I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4931

To strengthen protection of the natural resources of the Gulf of Maine

through greater cooperation and coordination between Federal agencies

and the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 10, 1994

Ms. SNOWE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

A BILL

To strengthen protection of the natural resources of the

Gulf of Maine through greater cooperation and coordination between Federal agencies and the Gulf of Maine

Council on the Marine Environment, 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 ‘‘Gulf of Maine Con5 servation and Cooperation Act of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress makes the following findings regarding

3 the Gulf of Maine:

4 (1) The Gulf of Maine is a critically important

5 environmental and economic resource shared by the

6 United States and Canada.

7 (2) The Gulf of Maine supports abundant and

8 diverse marine wildlife populations, including 100

9 species of birds, 73 species of fish, 26 species of

10 whales, dolphins, and porpoises, 1,600 types of bot11 tom-dwelling organisms, and endangered species

12 such as the bald eagle, roseate tern, humpback

13 whale, and sperm whale.

14 (3) The Gulf of Maine holds substantial value

15 as a recreation resource for people today and its

16 value as a recreation resource will likely increase in

the future. Nearly 1 17 ⁄3 of the United States popu18 lation, comprising approximately 75,600,000 people,

19 live within a 1-day drive of the Gulf of Maine. The

20 Gulf of Maine contains 2 United States national

21 parks and 1 Canadian national park, and it contains

22 a United States national marine sanctuary.

23 (4) The Gulf of Maine provides substantial

24 commercial benefits to the United States and Can25 ada. Its commercial fishing industry, including aqua26 culture, produces more than $800,000,000 in reve-
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1 nues annually and employs 20,000 people. Aqua2 culture is a growing multimillion dollar industry in

3 the region.

4 (5) Tourism and recreation in the Gulf of

5 Maine region generate millions of dollars in revenue

6 each year and provide employment for thousands.

7 The Gulf of Maine attracts 10,000,000 visitors an8 nually. In addition, the Gulf of Maine is home to

9 many economically important maritime facilities,

10 such as ports and shipyards.

11 (6) Studies conducted by national and State

12 governments and other agencies have determined

13 that, without prudent, coordinated management, the

14 future development and use of the resources of the

15 Gulf of Maine may have significant adverse impacts

16 on the environment and economy of the bordering

17 States, the adjacent region, and the United States.

18 (7) Environmental threats to the Gulf of Maine

19 are too extensive and complex to be managed by any

20 single State, provincial, or Federal agency. Existing

21 threats include—

22 (A) high levels of toxic contaminants in the

23 deep basin sediments of the Gulf of Maine,

24 which indicate that toxic contaminants are dis-
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1 tributed throughout the Gulf of Maine eco2 system;

3 (B) bacterial contamination that has closed

more than 1 4 ⁄3 of the shellfish beds in the Gulf

5 of Maine, resulting in significant economic

6 losses; and

7 (C) increasing loss of habitat in the Gulf

8 of Maine region, which results in diminished es9 tuarine and coastal habitats essential for migra10 tory waterfowl and commercially valuable fish

11 species.

12 (8) The natural resources of the Gulf of Maine

13 are interconnected, forming an ecosystem that tran14 scends political boundaries. It is therefore important

15 that the States, provinces, and Federal Governments

16 cooperate with one another and coordinate their

17 public policies, research, and management activities

18 related to the protection of the resources of the Gulf

19 of Maine.

20 (9) Interjurisdictional cooperation and coordina21 tion of efforts, policies, and programs can maximize

22 the efficient use of limited fiscal resources in the

23 Gulf of Maine region, and further the goal of pro24 tecting the resources of the Gulf of Maine and stim25 ulating its economy over the long-term.
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1 (10) The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine

2 Environment, established in 1989 by the States of

3 Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire and the

4 Canadian Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova

5 Scotia (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Gulf of Maine

6 Council’’), is well-equipped to assist in the coordina7 tion of policies and activities of the multiple agencies

8 and scientific, environmental, fishing, and marine

9 trade organizations active in the Gulf of Maine re10 gion. It has laid a cooperative, regionally based foun11 dation for future efforts to protect, conserve, and

12 sustainably develop the Gulf of Maine.

13 (11) The Gulf of Maine Council has developed

14 innovative and constructive strategies and programs

15 to maintain and enhance marine environmental qual16 ity and to allow for sustainable resource use, such

17 as the Gulf of Maine Action Plan 1991–2000 and

18 the Gulf of Maine Environmental Quality Monitoring

19 Plan.

20 SEC. 3. POLICY.

21 It is the policy of the United States that—

22 (1) United States Government activities relat23 ing to conserving the natural resources of the Gulf

24 of Maine and encouraging sustainable development
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1 in the region should be maintained and strength2 ened; and

3 (2) the environmental and economic interests of

4 the American people are well-served by United

5 States Government cooperation and coordination

6 with the Gulf of Maine Council.

7 SEC. 4. GULF OF MAINE INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish

10 a Gulf of Maine Inter-Agency Task Force (in this

11 Act referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’).

12 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Task Force

13 is to provide a vehicle for improved interagency co14 operation and coordination, and to improve and en15 hance the efficiency and effectiveness of Federal ac16 tivities conducted for the purpose of the conservation

17 and sustainable development of the natural resources

18 of the Gulf of Maine.

19 (3) DUTIES.—The duties of the Task Force in20 clude the following:

21 (A) Meeting on a regular basis, but not

22 less than 2 times each year.

23 (B) Sharing among Task Force members

24 information about agency programs operating

25 in the Gulf of Maine region.
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1 (C) Providing updates on agency programs

2 and activities relating to the natural resources

3 of the Gulf of Maine, including scientific re4 search activities and programs.

5 (D) Identifying opportunities for inter6 agency cooperation and coordination to further

7 the purpose of the Task Force.

8 (E) Developing plans, to the maximum ex9 tent practicable, for interagency cooperation

10 and coordination efforts that will further the

11 purpose of the Task Force, and for joint pro12 grams, activities, and initiatives among agencies

13 of the United States, the Gulf of Maine Coun14 cil, States, and the Government of Canada.

15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

16 (1) SPECIFIED AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES.—

17 The Task Force shall consist of the following mem18 bers:

19 (A) 2 members appointed by the Secretary

20 of Commerce;

21 (B) 1 member appointed by the Secretary

22 of the Interior;

23 (C) 1 member appointed by the Adminis24 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency;

25 and
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1 (D) 1 member appointed by the Secretary

2 of the Army from among personnel of the Corps

3 of Engineers.

4 (2) OTHER AGENCY REPRESENTATIVES.—The

5 Task Force may also include a representative ap6 pointed by the President to represent any other Fed7 eral department or agency, on a temporary or per8 manent basis.

9 (3) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REPRESENTA10 TIVES.—At least 1 of the members of the Task

11 Force appointed by the Secretary of Commerce shall

12 be selected from personnel of the National Oceanic

13 and Atmospheric Administration, and one of those

14 members shall be selected from personnel of an of15 fice or agency related to sustainable economic devel16 opment.

17 (c) GULF OF MAINE COORDINATOR.—The Task

18 Force shall be chaired by the Gulf of Maine Coordinator,

19 who shall be designated by the Secretary of Commerce

20 from among the members of the Task Force. The term

21 of a member as the Gulf of Maine Coordinator shall be

22 2 years. The Secretary may not designate for consecutive

23 terms as the Gulf of Maine Coordinator any member, or

24 any members appointed under subsection (b)(1) by the
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1 same official. The duties of the Coordinator shall be as

2 follows:

3 (1) The Gulf of Maine Coordinator (or a des4 ignee of the Coordinator) shall, upon invitation by

5 the Gulf of Maine Council, attend meetings of the

6 Gulf of Maine Council, and report on Federal activi7 ties and programs relating to the Gulf of Maine

8 Council.

9 (2) The Task Force may authorize the Gulf of

10 Maine Coordinator (or a designee of the Coordina11 tor) to represent the Task Force and the officials

12 who appoint members of the Task Force under sub13 section (b), in negotiations with the Gulf of Maine

14 Council on agreements, memoranda of understand15 ing, a sustainable development strategy, or other co16 operative activities and programs.

17 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each year, the Secretary of

18 Commerce shall submit to the Congress, in consultation

19 with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the

20 Army, and the Administrator of the Environmental Pro21 tection Agency, a report on the meetings, findings, activi22 ties, recommendations, initiatives, and plans of the Task

23 Force. The report may also describe other examples of co24 operation and coordination among agencies in the Gulf of

25 Maine.
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1 SEC. 5. FEDERAL COOPERATION AND COORDINATION WITH

2 THE GULF OF MAINE COUNCIL ON THE MA3 RINE ENVIRONMENT.

4 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—Each of the officials

5 who appoint a member of the Task Force under section

6 4(b) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, cooperate

7 and coordinate their activities related to natural resources

8 of the Gulf of Maine with the Gulf of Maine Council on

9 the Marine Environment.

10 (b) AUTHORITY FOR AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary

11 of Commerce, after consultation with the officials who ap12 point a member of the Task Force under section 4(b), may

13 enter into agreements and memoranda of understanding

14 with the Gulf of Maine Council to enhance efforts to con15 serve the natural resources of the Gulf of Maine.

16 (c) SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.—The

17 Secretary of Commerce, after consultation with other Fed18 eral natural resource agencies, and upon a request by the

19 Gulf of Maine Council, may work with the Gulf of Maine

20 Council, industry representatives, representatives of orga21 nized labor groups, fishing groups, community organiza22 tions, environmental organizations, State and local public

23 officials, and others to develop a sustainable development

24 strategy for the Gulf of Maine.

25 (d) CONSISTENCY OF FEDERAL ACTIVITIES WITH

26 COUNCIL AND STATE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—Each
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1 of the officials that appoints a member of the Task Force

2 under section 4(b) shall conduct their activities which di3 rectly affect the ecological health of the Gulf of Maine in

4 a manner which is, to the maximum extent practicable,

5 consistent with—

6 (1) the goals and policies of the Gulf of Maine

7 Council; and

8 (2) the goals and policies related to protection

9 of the natural resources of the Gulf of Maine of each

10 State bordering the Gulf of Maine in which the ac11 tivities are conducted.

12 (e) FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO GULF OF MAINE

13 COUNCIL.—

14 (1) GRANT AUTHORITY.—To help fulfill the

15 purposes of this Act, each of the officials that ap16 points a member of the Task Force under section

17 4(b), subject to the availability of appropriations,

18 may make grants in accordance with this subsection

19 to the Gulf of Maine Council, for programs and

20 projects related to the conservation of the natural

21 resources of the Gulf of Maine or to sustainable eco22 nomic development in the Gulf of Maine region.

23 (2) MATCHING.—The amount of a grant under

24 this subsection may not exceed 75 percent of the

25 total cost of the program or project carried out with
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1 the grant. In determining the amount of the non2 Federal contribution for purposes of this paragraph,

3 the Secretary shall include the value of in-kind con4 tributions from non-Federal sources.

5 (3) LIMIT ON USE FOR ADMINISTRATION.—Not

6 more than 10 percent of the amount of a grant

7 under this section may be used for administrative

8 expenses.

9 (4) LIMIT ON TOTAL ANNUAL GRANTS.—The

10 total amount of grants under this subsection in any

11 fiscal year before fiscal year 2000 may not exceed

12 $1,000,000.

13 SEC. 6. GULF OF MAINE RESEARCH.

14 (a) NEW AUTHORITY.—The Regional Marine Re15 search Board for the Gulf of Maine region shall cooperate

16 with the Gulf of Maine Council and the States bordering

17 the Gulf of Maine in efforts to promote the environmental

18 and economic health of the Gulf of Maine region.

19 (b) REGIONAL MARINE RESEARCH PLANS.—The Re20 gional Marine Research Board for the Gulf of Maine re21 gion may, in consultation with the Gulf of Maine Council

22 and subject to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce,

23 revise schedules for the development of research plans

24 under section 404 of the Marine Protection, Research, and

25 Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1447c) as appropriate
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1 to ensure the effective coordination of the plans and pro2 grams carried out under such section with the activities

3 and plans carried out under this Act.

4 SEC. 7. RELATION TO MAGNUSON FISHERY CONSERVATION

5 AND MANAGEMENT ACT.

6 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify or

7 supersede any authority or requirement established under

8 the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act

9 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

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