19–010 

Calendar No. 452 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 112–183 

DELAWARE RIVER BASIN CONSERVATION ACT OF 2011 

JULY 16, 2012.—Ordered to be printed 

Mrs. BOXER, from the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1266] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was 

referred a bill (S. 1266) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 

establish a 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 and recommends that the bill, as amended, 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 2011 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 2011 (S. 1266) 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 2011’’. 

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 Mar 15 2010 02:47 Jul 18, 2012 Jkt 019010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR183.XXX SR183

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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 be 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 5 authorizes the Secretary to provide technical assistance 

to carry out this section on a nonreimbursable basis. 

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 2012 

through 2017 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. 


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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1266 was introduced by Sen. Carper on June 23, 2011. The bill 

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

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. 

On December 8, 2011, the Full Committee met to consider a 

number of bills including S. 1266. Senator Carper offered an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute, which was adopted by 

voice vote. The bill was ordered to be reported favorably by voice 

vote with Senator Inhofe recorded as ‘‘No’’. 

HEARINGS

On April 24, 2012, the Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife held 

a legislative hearing to consider a number of items, including S. 

1266. 

ROLLCALL VOTES

The Committee on Environment and Public Works met to consider S. 1266 on December 8, 2011. The bill was ordered to be reported favorably by voice vote with Senator Inhofe recorded as 

‘‘No’’. 

REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT

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

Rules of the Senate, the committee finds that S. 1266 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 noted that the Congressional 

Budget Office (CBO) has found, ‘‘S. 1266 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.’’ 

DECEMBER 20, 2011. 

Hon. BARBARA BOXER, 

Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MADAM CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has 

prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1266, the Delaware River 

Basin Conservation Act of 2011. 

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

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

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF. 

Enclosure. 

S. 1266—Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2011 

Summary: S. 1266 would authorize the appropriation of $5 million a year over the 2012–2017 period for a program to restore the 

Delaware River Basin. Assuming appropriation of the authorized 

amounts CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would 


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cost $22 million over the 2012–2016 period and $8 million after 

2016. Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or 

revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

S. 1266 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. 1266 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— 

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2012– 

2016 

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 

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

Estimated Outlays .................................................................................... 2 5 5 5 5 22 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 1266 

will be enacted early in 2012 and that the authorized amounts will 

be appropriated for each fiscal year. Estimated outlays are based 

on historical spending patterns for similar activities. 

S. 1266 would authorize the appropriation of $5 million a year 

over the 2012–2017 period for the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program. Under the program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 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. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost $22 million over the 2012–2016 

period and $8 million after 2016. 

Pay-As-You-Go considerations: None. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1266 contains no 

intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA 

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

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

State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell; Impact on 

the Private Sector: Amy Petz. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

Section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate requires the committee to publish changes in existing law made by 

the bill as reported. Passage of this bill will make no changes to 

existing law. 

Æ 


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