IB 

Union Calendar No. 255 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4715 

[Report No. 111–442] 

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 

MARCH 17, 2010 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the National Estuary Program, and for other 

purposes. 


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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 

10 320(b)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

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

12 follows: 

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

14 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(A) identifies the estuary and its associ17 ated upstream waters to be addressed by the 

18 plan, with consideration given to hydrological 

19 boundaries; 

20 ‘‘(B) recommends priority corrective ac21 tions and compliance schedules addressing point 

22 and nonpoint sources of pollution to restore and 

23 maintain the chemical, physical, and biological 

24 integrity of the estuary, including restoration 

25 and maintenance of water quality, a resilient 


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1 and diverse indigenous population of shellfish, 

2 fish, and wildlife, and recreational activities in 

3 the estuary, and assure that the designated 

4 uses of the estuary are protected; 

5 ‘‘(C) considers current and future sustain6 able commercial activities in the estuary; 

7 ‘‘(D) addresses the impacts of climate 

8 change on the estuary, including— 

9 ‘‘(i) the identification and assessment 

10 of vulnerabilities in the estuary; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the development and implementa12 tion of adaptation strategies; 

13 ‘‘(E) increases public education and aware14 ness of the ecological health and water quality 

15 conditions of the estuary; 

16 ‘‘(F) identifies and assesses impairments, 

17 including upstream impairments, coming from 

18 outside of the area addressed by the plan, and 

19 the sources of those impairments; and 

20 ‘‘(G) includes performance measures and 

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

22 (2) MONITORING AND MAKING RESULTS AVAIL23 ABLE.—Section 320(b)(6) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

24 1330(b)(6)) is amended to read as follows: 


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

2 public regarding)— 

3 ‘‘(A) water quality conditions in the estu4 ary and its associated upstream waters, as iden5 tified under paragraph (4)(A); 

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

7 ecological health and water quality conditions of 

8 the estuary; and 

9 ‘‘(C) the effectiveness of actions taken pur10 suant to the comprehensive conservation and 

11 management plan developed for the estuary 

12 under this subsection;’’. 

13 (3) INFORMATION AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVI14 TIES.—Section 320(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

15 1330(b)) is amended— 

16 (A) by redesignating paragraph (7) as 

17 paragraph (8); and 

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

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(7) provide information and educational activi21 ties on the ecological health and water quality condi22 tions of the estuary; and’’. 

23 (4) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The sentence 

24 following section 320(b)(8) of such Act (as so redesVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:13 Mar 17, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4715.RH H4715

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1 ignated) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (7)’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)’’. 

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

4 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)(5)) is amended by insert5 ing after ‘‘institutions,’’ the following: ‘‘not-for-profit or6 ganizations,’’. 

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

8 such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(f)) is amended to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION OF PLANS.— 

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

12 after the date on which a management conference 

13 submits to the Administrator a comprehensive con14 servation and management plan under this section, 

15 and after providing for public review and comment, 

16 the Administrator shall approve the plan if the Ad17 ministrator determines that the plan meets the re18 quirements of this section and the affected Governor 

19 or Governors concur. 

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

21 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

22 under this section, the plan shall be implemented. 

23 Funds authorized to be appropriated under titles II 

24 and VI and section 319 may be used in accordance 


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1 with the applicable requirements of this Act to assist 

2 States with the implementation of the plan. 

3 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 

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

5 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

6 and every 4 years thereafter, the Administrator 

7 shall complete an evaluation of the implementa8 tion of each comprehensive conservation and 

9 management plan developed under this section 

10 to determine the degree to which the goals of 

11 the plan have been met. 

12 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AND COMMENT BY MANAGE13 MENT CONFERENCE.—In completing an evalua14 tion under subparagraph (A), the Administrator 

15 shall submit the results of the evaluation to the 

16 appropriate management conference for review 

17 and comment. 

18 ‘‘(C) REPORT.— 

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

20 evaluation under subparagraph (A), and 

21 after providing an opportunity for a man22 agement conference to submit comments 

23 under subparagraph (B), the Adminis24 trator shall issue a report on the results of 

25 the evaluation, including the findings and 


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1 recommendations of the Administrator and 

2 any comments received from the manage3 ment conference. 

4 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The 

5 Administrator shall make a report issued 

6 under this subparagraph available to the 

7 public, including through publication in the 

8 Federal Register and on the Internet. 

9 ‘‘(D) SPECIAL RULE FOR NEW PLANS.— 

10 Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if a man11 agement conference submits a new comprehen12 sive conservation and management plan to the 

13 Administrator after the date of enactment of 

14 this paragraph, the Administrator shall com15 plete the evaluation of the plan required by sub16 paragraph (A) not later than 4 years after the 

17 date of such submission and every 4 years 

18 thereafter. 

19 ‘‘(4) UPDATES.— 

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

21 months after the date on which the Adminis22 trator makes an evaluation of a comprehensive 

23 conservation and management plan available to 

24 the public under paragraph (3)(C), a manage25 ment conference convened under this section 


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1 shall submit to the Administrator an update of 

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

3 maximum extent practicable, the results of the 

4 program evaluation. 

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

6 than 120 days after the date on which a man7 agement conference submits to the Adminis8 trator an updated comprehensive conservation 

9 and management plan under subparagraph (A), 

10 and after providing for public review and com11 ment, the Administrator shall approve the up12 dated plan if the Administrator determines that 

13 the updated plan meets the requirements of this 

14 section. 

15 ‘‘(5) PROBATIONARY STATUS.—The Adminis16 trator may consider a management conference con17 vened under this section to be in probationary status 

18 if the management conference has not received ap19 proval for an updated comprehensive conservation 

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

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

22 the date on which the Administrator makes an eval23 uation of the plan available to the public under para24 graph (3)(C).’’. 


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

2 (33 U.S.C. 1330) is amended— 

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

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

5 respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED WITHIN ESTU10 ARIES WITH APPROVED PLANS.—After approval of a 

11 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

12 by the Administrator, any Federal action or activity 

13 affecting the estuary shall be conducted, to the max14 imum extent practicable, in a manner consistent 

15 with the plan. 

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

17 Secretary of the Army (acting through the Chief of 

18 Engineers), the Administrator of the National Oce19 anic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director 

20 of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

21 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Serv22 ice, and the heads of other appropriate Federal 

23 agencies, as determined by the Administrator, shall, 

24 to the maximum extent practicable, cooperate and 

25 coordinate activities related to the implementation of 


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1 a comprehensive conservation and management plan 

2 approved by the Administrator. The Environmental 

3 Protection Agency shall serve as the lead coordi4 nating agency under this paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION OF PLANS IN AGENCY

6 BUDGET REQUESTS.—In making an annual budget 

7 request for a Federal agency referred to in para8 graph (2), the head of such agency shall consider 

9 the responsibilities of the agency under this section, 

10 including under comprehensive conservation and 

11 management plans approved by the Administrator. 

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

13 agencies referred to in paragraph (2) shall collabo14 rate on the development of tools and methodologies 

15 for monitoring the ecological health and water qual16 ity conditions of estuaries covered by a management 

17 conference convened under this section.’’. 

18 (e) GRANTS.— 

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

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

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

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

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

24 The Administrator shall reduce, by an amount 

25 to be determined by the Administrator, grants 


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1 for the implementation of a comprehensive con2 servation and management plan developed by a 

3 management conference convened under this 

4 section if the Administrator determines that the 

5 management conference is in probationary sta6 tus under subsection (f)(5). 

7 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF MANAGEMENT CON8 FERENCES.—The Administrator shall terminate 

9 a management conference convened under this 

10 section, and cease funding for the implementa11 tion of the comprehensive conservation and 

12 management plan developed by the manage13 ment conference, if the Administrator deter14 mines that the management conference has 

15 been in probationary status for 2 consecutive 

16 years.’’. 

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

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

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

20 and inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’. 

21 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

22 320(j) of such Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of 

23 this section) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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

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

3 each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016 for— 

4 ‘‘(A) expenses related to the administration 

5 of management conferences under this section, 

6 except that such expenses shall not exceed 10 

7 percent of the amount appropriated under this 

8 subsection; 

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

10 and 

11 ‘‘(C) monitoring the implementation of a 

12 conservation and management plan by the man13 agement conference, or by the Administrator in 

14 any case in which the conference has been ter15 minated. 

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

17 be appropriated under this subsection, the Adminis18 trator shall provide— 

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

20 subject to the availability of appropriations, for 

21 the development, implementation, and moni22 toring of each conservation and management 

23 plan eligible for grant assistance under sub24 section (h); and 


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

2 carry out subsection (k).’’. 

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

4 of such Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of this sec5 tion) is amended by striking ‘‘paramenters’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘parameters’’. 

7 (h) NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM EVALUATION.— 

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

9 inserting after subsection (k) (as redesignated by sub10 section (d) of this section) the following: 

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

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

13 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, and 

14 every 4 years thereafter, the Administrator shall 

15 complete an evaluation of the national estuary pro16 gram established under this section. 

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

18 an evaluation under this subsection, the Adminis19 trator shall assess the effectiveness of the national 

20 estuary program in improving water quality, natural 

21 resources, and sustainable uses of the estuaries cov22 ered by management conferences convened under 

23 this section. 

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

25 under this subsection, the Administrator shall issue 


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1 a report on the results of the evaluation, including 

2 the findings and recommendations of the Adminis3 trator. 

4 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The Adminis5 trator shall make a report issued under this sub6 section available to the public, including through 

7 publication in the Federal Register and on the Inter8 net.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 255 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4715 

[Report No. 111–442] 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

and for other purposes. to reauthorize the National Estuary Program, 

MARCH 17, 2010 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


pwalker on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS