II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2050 

To establish a commission on inland waters policy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2005 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a commission on inland waters policy. 

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 ‘‘National Inland Wa5 ters Policy Commission Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the United States— 

9 (A) is endowed with a vast and diverse net10 work of inland bodies of water; and 
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1 (B) has benefited greatly from the man2 agement, use, and development of those water 

3 resources; 

4 (2) States have primacy in adjudicating, admin5 istering, regulating, and allocating rights and uses 

6 for intrastate waters resources; 

7 (3) inland waters resources— 

8 (A) are essential in meeting the need for 

9 fresh water for human consumption; 

10 (B) are integral to the production of food 

11 and a wealth of natural resources; 

12 (C) are critical to health of the natural en13 vironment; 

14 (D) support an enormous array of bio15 diversity; and 

16 (E) serve the country in agricultural pro17 duction, municipal consumption, transportation, 

18 waste assimilation, energy generation, recre19 ation, aquaculture, industrial, and security 

20 needs; 

21 (4) less than 1 percent of the world’s water is 

22 fresh and liquid, and of that, 0.0008 percent is re23 newable annually for use by people and land and 

24 water species; 
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1 (5) the availability, distribution, stability, and 

2 integrity of water resources are vital to the future of 

3 the economic, social, and environmental well-being of 

4 the United States; 

5 (6) water— 

6 (A) is a dynamic and scarce resource that 

7 is susceptible to— 

8 (i) change as a result of direct and in9 direct human activity; and 

10 (ii) changes in climate; and 

11 (B) is subject to naturally occurring fluc12 tuations that affect supply, quality, and dis13 tribution; 

14 (7) changes in inland waters can increase de15 mand and place added pressure on the availability, 

16 distribution, and integrity of water resources; 

17 (8) the Federal Government has a critical role 

18 in maintaining the quality and quantity of available 

19 water resources while meeting new challenges for 

20 usage; 

21 (9) furthering scientific understanding of inland 

22 waters can greatly enhance efforts to efficiently uti23 lize, distribute, and preserve water resources; 

24 (10) because jurisdiction over, and regulation 

25 of, inland waters involve Federal, State, interstate, 
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1 and local governments, the coordination of water 

2 policies between the Federal, State, and local levels 

3 is essential to managing inland waters and respond4 ing to the demands of stakeholders; 

5 (11) through the observance of the Year of 

6 Clean Water beginning on October 18, 2002, the 

7 United States recognized that significant progress 

8 has been made in improving— 

9 (A) the quality of drinking water; 

10 (B) the management of wastewater; and 

11 (C) the health of the country’s waters, wet12 land, and watersheds; 

13 (12) the designation of 2002–2003 as the Year 

14 of Clean Water— 

15 (A) renewed the Nation’s commitment to 

16 managing inland waters; and 

17 (B) focused attention on developing new 

18 approaches to meeting future challenges to the 

19 value and function of water resources; 

20 (13) given the rising pressure on inland waters 

21 and the complexity of managing waters resources, an 

22 integrated strategy for water research, use, alloca23 tion, and conservation is needed to ensure that poli24 cies for managing the Nation’s inland waters ad-
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1 dress emerging challenges and continue to serve the 

2 Nation’s water needs in the future; and 

3 (14) in 2001 and 2004, the National Academies 

4 of Science concluded that the level of investment in, 

5 and coordination of, water resources research is in6 adequate to confront current pressing water issues. 

7 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

8 The purpose of this Act is to establish a commission 

9 to make recommendations for a coordinated and com10 prehensive national inland waters policy that will pro11 mote— 

12 (1) protection of life and property; 

13 (2) responsible stewardship of inland waters re14 sources; 

15 (3) protection of inland aquatic environments 

16 and prevention of water pollution; 

17 (4) enhancement of commerce and transpor18 tation relating to inland waters; 

19 (5) resolution of conflicts among users of inland 

20 waters, while recognizing climate variations; 

21 (6) engagement of State and local governments 

22 and the private sector in innovative approaches for 

23 sustainable use of inland waters resources; 

24 (7) expansion of human knowledge of inland 

25 aquatic environments and the relationships among— 
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1 (A) inland aquatic environments; 

2 (B) terrestrial environments; 

3 (C) marine environments; 

4 (D) extreme weather events; and 

5 (E) climate; 

6 (8) advancement of research, education, and 

7 training in fields relating to inland waters steward8 ship, management, and development; 

9 (9) investments in, and development and im10 provement of the capabilities, performance, use, and 

11 efficiency of, technologies relating to— 

12 (A) water distribution; 

13 (B) agricultural application and drought 

14 mitigation; 

15 (C) pollution prevention; 

16 (D) wastewater treatment; 

17 (E) drinking water; 

18 (F) energy production; 

19 (G) instream waterflow; 

20 (H) wildlife and fish habitat preservation 

21 and restoration; 

22 (I) food security; and 

23 (J) other activities relating to inland wa24 ters; and 
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1 (10) close cooperation among all Federal agen2 cies, State and local governments, and the private 

3 sector on matters affecting inland waters to en4 sure— 

5 (A) coherent and consistent stewardship, 

6 development, regulation, and management of 

7 activities affecting inland waters; 

8 (B) availability and appropriate allocation 

9 of Federal resources, personnel, facilities, and 

10 equipment for such activities; 

11 (C) cost-effective and efficient operation of 

12 Federal agencies and programs engaged in in13 land waters activities; and 

14 (D) enhancements of partnerships with 

15 State, interstate, and local governments with 

16 respect to inland waters activities, including the 

17 management of inland waters and identification 

18 of appropriate opportunities for policymaking 

19 and decisionmaking at the State and local lev20 els. 

21 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

24 means the Commission on Inland Waters Policy es25 tablished by section 5(a). 
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1 (2) INLAND WATERS.—The term ‘‘inland wa2 ters’’ includes— 

3 (A) streams; 

4 (B) rivers; 

5 (C) lakes (including the Great Lakes); 

6 (D) ponds; 

7 (E) aquifers; 

8 (F) riparian areas; 

9 (G) estuaries; and 

10 (H) freshwater and saltwater wetlands. 

11 (3) INLAND WATERS RESOURCE.—The term 

12 ‘‘inland waters resource’’ means a living or nonliving 

13 natural, historic, or cultural resource in the environ14 ment of inland waters. 

15 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com17 mission to be known as the ‘‘Commission on Inland Wa18 ters Policy’’. 

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

21 composed of 16 members who— 

22 (A) are knowledgeable concerning inland 

23 aquatic activities; and 

24 (B) represent— 

25 (i) State and local governments; 
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1 (ii) industries directly or indirectly re2 lating to inland waters, including aqua3 culture, agriculture, and manufacturing; 

4 (iii) academic and technical institu5 tions; and 

6 (iv) public-interest organizations in7 volved with scientific, regulatory, economic, 

8 conservation, or recreational inland aquatic 

9 activities. 

10 (2) APPOINTMENT.—Of the members appointed 

11 to the Commission— 

12 (A) 4 shall be appointed by the President; 

13 (B) 4 shall be appointed by the President 

14 from among 8 candidates nominated by the ma15 jority leader of the Senate, in consultation with 

16 the Committee on Commerce of the Senate; 

17 (C) 4 shall be appointed by the President 

18 from among 8 candidates nominated by the 

19 Speaker of the House of Representatives, in 

20 consultation with the Committee on Energy and 

21 Commerce of the House of Representatives; 

22 (D) 2 shall be appointed by the President 

23 from among 4 candidates nominated by the mi24 nority leader of the Senate, in consultation with 

25 the Committee on Commerce of the Senate; and 
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1 (E) 2 shall be appointed by the President 

2 from among 4 candidates nominated by the mi3 nority leader of the House of Representatives, 

4 in consultation with the Committee on Energy 

5 and Commerce of the House of Representatives. 

6 (3) BALANCE.—The membership of the Com7 mission shall be— 

8 (A) balanced by area of expertise; and 

9 (B) balanced geographically with respect to 

10 each of the regions specified in subsection 

11 (d)(3)(A). 

12 (4) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The appoint13 ment of a member of the Commission shall be made 

14 not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act. 

16 (c) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

17 (1) TERM.—A member shall be appointed for 

18 the life of the Commission. 

19 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commis20 sion— 

21 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com22 mission; and 

23 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 

24 the original appointment was made. 

25 (d) MEETINGS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet 

2 at the call of the Chairperson. 

3 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 

4 after the date on which all members of the Commis5 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 

6 the initial meeting of the Commission. 

7 (3) PUBLIC MEETINGS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

9 hold at least 1 meeting in each of— 

10 (i) the Northeast; 

11 (ii) the Southeast (including the Car12 ibbean); 

13 (iii) the Southwest; 

14 (iv) the Northwest; 

15 (v) the Midwest; and 

16 (vi) the Great Lakes region. 

17 (B) NOTICE.—Notice of each public meet18 ing shall be published in the Federal Register 

19 in advance of the meeting. 

20 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

21 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num22 ber of members may hold hearings. 

23 (f) CHAIRPERSON.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall select 

2 a Chairperson from among the members of the Com3 mission. 

4 (2) DUTIES.—The Chairperson shall supervise 

5 the staff and the expenditure of the funds of the 

6 Commission. 

7 SEC. 6. DUTIES. 

8 (a) STUDY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall con10 duct a study of all matters relating to inland waters. 

11 (2) MATTERS TO BE STUDIED.—The matters to 

12 be studied by the Commission shall include, with re13 spect to inland waters— 

14 (A) a review of the supply and demand for 

15 inland waters resources and anticipated future 

16 supply and demand for inland waters; 

17 (B) an assessment of existing and planned 

18 facilities associated with inland waters activi19 ties, including human resources, vessels, tech20 nical equipment, and scientific research facili21 ties; 

22 (C) a review of existing and planned inland 

23 waters activities and research of Federal enti24 ties; 
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1 (D)(i) a review of the cumulative effect of 

2 Federal laws (including regulations) of inland 

3 waters; and 

4 (ii) an explanation of those laws for incon5 sistencies and contradictions that might ad6 versely affect inland waters activities, including 

7 management, stewardship, conservation, and al8 location; 

9 (E) an assessment of the relationship 

10 among inland waters management regimes 

11 among Federal, State, local, and private enti12 ties; 

13 (F) a review of opportunities for invest14 ment in new products and technologies that can 

15 enhance inland waters activities; 

16 (G) a review of previous and ongoing Fed17 eral and State efforts to enhance the effective18 ness and integration of inland waters activities; 

19 and 

20 (H) a review of the effectiveness of policy 

21 coordination among Federal agencies. 

22 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall de24 velop recommendations on matters relating to inland 

25 waters, including recommendations for— 
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1 (A) changes in those activities and re2 search necessary to improve efficiency and ef3 fectiveness and to reduce duplication of Federal 

4 efforts; 

5 (B) resolving the inconsistencies in the 

6 laws reviewed under subsection (a)(2)(D)(i) to 

7 the extent practicable; and 

8 (C) modifications to Federal laws or the 

9 structure of executive agencies necessary to im10 prove the understanding, management, con11 servation, use, distribution, and availability of 

12 inland waters. 

13 (2) LIMITATIONS ON RECOMMENDATIONS.—In 

14 developing recommendations under paragraph (1), 

15 the Commission— 

16 (A) shall give equal consideration to envi17 ronmental, technical feasibility, economic, and 

18 scientific factors; and 

19 (B) shall not make recommendations spe20 cific to the land or water within a single State 

21 unless that land or water constitutes a unique 

22 ecosystem that exists in no other State. 

23 (c) REPORT.— 

24 (1) DRAFT REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-
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1 sion shall submit to the Committee on Commerce of 

2 the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Com3 merce of the House of Representatives and to the 

4 Governor of each State, for comment, a draft report 

5 that contains— 

6 (A) a detailed statement of the findings 

7 and conclusions of the Commission; and 

8 (B) the recommendations of the Commis9 sion for such legislation and administrative ac10 tions as the Commission considers appropriate. 

11 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis13 sion shall submit to the President and Congress a 

14 final report that includes the comments of the Gov15 ernors on the draft report. 

16 (d) SCIENCE ADVISORY PANEL.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in con18 sultation with the National Academy of Sciences, 

19 shall establish a multidisciplinary science advisory 

20 panel to assist the Commission in carrying out the 

21 duties of the Commission under this section. 

22 (2) USE OF BEST AVAILABLE SCIENTIFIC

23 DATA.—The science advisory panel shall ensure that 

24 the scientific information considered by the Commis25 sion is based on the best available data. 
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1 SEC. 7. POWERS. 

2 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 

3 hearings, meet and act at such times and places, take such 

4 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

5 considers advisable to carry out this Act. 

6 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 

8 directly from a Federal agency such information as 

9 the Commission considers necessary to carry out this 

10 Act. 

11 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On request 

12 of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of 

13 the agency shall provide the information to the Com14 mission. 

15 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

16 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

17 the same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Gov18 ernment. 

19 (d) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and 

20 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

21 SEC. 8. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

22 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

23 (1) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of 

24 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of 

25 the Federal Government shall be compensated at a 

26 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate 
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1 of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive 

2 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

3 States Code, for each day (including travel time) 

4 during which the member is engaged in the perform5 ance of the duties of the Commission. 

6 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

7 Commission who is an officer or employee of the 

8 Federal Government shall serve without compensa9 tion in addition to the compensation received for the 

10 services of the member as an officer or employee of 

11 the Federal Government. 

12 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Commis13 sion shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

14 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee 

15 of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

16 5, United States Code, while away from the home or reg17 ular place of business of the member in the performance 

18 of the duties of the Commission. 

19 (c) STAFF.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 

21 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 

22 laws (including regulations), appoint and terminate 

23 an executive director and such other additional per24 sonnel as are necessary to enable the Commission to 

25 perform the duties of the Commission. 
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1 (2) CONFIRMATION OF EXECUTIVE DIREC2 TOR.—The employment of an executive director shall 

3 be subject to confirmation by the Commission. 

4 (3) COMPENSATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B), the Chairperson of the Com7 mission may fix the compensation of the execu8 tive director and other personnel without regard 

9 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 

10 III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, 

11 relating to classification of positions and Gen12 eral Schedule pay rates. 

13 (B) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—The rate of 

14 pay for the executive director and other per15 sonnel shall not exceed the rate payable for 

16 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

17 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 (d) DETAIL OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOY19 EES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the Federal 

21 Government may be detailed to the Commission 

22 without reimbursement. 

23 (2) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of the 

24 employee shall be without interruption or loss of civil 

25 service status or privilege. 
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1 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT2 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 

3 may procure temporary and intermittent services in ac4 cordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 

5 Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily 

6 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 

7 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

8 that title. 

9 SEC. 9. REPORTS BY THE PRESIDENT. 

10 (a) NATIONAL INLAND WATERS POLICY.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

12 after the Commission submits the final report of the 

13 Commission under section 6(c)(2), the President 

14 shall submit to Congress a report entitled ‘‘National 

15 Inland Waters Policy’’. 

16 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall contain a 

17 statement of proposals to implement or respond to 

18 the recommendations of the Commission for a co19 ordinated, comprehensive, and long-range national 

20 policy for the responsible use and stewardship of in21 land waters for the benefit of the United States. 

22 (3) CONSULTATION.—The report under para23 graph (1) shall be developed in consultation with the 

24 States. 
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1 (4) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Nothing in this 

2 subsection authorizes the President to take any ad3 ministrative or regulatory action, or to implement a 

4 reorganization plan, not otherwise authorized by 

5 other law in effect as of the date of the action. 

6 (b) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than January 31, 

7 2006, and biennially thereafter, the President shall submit 

8 to Congress a report on all Federal programs relating to 

9 inland waters activities, including— 

10 (1) a description of each program; 

11 (2) the relationship between the program and 

12 other Federal programs; 

13 (3) the level of funding for the program for the 

14 fiscal year in which the report is submitted; and 

15 (4) a projection of the level at which the pro16 gram will be funded for each of the following 5 fiscal 

17 years. 

18 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 this Act $8,500,000, to remain available until expended. 

21 SEC. 11. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

22 The Commission shall terminate 120 days after the 

23 date on which the Commission submits the final report 

24 of the Commission under section 6(c)(2). 

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