Bill would let Interior pay part of repair costs for urban canals that put 100-plus people at risk

Congress would add the term "urban canal of concern" to Section 9601 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. It means a canal reach in transferred works that the Secretary classifies as an urban canal reach. A failure of the reach would have to put an estimated more than 100 people at risk, as the Secretary decides under the guidelines in section 9602(a).

The Secretary or the operating entity of the transferred works may carry out extraordinary operation and maintenance work on an urban canal of concern. This covers work the Secretary decides is necessary under the guidelines and criteria in section 9602(a). The work must be done under subsection (b), which sets the cost rules.

The Secretary would pay 25 percent of the cost of this work as a non-reimbursable share. The Secretary would advance the remaining amounts, and the operating entity would repay them under paragraph (2). This applies to extraordinary work on an urban canal of concern under subsection (a)(2). Emergency work under subsection (c) is excluded. The text shows an earlier version of this paragraph that says 35 percent instead of 25 percent.

Money that operators repay under this section would count as non-Federal funds for any cost-sharing requirement for a Federal grant. This applies to reimbursable funds provided under Section 9603.