II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 733

To enact the Passaic River Basin Flood Management Program.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 25, 1999

Mr. TORRICELLI (for himself, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following

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

and Public Works

A BILL

To enact the Passaic River Basin Flood Management

Program.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

4 The purpose of this Act is to establish the preferred

5 alternative for flood control in the Passaic River basin,

6 New Jersey, to be implemented in place of construction

7 of the Passaic River Tunnel, while maintaining the integ8 rity of previously authorized Passaic River basin restora9 tion measures.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) HAZARD MITIGATION.—The term ‘‘hazard

4 mitigation’’ means—

5 (A) floodproofing; and

6 (B) acquisition of wetland throughout the

7 Passaic River basin for flood management pur8 poses or retention and detention.

9 (2) OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Over10 sight Committee’’ means the committee established

11 by section 3(j).

12 (3) PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.—The term

13 ‘‘preferred alternative’’ means a qualified acquisition

14 and hazard mitigation plan for the project.

15 (4) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means the

16 project for flood control, Passaic River Main Stem,

17 New Jersey and New York, authorized by section

18 101(a)(18) of the Water Resources Development Act

19 of 1990 (104 Stat. 4607).

20 (5) QUALIFIED ACQUISITION.—The term

21 ‘‘qualified acquisition’’ means a purchase by the Sec22 retary, in cooperation with State, county, and local

23 governments, of property that has sustained exces24 sive damage caused by at least 2 floods, including

25 the major flood in the Passaic River basin during

26 1984 and any subsequent flood.
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1 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of the Army.

3 SEC. 3. COMPONENTS OF PASSAIC RIVER BASIN FLOOD

4 MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

5 (a) STRUCTURES IN THE FLOODWAY.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall acquire,

7 demolish, and remove structures in the floodway of

8 the Central Passaic River basin where excessive

9 damage has occurred in at least 2 floods, including

10 the flood of 1984 and any subsequent flood.

11 (2) COST SHARING.—The cost of carrying out

12 paragraph (1) shall be paid in cooperation with

13 State, county, and local governments at a ratio of 75

14 percent Federal to 25 percent non-Federal.

15 (3) STABILIZATION.—The floodway land in the

16 Central Passaic River basin shall be stabilized as

17 part of the ecological restoration program under sec18 tion 101(a)(18)(C) of the Water Resources Develop19 ment Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 4609), and, where ap20 propriate, wetlands shall be created.

21 (4) MANAGEMENT.—After the land is vacated,

22 the land shall be held in perpetuity by the most ap23 propriate Federal or State agency, as determined in

24 consultation with the Oversight Committee, and

25 shall be managed as open space.
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1 (5) BLUE ACRES PROGRAM.—This subsection

2 shall be carried out in conformance with the Blue

3 Acres Program of the State of New Jersey.

4 (6) CREDIT.—Crediting of land acquisition for

5 the non-Federal share of the cost of the project shall

6 remain in effect in accordance with section

7 101(a)(18)(C)(vii) of the Water Resources Develop8 ment Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 4609).

9 (b) ADDITIONAL STRUCTURES IN THE 10-YEAR

10 FLOODPLAIN.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall acquire,

12 demolish, and remove additional structures, or

13 floodproof structures, to the 10-year floodplain in

14 the floodway of the Central Passaic River basin in

15 areas where excessive damage has occurred in at

16 least 2 floods, including the flood of 1984 and any

17 subsequent flood.

18 (2) COST SHARE.—

19 (A) ACQUISITION, DEMOLITION, AND RE20 MOVAL.—Funding for an acquisition, demoli21 tion, and removal under paragraph (1) shall be

22 shared 75 percent Federal and 25 percent

23 State.

24 (B) FLOODPROOFING.—Funding of

25 floodproofing under paragraph (1) shall be
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1 shared 75 percent Federal, 15 percent property

2 owner, and 10 percent State.

3 (3) CRITERIA.—Criteria for acquisition and

4 floodproofing shall be developed by the Oversight

5 Committee.

6 (c) STRUCTURES IN THE PASSAIC RIVER BASIN.—

7 (1) TO THE 50-YEAR FLOODPLAIN.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

9 floodproof structures in the floodplain of the

10 Central Passaic River basin to the 50-year

11 floodplain in areas of high risk.

12 (B) COST SHARE.—Funding of

13 floodproofing under subparagraph (A) shall be

14 shared 55 percent Federal, 20 percent State,

15 and 25 percent property owner.

16 (2) REMAINDER.—In the remainder of the

17 floodplain to the 100-year protective flood elevation,

18 the Secretary, in cooperation with the State of New

19 Jersey, shall provide information on techniques to

20 deal with flood management.

21 (d) WETLANDS.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

23 acquire—

24 (A) wetlands in the floodways throughout

25 the Great Piece Meadows of the Central Passaic
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1 River basin to supplement the wetlands acquisi2 tion (approximately 5,369 acres) authorized

3 under section 101(a)(18)(C)(vi) of the Water

4 Resources Development Act of 1990 (104 Stat.

5 4609); and

6 (B) upland transition areas with signifi7 cant wildlife or other natural values.

8 (2) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall trans9 fer the wetlands and transition areas to the United

10 States Fish and Wildlife Service, or an appropriate

11 State agency, which shall manage the wetlands and

12 transition areas in accordance with proper wetlands

13 management principles so as to ensure the ecological

14 integrity of the wetlands and transition areas as

15 wildlife habitat and important components of the

16 hydrological cycle of the Passaic River basin.

17 (e) STRATEGIC LAND.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall acquire

19 strategic land in the State of New Jersey and the

20 State of New York to prevent flooding.

21 (2) EMPHASIS.—In carrying out paragraph (1),

22 the Secretary shall emphasize land acquisition in the

23 Highlands Province.

24 (3) COOPERATION.—The Secretary shall carry

25 out this subsection in cooperation with the Palisades
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1 Interstate Park Commission, the State of New Jer2 sey, the State of New York, and other Federal agen3 cies (including the Forest Service, the United States

4 Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park

5 Service).

6 (f) MOLLY ANN’S BROOK.—The Secretary shall ac7 quire land to prevent flooding from increasing in—

8 (1) the High Mountain area in Wayne, New

9 Jersey; and

10 (2) the urban area of the Molly Ann’s Brook

11 project in North Haledon, New Jersey.

12 (g) PASSAIC RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall complete

14 the Passaic River Restoration Project from Little

15 Falls to Newark Bay, New Jersey.

16 (2) RIPARIAN LAND AND PARKLAND DEVELOP17 MENT.—In cooperation with the Passaic River Res18 toration Steering Committee, the Secretary shall un19 dertake acquisition of riparian land and parkland

20 development and redevelopment in the Passaic River

21 basin.

22 (3) URBAN SPACE.—The Secretary shall ac23 quire parcels of urban space, such as Hilltop in

24 Essex County, New Jersey.
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1 (h) STREAMBANK RESTORATION.—The Secretary

2 shall complete the streambank restoration element of the

3 project for flood control, Passaic River Main Stem, New

4 Jersey and New York, authorized by section

5 101(a)(18)(B) of the Water Resources Development Act

6 of 1990 (104 Stat. 4608), known as the ‘‘Joseph G. Min7 ish Passaic River Waterfront Park and Historic Area,

8 New Jersey’’.

9 (i) REMEDIAL ACTIONS.—The Administrator of the

10 Environmental Protection Agency shall assist the Passaic

11 Valley Sewerage Commissioners in the implementation of

12 remedial actions for the combined sewer overflows in the

13 lower Passaic River Basin from the Great Falls to Newark

14 Bay.

15 (j) OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.—

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a

17 committee to be known as the ‘‘Oversight Com18 mittee’’ for the implementation of the preferred al19 ternative.

20 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Oversight Committee

21 shall be composed of 14 members, appointed as fol22 lows:

23 (A) CORPS OF ENGINEERS.—The Sec24 retary of the Army shall appoint 1 member to

25 represent the Corps of Engineers.
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1 (B) APPOINTMENTS BY THE GOVERNOR OF

2 NEW JERSEY.—The Governor of New Jersey

3 shall appoint 12 members, as follows:

4 (i) 2 representatives of the New Jer5 sey legislature who are members of dif6 ferent political parties.

7 (ii) 1 representative of the State of

8 New Jersey.

9 (iii) 2 representatives of county gov10 ernment.

11 (iv) 2 representatives of local govern12 ment.

13 (v) 1 representative of the Palisades

14 Interstate Park Commission.

15 (vi) 1 representative of the North Jer16 sey District Water Supply Commission.

17 (vii) 1 representative of each of—

18 (I) the Association of New Jersey

19 Environmental Commissions;

20 (II) the Passaic River Coalition;

21 and

22 (III) the Sierra Club.

23 (C) APPOINTMENT BY THE GOVERNOR OF

24 NEW YORK.—The Governor of New York shall
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1 appoint a representative of the State of New

2 York.

3 (3) DUTIES.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Oversight Com5 mittee shall—

6 (i) supervise, review, and make rec7 ommendations on all elements of the pre8 ferred alternative; and

9 (ii) provide guidance on appropria10 tions for the efficient implementation of

11 the project.

12 (B) PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS.—The

13 Oversight Committee shall primarily consider

14 flood management projects that are non15 structural and that maintain and restore the ec16 ological integrity of the river systems.

17 (4) MEETINGS.—The Oversight Committee

18 shall hold meetings regularly.

19 (5) TERMINATION.—The Oversight Committee

20 shall terminate on the date on which the preferred

21 alternative project is completed.

22 (6) REPORTING.—The Oversight Committee

23 shall annually submit to the Governor of the State

24 of New Jersey, the Governor of the State of New

25 York, and Congress a report describing the achieve-
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1 ments of the project and any impediments to com2 pletion of the project.

3 (7) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, in coopera4 tion with the State of New Jersey, shall—

5 (A) cooperate with the Oversight Com6 mittee;

7 (B) provide administrative and technical

8 assistance to the Oversight Committee; and

9 (C) respond to all requests and rec10 ommendations made by the Oversight Com11 mittee in a cooperative manner so as to expe12 dite and complete the preferred alternative.

13 (k) PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.—Congress—

14 (1) finds that the preferred alternative is the

15 most appropriate solution to flooding in the Passaic

16 River basin; and

17 (2) directs that the preferred alternative shall

18 be implemented immediately.

19 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 (a) FLOODWAY.—

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

22 appropriated $45,000,000 to begin the Federal por23 tion of the buyout of floodway structures authorized

24 by section 301(b)(10) of the Water Resources Devel25 opment Act of 1996 (110 Stat. 3710).
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1 (2) COST SHARE.—The $15,000,000 made

2 available by the State of New Jersey for the Blue

3 Acres portion of the Green Acres Bond Act of 1995,

4 approved by the voters of the State of New Jersey,

5 shall constitute the 25 percent non-Federal cost

6 share.

7 (b) ACQUISITION OF FRESHWATER WETLANDS;

8 FLOODPROOFING.—There are authorized to be

9 appropriated—

10 (1) $3,000,000 for the acquisition of freshwater

11 wetlands in the floodplains within the Passaic River

12 basin; and

13 (2) $10,000,000 for the floodproofing of struc14 tures in the floodplains within the Passaic River

15 basin.

16 (c) ACQUISITION OF LAND IN THE HIGHLAND PROV17 INCE.—

18 (1) TOTAL AUTHORIZATION.—There are au19 thorized to be appropriated—

20 (A) $400,000,000 for the acquisition of

21 land in the Highlands Province to reduce flood22 ing in the Passaic River basin in New Jersey;

23 and
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1 (B) $75,000,000 for the acquisition of land

2 in the Highlands Province to reduce flooding in

3 the Passaic River basin in New York.

4 (2) ANNUAL AUTHORIZATION.—Of the amounts

5 authorized by paragraph (1)—

6 (A) there is authorized to be appropriated

7 $40,000,000 for each fiscal year for acquisition

8 of land in the State of New Jersey; and

9 (B) there is authorized to be appropriated

10 $25,000,000 for each fiscal year for acquisition

11 of land in the State of New York.

12 (d) PARKLAND.—There is authorized to be appro13 priated $300,000,000 for the acquisition of land and the

14 development and redevelopment of parkland along the

15 Passaic River from Little Falls to Newark Bay, Kearny,

16 of which $30,000,000 shall be made available for each fis17 cal year for the State of New Jersey.

18 (e) JOSEPH G. MINISH PASSAIC RIVER WATER19 FRONT PARK AND HISTORIC AREA.—

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

21 appropriated $75,000,000 for the completion of the

22 Joseph G. Minish Passaic River Waterfront Park

23 and Historic Area, New Jersey.
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1 (2) COST SHARE.—The Federal share of the

2 cost of the project described in paragraph (1) shall

3 be 100 percent.

4 (f) PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

6 appropriated—

7 (A) $1,100,000 for each fiscal year for the

8 implementation of the preferred alternative and

9 administration of the Oversight Committee; and

10 (B) $5,000,000 for the acquisition of land

11 at High Mountain.

12 (2) PROJECT BUDGET.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the combined

14 sewer project in the lower Passaic River basin,

15 a project budget shall be established of

16 $85,000,000, of which $65,000,000 shall be the

17 Federal share.

18 (B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA19 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro20 priated, for the purpose of making a grant to

21 the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission—

22 (i) for fiscal year 2000, $22,000,000;

23 (ii) for fiscal year 2001, $22,000,000;

24 and
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1 (iii) for fiscal year 2002, $21,000,000.

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