I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1775

To catalyze restoration of estuary habitat through more efficient financing

of projects and enhanced coordination of Federal and non-Federal restoration programs, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 12, 1999

Mr. GILCHREST (for himself, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. FORBES, Mr. GOSS, Mr.

BILBRAY, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mrs.

MORELLA, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. MCDERMOTT,

Mr. METCALF, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. DICKS, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. ENGLISH, Mrs.

KELLY, Mr. TAUZIN, and Mr. LAMPSON) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, 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 catalyze restoration of estuary habitat through more efficient financing of projects and enhanced coordination

of Federal and non-Federal restoration programs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Estuary Habitat Restoration Partnership Act of 1999’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION

Sec. 101. Findings.

Sec. 102. Purposes.

Sec. 103. Definitions.

Sec. 104. Establishment of Estuary Habitat Restoration Council.

Sec. 105. Establishment of regional councils.

Sec. 106. Estuary habitat restoration strategy.

Sec. 107. Applications for estuary habitat restoration projects.

Sec. 108. Administrative provisions.

Sec. 109. Monitoring and maintenance of estuary habitat restoration projects.

Sec. 110. Funding.

Sec. 111. General provisions.

TITLE II—CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM

Sec. 201. Reauthorization of Chesapeake Bay Program.

5 TITLE I—ESTUARY HABITAT

6 RESTORATION

7 SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

8 Congress finds that—

9 (1) estuaries provide some of the most eco10 logically and economically productive habitat for an

11 extensive variety of plants, fish, wildlife, and water12 fowl;

13 (2) the estuaries and coastal regions of the

14 United States are home to one-half the population of

15 the United States and provide essential habitat for

16 75 percent of the Nation’s commercial fish catch

17 and 80 to 90 percent of its recreational fish catch;
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1 (3) estuaries are gravely threatened by habitat

2 alteration and loss from pollution, development,

3 overuse, sea level rise, and the introduction of harm4 ful nonindigenous species;

5 (4) successful restoration of estuaries demands

6 the coordination of Federal, State, and local estuary

7 habitat restoration programs; and

8 (5) the Federal, State, local, and private co9 operation in estuary habitat restoration activities in

10 existence on the date of enactment of this Act

11 should be strengthened and new public and public12 private estuary habitat restoration partnerships and

13 strategies established.

14 SEC. 102. PURPOSES.

15 The purposes of this Act are—

16 (1) to promote the restoration of 1,000,000

17 acres of estuary habitat by 2010;

18 (2) to develop strategies to obtain national and

19 regional objectives for estuary habitat restoration;

20 (3) to foster coordination of Federal, State, and

21 community estuary habitat restoration programs,

22 plans, and studies;

23 (4) to establish effective estuary habitat res24 toration partnerships among public agencies at all
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1 levels of government and between the public and pri2 vate sectors;

3 (5) to promote efficient financing of estuary

4 habitat restoration activities; and

5 (6) to develop and enhance monitoring and re6 search capabilities to ensure that estuary habitat

7 restoration efforts are based on sound scientific un8 derstanding.

9 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

10 In this Act, the following definitions apply:

11 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the

12 Estuary Habitat Restoration Council established by

13 section 104.

14 (2) DEGRADED ESTUARY HABITAT.—The term

15 ‘‘degraded estuary habitat’’ means estuary habitat

16 where natural ecological functions have been im17 paired and normal beneficial uses have been reduced.

18 (3) ESTUARY.—The term ‘‘estuary’’ means a

19 part of a river or stream or other body of water that

20 has an unimpaired connection with the open sea and

21 where the sea water is measurably diluted with fresh

22 water derived from land drainage.

23 (4) ESTUARY HABITAT.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘estuary

25 habitat’’ means the physical, biological, and
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1 chemical elements associated with an estuary,

2 including the complex of physical and hydro3 logic features and living organisms within the

4 estuary and associated ecosystems.

5 (B) INCLUDED HABITAT.—The term ‘‘es6 tuary habitat’’ includes salt and fresh water

7 coastal marshes, coastal forested wetlands and

8 other coastal wetlands, maritime forests, coastal

9 grasslands, tidal flats, natural shoreline areas,

10 shellfish beds, sea grass meadows, kelp beds,

11 river deltas, river and stream banks under tidal

12 influence, and beds of submerged aquatic vege13 tation.

14 (5) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION ACTIV15 ITY.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘estuary

17 habitat restoration activity’’ means an activity

18 that results in improving degraded estuary

19 habitat (including both physical and functional

20 restoration), with the goal of attaining a self21 sustaining system integrated into the sur22 rounding landscape.

23 (B) INCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—The term

24 ‘‘estuary habitat restoration activity’’

25 includes—
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1 (i) the reestablishment of physical fea2 tures and biological and hydrologic func3 tions;

4 (ii) except as provided in section

5 107(e), the cleanup of contamination re6 lated to the restoration of estuary habitat;

7 (iii) the control of nonnative and

8 invasive species;

9 (iv) the reintroduction of native spe10 cies through planting or natural succes11 sion; and

12 (v) other activities that improve estu13 ary habitat.

14 (6) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION

15 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘estuary habitat restoration

16 project’’ means an estuary habitat restoration activ17 ity under consideration or selected by the Council, in

18 accordance with this Act, to receive financial, tech19 nical, or another form of assistance.

20 (7) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION STRAT21 EGY.—The term ‘‘estuary habitat restoration strat22 egy’’ means the estuary habitat restoration strategy

23 developed under section 106.

24 (8) ESTUARY MANAGEMENT OR HABITAT RES25 TORATION PLAN.—The term ‘‘estuary management
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1 or habitat restoration plan’’ means any plan for res2 toration of degraded estuary habitat that—

3 (A) was developed by, or in cooperation

4 with, a public body with the substantial partici5 pation of appropriate public and private stake6 holders; and

7 (B) reflects a community-based planning

8 process.

9 (9) GULF REGION.—The term ‘‘Gulf region’’

10 means the region consisting of the States of Florida,

11 Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

12 (10) MIDDLE ATLANTIC REGION.—The term

13 ‘‘Middle Atlantic region’’ means the region con14 sisting of the States of New Jersey, Delaware,

15 Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

16 (11) NORTHEAST REGION.—The term ‘‘North17 east region’’ means the region consisting of the

18 States of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Mas19 sachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

20 (12) NORTHWEST REGION.—The term ‘‘North21 west region’’ means the region consisting of the

22 States of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.

23 (13) REGIONAL COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Regional

24 Council’’ means a Regional Council of the Estuary
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1 Habitat Restoration Council established by section

2 105.

3 (14) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

4 means the Secretary of the Army (or the Secretary’s

5 designee).

6 (15) SOUTHEAST REGION.—The term ‘‘South7 east region’’ means the region consisting of the

8 States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,

9 and Florida.

10 (16) SOUTHWEST REGION.—The term ‘‘South11 west region’’ means the region consisting of the

12 States of California and Hawaii.

13 SEC. 104. ESTABLISHMENT OF ESTUARY HABITAT RES14 TORATION COUNCIL.

15 (a) COUNCIL.—There is established a council to be

16 known as the ‘‘Estuary Habitat Restoration Council’’.

17 (b) DUTIES.—The Council shall be responsible for—

18 (1) reviewing project applications forwarded to

19 the Council from the Regional Councils and selecting

20 from the project applications projects that are eligi21 ble for assistance made available under this Act;

22 (2) developing a national strategy for restora23 tion of estuary habitat; and

24 (3) periodically reviewing the effectiveness of

25 the national strategy in meeting the purposes of this
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1 Act, and making recommendations for improvements

2 in the national strategy.

3 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be composed of

4 12 members as follows:

5 (1) The Secretary (or the Secretary’s designee).

6 (2) The Under Secretary for Oceans and At7 mosphere of the Department of Commerce (or the

8 Under Secretary’s designee).

9 (3) The Administrator of the Environmental

10 Protection Agency (or the Administrator’s designee).

11 (4) The Secretary of the Interior, acting

12 through the Director of the United States Fish and

13 Wildlife Service (or the Secretary’s designee).

14 (5) The Secretary of Agriculture (or the Sec15 retary’s designee).

16 (6) The Secretary of Transportation (or the

17 Secretary’s designee).

18 (7) One representative from each of the 6 Re19 gional Councils established under section 105 to be

20 appointed by the Secretary from among individuals

21 who are not officers or employees of the United

22 States.

23 (d) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), members of the Council under subsection

3 (c)(7) shall be appointed for a term of 3 years.

4 (2) INITIAL MEMBERS.—Of the members first

5 appointed under subsection (c)(7)—

6 (A) 2 shall be appointed for a term of 1

7 year;

8 (B) 2 shall be appointed for a term of 2

9 years; and

10 (C) 2 shall be appointed for a term of 3

11 years.

12 (3) VACANCIES.—Whenever a vacancy occurs

13 among members of the Council appointed under sub14 section (c)(7), the Secretary shall appoint an indi15 vidual in accordance with such subsection to fill that

16 vacancy for the remainder of the applicable term.

17 (e) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION.—Members of

18 the Council may not receive compensation for their service

19 as members of the Council.

20 (f) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The Secretary is au21 thorized and encouraged to include as nonvoting members

22 of the Commission representatives of nonprofit charitable

23 organizations and Native American interests, including

24 tribal organizations, that undertake estuary habitat res25 toration activities.
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1 (g) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson shall be elected

2 by the Council from among its members for a 3-year term,

3 except that the first elected chairperson may serve a term

4 of less than 3 years.

5 (h) CONVENING OF COUNCIL.—The chairperson

6 shall—

7 (1) convene the first meeting of the Council not

8 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of

9 this Act; and

10 (2) convene additional meetings as often as ap11 propriate to ensure that this Act is fully carried out,

12 but not less often than annually.

13 (i) COUNCIL PROCEDURES.—

14 (1) QUORUM.—A majority of the voting mem15 bership of the Council shall constitute a quorum for

16 the transaction of business.

17 (2) VOTING AND MEETING PROCEDURES.—The

18 Council shall establish procedures for voting and the

19 conduct of meetings by the Council.

20 (3) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Council meetings

21 shall be open to the public. The Council shall pro22 vide notice to the public of such meetings.

23 (4) REMOVAL OF MEMBERS.—If a Council

24 member appointed under subsection (c)(7) misses 3

25 consecutive regularly scheduled meetings, the Sec-
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1 retary may remove that individual in accordance

2 with subsection (d)(3).

3 (j) COORDINATOR.—The Secretary shall appoint a

4 Coordinator who shall—

5 (1) be educated and experienced in estuary pro6 tection, restoration, and program management;

7 (2) be responsible, with assistance from the

8 Secretary, for facilitating consideration of estuary

9 habitat restoration projects by the Council and Re10 gional Councils and otherwise assisting the Council

11 and Regional Councils in carrying out their respon12 sibilities under this Act; and

13 (3) be compensated with funds available under

14 section 110(b).

15 SEC. 105. ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL COUNCILS.

16 (a) REGIONAL COUNCILS.—There are established 6

17 Regional Councils of the Estuary Restoration Council.

18 Each Regional Council shall represent a different one of

19 the following regions:

20 (1) The Gulf region.

21 (2) The Middle Atlantic region.

22 (3) The Northeast region.

23 (4) The Northwest region.

24 (5) The Southeast region.

25 (6) The Southwest region.
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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—A Regional Council shall be com2 posed of the Governor of each State in the region rep3 resented by the Regional Council (or the Governor’s des4 ignee) and such other members as the Governors shall

5 jointly designate.

6 (c) NONVOTING MEMBERSHIP.—A Regional Council

7 may appoint nonvoting members of the Regional Council

8 from relevant agencies, programs, and organizations,

9 including—

10 (1) relevant State agencies and regional and

11 field staff of relevant Federal agencies;

12 (2) representatives of relevant coastal and estu13 ary programs, such as those developed according to

14 the Coastal Zone Management Program and the Na15 tional Estuary Program; and

16 (3) representatives of nonprofit and charitable

17 organizations that undertake estuary habitat res18 toration activities.

19 (d) CHAIRPERSON.—A Regional Council shall select

20 a chairperson from among its members.

21 (e) DUTIES.—A Regional Council shall be responsible

22 for—

23 (1) developing a regional strategy that is con24 sistent with the national strategy for the selection
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1 and prioritization of project proposals within the re2 gion;

3 (2) establishing technical criteria for project

4 proposals, which are consistent with the goals and

5 priorities of the regional and national strategies;

6 (3) soliciting, evaluating, and forwarding to the

7 Council applications for estuary habitat restoration

8 projects; and

9 (4) periodically reviewing the effectiveness of

10 the regional strategy toward meeting the goals and

11 objectives of the national strategy and recom12 mending and implementing improvements.

13 (f) TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—Technical support shall

14 be provided to a Regional Council by regional and field

15 staff of the Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Pro16 tection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

17 Administration, the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv18 ice, and the Department of Agriculture. The Secretary

19 shall coordinate the provision of such assistance.

20 (g) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon

21 the request of a Regional Council, the Secretary shall pro22 vide to the Regional Council the administrative support

23 services necessary for the Regional Council to carry out

24 its responsibilities under this Act.
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1 SEC. 106. ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION STRATEGY.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Council, in consultation

4 with State and other non-Federal entities, including non5 profit entities, as appropriate, shall develop an estuary

6 habitat restoration strategy designed to ensure a com7 prehensive approach to maximize benefits derived from es8 tuary habitat restoration projects and to foster the coordi9 nation of Federal and non-Federal activities related to res10 toration of estuary habitat.

11 (b) INTEGRATION OF ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORA12 TION PLANS, PROGRAMS, AND PARTNERSHIPS.—In devel13 oping the estuary habitat restoration strategy, the Council

14 shall—

15 (1) conduct a review of—

16 (A) estuary management or habitat res17 toration plans; and

18 (B) Federal programs established under

19 other laws that authorize funding for estuary

20 habitat restoration activities;

21 (2) develop a set of proposals for—

22 (A) using programs established under this

23 Act or any other Act to maximize the incentives

24 for the creation of new public-private partner25 ships to carry out estuary habitat restoration

26 projects; and
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1 (B) using Federal resources to encourage

2 increased private sector involvement in estuary

3 habitat restoration activities; and

4 (3) ensure that the estuary habitat restoration

5 strategy is developed and will be implemented in a

6 manner that is consistent with the estuary manage7 ment or habitat restoration plans.

8 (c) ELEMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED.—Consistent

9 with the requirements of this section, the Council in the

10 development of the estuary habitat restoration strategy,

11 shall consider—

12 (1) the contributions of estuary habitat to—

13 (A) providing healthy ecosystems in order

14 to support—

15 (i) wildlife, including endangered and

16 threatened species, migratory birds, and

17 resident species of an estuary watershed;

18 and

19 (ii) fish and shellfish, including com20 mercial and recreational fisheries;

21 (B) surface and ground water quality and

22 quantity, and flood control;

23 (C) outdoor recreation and other direct

24 and indirect values; and
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1 (D) other areas of concern that the Coun2 cil determines to be appropriate for consider3 ation;

4 (2) the estimated historic losses, estimated cur5 rent rate of loss, and extent of the threat of future

6 loss or degradation of each type of estuary habitat;

7 and

8 (3) the most appropriate method for selecting a

9 balance of smaller and larger estuary habitat res10 toration projects.

11 (d) ADVICE.—The Council shall seek the advice of ex12 perts in restoration of estuary habitat to assist in the de13 velopment of an estuary habitat restoration strategy.

14 (e) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—Before adopt15 ing a final estuary habitat restoration strategy, the Coun16 cil shall publish in the Federal Register a draft of the estu17 ary habitat restoration strategy and provide an oppor18 tunity for public review and comment.

19 (f) PERIODIC REVISION.—Using data and informa20 tion developed through project monitoring, management,

21 and other relevant information, the Council shall periodi22 cally review and update, as necessary, the estuary habitat

23 restoration strategy.
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1 SEC. 107. APPLICATIONS FOR ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORA2 TION PROJECTS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—An application for an estuary

4 habitat restoration project shall originate from a State or

5 other non-Federal entity and shall require the approval of

6 the appropriate State or local agencies, if such approval

7 is required under State or local laws.

8 (b) REVIEW BY REGIONAL COUNCILS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An application for an estu10 ary habitat restoration project shall first be sub11 mitted to the appropriate Regional Council for re12 view.

13 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—A Regional

14 Council receiving an application from an applicant

15 under paragraph (1) shall provide, as necessary,

16 technical assistance to the applicant to ensure that

17 the application is complete.

18 (3) SELECTION.—A Regional Council shall se19 lect for each fiscal year those applications for estu20 ary habitat restoration projects that the Regional

21 Council determines are eligible for funding under the

22 factors specified in subsection (c) and shall transmit

23 such applications to the Council for further review.

24 (4) CONSIDERATION BY COUNCIL.—The Council

25 may provide financial assistance to an estuary habi26 tat restoration project under this Act only if the
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1 project has been transmitted to the Council by a Re2 gional Council under paragraph (3).

3 (c) FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.—In de4 termining the eligibility of an estuary habitat restoration

5 project for financial assistance under this Act, the Council

6 shall consider the following factors:

7 (1) Whether the proposed estuary habitat res8 toration project meets the criteria specified in the

9 estuary habitat restoration strategy.

10 (2) The technical merit and feasibility of the

11 proposed estuary habitat restoration project.

12 (3) Whether the non-Federal entities proposing

13 the estuary habitat restoration project provide satis14 factory assurances that they will have adequate per15 sonnel, funding, and authority to carry out and

16 properly maintain the estuary habitat restoration

17 project.

18 (4) Whether the proposed estuary habitat res19 toration project will encourage the increased coordi20 nation and cooperation of Federal, State, and local

21 government agencies.

22 (5) The amount of private funds or in-kind con23 tributions for the estuary habitat restoration project.

24 (6) Whether the proposed habitat restoration

25 project includes a monitoring plan that is consistent
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1 with standards for monitoring developed under sec2 tion 109 to ensure that short-term and long-term

3 restoration goals are achieved.

4 (7) Other factors that the Council determines

5 to be reasonable and necessary for consideration.

6 (d) PRIORITY ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION

7 PROJECTS.—An estuary habitat restoration project shall

8 be given a higher priority in receipt of funding under this

9 Act if, in addition to meeting the selection criteria estab10 lished by the Council—

11 (1) the estuary habitat restoration project is

12 part of an estuary management or habitat restora13 tion plan; or

14 (2) there is a program within the watershed of

15 the estuary habitat restoration project that address16 es sources of pollution and other activities that oth17 erwise would re-impair the restored habitat.

18 (e) EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—An activity shall not be

19 considered to be an estuary habitat restoration activity

20 under this Act if the activity—

21 (1) constitutes mitigation for the adverse effects

22 of an activity regulated or otherwise governed by

23 Federal or State law; or

24 (2) constitutes restoration for natural resource

25 damages required under any Federal or State law.
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1 SEC. 108. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

2 (a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS; MEMORANDA OF

3 UNDERSTANDING.—In carrying out this Act, the Council

4 may—

5 (1) enter into cooperative agreements with Fed6 eral, State, and local government agencies and other

7 entities; and

8 (2) execute such memoranda of understanding

9 as are necessary to reflect the agreements.

10 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR ESTU11 ARY HABITAT RESTORATION ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary

12 shall allocate funds made available to carry out this Act

13 based on the need for the funds and such other factors

14 as are determined to be appropriate to carry out this Act.

15 (c) COST SHARING OF ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORA16 TION PROJECTS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—No financial assistance in

18 carrying out an estuary habitat restoration project

19 shall be available under this Act from any Federal

20 agency unless the non-Federal applicant for assist21 ance demonstrates that the estuary habitat restora22 tion project meets—

23 (A) the requirements of this Act; and

24 (B) any criteria established by the Council

25 under this Act.
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1 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

2 the cost of an estuary habitat restoration and pro3 tection project assisted under this Act shall not ex4 ceed 65 percent.

5 (3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal

6 share of the cost of an estuary habitat restoration

7 project may be provided in the form of land, ease8 ments, rights-of-way, services, or any other form of

9 in-kind contribution determined by the Council to be

10 an appropriate contribution equivalent to the mone11 tary amount required for the non-Federal share of

12 the estuary habitat restoration project.

13 (d) INTERIM ACTIONS.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Pending completion of the

15 estuary habitat restoration strategy developed under

16 section 106, the Council may pay the Federal share

17 of the cost of an interim action to carry out an estu18 ary habitat restoration activity.

19 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

20 the cost of an estuary habitat restoration activity as21 sisted under this Act before the completion of the es22 tuary habitat restoration strategy shall not exceed

23 25 percent.

24 (e) COOPERATION OF NON-FEDERAL PARTNERS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall not select

2 an estuary habitat restoration project until a non3 Federal interest has entered into a written agree4 ment with the Secretary in which the non-Federal

5 interest agrees to provide the required non-Federal

6 cooperation for the project.

7 (2) NONPROFIT ENTITIES.—Notwithstanding

8 section 221 of the Flood Control Act of 1970 (42

9 U.S.C. 1962d–5b(b)), for any project undertaken

10 under this section, the Secretary may, after coordi11 nation with the appropriate State and local officials

12 responsible for the political jurisdiction in which a

13 project would occur, allow a nonprofit entity to serve

14 as the non-Federal interest.

15 (3) MAINTENANCE AND MONITORING.—A co16 operation agreement entered into under paragraph

17 (1) shall provide for maintenance and monitoring of

18 the estuary habitat restoration project to the extent

19 determined necessary.

20 (f) AGENCY CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—

21 In carrying out this Act, the Council shall, as the Council

22 determines it to be necessary, consult with, cooperate with,

23 and coordinate its activities with the activities of other

24 Federal agencies.
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1 (g) BENEFITS AND COSTS OF ESTUARY HABITAT

2 RESTORATION PROJECTS.—The Council shall evaluate the

3 benefits and costs of estuary habitat restoration projects

4 in accordance with section 907 of the Water Resources

5 Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2284).

6 (h) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS BY STATES.—With the

7 approval of the Secretary, a State may allocate to any

8 local government, area-wide agency designated under sec9 tion 204 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan

10 Development Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 3334), regional

11 agency, interstate agency, or nonprofit entity a portion of

12 any funds disbursed in accordance with this Act for the

13 purpose of carrying out an estuary habitat restoration

14 project.

15 SEC. 109. MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE OF ESTUARY

16 HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECTS.

17 (a) DATABASE OF RESTORATION PROJECT INFORMA18 TION.—The Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere

19 of the Department of Commerce shall develop and main20 tain an appropriate database of information concerning es21 tuary habitat restoration projects funded under this Act,

22 including information on project techniques, project com23 pletion, monitoring data, and other relevant information.

24 (b) MONITORING DATA STANDARDS.—The Council

25 shall develop standard data formats for monitoring
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1 projects, along with requirements for types of data col2 lected and frequency of monitoring.

3 (c) REPORT.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall biennially

5 submit a report to the Committee on Environment

6 and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee

7 on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Com8 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives

9 on the results of activities carried out under this

10 Act.

11 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—A report under

12 paragraph (1) shall include—

13 (A) data on the number of acres of estuary

14 habitat restored under this Act, including the

15 number of projects approved and completed

16 that comprise those acres;

17 (B) the percentage of restored estuary

18 habitat monitored under a plan to ensure that

19 short-term and long-term restoration goals are

20 achieved;

21 (C) an estimate of the long-term success of

22 varying restoration techniques used in carrying

23 out estuary habitat restoration projects;

24 (D) a review of how the information de25 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C) has
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1 been incorporated in the selection and imple2 mentation of estuary habitat restoration

3 projects;

4 (E) a review of efforts made to maintain

5 an appropriate database of restoration projects

6 funded under this Act; and

7 (F) a review of the measures taken to pro8 vide the information described in subparagraphs

9 (A) through (C) to persons with responsibility

10 for assisting in the restoration of estuary habi11 tat.

12 SEC. 110. FUNDING.

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

14 (1) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION ACTIVI15 TIES.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the

16 Secretary for estuary habitat restoration activities—

17 (A) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

18 (B) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and

19 (C) $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years

20 2003 through 2005.

21 (2) MONITORING.—There is authorized to be

22 appropriated to the Under Secretary for Oceans and

23 Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce for the

24 acquisition, maintenance, and management of moni25 toring data on restoration projects funded under this
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1 Act, $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001

2 through 2005.

3 (b) SET-ASIDE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES OF

4 THE COUNCIL AND REGIONAL COUNCILS.—Not to exceed

5 3 percent of the amounts appropriated for a fiscal year

6 under subsection (a)(1) or $2,000,000, whichever is great7 er, may be used by the Secretary for administration and

8 operation of the Council and Regional Councils.

9 SEC. 111. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

10 (a) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FOR ARMY CORPS OF

11 ENGINEERS.—The Secretary may carry out estuary habi12 tat restoration projects in accordance with this Act.

13 (b) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAW.—Sections

14 203, 204, and 205 of the Water Resources Development

15 Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2231, 2232, and 2233) shall not

16 apply to an estuary habitat restoration project selected in

17 accordance with this Act.

18 (c) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION MISSION.—

19 The Secretary shall ensure that restoration of estuary

20 habitat is included as a primary mission of the Corps of

21 Engineers under section 306 of Water Resources Develop22 ment Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2316).

23 (d) FEDERAL AGENCY FACILITIES AND PER24 SONNEL.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal agencies may co2 operate in carrying out scientific and other programs

3 necessary to carry out this Act, and may provide fa4 cilities and personnel, for the purpose of assisting

5 the Council in carrying out its duties under this Act.

6 (2) REIMBURSEMENT FROM COUNCIL.—Federal

7 agencies may accept reimbursement from the Coun8 cil for providing services, facilities, and personnel

9 under paragraph (1).

10 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES AND STAFFING.—

11 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of

12 this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States

13 shall submit to Congress and the Secretary an analysis

14 of the extent to which the Council needs additional per15 sonnel and administrative resources to fully carry out its

16 duties under this Act. The analysis shall include rec17 ommendations regarding necessary additional funding.

18 TITLE II—CHESAPEAKE BAY

19 PROGRAM

20 SEC. 201. REAUTHORIZATION OF CHESAPEAKE BAY PRO21 GRAM.

22 Section 117(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Con23 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(d)) is amended to read as fol24 lows:
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1 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

3 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 1991

4 through 2000 and $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years

5 2001 through 2005, of which no more than $3,000,000

6 is authorized to be appropriated for any such fiscal year

7 to carry out subsection (a). Such sums shall remain avail8 able until expended.’’.

Æ