16 U.S.C. § 1011a — Watershed agreements

Page 1599 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 1011a 1 So in original. Probably should be capitalized. 1 So in original. Probably should be capitalized. (1) the agreement shall— (A) include such terms and conditions mu- tually agreed to by the Secretary and the landowner; (B) improve the viability of and otherwise benefit the fish, wildlife, and other biotic re- sources on public land in the watershed; (C) authorize the provision of technical as- sistance by the Secretary in the planning of management activities that will further the purposes of the agreement; (D) provide for the sharing of costs of im- plementing the agreement among the Fed- eral government,1 the landowner, and other entities, as mutually agreed on by the af- fected interests; and (E) ensure that any expenditure by the Secretary pursuant to the agreement is de- termined by the Secretary to be in the pub- lic interest; and (2) the Secretary may require such other terms and conditions as are necessary to pro- tect the public investment on private lands, provided such terms and conditions are mutu- ally agreed to by the Secretary and the land- owner. (Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(d) [title I, § 124], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–181, 3009–204; Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(e) [title I, § 136], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–231, 2681–266; Pub. L. 108–7, div. F, title I, § 135, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 243.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, and also as part of the Omnibus Consolidated Appro- priations Act, 1997, and not as part of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act which comprises this chapter. AMENDMENTS 2003—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108–7 inserted ‘‘including appropriations for the Wildland Fire Management ac- count allocated to the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs’’ after ‘‘appropriations made for the Bureau of Land Manage- ment’’. 1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–277 substituted ‘‘with the heads of other Federal agencies, tribal, State, and local governments, private and nonprofit entities, and landowners for the protection, restoration, and en- hancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other re- sources on public or private land and the reduction of risk from natural disaster where public safety is threatened’’ for ‘‘with willing private landowners for restoration and enhancement of fish, wildlife, and other biotic resources on public or private land or both’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries FEDERAL AND STATE COOPERATIVE WATERSHED RESTORATION AND PROTECTION Pub. L. 106–291, title III, § 331, Oct. 11, 2000, 114 Stat. 996, as amended by Pub. L. 108–447, div. E, title III, § 336, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3102; Pub. L. 111–88, div. A, title IV, § 422, Oct. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 2961; Pub. L. 113–76, div. G, title IV, § 417, Jan. 17, 2014, 128 Stat. 341, authorized the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, through Sept. 30, 2018, to use cooperative agreements and contracts to permit State forestry pro- grams to perform watershed restoration and protection services on National Forest System and Bureau of Land Management lands when similar and complementary services were being performed on adjacent State or pri- vate lands. WATERSHED AGREEMENTS Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(e) [title III, § 323], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–231, 2681–290, as amended, formerly set out as a note under this section, was transferred and is classified to section 1011a of this title. § 1011a. Watershed agreements (a) Watershed restoration and enhancement agreements For fiscal year 2006 and each fiscal year there- after, to the extent funds are otherwise avail- able, appropriations for the Forest Service may be used by the Secretary of Agriculture for the purpose of entering into cooperative agreements with willing Federal, tribal, State and local gov- ernments, private and nonprofit entities and landowners for the protection, restoration and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, and other resources on public or private land, the re- duction of risk from natural disaster where pub- lic safety is threatened, or a combination there- of or both that benefit these resources within the watershed. (b) Direct and indirect watershed agreements The Secretary of Agriculture may enter into a watershed restoration and enhancement agree- ment— (1) directly with a willing private landowner; or (2) indirectly through an agreement with a State, local or tribal government or other pub- lic entity, educational institution, or private nonprofit organization. (c) Terms and conditions In order for the Secretary to enter into a wa- tershed restoration and enhancement agree- ment— (1) the agreement shall— (A) include such terms and conditions mu- tually agreed to by the Secretary and the landowner, state 1 or local government, or private or nonprofit entity; (B) improve the viability of and otherwise benefit the fish, wildlife, and other resources on national forests lands within the water- shed; (C) authorize the provision of technical as- sistance by the Secretary in the planning of management activities that will further the purposes of the agreement; (D) provide for the sharing of costs of im- plementing the agreement among the Fed- eral Government, the landowner(s), and other entities, as mutually agreed on by the affected interests; and (E) ensure that any expenditure by the Secretary pursuant to the agreement is de- termined by the Secretary to be in the pub- lic interest; and (2) the Secretary may require such other terms and conditions as are necessary to pro- Page 1600 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 1012 2 So in original. Probably should not be capitalized. 3 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘non-Federal’’. tect the public investment on non-Federal lands, provided such terms and conditions are mutually agreed to by the Secretary and other landowners, State and local governments or both. (d) Applicable law Chapter 63 of title 31 shall not apply to— (1) a watershed restoration and enhancement agreement entered into under this section; or (2) an agreement entered into under section 565a–1 of this title. (e) Reporting requirements Not later than December 31, 1999, the Sec- retary shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate, which contains— (1) A 2 concise description of each project, in- cluding the project purpose, location on fed- eral 1 and non-federal 3 land, key activities, and all parties to the agreement. (2) the funding and/or other contributions provided by each party for each project agree- ment. (Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(e) [title III, § 323], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–231, 2681–290; Pub. L. 107–63, title III, § 330, Nov. 5, 2001, 115 Stat. 471; Pub. L. 109–54, title IV, § 434, Aug. 2, 2005, 119 Stat. 557; Pub. L. 111–11, title III, § 3001, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1126.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly set out as a note under section 1011 of this title. Section was enacted as part of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, and also as part of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, and not as part of the Watershed Protection and Flood Pre- vention Act which comprises this chapter. AMENDMENTS 2009—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–11, § 3001(1), substituted ‘‘fiscal year 2006 and each fiscal year thereafter’’ for ‘‘each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011’’. Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 111–11, § 3001(2), (3), added subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e). 2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–54 substituted ‘‘each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011’’ for ‘‘fiscal year 1999, 2000 and 2001, and fiscal years 2002 through 2005’’. 2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–63 inserted ‘‘and fiscal years 2002 through 2005,’’ before ‘‘to the extent funds are otherwise available’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SIMILAR PROVISIONS Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation act: Pub. L. 105–83, title III, § 334, Nov. 14, 1997, 111 Stat. 1601. § 1012. Rehabilitation of structural measures near, at, or past their evaluated life expect- ancy (a) Definitions For purposes of this section: (1) Rehabilitation The term ‘‘rehabilitation’’, with respect to a structural measure constructed as part of a covered water resource project, means the completion of all work necessary to extend the service life of the structural measure and meet applicable safety and performance standards. This may include: (A) protecting the integrity of the structural measure or prolonging the useful life of the structural measure beyond the original evaluated life expectancy; (B) cor- recting damage to the structural measure from a catastrophic event; (C) correcting the deterioration of structural components that are deteriorating at an abnormal rate; (D) up- grading the structural measure to meet changed land use conditions in the watershed served by the structural measure or changed safety criteria applicable to the structural measure; or (E) decommissioning the struc- ture, if requested by the local organization. (2) Covered water resource project The term ‘‘covered water resource project’’ means a work of improvement carried out under any of the following: (A) This chapter. (B) Section 13 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (Public Law 78–534; 58 Stat. 905). (C) The pilot watershed program author- ized under the heading ‘‘FLOOD PREVENTION’’ of the Department of Agriculture Appropria- tion Act, 1954 (Public Law 156; 67 Stat. 214). (D) Subtitle H of title XV of the Agri- culture and Food Act of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3451 et seq.; commonly known as the Resource Conservation and Development Program). (3) Structural measure The term ‘‘structural measure’’ means a physical improvement that impounds water, commonly known as a dam, which was con- structed as part of a covered water resource project, including the impoundment area and flood pool. (b) Cost share assistance for rehabilitation (1) Assistance authorized The Secretary may provide financial assist- ance to a local organization to cover a portion of the total costs incurred for the rehabilita- tion of structural measures originally con- structed as part of a covered water resource project. The total costs of rehabilitation in- clude the costs associated with all components of the rehabilitation project, including acqui- sition of land, easements, and rights-of-ways, rehabilitation project administration, the pro- vision of technical assistance, contracting, and construction costs, except that the local organization shall be responsible for securing all land, easements, or rights-of-ways nec- essary for the project. (2) Amount of assistance; limitations The amount of Federal funds that may be made available under this subsection to a local organization for construction of a par- ticular rehabilitation project shall be equal to 65 percent of the total rehabilitation costs, but not to exceed 100 percent of actual construc- tion costs incurred in the rehabilitation. How-