I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5876 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize and improve activities for the protection of the Long Island Sound watershed, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2010 

Mr. BISHOP of New York (for himself, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. HIMES, 

Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. 

HALL of New York, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. OLVER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, 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 amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize and improve activities for the protection of the 

Long Island Sound watershed, 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 ‘‘Long Island Sound 

5 Improvement Act Amendments of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LONG ISLAND SOUND. 

2 (a) DUTIES OF THE OFFICE.—Section 119(c) of the 

3 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1269(c)) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (H) by striking the 

7 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (I) by striking the pe9 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(J) the impacts of climate change on the 

12 Long Island Sound watershed, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) the identification and assessment 

14 of vulnerabilities in the watershed, 

15 ‘‘(ii) the development and implementa16 tion of adaptation strategies to reduce such 

17 vulnerabilities, and 

18 ‘‘(iii) the identification and assess19 ment of the impacts of sea level rise on 

20 water quality, habitat, and infrastructure 

21 in Long Island Sound;’’; 

22 (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(4) develop and implement strategies to in25 crease public education and awareness with respect 


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1 to the ecological health and water quality conditions 

2 of Long Island Sound;’’; 

3 (3) in paragraph (6) by inserting after ‘‘the 

4 public’’ the following: ‘‘, including on the Internet,’’; 

5 and 

6 (4) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(7) track the progress made towards meeting 

9 the identified goals, actions, and schedules of the 

10 Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, 

11 including through the implementation and support 

12 of a monitoring system for the ecological health and 

13 water quality conditions of Long Island Sound; 

14 and’’. 

15 (b) STORMWATER DISCHARGES.—Section 119 of 

16 such Act is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and 

18 (f) as subsections (j), (k), and (l), respectively; and 

19 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(d) STORMWATER DISCHARGES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 

23 2013, a municipality that owns or operates a munic24 ipal separate storm sewer system shall be required 

25 to obtain, without regard to the size of the popuVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:37 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5876.IH H5876

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1 lation served by the system, a permit under section 

2 402(p) for discharges composed entirely of 

3 stormwater for any portion of the municipality that 

4 is located within both— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Long Island Sound watershed; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) an urbanized area. 

8 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL STORMWATER PERMITTING.— 

9 Notwithstanding the requirements of section 

10 402(p)(3)(B)(i), and at the request of applicable 

11 municipalities, permits described in paragraph (1) 

12 may be issued on a regional basis. 

13 ‘‘(3) REGULATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

15 after the date of enactment of the Long Island 

16 Sound Improvement Act Amendments of 2010, 

17 and after providing notice and an opportunity 

18 for public comment, the Administrator shall 

19 issue regulations to implement this subsection, 

20 including regulations for permit issuance on a 

21 regional basis under paragraph (2). 

22 ‘‘(B) PERMIT REQUIREMENTS.—In car23 rying out subparagraph (A), the Administrator 

24 shall ensure that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) permits held by industrial 

2 stormwater dischargers located within a re3 gion subject to a regional permit issued 

4 under paragraph (2) conform to the condi5 tions included in the regional permit; 

6 ‘‘(ii) permits held by construction ac7 tivity dischargers located within a region 

8 subject to a regional permit issued under 

9 paragraph (2) conform to the conditions 

10 included in the regional permit; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) monitoring requirements are in12 cluded in a regional permit issued under 

13 paragraph (2). 

14 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Adminis15 trator may provide technical assistance to a munici16 pality with respect to the establishment of a regional 

17 permit issued under paragraph (2).’’. 

18 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 119 of 

19 such Act (as amended by this section) is further amended 

20 by inserting after subsection (d) the following: 

21 ‘‘(e) REPORT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

23 after the date of enactment of the Long Island 

24 Sound Improvement Act Amendments of 2010, and 

25 biennially thereafter, the Director of the Office, in 


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1 consultation with the Governor of each Long Island 

2 Sound State, shall submit to Congress a report 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(A) summarizes and assesses the progress 

5 made by the Office and the Long Island Sound 

6 States in implementing the Long Island Sound 

7 Comprehensive Conservation and Management 

8 Plan, including an assessment of the progress 

9 made towards meeting the performance goals 

10 and milestones contained in the Plan; 

11 ‘‘(B) assesses the key ecological attributes 

12 that reflect the health of the ecosystem of the 

13 Long Island Sound watershed; 

14 ‘‘(C) describes any substantive modifica15 tions to the Long Island Sound Comprehensive 

16 Conservation and Management Plan made dur17 ing the 2-year period preceding the date of sub18 mission of the report; 

19 ‘‘(D) provides specific recommendations to 

20 improve progress in restoring and protecting 

21 the Long Island Sound watershed, including, as 

22 appropriate, proposed modifications to the Long 

23 Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and 

24 Management Plan; 


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1 ‘‘(E) identifies priority actions for imple2 mentation of the Long Island Sound Com3 prehensive Conservation and Management Plan 

4 for the 2-year period following the date of sub5 mission of the report; and 

6 ‘‘(F) describes how Federal funding and 

7 actions will be coordinated with the actions of 

8 the Long Island Sound States and other enti9 ties. 

10 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Adminis11 trator shall make the report described in paragraph 

12 (1) available to the public, including on the Internet. 

13 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL BUDGET PLAN.—The President, in the 

14 annual budget of the United States Government submitted 

15 under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, 

16 shall submit information regarding each Federal agency 

17 involved in the protection and restoration of the Long Is18 land Sound watershed, including— 

19 ‘‘(1) an interagency crosscut budget that dis20 plays for each Federal agency— 

21 ‘‘(A) the amount obligated in the preceding 

22 fiscal year for protection and restoration 

23 projects and studies relating to the watershed; 

24 ‘‘(B) the estimated budget for the current 

25 fiscal year for protection and restoration 


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1 projects and studies relating to the watershed; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) the proposed budget for succeeding 

4 fiscal years for protection and restoration 

5 projects and studies relating to the watershed; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(2) a summary of any proposed modifications 

8 to the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conserva9 tion and Management Plan for the succeeding fiscal 

10 year.’’. 

11 (d) FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Section 119 of such Act 

12 (as amended by this section) is further amended by insert13 ing after subsection (f) the following: 

14 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL ENTITIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) COORDINATION.—The Administrator shall 

16 coordinate the actions of all Federal agencies that 

17 impact water quality in the Long Island Sound wa18 tershed in order to improve the water quality and 

19 living resources of the watershed. 

20 ‘‘(2) METHODS.—The Administrator, acting 

21 through the Director of the Office, may enter into 

22 interagency agreements and make intergovernmental 

23 personnel appointments in carrying out the duties of 

24 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL PARTICIPATION IN WATERSHED

2 PLANNING.—A Federal agency that owns or occupies 

3 real property, or carries out activities, within the 

4 Long Island Sound watershed shall participate in re5 gional and subwatershed planning, protection, and 

6 restoration activities with respect to the watershed. 

7 ‘‘(4) CONSISTENCY WITH COMPREHENSIVE CON8 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex10 tent practicable, the head of each Federal agen11 cy that owns or occupies real property, or car12 ries out activities, within the Long Island 

13 Sound watershed shall ensure that the property, 

14 the actions taken by the agency with respect to 

15 the property, and the activities of the agency 

16 are consistent with the Long Island Sound 

17 Comprehensive Conservation and Management 

18 Plan, and any related subsequent agreements 

19 and plans. 

20 ‘‘(B) FORESTED LANDS AND RIPARIAN

21 HABITAT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

22 date of enactment of the Long Island Sound 

23 Improvement Act Amendments of 2010, the 

24 Administrator shall coordinate with the head of 

25 each Federal agency that owns or occupies real 


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1 property within the Long Island Sound water2 shed to develop and implement— 

3 ‘‘(i) a plan to maximize, to the extent 

4 practicable, forest cover and riparian habi5 tat on the property; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) a plan for reforestation and ri7 parian habitat recovery, if necessary, on 

8 the property. 

9 ‘‘(C) STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PRAC10 TICES.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

11 of enactment of the Long Island Sound Im12 provement Act Amendments of 2010, the Ad13 ministrator shall coordinate with the head of 

14 each Federal agency that owns or occupies real 

15 property within the Long Island Sound water16 shed to develop and implement a plan to mini17 mize or eliminate the discharge of stormwater 

18 from the property.’’. 

19 (e) TRADING PROGRAM.—Section 119 of such Act (as 

20 amended by this section) is further amended by inserting 

21 after subsection (g) the following: 

22 ‘‘(h) TRADING PROGRAM.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator 

24 shall, in consultation with the Governor of each 

25 Long Island Sound State— 


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1 ‘‘(A) not later than September 30, 2011, 

2 publish a proposal for a voluntary interstate ni3 trogen trading program with respect to Long 

4 Island Sound that includes the generation, trad5 ing, and use of nitrogen credits to facilitate the 

6 attainment and maintenance of the Long Island 

7 Sound TMDL; and 

8 ‘‘(B) not later than March 1, 2012, estab9 lish a voluntary interstate nitrogen trading pro10 gram with respect to Long Island Sound that 

11 includes the generation, trading, and use of ni12 trogen credits to facilitate the attainment and 

13 maintenance of the Long Island Sound TMDL. 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The trading program 

15 established under paragraph (1) shall, at a min16 imum— 

17 ‘‘(A) establish procedures or standards for 

18 certifying, verifying, and enforcing nitrogen 

19 credits to ensure that credit-generating prac20 tices from both point sources and nonpoint 

21 sources are achieving actual reductions in nitro22 gen; and 

23 ‘‘(B) establish procedures or standards for 

24 providing public transparency with respect to 

25 trading activity.’’. 


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1 (f) ANNUAL PRIORITY LIST.—Section 119 of such 

2 Act (as amended by this section) is further amended by 

3 inserting after subsection (h) the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL PRIORITY LIST.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

6 after the date of enactment of the Long Island 

7 Sound Improvement Act Amendments of 2010, and 

8 annually thereafter, the Director of the Office, in 

9 consultation with the Governor of each Long Island 

10 Sound State, shall compile, after providing notice, a 

11 list identifying and prioritizing the activities, 

12 projects, programs, and studies intended to be fund13 ed with amounts made available for grants under 

14 subsection (j) during the succeeding fiscal year. 

15 ‘‘(2) LIST COMPONENTS.—The list compiled 

16 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

17 ‘‘(A) a specification, in order of priority, of 

18 activities, projects, programs, and studies that 

19 will assist in meeting the goals and objectives of 

20 the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Con21 servation and Management Plan; 

22 ‘‘(B) information on the activities, projects, 

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1 nancial assistance and communities to be 

2 served; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the criteria and methods established 

4 by the Director of the Office, in consultation 

5 with the Governor of each Long Island Sound 

6 State, for selecting activities, projects, pro7 grams, and studies for grants under subsection 

8 (j). 

9 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL OF LIST.— 

10 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 15 

11 days after compiling a list under paragraph (1), 

12 the Director of the Office shall submit the list 

13 to the Administrator for approval. 

14 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—The Administrator shall 

15 approve or disapprove a list submitted under 

16 subparagraph (A) based on a determination of 

17 whether the activities, projects, programs, and 

18 studies specified in the list are consistent with 

19 the goals and objectives of the Long Island 

20 Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Man21 agement Plan. 

22 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

23 Administrator disapproves a list submitted 

24 under subparagraph (A), the Administrator 

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1 ing, a notification of and basis for the dis2 approval and shall allow the Director of the Of3 fice the opportunity for resubmission. 

4 ‘‘(D) FAILURE OF ADMINISTRATOR TO RE5 SPOND.—If the Administrator has not re6 sponded in writing to a list submitted under 

7 subparagraph (A) by the date that is 90 days 

8 after the date of the submission, the list shall 

9 be considered to be approved. 

10 ‘‘(4) FAILURE TO COMPILE LIST.—If the Direc11 tor of the Office does not compile a list under para12 graph (1) with respect to a fiscal year, the Adminis13 trator shall compile the list for that fiscal year, 

14 which— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall include a specification, in order 

16 of priority, of activities, projects, programs, and 

17 studies that will assist in meeting the goals and 

18 objectives of the Long Island Sound Com19 prehensive Conservation and Management Plan; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) may include any activities, projects, 

22 programs, and studies from previous lists com23 piled under paragraph (1) and approved under 

24 paragraph (3) that have not yet been funded 

25 with a grant under subsection (j).’’. 


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1 (g) GRANTS.—Section 119(j) of such Act (as redesig2 nated by subsection (b)(1) of this section) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub7 paragraph (B), the Administrator is authorized to 

8 make grants under this subsection to State, inter9 state, and regional water pollution control agencies 

10 and other public and nonprofit private agencies, in11 stitutions, and organizations. 

12 ‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION OF TREATMENT WORKS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator is 

14 authorized to make a grant under this sub15 section for the construction of a publicly owned 

16 treatment works within a Long Island Sound 

17 State solely— 

18 ‘‘(I) to a municipal, intermunicipal, 

19 State, or interstate agency; and 

20 ‘‘(II) if the State in which the recipi21 ent agency is located has established, or 

22 the Administrator has established for the 

23 State, allocations for discharges within the 

24 State in a Long Island Sound TMDL. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) MINIMUM FUNDING.—To the extent 

2 practicable, the Administrator shall make 

3 grants to agencies under this subparagraph in 

4 a manner that ensures that each Long Island 

5 Sound State receives each fiscal year not less 

6 than 5 percent of the total amount made avail7 able in grants under this subparagraph in that 

8 fiscal year.’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (3) by inserting after the first 

10 sentence the following: ‘‘Grants to construct a mu11 nicipal separate storm sewer system made under this 

12 subsection to a municipality that is subject to a re13 gional permit issued under subsection (d)(2) shall 

14 not exceed 65 percent of the costs of the construc15 tion.’’. 

16 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

17 119(l) of such Act (as redesignated by subsection (b)(1) 

18 of this section) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

21 appropriated to carry out this section, other than 

22 subsection (j), such sums as may be necessary for 

23 each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015. 

24 ‘‘(2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FUNDING.—For 

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1 ference of the Long Island Sound Study is eligible 

2 to receive in grants under section 320 shall be re3 duced by an amount equal to the amount the Man4 agement Conference receives in grants under this 

5 section. 

6 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.—There is authorized to be ap7 propriated to carry out subsection (j)— 

8 ‘‘(A) for grants to construct publicly owned 

9 treatment works, including municipal separate 

10 storm sewer systems (which may utilize low im11 pact development technologies or approaches or 

12 utilize methods to address combined sewer over13 flows)— 

14 ‘‘(i) $125,000,000 for fiscal year 

15 2011; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) $250,000,000 for each of fiscal 

17 years 2012 through 2015; and 

18 ‘‘(B) for grants other than grants de19 scribed under subparagraph (A) $40,000,000 

20 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.’’. 

21 (i) DEFINITIONS.—Section 119 of such Act (as 

22 amended by this section) is further amended by adding 

23 at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

25 definitions apply: 


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1 ‘‘(1) LONG ISLAND SOUND STATE.—The term 

2 ‘Long Island Sound State’ means each of the States 

3 of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 

4 New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. 

5 ‘‘(2) LONG ISLAND SOUND TMDL.—The term 

6 ‘Long Island Sound TMDL’ means a total maximum 

7 daily load established or approved by the Adminis8 trator to achieve water quality standards in the wa9 ters of Long Island Sound under section 303(d). 

10 ‘‘(3) LONG ISLAND SOUND WATERSHED.—The 

11 term ‘Long Island Sound watershed’ means Long Is12 land Sound and the area consisting of the drainage 

13 basin leading into Long Island Sound, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) the Connecticut River and its tribu15 taries; 

16 ‘‘(B) the Housatonic River and its tribu17 taries; 

18 ‘‘(C) the Thames River and its tributaries; 

19 ‘‘(D) the Pawcatuck River and its tribu20 taries; and 

21 ‘‘(E) all other tributaries in the States of 

22 Connecticut and New York that drain into 

23 Long Island Sound. 


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1 ‘‘(4) URBANIZED AREA.—The term ‘urbanized 

2 area’ has the meaning given that term by the Bu3 reau of the Census.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. INNOVATIVE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AP5 PROACHES. 

6 Title V of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

7 (33 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating section 519 as section 520; 

9 and 

10 (2) by inserting after section 518 the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 519. INNOVATIVE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AP12 PROACHES. 

13 ‘‘To the maximum extent practicable, the Adminis14 trator shall consider the use of innovative stormwater 

15 management practices and approaches, including nutrient 

16 trading with respect to water quality and the use of low 

17 impact development technologies, in meeting the require18 ments of this Act.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. NUTRIENT BIOEXTRACTION PILOT PROJECT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

22 Environmental Protection Agency shall carry out a pilot 

23 project to demonstrate the efficacy of nutrient bioextrac24 tion for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorous from the 

25 waters of the Long Island Sound watershed. 


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1 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

3 shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the 

4 pilot project described in subsection (a). 

5 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘nutrient 

6 bioextraction’’ means an environmental management 

7 strategy by which nutrients are removed from an aquatic 

8 ecosystem through the harvest of enhanced biological pro9 duction, including the aquaculture of suspension-feeding 

10 shellfish or algae. 

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $1,000,000. 

Æ 


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