The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, may, when he determines it to be in the public interest, enter into agreements providing for reimbursement to States or political subdivisions thereof for work to be performed by such non-Federal public bodies at water resources development projects authorized for construction under the Secretary of the Army and the supervision of the Chief of Engineers. Such agreements may provide for reimbursement of installation costs incurred by such entities or an equivalent reduction in the contributions they would otherwise be required to make, or in appropriate cases, for a combination thereof. The amount of Federal reimbursement, including reductions in contributions, for a single project shall not exceed $5,000,000 or 1 percent of the total project cost, whichever is greater; except that the amount of actual Federal reimbursement, including reductions in contributions, for such project may not exceed $7,000,000 in any fiscal year.

Agreements entered into pursuant to this section shall (1) fully describe the work to be accomplished by the non-Federal public body, and be accompanied by an engineering plan if necessary therefor; (2) specify the manner in which such work shall be carried out; (3) provide for necessary review of design and plans, and inspection of the work by the Chief of Engineers or his designee; (4) state the basis on which the amount of reimbursement shall be determined; (5) state that such reimbursement shall be dependent upon the appropriation of funds applicable thereto or funds available therefor, and shall not take precedence over other pending projects of higher priority for improvements; and (6) specify that reimbursement or credit for non-Federal installation expenditures shall apply only to work undertaken on Federal projects after project authorization and execution of the agreement, and does not apply retroactively to past non-Federal work. Each such agreement shall expire three years after the date on which it is executed if the work to be undertaken by the non-Federal public body has not commenced before the expiration of that period. The time allowed for completion of the work will be determined by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, and stated in the agreement.

No reimbursement shall be made, and no expenditure shall be credited, pursuant to this section, unless and until the Chief of Engineers or his designee, has certified that the work for which reimbursement or credit is requested has been performed in accordance with the agreement.

Reimbursement for work commenced by non-Federal public bodies no later than one year after August 13, 1968, to carry out or assist in carrying out projects for beach erosion control, may be made in accordance with the provisions of section 426f of title 33. Reimbursement for such work may, as an alternative, be made in accordance with the provisions of this section, provided that agreement required herein shall have been executed prior to commencement of the work. Expenditures for projects for beach erosion control commenced by non-Federal public bodies subsequent to one year after August 13, 1968, may be reimbursed by the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, only in accordance with the provisions of this section.

This section shall not be construed (1) as authorizing the United States to assume any responsibilities placed upon a non-Federal body by the conditions of project authorization, or (2) as committing the United States to reimburse non-Federal interests if the Federal project is not undertaken or is modified so as to make the work performed by the non-Federal Public body no longer applicable.

The Secretary of the Army is authorized to allot from any appropriations hereafter made for civil works, not to exceed $10,000,000 for any one fiscal year to carry out the provisions of this section. This limitation does not include specific project authorizations providing for reimbursement.

(Pub. L. 90–483, title II, § 215, Aug. 13, 1968, 82 Stat. 747; Pub. L. 99–662, title IX, § 913, Nov. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 4190; Pub. L. 100–676, § 12, Nov. 17, 1988, 102 Stat. 4025; Pub. L. 104–303, title II, § 224(a), Oct. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 3697; Pub. L. 110–161, div. C, title I, § 116, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 1945.)