111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5301 

AN ACT 

To extend the period during which the Administrator of 

the Environmental Protection Agency and States are prohibited from requiring a permit under section 402 of 

the Federal Water Pollution Control Act for certain discharges that are incidental to normal operation of vessels, 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 TITLE I—NATIONAL POLLUTANT 

4 DISCHARGE ELIMINATION 

5 SYSTEM 

6 SEC. 101. DISCHARGES INCIDENTAL TO NORMAL OPER7 ATION OF VESSELS. 

8 Public Law 110–299 (122 Stat. 2995, 33 U.S.C. 

9 1342 note) is amended in section 2(a) by striking ‘‘during 

10 the 2-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 

11 this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘during the period beginning on 

12 the date of enactment of this Act and ending December 

13 18, 2013’’. 

14 TITLE II—CLEAN ESTUARIES 

15 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Estuaries Act 

17 of 2010’’. 

18 SEC. 202. NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM AMENDMENTS. 

19 (a) PURPOSES OF CONFERENCE.— 

20 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE CON21 SERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Section 

22 320(b)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

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

24 follows: 
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1 ‘‘(4) develop and submit to the Administrator a 

2 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(A) identifies the estuary and its associ5 ated upstream waters to be addressed by the 

6 plan, with consideration given to hydrological 

7 boundaries; 

8 ‘‘(B) recommends priority corrective ac9 tions and compliance schedules addressing point 

10 and nonpoint sources of pollution to restore and 

11 maintain the chemical, physical, and biological 

12 integrity of the estuary, including restoration 

13 and maintenance of water quality, a resilient 

14 and diverse indigenous population of shellfish, 

15 fish, and wildlife, and recreational activities in 

16 the estuary, and assure that the designated 

17 uses of the estuary are protected; 

18 ‘‘(C) considers current and future sustain19 able commercial activities in the estuary; 

20 ‘‘(D) addresses the impacts of climate 

21 change on the estuary, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) the identification and assessment 

23 of vulnerabilities in the estuary; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the development and implementa25 tion of adaptation strategies; and 
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1 ‘‘(iii) the impacts of changes in sea 

2 level on estuarine water quality, estuarine 

3 habitat, and infrastructure located in the 

4 estuary; 

5 ‘‘(E) increases public education and aware6 ness with respect to— 

7 ‘‘(i) the ecological health of the estu8 ary; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the water quality conditions of 

10 the estuary; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) ocean, estuarine, land, and at12 mospheric connections and interactions; 

13 ‘‘(F) identifies and assesses impairments, 

14 including upstream impairments, coming from 

15 outside of the area addressed by the plan, and 

16 the sources of those impairments; 

17 ‘‘(G) includes performance measures and 

18 goals to track implementation of the plan; and 

19 ‘‘(H) includes a coordinated monitoring 

20 strategy for Federal, State, and local govern21 ments and other entities.’’. 

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

2 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)’’. 

3 (b) MEMBERS OF CONFERENCE; COLLABORATIVE

4 PROCESSES.— 

5 (1) MEMBERS OF CONFERENCE.—Section 

6 320(c)(5) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)(5)) is 

7 amended by inserting after ‘‘institutions,’’ the fol8 lowing: ‘‘not-for-profit organizations,’’. 

9 (2) COLLABORATIVE PROCESSES.—Section 

10 320(d) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(d)) is amend11 ed— 

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

13 through ‘‘In developing’’ and inserting the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(d) UTILIZATION OF EXISTING DATA AND COL16 LABORATIVE PROCESSES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) UTILIZATION OF EXISTING DATA.—In de18 veloping’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(2) UTILIZATION OF COLLABORATIVE PROC21 ESSES.—In updating a plan under subsection (f)(4) 

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

23 management conference shall make use of collabo24 rative processes to— 
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1 ‘‘(A) ensure equitable inclusion of affected 

2 interests; 

3 ‘‘(B) engage with members of the manage4 ment conference, including through— 

5 ‘‘(i) the use of consensus-based deci6 sion rules; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) assistance from impartial 

8 facilitators, as appropriate; 

9 ‘‘(C) ensure relevant information, including 

10 scientific, technical, and cultural information, is 

11 accessible to members; 

12 ‘‘(D) promote accountability and trans13 parency by ensuring members are informed in 

14 a timely manner of— 

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

16 management conference; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the results of an evaluation con18 ducted under subsection (f)(3); 

19 ‘‘(E) identify the roles and responsibilities 

20 of members— 

21 ‘‘(i) in the management conference 

22 proceedings; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) in the implementation of the 

24 plan; and 
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1 ‘‘(F) seek resolution of conflicts or dis2 putes as necessary.’’. 

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

4 such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(f)) is amended to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION OF PLANS.— 

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

8 after the date on which a management conference 

9 submits to the Administrator a comprehensive con10 servation and management plan under this section, 

11 and after providing for public review and comment, 

12 the Administrator shall approve the plan if the Ad13 ministrator determines that the plan meets the re14 quirements of this section and the affected Governor 

15 or Governors concur. 

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

17 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

18 under this section, the plan shall be implemented. 

19 Funds authorized to be appropriated under titles II 

20 and VI and section 319 may be used in accordance 

21 with the applicable requirements of this Act to assist 

22 States with the implementation of the plan. 

23 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 

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

25 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 
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1 and every 4 years thereafter, the Administrator 

2 shall complete an evaluation of the implementa3 tion of each comprehensive conservation and 

4 management plan developed under this section 

5 to determine the degree to which the goals of 

6 the plan have been met. 

7 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AND COMMENT BY MANAGE8 MENT CONFERENCE.—In completing an evalua9 tion under subparagraph (A), the Administrator 

10 shall submit the results of the evaluation to the 

11 appropriate management conference for review 

12 and comment. 

13 ‘‘(C) REPORT.— 

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

15 evaluation under subparagraph (A), and 

16 after providing an opportunity for a man17 agement conference to submit comments 

18 under subparagraph (B), the Adminis19 trator shall issue a report on the results of 

20 the evaluation, including the findings and 

21 recommendations of the Administrator and 

22 any comments received from the manage23 ment conference. 

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

25 Administrator shall make a report issued 
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1 under this subparagraph available to the 

2 public, including through publication in the 

3 Federal Register and on the Internet. 

4 ‘‘(D) SPECIAL RULE FOR NEW PLANS.— 

5 Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if a man6 agement conference submits a new comprehen7 sive conservation and management plan to the 

8 Administrator after the date of enactment of 

9 this paragraph, the Administrator shall com10 plete the evaluation of the implementation of 

11 the plan required by subparagraph (A) not later 

12 than 4 years after the date of such submission 

13 and every 4 years thereafter. 

14 ‘‘(4) UPDATES.— 

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

16 months after the date on which the Adminis17 trator makes an evaluation of the implementa18 tion of a comprehensive conservation and man19 agement plan available to the public under 

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

21 convened under this section shall submit to the 

22 Administrator an update of the plan. The up23 dated plan shall reflect, to the maximum extent 

24 practicable, the results of the program evalua25 tion. 
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1 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF UPDATES.—Not later 

2 than 120 days after the date on which a man3 agement conference submits to the Adminis4 trator an updated comprehensive conservation 

5 and management plan under subparagraph (A), 

6 and after providing for public review and com7 ment, the Administrator shall approve the up8 dated plan if the Administrator determines that 

9 the updated plan meets the requirements of this 

10 section. 

11 ‘‘(5) PROBATIONARY STATUS.—The Adminis12 trator may consider a management conference con13 vened under this section to be in probationary status 

14 if the management conference has not received ap15 proval for an updated comprehensive conservation 

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

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

18 the date on which the Administrator makes an eval19 uation of the plan available to the public under para20 graph (3)(C).’’. 

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

22 (33 U.S.C. 1330) is amended— 

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

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

25 respectively; and 
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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(g) FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED WITHIN ESTU5 ARIES WITH APPROVED PLANS.—After approval of a 

6 comprehensive conservation and management plan 

7 by the Administrator, any Federal action or activity 

8 affecting the estuary shall be conducted, to the max9 imum extent practicable, in a manner consistent 

10 with the plan. 

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

12 Secretary of the Army (acting through the Chief of 

13 Engineers), the Administrator of the National Oce14 anic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director 

15 of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

16 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Serv17 ice, and the heads of other appropriate Federal 

18 agencies, as determined by the Administrator, shall, 

19 to the maximum extent practicable, cooperate and 

20 coordinate activities, including monitoring activities, 

21 related to the implementation of a comprehensive 

22 conservation and management plan approved by the 

23 Administrator. The Environmental Protection Agen24 cy shall serve as the lead coordinating agency under 

25 this paragraph. 
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1 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION OF PLANS IN AGENCY

2 BUDGET REQUESTS.—In making an annual budget 

3 request for a Federal agency referred to in para4 graph (2), the head of such agency shall consider 

5 the responsibilities of the agency under this section, 

6 including under comprehensive conservation and 

7 management plans approved by the Administrator. 

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

9 agencies referred to in paragraph (2) shall collabo10 rate on the development of tools and methodologies 

11 for monitoring the ecological health and water qual12 ity conditions of estuaries covered by a management 

13 conference convened under this section.’’. 

14 (e) GRANTS.— 

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

16 Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of this sec17 tion) is amended by striking ‘‘other public’’ and all 

18 that follows before the period at the end and insert19 ing ‘‘and other public or nonprofit private agencies, 

20 institutions, and organizations’’. 

21 (2) EFFECTS OF PROBATIONARY STATUS.—Sec22 tion 320(h) of such Act (as redesignated by sub23 section (d) of this section) is further amended by 

24 adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(4) EFFECTS OF PROBATIONARY STATUS.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) REDUCTIONS IN GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

2 The Administrator shall reduce, by an amount 

3 to be determined by the Administrator, grants 

4 for the implementation of a comprehensive con5 servation and management plan developed by a 

6 management conference convened under this 

7 section if the Administrator determines that the 

8 management conference is in probationary sta9 tus under subsection (f)(5). 

10 ‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF MANAGEMENT CON11 FERENCES.—The Administrator shall terminate 

12 a management conference convened under this 

13 section, and cease funding for the implementa14 tion of the comprehensive conservation and 

15 management plan developed by the manage16 ment conference, if the Administrator deter17 mines that the management conference has 

18 been in probationary status for 2 consecutive 

19 years.’’. 

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

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

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

23 and inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’. 
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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

2 320(j) of such Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of 

3 this section) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

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

7 each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016 for— 

8 ‘‘(A) expenses related to the administration 

9 of management conferences under this section, 

10 except that such expenses shall not exceed 10 

11 percent of the amount appropriated under this 

12 subsection; 

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

14 and 

15 ‘‘(C) monitoring the implementation of a 

16 conservation and management plan by the man17 agement conference, or by the Administrator in 

18 any case in which the conference has been ter19 minated. 

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

21 be appropriated under this subsection, the Adminis22 trator shall provide— 

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

24 subject to the availability of appropriations, for 

25 the development, implementation, and moni-
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1 toring of each conservation and management 

2 plan eligible for grant assistance under sub3 section (h); and 

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

5 carry out subsection (k).’’. 

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

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

8 amended— 

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

10 ‘‘parameters’’; and 

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

12 pathways and ecosystems to track the introduction 

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

14 provide the Administrator’’. 

15 (h) NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM EVALUATION.— 

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

17 inserting after subsection (k) (as redesignated by sub18 section (d) of this section) the following: 

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

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

21 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, and 

22 every 4 years thereafter, the Administrator shall 

23 complete an evaluation of the national estuary pro24 gram established under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC ASSESSMENTS.—In conducting 

2 an evaluation under this subsection, the Adminis3 trator shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) assess the effectiveness of the na5 tional estuary program in improving water 

6 quality, natural resources, and sustainable uses 

7 of the estuaries covered by management con8 ferences convened under this section; 

9 ‘‘(B) identify best practices for improving 

10 water quality, natural resources, and sustain11 able uses of the estuaries covered by manage12 ment conferences convened under this section, 

13 including those practices funded through the 

14 use of technical assistance from the Environ15 mental Protection Agency and other Federal 

16 agencies, and assess the reasons why such prac17 tices result in the achievement of program 

18 goals; and 

19 ‘‘(C) identify any redundant requirements 

20 for reporting by recipients of a grant under this 

21 section, and develop and recommend a plan for 

22 limiting reporting redundancies. 

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

24 under this subsection, the Administrator shall issue 

25 a report on the results of the evaluation, including 
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1 the findings and recommendations of the Adminis2 trator. 

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

4 make a report issued under this subsection available 

5 to management conferences convened under this sec6 tion and the public, including through publication in 

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

8 (i) CONVENING OF CONFERENCE.—Section 

9 320(a)(2) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(a)(2)) is amend10 ed— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘(2) CONVENING OF CON12 FERENCE.—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘In any 

13 case’’ and inserting the following: 

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

15 case’’; and 

16 (2) by striking subparagraph (B). 

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

18 such Act (as redesignated by subsection (d) of this sec19 tion) is amended by striking the subsection designation 

20 and all that follows through ‘‘and those portions of tribu21 taries’’ and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘estu23 ary’ and ‘estuarine zone’ have the meanings such terms 

24 have in section 104(n)(4), except that— 
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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘estuary’ also includes near coast2 al waters and other bodies of water within the Great 

3 Lakes that are similar in form and function to the 

4 waters described in the definition of ‘estuary’ con5 tained in section 104(n)(4); and 

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

7 ‘‘(A) waters within the Great Lakes de8 scribed in paragraph (1) and transitional areas 

9 from such waters that are similar in form and 

10 function to the transitional areas described in 

11 the definition of ‘estuarine zone’ contained in 

12 section 104(n)(4); 

13 ‘‘(B) associated aquatic ecosystems; and 

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

Passed the House of Representatives July 20, 2010. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5301 

AN ACT 

To extend the period during which the Adminisother purposes. thorize the National Estuary Program, and for incidental to normal operation of vessels, to reau- lution Control Act for certain discharges that are mit under section 402 of the Federal Water Pol- and States are prohibited from requiring a per- trator of the Environmental Protection Agency