II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1024 

To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 21, 2015 

Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, 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 ‘‘Great Lakes Restora5 tion Initiative Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE. 

7 Section 118(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Con8 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)) is amended by striking para9 graph (7) and inserting the following: 

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1 ‘‘(7) GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIA2 TIVE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab4 lished in the Agency a Great Lakes Restoration 

5 Initiative (referred to in this paragraph as the 

6 ‘Initiative’) to carry out programs and projects 

7 for Great Lakes protection and restoration. 

8 ‘‘(B) FOCUS AREAS.—The Initiative shall 

9 prioritize programs and projects carried out in 

10 coordination with non-Federal partners and 

11 programs and projects that address priority 

12 areas each fiscal year, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) the remediation of toxic sub14 stances and areas of concern; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the prevention and control of 

16 invasive species and the impacts of invasive 

17 species; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the protection and restoration of 

19 nearshore health and the prevention and 

20 mitigation of nonpoint source pollution; 

21 ‘‘(iv) habitat and wildlife protection 

22 and restoration, including wetlands res23 toration and preservation; and 

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1 ‘‘(v) accountability, monitoring, eval2 uation, communication, and partnership 

3 activities. 

4 ‘‘(C) PROJECTS.—Under the Initiative, the 

5 Agency shall collaborate with Federal partners, 

6 including the Great Lakes Interagency Task 

7 Force, to select the best combination of pro8 grams and projects for Great Lakes protection 

9 and restoration using appropriate principles 

10 and criteria, including whether a program or 

11 project provides— 

12 ‘‘(i) the ability to achieve strategic 

13 and measurable environmental outcomes 

14 that implement the Great Lakes Action 

15 Plan and the Great Lakes Water Quality 

16 Agreement; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the feasibility of— 

18 ‘‘(I) prompt implementation; 

19 ‘‘(II) timely achievement of re20 sults; and 

21 ‘‘(III) resource leveraging; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) the opportunity to improve 

23 interagency and inter-organizational co24 ordination and collaboration to reduce du25 plication and streamline efforts. 

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1 ‘‘(D) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Funds made avail3 able to carry out the Initiative shall be 

4 used to strategically implement— 

5 ‘‘(I) Federal projects; and 

6 ‘‘(II) projects carried out in co7 ordination with States, Indian tribes, 

8 municipalities, institutions of higher 

9 education, and other organizations. 

10 ‘‘(ii) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—With 

11 amounts made available for the Initiative 

12 each fiscal year, the Administrator may— 

13 ‘‘(I) transfer not more than 

14 $300,000,000 to the head of any Fed15 eral department or agency, with the 

16 concurrence of the department or 

17 agency head, to carry out activities to 

18 support the Initiative and the Great 

19 Lakes Water Quality Agreement; and 

20 ‘‘(II) enter into an interagency 

21 agreement with the head of any Fed22 eral department or agency to carry 

23 out activities described in subclause 

24 (I). 

25 ‘‘(E) SCOPE.— 

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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Projects shall be 

2 carried out under the Initiative on multiple 

3 levels, including— 

4 ‘‘(I) Great Lakes-wide; and 

5 ‘‘(II) Great Lakes basin-wide. 

6 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—No funds made 

7 available to carry out the Initiative may be 

8 used for any water infrastructure activity 

9 (other than a green infrastructure project 

10 that improves habitat and other ecosystem 

11 functions in the Great Lakes) for which 

12 amounts are made available from— 

13 ‘‘(I) a State water pollution con14 trol revolving fund established under 

15 title VI; or 

16 ‘‘(II) a State drinking water re17 volving loan fund established under 

18 section 1452 of the Safe Drinking 

19 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12). 

20 ‘‘(F) ACTIVITIES BY OTHER FEDERAL

21 AGENCIES.—Each relevant Federal department 

22 or agency shall, to the maximum extent prac23 ticable— 

24 ‘‘(i) maintain the base level of funding 

25 for the Great Lakes activities of that demstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 partment or agency without regard to 

2 funding under the Initiative; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) identify new activities and 

4 projects to support the environmental goals 

5 of the Initiative. 

6 ‘‘(G) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be 

7 appropriated to carry out the Initiative 

8 $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

9 through 2020.’’. 

Æ 

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