[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3445 Engrossed in House (EH)]

103d CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 3445

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To improve hazard mitigation and relocation assistance in connection 
with flooding, to provide for a comprehensive review and assessment of 
 the adequacy of current flood control policies and measures, and for 
                            other purposes.






103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3445

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To improve hazard mitigation and relocation assistance in connection 
with flooding, to provide for a comprehensive review and assessment of 
 the adequacy of current flood control policies and measures, 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 ``Hazard Mitigation and Flood Damage 
Reduction Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. HAZARD MITIGATION.

    (a) Federal Share.--Section 404 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amended by 
striking ``50 percent'' and inserting ``75 percent''.
    (b) Total Contributions.--Section 404 of such Act is further 
amended by striking ``10 percent'' and all that follows through the 
period and inserting ``15 percent of the estimated aggregate amounts of 
grants to be made under this Act (less administrative costs) with 
respect to such major disaster.''.
    (c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply 
to any major disaster declared on or after June 10, 1993.

SEC. 3. PROPERTY ACQUISITION AND RELOCATION ASSISTANCE.

    Section 404 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is further amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``The 
        President''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Property Acquisition and Relocation Assistance.--
            ``(1) General authority.--In providing hazard mitigation 
        assistance under this section in connection with flooding, the 
        Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may provide 
        property acquisition and relocation assistance for projects 
        which meet the requirements of paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Terms and conditions.--An acquisition or relocation 
        project shall be eligible for funding pursuant to paragraph (1) 
        only if--
                    ``(A) the recipient of such funding is an applicant 
                otherwise eligible under the hazard mitigation grant 
                program established under subsection (a); and
                    ``(B) the recipient of such funding enters into an 
                agreement with the Director under which the recipient 
                provides assurances that--
                            ``(i) properties acquired, accepted, or 
                        from which structures will be removed under the 
                        project will be dedicated and maintained in 
                        perpetuity to uses which are compatible with 
                        open space, recreational, or wetlands 
                        management practices;
                            ``(ii) new structures will not be erected 
                        in designated special flood hazard areas other 
                        than (I) public facilities which are open on 
                        all sides and functionally related to a 
                        designated open space, (II) rest rooms, and 
                        (III) structures which are approved in writing 
                        before the start of construction by the 
                        Director; and
                            ``(iii) no future disaster assistance for 
                        damages relating to flooding will be sought 
                        from or provided by any Federal source for any 
                        property acquired or accepted under the 
                        acquisition or relocation project.''.

SEC. 4. FLOOD CONTROL AND FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT POLICIES.

    (a) Studies.--The Secretary of the Army shall conduct studies to 
assess national flood control and floodplain management policies.
    (b) Contents.--The studies conducted under this section shall--
            (1) identify critical water, sewer, transportation, and 
        other essential public facilities which currently face 
        unacceptable flood risks;
            (2) identify high priority industrial, petrochemical, 
        hazardous waste, and other facilities which require additional 
        flood protection due to the special health and safety risks 
        caused by flooding;
            (3) evaluate current Federal, State, and local floodplain 
        management requirements for infrastructure improvements and 
        other development in the floodplain and recommend changes to 
        reduce the potential loss of life, property damage, economic 
        losses, and threats to health and safety caused by flooding;
            (4) assess the adequacy and consistency of existing 
        policies on nonstructural flood control and damage prevention 
        measures and, where appropriate, identify incentives and 
        opportunities for greater use of such nonstructural measures;
            (5) identify incentives and opportunities for environmental 
        restoration as a component of the Nation's flood control and 
        floodplain management policies;
            (6) examine the differences in Federal cost-sharing for 
        construction and maintenance of flood control projects on the 
        Upper and Lower Mississippi River systems and assess the effect 
        of such differences on the level of flood protection on the 
        Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries; and
            (7) assess current Federal policies on pre-event repair and 
        maintenance of both Federal and non-Federal levees and 
        recommend Federal and non-Federal actions to help prevent the 
        failure of these levees during flooding.
    (c) Consultation.--In conducting studies under this section, the 
Secretary of the Army shall consult the heads of appropriate Federal 
agencies, representatives of State and local governments, the 
agricultural community, the inland waterways transportation industry, 
environmental organizations, recreational interests, experts in river 
hydrology and floodplain management, other business and commercial 
interests, and other appropriate persons.
    (d) Report.--Not later than June 30, 1995, the Secretary of the 
Army shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of the studies 
conducted under this section.

SEC. 5. FLOOD CONTROL MEASURES ON UPPER MISSISSIPPI AND LOWER MISSOURI 
              RIVERS AND THEIR TRIBUTARIES.

    (a) Studies.--The Secretary of the Army shall conduct studies of 
the Upper Mississippi River and Lower Missouri River and their 
tributaries to identify potential solutions to flooding problems in 
such areas and to recommend specific water resources projects that 
would result in economically and environmentally justified flood damage 
reduction measures in such areas.
    (b) Contents.--The studies conducted under this section shall--
            (1) reflect public input;
            (2) include establishment of baseline conditions to allow 
        for a full assessment of economic and environmental costs and 
        benefits associated with flood damage reduction projects and 
        changes in land use patterns;
            (3) identify options for development of comprehensive 
        solutions for improved long-term flood plain management;
            (4) identify feasibility studies of specific projects or 
        programs that are likely to improve flood damage reduction 
        capabilities;
            (5) assess the impact of the current system of levees and 
        flood control projects and current watershed management and 
        land use practices on the flood levels experienced on the Upper 
        Mississippi River and Lower Missouri River and their 
        tributaries in 1993 and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a 
        full range of alternative flood damage reduction measures, 
        including structural and nonstructural measures, such as the 
        preservation and restoration of wetlands;
            (6) recommend flood control improvements and other flood 
        damage reduction measures to reduce economic losses, damage to 
        public facilities, and the release of hazardous materials from 
        industrial, petrochemical, hazardous waste, and other 
        facilities caused by flooding of the Upper Mississippi River 
        and Lower Missouri River and their tributaries; and
            (7) assess the environmental impact of current flood 
        control measures and the flood control improvements recommended 
        under this section.
    (c) Consultation.--In conducting studies under this section, the 
Secretary of the Army shall consult the heads of other Federal agencies 
with water resources and floodplain management responsibilities.
    (d) Report.--Not later than June 30, 1995, the Secretary of the 
Army shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of the studies 
conducted under this section.

SEC. 6. EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

    Section 5(a)(1) of the Act entitled ``An Act authorizing 
construction of certain public works on rivers and harbors for flood 
control, and for other purposes'', approved August 18, 1941 (33 U.S.C. 
701n(a)(1)), is amended by inserting before the first semicolon the 
following: ``, or in implementation of nonstructural alternatives to 
the repair or restoration of such flood control work if requested by 
the non-Federal sponsor''.

SEC. 7. TREATMENT OF REAL PROPERTY BUYOUT PROGRAMS.

    (a) Inapplicability of URA.--The purchase of any real property 
under a qualified buyout program shall not constitute the making of 
Federal financial assistance available to pay all or part of the cost 
of a program or project resulting in the acquisition of real property 
or in any owner of real property being a displaced person (within the 
meaning of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property 
Acquisition Policies Act of 1970).
    (b) Definition of ``Qualified Buyout Program''.--For purposes of 
this section, the term ``qualified buyout program'' means any program 
that--
            (1) provides for the purchase of only property damaged by 
        the major, widespread flooding in the Midwest during 1993;
            (2) provides for such purchase solely as a result of such 
        flooding;
            (3) provides for such acquisition without the use of the 
        power of eminent domain and notification to the seller that 
        acquisition is without the use of such power;
            (4) is carried out by or through a State or a unit of 
        general local government; and
            (5) is being assisted with amounts made available for--
                    (A) disaster relief by the Federal Emergency 
                Management Agency; or
                    (B) other Federal financial assistance programs.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 15, 1993.

            Attest:






                                                                 Clerk.