Emergency watershed program

(a) Floodplain easements Section 403(b) of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203(b)) is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; (2) by inserting before paragraph (5), as so redesignated, the following: (1) Easement restoration The Secretary is authorized to restore appropriate vegetative cover, hydrological functions, and other functions and values of the land subject to a floodplain easement acquired under subsection (a). (2) Easement maintenance The Secretary is authorized to monitor, maintain, and enhance appropriate vegetative cover, hydrological restoration measures, and other restoration measures on land subject to a floodplain easement acquired under subsection (a). (3) Contracts and agreements In carrying out paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary may— (A) enter into contracts with landowners; and (B) enter into agreements with States, nongovernmental organizations, and Indian Tribes. (4) Compatible use authority The Secretary may authorize a landowner to carry out activities on land subject to a floodplain easement acquired under subsection (a) that are— (A) compatible uses necessary to carry out paragraph (1) or (2); or (B) compatible economic uses (including such activities as hunting and fishing, managed timber harvest, water management, or periodic haying or grazing) if such uses are consistent with the long-term protection of the floodplain functions and values for which the easement was acquired.; and (3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking paragraph (1) and inserting paragraph (5) each place it appears. (b) Level of restoration Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is amended by adding at the end the following: (c) Level of restoration In carrying out this section, the Secretary may undertake measures that increase the level of protection above that which would be necessary to address the immediate impairment of the watershed if the Secretary determines that such restoration is in the best interest of the long-term health of the watershed and the long-term protection of the watershed from repetitive impairments..

(a) Floodplain easements Section 403(b) of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203(b)) is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; (2) by inserting before paragraph (5), as so redesignated, the following: (1) Easement restoration The Secretary is authorized to restore appropriate vegetative cover, hydrological functions, and other functions and values of the land subject to a floodplain easement acquired under subsection (a). (2) Easement maintenance The Secretary is authorized to monitor, maintain, and enhance appropriate vegetative cover, hydrological restoration measures, and other restoration measures on land subject to a floodplain easement acquired under subsection (a). (3) Contracts and agreements In carrying out paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary may— (A) enter into contracts with landowners; and (B) enter into agreements with States, nongovernmental organizations, and Indian Tribes. (4) Compatible use authority The Secretary may authorize a landowner to carry out activities on land subject to a floodplain easement acquired under subsection (a) that are— (A) compatible uses necessary to carry out paragraph (1) or (2); or (B) compatible economic uses (including such activities as hunting and fishing, managed timber harvest, water management, or periodic haying or grazing) if such uses are consistent with the long-term protection of the floodplain functions and values for which the easement was acquired.; and (3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking paragraph (1) and inserting paragraph (5) each place it appears. (b) Level of restoration Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is amended by adding at the end the following: (c) Level of restoration In carrying out this section, the Secretary may undertake measures that increase the level of protection above that which would be necessary to address the immediate impairment of the watershed if the Secretary determines that such restoration is in the best interest of the long-term health of the watershed and the long-term protection of the watershed from repetitive impairments.. (c) Preagreement costs Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is further amended by adding at the end the following: (d) Preagreement costs (1) Definition of sponsor In this subsection, the term sponsor means— (A) a State or local government; and (B) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). (2) Preagreement project costs Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall— (A) identify a list of emergency watershed protection measures the cost of which may be incurred by a sponsor prior to entering into an agreement with the Secretary under this section; and (B) develop a procedure, including appropriate deadlines, to be implemented at the State level, through which a sponsor may request, for a specified natural disaster, additional emergency watershed protection measure the cost of which may be incurred by a sponsor prior to entering into an agreement with the Secretary under this section. (3) Agreement contribution If the Secretary and a sponsor enter into an agreement under this section, the Secretary shall consider any applicable preagreement costs incurred by the sponsor for undertaking emergency watershed protection measures identified under paragraph (2) as meeting part of the contribution of the sponsor toward the cost of the project. (4) Asuumption of risk A sponsor that undertakes emergency watershed protection measures prior to entering into an agreement with the Secretary under this section shall assume the risk of incurring any cost of undertaking those measures. (5) Effect Nothing in this subsection requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement with a sponsor..