S. 4234 — Healthy Watersheds, Healthy Communities Act of 2026

This section revises the findings and declaration of policy of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001) by (1) codifying the short title as the "Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act"; (2) expanding the listed watershed damages to include drought (in addition to erosion, floodwater, and sediment), declines in agricultural production, and harm to fish, birds, wildlife, and recreation opportunities (in addition to loss of life and property damage); and (3) broadening the entities for federal cooperation to include Tribal organizations (as described in section 2(2)(C)), insular areas (as defined in 7 U.S.C. 3103), irrigation districts or similar entities, and nonprofit organizations (in addition to states, their political subdivisions, soil or water conservation districts, flood prevention or control districts, and other local public agencies).

This section revises the definitions in the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, which authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide technical and financial assistance to local sponsors for flood prevention, water supply, and related land conservation projects in watersheds or subwatersheds. Specifically, it (1) adds definitions for irrigation efficiency (i.e., reduction in non-consumed water diverted for irrigation, consistent with state water law), multibenefit work of improvement (i.e., a project providing two or more public benefits such as improved fish or wildlife habitat, water quality, water conservation, instream flow, fish passage, natural feature protection, or off-channel renewable energy), natural feature (i.e., created by physical, geological, biological, and natural chemical processes), water conservation (i.e., reduction in total annual consumptive water use compared to pre-project levels), and water management (i.e., projects or activities to increase efficiency of water use, transfer, diversion, or conveyance); (2) expands the definition of local organization to include irrigation districts, reservoir companies, water users' associations, canal companies, ditch associations, acequias, similar entities, or nongovernmental organizations (not for profit) with capacity for land treatment or authority for structural measures, in addition to prior governmental entities and Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations (as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304) with authority under Federal, State, or Tribal law; and (3) redefines work of improvement to explicitly include Federal land necessary for the undertaking in areas not exceeding 250,000 acres, maintain exclusions for single structures providing more than 12,500 acre-feet of floodwater detention capacity and 25,000 acre-feet of total capacity, require at least 20% of total project benefits to be directly related to agriculture or conservation, including rural communities (from agriculture, including rural communities), and authorize consolidated planning of multiple subwatersheds within a larger watershed at the sponsor's discretion—while removing prior limits on appropriations for plans with over $25 million in estimated Federal construction costs or structures providing more than 2,500 acre-feet of total capacity absent congressional committee approval.

This section revises assistance authorities to local organizations for planning and implementing watershed works of improvement (i.e., structural measures for flood prevention, erosion control, and related land treatments) under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act by (1) reorganizing and clarifying cost-sharing provisions for agreements with landowners, operators, and occupiers into a new subsection (b), including up to 10-year terms and public-interest determinations; (2) delegating final decisionmaking authority over watershed plan release for public comment to the State Conservationist; (3) requiring the Secretary to approve or disapprove applications within 45 days (extendable once by 45 days); (4) authorizing approval of multibenefit works regardless of cost-benefit ratio if they improve natural features; and (5) permitting funding guarantees for water conveyance pipes using fully recyclable materials with at least 100-year structural integrity that can be manufactured on-site (or alternatives, at project sponsor election with State Conservationist recommendation).

This section replaces requirements that local organizations acquire land, easements, or rights-of-way without federal cost for watershed works of improvement (with limited federal cost-sharing of up to 50% for recreational reservoirs and related facilities) with a new congressional notification requirement. (As background, the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide federal technical and financial assistance to local sponsors for planning and installing structural measures—e.g., dams—and land treatments in small watersheds to reduce floodwater, sediment, and erosion damages.) No federal assistance is available for any plan exceeding an estimated federal construction cost contribution of $50 million or including a structure providing more than 2,500 acre-feet of total capacity unless approved by the Secretary, who must provide the relevant congressional committees—at least 60 days prior to approval—with notice including a justification and copy of the plan. For non-flood prevention projects, notice goes to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and House Committee on Agriculture; for flood prevention projects, notice goes to those Agriculture Committees if no single structure exceeds 4,000 acre-feet of capacity or to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure if any single structure exceeds 4,000 acre-feet. (Thus, larger watershed or subwatershed plans follow the same committee bifurcated notification process.)

This section revises section 5 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1005)—previously governing local organization engineering services, federal construction rules, and congressional notification thresholds for plans exceeding $25 million in estimated federal costs or including structures over 2,500 acre-feet capacity—to require the Secretary of Agriculture to allocate not less than 50 percent of amounts made available under the Act for each fiscal year to planning, design, or construction of multibenefit works of improvement.

This section (1) repeals Sections 9 and 11 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act; (2) redesignates Sections 3A, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, and 15 of that Act as Sections 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, respectively; and (3) makes conforming amendments to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, the Food Security Act of 1985 (in three places), and Section 10 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to reflect the new section numbers.

This section modifies cost-sharing requirements under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, which authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to partner with local sponsors (e.g., state and local governments) on watershed and flood prevention projects with federal assistance typically covering up to 75% of costs. Specifically, it (1) specifies that assistance amounts are as determined by the Secretary; and (2) provides that funds from federal agencies other than USDA count toward the sponsor's non-Federal share for works of improvement. (Thus, local sponsors may satisfy cost-share obligations using other federal funds.)

This section establishes conditions for federal assistance under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (i.e., a program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service that provides technical and financial assistance to local sponsors for watershed protection, flood prevention, and related improvements such as dams and reservoirs). As a condition of assistance for installing works of improvement, the Secretary of Agriculture requires the sponsoring local organization to (1) acquire needed land, easements, or rights-of-way without cost to the federal government (except as provided below); (2) arrange for operation and maintenance; (3) acquire necessary water rights under state law; (4) obtain soil conservation and farm plan agreements from owners of at least 50% of land above each federally assisted retention reservoir; and (5) submit a repayment plan for any loans under section 12 of the Act. The section authorizes federal cost-sharing exceptions, including (1) up to 50% federal share for land, easements, rights-of-way, and minimum basic facilities for public fish and wildlife or recreational development (with recreational participation limited to one development in watersheds under 75,000 acres, two in those between 75,000 and 150,000 acres, or three in those over 150,000 acres, based on demonstrated need and regional availability); (2) advance payments, repayable with interest prior to construction, to preserve project sites from development; and (3) up to 50% federal share for land, easements, or rights-of-way to mitigate fish and wildlife habitat losses (not limited to project boundaries). The section further limits water storage for future demands to 30% of a reservoir's total estimated cost, requires local assurances and evidence of repayment within the reservoir's life, mandates local payment of at least 50% of costs for present demands, and allows repayment of future-demand costs within 50 years of first use (with no reimbursement or interest until such use).

This section authorizes local organizations to secure services—including for planning, design, contract preparation and award, and construction supervision—for works of improvement under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, if the Secretary and local organization have agreed on a plan, benefits exceed costs (without monetizing fish and wildlife habitat or water quality benefits), the organization has met section 7 participation requirements, and the Secretary deems the services satisfactory. It directs the Secretary to provide such services upon local request (prioritizing multibenefit works), reimburse local organizations up to the plan amount, and make advance payments not exceeding 5% of estimated installation costs for flood prevention or drought resiliency works or 75% for works primarily for fish and wildlife habitat or water quality improvement. The section prohibits the Secretary from constructing structures or entering construction contracts, except on federal land or upon local organization request.

This section increases the maximum loan amount under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to $10 million (from $5 million).

This section revises data collection, maintenance, and publication requirements under sec. 14 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act by (1) requiring the Department of Agriculture to publish the data on its website (in addition to collecting and maintaining it); (2) expanding data on project purposes in paragraph (1) to include drought resilience (in addition to control and conservation); and (3) replacing paragraph (2) with a new list of expenditures to track, including (A) improvements to natural features that increase fish or wildlife habitat, reduce drought impact, or reduce flood risk; (B) water quality improvements; (C) water conservation; (D) instream flow improvements; (E) enhanced fish passage or reduced fish entrainment; (F) permanent protection of natural features; and (G) off-channel renewable energy production. (The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act authorizes the Department of Agriculture to provide technical and financial assistance for watershed projects that address flood prevention, agricultural water management, and related resource concerns.)