II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2350

To establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship System. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2004

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. DODD, 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 Long Island Sound Stewardship System.

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 ‘‘Long Island Sound 

5 Stewardship Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) Long Island Sound is a national treasure of 

9 great cultural, environmental, and ecological impor10 tance; 
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1 (2) 8,000,000 people live within the Long Is2 land Sound watershed and 28,000,000 people (ap3 proximately 10 percent of the population of the 

4 United States) live within 50 miles of Long Island 

5 Sound; 

6 (3) activities that depend on the environmental 

7 health of Long Island Sound contribute more than 

8 $5,000,000,000 each year to the regional economy; 

9 (4) the portion of the shoreline of Long Island 

10 Sound that is accessible to the general public (esti11 mated at less than 20 percent of the total shoreline) 

12 is not adequate to serve the needs of the people liv13 ing in the area; 

14 (5) existing shoreline facilities are in many 

15 cases overburdened and underfunded; 

16 (6) large parcels of open space already in public 

17 ownership are strained by the effort to balance the 

18 demand for recreation with the needs of sensitive 

19 natural resources; 

(7) approximately 1 20 ⁄3 of the tidal marshes of 

21 Long Island Sound have been filled, and much of 

22 the remaining marshes have been ditched, dyked, or 

23 impounded, reducing the ecological value of the 

24 marshes; and 
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1 (8) many of the remaining exemplary natural 

2 landscape is vulnerable to further development. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab4 lish the Long Island Sound Stewardship System to pre5 serve areas of critical importance because of the open 

6 space, public access, and ecological value of the areas. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

10 means the Long Island Sound Stewardship Coordi11 nating Committee established by section 5(a). 

12 (2) REGION.—The term ‘‘Region’’ means the 

13 Long Island Sound Stewardship System Region es14 tablished by section 4(a). 

15 (3) STATES.—The term ‘‘States’’ means the 

16 States of Connecticut and New York. 

17 SEC. 4. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP SYSTEM RE18 GION. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

20 States the Long Island Sound Stewardship System Re21 gion. 

22 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Region shall encompass the 

23 immediate coastal upland and underwater areas along 

24 Long Island Sound, including those portions of the Sound 

25 with coastally influenced vegetation, as described on the 
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1 map entitled the ‘‘Long Island Sound Stewardship Re2 gion’’ and dated April 21, 2004. 

3 SEC. 5. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP COORDI4 NATING COMMITTEE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com6 mittee to be known as the ‘‘Long Island Sound Steward7 ship Coordinating Committee’’. 

8 (b) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Com9 mittee shall be the Director of the Long Island Sound Of10 fice of the Environmental Protection Agency, or designee. 

11 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

12 (1) COMPOSITION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The chairperson shall 

14 appoint the members of the Committee in ac15 cordance with this subsection and section 

16 320(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

17 Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)). 

18 (B) REPRESENTATION.—The Committee 

19 shall— 

20 (i) include equal representation of the 

21 interests of the States; and 

22 (ii) represent— 

23 (I) Federal, State, and local gov24 ernment interests; 
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1 (II) the interests of nongovern2 mental organizations; 

3 (III) academic interests; and 

4 (IV) private interests. 

5 (2) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The appoint6 ment of a member of the Committee shall be made 

7 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act. 

9 (d) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

10 (1) TERM.—A member shall be appointed for 

11 the life of the Committee. 

12 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Com13 mittee— 

14 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com15 mittee; and 

16 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 

17 the original appointment was made. 

18 (e) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

19 the date on which all members of the Committee have been 

20 appointed, the Committee shall hold the initial meeting of 

21 the Committee. 

22 (f) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet at the 

23 call of the Chairperson, but not less than 4 times each 

24 year.
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1 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

2 Committee shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number 

3 of members may hold hearings. 

4 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE. 

5 The Committee shall— 

6 (1) consistent with the guidelines described in 

7 section 9(c)— 

8 (A) establish specific criteria for the eval9 uation of applications for stewardship site des10 ignations; and 

11 (B) evaluate and award or deny steward12 ship designation to applicants for that designa13 tion; 

14 (2) consistent with the guidelines described in 

15 section 9(d)— 

16 (A) evaluate applications from government 

17 or nonprofit organizations qualified to hold con18 servation easements for funds to purchase land 

19 or development rights for stewardship sites; and 

20 (B) award funds to qualified applicants; 

21 (3) not later than 1 year after the date of en22 actment of this Act, develop and publish a manage23 ment plan that— 

24 (A) assesses the current resources of and 

25 threats to Long Island Sound; 
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1 (B) assesses the role of the Long Island 

2 Sound Stewardship System in protecting Long 

3 Island Sound; 

4 (C) establishes— 

5 (i) guidelines, schedules, and due 

6 dates for applying for designation as a 

7 stewardship site; and 

8 (ii) specific criteria to be used in eval9 uating stewardship site applications; 

10 (D) includes information about any grants 

11 that are available for the purchase of land or 

12 property rights to protect stewardship sites; 

13 (E) shall be made available to the public 

14 on the Internet and in hardcopy form; and 

15 (F) shall be updated at least every other 

16 year, with information on applications for stew17 ardship site designation and funding published 

18 more frequently; and 

19 (4) concurrent with the first management plan, 

20 publish a list of sites that the Committee considers 

21 most appropriate for designation as stewardship 

22 sites. 

23 SEC. 7. POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE. 

24 (a) HEARINGS.—The Committee may hold such hear25 ings, meet and act at such times and places, take such 
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1 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Committee 

2 considers advisable to carry out this Act. 

3 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee may secure 

5 directly from a Federal agency such information as 

6 the Committee considers necessary to carry out this 

7 Act. 

8 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On request 

9 of the Chairperson of the Committee, the head of 

10 the agency shall provide the information to the Com11 mittee. 

12 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Committee may use the 

13 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

14 same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Govern15 ment. 

16 (d) GIFTS.—The Committee may accept, use, and 

17 dispose of gifts or donations of services or property. 

18 SEC. 8. COMMITTEE PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

19 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

20 (1) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of 

21 the Committee who is not an officer or employee of 

22 the Federal Government shall be compensated at a 

23 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate 

24 of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive 

25 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 
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1 States Code, for each day (including travel time) 

2 during which the member is engaged in the perform3 ance of the duties of the Committee. 

4 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

5 Committee who is an officer or employee of the Fed6 eral Government shall serve without compensation in 

7 addition to the compensation received for the serv8 ices of the member as an officer or employee of the 

9 Federal Government. 

10 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Com11 mittee shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem 

12 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for an employee 

13 of an agency under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

14 5, United States Code, while away from the home or reg15 ular place of business of the member in the performance 

16 of the duties of the Committee. 

17 (c) STAFF.— 

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

19 Committee may, without regard to the civil service 

20 laws (including regulations), appoint and terminate 

21 an executive director and such other additional per22 sonnel as are necessary to enable the Committee to 

23 perform the duties of the Committee. 
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1 (2) CONFIRMATION OF EXECUTIVE DIREC2 TOR.—The employment of an executive director shall 

3 be subject to confirmation by the Committee. 

4 (3) COMPENSATION.— 

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

6 subparagraph (B), the Chairperson of the Com7 mittee may fix the compensation of the execu8 tive director and other personnel without regard 

9 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter 

10 III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, 

11 relating to classification of positions and Gen12 eral Schedule pay rates. 

13 (B) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—The rate of 

14 pay for the executive director and other per15 sonnel shall not exceed the rate payable for 

16 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 

17 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

18 (d) DETAIL OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOY19 EES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of the Federal 

21 Government may be detailed to the Committee with22 out reimbursement. 

23 (2) CIVIL SERVICE STATUS.—The detail of the 

24 employee shall be without interruption or loss of civil 

25 service status or privilege. 
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1 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT2 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Committee may 

3 procure temporary and intermittent services in accordance 

4 with section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at 

5 rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily equiva6 lent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level 

7 V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that 

8 title. 

9 SEC. 9. STEWARDSHIP SITES. 

10 (a) DEFINITION OF QUALIFYING LAND.—In this sec11 tion, the term ‘‘qualifying land’’ means land— 

12 (1) that is in the Region; and 

13 (2) that is— 

14 (A) Federal, State, local, or tribal land; 

15 (B) land owned by a nonprofit organiza16 tion; or 

17 (C) privately owned land. 

18 (b) APPLICATION FOR DESIGNATION.—Owners or 

19 other parties in control of qualifying land may apply to 

20 the Committee to have the qualifying land designated as 

21 a Long Island Sound stewardship site. 

22 (c) GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR STEWARDSHIP SITE

23 DESIGNATION.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall choose 

2 land to be designated as a stewardship site based 

3 on— 

4 (A) the contribution of the land to open 

5 space on and public access to Long Island 

6 Sound; and 

7 (B) the ecological value of the land. 

8 (2) CRITERIA.—In considering land described 

9 in applications submitted under subsection (b), the 

10 Committee shall consider— 

11 (A) land cover; 

12 (B) size; 

13 (C) adjacency and connectivity to existing 

14 parks and open spaces; 

15 (D) water quality; 

16 (E) current or prospective recreational use; 

17 (F) visitor demand; 

18 (G) scenic quality; 

19 (H) cultural resources; 

20 (I) erosion and flood hazard prevention; 

21 (J) environmental justice; 

22 (K) fish and wildlife productivity; 

23 (L) biodiversity; 

24 (M) scientific value; 

25 (N) water quality protection; 
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1 (O) habitat restoration characteristics; 

2 (P) connectivity to other habitats that are 

3 vital to sustaining healthy living resources in 

4 the Long Island Sound watershed; 

5 (Q) risk of development; and 

6 (R) other criteria developed by the Com7 mittee under section 6(1)(A). 

8 (d) GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR AWARDING

9 FUNDS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall award 

11 funds to qualified applicants to help to secure and 

12 improve the open space, public access, or ecological 

13 values of stewardship sites, through— 

14 (A) purchase of the property of the site; 

15 (B) purchase of relevant property rights of 

16 the site; or 

17 (C) entering into any other binding legal 

18 arrangement that ensures that the values of the 

19 site are preserved. 

20 (2) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—

21 The Committee shall exert due diligence to dis22 tribute funds equitably between the States. 

23 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro25 priated to carry out this Act $40,000,000 for each fiscal 
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1 year, to be allocated from the national estuary program 

2 under section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

3 Act (33 U.S.C. 1330). 

4 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—For each fiscal year— 

5 (1) not more than 15 percent of funds made 

6 available under subsection (a) shall be used to im7 prove the facilities of stewardship sites; and 

8 (2) at least 85 percent of funds made available 

9 under subsection (a) shall be used to secure the val10 ues of stewardship sites. 

11 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

12 of an activity carried out using any assistance or grant 

13 under this Act shall not exceed 75 percent of the total 

14 cost of the activity.

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