Watershed Protection and Flood • Act of August 4, 1954 (Ch. 656, 68 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 1001(note), 1001-1008; 33 U.S.C. 701b(note)) Sec. 1. Purpose Erosion, floodwater, and sediment damages in the watersheds of the rivers and streams of the United States, causing loss of life and damage to property, constitute a menace to the national welfare; and it is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should cooperate with States and their political subdivisions, soil or water conservation districts, flood prevention or control districts, and other local public agencies for the purpose of preventing such damages, of furthering the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water, and the conservation and utilization of land and thereby of preserving, protecting, and improving the Nation's land and water resources and the quality of the environment. (16 U.S.C. 1001) De finitions Sec. 2. For the purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean: The "Secretary" --The Secretary of Agriculture of the United States. "Works of improvement"--any undertaking for- (1) flood prevention (including structural and land-treatment measures), (2) the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water, or No (3) the conservation and proper utilization of land in watershed or subwatershed areas not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand acres and not including any single structure which provides more than twelve thousand five hundred acre-feet of floodwater detention capacity, and more than twenty-five thousand acre-feet of total capacity. appropriation shall be made for any plan involving an estimated Federal contribution to construction costs in excess of $5,000,000 or which includes any structure which provides more than twenty-five hundred acre-feet of total capacity unless such plan has been approved by resolutions adopted by the appropriate committees of the Senate and House of Representatives: Provided, That in the case of any plan involving no single structure providing more than 4,000 acre-feet of total capacity the appropriate committees shall be the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and in the case of any plan involving any single structure of more than 4,000 acre-feet of total capacity the appropriate committees shall be the Committee on Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Public Works of the House of Representatives, respectively. A number of such subwatersheds when they are component parts of a larger watershed may be planned together when the local sponsoring organizations so desire. "Local organization"--any State, political subdivision thereof, soil or water conservation district, flood prevention or control district, or combinations thereof, or any other agency having authority under State law to carry out, maintain and operate the works of improvement; or any irrigation or reservoir company, water users' association, or similar organization having such authority and not being operated for profit that may be approved by the Secretary; or any Indian tribe or tribal organization, as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b), having authority under Federal, State, or Indian tribal law to carry out, maintain, and operate the works of improvement. (16 U.S.C. 1002) Assistance to Local Organizations Sec. 3. In order to assist local organizations in preparing and carrying out plans for works of improvement, the Secretary is authorized, upon application of local organizations if such application has been submitted to, and not disapproved within 45 days by, the State agency having supervisory responsibility over programs provided for in this Act, or by the Governor if there is no State agency having such responsibility- (1) to conduct such investigations and surveys as may be necessary to prepare plans for works of improvement; (2) to prepare plans and estimates required for adequate engineering evaluation; (3) to make allocations of costs to the various purposes to show the basis of such allocations and to determine whether benefits exceed costs; (4) to cooperate and enter into agreements with and to furnish financial and other assistance to local organizations: Provided, That, for the land-treatment measures, the Federal assistance shall not exceed the rate of assistance for similar practices under existing national programs; (5) to obtain the cooperation and assistance of other Federal agencies in carrying out the purposes of this section; (6) to enter into agreements with landowners, operators, and occupiers, individually or collectively, based on conservation plans of such landowners, operators, and occupiers which are developed in cooperation with and approved by the soil and water conservation district in which the land described in the agreement is situated, to be carried out on such land during a period of not to exceed ten years, providing for changes in cropping systems and land uses and for the installation of soil and water conservation practices and measures needed to conserve and develop the soil, water, woodland, wildlife, energy, and recreation resources of lands within the area included in plans for works of improvement, as provided for in such plans, including watershed or subwatershed work plans in connection with the eleven watershed improvement programs authorized by section 13 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (58 Stat. 887), as amended and supplemented. Applications for assistance in developing such conservation plans shall be made in writing to the soil and water conservation district involved, and the proposed agreement shall be reviewed by such district. In return for such agreements by landowners, operators, and occupiers the Secretary shall agree to share the costs of carrying out those practices and measures set forth in the agreement for which he determines that cost sharing is appropriate and in the public interest. The portion of such costs, including labor, to be shared shall be that part which the Secretary determines is appropriate and in the public interest for the carrying out of the practices and measures set forth in the agreement, except that the Federal assistance shall not exceed the rate of assistance for similar practices and measures under existing national programs. The Secretary may terminate any agreement with a landowner, operator, or occupier by mutual agreement if the Secretary determines that such termination would be in the public interest, and may agree to such modifications of agreements, previously entered into hereunder, as he deems desirable to carry out the purposes of this paragraph or to facilitate the practical administration of the agreements provided for herein. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary, to the extent he deems it desirable to carry out the purposes of this paragraph, may provide in any agreement hereunder for (1) preservation for a period not to exceed the period covered by the agreement and an equal period thereafter of the cropland, crop acreage, and allotment history applicable to land covered by the agreement for the purpose of any Federal program under which such history is used as a basis for an allotment or other limitation on the production of any crop; or (2) surrender of any such history and allotments. (16 U.S.C. 1003) Conditions of Assistance Sec. 4. The Secretary shall require as a condition to providing Federal assistance for the installation of works of improvement that local organizations shall- (1) acquire, or with respect to interests in land to be acquired by condemnation provide assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that they will acquire, without cost to the Federal Government from funds appropriated for the purposes of this act, such land, easements, or rights-of-way as will be needed in connection with works of improvement installed with Federal assistance: Provided, That when a local organization agrees to operate and maintain any reservoir or other area included in a plan for public fish and wildlife or recreational development, the Secretary shall be authorized to bear not to exceed one-half of the costs of (a) the land, easements, or rights-of-way acquired or to be acquired by the local organization for such reservoir or other area, and (b) minimum basic facilities needed for public health and safety, access to, and use of such reservoir or other area for such purposes: Provided further, That the Secretary shall be authorized to participate in recreational development in any watershed project only to the extent that the need there for is demonstrated in accordance with standards established by him, taking into account the anticipated man-days of use of the projected recreational development and giving consideration to the availability within the region of existing water-based outdoor recreational developments: Provided further, That the Secretary shall be authorized to participate in not more than one recreational development in a watershed project containing less than seventy-five thousand acres, or two such developments in a project containing between seventy-five thousand and one hundred and fifty thousand acres, or three such developments in projects exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand acres: Provided further, That when the Secretary and a local organization have agreed that the immediate acquisition by the local organization of land, easements, or rights-of-way is advisable for the preservation of sites for works of improvement included in a plan from encroachment by residential, commercial, industrial, or other development, the Secretary shall be authorized to advance to the local organization from funds appropriated for construction of works of improvement the amounts required for the acquisition of such land, easements or rights-of-way; and, except where such costs are to be borne by the Secretary, such advance shall be repaid by the local organization, with interest, prior to construction of the works of improvement, for credit to such construction funds: Provided further, That the Secretary shall be authorized to bear an amount not to exceed one-half of the costs of the land, easements, or rights-of-way acquired or to be acquired by the local organization for mitigation of fish and wildlife habitat losses, and that such acquisition is not limited to the confines of the watershed project boundaries; (2) assume (A) such proportionate share, as is determined by the Secretary to be equitable in consideration of national needs and assistance authorized for similar purposes under other Federal programs, of the costs of installing any works of improvement, involving Federal assistance (excluding engineering cost), which is applicable to the agricultural phases of the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water or for fish and wildlife development, recreational development, ground water recharge, water quality management, or the conservation and proper utilization of land: Provided, That works of improvement for water quality management shall consist primarily of water storage capacity in reservoirs for regulation of streamflow, except that any such storage and water releases shall not be provided as a substitute for adequate treatment or other methods of controlling waste at the source, and shall be consistent with standards and regulations adopted by the Water Resources Council on Federal cost sharing for water quality management, and (B) all of the cost of installing any portion of such works applicable to other purposes except that any part of the construction cost (including engineering costs) applicable to flood prevention and features relating thereto shall be borne by the Federal Government and paid for by the Secretary out of funds appropriate for the purposes of this Act: Provided, That, in addition to and without limitation on the authority of the Secretary to make loans or advancements under section 8, the Secretary may pay for any storage of water for present or anticipated future demands or needs for municipal or industrial water included in any reservoir structure constructed or modified under the provisions of this Act as hereinafter provided: Provided further, That the cost of water storage to meet future demands may not exceed 30 per centum of the total estimated cost of such reservoir structure and the local organization shall give reasonable assurances, and there is evidence, that such demands for the use of such storage will be made within a period of time which will permit repayment within the life of the reservoir structure of the cost of such storage: Provided further, That the Secretary shall determine prior to initiation of construction or modification of any reservoir structure including such water supply storage that there are adequate assurances by the local organization or by an agency of the State having authority to give such assurances, that the Secretary will be reimbursed the cost of water supply storage for anticipated future demands, and that the local organization will pay not less than 50 per centum of the cost of storage |