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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4698 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4698

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to build 
upon and help coordinate funding for restoration and protection efforts 
  at the Federal, regional, State, and local level for the four-State 
Delaware Basin, including all of Delaware Bay and portions of Delaware, 
 New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, located in the Delaware River 
                   watershed, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2010

   Mr. Castle (for himself, Mr. Dent, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Holt, and Mr. 
   Sestak) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to build 
upon and help coordinate funding for restoration and protection efforts 
  at the Federal, regional, State, and local level for the four-State 
Delaware Basin, including all of Delaware Bay and portions of Delaware, 
 New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, located in the Delaware River 
                   watershed, 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 ``Delaware River Basin Conservation 
Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Delaware River Basin is a national treasure of 
        great cultural, environmental, and ecological importance.
            (2) The Delaware River Basin contains over 12,500 square 
        miles of land in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and 
        Pennsylvania, nearly 800 square miles of bay, and more than 
        2,000 tributary rivers and streams.
            (3) The Basin is home to more than 8,000,000 people who 
        depend on the Delaware River and Bay as an economic engine, a 
        place of recreation, and a vital habitat for fish and wildlife.
            (4) The Basin provides clean drinking water to more than 
        15,000,000 people. New York City relies on the Delaware River 
        Basin for half of its drinking water supply. A study conducted 
        by the City of Philadelphia Water Department determined that 
        the most significant threat to its drinking water supply is 
        forest clearing in the Upper Basin.
            (5) Almost 180 species of fish and wildlife are considered 
        special status species in the Basin due to habitat loss and 
        degradation. Sturgeon, eastern oyster, and red knots have been 
        identified as unique species in need of habitat improvement.
            (6) The Basin provides habitat for over 200 fish species, 
        both residents and migrants, and includes significant 
        recreational fisheries. The Basin is also a prolific source of 
        eastern oyster, blue crab, and the largest population of the 
        American horseshoe crab.
            (7) Current oyster landings in the Delaware Bay are at 
        100,000 bushels, down from 500,000 harvested in the 1980s due, 
        in part, to polluted water and disease.
            (8) The Delaware Bay has the second largest concentration 
        of shorebirds in North America and is designated as one of the 
        four most important shorebird migration sites in the world.
            (9) The Basin has 1,000,000 acres of wetlands, more than 
        126,000 acres of which are recognized as internationally 
        important. Fifty percent of the Basin is covered by forest. 
        This landscape provides essential ecosystem services, including 
        recreation, commercial, and water quality benefits.
            (10) Much of the remaining exemplary natural landscape is 
        vulnerable to further degradation. The Basin gains 
        approximately 14 square miles of developed land annually. With 
        new development, urban watersheds are increasingly covered by 
        impervious surfaces, amplifying the amount of polluted runoff 
        into rivers and streams.
            (11) The Delaware River is the longest undammed river east 
        of the Mississippi, and a critical component of the National 
        Wild and Scenic River System in the Northeast.
            (12) Management of water volume in the Basin is critical to 
        flood mitigation and habitat for fish and wildlife. Following 
        three major floods along the River since 2004, the governors of 
        Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, have called 
        for natural flood control measures to combat the problem, 
        including restoring the function of riparian corridors.
            (13) The Delaware River Port Complex (including docking 
        facilities in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) is the 
        largest freshwater port in the world. The Port of Philadelphia 
        handles the largest volume of international tonnage and 70 
        percent of the oil shipped to the east coast. The Port of 
        Wilmington, a full-service deepwater port and marine terminal, 
        is the busiest terminal on the Delaware River handling over 400 
        vessels per year with an annual import/export cargo tonnage of 
        over 4,000,000 tons.
            (14) The Delaware Estuary, where fresh water from the 
        Delaware River mixes with salt water from the Atlantic Ocean, 
        is one of the largest and most complex of the 28 estuaries in 
        the National Estuary Program, and the Partnership for the 
        Delaware Estuary works to improve the environmental health of 
        the Delaware Estuary.
            (15) The Delaware River Basin Commission is a Federal-
        interstate compact government agency charged with overseeing a 
        unified approach to managing the river system and implements 
        important water resources management projects and activities 
        throughout the Basin that are in the national interest.
            (16) Restoration in the Basin is presently supported 
        through several State and Federal agency programs. Funding for 
        these important programs should continue and complement the 
        establishment of the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program. 
        The Program and associated funding for the Basin is intended to 
        build upon and help coordinate restoration and protection 
        funding mechanisms at the Federal, regional, State, and local 
        level.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Basin.--The term ``Basin'' means the four-State 
        Delaware Basin including all of Delaware Bay and portions of 
        Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, located in 
        the Delaware River watershed.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (3) Foundation.--The term ``Foundation'' means the National 
        Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a congressionally chartered 
        foundation established under the National Fish and Wildlife 
        Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
            (4) Grant program.--The term ``Grant Program'' refers to 
        the Delaware River Basin Restoration Grant Program.
            (5) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Delaware River 
        Basin Restoration Program.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (7) Service.--The term ``Service'' means the United States 
        Fish and Wildlife Service.

SEC. 4. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after funds are made 
available for this purpose, the Secretary shall establish a program, 
through the Director, that shall be known as the ``Delaware River Basin 
Restoration Program''. The Director shall--
            (1) work in consultation with existing management 
        structures, including representatives of the Partnership for 
        the Delaware Estuary and the Delaware River Basin Commission, 
        and other Federal, State, local government, regional, and 
        nonprofit organizations, as appropriate, to identify, 
        prioritize, and implement restoration and protection activities 
        within the Basin;
            (2) adopt a single plan that includes a shared set of 
        priorities for implementation of the Program;
            (3) establish the Grant Program; and
            (4) provide for technical assistance in accordance with 
        this Act.
    (b) Coordination.--In establishing the Program, the Director shall 
consult, as appropriate, with--
            (1) Federal agencies, including the Environmental 
        Protection Agency, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, 
        Natural Resource Conservation Service, United States Army Corps 
        of Engineers, the National Park Service, and any other relevant 
        agencies;
            (2) Basin States which include Delaware, New Jersey, New 
        York, and Pennsylvania;
            (3) the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary;
            (4) the Delaware River Basin Commission;
            (5) fish and wildlife joint venture partnerships in 
        existence on the date of the enactment of this Act as well as 
        those formed after such date; and
            (6) other public agencies and organizations with 
        authorities for planning and implementation of conservation 
        strategies in the Basin.
    (c) Purposes.--The purposes of the Program include--
            (1) to coordinate restoration and protection activities 
        among Federal agencies, State, local and regional entities, and 
        conservation partners throughout the Basin;
            (2) to carry out coordinated restoration and protection 
        activities throughout the Basin and the States to--
                    (A) sustain and enhance habitat restoration and 
                protection activities;
                    (B) sustain and enhance water quality improvements, 
                including drinking water;
                    (C) sustain and enhance water management and flood 
                control improvements to benefit fish and wildlife 
                habitat;
                    (D) improve opportunities for public access and 
                recreation in the Basin;
                    (E) encourage environmentally sensitive land use 
                planning and development;
                    (F) increase the capacity to implement coordinated 
                restoration and protection activities in Basin by 
                conducting public outreach and education, and promoting 
                citizen involvement; and
                    (G) coordinate, conduct, and support planning, 
                studies, monitoring, and research necessary to carry 
                out coordinated restoration and protection activities; 
                and
            (3) to provide competitive grants and for technical 
        assistance for restoration and protection activities in Basin 
        with priority given to activities with multiple benefits, 
        including habitat, water quality, and flood protection.

SEC. 5. GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Delaware River Basin Restoration Program.--To the extent that 
funds are available for this purpose, the Director shall establish a 
``Delaware River Basin Restoration Grant Program'' to provide 
competitive matching grants of varying amounts to State and local 
governments, nonprofit organizations, community organizations, 
universities, and others to carry out activities for the purposes set 
forth in section 4.
    (b) Criteria.--The Director, in consultation with the organizations 
listed in section 4(b), shall develop criteria for the Grant Program to 
help ensure that activities funded under this section address one or 
more of the following:
            (1) Restore or protect fish and wildlife species and their 
        habitats.
            (2) Improve or protect water quality by reducing nonpoint 
        and point source pollutants.
            (3) Reduce or improve management of water volume and 
        flooding.
            (4) Address priority needs or actions identified in the 
        single plan adopted under section 4(a)(2).
            (5) Include activities with multiple benefits in Basin, 
        including habitat, water quality, and flood protection.
    (c) Cost Sharing.--
            (1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
        project funded under the Grant Program shall not exceed 75 
        percent of the total cost of the activity.
            (2) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the cost 
        of a project funded under the Grant Program may be provided in 
        cash or in the form of an in-kind contribution of services or 
        materials.
    (d) Administration.--The Director may enter into an agreement with 
the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or another organization with 
the proper expertise to manage the Grant Program. If selected, the 
Foundation or other organization shall receive in lump sum, invest and 
reinvest funds for the Grant Program, and otherwise administer the 
Grant Program to support partnerships between the public and private 
sectors that further the purposes of this Act. Amounts received by the 
Foundation under this section shall be subject to the provisions of the 
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 
et seq.), excluding section 3709(a) of that Act.
    (e) Technical Assistance.--The Director may provide or provide for 
technical assistance, on a nonreimbursable basis, to other Federal 
agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit organizations, 
community organizations, universities, and others to carry out the 
purposes of the Program.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016 to 
carry out this Act.
    (b) Proportionate Use.--Of the amount appropriated, at least 75 
percent shall be used to carry out the Grant Program and to provide or 
provide for technical assistance under section 5.

SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report on the implementation of the Act, including what projects have 
been funded under this Act.
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