I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1772 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a nonregulatory 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 

APRIL 14, 2015 

Mr. CARNEY (for himself, Mr. GIBSON, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. DENT, 

Mr. FATTAH, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. 

NORCROSS, Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. 

SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, and Mr. MACARTHUR) 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 nonregulatory 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Delaware River Basin 

3 Conservation Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the Delaware River Basin is a national 

7 treasure of great cultural, environmental, ecological, 

8 and economic importance; 

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

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

11 York, and Pennsylvania, including nearly 800 square 

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

13 and streams; 

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

15 people who depend on the Delaware River and the 

16 Delaware Bay as an economic engine, a place of 

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

18 (4) the Basin provides clean drinking water to 

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

20 City, which relies on the Basin for approximately 

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

22 Philadelphia, whose most significant threat to the 

23 drinking water supply of the city is loss of forests 

24 and other natural cover in the Upper Basin, accord25 ing to a study conducted by the Philadelphia Water 

26 Department; 


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1 (5) the Basin contributes $25,000,000,000 an2 nually in economic activity, provides 

3 $21,000,000,000 in ecosystem goods and services 

4 per year, and is directly or indirectly responsible for 

5 600,000 jobs with $10,000,000,000 in annual 

6 wages; 

7 (6) almost 180 species of fish and wildlife are 

8 considered special status species in the Basin due to 

9 habitat loss and degradation, particularly sturgeon, 

10 eastern oyster, horseshoe crabs, and red knots, 

11 which have been identified as unique species in need 

12 of habitat improvement; 

13 (7) the Basin provides habitat for over 200 

14 resident and migrant fish species, includes signifi15 cant recreational fisheries, and is an important 

16 source of eastern oyster, blue crab, and the largest 

17 population of the American horseshoe crab; 

18 (8) the annual dockside value of commercial 

19 eastern oyster fishery landings for the Delaware Es20 tuary is nearly $4,000,000, making it the fourth21 most lucrative fishery in the Delaware River Basin 

22 watershed, and proven management strategies are 

23 available to increase oyster habitat, abundance, and 

24 harvest; 


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1 (9) the Delaware Bay has the second largest 

2 concentration of shorebirds in North America and is 

3 designated as 1 of the 4 most important shorebird 

4 migration sites in the world; 

5 (10) the Basin, 50 percent of which is forested, 

6 also has over 700,000 acres of wetland, more than 

7 126,000 acres of which are recognized as inter8 nationally important, resulting in a landscape that 

9 provides essential ecosystem services, including 

10 recreation, commercial, and water quality benefits; 

11 (11) much of the remaining exemplary natural 

12 landscape in the Basin is vulnerable to further deg13 radation, as the Basin gains approximately 10 

14 square miles of developed land annually, and with 

15 new development, urban watersheds are increasingly 

16 covered by impervious surfaces, amplifying the quan17 tity of polluted runoff into rivers and streams; 

18 (12) the Delaware River is the longest 

19 undammed river east of the Mississippi; a critical 

20 component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 

21 System in the Northeast, with more than 400 miles 

22 designated; home to one of the most heavily visited 

23 National Park units in the United States, the Dela24 ware Water Gap National Recreation Area; and the 

25 location of 6 National Wildlife Refuges; 


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1 (13) the Delaware River supports an inter2 nationally renowned cold water fishery in more than 

3 80 miles of its northern headwaters that attracts 

4 tens of thousands of visitors each year and generates 

5 over $21,000,000 in annual revenue through tourism 

6 and recreational activities; 

7 (14) management of water volume in the Basin 

8 is critical to flood mitigation and habitat for fish 

9 and wildlife, and following 3 major floods along the 

10 Delaware River since 2004, the Governors of the 

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

12 Pennsylvania have called for natural flood damage 

13 reduction measures to combat the problem, including 

14 restoring the function of riparian corridors; 

15 (15) the Delaware River Port Complex (includ16 ing docking facilities in the States of Delaware, New 

17 Jersey, and Pennsylvania) is one of the largest 

18 freshwater ports in the world, the Port of Philadel19 phia handles the largest volume of international ton20 nage and 70 percent of the oil shipped to the East 

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

22 deepwater port and marine terminal supporting 

23 more than 12,000 jobs, is the busiest terminal on 

24 the Delaware River, handling more than 400 vessels 


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1 per year with an annual import/export cargo tonnage 

2 of more than 4,000,000 tons; 

3 (16) the Delaware Estuary, where freshwater 

4 from the Delaware River mixes with saltwater from 

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

6 complex of the 28 estuaries in the National Estuary 

7 Program, and the Partnership for the Delaware Es8 tuary works to improve the environmental health of 

9 the Delaware Estuary; 

10 (17) the Delaware River Basin Commission is a 

11 Federal-interstate compact government agency 

12 charged with overseeing a unified approach to man13 aging the river system and implementing important 

14 water resources management projects and activities 

15 throughout the Basin that are in the national inter16 est; 

17 (18) restoration activities in the Basin are sup18 ported through several Federal and State agency 

19 programs, and funding for those important pro20 grams should continue and complement the estab21 lishment of the Delaware River Basin Restoration 

22 Program, which is intended to build on and help co23 ordinate restoration and protection funding mecha24 nisms at the Federal, State, regional, and local lev25 els; and 


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1 (19) the existing and ongoing voluntary con2 servation efforts in the Delaware River Basin neces3 sitate improved efficiency and cost effectiveness, as 

4 well as increased private-sector investments and co5 ordination of Federal and non-Federal resources. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) BASIN.—The term ‘‘Basin’’ means the 4- 

9 State Delaware Basin region, including all of Dela10 ware Bay and portions of the States of Delaware, 

11 New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania located in 

12 the Delaware River watershed. 

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

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

15 New York, and Pennsylvania. 

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

17 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

18 Service. 

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

20 means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a 

21 congressionally chartered foundation established by 

22 section 2 of the National Fish and Wildlife Founda23 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701). 

24 (5) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘grant pro25 gram’’ means the voluntary Delaware River Basin 


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1 Restoration Grant Program established under sec2 tion 5. 

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

4 the nonregulatory Delaware River Basin restoration 

5 program established under section 4. 

6 (7) RESTORATION AND PROTECTION.—The 

7 term ‘‘restoration and protection’’ means the con8 servation, stewardship, and enhancement of habitat 

9 for fish and wildlife to preserve and improve eco10 systems and ecological processes on which they de11 pend, and for use and enjoyment by the public. 

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

13 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di14 rector. 

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

16 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

17 SEC. 4. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT. 

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

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es20 tablish a nonregulatory program to be known as the 

21 ‘‘Delaware River Basin restoration program’’. 

22 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the Sec23 retary shall— 

24 (1) draw on existing and new management 

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


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1 work in consultation with applicable management 

2 entities, including representatives of the Partnership 

3 for the Delaware Estuary, the Delaware River Basin 

4 Commission, the Federal Government, and other 

5 State and local governments, and regional and non6 profit organizations, as appropriate, to identify, 

7 prioritize, and implement restoration and protection 

8 activities within the Basin; 

9 (2) adopt a Basinwide strategy that— 

10 (A) supports the implementation of a 

11 shared set of science-based restoration and pro12 tection activities developed in accordance with 

13 paragraph (1); 

14 (B) targets cost-effective projects with 

15 measurable results; and 

16 (C) maximizes conservation outcomes with 

17 no net gain of Federal full-time equivalent em18 ployees; and 

19 (3) establish the voluntary grant and technical 

20 assistance programs in accordance with section 5. 

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

22 the Secretary shall consult, as appropriate, with— 

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

24 (A) the Administrator of the Environ25 mental Protection Agency; 


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1 (B) the Administrator of the National Oce2 anic and Atmospheric Administration; 

3 (C) the Chief of the Natural Resources 

4 Conservation Service; 

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

6 Engineers; and 

7 (E) the head of any other applicable agen8 cy; 

9 (2) the Governors of the Basin States; 

10 (3) the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; 

11 (4) the Delaware River Basin Commission; 

12 (5) fish and wildlife joint venture partnerships; 

13 and 

14 (6) other public agencies and organizations with 

15 authority for the planning and implementation of 

16 conservation strategies in the Basin. 

17 (d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program in18 clude— 

19 (1) coordinating restoration and protection ac20 tivities among Federal, State, local, and regional en21 tities and conservation partners throughout the 

22 Basin; 

23 (2) carrying out coordinated restoration and 

24 protection activities, and providing for technical as25 sistance throughout the Basin and Basin States— 


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1 (A) to sustain and enhance fish and wild2 life habitat restoration and protection activities; 

3 (B) to improve and maintain water quality 

4 to support fish and wildlife, as well as the habi5 tats of fish and wildlife, and drinking water for 

6 people; 

7 (C) to sustain and enhance water manage8 ment for volume and flood damage mitigation 

9 improvements to benefit fish and wildlife habi10 tat; 

11 (D) to improve opportunities for public ac12 cess and recreation in the Basin consistent with 

13 the ecological needs of fish and wildlife habitat; 

14 (E) to facilitate strategic planning to maxi15 mize the resilience of natural systems and habi16 tats under changing watershed conditions; 

17 (F) to engage the public through outreach, 

18 education, and citizen involvement, to increase 

19 capacity and support for coordinated restora20 tion and protection activities in the Basin; 

21 (G) to increase scientific capacity to sup22 port the planning, monitoring, and research ac23 tivities necessary to carry out coordinated res24 toration and protection activities; and 


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1 (H) to provide technical assistance to carry 

2 out restoration and protection activities in the 

3 Basin. 

4 SEC. 5. GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE. 

5 (a) DELAWARE RIVER BASIN RESTORATION GRANT

6 PROGRAM.—To the extent that funds are available to 

7 carry out this section, the Secretary shall establish a vol8 untary grant and technical assistance program to be 

9 known as the ‘‘Delaware River Basin Restoration Grant 

10 Program’’ to provide competitive matching grants of vary11 ing amounts to State and local governments, nonprofit or12 ganizations, institutions of higher education, and other eli13 gible entities to carry out activities described in section 

14 4(d). 

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

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

17 criteria for the grant program to help ensure that activi18 ties funded under this section accomplish one or more of 

19 the purposes identified in section 4(d)(2) and advance the 

20 implementation of priority actions or needs identified in 

21 the Basinwide strategy adopted under section 4(b)(2). 

22 (c) COST SHARING.— 

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

24 the cost of a project funded under the grant proVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:32 Apr 15, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1772.IH H1772

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1 gram shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost 

2 of the activity, as determined by the Secretary. 

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

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

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

6 an in-kind contribution of services or materials. 

7 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

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

9 into an agreement to manage the grant program 

10 with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or 

11 a similar organization that offers grant management 

12 services. 

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

14 agreement under paragraph (1), the organization se15 lected shall— 

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

17 carry out this section in an advance payment of 

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

19 practicable thereafter, of that fiscal year; 

20 (B) invest and reinvest those amounts for 

21 the benefit of the grant program; and 

22 (C) otherwise administer the grant pro23 gram to support partnerships between the pub24 lic and private sectors in accordance with this 

25 Act. 


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1 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary enters 

2 into an agreement with the Foundation under para3 graph (1), any amounts received by the Foundation 

4 under this section shall be subject to the National 

5 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

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

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

8 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

11 submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this 

12 Act, including a description of each project that has re13 ceived funding under this Act. 

14 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro16 priated to the Secretary to carry out this Act $5,000,000 

17 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2021. 

18 (b) USE.—Of any amount made available under this 

19 section for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall use at least 

20 75 percent to carry out the grant program under section 

21 5 and to provide, or provide for, technical assistance under 

22 such program. 

Æ 


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