[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4748 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4748

  To require the Secretary of the Army to submit to Congress a report 
   identifying activities for hurricane and flood protection in Lake 
           Pontchartrain, Louisiana, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2006

  Mr. Jindal introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of the Army to submit to Congress a report 
   identifying activities for hurricane and flood protection in Lake 
           Pontchartrain, Louisiana, 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 ``Louisiana Emergency Needs Corps of 
Engineers Authorization Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. HURRICANE AND FLOOD PROTECTION, LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, LOUISIANA.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 20 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of 
Engineers (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary''), shall submit 
to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives a report that--
            (1) with respect to the project for hurricane-flood 
        protection on Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, authorized by 
        section 204 of the Flood Control Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 1077), 
        identifies activities to reconstruct hurricane and flood 
        protection measures relating to the outfall canals adjacent to 
        Lake Pontchartrain in the Jefferson and Orleans parishes of the 
        State of Louisiana that are substantially in accordance with 
        levels of hurricane and flood protection authorized under 
        Federal law and that are activities to--
                    (A) reconstruct and fortify floodwalls adjacent to 
                the canals;
                    (B) construct at the heads of the canals pumping 
                stations with adequate pumping capacity, as determined 
                by the Secretary;
                    (C) install gate-like structures at the heads of 
                the canals; and
                    (D) prevent--
                            (i) seepage from the canals into adjacent 
                        property; and
                            (ii) the undermining of floodwalls improved 
                        or reconstructed under subparagraph (A);
            (2) identifies activities to protect, restore, and reduce 
        the risk of storm damage in coastal areas of the State of 
        Louisiana in which a major disaster relating to Hurricane 
        Katrina or Hurricane Rita was declared by the President to 
        exist on or after August 29, 2005, in accordance with section 
        401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
        Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), in accordance with the report 
        transmitted by the President to the House of Representatives 
        and dated October 28, 2005;
            (3) identifies activities to fortify, strengthen, and 
        improve hurricane protection and flood control infrastructure 
        (including pumping stations) in existence on or before August 
        28, 2005, to ensure sustainability and prevent the failure of 
        the infrastructure under hurricane conditions, in accordance 
        with predicted area conditions for standard project hurricanes 
        and located in an area designed to be protected by a hurricane 
        or flood control project authorized under Federal law; and
            (4) identifies any activity included in the report of the 
        Chief of Engineers dated August 23, 2002 (including 
        supplemental reports), that the Secretary determines to be 
        integral to the protection of life and property in the disaster 
        area described in paragraph (2).
    (b) Implementation.--
            (1) In general.--Absent a resolution of Congress 
        disapproving an activity identified in the report under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary may implement the activity 
        beginning on the date that is 30 days after the date on which 
        the report is submitted.
            (2) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of an 
        activity carried out under paragraph (1) shall be 100 percent.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2006 through 
2010--
            (1) $1,400,000,000 to carry out activities identified under 
        paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a); and
            (2) $788,000,000 to carry out activities identified under 
        subsection (a)(4).

SEC. 3. COMPENSATION.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in 
acquiring property or an interest in property to improve, reconstruct, 
or develop hurricane and flood protection measures relating to 
Hurricane Katrina or Rita, the Secretary shall compensate the owner of 
the property or interest without taking into consideration any damage 
to the property or interest caused by Hurricane Katrina or Rita.
    (b) Adjustment for Payments Made.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), 
the Secretary may reduce the amount of compensation paid under 
subsection (a) for property or an interest in property by the amount of 
any other payment received by the owner of the property or interest for 
damages to that property or interest as a result of Hurricane Katrina 
or Rita, including a payment received from--
            (1) an insurance claim; or
            (2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

SEC. 4. EFFECT OF ACT.

    Nothing in this Act affects any authority of the Secretary under 
any other Federal law.
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