I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4289

To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to establish

a Waterways Restoration Program, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 21, 1994

Ms. FURSE (for herself, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr. EVANS, Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER,

Mr. RICHARDSON, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MILLER

of California, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. WYDEN,

Mr. STUDDS, Mr. HAMBURG, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mrs.

UNSOELD, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. DICKS, Mr. RANGEL, and

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly

to the Committees on Agriculture, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, and

Public Works and Transportation

A BILL

To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention

Act to establish a Waterways Restoration Program, and

for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Waterways Restoration

5 Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) restoring degraded streams, rivers, wet2 lands, and other waterways to their natural state is

3 a cost effective and environmentally sensitive means

4 to control flooding, excessive erosion, sedimentation,

5 and nonpoint pollution, including stormwater runoff;

6 (2) protecting and restoring watersheds pro7 vides critical ecological benefits by restoring and

8 maintaining biodiversity, providing fish and wildlife

9 habitat, filtering pollutants, and performing other

10 important ecological functions;

11 (3) waterway restoration and protection

12 projects can provide important economic benefits by

13 rejuvenating waterfront areas, providing recreational

14 opportunities, and creating community service jobs

15 and job training opportunities in environmental res16 toration for disadvantaged youth, displaced resource

17 harvesters, and other unemployed residents; and

18 (4) restoring waterways helps to increase the

19 fishing potential of waterways and restore dimin20 ished fisheries, which are important to local and re21 gional cultures and economies and to low income

22 and ethnic cultural groups who rely heavily on fish

23 as a food source.

24 (b) POLICY.—Therefore, Congress declares it in the

25 national interest to—
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1 (1) protect and restore the chemical, biological,

2 and physical components of streams and rivers and

3 associated wetland systems such that the biological

4 and physical structures, diversity, functions, and dy5 namics of the stream and wetland ecological systems

6 are restored;

7 (2) replace deteriorating stormwater structural

8 infrastructures and physical waterway alterations

9 that are environmentally destructive with cost effec10 tive, low maintenance, and environmentally sensitive

11 projects;

12 (3) promote the use of nonstructural means to

13 manage and convey streamflow, stormwater, and

14 flood waters;

15 (4) increase the involvement of the public and

16 youth conservation and service corps in the monitor17 ing, inventorying, and restoration of watersheds in

18 order to improve public education, prevent pollution,

19 and develop coordinated citizen and governmental

20 partnerships to restore damaged waterways; and

21 (5) benefit business districts, local economies,

22 and neighborhoods through the restoration of water23 ways.
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1 SEC. 3. WORKS OF IMPROVEMENT DEFINED.

2 The second paragraph of section 2 of the Watershed

3 Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1002; re4 lating to works of improvement) is amended by striking

5 the following: ‘‘Each project must contain benefits directly

6 related to agriculture, including rural communities, that

7 account for at least 20 percent of the total benefits of the

8 project.’’.

9 SEC. 4. WATERWAYS RESTORATION PROGRAM.

10 The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act

11 (16 U.S.C. 1001–1008; 1010) is amended by adding at

12 the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 14. WATERWAYS RESTORATION PROGRAM.

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting

15 through the Chief of the Soil Conservation Service, shall

16 establish and implement a Waterways Restoration Pro17 gram in accordance with the requirements of this section.

18 Under the program, the Secretary shall provide technical

19 assistance and grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible

20 entities to assist such entities in carrying out waterway

21 restoration projects.

22 ‘‘(b) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—

23 ‘‘(1) PROJECT OBJECTIVES.—A project shall be

24 eligible for assistance under the program if the

25 project is designed to achieve ecological restoration
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1 or protection and 1 or more of the following objec2 tives:

3 ‘‘(A) Flood damage reduction.

4 ‘‘(B) Erosion control.

5 ‘‘(C) Stormwater management.

6 ‘‘(D) Water quality enhancement.

7 ‘‘(2) LOCATION OF PROJECTS.—A project may

8 be carried out under the program on Federal lands

9 or on State or private lands in any case in which the

10 State or the private land owner is a sponsor or co11 sponsor of the project.

12 ‘‘(3) PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS.—Projects eligible

13 for assistance under the program shall include

14 projects for any of the following purposes:

15 ‘‘(A) Restoration and monitoring of de16 graded waterways, including revegetation, res17 toration of biological communities, and changes

18 in land management practices.

19 ‘‘(B) Reestablishment of stream channel

20 quasi-equilibrium.

21 ‘‘(C) Restoration or establishment of wet22 land and riparian environments as part of a

23 multiobjective stormwater management system

24 in which the restored or established areas pro25 vide stormwater storage, detention, and reten-
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1 tion; nutrient filtering; wildlife habitat; and in2 creased biological diversity.

3 ‘‘(D) Reduction of runoff.

4 ‘‘(E) Stream bank restoration using the

5 principles of biotechnical slope stabilization.

6 ‘‘(F) Creation and acquisition of multi-ob7 jective floodplain riparian zones, including re8 moval of natural or humanmade levees, for

9 floodwater and sediment storage, wildlife habi10 tat, and recreation.

11 ‘‘(G) Removal of culverts and storm drains

12 to establish natural environmental conditions.

13 ‘‘(H) Organization of local watershed coun14 cils in conjunction with the implementation of

15 on-the-ground action education or restoration

16 projects.

17 ‘‘(I) Training of participants, including

18 youth conservation and service corps program

19 participants, in restoration techniques in con20 junction with the implementation of on-the21 ground action education or restoration projects.

22 ‘‘(J) Development of waterway restoration

23 or watershed plans which are intended for use

24 within the grant agreement period to implement

25 specific restoration projects.
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1 ‘‘(K) Restoration of any stream channel to

2 reestablish a meandering, bankfull flow channel,

3 riparian vegetation, and floodplain in order—

4 ‘‘(i) to restore the functions and dy5 namics of a natural stream system to a

6 previously channelized waterway; or

7 ‘‘(ii) to convey larger flood flows as an

8 alternative to a channelization project.

9 ‘‘(L) Release of reservoir flows to restore

10 riparian and instream habitat.

11 ‘‘(M) Watershed or wetland programs that

12 have undergone planning pursuant to other

13 Federal, State, tribal, or local programs and

14 laws and have received necessary environmental

15 review and permits.

16 ‘‘(N) Early action projects which a water17 shed council wants to implement prior to the

18 completion of its required final consensus wa19 tershed plan, if the project is determined to

20 meet the council’s watershed management ob21 jectives and is useful in fostering citizen in22 volvement in the planning process.

23 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY PROJECTS.—Projects which have

24 the following attributes shall be given priority by
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1 interdisciplinary teams established under this section

2 in determining funding priorities:

3 ‘‘(A) Projects located in or directly benefit4 ing low-income or economically depressed areas

5 adversely impacted by poor watershed manage6 ment.

7 ‘‘(B) Projects that will restore or create

8 businesses or occupations in the project area.

9 ‘‘(C) Projects providing opportunities for

10 participants in Federal, State, tribal, and local

11 youth conservation and service corps and pro12 vide training in environmental restoration, mon13 itoring, and inventory work.

14 ‘‘(D) Projects serving communities com15 posed of minorities or Native Americans, in16 cluding the development of outreach programs

17 to facilitate the participation by such groups in

18 the program.

19 ‘‘(E) Projects identified as regional prior20 ities that have been planned within a regional

21 context and coordinated with Federal, State,

22 tribal, and local agencies.

23 ‘‘(F) Projects that will restore wildlife or

24 fisheries of commercial, recreational, subsist25 ence, or scientific concern.
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1 ‘‘(G) Projects training and employing fish2 ers and other resource harvesters whose liveli3 hoods have been adversely impacted by habitat

4 degradation.

5 ‘‘(H) Projects providing significant im6 provements in ecological values and functions in

7 the project area.

8 ‘‘(I) Projects previously approved under

9 this Act which meet or are redesigned to meet

10 the requirements of this section.

11 ‘‘(5) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—A project shall

12 be eligible for assistance under the program if an

13 interdisciplinary team established under this section

14 determines that the local social, economic, ecological,

15 and community benefits of the project based on local

16 needs, problems, and conditions equal or exceed the

17 financial and social costs of the project.

18 ‘‘(6) FLOOD DAMAGE REDUCTION.—Projects for

19 which one of the purposes is to reduce flood dam20 ages shall be designed for the level of risk selected

21 by the local cosponsors and sponsors to best meet

22 their needs for reducing flood risks, their ability to

23 pay project costs, and community objectives to pro24 tect or restore environmental quality.
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1 ‘‘(7) INELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Projects involv2 ing channelization, stream bank stabilization using

3 methods other than biotechnical slope protection

4 methods, or construction of reservoirs shall not be

5 eligible for assistance under the program.

6 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—

7 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION OF PROGRAM ADMINISTRA8 TORS.—The Secretary shall designate a program ad9 ministrator for each State who shall be responsible

10 for administering the program in the State. Except

11 as provided by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall

12 designate the State Conservationist of the Soil Con13 servation Service of a State as the program adminis14 trator of the State.

15 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL OF STATE AGENCIES.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may submit

17 to the Secretary an application for designation

18 of a State agency to serve as the program ad19 ministrator of the State.

20 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall ap21 prove an application of a State submitted under

22 subparagraph (A) if the application meets the

23 following criteria:

24 ‘‘(i) Demonstration of the ability of

25 the State agency to solicit, select, and fund
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1 projects within a 1-year grant administra2 tion cycle.

3 ‘‘(ii) Demonstration of the responsive4 ness of the State agency to the administra5 tive needs and limitations of small non6 profit organizations and low income or mi7 nority communities.

8 ‘‘(iii) Demonstration of the success of

9 the State agency in implementing State or

10 local programs with objectives similar to

11 the objectives of this section.

12 ‘‘(iv) Demonstration of the ability of

13 the State agency to jointly plan and imple14 ment with Indian Tribes programs with

15 objectives similar to this section.

16 ‘‘(C) REDESIGNATION.—Whenever the Sec17 retary determines, after a public hearing, that

18 a State agency with an approved application

19 under this paragraph no longer meets the cri20 teria set forth in subparagraph (B), the Sec21 retary shall so notify the State and, if appro22 priate corrective action has not been taken

23 within a reasonable time, withdraw the designa24 tion of the State agency as the program admin25 istrator of the State and designate the State
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1 Conservationist of the Soil Conservation Service

2 of the State as the program administrator of

3 the State.

4 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The State Con5 servationist of a State shall continue to carry out

6 the technical assistance portion of the program in

7 the State even if the State receives approval of an

8 application submitted under subparagraph (A).

9 ‘‘(d) GRANT APPLICATION CYCLE.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants under the program

11 shall be awarded on an annual basis.

12 ‘‘(2) GRANT AGREEMENTS.—The program ad13 ministrator of a State may enter into a grant agree14 ment with an eligible entity to permit the entity to

15 phase-in a project under the program for a period of

16 not to exceed 3 years; except that any such project

17 shall remain subject to reevaluation each year as

18 part of the annual funding cycle.

19 ‘‘(e) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—In order to receive assist21 ance to carry out a project under the program in a

22 State, an eligible entity shall submit to the program

23 administrator of the State an application which is in

24 such form and contains such information as the Sec25 retary may by regulation require.
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1 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS BY INTER2 DISCIPLINARY TEAMS.—

3 ‘‘(A) TRANSMITTAL.—Each application for

4 assistance under the program received by the

5 program administrator of a State shall be

6 transmitted to the interdisciplinary team of the

7 State established pursuant to this section.

8 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—On an annual basis, the

9 interdisciplinary team of each State shall—

10 ‘‘(i) review applications transmitted to

11 the team pursuant to subparagraph (A);

12 ‘‘(ii) determine the eligibility of pro13 posed projects for funding under the

14 program;

15 ‘‘(iii) make recommendations concern16 ing funding priorities for such eligible

17 projects; and

18 ‘‘(iv) transmit its findings and rec19 ommendations to the program adminis20 trator of the State.

21 ‘‘(C) PROJECT OPPOSITION BY FEDERAL

22 REPRESENTATIVES.—If 2 or more of the mem23 bers of an interdisciplinary team of a State ap24 pointed pursuant to clause (ii), (iii) or (iv) of

25 subsection (f)(2)(B) are opposed to a project
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1 which is supported by a majority of the mem2 bers of the interdisciplinary team, a determina3 tion on whether the project may receive assist4 ance under the program shall be made by the

5 Chief of the Soil Conservation Service. In mak6 ing a determination under this subparagraph,

7 the Chief shall consult with the Administrator

8 of the Environmental Protection Agency, the

9 Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and,

10 in coastal areas, the Assistant Administrator of

11 the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Sec12 retary shall conduct such monitoring activities

13 as are necessary to ensure the success and ef14 fectiveness of project determinations made pur15 suant to this subparagraph.

16 ‘‘(3) FINAL SELECTION.—The final determina17 tion on whether to provide assistance for a project

18 under the program shall be made by the program

19 administrator of the State and shall be based on the

20 recommendations of the interdisciplinary team of the

21 State transmitted pursuant to paragraph (2)(B).

22 ‘‘(f) APPOINTMENT OF INTERDISCIPLINARY

23 TEAMS.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established

25 in each State an interdisciplinary team of specialists
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1 to assist in reviewing project applications under the

2 program.

3 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The interdisciplinary

4 team of a State shall be composed of the following

5 members:

6 ‘‘(A) APPOINTEES OF THE PROGRAM AD7 MINISTRATOR.—Individuals to be appointed on

8 an annual basis by the program administrator

9 of the State, including at least 1 representative

10 of each of the following specialties:

11 ‘‘(i) Hydrologists.

12 ‘‘(ii) Plant ecologists.

13 ‘‘(iii) Aquatic biologists.

14 ‘‘(iv) Biotechnical slope protection

15 experts.

16 ‘‘(v) Landscape architect or planners.

17 ‘‘(vi) Members of the agricultural

18 community.

19 ‘‘(vii) Representatives of the fish and

20 wildlife agency of the State.

21 ‘‘(viii) Representatives of the soil and

22 water conservation agency of the State.

23 ‘‘(B) REPRESENTATIVES OF FEDERAL

24 AGENCIES.—One representative of each of the

25 following Federal agencies to be appointed on
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1 an annual basis by the appropriate regional or

2 State director of the agency:

3 ‘‘(i) The Soil Conservation Service.

4 ‘‘(ii) The Environmental Protection

5 Agency.

6 ‘‘(iii) The National Marine Fishery

7 Service (in coastal States).

8 ‘‘(iv) The United States Fish and

9 Wildlife Service.

10 ‘‘(3) AFFILIATION OF MEMBERS.—Members ap11 pointed pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) may be em12 ployees of Federal, State, tribal, or local agencies or

13 non-profit organizations.

14 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—

15 The requirements of the Federal Advisory Commit16 tee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq.) shall not apply to

17 an interdisciplinary team established under this sub18 section.

19 ‘‘(g) CONDITIONS FOR RECEIVING ASSISTANCE.—

20 ‘‘(1) PROJECT SPONSORS AND COSPONSORS.—

21 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—In order to be eligi22 ble for assistance under the program, a project

23 shall have as project participants both a citizens

24 organization and a State, regional, tribal, or

25 local governing body, agency, or district.
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1 ‘‘(B) PROJECT SPONSOR.—One of the

2 project participants described in subparagraph

3 (A) shall be designated as the project sponsor.

4 The project sponsor shall act as the principal

5 party making the grant application and have

6 the primary responsibility for executing the

7 grant agreement, submitting invoices, and re8 ceiving reimbursements.

9 ‘‘(C) PROJECT COSPONSOR.—The other

10 project participant described in subparagraph

11 (A) shall be designated as the project cospon12 sor. The project cosponsor shall, jointly with

13 the project sponsor, support and actively par14 ticipate in the project. There may be more than

15 1 cosponsor for any project.

16 ‘‘(2) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Grant funds

17 made available under the program shall not supplant

18 other available funds for waterway restoration

19 projects, including developer fees, mitigation, or

20 compensation required as a permit condition or as a

21 result of a violation of the Federal Water Pollution

22 Control Act or any other law.

23 ‘‘(3) MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENT.—At least 1

24 project sponsor or cosponsor shall be designated as

25 responsible for on-going maintenance of the project.
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1 ‘‘(h) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by

3 paragraph (2), the non-Federal share of the cost of

4 a project under this section, including structural and

5 non-structural features, shall be 25 percent.

6 ‘‘(2) ECONOMICALLY DEPRESSED COMMU7 NITIES.—The Secretary may waive all or part of the

8 non-Federal share of the cost of any project that is

9 to be carried out under the program in an economi10 cally depressed community.

11 ‘‘(3) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—Non-Federal

12 interests may meet any portion of the non-Federal

13 share of the cost of a project under this section

14 through in-kind contributions, including contribu15 tions of labor, involvement of youth service and con16 servation corps program participants, materials,

17 equipment, consulting services, and land.

18 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year

19 after the date of the enactment of this section, the

20 Secretary shall issue regulations to establish proce21 dures for granting waivers under paragraph (2).

22 ‘‘(i) LIMITATIONS ON COSTS OF ADMINISTRATION

23 AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Of the total amount made

24 available in any fiscal year to carry out this section—
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1 ‘‘(1) not to exceed 15 percent may be used for

2 administrative expenses; and

3 ‘‘(2) not to exceed 25 percent may be used for

4 providing technical assistance.

5 ‘‘(j) CONSULTATION WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In

6 establishing and carrying out the program under this sec7 tion, the Secretary shall consult with the heads of appro8 priate Federal departments and agencies, including the

9 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,

10 the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the

11 Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,

12 the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, the Di13 rector of the Geological Survey, the Chief of the Forest

14 Service, and the Assistant Administrator for the National

15 Marine Fishery Service.

16 ‘‘(k) CITIZENS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.—

17 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Governor of each

18 State shall establish a citizens oversight committee

19 to evaluate management of the program in the

20 State. The membership of a citizens oversight com21 mittee shall represent a diversity of regions, cul22 tures, and watershed management interests.

23 ‘‘(2) COMPONENTS TO BE EVALUATED.—Pro24 gram components to be evaluated by a citizens over-
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1 sight committee established under paragraph (1) are

2 as follows:

3 ‘‘(A) Program outreach, accessibility, and

4 service to low income and minority ethnic com5 munities and displaced resource harvesters.

6 ‘‘(B) The manageability of grant applica7 tion procedures, contracting transactions, and

8 invoicing for disbursement for small nonprofit

9 organizations.

10 ‘‘(C) The success of the program in sup11 porting the range of the program objectives, in12 cluding evaluation of the environmental impacts

13 of the program as implemented.

14 ‘‘(D) The number of jobs created for iden15 tified target groups.

16 ‘‘(E) The diversity of job skills fostered for

17 long-term watershed related employment.

18 ‘‘(F) The extent of involvement of youth

19 conservation and service corps programs.

20 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—The program adminis21 trator of each State shall issue an annual report

22 summarizing the program evaluation under para23 graph (1). Such report shall be signed by each mem24 ber of the citizens oversight committee of the State

25 and shall be submitted to the Secretary.
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1 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—

2 The requirements of the Federal Advisory Commit3 tee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq.) shall not apply to

4 a citizens oversight committee established under this

5 subsection.

6 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section,

7 the following definitions apply:

8 ‘‘(1) BIOTECHNICAL SLOPE PROTECTION.—The

9 term ‘biotechnical slope protection’ means the use of

10 live and dead plant material to repair and fortify

11 watershed slopes, roadcuts, stream banks, and other

12 sites vulnerable to excessive erosion, using such sys13 tems as brush piling, brush layering, brush matting,

14 fascines, joint plantings, and wood cribwalls.

15 ‘‘(2) CHANNELIZATION.—The term ‘channeliza16 tion’ means removing the meanders and vegetation

17 from rivers and streams for purposes of accelerating

18 storm flow velocities, filling habitat to accommodate

19 land development and existing structures, and sta20 bilizing banks with concrete or riprap.

21 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en22 tity’ means—

23 ‘‘(A) any tribal or local government, flood

24 control district, water district, conservation dis25 trict (as defined by section 1201(a)(2) of the
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1 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.

2 3801(a)(2)), agricultural extension 4–H pro3 gram, nonprofit organization, or watershed

4 council; and

5 ‘‘(B) any unincorporated neighborhood or6 ganization, watershed council, or small citizen

7 nongovernmental or nonprofessional organiza8 tion for which an incorporated nonprofit organi9 zation acts as a fiscal agent.

10 ‘‘(4) FISCAL AGENT.—The term ‘fiscal agent’

11 means an incorporated nonprofit organization that—

12 ‘‘(A) acts as a legal entity which can ac13 cept government or private funds and pass

14 them onto an unincorporated community, cul15 tural, or neighborhood organization; and

16 ‘‘(B) has entered into a written agreement

17 with such an unincorporated organization that

18 specifies the funding, program, and working ar19 rangements for carrying out a project under the

20 program.

21 ‘‘(5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term

22 ‘nonprofit organization’ means any organization with

23 tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the In24 ternal Revenue Code of 1986.
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1 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means

2 the Waterways Restoration Program established by

3 the Secretary under subsection (a).

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

5 the Secretary of Agriculture acting through the

6 Chief of the Soil Conservation Service.

7 ‘‘(8) STREAM CHANNEL QUASI-EQUILIBRIUM.—

8 The term ‘stream channel quasi-equilibrium’ means

9 restoring channel geometrics, meanders, and slopes

10 so that channel dimensions are appropriately sized

11 to the watershed and its slope, bankfull discharges,

12 and sediment sizes and transport rates for the pur13 pose of correcting excessive channel erosion and

14 deposition.

15 ‘‘(9) WATERSHED COUNCIL.—The term ‘water16 shed council’ means a representative group of local

17 watershed residents (including the private, public,

18 government, and nonprofit sectors) organized to de19 velop and implement a consensus watershed restora20 tion plan that includes restoration, acquisition, and

21 other activities.

22 ‘‘(10) WATERWAY.—The term ‘waterway’

23 means any natural, degraded, seasonal, or created

24 wetland on private or public lands, including rivers,

25 streams, riparian areas, marshes, ponds, bogs,
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1 mudflats, lakes, and estuaries. Such term includes

2 any natural or humanmade watercourse on public or

3 private lands which is culverted, channelized, or

4 vegetatively cleared, including canals, irrigation

5 ditches, drainage ways, and navigation, industrial,

6 flood control, and water supply channels.

7 ‘‘(11) YOUTH CONSERVATION AND SERVICE

8 CORPS.—The term ‘youth conservation and service

9 corps program’ means a full-time, year-round youth

10 corps program or a full-time summer youth corps

11 program described in section 122(a)(2) of the Na12 tional and Community Service Act of 1990 (42

13 U.S.C. 12572(a)(2)).

14 ‘‘(m) FUNDING.—

15 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM AMOUNTS.—Not less than 20

16 percent of the total amount appropriated to carry

17 out this Act for any fiscal year beginning after Sep18 tember 30, 1994, shall be used by the Secretary to

19 carry out this section.

20 ‘‘(2) TRANSFERRED FUNDS.—The Secretary

21 may accept transfers of funds from other Federal

22 departments and agencies in order to carry out the

23 objectives of this section.

24 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS.—

25 Funds made available to carry out this section, and
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1 financial assistance provided with such funds, shall

2 not be subject to any requirements of this Act other

3 than the requirements of this section.’’.

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