IB 

Union Calendar No. 354 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 223 

[Report No. 114–465] 

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 

MARCH 23, 2016 

Additional sponsors: Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. DUFFY, Mr. 

BUCSHON, Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. 

DOLD, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. KATKO, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. 

WALZ, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. HANNA, Mr. GIBSON, Mr. BISHOP of Michigan, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. TROTT, Mr. 

ISRAEL, Mr. TONKO, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. TURNER, Mr. UPTON, Mr. 

WENSTRUP, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, and Mr. STIVERS

MARCH 23, 2016 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 8, 2015] 


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A BILL 

To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and 

for other purposes. 


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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 Restoration 

5 Initiative Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE. 

7 Section 118(c)(7) of the Federal Water Pollution Con8 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)(7)) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) and 

10 inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) FOCUS AREAS.—In carrying out the 

12 Initiative, the Administrator shall prioritize pro13 grams and projects, to be carried out in coordi14 nation with non-Federal partners, that address 

15 the priority areas described in the Initiative Ac16 tion Plan, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) the remediation of toxic substances 

18 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; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) habitat and wildlife protection 

2 and restoration, including wetlands restora3 tion and preservation; and 

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

6 activities. 

7 ‘‘(C) PROJECTS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

9 Initiative, the Administrator shall collabo10 rate with other Federal partners, including 

11 the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force es12 tablished by Executive Order 13340 (69 

13 Fed. Reg. 29043), to select the best combina14 tion of programs and projects for Great 

15 Lakes protection and restoration using ap16 propriate principles and criteria, including 

17 whether a program or project provides— 

18 ‘‘(I) the ability to achieve stra19 tegic and measurable environmental 

20 outcomes that implement the Initiative 

21 Action Plan and the Great Lakes 

22 Water Quality Agreement; 

23 ‘‘(II) the feasibility of— 

24 ‘‘(aa) prompt implementa25 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) timely achievement of 

2 results; and 

3 ‘‘(cc) resource leveraging; and 

4 ‘‘(III) the opportunity to improve 

5 interagency, intergovernmental, and 

6 inter-organizational coordination and 

7 collaboration to reduce duplication and 

8 streamline efforts. 

9 ‘‘(ii) OUTREACH.—In selecting the best 

10 combination of programs and projects for 

11 Great Lakes protection and restoration 

12 under clause (i), the Administrator shall 

13 consult with the Great Lakes States and In14 dian tribes and solicit input from other 

15 non-Federal stakeholders. 

16 ‘‘(iii) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM COOR17 DINATOR.—The Administrator shall des18 ignate a point person from an appropriate 

19 Federal partner to coordinate, with Federal 

20 partners and Great Lakes States, Indian 

21 tribes, and other non-Federal stakeholders, 

22 projects and activities under the Initiative 

23 involving harmful algal blooms in the Great 

24 Lakes.’’; 

25 (2) in subparagraph (D)— 


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1 (A) by striking clause (i) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara4 graph (J)(ii), funds made available to carry 

5 out the Initiative shall be used to strategi6 cally implement— 

7 ‘‘(I) Federal projects; 

8 ‘‘(II) projects carried out in co9 ordination with States, Indian tribes, 

10 municipalities, institutions of higher 

11 education, and other organizations; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(III) operations and activities of 

14 the Program Office, including remedi15 ation of sediment contamination in 

16 areas of concern.’’; 

17 (B) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘(G)(i)’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘(J)(i)’’; and 

19 (C) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(iii) AGREEMENTS WITH NON-FED22 ERAL ENTITIES.— 

23 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Adminis24 trator, or the head of any other Federal 

25 department or agency receiving funds 


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1 under clause (ii)(I), may make a grant 

2 to, or otherwise enter into an agree3 ment with, a qualified non-Federal en4 tity, as determined by the Adminis5 trator or the applicable head of the 

6 other Federal department or agency re7 ceiving funds, for planning, research, 

8 monitoring, outreach, or implementa9 tion of a project selected under sub10 paragraph (C), to support the Initia11 tive Action Plan or the Great Lakes 

12 Water Quality Agreement. 

13 ‘‘(II) QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL

14 ENTITY.—For purposes of this clause, a 

15 qualified non-Federal entity may in16 clude a governmental entity, nonprofit 

17 organization, institution, or indi18 vidual.’’; and 

19 (3) by striking subparagraphs (E) through (G) 

20 and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(E) SCOPE.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Projects may be 

23 carried out under the Initiative on multiple 

24 levels, including— 

25 ‘‘(I) locally; 


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1 ‘‘(II) Great Lakes-wide; or 

2 ‘‘(III) Great Lakes basin-wide. 

3 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—No funds made 

4 available to carry out the Initiative may be 

5 used for any water infrastructure activity 

6 (other than a green infrastructure project 

7 that improves habitat and other ecosystem 

8 functions in the Great Lakes) for which fi9 nancial assistance is received— 

10 ‘‘(I) from a State water pollution 

11 control revolving fund established 

12 under title VI; 

13 ‘‘(II) from a State drinking water 

14 revolving loan fund established under 

15 section 1452 of the Safe Drinking 

16 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12); or 

17 ‘‘(III) pursuant to the Water In18 frastructure Finance and Innovation 

19 Act of 2014 (33 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.). 

20 ‘‘(F) ACTIVITIES BY OTHER FEDERAL AGEN21 CIES.—Each relevant Federal department or 

22 agency shall, to the maximum extent prac23 ticable— 

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

25 for the Great Lakes activities of that departVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Mar 23, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H223.RH H223

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1 ment or agency without regard to funding 

2 under the Initiative; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) identify new activities and 

4 projects to support the environmental goals 

5 of the Initiative. 

6 ‘‘(G) REVISION OF INITIATIVE ACTION

7 PLAN.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not less often than 

9 once every 5 years, the Administrator, in 

10 conjunction with the Great Lakes Inter11 agency Task Force, shall review, and revise 

12 as appropriate, the Initiative Action Plan 

13 to guide the activities of the Initiative in 

14 addressing the restoration and protection of 

15 the Great Lakes system. 

16 ‘‘(ii) OUTREACH.—In reviewing and 

17 revising the Initiative Action Plan under 

18 clause (i), the Administrator shall consult 

19 with the Great Lakes States and Indian 

20 tribes and solicit input from other non-Fed21 eral stakeholders. 

22 ‘‘(H) MONITORING AND REPORTING.—The 

23 Administrator shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) establish and maintain a process 

25 for monitoring and periodically reporting 


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1 to the public on the progress made in imple2 menting the Initiative Action Plan; 

3 ‘‘(ii) make information about each 

4 project carried out under the Initiative Ac5 tion Plan available on a public website; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) provide to the House Committee 

7 on Transportation and Infrastructure and 

8 the Senate Committee on Environment and 

9 Public Works a yearly detailed description 

10 of the progress of the Initiative and 

11 amounts transferred to participating Fed12 eral departments and agencies under sub13 paragraph (D)(ii). 

14 ‘‘(I) INITIATIVE ACTION PLAN DEFINED.—In 

15 this paragraph, the term ‘Initiative Action Plan’ 

16 means the comprehensive, multi-year action plan 

17 for the restoration of the Great Lakes, first devel18 oped pursuant to the Joint Explanatory State19 ment of the Conference Report accompanying the 

20 Department of the Interior, Environment, and 

21 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub22 lic Law 111–88). 

23 ‘‘(J) FUNDING.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized 

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1 graph $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2017 through 2021. 

3 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this 

4 paragraph creates, expands, or amends the 

5 authority of the Administrator to imple6 ment programs or projects under— 

7 ‘‘(I) this section; 

8 ‘‘(II) the Initiative Action Plan; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(III) the Great Lakes Water 

11 Quality Agreement.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 354 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 223 

[Report No. 114–465] 

A BILL 

To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration 

Initiative, and for other purposes. 

MARCH 23, 2016 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS