National Landslide Preparedness Act Reauthorization Act of 2025

This section would let the Act be referred to as the National Landslide Preparedness Act Reauthorization Act of 2025.

This section would amend the Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support Act. It would renumber the two definitions currently in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 12(a) of that Act as paragraphs (4) and (5), without changing their text, and add three new defined terms before them. "Atmospheric river" would be defined as a transient corridor of strong water vapor in the atmosphere that produces significant quantities of rain or snow and that may be primarily beneficial to the water supply or hazardous due to flooding. "Atmospheric river flooding event" would be defined as an atmospheric river that results in flooding of rivers and streams or other hazards to human life, property, or the economy, and that is of particular concern to human health, property, and the economy, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce. "Extreme precipitation event" would be defined as precipitation quantities exceeding the 5-year annual recurrence interval for a specific location. This section would also amend section 12(d)(1) of that Act to add, as examples of the kind of precipitation the existing requirement covers, precipitation resulting from hurricanes, atmospheric river flooding events, and extreme precipitation events; it would not otherwise change what that requirement requires.

This section would reauthorize and amend the National Landslide Preparedness Act.

Definitions. Section 2 of the Act would be amended to renumber its existing definitions, without changing their text, and to add six new defined terms. "Atmospheric river," "atmospheric river flooding event," and "extreme precipitation event" would each be defined to have the same meaning given those terms in section 12(a) of the Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Support Act. "Institution of higher education" would be defined to have the meaning given that term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965. "Native Hawaiian organization" would be defined to have the meaning given that term in section 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, except that the term would also include the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "Tribal organization" would be defined to have the meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

National landslide hazards reduction program (section 3 of the Act). A stated goal in section 3(a)(3) would change from a goal to "protect" something to a goal to "contribute to protecting" it, without changing what the goal covers. A listed program activity in section 3(b)(1)(C)(ii) would change from directly "implementing" something to "disseminating" it. The national strategy requirement in section 3(b)(2) would keep its existing deadline and content requirements (now organized as a new subparagraph (A), "In general"), and a new subparagraph (B), "Assessment," would be added: for the first national strategy published under subparagraph (A) after this Act's enactment, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, would have to include an assessment of the risks that atmospheric river flooding events and extreme precipitation events pose to the safety of life and property in the United States with respect to landslide hazards. The required contents of the national landslide hazards database in section 3(b)(3) would gain a new required component: the identification of areas in need of additional hazard risk assessment, including areas that may be at risk due to hydrology or changes in hydrology (which may include erosion, drought, or other characteristics that could affect landslide risk); atmospheric river flooding events and extreme precipitation events, as identified by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary; geologic activity such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or tsunamis; or data-poor areas or hazards with poor monitoring that could contribute to increased landslide risk. The community preparedness provisions in section 3(b)(4) would be amended so that its references to the governments, decisionmakers, officials, and emergency managers it covers add Native Hawaiian organizations, Tribal organizations, and other stakeholders alongside the State and local governments and Indian tribes already covered. Within that paragraph's list of topics in subparagraph (A), one existing item (clause (iii)) would be replaced so that it reads "health and safety with respect to landslides," and a new item would be added: reducing losses from landslides, including the threats caused by atmospheric rivers and other extreme precipitation events. The debris flow early warning system provisions in section 3(b)(5) would be amended to add Indian tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations alongside the State, territorial, and local governments already covered, and a new provision would let the Secretary, in carrying out the debris flow early warning system, consult with an institution of higher education described in section 3(d)(2)(B)(iv) of the Act (a specific category tied to the Act's advisory committee provisions, not the general definition added in section 2) and other stakeholders to establish and support emergency response procedures, as appropriate. The emergency response activities in section 3(b)(6) would be amended to add Native Hawaiian organizations alongside the Indian tribes and other entities already covered, and a new emergency response activity would be added: improving real-time risk management during landslide events, including events caused by hydrology or changes in hydrology (such as erosion or drought), by atmospheric river flooding events and extreme precipitation events as identified by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary, by geologic activity such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or tsunamis, by data-poor areas or hazards with poor monitoring, or by thawing permafrost and glacial retreat that destabilizes slopes; a new provision would also let the Secretary, in carrying out these emergency response activities, consult with an institution of higher education described in section 3(d)(2)(B)(iv) of the Act (the same advisory-committee-linked category noted above, not the general definition added in section 2) and the private sector. The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration would be added as a member of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Landslide Hazards under section 3(c)(2). The advisory committee provisions in section 3(d)(2)(B) would be amended to remove the qualifier "geological" from one clause (clause (iii)), and to add emergency management agencies of Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations alongside the State and local emergency management agencies already referenced in another clause (clause (vi)). A new subsection would be added to section 3 establishing regional partnerships (with the Act's later subsections renumbered to make room). As soon as practicable after enactment, the Secretary would have to establish a regional partnership in the State of Alaska, and in other regions the Secretary determines appropriate, with an eligible partner. An organization or institution of higher education with expertise in landslide mapping, research, and monitoring would be eligible to serve as such a partner. Each regional partnership would have to let the Secretary draw on the expertise of regional organizations, coordinate long-term landslide research specific to its region, and align interagency landslide monitoring efforts. The grant program provisions would be amended to add Indian tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations alongside the State and local governments already eligible, and to add "monitor" to the funded activities of researching, mapping, and assessing landslide hazards; institutions of higher education described in section 3(d)(2)(B)(iv) of the Act (again, that same advisory-committee-linked category, not the general definition) would be added as eligible entities alongside Indian tribes; regions that have recently experienced loss of life due to landslides would be added as one of the considerations used in awarding grants; and the reporting requirements would be revised to cover the number of grants awarded and to report on improvements or other accomplishments resulting, rather than only improvements made. The "significant events" provision would be amended to add Indian tribes, Tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian organizations alongside the State and local partners already covered. The funding authorization for this program would be extended from fiscal year 2024 through fiscal year 2030. The funding for the United States Geological Survey to carry out this program would increase from $25,000,000 authorized to be appropriated to $35,000,000 to be used from amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to the Survey, and at least $10,000,000 of that $35,000,000 would have to be used for the purchase, deployment, and repair of landslide early warning systems in high-risk areas.

3D elevation program (section 5 of the Act). The establishment provisions in section 5(a) would be amended so that the program covers 3D elevation and derivative data, not just 3D elevation data, and so that the activities described include processing and integrating data, not just acquiring it. The 3D Elevation Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee provisions in section 5(b)(3) would be amended to add the 3D Hydrography Program Working Group as one of the entities that make up the committee. Section 5(d)(3) would be amended to correct a spelling error, changing "publically" to "publicly," with no other change. The funding authorization for the 3D elevation program in section 5(e) would be extended from fiscal year 2024 through fiscal year 2030.