II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3025 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide assistance 

for programs and activities to protect and restore the water quality 

of the Columbia River Basin, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2010 

Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide assistance for programs and activities to protect 

and restore the water quality of the Columbia River 

Basin, 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 ‘‘Columbia River Res5 toration Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Columbia River is the largest river in 

2 the Pacific Northwest and the fourth largest river in 

3 the United States by volume. The river is 1,243 

4 miles long, and its drainage basin includes 259,000 

5 square miles, extending into 7 States and British 

6 Columbia, Canada, and including all or part of 5 na7 tional parks, the Columbia River Gorge National 

8 Scenic Area, and the Hells Canyon National Recre9 ation Area. 

10 (2) The Columbia River Basin and its tribu11 taries provide significant ecological and economic 

12 benefits to the Pacific Northwest and the entire 

13 United States. Traditionally, the Columbia River 

14 Basin and its tributaries were the largest salmon 

15 producing river system in the world, with annual re16 turns peaking at as many as 30 million fish. The 

17 Columbia River drainage basin includes more than 6 

18 million acres of irrigated agricultural land, and its 

19 14 hydroelectric dams, combined with additional 

20 dams on its tributaries, produce more hydroelectric 

21 power than any other North American river. 

22 (3) The Lower Columbia River Estuary 

23 stretches 146 miles from the Bonneville Dam to the 

24 mouth of the Pacific Ocean, and much of this area 

25 is degraded. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in 


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1 salmon tissue and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons 

2 (PAHs) in salmon prey exceed estimated thresholds 

3 for delayed mortality, increased disease suscepti4 bility, and reduced growth. Legacy contaminants 

5 (DDT and PCBs) banned in the 1970s are still de6 tected in river water, sediments, and juvenile Chi7 nook salmon. Several pesticides have been detected, 

8 including atrazine and simazine, which can affect 

9 salmon behavior or act as hormone disruptors. 

10 Emerging contaminants, such as hormone disruptors 

11 from pharmaceutical and personal care products, 

12 have been found in river water and juvenile male 

13 salmon. These contaminants may impair salmon 

14 growth, health, and reproduction. 

15 (4) The Middle and Upper Columbia River 

16 Basin includes 1,050 miles of the mainstem Colum17 bia River upstream of the Bonneville Dam, including 

18 the 1,040 miles of its largest tributary, the Snake 

19 River, and all of the tributaries to both rivers. The 

20 Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Colum21 bia River Basin Fish Contaminant Survey detected 

22 the presence of 92 priority pollutants, including 

23 PCBs, dioxins, furans, arsenic, mercury, and DDE 

24 (a breakdown product of DDT), in fish that are con25 sumed by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm 


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1 Springs, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the 

2 Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the 

3 Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Nez Perce 

4 Tribe, as well as by other people consuming fish 

5 throughout the Columbia River Basin. A fish con6 sumption survey by the Columbia River Intertribal 

7 Fish Commission showed that tribal members were 

8 eating 6 to 11 times more fish than EPA’s esti9 mated national average. The nuclear and toxic con10 tamination at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation pre11 sents an ongoing risk of contamination in the Middle 

12 Columbia Basin. Sampling of sediments by the EPA 

13 in 2004 documented widespread presence of toxic 

14 flame retardants known as polyrominated diphenyl 

15 ethers. 

16 (5) Contamination of the Middle and Upper Co17 lumbia River Basin has a direct impact on water 

18 quality and habitat quality in the Lower Columbia 

19 River Estuary. Investments in habitat restoration 

20 and toxics reduction in the Middle and Upper Co21 lumbia River Basin can have significant benefits for 

22 fish and wildlife throughout the entire basin. 

23 (6) Together with the Governors of Oregon and 

24 Washington, the EPA created the Lower Columbia 

25 River Estuary Partnership (Estuary Partnership) in 


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1 1995 to provide regional coordination to focus on 

2 the lower river, to advance the science of the eco3 system, and to deliver environmental results. The 

4 Estuary Partnership was formed within the National 

5 Estuary Program and provides a structure for orga6 nization and collaboration to implement Federal pri7 orities. The Estuary Partnership includes all key 

8 Federal agencies as part of its management and gov9 erning structure, including the EPA, the United 

10 States Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oce11 anic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 

12 Army Corps of Engineers, the Forest Service, and 

13 tribal, State, and local governments. 

14 (7) The Columbia River Basin was designated 

15 by the EPA as an ‘‘Estuary of National Signifi16 cance’’ in 1995 and a ‘‘Large Aquatic Ecosystem’’ 

17 in 2006. 

18 (8) The Estuary Partnership has developed an 

19 unparalleled 2-State, public and private partnership, 

20 including unprecedented collaborative efforts among 

21 key Federal partners, including the EPA, the 

22 NOAA, the USGS, and the Army Corps of Engi23 neers to advance Federal goals, and the Estuary 

24 Partnership and its partners have gathered scientific 

25 information and compiled data, and have made sigVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:01 Feb 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3025.IS S3025

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1 nificant gains in habitat protection and environ2 mental education. 

3 (9) Despite these advances, further degradation 

4 exists and contaminants persist in the Columbia 

5 River Basin and are impairing the health of fish, 

6 wildlife, and humans. Degraded conditions in the 

7 river exacerbate the challenges already faced by the 

8 13 species of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia 

9 River Basin listed as threatened or endangered 

10 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. 

11 (10) The ‘‘Estuary Partnership Comprehensive 

12 Conservation and Management Plan’’ (1999), the 

13 ‘‘Northwest Power and Conservation Council Lower 

14 Columbia Province Plan’’ (2004, amended 2008), 

15 the draft ‘‘NOAA Columbia River Estuary Recovery 

16 Module for Salmon and Steelhead’’ (2010), the 

17 States of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington Recovery 

18 Plans, the ‘‘Biological Opinion for the Federal Co19 lumbia River Power System (FCRPS)’’ (2000, 2004, 

20 2008), and the ‘‘EPA Columbia Basin State of the 

21 River Report for Toxics’’ (2009) consistently iden22 tify habitat loss and toxic contamination as threats 

23 to fish and wildlife. 


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1 SEC. 3. COLUMBIA RIVER. 

2 Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

3 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 123. COLUMBIA RIVER. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

7 definitions apply: 

8 ‘‘(1) ACTION PLAN.—The term ‘Action Plan’ 

9 means the ‘Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction 

10 Action Plan’ developed by the Environmental Pro11 tection Agency and the Columbia River Toxics Re12 duction Working Group in 2010, including any 

13 amendments thereto. 

14 ‘‘(2) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—The term ‘Com15 prehensive Plan’ means the ‘Estuary Partnership 

16 Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan’ 

17 adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency 

18 and the Governors of Oregon and Washington on 

19 October 20, 1999, under section 320, including any 

20 amendments thereto. 

21 ‘‘(3) ESTUARY PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘Es22 tuary Partnership’ means the Lower Columbia River 

23 Estuary Partnership, an entity created by the States 

24 of Oregon and Washington and the Environmental 

25 Protection Agency under section 320. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER AND ESTUARY.— 

2 The term ‘Lower Columbia River and Estuary’ 

3 means the region consisting of the lower 146 miles 

4 of the Columbia River Basin from the Bonneville 

5 Dam to the Pacific Ocean. 

6 ‘‘(5) MIDDLE AND UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER

7 BASIN.—The term ‘Middle and Upper Columbia 

8 River Basin’ means the region consisting of the 

9 United States portion of the Columbia River Basin 

10 above Bonneville Dam, including the Snake River 

11 (and its tributaries) and other tributaries of the Co12 lumbia River. 

13 ‘‘(6) TEAM LEADER.—The term ‘Team Leader’ 

14 means the Team Leader appointed under subsection 

15 (b). 

16 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM TEAM.— 

17 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator 

18 shall establish in the Environmental Protection 

19 Agency a Columbia River Program Team. The Team 

20 shall be located within the Oregon Operations Office 

21 for Region 10 of the Environmental Protection 

22 Agency. 

23 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT OF TEAM LEADER.—The 

24 Administrator shall appoint a Team Leader, who, by 

25 reason of management experience and technical exVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:01 Feb 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3025.IS S3025

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1 pertise relating to the Columbia River Basin, shall 

2 be highly qualified to support the development and 

3 implementation of projects, programs, and studies 

4 necessary to implement the Action Plan. 

5 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY; STAFFING.— 

6 The Administrator shall delegate to the Team Lead7 er such authority and provide such additional staff 

8 as may be necessary to carry out this section. 

9 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec11 tion, the Administrator, acting through the Team 

12 Leader, shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) assist and support the implementa14 tion of the Action Plan and the Comprehensive 

15 Plan; 

16 ‘‘(B) coordinate the implementation of the 

17 Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan, and 

18 the development of any updates to those plans, 

19 with programs and projects in the Middle and 

20 Upper Columbia River Basin; 

21 ‘‘(C) make such other updates to the Ac22 tion Plan and the Comprehensive Plan as the 

23 Administrator, in consultation with appropriate 

24 Federal agencies, the States of Oregon, Wash25 ington, and Idaho, tribal governments, local 


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1 governments, and other public and private in2 terests in the Columbia River Basin, considers 

3 appropriate; 

4 ‘‘(D) provide funding and make grants for 

5 implementation of the Action Plan and the 

6 Comprehensive Plan and projects, programs, 

7 and studies consistent with the priorities of the 

8 Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan; 

9 ‘‘(E) promote innovative methodologies and 

10 technologies that are cost effective and con11 sistent with the identified goals and objectives 

12 of the Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan 

13 and the permitting processes of the Environ14 mental Protection Agency; 

15 ‘‘(F) coordinate the major functions of the 

16 Federal Government related to the implementa17 tion of the Action Plan and the Comprehensive 

18 Plan, including projects, programs, and studies 

19 for— 

20 ‘‘(i) water quality improvements; 

21 ‘‘(ii) toxics reduction and monitoring; 

22 ‘‘(iii) wetland, riverine, and estuary 

23 restoration and protection; 

24 ‘‘(iv) nearshore and endangered spe25 cies recovery; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) stewardship and environmental 

2 education; 

3 ‘‘(G) coordinate the research and planning 

4 projects authorized under this section with Fed5 eral agencies, State agencies, tribal govern6 ments, universities, and the Estuary Partner7 ship, including conducting or commissioning 

8 studies considered necessary for strengthened 

9 implementation of the Action Plan and the 

10 Comprehensive Plan; 

11 ‘‘(H) track progress toward meeting the 

12 identified goals and objectives of the Action 

13 Plan and the Comprehensive Plan by— 

14 ‘‘(i) implementing and supporting a 

15 project, program, and monitoring system 

16 consistent with performance-based eco17 system standards and management; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) coordinating, managing, and re19 porting environmental data related to the 

20 Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan 

21 in a manner consistent with methodologies 

22 utilized by the Estuary Partnership, in23 cluding making such data and reports on 

24 such data available to the public, including 

25 on the Internet, in a timely fashion; and 


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1 ‘‘(I) collect and make available to the pub2 lic, including on the Internet, publications and 

3 other forms of information relating to the envi4 ronmental quality of the Lower Columbia River 

5 and Estuary. 

6 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION METHODS.—The Ad7 ministrator, acting through the Team Leader, may 

8 enter into interagency agreements, make intergov9 ernmental personnel appointments, provide funding, 

10 make grants, and utilize other available methods in 

11 carrying out the duties under this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the 

13 date of enactment of this section, and biennially there14 after, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(1) summarizes the progress made in imple17 menting the Action Plan and the Comprehensive 

18 Plan and the progress made toward achieving the 

19 identified goals and objectives described in such 

20 plans; 

21 ‘‘(2) summarizes any modifications to the Ac22 tion Plan and the Comprehensive Plan made in the 

23 period immediately preceding the report; 


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1 ‘‘(3) incorporates specific recommendations con2 cerning the implementation of the Action Plan and 

3 the Comprehensive Plan; and 

4 ‘‘(4) summarizes the roles and progress of each 

5 Federal agency that has jurisdiction in the Columbia 

6 River Basin toward meeting the identified goals and 

7 objectives of the Action Plan and the Comprehensive 

8 Plan. 

9 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION PLAN AND COM10 PREHENSIVE PLAN.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, acting 

12 through the Team Leader and in consultation with 

13 the Estuary Partnership, shall carry out projects, 

14 programs, and studies to implement the Action Plan 

15 and the Comprehensive Plan. 

16 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY PROJECTS, PROGRAMS, AND

17 STUDIES.—The Administrator may give special em18 phasis to projects, programs, and studies that are 

19 identified as priorities by the Estuary Partnership in 

20 the Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan. 

21 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

23 acting through the Team Leader, is authorized 

24 to make grants for projects, programs, and 


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1 studies to implement the Action Plan and the 

2 Comprehensive Plan. 

3 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATIONS.—In making grants 

4 using funds appropriated to carry out this para5 graph for a fiscal year, the Administrator, act6 ing through the Team Leader, shall use— 

7 ‘‘(i) not less than 40 percent of the 

8 funds to make a comprehensive grant to 

9 the Estuary Partnership to manage imple10 mentation of the Comprehensive Plan; 

11 ‘‘(ii) not less than 50 percent of the 

12 funds to make grants, as allocated by the 

13 Team Leader, for projects, programs and 

14 studies prioritized in the Action Plan 

15 throughout the Columbia River Basin, and 

16 for other coordinated projects, programs, 

17 and studies in the Middle and Upper Co18 lumbia River Basin; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) not more than 5 percent of the 

20 funds for project management, administra21 tion, and reporting. 

22 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

23 the costs for which a grant is made under this sec24 tion shall be 75 percent, except that the Adminis25 trator may increase the Federal share in such cirVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:01 Feb 24, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3025.IS S3025

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1 cumstances as the Administrator determines appro2 priate. 

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

4 part of the President’s annual budget submission to Con5 gress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

6 Code, shall submit information regarding each Federal 

7 agency involved in protection and restoration of the Co8 lumbia River Basin, including— 

9 ‘‘(1) an interagency crosscut budget that dis10 plays for each Federal agency— 

11 ‘‘(A) the amounts obligated in the pre12 ceding fiscal year for protection and restoration 

13 projects, programs, and studies relating to the 

14 Columbia River Basin; 

15 ‘‘(B) the estimated budget for the current 

16 fiscal year for protection and restoration 

17 projects, programs, and studies relating to the 

18 Columbia River Basin; and 

19 ‘‘(C) the proposed budget for protection 

20 and restoration projects, programs, and studies 

21 relating to the Columbia River Basin; and 

22 ‘‘(2) a description and assessment of the Fed23 eral role in the development and implementation of 

24 the Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan and 

25 the specific role of each Federal agency involved in 


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1 protection and restoration of the Columbia River 

2 Basin, including specific projects, programs, and 

3 studies conducted or planned to achieve the identi4 fied goals and objectives of the Action Plan and the 

5 Comprehensive Plan. 

6 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

8 carry out this section $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

9 2011 through 2016. Such sums shall remain available 

10 until expended.’’. 

Æ 


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