I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4153 

To support efforts to reduce pollution of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2012 

Mr. GOODLATTE (for himself and Mr. HOLDEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture and Energy and 

Commerce, 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 support efforts to reduce pollution of the Chesapeake 

Bay watershed, and for other purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improve6 ment Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Modification of Chesapeake Bay Program under Federal Water Pollution Control Act. 

Sec. 3. Establishment of independent commission to oversee and administer nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment trading program for Chesapeake Bay States. 

Sec. 4. Chesapeake Bay watershed partnerships. 

Sec. 5. Technical guidelines for environmental services markets. 

Sec. 6. Chesapeake Bay watershed pilot program for creating environmental 

service markets. 

Sec. 7. Offset. 

1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM 

2 UNDER FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CON3 TROL ACT. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 117(a) of the Federal 

5 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(a)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as 

8 paragraphs (6) and (10), respectively; 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol10 lowing new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(5) CHESAPEAKE BAY STATE.—The term 

12 ‘Chesapeake Bay State’ or ‘State’ means Delaware, 

13 Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West 

14 Virginia, and the District of Columbia.’’; and 

15 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6), as redesig16 nated, the following new paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(7) CHIEF EXECUTIVE.—The term ‘chief exec18 utive’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of a State or Common2 wealth, the Governor of the State or Common3 wealth; and 

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of the District of Colum5 bia, the Mayor of the District of Columbia. 

6 ‘‘(8) NONINDUSTRIAL PRIVATE FOREST

7 LAND.—The term ‘nonindustrial private forest land’ 

8 means rural land, as determined by the Secretary, 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(A) has existing tree cover or is suitable 

11 for growing trees; and 

12 ‘‘(B) is owned by any nonindustrial private 

13 individual, group, association, corporation, In14 dian tribe, or other private legal entity that has 

15 definitive decisionmaking authority over the 

16 land. 

17 ‘‘(9) RESTORATION ACTIVITIES.—The term 

18 ‘restoration activities’ means one or more practices 

19 or programs that directly protect, conserve, or re20 store habitat, water resources, or water quality in 

21 the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including practices 

22 and programs that promote conservation and land 

23 stewardship in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

24 ‘‘(10) TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY NUTRIENT OR

25 SEDIMENT LOAD IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY.—The 


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1 term ‘total maximum daily nutrient or sediment load 

2 in the Chesapeake Bay’ means a total maximum 

3 daily load for nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment es4 tablished under section 303(d) for a segment or trib5 utary of the Chesapeake Bay, whether established 

6 under paragraph (1) of such section by the State in 

7 which the segment or tributary is located or under 

8 paragraph (2) of such section by the Adminis9 trator.’’. 

10 (b) CHESAPEAKE BAY CROSSCUT FINANCIAL RE11 PORT.—Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Con12 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by striking sub13 section (j) and inserting the following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(j) FINANCIAL REPORT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL REPORT REQUIRED.—With the 

16 budget submission for each fiscal year, the Director 

17 of the Office of Management and Budget, in con18 sultation with other appropriate Federal agencies 

19 and the chief executive of each Chesapeake Bay 

20 State, shall submit to Congress a financial report 

21 containing— 

22 ‘‘(A) a summary of an interagency crosscut 

23 budget that displays— 

24 ‘‘(i) the proposed funding for Federal 

25 restoration activities to be carried out in 


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1 the succeeding fiscal year, including any 

2 planned interagency or intra-agency trans3 fer, for each of the Federal agencies that 

4 carry out restoration activities; 

5 ‘‘(ii) to the extent that information is 

6 available, the estimated funding for any 

7 State restoration activities to be carried 

8 out in the succeeding fiscal year; 

9 ‘‘(iii) all expenditures for Federal res10 toration activities from the preceding 3 fis11 cal years, the current fiscal year, and esti12 mated expenditures for the succeeding fis13 cal year; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) all expenditures, to the extent 

15 that information is available, for State res16 toration activities during the equivalent 

17 time period described in clause (iii); 

18 ‘‘(B) a detailed accounting of all funds re19 ceived and obligated by all Federal agencies for 

20 restoration activities during the current and 

21 preceding fiscal years, including the identifica22 tion of funds which were transferred to a 

23 Chesapeake Bay State for restoration activities; 

24 ‘‘(C) to the extent that information is 

25 available, a detailed accounting from each State 


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1 of all funds received and obligated from a Fed2 eral agency for restoration activities during the 

3 current and preceding fiscal years; and 

4 ‘‘(D) a description of each of the proposed 

5 Federal and State restoration activities to be 

6 carried out in the succeeding fiscal year (cor7 responding to those activities listed in clauses 

8 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A)). 

9 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 30 days 

10 after the submission by the President of the annual 

11 budget to Congress, the Director shall submit the re12 port required by paragraph (1) to the following con13 gressional committees: 

14 ‘‘(A) The Committees on Agriculture, Ap15 propriations, Natural Resources, Energy and 

16 Commerce, and Transportation and Infrastruc17 ture of the House of Representatives. 

18 ‘‘(B) The Committees on Agriculture, Nu19 trition, and Forestry, Appropriations, Environ20 ment and Public Works, and Commerce, 

21 Science, and Transportation of the Senate.’’. 

22 (c) TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—Section 

23 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

24 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(k) TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY RE2 QUIREMENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) STATE REPORTS.—Not later than October 

4 10 of each year, each State that received funds from 

5 a Federal agency under subsection (n)(1)(B) shall 

6 submit a report to the head of the agency that— 

7 ‘‘(A) identifies the total amount of funds 

8 received from the agency under such provisions 

9 during the preceding fiscal year; 

10 ‘‘(B) identifies the amount of funds re11 ceived from the agency under such provisions 

12 that were obligated or expended for projects or 

13 activities during the preceding fiscal year; and 

14 ‘‘(C) contains a list of all projects or activi15 ties for which the funds were obligated or ex16 pended, except that such list shall not include 

17 personal identifying information of individual 

18 recipients. 

19 ‘‘(2) AGENCY REPORTS.—Not later than No20 vember 10 of each year, the Secretary of Agriculture 

21 shall provide to the Administrator the information 

22 received in any report submitted to the Secretary 

23 under paragraph (1). The Administrator shall pub24 lish on a publicly available website, in accordance 

25 with paragraph (5), any information submitted to 


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1 the Administrator under this paragraph or para2 graph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

5 shall complete an economic analysis of each 

6 agency statement described in subparagraph 

7 (B) that is issued by the Administrator. 

8 ‘‘(B) AGENCY STATEMENT DESCRIBED.— 

9 An agency statement described in this subpara10 graph is any guidance, policy, memorandum, 

11 regulation, or statement of general applicability 

12 and future effect that is designed to implement, 

13 interpret, or prescribe law or policy relating to 

14 water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. 

15 ‘‘(C) CONTENTS OF ANALYSIS.—An eco16 nomic analysis required under subparagraph 

17 (A) shall include— 

18 ‘‘(i) the impact of the agency state19 ment on the economies and budgets of 

20 States and municipalities; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the impact of the agency state22 ment on the private sector, including such 

23 impact on small entities and farm income; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the availability of Federal fund2 ing to offset the impacts identified under 

3 clause (ii); and 

4 ‘‘(iv) the benefits of the agency state5 ment to water quality in the Chesapeake 

6 Bay. 

7 ‘‘(D) CONSULTATION.—In conducting an 

8 economic analysis required under subparagraph 

9 (A), the Administrator shall consult with other 

10 Federal agencies that may be affected by the 

11 agency statement. 

12 ‘‘(4) INITIAL COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 180 

13 days after the date of enactment of the Chesapeake 

14 Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement 

15 Act, the head of each Federal agency providing 

16 funds under subsection (n)(1)(B) shall require, as a 

17 condition of receipt of the funds, a State recipient 

18 of the funds to provide the information required 

19 under paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(5) WEBSITE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) WEBSITE REQUIRED.—The Adminis22 trator shall establish and maintain, not later 

23 than 30 days after the enactment of the Chesa24 peake Bay Program Reauthorization and Im25 provement Act, a user-friendly, publicly availVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:46 Mar 08, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4153.IH H4153

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1 able website to promote greater accountability 

2 and transparency regarding the use of funds 

3 provided under subsection (n)(1)(B). 

4 ‘‘(B) CONTENT AND FUNCTION.—The 

5 website shall provide the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) Accountability information, in7 cluding findings from audits, inspectors 

8 general, and the Government Account9 ability Office. 

10 ‘‘(ii) Data on relevant economic, fi11 nancial, grant, and contract information in 

12 user-friendly visual presentations to en13 hance public awareness of the use of cov14 ered funds. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Links to other government 

16 websites where key information relating to 

17 efforts to improve the water quality of the 

18 Chesapeake Bay watershed may be found. 

19 ‘‘(iv) Printable reports on covered 

20 funds obligated by month to each State 

21 and congressional district. 

22 ‘‘(v) Links to other government 

23 websites with information concerning cov24 ered funds, including Federal agency and 

25 State websites. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REVISIONS.—The Administrator shall 

2 enhance and update the website as necessary.’’. 

3 (d) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION AND TECHNICAL

4 ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR CHESAPEAKE BAY PRO5 GRAM.—Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Con6 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by inserting after 

7 subsection (k), as added by subsection (c), the following 

8 new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(l) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION AND TECHNICAL

10 ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 

12 Independent Evaluation and Technical Advisory 

13 Committee (in this subsection referred to as the ‘Ad14 visory Committee’). 

15 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND REPORT.—Beginning on a 

16 date that is not more than 180 days after the date 

17 of enactment of the Chesapeake Bay Program Reau18 thorization and Improvement Act, and every two 

19 years thereafter, the Advisory Committee shall re20 view and report to Congress on— 

21 ‘‘(A) Federal and State, and, to the extent 

22 practicable, other, restoration activities in the 

23 Chesapeake Bay watershed, including relevant 

24 topics suggested by the Chesapeake Executive 


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1 Council and the Chesapeake Bay Commission; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) any progress made by such activities 

4 toward reaching applicable water quality goals 

5 of the Chesapeake Bay States. 

6 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATION REVIEW.—The du8 ties of the Advisory Committee shall be to pro9 vide recommendations to the Administrator and 

10 Secretary of Agriculture concerning the admin11 istration of this section. 

12 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM AND ACTIVITIES RE13 VIEW.—The Advisory Committee shall, after re14 viewing the Chesapeake Bay Program, provide 

15 to the Administrator and the Secretary of Agri16 culture a report evaluating whether— 

17 ‘‘(i) funds authorized for restoration 

18 activities are being distributed and used to 

19 improve water quality in the Chesapeake 

20 Bay watershed; 

21 ‘‘(ii) mechanisms to track restoration 

22 activities are in place and restoration ac23 tivities are being properly implemented; 

24 ‘‘(iii) mechanisms are in place to 

25 evaluate progress toward achieving water 


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1 quality goals for the Chesapeake Bay wa2 tershed; 

3 ‘‘(iv) the allocation of funds among 

4 Chesapeake Bay States reflects the respon5 sibility and contribution towards achieving 

6 water quality goals of each Chesapeake 

7 Bay State; 

8 ‘‘(v) restoration activities are being 

9 carried out in accordance with this section; 

10 ‘‘(vi) the factual information and as11 sumptions incorporated in Chesapeake Bay 

12 modeling efforts are accurate; 

13 ‘‘(vii) implementation of restoration 

14 activities is being adequately tracked and 

15 accounted for in Chesapeake Bay modeling 

16 efforts, including tracking of privately 

17 funded and government-funded practices; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(viii) the achievability and practica20 bility of water quality goals are being con21 sidered in the implementation of the Pro22 gram. 

23 ‘‘(4) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 ‘‘(A) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The 

25 Advisory Committee shall be composed of 16 


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1 members appointed by the Administrator and 

2 the Secretary of Agriculture, composed of the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(i) Two individuals who are engi5 neers or scientists who worked for the Gov6 ernment or in academia and have technical 

7 expertise in water quality modeling. 

8 ‘‘(ii) One individual who has an affili9 ation with an institution of higher edu10 cation and technical expertise in water 

11 quality. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Nine individuals, of whom at 

13 least one shall have professional experience 

14 and expertise in each of the following 

15 areas: 

16 ‘‘(I) Urban storm water issues. 

17 ‘‘(II) Agricultural storm water 

18 issues. 

19 ‘‘(III) Urban and suburban de20 velopment. 

21 ‘‘(IV) Water quality modeling. 

22 ‘‘(V) Economics. 

23 ‘‘(VI) Agronomy, crop science, or 

24 soil science. 


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1 ‘‘(VII) Wastewater treatment 

2 systems. 

3 ‘‘(VIII) Marine biology or fish 

4 and wildlife habitats. 

5 ‘‘(IX) Applying for and com6 plying with building permits. 

7 ‘‘(iv) Four individuals, at least one of 

8 whom shall be affiliated with each of the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(I) An environmental or con11 servation organization. 

12 ‘‘(II) A fishing, hunting, or out13 door sporting organization operating 

14 in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

15 ‘‘(III) Nongovernmental agri16 culture producer associations or other 

17 groups of producers related to live18 stock. 

19 ‘‘(IV) Agricultural conservation 

20 organizations with an established his21 tory of working cooperatively with 

22 producers on agricultural lands. 

23 ‘‘(B) TERM.—Each member of the Advi24 sory Committee shall be appointed for a term of 


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1 two years. No member may be appointed for 

2 more than three terms. 

3 ‘‘(C) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Com4 mittee shall meet on a quarterly basis. 

5 ‘‘(5) BYLAWS.—The Advisory Committee shall 

6 establish any bylaws necessary for the advisory com7 mittee to carry out its duties under this subsection. 

8 Such bylaws shall include provisions to prevent any 

9 conflict of interest or the appearance of any conflict 

10 of interest in the actions taken or recommendations 

11 made by the Advisory Committee or by any member 

12 of the Advisory Committee. 

13 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Sec14 retary of Agriculture shall provide to the Advisory 

15 Committee any administrative support services nec16 essary for the Advisory Committee to carry out its 

17 responsibilities under this section. 

18 ‘‘(7) COORDINATION.—To avoid duplication of 

19 effort, the Advisory Committee shall coordinate ac20 tivities with other Federal advisory committees 

21 working in related areas. 

22 ‘‘(8) NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Advi23 sory Committee does not have the authority to rec24 ommend or promulgate regulations.’’. 


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1 (e) NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS, AND SEDIMENT TRAD2 ING TECHNICAL GUIDELINES.—Section 117 of the Fed3 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is 

4 amended by inserting after subsection (l) (as added by 

5 subsection (d)), the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(m) NITROGEN, PHOSPHORUS, AND SEDIMENT

7 TRADING TECHNICAL GUIDELINES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 14 

9 months after the date of enactment of the Chesa10 peake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improve11 ment Act, the Administrator, in consultation with 

12 the Secretary of Agriculture and the Chesapeake 

13 Bay States, shall establish technical guidelines to be 

14 used by the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment 

15 Trading Commission in establishing a voluntary 

16 interstate nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment trad17 ing program for the Chesapeake Bay. 

18 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—Technical 

19 guidelines established under this subsection shall not 

20 apply to agricultural nonpoint sources or nonindus21 trial private forest lands except to the extent that 

22 such guidelines consist of guidelines issued under 

23 section 1245 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

24 U.S.C. 3845). 


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1 ‘‘(3) ELEMENTS.—The technical guidelines es2 tablished under this subsection shall, at a min3 imum— 

4 ‘‘(A) define and standardize nitrogen, 

5 phosphorus, and sediment credits and establish 

6 procedures or standards for ensuring equivalent 

7 water quality benefits for all credits; 

8 ‘‘(B) establish procedures or standards for 

9 credit practices, for both point sources and 

10 nonpoint sources (except as provided in para11 graph (2)), that measure reductions in nitrogen, 

12 phosphorus, and sediment from credit-gener13 ating practices; 

14 ‘‘(C) establish procedures or standards for 

15 generating, quantifying, trading, banking, and 

16 applying credits to meet regulatory require17 ments; 

18 ‘‘(D) establish baseline requirements, rel19 evant to the credit being traded, that a credit 

20 seller must meet before becoming eligible to 

21 generate saleable credits; and 

22 ‘‘(E) develop and incorporate an approach, 

23 consistent with subsection (o), that creates a 

24 general approval for trading, thereby avoiding 

25 the need to reopen or reissue permits issued 


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1 under section 402 to incorporate individual 

2 trades.’’. 

3 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND

4 GRANT AUTHORITY.—Section 117 of the Federal Water 

5 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by in6 serting after subsection (m) (as added by subsection (e)) 

7 the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(n) FUNDING.— 

9 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad11 ministrator for each of fiscal years 2013 through 

12 2018, to remain available until expended— 

13 ‘‘(A) $50,000,000 to carry out this section; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) $40,000,000 to support the Chesa16 peake Bay States in carrying out activities re17 lated to a total maximum daily nutrient or sedi18 ment load in the Chesapeake Bay. 

19 ‘‘(2) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the 

21 amounts appropriated under paragraph (1)(B), 

22 the Administrator shall reserve the following 

23 percentages for allocation in accordance with 

24 subparagraph (B): 


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1 ‘‘(i) Ten percent in each of fiscal 

2 years 2013 and 2014. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Twenty percent in each of fiscal 

4 years 2015 and 2016. 

5 ‘‘(iii) Fifty percent in each of fiscal 

6 years 2017 and 2018. 

7 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION TO CHESAPEAKE BAY

8 STATES.— 

9 ‘‘(i) DETERMINATION.—For each fis10 cal year, the Administrator, in consultation 

11 with the Secretary of Agriculture and 

12 using information provided in the report of 

13 the Advisory Committee required under 

14 subsection (l), shall determine whether 

15 each Chesapeake Bay State has made suf16 ficient progress toward meeting water 

17 quality goals and is properly managing fi18 nancial resources intended to enable the 

19 State to meet such goals. 

20 ‘‘(ii) ALLOCATION.—The Adminis21 trator, in consultation with the Secretary 

22 of Agriculture, shall allocate the amounts 

23 reserved under subparagraph (A) in each 

24 fiscal year among the Chesapeake Bay 

25 States the Administrator has determined 


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1 under clause (i) have made sufficient 

2 progress toward meeting water quality 

3 goals and are properly managing financial 

4 resources intended to enable the State to 

5 meet such goals. 

6 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—A State may use 

7 amounts allocated under this paragraph for car8 rying out activities related to a total maximum 

9 daily nutrient or sediment load in the Chesa10 peake Bay. 

11 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.—Of the amounts authorized to 

12 be appropriated under paragraph (1)(B), after the 

13 reservation of funds under paragraph (2)— 

14 ‘‘(A) 30 percent shall be used for grants to 

15 any municipal, intermunicipal, or State agency 

16 in a Chesapeake Bay State, or to any interstate 

17 agency in two or more Chesapeake Bay States, 

18 for the construction, operation, and mainte19 nance of publicly owned treatment works, as de20 fined in section 212; 

21 ‘‘(B) 35 percent shall be used for grants to 

22 any municipality in a Chesapeake Bay State for 

23 the construction, operation, and maintenance of 

24 a municipal separate storm sewer system sub25 ject to regulation under section 402(p); and 


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1 ‘‘(C) 35 percent shall be distributed to the 

2 Secretary of Agriculture to carry out section 

3 1240Q(i) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

4 (which amounts shall be in addition to funding 

5 provided under such Act). 

6 ‘‘(4) DISTRIBUTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) PRIORITY.—The Administrator shall 

8 distribute amounts under paragraphs (2), 

9 (3)(A), and (3)(B) with priority given to Mary10 land, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the District of 

11 Columbia. 

12 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—The Adminis13 trator shall distribute to each Chesapeake Bay 

14 State not less than 7 percent of the amounts 

15 under paragraphs (3)(A) and (3)(B).’’. 

16 (g) TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS FOR NITROGEN, 

17 PHOSPHORUS, OR SEDIMENT IN THE CHESAPEAKE

18 BAY.—Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

19 Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by inserting after sub20 section (n) (as added by subsection (f)), the following new 

21 subsection: 

22 ‘‘(o) TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS FOR NITRO23 GEN, PHOSPHORUS, OR SEDIMENT IN THE CHESAPEAKE

24 BAY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY NUTRIENT OR

2 SEDIMENT LOAD IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY DURA3 TION.—Any total maximum daily nutrient or sedi4 ment load in the Chesapeake Bay shall use time5 frames other than daily (such as annual, monthly, or 

6 seasonal) for certain economic sectors, including ag7 riculture, in which a nondaily timeframe is appro8 priate. 

9 ‘‘(2) USE OF TRADING.—In any case in which 

10 a point source is subject to an effluent limit in a 

11 permit issued under section 402 for nitrogen, phos12 phorus, or sediment, such point source may meet 

13 that permit limit in whole or in part through a trade 

14 administered by the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and 

15 Sediment Trading Commission established by section 

16 117A. 

17 ‘‘(3) CORRESPONDING LOAD REDUCTIONS.— 

18 For any total maximum daily nutrient or sediment 

19 load in the Chesapeake Bay, a process shall be de20 veloped— 

21 ‘‘(A) to account for reductions in loadings 

22 to the Chesapeake Bay watershed of nitrogen, 

23 phosphorus, and sediment, including those 

24 achieved by entities that do not have a total 

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1 ants, and including reductions achieved by res2 toration activities implemented by private enti3 ties, local governments, States, and Federal 

4 agencies, including the Department of Agri5 culture; and 

6 ‘‘(B) to increase wasteload and load alloca7 tions on a proportional basis by the amount of 

8 such reductions. 

9 ‘‘(4) STATE IMPLEMENTATION.—Powers are re10 served solely to the States to implement a total max11 imum daily nutrient or sediment load in the Chesa12 peake Bay, including authority to assign load and 

13 waste load allocations to individual sources and 

14 source sectors to achieve a total maximum daily nu15 trient or sediment load in the Chesapeake Bay. At 

16 the request of a Chesapeake Bay State, the Adminis17 trator may review a State implementation plan and 

18 offer non-binding recommendations for consideration 

19 by the State, but may not take any action to super20 sede any such State implementation. 

21 ‘‘(5) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a Chesapeake Bay 

23 State develops a plan to implement a total max24 imum daily nutrient or sediment load in the 

25 Chesapeake Bay that provides for reductions in 


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1 loading through an iterative process that em2 ploys adaptive management principles, permits 

3 may be issued under section 402 for new or ex4 isting point source discharges that— 

5 ‘‘(i) include wasteload allocations con6 sistent with such plan; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) demonstrate progress towards 

8 achieving the wasteload allocation specified 

9 in such plan by treatment, trading, or 

10 other means, in accordance with the sched11 ule provided in such plan, as determined 

12 by the permit issuing authority. 

13 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS.—In as14 sessing sufficient progress by municipal dis15 chargers and other point sources toward meet16 ing water quality goals and plans, the avail17 ability, cost, effectiveness, and appropriateness 

18 of practices, techniques, methods, or other pro19 visions for the control of such pollutants shall 

20 be considered. 

21 ‘‘(6) OPTIONS FOR OFFSETTING OF

22 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS.—An 

23 individual or entity undertaking land development 

24 activities may meet the applicable stormwater man25 agement requirements by offsetting such activities 


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1 through the establishment of stormwater manage2 ment practices off-site within the Chesapeake Bay 

3 watershed. Offsetting stormwater management prac4 tices shall include, at a minimum, the establishment 

5 of riparian forest buffers, streambank fencing, or 

6 other best management practices on agricultural 

7 lands. 

8 ‘‘(7) RELATION TO WATERSHED PARTNER9 SHIPS.—A Chesapeake Bay State may use funds 

10 made available to the State under section 319 for 

11 activities related to reducing losses of nitrogen, 

12 phosphorus, or sediment from agricultural or non13 industrial private forest land through a watershed 

14 partnership developed under section 1240Q(i) of the 

15 Food Security Act of 1985. Use of funds in such 

16 manner shall have no effect on the availability to the 

17 State of other funds under this Act.’’. 

18 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT COMMISSION 

19 TO OVERSEE AND ADMINISTER NITROGEN, 

20 PHOSPHORUS, AND SEDIMENT TRADING PRO21 GRAM FOR CHESAPEAKE BAY STATES. 

22 The Federal Water Pollution Control Act is amended 

23 by inserting after section 117 (33 U.S.C. 1267) the fol24 lowing new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 117A. CHESAPEAKE BAY NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT 

2 TRADING COMMISSION. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 

5 means the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment 

6 Trading Commission established in subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) CHESAPEAKE BAY STATE.—The term 

8 ‘Chesapeake Bay State’ means Delaware, Maryland, 

9 New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, 

10 and the District of Columbia. 

11 ‘‘(3) CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.—The 

12 term ‘Chesapeake Executive Council’ means the sig13 natories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 

14 ‘‘(4) CHESAPEAKE BAY AGREEMENT.—The 

15 term ‘Chesapeake Bay Agreement’ means the for16 mal, voluntary agreements executed to achieve the 

17 goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay 

18 ecosystem and the living resources of the Chesa19 peake Bay ecosystem and signed by the Chesapeake 

20 Executive Council. 

21 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION; PURPOSE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 

23 Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment Trading 

24 Commission to oversee and administer a nitrogen, 

25 phosphorus, and sediment trading program for the 

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1 erated to attract market participants and facilitate 

2 trading mechanisms among and within such States 

3 to meet water quality goals. 

4 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT ESTABLISHMENT.—The 

5 Commission shall be an independent establishment, 

6 as defined in section 104 of title 5, United States 

7 Code. 

8 ‘‘(3) LOCATION.—The Commission shall be 

9 housed at the Office of the Chesapeake Bay Pro10 gram directed by the Chesapeake Executive Council 

11 in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 

12 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) CREDITS FOR WATER QUALITY TRAD14 ING.—In consultation with market developers, 

15 Chesapeake Bay States, and appropriate Federal 

16 agencies, the Commission shall develop a system to 

17 facilitate and generate credits for interstate water 

18 quality trading among and within the Chesapeake 

19 Bay States. 

20 ‘‘(2) WATER QUALITY TRADING REGISTRY.— 

21 The Commission shall obtain information from the 

22 Administrator, the Secretary of Agriculture, and 

23 other Federal agencies to operate and oversee a reg24 istry for interstate water quality trading in the 

25 Chesapeake Bay States. 


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1 ‘‘(3) TRADE RECORDKEEPING.—The Commis2 sion shall develop and maintain a system to record 

3 specific interstate water quality trades among and 

4 within the Chesapeake Bay States. 

5 ‘‘(4) POINT SOURCE AND NONPOINT SOURCE

6 TRADES.—In consultation with market developers 

7 and appropriate Federal agencies, the Commission 

8 shall develop a system to allow for trading to occur 

9 between point sources and nonpoint sources, and 

10 any combination thereof, among and within the 

11 Chesapeake Bay States. 

12 ‘‘(5) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE PROGRAM.— 

13 The Commission shall not establish or operate a pro14 gram that conflicts with or modifies a State program 

15 for intrastate trading. 

16 ‘‘(6) DEADLINE; PUBLICATION.—Not later than 

17 2 years after the date of enactment of the Chesa18 peake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improve19 ment Act, the Commission shall promulgate rules for 

20 interstate water quality trading among and within 

21 the Chesapeake Bay States, and shall publish such 

22 rules in the Federal Register. 

23 ‘‘(d) USE OF TECHNICAL GUIDELINES.—The Com24 mission shall rely on the Administrator to provide tech25 nical guidelines under section 117(m) and the Secretary 


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1 of Agriculture to provide technical guidelines under sec2 tion 1245(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985. 

3 ‘‘(e) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall 

5 consist of five members, of which— 

6 ‘‘(A) one member shall be appointed by the 

7 Secretary of Agriculture; 

8 ‘‘(B) one member shall be appointed by the 

9 Administrator; and 

10 ‘‘(C) three members shall be appointed 

11 jointly by the Administrator and the Secretary 

12 of Agriculture from among persons nominated 

13 by the Governors of each of the signatory 

14 States of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 

15 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—Of the mem16 bers of the Commission— 

17 ‘‘(A) one member shall be a representative 

18 of the general public; 

19 ‘‘(B) not more than two of the members 

20 may have similar professional experience or ex21 pertise in the same field; 

22 ‘‘(C) at least one of the members shall be 

23 experienced in a market-based pollutant trading 

24 mechanism; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) not more than three of the members 

2 may be of the same political party. 

3 ‘‘(3) TERMS.—The members of the Commission 

4 shall serve a term of five years and may be re5 appointed. 

6 ‘‘(4) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the 

7 Commission shall designate one of the members to 

8 serve as chairperson. 

9 ‘‘(5) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet 

10 at the call of the chairperson or a majority of its 

11 members, and shall hold public meetings at intervals 

12 as are necessary to carry out the functions of the 

13 Commission, but not less frequently than 2 times 

14 per year. 

15 ‘‘(f) OFFICERS AND STAFF.—The Commission may 

16 appoint, employ, fix the pay of, and provide other allow17 ances and benefits for such officers and employees of the 

18 Commission as the members determine to be appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(g) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER ENTITIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) LIAISONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) COMMISSION LIAISONS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

23 shall, in cooperation with the Adminis24 trator and the Secretary of Agriculture, 

25 maintain— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a liaison between the Com2 mission and the Environmental Pro3 tection Agency; and 

4 ‘‘(II) a liaison between the Com5 mission and the Department of Agri6 culture. 

7 ‘‘(ii) EFFECTIVE MAINTENANCE.— 

8 The Administrator and Secretary of Agri9 culture shall take such steps as may be 

10 necessary to enable the Commission to ob11 tain information and utilize such services 

12 and facilities of the Environmental Protec13 tion Agency and Department of Agri14 culture as may be necessary in order to 

15 maintain effectively such liaisons. 

16 ‘‘(B) AGENCY LIAISON OFFICERS.—The 

17 Administrator and Secretary of Agriculture 

18 shall each appoint a liaison officer, who shall be 

19 an employee of the Environmental Protection 

20 Agency and the Department of Agriculture, re21 spectively, for the purpose of communicating 

22 with the liaison maintained under subparagraph 

23 (A) and the Commission. 

24 ‘‘(C) ATTENDANCE.—The Commission 

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1 tend and observe all deliberations and pro2 ceedings of the Commission. 

3 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF COMMUNICATIONS.— 

4 The Commission shall maintain communications 

5 with the Chesapeake Executive Council and the 

6 Chesapeake Bay States for the purposes of— 

7 ‘‘(A) keeping such entities fully informed 

8 of Commission activities that relate to the re9 sponsibilities of those entities; 

10 ‘‘(B) seeking views of those entities on 

11 such activities; and 

12 ‘‘(C) consultation with such entities re13 garding the relationships between Commission 

14 activities and the jurisdiction of such entities. 

15 ‘‘(h) DURATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

16 on September 30, 2018.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED PARTNERSHIPS. 

18 Section 1240Q of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

19 U.S.C. 3839bb–4) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) CHESAPEAKE BAY STATE.—The term 

24 ‘Chesapeake Bay State’ or ‘State’ means Delaware, 


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1 Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West 

2 Virginia, and the District of Columbia. 

3 ‘‘(2) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED.—The 

4 term ‘Chesapeake Bay watershed’ means all tribu5 taries, backwaters, and side channels, including their 

6 watersheds, draining into the Chesapeake Bay. 

7 ‘‘(3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE.—The term ‘chief exec8 utive’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) in the case of a State or Common10 wealth, the Governor of the State or Common11 wealth; and 

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of the District of Colum13 bia, the Mayor of the District of Columbia.’’; 

14 and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub16 section: 

17 ‘‘(i) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED PARTNER18 SHIPS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of the chief 

20 executive of a Chesapeake Bay State, the Secretary 

21 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 

22 with such chief executive establishing a partnership 

23 between the Secretary and the State (in this sub24 section referred to as a ‘watershed partnership’) in 

25 accordance with this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(2) WATERSHED STRATEGY.—Each watershed 

2 partnership may establish a watershed strategy for 

3 demonstrating aggregate reductions in losses of ni4 trogen, phosphorus, and sediment, on a basin or 

5 subbasin scale in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 

6 from agricultural or nonindustrial private forest land 

7 in the State, including developing processes for— 

8 ‘‘(A) identifying basins or subbasins in 

9 which implementation of enhanced conservation 

10 practices could significantly impact water qual11 ity; 

12 ‘‘(B) identifying achievable and cost-effec13 tive conservation practices that result in such 

14 reductions to improve water quality; 

15 ‘‘(C) statistically validating and verifying 

16 conservation practices; 

17 ‘‘(D) establishing methods of estimating 

18 such reductions that are statistically valid and 

19 accurate, based on field- and farm-level surveys 

20 conducted by the Secretary, to the extent prac21 ticable using existing data collection methods; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(E) collecting other relevant information 

24 on practices that demonstrate such reductions, 


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1 as determined by the Secretary and the chief 

2 executive of the State. 

3 ‘‘(3) ASSURANCE.— 

4 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF ASSURANCE

5 PROCESS.—Each watershed strategy established 

6 by a watershed partnership shall require the 

7 chief executive of the State, in collaboration 

8 with the Secretary, to establish an assurance 

9 process in which producers or owners of non10 industrial private forest land in the State may 

11 participate if such producers or owners of non12 industrial forest land are qualified under sub13 paragraph (B) by implementing and maintain14 ing conservation practices, on agricultural or 

15 nonindustrial forest land in the Chesapeake 

16 Bay watershed, that are designed to reduce 

17 losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment 

18 from such land, as determined by the State. 

19 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED PRODUCERS AND OWN20 ERS.—For the purposes of this paragraph, a 

21 qualified producer or owner of nonindustrial 

22 private forest land is a producer or owner of 

23 nonindustrial private forest land that imple24 ments and maintains conservation practices, on 

25 agricultural or nonindustrial forest land in the 


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1 Chesapeake Bay watershed, that are designed 

2 to reduce losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and 

3 sediment from such land, as determined by the 

4 State. 

5 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF PARTICIPATION IN AS6 SURANCE PROCESS.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A qualified pro8 ducer or owner of nonindustrial private 

9 forest land that participates in an assur10 ance process under this paragraph shall be 

11 considered to be in full compliance with 

12 applicable water quality requirements, if 

13 any, regarding nitrogen, phosphorus, and 

14 sediment in the Chesapeake Bay water15 shed, with respect to such land, such that 

16 no additional water quality-related con17 servation practices may be required on 

18 such land during the period of time in 

19 which the producer or owner of nonindus20 trial private forest land participates in the 

21 assurance process. 

22 ‘‘(ii) OPERATIONS ON LAND.—Oper23 ations on such land conducted by such a 

24 qualified producer or owner shall not be 

25 considered to be a significant contributor 


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1 of nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment to 

2 waters in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

3 ‘‘(D) VERIFICATION.—The chief executive 

4 of the State shall verify conservation practices 

5 maintained by qualified producers and owners 

6 participating in an assurance process under this 

7 paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(4) USE OF EXISTING PROGRAMS RE9 QUIRED.—In accordance with subsection (e)(1), a 

10 watershed partnership shall use existing programs, 

11 including for risk assessment, conservation planning, 

12 measurement and assessment of progress in improv13 ing water quality, and validation and verification of 

14 practices in the State to reduce losses of nitrogen, 

15 phosphorus, and sediment from agricultural or non16 industrial private forest land in the Chesapeake Bay 

17 watershed. 

18 ‘‘(5) STATE WATER QUALITY GOALS.—The chief 

19 executive of a State that has entered into a water20 shed partnership under this subsection shall ensure 

21 that any watershed strategy established under para22 graph (2) is incorporated into the overall water qual23 ity goals established by the State, on a basin or 

24 subbasin level, for agricultural and nonindustrial pri25 vate forest land in the State. 


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1 ‘‘(6) ASSESSMENTS OF PROGRESS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 5 

3 years after the date on which a watershed part4 nership is established under paragraph (1), and 

5 every 5 years thereafter, the chief executive of 

6 the Chesapeake Bay State shall make public an 

7 assessment of the progress in the State in re8 ducing losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sedi9 ment from agricultural and nonindustrial pri10 vate forest land in the Chesapeake Bay water11 shed, on a basin or subbasin level, in accord12 ance with the water quality goals of the State 

13 described in paragraph (5). Such assessment 

14 shall incorporate an analysis of data developed 

15 and published under subparagraph (B). 

16 ‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF

17 DATA.—The Secretary shall publish in a con18 servation assessment report issued by the Nat19 ural Resources Conservation Service data devel20 oped by the Secretary for incorporation into as21 sessments required under subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF ASSESSMENT.—If the 

23 chief executive of a Chesapeake Bay State de24 termines, in an assessment required under sub25 paragraph (A), that aggregate reductions in 


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1 losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment 

2 from agricultural and nonindustrial private for3 est land in a basin or subbasin of the Chesa4 peake Bay watershed in the State have been 

5 achieved in accordance with the water quality 

6 goals of the State described in paragraph (5)— 

7 ‘‘(i) during a period determined by the 

8 chief executive of the State, no further re9 ductions in losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, 

10 or sediment may be required by the State 

11 or Federal Government from agricultural 

12 or nonindustrial private forest land in the 

13 basin or subbasin; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) during such period, no operations 

15 conducted on agricultural or nonindustrial 

16 private forest land in the basin or subbasin 

17 shall be considered to be a significant con18 tributor of nitrogen, phosphorus, or sedi19 ment to waters in the Chesapeake Bay wa20 tershed. 

21 ‘‘(7) ASSISTANCE FROM SECRETARY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In car23 rying out a watershed partnership, the Sec24 retary shall provide technical assistance— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to the State to assist in devel2 oping the water quality goals of the State 

3 to result in reductions in losses of nitro4 gen, phosphorus, and sediment from agri5 cultural or nonindustrial private forest 

6 land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to 

7 improve water quality in the Chesapeake 

8 Bay watershed; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) to producers and owners of non10 industrial private forest land in the 

11 State— 

12 ‘‘(I) for education regarding ac13 tivities they can undertake to reduce 

14 losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and 

15 sediment from such land in the 

16 Chesapeake Bay watershed; and 

17 ‘‘(II) for assistance with con18 servation planning, implementation, 

19 and maintenance to reduce losses of 

20 nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment 

21 from such land in the Chesapeake 

22 Bay watershed. 

23 ‘‘(B) ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.—In providing 

24 assistance under this paragraph, the Secretary 

25 shall consider the practicability and economic 


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1 achievability of the conservation practices that 

2 may be needed to reduce losses of nitrogen, 

3 phosphorus, and sediment from agricultural or 

4 nonindustrial private forest land in the Chesa5 peake Bay watershed to improve water quality 

6 in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

7 ‘‘(8) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

8 this subsection may be construed as a grant of regu9 latory authority to the Secretary.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL 

11 SERVICES MARKETS. 

12 (a) TYPES OF GUIDELINES REQUIRED.— 

13 (1) IMPAIRED WATERSHED GUIDELINES.—Sec14 tion 1245(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

15 U.S.C. 3845(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

16 ‘‘In addition, not later than 14 months after the 

17 date of the enactment of the Chesapeake Bay Pro18 gram Reauthorization and Improvement Act, the 

19 Secretary shall establish guidelines for farmer, 

20 rancher, and forest landowner participation in vol21 untary nutrient and sediment trading systems estab22 lished for the purpose of addressing impaired water23 sheds.’’. 

24 (2) ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES.—Section 

25 1245(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 


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1 U.S.C. 3845(b)) is amended by striking paragraphs 

2 (1), (2), and (3) and inserting the following new 

3 paragraphs: 

4 ‘‘(1) Methodologies for quantifying environ5 mental service benefits. 

6 ‘‘(2) Baseline methodologies for environmental 

7 service benefits. 

8 ‘‘(3) Methodologies to account for reversals and 

9 leakage for environmental services markets. 

10 ‘‘(4) Methodologies for verification of the envi11 ronmental service benefits. 

12 ‘‘(5) A protocol to report environmental service 

13 benefits. 

14 ‘‘(6) A registry to collect, record, and maintain 

15 the benefits measured. 

16 ‘‘(7) A procedure to verify and ensure that envi17 ronmental service benefits comply with Federal and 

18 State regulations.’’. 

19 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

20 1245(c)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

21 U.S.C. 3845(c)(1)) is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and in23 serting ‘‘paragraph (5)’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ and in25 serting ‘‘paragraph (6)’’. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 1245 of 

2 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3845) is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following new sub4 sections: 

5 ‘‘(f) LIST OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) LIST REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 

7 publish a list of eligible domestic agricultural and 

8 forestry activities that result in environmental serv9 ice benefits. 

10 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE; PUBLICATION.—Not later than 

11 14 months after the date of the enactment of the 

12 Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Im13 provement Act, the Secretary shall publish in the 

14 Federal Register the list of domestic agricultural 

15 and forestry activities that are eligible for trading 

16 under the guidelines established under subsection 

17 (a). 

18 ‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In preparing the 

19 list under this subsection, the Secretary shall take 

20 into consideration the recommendations of the enti21 ties referred to in subsection (e). 

22 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONS AND REVISIONS.—Not later 

23 than 4 years after the date of the enactment of the 

24 Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Im25 provement Act, and every two years thereafter, the 


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1 Secretary shall update and revise the list prepared 

2 under this subsection. The updates and revisions 

3 shall be made only after the Secretary provides an 

4 opportunity for public notice of and an opportunity 

5 for comment on the proposed updates and revisions. 

6 ‘‘(g) GUIDELINES FOR PROVISION OF TECHNICAL

7 ASSISTANCE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) VERIFICATION GUIDELINES.—The Sec9 retary shall establish guidelines for, and provide, 

10 technical assistance under this section to ensure 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(A) environmental service benefits have 

13 been implemented properly; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the quantification of such benefits 

15 has resulted in an environmental benefit. 

16 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER AC17 CREDITATION.—As part of the guidelines established 

18 under this section, the Secretary shall develop a 

19 process and requirements for periodic accreditation 

20 of certified technical assistance providers for envi21 ronmental service benefits to ensure that such pro22 viders are professionally qualified and have no con23 flicts of interest. Each technical service provider 

24 meeting the requirements for accreditation in ac25 cordance with this paragraph shall be listed in a 


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1 publicly accessible database, which shall be main2 tained and updated by the Secretary.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED PILOT PROGRAM 

4 FOR CREATING ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE 

5 MARKETS. 

6 Section 1240Q of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

7 U.S.C. 3839bb–4) is amended by inserting after sub8 section (i) (as added by section 4), the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(j) PILOT PROGRAM FOR CREATING ENVIRON11 MENTAL SERVICE MARKETS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es13 tablish a pilot program for the Chesapeake Bay wa14 tershed, for the facilitation of creating environmental 

15 service markets based on the guidelines outlined in 

16 section 1245(g), that does not result in removing eli17 gible land wholly from agricultural production or 

18 eliminating the economic viability of such agricul19 tural production. The Secretary shall ensure that the 

20 pilot program is consistent with local government 

21 rules and the policies, protocols, and regulations es22 tablished under existing environmental service mar23 kets and State trading programs in the Chesapeake 

24 Bay watershed. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION OF DATA TO CHESAPEAKE

2 BAY NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT TRADING COMMIS3 SION.—The Secretary shall transmit to the Chesa4 peake Bay Nutrient and Sediment Trading Commis5 sion established under section 117A of the Federal 

6 Water Pollution Control Act, any data the Secretary 

7 determines is necessary to the effective administra8 tion of nutrient and sediment trading programs ad9 ministered by such Commission.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. OFFSET. 

11 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Envi12 ronmental Protection Agency for the Environmental Pro13 grams and Management account for each of fiscal years 

14 2013 through 2018 the amount that is $40,000,000 less 

15 than the amount appropriated for such account for fiscal 

16 year 2012, to be derived from amounts available for ad17 ministrative expenses. 

Æ 


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