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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4715 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4715

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 19, 2010

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

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

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Clean Estuaries Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Purposes of Conference.--
            (1) Development of comprehensive conservation and 
        management plans.--Section 320(b)(4) of the Federal Water 
        Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(b)(4)) is amended to read 
        as follows:
            ``(4) develop and submit to the Administrator a 
        comprehensive conservation and management plan that--
                    ``(A) identifies the estuary and its associated 
                upstream waters to be addressed by the plan, with 
                consideration given to hydrological boundaries;
                    ``(B) recommends priority corrective actions and 
                compliance schedules addressing point and nonpoint 
                sources of pollution to restore and maintain the 
                chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the 
                estuary, including restoration and maintenance of water 
                quality, a resilient and diverse indigenous population 
                of shellfish, fish, and wildlife, and recreational 
                activities in the estuary, and assure that the 
                designated uses of the estuary are protected;
                    ``(C) considers current and future sustainable 
                commercial activities in the estuary;
                    ``(D) addresses the impacts of climate change on 
                the estuary, including--
                            ``(i) the identification and assessment of 
                        vulnerabilities in the estuary;
                            ``(ii) the development and implementation 
                        of adaptation strategies; and
                            ``(iii) the impacts of changes in sea level 
                        on estuarine water quality, estuarine habitat, 
                        and infrastructure located in the estuary;
                    ``(E) increases public education and awareness with 
                respect to--
                            ``(i) the ecological health of the estuary;
                            ``(ii) the water quality conditions of the 
                        estuary; and
                            ``(iii) ocean, estuarine, land, and 
                        atmospheric connections and interactions;
                    ``(F) identifies and assesses impairments, 
                including upstream impairments, coming from outside of 
                the area addressed by the plan, and the sources of 
                those impairments;
                    ``(G) includes performance measures and goals to 
                track implementation of the plan; and
                    ``(H) includes a coordinated monitoring strategy 
                for Federal, State, and local governments and other 
                entities.''.
            (2) Monitoring and making results available.--Section 
        320(b)(6) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(b)(6)) is amended to read 
        as follows:
            ``(6) monitor (and make results available to the public 
        regarding)--
                    ``(A) water quality conditions in the estuary and 
                its associated upstream waters, as identified under 
                paragraph (4)(A);
                    ``(B) habitat conditions that relate to the 
                ecological health and water quality conditions of the 
                estuary; and
                    ``(C) the effectiveness of actions taken pursuant 
                to the comprehensive conservation and management plan 
                developed for the estuary under this subsection;''.
            (3) Information and educational activities.--Section 320(b) 
        of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(b)) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph 
                (8); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
            ``(7) provide information and educational activities on the 
        ecological health and water quality conditions of the estuary; 
        and''.
            (4) Conforming amendment.--The sentence following section 
        320(b)(8) of such Act (as so redesignated) is amended by 
        striking ``paragraph (7)'' and inserting ``paragraph (8)''.
    (b) Members of Conference; Collaborative Processes.--
            (1) Members of conference.--Section 320(c)(5) of such Act 
        (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)(5)) is amended by inserting after 
        ``institutions,'' the following: ``not-for-profit 
        organizations,''.
            (2) Collaborative processes.--Section 320(d) of such Act 
        (33 U.S.C. 1330(d)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``(d)'' and all that follows 
                through ``In developing'' and inserting the following:
    ``(d) Utilization of Existing Data and Collaborative Processes.--
            ``(1) Utilization of existing data.--In developing''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Utilization of collaborative processes.--In updating 
        a plan under subsection (f)(4) or developing a new plan under 
        subsection (b), a management conference shall make use of 
        collaborative processes to--
                    ``(A) ensure equitable inclusion of affected 
                interests;
                    ``(B) engage with members of the management 
                conference, including through--
                            ``(i) the use of consensus-based decision 
                        rules; and
                            ``(ii) assistance from impartial 
                        facilitators, as appropriate;
                    ``(C) ensure relevant information, including 
                scientific, technical, and cultural information, is 
                accessible to members;
                    ``(D) promote accountability and transparency by 
                ensuring members are informed in a timely manner of--
                            ``(i) the purposes and objectives of the 
                        management conference; and
                            ``(ii) the results of an evaluation 
                        conducted under subsection (f)(3);
                    ``(E) identify the roles and responsibilities of 
                members--
                            ``(i) in the management conference 
                        proceedings; and
                            ``(ii) in the implementation of the plan; 
                        and
                    ``(F) seek resolution of conflicts or disputes as 
                necessary.''.
    (c) Administration of Plans.--Section 320(f) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 
1330(f)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(f) Administration of Plans.--
            ``(1) Approval.--Not later than 120 days after the date on 
        which a management conference submits to the Administrator a 
        comprehensive conservation and management plan under this 
        section, and after providing for public review and comment, the 
        Administrator shall approve the plan if the Administrator 
        determines that the plan meets the requirements of this section 
        and the affected Governor or Governors concur.
            ``(2) Implementation.--Upon approval of a comprehensive 
        conservation and management plan under this section, the plan 
        shall be implemented. Funds authorized to be appropriated under 
        titles II and VI and section 319 may be used in accordance with 
        the applicable requirements of this Act to assist States with 
        the implementation of the plan.
            ``(3) Evaluation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 4 years after the 
                date of enactment of this paragraph, and every 4 years 
                thereafter, the Administrator shall complete an 
                evaluation of the implementation of each comprehensive 
                conservation and management plan developed under this 
                section to determine the degree to which the goals of 
                the plan have been met.
                    ``(B) Review and comment by management 
                conference.--In completing an evaluation under 
                subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall submit the 
                results of the evaluation to the appropriate management 
                conference for review and comment.
                    ``(C) Report.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In completing an 
                        evaluation under subparagraph (A), and after 
                        providing an opportunity for a management 
                        conference to submit comments under 
                        subparagraph (B), the Administrator shall issue 
                        a report on the results of the evaluation, 
                        including the findings and recommendations of 
                        the Administrator and any comments received 
                        from the management conference.
                            ``(ii) Availability to public.--The 
                        Administrator shall make a report issued under 
                        this subparagraph available to the public, 
                        including through publication in the Federal 
                        Register and on the Internet.
                    ``(D) Special rule for new plans.--Notwithstanding 
                subparagraph (A), if a management conference submits a 
                new comprehensive conservation and management plan to 
                the Administrator after the date of enactment of this 
                paragraph, the Administrator shall complete the 
                evaluation of the implementation of the plan required 
                by subparagraph (A) not later than 4 years after the 
                date of such submission and every 4 years thereafter.
            ``(4) Updates.--
                    ``(A) Requirement.--Not later than 18 months after 
                the date on which the Administrator makes an evaluation 
                of the implementation of a comprehensive conservation 
                and management plan available to the public under 
                paragraph (3)(C), a management conference convened 
                under this section shall submit to the Administrator an 
                update of the plan. The updated plan shall reflect, to 
                the maximum extent practicable, the results of the 
                program evaluation.
                    ``(B) Approval of updates.--Not later than 120 days 
                after the date on which a management conference submits 
                to the Administrator an updated comprehensive 
                conservation and management plan under subparagraph 
                (A), and after providing for public review and comment, 
                the Administrator shall approve the updated plan if the 
                Administrator determines that the updated plan meets 
                the requirements of this section.
            ``(5) Probationary status.--The Administrator may consider 
        a management conference convened under this section to be in 
        probationary status if the management conference has not 
        received approval for an updated comprehensive conservation and 
        management plan under paragraph (4)(B) on or before the last 
        day of the 3-year period beginning on the date on which the 
        Administrator makes an evaluation of the plan available to the 
        public under paragraph (3)(C).''.
    (d) Federal Agencies.--Section 320 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), (i), (j), and 
        (k) as subsections (h), (i), (j), (k), and (m), respectively; 
        and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
    ``(g) Federal Agencies.--
            ``(1) Activities conducted within estuaries with approved 
        plans.--After approval of a comprehensive conservation and 
        management plan by the Administrator, any Federal action or 
        activity affecting the estuary shall be conducted, to the 
        maximum extent practicable, in a manner consistent with the 
        plan.
            ``(2) Coordination and cooperation.--The Secretary of the 
        Army (acting through the Chief of Engineers), the Administrator 
        of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 
        Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
        Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the 
        heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, as determined by 
        the Administrator, shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 
        cooperate and coordinate activities, including monitoring 
        activities, related to the implementation of a comprehensive 
        conservation and management plan approved by the Administrator. 
        The Environmental Protection Agency shall serve as the lead 
        coordinating agency under this paragraph.
            ``(3) Consideration of plans in agency budget requests.--In 
        making an annual budget request for a Federal agency referred 
        to in paragraph (2), the head of such agency shall consider the 
        responsibilities of the agency under this section, including 
        under comprehensive conservation and management plans approved 
        by the Administrator.
            ``(4) Monitoring.--The heads of the Federal agencies 
        referred to in paragraph (2) shall collaborate on the 
        development of tools and methodologies for monitoring the 
        ecological health and water quality conditions of estuaries 
        covered by a management conference convened under this 
        section.''.
    (e) Grants.--
            (1) Recipients.--Section 320(h)(1) of such Act (as 
        redesignated by subsection (d) of this section) is amended by 
        striking ``other public'' and all that follows before the 
        period at the end and inserting ``and other public or nonprofit 
        private agencies, institutions, and organizations''.
            (2) Effects of probationary status.--Section 320(h) of such 
        Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of this section) is 
        further amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Effects of probationary status.--
                    ``(A) Reductions in grant amounts.--The 
                Administrator shall reduce, by an amount to be 
                determined by the Administrator, grants for the 
                implementation of a comprehensive conservation and 
                management plan developed by a management conference 
                convened under this section if the Administrator 
                determines that the management conference is in 
                probationary status under subsection (f)(5).
                    ``(B) Termination of management conferences.--The 
                Administrator shall terminate a management conference 
                convened under this section, and cease funding for the 
                implementation of the comprehensive conservation and 
                management plan developed by the management conference, 
                if the Administrator determines that the management 
                conference has been in probationary status for 2 
                consecutive years.''.
            (3) Conforming amendment.--Section 320(i) of such Act (as 
        redesignated by subsection (d) of this section) is amended by 
        striking ``subsection (g)'' and inserting ``subsection (h)''.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 320(j) of such Act 
(as redesignated by subsection (d) of this section) is amended to read 
as follows:
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        to the Administrator $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 
        through 2016 for--
                    ``(A) expenses related to the administration of 
                management conferences under this section, except that 
                such expenses shall not exceed 10 percent of the amount 
                appropriated under this subsection;
                    ``(B) making grants under subsection (h); and
                    ``(C) monitoring the implementation of a 
                conservation and management plan by the management 
                conference, or by the Administrator in any case in 
                which the conference has been terminated.
            ``(2) Allocations.--Of the sums authorized to be 
        appropriated under this subsection, the Administrator shall 
        provide--
                    ``(A) at least $1,250,000 per fiscal year, subject 
                to the availability of appropriations, for the 
                development, implementation, and monitoring of each 
                conservation and management plan eligible for grant 
                assistance under subsection (h); and
                    ``(B) up to $5,000,000 per fiscal year to carry out 
                subsection (k).''.
    (g) Research.--Section 320(k)(1)(A) of such Act (as redesignated by 
subsection (d) of this section) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``paramenters'' and inserting 
        ``parameters''; and
            (2) by inserting ``(including monitoring of both pathways 
        and ecosystems to track the introduction and establishment of 
        nonnative species)'' before ``, to provide the Administrator''.
    (h) National Estuary Program Evaluation.--Section 320 of such Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1330) is amended by inserting after subsection (k) (as 
redesignated by subsection (d) of this section) the following:
    ``(l) National Estuary Program Evaluation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 4 years after the date of 
        enactment of this paragraph, and every 4 years thereafter, the 
        Administrator shall complete an evaluation of the national 
        estuary program established under this section.
            ``(2) Specific assessments.--In conducting an evaluation 
        under this subsection, the Administrator shall--
                    ``(A) assess the effectiveness of the national 
                estuary program in improving water quality, natural 
                resources, and sustainable uses of the estuaries 
                covered by management conferences convened under this 
                section;
                    ``(B) identify best practices for improving water 
                quality, natural resources, and sustainable uses of the 
                estuaries covered by management conferences convened 
                under this section, including those practices funded 
                through the use of technical assistance from the 
                Environmental Protection Agency and other Federal 
                agencies, and assess the reasons why such practices 
                result in the achievement of program goals; and
                    ``(C) identify any redundant requirements for 
                reporting by recipients of a grant under this section, 
                and develop and recommend a plan for limiting reporting 
                redundancies.
            ``(3) Report.--In completing an evaluation under this 
        subsection, the Administrator shall issue a report on the 
        results of the evaluation, including the findings and 
        recommendations of the Administrator.
            ``(4) Availability.--The Administrator shall make a report 
        issued under this subsection available to management 
        conferences convened under this section and the public, 
        including through publication in the Federal Register and on 
        the Internet.''.
    (i) Convening of Conference.--Section 320(a)(2) of such Act (33 
U.S.C. 1330(a)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(2) Convening of conference.--'' and all 
        that follows through ``In any case'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(2) Convening of conference.--In any case''; and
            (2) by striking subparagraph (B).
    (j) Great Lakes Estuaries.--Section 320(m) of such Act (as 
redesignated by subsection (d) of this section) is amended by striking 
the subsection designation and all that follows through ``and those 
portions of tributaries'' and inserting the following:
    ``(m) Definitions.--In this section, the terms `estuary' and 
`estuarine zone' have the meanings such terms have in section 
104(n)(4), except that--
            ``(1) the term `estuary' also includes near coastal waters 
        and other bodies of water within the Great Lakes that are 
        similar in form and function to the waters described in the 
        definition of `estuary' contained in section 104(n)(4); and
            ``(2) the term `estuarine zone' also includes--
                    ``(A) waters within the Great Lakes described in 
                paragraph (1) and transitional areas from such waters 
                that are similar in form and function to the 
                transitional areas described in the definition of 
                `estuarine zone' contained in section 104(n)(4);
                    ``(B) associated aquatic ecosystems; and
                    ``(C) those portions of tributaries''.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 15, 2010.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.
```