Dam Safety Improvement Act
This bill expands eligibility for funding under the High Hazard Dam Rehabilitation Program and otherwise modifies the program.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6985 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6985
To amend the National Dam Safety Program Act to expand eligibility for
the rehabilitation of high hazard potential dam program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 22, 2020
Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Dam Safety Program Act to expand eligibility for
the rehabilitation of high hazard potential dam program, 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 ``Dam Safety Improvement Act''.
SEC. 2. REHABILITATION OF HIGH HAZARD POTENTIAL DAMS.
(a) Definitions.--Section 2 of the National Dam Safety Program Act
(33 U.S.C. 467) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (10);
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (11) and (16) as paragraphs
(10) and (17), respectively;
(3) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) in clause (iii)--
(I) by striking ``and'' at the end
and inserting ``or'';
(II) by striking the clause
designation and inserting ``(iii)(I)'';
and
(III) by adding at the end the
following:
``(II) if the dam is in a State that by law
requires an emergency action plan to comply
with FEMA guidelines and to be approved by an
authorized State agency, the dam--
``(aa) was identified as having an
emergency action plan in the inventory
of dams maintained under section 6
before the State required the emergency
action plan to comply with FEMA
guidelines and to be approved by an
authorized State agency; and
``(bb) as of the date on which, for
each fiscal year, funds for assistance
under section 8A are distributed under
subsection (g)(2) of that section, has
an updated emergency action plan that--
``(AA) is in conformance
with State law; and
``(BB) is pending approval
by the authorized State agency;
and''; and
(ii) in clause (iv)(II), by inserting
before the period at the end ``, as determined
by the Administrator, in consultation with the
Board''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ``dam;''
and inserting ``dam under a hydropower project with an
authorized installed capacity of greater than 1.5
megawatts;'';
(4) by inserting after paragraph (10) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(11) Recipient.--The term `recipient' means the entity
applying for, receiving, and distributing to subrecipients the
assistance under section 8A.''; and
(5) by inserting after paragraph (15) the following:
``(16) Subrecipient.--The term `subrecipient', with respect
to a project at a dam for which the assistance under section 8A
is sought, means an entity that--
``(A) receives the assistance for the project from
a recipient; and
``(B)(i) if the owner of the dam is a governmental
organization or a nonprofit organization, is the owner;
or
``(ii) if the owner of the dam is not a
governmental organization or a nonprofit organization,
is a governmental organization or nonprofit
organization seeking the assistance on behalf of the
owner.''.
(b) Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams.--Section 8A of
the National Dam Safety Program Act (33 U.S.C. 467f-2) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``non-Federal sponsors''
and inserting ``recipients'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``non-Federal
sponsor'' and inserting ``recipient''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``non-
Federal sponsor'' and inserting ``recipient'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) in the subparagraph heading, by
striking ``Project grant'' and
inserting ``Grant'';
(II) by striking ``a project grant
agreement with the non-Federal
sponsor'' and inserting ``a grant
agreement with the recipient''; and
(III) by inserting ``for which the
grant is provided'' after ``the
project'';
(iii) by striking subparagraph (C) and
inserting the following:
``(C) Grant assurance.--As part of a grant
agreement under subparagraph (B), the Administrator
shall require that each subrecipient for the applicable
project provides an assurance that the subrecipient
will carry out a plan for maintenance of the dam to be
rehabilitated under the grant agreement during the
expected life of the dam.''; and
(iv) in subparagraph (D), in the matter
preceding clause (i), by striking ``A grant
provided under this section shall not exceed
the lesser'' and inserting ``A subrecipient
that receives assistance from a grant provided
under this section shall not receive, for any 1
dam, assistance that exceeds the lesser'';
(3) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``Non-federal sponsor'' and inserting
``Subrecipient'';
(ii) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``To receive'' and all that
follows through ``shall'' and inserting ``To
receive assistance, a subrecipient shall'';
(iii) in subparagraph (A), by striking
``participate in, and comply with,'' and
inserting ``demonstrate that the community in
which the dam is located participates in, and
complies with,'';
(iv) in subparagraph (B), in the matter
preceding clause (i), by striking ``have'' and
inserting ``not later than 2 years after the
development of criteria for such a plan by the
Administrator, in consultation with the Board,
under paragraph (3), demonstrate that the
applicable local or Tribal government has'';
and
(v) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``50-
year period'' and inserting ``expected life of
the dam''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Hazard mitigation plan criteria.--The Administrator
shall develop criteria for hazard mitigation plans under
paragraph (2)(B).
``(4) Recovery of funds.--In the event that a grant is
awarded under this section for which required activities may be
completed after the date on which the grant is awarded, the
Administrator may seek to recoup the amounts awarded under the
grant if those activities are not completed within the
applicable time period.'';
(4) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``non-Federal sponsor'' and
inserting ``subrecipient''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``1
year'' each place it appears and inserting ``2
years''; and
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``Technical'' and inserting ``Plan criteria and
technical''; and
(ii) by striking ``The Administrator may
provide'' and inserting ``The Administrator, in
consultation with the Board, shall provide
criteria and may provide''; and
(5) in subsection (i)(1), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking ``non-Federal sponsor'' and
inserting ``subrecipient''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
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