[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7294 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7294

To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary 
of Agriculture to carry out emergency watershed protection measures on 
          National Forest System land, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2024

   Mr. Neguse (for himself, Ms. Maloy, Ms. Caraveo, and Mr. Curtis) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                              Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary 
of Agriculture to carry out emergency watershed protection measures on 
          National Forest System land, 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 ``Watershed Protection and Forest 
Recovery Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY FOREST WATERSHED PROGRAM.

    (a) Funding and Administration.--Section 404(b) of the Agricultural 
Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2204(b)) is amended by inserting ``to 
carry out section 401'' after ``for a fiscal year''.
    (b) Emergency Forest Watershed Program.--Title IV of the 
Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 408. EMERGENCY FOREST WATERSHED PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Emergency watershed protection measures.--The term 
        `emergency watershed protection measures' means measures that--
                    ``(A) are necessary to address runoff retardation, 
                soil-erosion prevention, and flood mitigation caused by 
                a natural disaster or any other natural occurrence that 
                has caused a sudden impairment to natural resources on 
                National Forest System land, and the damage, if not 
                treated--
                            ``(i) would significantly impair or 
                        endanger the natural resources on the National 
                        Forest System land; and
                            ``(ii) would pose an immediate risk to 
                        water resources or loss of life or property 
                        downstream of the National Forest System land; 
                        and
                    ``(B) would maintain or restore forest health and 
                forest-related resources on the National Forest System 
                land.
            ``(2) Natural disaster.--The term `natural disaster' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 407(a).
            ``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary, 
        acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
            ``(4) Sponsor.--The term `sponsor' means--
                    ``(A) a State or local government;
                    ``(B) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4 of 
                the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
                Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)); and
                    ``(C) a water district, water conservation 
                district, water utility, or special district.
    ``(b) Authorization.--The Secretary, acting through a sponsor, is 
authorized to undertake emergency watershed protection measures on 
National Forest System land.
    ``(c) Agreements; Payments.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may enter into an 
        agreement with a sponsor and make payments to the sponsor, on 
        request of the sponsor, to carry out emergency watershed 
        protection measures.
            ``(2) Requirements.--
                    ``(A) Project timelines.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Following a natural 
                        disaster or natural occurrence that 
                        necessitates the carrying out of emergency 
                        watershed protection measures, the Secretary 
                        shall execute agreements under paragraph (1) as 
                        expeditiously as possible.
                            ``(ii) Timeline.--A sponsor that has 
                        entered into an agreement under paragraph (1) 
                        shall complete all emergency watershed 
                        protection measures not later than 2 years 
                        after the conclusion of the applicable natural 
                        disaster or natural occurrence, as determined 
                        by the Secretary, that necessitated the 
                        carrying out of those measures.
                            ``(iii) Continued monitoring.--A sponsor 
                        that has entered into an agreement under 
                        paragraph (1) may monitor, maintain, repair, or 
                        replace emergency watershed protection measures 
                        for a period of not more than 3 years following 
                        the conclusion of the natural disaster or 
                        natural occurrence, as determined by the 
                        Secretary, that necessitated the carrying out 
                        of those measures when failure to do so would 
                        result in unacceptable risk to National Forest 
                        System land or downstream water users.
                    ``(B) Payments.--The Secretary, in accordance with 
                an agreement entered into under paragraph (1)--
                            ``(i) may make partial payments prior to 
                        completion of the applicable project; and
                            ``(ii) shall make final payment for the 
                        project not later than 30 days after the date 
                        on which the project is completed.
    ``(d) Waived Matching Requirements.--The Secretary shall waive any 
matching requirements for payments made under subsection (c)(1).
    ``(e) Liability.--
            ``(1) In general.--A sponsor that carries out emergency 
        watershed protection measures pursuant to an agreement under 
        subsection (c)(1) shall not--
                    ``(A) be required to indemnify the United States 
                for any liability resulting from carrying out emergency 
                watershed protection measures pursuant to that 
                agreement; or
                    ``(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), be 
                liable for injury, loss, or damage resulting from 
                carrying out emergency watershed protection measures 
                pursuant to that agreement.
            ``(2) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection 
        precludes liability for damages or costs relating to the 
        carrying out of emergency watershed protection measures by a 
        sponsor pursuant to an agreement entered into under subsection 
        (c)(1) if the sponsor acted with willful or wanton negligence 
        or reckless conduct in carrying out those measures.
    ``(f) Assumption of Risk.--A sponsor that carries out emergency 
watershed protection measures prior to entering into an agreement under 
subsection (c)(1) shall assume the risk of incurring any cost or 
liability resulting from carrying out those measures.
    ``(g) Coordination.--The Chief of the Natural Resources 
Conservation Service shall coordinate on the use of funds distributed 
under this section and section 403.
    ``(h) NEPA Compliance.--Emergency watershed protection measures 
carried out pursuant to this section shall be deemed emergency response 
actions for purposes of section 220.4(b)(1) of title 36, Code of 
Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).''.
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