§ 2282h — Economic, Hydraulic, And Hydrologic Modeling

(a) The Secretary, in collaboration with other Federal and State agencies, National Laboratories, and nonprofit research institutions (including institutions of higher education and centers and laboratories focused on economics or water resources), shall develop, update, and maintain economic, hydraulic, and hydrologic models, including models for compound flooding, for use in the planning, design formulation, modification, and operation of water resources development projects and water resources planning. (b) In carrying out subsection (a), to the extent practicable, the Secretary shall— (1) work with the non-Federal interest for a water resources development project to identify existing relevant economic, hydraulic, and hydrologic models and data; (2) utilize, where appropriate, economic, hydraulic, and hydrologic models and data provided to the Secretary by the agencies, laboratories, and institutions described in subsection (a); and (3) upon written request by a non-Federal interest for a project, provide to the non-Federal interest draft or working economic, hydraulic, and hydrologic models, and any data generated by such models with respect to the project, not later than 30 days after receiving such request; and (4) in accordance with section 2342 of this title, make final economic, hydraulic, and hydrologic models, and any data generated by such models, available to the public, as quickly as practicable, but not later than 30 days after receiving a written request for such models or data. (c) Nothing in this section may be construed to compel or authorize the disclosure of data or other information determined by the Secretary to be confidential information, privileged information, law enforcement information, national security information, infrastructure security information, personal information, or information the disclosure of which is otherwise prohibited by law. (d) To the extent practicable and appropriate, the Secretary shall incorporate data generated by models developed under this section into the formulation of feasibility studies for, and the operation of, water resources development projects. (e) The Secretary is authorized, to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts, to transfer to other Federal and State agencies, National Laboratories, and nonprofit research institutions, including institutions of higher education, such funds as may be necessary to carry out subsection (a) from amounts available to the Secretary. (f) A partnership agreement entered into under section 1962d–5b of title 42 may provide, at the request of the non-Federal interest for the applicable project, that the Secretary credit toward the non-Federal share of the cost of the project the value of economic, hydraulic, and hydrologic models required for the project that are developed by the non-Federal interest in accordance with any policies and guidelines applicable to the relevant partnership agreement pursuant to such section. (g) The Secretary shall review economic, hydraulic, and hydrologic models developed under this section in the same manner as any such models developed under any other authority of the Secretary. (h) In this section: (1) The term “compound flooding” means a flooding event in which two or more flood drivers, such as coastal storm surge-driven flooding and inland rainfall-driven flooding, occur simultaneously or in close succession and the potential adverse effects of the combined flood drivers may be greater than that of the individual flood driver components. (2) The term “economic”, as used in reference to models, means relating to the evaluation of benefits and cost attributable to a project for an economic justification under section 1962–2 of title 42.