§ 598b — Minimum Real Estate Interest

(a) The Secretary shall provide to the non-Federal interest for an authorized water resources development project a real estate plan for the project that includes a description of the real estate interests required for construction, operation and maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, or replacement of the project, including any specific details and legal requirements necessary for implementation of the project. (1) For each authorized water resources development project for which an interest in real property is required for any applicable construction, operation and maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, or replacement, the Secretary shall identify the minimum interest in the property necessary to carry out the applicable activity. (2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall identify an interest that is less than fee simple title in cases where the Secretary determines that— (A) such an interest is sufficient for construction, operation and maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of the applicable project; and (B) the non-Federal interest cannot legally make available to the Secretary an interest in fee simple title for purposes of the project. (c) The non-Federal interest for an authorized water resources development project shall provide for the project an interest in the applicable real property that is the minimum interest identified under subsection (b). (d) The Secretary shall annually submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report containing— (1) a summary of all instances in which the Secretary identified under subsection (b) fee simple title as the minimum interest necessary with respect to an activity for which the non-Federal interest requested the use of an interest less than fee simple title; and (2) with respect to each such instance, a description of the legal requirements that resulted in identifying fee simple title as the minimum interest. (e) At the request of a non-Federal interest, an agreement entered into under section 1962d–5b of title 42 between the Secretary and the non-Federal interest before January 4, 2025, may be amended to reflect the requirements of this section.