A bill to establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship System.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 
2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) Long Island Sound is a national treasure of great 
        cultural, environmental, and ecological importance;
            (2) 8,000,000 people live within the Long Island Sound 
        watershed and 28,000,000 people (approximately 10 percent of 
        the population of the United States) live within 50 miles of 
        Long Island Sound;
            (3) activities that depend on the environmental health of 
        Long Island Sound contribute more than $5,000,000,000 each year 
        to the regional economy;
            (4) the portion of the shoreline of Long Island Sound that 
        is accessible to the general public (estimated at less than 20 
        percent of the total shoreline) is not adequate to serve the 
        needs of the people living in the area;
            (5) existing shoreline facilities are in many cases 
        overburdened and underfunded;
            (6) large parcels of open space already in public ownership 
        are strained by the effort to balance the demand for recreation 
        with the needs of sensitive natural resources;
            (7) approximately \1/3\ of the tidal marshes of Long Island 
        Sound have been filled, and much of the remaining marshes have 
        been ditched, dyked, or impounded, reducing the ecological 
        value of the marshes; and
            (8) many of the remaining exemplary natural landscape is 
        vulnerable to further development.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish the Long 
Island Sound Stewardship System to preserve areas of critical 
importance because of the open space, public access, and ecological 
value of the areas.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

     In this Act:
            (1) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Long 
        Island Sound Stewardship Coordinating Committee established by 
        section 5(a).
            (2) Region.--The term ``Region'' means the Long Island 
        Sound Stewardship System Region established by section 4(a).
            (3) States.--The term ``States'' means the States of 
        Connecticut and New York.

SEC. 4. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP SYSTEM REGION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the States the Long 
Island Sound Stewardship System Region.
    (b) Boundaries.--The Region shall encompass the immediate coastal 
upland and underwater areas along Long Island Sound, including those 
portions of the Sound with coastally influenced vegetation, as 
described on the map entitled the ``Long Island Sound Stewardship 
Region'' and dated April 21, 2004.

SEC. 5. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP COORDINATING COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a committee to be known as 
the ``Long Island Sound Stewardship Coordinating Committee''.
    (b) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the Committee shall be the 
Director of the Long Island Sound Office of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, or designee.
    (c) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--
                    (A) In general.--The chairperson shall appoint the 
                members of the Committee in accordance with this 
                subsection and section 320(c) of the Federal Water 
                Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)).
                    (B) Representation.--The Committee shall--
                            (i) include equal representation of the 
                        interests of the States; and
                            (ii) represent--
                                    (I) Federal, State, and local 
                                government interests;
                                    (II) the interests of 
                                nongovernmental organizations;
                                    (III) academic interests; and
                                    (IV) private interests.
            (2) Date of appointments.--The appointment of a member of 
        the Committee shall be made not later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act.
    (d) Term; Vacancies.--
            (1) Term.--A member shall be appointed for the life of the 
        Committee.
            (2) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Committee--
                    (A) shall not affect the powers of the Committee; 
                and
                    (B) shall be filled in the same manner as the 
                original appointment was made.
    (e) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
which all members of the Committee have been appointed, the Committee 
shall hold the initial meeting of the Committee.
    (f) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet at the call of the 
Chairperson, but not less than 4 times each year.
    (g) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Committee shall 
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings.

SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.

    The Committee shall--
            (1) consistent with the guidelines described in section 
        9(c)--
                    (A) establish specific criteria for the evaluation 
                of applications for stewardship site designations; and
                    (B) evaluate and award or deny stewardship 
                designation to applicants for that designation;
            (2) consistent with the guidelines described in section 
        9(d)--
                    (A) evaluate applications from government or 
                nonprofit organizations qualified to hold conservation 
                easements for funds to purchase land or development 
                rights for stewardship sites; and
                    (B) award funds to qualified applicants;
            (3) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, develop and publish a management plan that--
                    (A) assesses the current resources of and threats 
                to Long Island Sound;
                    (B) assesses the role of the Long Island Sound 
                Stewardship System in protecting Long Island Sound;
                    (C) establishes--
                            (i) guidelines, schedules, and due dates 
                        for applying for designation as a stewardship 
                        site; and
                            (ii) specific criteria to be used in 
                        evaluating stewardship site applications;
                    (D) includes information about any grants that are 
                available for the purchase of land or property rights 
                to protect stewardship sites;
                    (E) shall be made available to the public on the 
                Internet and in hardcopy form; and
                    (F) shall be updated at least every other year, 
                with information on applications for stewardship site 
                designation and funding published more frequently; and
            (4) concurrent with the first management plan, publish a 
        list of sites that the Committee considers most appropriate for 
        designation as stewardship sites.

SEC. 7. POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE.

    (a) Hearings.--The Committee may hold such hearings, meet and act 
at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such 
evidence as the Committee considers advisable to carry out this Act.
    (b) Information From Federal Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--The Committee may secure directly from a 
        Federal agency such information as the Committee considers 
        necessary to carry out this Act.
            (2) Provision of information.--On request of the 
        Chairperson of the Committee, the head of the agency shall 
        provide the information to the Committee.
    (c) Postal Services.--The Committee may use the United States mails 
in the same manner and under the same conditions as other agencies of 
the Federal Government.
    (d) Gifts.--The Committee may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or 
donations of services or property.

SEC. 8. COMMITTEE PERSONNEL MATTERS.

    (a) Compensation of Members.--
            (1) Non-federal employees.--A member of the Committee who 
        is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall 
        be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the 
        annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the 
        Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 
        Code, for each day (including travel time) during which the 
        member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the 
        Committee.
            (2) Federal employees.--A member of the Committee who is an 
        officer or employee of the Federal Government shall serve 
        without compensation in addition to the compensation received 
        for the services of the member as an officer or employee of the 
        Federal Government.
    (b) Travel Expenses.--A member of the Committee shall be allowed 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 
authorized for an employee of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 
57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the home or regular 
place of business of the member in the performance of the duties of the 
Committee.
    (c) Staff.--
            (1) In general.--The Chairperson of the Committee may, 
        without regard to the civil service laws (including 
        regulations), appoint and terminate an executive director and 
        such other additional personnel as are necessary to enable the 
        Committee to perform the duties of the Committee.
            (2) Confirmation of executive director.--The employment of 
        an executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the 
        Committee.
            (3) Compensation.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the Chairperson of the Committee may fix the 
                compensation of the executive director and other 
                personnel without regard to the provisions of chapter 
                51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United 
                States Code, relating to classification of positions 
                and General Schedule pay rates.
                    (B) Maximum rate of pay.--The rate of pay for the 
                executive director and other personnel shall not exceed 
                the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 
                under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
    (d) Detail of Federal Government Employees.--
            (1) In general.--An employee of the Federal Government may 
        be detailed to the Committee without reimbursement.
            (2) Civil service status.--The detail of the employee shall 
        be without interruption or loss of civil service status or 
        privilege.
    (e) Procurement of Temporary and Intermittent Services.--The 
Chairperson of the Committee may procure temporary and intermittent 
services in accordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 
Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily equivalent 
of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5316 of that title.

SEC. 9. STEWARDSHIP SITES.

    (a) Definition of Qualifying Land.--In this section, the term 
``qualifying land'' means land--
            (1) that is in the Region; and
            (2) that is--
                    (A) Federal, State, local, or tribal land;
                    (B) land owned by a nonprofit organization; or
                    (C) privately owned land.
    (b) Application for Designation.--Owners or other parties in 
control of qualifying land may apply to the Committee to have the 
qualifying land designated as a Long Island Sound stewardship site.
    (c) General Guidelines for Stewardship Site Designation.--
            (1) In general.--The Committee shall choose land to be 
        designated as a stewardship site based on--
                    (A) the contribution of the land to open space on 
                and public access to Long Island Sound; and
                    (B) the ecological value of the land.
            (2) Criteria.--In considering land described in 
        applications submitted under subsection (b), the Committee 
        shall consider--
                    (A) land cover;
                    (B) size;
                    (C) adjacency and connectivity to existing parks 
                and open spaces;
                    (D) water quality;
                    (E) current or prospective recreational use;
                    (F) visitor demand;
                    (G) scenic quality;
                    (H) cultural resources;
                    (I) erosion and flood hazard prevention;
                    (J) environmental justice;
                    (K) fish and wildlife productivity;
                    (L) biodiversity;
                    (M) scientific value;
                    (N) water quality protection;
                    (O) habitat restoration characteristics;
                    (P) connectivity to other habitats that are vital 
                to sustaining healthy living resources in the Long 
                Island Sound watershed;
                    (Q) risk of development; and
                    (R) other criteria developed by the Committee under 
                section 6(1)(A).
    (d) General Guidelines for Awarding Funds.--
            (1) In general.--The Committee shall award funds to 
        qualified applicants to help to secure and improve the open 
        space, public access, or ecological values of stewardship 
        sites, through--
                    (A) purchase of the property of the site;
                    (B) purchase of relevant property rights of the 
                site; or
                    (C) entering into any other binding legal 
                arrangement that ensures that the values of the site 
                are preserved.
            (2) Equitable distribution of funds.--The Committee shall 
        exert due diligence to distribute funds equitably between the 
        States.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act $40,000,000 for each fiscal year, to be allocated from the 
national estuary program under section 320 of the Federal Water 
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330).
    (b) Allocation of Funds.--For each fiscal year--
            (1) not more than 15 percent of funds made available under 
        subsection (a) shall be used to improve the facilities of 
        stewardship sites; and
            (2) at least 85 percent of funds made available under 
        subsection (a) shall be used to secure the values of 
        stewardship sites.
    (c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of an activity 
carried out using any assistance or grant under this Act shall not 
exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the activity.

Summary: Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2004 - Establishes the Long Island Sound Stewardship System Region in Connecticut and New York. Establishes the Long Island Sound Stewardship Coordinating Committee to evaluate applications: (1) from owners or other controlling parties to have qualifying land within the Region designated as stewardship sites for purposes of awarding preservation funds. And (2) from government or nonprofit organizations qualified to hold conservation easements for funds to purchase land or development rights for stewardship sites. Requires the Committee to develop and publish a management plan that describes the current status of Long Island Sound, the Committee's role in protecting it, and details of the stewardship site designation program.