II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2660 

To direct restoration and protection efforts of the 5-State Connecticut River 

Watershed region, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WELCH, 

Mr. MURPHY, Ms. WARREN, and Ms. HASSAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 

and Public Works 

A BILL 

To direct restoration and protection efforts of the 5-State 

Connecticut River Watershed region, 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 ‘‘Connecticut River Wa5 tershed Partnership Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

9 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 


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1 a community with significant representation of com2 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 

3 and Indigenous communities, that experiences, or is 

4 at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 

5 human health or environmental effects. 

6 (2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

7 means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. 

8 (3) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘grant pro9 gram’’ means the voluntary Connecticut River Wa10 tershed Partnership grant program established 

11 under section 4(a). 

12 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

13 the nonregulatory Connecticut River Watershed 

14 Partnership program established under section 3(a). 

15 (5) RESTORATION AND PROTECTION.—The 

16 term ‘‘restoration and protection’’ means the con17 servation, stewardship, and enhancement of land and 

18 water for fish, wildlife, and people— 

19 (A) to preserve and improve ecosystems 

20 and ecological processes on which fish, wildlife, 

21 and people depend; and 

22 (B) for use and enjoyment by the public. 

23 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

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1 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv2 ice. 

3 (7) TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Tribes’’ means Native 

4 American groups that descend from peoples indige5 nous to the Watershed, without regard to whether 

6 the groups are— 

7 (A) recognized by the Federal Government 

8 or a Watershed State; or 

9 (B) non-enfranchised. 

10 (8) WATERSHED.—The term ‘‘Watershed’’ 

11 means the 5-State watershed region, including the 

12 Connecticut River and its tributaries and all of the 

13 land area in portions of the Watershed States whose 

14 surface water drains into the Connecticut River. 

15 (9) WATERSHED STATE.—The term ‘‘Water16 shed State’’ means each of the States of Con17 necticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 

18 and Vermont. 

19 SEC. 3. CONNECTICUT RIVER WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP 

20 PROGRAM. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es23 tablish a nonregulatory program, to be known as the 

24 ‘‘Connecticut River Watershed Partnership program’’. 


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1 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the Sec2 retary shall draw on existing and new approved plans for 

3 the Watershed, or portions of the Watershed, and work 

4 in consultation with applicable management entities, in5 cluding representatives of the Friends of the Silvio O. 

6 Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, the Connecticut 

7 River Joint Commissions, the Connecticut River Atlantic 

8 Salmon Commission and its successor organization the 

9 Connecticut River Migratory Fish Restoration Coopera10 tive, the Federal Government, and other State and local 

11 governments, Tribal governments or organizations, and 

12 regional and nonprofit organizations, as appropriate, to 

13 identify, prioritize, and implement restoration and protec14 tion activities within the Watershed through the adoption 

15 of an inclusive Watershed-wide strategy and framework. 

16 (c) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the program, 

17 the Secretary shall consult, as appropriate, with— 

18 (1) the heads of Federal agencies, including— 

19 (A) the Administrator of the Environ20 mental Protection Agency; 

21 (B) the Administrator of the National Oce22 anic and Atmospheric Administration; 

23 (C) the Chief of the Natural Resources 

24 Conservation Service; 


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1 (D) the Director of the National Park 

2 Service; 

3 (E) the Chief of Engineers of the Corps of 

4 Engineers; 

5 (F) the Secretary of Transportation; 

6 (G) the Secretary of Commerce; and 

7 (H) the head of any other applicable Fed8 eral agency, as determined by the Secretary; 

9 (2) the Governors of the Watershed States; 

10 (3) Tribal governments or organizations, includ11 ing Tribes; 

12 (4) the Friends of the Silvio O. Conte National 

13 Fish and Wildlife Refuge; 

14 (5) the Connecticut River Joint Commissions; 

15 (6) the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon 

16 Commission and its successor organization the Con17 necticut River Migratory Fish Restoration Coopera18 tive; 

19 (7) other public and quasi-public agencies and 

20 organizations with authority for the planning and 

21 implementation of conservation strategies in or af22 fecting the Watershed; and 

23 (8) stakeholders from impacted environmental 

24 justice communities. 

25 (d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are— 


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1 (1) to coordinate and collaborate on restoration 

2 and protection activities among Federal, Tribal, 

3 State, local, and regional entities and conservation 

4 partners throughout the Watershed; and 

5 (2) to carry out coordinated restoration and 

6 protection activities in, and provide technical assist7 ance throughout, the Watershed— 

8 (A) to restore, recover, and manage for 

9 sustainable fish, wildlife, and plant populations; 

10 (B) to sustain and enhance fish and wild11 life habitat restoration, stewardship, and pro12 tection activities; 

13 (C) to improve and maintain water quality 

14 to support fish, wildlife, and fish and wildlife 

15 habitat, including to improve opportunities for 

16 public access and recreation in the Watershed 

17 consistent with the ecological needs of fish and 

18 wildlife habitat; 

19 (D) to advance the use of nature-based so20 lutions to maximize the resilience of commu21 nities, natural systems, and habitats under 

22 changing sea levels, storm risks, and watershed 

23 conditions; 

24 (E) to support farmland conservation and 

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1 mate resilience, and carbon sequestration on 

2 working farms and forests; 

3 (F) to engage the public, particularly envi4 ronmental justice communities, through out5 reach, education, and community involvement to 

6 increase capacity and support for coordinated 

7 restoration and protection activities in the Wa8 tershed; 

9 (G) to identify, affirm, and promote the 

10 practice and awareness of traditional Tribal 

11 river and Watershed-related cultural practices 

12 and traditional ecological knowledge; 

13 (H) to improve access to open space and 

14 trails by enhancing trails in the Watershed and 

15 on-street active transportation, such as bike 

16 lanes, sidewalks, public transportation, and bike 

17 share; 

18 (I) to sustain and enhance water manage19 ment for volume and flood damage mitigation 

20 improvements to benefit fish and wildlife habi21 tat; 

22 (J) to support land and water conservation 

23 and management activities necessary to fulfill 

24 the Watershed-wide strategy adopted under 

25 subsection (b); 


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1 (K) to monitor environmental quality to 

2 assess progress towards the purposes of the 

3 program; 

4 (L) to facilitate strategic planning to maxi5 mize the resilience of natural systems and habi6 tats under changing watershed conditions; 

7 (M) to improve fish and wildlife habitats, 

8 including opportunities for personal recreation, 

9 hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing along riv10 ers, particularly in environmental justice com11 munities; 

12 (N) to increase scientific capacity to sup13 port the planning, monitoring, and research ac14 tivities necessary to carry out coordinated res15 toration and protection activities; and 

16 (O) to provide technical assistance to carry 

17 out restoration and protection activities in the 

18 Watershed. 

19 SEC. 4. CONNECTICUT RIVER WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP 

20 GRANT PROGRAM. 

21 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec22 tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

23 (1) a State, Tribal, or local government; 

24 (2) a nonprofit organization; and 


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1 (3) an institution of higher education (as de2 fined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act 

3 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))). 

4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es6 tablish a voluntary grant and technical assistance pro7 gram, to be known as the ‘‘Connecticut River Watershed 

8 Partnership grant program’’, to provide competitive 

9 matching grants to eligible entities to carry out restoration 

10 and protection activities for the Watershed. 

11 (c) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

12 the agencies, organizations, and other individuals and en13 tities referred to in section 3(c), shall develop criteria for 

14 the grant program to ensure— 

15 (1) the equitable distribution of funds; and 

16 (2) that projects funded under the grant pro17 gram accomplish 1 or more of the purposes de18 scribed in section 3(d). 

19 (d) COST SHARING.— 

20 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

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

22 subparagraph (B), the Federal share of the cost 

23 of a project funded under the grant program 

24 shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of 

25 the project, as determined by the Secretary. 


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1 (B) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMU2 NITIES.— 

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

4 (ii), the Federal share of the cost of a 

5 project funded under the grant program 

6 that serves an environmental justice com7 munity shall be 90 percent of the total cost 

8 of the project, as determined by the Sec9 retary. 

10 (ii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may in11 crease the Federal share under clause (i) 

12 to 100 percent of the total cost of the 

13 project if the Secretary determines that the 

14 grant recipient is unable to pay, or would 

15 experience significant financial hardship if 

16 required to pay, the non-Federal share. 

17 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

18 share of the cost of a project funded under the grant 

19 program may be provided in cash or in the form of 

20 an in-kind contribution of services, materials, or 

21 land value. 

22 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

24 into an agreement to manage the grant program 


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1 with the Foundation or a similar organization that 

2 offers grant management services. 

3 (2) FUNDING.—If the Secretary enters into an 

4 agreement under paragraph (1), the Foundation or 

5 similar organization selected shall— 

6 (A) for each fiscal year in which the grant 

7 program is carried out, receive amounts made 

8 available to carry out this section for that fiscal 

9 year in an advance payment of the entire 

10 amounts on October 1 of that fiscal year, or as 

11 soon as practicable thereafter; 

12 (B) invest and reinvest those amounts for 

13 the benefit of the grant program; and 

14 (C) otherwise administer the grant pro15 gram to support partnerships between the pub16 lic and private sectors in accordance with this 

17 Act. 

18 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary enters 

19 into an agreement with the Foundation under para20 graph (1), any amounts received by the Foundation 

21 under this section shall be subject to the National 

22 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

23 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), excluding section 10(a) of that 

24 Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)). 


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1 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

4 submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this 

5 Act, including a description of each project that has re6 ceived funding under the grant program in the preceding 

7 fiscal year. 

8 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro10 priated to the Secretary to carry out this Act such sums 

11 as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2023 through 

12 2027. 

13 (b) USE FOR GRANT PROGRAM.—Of the amounts 

14 made available to carry out this Act for each fiscal year, 

15 the Secretary shall use not less than 75 percent to carry 

16 out the grant program and to provide, or provide for, tech17 nical assistance under that grant program. 

18 (c) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts made 

19 available to carry out this Act shall supplement, and not 

20 supplant, funding for other activities carried out by the 

21 Secretary in the Watershed. 

Æ 


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