H.R. 1858 — Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and Restoration Act

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, under the Emergency Watershed Protection Program, to undertake watershed restoration measures that exceed the level necessary to repair immediate impairments caused by natural disasters (e.g., floods, fires) if such measures are determined to be in the best interest of the watershed's long-term health and protection from repetitive impairments and to be cost-effective and appropriate given environmental risks. (As background, the program enables emergency measures—including floodplain easements in cooperation with landowners—to safeguard lives and property from floods, drought, and erosion.)

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture, not later than two years after enactment, to submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a national agriculture flood vulnerability report containing the results of a conservation effects assessment project studying flood risk on agricultural lands. The report must include (1) an analysis of economic losses of crops and livestock resulting from flooding under different recurrence scenarios; (2) an analysis of the downstream effects of mitigation activities carried out as part of a watershed management approach; (3) an analysis of available federal and state data relating to flood risk applicable to agricultural land, including riverine flooding, coastal flooding, storm surge, extreme precipitation, and flash flooding; and (4) a description of ongoing producer-level conservation practices and broader government initiatives to manage flooding impact and flood risk within and across watersheds, along with recommendations for additional practices and initiatives.

This section modifies rehabilitation assistance for nonfederal structural measures near, at, or past their evaluated life expectancy under sec. 14 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (i.e., the PL-566 program, which authorizes USDA cooperation with local sponsors on flood prevention and related works of improvement in watersheds of up to 250,000 acres) by (1) exempting such projects from the requirement that project benefits directly related to agriculture, including rural communities, account for at least 20% of total project benefits; and (2) increasing the maximum federal cost-share to 90% (from 65%).