§702c Expenditures for construction work; conditions precedent; liability for damage from flood waters; condemnation proceedings; floodage rights

Summary

No money from sections 702a and 702g can be spent on building any part of a project unless the Secretary of the Army, after the Chief of Engineers recommends it, is satisfied that the State or levee district will do three things: keep the flood-control works up after they are finished (for example, cutting grass, removing weeds, handling local drainage, and doing small repairs), accept lands transferred under section 702d, and give the United States, free of charge, the rights‑of‑way needed for levee foundations and levees on the Mississippi River between Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the Head of Passes. The United States is not responsible for any flood damage. But if it is impractical to build levees on some stretch of the Mississippi because it is not cost‑justified or would unreasonably narrow the flood channel, and lands there become newly overflowed or damaged because of levees on the opposite bank, the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Engineers must start proceedings to buy those lands or get floodage rights when carrying out the purposes of sections 702a, 702b–702d, 702e–702g, 702h, 702i, 702j, 702k, 702l, 702m, and 704.