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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4962 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4962

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to the Coeur 
                  d'Alene Basin Management Conference.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 12, 1994

 Mr. LaRocco introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly 
     to the Committees on Public Works and Transportation, Natural 
   Resources, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, and Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to the Coeur 
                  d'Alene Basin Management Conference.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coeur d'Alene Basin Restoration Act 
of 1994''.

SEC. 2. COEUR D'ALENE BASIN MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE.

    Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251-
1270) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 121. COEUR D'ALENE BASIN MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established a Coeur d'Alene Basin 
Management Conference to develop a comprehensive pollution prevention, 
control, and restoration plan for the Coeur d'Alene Basin. The 
Administrator shall convene the management conference within 30 days of 
the date of the enactment of this section.
    ``(b) Membership.--
            ``(1) In general.--The members of the Management Conference 
        shall be comprised of--
                    ``(A) a representative of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency;
                    ``(B) a representative of the Coeur d'Alene Indian 
                tribe; and
                    ``(C) a representative of the Idaho Department of 
                Environmental Quality.
            ``(2) Steering committee.--The Management Conference shall 
        appoint--
                    ``(A) a management advisory committee;
                    ``(B) a technical advisory committee; and
                    ``(C) a citizens' advisory committee.
            ``(3) Ex officio members.--The Management Conference shall 
        have ex officio members which shall include, at a minimum, the 
        Member of the United States House of Representatives within 
        whose congressional district lies the Coeur d'Alene Basin.
    ``(c) Pollution Prevention, Control, and Restoration Plan.--
            ``(1) Publication deadline.--Not later than 1 year after 
        the date of the enactment of this section, the Management 
        Conference shall publish a water pollution prevention, control, 
        and restoration plan (hereinafter in this section referred to 
        as the `Plan') for the Coeur d'Alene Basin.
            ``(2) Contents.--The Plan developed pursuant to this 
        section shall--
                    ``(A) clarify the duties of Federal and State 
                agencies and other persons in water pollution 
                prevention and control activities, and to the extent 
                allowable by law, suggest a reasonable timetable for 
                adoption by the appropriate Federal and State agencies 
                to accomplish such duties;
                    ``(B) describe the methods and schedules for 
                funding of programs, activities, and projects 
                identified in the Plan, including the use of Federal 
                and other sources of funds;
                    ``(C) incorporate environmental management concepts 
                and programs established in State and Federal plans and 
                programs in effect at the time of the development of 
                the Plan; and
                    ``(D) include a strategy for water pollution 
                prevention and control in the Coeur d'Alene Basin, 
                including the promotion of pollution prevention and 
                management practices to reduce the amount of pollution 
                generated in the Coeur d'Alene Basin.
            ``(3) Public review and comment.--The Administrator, in 
        cooperation with the Management Conference, shall provide for 
        public review and comment on the draft Plan. At a minimum, the 
        Management Conference shall conduct one public meeting to hear 
        comments on the draft plan in the State of Idaho.
            ``(4) Approval.--Not less than 30 days after the 
        publication of the Plan required pursuant to this section, the 
        Administrator shall approve the Plan if the Plan meets the 
        requirements of this section.
            ``(5) Treatment.--Upon approval of the Plan, the Plan shall 
        be deemed to be an approved management program for the purposes 
        of section 319(h) of this Act and such plan shall be deemed to 
        be an approved comprehensive conservation and management plan 
        pursuant to section 320 of this Act.
            ``(6) Implementation.--Upon approval of the Plan under this 
        subsection, the Plan shall be implemented.
    ``(d) Grant Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator may, in consultation 
        with the Management Conference, make grants to State, 
        interstate, and regional water pollution control agencies, and 
        public or nonprofit agencies, institutions, and organizations.
            ``(2) Purposes.--Grants under this subsection shall be made 
        for assisting development of the Plan, including research, 
        surveys, studies, and modeling and technical and supporting 
        work necessary for the development of the Plan.
            ``(3) Federal share.--The amount of grants to any person 
        under this subsection for a fiscal year shall not exceed 70 
        percent of the costs of development of the Plan and shall be 
        made available on the condition that non-Federal share of such 
        costs are provided from non-Federal sources. The non-Federal 
        share may be provided by in-kind services.
            ``(4) Terms and conditions.--The Administrator may 
        establish such terms and conditions for the administration of 
        grants as the Administrator determines to be appropriate.
    ``(e) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term `Coeur 
d'Alene Basin'' means the watershed in northern Idaho containing the 
South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River, the main stem of the Coeur 
d'Alene River, and Lake Coeur d'Alene.
    ``(f) Statutory Interpretation.--Nothing in this section shall be 
used to affect the jurisdiction or powers of--
            ``(1) any department or agency of the United States or any 
        State; or
            ``(2) any entity related to the Coeur d'Alene Basin created 
        by treaty or memorandum to which the United States is a 
        signatory.
    ``(g) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out this section such sums 
as may be necessary for fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 
1999.''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL PROGRAM COORDINATION.

    (a) Cooperation of the United States Geological Survey of the 
Department of the Interior.--For the purpose of enhancing and expanding 
basic data collection and monitoring in operation in the Coeur d'Alene 
Basin, as defined under section 121 of the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the heads of 
water resources divisions of the Idaho and Washington districts of the 
United States Geological Survey, shall--
            (1) in cooperation with appropriate universities and 
        private research institutions and appropriate officials of the 
        appropriate departments and agencies of the States of Idaho and 
        Washington, develop an integrated geographic information system 
        of the Coeur d'Alene Basin;
            (2) convert all partial recording sites in the Coeur 
        d'Alene Basin to continuous monitoring stations with full 
        gauging capabilities and status; and
            (3) establish such additional continuous monitoring station 
        sites in the Coeur d'Alene Basin as are necessary to carry out 
        basic data collection and monitoring, as defined by the 
        Secretary of the Interior, including ground water mapping, and 
        water quality and sediment data collection.
    (b) Cooperation of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of 
the Department of the Interior.--
            (1) Resource conservation program.--The Secretary of the 
        Interior, acting through the United States Fish and Wildlife 
        Service, in cooperation with the Coeur d'Alene Fish and 
        Wildlife Management Cooperative and the Coeur d'Alene Basin 
        Management Conference established pursuant to section 121 of 
        the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, shall--
                    (A) establish and implement a fisheries resources 
                restoration, development, and conservation program, 
                including dedicating a level of hatchery production 
                within the Coeur d'Alene Basin at or above the level 
                that existed immediately preceding the date of the 
                enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) conduct a wildlife species and habitat 
                assessment survey in the Coeur d'Alene Basin, 
                including--
                            (i) a survey of Federal threatened and 
                        endangered species, listed or proposed for 
                        listing under the Endangered Species Act of 
                        1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), Idaho State and 
                        Washington State threatened and endangered 
                        species and other species of special concern, 
                        migratory nongame species of management 
                        concern, and national resources plan species; 
                        and
                            (ii) a survey of migratory bird populations 
                        breeding, migrating, and wintering within the 
                        Coeur d'Alene Basin.
            (2) Activities.--To accomplish the purposes of paragraph 
        (1), the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
        Service is authorized to carry out activities related to--
                    (A) improving the health of fishery resources;
                    (B) conducting investigations about the status of 
                fishery resources, and disseminating that information 
                to all interested parties; and
                    (C) conducting and periodically updating a survey 
                of the fishery resources and their habitats and food 
                chains in the Coeur d'Alene Basin.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of the Interior such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999 to carry 
out subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

SEC. 4. RESTORATION PLAN.

    (a) Cooperation of the United States Bureau of Land Management of 
the Department of the Interior.--For the purpose of restoring and 
managing of public lands, public uses, and the basin restoration areas, 
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the State director of the 
Bureau of Land Management, shall--
            (1) cooperatively with the other natural resource trustees, 
        develop and implement a restoration plan for the public lands 
        and other contaminated lands to reduce human and environmental 
        risks in the Coeur d'Alene Basin, as defined in section 121 of 
        the Federal Water Pollution Control Act;
            (2) develop and maintain a computerized geographical 
        information system inventory of abandoned or inactive mining 
        sites and extensively mine waste contaminated areas in the 
        Basin, including audits, tailing piles, mill sites, and 
        processing facilities, their location, key contaminants, their 
        concentrations and loading rates, and other information 
        pertinent to evaluation and prioritization;
            (3) provide for the cleanup of mining contaminated sites or 
        areas and the restoration of damaged natural resources on 
        public lands or land acquired to be restored in the Basin;
            (4) develop and implement stream and river restoration 
        plans which would involve the rebuilding of stream structure, 
        placement of wood debris, habitat structures, and habitat 
        rocks, stabilization of banks, and riparian plantings in the 
        Basin;
            (5) provide for monitoring of restored areas in order to 
        document the effectiveness of the restoration and identify any 
        residual problems not sufficiently corrected;
            (6) cooperatively with the other land managing and public 
        health agencies, the Coeur d'Alene Indian tribe, regulators, 
        and land owners, develop and implement a land management plan 
        for the public lands and other lands in the Basin to reduce 
        human health and environmental risks;
            (7) develop and maintain cooperatively an integrated 
        computerized geographical information system of cultural and 
        ecological resources, location of source and contaminated 
        areas, and records of restoration and management activities to 
        ensure long-term coordinated management within the Basin;
            (8) working with the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife 
        Service, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Coeur d'Alene 
        Indian tribe, and other wildlife interests, develop wildlife 
        and fishery habitat management plans for the streams, river, 
        lakes, and wetlands in the Basin, including development of 
        cooperative wildlife management areas;
            (9) provide for monitoring of wildlife management areas in 
        the Basin for effectiveness of wildlife improvements and 
        restoration and management activities;
            (10) working with the Forest Service, Idaho Departments of 
        Fish and Game and Parks and Recreation, public health agencies, 
        the Coeur d'Alene Indian tribe, and other public recreation 
        interests develop an integrated public recreation management 
        plan for the Basin to provide public information and minimize 
        recreational health risks; and
            (11) develop and implement a lake and river information 
        program to provide public use and health risk information in 
        the Basin along with the recreation management and maintenance 
        of public land sites.
    (b) Powers of BLM.--To accomplish the purposes of paragraphs (2), 
(3), and (4) of subsection (a), the Director of the United States 
Bureau of Land Management is authorized to carry out activities related 
to--
            (1) data collection and other inventory of mining waste 
        source areas and contaminated lands;
            (2) data management of resource information, restoration 
        activities, and monitoring and management data;
            (3) accepting or acquiring mining contaminated lands to 
        restore and manage for the purpose of minimizing long-term 
        human health and natural resource risks;
            (4) design, engineering, construction, and maintenance of 
        restoration projects and management facilities;
            (5) design, oversee construction, and management of 
        repositories for mine waste and mine contaminated soil needed 
        for restoration activities;
            (6) lake and river information program, public use 
        information, and recreation use supervision;
            (7) long-term restoration and land management plans for 
        contaminated and restored lands; and
            (8) providing long-term maintenance and management of 
        restored public lands.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
Management, such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 1995, 1996, 
1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 to carry out subsections (a) and 
(b) of this section.

SEC. 5. EXEMPTION FROM CERCLA LIABILITY.

    The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the 
Interior shall be specifically exempted from liability under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
of 1980 for actions taken under this Act, including any amendment made 
by this Act.
                                 <all>
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