114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 223 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Restora3 tion Initiative Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE. 

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

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

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

8 inserting the following: 

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

10 Initiative, the Administrator shall prioritize pro11 grams and projects, to be carried out in coordi12 nation with non-Federal partners, that address 

13 the priority areas described in the Initiative Ac14 tion Plan, including— 

15 ‘‘(i) the remediation of toxic sub16 stances and areas of concern; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the prevention and control of 

18 invasive species and the impacts of invasive 

19 species; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the protection and restoration of 

21 nearshore health and the prevention and 

22 mitigation of nonpoint source pollution; 

23 ‘‘(iv) habitat and wildlife protection 

24 and restoration, including wetlands res25 toration and preservation; and 
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1 ‘‘(v) accountability, monitoring, eval2 uation, communication, and partnership 

3 activities. 

4 ‘‘(C) PROJECTS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

6 the Initiative, the Administrator shall col7 laborate with other Federal partners, in8 cluding the Great Lakes Interagency Task 

9 Force established by Executive Order No. 

10 13340 (69 Fed. Reg. 29043), to select the 

11 best combination of programs and projects 

12 for Great Lakes protection and restoration 

13 using appropriate principles and criteria, 

14 including whether a program or project 

15 provides— 

16 ‘‘(I) the ability to achieve stra17 tegic and measurable environmental 

18 outcomes that implement the Initia19 tive Action Plan and the Great Lakes 

20 Water Quality Agreement; 

21 ‘‘(II) the feasibility of— 

22 ‘‘(aa) prompt implementa23 tion; 

24 ‘‘(bb) timely achievement of 

25 results; and 
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1 ‘‘(cc) resource leveraging; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) the opportunity to improve 

4 interagency, intergovernmental, and 

5 inter-organizational coordination and 

6 collaboration to reduce duplication 

7 and streamline efforts. 

8 ‘‘(ii) OUTREACH.—In selecting the 

9 best combination of programs and projects 

10 for Great Lakes protection and restoration 

11 under clause (i), the Administrator shall 

12 consult with the Great Lakes States and 

13 Indian tribes and solicit input from other 

14 non-Federal stakeholders. 

15 ‘‘(iii) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM COOR16 DINATOR.—The Administrator shall des17 ignate a point person from an appropriate 

18 Federal partner to coordinate, with Fed19 eral partners and Great Lakes States, In20 dian tribes, and other non-Federal stake21 holders, projects and activities under the 

22 Initiative involving harmful algal blooms in 

23 the Great Lakes.’’; 

24 (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 sub4 paragraph (J)(ii), funds made available to 

5 carry out the Initiative shall be used to 

6 strategically 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 Admin24 istrator, or the head of any other Fed25 eral department or agency receiving 
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1 funds under clause (ii)(I), may make 

2 a grant to, or otherwise enter into an 

3 agreement with, a qualified non-Fed4 eral entity, as determined by the Ad5 ministrator or the applicable head of 

6 the other Federal department or agen7 cy receiving funds, for planning, re8 search, monitoring, outreach, or im9 plementation of a project selected 

10 under subparagraph (C), to support 

11 the Initiative Action Plan or the Great 

12 Lakes Water Quality Agreement. 

13 ‘‘(II) QUALIFIED NON-FEDERAL

14 ENTITY.—For purposes of this clause, 

15 a 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

21 AGENCIES.—Each relevant Federal department 

22 or agency shall, to the maximum extent prac23 ticable— 

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

25 for the Great Lakes activities of that de-
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1 partment or agency without regard to 

2 funding 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 

9 than once every 5 years, the Adminis10 trator, in conjunction with the Great Lakes 

11 Interagency Task Force, shall review, and 

12 revise as appropriate, the Initiative Action 

13 Plan to guide the activities of the Initiative 

14 in addressing the restoration and protec15 tion of 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 non21 Federal 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 im2 plementing 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.— 

15 In this paragraph, the term ‘Initiative Action 

16 Plan’ means the comprehensive, multi-year ac17 tion plan for the restoration of the Great 

18 Lakes, first developed pursuant to the Joint 

19 Explanatory Statement of the Conference Re20 port accompanying the Department of the Inte21 rior, Environment, and Related Agencies Ap22 propriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111–88). 

23 ‘‘(J) FUNDING.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There is author25 ized to be appropriated to carry out this 
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1 paragraph $300,000,000 for each of fiscal 

2 years 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.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 26, 2016. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 223 

AN ACT 

To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration 

Initiative, and for other purposes.