I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5216 

To direct restoration and protection efforts of the 5-State Connecticut River 

Watershed region, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 15, 2023 

Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. COURTNEY, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. BALINT, Ms. 

KUSTER, Mr. NEAL, and Mr. HIMES) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 direct restoration and protection efforts of the 5-State 

Connecticut River Watershed region, 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 ‘‘Connecticut River Wa5 tershed Partnership Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 

2 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 

3 a community with significant representation of com4 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 

5 and Indigenous communities, that experiences, or is 

6 at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 

7 human health or environmental effects. 

8 (2) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

9 means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. 

10 (3) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘grant pro11 gram’’ means the voluntary Connecticut River Wa12 tershed Partnership grant program established 

13 under section 4(a). 

14 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

15 the nonregulatory Connecticut River Watershed 

16 Partnership program established under section 3(a). 

17 (5) RESTORATION AND PROTECTION.—The 

18 term ‘‘restoration and protection’’ means the con19 servation, stewardship, and enhancement of land and 

20 water for fish, wildlife, and people— 

21 (A) to preserve and improve ecosystems 

22 and ecological processes on which fish, wildlife, 

23 and people depend; and 

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


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1 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di3 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv4 ice. 

5 (7) TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Tribes’’ means Native 

6 American groups that descend from peoples indige7 nous to the Watershed, without regard to whether 

8 the groups are— 

9 (A) recognized by the Federal Government 

10 or a Watershed State; or 

11 (B) non-enfranchised. 

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

13 means the 5-State watershed region, including the 

14 Connecticut River and its tributaries and all of the 

15 land area in portions of the Watershed States whose 

16 surface water drains into the Connecticut River. 

17 (9) WATERSHED STATE.—The term ‘‘Water18 shed State’’ means each of the States of Con19 necticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 

20 and Vermont. 

21 SEC. 3. CONNECTICUT RIVER WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP 

22 PROGRAM. 

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

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall esVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Aug 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5216.IH H5216

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1 tablish a nonregulatory program, to be known as the 

2 ‘‘Connecticut River Watershed Partnership program’’. 

3 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the Sec4 retary shall draw on existing and new approved plans for 

5 the Watershed, or portions of the Watershed, and work 

6 in consultation with applicable management entities, in7 cluding representatives of the Friends of the Silvio O. 

8 Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, the Connecticut 

9 River Joint Commissions, the Connecticut River Atlantic 

10 Salmon Commission and its successor organization the 

11 Connecticut River Migratory Fish Restoration Coopera12 tive, the Federal Government, and other State and local 

13 governments, Tribal governments or organizations, and 

14 regional and nonprofit organizations, as appropriate, to 

15 identify, prioritize, and implement restoration and protec16 tion activities within the Watershed through the adoption 

17 of an inclusive Watershed-wide strategy and framework. 

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

19 the Secretary shall consult, as appropriate, with— 

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; 


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1 (C) the Chief of the Natural Resources 

2 Conservation Service; 

3 (D) the Director of the National Park 

4 Service; 

5 (E) the Chief of Engineers of the Corps of 

6 Engineers; 

7 (F) the Secretary of Transportation; 

8 (G) the Secretary of Commerce; and 

9 (H) the head of any other applicable Fed10 eral agency, as determined by the Secretary; 

11 (2) the Governors of the Watershed States; 

12 (3) Tribal governments or organizations, includ13 ing Tribes; 

14 (4) the Friends of the Silvio O. Conte National 

15 Fish and Wildlife Refuge; 

16 (5) the Connecticut River Joint Commissions; 

17 (6) the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon 

18 Commission and its successor organization the Con19 necticut River Migratory Fish Restoration Coopera20 tive; 

21 (7) other public and quasi-public agencies and 

22 organizations with authority for the planning and 

23 implementation of conservation strategies in or af24 fecting the Watershed; and 


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1 (8) stakeholders from impacted environmental 

2 justice communities. 

3 (d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are— 

4 (1) to coordinate and collaborate on restoration 

5 and protection activities among Federal, Tribal, 

6 State, local, and regional entities and conservation 

7 partners throughout the Watershed; and 

8 (2) to carry out coordinated restoration and 

9 protection activities in, and provide technical assist10 ance throughout, the Watershed— 

11 (A) to restore, recover, and manage for 

12 sustainable fish, wildlife, and plant populations; 

13 (B) to sustain and enhance fish and wild14 life habitat restoration, stewardship, and pro15 tection activities; 

16 (C) to improve and maintain water quality 

17 to support fish, wildlife, and fish and wildlife 

18 habitat, including to improve opportunities for 

19 public access and recreation in the Watershed 

20 consistent with the ecological needs of fish and 

21 wildlife habitat; 

22 (D) to advance the use of nature-based so23 lutions to maximize the resilience of commu24 nities, natural systems, and habitats under 


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1 changing sea levels, storm risks, and watershed 

2 conditions; 

3 (E) to support farmland conservation and 

4 food equity, including habitat protection, cli5 mate resilience, and carbon sequestration on 

6 working farms and forests; 

7 (F) to engage the public, particularly envi8 ronmental justice communities, through out9 reach, education, and community involvement to 

10 increase capacity and support for coordinated 

11 restoration and protection activities in the Wa12 tershed; 

13 (G) to identify, affirm, and promote the 

14 practice and awareness of traditional Tribal 

15 river and Watershed-related cultural practices 

16 and traditional ecological knowledge; 

17 (H) to improve access to open space and 

18 trails by enhancing trails in the Watershed and 

19 on-street active transportation, such as bike 

20 lanes, sidewalks, public transportation, and bike 

21 share; 

22 (I) to sustain and enhance water manage23 ment for volume and flood damage mitigation 

24 improvements to benefit fish and wildlife habi25 tat; 


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1 (J) to support land and water conservation 

2 and management activities necessary to fulfill 

3 the Watershed-wide strategy adopted under 

4 subsection (b); 

5 (K) to monitor environmental quality to 

6 assess progress towards the purposes of the 

7 program; 

8 (L) to facilitate strategic planning to maxi9 mize the resilience of natural systems and habi10 tats under changing watershed conditions; 

11 (M) to improve fish and wildlife habitats, 

12 including opportunities for personal recreation, 

13 hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing along riv14 ers, particularly in environmental justice com15 munities; 

16 (N) to increase scientific capacity to sup17 port the planning, monitoring, and research ac18 tivities necessary to carry out coordinated res19 toration and protection activities; and 

20 (O) to provide technical assistance to carry 

21 out restoration and protection activities in the 

22 Watershed. 


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1 SEC. 4. CONNECTICUT RIVER WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP 

2 GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec4 tion, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

5 (1) a State, Tribal, or local government; 

6 (2) a nonprofit organization; and 

7 (3) an institution of higher education (as de8 fined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act 

9 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))). 

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

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es12 tablish a voluntary grant and technical assistance pro13 gram, to be known as the ‘‘Connecticut River Watershed 

14 Partnership grant program’’, to provide competitive 

15 matching grants to eligible entities to carry out restoration 

16 and protection activities for the Watershed. 

17 (c) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

18 the agencies, organizations, and other individuals and en19 tities referred to in section 3(c), shall develop criteria for 

20 the grant program to ensure— 

21 (1) the equitable distribution of funds; and 

22 (2) that projects funded under the grant pro23 gram accomplish 1 or more of the purposes de24 scribed in section 3(d). 

25 (d) COST SHARING.— 

26 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

2 subparagraph (B), the Federal share of the cost 

3 of a project funded under the grant program 

4 shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of 

5 the project, as determined by the Secretary. 

6 (B) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMU7 NITIES.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

9 (ii), the Federal share of the cost of a 

10 project funded under the grant program 

11 that serves an environmental justice com12 munity shall be 90 percent of the total cost 

13 of the project, as determined by the Sec14 retary. 

15 (ii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may in16 crease the Federal share under clause (i) 

17 to 100 percent of the total cost of the 

18 project if the Secretary determines that the 

19 grant recipient is unable to pay, or would 

20 experience significant financial hardship if 

21 required to pay, the non-Federal share. 

22 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

23 share of the cost of a project funded under the grant 

24 program may be provided in cash or in the form of 


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1 an in-kind contribution of services, materials, or 

2 land value. 

3 (e) ADMINISTRATION.— 

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

5 into an agreement to manage the grant program 

6 with the Foundation or a similar organization that 

7 offers grant management services. 

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

9 agreement under paragraph (1), the Foundation or 

10 similar organization selected shall— 

11 (A) for each fiscal year in which the grant 

12 program is carried out, receive amounts made 

13 available to carry out this section for that fiscal 

14 year in an advance payment of the entire 

15 amounts on October 1 of that fiscal year, or as 

16 soon as practicable thereafter; 

17 (B) invest and reinvest those amounts for 

18 the benefit of the grant program; and 

19 (C) otherwise administer the grant pro20 gram to support partnerships between the pub21 lic and private sectors in accordance with this 

22 Act. 

23 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary enters 

24 into an agreement with the Foundation under para25 graph (1), any amounts received by the Foundation 


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1 under this section shall be subject to the National 

2 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

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

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

5 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

6 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

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

8 submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this 

9 Act, including a description of each project that has re10 ceived funding under the grant program in the preceding 

11 fiscal year. 

12 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro14 priated to the Secretary to carry out this Act such sums 

15 as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2023 through 

16 2027. 

17 (b) USE FOR GRANT PROGRAM.—Of the amounts 

18 made available to carry out this Act for each fiscal year, 

19 the Secretary shall use not less than 75 percent to carry 

20 out the grant program and to provide, or provide for, tech21 nical assistance under that grant program. 

22 (c) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Amounts made 

23 available to carry out this Act shall supplement, and not 


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1 supplant, funding for other activities carried out by the 

2 Secretary in the Watershed. 

Æ 


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