99–006

107TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 107–388

UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN PROTECTION ACT OF 2001

APRIL 9, 2002.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of

the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. HANSEN, from the Committee on Resources,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

together with

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

[To accompany H.R. 3480]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 3480) to promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient

loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, having considered the

same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 3480 is to promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Nutrient runoff and soil erosion in the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) account for the loss of more than $300 million annually in applied nitrogen and the degradation of valuable agricultural lands. Excess nutrients degrade water quality, increasing

costs for treating drinking water and threatening fish and wildlife

resources that support the Basin’s economically significant recreation and tourism industries. The UMRB contributes 22 percent of

the water flowing into the Lower Mississippi River, yet it contributes 31 percent of the nitrogen. These excess nutrients have been

linked to degraded water quality and oxygen depletion in the Gulf

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of Mexico. Sediment accumulates in the main shipping channel of

the Mississippi River, resulting in over $100 million each year of

dredging costs. Sediment also fills wetlands and backwaters

throughout the entire Mississippi River Basin, resulting in habitat

loss.

The need for enhanced sediment and nutrient monitoring in the

UMRB is widely recognized. State and federal agencies participating in the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient

Task Force have called for increasing the scale and frequency of

monitoring of the sources of nutrients and conditions of waters

throughout the Basin. At present, there is inadequate scientific

data on the amounts and sources of sediments and nutrients flowing into the UMRB. Local, state, and federal water quality monitoring and modeling efforts are not sufficiently coordinated or

standardized.

Relying on existing federal, state and local programs, the bill establishes a sediment and nutrient monitoring network and an integrated computer-modeling program. These monitoring and modeling efforts will provide the baseline data needed to make scientifically-sound and cost-effective decisions aimed at improving water

quality, restoring habitat, and improving voluntary management

practices by landowners. The bill also contains a provision requiring landowner permission prior to disseminating information from

monitoring stations located on private lands to protect privacy of

the individual landowners.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will be responsible for establishing the sediment and nutrient monitoring network, utilizing existing and newly established gages and monitoring stations. USGS

will develop guidelines and an electronic system for data collection

and storage. Using this data, USGS will also create computer models to assess sediment and nutrient sources, mobilization, and

transport. Supplementary information on land use, soil use, elevation, and nutrient reduction efforts will also be collected in a GIS

format to accompany the modeling work. The findings of the monitoring network and the modeling system will be used to assist with

the implementation of public and private sediment and nutrient reduction efforts.

This bill also provides for the National Research Council of the

National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive water

resources assessment of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 3480 was introduced on December 13, 2001 by Congressman

Ron Kind (D–WI), and was referred to the Committee on Resources. On December 19, 2001, it was referred within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Water and Power. A Subcommittee

hearing was conducted on March 7, 2002. On March 20, 2002, the

Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. By unanimous

consent, the Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of the measure. There were no amendments offered to the

bill, and the bill was then ordered favorably reported to the House

of Representatives by unanimous consent.

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COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in

the body of this report.

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States

grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section

308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not

contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures.

H.R. 3480 authorizes an appropriation of $6.25 million a year, and

according to the Congressional Budget Office, if implemented,

would cost $31 million over the fiscal 2003–2007 period.

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. The general performance goals and objectives of this legislation, as ordered reported, is to promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide

a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient loss

in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the

Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

U.S. CONGRESS,

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,

Washington, DC, April 4, 2002.

Hon. JAMES V. HANSEN,

Chairman, Committee on Resources,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3480, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act of 2001.

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Julie Middleton.

Sincerely,

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

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H.R. 3480—Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act of 2001

H.R. 3480 would establish a sediment and nutrient monitoring

network as part of the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative. This new monitoring network would identify and evaluate significant sources of sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi

River watershed. H.R. 3480 would authorize the Secretary of the

Interior, through the U.S. Geological Survey, to establish guidelines for data collection, storage, and analysis—as well as the integration of the new data into current monitoring programs and coordination with other public and private monitoring programs. In

addition, the bill would authorize the National Research Council of

the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive

water resources assessment of the Upper Mississippi River watershed.

The bill would authorize the appropriation of $6.25 million a year

to implement its provisions, plus additional amounts for the required report. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3480 would

cost $31 million over the 2003–2007 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts. CBO assumes that most of these

funds would be allocated for salaries and expenses related to developing, implementing, and maintaining the new monitoring network. H.R. 3480 would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.

H.R. 3480 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. Any costs incurred by state or local governments to participate in the program

authorized by this bill would be voluntary.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Julie Middleton. This

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any state, local or tribal law.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law.

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ADDITIONAL VIEWS

I applaud the Committee for its diligent work in approving H.R.

3480. In particular, I would like to thank Chairman Hansen and

Ranking Member Rahall, as well as Subcommittee on Water and

Power Chairman Calvert and Subcommittee Ranking Member

Smith, for their willingness to consider this legislation.

The Upper Mississippi River system, whose tributaries and basin

encompass much of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, is widely recognized as one of our nation’s great multi-use

natural resources. While the Mississippi River and its tributaries

provide drinking water to approximately 22 million Americans, the

system’s 1,300 navigable miles transport millions of tons of commercial cargo via barges. In addition, 40% of North America’s waterfowl use the wetlands and backwaters of the main stem as a migratory flyway, illustrating the environmental significance of the

system as well as recreation capabilities. Overall, the Upper Mississippi River Basin provides $1.2 billion annually in recreation income and $6.6 billion to the area’s tourism industries.

Unfortunately, high sediment and nutrient levels threaten the

health of the river system and the vast recreational, agricultural,

and industrial activities it supports. Sediment fills the main shipping channel of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, costing

over $100 million each year to dredge. Nutrient inputs degrade

water quality in the Upper Mississippi River system and impact far

downstream to the Gulf of Mexico.

As a basis for making effective decisions for improving water

quality, accurate data must be available. Building the nutrient and

sediment monitoring system that provides this data will require extensive communication and coordination between government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as other stakeholders. By utilizing existing monitoring programs to the maximum

extent possible, H.R. 3480 builds upon existing efforts by authorizing the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to coordinate and integrate these efforts, expand where necessary, develop guidelines for

data collection and storage, and establish an electronic database

system to store and disseminate information. USGS would also establish a state-of-the-art computer modeling program to identify

significant nutrient and sediment sources, at the subwatershed

level, to better target reduction efforts. In addition, H.R. 3480 includes strong protections for the privacy of personal data collected

and used in connection with monitoring and modeling activities.

The need for accurate and comprehensive data collection is essential to addressing the problems of the Upper Mississippi River

Basin. In crafting this strategy, I have worked with farmers, the

navigation industry, sporting groups, environmental organizations,

and government agencies throughout the region. In addition, this

legislation has 16 original, bipartisan cosponsors.

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While focused in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, the benefits

of the programs authorized in this bill would extend far beyond the

five-state region, because nutrients and sediments from the upper

Midwest have impacts all the way down the Mississippi and into

the Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, this approach can be seen as a pilot

for future watershed and basin initiatives in other parts of the nation.

H.R. 34380 recognizes the need for scientific research on a subbasin scale, enables sensible and effective strategies to be developed, and ensures that more local and regional support will be

gained for those efforts. The sub-basin approach of H.R. 3480 also

fits with the recommendations of the federal interagency Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, released in a report to Congress on January 18, 2001.

In the ‘‘Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico,’’ the Task Force notes that

water quality throughout the Mississippi River Basin has been degraded by excess nutrients, and that most states in the basin have

significant river miles impaired by high nutrient concentrations

that can be a human health hazard. The Action Plan also outlines

a series of short- and long-term goals, including sub-basin coordination and implementation of sediment and nutrient reduction efforts, and expanding existing monitoring and modeling efforts to

identify additional management actions to help mitigate nitrogen

losses to the Gulf.

A number of states have also weighed in on the need to increase

monitoring and modeling efforts throughout the Upper Mississippi

River Basin. In an October 23, 2001, letter to Bush Administration

officials, six Governors of states bordering the Mississippi River

wrote that ‘‘* * * a monitoring effort conducted jointly by the U.S.

Geological Survey and the states is required within the basin to determine the water quality effects of the actions taken and to measure the success of efforts on a sub-basin and project level.’’ This letter illustrates the need for H.R. 3480 and the broad support it has received. Water quality problems in the Mississippi

River Basin cross traditional state and administrative boundaries.

Solving these problems requires a coordinated and cooperative approach between the federal, state, and local agencies and groups

working throughout the region. H.R. 3480 represents a commonsense move toward building the scientific foundation necessary to

remedy nutrient and sediment problems in the region, and I urge

my colleagues to support this measure when it reaches the House

floor.

RON KIND.

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