barrier project to support recreational activities at or in the vicinity of the project, at no cost to the Federal Government, if the Secretary determines that operation for such purpose is not inconsistent with the operation and maintenance of the project for the authorized purposes of the project:Provided further, That when”. Such amendment was carried out above by striking “And provided further, That when” to effectuate the probable intent of Congress.

2

section 111(a)(3) of division B of Public Law 112–74 adds a new proviso before the period in section 5. The amendment did not specify which period to insert the new proviso. The version above shows this language added to the second occurrence of the period in section 5.
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