I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 16 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve and 

reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2007 

Mr. GILCHREST (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, 

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mrs. DRAKE, Mr. HOYER, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. 

MORAN of Virginia, Mr. PLATTS, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. BARTLETT

of Maryland, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. WOLF, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. JO ANN

DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. WYNN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. 

SARBANES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to 

improve and reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay program. 

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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay Res5 toration Enhancement Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 117(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Con8 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and its’’; and 

2 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(7) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED.—The 

4 term ‘Chesapeake Bay watershed’ means the Chesa5 peake Bay and the area consisting of 36 tributary 

6 basins, within the States of Maryland, Virginia, 

7 West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New 

8 York and the District of Columbia, through which 

9 precipitation drains into the Chesapeake Bay. 

10 ‘‘(8) LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADVISORY COM11 MITTEE.—The term ‘Local Government Advisory 

12 Committee’ means the committee of the same name 

13 formed through the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agree14 ment. The committee may include representative 

15 members from all jurisdictions within the Chesa16 peake Bay watershed. 

17 ‘‘(9) TRIBUTARY STRATEGY.—The term ‘tribu18 tary strategy’ means one of 36 strategies in the 

19 Chesapeake Bay watershed that is a State approved, 

20 river-specific, cleanup plan that provides best man21 agement practice implementation actions that, when 

22 taken together, will meet the Chesapeake Bay Agree23 ment goal of removing nutrient and sediment im24 pairments from the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal 

25 tributaries. 


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1 ‘‘(10) TRIBUTARY BASIN.—The term ‘tributary 

2 basin’ means an area of land or body of water that 

3 drains into any one of 36 Chesapeake Bay tribu4 taries or tributary segments and that is managed 

5 through tributary strategies under this Act.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING GRANTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 117(e)(1) of the Federal 

8 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(e)(1)) is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘approved and committed to imple10 ment all or substantially all aspects’’ and inserting ‘‘signed 

11 all or the water quality portion’’. 

12 (b) REPORTING.—Section 117(e)(7) of such Act (33 

13 U.S.C. 1267(e)(7)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(7) REPORTING.—The Administrator shall 

15 make available to the public on or before March 31 

16 of each year, a document that lists and describes, in 

17 the greatest practicable degree of detail all projects 

18 completed or underway, and accomplishments of the 

19 previous fiscal year, funded by the Federal Govern20 ment or by a State government in the Chesapeake 

21 Bay watershed that contribute to Chesapeake Bay 

22 Agreement goals.’’. 

23 SEC. 4. FEDERAL FACILITIES AND BUDGET COORDINATION. 

24 Section 117(f) of the Federal Water Pollution Con25 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(f)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘or carries 

2 out activities’’ after ‘‘Administrator)’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘or carries out activities’’ 

5 after ‘‘real property’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘and actions taken by the 

7 agency with respect to the property,’’ and in8 serting ‘‘actions taken by the agency with re9 spect to the property, and the activities of the 

10 agency’’; and 

11 (3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL BUDGET PLAN.—The President, 

14 as part of the annual budget of the United States 

15 Government, shall submit information regarding 

16 each Federal agency involved in Chesapeake Bay 

17 restoration, including— 

18 ‘‘(A) an interagency crosscut budget that 

19 displays the proposed budget for use by each 

20 Federal agency in carrying out restoration ac21 tivities relating to the Chesapeake Bay for the 

22 following fiscal year; 

23 ‘‘(B) a detailed accounting of all funds re24 ceived and obligated by Federal agencies to 


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1 achieve the goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agree2 ment during the preceding fiscal year; and 

3 ‘‘(C) a description of the Federal role in 

4 the Chesapeake Bay Program and the specific 

5 role of each agency involved in Chesapeake Bay 

6 restoration.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. ACHIEVING AND MAINTAINING NUTRIENT AND 

8 SEDIMENT REDUCTION GOALS. 

9 Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

10 Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking subsection (i); 

12 (2) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), and 

13 (j) as subsections (i), (j), and (k), respectively; and 

14 (3) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(g) ACHIEVING AND MAINTAINING NUTRIENT AND

17 SEDIMENT REDUCTION GOALS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—In transmitting State re19 ports under section 305(b)(2), the Administrator 

20 shall include a report evaluating activities carried 

21 out during the preceding fiscal year (including any 

22 practice implemented during the fiscal year), and the 

23 overall progress made, in achieving and maintaining 

24 nutrient and sediment reduction goals for each trib25 utary basin based on monitoring and modeling data. 


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1 ‘‘(2) BASELINE.—The baseline for the report 

2 (in this subsection referred to as the ‘baseline’) shall 

3 be the tributary load allocation agreement numbered 

4 EPA 903–R–03–007, dated December 2003 and en5 titled ‘Setting and Allocating the Chesapeake Bay 

6 Basin Nutrient and Sediment Loads: The Collabo7 rative Process, Technical Tools and Innovative Ap8 proaches’. 

9 ‘‘(3) INCLUSIONS.—The report shall include, 

10 for each tributary basin— 

11 ‘‘(A) an identification of the total alloca12 tion of nutrients and sediment under the base13 line; 

14 ‘‘(B) an identification of any reduction or 

15 increase in the monitored and modeled quan16 tities of nutrients and sediment during the pre17 ceding fiscal year, expressed numerically and as 

18 a percentage of the reduction or increase; 

19 ‘‘(C) a list (organized from least to most 

20 progress made) that ranks the comparative 

21 progress made, based on the percentage of the 

22 reduction or increase under subparagraph (B), 

23 in each tributary basin toward meeting the an24 nual allocation goal of that tributary basin for 

25 nutrients and sediment; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) to the maximum extent practicable, 

2 an identification of the principal sources of pol3 lutants in the tributary basins, including air4 borne sources of pollutants. 

5 ‘‘(4) USE OF DATA; EFFECTS OF DROUGHT AND

6 WET WEATHER CONDITIONS.—In preparing the eval7 uation, the Administrator shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) use monitoring and modeled data and 

9 information submitted under subsection (h)(1); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) describe the effects of drought and 

12 wet weather conditions on the condition of 

13 water quality parameters. 

14 ‘‘(5) DISTRIBUTION.—The Administrator 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) submit the report to the Committee 

17 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

18 House of Representatives and the Committee 

19 on Environment and Public Works of the Sen20 ate; and 

21 ‘‘(B) make the report available to the pub22 lic, including distribution in an electronic for23 mat.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. ACTIONS BY STATES. 

2 Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

3 Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) (as amended by section 5 of this 

4 Act) is further amended by inserting after subsection (g) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(h) ACTIONS BY STATES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—Not later 

8 than January 31 of each year, each of the States of 

9 Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Vir10 ginia, and West Virginia and the District of Colum11 bia shall submit to the Administrator information 

12 describing, for each tributary basin located in the 

13 State or District of Columbia, for the preceding fis14 cal year— 

15 ‘‘(A) the levels of nutrients and sediment 

16 contamination in the basin; 

17 ‘‘(B) the principal sources of nutrients and 

18 sediment in the basin, by category; 

19 ‘‘(C) for each category of pollutant source, 

20 the technologies and practices used to achieve 

21 reductions, including levels of best management 

22 practices implementation and sewage treatment 

23 plant upgrades; 

24 ‘‘(D) any Federal or State funding used to 

25 implement a technology or practice described in 

26 subparagraph (C); and 


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1 ‘‘(E) all projects completed or underway, 

2 and accomplishments of the previous fiscal year, 

3 funded by the Federal Government, the State, 

4 or the District of Columbia in the Chesapeake 

5 Bay watershed that contribute to Chesapeake 

6 Bay Agreement goals. 

7 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO ACT.—The Administrator 

8 may not make a grant to a State under this section 

9 if the State fails to submit information in accord10 ance with paragraph (1).’’. 

11 SEC. 7. CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 117(i) of the Federal 

13 Water Pollution Control Act (as redesignated by section 

14 5(2) of this Act) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘tributary strategies and’’ 

17 after ‘‘ensure that’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘and implementation is 

19 begun’’ and inserting ‘‘, approved, and imple20 mented’’; and 

21 (C) by inserting ‘‘all or the water quality 

22 portion of’’ after ‘‘signatories to’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘‘and its’’; 

24 and 


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1 (3) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) MEASURABLE GOALS.—The Adminis5 trator shall request the Local Government Advi6 sory Committee to prepare, in coordination with 

7 the Chesapeake Executive Council, and submit 

8 to the Administrator, within one year of the 

9 date of enactment of the Chesapeake Bay Res10 toration Enhancement Act of 2007, a report de11 scribing measurable goals for local governments 

12 to achieve by 2010 toward Chesapeake Bay 

13 Agreement nutrient and sediment reduction 

14 goals and associated funding needs. 

15 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF PRIORITIES.—In 

16 preparing information for the annual budget 

17 under subsection (f), the President, in consulta18 tion with the States, shall consider priorities for 

19 funding needs recommended by the Local Gov20 ernment Advisory Committee. 

21 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE PRO22 GRAM.— 

23 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis24 trator, in cooperation with the Chesapeake Ex25 ecutive Council, shall establish an implementaVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:06 Jan 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16

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1 tion assistance program to support tributary 

2 strategies and other projects toward achieve3 ment of Chesapeake Bay Agreement goals. 

4 ‘‘(B) SMALL WATERSHED GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

6 the program, the Administrator shall pro7 vide technical assistance and assistance 

8 grants under subsection (d) to local gov9 ernments and nonprofit organizations, in10 cluding academic institutions, to imple11 ment tributary strategies and other cooper12 ative, locally based protection and restora13 tion programs or projects within a tribu14 tary basin that complement the tributary 

15 strategy for such basin, including— 

16 ‘‘(I) measures to improve water 

17 quality for the purpose of making 

18 progress toward Chesapeake Bay 

19 Agreement goals; and 

20 ‘‘(II) measures for the creation, 

21 restoration, protection, or enhance22 ment of habitat associated with the 

23 Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. 

24 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—In selecting projects 

25 to receive grants under clause (i), the AdVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:06 Jan 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H16.IH H16

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1 ministrator shall give priority to projects 

2 led by or partnered with local governments. 

3 ‘‘(C) CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM.—In 

4 carrying out the program, the Administrator, in 

5 cooperation with the Administrator of the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

7 shall provide capacity building assistance, in8 cluding technical and financial assistance, to 

9 enhance the technical and environmental plan10 ning capabilities of local governments to carry 

11 out protection and restoration programs or 

12 projects within a tributary basin. 

13 ‘‘(D) TARGETED WATERSHED GRANTS.— 

14 In carrying out the program, the Administrator 

15 shall provide technical assistance and assistance 

16 grants to implement tributary strategies that 

17 accelerate the quantifiable reduction of 

18 nonpoint source nutrient and sediment pollution 

19 through innovative, sustainable, and cost-effec20 tive strategies. 

21 ‘‘(4) PERMIT LIMITATIONS.—Until such time 

22 that an applicable total maximum daily load is es23 tablished under section 303(d), the applicable load 

24 allocation in the tributary strategy for any discharge 

25 for which a permit is required by section 301 and 


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1 issued under section 402 in the Chesapeake Bay wa2 tershed shall be incorporated into the permit for the 

3 discharge so that the applicable load allocation for 

4 the discharge is attained and maintained.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 117 of 

6 such Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (d)(2)(B)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘SMALL WATERSHED

9 GRANTS PROGRAM’’ and inserting ‘‘IMPLEMEN10 TATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘implementing’’; and 

12 (C) by striking ‘‘(g)(2)’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘(i)(3)’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (e)(2)(B)(i) by striking ‘‘and 

15 its’’. 

16 SEC. 8. STUDY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM. 

17 Section 117(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

18 Act (as redesignated by section 5(2) of this Act) is amend19 ed— 

20 (1) in paragraph (2)(B) by striking ‘‘and 1995’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘1995, and 2005’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (2)(C)— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘tributary strategies and’’ 

24 before ‘‘management strategies’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘on the date of enactment 

2 of this section’’. 

3 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 Section 117(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Con5 trol Act (as redesignated by section 5(2) of this Act) is 

6 amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

9 appropriated $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2008 through 2012 to carry out this section (other 

11 than subsection (i)(3)). 

12 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE PRO13 GRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(A) SMALL WATERSHED GRANTS; CAPAC15 ITY BUILDING PROGRAM.—There is authorized 

16 to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fis17 cal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out sub18 sections (i)(3)(B) and (i)(3)(C). Of such 

19 funds— 

20 ‘‘(i) 30 percent per fiscal year shall be 

21 used to carry out subsection (i)(3)(B); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) 70 percent per fiscal year shall 

23 be used to carry out subsection (i)(3)(C). 

24 ‘‘(B) TARGETED WATERSHED GRANTS.— 

25 There is authorized to be appropriated 


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1 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

2 through 2012 to carry out subsection (i)(3)(D). 

3 ‘‘(3) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—Funds appro4 priated to carry out this section shall remain avail5 able until expended.’’. 

Æ 


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