108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2691

AN ACT

To establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative.

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’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

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

4 great cultural, environmental, and ecological impor5 tance;

6 (2) 8,000,000 people live within the Long Is7 land Sound watershed and 28,000,000 people (ap8 proximately 10 percent of the population of the

9 United States) live within 50 miles of Long Island

10 Sound;

11 (3) activities that depend on the environmental

12 health of Long Island Sound contribute more than

13 $5,000,000,000 each year to the regional economy;

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

15 Sound that is accessible to the general public (esti16 mated at less than 20 percent of the total shoreline)

17 is not adequate to serve the needs of the people liv18 ing in the area;

19 (5) existing shoreline facilities are in many

20 cases overburdened and underfunded;

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

22 ownership are strained by the effort to balance the

23 demand for recreation with the needs of sensitive

24 natural resources;

(7) approximately 1 25 ⁄3 of the tidal marshes of

26 Long Island Sound have been filled, and much of
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1 the remaining marshes have been ditched, dyked, or

2 impounded, reducing the ecological value of the

3 marshes; and

4 (8) much of the remaining exemplary natural

5 landscape is vulnerable to further development.

6 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab7 lish the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative to iden8 tify, protect, and enhance sites within the Long Island

9 Sound ecosystem with significant ecological, educational,

10 open space, public access, or recreational value through

11 a bi-State network of sites best exemplifying these values.

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

13 In this Act:

14 (1) ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT.—The term

15 ‘‘adaptive management’’ means a scientific

16 process—

17 (A) for—

18 (i) developing predictive models;

19 (ii) making management policy deci20 sions based upon the model outputs;

21 (iii) revising the management policies

22 as data become available with which to

23 evaluate the policies; and
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1 (iv) acknowledging uncertainty, com2 plexity, and variance in the spatial and

3 temporal aspects of natural systems; and

4 (B) that requires that management be

5 viewed as experimental.

6 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ8 mental Protection Agency.

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

10 means the Long Island Sound Stewardship Advisory

11 Committee established by section 5(a).

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

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

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

16 States of Connecticut and New York.

17 (6) STEWARDSHIP SITE.—The term ‘‘steward18 ship site’’ means a site that—

19 (A) qualifies for identification by the Com20 mittee under section 8; and

21 (B) is an area of land or water or a com22 bination of land and water—

23 (i) that is in the Region; and

24 (ii) that is—
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1 (I) Federal, State, local, or tribal

2 land or water;

3 (II) land or water owned by a

4 nonprofit organization; or

5 (III) privately owned land or

6 water.

7 (7) SYSTEMATIC SITE SELECTION.—The term

8 ‘‘systematic site selection’’ means a process of select9 ing stewardship sites that—

10 (A) has explicit goals, methods, and cri11 teria;

12 (B) produces feasible, repeatable, and de13 fensible results;

14 (C) provides for consideration of natural,

15 physical, and biological patterns,

16 (D) addresses reserve size, replication,

17 connectivity, species viability, location, and pub18 lic recreation values;

19 (E) uses geographic information systems

20 technology and algorithms to integrate selection

21 criteria; and

22 (F) will result in achieving the goals of

23 stewardship site selection at the lowest cost.
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1 (8) THREAT.—The term ‘‘threat’’ means a

2 threat that is likely to destroy or seriously degrade

3 a conservation target or a recreation area.

4 SEC. 4. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE

5 REGION.

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

7 States the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Re8 gion.

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

10 immediate coastal upland and underwater areas along

11 Long Island Sound, including those portions of the Sound

12 with coastally influenced vegetation, as described on the

13 map entitled the ‘‘Long Island Sound Stewardship Re14 gion’’ and dated April 21, 2004.

15 SEC. 5. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP ADVISORY

16 COMMITTEE.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com18 mittee to be known as the ‘‘Long Island Sound Steward19 ship Advisory Committee’’.

20 (b) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Com21 mittee shall be the Director of the Long Island Sound Of22 fice of the Environmental Protection Agency, or a designee

23 of the Director.

24 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

25 (1) COMPOSITION.—
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1 (A) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—

2 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson

3 shall appoint the members of the Com4 mittee in accordance with this subsection

5 and section 320(c) of the Federal Water

6 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)).

7 (ii) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—In addi8 tion to the requirements described in

9 clause (i), the Committee shall include—

10 (I) a representative from the Re11 gional Plan Association;

12 (II) a representative of the ma13 rine trade organizations; and

14 (III) a representative of private

15 landowner interests.

16 (B) REPRESENTATION.—In appointing

17 members to the Committee, the Chairperson

18 shall consider—

19 (i) Federal, State, and local govern20 ment interests;

21 (ii) the interests of nongovernmental

22 organizations;

23 (iii) academic interests; and

24 (iv) private interests.
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1 (2) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—Not later than

2 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the

3 appointment of all members of the Committee shall

4 be made.

5 (d) TERM; VACANCIES.—

6 (1) TERM.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member shall be ap8 pointed for a term of 4 years.

9 (B) MULTIPLE TERMS.—A person may be

10 appointed as a member of the Committee for

11 more than 1 term.

12 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Committee

13 shall—

14 (A) be filled not later than 90 days after

15 the vacancy occurs;

16 (B) not affect the powers of the Com17 mittee; and

18 (C) be filled in the same manner as the

19 original appointment was made.

20 (3) STAFF.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the

22 Committee may appoint and terminate per23 sonnel as necessary to enable the Committee to

24 perform the duties of the Committee.
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1 (B) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOY2 EES.—

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any personnel of

4 the Committee who are employees of the

5 Committee shall be employees under sec6 tion 2105 of title 5, United States Code,

7 for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84,

8 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title.

9 (ii) MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE.—

10 Clause (i) does not apply to members of

11 the Committee.

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

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

14 appointed, the Committee shall hold the initial meeting of

15 the Committee.

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

17 call of the Chairperson, but no fewer than 4 times each

18 year.

19 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

20 Committee shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number

21 of members may hold hearings.

22 SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.

23 The Committee shall—

24 (1) consistent with the guidelines described in

25 section 8—
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1 (A) evaluate applications from government

2 or nonprofit organizations qualified to hold con3 servation easements for funds to purchase land

4 or development rights for stewardship sites;

5 (B) evaluate applications to develop and

6 implement management plans to address

7 threats;

8 (C) evaluate applications to act on oppor9 tunities to protect and enhance stewardship

10 sites; and

11 (D) recommend that the Administrator

12 award grants to qualified applicants;

13 (2) recommend guidelines, criteria, schedules,

14 and due dates for evaluating information to identify

15 stewardship sites;

16 (3) publish a list of sites that further the pur17 poses of this Act, provided that owners of sites shall

18 be—

19 (A) notified prior to the publication of the

20 list; and

21 (B) allowed to decline inclusion on the list;

22 (4) raise awareness of the values of and threats

23 to these sites; and

24 (5) leverage additional resources for improved

25 stewardship of the Region.
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1 SEC. 7. POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE.

2 (a) HEARINGS.—The Committee may hold such hear3 ings, meet and act at such times and places, take such

4 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Committee

5 considers advisable to carry out this Act.

6 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—

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

8 directly from a Federal agency such information as

9 the Committee considers necessary to carry out this

10 Act.

11 (2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (C), on request of the Chairperson of the

14 Committee, the head of a Federal agency shall

15 provide the information requested by the Chair16 person to the Committee.

17 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—The furnishing of

18 information by a Federal agency to the Com19 mittee shall not be considered a waiver of any

20 exemption available to the agency under section

21 552 of title 5, United States Code.

22 (C) INFORMATION TO BE KEPT CONFIDEN23 TIAL.—

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of

25 section 1905 of title 18, United States

26 Code—
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1 (I) the Committee shall be con2 sidered an agency of the Federal Gov3 ernment; and

4 (II) any individual employed by

5 an individual, entity, or organization

6 that is a party to a contract with the

7 Committee under this Act shall be

8 considered an employee of the Com9 mittee.

10 (ii) PROHIBITION ON DISCLOSURE.—

11 Information obtained by the Committee,

12 other than information that is available to

13 the public, shall not be disclosed to any

14 person in any manner except to an em15 ployee of the Committee as described in

16 clause (i), for the purpose of receiving, re17 viewing, or processing the information.

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

19 United States mails in the same manner and under the

20 same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Govern21 ment.

22 (d) DONATIONS.—The Committee may accept, use,

23 and dispose of donations of services or property that ad24 vance the goals of the Long Island Sound Stewardship Ini25 tiative.
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1 SEC. 8. STEWARDSHIP SITES.

2 (a) INITIAL SITES.—

3 (1) IDENTIFICATION.—

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall

5 identify 20 initial Long Island Sound steward6 ship sites that the Committee has determined—

7 (i)(I) are natural resource-based

8 recreation areas; or

9 (II) are exemplary natural areas with

10 ecological value; and

11 (ii) best promote the purposes of this

12 Act.

13 (B) EXEMPTION.—Sites described in sub14 paragraph (A) are not subject to the site identi15 fication process described in subsection (d).

16 (2) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOR

17 INITIAL SITES.—In identifying initial sites under

18 paragraph (1), the Committee shall exert due dili19 gence to recommend an equitable distribution of

20 funds between the States for the initial sites.

21 (b) APPLICATION FOR IDENTIFICATION AS A STEW22 ARDSHIP SITE.—Subsequent to the identification of the

23 initial stewardship sites under subsection (a), owners of

24 sites may submit applications to the Committee in accord25 ance with subsection (c) to have the sites identified as

26 stewardship sites.
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1 (c) IDENTIFICATION.—The Committee shall review

2 applications submitted by owners of potential stewardship

3 sites to determine whether the sites shall be identified as

4 exhibiting values consistent with the purposes of this Act.

5 (d) SITE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS.—

6 (1) NATURAL RESOURCE-BASED RECREATION

7 AREAS.—The Committee shall identify additional

8 recreation areas with potential as stewardship sites

9 using a selection technique that includes—

10 (A) public access;

11 (B) community support;

12 (C) areas with high population density;

13 (D) environmental justice (as defined in

14 section 385.3 of title 33, Code of Federal Regu15 lations (or successor regulations));

16 (E) connectivity to existing protected areas

17 and open spaces;

18 (F) cultural, historic, and scenic areas; and

19 (G) other criteria developed by the Com20 mittee.

21 (2) NATURAL AREAS WITH ECOLOGICAL

22 VALUE.—The Committee shall identify additional

23 natural areas with ecological value and potential as

24 stewardship sites—
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1 (A) based on measurable conservation tar2 gets for the Region; and

3 (B) following a process for prioritizing new

4 sites using systematic site selection, which shall

5 include—

6 (i) ecological uniqueness;

7 (ii) species viability;

8 (iii) habitat heterogeneity;

9 (iv) size;

10 (v) quality;

11 (vi) connectivity to existing protected

12 areas and open spaces;

13 (vii) land cover;

14 (viii) scientific, research, or edu15 cational value;

16 (ix) threats; and

17 (x) other criteria developed by the

18 Committee.

19 (3) PUBLICATION OF LIST.—After completion

20 of the site identification process, the Committee

21 shall—

22 (A) publish in the Federal Register a list

23 of sites that further the purposes of this Act;

24 and
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1 (B) prior to publication of the list, provide

2 to owners of the sites to be published—

3 (i) a notification of publication; and

4 (ii) an opportunity to decline inclusion

5 of the site of the owner on the list.

6 (4) DEVIATION FROM PROCESS.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee may

8 identify as a potential stewardship site, a site

9 that does not meet the criteria in paragraph (1)

10 or (2), or reject a site selected under paragraph

11 (1) or (2), if the Committee—

12 (i) selects a site that makes signifi13 cant ecological or recreational contribu14 tions to the Region;

15 (ii) publishes the reasons that the

16 Committee decided to deviate from the sys17 tematic site selection process; and

18 (iii) before identifying or rejecting the

19 potential stewardship site, provides to the

20 owners of the site the notification of publi21 cation, and the opportunity to decline in22 clusion of the site on the list published

23 under paragraph (3)(A), described in para24 graph (3)(B).
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1 (5) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In identifying potential

2 stewardship sites, the Committee shall consider pub3 lic comments.

4 (e) GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR MANAGEMENT.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall use an

6 adaptive management framework to identify the best

7 policy initiatives and actions through—

8 (A) definition of strategic goals;

9 (B) definition of policy options for methods

10 to achieve strategic goals;

11 (C) establishment of measures of success;

12 (D) identification of uncertainties;

13 (E) development of informative models of

14 policy implementation;

15 (F) separation of the landscape into geo16 graphic units;

17 (G) monitoring key responses at different

18 spatial and temporal scales; and

19 (H) evaluation of outcomes and incorpora20 tion into management strategies.

21 (2) APPLICATION OF ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT

22 FRAMEWORK.—The Committee shall apply the

23 adaptive management framework to the process for

24 updating the list of recommended stewardship sites.
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1 SEC. 9. REPORTS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 2006

3 through 2013, the Committee shall submit to the Adminis4 trator an annual report that contains—

5 (1) a detailed statement of the findings and

6 conclusions of the Committee since the last report;

7 (2) a description of all sites recommended by

8 the Committee to be approved as stewardship sites;

9 (3) the recommendations of the Committee for

10 such legislation and administrative actions as the

11 Committee considers appropriate; and

12 (4) in accordance with subsection (b), the rec13 ommendations of the Committee for the awarding of

14 grants.

15 (b) GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR RECOMMENDA16 TIONS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall rec18 ommend that the Administrator award grants to

19 qualified applicants to help to secure and improve

20 the open space, public access, or ecological values of

21 stewardship sites, through—

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

23 (B) purchase of relevant property rights of

24 the site; or

25 (C) entering into any other binding legal

26 arrangement that ensures that the values of the
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1 site are sustained, including entering into an

2 arrangement with a land manager or owner to

3 develop or implement an approved management

4 plan that is necessary for the conservation of

5 natural resources.

6 (2) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—

7 The Committee shall exert due diligence to rec8 ommend an equitable distribution of funds between

9 the States.

10 (c) ACTION BY THE ADMINISTRATOR.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after

12 receiving a report under subsection (a), the Adminis13 trator shall—

14 (A) review the recommendations of the

15 Committee; and

16 (B) take actions consistent with the rec17 ommendations of the Committee, including the

18 approval of identified stewardship sites and the

19 award of grants, unless the Administrator

20 makes a finding that any recommendation is

21 unwarranted by the facts.

22 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator

24 shall develop and publish a report that—
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1 (A) assesses the current resources of and

2 threats to Long Island Sound;

3 (B) assesses the role of the Long Island

4 Sound Stewardship Initiative in protecting

5 Long Island Sound;

6 (C) establishes guidelines, criteria, sched7 ules, and due dates for evaluating information

8 to identify stewardship sites;

9 (D) includes information about any grants

10 that are available for the purchase of land or

11 property rights to protect stewardship sites;

12 (E) accounts for funds received and ex13 pended during the previous fiscal year;

14 (F) shall be made available to the public

15 on the Internet and in hardcopy form; and

16 (G) shall be updated at least every other

17 year, except that information on funding and

18 any new stewardship sites identified shall be

19 published more frequently.

20 SEC. 10. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.

21 (a) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in

22 this Act—

23 (1) requires any private property owner to allow

24 public access (including Federal, State, or local gov25 ernment access) to the private property; or
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1 (2) modifies any provision of Federal, State, or

2 local law with regard to public access to or use of

3 private property, except as entered into by voluntary

4 agreement of the owner or custodian of the property.

5 (b) LIABILITY.—Approval of the Long Island Sound

6 Stewardship Initiative Region does not create any liability,

7 or have any effect on any liability under any other law,

8 of any private property owner with respect to any person

9 injured on the private property.

10 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND

11 USE.—Nothing in this Act modifies the authority of Fed12 eral, State, or local governments to regulate land use.

13 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS

14 IN THE LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE

15 REGION.—Nothing in this Act requires the owner of any

16 private property located within the boundaries of the Re17 gion to participate in or be associated with the Initiative.

18 (e) EFFECT OF ESTABLISHMENT.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The boundaries approved for

20 the Region represent the area within which Federal

21 funds appropriated for the purpose of this Act may

22 be expended.

23 (2) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The establish24 ment of the Region and the boundaries of the Re25 gion does not provide any regulatory authority not
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1 in existence on the date of enactment of this Act on

2 land use in the Region by any management entity,

3 except for such property rights as may be purchased

4 from or donated by the owner of the property (in5 cluding the Federal Government or a State or local

6 government, if applicable).

7 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro9 priated to carry out this Act $25,000,000 for each of fiscal

10 years 2006 through 2013.

11 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—For each fiscal year, funds

12 made available under subsection (a) shall be used by the

13 Administrator, after reviewing the recommendations of the

14 Committee submitted under section 9, for—

15 (1) acquisition of land and interests in land;

16 (2) development and implementation of site

17 management plans;

18 (3) site enhancements to reduce threats or pro19 mote stewardship; and

20 (4) administrative expenses of the Committee.

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

22 of an activity carried out using any assistance or grant

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

24 cost of the activity.
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1 SEC. 12. LONG ISLAND SOUND AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO2 PRIATIONS.

3 Section 119(f) of the Federal Water Pollution Con4 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1269(f)) is amended by striking

5 ‘‘2005’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2009’’.

6 SEC. 13. TERMINATION OF COMMITTEE.

7 The Committee shall terminate on December 31,

8 2013.

Passed the Senate October 11, 2004.

Attest:

Secretary.
108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2691

AN ACT

To establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship

Initiative.