Clarifying Easement Requirements for Existing Projects Act

Clarifying Easement Requirements for Existing Projects Act

This bill modifies provisions requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to acquire easements in certain privately owned beaches. For example, with respect to a qualifying private beach that benefits from certain federal projects, the bill requires the Corps of Engineers to permit a nonfederal interest to periodically obtain a right of entry to the private beach to perform project-related activities, rather than requiring the nonfederal interest to obtain a permanent easement.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6710 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6710

 To modify certain requirements of the Corps of Engineers relating to 
    periodic nourishment of private beaches, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2020

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

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                                 A BILL


 
 To modify certain requirements of the Corps of Engineers relating to 
    periodic nourishment of private beaches, 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 ``Clarifying Easement Requirements for 
Existing Projects Act''.

SEC. 2. EASEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING PROJECTS.

    (a) For purposes of sections 103(d) of the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2213(d)) and an Act of July 28, 1956 
(33 U.S.C. 426e(d)), the Secretary shall consider a privately owned 
shore to be subject to public use if such shore is subject to public 
use from the low-water line landward to the line of permanent 
vegetation or to the place where there is marked change in material or 
physiographic form, excepting and excluding any dune areas to which 
access is prohibited by local or State law.
    (b) Notwithstanding that sections 103(d) of the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2213(d)) and an Act of July 28, 1956 
(33 U.S.C. 426e(d)), condition Federal financial participation in 
projects benefiting privately owned beaches on public use of such 
beaches, the Secretary shall not require a non-Federal interest to 
acquire additional rights after the date of enactment of this Act to 
permit public use of any privately owned beach, and Federal financial 
participation in beach nourishment, if, prior to the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary periodically nourished such beach as part of 
an authorized and constructed coastal storm risk management project 
without requiring the non-Federal interest to fund all costs associated 
with nourishing any part or parcel of such beach that was not subject 
to public use in accordance with the standard described in subsection 
(a).
    (c) In the case of any privately owned beach described in 
subsection (b), the Secretary shall permit the non-Federal interest, in 
lieu of acquiring permanent easements over such beach, to obtain 
rights-of-entry to such beach from each private landowner prior to any 
scheduled activity for periodic nourishment, operation and maintenance, 
or emergency repair and restoration that requires use of private 
property.
    (d) In the case of any privately owned beach described in 
subsections (a) or (b), the Secretary is authorized to permit the non-
Federal interest to release permanent easements or other rights, 
including the right of public access, acquired from private owners 
prior to the date of enactment of this Act if the Secretary determines 
that release of such easements is advisable to foster equal treatment 
of similarly situated private landowners.
    (e) Nothing in this section affects easements or other property 
interests required by the Secretary to provide perpendicular public 
access to the beach for any coastal storm risk management project.
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