II 

Calendar No. 439 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 223 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2016 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

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 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE. 

7 Section 118(c)(7) of the Federal Water Pollution 

8 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)(7)) is amended— 

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

10 inserting the following: 


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

2 Initiative, the Administrator shall prioritize pro3 grams and projects, to be carried out in coordi4 nation with non-Federal partners, that address 

5 the priority areas described in the Initiative Ac6 tion Plan, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) the remediation of toxic sub8 stances and areas of concern; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the prevention and control of 

10 invasive species and the impacts of invasive 

11 species; 

12 ‘‘(iii) the protection and restoration of 

13 nearshore health and the prevention and 

14 mitigation of nonpoint source pollution; 

15 ‘‘(iv) habitat and wildlife protection 

16 and restoration, including wetlands res17 toration and preservation; and 

18 ‘‘(v) accountability, monitoring, eval19 uation, communication, and partnership 

20 activities. 

21 ‘‘(C) PROJECTS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

23 the Initiative, the Administrator shall col24 laborate with other Federal partners, in25 cluding the Great Lakes Interagency Task 


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1 Force established by Executive Order No. 

2 13340 (69 Fed. Reg. 29043), to select the 

3 best combination of programs and projects 

4 for Great Lakes protection and restoration 

5 using appropriate principles and criteria, 

6 including whether a program or project 

7 provides— 

8 ‘‘(I) the ability to achieve stra9 tegic and measurable environmental 

10 outcomes that implement the Initia11 tive Action Plan and the Great Lakes 

12 Water Quality Agreement; 

13 ‘‘(II) the feasibility of— 

14 ‘‘(aa) prompt implementa15 tion; 

16 ‘‘(bb) timely achievement of 

17 results; and 

18 ‘‘(cc) resource leveraging; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(III) the opportunity to improve 

21 interagency, intergovernmental, and 

22 inter-organizational coordination and 

23 collaboration to reduce duplication 

24 and streamline efforts. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) OUTREACH.—In selecting the 

2 best combination of programs and projects 

3 for Great Lakes protection and restoration 

4 under clause (i), the Administrator shall 

5 consult with the Great Lakes States and 

6 Indian tribes and solicit input from other 

7 non-Federal stakeholders. 

8 ‘‘(iii) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM COOR9 DINATOR.—The Administrator shall des10 ignate a point person from an appropriate 

11 Federal partner to coordinate, with Fed12 eral partners and Great Lakes States, In13 dian tribes, and other non-Federal stake14 holders, projects and activities under the 

15 Initiative involving harmful algal blooms in 

16 the Great Lakes.’’; 

17 (2) in subparagraph (D)— 

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

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub21 paragraph (J)(ii), funds made available to 

22 carry out the Initiative shall be used to 

23 strategically implement— 

24 ‘‘(I) Federal projects; 


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1 ‘‘(II) projects carried out in co2 ordination with States, Indian tribes, 

3 municipalities, institutions of higher 

4 education, and other organizations; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(III) operations and activities of 

7 the Program Office, including remedi8 ation of sediment contamination in 

9 areas of concern.’’; 

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

11 and inserting ‘‘(J)(i)’’; and 

12 (C) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(iii) AGREEMENTS WITH NON-FED15 ERAL ENTITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Admin17 istrator, or the head of any other Fed18 eral department or agency receiving 

19 funds under clause (ii)(I), may make 

20 a grant to, or otherwise enter into an 

21 agreement with, a qualified non-Fed22 eral entity, as determined by the Ad23 ministrator or the applicable head of 

24 the other Federal department or agen25 cy receiving funds, for planning, reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Apr 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H223.PCS H223

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1 search, monitoring, outreach, or im2 plementation of a project selected 

3 under subparagraph (C), to support 

4 the Initiative Action Plan or the Great 

5 Lakes Water Quality Agreement. 

6 ‘‘(II) QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL

7 ENTITY.—For purposes of this clause, 

8 a qualified non-Federal entity may in9 clude a governmental entity, nonprofit 

10 organization, institution, or indi11 vidual.’’; and 

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

13 and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(E) SCOPE.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Projects may be 

16 carried out under the Initiative on multiple 

17 levels, including— 

18 ‘‘(I) locally; 

19 ‘‘(II) Great Lakes-wide; or 

20 ‘‘(III) Great Lakes basin-wide. 

21 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—No funds made 

22 available to carry out the Initiative may be 

23 used for any water infrastructure activity 

24 (other than a green infrastructure project 

25 that improves habitat and other ecosystem 


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1 functions in the Great Lakes) for which fi2 nancial assistance is received— 

3 ‘‘(I) from a State water pollution 

4 control revolving fund established 

5 under title VI; 

6 ‘‘(II) from a State drinking water 

7 revolving loan fund established under 

8 section 1452 of the Safe Drinking 

9 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12); or 

10 ‘‘(III) pursuant to the Water In11 frastructure Finance and Innovation 

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

13 ‘‘(F) ACTIVITIES BY OTHER FEDERAL

14 AGENCIES.—Each relevant Federal department 

15 or agency shall, to the maximum extent prac16 ticable— 

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

18 for the Great Lakes activities of that de19 partment or agency without regard to 

20 funding under the Initiative; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) identify new activities and 

22 projects to support the environmental goals 

23 of the Initiative. 

24 ‘‘(G) REVISION OF INITIATIVE ACTION

25 PLAN.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not less often 

2 than once every 5 years, the Adminis3 trator, in conjunction with the Great Lakes 

4 Interagency Task Force, shall review, and 

5 revise as appropriate, the Initiative Action 

6 Plan to guide the activities of the Initiative 

7 in addressing the restoration and protec8 tion of the Great Lakes system. 

9 ‘‘(ii) OUTREACH.—In reviewing and 

10 revising the Initiative Action Plan under 

11 clause (i), the Administrator shall consult 

12 with the Great Lakes States and Indian 

13 tribes and solicit input from other non14 Federal stakeholders. 

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

16 Administrator shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) establish and maintain a process 

18 for monitoring and periodically reporting 

19 to the public on the progress made in im20 plementing the Initiative Action Plan; 

21 ‘‘(ii) make information about each 

22 project carried out under the Initiative Ac23 tion Plan available on a public website; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) provide to the House Committee 

25 on Transportation and Infrastructure and 


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1 the Senate Committee on Environment and 

2 Public Works a yearly detailed description 

3 of the progress of the Initiative and 

4 amounts transferred to participating Fed5 eral departments and agencies under sub6 paragraph (D)(ii). 

7 ‘‘(I) INITIATIVE ACTION PLAN DEFINED.— 

8 In this paragraph, the term ‘Initiative Action 

9 Plan’ means the comprehensive, multi-year ac10 tion plan for the restoration of the Great 

11 Lakes, first developed pursuant to the Joint 

12 Explanatory Statement of the Conference Re13 port accompanying the Department of the Inte14 rior, Environment, and Related Agencies Ap15 propriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111–88). 

16 ‘‘(J) FUNDING.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There is author18 ized to be appropriated to carry out this 

19 paragraph $300,000,000 for each of fiscal 

20 years 2017 through 2021. 

21 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this 

22 paragraph creates, expands, or amends the 

23 authority of the Administrator to imple24 ment programs or projects under— 

25 ‘‘(I) this section; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the Initiative Action Plan; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(III) the Great Lakes Water 

4 Quality Agreement.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 26, 2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 439 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 223 

AN ACT 

To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration 

Initiative, and for other purposes. 

APRIL 27, 2016 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 


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