II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5764 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 10, 2014 

Received 

AN ACT 

To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, 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 ‘‘Great Lakes Restora3 tion Initiative Act of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE. 

5 Section 118(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Con6 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)) is amended by striking para7 graph (7) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(7) GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIA9 TIVE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab11 lished in the Agency a Great Lakes Restoration 

12 Initiative (referred to in this paragraph as the 

13 ‘Initiative’) to carry out programs and projects 

14 for Great Lakes protection and restoration. 

15 ‘‘(B) FOCUS AREAS.—The Initiative shall 

16 prioritize programs and projects carried out in 

17 coordination with non-Federal partners and 

18 programs and projects that address priority 

19 areas each fiscal year, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) the remediation of toxic sub21 stances and areas of concern; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the prevention and control of 

23 invasive species and the impacts of invasive 

24 species; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the protection and restoration of 

2 nearshore health and the prevention and 

3 mitigation of nonpoint source pollution; 

4 ‘‘(iv) habitat and wildlife protection 

5 and restoration, including wetlands res6 toration and preservation; and 

7 ‘‘(v) accountability, monitoring, eval8 uation, communication, and partnership 

9 activities. 

10 ‘‘(C) PROJECTS.—Under the Initiative, the 

11 Agency shall collaborate with Federal partners, 

12 including the Great Lakes Interagency Task 

13 Force, to select the best combination of pro14 grams and projects for Great Lakes protection 

15 and restoration using appropriate principles 

16 and criteria, including whether a program or 

17 project provides— 

18 ‘‘(i) the ability to achieve strategic 

19 and measurable environmental outcomes 

20 that implement the Great Lakes Action 

21 Plan and the Great Lakes Water Quality 

22 Agreement; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the feasibility of— 

24 ‘‘(I) prompt implementation; 


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1 ‘‘(II) timely achievement of re2 sults; and 

3 ‘‘(III) resource leveraging; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the opportunity to improve 

5 interagency and inter-organizational co6 ordination and collaboration to reduce du7 plication and streamline efforts. 

8 ‘‘(D) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Funds made avail10 able to carry out the Initiative shall be 

11 used to strategically implement— 

12 ‘‘(I) Federal projects; and 

13 ‘‘(II) projects carried out in co14 ordination with States, Indian tribes, 

15 municipalities, institutions of higher 

16 education, and other organizations. 

17 ‘‘(ii) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—With 

18 amounts made available for the Initiative 

19 each fiscal year, the Administrator may— 

20 ‘‘(I) transfer not more than 

21 $300,000,000 to the head of any Fed22 eral department or agency, with the 

23 concurrence of the department or 

24 agency head, to carry out activities to 


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1 support the Initiative and the Great 

2 Lakes Water Quality Agreement; and 

3 ‘‘(II) enter into an interagency 

4 agreement with the head of any Fed5 eral department or agency to carry 

6 out activities described in subclause 

7 (I). 

8 ‘‘(E) SCOPE.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Projects shall be 

10 carried out under the Initiative on multiple 

11 levels, including— 

12 ‘‘(I) Great Lakes-wide; and 

13 ‘‘(II) Great Lakes basin-wide. 

14 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—No funds made 

15 available to carry out the Initiative may be 

16 used for any water infrastructure activity 

17 (other than a green infrastructure project 

18 that improves habitat and other ecosystem 

19 functions in the Great Lakes) for which 

20 amounts are made available from— 

21 ‘‘(I) a State water pollution con22 trol revolving fund established under 

23 title VI; or 

24 ‘‘(II) a State drinking water re25 volving loan fund established under 


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1 section 1452 of the Safe Drinking 

2 Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12). 

3 ‘‘(F) ACTIVITIES BY OTHER FEDERAL

4 AGENCIES.—Each relevant Federal department 

5 or agency shall, to the maximum extent prac6 ticable— 

7 ‘‘(i) maintain the base level of funding 

8 for the Great Lakes activities of that de9 partment or agency without regard to 

10 funding under the Initiative; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) identify new activities and 

12 projects to support the environmental goals 

13 of the Initiative. 

14 ‘‘(G) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be 

15 appropriated to carry out the Initiative 

16 $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 

17 through 2019.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 9, 

2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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