S.Amdt. 5016

SA 5016. Mr. INHOFE (for Mr. Flake) submitted an amendment intended
to be proposed to amendment SA 4979 proposed by Mr. McConnell (for Mr.
Inhofe (for himself and Mrs. Boxer)) to the bill S. 2848, to provide
for the conservation and development of water and related resources, to
authorize the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for
improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title VI, add the following:

SEC. 60__. CONSTRUCTION OF NEW WATER RESOURCES PROJECTS.

(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law
and subject to subsections (b) and (c), once every 2-year
congressional period, the Secretary may submit to the
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the
House of Representatives a report that identifies not more
than 9 new water resources project that the Secretary
recommends for construction.
(b) Criteria.--The Secretary shall only recommend a project
in the report under subsection (a) if--
(1) a feasibility study or major decision document has been
prepared for the project--
(A) after the date of enactment of this Act; and
(B) prior to the date on which the report under subsection
(a) is submitted to Congress; and
(2) a report of the Chief of Engineers has been completed
for the project prior to the date on which the report under
subsection (a) is submitted to Congress that determines that
the project--
(A) is in the national interest;
(B) results in a benefit to cost ratio of not less than 2
to 1, exclusive of any environmental restoration activities;
(C) complies with applicable Federal environmental law
(including regulations); and
(D) is technically feasible.
(c) Limitations.--The Secretary shall not include in the
report under subsection (a)--
(1) more than 2 new construction projects that are located
in any 1 division of the Corps of Engineers;
(2) any project that is the result of 2 or more combined
construction projects; or
(3) any project for which a feasibility study or major
decision document was completed more than 10 years prior to
date on which the report under subsection (a) is submitted.
(d) Contents of Report.--The report under subsection (a)
shall--
(1) for each project, explain the methodology used by the
Secretary to determine that the project meets the criteria
under subsection (b); and
(2) for each division of the Corps of Engineers, explain
the methodology and criteria used by the Secretary in
selecting the 1 or more projects from that division for
inclusion in the report over other projects in the

[[Page S5508]]

division that meet the criteria under subsection (b).
(e) Public Participation.--The report under subsection (a)
shall be made available to the public, including on the
Internet.
(f) Administration.--The Secretary shall not be authorized
to carry out any project included in the report under
subsection (a) unless the project is explicitly authorized by
an Act of Congress during the 2-year period described in
subsection (a).
(g) Exemptions.--This section shall not apply to any water
resources construction project that is authorized under a
provision designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to
251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)).
______