I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9097 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish the Patrick 

Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program Foundation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 23, 2024 

Ms. BALINT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program 

Foundation, 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 ‘‘Lake Champlain Basin 

5 Program Reauthorization Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PATRICK LEAHY LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN PRO7 GRAM FOUNDATION. 

8 Section 120 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

9 Act (33 U.S.C. 1270) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 120. PATRICK LEAHY LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN PRO2 GRAM FOUNDATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) CHAMPLAIN VALLEY NATIONAL HERITAGE

5 PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘Champlain Valley Na6 tional Heritage Partnership’ means the Champlain 

7 Valley National Heritage Partnership established by 

8 section 284(a) of the Champlain Valley National 

9 Heritage Partnership Act of 2006 (54 U.S.C. 

10 320101 note; Public Law 109–338). 

11 ‘‘(2) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH COM12 MITTEE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Education 

14 and Outreach Committee’ means a committee 

15 established by the Steering Committee to pro16 vide objective information and funding rec17 ommendations to the Steering Committee upon 

18 request to be used in the decisionmaking proc19 ess of the Steering Committee, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) funding recommendations relating 

21 to educational and outreach opportunities 

22 and issues; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) programmatic actions needed to 

24 address those educational or outreach op25 portunities or issues. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF EXISTING COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘Education and Outreach Ad3 visory Committee’ includes a committee de4 scribed in subparagraph (A) established before 

5 the date of enactment of the Lake Champlain 

6 Basin Program Reauthorization Act of 2024. 

7 ‘‘(3) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Execu8 tive Director’ means the Executive Director of the 

9 Foundation appointed under subsection (c)(5). 

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

11 means an organization that is responsible for fiscal 

12 and administrative management of the Foundation 

13 under the direction of the Steering Committee, the 

14 Executive Director, and the Administrator. 

15 ‘‘(5) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘Foundation’ 

16 means the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin 

17 Program Foundation established by subsection 

18 (c)(1)(A). 

19 ‘‘(6) LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN.—The term 

20 ‘Lake Champlain Basin’ means Lake Champlain and 

21 the natural watershed of Lake Champlain, including 

22 all land, streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of 

23 water in the United States and Canada that natu24 rally drain into Lake Champlain, including all or a 

25 portion of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the counties of Clinton, Franklin, 

2 Warren, Essex, and Washington in the State of 

3 New York; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the counties of Franklin, Grand Isle, 

5 Chittenden, Addison, Rutland, Bennington, 

6 Lamoille, Orange, Washington, Orleans, and 

7 Caledonia in the State of Vermont. 

8 ‘‘(7) LAKE CHAMPLAIN CITIZENS ADVISORY

9 COMMITTEE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Lake 

11 Champlain Citizens Advisory Committee’ means 

12 a committee in the State of Vermont, the State 

13 of New York, and, if the Province of Quebec 

14 elects to participate, the Province of Quebec, es15 tablished by the Governor or executive officer of 

16 the State or province, as applicable, to advise 

17 on the protection and restoration of Lake 

18 Champlain. 

19 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF EXISTING COMMIT20 TEES.—The term ‘Lake Champlain Citizens 

21 Advisory Committee’ includes a committee de22 scribed in subparagraph (A) established before 

23 the date of enactment of the Lake Champlain 

24 Basin Program Reauthorization Act of 2024. 


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1 ‘‘(8) PLAN.—The term ‘Plan’ means the com2 prehensive pollution prevention, ecosystem protection 

3 and restoration, and climate change response plan 

4 adopted and published under subsection (d), includ5 ing any revisions to that plan. 

6 ‘‘(9) STEERING COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Steer7 ing Committee’ means the Steering Committee es8 tablished and maintained under the most recent 

9 Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental 

10 Cooperation on the Management of Lake Champlain 

11 entered into between the State of New York, the 

12 State of Vermont, and, if the Province of Quebec 

13 elects to participate, the Province of Quebec, as 

14 modified pursuant to this section. 

15 ‘‘(10) TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Technical 

17 Advisory Committee’ means a committee estab18 lished by the Steering Committee to provide ob19 jective information and funding recommenda20 tions to the Steering Committee upon request 

21 to be used in the decisionmaking process of the 

22 Steering Committee, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) funding recommendations relating 

24 to technical and scientific management 

25 issues; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) research or actions needed to ad2 dress those technical or scientific manage3 ment issues. 

4 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF EXISTING COMMIT5 TEES.—The term ‘Technical Advisory Com6 mittee’ includes a committee described in sub7 paragraph (A) established before the date of en8 actment of the Lake Champlain Basin Program 

9 Reauthorization Act of 2024. 

10 ‘‘(b) STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each of the following shall 

12 be a member of the Steering Committee: 

13 ‘‘(A) The highest level official (or a des14 ignee of that official) of each of the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) The State environmental agency 

16 of the State of New York. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The State environmental agency 

18 of the State of Vermont. 

19 ‘‘(iii) The Ministry for the Environ20 ment of the Province of Quebec, if that 

21 ministry elects to participate. 

22 ‘‘(B) A representative of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the State agriculture agency of 

24 the State of New York; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the State agriculture agency of 

2 the State of Vermont; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the Quebec Agricultural Min4 istry, if that ministry elects to participate. 

5 ‘‘(C) The State Historic Preservation Offi6 cer (or a designee of that officer) from each of 

7 the States of New York and Vermont. 

8 ‘‘(D) 6 representatives of units of local 

9 government entirely within the Lake Champlain 

10 Basin, of which— 

11 ‘‘(i) 2 shall be representatives of units 

12 of local government in the State of New 

13 York; 

14 ‘‘(ii) 2 shall be representatives of 

15 units of local government in the State of 

16 Vermont; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) 2 shall be representatives of 

18 units of local government in the Province 

19 of Quebec, if the Province of Quebec elects 

20 to send representatives. 

21 ‘‘(E) The chairperson of— 

22 ‘‘(i) the Lake Champlain Citizens Ad23 visory Committee of the State of New 

24 York; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Lake Champlain Citizens Ad2 visory Committee of the State of Vermont; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the Lake Champlain Citizens 

5 Advisory Committee of the Province of 

6 Quebec, if the Province of Quebec elects to 

7 participate. 

8 ‘‘(F) The chairperson of the Technical Ad9 visory Committee. 

10 ‘‘(G) The chairperson of the Education 

11 and Outreach Committee. 

12 ‘‘(H) The chairperson of the advisory com13 mittee for the Champlain Valley National Her14 itage Partnership. 

15 ‘‘(I) A representative from each of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the Region 1 office of the Envi17 ronmental Protection Agency; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the Region 2 office of the Envi19 ronmental Protection Agency; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the Region 5 office of the 

21 United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 

22 ‘‘(iv) the Natural Resources Conserva23 tion Service New York State office; 

24 ‘‘(v) the Natural Resources Conserva25 tion Service Vermont State office; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) the National Park Service; and 

2 ‘‘(vii) the New York District of the 

3 Corps of Engineers. 

4 ‘‘(J) The Director of the Lake Champlain 

5 Sea Grant Institute. 

6 ‘‘(K) A representative of the Great Lakes 

7 Fishery Commission. 

8 ‘‘(L) Such additional members as may be 

9 confirmed by the Steering Committee. 

10 ‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The position of chair11 person of the Steering Committee shall regularly ro12 tate among the members of the Steering Committee 

13 described in paragraph (1)(A). 

14 ‘‘(3) RATIFICATION.—Any actions of the Steer15 ing Committee taken before the date of enactment of 

16 the Lake Champlain Basin Program Reauthorization 

17 Act of 2024 are ratified and confirmed. 

18 ‘‘(c) PATRICK LEAHY LAKE CHAMPLAIN BASIN PRO19 GRAM FOUNDATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 

22 foundation, to be known as the ‘Patrick Leahy 

23 Lake Champlain Basin Program Foundation’, 

24 as a charitable and nonprofit corporation. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS.—The 

2 Foundation— 

3 ‘‘(i) shall have perpetual succession; 

4 ‘‘(ii) may conduct business throughout 

5 the Lake Champlain Basin; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) shall, at all times, maintain a 

7 designated agent authorized to accept serv8 ice of process for the Foundation. 

9 ‘‘(C) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—The serving 

10 of notice to, or service of process on, the agent 

11 required under subparagraph (B)(iii), or mailed 

12 to the business address of that agent, shall be 

13 deemed as service on or notice to the Founda14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(D) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The principal 

16 office of the Foundation shall be located in 1 of 

17 the following counties: 

18 ‘‘(i) The county of Franklin, Grand 

19 Isle, Chittenden, Addison, Rutland, 

20 Bennington, Lamoille, Orange, Wash21 ington, Orleans, or Caledonia in the State 

22 of Vermont. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The county of Clinton, Franklin, 

24 Warren, Essex, or Washington in the State 

25 of New York. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NOT AN AGENCY OR ESTABLISHMENT.— 

2 The Foundation shall not be an agency or establish3 ment of the United States. 

4 ‘‘(3) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Founda5 tion are— 

6 ‘‘(A) to undertake and conduct activities 

7 that support— 

8 ‘‘(i) the implementation and further9 ance of the Plan, including work to sup10 port the goals, objectives, and strategies 

11 identified in the Plan; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the purposes of this section; 

13 ‘‘(B) to accept and manage funds of the 

14 Foundation for the implementation of the Plan, 

15 including— 

16 ‘‘(i) amounts made available under 

17 subsection (i) for transfer to the Founda18 tion; 

19 ‘‘(ii) amounts given, devised, or be20 queathed by private organizations or per21 sons; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) such other amounts as may be 

23 made available to the Foundation; 

24 ‘‘(C) to make grants and subgrants, enter 

25 into contracts and cooperative agreements, and 


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1 administer funds of the Foundation to carry 

2 out activities described in subparagraph (A); 

3 ‘‘(D) to assist and coordinate efforts 

4 among the Federal Government, the govern5 ment of the State of New York, the government 

6 of the State of Vermont, local governments, and 

7 other partners to adopt and implement the 

8 Plan; and 

9 ‘‘(E) to participate with, and otherwise as10 sist, Canada and the Province of Quebec in un11 dertaking and conducting activities that further 

12 the work of the Foundation in fulfilling the pur13 poses of this section and implementing the 

14 Plan. 

15 ‘‘(4) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall 

17 be governed by a Board of Directors (referred 

18 to in this subsection as the ‘Board’), the mem19 bers of which shall be appointed by the Steering 

20 Committee. 

21 ‘‘(B) DUAL MEMBERSHIP AUTHORIZED.— 

22 Members of the Steering Committee may simul23 taneously serve as members of the Board. 

24 ‘‘(C) RECUSAL.—Members of the Board, 

25 including members of the Steering Committee 


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1 in their capacity as members of the Board, may 

2 recuse themselves from votes on the Board. 

3 ‘‘(D) WITHDRAWAL.—Members of the 

4 Board, including members of the Steering Com5 mittee that serve as members of the Board, 

6 may withdraw from membership on the Board. 

7 ‘‘(E) REMOVAL.—Members appointed to 

8 the Board, including members of the Steering 

9 Committee that are simultaneously serving as 

10 members of the Board, may be removed by the 

11 Steering Committee. 

12 ‘‘(F) NOT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Mem13 bership on the Board shall not constitute em14 ployment by, or the holding of an office of, the 

15 United States for the purpose of any Federal 

16 law. 

17 ‘‘(5) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Foundation 

18 shall have an Executive Director, who shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) serve as the chief executive officer of 

20 the Foundation; and 

21 ‘‘(B) be appointed by, and serve at the di22 rection of, the Board. 

23 ‘‘(6) POWERS OF THE FOUNDATION.— 

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1 ing Committee and subject to approval by the 

2 Board, the Foundation shall have, in addition 

3 to the powers otherwise granted the Foundation 

4 under this section, the usual powers of a cor5 poration acting as a trustee in the State in 

6 which the principal office of the Foundation is 

7 located, and may— 

8 ‘‘(i) receive funds, including funds 

9 made available to the Environmental Pro10 tection Agency under subsection (i) for 

11 transfer to the Foundation; 

12 ‘‘(ii) accept, receive, hold, administer, 

13 and use any gift, devise, or bequest, abso14 lutely or in trust, of real or personal prop15 erty or any income from that property or 

16 other interest; 

17 ‘‘(iii) deposit any funds provided to 

18 the Foundation by the Federal Govern19 ment at 1 or more financial institutions 

20 that are members of the Federal Deposit 

21 Insurance Corporation or the Securities In22 vestor Protection Corporation; 

23 ‘‘(iv) make use of any interest or 

24 other income that accrues as a con25 sequence of actions taken under clause (iii) 


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1 or (vi) to carry out the purposes of the 

2 Foundation; 

3 ‘‘(v) use Federal funds to make pay4 ments under cooperative agreements en5 tered into with willing private landowners 

6 to provide substantial long-term benefits 

7 for the restoration of fish, wildlife, plants, 

8 and other natural resources on private 

9 land within the Lake Champlain Basin; 

10 ‘‘(vi) sell, donate, lease, retain, or oth11 erwise dispose of any property or income 

12 from that property, unless otherwise re13 quired by the instrument of transfer; 

14 ‘‘(vii) hire and retain staff; 

15 ‘‘(viii) issue grants and subgrants; 

16 ‘‘(ix) enter into contracts or other ar17 rangements with public agencies and pri18 vate organizations and persons; 

19 ‘‘(x) sue and be sued, and complain 

20 and defend itself in any court of competent 

21 jurisdiction, except that members of the 

22 Board shall not be personally liable, except 

23 for gross negligence; 

24 ‘‘(xi) receive and administer restitu25 tion and community service payments, 


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1 amounts for mitigation of impacts to nat2 ural resources, and other amounts arising 

3 from legal, regulatory, or administrative 

4 proceedings, subject to the condition that 

5 those amounts are received or administered 

6 for purposes that further the implementa7 tion of the Plan or the conservation and 

8 management of fish, wildlife, plants, and 

9 other natural resources within the Lake 

10 Champlain Basin; 

11 ‘‘(xii) acquire, by purchase or ex12 change, and own real or personal property, 

13 or an interest therein; 

14 ‘‘(xiii) serve as its own fiscal agent, if 

15 selected to serve as the fiscal agent by the 

16 Administrator, the Executive Director, and 

17 the Steering Committee under subsection 

18 (e); and 

19 ‘‘(xiv) do any and all acts necessary to 

20 carry out the purposes of the Foundation. 

21 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF REAL PROPERTY.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

23 this subsection, an interest in real property 

24 shall be treated as including easements or 

25 other rights for preservation, conservation, 


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1 protection, or enhancement by or for the 

2 public of natural, scenic, historic, scientific, 

3 educational, inspirational, or recreational 

4 resources. 

5 ‘‘(ii) ENCUMBERED REAL PROP6 ERTY.—A gift, devise, or bequest that is 

7 encumbered, restricted, or subject to bene8 ficial interests of private persons may be 

9 accepted by the Foundation if any current 

10 or future interest in the gift, devise, or be11 quest is for the benefit of the Foundation. 

12 ‘‘(iii) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The accept13 ance and administration of amounts by the 

14 Foundation under subparagraph (A)(xi) 

15 does not alter, supersede, or limit any reg16 ulatory or statutory requirement associated 

17 with those amounts. 

18 ‘‘(7) DISSOLUTION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

20 and the Steering Committee may jointly dis21 solve the Foundation. 

22 ‘‘(B) RETURN OF FUNDS.—If the Adminis23 trator and the Steering Committee jointly dis24 solve the Foundation under subparagraph (A), 

25 during the dissolution process, the Foundation 


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1 shall return all unobligated or unexpended 

2 funds to each Federal agency that provided 

3 funds to the Foundation in a manner that is 

4 proportional to the amount of funds received 

5 from that Federal agency. 

6 ‘‘(8) UNITED STATES RELEASE FROM LIABIL7 ITY.—The United States shall not be liable for any 

8 debts, defaults, acts, or omissions of the Foundation, 

9 nor shall the full faith and credit of the United 

10 States extend to any obligation of the Foundation. 

11 ‘‘(d) POLLUTION PREVENTION, ECOSYSTEM PROTEC12 TION AND RESTORATION, AND CLIMATE CHANGE RE13 SPONSE PLAN.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ADOPTION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Steering Com16 mittee shall adopt and publish a comprehensive 

17 pollution prevention, ecosystem protection and 

18 restoration, and climate change response plan 

19 for Lake Champlain that protects and benefits 

20 the water quality, fisheries, wetlands, wildlife, 

21 and cultural resources of Lake Champlain and 

22 within the Lake Champlain basin. 

23 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.—Prior to the 

24 final adoption and publication of the Plan, the 

25 Administrator, in cooperation with the Steering 


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1 Committee, shall provide for public review and 

2 comment on the draft Plan, including, at a min3 imum, 1 public meeting in each of the States of 

4 New York and Vermont to hear comments on 

5 the draft Plan. 

6 ‘‘(C) APPROVAL.—Not earlier than 120 

7 days after the date on which the Plan is pub8 lished under subparagraph (A), the Adminis9 trator shall approve the Plan if— 

10 ‘‘(i) the Plan meets the requirements 

11 of this subsection; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Governors of the States of 

13 New York and Vermont concur that the 

14 Plan meets the requirements of this sub15 section. 

16 ‘‘(D) EFFECT OF APPROVAL.—On approval 

17 of the Plan by the Administrator under sub18 paragraph (C), the Plan shall be deemed to 

19 be— 

20 ‘‘(i) an approved management pro21 gram for purposes of section 319(h); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) an approved comprehensive con23 servation and management plan pursuant 

24 to section 320. 


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1 ‘‘(E) EFFECT OF PRIOR PLAN.—Any com2 prehensive pollution prevention, control, and 

3 restoration plan approved by the Administrator 

4 and published before the date of enactment of 

5 the Lake Champlain Basin Program Reauthor6 ization Act of 2024 shall remain in effect and 

7 be considered the Plan under this subsection 

8 until the Plan is adopted pursuant to subpara9 graph (A). 

10 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—The Plan shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) include strategies to advance, with re12 spect to Lake Champlain— 

13 ‘‘(i) clean water; 

14 ‘‘(ii) healthy ecosystems; 

15 ‘‘(iii) thriving communities; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) an informed and involved public 

17 in the Lake Champlain Basin; 

18 ‘‘(B) identify corrective actions addressing 

19 point and nonpoint sources of pollution that are 

20 necessary to restore and maintain the chemical, 

21 physical, and biological integrity of water qual22 ity, a balanced, indigenous population of shell23 fish, fish, and wildlife, and recreational and eco24 nomic activities in and on Lake Champlain; 

25 ‘‘(C) identify— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the potential impacts of climate 

2 change on the water quality, ecosystems, 

3 indigenous flora and fauna, recreation, and 

4 economic activities in and on Lake Cham5 plain; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) strategies to mitigate and pro7 mote resilience against the impacts identi8 fied under clause (i); 

9 ‘‘(D) include a strategy for pollution pre10 vention and control that includes the promotion 

11 of pollution prevention and management prac12 tices to reduce the amount of pollution gen13 erated in the Lake Champlain Basin; 

14 ‘‘(E) incorporate environmental manage15 ment concepts and programs in State and Fed16 eral plans and programs in effect during the pe17 riod in which the Plan is developed and adopt18 ed; and 

19 ‘‘(F) describe the methods and schedules 

20 for the funding of programs, activities, and 

21 projects identified in the Plan, including the use 

22 of Federal funds and other sources of funding. 

23 ‘‘(3) REVISION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Steering Com25 mittee shall, as necessary but not less freVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Aug 19, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9097.IH H9097

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1 quently than once every 5 years, review, revise, 

2 and readopt the Plan. 

3 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—A Plan adopted by the 

4 Steering Committee shall remain in effect until 

5 readopted by the Steering Committee pursuant 

6 to subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(4) USE OF PLAN.—The Plan shall guide the 

8 work of the Foundation. 

9 ‘‘(e) FISCAL AGENT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Steering Committee, 

11 the Executive Director, and the Administrator shall 

12 jointly select a qualified entity to serve as the fiscal 

13 agent of the Foundation, which may include select14 ing the Foundation as the fiscal agent of the Foun15 dation. 

16 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning as soon as 

18 practicable after the date of enactment of the 

19 Lake Champlain Basin Program Reauthoriza20 tion Act of 2024, and as necessary but not less 

21 frequently than once every 10 years thereafter, 

22 the Steering Committee, the Executive Director, 

23 and the Administrator shall jointly assess the 

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1 priate, select a new qualified entity through a 

2 competitive process to serve as the fiscal agent. 

3 ‘‘(B) NO COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—On se4 lection of a fiscal agent, the Administrator may 

5 award funding to the fiscal agent without com6 petition until such time as a new fiscal agent is 

7 selected. 

8 ‘‘(C) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—If the Steer9 ing Committee, the Executive Director, and the 

10 Administrator jointly select a new fiscal agent 

11 under subparagraph (A), the qualified entity 

12 that had served as fiscal agent shall transfer to 

13 the new fiscal agent all unobligated or unex14 pended funds awarded to the former fiscal 

15 agent under subparagraph (B). 

16 ‘‘(f) GRANT ASSISTANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con18 sultation with the Steering Committee and the Exec19 utive Director— 

20 ‘‘(A) shall make grants to the State of 

21 New York, the State of Vermont, and the fiscal 

22 agent; and 

23 ‘‘(B) may make grants to State, interstate, 

24 and regional water pollution control agencies 


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1 and public or nonprofit agencies, institutions, 

2 and organizations. 

3 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—Grants under this subsection 

4 shall be made for assisting the development and im5 plementation of the Plan, including research, sur6 veys, studies, implementation practices, and mod7 eling and technical supporting work. 

8 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara10 graph (B), the amount of a grant under para11 graph (1) shall not exceed 75 percent of the 

12 cost of the work carried out using grant funds. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

15 may, on a case-by-case basis and in con16 sultation with the Steering Committee, in17 crease the Federal share under subpara18 graph (A) to 85 percent of the costs de19 scribed in that subparagraph if the recipi20 ent of the grant demonstrates an inability 

21 to meet the cost-share requirement under 

22 that subparagraph. 

23 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out 

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1 ed by policy adopted by the Steering Com2 mittee. 

3 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—The Administrator 

4 may establish such requirements for the administra5 tion of grants under this subsection as the Adminis6 trator determines appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(g) GREAT LAKES FISHERY COMMISSION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Great Lakes Fishery 

9 Commission may undertake, fund, and support work 

10 on Lake Champlain, in the Lake Champlain Basin, 

11 and other areas within the Saint Lawrence River 

12 basin in Vermont, including through— 

13 ‘‘(A) fisheries and aquatic ecosystem re14 search, monitoring, restoration, and manage15 ment; 

16 ‘‘(B) sea lamprey control; 

17 ‘‘(C) aquatic invasive species prevention 

18 and mitigation; 

19 ‘‘(D) public engagement and education; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(E) other work to implement the Plan. 

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—In carrying out para23 graph (1), the Great Lakes Fishery Commission 

24 may work with the Foundation, Federal and State 

25 agencies, institutions of higher education, nonprofit 


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1 organizations, units of local government, and Cana2 dian federal and Quebec provincial authorities. 

3 ‘‘(h) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) NO EFFECT ON CERTAIN AUTHORITY.— 

5 Nothing in this section— 

6 ‘‘(A) affects the jurisdiction or powers of— 

7 ‘‘(i) any department or agency of the 

8 Federal Government or any State govern9 ment; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in subsection 

11 (g), any international organization or enti12 ty related to Lake Champlain created by 

13 treaty or memorandum to which the 

14 United States is a signatory; 

15 ‘‘(B) provides new regulatory authority for 

16 the Environmental Protection Agency; or 

17 ‘‘(C) affects section 304 of the Great 

18 Lakes Critical Programs Act of 1990 (33 

19 U.S.C. 1270 note; Public Law 101–596). 

20 ‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON OBLIGATIONS.—Nothing in 

21 this section affects the obligations of Canada, the 

22 Province of Quebec, or any agencies or representa23 tives of Canada or the Province of Quebec ref24 erenced in this section. 

25 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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27 

•HR 9097 IH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Environmental Protection Agen3 cy for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034 

4 $45,000,000 for transfer to the Foundation, to re5 main available until expended. 

6 ‘‘(2) GRANT ASSISTANCE.—There is authorized 

7 to be appropriated to the Environmental Protection 

8 Agency to carry out this section $10,000,000 for 

9 each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034, to remain 

10 available until expended.’’. 

Æ 


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