| Sponsor | Rep. Costello, Jerry F. |
| Committee | Agriculture |
| Date | September 15, 2009 (111th Congress, 1st Session) |
| Staff Contact | Andy Koenig |
The House is scheduled to consider H.R. 511 on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, under suspension of the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote for passage. H.R. 511 was introduced on January 14, 2009, by Rep. Costello (D-IL) and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, which held a mark-up and reported the bill July 29.
H.R. 511 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to terminate an easement agreement which gives the federal government an interest in land owned by the Village of Caseyville, Illinois.
According to Committee Report 111-253, the Village of Caseyville and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to an easement deed under the Emergency Watershed Protection Program in 1999. Under the deal, the USDA was granted a warranty easement deed, and established a floodplain easement on 44 acres of land owned by Caseyville. However, the Committee states that "differences in approach on how best to protect and restore the floodplain led Caseyville to seek termination of the easement." H.R. 511 would give the USDA the authority to terminate the easement. The Village would also return the entire amount of money that they were initially paid for the easement, which totaled $60,000.
According to CBO, H.R. 511 would "have no significant effect on direct spending and no effect on discretionary spending or revenues."