I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4715 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the 

National Estuary Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 2, 2010 

Mr. BISHOP of New York (for himself and Mr. LOBIONDO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the National Estuary Program, 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 ‘‘Clean Estuaries Act 

5 of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) PURPOSES OF CONFERENCE.— 

8 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE CON9 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Section 


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1 320(b)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

2 Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(b)(4)) is amended to read as 

3 follows: 

4 ‘‘(4) develop and submit to the Administrator a 

5 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(A) identifies the estuary and its associ8 ated upstream waters to be addressed by the 

9 plan, with consideration given to hydrological 

10 boundaries; 

11 ‘‘(B) recommends priority corrective ac12 tions and compliance schedules addressing point 

13 and nonpoint sources of pollution to restore and 

14 maintain the chemical, physical, and biological 

15 integrity of the estuary, including restoration 

16 and maintenance of water quality, a resilient 

17 and diverse indigenous population of shellfish, 

18 fish, and wildlife, and recreational activities in 

19 the estuary, and assure that the designated 

20 uses of the estuary are protected; 

21 ‘‘(C) considers current and future sustain22 able commercial activities in the estuary; 

23 ‘‘(D) addresses the impacts of climate 

24 change on the estuary, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the identification and assessment 

2 of vulnerabilities in the estuary; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the development and implementa4 tion of adaptation strategies; 

5 ‘‘(E) increases public education and aware6 ness of the ecological health and water quality 

7 conditions of the estuary; 

8 ‘‘(F) identifies and assesses impairments, 

9 including upstream impairments, coming from 

10 outside of the area addressed by the plan, and 

11 the sources of those impairments; and 

12 ‘‘(G) includes performance measures and 

13 goals to track implementation of the plan.’’. 

14 (2) MONITORING AND MAKING RESULTS AVAIL15 ABLE.—Section 320(b)(6) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

16 1330(b)(6)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(6) monitor (and make results available to the 

18 public regarding)— 

19 ‘‘(A) water quality conditions in the estu20 ary and its associated upstream waters, as iden21 tified under paragraph (4)(A); 

22 ‘‘(B) habitat conditions that relate to the 

23 ecological health and water quality conditions of 

24 the estuary; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the effectiveness of actions taken pur2 suant to the comprehensive conservation and 

3 management plan developed for the estuary 

4 under this subsection;’’. 

5 (3) INFORMATION AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVI6 TIES.—Section 320(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

7 1330(b)) is amended— 

8 (A) by redesignating paragraph (7) as 

9 paragraph (8); and 

10 (B) by inserting after paragraph (6) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(7) provide information and educational activi13 ties on the ecological health and water quality condi14 tions of the estuary; and’’. 

15 (4) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The sentence 

16 following section 320(b)(8) of such Act (as so redes17 ignated) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (7)’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)’’. 

19 (b) MEMBERS OF CONFERENCE.—Section 320(c)(5) 

20 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)(5)) is amended by insert21 ing after ‘‘institutions,’’ the following: ‘‘not-for-profit or22 ganizations,’’. 

23 (c) ADMINISTRATION OF PLANS.—Section 320(f) of 

24 such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(f)) is amended to read as fol25 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION OF PLANS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) APPROVAL.—Not later than 120 days 

3 after the date on which a management conference 

4 submits to the Administrator a comprehensive con5 servation and management plan under this section, 

6 and after providing for public review and comment, 

7 the Administrator shall approve the plan if the Ad8 ministrator determines that the plan meets the re9 quirements of this section and the affected Governor 

10 or Governors concur. 

11 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—Upon approval of a 

12 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

13 under this section, the plan shall be implemented. 

14 Funds authorized to be appropriated under titles II 

15 and VI and section 319 may be used in accordance 

16 with the applicable requirements of this Act to assist 

17 States with the implementation of the plan. 

18 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 

20 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

21 and every 4 years thereafter, the Administrator 

22 shall complete an evaluation of the implementa23 tion of each comprehensive conservation and 

24 management plan developed under this section 


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1 to determine the degree to which the goals of 

2 the plan have been met. 

3 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AND COMMENT BY MANAGE4 MENT CONFERENCE.—In completing an evalua5 tion under subparagraph (A), the Administrator 

6 shall submit the results of the evaluation to the 

7 appropriate management conference for review 

8 and comment. 

9 ‘‘(C) REPORT.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In completing an 

11 evaluation under subparagraph (A), and 

12 after providing an opportunity for a man13 agement conference to submit comments 

14 under subparagraph (B), the Adminis15 trator shall issue a report on the results of 

16 the evaluation, including the findings and 

17 recommendations of the Administrator and 

18 any comments received from the manage19 ment conference. 

20 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The 

21 Administrator shall make a report issued 

22 under this subparagraph available to the 

23 public, including through publication in the 

24 Federal Register and on the Internet. 


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1 ‘‘(D) SPECIAL RULE FOR NEW PLANS.— 

2 Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if a man3 agement conference submits a new comprehen4 sive conservation and management plan to the 

5 Administrator after the date of enactment of 

6 this paragraph, the Administrator shall com7 plete the evaluation of the plan required by sub8 paragraph (A) not later than 4 years after the 

9 date of such submission and every 4 years 

10 thereafter. 

11 ‘‘(4) UPDATES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 18 

13 months after the date on which the Adminis14 trator makes an evaluation of a comprehensive 

15 conservation and management plan available to 

16 the public under paragraph (3)(C), a manage17 ment conference convened under this section 

18 shall submit to the Administrator an update of 

19 the plan. The updated plan shall reflect, to the 

20 maximum extent practicable, the results of the 

21 program evaluation. 

22 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF UPDATES.—Not later 

23 than 120 days after the date on which a man24 agement conference submits to the Adminis25 trator an updated comprehensive conservation 


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1 and management plan under subparagraph (A), 

2 and after providing for public review and com3 ment, the Administrator shall approve the up4 dated plan if the Administrator determines that 

5 the updated plan meets the requirements of this 

6 section. 

7 ‘‘(5) PROBATIONARY STATUS.—The Adminis8 trator may consider a management conference con9 vened under this section to be in probationary status 

10 if the management conference has not received ap11 proval for an updated comprehensive conservation 

12 and management plan under paragraph (4)(B) on or 

13 before the last day of the 3-year period beginning on 

14 the date on which the Administrator makes an eval15 uation of the plan available to the public under para16 graph (3)(C).’’. 

17 (d) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Section 320 of such Act 

18 (33 U.S.C. 1330) is amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), (i), 

20 (j), and (k) as subsections (h), (i), (j), (k), and (m), 

21 respectively; and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED WITHIN ESTU2 ARIES WITH APPROVED PLANS.—After approval of a 

3 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

4 by the Administrator, any Federal action or activity 

5 affecting the estuary shall be conducted, to the max6 imum extent practicable, in a manner consistent 

7 with the plan. 

8 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION AND COOPERATION.—The 

9 Secretary of the Army (acting through the Chief of 

10 Engineers), the Administrator of the National Oce11 anic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director 

12 of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

13 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Serv14 ice, and the heads of other appropriate Federal 

15 agencies, as determined by the Administrator, shall, 

16 to the maximum extent practicable, cooperate and 

17 coordinate activities related to the implementation of 

18 a comprehensive conservation and management plan 

19 approved by the Administrator. The Environmental 

20 Protection Agency shall serve as the lead coordi21 nating agency under this paragraph. 

22 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION OF PLANS IN AGENCY

23 BUDGET REQUESTS.—In making an annual budget 

24 request for a Federal agency referred to in para25 graph (2), the head of such agency shall consider 


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1 the responsibilities of the agency under this section, 

2 including under comprehensive conservation and 

3 management plans approved by the Administrator. 

4 ‘‘(4) MONITORING.—The heads of the Federal 

5 agencies referred to in paragraph (2) shall collabo6 rate on the development of tools and methodologies 

7 for monitoring the ecological health and water qual8 ity conditions of estuaries covered by a management 

9 conference convened under this section.’’. 

10 (e) GRANTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 320(h) of such Act 

12 (as redesignated by subsection (d) of this section) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4) EFFECTS OF PROBATIONARY STATUS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) REDUCTIONS IN GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

16 The Administrator shall reduce, by an amount 

17 to be determined by the Administrator, grants 

18 for the implementation of a comprehensive con19 servation and management plan developed by a 

20 management conference convened under this 

21 section if the Administrator determines that the 

22 management conference is in probationary sta23 tus under subsection (f)(5). 

24 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF MANAGEMENT CON25 FERENCES.—The Administrator shall terminate 


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1 a management conference convened under this 

2 section, and cease funding for the implementa3 tion of the comprehensive conservation and 

4 management plan developed by the manage5 ment conference, if the Administrator deter6 mines that the management conference has 

7 been in probationary status for 2 consecutive 

8 years.’’. 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 320(i) 

10 of such Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of 

11 this section) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (g)’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’. 

13 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

14 320(j) of such Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of 

15 this section) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

18 appropriated to the Administrator $50,000,000 for 

19 each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016 for— 

20 ‘‘(A) expenses related to the administration 

21 of management conferences under this section, 

22 except that such expenses shall not exceed 10 

23 percent of the amount appropriated under this 

24 subsection; 


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1 ‘‘(B) making grants under subsection (h); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) monitoring the implementation of a 

4 conservation and management plan by the man5 agement conference, or by the Administrator in 

6 any case in which the conference has been ter7 minated. 

8 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATIONS.—Of the sums authorized to 

9 be appropriated under this subsection, the Adminis10 trator shall provide— 

11 ‘‘(A) at least $1,250,000 per fiscal year, 

12 subject to the availability of appropriations, for 

13 the development, implementation, and moni14 toring of each conservation and management 

15 plan eligible for grant assistance under sub16 section (h); and 

17 ‘‘(B) up to $5,000,000 per fiscal year to 

18 carry out subsection (k).’’. 

19 (g) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 320(k)(1)(A) 

20 of such Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of this sec21 tion) is amended by striking ‘‘paramenters’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘parameters’’. 

23 (h) NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM EVALUATION.— 

24 Section 320 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330) is amended by 


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1 inserting after subsection (k) (as redesignated by sub2 section (d) of this section) the following: 

3 ‘‘(l) NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM EVALUATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 

5 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, and 

6 every 4 years thereafter, the Administrator shall 

7 complete an evaluation of the national estuary pro8 gram established under this section. 

9 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC ASSESSMENTS.—In conducting 

10 an evaluation under this subsection, the Adminis11 trator shall assess the effectiveness of the national 

12 estuary program in improving water quality, natural 

13 resources, and sustainable uses of the estuaries cov14 ered by management conferences convened under 

15 this section. 

16 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—In completing an evaluation 

17 under this subsection, the Administrator shall issue 

18 a report on the results of the evaluation, including 

19 the findings and recommendations of the Adminis20 trator. 

21 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The Adminis22 trator shall make a report issued under this sub23 section available to the public, including through 


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1 publication in the Federal Register and on the Inter2 net.’’. 

Æ 


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