I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1566

To amend the wetland conservation provisions of the Food Security Act

of 1985, establish a Gulf of Mexico Commission, and establish a Gulf

of Mexico Program Office within the Environmental Protection Agency,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 31, 1993

Mr. DE LA GARZA introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to

the Committees on Agriculture and Merchant Marine and Fisheries

SEPTEMBER 17, 1993

Additional sponsors: Mr. STUDDS, Mr. PETE GEREN of Texas, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. FROST, Mr. WILSON, Mr. TEJEDA, and Mr. GENE GREEN

of Texas

A BILL

To amend the wetland conservation provisions of the Food

Security Act of 1985, establish a Gulf of Mexico Commission, and establish a Gulf of Mexico Program Office

within the Environmental Protection Agency, 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,
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1 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

2 SEC. 101. AMENDMENT OF THE WETLAND CONSERVATION

3 PROVISIONS OF THE FOOD SECURITY ACT OF

4 1985

5 Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16

6 U.S.C. 3801, et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

7 of subtitle C the following new section:

8 ‘‘SEC. 1225. INVENTORY OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS AF9 FECTING AGRICULTURAL WETLANDS.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall collect the

11 information necessary to compile a complete inventory of

12 Federal and State statutes and regulations governing or

13 otherwise affecting the use of wetlands for the production

14 of an agricultural commodity or for any other agricultural

15 purpose.

16 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the

17 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall

18 transmit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House

19 of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu20 trition, and Forestry of the Senate a report including—

21 ‘‘(1) the inventory of statutes and regulations

22 described in subsection (a);

23 ‘‘(2) the recommendations of the Secretary for

24 clarifying, consolidating, coordinating, harmonizing,

25 and simplifying the statutes and regulations de-
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1 scribed in subsection (a) so as to reduce any duplica2 tive requirements and to clarify or eliminate any

3 conflicting statutory or regulatory requirements;

4 ‘‘(3) such other recommendations as the Sec5 retary determines are necessary, and, in particular,

6 such other recommendations regarding wetland reg7 ulation as the Secretary determines are necessary to

8 promote the economic and environmental interests of

9 the Gulf of Mexico and its environs, consistent with

10 the prudent use of agricultural lands in the States

11 of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and

12 Texas.

13 ‘‘(c) GULF OF MEXICO.—

14 ‘‘(1) COOPERATION.—The Secretary of Agri15 culture and the Soil Conservation Service shall, to

16 the extent practicable, assist the Gulf of Mexico

17 Commission established under title II of the Gulf of

18 Mexico Act of 1993, as provided in section 201(e)(2)

19 of such Act.

20 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary of Agriculture

21 shall transmit a copy of the report described in sub22 section (b) to the Gulf of Mexico Commission and

23 the Gulf of Mexico National Program Office estab24 lished under title II and title III, respectively, of the

25 Gulf of Mexico Act of 1993, not later than 7 days
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1 after the transmission of such report as required

2 under subsection (b).’’.

3 TITLE II—GULF OF MEXICO COMMISSION

4 SEC. 201. GULF OF MEXICO COMMISSION

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish

6 a Gulf of Mexico Commission for the purpose of promoting

7 the environmental and economic interests of the Gulf of

8 Mexico and its environs by coordinating public authorities

9 and private organizations that are engaged in evaluating

10 and responding to problems relating to the Gulf of Mexico.

11 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be

13 composed of—

14 (A) the Governor of each Gulf State, or a

15 representative of the Governor;

16 (B) a representative of the State agency of

17 each Gulf State with jurisdiction over coastal

18 zone management;

19 (C) the President of the Senate of each

20 Gulf State legislature (or the equivalent official

21 of the State), or a designee of the President of

22 the Senate of the State (or equivalent official of

23 the State);

24 (D) the speaker of the House of Rep25 resentatives of each Gulf State legislature (or
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1 the equivalent official of the State), or a des2 ignee of the Speaker (or the equivalent official

3 of the State);

4 (E) two individual residents of each Gulf

5 State who shall be appointed by the Governor

6 of that State for a term of 2 years or until the

7 Governor leaves office, whichever is shorter; and

8 (F) one official each from the Department

9 of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce,

10 the Department of the Interior, the Coast

11 Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency,

12 and the Army Corps of Engineers.

13 (2) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—

14 The Commission shall annually elect a Chairperson

15 and Vice Chairperson from among its members.

16 (c) FUNCTIONS.—

17 (1) REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The

18 Commission shall review and make recommendations

19 regarding—

20 (A) agreements, mutual arrangements, and

21 cooperative efforts between and among the Gulf

22 States, the Federal Government, private groups

23 and organizations, and other interested parties;
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1 (B) laws, regulations, and ordinances of

2 the Gulf States, the Federal Government, and

3 other jurisdictions;

4 (C) the current management system and

5 the overall transportation infrastructure of the

6 Gulf of Mexico;

7 (D) the productivity of the various indus8 tries doing business in the Gulf of Mexico;

9 (E) plans developed pursuant to section

10 301(b)(4);

11 (F) the current and projected funding re12 quests for the activities described in subpara13 graphs (A) through (E); and

14 (G) any other factors;

15 that the Commission determines may affect the or16 derly, integrated, and balanced development, use,

17 and conservation of the resources of the Gulf of

18 Mexico or the promotion of the economic interests of

19 the Gulf of Mexico and its environs.

20 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Commission shall

21 submit an annual report to the President, the Con22 gress, and the Gulf States containing the results of

23 its review and recommendations.

24 (d) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.—The Commission

25 shall have the power to—
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1 (1) conduct studies (directly or through con2 tracts, grants, or other indirect means) and compile,

3 analyze, and report on technical and other data re4 garding the resources and existing or potential prob5 lems relating to the Gulf of Mexico and its environs;

6 (2) hold hearings, take testimony, receive evi7 dence, and publish and distribute reports and infor8 mation relating to the activities and recommenda9 tions of the Commission as the Commission consid10 ers appropriate to carry out this Act;

11 (3) at the request of the President, assist in the

12 negotiation and formulation of any agreement re13 garding the Gulf of Mexico and its environs; and

14 (4) pursue such grants and other financial as15 sistance as may be provided by public and private

16 sources to facilitate any purpose of this Act.

17 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of carrying

19 out this Act, the Commission may—

20 (A) adopt bylaws governing the conduct of

21 the activities and meetings of the Commission;

22 (B) acquire, furnish, and equip such office

23 space as may be necessary;
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1 (C) employ and compensate an executive

2 director and such other personnel as the Com3 mission determines appropriate;

4 (D) incur such necessary expenses and ex5 ercise such powers as are reasonably required to

6 perform the functions of the Commission under

7 this Act.

8 (2) ASSISTANCE.—At the request of the Com9 mission, the heads of Federal and State departments

10 and agencies may furnish information, personnel,

11 and other assistance in support of the functions of

12 the Commission.

13 (3) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commis14 sion shall serve without compensation, but shall be

15 reimbursed for travel or transportation expenses

16 under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United

17 States Code, while away from their homes or regular

18 places of business in performance of services for the

19 Commission.

20 (4) RECORDS.—The Commission shall keep ac21 curate records of all receipts and disbursements. The

22 accounts shall be audited at least annually in accord23 ance with generally accepted auditing standards by

24 independent certified or licensed public accountants.

25 A report of the audit shall be included in, and be-
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1 come a part of, the annual report of the Commis2 sion.

3 (5) REVIEW.—The records of the Commission

4 referred to in paragraph (4) shall be open at all rea5 sonable times for inspection by representatives of the

6 jurisdictions and agencies that make appropriations,

7 donations, or grants to the Commission.

8 (6) TERMINATION.—The President shall termi9 nate the Commission after receipt of a written re10 quest signed by the Governor of each Gulf State.

11 TITLE III—ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

12 AGENCY

13 SEC. 301. GULF OF MEXICO PROGRAM OFFICE.

14 (a) GULF OF MEXICO NATIONAL PROGRAM OF15 FICE.—The Gulf of Mexico National Program Office is es16 tablished within the Agency to be located in one of the

17 Gulf States and headed by a Director to be selected by

18 the Administrator. The Director shall have expertise in

19 technical and management issues related to environmental

20 quality in the Gulf of Mexico.

21 (b) GULF OF MEXICO ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGE22 MENT.—

23 (1) FUNCTIONS OF PROGRAM OFFICE.—The Di24 rector of the Program Office shall—
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1 (A) create a database of research on Gulf

2 of Mexico environmental quality issues for use

3 by university, government, and private institu4 tions:

5 (B) establish a Gulf-wide network com6 prised of Federal, State, and local authorities

7 and private institutions to monitor environ8 mental quality in the Gulf of Mexico;

9 (C) develop and implement policies de10 signed to improve environmental quality in the

11 Gulf in conjunction with Federal, State, and

12 local authorities and private institutions;

13 (D) coordinate activities within the Agen14 cy, including those of regional and headquarters

15 offices with responsibilities for the Gulf of Mex16 ico, aimed at improving environmental quality

17 in the Gulf of Mexico; and

18 (E) coordinate activities of the Agency

19 with the actions of the Commission, other Fed20 eral agencies, and State and local authorities,

21 to ensure the participation of the agencies and

22 authorities in the development and implementa23 tion of policies to improve environmental quality

24 in the Gulf of Mexico.

25 (2) GULF OF MEXICO RESEARCH.—
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1 (A) INVENTORY.—The Director of the Pro2 gram Office shall establish a Gulf of Mexico re3 search inventory and database to provide a

4 comprehensive source of environmental studies,

5 data, and other information related to environ6 mental quality in the Gulf of Mexico.

7 (B) UPDATES.—The Director of the Pro8 gram Office shall update the inventory every 5

9 years.

10 (3) MONITORING NETWORK.—

11 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator

12 shall establish a Gulf-wide monitoring network

13 not later than May 1, 1994, in consultation

14 with the Commission and Federal, State and

15 local agencies, to develop data that can be used

16 to gauge the effectiveness of Agency policies re17 lated to the Gulf.

18 (B) COORDINATOR.—The Administrator

19 shall review, and, to the extent feasible, incor20 porate into the network, monitoring efforts in

21 the Gulf at the Federal, State, and local levels,

22 existing on the date of enactment of this Act;

23 (C) PURPOSES.—The network shall be

24 structured to produce data to support the devel25 opment of the Gulf of Mexico Management Plan
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1 and to describe the environmental quality of the

2 Gulf of Mexico.

3 (4) GULF OF MEXICO MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

4 (A) PUBLICATION OF THE PROPOSED

5 PLAN.—Not later than May 1, 1995, the Ad6 ministrator, after consultation with the Com7 mission and representatives of other Federal,

8 State, and local agencies, shall publish for pub9 lic comment a proposed Gulf of Mexico Manage10 ment Plan. The Plan shall—

11 (i) summarize existing data describing

12 the environmental quality of the Gulf of

13 Mexico, including information pertaining to

14 the status of fisheries, shellfish growing

15 areas, wetlands, and beaches;

16 (ii) describe the monitoring network

17 and the Program Office research inventory;

18 (iii) describe significant sources of

19 pollution and assess associated environ20 mental risks;

21 (iv) describe on-going and planned ac22 tivities intended to identify, evaluate, and

23 preserve wetlands and other critical habi24 tats;
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1 (v) report on pollution prevention and

2 other abatement and remedial measures

3 underway on the date the report is pre4 pared;

5 (vi) recommend measures to be under6 taken by Federal, State, and local agencies

7 and private interests to ensure the protec8 tion and restoration of the Gulf of Mexico

9 ecosystem;

10 (vii) address the economic impact of

11 any additional measures on development in

12 the Gulf of Mexico region, particularly

13 measures affecting agriculture, fishing,

14 recreational activities, and oil and gas ac15 tivities; and

16 (viii) recommend the Federal, State,

17 and local agencies to be charged with im18 plementing the Plan.

19 (B) PUBLIC COMMENT AND PUBLICATION

20 OF FINAL PLAN.—The Administrator shall pro21 vide a period of 60 days for public comment on

22 the proposed Plan. The Administrator shall

23 publish the final Plan not later than 180 days

24 after the expiration of the public comment pe25 riod.
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1 (C) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Be2 ginning with fiscal year 1996, within 90 days

3 after the end of each fiscal year, the Adminis4 trator, after consultation with the Commission,

5 and Federal, State, and local agencies, shall

6 submit a comprehensive report to Congress

7 that—

8 (i) updates the status of environ9 mental quality in the Gulf of Mexico;

10 (ii) describes any modifications in the

11 monitoring network or research inventory;

12 (iii) describes the achievements in the

13 preceding year in implementing measures

14 recommended in the Plan;

15 (iv) describes the designation of any

16 critical habitats in the previous year; and

17 (v) describes the long-term prospects

18 for improving the environmental quality in

19 the Gulf of Mexico.

20 (5) GRANT PROGRAM.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

22 may, upon approval of an application submitted

23 by a Gulf State or a group of Gulf States, make

24 a grant to the Gulf State or group of Gulf

25 States for the purpose of furthering the devel-
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1 opment or implementation of the monitoring

2 network or Plan.

3 (B) PURPOSES.—A State or group of

4 States receiving a grant under this paragraph

5 may provide funds to other State and local

6 agencies, universities, institutions, organiza7 tions, and individuals for the purpose of assist8 ing the State or States in developing or imple9 menting the monitoring network or Plan.

10 (C) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION.—An

11 application submitted under this paragraph

12 shall describe in detail the activities the grant

13 will fund and, in the case of a grant to be used

14 for implementation measures, the proposed

15 abatement or conservation action and the result

16 the proposed action is expected to achieve.

17 (D) FEDERAL SHARE.—

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal grant

19 under this paragraph shall not exceed 50

20 percent of the amount of the funds nec21 essary to carry out the activities for which

22 the grant is awarded.

23 (ii) WAIVER.—The Administrator may

24 waive the 50 percent limitation on the

25 Federal share if the Administrator deter-
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1 mines in a particular case that overriding

2 national, international, or regional inter3 ests justify a larger Federal share. The

4 Administrator shall report on the number

5 of waivers issued under this subparagraph

6 at the time the Administrator submits a

7 budget proposal to the President for inclu8 sion in the annual budget of the United

9 States Government submitted by the Presi10 dent to Congress.

11 (E) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not

12 more than 10 percent of the amount of any

13 grant awarded under this paragraph may be

14 used for administrative expenses.

15 (F) REPORTS.—Any Gulf State or group

16 of Gulf States that receives a grant under this

17 paragraph shall submit to the Administrator a

18 report at the end of each fiscal year describing

19 the progress the State has made in taking the

20 actions proposed in the grant application and

21 the amount of grant funds expended.

22 (G) LIABILITY.—Grants made under this

23 section may not be used for the purpose of re24 lieving from liability any person who may other25 wise be liable under Federal or State law for
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1 damages, response costs, natural resource dam2 ages, restitution, equitable relief, or any other

3 relief.

4 (c) BUDGET ITEM.—The Administrator shall, in the

5 annual budget submission of the Agency to Congress, in6 clude a funding request for the Program Office as a sepa7 rate line item.

8 (d) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING WITH OTHER

9 FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

10 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Administrator is author11 ized to negotiate and execute memoranda of understand12 ing with other Federal agencies with jurisdiction over the

13 Gulf of Mexico and its environs.

14 (2) PURPOSES.—A memorandum executed

15 under paragraph (1) shall set out the various re16 sponsibilities of each agency that is a party to it.

17 The memorandum shall clearly delineate the juris18 diction and activities to be undertaken by each

19 party.

20 SEC. 302. STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL ISSUES.

21 Not later than December 31, 1994, the Administrator

22 shall conduct and make available to the public the results

23 of a study to assess the nature and extent of environ24 mental problems in the Gulf of Mexico and Wider Carib-
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1 bean Region, including areas beyond the Exclusive Eco2 nomic Zone of the United States.

3 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER

4 PROVISIONS

5 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.

6 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gulf of Mexico Act

7 of 1993’’.

8 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.

9 As used in this Act:

10 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the

11 Environmental Protection Agency.

12 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis13 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ14 mental Protection Agency.

15 (3) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal

16 Agency’’ means the Department of Agriculture, the

17 Environmental Protection Agency, the Department

18 of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, the

19 Department of the Army, and the Department of

20 Transportation.

21 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

22 means the Gulf of Mexico Commission established

23 under title II.
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1 (5) GULF STATES.—The term ‘‘Gulf States’’

2 means Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and

3 Texas.

4 (6) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Gulf

5 of Mexico Management Plan required under section

6 301(b)(4).

7 (7) PROGRAM OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Program

8 Office’’ means the Gulf of Mexico National Program

9 Office established under section 301(a).

10 (8) WIDER CARIBBEAN REGION.—The term

11 ‘‘Wider Caribbean Region’’ means the Caribbean

12 Sea, including the Gulf of Mexico, and areas of the

13 Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the Caribbean Sea.

14 SEC. 403. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING FEDERAL AND

15 STATE LAWS AND INTERNATIONAL TREATIES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be con17 strued to affect the jurisdiction, powers, or prerogatives

18 of any department, agency, officer, or program of the Fed19 eral Government, or any State government or tribe.

20 (b) INTERNATIONAL BODIES.—Nothing in this Act

21 shall be construed to affect the jurisdiction, powers, or

22 prerogatives of any international body created by a treaty,

23 to which the United States is a party, with authority relat24 ing to the Gulf of Mexico.
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1 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO INTERNATIONAL LAW.—Any

2 action taken pursuant to this Act shall be consistent with

3 relevant international law. Any action taken pursuant to

4 this Act that relates to the waters under the jurisdiction

5 of a foreign country shall be undertaken only in coopera6 tion with representatives of the affected foreign country.

7 SEC. 404. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such

9 sums as may be necessary to carry out titles II and III

10 of this Act. The amounts authorized to be appropriated

11 and made available under this section shall be used to sup12 plement and not supplant other funds made available to

13 the Environmental Protection Agency and shall remain

14 available until expended.

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