§701c–1 Acquirement of titles for certain projects and to lands, easements, rights-of-way; reimbursement of local agencies

Summary

The United States must get legal title to all land, easements, and rights-of-way needed for any dam and reservoir project or channel improvement or rectification for flood control authorized by the Act of June 22, 1936, as amended, and the listed sections of law. The land can be acquired by the United States or bought by a State, local government, or other responsible local agency and then transferred to the United States. The Secretary of the Army is required to acquire the title in the name of the United States using funds already provided or later made available for those projects. States and local agencies that paid to acquire needed land will be reimbursed from those funds for actual, reasonable costs approved by the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Engineers, but they will not be paid for indirect or speculative damages. “Lands, easements, and rights-of-way” covers land for dams, reservoirs, flowage rights, and relocation of highways, railways, and utilities. For purchases from the Los Angeles County Flood Control District or the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, if a written Attorney General opinion on title is required, the Attorney General may rely on the district’s certificate of title plus a signed agreement in which the district promises to cover any claims, losses, costs, and attorney fees from title defects, including costs of any condemnation needed to fix title.