I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3717 

To amend and reauthorize certain provisions relating to Long Island Sound 

restoration and stewardship. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2011 

Mr. ISRAEL (for himself, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. HIMES, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. 

LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. CROWLEY, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, 

Mr. ENGEL, Mr. KING of New York, and Mr. SERRANO) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend and reauthorize certain provisions relating to Long 

Island Sound restoration and stewardship. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Long Island Sound 

5 Restoration and Stewardship Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 

2 (a) LONG ISLAND SOUND RESTORATION PRO3 GRAM.—Section 119 of the Federal Water Pollution Con4 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1269) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b), by striking the subsection 

6 designation and heading and all that follows through 

7 ‘‘The Office shall’’ and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) OFFICE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) continue to carry out the conference 

12 study; and 

13 ‘‘(B) establish an office, to be located on 

14 or near Long Island Sound. 

15 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION AND STAFFING.—The 

16 Office shall’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (c)— 

18 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

19 by striking ‘‘Management Conference of the 

20 Long Island Sound Study’’ and inserting ‘‘con21 ference study’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) in each of subparagraphs (A) 

24 through (G), by striking the commas at 

25 the end of the subparagraphs and inserting 

26 semicolons; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

2 ‘‘, and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

3 (iii) in subparagraph (I), by striking 

4 the period at the end and inserting a semi5 colon; and 

6 (iv) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(J) the impacts of changing temperatures 

9 and sea levels on the Long Island Sound water10 shed, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) the identification and assessment 

12 of vulnerabilities in the watershed; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the development and implementa14 tion of adaptation strategies to reduce 

15 those vulnerabilities; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) the identification and assess17 ment of the impacts of sea level rise on 

18 water quality, habitat, and infrastructure 

19 in Long Island Sound; and 

20 ‘‘(K) planning initiatives for Long Island 

21 Sound that identify the areas that are most 

22 suitable for various types or classes of activities 

23 in order to reduce conflicts among uses, reduce 

24 environmental impacts, facilitate compatible 

25 uses, or preserve critical ecosystem services to 


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1 meet economic, environmental, security, or so2 cial objectives;’’; 

3 (C) by striking paragraph (4) and insert4 ing the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) develop and implement strategies to in6 crease public education and awareness with respect 

7 to the ecological health and water quality conditions 

8 of Long Island Sound;’’; 

9 (D) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘study’’ 

10 after ‘‘conference’’; 

11 (E) in paragraph (6)— 

12 (i) by inserting ‘‘(including on the 

13 Internet)’’ after ‘‘the public’’; and 

14 (ii) by inserting ‘‘study’’ after ‘‘con15 ference’’; and 

16 (F) by striking paragraph (7) and insert17 ing the following: 

18 ‘‘(7) monitor the progress made toward meeting 

19 the identified goals, actions, and schedules of the 

20 Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, 

21 including through the implementation and support 

22 of a monitoring system for the ecological health and 

23 water quality conditions of Long Island Sound; 

24 and’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (d)(3), in the second sentence, 

2 by striking ‘‘50 per centum’’ and inserting ‘‘60 per3 cent’’; 

4 (4) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub5 section (i); and 

6 (5) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(f) REPORT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

10 after the date of enactment of the Long Island 

11 Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act, and bienni12 ally thereafter, the Director of the Office, in con13 sultation with the Governor of each Long Island 

14 Sound State, shall submit to Congress a report 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(A) summarizes and assesses the progress 

17 made by the Office and the Long Island Sound 

18 States in implementing the Long Island Sound 

19 Comprehensive Conservation and Management 

20 Plan, including an assessment of the progress 

21 made toward meeting the performance goals 

22 and milestones contained in the Plan; 

23 ‘‘(B) assesses the key ecological attributes 

24 that reflect the health of the ecosystem of the 

25 Long Island Sound watershed; 


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1 ‘‘(C) describes any substantive modifica2 tions to the Long Island Sound Comprehensive 

3 Conservation and Management Plan made dur4 ing the 2-year period preceding the date of sub5 mission of the report; 

6 ‘‘(D) provides specific recommendations to 

7 improve progress in restoring and protecting 

8 the Long Island Sound watershed, including, as 

9 appropriate, proposed modifications to the Long 

10 Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and 

11 Management Plan; 

12 ‘‘(E) identifies priority actions for imple13 mentation of the Long Island Sound Com14 prehensive Conservation and Management Plan 

15 for the 2-year period following the date of sub16 mission of the report; and 

17 ‘‘(F) describes the means by which Federal 

18 funding and actions will be coordinated with the 

19 actions of the Long Island Sound States and 

20 other entities. 

21 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Adminis22 trator shall make the report described in paragraph 

23 (1) available to the public, including on the Internet. 

24 ‘‘(g) ANNUAL BUDGET PLAN.—The President shall 

25 submit, together with the annual budget of the United 


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1 States Government submitted under section 1105(a) of 

2 title 31, United States Code, information regarding each 

3 Federal department and agency involved in the protection 

4 and restoration of the Long Island Sound watershed, in5 cluding— 

6 ‘‘(1) an interagency crosscut budget that dis7 plays for each department and agency— 

8 ‘‘(A) the amount obligated during the pre9 ceding fiscal year for protection and restoration 

10 projects and studies relating to the watershed; 

11 ‘‘(B) the estimated budget for the current 

12 fiscal year for protection and restoration 

13 projects and studies relating to the watershed; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(C) the proposed budget for succeeding 

16 fiscal years for protection and restoration 

17 projects and studies relating to the watershed; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(2) a summary of any proposed modifications 

20 to the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conserva21 tion and Management Plan for the following fiscal 

22 year. 

23 ‘‘(h) FEDERAL ENTITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) COORDINATION.—The Administrator shall 

25 coordinate the actions of all Federal departments 


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1 and agencies that impact water quality in the Long 

2 Island Sound watershed in order to improve the 

3 water quality and living resources of the watershed. 

4 ‘‘(2) METHODS.—In carrying out this section, 

5 the Administrator, acting through the Director of 

6 the Office, may— 

7 ‘‘(A) enter into interagency agreements; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) make intergovernmental personnel 

10 appointments. 

11 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL PARTICIPATION IN WATERSHED

12 PLANNING.—A Federal department or agency that 

13 owns or occupies real property, or carries out activi14 ties, within the Long Island Sound watershed shall 

15 participate in regional and subwatershed planning, 

16 protection, and restoration activities with respect to 

17 the watershed. 

18 ‘‘(4) CONSISTENCY WITH COMPREHENSIVE CON19 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLAN.—To the max20 imum extent practicable, the head of each Federal 

21 department and agency that owns or occupies real 

22 property, or carries out activities, within the Long 

23 Island Sound watershed shall ensure that the prop24 erty and all activities carried out by the department 

25 or agency are consistent with the Long Island Sound 


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1 Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan 

2 (including any related subsequent agreements and 

3 plans).’’. 

4 (b) LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP PRO5 GRAM.— 

6 (1) LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP ADVI7 SORY COMMITTEE.—Section 8 of the Long Island 

8 Sound Stewardship Act of 2006 (33 U.S.C. 1269 

9 note; Public Law 109–359) is amended— 

10 (A) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘2011’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘2015’’; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(h) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal 

14 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply 

15 to— 

16 ‘‘(1) the Advisory Committee; or 

17 ‘‘(2) any board, committee, or other group es18 tablished under this Act.’’. 

19 (2) REPORTS.—Section 9(b)(1) of the Long Is20 land Sound Stewardship Act of 2006 (33 U.S.C. 

21 1269 note; Public Law 109–359) is amended in the 

22 matter preceding subparagraph (A) by striking 

23 ‘‘2011’’ and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 


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1 (3) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 11 of the Long 

2 Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2006 (33 U.S.C. 

3 1269 note; Public Law 109–359) is amended— 

4 (A) by striking subsection (a); 

5 (B) by redesignating subsections (b) 

6 through (d) as subsections (a) through (c), re7 spectively; and 

8 (C) in subsection (a) (as so redesignated), 

9 by striking ‘‘under this section each’’ and in10 serting ‘‘to carry out this Act for a’’. 

11 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

12 by this subsection take effect on October 1, 2011. 

13 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro15 priated to the Administrator of the Environmental Protec16 tion Agency such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal 

17 years 2012 through 2015 for the implementation of— 

18 (1) section 119 of the Federal Water Pollution 

19 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1269), other than subsection 

20 (d) of that section; and 

21 (2) the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 

22 2006 (33 U.S.C. 1269 note; Public Law 109–359). 

23 (b) LONG ISLAND SOUND GRANTS.—There is author24 ized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the Envi25 ronmental Protection Agency to carry out subsection (d) 


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1 of section 119 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

2 (33 U.S.C. 1269) $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

3 2012 through 2015. 

4 (c) LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP GRANTS.— 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Adminis6 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry 

7 out the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2006 (33 

8 U.S.C. 1269 note; Public Law 109–359) $25,000,000 for 

9 each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015. 

Æ 


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