106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1775

AN ACT

To catalyze restoration of estuary habitat through

more efficient financing of projects and enhancedcoordination of Federal and non-Federal restoration programs, and for other purposes.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1775

AN ACT

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.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Estuary Restoration

3 Act of 2000’’.

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

5 The purposes of this Act are—

6 (1) to promote the restoration of estuary habi7 tat;

8 (2) to develop a national estuary habitat res9 toration strategy for creating and maintaining effec10 tive estuary habitat restoration partnerships among

11 public agencies at all levels of government and to es12 tablish new partnerships between the public and pri13 vate sectors;

14 (3) to provide Federal assistance for estuary

15 habitat restoration projects and to promote efficient

16 financing of such projects; and

17 (4) to develop and enhance monitoring and re18 search capabilities to ensure that estuary habitat

19 restoration efforts are based on sound scientific un20 derstanding and to create a national database of es21 tuary habitat restoration information.

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

23 In this Act, the following definitions apply:

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

25 Estuary Habitat Restoration Council established by

26 section 5.
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1 (2) ESTUARY.—The term ‘‘estuary’’ means a

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

3 has an unimpaired connection with the open sea and

4 where the sea water is measurably diluted with fresh

5 water derived from land drainage. The term also in6 cludes near coastal waters and wetlands of the Great

7 Lakes that are similar in form and function to estu8 aries.

9 (3) ESTUARY HABITAT.—The term ‘‘estuary

10 habitat’’ means the physical, biological, and chemical

11 elements associated with an estuary, including the

12 complex of physical and hydrologic features and liv13 ing organisms within the estuary and associated eco14 systems.

15 (4) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION ACTIV16 ITY.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘estuary

18 habitat restoration activity’’ means an activity

19 that results in improving degraded estuaries or

20 estuary habitat or creating estuary habitat (in21 cluding both physical and functional restora22 tion), with the goal of attaining a self-sus23 taining system integrated into the surrounding

24 landscape.
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1 (B) INCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—The term

2 ‘‘estuary habitat restoration activity’’

3 includes—

4 (i) the reestablishment of chemical,

5 physical, hydrologic, and biological features

6 and components associated with an estu7 ary;

8 (ii) except as provided in subpara9 graph (C), the cleanup of pollution for the

10 benefit of estuary habitat;

11 (iii) the control of nonnative and

12 invasive species in the estuary;

13 (iv) the reintroduction of species na14 tive to the estuary, including through such

15 means as planting or promoting natural

16 succession;

17 (v) the construction of reefs to pro18 mote fish and shellfish production and to

19 provide estuary habitat for living re20 sources; and

21 (vi) other activities that improve estu22 ary habitat.

23 (C) EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—The term

24 ‘‘estuary habitat restoration activity’’ does not

25 include an activity that—
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1 (i) constitutes mitigation required

2 under any Federal or State law for the ad3 verse effects of an activity regulated or

4 otherwise governed by Federal or State

5 law; or

6 (ii) constitutes restoration for natural

7 resource damages required under any Fed8 eral or State law.

9 (5) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION

10 PROJECT.—The term ‘‘estuary habitat restoration

11 project’’ means a project to carry out an estuary

12 habitat restoration activity.

13 (6) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION PLAN.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘estuary

15 habitat restoration plan’’ means any Federal or

16 State plan for restoration of degraded estuary

17 habitat that was developed with the substantial

18 participation of appropriate public and private

19 stakeholders.

20 (B) INCLUDED PLANS AND PROGRAMS.—

21 The term ‘‘estuary habitat restoration plan’’ in22 cludes estuary habitat restoration components

23 of—

24 (i) a comprehensive conservation and

25 management plan approved under section
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1 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Con2 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1330);

3 (ii) a lakewide management plan or

4 remedial action plan developed under sec5 tion 118 of the Federal Water Pollution

6 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1268);

7 (iii) a management plan approved

8 under the Coastal Zone Management Act

9 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); and

10 (iv) the interstate management plan

11 developed pursuant to the Chesapeake Bay

12 program under section 117 of the Federal

13 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

14 1267).

15 (8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’

16 has the meaning given such term by section 4 of the

17 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance

18 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).

19 (9) NON-FEDERAL INTEREST.—The term ‘‘non20 federal interest’’ means a State, a political subdivi21 sion of a State, an Indian tribe, a regional or inter22 state agency, or, as provided in section 4(g)(2), a

23 nongovernmental organization.

24 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

25 means the Secretary of the Army.
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1 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the

2 States of Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut,

3 Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indi4 ana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,

5 Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire,

6 New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Or7 egon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina,

8 Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, the

9 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto

10 Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

11 Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, American

12 Samoa, and Guam.

13 SEC. 4. ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION PROGRAM.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an estu15 ary habitat restoration program under which the Secretary

16 may carry out estuary habitat restoration projects and

17 provide technical assistance in accordance with the re18 quirements of this Act.

19 (b) ORIGIN OF PROJECTS.—A proposed estuary habi20 tat restoration project shall originate from a non-Federal

21 interest consistent with State or local laws.

22 (c) REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF PROJECT PRO23 POSALS.—To be eligible for the estuary habitat restoration

24 program established under this Act, each proposed estuary

25 habitat restoration project must—
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1 (1) address restoration needs identified in an

2 estuary habitat restoration plan;

3 (2) be consistent with the estuary habitat res4 toration strategy developed under section 7;

5 (3) be technically feasible;

6 (4) include a monitoring plan that is consistent

7 with standards for monitoring developed under sec8 tion 8 to ensure that short-term and long-term res9 toration goals are achieved; and

10 (5) include satisfactory assurance from the non11 Federal interests proposing the project that the non12 Federal interests will have adequate personnel, fund13 ing, and authority to carry out and properly main14 tain the project.

15 (d) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, after consid17 ering the advice and recommendations of the Coun18 cil, shall select estuary habitat restoration projects

19 taking into account the following factors:

20 (A) The scientific merit of the project.

21 (B) Whether the project will encourage in22 creased coordination and cooperation among

23 Federal, State, and local government agencies.

24 (C) Whether the project fosters public-pri25 vate partnerships and uses Federal resources to
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1 encourage increased private sector involvement,

2 including consideration of the amount of private

3 funds or in-kind contributions for an estuary

4 habitat restoration activity.

5 (D) Whether the project is cost-effective.

6 (E) Whether the State in which the non7 Federal interest is proposing the project has a

8 dedicated source of funding to acquire or re9 store estuary habitat, natural areas, and open

10 spaces for the benefit of estuary habitat res11 toration or protection.

12 (F) Other factors that the Secretary deter13 mines to be reasonable and necessary for con14 sideration.

15 (2) PRIORITY.—In selecting estuary habitat res16 toration projects to be carried out under this Act,

17 the Secretary shall give priority consideration to a

18 project if, in addition to meriting selection based on

19 the factors under paragraph (1)—

20 (A) the project occurs within a watershed

21 in which there is a program being carried out

22 that addresses sources of pollution and other

23 activities that otherwise would re-impair the re24 stored habitat; or
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1 (B) the project includes pilot testing or a

2 demonstration of an innovative technology hav3 ing the potential for improved cost-effectiveness

4 in estuary habitat restoration.

5 (e) COST SHARING.—

6 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

7 the cost of an estuary habitat restoration project

8 carried out under this Act shall not exceed 65 per9 cent of such cost.

10 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal

11 share of the cost of an estuary habitat restoration

12 project carried out under this Act shall include

13 lands, easements, rights-of-way, and relocations and

14 may include services, or any other form of in-kind

15 contribution determined by the Secretary to be an

16 appropriate contribution equivalent to the monetary

17 amount required for the non-Federal share of the

18 activity.

19 (f) INTERIM ACTIONS.—

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

21 estuary habitat restoration strategy to be developed

22 under section 7, the Secretary may take interim ac23 tions to carry out an estuary habitat restoration ac24 tivity.
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1 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

2 the cost of an estuary habitat restoration activity be3 fore the completion of the estuary habitat restora4 tion strategy shall not exceed 25 percent of such

5 cost.

6 (g) COOPERATION OF NON-FEDERAL INTERESTS.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not se8 lect an estuary habitat restoration project until a

9 non-Federal interest has entered into a written

10 agreement with the Secretary in which the non-Fed11 eral interest agrees to—

12 (A) provide all lands, easements, rights-of13 way, and relocations and any other elements the

14 Secretary determines appropriate under sub15 section (e)(2); and

16 (B) provide for maintenance and moni17 toring of the project to the extent the Secretary

18 determines necessary.

19 (2) NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.—

20 Notwithstanding section 221 of the Flood Control

21 Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 1962d–5b(b)), for any

22 project undertaken under this Act, the Secretary,

23 upon the recommendation of the Governor of the

24 State in which the project is located and in consulta25 tion with appropriate officials of political subdivi-
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1 sions of such State, may allow a nongovernmental

2 organization to serve as the non-Federal interest.

3 (h) DELEGATION OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION.—

4 In carrying out this Act, the Secretary may delegate

5 project implementation to another Federal department or

6 agency on a reimbursable basis if the Secretary, after con7 sidering the advice and recommendations of the Council,

8 determines such delegation is appropriate.

9 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORA10 TION COUNCIL.

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

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

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

14 (1) soliciting, reviewing, and evaluating project

15 proposals and making recommendations concerning

16 such proposals based on the factors specified in sec17 tion 4(d)(1), including recommendations as to a pri18 ority order for carrying out such projects and as to

19 whether a project should be carried out by the Sec20 retary or by another Federal department or agency

21 under section 4(h);

22 (2) developing and transmitting to Congress a

23 national strategy for restoration of estuary habitat;

24 (3) periodically reviewing the effectiveness of

25 the national strategy in meeting the purposes of this
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1 Act and, as necessary, updating the national strat2 egy; and

3 (4) providing advice on the development of the

4 database, monitoring standards, and report required

5 under sections 8 and 9.

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

7 the following members:

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

9 (2) The Under Secretary for Oceans and At10 mosphere of the Department of Commerce (or the

11 Under Secretary’s designee).

12 (3) The Administrator of the Environmental

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

14 (4) The Secretary of the Interior, acting

15 through the Director of the United States Fish and

16 Wildlife Service (or such Secretary’s designee).

17 (5) The Secretary of Agriculture (or such Sec18 retary’s designee).

19 (6) The head of any other Federal agency des20 ignated by the President to serve as an ex officio

21 member of the Council.

22 (d) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION.—Members of

23 the Council may not receive compensation for their service

24 as members of the Council.
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1 (e) 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 fewer than 3 years.

5 (f) CONVENING OF COUNCIL.—

6 (1) FIRST MEETING.—The Secretary shall con7 vene the first meeting of the Council not later than

8 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act

9 for the purpose of electing a chairperson.

10 (2) ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.—The chairperson

11 shall convene additional meetings of the Council as

12 often as appropriate to ensure that this Act is fully

13 carried out, but not less often than annually.

14 (g) COUNCIL PROCEDURES.—The Council shall es15 tablish procedures for voting, the conduct of meetings, and

16 other matters, as necessary.

17 (h) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Meetings of the Coun18 cil shall be open to the public. The Council shall provide

19 notice to the public of such meetings.

20 SEC. 6. ADVISORY BOARD.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall establish an ad22 visory board (in this subsection referred to as the

23 ‘‘board’’).

24 (b) DUTIES.—The board shall provide advice and rec25 ommendations to the Council—
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1 (1) on the strategy developed pursuant to sec2 tion 7; and

3 (2) on the Council’s consideration of proposed

4 estuary habitat restoration projects and the Coun5 cil’s recommendations to the Secretary pursuant to

6 section 5(b)(1), including advice on the scientific

7 merit, technical merit, and feasibility of a project.

8 (c) MEMBERS.—The Council shall appoint members

9 of the board representing diverse public and private inter10 ests. Members of the board shall be selected such that the

11 board consists of—

12 (1) three members with recognized academic

13 scientific expertise in estuary or estuary habitat res14 toration;

15 (2) three members representing State agencies

16 with expertise in estuary or estuary habitat restora17 tion;

18 (3) two members representing local or regional

19 government agencies with expertise in estuary or es20 tuary habitat restoration;

21 (4) two members representing nongovernmental

22 organizations with expertise in estuary or estuary

23 habitat restoration;

24 (5) two members representing fishing interests;
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1 (6) two members representing estuary users

2 other than fishing interests;

3 (7) two members representing agricultural in4 terests; and

5 (8) two members representing Indian tribes.

6 (d) TERMS.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by sub8 paragraph (B), members of the board shall be ap9 pointed for a term of 3 years.

10 (2) INITIAL MEMBERS.—As designated by the

11 chairperson of the Council at the time of appoint12 ment, of the members first appointed—

13 (A) nine shall be appointed for a term of

14 1 year; and

15 (B) nine shall be appointed for a term of

16 2 years.

17 (e) VACANCIES.—Whenever a vacancy occurs among

18 members of the board, the Council shall appoint an appro19 priate individual to fill that vacancy for the remainder of

20 the applicable term.

21 (f) BOARD LEADERSHIP.—The board shall elect from

22 among its members a chairperson of the board to rep23 resent the board in matters related to its duties under this

24 Act.
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1 (g) COMPENSATION.—Members of the board shall not

2 be considered to be employees of the United States and

3 may not receive compensation for their service as members

4 of the board, except that while engaged in the performance

5 of their duties while away from their homes or regular

6 place of business, members of the board may be allowed

7 necessary travel expenses as authorized by section 5703

8 of title 5, United States Code.

9 (h) TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—Technical support may

10 be provided to the board by regional and field staff of the

11 Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agen12 cy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,

13 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the De14 partment of Agriculture. The Secretary shall coordinate

15 the provision of such assistance.

16 (i) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon the

17 request of the board, the Secretary may provide to the

18 board the administrative support services necessary for

19 the board to carry out its responsibilities under this Act.

20 (j) FUNDING.—From amounts appropriated for that

21 purpose under section 10, the Secretary shall provide

22 funding for the board to carry out its duties under this

23 Act.
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1 SEC. 7. ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION STRATEGY.

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

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Council, in consulta4 tion with the advisory board established under section 6,

5 shall develop an estuary habitat restoration strategy de6 signed to ensure a comprehensive approach to maximize

7 benefits derived from estuary habitat restoration projects

8 and to foster the coordination of Federal and non-Federal

9 activities related to restoration of estuary habitat.

10 (b) GOAL.—The goal of the strategy shall be the res11 toration of 1,000,000 acres of estuary habitat by the year

12 2010.

13 (c) INTEGRATION OF ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORA14 TION PLANS, PROGRAMS, AND PARTNERSHIPS.—In devel15 oping the estuary habitat restoration strategy, the Council

16 shall—

17 (1) conduct a review of estuary management or

18 habitat restoration plans and Federal programs es19 tablished under other laws that authorize funding

20 for estuary habitat restoration activities; and

21 (2) ensure that the estuary habitat restoration

22 strategy is developed in a manner that is consistent

23 with the estuary management or habitat restoration

24 plans.
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1 (d) ELEMENTS OF THE STRATEGY.—The estuary

2 habitat restoration strategy shall include proposals, meth3 ods, and guidance on—

4 (1) maximizing the incentives for the creation

5 of new public-private partnerships to carry out estu6 ary habitat restoration projects and the use Federal

7 resources to encourage increased private sector in8 volvement in estuary habitat restoration activities;

9 (2) ensuring that the estuary habitat restora10 tion strategy will be implemented in a manner that

11 is consistent with the estuary management or habi12 tat restoration plans;

13 (3) promoting estuary habitat restoration

14 projects to—

15 (A) provide healthy ecosystems in order to

16 support—

17 (i) wildlife, including endangered and

18 threatened species, migratory birds, and

19 resident species of an estuary watershed;

20 and

21 (ii) fish and shellfish, including com22 mercial and recreational fisheries;

23 (B) improve surface and ground water

24 quality and quantity, and flood control;
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1 (C) provide outdoor recreation and other

2 direct and indirect values; and

3 (D) address other areas of concern that

4 the Council determines to be appropriate for

5 consideration;

6 (4) addressing the estimated historic losses, es7 timated current rate of loss, and extent of the threat

8 of future loss or degradation of each type of estuary

9 habitat;

10 (5) measuring the rate of change for each type

11 of estuary habitat;

12 (6) selecting a balance of smaller and larger es13 tuary habitat restoration projects; and

14 (7) ensuring equitable geographic distribution

15 of projects funded under this Act.

16 (e) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—Before the

17 Council adopts a final or revised estuary habitat restora18 tion strategy, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal

19 Register a draft of the estuary habitat restoration strategy

20 and provide an opportunity for public review and com21 ment.

22 (f) PERIODIC REVISION.—Using data and informa23 tion developed through project monitoring and manage24 ment, and other relevant information, the Council may pe-
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1 riodically review and update, as necessary, the estuary

2 habitat restoration strategy.

3 SEC. 8. MONITORING OF ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION

4 PROJECTS.

5 (a) UNDER SECRETARY.—In this section, the term

6 ‘‘Under Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary for Oceans

7 and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce.

8 (b) DATABASE OF RESTORATION PROJECT INFORMA9 TION.—The Under Secretary, in consultation with the

10 Council, shall develop and maintain an appropriate data11 base of information concerning estuary habitat restoration

12 projects carried out under this Act, including information

13 on project techniques, project completion, monitoring

14 data, and other relevant information.

15 (c) MONITORING DATA STANDARDS.—The Under

16 Secretary, in consultation with the Council, shall develop

17 standard data formats for monitoring projects, along with

18 requirements for types of data collected and frequency of

19 monitoring.

20 (d) COORDINATION OF DATA.—The Under Secretary

21 shall compile information that pertains to estuary habitat

22 restoration projects from other Federal, State, and local

23 sources and that meets the quality control requirements

24 and data standards established under this section.
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1 (e) USE OF EXISTING PROGRAMS.—The Under Sec2 retary shall use existing programs within the National

3 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create and

4 maintain the database required under this section.

5 (f) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Under Secretary

6 shall make the information collected and maintained under

7 this section available to the public.

8 SEC. 9. REPORTING.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—At the end of the third and fifth

10 fiscal years following the date of the enactment of this

11 Act, the Secretary, after considering the advice and rec12 ommendations of the Council, shall transmit to Congress

13 a report on the results of activities carried out under this

14 Act.

15 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—A report under sub16 section (a) shall include—

17 (1) data on the number of acres of estuary

18 habitat restored under this Act, including descrip19 tions of, and partners involved with, projects se20 lected, in progress, and completed under this Act

21 that comprise those acres;

22 (2) information from the database established

23 under section 8(b) related to ongoing monitoring of

24 projects to ensure that short-term and long-term

25 restoration goals are achieved;
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1 (3) an estimate of the long-term success of

2 varying restoration techniques used in carrying out

3 estuary habitat restoration projects;

4 (4) a review of how the information described

5 in paragraphs (1) through (3) has been incorporated

6 in the selection and implementation of estuary habi7 tat restoration projects;

8 (5) a review of efforts made to maintain an ap9 propriate database of restoration projects carried out

10 under this Act; and

11 (6) a review of the measures taken to provide

12 the information described in paragraphs (1) through

13 (3) to persons with responsibility for assisting in the

14 restoration of estuary habitat.

15 SEC. 10. FUNDING.

16 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

17 (1) ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION

18 PROJECTS.—There is authorized to be appropriated

19 to the Secretary for carrying out and providing tech20 nical assistance for estuary habitat restoration

21 projects—

22 (A) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;

23 (B) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and

24 (C) $45,000,000 for each of fiscal years

25 2003 through 2005.
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1 Such amounts shall remain available until expended.

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

3 appropriated to the Under Secretary for Oceans and

4 Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce for the

5 acquisition, maintenance, and management of moni6 toring data on restoration projects carried out under

7 this Act, $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2001

8 through 2005. Such amounts shall remain available

9 until expended.

10 (b) SET-ASIDE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES OF

11 THE COUNCIL AND ADVISORY BOARD.—Not to exceed 3

12 percent of the amounts appropriated for a fiscal year

13 under subsection (a)(1) or $1,500,000, whichever is great14 er, may be used by the Secretary for administration and

15 operation of the Council and the advisory board estab16 lished under section 6.

17 SEC. 11. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

18 (a) AGENCY CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION.—

19 In carrying out this Act, the Secretary shall, as necessary,

20 consult with, cooperate with, and coordinate its activities

21 with the activities of other Federal departments and agen22 cies.

23 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS; MEMORANDA OF

24 UNDERSTANDING.—In carrying out this Act, the Sec25 retary may—
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1 (1) enter into cooperative agreements with Fed2 eral, State, and local government agencies and other

3 entities; and

4 (2) execute such memoranda of understanding

5 as are necessary to reflect the agreements.

6 (c) FEDERAL AGENCY FACILITIES AND PER7 SONNEL.—Federal agencies may cooperate in carrying out

8 scientific and other programs necessary to carry out this

9 Act, and may provide facilities and personnel, for the pur10 pose of assisting the Council in carrying out its duties

11 under this Act.

12 (d) IDENTIFICATION AND MAPPING OF DREDGED

13 MATERIAL DISPOSAL SITES.—In consultation with appro14 priate Federal and non-Federal public entities, the Sec15 retary shall undertake, and update as warranted by

16 changed conditions, surveys to identify and map sites ap17 propriate for beneficial uses of dredged material for the

18 protection, restoration, and creation of aquatic and eco19 logically related habitats, including wetlands, in order to

20 further the purposes of this Act.

21 (e) STUDY OF BIOREMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad24 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,

25 with the full participation of the estuarine scientific
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1 community, shall begin a 2-year study on the effi2 cacy of bioremediation products.

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall—

4 (A) evaluate and assess bioremediation

5 technology—

6 (i) on low-level petroleum hydrocarbon

7 contamination from recreational boat

8 bilges;

9 (ii) on low-level petroleum hydro10 carbon contamination from stormwater dis11 charges;

12 (iii) on nonpoint petroleum hydro13 carbon discharges; and

14 (iv) as a first response tool for petro15 leum hydrocarbon spills; and

16 (B) recommend management actions to op17 timize the return of a healthy and balanced eco18 system and make improvements in the quality

19 and character of estuarine waters.

Passed the House of Representatives September 12,

2000.

Attest:

Clerk.