[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1114 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1114
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary
of Agriculture to carry out emergency watershed protection measures on
National Forest System land, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 25, 2025
Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Curtis) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary
of Agriculture to carry out emergency watershed protection measures on
National Forest System land, 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 ``Watershed Protection and Forest
Recovery Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY FOREST WATERSHED PROGRAM.
(a) Funding and Administration.--Section 404(b) of the Agricultural
Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2204(b)) is amended by inserting ``to
carry out section 401'' after ``for a fiscal year''.
(b) Emergency Forest Watershed Program.--Title IV of the
Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 408. EMERGENCY FOREST WATERSHED PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Emergency watershed protection measures.--The term
`emergency watershed protection measures' means measures that--
``(A) are necessary to address runoff retardation,
soil-erosion prevention, and flood mitigation caused by
a natural disaster or any other natural occurrence that
has caused a sudden impairment to natural resources on
National Forest System land, and the damage, if not
treated--
``(i) would significantly impair or
endanger the natural resources on the National
Forest System land; and
``(ii) would pose an immediate risk to
water resources or loss of life or property
downstream of the National Forest System land;
and
``(B) would maintain or restore forest health and
forest-related resources on the National Forest System
land.
``(2) Natural disaster.--The term `natural disaster' has
the meaning given the term in section 407(a).
``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary,
acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
``(4) Sponsor.--The term `sponsor' means--
``(A) a State or local government;
``(B) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4 of
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)); and
``(C) a water district, water conservation
district, water utility, or special district.
``(b) Authorization.--The Secretary, acting through a sponsor, is
authorized to undertake emergency watershed protection measures on
National Forest System land.
``(c) Agreements; Payments.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may enter into an
agreement with a sponsor and make payments to the sponsor, on
request of the sponsor, to carry out emergency watershed
protection measures.
``(2) Requirements.--
``(A) Project timelines.--
``(i) In general.--Following a natural
disaster or natural occurrence that
necessitates the carrying out of emergency
watershed protection measures, the Secretary
shall execute agreements under paragraph (1) as
expeditiously as possible.
``(ii) Timeline.--A sponsor that has
entered into an agreement under paragraph (1)
shall complete all emergency watershed
protection measures not later than 2 years
after the conclusion of the applicable natural
disaster or natural occurrence, as determined
by the Secretary, that necessitated the
carrying out of those measures.
``(iii) Continued monitoring.--A sponsor
that has entered into an agreement under
paragraph (1) may monitor, maintain, repair, or
replace emergency watershed protection measures
for a period of not more than 3 years following
the conclusion of the natural disaster or
natural occurrence, as determined by the
Secretary, that necessitated the carrying out
of those measures when failure to do so would
result in unacceptable risk to National Forest
System land or downstream water users.
``(B) Payments.--The Secretary, in accordance with
an agreement entered into under paragraph (1)--
``(i) may make partial payments prior to
completion of the applicable project; and
``(ii) shall make final payment for the
project not later than 30 days after the date
on which the project is completed.
``(d) Waived Matching Requirements.--The Secretary shall waive any
matching requirements for payments made under subsection (c)(1).
``(e) Liability.--
``(1) In general.--A sponsor that carries out emergency
watershed protection measures pursuant to an agreement under
subsection (c)(1) shall not--
``(A) be required to indemnify the United States
for any liability resulting from carrying out emergency
watershed protection measures pursuant to that
agreement; or
``(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), be
liable for injury, loss, or damage resulting from
carrying out emergency watershed protection measures
pursuant to that agreement.
``(2) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection
precludes liability for damages or costs relating to the
carrying out of emergency watershed protection measures by a
sponsor pursuant to an agreement entered into under subsection
(c)(1) if the sponsor acted with willful or wanton negligence
or reckless conduct in carrying out those measures.
``(f) Assumption of Risk.--A sponsor that carries out emergency
watershed protection measures prior to entering into an agreement under
subsection (c)(1) shall assume the risk of incurring any cost or
liability resulting from carrying out those measures.
``(g) Coordination.--The Chief of the Natural Resources
Conservation Service shall coordinate with respect to the use of funds
distributed under this section and section 406.
``(h) NEPA Compliance.--Emergency watershed protection measures
carried out pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be emergency
response actions for purposes of section 220.4(b)(1) of title 36, Code
of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).''.
(c) Clerical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 402 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16
U.S.C. 2202) is amended--
(A) by striking the section designation and all
that follows through ``authorized'' and inserting the
following:
``SEC. 402. WATER CONSERVATION AND WATER ENHANCING MEASURES DURING
SEVERE DROUGHT.
``The Secretary is authorized''; and
(B) by striking ``during'' and all that follows
through ``of'' and inserting ``during a period of''.
(2) Section 405 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16
U.S.C. 2205) is amended by striking the section designation and
all that follows through ``authorized'' and inserting the
following:
``SEC. 405. REGULATIONS.
``The Secretary is authorized''.
(3) Section 406 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16
U.S.C. 2201 note; Public Law 95-334) is repealed.
(4) Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16
U.S.C. 2203) is amended--
(A) by moving the section so as to appear after
section 405 (16 U.S.C. 2205) (as amended by paragraph
(2)); and
(B) by striking the section designation and all
that follows through ``authorized'' in subsection (a)
and inserting the following:
``SEC. 406. EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized''.
(5) Title IV of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 is
amended--
(A) in section 402B (16 U.S.C. 2202b), by striking
the section designation and heading and all that
follows through ``maximum'' and inserting the
following:
``(d) Maximum Payment.--The maximum''; and
(B) by moving that subsection (as so redesignated)
so as to appear after subsection (c) of section 402A
(16 U.S.C. 2202a).
(6) Section 402A of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16
U.S.C. 2202a) (as amended by paragraph (5)(B)) is amended--
(A) in subsection (b), by striking ``2279)'' and
inserting ``2279))'';
(B) in subsection (c), in the subsection heading,
by striking ``Limitation'' and inserting ``Total
Payment for Single Event''; and
(C) by striking the section designation and heading
and inserting the following:
``SEC. 403. COST-SHARE REQUIREMENT; MAXIMUM PAYMENT.''.
(7) Section 1241(f)(9)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985
(16 U.S.C. 3841(f)(9)(B)) is amended by striking ``403'' and
inserting ``406''.
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