I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 644 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to build 

on and help coordinate funding for restoration and protection efforts 

of the 4-State Delaware River Basin region, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2013 

Mr. CARNEY (for himself, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. DENT, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. GIBSON, Mr. HOLT, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. MEEHAN, 

Mr. RUNYAN, and Ms. SCHWARTZ) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program 

to build on and help coordinate funding for restoration 

and protection efforts of the 4-State Delaware River 

Basin region, 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 ‘‘Delaware River Basin 

5 Conservation Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the Delaware River Basin is a national 

4 treasure of great cultural, environmental, and eco5 logical importance; 

6 (2) the Basin contains over 12,500 square miles 

7 of land in the States of Delaware, New Jersey, New 

8 York, and Pennsylvania, including nearly 800 square 

9 miles of bay and more than 2,000 tributary rivers 

10 and streams; 

11 (3) the Basin is home to more than 8,000,000 

12 people who depend on the Delaware River and the 

13 Delaware Bay as an economic engine, a place of 

14 recreation, and a vital habitat for fish and wildlife; 

15 (4) the Basin provides clean drinking water to 

16 more than 15,000,000 people, including New York 

17 City, which relies on the Basin for approximately 

18 half of the drinking water supply of the city, and 

19 Philadelphia, whose most significant threat to the 

20 drinking water supply of the city is forest clearing 

21 in the Upper Basin, according to a study conducted 

22 by the Philadelphia Water Department; 

23 (5) almost 180 species of fish and wildlife are 

24 considered special status species in the Basin due to 

25 habitat loss and degradation, particularly sturgeon, 

26 eastern oyster, and red knots, which have been idenVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:24 Feb 21, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H644.IH H644

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1 tified as unique species in need of habitat improve2 ment; 

3 (6) the Basin provides habitat for over 200 

4 resident and migrant fish species, includes signifi5 cant recreational fisheries, and is a prolific source of 

6 eastern oyster, blue crab, and the largest population 

7 of the American horseshoe crab; 

8 (7) the annual value of commercial Eastern 

9 oyster landings for the Delaware Estuary is 

10 $3,700,000 per year in 2010 dollars, making it the 

11 fourth-most lucrative fishery in the Delaware River 

12 Basin watershed, and oyster populations are re13 bounding despite many years of below-average bio14 logical recruitment due, in part, to pollution and dis15 ease; 

16 (8) the Delaware Bay has the second largest 

17 concentration of shorebirds in North America and is 

18 designated as 1 of the 4 most important shorebird 

19 migration sites in the world; 

20 (9) the Basin, 50 percent of which is forested, 

21 also has 1,000,000 acres of wetland, more than 

22 126,000 acres of which are recognized as inter23 nationally important, resulting in a landscape that 

24 provides essential ecosystem services, including 

25 recreation, commercial, and water quality benefits; 


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1 (10) much of the remaining exemplary natural 

2 landscape in the Basin is vulnerable to further deg3 radation, as the Basin gains approximately 14 

4 square miles of developed land annually, and with 

5 new development, urban watersheds are increasingly 

6 covered by impervious surfaces, amplifying the quan7 tity of polluted runoff into rivers and streams; 

8 (11) the Delaware River is the longest 

9 undammed river east of the Mississippi, and a crit10 ical component of the National Wild and Scenic Riv11 ers System in the Northeast; 

12 (12) management of water volume in the Basin 

13 is critical to flood mitigation and habitat for fish 

14 and wildlife, and following 3 major floods along the 

15 Delaware River since 2004, the Governors of the 

16 States of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and 

17 Pennsylvania have called for natural flood damage 

18 reduction measures to combat the problem, including 

19 restoring the function of riparian corridors; 

20 (13) the Delaware River Port Complex (includ21 ing docking facilities in the States of Delaware, New 

22 Jersey, and Pennsylvania) is one of the largest 

23 freshwater port in the world, the Port of Philadel24 phia handles the largest volume of international ton25 nage and 70 percent of the oil shipped to the East 


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1 Coast, and the Port of Wilmington, a full-service 

2 deepwater port and marine terminal, is the busiest 

3 terminal on the Delaware River, handling more than 

4 400 vessels per year with an annual import/export 

5 cargo tonnage of more than 4,000,000 tons; 

6 (14) the Delaware Estuary, where freshwater 

7 from the Delaware River mixes with saltwater from 

8 the Atlantic Ocean, is 1 of the largest and most 

9 complex of the 28 estuaries in the National Estuary 

10 Program, and the Partnership for the Delaware Es11 tuary works to improve the environmental health of 

12 the Delaware Estuary; 

13 (15) the Delaware River Basin Commission is a 

14 Federal-interstate compact government agency 

15 charged with overseeing a unified approach to man16 aging the river system and implementing important 

17 water resources management projects and activities 

18 throughout the Basin that are in the national inter19 est; 

20 (16) restoration activities in the Basin are sup21 ported through several Federal and State agency 

22 programs, and funding for those important pro23 grams should continue and complement the estab24 lishment of the Delaware River Basin Restoration 

25 Program, which is intended to build on and help coVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:24 Feb 21, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H644.IH H644

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1 ordinate restoration and protection funding mecha2 nisms at the Federal, State, regional, and local lev3 els; and 

4 (17) the existing and ongoing voluntary con5 servation efforts in the Delaware River Basin neces6 sitate improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness, as 

7 well as increased private-sector investments and co8 ordination of Federal and non-Federal resources. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) BASIN.—The term ‘‘Basin’’ means the 4– 

12 State Delaware Basin region, including all of Dela13 ware Bay and portions of the States of Delaware, 

14 New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania located in 

15 the Delaware River watershed. 

16 (2) BASIN STATE.—The term ‘‘Basin State’’ 

17 means each of the States of Delaware, New Jersey, 

18 New York, and Pennsylvania. 

19 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

20 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

21 Service. 

22 (4) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

23 means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a 

24 congressionally chartered foundation established by 


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1 section 2 of the National Fish and Wildlife Founda2 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701). 

3 (5) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘grant pro4 gram’’ means the Delaware River Basin restoration 

5 grant program established under section 5. 

6 (6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

7 the Delaware River Basin restoration program es8 tablished under section 4. 

9 (7) RESTORATION AND PROTECTION.—The 

10 term ‘‘restoration and protection’’ means the con11 servation, protection, and enhancement of fish and 

12 wildlife, as well as the habitats of fish and wildlife. 

13 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di15 rector. 

16 (9) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the 

17 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

18 SEC. 4. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es21 tablish a program to be known as the ‘‘Delaware River 

22 Basin restoration program’’. 

23 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the Sec24 retary shall— 


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1 (1) draw on existing and new management 

2 plans for the Basin, or portions of the Basin, and 

3 work in consultation with applicable management 

4 entities, including representatives of the Partnership 

5 for the Delaware Estuary, the Delaware River Basin 

6 Commission, the Federal Government, and other 

7 State and local governments, and regional and non8 profit organizations, as appropriate, to identify, 

9 prioritize, and implement restoration and protection 

10 activities within the Basin; 

11 (2) adopt a basin-wide strategy that— 

12 (A) supports the implementation of a 

13 shared set of science-based restoration and pro14 tection activities developed in accordance with 

15 paragraph (1); 

16 (B) targets cost-effective conservation 

17 projects; 

18 (C) supports measurable conservation ef19 forts; and 

20 (D) maximizes conservation outcomes with 

21 no net gain of Federal full-time equivalent em22 ployees; 

23 (3) establish the grant program in accordance 

24 with section 5; and 


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1 (4) provide for technical assistance in accord2 ance with this Act. 

3 (c) COORDINATION.—In establishing the program, 

4 the Secretary shall consult, as appropriate, with— 

5 (1) the heads of Federal agencies, including— 

6 (A) the Administrator of the Environ7 mental Protection Agency; 

8 (B) the Administrator of the National Oce9 anic and Atmospheric Administration; 

10 (C) the Chief of the Natural Resource 

11 Conservation Service; 

12 (D) the Chief of Engineers of the Corps of 

13 Engineers; and 

14 (E) the head of any other applicable agen15 cy; 

16 (2) the Governors of the Basin States; 

17 (3) the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; 

18 (4) the Delaware River Basin Commission; 

19 (5) fish and wildlife joint venture partnerships; 

20 and 

21 (6) other public agencies and organizations with 

22 authority for the planning and implementation of 

23 conservation strategies in the Basin. 

24 (d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program in25 clude— 


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1 (1) coordinating restoration and protection ac2 tivities among Federal, State, local, and regional en3 tities and conservation partners throughout the 

4 Basin; 

5 (2) carrying out coordinated restoration and 

6 protection activities throughout the Basin and Basin 

7 States— 

8 (A) to sustain and enhance fish and wild9 life habitat restoration and protection activities; 

10 (B) to improve and maintain water quality 

11 to support fish and wildlife, as well as the habi12 tats of fish and wildlife; 

13 (C) to sustain and enhance water manage14 ment and flood damage mitigation improve15 ments to benefit fish and wildlife habitat; 

16 (D) to improve opportunities for public ac17 cess and recreation in the Basin; 

18 (E) to encourage environmentally sensitive 

19 land use planning and development; 

20 (F) to increase the capacity to implement 

21 coordinated restoration and protection activities 

22 in the Basin by conducting public outreach and 

23 education and promoting citizen involvement; 

24 and 


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1 (G) to increase scientific capacity to sup2 port the planning, monitoring, and research ac3 tivities necessary to carry out coordinated res4 toration and protection activities; and 

5 (3) providing competitive grants for technical 

6 assistance to carry out restoration and protection ac7 tivities in the Basin, with priority given to activities 

8 with multiple benefits, as described in paragraph 

9 (2). 

10 SEC. 5. GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE. 

11 (a) DELAWARE RIVER BASIN RESTORATION PRO12 GRAM.—To the extent that funds are available to carry 

13 out this section, the Secretary shall establish a grant pro14 gram to be known as the ‘‘Delaware River Basin restora15 tion grant program’’ to provide competitive matching 

16 grants of varying amounts to State and local governments, 

17 nonprofit organizations, community organizations, institu18 tions of higher education, and other eligible entities to 

19 carry out activities described in section 4(d). 

20 (b) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

21 the organizations described in section 4(c), shall develop 

22 criteria for the grant program to help ensure that activi23 ties funded under this section accomplish 1 or more of 

24 the following: 


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1 (1) Restoration or protection of fish and wildlife 

2 and the habitats of fish and wildlife. 

3 (2) Improvement or protection of water quality 

4 by reducing pollutants and restoring headwater 

5 areas and drinking water basins. 

6 (3) Improvement of the management of water 

7 volume and mitigation of flood damage to support 

8 the ecological needs of fish and wildlife and the habi9 tats of fish and wildlife. 

10 (4) Inclusion of priority needs or actions identi11 fied in the basin-wide strategy adopted under section 

12 4(b)(2). 

13 (5) Inclusion of restoration and protection ac14 tivities with multiple benefits in the Basin, including 

15 habitat, water quality, and flood damage mitigation. 

16 (c) COST SHARING.— 

17 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

18 the cost of a project funded under the grant pro19 gram shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost 

20 of the activity, as determined by the Secretary. 

21 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

22 share of the cost of a project funded under the grant 

23 program may be provided in cash or in the form of 

24 an in-kind contribution of services or materials. 

25 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

2 into an agreement to manage the grant program 

3 with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or 

4 a similar organization that offers grant management 

5 services. 

6 (2) FUNDING.—If the Secretary enters into an 

7 agreement under paragraph (1), the organization se8 lected shall— 

9 (A) for each fiscal year, receive amounts to 

10 carry out this section in an advance payment of 

11 the entire amount on October 1, or as soon as 

12 practicable thereafter, of that fiscal year; 

13 (B) invest and reinvest those amounts for 

14 the benefit of the grant program; and 

15 (C) otherwise administer the grant pro16 gram to support partnerships between the pub17 lic and private sectors in accordance with this 

18 Act. 

19 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary enters 

20 into an agreement with the Foundation under para21 graph (1), any amounts received by the Foundation 

22 under this section shall be subject to the National 

23 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

24 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), excluding section 10(a) of that 

25 Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)). 


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1 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

2 provide, or provide for, technical assistance to carry out 

3 this section, on a nonreimbursable basis, to— 

4 (1) other Federal agencies; 

5 (2) State and local governments; 

6 (3) nonprofit organizations; 

7 (4) community organizations; 

8 (5) institutions of higher education; or 

9 (6) other entities, as the Secretary determines 

10 to be appropriate. 

11 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

14 submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this 

15 Act, including a description of each project that has re16 ceived funding under this Act. 

17 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Fish and Wild19 life Service shall use funds within its existing budgetary 

20 authority to carry out this Act. 

21 (b) USE.—Of any amount made available each fiscal 

22 year to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall use at least 

23 75 percent to carry out the grant program under section 


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1 5 including to provide, or provide for, technical assistance 

2 under section 5(e). 

Æ 


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