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Title 33 — Navigation and Navigable WatersRelease 119-73

§598 Resettlement of displaced families, individuals, and business concerns

Title 33 › Chapter CHAPTER 12— - RIVER AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS GENERALLY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - ACQUISITION OF LAND AND MATERIALS › § 598

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Lets the Secretary of the Army buy or take land for a site to resettle families, people, and businesses moved by a river, harbor, flood control, or other Congress-approved water project when the State or its agencies or certain nonprofits cannot get the land or cannot get it quickly enough. The Governor must ask for help and the Secretary must talk with federal, state, regional, and local agencies first. The land can be bought, given, or taken by condemnation before the Attorney General approves the title. The State or nonprofit must pay all acquisition costs, but may use federal funds from agencies other than the Army. The Secretary may advance project money while waiting for repayment and may require a bond. Repayments go into the project’s account. The Secretary can act only after finding that a new site is needed to ease hardships, that the site is near current or possible jobs, and that local authorities have approved a development plan. After buying land, the Secretary must transfer it by deed to the State or the public or nonprofit group the Governor names, on agreed terms.

Full Legal Text

Title 33, §598

Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whenever any State, or any agency or instrumentality of a State or local government, or any nonprofit incorporated body organized or chartered under the law of the State in which it is located, or any nonprofit association or combination of such bodies, agencies or instrumentalities, shall undertake to secure any lands or interests therein as a site for the resettlement of families, individuals, and business concerns displaced by a river and harbor improvement, flood control or other water resource project duly authorized by Congress, and when it has been determined by the Secretary of the Army that the State is unable to acquire necessary lands or interests in lands or is unable to acquire such lands or interests in lands with sufficient promptness, the Secretary, upon the request of the Governor of the State in which such site is located, and after consultation with appropriate Federal, State, interstate, regional, and local departments and agencies, is authorized, in the name of the United States and prior to the approval of title by the Attorney General, to acquire, enter upon, and take possession of such lands or interests in lands by purchase, donation, condemnation or otherwise in accordance with the laws of the United States (including section 3114–3116 and 3118 of title 40). All expenses of said acquisition and any award that may be made under a condemnation proceeding, including costs of examination and abstract of title, certificate of title, appraisal, advertising, and any fees incident to acquisition, shall be paid by such State or body, agency, or instrumentality. The State, agency, instrumentality, or nonprofit body may repay such amounts from any funds made available to it for such purposes by any Federal department, agency, or instrumentality (other than the Department of the Army) having authority to make funds available for such a purpose. Pending such payment, the Secretary may expend from any funds hereafter appropriated for the project occasioning such acquisition such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. To secure payment, the Secretary may require any such State or agency, body, or instrumentality to execute a proper bond in such amount as he may deem necessary before acquisition is commenced. Any sums paid to the Secretary by any such State or agency, body or instrumentality shall be deposited in the Treasury to the credit of the appropriation for such project.
(b)No acquisition shall be undertaken under the authority of this section unless the Secretary has determined, after consultation with appropriate Federal, State, and local governmental agencies that (1) the development of a site is necessary in order to alleviate hardships to displaced persons; (2) the location of the site is suitable for development in relation to present or potential sources of employment; and (3) a plan for development of the site has been approved by appropriate local governmental authorities in the area or community in which such site is located.
(c)The Secretary is further authorized and directed by proper deed, executed in the name of the United States, to convey any lands or interests in land acquired in any State under the provisions of this section, to the State, or such public or private nonprofit body, agency, or institution in the State as the Governor may prescribe, upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by the Secretary, the Governor, and the agency to which the conveyance is to be made.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification “section 3114–3116 and 3118 of title 40” substituted in subsec. (a) for “the Act of February 26, 1931 (46 Stat. 1421)” on authority of Pub. L. 107–217, § 5(c), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1303, the first section of which enacted Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

33 U.S.C. § 598

Title 33 — Navigation and Navigable Waters

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73