II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 424 

To require the Secretary of the Army to carry out the Penobscot River 

Restoration Project. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 29, 2007 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Army to carry out the 

Penobscot River Restoration Project. 

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 ‘‘Penobscot River Res5 toration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PENOBSCOT RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Penobscot River Restoration Project 

9 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Project’’) is— 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
2 

•S 424 IS

1 (A) a project to restore the natural flow of 

2 the largest watershed of the State of Maine, at 

3 a cost of $50,000,000 over a term of 5 years; 

4 and 

5 (B) a partnership among the State of 

6 Maine, the Department of Interior, the Na7 tional Park Service, the United States Fish and 

8 Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

9 the Penobscot Indian Nation, the Atlantic 

10 Salmon Federation, PPL, the Natural Re11 sources Council of Maine, American Rivers, 

12 Maine Audubon, and Trout Unlimited; 

13 (2) the goals of the Project are— 

14 (A) to open up 100 percent of the historic 

15 habitat of the Penobscot River for species, such 

16 as the endangered shortnose sturgeon; and 

17 (B) to greatly improve access to more than 

18 1,000 miles of the Penobscot River for endan19 gered Atlantic salmon; 

20 (3) the Project, which involves removing 2 dams 

21 and bypassing another, is 1 of the largest, most cre22 ative river restoration projects in the history of the 

23 United States; 

24 (4) through collaboration with dam owners, the 

25 Project will maintain virtually all of the hydroelectric 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
3 

•S 424 IS

1 generation on the Penobscot River through a series 

2 of energy enhancements farther up the Penobscot 

3 watershed; 

4 (5) the Project will have far-ranging benefits 

5 for migratory birds, a variety of riverine and estua6 rine wetlands, and endangered species, including At7 lantic salmon and 10 other species of diadromous 

8 fish; and 

9 (6) the Project will help revive the social, cul10 tural, and economic traditions of the second largest 

11 river in New England. 

12 (b) RESTORATION PROJECT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Army, 

14 acting through the Chief of Engineers (referred to in 

15 this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall carry out the 

16 Project substantially in accordance with the plan de17 scribed in Lower Penobscot River Multiparty Settle18 ment Agreement, dated June 2004, subject to a de19 termination by the Secretary that the plan is— 

20 (A) cost-effective, technically sound, and 

21 environmentally acceptable; and 

22 (B) in the best interest of the United 

23 States. 

24 (2) USE OF EXISTING STUDIES.—The Secretary 

25 shall expedite the feasibility and pre-construction, 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS
4 

•S 424 IS

1 engineering, and design of the Project by using, to 

2 the maximum extent practicable, any applicable 

3 study prepared by the State of Maine or any other 

4 non-Federal interest of the Project. 

5 (3) COST SHARING.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal share 

7 of the cost of the Project shall be 35 percent, 

8 including the provision of— 

9 (i) any land, easement, or right-of-way 

10 required to carry out the Project; and 

11 (ii) any relocation, determination of 

12 property value, or other non-Federal con13 tribution required to carry out the Project. 

14 (B) CREDIT FOR STUDIES AND MONI15 TORING.—The cost of any study or pre-Project 

16 monitoring shall be credited to the non-Federal 

17 share under subparagraph (A). 

18 (4) NON-FEDERAL INTEREST.—Notwith19 standing section 221(b) of the Flood Control Act of 

20 1970 (42 U.S.C. 1962d–5b(b)), a nonprofit entity 

21 may be considered to be a non-Federal interest of 

22 the Project. 

Æ 


jcorcoran on PROD1PC62 with BILLS