II

Calendar No. 934

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2417

[Report No. 106–485]

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to increase funding

for State nonpoint source pollution control programs, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 13, 2000

Mr. CRAPO (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr.

HATCH, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr.

SMITH of Oregon, Mr. GRAMM, Mr. GRAMS, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. BOND, Mr.

MCCONNELL, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. GORTON, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. HELMS, Mr. THURMOND, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. BREAUX, Mr.

INHOFE, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ASHCROFT, Mr. KYL, Mr.

BURNS, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. SHELBY, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. COVERDELL, and

Mr. CLELAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported by Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to increase funding for State nonpoint source pollution control programs, 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 ‘‘Water Pollution Pro3 gram Enhancements Act of 2000’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) pollutant loadings from both public and pri7 vate point sources have decreased dramatically since

8 the enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Con9 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) in 1972 and have

10 greatly contributed to achieving national water qual11 ity goals;

12 (2) under that Act, the Federal Government

13 has provided over $80,000,000,000 in grants and

14 loans to assist in the control of the discharge of pol15 lutants from publicly owned treatment works and

16 less than $2,000,000,000 to assist in the control of

17 nonpoint sources of pollution;

18 (3) increased Federal funding for programs to

19 control nonpoint source pollution through a variety

20 of flexible management practices is necessary to

21 meet water quality standards and the goals of that

22 Act;

23 (4) comprehensive watershed management

24 strategies (including estuary management programs,

25 source water protection programs, and other vol26 untary or statutory programs) are important tools to
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1 coordinate point source and nonpoint source water

2 quality programs;

3 (5) State and local governments, businesses,

4 and landowners are expected to spend billions of dol5 lars over the next 20 years to implement the water6 shed management strategies and other programs to

7 address nonpoint source pollution;

8 (6) in order to complete the total maximum

9 daily load calculations required for currently listed

10 waters, States will be required to develop 1 total

11 maximum daily load allocation per week per region

12 for the next 15 years at an estimated cost to the

13 States of $670,000,000 to $1,200,000,000;

14 (7) States have overwhelmingly cited a lack of

15 resources as a limitation to carrying out their re16 sponsibilities under that Act, including the identi17 fication of impaired waters and the development of

18 total maximum daily loads;

19 (8) any Federal regulatory or nonregulatory

20 water quality management program must be based

21 on sound science, must be effectively and efficiently

22 implemented, and must have the strong support of

23 affected stakeholders, including State and local gov24 ernments, landowners, businesses, environmental or25 ganizations, and the general public;
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1 (9) the General Accounting Office recently con2 cluded that only 6 States have the majority of the

3 data needed to assess the condition of their waters;

4 (10) waters of the United States are currently

5 being listed as impaired, and total maximum daily

6 loads are being developed under section 303(d) of

7 that Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)), often on the basis of

8 anecdotal evidence, where there are no reliable moni9 toring or other analytical data to support a listing

10 or a total maximum daily load allocation;

11 (11) data described in paragraph (10) are fre12 quently not subject to quality assurance or quality

13 control measures;

14 (12) the use of scarce public and private re15 sources should be focused on waters that are identi16 fied as being impaired by pollutants on the basis of

17 reliable monitoring data;

18 (13) a strong partnership between the Federal

19 Government, the States, and the private sector, with

20 adequate Federal funding and assistance, must con21 tinue if remaining national water quality issues are

22 to be resolved;

23 (14) many States have developed and are imple24 menting effective regulatory and nonregulatory coop25 erative programs that are functionally equivalent to
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1 Federal water quality programs, including, for exam2 ple, the Chesapeake Bay watershed protection pro3 gram; and

4 (15) any Federal water quality management

5 program or initiative must recognize and accommo6 date State water rights allocations and management

7 programs.

8 SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR WATER POLLUTION CONTROL MEAS9 URES.

10 (a) STATE GRANTS.—Section 106 of the Federal

11 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1256) is amend12 ing by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(a) FUNDING.—

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

15 appropriated for grants to States and interstate

16 agencies to carry out this section, including the ad17 ministration of programs for the prevention, reduc18 tion, and elimination of pollutants (including en19 forcement directly or through appropriate State law

20 enforcement officers and agencies), $250,000,000

21 for fiscal years 2001 through 2007, to remain avail22 able until expended.

23 ‘‘(2) MONITORING DATA.—From the sums ap24 propriated in any fiscal year, $50,000,000 shall be

25 made available to States for—
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1 ‘‘(A) the collection of reliable monitoring

2 data;

3 ‘‘(B) the improvement of lists prepared

4 under section 303(d)(1);

5 ‘‘(C) the preparation of total maximum

6 daily load allocations under section 303(d); and

7 ‘‘(D) the development of watershed man8 agement strategies.’’.

9 (b) NONPOINT SOURCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.—

10 Section 319 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

11 (33 U.S.C. 1329) is amended by striking subsection (j)

12 and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

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

15 appropriated to carry out subsections (h) and (i)

16 $500,000,000 for fiscal years 2001 through 2007, to

17 remain available until expended.

18 ‘‘(2) GROUNDWATER QUALITY.—Of the funds

19 authorized to be appropriated under paragraph (1),

20 for each fiscal year, not more than $7,500,000 may

21 be made available to carry out subsection (i).

22 ‘‘(3) PROJECT GRANTS.—From the sums appro23 priated under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year,

24 $200,000,000 shall be made available for States to

25 provide grants to landowners to develop and imple-
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1 ment nonpoint source pollution control projects or

2 activities to restore or improve the water quality of

3 impaired waters that have been identified by a State

4 as a priority for restoration.

5 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.—A grant awarded

6 under this paragraph shall not exceed 90 per7 cent of the cost of the project or activity.

8 ‘‘(B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The recipi9 ent of a grant under this paragraph may use

10 funds from other Federal programs and other

11 eligible in-kind contributions to satisfy the

12 matching requirement.

13 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Grants shall not be

14 made available for projects or activities that are

15 otherwise required by Federal or State law.’’.

16 SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

17 (a) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the

19 Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in

20 this Act as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall contract with

21 the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a

22 study (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Study’’) on—

23 (A) the scientific basis underlying the de24 velopment and implementation of total max25 imum daily loads;
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1 (B) the costs of implementing measures to

2 comply with total maximum daily loads; and

3 (C) the availability of alternative programs

4 or mechanisms to reduce the discharge of pol5 lutants from point sources and nonpoint source

6 pollution to achieve water quality standards.

7 (2) SCOPE.—The National Academy of Sciences

8 shall include in the Study an evaluation of, and

9 where possible, provide recommendations for im10 provements in, the following:

11 (A) The scientific methodologies (including

12 water quality monitoring and State monitoring

13 plans) currently being used by States to identify

14 impaired waters and develop and implement

15 total maximum daily loads, and the costs asso16 ciated with monitoring and other methodologies.

17 (B) Any procedures or programs being im18 plemented by the States and Federal agencies

19 to coordinate and improve monitoring meth20 odologies and the quality of monitoring data.

21 (C) The availability of alternative pro22 grams and other regulatory or nonregulatory

23 mechanisms (including other Federal, State,

24 and local programs that operate as a functional

25 equivalent to the total maximum daily load pro-
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1 gram) that may achieve comparable environ2 mental benefits in an impaired water, water3 shed, or basin.

4 (D) The results achieved by existing regu5 latory and voluntary programs, activities, and

6 practices currently being implemented to reduce

7 nonpoint source pollution and the costs of these

8 programs, activities, and practices to State and

9 local governments and the private sector;

10 (E) The circumstances in which water

11 quality standards may not be attainable, and

12 the availability of mechanisms to address those

13 circumstances.

14 (F) The feasibility of implementing a pol15 lutant trading program between point sources

16 and nonpoint sources.

17 (G) An assessment of the total costs asso18 ciated with programs to reduce the discharge of

19 pollutants from point sources and nonpoint

20 source pollution (including the costs to Federal

21 land management agencies, State and local gov22 ernments, and the private sector) to meet water

23 quality standards on waters currently listed

24 under section 303(d) of the Federal Water Pol25 lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)).
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1 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 the Study $5,000,000, to remain available until ex4 pended.

5 (b) SUBMISSION OF NAS STUDY TO CONGRESS.—

6 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of

7 this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee

8 on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the

9 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the

10 House of Representatives a copy of the Study.

11 SEC. 5. WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PILOT PROGRAM.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—In cooperation with the States,

13 the Administrator shall jointly establish a watershed man14 agement pilot program (referred to in this Act as the

15 ‘‘Pilot Program’’) to evaluate the relative water quality

16 improvements resulting from up to 5 State watershed

17 management programs or strategies, to be selected by the

18 Administrator and the States, that incorporate non-Fed19 eral water quality control programs, innovative tech20 nologies and incentives to reduce the discharge of pollut21 ants, or total maximum daily load allocations under sec22 tion 303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

23 (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)).

24 (b) SELECTION OF STATE PROGRAMS.—To be eligi25 ble for consideration in the Pilot Program, a State water-
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1 shed management strategy must be expected to achieve

2 environmental results comparable to those of the Federal

3 total maximum daily load program.

4 (c) REPORTS.—

5 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator, in

6 cooperation with the States, shall jointly develop and

7 submit annually to Congress a report on the pro8 gram and, for each State included in the Pilot Pro9 gram, specific information on the progress being

10 achieved to improve water quality.

11 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 6 months

12 after the termination of the Pilot Program, the Ad13 ministrator, in cooperation with the States, shall

14 jointly develop and submit to Congress a report eval15 uating the State programs, including for each State

16 an assessment of—

17 (A) the overall improvements achieved in

18 water quality;

19 (B) the extent to which the water quality

20 improvements are consistent with those that

21 would likely have been achieved through the

22 Federal total maximum daily load program;

23 (C) the administrative and other burdens

24 imposed on State and local governments and

25 the private sector under the State program; and
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1 (D) the costs associated with implementing

2 the State program.

3 (d) TERMINATION.—With respect to each State par4 ticipating in the program, the Pilot Program shall termi5 nate 3 years after the date on which the Administrator

6 accepts the State program in the Pilot Program.

7 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

8 authorized to be appropriated to establish and implement

9 the Pilot Program $2,000,000, to remain available until

10 expended.

11 SEC. 6. RULEMAKING.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Prior to finalizing the Proposed

13 Revisions to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination

14 System Program and Federal Antidegradation Policy,

15 published August 23, 1999 (64 Fed. Reg. 46058), and the

16 Proposed Revisions to the Water Quality Planning and

17 Management Regulations Concerning Total Maximum

18 Daily Loads, published August 23, 1999 (64 Fed. Reg.

19 46012), the Administrator shall—

20 (1) review the National Academy of Sciences

21 Study prepared under section 4; and

22 (2) take into consideration the recommenda23 tions of the National Academy of Sciences in issuing

24 any final regulations.
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1 (b) EXPLANATION.—If the Administrator includes

2 provisions in any final regulation that are not consistent

3 with the recommendations of the National Academy of

4 Sciences, the Administrator shall publish with the final

5 rule an explanation why the recommendations of the Na6 tional Academy of Sciences were not included in the final

7 regulation.

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Water Pollution Pro10 gram Enhancements Act of 2000’’.

11 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

12 In this Act:

13 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis14 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ15 mental Protection Agency.

16 (2) NAPA STUDY—The term ‘‘NAPA Study’’

17 means the study required to be carried out under sec18 tion 4(b).

19 (3) NAS STUDY.—The term ‘‘NAS Study’’ means

20 the study required to be carried out under section

21 4(a).
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1 SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR WATER POLLUTION CONTROL MEAS2 URES.

3 (a) STATE GRANTS.—Section 106 of the Federal Water

4 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1256) is amending by

5 striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(a) FUNDING.—

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

8 appropriated $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years

9 2001 through 2007, to remain available until ex10 pended, for grants to States and interstate agencies to

11 be used in carrying out this section, including—

12 ‘‘(A) the administration of programs for the

13 prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollut14 ants; and

15 ‘‘(B) enforcement carried out directly or

16 through appropriate State law enforcement offi17 cers and agencies.

18 ‘‘(2) STATE ACTIVITIES.—Of the amount author19 ized under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year,

20 $50,000,000 shall be made available to States for—

21 ‘‘(A) the collection of reliable monitoring

22 data;

23 ‘‘(B) the improvement of lists prepared

24 under section 303(d)(1);

25 ‘‘(C) the preparation of total maximum

26 daily load allocations under section 303(d); and
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1 ‘‘(D) the development of watershed manage2 ment strategies.

3 (b) NONPOINT SOURCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.—

4 Section 319 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33

5 U.S.C. 1329) is amended by striking subsection (j) and in6 serting the following:

7 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2)

9 and (3), there is authorized to be appropriated to

10 carry out subsections (h) and (i) $500,000,000 for

11 each of fiscal years 2001 through 2007, to remain

12 available until expended.

13 ‘‘(2) GROUNDWATER QUALITY.—Of the amount

14 authorized under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year,

15 not more than $7,500,000 may be made available to

16 carry out subsection (i).

17 ‘‘(3) PROJECT GRANTS.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount author19 ized under paragraph (1) for any fiscal year,

20 $200,000,000 shall be made available to States to

21 provide grants to landowners to develop and im22 plement nonpoint source pollution control

23 projects or activities to restore or improve the

24 water quality of impaired water that has been
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1 identified by a State as a priority for restora2 tion.

3 ‘‘(B) COST SHARING.—

4 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal

5 share of the costs of any project or activity

6 funded under this paragraph shall not ex7 ceed 90 percent.

8 ‘‘(ii) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The re9 cipient of a grant under this paragraph

10 may use funds from other Federal programs

11 and eligible in-kind contributions to satisfy

12 the non-Federal share.

13 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Grants under this para14 graph shall not be made available for projects or

15 activities that are required to be carried out

16 under Federal or State law.’’.

17 SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

18 (a) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con20 tract with the National Academy of Sciences to con21 duct a study of—

22 (A) the scientific basis underlying the devel23 opment and implementation of total maximum

24 daily loads under the Federal Water Pollution

25 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and
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1 (B) the availability and effectiveness of al2 ternative programs or mechanisms in producing

3 quantifiable reductions of pollution from point

4 sources and nonpoint sources to achieve water

5 quality standards.

6 (2) SUBMISSION OF NAS STUDY TO CONGRESS.—

7 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment

8 of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the

9 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

10 Committee of the House of Representatives and the

11 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the

12 Senate a copy of the NAS Study.

13 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

15 the NAS Study $2,000,000, to remain available until

16 expended.

17 (b) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS

18 STUDY.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall con20 tract with the National Academy of Public Adminis21 trators to conduct a study of—

22 (A) the effectiveness of existing voluntary

23 and other programs, activities, and practices

24 being implemented as of the date of enactment of

25 this Act in producing quantifiable reductions in
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1 pollution from point sources and nonpoint

2 sources and attaining water quality standards;

3 and

4 (B) the costs and benefits associated with

5 the programs, activities, and practices described

6 in subparagraph (A) that are incurred by State

7 and local governments and the private sector.

8 (2) SUBMISSION OF NAPA STUDY TO CON9 GRESS.—Not later than 18 months after the date of

10 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit

11 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc12 ture of the House of Representatives and the Com13 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the Sen14 ate a copy of the NAPA Study.

15 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

17 the NAPA Study $3,000,000, to remain available

18 until expended.

Calendar No. 934

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2417

[Report No. 106–485]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

to increase funding for State nonpoint sourcepollution control programs, and for other purposes.

OCTOBER 4 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported with an amendment