II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3484 

To establish the New York-New Jersey Watershed Restoration Program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12 (legislative day, JANUARY 10), 2022 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish the New York-New Jersey Watershed 

Restoration Program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘New York-New Jersey 

5 Watershed Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the New York-New Jersey Watershed, 

9 which encompasses all the watersheds that flow into 

10 New York-New Jersey Harbor and the associated esVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jan 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3484.IS S3484

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1 tuaries of that Harbor, such as the Hudson, Mo2 hawk, Raritan, Passaic, Hackensack, and Bronx 

3 River Watersheds and the Hudson River Estuary, is 

4 of great ecological, economic, and cultural impor5 tance; 

6 (2) the Watershed supports one of the most 

7 densely populated and economically important re8 gions in the United States; 

9 (3) millions of people rely on the Hudson, Mo10 hawk, Raritan, and Hackensack Rivers as sources of 

11 drinking water; 

12 (4) the Watershed supports multiple industries 

13 that attract over $60,700,000,000 in annual revenue 

14 through tourism, commercial fishing, and rec15 reational activities; 

16 (5) the New York-New Jersey Harbor— 

17 (A) contributes $8,500,000,000 annually 

18 in Federal, State, and local tax revenue; and 

19 (B) is directly or indirectly responsible for 

20 629,000 jobs with $90,500,000,000 in annual 

21 personal and business wages; 

22 (6) the water resources of the Mohawk River 

23 play an important role in tourism, shipping, and re24 lated businesses and industries in the region, with 


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1 the tourism industry alone valued at more than 

2 $1,340,000,000 annually; 

3 (7) the Watershed supports species listed as 

4 threatened species or endangered species under sec5 tion 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

6 U.S.C. 1533), including the shortnose sturgeon and 

7 the Atlantic sturgeon, as well as those species whose 

8 populations are at risk of steep declines; 

9 (8) shorelines, marshes, and wetlands through10 out the Watershed are critical to flood mitigation 

11 and provide important habitat for a diverse array of 

12 fish and wildlife; 

13 (9) the Hudson River Estuary contains more 

14 than 7,000 acres of brackish wetlands that— 

15 (A) filter contaminants; 

16 (B) mitigate sea level rise; 

17 (C) buffer coastal communities from 

18 storms; and 

19 (D) provide habitat for fish and wildlife; 

20 (10) for the past century, the Watershed has 

21 faced serious threats to water quality, including haz22 ardous waste, legacy pollutants, and partially treated 

23 or untreated wastewater; 

24 (11) many of the residents that benefit from 

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1 ronmental injustice, where access to and enjoyment 

2 of fish, wildlife, clean water, and other natural re3 sources has been impaired or compromised; 

4 (12) the ongoing environmental injustice chal5 lenges described in paragraph (11) are compounded 

6 by the impacts of climate change, including— 

7 (A) rising air and water temperatures; 

8 (B) increases in incidences of extreme 

9 weather; 

10 (C) changing precipitation patterns; and 

11 (D) rising sea levels; 

12 (13) extreme weather events like Hurricanes 

13 Sandy, Irene, Lee, and Ida caused loss of life and 

14 billions of dollars in damages, and the shared coast15 line of New York and New Jersey remains highly 

16 vulnerable to frequent storm surges and rising seas; 

17 (14) Federal, State, and local governments rec18 ognize that natural and nature-based flood hazard 

19 mitigation measures, including living shorelines and 

20 restoring the function of riparian corridors, are cost21 effective solutions that provide environmental, social, 

22 and economic benefits; 

23 (15) restoration activities in the Watershed are 

24 supported by several Federal and State programs, 

25 and funding for those important programs should 


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1 continue and complement the establishment of the 

2 New York-New Jersey Watershed Restoration Pro3 gram under section 4(a), which is intended to build 

4 on and help coordinate restoration and protection 

5 funding mechanisms at the Federal, State, Tribal, 

6 regional, and local levels; 

7 (16) managing the Watershed requires leader8 ship from the Department of the Interior and co9 ordination among other Federal agencies, 2 States, 

10 Indian Tribes, hundreds of counties, cities and 

11 towns, and millions of property owners; 

12 (17) the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv13 ice has established a collaborative approach to deliv14 ering inclusive, meaningful conservation gains in 

15 urban communities through— 

16 (A) the Urban Wildlife Conservation Pro17 gram; and 

18 (B) at landscape scales, the Delaware 

19 River Basin Restoration Program; and 

20 (18) drawing on existing management plans 

21 and existing and ongoing voluntary conservation ef22 forts in the Watershed will— 

23 (A) improve the efficiency and cost-effec24 tiveness of conservation and restoration efforts; 

25 and 


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1 (B) increase private sector investments and 

2 coordination of Federal and non-Federal re3 sources. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) APPROVED PLAN.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘approved 

8 plan’’ means any plan for management of the 

9 Watershed— 

10 (i) that has been approved by a Fed11 eral, regional, State, Tribal, or local gov12 ernmental entity, including State Wildlife 

13 Action Plans, Comprehensive Conservation 

14 Management Plans, and Watershed Im15 provement Plans; or 

16 (ii) that is determined by the Sec17 retary, in consultation with the entities de18 scribed in clause (i), to contribute to the 

19 achievement of the purposes of this Act. 

20 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘approved 

21 plan’’ includes— 

22 (i) the New York-New Jersey Harbor 

23 & Estuary Program (HEP) Action Agen24 da; 


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1 (ii) the Hudson Raritan Comprehen2 sive Restoration Plan; 

3 (iii) the Hudson River Comprehensive 

4 Restoration Plan; 

5 (iv) the Hudson River Estuary Pro6 gram Action Agenda; 

7 (v) the Mohawk River Action Agenda; 

8 (vi) the Sustainable Raritan River Ini9 tiative Action Plan; 

10 (vii) the Lower Passaic and Bronx & 

11 Harlem Federal Urban Waters Partnership 

12 Workplans; 

13 (viii) the New Jersey Sports and Ex14 hibition Authority Meadowlands Restora15 tion Plan; and 

16 (ix) such other conservation projects 

17 in the region that achieve the purposes of 

18 this Act, as determined by the Secretary. 

19 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en20 vironmental justice’’, with respect to the develop21 ment, implementation, and enforcement of environ22 mental laws, regulations, and policies, means the fair 

23 treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, 

24 regardless of race, color, national origin, or income. 


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1 (3) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

2 means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. 

3 (4) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘grant pro4 gram’’ means the voluntary New York-New Jersey 

5 Watershed Restoration Grant Program established 

6 under section 5(a). 

7 (5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

8 the New York-New Jersey Watershed Restoration 

9 Program established under section 4(a). 

10 (6) RESTORATION AND PROTECTION.—The 

11 term ‘‘restoration and protection’’ means the con12 servation, stewardship, and enhancement of habitat 

13 for fish and wildlife, including water quality— 

14 (A) to preserve and improve ecosystems 

15 and ecological processes on which those fish and 

16 wildlife depend; and 

17 (B) for use and enjoyment by the public. 

18 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di20 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv21 ice. 

22 (8) WATERSHED.—The term ‘‘Watershed’’ 

23 means the New York-New Jersey Watershed, which 

24 is comprised of— 


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1 (A) all land area the surface water of 

2 which drains into the New York-New Jersey 

3 Harbor; 

4 (B) the waters contained within that land 

5 area; and 

6 (C) the estuaries associated with those wa7 tersheds. 

8 SEC. 4. NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY WATERSHED RESTORA9 TION PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es12 tablish a nonregulatory program, to be known as the ‘‘New 

13 York-New Jersey Watershed Restoration Program’’. 

14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program shall 

15 include— 

16 (1) coordinating restoration and protection ac17 tivities among Federal, State, Tribal, local, and re18 gional entities and conservation partners throughout 

19 the Watershed; 

20 (2) carrying out coordinated restoration and 

21 protection activities, and providing for technical as22 sistance for those activities, throughout the Water23 shed— 

24 (A) to sustain and enhance fish and wild25 life habitat; 


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1 (B) to improve and maintain water quality 

2 to support fish, wildlife, and their habitats, as 

3 well as to improve opportunities for public ac4 cess and recreation in the Watershed consistent 

5 with the ecological needs of fish and wildlife 

6 habitats; 

7 (C) to advance the use of natural climate 

8 solutions and natural infrastructure, including 

9 living shorelines and other green infrastructure 

10 techniques, to maximize the resilience of com11 munities, natural systems, and habitats experi12 encing the impacts of climate change; 

13 (D) to engage the public, particularly com14 munities experiencing environmental injustice, 

15 through outreach, education, and community 

16 involvement to increase capacity, support, and 

17 workforce development for coordinated restora18 tion and protection activities in the Watershed; 

19 (E) to increase scientific capacity to sup20 port the planning, monitoring, and research ac21 tivities necessary to carry out coordinated res22 toration and protection activities in the Water23 shed; 

24 (F) to provide for feasibility and planning 

25 studies for green infrastructure projects that 


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1 achieve habitat restoration and stormwater 

2 management goals; 

3 (G) to support land conservation and man4 agement activities necessary to fulfill the Wa5 tershed-wide strategy adopted under subsection 

6 (c)(3); 

7 (H) to monitor environmental quality to 

8 assess progress toward the purposes of this Act; 

9 and 

10 (I) to improve fish and wildlife habitats, as 

11 well as opportunities for personal recreation, 

12 along rivers and shore fronts within commu13 nities experiencing environmental injustice; and 

14 (3) carrying out restoration and protection ac15 tivities necessary, as determined by the Secretary, 

16 for the implementation of approved plans. 

17 (c) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the Sec18 retary shall— 

19 (1) draw on existing and new approved plans 

20 for the Watershed, or portions of the Watershed; 

21 (2) work in consultation with applicable man22 agement entities, including representatives of the 

23 New York-New Jersey Harbor and Estuary Program 

24 (HEP), the Hudson River Estuary Program, the 

25 Mohawk River Basin Program, the Sustainable 


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1 Raritan River Initiative, the Federal Government, 

2 other State and local governments, and regional and 

3 nonprofit organizations, including environmental jus4 tice organizations, as appropriate, to identify, 

5 prioritize, and implement restoration and protection 

6 activities within the Watershed; and 

7 (3) adopt a Watershed-wide strategy that— 

8 (A) supports the implementation of a 

9 shared set of science-based restoration and pro10 tection activities developed in accordance with 

11 paragraph (2); 

12 (B) targets cost-effective projects with 

13 measurable results; 

14 (C) maximizes conservation outcomes; 

15 (D) prioritizes the needs of communities 

16 experiencing environmental injustice; and 

17 (E) implements the grant program. 

18 (d) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the program, 

19 the Secretary shall consult with, as appropriate— 

20 (1) the heads of Federal agencies, including— 

21 (A) the Administrator of the Environ22 mental Protection Agency; 

23 (B) the Administrator of the National Oce24 anic and Atmospheric Administration; 

25 (C) the Secretary of Agriculture; 


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1 (D) the Director of the National Park 

2 Service; and 

3 (E) the heads of such other Federal agen4 cies as the Secretary determines to be appro5 priate; 

6 (2) the Governor of New York; 

7 (3) the Governor of New Jersey; 

8 (4) the Commissioner of the New York State 

9 Department of Environmental Conservation; 

10 (5) the Director of the New Jersey Division of 

11 Fish and Wildlife; 

12 (6) the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estu13 ary Program; and 

14 (7) other public agencies, Indian Tribes, and 

15 organizations with authority for the planning and 

16 implementation of conservation strategies in the Wa17 tershed, as determined appropriate by the Secretary. 

18 SEC. 5. NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY WATERSHED RESTORA19 TION GRANT PROGRAM. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es22 tablish a voluntary grant and technical assistance pro23 gram, to be known as the ‘‘New York-New Jersey Water24 shed Restoration Grant Program’’, to provide competitive 

25 matching grants to State, Tribal, and local governments, 


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1 nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, 

2 and other eligible entities, as determined by the Secretary, 

3 to carry out the coordinated restoration and protection ac4 tivities described in section 4(b)(2). 

5 (b) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

6 the heads of Federal agencies, organizations, and other 

7 persons referred to in section 4(d), shall develop criteria 

8 for the grant program to ensure that activities funded 

9 under the grant program— 

10 (1) accomplish 1 or more of the purposes iden11 tified in section 4(b)(2); and 

12 (2) advance the implementation of priority ac13 tions or needs identified in the Watershed-wide 

14 strategy adopted under section 4(c)(3). 

15 (c) CAPACITY BUILDING.—In carrying out the grant 

16 program, the Secretary shall seek to increase the effective17 ness of organizations that carry out restoration and pro18 tection activities described in section 4(b)(2) within the 

19 Watershed by addressing organizational capacity needs. 

20 (d) COST-SHARE.— 

21 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

22 the total cost of a restoration and protection activity 

23 carried out under the grant program shall be not 

24 more than 75 percent of the total cost, as deter25 mined by the Secretary, of that activity. 


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1 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal share 

3 of the total cost of a restoration and protection 

4 activity carried out under the grant program 

5 shall be not more than 25 percent of the total 

6 cost, as determined by the Secretary, of that 

7 activity. 

8 (B) FORM OF PAYMENT.—The non-Fed9 eral described in subparagraph (A) may be pro10 vided— 

11 (i) in cash; or 

12 (ii) in the form of an in-kind contribu13 tion of services or materials. 

14 (3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive a re15 quirement under paragraph (2) if the Secretary de16 termines that— 

17 (A) no reasonable means are available 

18 through which an applicant can meet the 

19 matching requirement; and 

20 (B) the probable benefit of carrying out 

21 the restoration and project activity outweighs 

22 the public interest in the matching requirement. 

23 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

2 into an agreement to manage the grant program 

3 with— 

4 (A) the Foundation; or 

5 (B) a similar organization that offers 

6 grant management services. 

7 (2) FUNDING.—If the Secretary enters into an 

8 agreement under paragraph (1), the Foundation or 

9 similar organization selected, as applicable, shall— 

10 (A) receive the amounts made available to 

11 carry out the grant program under section 7 for 

12 each applicable fiscal year in an advance pay13 ment of the entire amount on October 1 of that 

14 fiscal year, or as soon as practicable thereafter; 

15 (B) invest and reinvest those amounts for 

16 the benefit of the grant program; and 

17 (C) administer the grant program to sup18 port partnerships between the public and pri19 vate sectors in accordance with this Act. 

20 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary enters 

21 into an agreement with the Foundation under para22 graph (1), any amounts received by the Foundation 

23 under this section shall be subject to the National 

24 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 


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1 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), excluding section 10(a) of that 

2 Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)). 

3 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

6 submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this 

7 Act, including a description of each activity that has re8 ceived funding under this Act in the preceding fiscal year. 

9 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro11 priated to the Secretary to carry out this Act $50,000,000 

12 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027. 

13 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—Of the amounts made avail14 able under subsection (a) for each fiscal year, the Sec15 retary shall use not less than 75 percent to carry out the 

16 grant program, including for technical assistance relating 

17 to the grant program. 

Æ 


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