Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement Act of 1996

Summary: Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement Act of 1996
 - Mandates a pilot test and report to the Congress regarding the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement.  Allows the test to include examination of:  (1) Mississippi River drainage system ecosystems and fishery resources and habitats; (2) the impacts of specified factors on fishery resources; (3) existing resource data; (4) major information gaps and technological needs; (5) interjurisdictional fishery resources; (6) cooperative management and research projects; (7) restoration of depleted stocks and habitats; (8) the feasibility of the program; and (9) the funds required.  Allows use of amounts available to carry out this Act to pay assistance to the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resources Association for pilot test costs.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mississippi Interstate Cooperative 
Resource Agreement Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) several rivers flow between, or are common to, two or 
        more State boundaries;
            (2) in many cases, there is not a single entity which has 
        complete jurisdictional responsibility for the fishery 
        resources in these rivers;
            (3) a strong partnership between Federal and State 
        governmental authorities and citizen groups is vital in 
        coordinating and facilitating cooperative research and in 
        resolving problems associated with large river ecosystems;
            (4) many fishery management problems are caused by 
        federally regulated activities (including activities resulting 
        in point and nonpoint pollution) and federally constructed 
        projects (including dams and navigation facilities);
            (5) in some rivers, the once rich assemblages of fish fauna 
        and diverse habitats have been lost and formerly abundant 
        native fish now exist only as endangered or depleted 
        populations;
            (6) without positive management actions, native species in 
        some rivers will continue to decline, fostering even greater 
        conflicts among water users;
            (7) construction of waterway developments (including 
        navigation, flood control, water level fluctuation, power 
        generation, irrigation, and general water depletion projects) 
        is accelerating and increasingly degrading large river 
        ecosystems nationwide;
            (8) the United States public will face reduced 
        opportunities for recreational, commercial, subsistence, and 
        aesthetic uses of river systems without demonstrable change in 
        management strategies in the near future;
            (9) several programs have been proposed or are underway to 
        resolve conflicts in these management strategies;
            (10) in one of these programs, Federal, State, and local 
        fishery resource managers in the Mississippi River drainage 
        basin have entered into the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative 
        Resource Agreement under which the managers share information, 
        resources, facilities, and funding for preparation, 
        development, and implementation of long-range strategic plans 
        for management of the drainage basin's interjurisdictional 
        fishery resources;
            (11) the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource 
        Agreement merits detailed evaluation as a model for the 
        development of long-range strategic plans for the management of 
        interjurisdictional rivers fishery resources; and
            (12) to ensure that these programs are appropriately 
        coordinated and to conserve the fishery resources in 
        interjurisdictional rivers, there is a need for strategies to 
        improve coordination, cooperation, research, and information 
        sharing.

SEC. 3. MISSISSIPPI INTERSTATE COOPERATIVE RESOURCE AGREEMENT.

    (a) Evaluation.--The Secretary, in cooperation with the Mississippi 
Interstate Cooperative Resource Association, shall conduct a pilot test 
of the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement.
    (b) Contents.--A pilot test conducted under this section may 
include, among other matters, the following:
            (1) Identification and description of each of the river 
        ecosystems of the Mississippi River drainage system and the 
        associated fishery resources and fish habitats of such river 
        ecosystems.
            (2) Identification and description of--
                    (A) the known impacts, on fishery resources of the 
                Mississippi River drainage basin, of agriculture, 
                navigation, flood control, power generation, 
                irrigation, and municipal water supply projects, 
                including the impacts of nonpoint source pollution, 
                dredging, channel maintenance, water level management, 
                sediment and contaminant transport, vessel traffic, 
                water withdrawal, and changes in salinity and various 
                hydrologic conditions; and
                    (B) techniques for mitigating those impacts.
            (3) Analysis of existing resource data with regard to 
        regional depletion of important fish stocks (including 
        paddlefish, lake sturgeon, walleye, and other high priority 
        nonanadromous species) and the potential for restoration of 
        such fish stocks.
            (4) Identification of major information gaps and 
        technological needs to improve the cooperative management of 
        interjurisdictional fishery resources.
            (5) A comprehensive study of the status, and the 
        management, research, and restoration needs, of the 
        interjurisdictional fishery resources of the Mississippi River 
        drainage system.
            (6) Development of recommendations regarding the scope, 
        schedule, regional priorities, and roles of participants in the 
        Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement for 
        undertaking cooperative management and research projects.
            (7) Development of plans and testing projects for the 
        restoration and enhancement of depleted fish stocks (including 
        lake sturgeon, paddlefish, walleye, and other high priority 
        nonanadromous species) and associated habitats of such fish 
        stocks.
            (8) Evaluation of the feasibility and expected success of 
        the program under the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative 
        Resource Agreement and the merits of extending such program of 
        cooperative management strategy to other interjurisdictional 
        river basins in the United States.
            (9) Estimates of funds required to implement 
        recommendations and plans developed under paragraphs (6), (7), 
        and (8).
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 36 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress 
a report containing the evaluation of the pilot test to be conducted 
under this section.

SEC. 4. PAYMENT OF ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary may use amounts available to carry out this Act to 
pay assistance to the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource 
Association, for costs it incurs in participating in the pilot test 
under section 3.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purpose of this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Interjurisdictional fishery resources.--The term 
        ``interjurisdictional fishery resources'' means fishery 
        resources and associated aquatic habitats that depend on 
        interjurisdictional rivers and are under the management of two 
        or more governmental entities.
            (2) Interjurisdictional river.--The term 
        ``interjurisdictional river'' means a river that flows along 
        the boundary of, or is common to, two or more States.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United 
        States Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (4) State fish and wildlife agency.--The term ``State Fish 
        and Wildlife Agency'' includes any State department or agency, 
        or a part thereof, that is empowered under the laws of the 
        State to exercise the functions ordinarily exercised by a State 
        fish and wildlife agency.
            (5) The mississippi interstate cooperative resource 
        association.--The term ``Mississippi Interstate Cooperative 
        Resource Association'' means the association comprised of the 
        States and entities that are signatories to the Mississippi 
        Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement.