IIB 

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. 

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 ‘‘Clean Estuaries Act 

3 of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. 

5 (a) PURPOSES OF CONFERENCE.— 

6 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE CON7 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Section 

8 320(b)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

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

10 follows: 

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

12 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(A) identifies the estuary and its associ15 ated upstream waters to be addressed by the 

16 plan, with consideration given to hydrological 

17 boundaries; 

18 ‘‘(B) recommends priority corrective ac19 tions and compliance schedules addressing point 

20 and nonpoint sources of pollution to restore and 

21 maintain the chemical, physical, and biological 

22 integrity of the estuary, including restoration 

23 and maintenance of water quality, a resilient 

24 and diverse indigenous population of shellfish, 

25 fish, and wildlife, and recreational activities in 


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1 the estuary, and assure that the designated 

2 uses of the estuary are protected; 

3 ‘‘(C) considers current and future sustain4 able commercial activities in the estuary; 

5 ‘‘(D) addresses the impacts of climate 

6 change on the estuary, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) the identification and assessment 

8 of vulnerabilities in the estuary; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the development and implementa10 tion of adaptation strategies; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the impacts of changes in sea 

12 level on estuarine water quality, estuarine 

13 habitat, and infrastructure located in the 

14 estuary; 

15 ‘‘(E) increases public education and aware16 ness with respect to— 

17 ‘‘(i) the ecological health of the estu18 ary; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the water quality conditions of 

20 the estuary; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) ocean, estuarine, land, and at22 mospheric connections and interactions; 

23 ‘‘(F) identifies and assesses impairments, 

24 including upstream impairments, coming from 


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1 outside of the area addressed by the plan, and 

2 the sources of those impairments; 

3 ‘‘(G) includes performance measures and 

4 goals to track implementation of the plan; and 

5 ‘‘(H) includes a coordinated monitoring 

6 strategy for Federal, State, and local govern7 ments and other entities.’’. 

8 (2) MONITORING AND MAKING RESULTS AVAIL9 ABLE.—Section 320(b)(6) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

10 1330(b)(6)) is amended to read as follows: 

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

12 public regarding)— 

13 ‘‘(A) water quality conditions in the estu14 ary and its associated upstream waters, as iden15 tified under paragraph (4)(A); 

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

17 ecological health and water quality conditions of 

18 the estuary; and 

19 ‘‘(C) the effectiveness of actions taken pur20 suant to the comprehensive conservation and 

21 management plan developed for the estuary 

22 under this subsection;’’. 

23 (3) INFORMATION AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVI24 TIES.—Section 320(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

25 1330(b)) is amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraph (7) as 

2 paragraph (8); and 

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

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(7) provide information and educational activi6 ties on the ecological health and water quality condi7 tions of the estuary; and’’. 

8 (4) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The sentence 

9 following section 320(b)(8) of such Act (as so redes10 ignated) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (7)’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)’’. 

12 (b) MEMBERS OF CONFERENCE; COLLABORATIVE

13 PROCESSES.— 

14 (1) MEMBERS OF CONFERENCE.—Section 

15 320(c)(5) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)(5)) is 

16 amended by inserting after ‘‘institutions,’’ the fol17 lowing: ‘‘not-for-profit organizations,’’. 

18 (2) COLLABORATIVE PROCESSES.—Section 

19 320(d) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(d)) is amend20 ed— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and all that follows 

22 through ‘‘In developing’’ and inserting the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(d) UTILIZATION OF EXISTING DATA AND COL25 LABORATIVE PROCESSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) UTILIZATION OF EXISTING DATA.—In de2 veloping’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) UTILIZATION OF COLLABORATIVE PROC5 ESSES.—In updating a plan under subsection (f)(4) 

6 or developing a new plan under subsection (b), a 

7 management conference shall make use of collabo8 rative processes to— 

9 ‘‘(A) ensure equitable inclusion of affected 

10 interests; 

11 ‘‘(B) engage with members of the manage12 ment conference, including through— 

13 ‘‘(i) the use of consensus-based deci14 sion rules; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) assistance from impartial 

16 facilitators, as appropriate; 

17 ‘‘(C) ensure relevant information, including 

18 scientific, technical, and cultural information, is 

19 accessible to members; 

20 ‘‘(D) promote accountability and trans21 parency by ensuring members are informed in 

22 a timely manner of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the purposes and objectives of the 

24 management conference; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the results of an evaluation con2 ducted under subsection (f)(3); 

3 ‘‘(E) identify the roles and responsibilities 

4 of members— 

5 ‘‘(i) in the management conference 

6 proceedings; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the implementation of the 

8 plan; and 

9 ‘‘(F) seek resolution of conflicts or dis10 putes as necessary.’’. 

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

12 such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(f)) is amended to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION OF PLANS.— 

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

16 after the date on which a management conference 

17 submits to the Administrator a comprehensive con18 servation and management plan under this section, 

19 and after providing for public review and comment, 

20 the Administrator shall approve the plan if the Ad21 ministrator determines that the plan meets the re22 quirements of this section and the affected Governor 

23 or Governors concur. 

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

25 comprehensive conservation and management plan 


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1 under this section, the plan shall be implemented. 

2 Funds authorized to be appropriated under titles II 

3 and VI and section 319 may be used in accordance 

4 with the applicable requirements of this Act to assist 

5 States with the implementation of the plan. 

6 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 

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

8 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

9 and every 4 years thereafter, the Administrator 

10 shall complete an evaluation of the implementa11 tion of each comprehensive conservation and 

12 management plan developed under this section 

13 to determine the degree to which the goals of 

14 the plan have been met. 

15 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AND COMMENT BY MANAGE16 MENT CONFERENCE.—In completing an evalua17 tion under subparagraph (A), the Administrator 

18 shall submit the results of the evaluation to the 

19 appropriate management conference for review 

20 and comment. 

21 ‘‘(C) REPORT.— 

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

23 evaluation under subparagraph (A), and 

24 after providing an opportunity for a man25 agement conference to submit comments 


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1 under subparagraph (B), the Adminis2 trator shall issue a report on the results of 

3 the evaluation, including the findings and 

4 recommendations of the Administrator and 

5 any comments received from the manage6 ment conference. 

7 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The 

8 Administrator shall make a report issued 

9 under this subparagraph available to the 

10 public, including through publication in the 

11 Federal Register and on the Internet. 

12 ‘‘(D) SPECIAL RULE FOR NEW PLANS.— 

13 Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if a man14 agement conference submits a new comprehen15 sive conservation and management plan to the 

16 Administrator after the date of enactment of 

17 this paragraph, the Administrator shall com18 plete the evaluation of the implementation of 

19 the plan required by subparagraph (A) not later 

20 than 4 years after the date of such submission 

21 and every 4 years thereafter. 

22 ‘‘(4) UPDATES.— 

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

24 months after the date on which the Adminis25 trator makes an evaluation of the implementaVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:49 Apr 19, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4715.RFS H4715

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1 tion of a comprehensive conservation and man2 agement plan available to the public under 

3 paragraph (3)(C), a management conference 

4 convened under this section shall submit to the 

5 Administrator an update of the plan. The up6 dated plan shall reflect, to the maximum extent 

7 practicable, the results of the program evalua8 tion. 

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

10 than 120 days after the date on which a man11 agement conference submits to the Adminis12 trator an updated comprehensive conservation 

13 and management plan under subparagraph (A), 

14 and after providing for public review and com15 ment, the Administrator shall approve the up16 dated plan if the Administrator determines that 

17 the updated plan meets the requirements of this 

18 section. 

19 ‘‘(5) PROBATIONARY STATUS.—The Adminis20 trator may consider a management conference con21 vened under this section to be in probationary status 

22 if the management conference has not received ap23 proval for an updated comprehensive conservation 

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

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


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1 the date on which the Administrator makes an eval2 uation of the plan available to the public under para3 graph (3)(C).’’. 

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

5 (33 U.S.C. 1330) is amended— 

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

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

8 respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED WITHIN ESTU13 ARIES WITH APPROVED PLANS.—After approval of a 

14 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

15 by the Administrator, any Federal action or activity 

16 affecting the estuary shall be conducted, to the max17 imum extent practicable, in a manner consistent 

18 with the plan. 

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

20 Secretary of the Army (acting through the Chief of 

21 Engineers), the Administrator of the National Oce22 anic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director 

23 of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

24 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Serv25 ice, and the heads of other appropriate Federal 


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1 agencies, as determined by the Administrator, shall, 

2 to the maximum extent practicable, cooperate and 

3 coordinate activities, including monitoring activities, 

4 related to the implementation of a comprehensive 

5 conservation and management plan approved by the 

6 Administrator. The Environmental Protection Agen7 cy shall serve as the lead coordinating agency under 

8 this paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION OF PLANS IN AGENCY

10 BUDGET REQUESTS.—In making an annual budget 

11 request for a Federal agency referred to in para12 graph (2), the head of such agency shall consider 

13 the responsibilities of the agency under this section, 

14 including under comprehensive conservation and 

15 management plans approved by the Administrator. 

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

17 agencies referred to in paragraph (2) shall collabo18 rate on the development of tools and methodologies 

19 for monitoring the ecological health and water qual20 ity conditions of estuaries covered by a management 

21 conference convened under this section.’’. 

22 (e) GRANTS.— 

23 (1) RECIPIENTS.—Section 320(h)(1) of such 

24 Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of this sec25 tion) is amended by striking ‘‘other public’’ and all 


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1 that follows before the period at the end and insert2 ing ‘‘and other public or nonprofit private agencies, 

3 institutions, and organizations’’. 

4 (2) EFFECTS OF PROBATIONARY STATUS.—Sec5 tion 320(h) of such Act (as redesignated by sub6 section (d) of this section) is further amended by 

7 adding at the end the following: 

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

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

10 The Administrator shall reduce, by an amount 

11 to be determined by the Administrator, grants 

12 for the implementation of a comprehensive con13 servation and management plan developed by a 

14 management conference convened under this 

15 section if the Administrator determines that the 

16 management conference is in probationary sta17 tus under subsection (f)(5). 

18 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF MANAGEMENT CON19 FERENCES.—The Administrator shall terminate 

20 a management conference convened under this 

21 section, and cease funding for the implementa22 tion of the comprehensive conservation and 

23 management plan developed by the manage24 ment conference, if the Administrator deter25 mines that the management conference has 


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1 been in probationary status for 2 consecutive 

2 years.’’. 

3 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 320(i) 

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

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

6 and inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’. 

7 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

8 320(j) of such Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of 

9 this section) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

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

13 each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016 for— 

14 ‘‘(A) expenses related to the administration 

15 of management conferences under this section, 

16 except that such expenses shall not exceed 10 

17 percent of the amount appropriated under this 

18 subsection; 

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

20 and 

21 ‘‘(C) monitoring the implementation of a 

22 conservation and management plan by the man23 agement conference, or by the Administrator in 

24 any case in which the conference has been ter25 minated. 


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

2 be appropriated under this subsection, the Adminis3 trator shall provide— 

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

5 subject to the availability of appropriations, for 

6 the development, implementation, and moni7 toring of each conservation and management 

8 plan eligible for grant assistance under sub9 section (h); and 

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

11 carry out subsection (k).’’. 

12 (g) RESEARCH.—Section 320(k)(1)(A) of such Act 

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

14 amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘paramenters’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘parameters’’; and 

17 (2) by inserting ‘‘(including monitoring of both 

18 pathways and ecosystems to track the introduction 

19 and establishment of nonnative species)’’ before ‘‘, to 

20 provide the Administrator’’. 

21 (h) NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM EVALUATION.— 

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

23 inserting after subsection (k) (as redesignated by sub24 section (d) of this section) the following: 

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


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

2 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, and 

3 every 4 years thereafter, the Administrator shall 

4 complete an evaluation of the national estuary pro5 gram established under this section. 

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

7 an evaluation under this subsection, the Adminis8 trator shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) assess the effectiveness of the na10 tional estuary program in improving water 

11 quality, natural resources, and sustainable uses 

12 of the estuaries covered by management con13 ferences convened under this section; 

14 ‘‘(B) identify best practices for improving 

15 water quality, natural resources, and sustain16 able uses of the estuaries covered by manage17 ment conferences convened under this section, 

18 including those practices funded through the 

19 use of technical assistance from the Environ20 mental Protection Agency and other Federal 

21 agencies, and assess the reasons why such prac22 tices result in the achievement of program 

23 goals; and 

24 ‘‘(C) identify any redundant requirements 

25 for reporting by recipients of a grant under this 


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1 section, and develop and recommend a plan for 

2 limiting reporting redundancies. 

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

4 under this subsection, the Administrator shall issue 

5 a report on the results of the evaluation, including 

6 the findings and recommendations of the Adminis7 trator. 

8 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY.—The Administrator shall 

9 make a report issued under this subsection available 

10 to management conferences convened under this sec11 tion and the public, including through publication in 

12 the Federal Register and on the Internet.’’. 

13 (i) CONVENING OF CONFERENCE.—Section 

14 320(a)(2) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(a)(2)) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(2) CONVENING OF CON17 FERENCE.—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘In any 

18 case’’ and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) CONVENING OF CONFERENCE.—In any 

20 case’’; and 

21 (2) by striking subparagraph (B). 

22 (j) GREAT LAKES ESTUARIES.—Section 320(m) of 

23 such Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of this sec24 tion) is amended by striking the subsection designation 


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1 and all that follows through ‘‘and those portions of tribu2 taries’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘estu4 ary’ and ‘estuarine zone’ have the meanings such terms 

5 have in section 104(n)(4), except that— 

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘estuary’ also includes near coast7 al waters and other bodies of water within the Great 

8 Lakes that are similar in form and function to the 

9 waters described in the definition of ‘estuary’ con10 tained in section 104(n)(4); and 

11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘estuarine zone’ also includes— 

12 ‘‘(A) waters within the Great Lakes de13 scribed in paragraph (1) and transitional areas 

14 from such waters that are similar in form and 

15 function to the transitional areas described in 

16 the definition of ‘estuarine zone’ contained in 

17 section 104(n)(4); 

18 ‘‘(B) associated aquatic ecosystems; and 

19 ‘‘(C) those portions of tributaries’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 15, 2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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