I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2903

To provide protection, conservation, and restoration of the wetlands, estuaries, 

barrier islands, and related land and features in the Lousiana coastal 

area, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 15, 2005

Mr. BAKER (for himself, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. ALEXANDER, 

Mr. JINDAL, Mr. BOUSTANY, and Mr. MELANCON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL

To provide protection, conservation, and restoration of the 

wetlands, estuaries, barrier islands, and related land and 

features in the Lousiana coastal area, 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. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

5 (1) COASTAL LOUISIANA ECOSYSTEM.—The 

6 term ‘‘coastal Louisiana ecosystem’’ means the 

7 coastal area of Louisiana from the Sabine River on 
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1 the west and the Pearl River on the east, including 

2 those parts of the Deltaic Plain and the Chenier 

3 Plain included within the study area of the Plan. 

4 (2) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

5 the Governor of the State of Louisiana. 

6 (3) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the report 

7 of the Chief of Engineers for ecosystem restoration 

8 for the Louisiana Coastal Area dated January 31, 

9 2005. 

10 (4) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘Task Force’’ 

11 means the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Protection 

12 and Restoration Task Force established by section 

13 3. 

14 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL REPORTS. 

15 (a) MISSISSIPPI RIVER GULF OUTLET.—Not later 

16 than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

17 Secretary of the Army shall submit to Congress a report 

18 recommending modifications to the Mississippi River Gulf 

19 Outlet to address navigation, salt water intrusion, channel 

20 bank erosion, mitigation, and threats to life and property. 

21 (b) BARATARIA-TERREBONE ESTUARY.—Not later 

22 than July 1, 2006, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 

23 a report recommending a plan to restore the Barataria24 Terrebonne Estuary, Louisiana. 
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1 (c) CHENIER PLAIN.—Not later than July 1, 2006, 

2 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report recom3 mending near-term ecosystem restoration measures for the 

4 Chenier Plain, Louisiana. 

5 (d) LONG-TERM PLAN.—

6 (1) COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK.—Not later 

7 than one year after the date of enactment of this 

8 section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

9 recommended framework for developing a long-term 

10 program that provides for the comprehensive protec11 tion, conservation, and restoration of the wetlands, 

12 estuaries, barrier islands, and related land and fea13 tures that protect critical resources, habitat, and in14 frastructure in the coastal Louisiana ecosystem from 

15 the impacts of coastal storms, hurricanes, erosion, 

16 and subsidence. 

17 (2) CONSIDERATION.—In developing the rec18 ommended framework, the Secretary shall consider 

19 integrating other Federal or State projects or activi20 ties within the coastal Louisiana ecosystem into the 

21 long-term restoration program. 

22 (3) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—

23 (A) DEADLINE.—Not later than five years 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec25 retary shall submit to Congress a feasibility 
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1 study recommending a comprehensive, long2 term, plan for the protection, conservation, and 

3 restoration of the coastal Louisiana ecosystem. 

4 (B) INTEGRATION.—The comprehensive, 

5 long-term, plan shall include recommendations 

6 for the integration of ongoing Federal and 

7 State projects and activities, including projects 

8 and activities being carried out under the 

9 Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and 

10 Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 3951 et seq.), the 

11 Louisiana coastal wetlands conservation plan, 

12 the Louisiana coastal zone management plan, 

13 and the plan of the State of Louisiana entitled 

14 ‘‘Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal 

15 Louisiana’’. 

16 SEC. 3. COASTAL LOUISIANA ECOSYSTEM PROTECTION 

17 AND RESTORATION TASK FORCE. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.—There is 

19 established the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Protection 

20 and Restoration Task Force, which shall consist of the fol21 lowing members (or, in the case of the head of a Federal 

22 agency, a designee at the level of Assistant Secretary or 

23 an equivalent level): 

24 (1) The Secretary of the Army. 

25 (2) The Secretary of the Interior. 
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1 (3) The Secretary of Commerce. 

2 (4) The Administrator of the Environmental 

3 Protection Agency. 

4 (5) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

5 (6) The Secretary of Transportation. 

6 (7) The Secretary of Energy. 

7 (8) The Director of the Federal Emergency 

8 Management Agency. 

9 (9) The Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

10 (10) The Coastal Advisor to the Governor. 

11 (11) The Secretary of the Louisiana Depart12 ment of Natural Resources. 

13 (12) A representative of the Louisiana Gov14 ernor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Restoration 

15 and Conservation. 

16 (b) DUTIES OF TASK FORCE.—The Task Force 

17 shall—

18 (1) make recommendations to the Secretary of 

19 the Army regarding policies, strategies, plans, pro20 grams, projects, and activities for addressing protec21 tion, conservation, and restoration of the coastal 

22 Louisiana ecosystem; 

23 (2) prepare financial plans for each of the agen24 cies represented on the Task Force for funds pro25 posed for the protection, conservation, and restora-
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1 tion of the coastal Louisiana ecosystem under au2 thorities of each agency, including—

3 (A) recommendations that identify funds 

4 from current agency missions and budgets; and 

5 (B) recommendations for coordinating in6 dividual agency budget requests; and 

7 (3) submit to Congress a biennial report that 

8 summarizes the activities of the Task Force and 

9 progress towards the purposes set forth in section 

10 2(d)(1). 

11 (c) PROCEDURES AND ADVICE.—The Task Force 

12 shall—

13 (1) implement procedures to facilitate public 

14 participation with regard to Task Force activities, 

15 including—

16 (A) providing advance notice of meetings; 

17 (B) providing adequate opportunity for 

18 public input and comment; 

19 (C) maintaining appropriate records; and 

20 (D) making a record of proceedings avail21 able for public inspection; and 

22 (2) establish such working groups as are nec23 essary to assist the Task Force in carrying out its 

24 duties. 
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1 (d) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Task Force or 

2 any associated working group may not receive compensa3 tion for their services as members of the Task Force or 

4 working group. 

5 (e) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Travel expenses incurred 

6 by members of the Task Force, or members of an associ7 ated working group, in the performance of their service 

8 on the Task Force or working group shall be paid by the 

9 agency or entity that the member represents. 

10 SEC. 4. INVESTIGATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army shall 

12 conduct feasibility studies for future authorization and 

13 large-scale studies substantially in accordance with the 

14 Plan at a total cost $130,000,000. 

15 (b) EXISTING FEDERALLY AUTHORIZED WATER RE16 SOURCES PROJECTS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review 

18 existing federally authorized water resources projects 

19 in the coastal Louisiana ecosystem in order to deter20 mine their consistency with the purposes of this sec21 tion and whether the projects have the potential to 

22 contribute to ecosystem restoration through revised 

23 operations or modified project features. 

24 (2) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be ap25 propriated $10,000,000 to carry out this subsection. 
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1 SEC. 5. CONSTRUCTION. 

2 (a) COASTAL LOUISIANA ECOSYSTEM PROGRAM.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army 

4 shall carry out a coastal Louisiana ecosystem pro5 gram substantially in accordance with the Plan, at 

6 a total cost of $50,000,000. 

7 (2) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the pro8 gram shall be to—

9 (A) identify uncertainties about the phys10 ical, chemical, geological, biological, and cul11 tural baseline conditions in the coastal Lou12 isiana ecosystem; 

13 (B) improve the State of knowledge of the 

14 physical, chemical, geological, biological, and 

15 cultural baseline conditions in the coastal Lou16 isiana ecosystem; and 

17 (C) identify and develop technologies, mod18 els, and methods that could be useful in car19 rying out the purposes of this Act. 

20 (3) WORKING GROUPS.—The Secretary may es21 tablish such working groups as are necessary to as22 sist in carrying out this subsection. 

23 (4) PROCEDURES AND ADVICE.—In carrying 

24 out this subsection, the Secretary is authorized to 

25 enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with 

26 scientific and engineering experts in the restoration 
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1 of aquatic and marine ecosystems, including a con2 sortium of academic institutions in Louisiana and 

3 Mississippi for coastal restoration and enhancement 

4 through science and technology. 

5 (b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

7 and (3), the Secretary may carry out projects sub8 stantially in accordance with the Plan for the pur9 pose of resolving critical areas of scientific or tech10 nological uncertainty related to the implementation 

11 of the comprehensive plan to be developed under sec12 tion 2(d)(3). 

13 (2) MAXIMUM COST.—

14 (A) TOTAL COST.—The total cost for plan15 ning, design, and construction of all demonstra16 tion projects under this subsection shall not ex17 ceed $100,000,000. 

18 (B) INDIVIDUAL PROJECT.—The total cost 

19 of an individual demonstration project under 

20 this subsection shall not exceed $25,000,000. 

21 (c) INITIAL PROJECTS.—The Secretary is authorized 

22 to carry out the following projects substantially in accord23 ance with the Plan: 

24 (1) Mississippi River Gulf Outlet Environ25 mental Restoration at a total cost of $105,300,000. 
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1 (2) Small Diversion at Hope Canal at a total 

2 cost of $68,600,000. 

3 (3) Barataria Basin Barrier Shoreline Restora4 tion at a total cost of $242,600,000. 

5 (4) Small Bayou Lafourche Reintroduction at a 

6 total cost of $133,500,000. 

7 (5) Medium Diversion at Myrtle Grove with 

8 Dedicated Dredging at a total cost of $278,300,000. 

9 (d) BENEFICIAL USE OF DREDGED MATERIAL.—The 

10 Secretary shall implement in the coastal Louisiana eco11 system substantially in accordance with the Plan a pro12 gram for the beneficial use of material dredged from feder13 ally maintained waterways at a total cost of $100,000,000. 

14 SEC. 6. NON-FEDERAL COST SHARE. 

15 (a) CREDIT.—The Secretary of the Army shall credit 

16 toward the non-Federal share of the cost of a project au17 thorized by section 5(c) the cost of work carried out in 

18 the coastal Louisiana ecosystem by the non-Federal inter19 est before the date of the partnership agreement for the 

20 project if the Secretary determines that the work is inte21 gral to the project. 

22 (b) TREATMENT OF CREDIT BETWEEN PROJECTS.—

23 Any credit provided under this section toward the non24 Federal share of the cost of a project authorized by section 
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1 5(c) may be applied toward the non-Federal share of the 

2 cost of any other project authorized by section 5(c). 

3 (c) PERIODIC MONITORING.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure that the contribu5 tions of the non-Federal interest equal the non-Fed6 eral share of the cost of a project authorized by sec7 tion 5(c), during each 5-year period beginning after 

8 the date of commencement of construction of the 

9 first project under section 5(c), the Secretary 

10 shall—

11 (A) monitor the non-Federal provision for 

12 each project authorized by section 5(c) of cash, 

13 in-kind services and materials, and land, ease14 ments, rights-of-way, relocations, and disposal 

15 areas; and 

16 (B) manage, to the extent practicable, the 

17 requirement of the non-Federal interest to pro18 vide for each such project cash, in-kind services 

19 and materials, and land, easements, rights-of20 way, relocations, and disposal areas. 

21 (2) OTHER MONITORING.—The Secretary shall 

22 conduct monitoring separately for the construction 

23 phase, the preconstruction engineering and design 

24 phase, and the planning phase for each project au25 thorized on or after date of enactment of this Act 
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1 for all or any portion of the coastal Louisiana eco2 system (including each project authorized by section 

3 5(c)). 

4 (d) AUDITS.—Credit for land, easements, rights-of5 way, relocations, and disposal areas (including land value 

6 and incidental costs) provided under this section, and the 

7 cost of work provided under this section, shall be subject 

8 to audit by the Secretary. 

9 SEC. 7. PROJECT JUSTIFICATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 209 of 

11 the Flood Control Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 1962–2) or any 

12 other provision of law, in carrying out any project or activ13 ity authorized by or under this Act or any other provision 

14 of law to protect, conserve, and restore the coastal Lou15 isiana ecosystem, the Secretary of the Army may deter16 mine that—

17 (1) the project or activity is justified by the en18 vironmental benefits derived by the coastal Lou19 isiana ecosystem; and 

20 (2) no further economic justification for the 

21 project or activity is required if the Secretary deter22 mines that the project or activity is cost effective. 

23 (b) LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) 

24 shall not apply to any separable element intended to 

25 produce benefits that are predominantly unrelated to the 
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1 protection, conservation, and restoration of the coastal 

2 Louisiana ecosystem. 

3 SEC. 8. STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION. 

4 (a) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Except as otherwise pro5 vided in this Act, nothing in this Act affects any authority 

6 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, or any re7 quirement relating to the participation in protection, con8 servation, and restoration projects and activities in the 

9 coastal Louisiana ecosystem, including projects and activi10 ties referred to in subsection (a) of—

11 (1) the Department of the Army; 

12 (2) the Department of the Interior; 

13 (3) the Department of Commerce; 

14 (4) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

15 (5) the Department of Agriculture; 

16 (6) the Department of Transportation; 

17 (7) the Department of Energy; 

18 (8) the Federal Emergency Management Agen19 cy; 

20 (9) the Coast Guard; and 

21 (10) the State of Louisiana. 

22 (b) NEW AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act confers 

23 any new regulatory authority on any Federal or non-Fed-
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1 eral entity that carries out any project or activity author2 ized by or under this Act.

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