,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cii  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #bc1 #bjac  
,ms4 ,matsui 7for herself1 ,mr4         
,garamendi1 ,mr4 ,george ,miller of     
,california1 ,mr4 ,gary ,g4 ,miller of  
,california1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,mr4        
,thompson of ,california1 ,ms4 ,lofgren1
 ,mr4 ,costa1 ,mrs4 ,napolitano1 ,mrs4  
,capps1 ,ms4 ,eshoo1 ,mr4 ,honda1 ,ms4  
,linda ,t4 ,snchez of ,california1 ,ms4 
,loretta ,sanchez of ,california1 ,mr4  
,farr1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,mrs4  
,negrete ,mc,leod1 ,ms4 ,roybal-,allard1
 ,mrs4 ,davis of ,california1 ,ms4      
,bass1 ,mr4 ,waxman1 ,ms4 ,hahn1 ,ms4   
,chu1 ,mr4 ,bera of ,california1 ,mr4   
,mc,nerney1 and ,mr4 ,calvert7          
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on          
,transportation and ,infrastructure  ,a 
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of the
 ,army to undertake a comprehensive     
review of the ,corps of ,engineers      
policy guidelines on vegetation         

management for levees1 and for other    
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,levee ,vegetation  
,review ,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,flood      
control policy  7a7 ,review ,in order to
 determine whether current ,federal     
policy relating to levee vegetation is  
appropriate for all regions of the      
,united ,states1 the ,secretary of the  
,army shall undertake a comprehensive   
review of the ,corps of ,engineers      
policy guidelines on vegetation         
management for levees 7in this section  
referred to as the guidelines74 ,the    
,secretary shall commence the review not
 later than #f months after the date of 
enactment of this ,act4  7b7 ,factors   
7#a7 ,in general ,in conducting the     
review1 the ,secretary shall examine the
 guidelines in view of--  7,a7 the      
varied interests and responsibilities in
 managing flood risks1 including the    
need to provide the greatest levee      
safety benefit with limited resources2  
7,b7 preserving1 protecting1 and        

enhancing natural resources1 including  
the potential benefit that vegetation on
 levees can have in providing habitat   
for species of concern2  7,c7 protecting
 the rights of ,native ,americans       
pursuant to treaties and statutes2 and  
7,d7 such other factors as the          
,secretary considers appropriate4  7#b7 
,regional and watershed considerations  
,in conducting the review1 the          
,secretary shall specifically consider  
factors that promote and allow for      
consideration of potential variances    
from national guidelines on a regional  
or watershed basis4 ,such factors may   
include regional or watershed soil      
conditions1 hydrologic factors1         
vegetation patterns and characteristics1
 environmental resources1 levee         
performance history1 institutional      
considerations1 and other relevant      
factors4 ,the scope of a variance       
approved by the ,secretary may include  
an exemption to national guidelines     
where appropriate4  7c7 ,cooperation and

 consultation2 recommendations  7#a7 ,in
 general ,the review shall be undertaken
 in cooperation with interested ,federal
 agencies and in consultation with      
interested representatives of ,state and
 local governments1 ,native ,american   
,indian tribes1 appropriate             
nongovernmental organizations1 and the  
public4  7#b7 ,recommendations ,corps of
 ,engineers ,regional ,integration      
,teams1 representing districts1         
divisions1 and headquarters1 in         
consultation with ,state and ,federal   
resources agencies1 and with            
participation by local agencies1 shall  
recommend to the ,chief of ,engineers   
vegetation management policies for      
levees that conform with ,state and     
,federal laws and other applicable      
requirements4  7d7 ,peer review  7#a7   
,views of ,national ,academy of         
,engineering ,as part of the review1 the
 ,secretary shall solicit and consider  
the views of the ,national ,academy of  
,engineering on the engineering1        

environmental1 and institutional        
considerations underlying the           
guidelines4  7#b7 ,availability of views
 ,the views of the ,national ,academy of
 ,engineering obtained under paragraph  
7#a7 shall be--  7,a7 made available to 
the public2 and  7,b7 included in       
supporting materials issued in          
connection with the revised guidelines  
required under subsection 7e74  7e7     
,revision of guidelines  7#a7 ,in       
general ,not later than #b years after  
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,secretary shall--  7,a7 revise the     
guidelines based on the results of the  
review1 including the results of the    
peer review conducted under subsection  
7d72 and  7,b7 submit to ,congress a    
report that contains a summary of the   
activities of the ,secretary and a      
description of the findings of the      
,secretary under this section4  7#b7    
,content2 incorporation into manual ,the
 revised guidelines shall--  7,a7       
provide a practical process for         

approving regional or watershed         
variances from the national guidelines1 
reflecting due consideration of measures
 to maximize public safety benefits with
 limited resources1 regional climatic   
variations1 environmental quality1      
implementation challenges1 and          
allocation of responsibilities2 and     
7,b7 be incorporated into the manual    
proposed under section #e7;c7 of the    
,act entitled ,an ,act authorizing the  
construction of certain public works on 
rivers and harbors for flood control1   
and for other purposes1 approved ,august
 #ah1 #aida 7#cc ,u4,s4,c4 #gjan7c774   
7f7 ,continuation of work ,concurrent   
with completion of the requirements of  
this section1 the ,secretary shall      
proceed without interruption or delay   
with those ongoing or programmed        
projects and studies1 or elements of    
projects or studies1 that are not       
directly related to vegetation variance 
policy4