59–010 

Calendar No. 548 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 114–294 

DELAWARE RIVER BASIN CONSERVATION ACT OF 2015 

JUNE 7, 2016.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. INHOFE, from the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 921] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 921) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 

establish a nonregulatory program to build on and help coordinate 

funding for restoration and protection efforts of the 4-State Delaware River Basin region, and for other purposes, having considered 

the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

GENERAL STATEMENT AND BACKGROUND

The Delaware River Basin includes the Delaware River watershed in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware and 

the Delaware Bay. The Basin is home to more than 8 million people who depend on it as an economic engine, a place of recreation, 

a source of clean drinking water, and a vital habitat for fish and 

wildlife. 

The Basin encompasses significant acres of wetlands and forest. 

This landscape provides essential ecosystem services, including 

recreation, commercial activity, and water quality benefits. The 

basin also provides drinking water to many cities, including New 

York and Philadelphia. The Delaware River is the longest 

undammed river east of the Mississippi, and a critical component 

of the National Wild and Scenic River System in the Northeast. 

Although organizations like the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary and the Delaware River Basin Commission are successful in 

their respective efforts, existing programs have limited resources to 

fully address the habitat, recreation, and water-related challenges 


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in the entire Basin in a fully coordinated manner. In addition to 

current Basin funding and programs, a basin-wide program would 

bolster restoration and conservation in the region through strategic 

grant-making and more coordinated implementation of existing 

funding mechanisms at the Federal, regional, State, and local level. 

The Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2015 requires the 

Secretary of the Interior to establish the Delaware River Basin 

Restoration Program (Program) within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (Service). In establishing the Program, the Director of the 

Service is required to draw on existing management plans and 

work in consultation with existing organizations in the basin to 

identify, prioritize, and implement restoration and protection activities in the entire Basin and adopt a basin-wide strategy for implementation of the Program. 

The primary purpose of the Program is to develop and implement 

a coordinated approach to sustain and enhance habitat, water quality and water management improvements in the Delaware River 

basin. The bill authorizes a competitive matching grant program to 

carry out high priority projects and requires the Director to provide 

for additional technical assistance to support on-the-ground 

projects. The Act also requires consultation with other Federal 

Agencies, States, and other public agencies and organizations involved in planning and implementation of conservation strategies 

in the Basin. 

OBJECTIVES OF THE LEGISLATION

The Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2015 (S. 921) requires the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Director of 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to establish the Delaware River 

Basin Restoration Program and to provide grants and technical assistance to carry out the purposes of the Program. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 states that the Act may be cited as the ‘Delaware River 

Basin Conservation Act of 2015’. 

Section 2. Findings 

Section 2 includes findings regarding the Delaware River Basin 

and the need for restoration of this basin. 

Section 3. Definitions 

Section 3 includes definitions for terms used in the Act. 

Section 4. Program establishment 

Section 4 directs the Secretary of the Interior acting through the 

Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service (Secretary) to establish a 

Delaware River Basin restoration program within 180 days. In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall draw on existing and 

new management plans for the Basin and work in consultation 

with applicable management entities; adopt a basin-wide strategy 

to support implementation of a shared set of restoration and protection activities and support cost-effective and measurable conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:22 Jul 12, 2016 Jkt 059010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR294.XXX SR294

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servation efforts; establish a grant program; and provide technical 

assistance. 

In carrying out the program, the Secretary is also directed to 

consult with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, the Governors 

of the Basin States, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, the 

Delaware River Basin Commission, the fish and wildlife joint venture partnerships, and other public agencies and organizations involved in conservation of the basin. 

Section 4 lists the purposes of the program, which include coordinating restoration and protection activities, carrying out coordinated restoration and protection activities, and providing competitive grants for technical assistance. 

Section 5. Grants and assistance 

Section 5 directs the Secretary to establish a Delaware River 

Basin restoration grant program to provide competitive matching 

grants of varying amounts to carry out the purposes of the Program. This section requires that grants accomplish one or more 

listed activities, including restoration and protection of fish and 

wildlife species and their habitats, improvement or protection of 

water quality, improvement of the management of water volume 

and mitigation of flood damage to support the ecological needs of 

fish and wildlife, actions identified in the basin-wide strategy developed pursuant to Section 4, and restoration and protection activities with multiple benefits in the Basin. 

Section 5 establishes that the Federal cost-share of any grant 

shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the activity funded. 

Non-Federal costs can be provided in cash or in-kind contribution 

of services or materials. 

Section 5 authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement 

with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or other similar organizations to manage the grant program. Any organization selected to manage the grant program shall receive amounts to carry 

out this section at the beginning of each fiscal year, shall invest 

and reinvest those amounts for the benefit of the program, and 

shall administer the program in accordance with this Act. 

Section 6. Annual reports 

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment and annually thereafter, the Secretary must submit a report to Congress on 

the implementation of the Act, including a description of each 

project that has received funding under the Act. 

Section 7. Authorization of appropriations 

This section authorizes $5 million for each of fiscal years 2016 

through 2021 to carry out this Act. Seventy-five percent of any 

amount made available to the Secretary to carry out the Act must 

be used to carry out the grant program and to prove technical assistance. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 921 was introduced by Sen. Carper on April 14, 2015. The bill 

has 6 co-sponsors. The bill was received, read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. 


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On May 18, 2016, the Full Committee met to consider a number 

of bills including S. 921 and reported the bill favorably. 

HEARINGS

In the 112th Congress, on April 24, 2012, the Subcommittee on 

Water and Wildlife held a legislative hearing to consider a number 

of items, including a previous version of S. 921. 

ROLLCALL VOTES

The Committee on Environment and Public Works met to consider S. 921 on May 18, 2016. The bill was ordered to be reported 

favorably by voice vote. No rollcall votes were taken on this bill. 

REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the committee finds that S. 921 does not create any additional regulatory burdens, nor will it cause any adverse impact on the personal privacy of individuals. 

MANDATES ASSESSMENT

In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

(Public Law 104–4), the committee notes that the Congressional 

Budget Office (CBO) has found, ‘‘S. 921 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA and would 

benefit state and local governments, as well as public institutions 

of higher education, by authorizing grants and technical assistance 

to support restoration activities in the Delaware River Basin.’’ 

COST OF LEGISLATION

Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act requires that a statement of the cost of the reported bill, 

prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, be included in the report. That statement follows: 

JUNE 10, 2016. 

Hon. JIM INHOFE, 

Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 921, the Delaware River 

Basin Conservation Act of 2015. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

S. 921—Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2015 

Summary: S. 921 would authorize the appropriation of $5 million 

a year through 2021 for a program to restore the Delaware River 

Basin. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $24 million over the 

2017–2021 period and $1 million after 2021. Enacting the legislaVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:22 Jul 12, 2016 Jkt 059010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR294.XXX SR294

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tion would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, payas-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 921 would not increase net direct 

spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10- 

year periods beginning in 2027. 

S. 921 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and 

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

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of S. 921 is shown in the following table. The cost of 

this legislation falls within budget function 300 (natural resources 

and environment). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2017– 

2021 

INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

Authorization Level ........................................................................................... 5 5 5 5 5 25 

Estimated Outlays ............................................................................................ 4 5 5 5 5 24 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 921 

will be enacted early in 2017 and that the authorized amounts will 

be appropriated for each fiscal year. Estimated outlays are based 

on historical spending patterns for similar activities. 

S. 921 would authorize the appropriation of $5 million a year 

through 2021 for the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program. 

Under the program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would coordinate restoration activities and provide grants to entities involved in restoring the basin. The bill also would require the agency to submit annual reports to the Congress describing activities 

conducted under the program. CBO estimates that implementing 

the legislation would cost $24 million over the 2017–2021 period 

and $1 million after 2021. 

Pay-As-You-Go considerations: None. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 921 contains no 

intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA 

and would benefit state and local governments, as well as public 

institutions of higher education, by authorizing grants and technical assistance to support restoration activities in the Delaware 

River Basin. Any costs incurred by those entities, including matching contributions, would result from participating in a voluntary 

federal program. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Jeff LaFave; Impact on 

state, local, and tribal governments: Jon Sperl; Impact on the private sector: Amy Petz. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Assistant Director for 

Budget Analysis. 

Æ 


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