I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5509 

To support efforts to reduce pollution of the Chesapeake Bay watershed 

and to verify that reductions in pollution have been achieved, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 10, 2010 

Mr. HOLDEN (for himself and Mr. GOODLATTE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 support efforts to reduce pollution of the Chesapeake 

Bay watershed and to verify that reductions in pollution 

have been achieved, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improve6 ment Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Modification of Chesapeake Bay Program under Clean Water Act. 

Sec. 3. Establishment of independent commission to oversee and administer nutrient and sediment trading program for Chesapeake Bay 

States. 

Sec. 4. Chesapeake Bay watershed assurance standards. 

Sec. 5. Technical guidelines for environmental services markets. 

Sec. 6. Chesapeake Bay watershed pilot program for creating environmental 

service markets. 

3 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM 

4 UNDER CLEAN WATER ACT. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 117(a) of the Federal 

6 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(a)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as 

9 paragraphs (6) and (9), respectively; 

10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol11 lowing new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(5) CHESAPEAKE BAY STATE.—The term 

13 ‘Chesapeake Bay State’ or ‘State’ means Delaware, 

14 Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West 

15 Virginia, and the District of Columbia.’’; and 

16 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6), as redesig17 nated, the following new paragraphs: 

18 ‘‘(7) CHIEF EXECUTIVE.—The term ‘chief exec19 utive’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of a State or Common2 wealth, the Governor of the State or Common3 wealth; and 

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of the District of Colum5 bia, the Mayor of the District of Columbia. 

6 ‘‘(8) RESTORATION ACTIVITIES.—The term 

7 ‘restoration activities’ means any Federal or State 

8 programs that directly protect, conserve, or restore 

9 habitat, water resources, or water quality in the 

10 Chesapeake Bay watershed, including programs that 

11 promote responsible land use and stewardship in the 

12 Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.’’. 

13 (b) CHESAPEAKE BAY CROSSCUT FINANCIAL RE14 PORT.—Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Con15 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by striking sub16 section (j) and inserting the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(j) FINANCIAL REPORT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL REPORT REQUIRED.—Begin19 ning with the budget submission for fiscal year 

20 2012, the Director of the Office of Management and 

21 Budget, in consultation with other appropriate Fed22 eral agencies and the chief executive of each Chesa23 peake Bay State, shall submit to Congress a finan24 cial report containing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a summary of an interagency crosscut 

2 budget that displays— 

3 ‘‘(i) the proposed funding for any 

4 Federal restoration activity to be carried 

5 out in the succeeding fiscal year, including 

6 any planned interagency or intra-agency 

7 transfer, for each of the Federal agencies 

8 that carry out restoration activities; 

9 ‘‘(ii) to the extent that information is 

10 available, the estimated funding for any 

11 State restoration activity to be carried out 

12 in the succeeding fiscal year; 

13 ‘‘(iii) all expenditures for Federal res14 toration activities from the preceding 3 fis15 cal years, the current fiscal year, and the 

16 succeeding fiscal year; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) all expenditures, to the extent 

18 that information is available, for State res19 toration activities during the equivalent 

20 time period described in clause (iii); 

21 ‘‘(B) a detailed accounting of all funds re22 ceived and obligated by all Federal agencies for 

23 restoration activities during the current and 

24 preceding fiscal years, including the identificaVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:10 Jun 11, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5509.IH H5509

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1 tion of funds which were transferred to a 

2 Chesapeake Bay State for restoration activities; 

3 ‘‘(C) to the extent that information is 

4 available, a detailed accounting from each State 

5 of all funds received and obligated from a Fed6 eral agency for restoration activities during the 

7 current and preceding fiscal years; and 

8 ‘‘(D) a description of each of the proposed 

9 Federal and State restoration activities to be 

10 carried out in the succeeding fiscal year (cor11 responding to those activities listed in clauses 

12 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A)). 

13 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 30 days 

14 after the submission by the President of the annual 

15 budget to Congress, the Director shall submit the re16 port required by paragraph (1) to the following con17 gressional committees: 

18 ‘‘(A) The Committees on Agriculture, Ap19 propriations, Natural Resources, Energy and 

20 Commerce, and Transportation and Infrastruc21 ture of the House of Representatives. 

22 ‘‘(B) The Committees on Agriculture, Nu23 trition, and Forestry, Appropriations, Environ24 ment and Public Works, and Commerce, 

25 Science, and Transportation of the Senate.’’. 


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1 (c) TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—Section 

2 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

3 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(k) TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY RE6 QUIREMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) STATE REPORTS.—Not later than 10 days 

8 after the end of each calendar quarter, each State 

9 that received funds from a Federal agency under 

10 subsection (n)(1)(B) shall submit a report to the 

11 head of the agency that— 

12 ‘‘(A) identifies the total amount of funds 

13 received from the agency under such provisions 

14 during the preceding calendar quarter; 

15 ‘‘(B) identifies the amount of funds re16 ceived from the agency under such provisions 

17 during the preceding calendar quarter or earlier 

18 that were obligated or expended for projects or 

19 activities during the preceding calendar quarter; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(C) contains a list of all projects or activi22 ties for which the funds were obligated or ex23 pended, except that such list shall not include 

24 personal identifying information of individual 

25 recipients. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AGENCY REPORTS.—Not later than 30 

2 days after the end of each calendar quarter, the 

3 head of each Federal agency that made funds avail4 able under subsection (n)(1)(B) to any State shall 

5 provide the information received in reports sub6 mitted under paragraph (1) to the Administrator. 

7 The Administrator shall publish the information on 

8 a publicly available website, as provided in para9 graph (4). 

10 ‘‘(3) INITIAL COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 180 

11 days after the date of the enactment of the Chesa12 peake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improve13 ment Act, the head of each Federal agency providing 

14 funds under subsection (n)(1)(B) shall require, as a 

15 condition of receipt of the funds, a State recipient 

16 of the funds to provide the information required 

17 under paragraph (1). 

18 ‘‘(4) WEBSITE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) WEBSITE REQUIRED.—The Adminis20 trator shall establish and maintain, no later 

21 than 30 days after enactment of the Chesa22 peake Bay Program Reauthorization and Im23 provement Act, a user-friendly, public-facing 

24 website to foster greater accountability and 


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1 transparency in the use of funds provided under 

2 subsection (n)(1)(B). 

3 ‘‘(B) CONTENT AND FUNCTION.—The 

4 website shall provide the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) Accountability information, in6 cluding findings from audits, inspectors 

7 general, and the Government Account8 ability Office. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Data on relevant economic, fi10 nancial, grant, and contract information in 

11 user-friendly visual presentations to en12 hance public awareness of the use of cov13 ered funds. 

14 ‘‘(iii) Links to other government 

15 websites where key information relating to 

16 efforts to improve the water quality of the 

17 Chesapeake Bay watershed may be found. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Printable reports on covered 

19 funds obligated by month to each State 

20 and congressional district. 

21 ‘‘(v) Links to other government 

22 websites with information concerning cov23 ered funds, including Federal agency and 

24 State websites. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REVISIONS.—The Administrator shall 

2 enhance and update the website as necessary.’’. 

3 (d) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION AND TECHNICAL

4 ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR CHESAPEAKE BAY PRO5 GRAM.—Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Con6 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by inserting after 

7 subsection (k), as added by subsection (c), the following 

8 new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(l) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION AND TECHNICAL

10 ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.—There shall 

12 be an Independent Evaluation and Technical Advi13 sory Committee (in this subsection referred to as the 

14 ‘advisory committee’) established to review and re15 port on restoration activities in the Chesapeake Bay 

16 ecosystem, including relevant topics suggested by the 

17 Chesapeake Executive Council and the Chesapeake 

18 Bay Commission 

19 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Administrator and 

20 the Secretary of Agriculture shall appoint the mem21 bers of the advisory committee, which shall consist 

22 of the following members: 

23 ‘‘(A) One individual affiliated with an in24 stitution of higher education who has expertise 

25 in water quality. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Two individuals who are engineers or 

2 scientists from government and academia who 

3 have expertise in water quality modeling. 

4 ‘‘(C) Two individuals with professional ex5 perience and expertise concerning urban and 

6 agricultural storm water issues. 

7 ‘‘(D) One individual with professional ex8 perience and expertise concerning urban and 

9 suburban development. 

10 ‘‘(E) One individual with professional expe11 rience and expertise regarding water quality 

12 modeling. 

13 ‘‘(F) One individual affiliated with an envi14 ronmental or conservation organization. 

15 ‘‘(G) One individual affiliated with agri16 culture farm commodity programs. 

17 ‘‘(H) One individual affiliated with agri18 culture conservation programs. 

19 ‘‘(I) One individual with professional expe20 rience and expertise in economics. 

21 ‘‘(J) One individual with professional expe22 rience and expertise in agronomy, crop science, 

23 or soil science. 


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1 ‘‘(K) One individual with professional ex2 perience and expertise in wastewater treatment 

3 systems. 

4 ‘‘(L) One individual with professional expe5 rience and expertise in marine biology or fish 

6 and wildlife habitats. 

7 ‘‘(M) One individual with professional ex8 perience and expertise in implementing building 

9 permits. 

10 ‘‘(3) TERM.—A member of the advisory com11 mittee shall be appointed for a term of two years 

12 and is limited to three terms on the advisory com13 mittee. 

14 ‘‘(4) BYLAWS.—The advisory committee shall 

15 establish such bylaws as may be appropriate to en16 able the advisory committee to carry out its duties 

17 under this subsection. Such bylaws shall include pro18 visions to prevent any conflict of interest, or the ap19 pearance of any conflict of interest, in the actions 

20 taken or recommendations made by the advisory 

21 committee or by any member. As an advisory com22 mittee, the committee has no power to promulgate 

23 regulations. 


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1 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Depart2 ment of Agriculture shall be the administering agen3 cy for the advisory committee. 

4 ‘‘(6) DUTIES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATION REVIEW.—The ad6 visory committee shall provide recommendations 

7 to the Administrator and Secretary of Agri8 culture concerning administration of this sec9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM AND ACTIVITIES RE11 VIEW.—The advisory committee shall review, 

12 and provide recommendations to the Adminis13 trator and Secretary of Agriculture concerning, 

14 whether— 

15 ‘‘(i) funds authorized for the restora16 tion activities are distributed and used in 

17 a manner that are consistent with the ob18 jectives of improving the water quality in 

19 the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem; 

20 ‘‘(ii) mechanisms are in place to en21 sure that restoration activities are properly 

22 implemented; 

23 ‘‘(iii) mechanisms are in place to en24 sure that progress toward water quality 


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1 goals for the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem 

2 are achieved; 

3 ‘‘(iv) the allocation of funds reflects 

4 each Chesapeake Bay State’s responsibility 

5 and contribution towards achieving water 

6 quality goals; 

7 ‘‘(v) restoration activities are carried 

8 out in accordance with this section; and 

9 ‘‘(vi) the factual information and as10 sumptions incorporated in the Chesapeake 

11 Bay model are accurate. 

12 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than December 

13 31, 2011, and every two years thereafter, the 

14 advisory committee shall submit to the Admin15 istrator, the Secretary of Agriculture, and Con16 gress regarding progress made toward reaching 

17 water quality goals in the Chesapeake Bay eco18 system. 

19 ‘‘(7) COORDINATION.—To avoid duplication of 

20 effort, the advisory committee shall coordinate ac21 tivities with other Federal advisory committees 

22 working in related areas. 

23 ‘‘(8) MEETINGS.—The advisory committee shall 

24 meet at least quarterly. 


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1 ‘‘(9) NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The advi2 sory committee does not have the authority to rec3 ommend or promulgate regulations.’’. 

4 (e) NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT TRADING TECHNICAL

5 GUIDELINES.—Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollu6 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by inserting 

7 after subsection (l), as added by subsection (d), the fol8 lowing new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(m) NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT TRADING TECH10 NICAL GUIDELINES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than May 

12 12, 2012, the Administrator, in consultation with 

13 the Secretary of Agriculture and Chesapeake Bay 

14 States shall establish technical guidelines to be used 

15 by the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment 

16 Trading Commission in establishing an interstate 

17 nutrient and sediment trading program for the 

18 Chesapeake Bay. Such guidelines shall not apply to 

19 agricultural and non-industrial private forest lands. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The technical guidelines es21 tablished under this subsection shall, at a min22 imum— 

23 ‘‘(A) define and standardize nutrient and 

24 sediment credits and establish procedures or 


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1 standards for ensuring equivalent water quality 

2 benefits for all credits; 

3 ‘‘(B) establish procedures or standards for 

4 nutrient and sediments credits to ensure that 

5 credit-generating practices from both point 

6 sources and nonpoint sources (excluding agri7 cultural and forest lands) are achieving reduc8 tions in nutrient and sediments; 

9 ‘‘(C) establish procedures or standards for 

10 generating, quantifying, trading, banking, and 

11 applying credits to meet regulatory require12 ments; 

13 ‘‘(D) establish baseline requirements, rel14 evant to the credit being traded, that a credit 

15 seller must meet before becoming eligible to 

16 generate saleable credits; and 

17 ‘‘(E) incorporate an approach under the 

18 national pollutant discharge elimination system 

19 established under section 402 that creates a 

20 general approval for trading, thereby avoiding 

21 the need to reopen or reissue permits to incor22 porate individual trades.’’. 

23 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND

24 GRANT AUTHORITY.—Section 117 of the Federal Water 

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1 serting after subsection (m), as added by subsection (e), 

2 the following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(n) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; 

4 GRANTS.— 

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

6 appropriated to the Administrator for each of fiscal 

7 years 2010 through 2015— 

8 ‘‘(A) such sums as are necessary to carry 

9 out this section; and 

10 ‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary to 

11 support the Chesapeake Bay States in carrying 

12 out section 303(d), with priority given to Mary13 land, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and District of 

14 Columbia, which shall be distributed in the fol15 lowing percentages and for the following pur16 poses: 

17 ‘‘(i) 30 percent for grants to any mu18 nicipal, intermunicipal, interstate, or State 

19 agency for construction of publicly owned 

20 treatment works, as defined in section 212. 

21 ‘‘(ii) 35 percent for grants to any mu22 nicipality that operates a municipal sepa23 rate stormwater sewage system under sec24 tion 402(p). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) 35 percent to the Secretary of 

2 Agriculture to carry out section 1240Q(i) 

3 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

4 U.S.C. 3839bb–4(i)). 

5 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts ap6 propriated pursuant to the authorization of appro7 priations in paragraph (1) shall remain available 

8 until expended. 

9 ‘‘(3) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR STATES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) RESERVATION PERCENTAGES.—Of 

11 the amounts appropriated pursuant to the au12 thorization of appropriations in paragraph 

13 (1)(B), the Administrator shall reserve the fol14 lowing percentages for allocation pursuant to 

15 subparagraph (B): 

16 ‘‘(i) 10 percent in fiscal year 2011. 

17 ‘‘(ii) 20 percent in fiscal year 2013. 

18 ‘‘(iii) 50 percent in fiscal year 2015. 

19 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—The Ad20 ministrator shall allot the amounts reserved 

21 pursuant to subparagraph (A) among States in 

22 each fiscal year based on the Administrator’s 

23 finding, in consultation with the Secretary of 

24 Agriculture, that the States have made suffi25 cient progress toward meeting water quality 


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1 goals and are properly managing financial re2 sources intended to enable each State in meet3 ing its water quality goals. The Administrator, 

4 in consultation with the Secretary, shall base 

5 the finding upon the report of the advisory 

6 committee required under subsection (l).’’. 

7 (g) TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD FOR NITROGEN, 

8 PHOSPHORUS, OR SEDIMENT FOR CHESAPEAKE BAY.— 

9 Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

10 (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended by inserting after subsection 

11 (n), as added by subsection (f), the following new sub12 section: 

13 ‘‘(o) TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD FOR NITROGEN, 

14 PHOSPHORUS, OR SEDIMENT FOR CHESAPEAKE BAY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) TMDL DURATION.—A total maximum 

16 daily load established under section 303(d) for nitro17 gen, phosphorus, or sediment for the Chesapeake 

18 Bay and its tributaries may include load expressions 

19 for wasteload allocations or load allocations using 

20 time frames other than daily (such as annual, 

21 monthly, or seasonal) for sectors, including agri22 culture, where non-daily wasteload or load alloca23 tions are most appropriate to implement applicable 

24 water quality standards. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.—If a Chesa2 peake Bay State develops a plan to implement a 

3 total maximum daily load under section 303(d) for 

4 phosphorus, nitrogen, or sediment for the Chesa5 peake Bay or its tributaries that provides for reduc6 tions in loading through an iterative process that 

7 employs adaptive management principles, permits 

8 may be issued under section 402 for new or existing 

9 discharges that include waste load allocations con10 sistent with the plan and that demonstrate progress 

11 towards achieving the waste load allocation, whether 

12 by treatment, trading, or other means, in accordance 

13 with the schedule provided in the plan, as deter14 mined by the permit issuing authority. In assessing 

15 sufficient progress by municipal dischargers and 

16 other point sources toward meeting water quality 

17 goals and plans, the Administrator and the States 

18 should take into account the availability, cost, effec19 tiveness, and appropriateness of practices, tech20 niques, methods, or other provisions for the control 

21 of such pollutants to meet the requirements of sec22 tion 402(p). 

23 ‘‘(3) OPTIONS FOR OFFSETTING OF

24 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS.—In 

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1 quirements in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, an in2 dividual or entity undertaking land development ac3 tivities requiring the management of stormwater by 

4 on-site infiltration shall be permitted to meet the ap5 plicable infiltration requirements by paying to offset 

6 them through the establishment of equivalent 

7 stormwater management practices off-site within the 

8 Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Offsetting stormwater 

9 management practices shall include, at a minimum, 

10 the establishment on agricultural lands of riparian 

11 forest buffers, streambank fencing, or other best 

12 management practices.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF INDEPENDENT COMMISSION 

14 TO OVERSEE AND ADMINISTER NUTRIENT 

15 AND SEDIMENT TRADING PROGRAM FOR 

16 CHESAPEAKE BAY STATES. 

17 The Federal Water Pollution Control Act is amended 

18 by inserting after section 117 (33 U.S.C. 1267) the fol19 lowing new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 117A. CHESAPEAKE BAY NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT 

21 TRADING COMMISSION. 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 

24 means the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment 

25 Trading Commission. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CHESAPEAKE BAY STATE.—The term 

2 ‘Chesapeake Bay State’ means Delaware, Maryland, 

3 New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, 

4 and the District of Columbia. 

5 ‘‘(3) CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.—The 

6 term ‘Chesapeake Executive Council’ means the sig7 natories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 

8 ‘‘(4) CHESAPEAKE BAY AGREEMENT.—The 

9 term ‘Chesapeake Bay Agreement’ means the for10 mal, voluntary agreements executed to achieve the 

11 goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay 

12 ecosystem and the living resources of the Chesa13 peake Bay ecosystem and signed by the Chesapeake 

14 Executive Council. 

15 ‘‘(5) NUTRIENT.—The term ‘nutrient’ means 

16 nitrogen and phosphorous. 

17 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION; PURPOSE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 

19 Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment Trading 

20 Commission to oversee and administer the nitrogen 

21 and phosphorus trading program for the Chesapeake 

22 Bay States to insure credits are generated to attract 

23 market participants and facilitate trading mecha24 nisms among and within States to meet water qual25 ity goals. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT ESTABLISHMENT.—The 

2 Commission shall be an independent establishment, 

3 as defined in section 104 of title 5, United States 

4 Code. 

5 ‘‘(3) LOCATION.—The Commission shall be 

6 housed at the Office of the Chesapeake Bay Pro7 gram directed by the Chesapeake Executive Council 

8 in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 

9 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) CREDITS FOR WATER QUALITY TRAD11 ING.—In consultation with market developers and 

12 appropriate Federal agencies, the Commission shall 

13 develop a system to facilitate and generate credits 

14 for interstate water quality trading in the Chesa15 peake Bay States. 

16 ‘‘(2) WATER QUALITY TRADING REGISTRY.— 

17 The Commission shall obtain information from the 

18 Administrator, the Secretary of Agriculture, and 

19 other Federal agencies to operate and oversee a reg20 istry for interstate water quality trading in the 

21 Chesapeake Bay States. 

22 ‘‘(3) TRADE RECORDKEEPING.—The Commis23 sion shall develop and maintain a system to record 

24 specific interstate water quality trades in the Chesa25 peake Bay States. 


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1 ‘‘(4) POINT SOURCE AND NON-POINT SOURCE

2 TRADES.—In consultation with market developers 

3 and appropriate Federal agencies, the Commission 

4 shall develop a system to allow for trading to occur 

5 between point source and non-point source dis6 chargers in the Chesapeake Bay States. 

7 ‘‘(5) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE PROGRAM.— 

8 The Commission shall not establish or operate a pro9 gram that conflicts with or modifies a State pro10 gram. 

11 ‘‘(d) USE OF TECHNICAL GUIDELINES.—The Com12 mission shall rely on the Administrator to provide tech13 nical guidelines under section 117(m) and the Secretary 

14 of Agriculture to provide technical guidelines under sec15 tion 1245(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

16 3845(b)). 

17 ‘‘(e) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall 

19 consist of five members, of which— 

20 ‘‘(A) one member shall be appointed by the 

21 Secretary of Agriculture; 

22 ‘‘(B) one member shall be appointed by the 

23 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

24 Agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) three members shall be appointed by 

2 the governors from each of the signatory States 

3 of the Bay Agreement. 

4 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—With regard 

5 to the members appointed under paragraph (1)(C)— 

6 ‘‘(A) one member shall be a representative 

7 of the general public; 

8 ‘‘(B) not more than two of the members 

9 may have similar professional experience or ex10 pertise in the same field; and 

11 ‘‘(C) at least one of the members shall be 

12 experienced in a market based pollutant trading 

13 mechanism. 

14 ‘‘(3) TERMS.—The members of the Commission 

15 shall serve a term of five years and may be re16 appointed. 

17 ‘‘(4) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the 

18 Commission shall designate one of the members to 

19 serve as chairperson. 

20 ‘‘(5) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet 

21 at the call of the chairperson or a majority of its 

22 members. 

23 ‘‘(f) OFFICERS AND STAFF.—The Commission may 

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1 ances and benefits for such officers and employees of the 

2 Commission as the members determine to be appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(g) DURATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

4 on September 30, 2015.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED ASSURANCE STAND6 ARDS. 

7 Section 1240Q of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

8 U.S.C. 3839bb–4) is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(i) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED ASSURANCE

11 STANDARDS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 

13 is to develop environmental assurance standards for 

14 the Chesapeake Bay States to use to ensure that 

15 farmers and non-industrial private forest landowners 

16 in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are implementing 

17 conservation activities to fulfill water quality regula18 tions under applicable Federal and State law. 

19 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF SECRETARY.— 

20 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS.— 

21 For the purposes of this section, the Secretary 

22 shall use existing State partnerships and pro23 grams to establish standards for risk assess24 ment, conservation planning, verification, water 

25 quality, and auditing practices that Chesapeake 


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1 Bay States can incorporate in their State man2 agement plan under section 117(g)(1) of the 

3 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

4 1267(g)(1)). 

5 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec6 retary shall provide conservation technical as7 sistance— 

8 ‘‘(i) to educate agricultural and pri9 vate forest landowners in the Chesapeake 

10 Bay watershed regarding State and Fed11 eral regulatory water quality requirements 

12 and possible activities they could undertake 

13 to come into compliance with the regula14 tions; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) to assist such landowners in con16 servation planning that will achieve and 

17 maintain regulatory compliance. 

18 ‘‘(C) MEMORANDUM OF UNDER19 STANDING.—The Secretary may enter into a 

20 memorandum of understanding with the Ad21 ministrator of the Environmental Protection 

22 Agency and with the Chesapeake Bay States to 

23 coordinate conservation planning for agricul24 tural and non-industrial private forest lands to 


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1 meet applicable State water quality require2 ments. 

3 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF ASSURANCE STANDARDS.—Ag4 ricultural and private forest landowners who develop 

5 and implement a conservation plan in accordance 

6 with this subsection shall be deemed to be in full 

7 compliance with applicable Federal and State water 

8 quality requirements under section 303(d) of the 

9 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

10 1313(d)). 

11 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

12 ‘‘(A) CHESAPEAKE BAY STATE.—The term 

13 ‘Chesapeake Bay State’ means Delaware, Mary14 land, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West 

15 Virginia, and the District of Columbia. 

16 ‘‘(B) CONSERVATION PLANNING.—The 

17 term ‘conservation planning’ has the same 

18 meaning as established for such term in the 

19 Natural Resources Conservation Service field 

20 office technical guide, comprehensive nutrient 

21 management plans, and nutrient management 

22 plans.’’. 

23 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL 

24 SERVICES MARKETS. 

25 (a) TYPES OF GUIDELINES REQUIRED.— 


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1 (1) ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES.—Section 

2 1245(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

3 U.S.C. 3845(b)) is amended by striking paragraphs 

4 (1), (2), and (3) and inserting the following new 

5 paragraphs: 

6 ‘‘(1) Methodologies for quantifying environ7 mental service benefits. 

8 ‘‘(2) Baseline methodologies for environmental 

9 service benefits. 

10 ‘‘(3) Methodologies to account for reversals and 

11 leakage for environmental services markets. 

12 ‘‘(4) Methodologies for verification of the envi13 ronmental service benefits. 

14 ‘‘(5) A protocol to report environmental service 

15 benefits. 

16 ‘‘(6) A registry to collect, record, and maintain 

17 the benefits measured. 

18 ‘‘(7) A procedure to verify and ensure compli19 ance of the environmental service benefits.’’. 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

21 1245(c)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

22 U.S.C. 3845(c)(1)) is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and in24 serting ‘‘paragraph (5)’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (3)’’ and in2 serting ‘‘paragraph (6)’’. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Section 1245 of 

4 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3845) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following new sub6 sections: 

7 ‘‘(f) LIST OF ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) LIST REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 

9 publish a list of eligible domestic agricultural and 

10 forestry activities that result in environmental serv11 ice benefits. 

12 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE; PUBLICATION.—Not later than 

13 14 months after the date of the enactment of the 

14 Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Im15 provement Act, the Secretary shall publish in the 

16 Federal Register the list of domestic agricultural 

17 and forestry activities that are eligible for the guide18 lines established under subsection (a). 

19 ‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In preparing the 

20 list under this subsection, the Secretary shall take 

21 into consideration the recommendations of the enti22 ties referred to in subsection (e). 

23 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONS AND REVISIONS.—Not later 

24 than four years after the date of the enactment of 

25 the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and 


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1 Improvement Act, and every two years thereafter, 

2 the Secretary shall add to and revise the list pre3 pared under this subsection. The additions and revi4 sions shall be made only after the Secretary provides 

5 an opportunity for public notice of and an oppor6 tunity for comment on the proposed additions and 

7 revisions. 

8 ‘‘(g) GUIDELINES FOR PROVISION OF TECHNICAL

9 ASSISTANCE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) VERIFICATION GUIDELINES.—As part of 

11 the regulations promulgated under this title, the 

12 Secretary shall establish guidelines for the provision 

13 of technical assistance to ensure— 

14 ‘‘(A) that environmental service benefits 

15 have been implemented properly; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the quantification of the benefits have 

17 resulted in an environmental benefit. 

18 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDER AC19 CREDITATION.—As part of the regulations promul20 gated under this title, the Secretary shall establish 

21 a process and requirements for periodic accreditation 

22 of certified technical assistance providers for envi23 ronmental service benefits to ensure that those tech24 nical service providers are professionally qualified 

25 and have no conflicts of interest. Each technical 


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1 service provider meeting the requirements for ac2 creditation in accordance with this paragraph shall 

3 be listed in a publicly accessible database, which 

4 shall be maintained and updated by the Secretary.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED PILOT PROGRAM 

6 FOR CREATING ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE 

7 MARKETS. 

8 Section 1240Q of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

9 U.S.C. 3839bb–4) is amended by inserting after sub10 section (i), as added by section 102, the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(j) PILOT PROGRAM FOR CREATING ENVIRON13 MENTAL SERVICE MARKETS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish a pilot program for the Chesapeake Bay wa16 tershed for the facilitation of creating environmental 

17 service markets based on the guidelines outlined in 

18 section 1245 as long as those environmental service 

19 benefits do not result in taking eligible land wholly 

20 out of agricultural production. The Secretary shall 

21 ensure that the pilot program is consistent with the 

22 policies, protocols, and regulations established under 

23 existing environmental service markets in the Chesa24 peake Bay watershed. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION OF DATA TO CHESAPEAKE

2 BAY NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT TRADING COMMIS3 SION.—The Secretary shall transmit to the Chesa4 peake Bay Nutrient and Sediment Trading Commis5 sion such data acquired by the Secretary as may be 

6 necessary to the effective administration of nutrient 

7 and sediment trading programs administered by the 

8 Commission under section 117A of the Federal 

9 Water Pollution Control Act.’’. 

Æ 


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