[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6380 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6380

  To temporarily relieve cost-sharing requirements for Army Corps of 
  Engineers watershed mitigation projects and flood damage reduction 
projects for counties adversely impacted by Hurricane Irene or Tropical 
                   Storm Lee, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 12, 2012

 Mr. Gibson (for himself and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To temporarily relieve cost-sharing requirements for Army Corps of 
  Engineers watershed mitigation projects and flood damage reduction 
projects for counties adversely impacted by Hurricane Irene or Tropical 
                   Storm Lee, 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 ``Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm 
Lee Community Recovery Assistance Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The devastation that Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm 
        Lee brought to many communities was catastrophic. In addition 
        to the damage sustained from the storms themselves, subsequent 
        flooding destroyed towns, wiped out roads and bridges, and 
        caused thousands of Americans to lose their homes, businesses, 
        farms, and personal possessions. Given the fiscal challenges 
        facing these communities, the task of repairing and rebuilding 
        has been significant. Difficult economic times have created 
        very real challenges and obstacles for local and State 
        governments to overcome.
            (2) Members of Congress recognized this devastation and 
        organized a bipartisan coalition of 30 Members whose districts 
        were impacted by Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee. The 
        coalition has worked diligently to ensure that the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency has the resources it needs to 
        support the recovery efforts. As the recovery efforts move 
        forward, it is equally important to conduct studies on what can 
        be done to mitigate disasters of this scale in the future, and 
        the Corps of Engineers is leading the work associated with 
        these studies.
            (3) As the Nation continues to recover from Hurricane Irene 
        and Tropical Storm Lee, some communities are financially 
        incapable of making payments immediately to meet cost-sharing 
        requirements for watershed mitigation projects and flood damage 
        reduction projects. Given the fiscal circumstances and the 
        critical need for recovery efforts, it is necessary to provide 
        temporary relief of these cost-sharing requirements, so that 
        ongoing studies can be concluded and mitigation efforts can be 
        implemented. Providing such relief could result in long-term 
        future savings.

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY RELIEF OF COST-SHARING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN 
              COUNTIES ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY HURRICANE IRENE OR 
              TROPICAL STORM LEE.

    (a) Payment of Non-Federal Contributions.--Upon the request of a 
State or local government, the Secretary of the Army shall allow a non-
Federal interest to make payment of any non-Federal contribution 
associated with a qualifying watershed mitigation project (including 
treatment and distributions components) or a qualifying flood damage 
reduction project over a 30-year period in accordance with section 
103(k) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 
2213(k)).
    (b) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Disaster county.--The term ``disaster county'' means--
                    (A) a county included in the geographical area 
                covered by a qualifying natural disaster declaration; 
                and
                    (B) each county contiguous to a county described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            (2) Qualifying natural disaster declaration.--The term 
        ``qualifying natural disaster declaration'' means a major 
        disaster or emergency declared by the President under the 
        Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) in 2011 due to damaging weather and 
        other conditions relating to Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm 
        Lee.
            (3) Qualifying flood damage reduction project.--The term 
        ``qualifying flood damage reduction project'' means a flood 
        damage reduction project carried out by the Corps of Engineers 
        for a disaster county.
            (4) Qualifying watershed mitigation project.--The term 
        ``qualifying watershed mitigation project'' means a project or 
        study carried out by the Corps of Engineers with respect to a 
        watershed located in whole or in part in a disaster county for 
        one or more of the following purposes:
                    (A) To reduce the impacts of flooding in the 
                watershed, including through ecosystem restoration.
                    (B) To enhance rivers in the watershed with respect 
                to use as transportation corridors.
                    (C) To improve water quality throughout the 
                watershed.
                    (D) To increase economic opportunities in the 
                watershed.
                    (E) To utilize new technologies and innovative 
                approaches to benefit the watershed.
                    (F) To develop and implement a long-term resource 
                monitoring program for the watershed.
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