43 U.S.C. § 3102 — National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program

(a) Establishment. The Secretary^* must establish the National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program (the program). The program must identify and understand landslide hazards and risks; reduce losses from landslides; protect communities at risk; and improve communication and emergency preparedness, including coordination with communities and infrastructure entities at risk.

(b) Description of program. (1) Program activities. Working with the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Landslide Hazards (the Committee) and existing activities of the United States Geological Survey and other Federal agencies, the Secretary must identify, map, assess, and research landslide hazards; respond to landslide events; and, with State^* offices, local governments, territories, and Indian tribes, establish working groups to identify regional and local priorities and develop and implement landslide-hazard guidelines for geologists, geological and geotechnical engineers, emergency-management personnel, and land-use and other decisionmakers.

(2) National strategy. Within 1 year after January 5, 2021, and every 5 years afterward, the Secretary, with the Committee, must develop and publish a national strategy for landslide hazards, risk reduction, and response in the United States, including its territories. The strategy must state program goals and priorities; priorities for data, research, communications, and risk management across relevant Federal agencies; and a detailed interagency implementation plan that considers national disaster-preparedness, response, and recovery frameworks and identifies the programs, projects, and budgets to be used.

(3) National database. The Secretary, with State offices, local governments, territories, and Indian tribes, must develop and maintain a publicly accessible national inventory database of landslide hazards and risks. The database must compile, maintain, standardize, and evaluate data about hazards and risks; effects on health and safety, the economy and infrastructure, and the environment; hazard stabilization; and reducing losses.

(4) Community preparedness. With the Secretaries of the Army, Commerce, Homeland Security, and Transportation and other relevant Federal agency heads, and after consulting State offices, local governments, territories, and Indian tribes, the Secretary must develop and distribute planning and risk-reduction guidance, guidelines, maps, tools, and training materials. These must help State, territorial, local, and Tribal governments and decisionmakers use hazard assessments, use the database, reduce losses, and find preparedness resources. The Secretary must also develop preparedness curricula and training modules for State, territorial, local, and Tribal officials; Federal, State, territorial, local, and Tribal emergency managers; and the National Guard.

(5) Debris-flow warning system. With the Secretaries of Commerce and Homeland Security, the Secretary must expand the early-warning system for debris flow by expanding the early-warning system for post-wildfire debris flow to include recently burned areas across the western United States; developing procedures with State, territorial, local, and Tribal governments to monitor stormwater drainage in areas with high debris-flow risk; and identifying high-risk debris-flow areas, such as recently burned land and potential lahar^*-hazard areas.

(6) Emergency response. With the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, other relevant Federal agencies, States, local governments, territories, and Indian tribes, the Secretary must establish and support procedures for quickly sending Federal scientists, equipment, and services to areas affected by a significant landslide. The procedures must support emergency response and responder safety, improve data collection, and advance research on the causes, effects, and reduction of hazards and risks.

(c) Interagency Coordinating Committee on Landslide Hazards. (1) A committee called the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Landslide Hazards is established. (2) Its members, or their designees, are the Secretary, who chairs it; the Secretaries of Agriculture, the Army, Commerce, Homeland Security, and Transportation; and the Directors of the National Science Foundation, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Office of Management and Budget. (3) The Committee meets when the Chairperson calls it. (4) It must advise and oversee the program; facilitate communication and coordination across Federal agencies in planning, managing, budgeting, and carrying out landslide activities; and support development and execution of the national strategy, including national goals and priorities, agency roles, responsibilities, and resources, and oversight of implementation.

(d) Advisory Committee. (1) The Secretary must establish an Advisory Committee on Landslides (the Advisory Committee). (2) It must have at least 11 members. None may be an individual described in 5 U.S.C. § 7342(a)(1)(A) through (F). Members must represent States and State geological organizations; territories and territorial geological organizations; Indian tribes and Tribal geological organizations; research institutions and institutions of higher education that are qualified to provide advice about landslide hazard and risk reduction and to represent related scientific, architectural, engineering, and planning disciplines; industry standards organizations; and State, territorial, local, and Tribal emergency-management agencies. (3) The Advisory Committee must give the Committee recommendations about carrying out the program, including hazard and risk reduction and planning, community tools, research, and other topics it considers appropriate. The Secretary and the agency heads listed in subsection (c)(2)(B) through (I) must consider those recommendations.

(e) Grant programs. (1) Cooperative mapping and assessment. Subject to appropriations, the Secretary may competitively grant money to State, territorial, local, and Tribal governments to research, map, assess, and collect data about hazards in their jurisdictions. The Secretary may accept and use funds from other Federal and non-Federal partners to advance the purposes of the program. Each year the Secretary must consult the Committee, States, local governments, territories, and Indian tribes to set grant priorities. Grant priority goes to projects that produce the greatest reduction in hazards and risks; reflect the national strategy; have at least 50 percent of their total cost matched by non-Federal sources; and include enhanced elevation data consistent with the 3D Elevation Program^*. If the Secretary offers these grants, the Secretary must post a description of the grants and their findings on a public website. (2) National research grants. Subject to appropriations, the National Science Foundation Director may grant eligible entities money for research advancing the national strategy, including research on landslide causes, mechanisms, triggers, hydrology, and geology; ways to reduce hazards and risks and minimize loss of life and property, including communication, perception, decisionmaking, tools, and technology; and other strategy goals and priorities. The Director decides eligibility. Grants must be competitive. The Director must consider applications developed with one or more State geological surveys and post descriptions of grants and their findings on a public website.

(f) Biennial report. Through calendar year 2030, the Secretary must send Congress a report every 2 years describing, for the preceding 2 calendar years, the Committee’s goals and accomplishments in carrying out the national strategy, the results of its activities under this section, and how much of the Advisory Committee’s recommendations were implemented.

(g) Significant events. Within 1 year after a significant landslide in the United States or its territories, the Secretary must post on a public website a description of the event and its effects on communities, life, and property; recommendations for improving identification of the risk before the event; a description of how effective any warning and risk communication was, including warnings distributed by affected State, territorial, local, and Tribal partners; recommendations for improving risk identification, reduction, and communication to landowners and local governments; recommendations for improving preparedness and emergency response; and other findings the Secretary considers appropriate.

(h) Funding. For each fiscal year 2021 through 2024, Congress authorizes appropriations of $25,000,000 to the United States Geological Survey, $11,000,000 to the National Science Foundation, and $1,000,000 to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out this section.

(i) Derivation of funds. Money for activities under this section must come from amounts authorized to be appropriated and enacted after this section was enacted.