,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cgfj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #g1 #bjbd,mr4 ,bennet 7for himself and ,mr4 ,romney7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,agricultural ,credit ,act of #aigh to authorize the ,secretary of ,agriculture to carry out emergency watershed protection measures on ,national ,forest ,system land1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,watershed ,protection and ,forest ,recovery ,act of #bjbd4 #b4 ,emergency forest watershed program 7a7 ,funding and administration ,section #djd7;b7 of the ,agricultural ,credit ,act of #aigh 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #bbjd7;b77 is amended by inserting to carry out section #dja after for a fiscal year4 7b7 ,emergency forest watershed program ,title ,,iv of the ,agricultural ,credit ,act of #aigh 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #bbja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #djh4 ,emergency forest watershed program 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,emergency watershed protection measures ,the term emergency watershed protection measures means measures that-- 7,a7 are necessary to address runoff retardation1 soil-erosion prevention1 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 land1 and the damage1 if not treated-- 7i7 would significantly impair or endanger the natural resources on the ,national ,forest ,system land2 and 7ii7 would pose an immediate risk to water resources or loss of life or property downstream of the ,national ,forest ,system land2 and 7,b7 would maintain or restore forest health and forest-related resources on the ,national ,forest ,system land4 7#b7 ,natural disaster ,the term natural disaster has the meaning given the term in section #djg7;a74 7#c7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary1 acting through the ,chief of the ,forest ,service4 7#d7 ,sponsor ,the term sponsor means-- 7,a7 a ,state or local government2 7,b7 an ,indian ,tribe 7as defined in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd772 and 7,c7 a water district1 water conservation district1 water utility1 or special district4 7b7 ,authorization ,the ,secretary1 acting through a sponsor1 is authorized to undertake emergency watershed protection measures on ,national ,forest ,system land4 7c7 ,agreements2 payments 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may enter into an agreement with a sponsor and make payments to the sponsor1 on request of the sponsor1 to carry out emergency watershed protection measures4 7#b7 ,requirements 7,a7 ,project timelines 7i7 ,in general ,following a natural disaster or natural occurrence that necessitates the carrying out of emergency watershed protection measures1 the ,secretary shall execute agreements under paragraph 7#a7 as expeditiously as possible4 7ii7 ,timeline ,a sponsor that has entered into an agreement under paragraph 7#a7 shall complete all emergency watershed protection measures not later than #b years after the conclusion of the applicable natural disaster or natural occurrence1 as determined by the ,secretary1 that necessitated the carrying out of those measures4 7iii7 ,continued monitoring ,a sponsor that has entered into an agreement under paragraph 7#a7 may monitor1 maintain1 repair1 or replace emergency watershed protection measures for a period of not more than #c years following the conclusion of the natural disaster or natural occurrence1 as determined by the ,secretary1 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 users4 7,b7 ,payments ,the ,secretary1 in accordance with an agreement entered into under paragraph 7#a7-- 7i7 may make partial payments prior to completion of the applicable project2 and 7ii7 shall make final payment for the project not later than #cj days after the date on which the project is completed4 7d7 ,waived matching requirements ,the ,secretary shall waive any matching requirements for payments made under subsection 7c77#a74 7e7 ,liability 7#a7 ,in general ,a sponsor that carries out emergency watershed protection measures pursuant to an agreement under subsection 7c77#a7 shall not-- 7,a7 be required to indemnify the ,united ,states for any liability resulting from carrying out emergency watershed protection measures pursuant to that agreement2 or 7,b7 except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 be liable for injury1 loss1 or damage resulting from carrying out emergency watershed protection measures pursuant to that agreement4 7#b7 ,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 7c77#a7 if the sponsor acted with willful or wanton negligence or reckless conduct in carrying out those measures4 7f7 ,assumption of risk ,a sponsor that carries out emergency watershed protection measures prior to entering into an agreement under subsection 7c77#a7 shall assume the risk of incurring any cost or liability resulting from carrying out those measures4 7g7 ,coordination ,the ,chief of the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service shall coordinate on the use of funds distributed under this section and section #djc4 7h7 ,,nepa compliance ,emergency watershed protection measures carried out pursuant to this section shall be deemed emergency response actions for purposes of section #bbj4d7;b77#a7 of title #cf1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation74 4