99–006

107TH CONGRESS REPT. 107–274 " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session Part 1

CONNECTICUT RIVER ATLANTIC SALMON COMPACT

NOVEMBER 8, 2001.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. HANSEN, from the Committee on Resources,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany H.R. 2062]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 2062) 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, report favorably thereon with

an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendment is as follows:

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

SECTION 1. CONNECTICUT RIVER ATLANTIC SALMON COMPACT.

(a) EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF CONGRESSIONAL CONSENT.—Section 3(2) of Public Law

98–138 (97 Stat. 870) is amended by striking ‘‘twenty years’’ and inserting ‘‘40

years’’.

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Public Law 98–138 (97 Stat. 866) is

amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘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 $5,000,000

for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2010.’’.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 2062 is 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.

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BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Connecticut River is the longest river in New England,

stretching over 400 miles from the Long Island Sound to the Canadian Border. The Connecticut River is the southernmost river

which currently has spawning Atlantic salmon in the United

States, and supports over 60 other species of fish, 14 of which are

migratory.

Atlantic salmon have a complicated life cycle, traveling over

2,000 miles between the United States to Greenland and back during their lifetime. Atlantic salmon, unlike Pacific salmon, have the

ability to spawn more than once. In the Connecticut River basin,

the Atlantic salmon freshwater habitat spans four New England

states; Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

The most recent attempt to restore Atlantic salmon started in

1965 when the Federal Anadromous Fish Conservation Act made

funds available for interstate fish restoration programs. The current Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program formally commenced in

1967 when Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and

Vermont, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the

National Marine Fisheries Service, signed a statement of intent to

restore anadromous fish to the Connecticut River. Subsequently,

Congress passed the Connecticut River Basin Atlantic Salmon

Compact in 1983, which formalized the state and federal agreements. The original compact was authorized for 20 years. This action created the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission

which was authorized to guide the restoration of salmon to the

basin. The commission has been successful in finding suitable

donor stocks that naturally spawn and have established an annual

return of sea-run salmon to the Connecticut River. The commission

is also working on additional measures to rebuild the Connecticut

River stock, including installation of fish passages, establishing

hatchery smolt production, and increasing the number of fry

stocked in the watershed.

H.R. 2062 extends the effective period of the consent of Congress

to the interstate compact relating to the restoration of Atlantic

Salmon to the Connecticut River Basin by an additional 20 years.

Appropriations are authorized at $5 million for fiscal years 2002–

2010.

COMMITTEE ACTION

On June 5, 2001, H.R. 2062 was introduced by Congressman

John W. Olver (D–MA) and was referred to the Committee on Resources. On June 15, 2001, the bill was referred within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife

and Oceans. On July 19, 2001, the Subcommittee met to mark up

the bill. Congressman Wayne T. Gilchrest (R–MD) offered an

amendment to reduce the authorized appropriation to $5 million.

The amendment was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended,

was then forwarded to the Full Committee by voice vote. On September 12, 2001, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the

bill. By unanimous consent, the committee print showing the text

of the bill as it was amended by the Subcommittee on July 19,

2001, was considered as original text. There were no amendments

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to the bill. The bill was then ordered favorably reported to the

House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in

the body of this report.

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States

grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section

308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not

contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures.

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective

of this bill is 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.

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the

Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 2062—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 River Basin and creating

the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission, and for

other purposes

Summary: CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2062 would

cost $2 million in 2002 and $23 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. H.R. 2062 contains no intergovernmental

or private-sector 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

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

H.R. 2062 would extend by 20 years the effective period of Congressional consent to the compact and authorize the appropriation of $5

million a year during that period for the commission.

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 2062 is shown in the following table. The costs

of this legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources

and environment).

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars—

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

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 5 5 5 5 5

Estimated Outlays ............................................................... 0 2 5 6 5 5

Spending Under H.R. 2062:

Authorization Level 1 ............................................................ 1 5 5 5 5 5

Estimated Outlays ............................................................... 1 2 5 6 5 5

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

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R.

2062 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. According to the agency, additional funds proposed by H.R. 2062

would enable the commission to expand its activities and would be

used to hire additional staff and restore salmon habitat. CBO estimates that outlays for these activities would total $2 million in

2002 and $23 million over the next five years.

Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 2062 contains

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in

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

Previous CBO estimate: On September 18, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 703, similar legislation as reported by

the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on September 6, 2001. Differences between the two cost estimates reflect differences in the

amounts authorized to be appropriated under each bill. Specifically,

S. 703 would authorize appropriations of $9 million a year, while

H.R. 2062 would authorize $5 million a year.

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Megan Carroll. Impact on

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

the Private Sector: Lauren Marks.

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

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

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PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill,

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic,

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

ACT OF OCTOBER 28, 1983

(Public Law 98–138)

AN ACT To grant the consent of Congress to an interstate agreement or compact

relating to the restoration of Atlantic Salmon in the Connecticut River Basin, and

to allow the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior to participate as members in a Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission

* * * * * * *

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

of this Act to the compact referred to in that section— (1) * * *

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

beginning on the date of the consent of the Congress becomes

effective under paragraph (1).

* * * * * * *

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 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002

through 2010.

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