Current status is Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1114

1. Short title
2. Emergency forest watershed program

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the "Watershed Protection and Forest Recovery Act of 2025".

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:

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

(b) Authorization - The Secretary, acting through a sponsor, is authorized to undertake emergency watershed protection measures on National Forest System land.

(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).

(1) Water conservation and water enhancing measures during severe drought - Section 402 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2202) is amended—

(A) Water conservation and water enhancing measures during severe drought - by striking the section designation and all that follows through "authorized" and inserting the following:

402. Water conservation and water enhancing measures during severe drought

The Secretary is authorized

(B) - by striking "during" and all that follows through "of" and inserting "during a period of".

(2) Regulations - 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:

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) Emergency watershed program - 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) Emergency watershed program - by striking the section designation and all that follows through "authorized" in subsection (a) and inserting the following:

406. Emergency watershed program

(a) In general - The Secretary is authorized

(5) Maximum payment - Title IV of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 is amended—

(A) Maximum payment - 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

(B) - by moving that subsection (as so redesignated) so as to appear after subsection (c) of section 402A (16 U.S.C. 2202a).

(6) Cost-share requirement; maximum payment - 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) Cost-share requirement; maximum payment - by striking the section designation and heading and inserting the following:

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".

119-S1114

Watershed Protection and Forest Recovery Act of 2025