S.Amdt. 4732

1. Adds SEC. __. LEVEE MODERNIZATION GRANT PROGRAM wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. __. LEVEE MODERNIZATION GRANT PROGRAM.

   Inserted: (a) Definitions.--In this section--

   Inserted: (1) the terms "local government" and "State" have the meanings given such terms in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101); and

   Inserted: (2) the term "program" means the Levee Modernization Grant Program established under subsection (b).

   Inserted: (b) Establishment.--Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish the Levee Modernization Grant Program, under which the Director may provide technical and financial assistance to States and local governments to be used in accordance with subsection (e) to assist in the implementation of levee improvement and modernization measures that are cost-effective and are designed to protect against loss of life, limit damage and destruction of property, encourage rural economic development, and contribute to the ability of a community to prevent areas in that community from being designated as a 100-year floodplain.

   Inserted: (c) Criteria.--

   Inserted: (1) Allocation of funds.--Not later than the date on which the Director establishes the program, the Director shall establish criteria to be used to determine the amount of financial assistance that will be made available to a State (including amounts made available to local governments located in the State) under the program.

   Inserted: (2) Grant awards.--In determining whether to provide technical and financial assistance to a State or local government under the program, the Director shall consider--

   Inserted: (A) the extent and nature of the flood risk to a State or local government;

   Inserted: (B) the imminence of need;

   Inserted: (C) the degree of commitment of the State or local government to perform ongoing levee maintenance;

   Inserted: (D) the extent to which the levee improvement and modernizations to be carried out using the technical and financial assistance under the program contribute to the economic development and mitigation goals and priorities established by the State;

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   Inserted: (E) the extent to which the technical and financial assistance under the program is consistent with assistance provided under other grant programs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency or another Federal department or agency;

   Inserted: (F) the extent to which prioritized, cost-effective levee improvement activities that produce meaningful and definable outcomes in the State or jurisdiction of the local government are clearly identified;

   Inserted: (G) the opportunity to fund activities that maximize net benefits to society; and

   Inserted: (H) such other criteria as the Director, in consultation with States and local governments, may establish.

   Inserted: (d) State Recommendations of Projects.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--Not later than 3 months after the date that the Director establishes the program, and annually thereafter, the Governor of a State desiring to participate in the program during the following fiscal year shall submit to the Director a list of the projects that State that the Governor recommends receive technical and financial assistance (provided either directly to a local government or through the State) under the program.

   Inserted: (2) Selection.--

   Inserted: (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), for each fiscal year the Director shall select projects to receive technical and financial assistance under the program from among the projects recommended under paragraph (1).

   Inserted: (B) Exceptions.--The Director may select a project to receive technical and financial assistance under the program that was not among the projects recommended under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year if the Director determines that--

   Inserted: (i) extraordinary circumstances justify the selection of the project; and

   Inserted: (ii) making the selection will further the purpose of the program, as described in subsection (b).

   Inserted: (e) Uses of Technical and Financial Assistance.--A State or local government that receives technical and financial assistance for a project under the program may use such assistance--

   Inserted: (1) for an initial inspection of a levee by a private engineering firm or the Corps of Engineers;

   Inserted: (2) to implement such improvements as are determined necessary by an inspection described in paragraph (1) to prevent areas protected by such levee from being designated as a 100-year floodplain;

   Inserted: (3) to establish levee maintenance priorities and an appropriate levee modernization program; and

   Inserted: (4) for other purposes that further the goal of identifying or implementing levee improvement and modernization measures.

   Inserted: (f) Federal Share.--

   Inserted: (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the Federal share of levee improvement and modernization activities carried out with financial assistance under the program shall be not more than 50 percent.

   Inserted: (2) Rural and economically disadvantaged communities.--

   Inserted: (A) In general.--The Federal share of levee improvement and modernization activities carried out in a community described in subparagraph (B) with financial assistance under the program shall be not more than 65 percent.

   Inserted: (B) Communities.--A community described in this subparagraph is--

   Inserted: (i) a rural community (as determined by the Director);

   Inserted: (ii) a town with a population of not more than 20,000 individuals; or

   Inserted: (iii) an area in which the average income is \1/3\ less then the State-wide median income for the applicable State, as determined by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

   Inserted: (3) Waiver.--The Director may waive paragraph (1) in extreme circumstances, as determined by the Director.

   Inserted: (g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with State and local governments, shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the efforts of the Director to carry out this section.

   Inserted: (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director $400,000,000 to carry out the program.

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   Original wording

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As printed