Erosion, floodwater, and sediment damages in the watersheds of the rivers and streams of the United States, causing loss of life and damage to property, constitute a menace to the national welfare; and it is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should cooperate with States and their political subdivisions, soil or water conservation districts, flood prevention or control districts, and other local public agencies for the purpose of preventing such damages, of furthering the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water, and the conservation and utilization of land and thereby of preserving, protecting, and improving the Nation’s land and water resources and the quality of the environment.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall mean:

The “Secretary”—the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States.

“Works of improvement”—any undertaking for—

(1) flood prevention (including structural and land treatment measures),

(2) the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water, or

(3) the conservation and proper utilization of land,

in watershed or subwatershed area not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand acres and not including any single structure which provides more than twelve thousand five hundred acre-feet of floodwater detention capacity, and more than twenty-five thousand acre-feet of total capacity. No appropriation shall be made for any plan involving an estimated Federal contribution to construction costs in excess of $25,000,000, or which includes any structure which provides more than twenty-five hundred acre-feet of total capacity unless such plan has been approved by resolutions adopted by the appropriate committees of the Senate and House of Representatives: Provided, That in the case of any plan involving no single structure providing more than 4,000 acre-feet of total capacity the appropriate committees shall be the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and in the case of any plan involving any single structure of more than 4,000 acre-feet of total capacity the appropriate committees shall be the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives, respectively. Each project must contain benefits directly related to agriculture, including rural communities, that account for at least 20 percent of the total benefits of the project. A number of such sub­watersheds when they are component parts of a larger watershed may be planned together when the local sponsoring organizations so desire.

“Local organization”—any State, political subdivision thereof, soil or water conservation district, flood prevention or control district, or combinations thereof, or any other agency having authority under State law to carry out, maintain and operate the works of improvement; or any irrigation or reservoir company, water users’ association, or similar organization having such authority and not being operated for profit that may be approved by the Secretary; or any Indian tribe or tribal organization, as defined in section 5304 of title 25, having authority under Federal, State, or Indian tribal law to carry out, maintain, and operate the works of improvement.

The Secretary is authorized in cooperation with other Federal and with States and local agencies to make investigations and surveys of the watershed of rivers and other waterways as a basis for the development of coordinated programs. In areas where the programs of the Secretary of Agriculture may affect public or other lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to cooperate with the Secretary of Agriculture in the planning and development of works or programs for such lands.

The Secretary is authorized to make loans or advancements (a) to local organizations to finance the local share of costs of carrying out works of improvement provided for in this chapter, and (b) to State and local agencies to finance the local share of costs of carrying out works of improvement (as defined in section 1002 of this title) in connection with the eleven watershed improvement programs authorized by section 13 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (58 Stat. 887), as amended and supplemented: Provided, That the works of improvement in connection with said eleven watershed improvement programs shall be integral parts of watershed or subwatershed work plans agreed upon by the Secretary of Agriculture and the concerned State and local agencies. A loan or advance under this section shall be made under a contract or agreement that provides, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers appropriate, for the repayment of the loan or advance in not more than 50 years from the date when the principal benefits of the works of improvement first become available, with interest at a rate not to exceed the current market yield for outstanding municipal obligations with remaining periods to maturity comparable to the average maturity for the loan, adjusted to the nearest ⅛ of 1 percent. With respect to any single plan for works of improvement, the amount of any such loan or advancement shall not exceed $10,000,000.

The provisions of this chapter shall be applicable to Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter, such sums to remain available until expended. No appropriation hereafter available for assisting local organizations in preparing and carrying out plans for works of improvement under the provisions of section 1003 of this title or clause (a) of section 1006a of this title shall be available for any works of improvement pursuant to this chapter or otherwise in connection with the eleven watershed improvement programs authorized by section 13 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (58 Stat. 887), as amended and supplemented, or for making loans or advancements to State and local agencies as authorized by clause (b) of section 1006a of this title.

The Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Agriculture, when authorized to do so by resolutions adopted by the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate or the Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives, are authorized and directed to make joint investigations and surveys in accordance with their existing authorities of watershed areas in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and to prepare joint reports on such investigations and surveys setting forth their recommendations for the installation of the works of improvement needed for flood prevention or the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water, and for flood control and allied purposes. Such joint reports shall be submitted to the Congress through the President for adoption and authorization by the Congress of the recommended works of improvement: Provided, That the project authorization procedure established by Public Law 566, Eighty-third Congress, as amended [16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.], shall not be affected.

In addition to any other funds made available by this chapter, of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make available to carry out this chapter $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2019 and each fiscal year thereafter.