109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5160

AN ACT

To establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative.

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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Long Island Sound 

3 Stewardship Act of 2006’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

6 (1) Long Island Sound is a national treasure of 

7 great cultural, environmental, and ecological impor8 tance; 

9 (2) 8,000,000 people live within the Long Is10 land Sound watershed and 28,000,000 people (ap11 proximately 10 percent of the population of the 

12 United States) live within 50 miles of Long Island 

13 Sound; 

14 (3) activities that depend on the environmental 

15 health of Long Island Sound contribute more than 

16 $5,000,000,000 each year to the regional economy; 

17 (4) the portion of the shoreline of Long Island 

18 Sound that is accessible to the general public (esti19 mated at less than 20 percent of the total shoreline) 

20 is not adequate to serve the needs of the people liv21 ing in the area; 

22 (5) existing shoreline facilities are in many 

23 cases overburdened and underfunded; 

24 (6) large parcels of open space already in public 

25 ownership are strained by the effort to balance the 
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1 demand for recreation with the needs of sensitive 

2 natural resources; 

3 (7) approximately 1/3 of the tidal marshes of 

4 Long Island Sound have been filled, and much of 

5 the remaining marshes have been ditched, diked, or 

6 impounded, reducing the ecological value of the 

7 marshes; and 

8 (8) much of the remaining exemplary natural 

9 landscape is vulnerable to further development. 

10 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab11 lish the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative to iden12 tify, protect, and enhance upland sites within the Long 

13 Island Sound ecosystem with significant ecological, edu14 cational, open space, public access, or recreational value 

15 through a bi-State network of sites best exemplifying these 

16 values. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

19 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis20 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ21 mental Protection Agency. 

22 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi23 sory Committee’’ means the Long Island Sound 

24 Stewardship Advisory Committee established by sec25 tion 8. 
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1 (3) REGION.—The term ‘‘Region’’ means the 

2 Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Region es3 tablished by section 4(a). 

4 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

5 the States of Connecticut and New York. 

6 (5) STEWARDSHIP.—The term ‘‘stewardship’’ 

7 means land acquisition, land conservation agree8 ments, site planning, plan implementation, land and 

9 habitat management, public access improvements, 

10 site monitoring, and other activities designed to en11 hance and preserve natural resource-based recre12 ation and ecological function of upland areas. 

13 (6) STEWARDSHIP SITE.—The term ‘‘steward14 ship site’’ means any area of State, local, or tribal 

15 government, or privately owned land within the Re16 gion that is designated by the Administrator under 

17 section 5(a). 

18 (7) SYSTEMATIC SITE SELECTION.—The term 

19 ‘‘systematic site selection’’ means a process of select20 ing stewardship sites that—

21 (A) has explicit goals, methods, and cri22 teria; 

23 (B) produces feasible, repeatable, and de24 fensible results; 
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1 (C) provides for consideration of natural, 

2 physical, and biological patterns; 

3 (D) addresses replication, connectivity, 

4 species viability, location, and public recreation 

5 values; 

6 (E) uses geographic information systems 

7 technology and algorithms to integrate selection 

8 criteria; and 

9 (F) will result in achieving the goals of 

10 stewardship site selection at the lowest cost. 

11 (8) QUALIFIED APPLICANTS.—The term ‘‘quali12 fied applicant’’ means a non-Federal person that 

13 owns title to property located within the borders of 

14 the Region. 

15 (9) THREAT.—The term ‘‘threat’’ means a 

16 threat that is likely to destroy or seriously degrade 

17 a conservation target or a recreation area. 

18 SEC. 4. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE 

19 REGION. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

21 States of Connecticut and New York the Long Island 

22 Sound Stewardship Initiative Region. 

23 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Region consists of the imme24 diate coastal upland areas along—
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1 (1) Long Island Sound between mean high 

2 water and the inland boundary, as described on the 

3 map entitled ‘‘Long Island Sound Stewardship Re4 gion’’ and dated April 21, 2004; and 

5 (2) the Peconic Estuary as described on the 

6 map entitled ‘‘Peconic Estuary Program Study Area 

7 Boundaries’’ and included in the Comprehensive 

8 Conservation and Management Plan for the Peconic 

9 Estuary Program and dated November 15, 2001. 

10 SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF STEWARDSHIP SITES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may designate 

12 a stewardship site in accordance with this Act any area 

13 that contributes to accomplishing the purpose of this Act. 

14 (b) PUBLICATION OF LIST OF RECOMMENDED

15 SITES.—The Administrator shall—

16 (1) publish in the Federal Register and make 

17 available in general circulation in the States of Con18 necticut and New York the list of sites recommended 

19 by the Advisory Committee; and 

20 (2) provide a 90-day period for—

21 (A) the submission of public comment on 

22 the list; and 

23 (B) an opportunity for owners of such sites 

24 to decline designation of such sites as steward25 ship sites. 
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1 (c) OPINION REGARDING OWNER’S RESPONSIBIL2 ITIES.—The Administrator may not designate an area as 

3 a stewardship site under this Act unless the Administrator 

4 provides to the owner of the area, and the owner acknowl5 edges to the Administrator receipt of, a comprehensive 

6 opinion in plain English setting forth expressly the respon7 sibility of the owner that arises from such designation. 

8 (d) DESIGNATION OF STEWARDSHIP SITES.—Not 

9 later than 150 days after receiving from the Advisory 

10 Committee its list of recommended sites, the Adminis11 trator—

12 (1) shall review the recommendations of the Ad13 visory Committee; and 

14 (2) may designate as a stewardship site any site 

15 included in the list. 

16 SEC. 6. RECOMMENDATIONS BY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee shall—

18 (1) in accordance with this section, evaluate ap19 plications—

20 (A) for designation of areas as stewardship 

21 sites; 

22 (B) to develop management plans to ad23 dress threats to stewardship sites; and 

24 (C) to act on opportunities to protect and 

25 enhance stewardship sites; 
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1 (2) develop recommended guidelines, criteria, 

2 schedules, and due dates for the submission of appli3 cations and the evaluation by the Advisory Com4 mittee of information to recommend areas for des5 ignation as stewardship sites that fulfill terms of a 

6 multi-year management plan; 

7 (3) recommend to the Administrator a list of 

8 sites for designation as stewardship sites that fur9 ther the purpose of this Act; 

10 (4) develop management plans to address 

11 threats to stewardship sites; 

12 (5) raise awareness of the values of and threats 

13 to stewardship sites; 

14 (6) recommend that the Administrator award 

15 grants to qualified applicants; and 

16 (7) recommend to the Administrator ways to le17 verage additional resources for improved stewardship 

18 of the Region. 

19 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF SITES.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any qualified applicant may 

21 submit an application to the Advisory Committee to 

22 have a site recommended to the Administrator for 

23 designation as a stewardship site. 

24 (2) IDENTIFICATION.—The Advisory Committee 

25 shall review each application submitted under this 
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1 subsection to determine whether the site exhibits val2 ues that promote the purpose of this Act. 

3 (3) NATURAL RESOURCE-BASED RECREATION

4 AREAS.—In reviewing an application for rec5 ommendation of a recreation area for designation as 

6 a stewardship site, the Advisory Committee may use 

7 a selection technique that includes consideration 

8 of—

9 (A) public access; 

10 (B) community support; 

11 (C) high population density; 

12 (D) environmental justice (as defined in 

13 section 385.3 of title 33, Code of Federal Regu14 lations (or successor regulations)); 

15 (E) open spaces; and 

16 (F) cultural, historic, and scenic character17 istics. 

18 (4) NATURAL AREAS WITH ECOLOGICAL

19 VALUE.—In reviewing an application for rec20 ommendation of a natural area with ecological value 

21 for designation as a stewardship site, the Advisory 

22 Committee may use a selection technique that in23 cludes consideration of—

24 (A) measurable conservation targets for 

25 the Region; and 
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1 (B) prioritizing new sites using systematic 

2 site selection, which shall include consideration 

3 of—

4 (i) ecological uniqueness; 

5 (ii) species viability; 

6 (iii) habitat heterogeneity; 

7 (iv) size; 

8 (v) quality; 

9 (vi) open spaces; 

10 (vii) land cover; 

11 (viii) scientific, research, or edu12 cational value; and 

13 (ix) threats. 

14 (5) DEVIATION FROM PROCESS.—The Advisory 

15 Committee may accept an application to recommend 

16 a site other than as provided in this subsection, if 

17 the Advisory Committee—

18 (A) determines that the site makes signifi19 cant ecological or recreational contributions to 

20 the Region; and 

21 (B) provides to the Administrator the rea22 sons for deviating from the process otherwise 

23 described in this subsection. 

24 (c) SUBMISSION OF LIST OF RECOMMENDED

25 SITES.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—After completion of the site 

2 identification process set forth in subsection (b), the 

3 Advisory Committee shall submit to the Adminis4 trator its list of sites recommended for designation 

5 as stewardship sites. 

6 (2) LIMITATION.—The Advisory Committee 

7 shall not include a site in the list submitted under 

8 this subsection unless, prior to submission of the 

9 list, the owner of the site is—

10 (A) notified of the inclusion of the site in 

11 the list; and 

12 (B) allowed to decline inclusion of the site 

13 in the list. 

14 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In identifying sites for 

15 inclusion in the list, the Advisory Committee shall 

16 provide an opportunity for submission of, and con17 sider, public comments. 

18 SEC. 7. GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may provide 

20 grants, subject to the availability of appropriations, and 

21 other assistance for projects to fulfill the purpose of this 

22 Act. 

23 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

24 of an activity carried out using any assistance or grant 
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1 under this Act shall not exceed 60 percent of the total 

2 cost of the activity. 

3 SEC. 8. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP ADVISORY 

4 COMMITTEE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com6 mittee to be known as the ‘‘Long Island Sound Steward7 ship Advisory Committee’’. 

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may ap10 point the members of the Advisory Committee in ac11 cordance with this subsection and the guidance in 

12 section 320(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Con13 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)), except that the Gov14 ernor of each State may appoint 2 members of the 

15 Advisory Committee. 

16 (2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—In addition to the 

17 other members appointed under this subsection, the 

18 Advisory Committee may include—

19 (A) a representative of the Regional Plan 

20 Association; 

21 (B) a representative of marine trade orga22 nizations; and 

23 (C) a representative of private landowner 

24 interests. 
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1 (3) CONSIDERATION OF INTERESTS.—In ap2 pointing members of the Advisory Committee, the 

3 Administrator shall consider—

4 (A) Federal, State, and local government 

5 interests and tribal interests; 

6 (B) the interests of nongovernmental orga7 nizations; 

8 (C) academic interests; 

9 (D) private interests including land, agri10 culture, and business interests; and 

11 (E) recreational and commercial fishing in12 terests. 

13 (4) CHAIRPERSON.—In addition to the other 

14 members appointed under this subsection, the Ad15 ministrator may appoint as a member of the Advi16 sory Committee an individual to serve as the Chair17 person, who may be the Director of the Long Island 

18 Sound Office of the Environmental Protection Agen19 cy. 

20 (5) COMPLETION OF APPOINTMENTS.—The Ad21 ministrator shall complete the appointment of all 

22 members of the Advisory Committee by not later 

23 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act. 
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1 (A) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Advi2 sory Committee—

3 (i) shall be filled not later than 90 

4 days after the vacancy occurs; 

5 (ii) shall not affect the powers of the 

6 Advisory Committee; and 

7 (iii) shall be filled in the same manner 

8 as the original appointment was made. 

9 (c) TERM.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Advisory 

11 Committee shall be appointed for a term of 4 years. 

12 (2) MULTIPLE TERMS.—An individual may be 

13 appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee 

14 for more than 1 term. 

15 (d) POWERS.—The Advisory Committee may hold 

16 such hearings, meet and act at such times and places, take 

17 such testimony, and receive such evidence as the Advisory 

18 Committee considers advisable to carry out this Act. 

19 (e) MEETINGS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

21 shall meet at the call of the Chairperson, but no 

22 fewer than 4 times each year. 

23 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 

24 after the date on which all members of the Advisory 

25 Committee have been appointed, the Chairperson 
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1 shall call the initial meeting of the Advisory Com2 mittee. 

3 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

4 the Advisory Committee shall constitute a quorum, 

5 but a lesser number of members may hold hearings. 

6 (f) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

8 shall use an adaptive management framework to 

9 identify the best policy initiatives and actions 

10 through—

11 (A) definition of strategic goals; 

12 (B) definition of policy options for methods 

13 to achieve strategic goals; 

14 (C) establishment of measures of success; 

15 (D) identification of uncertainties; 

16 (E) development of informative models of 

17 policy implementation; 

18 (F) separation of the landscape into geo19 graphic units; 

20 (G) monitoring key responses at different 

21 spatial and temporal scales; and 

22 (H) evaluation of outcomes and incorpora23 tion into management strategies. 

24 (2) APPLICATION OF ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT

25 FRAMEWORK.—The Advisory Committee shall apply 
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1 the adaptive management framework to the process 

2 for making recommendations under subsections (b) 

3 through (f) of section 6 to the Administrator regard4 ing sites that should be designated as stewardship 

5 sites. 

6 (3) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.—The adaptive 

7 management framework required by this subsection 

8 shall consist of a scientific process—

9 (A) for—

10 (i) developing predictive models; 

11 (ii) making management policy deci12 sions based upon the model outputs; 

13 (iii) revising the management policies 

14 as data become available with which to 

15 evaluate the policies; and 

16 (iv) acknowledging uncertainty, com17 plexity, and variance in the spatial and 

18 temporal aspects of natural systems; and 

19 (B) that requires that management be 

20 viewed as experimental. 

21 (g) TERMINATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 

22 Advisory Committee shall terminate on December 31, 

23 2011. 
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1 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

2 (a) ADMINISTRATOR.—The Administrator shall pub3 lish and make available to the public on the Internet and 

4 in paper form—

5 (1) not later than 1 year after the date of en6 actment of this Act, a report that—

7 (A) assesses the role of this Act in pro8 tecting the Long Island Sound; 

9 (B) establishes in coordination with the 

10 Advisory Committee guidelines, criteria, sched11 ules, and due dates for evaluating information 

12 to designate stewardship sites; 

13 (C) includes information about any grants 

14 that are available for the purchase of land or 

15 property rights to protect stewardship sites; and 

16 (D) accounts for funds received and ex17 pended during the previous fiscal year; 

18 (2) an update of such report, at least every 

19 other year; and 

20 (3) information on funding and any new stew21 ardship sites more frequently than every other year. 

22 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—

23 (1) REPORT.—For each of fiscal years 2007 

24 through 2011, the Advisory Committee shall submit 

25 to the Administrator and the decisionmaking body of 

26 the Long Island Sound Study Management Con-
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1 ference established under section 320 of the Federal 

2 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330), an 

3 annual report that contains—

4 (A) a detailed statement of the findings 

5 and conclusions of the Advisory Committee 

6 since the last report under this subsection; 

7 (B) a description of all sites recommended 

8 by the Advisory Committee to the Adminis9 trator for designation as stewardship sites; 

10 (C) the recommendations of the Advisory 

11 Committee for such legislation and administra12 tive actions as the Advisory Committee con13 siders appropriate; and 

14 (D) in accordance with paragraph (2), the 

15 recommendations of the Advisory Committee 

16 for the awarding of grants. 

17 (2) RECOMMENDATION FOR GRANTS.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com19 mittee shall recommend that the Administrator 

20 award grants to qualified applicants to help to 

21 secure and improve the open space, public ac22 cess, or ecological values of stewardship sites, 

23 through—

24 (i) purchase of the property of a stew25 ardship site; 
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1 (ii) purchase of relevant property 

2 rights to a stewardship site; or 

3 (iii) entering into any other binding 

4 legal arrangement that ensures that the 

5 values of a stewardship site are sustained, 

6 including entering into an arrangement 

7 with a land manager or property owner to 

8 develop or implement a management plan 

9 that is necessary for the conservation of 

10 natural resources. 

11 (B) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF

12 FUNDS.—The Advisory Committee shall exert 

13 due diligence to ensure that its recommenda14 tions result in an equitable distribution of funds 

15 between the States. 

16 SEC. 10. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION; NO REGU17 LATORY AUTHORITY. 

18 (a) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in 

19 this Act—

20 (1) requires any private property owner to allow 

21 public access (including Federal, State, or local gov22 ernment access) to the private property; or 

23 (2) modifies the application of any provision of 

24 Federal, State, or local law with regard to public ac25 cess to or use of private property, except as entered 
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1 into by voluntary agreement of the owner or custo2 dian of the property. 

3 (b) LIABILITY.—Establishment of the Region does 

4 not create any liability, or have any effect on any liability 

5 under any other law, of any private property owner with 

6 respect to any person injured on the private property. 

7 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

8 USE.—Nothing in this Act modifies the authority of Fed9 eral, State, or local governments to regulate land use. 

10 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS

11 NOT REQUIRED.—Nothing in this Act requires the owner 

12 of any private property located within the boundaries of 

13 the Region to participate in any land conservation, finan14 cial or technical assistance, or other programs established 

15 under this Act. 

16 (e) PURCHASE OF LAND OR INTEREST IN LAND

17 FROM WILLING SELLERS ONLY.—Funds appropriated to 

18 carry out this Act may be used to purchase land or inter19 ests in land only from willing sellers. 

20 (f) MANNER OF ACQUISITION.—All acquisitions of 

21 land under this Act shall be made in a voluntary manner 

22 and shall not be the result of forced takings. 

23 (g) EFFECT OF ESTABLISHMENT.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The boundaries of the Re25 gion represent the area within which Federal funds 
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1 appropriated for the purpose of this Act may be ex2 pended. 

3 (2) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The establish4 ment of the Region and the boundaries of the Re5 gion do not provide any regulatory authority not in 

6 existence immediately before the enactment of this 

7 Act on land use in the Region by any management 

8 entity, except for such property rights as may be 

9 purchased from or donated by the owner of the 

10 property (including public lands donated by a State 

11 or local government). 

12 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro14 priated to the Administrator $25,000,000 for each of fis15 cal years 2007 through 2011 to carry out this Act, includ16 ing for—

17 (1) acquisition of land and interests in land; 

18 (2) development and implementation of site 

19 management plans; 

20 (3) site enhancements to reduce threats or pro21 mote stewardship; and 

22 (4) administrative expenses of the Advisory 

23 Committee and the Administrator. 

24 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts made available to the 

25 Administrator under this section each fiscal year shall be 
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1 used by the Administrator after reviewing the rec2 ommendations included in the annual reports of the Advi3 sory Committee under section 9. 

4 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BE5 QUESTS FOR SYSTEM.—In furtherance of the purpose of 

6 this Act, the Administrator may accept and use any gift, 

7 devise, or bequest of real or personal property, proceeds 

8 therefrom, or interests therein, to carry out this Act. Such 

9 acceptance may be subject to the terms of any restrictive 

10 or affirmative covenant, or condition of servitude, if such 

11 terms are considered by the Administrator to be in accord12 ance with law and compatible with the purpose for which 

13 acceptance is sought. 

14 (d) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of 

15 the amount available each fiscal year to carry out this Act, 

16 not more than 8 percent may be used for administrative 

17 costs. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 27, 

2006. 

Attest:

Clerk. 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5160

AN ACT

To establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship 

Initiative.