Calendar No. 151

107TH CONGRESS REPORT

1st Session " ! SENATE 107–78

THE CONNECTICUT RIVER ATLANTIC SALMON

COMMISSION

OCTOBER 1, 2001.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. LEAHY, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 703]

The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the bill

(S. 703) to extend the effective period of the consent of Congress

to the interstate compact relating to the restoration of Atlantic

salmon to the Connecticut River Basin and creating the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon, and

recommends that the bill do pass.

CONTENTS Page

I. Purpose ........................................................................................................... 1

II. Legislative history ......................................................................................... 2

III. Discussion ....................................................................................................... 2

IV. Vote of the Committee ................................................................................... 3

V. Section-by-section analysis ............................................................................ 3

VI. Cost estimate .................................................................................................. 3

VII. Regulatory impact statement ........................................................................ 5

VIII. Changes in existing law ................................................................................ 6

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 703 is to extend by 20 years the effective period of the consent of Congress to the interstate compact relating

to the restoration of Atlantic salmon to the Connecticut River

Basin and extending the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission, and to authorize to be appropriated Federal funding for

the Commission at a level of $9 million annually until 2010.

2

II. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senate bill 703 was introduced on April 5, 2001, by Senator Bob

Smith of New Hampshire. Original cosponsors include Senators

Gregg, Kerry, Kennedy, Dodd, Lieberman, Leahy and Jeffords. The

bill was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Given the noncontroversial contents of S. 703 and its basis and purpose, the

Committee elected not to conduct any hearings on the matter. The

Judiciary Committee met in executive session on September 6,

2001, to consider the bill. A reporting quorum being present, the

bill was approved by voice vote and ordered favorably reported to

the Senate.

The House companion bill (H.R. 2062) was introduced by Massachusetts Representative John Olver on June 5, 2001. Original cosponsors of H.R. 2062 include Representatives Simmons, Neal,

Bass, Sanders, Larson, DeLauro, Maloney, Johnson, and Shays.

H.R. 2062 was referred to the House Resources Committee and the

House Judiciary Committee. On July 19, 2001, a motion to favorably report H.R. 2062, with an amendment reducing the authorization of appropriations from $9,000,000 to $5,000,000, was approved

by the Fisheries, Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee

of the House Resources Committee. The House Judiciary Committee referred H.R. 2062 to its Commercial and Administrative

Law Subcommittee and requested Executive Comment from the

Department of the Interior.

III. DISCUSSION

The history of the Connecticut River shows that it was once the

longest Atlantic salmon spawning run in the United States. Yet,

throughout the 1700’s, as population and pollution pressures increased throughout the watershed, native Atlantic salmon stocks

declined precipitously, virtually disappearing from the Connecticut

River and its tributaries in the 1800’s.

After passage of the Clean Water Act in 1974 and the slow, but

successful, return of swimmable and fishable waters throughout

the river, all four States began coordinating their efforts to restore

the Connecticut River and bring back the economic and environmental resource of the Atlantic salmon population—a premier sport

fish and critical species in the rehabilitation of the larger river ecosystem. Early restoration efforts included the construction and

maintenance of fish passages and salmon hatcheries, research and

monitoring of salmon fry and other migratory fish hatchlings, and

active education and outreach to the public.

In 1983, Congress passed legislation mandating the restoration

of Atlantic salmon to the Connecticut River—a 400 mile long river

extending through the States of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. To do this, Congress also created the

Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission (CRASC), an intergovernmental and interstate commission with members including

representatives from each of the four member States’ fish and

game agencies, State environmental agencies, the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (USFWS), the National Marine Fisheries Service,

and the public. The CRASC was authorized for a period of 20

years. According to the USFWS, Federal agencies currently spend

a total of about $1 million annually for activities related to the

3

CRASC. According to the agency, if appropriated, additional funds

proposed by S. 703 would enable the commission to expand its activities and would be used to hire additional staff, restore salmon

habitat, and upgrade infrastructure along the Connecticut River.

Without enactment of S. 703, the Connecticut River Atlantic

Salmon Commission authorization and the interstate agreement

will expire in 2003. This will leave several critical fisheries and

water quality programs—for Atlantic salmon as well as several

other species of migratory fish—underfunded and without needed

interstate coordination and support. CRASC programs in all four

States play a key role in migratory fisheries management throughout the Connecticut River watershed by providing hatchery production, adult salmon holding facilities, and cooperative assistance to

State natural resource management agencies. The success of

CRASC and its migratory fish restoration programs are apparent

to all four State and local officials, yet there is much more to be

done. The States have collectively urged Congress to recommit

itself to this interstate and intergovernmental watershed program

by reauthorizing and extending the agreement an additional 20

years.

IV. VOTE OF THE COMMITTEE

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary, with a quorum present

met on Thursday, September 6, 2001, to consider S. 703. The Committee considered S. 703 and approved the bill, by voice vote, with

no objection noted, and ordered the bill to be reported favorably to

the Senate, with a recommendation that the bill do pass.

V. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1.—Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Compact. This

section extends by 20 years the effective period of the consent of

Congress to the interstate compact relating to the restoration of Atlantic salmon to the Connecticut River Basin and extending the

Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission, and authorize to

be appropriated Federal funding for the Commission at a level of

$9 million annually until 2010.

VI. COST ESTIMATE

In compliance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the standing

Rules of the Senate, the Committee sets forth, with respect to the

bill, S. 703, the following estimate and comparison prepared by the

Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 403 of

the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

U.S. CONGRESS,

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,

Washington, DC, September 18, 2001.

Hon. PATRICK J. LEAHY,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 703, a bill to extend the effective period of the consent of Congress to the interstate compact

relating to the restoration of Atlantic salmon to the Connecticut

4

River Basin and creating the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon

Commission, and for other purposes.

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll, who can

be reached at 226–2860.

Sincerely,

DAN L. CRIPPEN, Director.

Enclosure.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE—COST ESTIMATE

S. 703—The Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Compact

Summary

CBO estimates that implementing S. 703 would cost $3 million in 2002 and $37 million over the 2002–2006 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts. The bill would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures

would not apply. S. 703 contains no intergovernmental or privatesector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

(UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

Under Public Law 98–138, the Congress consented to an interstate compact that established the Connecticut River Atlantic

Salmon Commission, an interagency, multistate cooperative organization created to restore Atlantic salmon to the Connecticut River.

S. 703 would extend by 20 years the effective period of Congressional consent to the compact and would authorize the appropriation of $9 million a year during that period for the commission.

Estimated cost to the Federal Government

The estimated budgetary impact of S. 703 is shown in the following table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).

SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

[By fiscal year, in millions of dollars]

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Spending under current law.

Budget authority 1 ........................................................................... 1 0 0 0 0 0

Estimated outlays ............................................................................ 1 0 0 0 0 0

Proposed changes.

Authorization level ........................................................................... 0 9 9 9 9 9

Estimated outlays ............................................................................ 0 3 7 9 9 9

Spending under S. 703.

Authorization level 1 ......................................................................... 1 9 9 9 9 9

Estimated Outlays ........................................................................... 1 3 7 9 9 9

1 The 2001 level is the amount appropriated that year for activities related to the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission.

Basis of estimate

For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 703 will be enacted near

the start of fiscal year 2002 and that authorized amounts will be

provided near the start of each fiscal year.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, federal agencies

currently spend a total of about $1 million annually for activities

related to the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission. AcVerDate 26-SEP-2001 22:22 Oct 01, 2001 Jkt 099010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\SR078.XXX pfrm02 PsN: SR078
5

cording to the agency, additional funds proposed by S. 703 would

enable the commission to expand its activities and would be used

to hire additional staff, restore salmon habitat, and upgrade infrastructure. CBO estimates that outlays for these activities would

total $3 million in 2002 and $37 million over the next five years.

Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact

S. 703 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates

as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or

tribal governments.

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Megan Carroll (226–2860);

Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller

(225–3220); Impact on the Private Sector: Lauren Marks (226– 2940).

Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

VII. REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

In compliance with paragraph 11(b)(1), rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee, after due consideration,

concludes that S. 703 will not have significant regulatory impact.

(6)

VIII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by S. 703, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted

is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, and

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

(PUBLIC LAW 98–138 (97 STAT. 866 AND 870))

SEC. 3. The consent of the Congress granted by the first section

of this Act to the compact referred to in that section—

(1) shall become effective only if none of the States that are

members of the compact has in effect a statute providing for

withdrawal from the compact or if all such States have agreed

by statute to the same provisions for withdrawal from the compact; and

(2) shall be effective for a period of øtwenty years¿ 40 years

years beginning on the date the consent of the Congress becomes effective under paragraph (1).

SEC. 4. Nothing contained in the compact approved by the first

section of this Act shall be construed as impairing or in any manner affecting any right or jurisdiction of the United States in and

over the region which forms the subject of that compact.

SEC. 5. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is expressly

reserved.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out the activities of the Connecticut River Atlantic

Salmon Commission $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002

through 2010.

Æ