I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 223 

To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2015 

Mr. JOYCE (for himself, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. 

COLLINS of New York, Mr. NOLAN, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. REED, Mrs. 

WALORSKI, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. RENACCI, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. MILLER

of Michigan, and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, 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 ‘‘Great Lakes Restora5 tion Initiative Act of 2015’’. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 223 IH

1 SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE. 

2 Section 118(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Con3 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)) is amended by striking para4 graph (7) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(7) GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIA6 TIVE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab8 lished in the Agency a Great Lakes Restoration 

9 Initiative (referred to in this paragraph as the 

10 ‘Initiative’) to carry out programs and projects 

11 for Great Lakes protection and restoration. 

12 ‘‘(B) FOCUS AREAS.—The Initiative shall 

13 prioritize programs and projects carried out in 

14 coordination with non-Federal partners and 

15 programs and projects that address priority 

16 areas each fiscal year, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) the remediation of toxic sub18 stances and areas of concern; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the prevention and control of 

20 invasive species and the impacts of invasive 

21 species; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the protection and restoration of 

23 nearshore health and the prevention and 

24 mitigation of nonpoint source pollution; 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 223 IH

1 ‘‘(iv) habitat and wildlife protection 

2 and restoration, including wetlands res3 toration and preservation; and 

4 ‘‘(v) accountability, monitoring, eval5 uation, communication, and partnership 

6 activities. 

7 ‘‘(C) PROJECTS.—Under the Initiative, the 

8 Agency shall collaborate with Federal partners, 

9 including the Great Lakes Interagency Task 

10 Force, to select the best combination of pro11 grams and projects for Great Lakes protection 

12 and restoration using appropriate principles 

13 and criteria, including whether a program or 

14 project provides— 

15 ‘‘(i) the ability to achieve strategic 

16 and measurable environmental outcomes 

17 that implement the Great Lakes Action 

18 Plan and the Great Lakes Water Quality 

19 Agreement; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the feasibility of— 

21 ‘‘(I) prompt implementation; 

22 ‘‘(II) timely achievement of re23 sults; and 

24 ‘‘(III) resource leveraging; and 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 223 IH

1 ‘‘(iii) the opportunity to improve 

2 interagency and inter-organizational co3 ordination and collaboration to reduce du4 plication and streamline efforts. 

5 ‘‘(D) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Funds made avail7 able to carry out the Initiative shall be 

8 used to strategically implement— 

9 ‘‘(I) Federal projects; and 

10 ‘‘(II) projects carried out in co11 ordination with States, Indian tribes, 

12 municipalities, institutions of higher 

13 education, and other organizations. 

14 ‘‘(ii) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—With 

15 amounts made available for the Initiative 

16 each fiscal year, the Administrator may— 

17 ‘‘(I) transfer not more than 

18 $300,000,000 to the head of any Fed19 eral department or agency, with the 

20 concurrence of the department or 

21 agency head, to carry out activities to 

22 support the Initiative and the Great 

23 Lakes Water Quality Agreement; and 

24 ‘‘(II) enter into an interagency 

25 agreement with the head of any FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:24 Jan 14, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H223.IH H223

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 223 IH

1 eral department or agency to carry 

2 out activities described in subclause 

3 (I). 

4 ‘‘(E) SCOPE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Projects shall be 

6 carried out under the Initiative on multiple 

7 levels, including— 

8 ‘‘(I) Great Lakes-wide; and 

9 ‘‘(II) Great Lakes basin-wide. 

10 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—No funds made 

11 available to carry out the Initiative may be 

12 used for any water infrastructure activity 

13 (other than a green infrastructure project 

14 that improves habitat and other ecosystem 

15 functions in the Great Lakes) for which 

16 amounts are made available from— 

17 ‘‘(I) a State water pollution con18 trol revolving fund established under 

19 title VI; or 

20 ‘‘(II) a State drinking water re21 volving loan fund established under 

22 section 1452 of the Safe Drinking 

23 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12). 

24 ‘‘(F) ACTIVITIES BY OTHER FEDERAL

25 AGENCIES.—Each relevant Federal department 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 223 IH

1 or agency shall, to the maximum extent prac2 ticable— 

3 ‘‘(i) maintain the base level of funding 

4 for the Great Lakes activities of that de5 partment or agency without regard to 

6 funding under the Initiative; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) identify new activities and 

8 projects to support the environmental goals 

9 of the Initiative. 

10 ‘‘(G) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be 

11 appropriated to carry out the Initiative 

12 $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

13 through 2020.’’. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS