II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1222

To catalyze restoration of estuary habitat through more efficient financing

of projects and enhanced coordination of Federal and non-Federal restoration programs, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 25, 1997

Mr. CHAFEE (for himself, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. FAIRCLOTH,

Mr. ROBB, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. D’AMATO, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. WARNER, Mr. REED, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. GRAHAM, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. DODD, Mr. MOYNIHAN, and Mr. MACK) introduced the following

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

and Public Works

A BILL

To catalyze restoration of estuary habitat through more efficient financing of projects and enhanced coordination

of Federal and non-Federal restoration programs, 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 ‘‘Estuary Habitat Res5 toration Partnership Act of 1997’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the estuaries and coastal regions of the

4 United States are home to half the population of the

5 United States;

6 (2) the traditions, economy, and quality of life

7 of many communities depend on the natural abun8 dance and health of the estuaries;

9 (3) approximately 75 percent of the commercial

10 fish and shellfish of the United States depend on es11 tuaries at some stage in their life cycle;

12 (4) the varied habitats of estuaries and other

13 coastal waters provide jobs to 28,000,000 United

14 States citizens in commercial and sport fishing, tour15 ism, recreation, and other industries, with fishing

16 alone contributing $111,000,000,000 to the United

17 States economy each year;

18 (5) despite the many values of estuaries, estu19 aries are gravely threatened by estuary habitat alter20 ation and loss;

21 (6) the accumulated loss of estuary habitat,

22 reaching over 90 percent in some estuaries, threat23 ens the ecological and economic bounty of regions

24 experiencing the loss, and can be reversed only by

25 action to restore lost and degraded estuary habitat;
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1 (7) the demands on Federal, State, and local

2 funding for estuary habitat restoration activities ex3 ceed available resources and prompt serious concerns

4 about the ability of the United States to restore es5 tuary habitat vital to efforts to restore, preserve,

6 and protect the health of estuaries;

7 (8) successful restoration of estuaries demands

8 the full coordination of Federal and State estuary

9 habitat restoration programs;

10 (9) to succeed in restoring estuaries, it is im11 portant to link estuary habitat restoration projects

12 to broader ecosystem planning in order to establish

13 restoration programs that are effective in the long

14 term;

15 (10) efficient leveraging of scarce public re16 sources and new and innovative market-based fund17 ing for estuary habitat restoration activities would

18 generate real returns on investments for commu19 nities through improvement of the vibrancy and

20 health of estuaries;

21 (11) the Federal, State, and private cooperation

22 in estuary habitat restoration activities in existence

23 on the date of enactment of this Act should be

24 strengthened and new public and public-private estu25 ary habitat restoration partnerships established; and
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1 (12) such new partnerships would help ensure

2 the ecological and economic vibrancy of estuaries for

3 the benefit of future generations.

4 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

5 The purposes of this Act are—

6 (1) to establish a voluntary, community-driven,

7 incentive-based program that will catalyze the res8 toration of 1,000,000 acres of estuary habitat by

9 2010;

10 (2) to encourage enhanced coordination and

11 leveraging of Federal, State, and community estuary

12 habitat restoration programs, plans, and studies;

13 (3) to establish effective estuary habitat res14 toration partnerships among public agencies at all

15 levels of government and between the public and pri16 vate sectors;

17 (4) to promote efficient financing of estuary

18 habitat restoration activities to help better leverage

19 limited Federal funding; and

20 (5) to develop and enhance monitoring and

21 maintenance capabilities designed to ensure that res22 toration efforts build on the successes of past and

23 current efforts and scientific understanding.

24 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

25 In this Act:
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1 (1) COLLABORATIVE COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Col2 laborative Council’’ means the interagency council

3 established by section 5.

4 (2) DEGRADED ESTUARY HABITAT.—The term

5 ‘‘degraded estuary habitat’’ means estuary habitat

6 where natural ecological functions have been im7 paired and normal beneficial uses have been reduced.

8 (3) ESTUARY.—The term ‘‘estuary’’ means—

9 (A) a body of water in which fresh water

10 from a river or stream meets and mixes with

11 salt water from the ocean; and

12 (B) the physical, biological, and chemical

13 elements associated with such a body of water.

14 (4) ESTUARY HABITAT.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘estuary

16 habitat’’ means the complex of physical and hy17 drologic features and living organisms within

18 estuaries and associated ecosystems.

19 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘estuary

20 habitat’’ includes salt and fresh water coastal

21 marshes, coastal forested wetlands and other

22 coastal wetlands, tidal flats, natural shoreline

23 areas, shellfish beds, sea grass meadows, kelp

24 beds, river deltas, and river and stream banks

25 under tidal influence.
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1 (5) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION ACTIV2 ITY.—

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘estuary

4 habitat restoration activity’’ means an activity

5 that results in improving degraded estuary

6 habitat (including both physical and functional

7 restoration), with the goal of attaining a self8 sustaining, ecologically based system integrated

9 into the surrounding landscape.

10 (B) INCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—The term

11 ‘‘estuary habitat restoration activity’’ in12 cludes—

13 (i) the reestablishment of physical fea14 tures and biological and hydrologic func15 tions;

16 (ii) except as provided in subpara17 graph (C)(ii), the cleanup of contamina18 tion;

19 (iii) the control of nonnative and

20 invasive species;

21 (iv) the reintroduction of native or

22 ecologically beneficial species through

23 planting or natural succession; and

24 (v) other activities that improve estu25 ary habitat.
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1 (C) EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—The term

2 ‘‘estuary habitat restoration activity’’ does not

3 include—

4 (i) an act that constitutes mitigation

5 for the adverse effects of an activity regu6 lated or otherwise governed by Federal or

7 State law; or

8 (ii) an act that constitutes satisfaction

9 of liability for natural resource damages

10 under any Federal or State law.

11 (6) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION

12 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘estuary habitat restoration

13 project’’ means an estuary habitat restoration activ14 ity under consideration or selected by the Collabo15 rative Council, in accordance with this Act, to re16 ceive financial, technical, or another form of assist17 ance.

18 (7) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION STRAT19 EGY.—The term ‘‘estuary habitat restoration strat20 egy’’ means the estuary habitat restoration strategy

21 developed under section 6(a).

22 (8) FEDERAL ESTUARY MANAGEMENT OR HABI23 TAT RESTORATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘Federal estu24 ary management or habitat restoration plan’’ means
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1 any Federal plan for restoration of degraded estuary

2 habitat that—

3 (A) was developed by a public body with

4 the substantial participation of appropriate

5 public and private stakeholders; and

6 (B) reflects a community-based planning

7 process.

8 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes an

9 entity of a Federal, State, or local government, an

10 Indian tribe, an entity organized or existing under

11 the law of a State, and a nongovernmental organiza12 tion.

13 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

14 means the Secretary of the Army, or a designee.

15 (11) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under

16 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary for Oceans

17 and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce, or

18 a designee.

19 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF COLLABORATIVE COUNCIL.

20 (a) COLLABORATIVE COUNCIL.—There is established

21 an interagency council to be known as the ‘‘Estuary Habi22 tat Restoration Collaborative Council’’.

23 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Collaborative Council shall

24 be composed of the Secretary, the Under Secretary, the

25 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
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1 the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Director

2 of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service), the Sec3 retary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Transpor4 tation, or their designees.

5 (c) CONVENING OF COLLABORATIVE COUNCIL.—The

6 Secretary shall—

7 (1) convene the first meeting of the Collabo8 rative Council not later than 30 days after the date

9 of enactment of this Act; and

10 (2) convene additional meetings as often as ap11 propriate to ensure that this Act is fully carried out,

12 but not less often than quarterly.

13 (d) COLLABORATIVE COUNCIL PROCEDURES.—

14 (1) QUORUM.—Three members of the Collabo15 rative Council shall constitute a quorum.

16 (2) VOTING AND MEETING PROCEDURES.—The

17 Collaborative Council shall establish procedures for

18 voting and the conduct of meetings by the Council.

19 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF COLLABORATIVE COUNCIL.

20 (a) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION STRATEGY.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—

22 (A) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 1

23 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the

24 Collaborative Council, in consultation with rep25 resentatives from coastal States and nonprofit
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1 organizations with expertise in estuary habitat

2 restoration, shall develop an estuary habitat

3 restoration strategy designed to ensure a com4 prehensive approach to the selection and

5 prioritization of estuary habitat restoration

6 projects and the full coordination of Federal

7 and non-Federal activities related to restoration

8 of estuary habitat.

9 (B) PROVISION OF NATIONAL FRAME10 WORK.—The estuary habitat restoration strat11 egy shall provide a national framework for estu12 ary habitat restoration activities by—

13 (i) identifying existing estuary habitat

14 restoration plans;

15 (ii) integrating overlapping estuary

16 habitat restoration plans; and

17 (iii) identifying appropriate processes

18 for the development of estuary habitat res19 toration plans where needed.

20 (2) INTEGRATION OF PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED

21 ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION PLANS, PROGRAMS,

22 AND PARTNERSHIPS.—In developing the estuary

23 habitat restoration strategy, the Collaborative Coun24 cil shall—

25 (A) conduct a review of—
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1 (i) Federal estuary management or

2 habitat restoration plans; and

3 (ii) Federal programs established

4 under other law that provide funding for

5 estuary habitat restoration activities;

6 (B) develop, based on best management

7 practices, a framework for fully coordinating

8 and streamlining the activities of the Federal

9 plans and programs referred to in subpara10 graph (A);

11 (C) develop a set of proposals for—

12 (i) using programs established under

13 this or any other Act to maximize the in14 centives for the creation of new public-pri15 vate partnerships to carry out estuary

16 habitat restoration projects; and

17 (ii) leveraging Federal resources to

18 encourage increased private sector involve19 ment in estuary habitat restoration activi20 ties; and

21 (D) ensure that the estuary habitat res22 toration strategy is developed and will be imple23 mented in a manner that is consistent with the

24 findings and requirements of Federal estuary

25 management or habitat restoration plans.
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1 (3) ELEMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED.—Consist2 ent with the requirements of this section, the Col3 laborative Council, in the development of the estuary

4 habitat restoration strategy, shall consider—

5 (A) the contributions of estuary habitat

6 to—

7 (i) wildlife, including endangered and

8 threatened species, migratory birds, and

9 resident species of an estuary watershed;

10 (ii) fish and shellfish, including com11 mercial and sport fisheries;

12 (iii) surface and ground water quality

13 and quantity, and flood control;

14 (iv) outdoor recreation; and

15 (v) other areas of concern that the

16 Collaborative Council determines to be ap17 propriate for consideration;

18 (B) the estimated historic losses, estimated

19 current rate of loss, and extent of the threat of

20 future loss or degradation of each type of estu21 ary habitat;

22 (C) the most appropriate method for se23 lecting estuary habitat restoration projects es24 sential to—
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1 (i) the proper protection and preserva2 tion of an estuary ecosystem;

3 (ii) the implementation of a Federal

4 estuary management or habitat restoration

5 plan; or

6 (iii) the selection by the Collaborative

7 Council of an appropriate balance of small8 er and larger estuary habitat restoration

9 projects; and

10 (D) procedures to minimize duplicative and

11 conflicting application requirements for public

12 and private landowners seeking assistance for

13 estuary habitat restoration activities.

14 (4) COMMUNITY ADVICE.—The Collaborative

15 Council shall seek the advice of experts in restora16 tion of estuary habitat from the private, including

17 nonprofit, sectors to assist in the development of an

18 estuary habitat restoration strategy.

19 (5) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—Before

20 adopting a final estuary habitat restoration strategy,

21 the Collaborative Council shall publish in the Fed22 eral Register a draft of the estuary habitat restora23 tion strategy and provide an opportunity for public

24 review and comment.
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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROJECT APPLICATION AND

2 SELECTION CRITERIA.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the other

4 provisions of this section, the Collaborative Council

5 shall establish—

6 (A) application procedures to be followed

7 by States and other non-Federal persons to

8 nominate estuary habitat restoration activities

9 for consideration by the Collaborative Council

10 for assistance under this Act;

11 (B) criteria for determining eligibility for

12 financial assistance under this Act for an estu13 ary habitat restoration project;

14 (C) application procedures and criteria for

15 granting a reduction in the minimum non-Fed16 eral share requirement, in accordance with sec17 tion 7(d)(2); and

18 (D) such other criteria as the Collaborative

19 Council determines to be reasonable and nec20 essary in carrying out this Act.

21 (2) PROPOSALS.—A proposal for an estuary

22 habitat restoration project shall originate from a

23 non-Federal person and shall require, when appro24 priate, the approval of State or local agencies.
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1 (3) FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—

2 The criteria established under paragraph (1) shall

3 provide for the consideration of the following factors

4 in determining the eligibility of an estuary habitat

5 restoration project for financial assistance under this

6 Act and in prioritizing the selection of estuary habi7 tat restoration projects by the Collaborative Council:

8 (A) Whether the proposed estuary habitat

9 restoration project meets the criteria specified

10 in the estuary habitat restoration strategy.

11 (B) The technical merit and feasibility of

12 the proposed estuary habitat restoration

13 project.

14 (C) Whether the non-Federal persons pro15 posing the estuary habitat restoration project

16 can provide satisfactory assurances that they

17 will have adequate personnel, funding, and au18 thority to carry out and properly maintain the

19 estuary habitat restoration project.

20 (D) Whether, in the State in which a pro21 posed estuary habitat restoration project is to

22 be carried out, there is a State dedicated source

23 of funding for programs to acquire or restore

24 estuary habitat, natural areas, and open spaces.
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1 (E) Whether the proposed estuary habitat

2 restoration project will encourage the increased

3 coordination and cooperation of Federal, State,

4 and local Government agencies.

5 (F) The level of private matching fund or

6 in-kind contributions to the estuary habitat res7 toration project.

8 (G) Whether the proposed habitat restora9 tion project includes a monitoring plan to en10 sure that short-term and long-term restoration

11 goals are achieved.

12 (H) Other factors that the Collaborative

13 Council determines to be reasonable and nec14 essary for consideration.

15 (4) PRIORITY ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION

16 PROJECTS.—

17 (A) DESIGNATION.—The Collaborative

18 Council may designate an estuary habitat res19 toration project as a priority estuary habitat

20 restoration project if, in addition to meeting the

21 selection criteria specified in this section—

22 (i) the estuary habitat restoration

23 project addresses a restoration goal identi24 fied in the estuary habitat restoration

25 strategy;
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1 (ii) the estuary habitat restoration

2 project is part of an approved Federal es3 tuary management or habitat restoration

4 plan;

5 (iii) the non-Federal share with re6 spect to the estuary habitat restoration

7 project exceeds 50 percent; or

8 (iv) there is a nonpoint source pro9 gram upstream of the estuary habitat res10 toration project that addresses upstream

11 sources that would otherwise re-impair the

12 restored habitat.

13 (B) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION.—A priority

14 estuary habitat restoration project shall be

15 given a higher priority in receipt of funding

16 under this Act.

17 (c) INTERIM ACTIONS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Pending completion of the

19 estuary habitat restoration strategy developed under

20 subsection (a), the Collaborative Council may pay

21 the Federal share of the cost of an interim action to

22 carry out an estuary habitat restoration activity.

23 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share shall

24 not exceed 25 percent.

25 (d) COOPERATION OF NON-FEDERAL PARTNERS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Collaborative Council

2 shall not select an estuary habitat restoration project

3 until each non-Federal interest has entered into a

4 written cooperation agreement in accordance with

5 section 221(a) of the Flood Control Act of 1970 (42

6 U.S.C. 1962d–5b(a)).

7 (2) MAINTENANCE AND MONITORING.—A co8 operation agreement entered into under paragraph

9 (1) shall provide for maintenance and monitoring of

10 the estuary habitat restoration project to the extent

11 determined necessary by the Collaborative Council.

12 (e) LEAD COLLABORATIVE COUNCIL MEMBER.—The

13 Collaborative Council shall designate a lead Collaborative

14 Council member for each proposed estuary habitat res15 toration project. The lead Collaborative Council member

16 shall have primary responsibility for overseeing and assist17 ing others in implementing the proposed project.

18 (f) AGENCY CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

20 the Collaborative Council shall consult with, cooper21 ate with, and coordinate its activities with the activi22 ties of other appropriate Federal agencies, as deter23 mined by the Collaborative Council.

24 (2) USE OF COORDINATING MECHANISMS.—The

25 Collaborative Council shall work to ensure that Fed-
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1 eral agency coordinating and streamlining mecha2 nisms established under other law are fully used in

3 cases in which the Collaborative Council determines

4 the use of the mechanisms to be appropriate.

5 (g) BENEFITS AND COSTS OF ESTUARY HABITAT

6 RESTORATION PROJECTS.—The Collaborative Council

7 shall evaluate the benefits and costs of estuary habitat res8 toration projects in accordance with section 907 of the

9 Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C.

10 2284).

11 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

12 authorized to be appropriated to the Department of the

13 Army for the administration and operation of the Collabo14 rative Council $4,000,000 for each fiscal year.

15 SEC. 7. COST SHARING OF ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORA16 TION PROJECTS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—No financial assistance in carry18 ing out an estuary habitat restoration project shall be

19 available under this Act from any Federal agency unless

20 the non-Federal applicant for assistance demonstrates to

21 the satisfaction of the Collaborative Council that the estu22 ary habitat restoration project meets—

23 (1) the requirements of this Act; and

24 (2) any criteria established by the Collaborative

25 Council under this Act.
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1 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), for each fiscal year, the Federal share of

4 the cost of an estuary habitat restoration project as5 sisted under this Act shall be not less than 25 per6 cent and not more than 65 percent.

7 (2) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE.—In the case

8 of an estuary habitat restoration project with respect

9 to which the applicant demonstrates need under sub10 section (d)(2), the Federal share of the cost of the

11 project shall not exceed 75 percent.

12 (c) PAYMENT OF FEDERAL SHARE UNDER OTHER

13 LAW.—The Collaborative Council may use funds made

14 available under this Act to pay all or part of the Federal

15 share of the cost of an estuary habitat restoration activity

16 eligible for funding under a program established under an17 other provision of law, if the activity would also be eligible

18 for funding under this Act as an estuary habitat restora19 tion project.

20 (d) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—

21 (1) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The non-Fed22 eral share of the cost of an estuary habitat restora23 tion project may be provided in the form of land,

24 easements, rights-of-way, services, or any other form

25 of in-kind contribution determined by the Collabo-
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1 rative Council to be an appropriate contribution

2 equivalent to the monetary amount required for the

3 non-Federal share of the estuary habitat restoration

4 project.

5 (2) REDUCED NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—An ap6 plicant for assistance in carrying out an estuary

7 habitat restoration project may submit an applica8 tion for a reduction in the requirement of the pay9 ment of a non-Federal share of at least 35 percent,

10 if the applicant submits a statement of need and

11 demonstrates a need for a reduced non-Federal

12 share in accordance with section 103(m) of the

13 Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (33

14 U.S.C. 2213(m)).

15 (e) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS BY STATES TO POLITI16 CAL SUBDIVISIONS.—With the approval of the Secretary,

17 a State may allocate to any local government, area wide

18 agency designated under section 204 of the Demonstration

19 Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 (42

20 U.S.C. 3334), regional agency, or interstate agency, a por21 tion of any funds disbursed by the Collaborative Council

22 to the State for the purpose of carrying out an estuary

23 habitat restoration project.
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1 SEC. 8. MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE OF ESTUARY

2 HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECTS.

3 (a) DATABASE OF RESTORATION PROJECT INFORMA4 TION.—The Under Secretary shall maintain an appro5 priate database of information concerning estuary habitat

6 restoration projects funded by the Collaborative Council,

7 including information on project techniques, project com8 pletion, monitoring data, and other relevant information.

9 (b) REPORT.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Collaborative Council

11 shall biennially submit a report to the Committee on

12 Environment and Public Works of the Senate and

13 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

14 of the House of Representatives on the results of ac15 tivities carried out under this Act.

16 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—A report under

17 paragraph (1) shall include—

18 (A) data on the number of acres of estuary

19 habitat restored under this Act, including the

20 number of projects approved and completed

21 that comprise those acres;

22 (B) the percentage of restored estuary

23 habitat monitored under a plan to ensure that

24 short-term and long-term restoration goals are

25 achieved;
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1 (C) an estimate of the long-term success of

2 varying restoration techniques used in carrying

3 out estuary habitat restoration projects;

4 (D) a review of how the Collaborative

5 Council has incorporated the information de6 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C) in

7 the selection and implementation of estuary

8 habitat restoration projects;

9 (E) a review of efforts made by the Col10 laborative Council to maintain an appropriate

11 database of restoration projects funded under

12 this Act; and

13 (F) a review of the measures that the Col14 laborative Council has taken to provide the in15 formation described in subparagraphs (A)

16 through (C) to persons with responsibility for

17 assisting in the restoration of estuary habitat.

18 SEC. 9. MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.

19 In carrying out this Act, the Collaborative Council

20 may—

21 (1) enter into cooperative agreements with per22 sons; and

23 (2) execute such memoranda of understanding

24 as are necessary to reflect the agreements.
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1 SEC. 10. DISTRIBUTION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR ESTU2 ARY HABITAT RESTORATION ACTIVITIES.

3 The Secretary shall allocate funds made available to

4 carry out this Act based on the need for the funds and

5 such other factors as the Collaborative Council determines

6 to be appropriate to carry out this Act.

7 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 (a) AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS UNDER

9 OTHER LAW.—Funds authorized to be appropriated

10 under section 908 of the Water Resources Development

11 Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2285) and section 206 of the

12 Water Resources Development Act of 1996 (33 U.S.C.

13 2330) may be used by the Secretary in accordance with

14 this Act to assist States and other non-Federal persons

15 in carrying out estuary habitat restoration projects or in16 terim actions under section 6(c).

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

18 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry

19 out this Act—

20 (1) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

21 (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; and

22 (3) $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001

23 through 2003.

24 SEC. 12. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

25 (a) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FOR ARMY CORPS OF

26 ENGINEERS.—The Secretary—
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1 (1) may carry out estuary habitat restoration

2 projects as determined by the Collaborative Council;

3 and

4 (2) shall give estuary habitat restoration

5 projects the same consideration (as determined by

6 the Collaborative Council) as projects relating to ir7 rigation, navigation, or flood control.

8 (b) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAW.—Sections

9 203, 204, and 205 of the Water Resources Development

10 Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2231, 2232, 2233) shall not apply

11 to an estuary habitat restoration project selected in ac12 cordance with this Act.

13 (c) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION MISSION.—

14 The Secretary shall establish restoration of estuary habi15 tat as a primary mission of the Army Corps of Engineers.

16 (d) FEDERAL AGENCY FACILITIES AND PERSON17 NEL.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal agencies may co19 operate in carrying out scientific and other programs

20 necessary to carry out this Act, and may provide fa21 cilities and personnel, for the purpose of assisting

22 the Collaborative Council in carrying out its duties

23 under this Act.

24 (2) REIMBURSEMENT FROM COLLABORATIVE

25 COUNCIL.—Federal agencies may accept reimburse-
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1 ment from the Collaborative Council for providing

2 services, facilities, and personnel under paragraph

3 (1).

4 (e) COLLABORATIVE COUNCIL ADMINISTRATIVE EX5 PENSES AND STAFFING.—Not later than 180 days after

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

7 of the United States shall submit to Congress and the Sec8 retary an analysis of the extent to which the Collaborative

9 Council needs additional personnel and administrative re10 sources to fully carry out its duties under this Act. The

11 analysis shall include recommendations regarding nec12 essary additional funding.

13 (f) APPLICATION OF AND CONSISTENCY WITH

14 OTHER LAWS.—Except as specifically provided in this

15 Act—

16 (1) nothing in this Act supersedes or modifies

17 any Federal law in existence on the date of enact18 ment of this Act; and

19 (2) each action by a Federal agency under this

20 Act shall be carried out in a manner that is consist21 ent with such law.

Æ