II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1394 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish within the 

Environmental Protection Agency a Columbia River Basin Restoration 

Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 20, 2015 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; 

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

Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish within the Environmental Protection Agency a Columbia River Basin Restoration 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Columbia River Basin 

5 Restoration Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Columbia River is the largest river in 

9 the Pacific Northwest by volume; 


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1 (2) the river is 1,243 miles long, with a drain2 age basin that includes 259,000 square miles, ex3 tending to 7 States and British Columbia, Canada, 

4 and including all or part of— 

5 (A) multiple national parks; 

6 (B) components of the National Wilderness 

7 Preservation System; 

8 (C) national monuments; 

9 (D) national scenic areas; 

10 (E) national recreation areas; 

11 (F) other areas managed for conservation; 

12 and 

13 (G) multiple tribal reservations and over 

14 45,000,000 acres of tribally comanaged land; 

15 (3) the Columbia River Basin and associated 

16 tributaries (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Basin’’) 

17 provide significant ecological and economic benefits 

18 to the Pacific Northwest and the entire United 

19 States; 

20 (4) traditionally, the Basin includes more than 

21 6,000,000 acres of irrigated agricultural land and 

22 produces more hydroelectric power than any other 

23 North American river; 

24 (5) significant commerce takes place on the fed25 erally authorized Columbia Snake River System 


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1 navigation channel, which is 465 miles in length, 

2 from the mouth of the Columbia River to Lewiston, 

3 Idaho; 

4 (6) the Basin— 

5 (A) historically constituted the largest 

6 salmon-producing river system in the world, 

7 with annual returns peaking at as many as 

8 16,000,000 fish; and 

9 (B) as of the date of enactment of this 

10 Act— 

11 (i) supports economically important 

12 commercial and recreational fisheries; 

13 (ii) supports treaty tribal fisheries; 

14 (iii) is home to numerous species of 

15 salmonids, including steelhead, bull trout, 

16 and Kootenai white sturgeon, that are list17 ed as threatened species or endangered 

18 species under the Endangered Species Act 

19 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 

20 (iv) is a cultural and historical re21 source and provides sports and recreation 

22 opportunities for millions annually; 

23 (7) toxics are present throughout the Columbia 

24 River Basin that are harmful to humans, fish, and 

25 wildlife; 


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1 (8) studies have shown that Columbia River 

2 fish contain a wide array of contaminants; 

3 (9) a fish consumption survey in the Columbia 

4 River Basin showed that tribal members were eating 

5 6 to 11 times more fish than the estimated national 

6 average; 

7 (10) in 2013, the States of Oregon and Wash8 ington issued a fish advisories warning against con9 sumption of resident fish between Bonneville Dam to 

10 McNary Dam because of toxic contamination; 

11 (11) in 1995, the lower river and estuary was 

12 designated an ‘‘estuary of national significance’’ in 

13 accordance with section 320 of the Federal Water 

14 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330), because of 

15 degradation and contamination in the lower river, 

16 lack of structure to coordinate programs and poli17 cies, significance of the lower river to survival of spe18 cies throughout the basin, and the importance of the 

19 lower river to the economic viability of the region; 

20 and 

21 (12)(A) in 2006, the Administrator of the Envi22 ronmental Protection Agency named the Columbia 

23 River Basin 1 of the 10 large aquatic ecosystems in 

24 the United States; 


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1 (B) the Columbia River Basin is the only large 

2 aquatic ecosystem in the United States that does not 

3 receive dedicated appropriations as a large aquatic 

4 ecosystem; and 

5 (C) the other 9 large aquatic ecosystems receive 

6 appropriations through the Geographic Programs 

7 program area of the Environmental Protection 

8 Agency. 

9 SEC. 3. COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN RESTORATION. 

10 Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

11 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 123. COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN RESTORATION. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ACTION PLAN.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Action 

17 Plan’ means the Columbia River Basin Toxics 

18 Reduction Plan developed by the Environmental 

19 Protection Agency and the Columbia River 

20 Toxics Reduction Working Group in 2010. 

21 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘Action 

22 Plan’ includes any amendments to the plan. 

23 ‘‘(2) COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN.—The term ‘Co24 lumbia River Basin’ means the entire United States 

25 portion of the Columbia River watershed. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ESTUARY PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘Es2 tuary Partnership’ means the Lower Columbia River 

3 Estuary Partnership, an entity created by the States 

4 of Oregon and Washington and the Environmental 

5 Protection Agency under section 320. 

6 ‘‘(4) ESTUARY PLAN.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Estuary 

8 Plan’ means the Estuary Partnership Com9 prehensive Conservation and Management Plan 

10 adopted by the Environmental Protection Agen11 cy and the Governors of Oregon and Wash12 ington on October 20, 1999, under section 320. 

13 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘Estuary 

14 Plan’ includes any amendments to the plan. 

15 ‘‘(5) LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER ESTUARY.—The 

16 term ‘Lower Columbia River Estuary’ means the 

17 mainstem Columbia River from the Bonneville Dam 

18 to the Pacific Ocean and tidally influenced portions 

19 of tributaries to the Columbia River in that region. 

20 ‘‘(6) MIDDLE AND UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER

21 BASIN.—The term ‘Middle and Upper Columbia 

22 River Basin’ means the region consisting of the 

23 United States portion of the Columbia River Basin 

24 above Bonneville Dam. 


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1 ‘‘(7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 

2 the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program es3 tablished under subsection (b)(1)(A). 

4 ‘‘(8) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘Working 

5 Group’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) the Columbia River Basin Toxics Re7 duction Working Group established under sub8 section (c); and 

9 ‘‘(B) with respect to the Lower Columbia 

10 River Estuary, the Estuary Partnership. 

11 ‘‘(b) COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN RESTORATION PRO12 GRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

15 shall establish within the Environmental Protec16 tion Agency a Columbia River Basin Restora17 tion Program for the purposes of reducing toxic 

18 contamination and cleaning up contaminated 

19 sites throughout the Columbia River Basin. 

20 ‘‘(B) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING AUTHOR21 ITY.—The Program shall not modify any legal 

22 or regulatory authority or program in effect as 

23 of the date of enactment of this section, includ24 ing the roles of Federal agencies in the Colum25 bia River Basin. 


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1 ‘‘(C) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING ACTIVI2 TIES.—The Program shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) build on the work and collabo4 rative structure of the existing Columbia 

5 River Toxics Reduction Working Group 

6 representing the Federal Government, 

7 State, tribal, and local governments, indus8 try, and nongovernmental organizations, 

9 which was convened in 2005 to develop a 

10 collaborative toxic contamination reduction 

11 approach for the Columbia River Basin; 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the Lower Columbia River 

13 Basin and Estuary, build on the work and 

14 collaborative structure of the Estuary 

15 Partnership; 

16 ‘‘(iii) coordinate with other efforts, in17 cluding activities of other Federal agencies 

18 in the Columbia River Basin, to avoid du19 plicating activities or functions; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) not impede implementation of 

21 existing agreements or other recovery and 

22 mitigation programs. 

23 ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF PROGRAM.—The Program shall 

24 consist of a collaborative stakeholder-based program 


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1 for reducing toxic contamination throughout the Co2 lumbia River Basin. 

3 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Administrator shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) assess trends in water quality and 

5 toxic contamination or toxics reduction, includ6 ing trends that affect uses of the water of the 

7 Columbia River Basin; 

8 ‘‘(B) collect, characterize, and assess data 

9 on toxics and water quality to identify possible 

10 causes of environmental problems; 

11 ‘‘(C) provide the Working Group with 

12 data, analysis, reports, or other information; 

13 ‘‘(D) provide technical assistance to the 

14 Working Group, and to State governments, 

15 tribal governments, and local governments par16 ticipating in the Working Group, to assist those 

17 agencies and entities in— 

18 ‘‘(i) developing updates to the Action 

19 Plan; 

20 ‘‘(ii) recommending and prioritizing 

21 projects and actions for the Action Plan; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(iii) reviewing progress and effective24 ness of projects and actions implemented, 


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1 as well as cumulative progress toward the 

2 goals of this section, and the Action Plan; 

3 ‘‘(E) periodically update the Action Plan 

4 and the Estuary Plan as required by counsel, 

5 and ensure that those plans, when considered 

6 together and in light of relevant plans developed 

7 by other Federal or State agencies, form a co8 herent toxic contamination reduction strategy 

9 for the Columbia River Basin; 

10 ‘‘(F) track progress toward meeting the 

11 identified goals and objectives of the Action 

12 Plan by coordinating and reporting environ13 mental data related to the Action Plan and the 

14 Estuary Plan and making the data and reports 

15 on the data available to the public; and 

16 ‘‘(G) provide grants in accordance with 

17 subsection (d) for projects that— 

18 ‘‘(i) assist in— 

19 ‘‘(I) eliminating or reducing pol20 lution; 

21 ‘‘(II) cleaning up contaminated 

22 sites; 

23 ‘‘(III) improving water quality; 

24 ‘‘(IV) monitoring to evaluate 

25 trends; 


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1 ‘‘(V) reducing runoff; 

2 ‘‘(VI) protecting habitat; or 

3 ‘‘(VII) promoting citizen engage4 ment or knowledge; 

5 ‘‘(ii) address the goals, tasks, or ac6 tion items in the Action Plan or the Estu7 ary Plan; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) are recommended by the Work9 ing Group to implement the Estuary Plan. 

10 ‘‘(c) STAKEHOLDER WORKING GROUP.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator 

12 shall establish a Columbia River Basin Toxics Re13 duction Working Group. 

14 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Membership in the 

16 Working Group shall be on a voluntary basis 

17 and any person invited by the Administrator 

18 under this subsection may decline membership. 

19 ‘‘(B) INVITED REPRESENTATIVES.—The 

20 Administrator shall invite, at a minimum, rep21 resentatives of— 

22 ‘‘(i) each State located in whole or in 

23 part within the Columbia River Basin; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Governors of each State lo2 cated in whole or in part with the Colum3 bia River Basin; 

4 ‘‘(iii) each federally recognized Indian 

5 tribe in the Columbia River Basin; 

6 ‘‘(iv) local governments located in the 

7 Columbia River Basin; 

8 ‘‘(v) industries operating in the Co9 lumbia River Basin that affect or could af10 fect water quality; 

11 ‘‘(vi) electric, water, and wastewater 

12 utilities operating in the Columba River 

13 Basin; 

14 ‘‘(vii) private landowners in the Co15 lumbia River Basin; 

16 ‘‘(viii) soil and water conservation dis17 tricts in the Columbia River Basin; 

18 ‘‘(ix) nongovernmental organizations 

19 that have a presence in the Columbia River 

20 Basin; 

21 ‘‘(x) the general public in the Colum22 bia River Basin; and 

23 ‘‘(xi) the Estuary Partnership. 

24 ‘‘(3) GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION.—The 

25 Working Group shall include representatives from— 


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1 ‘‘(A) each State; and 

2 ‘‘(B) each of the Lower, Middle, and 

3 Upper Basins of the Columbia River. 

4 ‘‘(4) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

5 Working Group shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) participate in developing updates to 

7 the Action Plan, including by providing com8 ments on the updates; 

9 ‘‘(B) recommend and prioritize projects 

10 and actions for the Action Plan; and 

11 ‘‘(C) review the progress and effectiveness 

12 of projects and actions implemented, as well as 

13 cumulative progress toward the goals of this 

14 section, and the Action Plan. 

15 ‘‘(5) LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER ESTUARY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ESTUARY PARTNERSHIP.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Estuary Part18 nership shall perform the duties and fulfill 

19 the responsibilities of the Working Group 

20 described in paragraph (4) as those duties 

21 and responsibilities relate to the Lower Co22 lumbia River Estuary for such time as the 

23 Estuary Partnership is the management 

24 conference for the Lower Columbia River 


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1 National Estuary Program under section 

2 320. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DESIGNATION.—If the Estuary 

4 Partnership ceases to be the management 

5 conference for the Lower Columbia River 

6 National Estuary Program under section 

7 320, the Administrator may designate the 

8 new management conference to assume the 

9 duties and responsibilities of the Working 

10 Group described in paragraph (4) as those 

11 duties and responsibilities relate to the 

12 Lower Columbia River Estuary. 

13 ‘‘(B) ESTUARY PLAN.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Estuary Plan 

15 shall function as the Action Plan for the 

16 Lower Columbia River Estuary for such 

17 time as there is an Estuary Plan in place 

18 pursuant to section 320. 

19 ‘‘(ii) INCORPORATION.—If the Estu20 ary Partnership is removed from the Na21 tional Estuary Program, the duties and re22 sponsibilities for the lower 146 miles of the 

23 Columbia River pursuant to this Act shall 

24 be incorporated into the duties of the 

25 Working Group. 


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1 ‘‘(d) GRANTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es3 tablish a voluntary, competitive Columbia River 

4 Basin toxics program to provide grants to State gov5 ernments, tribal governments, regional water pollu6 tion control agencies and entities, local government 

7 entities, nongovernmental entities, or soil and water 

8 conservation districts to develop or implement 

9 projects authorized under this section for the pur10 pose of implementing the Action Plan and the Estu11 ary Plan. 

12 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

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

15 of any project or activity carried out using 

16 funds from a grant provided to any person (in17 cluding a State, tribal, or local government or 

18 interstate or regional agency) under this sub19 section for a fiscal year— 

20 ‘‘(i) shall not exceed 75 percent of the 

21 total cost of the project or activity; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall be made on condition that 

23 the non-Federal share of that total cost 

24 shall be provided from non-Federal 

25 sources. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—With respect to cost2 sharing for a grant provided under this sub3 section— 

4 ‘‘(i) a tribal government may use Fed5 eral funds for the non-Federal share; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator may increase 

7 the Federal share under such cir8 cumstances as the Administrator deter9 mines to be appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.—In making grants using 

11 funds appropriated to carry out this section, the Ad12 ministrator shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) provide not less than 25 percent of 

14 the funds to make grants for projects, pro15 grams, and studies in the Lower Columbia 

16 River Estuary; 

17 ‘‘(B) provide not less than 25 percent of 

18 the funds to make grants for projects, pro19 grams, and studies in the Middle and Upper 

20 Columbia River Basin, which includes the 

21 Snake River Basin; and 

22 ‘‘(C) retain for Environmental Protection 

23 Agency not more than 5 percent of the funds 

24 for purposes of implementing this section. 

25 ‘‘(4) REPORTING.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each grant recipient 

2 under this subsection shall submit to the Ad3 ministrator reports on progress being made in 

4 achieving the purposes of this section. 

5 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator 

6 shall establish requirements and timelines for 

7 recipients of grants under this section to report 

8 on progress made in achieving the purposes of 

9 this section and the goals of the Action Plan 

10 and the Estuary Plan. 

11 ‘‘(5) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FUNDING.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sec13 tion limits the eligibility of the Estuary Part14 nership to receive funding under section 320(g). 

15 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—None of the funds 

16 made available under this subsection may be 

17 used for the administration of a management 

18 conference under section 320. 

19 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL BUDGET PLAN.—The President, as 

20 part of the annual budget submission of the President to 

21 Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

22 Code, shall submit information regarding each Federal 

23 agency involved in protection and restoration of the Co24 lumbia River Basin, including an interagency crosscut 

25 budget that displays for each Federal agency— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the amounts obligated for the preceding 

2 fiscal year for protection and restoration projects, 

3 programs, and studies relating to the Columbia 

4 River Basin; 

5 ‘‘(2) the estimated budget for the current fiscal 

6 year for protection and restoration projects, pro7 grams, and studies relating to the Columbia River 

8 Basin; and 

9 ‘‘(3) the proposed budget for protection and 

10 restoration projects, programs, and studies relating 

11 to the Columbia River Basin. 

12 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

13 is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

14 carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

15 2016 through 2021, to remain available until expended.’’. 

Æ 


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