109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2430

AN ACT

To amend the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration

Act of 1990 to provide for implementation of recommendations of the United States Fish and Wildlife

Service contained in the Great Lakes Fishery Resources

Restoration Study.

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 ‘‘Great Lakes Fish and

5 Wildlife Restoration Act of 2006’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the Great Lakes have fish and wildlife com4 munities that are structurally and functionally

5 changing;

6 (2) successful fish and wildlife management fo7 cuses on the lakes as ecosystems, and effective man8 agement requires the coordination and integration of

9 efforts of many partners;

10 (3) it is in the national interest to undertake

11 activities in the Great Lakes Basin that support sus12 tainable fish and wildlife resources of common con13 cern provided under the recommendations of the

14 Great Lakes Regional Collaboration authorized

15 under Executive Order 13340 (69 Fed. Reg. 29043;

16 relating to the Great Lakes Interagency Task

17 Force);

18 (4) additional actions and better coordination

19 are needed to protect and effectively manage the fish

20 and wildlife resources, and the habitats upon which

21 the resources depend, in the Great Lakes Basin;

22 (5) as of the date of enactment of this Act, ac23 tions are not funded that are considered essential to

24 meet the goals and objectives in managing the fish

25 and wildlife resources, and the habitats upon which

26 the resources depend, in the Great Lakes Basin; and
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1 (6) the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restora2 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 941 et seq.) allows Federal

3 agencies, States, and tribes to work in an effective

4 partnership by providing the funding for restoration

5 work.

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

7 Section 1004 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife

8 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941b) is amended—

9 (1) by striking paragraphs (1), (4), and (12);

10 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (5),

11 (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (13), and (14) as para12 graphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (9), (10),

13 (11), and (12), respectively;

14 (3) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by para15 graph (2)), by inserting before the semicolon at the

16 end the following: ‘‘, and that has Great Lakes fish

17 and wildlife management authority in the Great

18 Lakes Basin’’; and

19 (4) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as redesig20 nated by paragraph (2)) the following:

21 ‘‘(8) the term ‘regional project’ means author22 ized activities of the United States Fish and Wildlife

23 Service related to fish and wildlife resource protec24 tion, restoration, maintenance, and enhancement im25 pacting multiple States or Indian Tribes with fish
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1 and wildlife management authority in the Great

2 Lakes basin;’’.

3 SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION, REVIEW, AND IMPLEMENTATION

4 OF PROPOSALS.

5 Section 1005 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife

6 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941c) is amended to

7 read as follows:

8 ‘‘SEC. 1005. IDENTIFICATION, REVIEW, AND IMPLEMENTA9 TION OF PROPOSALS AND REGIONAL

10 PROJECTS.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b)(2), the

12 Director—

13 ‘‘(1) shall encourage the development and, sub14 ject to the availability of appropriations, the imple15 mentation of fish and wildlife restoration proposals

16 and regional projects based on the results of the Re17 port; and

18 ‘‘(2) in cooperation with the State Directors

19 and Indian Tribes, shall identify, develop, and, sub20 ject to the availability of appropriations, implement

21 regional projects in the Great Lakes Basin to be ad22 ministered by Director in accordance with this sec23 tion.

24 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF PROPOSALS AND REGIONAL

25 PROJECTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) REQUEST BY THE DIRECTOR.—The Direc2 tor shall annually request that State Directors and

3 Indian Tribes, in cooperation or partnership with

4 other interested entities and in accordance with sub5 section (a), submit proposals or regional projects for

6 the restoration of fish and wildlife resources.

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSALS AND RE8 GIONAL PROJECTS.—A proposal or regional project

9 under paragraph (1) shall be—

10 ‘‘(A) submitted in the manner and form

11 prescribed by the Director; and

12 ‘‘(B) consistent with—

13 ‘‘(i) the goals of the Great Lakes

14 Water Quality Agreement, as amended;

15 ‘‘(ii) the 1954 Great Lakes Fisheries

16 Convention;

17 ‘‘(iii) the 1980 Joint Strategic Plan

18 for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries,

19 as revised in 1997, and Fish Community

20 Objectives for each Great Lake and con21 necting water as established under the

22 Joint Strategic Plan;

23 ‘‘(iv) the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nui24 sance Prevention and Control Act of 1990

25 (16 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.);
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1 ‘‘(v) the North American Waterfowl

2 Management Plan and joint ventures es3 tablished under the plan; and

4 ‘‘(vi) the strategies outlined through

5 the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration

6 authorized under Executive Order 13340

7 (69 Fed. Reg. 29043; relating to the Great

8 Lakes Interagency Task Force).

9 ‘‘(3) SEA LAMPREY AUTHORITY.—The Great

10 Lakes Fishery Commission shall retain authority

11 and responsibility to formulate and implement a

12 comprehensive program to eradicate or minimize sea

13 lamprey populations in the Great Lakes Basin.

14 ‘‘(c) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.—

15 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—There

16 is established the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife

17 Restoration Proposal Review Committee, which shall

18 operate under the guidance of the United States

19 Fish and Wildlife Service.

20 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP AND APPOINTMENT.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall

22 consist of 2 representatives of each of the State

23 Directors and Indian Tribes, of whom—

24 ‘‘(i) 1 representative shall be the indi25 vidual appointed by the State Director or
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1 Indian Tribe to the Council of Lake Com2 mittees of the Great Lakes Fishery Com3 mission; and

4 ‘‘(ii) 1 representative shall have exper5 tise in wildlife management.

6 ‘‘(B) APPOINTMENTS.—Each representa7 tive shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing

8 State Director or Tribal Chair.

9 ‘‘(C) OBSERVER.—The Great Lakes Coor10 dinator of the United States Fish and Wildlife

11 Service shall participate as an observer of the

12 Committee.

13 ‘‘(D) RECUSAL.—A member of the Com14 mittee shall recuse himself or herself from con15 sideration of proposals that the member, or the

16 entity that the member represents, has sub17 mitted.

18 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee shall—

19 ‘‘(A) meet at least annually;

20 ‘‘(B) review proposals and special projects

21 developed in accordance with subsection (b) to

22 assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of

23 the proposals and special projects in fulfilling

24 the purposes of this title; and
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1 ‘‘(C) recommend to the Director any of

2 those proposals and special projects that should

3 be funded and implemented under this section.

4 ‘‘(d) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROPOSALS AND RE5 GIONAL PROJECTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After considering rec7 ommendations of the Committee and the goals speci8 fied in section 1006, the Director shall—

9 ‘‘(A) select proposals and regional projects

10 to be implemented; and

11 ‘‘(B) subject to the availability of appro12 priations and subsection (e), fund implementa13 tion of the proposals and regional projects.

14 ‘‘(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting and

15 funding proposals and regional projects, the Director

16 shall take into account the effectiveness and appro17 priateness of the proposals and regional projects in

18 fulfilling the purposes of other laws applicable to

19 restoration of the fish and wildlife resources and

20 habitat of the Great Lakes Basin.

21 ‘‘(e) COST SHARING.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graphs (2) and (4), not less than 25 percent of the

24 cost of implementing a proposal selected under sub25 section (d) (excluding the cost of establishing sea
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1 lamprey barriers) shall be paid in cash or in-kind

2 contributions by non-Federal sources.

3 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL PROJECTS.—Regional projects

4 selected under subsection (d) shall be exempt from

5 cost sharing if the Director determines that the au6 thorization for the project does not require a non7 Federal cost-share.

8 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION OF FEDERAL FUNDS FROM

9 NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The Director may not con10 sider the expenditure, directly or indirectly, of Fed11 eral funds received by any entity to be a contribution

12 by a non-Federal source for purposes of this sub13 section.

14 ‘‘(4) EFFECT ON CERTAIN INDIAN TRIBES.—

15 Nothing in this subsection affects an Indian tribe af16 fected by an alternative applicable cost sharing re17 quirement under the Indian Self-Determination and

18 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).’’.

19 SEC. 5. GOALS OF UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE

20 SERVICE PROGRAMS RELATED TO GREAT

21 LAKES FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES.

22 Section 1006 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife

23 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941d) is amended by

24 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) Restoring and maintaining self-sustaining

2 fish and wildlife resources.’’.

3 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICES.

4 Section 1007 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife

5 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941e) is amended—

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

7 following:

8 ‘‘(a) GREAT LAKES COORDINATION OFFICE.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish

10 a centrally located facility for the coordination of all

11 United States Fish and Wildlife Service activities in

12 the Great Lakes Basin, to be known as the ‘Great

13 Lakes Coordination Office’.

14 ‘‘(2) FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The

15 functional responsibilities of the Great Lakes Co16 ordination Office shall include—

17 ‘‘(A) intra- and interagency coordination;

18 ‘‘(B) information distribution; and

19 ‘‘(C) public outreach.

20 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Great Lakes Co21 ordination Office shall—

22 ‘‘(A) ensure that information acquired

23 under this Act is made available to the public;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(B) report to the Director of Region 3,

2 Great Lakes Big Rivers.’’;

3 (2) in subsection (b)—

4 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The

5 Director’’ and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director’’;.

7 (B) in the second sentence, by striking

8 ‘‘The office’’ and inserting the following:

9 ‘‘(2) NAME AND LOCATION.—The office’’; and

10 (C) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities

12 of the Lower Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office

13 shall include operational activities of the United

14 States Fish and Wildlife Service related to fishery

15 resource protection, restoration, maintenance, and

16 enhancement in the Lower Great Lakes.’’; and

17 (3) in subsection (c)—

18 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The

19 Director’’ and inserting the following:

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director’’;.

21 (B) in the second sentence, by striking

22 ‘‘Each of the offices’’ and inserting the fol23 lowing:

24 ‘‘(2) NAME AND LOCATION.—Each of the of25 fices’’; and
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1 (C) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities

3 of the Upper Great Lakes Fishery Resources Offices

4 shall include operational activities of the United

5 States Fish and Wildlife Service related to fishery

6 resource protection, restoration, maintenance, and

7 enhancement in the Upper Great Lakes.’’.

8 SEC. 7. REPORTS.

9 Section 1008 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife

10 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941f) is amended to

11 read as follows:

12 ‘‘SEC. 1008. REPORTS.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31,

14 2011, the Director shall submit to the Committee on Re15 sources of the House of Representatives and the Com16 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate

17 a report that describes—

18 ‘‘(1) actions taken to solicit and review pro19 posals under section 1005;

20 ‘‘(2) the results of proposals implemented under

21 section 1005; and

22 ‘‘(3) progress toward the accomplishment of the

23 goals specified in section 1006.

24 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC ACCESS TO DATA.—For each of fiscal

25 years 2007 through 2012, the Director shall make avail-
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1 able through a public access website of the Department

2 information that describes—

3 ‘‘(1) actions taken to solicit and review pro4 posals under section 1005;

5 ‘‘(2) the results of proposals implemented under

6 section 1005;

7 ‘‘(3) progress toward the accomplishment of the

8 goals specified in section 1006;

9 ‘‘(4) the priorities proposed for funding in the

10 annual budget process under this title; and

11 ‘‘(5) actions taken in support of the rec12 ommendations of the Great Lakes Regional Collabo13 ration authorized under Executive Order 13340 (69

14 Fed. Reg. 29043; relating to the Great Lakes Inter15 agency Task Force).

16 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 2006, the

17 Director shall submit to the Committee on Environment

18 and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on

19 Resources of the House of Representatives the 2002 re20 port required under this section as in effect on the day

21 before the date of enactment of the Great Lakes Fish and

22 Wildlife Restoration Act of 2006.’’.
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1 SEC. 8. CONTINUED MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT OF

2 STUDY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

3 The Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife

4 Service—

5 (1) shall continue to monitor the status, and

6 the assessment, management, and restoration needs,

7 of the fish and wildlife resources of the Great Lakes

8 Basin; and

9 (2) may reassess and update, as necessary, the

10 findings and recommendations of the report entitled

11 ‘‘Great Lakes Fishery Resources Restoration

12 Study’’, submitted to the President of the Senate

13 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on

14 September 13, 1995.

15 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 Section 1009 of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife

17 Restoration Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 941g) is amended to

18 read as follows:

19 ‘‘SEC. 1009. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Di21 rector for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2012—

22 ‘‘(1) $18,000,000 to implement fish and wildlife

23 restoration proposals as selected by the Director

24 under section 1005(e), of which—

‘‘(A) not more than the lesser of 331 25 ⁄3 per26 cent or $6,000,000 may be allocated to imple-
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1 ment regional projects by the United States

2 Fish and Wildlife Service, as selected by the Di3 rector under section 1005(e); and

4 ‘‘(B) the lesser of 5 percent or $600,000

5 shall be allocated to the United States Fish and

6 Wildlife Service to cover costs incurred in ad7 ministering the proposals by any entity; and

8 ‘‘(2) $2,000,000, which shall be allocated for

9 the activities of the Great Lakes Coordination Office

10 in East Lansing, Michigan, of the Upper Great

11 Lakes Fishery Resources Office, and the Lower

12 Great Lakes Fishery Resources Office under section

13 1007.’’.

Passed the Senate July 11, 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2430

AN ACT

To amend the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife ResLakes Fishery Resources Restoration Study. Fish and Wildlife Service contained in the Great tion of recommendations of the United States toration Act of 1990 to provide for implementa-