I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3373

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to monitor the health of the Missouri 

River and measure biological, chemical, and physical responses to changes 

in river management and other significant variables. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 24, 2003

Mr. BEREUTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to monitor the health 

of the Missouri River and measure biological, chemical, 

and physical responses to changes in river management 

and other significant variables.

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 ‘‘Missouri River En5 hancement and Monitoring Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 
2

•HR 3373 IH 

1 (1) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means the 

2 River Studies Center of the Biological Resources Di3 vision of the United States Geological Survey, lo4 cated in Columbia, Missouri. 

5 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

6 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

7 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

8 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

9 (3) RIVER.—The term ‘‘River’’ means the Mis10 souri River. 

11 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bi13 ological Resources Division of the United States Ge14 ological Survey. 

15 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means—

16 (A) the State of Iowa; 

17 (B) the State of Kansas; 

18 (C) the State of Missouri; 

19 (D) the State of Montana; 

20 (E) the State of Nebraska; 

21 (F) the State of North Dakota; 

22 (G) the State of South Dakota; and 

23 (H) the State of Wyoming. 
3

•HR 3373 IH 

1 SEC. 3. LONG-TERM MONITORING PROGRAM. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 2 years after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

4 the Interior, in consultation with the Director of the 

5 United States Geological Survey, shall establish a program 

6 at the Center—

7 (1) to determine and monitor the biological and 

8 chemical characteristics of the River; 

9 (2) to determine and monitor the interrelation10 ship of those characteristics with the hydrology and 

11 geomorphology of the river; and 

12 (3) to monitor and assess the biota, including 

13 threatened or endangered species, habitats, and 

14 water quality of the River. 

15 (b) DEVELOPMENT.—To develop the program, the 

16 Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the United 

17 States Geological Survey shall consult with—

18 (1) the Governors of affected States, acting 

19 through—

20 (A) the Missouri River Natural Resources 

21 Committee; and 

22 (B) the Missouri River Basin Association; 

23 and 

24 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

25 (3) the Secretary of the Army; 

26 (4) the Western Area Power Administration; 
4

•HR 3373 IH 

1 (5) the Fish and Wildlife Service; 

2 (6) the Administrator of the Environmental 

3 Protection Agency; and 

4 (7) the Missouri River Basin Indian Tribes. 

5 (c) ACTIVITIES.—The program described in sub6 section (a) shall provide scientific information to—

7 (1) guide the operation and management of the 

8 River; 

9 (2) measure and model the impact of manage10 ment alternatives through—

11 (A) monitoring of biota, including threat12 ened or endangered species, habitats, and water 

13 quality; 

14 (B) focused investigations of cause and ef15 fect relationships; and 

16 (C) identification and evaluation of meth17 ods to conserve fish and wildlife, including 

18 threatened and endangered species; and 

19 (3) make recommendations on means to restore 

20 or enhance the ecosystem of the River. 

21 (d) BASELINE.—The program described in subsection 

22 (a) shall establish a baseline of conditions against which 

23 future activities can be measured. 

24 (e) DATABASE.—The Secretary of the Interior 

25 shall—
5

•HR 3373 IH 

1 (1) establish a database on River biota, includ2 ing threatened or endangered species, habitats, and 

3 water quality; and 

4 (2) make the database readily available to the 

5 entities listed in subsection (b) and the public. 

6 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

7 of establishment of the program described in subsection 

8 (a), and not less frequently than every 3 years thereafter, 

9 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director 

10 of the United States Geological Survey, shall—

11 (1) review the program; 

12 (2) as necessary, establish and revise the objec13 tives of the program; and 

14 (3) submit to Congress a report on the environ15 mental health of the River. 

16 (g) INDIAN TRIBES.—Notwithstanding any other 

17 provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior may enter 

18 into contracts, pursuant to the Indian Self Determination 

19 Act (title I of the Indian Self Determination and Edu20 cation Assistance Act; 25 U.S.C. chapter 14, subchapter 

21 II, part A (25 U.S.C. 450f et seq.)) with Tribes whose 

22 Reservations are located along the River and have an in23 terest in environmental restoration. The tasks to be con24 tracted shall assist in the implementation of the research 

25 and monitoring program elements set forth in this section 
6

•HR 3373 IH 

1 and shall complement the activities undertaken by the Sec2 retary of the Interior and the affected State Governments. 

3 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

5 appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to 

6 carry out this section—

7 (A) $6,500,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

8 (B) $8,500,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

9 (C) $15,100,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2007 through 2020. 

11 (2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Funding of the 

12 program shall be implemented in the following man13 ner: 

14 (A) Not more than the following percent15 age of the funds available shall be directed to 

16 the Center: 

17 (i) 25 percent in fiscal year 2005. 

18 (ii) 40 percent in fiscal year 2006. 

19 (iii) 65 percent in fiscal years after 

20 2007. 

21 At least 50 percent of such funds shall be di22 rected to the Center in fiscal years after 2007. 

23 (B) The remaining funds shall be made 

24 available by the Secretary, in consultation with 

25 the Director of the Center, to State hydrology, 
7

•HR 3373 IH 

1 environmental quality, natural resource, and 

2 fish and wildlife agencies in the River basin in 

3 order to collect field data, provide field oper4 ational support for monitoring, and conduct 

5 monitoring activities that are designed to en6 hance and supplement existing scientific knowl7 edge of the River system. 

8 (3) THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPE9 CIES.—Of the amounts made available under para10 graph (1) for each fiscal year, $1,500,000 shall be 

11 made available to the Secretary of the Interior and 

12 the State agencies with jurisdiction for River fish 

13 and wildlife to monitor and conduct focused inves14 tigations of endangered fish, including the response 

15 of the pallid sturgeon to main stem reservoir oper16 ations. 

17 (4) FUNDING OF FOCUSED INVESTIGATIONS.—

18 The focused investigations component of the pro19 gram established under paragraph (3) shall be fund20 ed using a competitive process. Each year, the direc21 tors of the State fish and game agencies with juris22 diction for River fish and wildlife, in consultation 

23 with the Secretary of the Interior, and the entities 

24 listed under subsection (b)(1), shall prioritize infor25 mation needs and issue a request for proposals to 
8

•HR 3373 IH 

1 State, Federal, for-profit, and not-for-profit organi2 zations with River interest and expertise. The direc3 tors and the Secretary shall review and select those 

4 proposals to be funded.

Æ