[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3988 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3988

   To supplement the Secretary of the Army's existing authorities to 
                  review the operations of reservoirs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 2014

 Mr. Huffman (for himself, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Garamendi, and Mr. Thompson 
of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To supplement the Secretary of the Army's existing authorities to 
                  review the operations of reservoirs.

    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 ``Fixing Operations of Reservoirs to 
Encompass Climatic and Atmospheric Science Trends Act'' or the 
``FORECAST Act''.

SEC. 2. REVIEW OF RESERVOIR OPERATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after a request of a non-
Federal sponsor of a reservoir, the Secretary of the Army, in 
consultation with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shall review its operation, 
including the water control manual and rule curves, using improved 
weather forecasts and run-off forecasting methods, including the 
Advanced Hydrologic Prediction System of the National Weather Service 
and the Hydrometeorology Testbed program of NOAA.
    (b) Description of Benefits.--In conducting the review under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall determine if a change in 
operations, including the use of improved weather forecasts and run-off 
forecasting methods, will improve one or more of the core functions of 
the Army Corps of Engineers, including--
            (1) reducing risks to human life, public safety, property;
            (2) reducing the need for future disaster relief;
            (3) improving local water storage capability and 
        reliability in coordination with the non-Federal sponsor and 
        other water users;
            (4) restoring, protecting, or mitigating the impacts of a 
        water resources development project on the environment; or
            (5) improving fish species habitat or population within the 
        boundaries and downstream of a water resources project.
    (c) Results Reported.--Not later than 90 days after completion of 
the review under this section, the Secretary shall submit a report to 
Congress regarding the results of such review.
    (d) Manual Update.--As expeditiously as practicable and not later 
than 3 years after submission of the report under subsection (c), and 
pursuant to the procedures required under existing authorities, if the 
Secretary determines from the results of the review that using improved 
weather and run-off forecasting methods improves one or more core 
functions of the Army Corps of Engineers at a reservoir, the Secretary 
shall incorporate such changes in its operation and update the water 
control manual.
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