,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hifh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #ae1       
#bjbj,ms4 ,gabbard 7for herself and ,mr4
 ,young7 introduced the following bill2 
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,transportation and ,infrastructure  ,a 
,,bill  ,to authorize the ,secretary of 
the ,army1 acting through the ,chief of 
,engineers1 to recommend certain        
projects in remote1 coastal1 and small  
watersheds1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,remote1 ,coastal1 and ,small      
,watersheds ,act of #bjbj4  #b4 ,remote1
 coastal1 or small watersheds  7a7 ,in  
general ,in conducting a study of       
hurricane and storm damage reduction1   
the ,secretary of the ,army1 acting     
through the ,chief of ,engineers1 may   
recommend a project without the need to 
demonstrate that the project is         
justified solely by national economic   
development benefits if the ,secretary  
determines that-- 7#a7 the community to 

be served by the project has limited    
options for relocation or retreating    
from the flood plain or coastal flood   
zone2  7#b7 the project would be located
 in the ,state of ,hawaii or ,alaska1   
the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1     
,guam1 the ,commonwealth of the         
,northern ,mariana ,islands1 the ,united
 ,states ,virgin ,islands1 or ,american 
,samoa2  7#c7 the area cost factor is   
greater than #b4b1 as determined by the 
,secretary2 or  7#d7 the long-term      
viability of the community in which the 
project is located1 or of a community   
that is located in the region to be     
served by the project and that will rely
 on the project1 would be threatened    
without the hurricane and storm damage  
reduction project4  7b7 ,justification  
,in considering whether to recommend a  
project under subsection 7a71 the       
,secretary shall consider the benefits  
of the project to-- 7#a7 public health  
and safety of the local community and   
communities that are located in the     

region to be served by the project and  
that will rely on the project1 including
 access to facilities designed to       
protect public health and safety2  7#b7 
hurricane and storm damage effects on   
local and regional economic             
opportunities2  7#c7 welfare of the     
regional population to be served by the 
project2 or  7#d7 social and cultural   
value to the local community and        
communities that are located in the     
region to be served by the project and  
that will rely on the project4  7c7     
,prioritization ,projects recommended by
 the ,secretary under subsection 7a7    
shall be given equivalent budget        
consideration and priority as projects  
recommended solely by national economic 
development benefits4  7d7 ,disposition 
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may    
carry out any project identified in the 
study carried out pursuant to subsection
 7a7 in accordance with the criteria for
 projects carried out under the         
authority of the ,secretary under       

section #bje of the ,river and ,harbor  
,act of #aidh 7#cc ,u4,s4,c4 #gjas74    
7#b7 ,non-,federal interests ,in        
evaluating and implementing a project   
under this section1 the ,secretary shall
 allow a non-,federal interest to       
participate in the financing of a       
project in accordance with the criteria 
established for flood control projects  
under section #ijc7;c7 of the ,water    
,resources ,development ,act of #aihf   
7,public ,law #ii-ffb2 #ajj ,stat4      
#dahd74  7e7 ,annual report ,for a      
project that cannot be carried out under
 the authority specified in subsection  
7d71 on a determination by the          
,secretary of the feasibility of the    
project under subsection 7a71 the       
,secretary may include a recommendation 
concerning the project in the annual    
report submitted to ,congress under     
section #gjja of the ,water ,resources  
,reform and ,development ,act of #bjad  
7#cc ,u4,s4,c4 #bbhb;d74