II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 921 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a nonregulatory program 

to build on and help coordinate funding for restoration and protection 

efforts of the 4-State Delaware River Basin region, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 14, 2015 

Mr. CARPER (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. 

CASEY, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 

and Public Works 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a nonregulatory program to build on and help coordinate funding for restoration and protection efforts of the 4-State 

Delaware River Basin 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 ‘‘Delaware River Basin 

5 Conservation Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the Delaware River Basin is a national 

2 treasure of great cultural, environmental, ecological, 

3 and economic importance; 

4 (2) the Basin contains over 12,500 square miles 

5 of land in the States of Delaware, New Jersey, New 

6 York, and Pennsylvania, including nearly 800 square 

7 miles of bay and more than 2,000 tributary rivers 

8 and streams; 

9 (3) the Basin is home to more than 8,000,000 

10 people who depend on the Delaware River and the 

11 Delaware Bay as an economic engine, a place of 

12 recreation, and a vital habitat for fish and wildlife; 

13 (4) the Basin provides clean drinking water to 

14 more than 15,000,000 people, including New York 

15 City, which relies on the Basin for approximately 

16 half of the drinking water supply of the city, and 

17 Philadelphia, whose most significant threat to the 

18 drinking water supply of the city is loss of forests 

19 and other natural cover in the Upper Basin, accord20 ing to a study conducted by the Philadelphia Water 

21 Department; 

22 (5) the Basin contributes $25,000,000,000 an23 nually in economic activity, provides 

24 $21,000,000,000 in ecosystem goods and services 

25 per year, and is directly or indirectly responsible for 


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1 600,000 jobs with $10,000,000,000 in annual 

2 wages; 

3 (6) almost 180 species of fish and wildlife are 

4 considered special status species in the Basin due to 

5 habitat loss and degradation, particularly sturgeon, 

6 eastern oyster, horseshoe crabs, and red knots, 

7 which have been identified as unique species in need 

8 of habitat improvement; 

9 (7) the Basin provides habitat for over 200 

10 resident and migrant fish species, includes signifi11 cant recreational fisheries, and is an important 

12 source of eastern oyster, blue crab, and the largest 

13 population of the American horseshoe crab; 

14 (8) the annual dockside value of commercial 

15 eastern oyster fishery landings for the Delaware Es16 tuary is nearly $4,000,000, making it the fourth 

17 most lucrative fishery in the Delaware River Basin 

18 watershed, and proven management strategies are 

19 available to increase oyster habitat, abundance, and 

20 harvest; 

21 (9) the Delaware Bay has the second largest 

22 concentration of shorebirds in North America and is 

23 designated as one of the 4 most important shorebird 

24 migration sites in the world; 


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1 (10) the Basin, 50 percent of which is forested, 

2 also has over 700,000 acres of wetland, more than 

3 126,000 acres of which are recognized as inter4 nationally important, resulting in a landscape that 

5 provides essential ecosystem services, including 

6 recreation, commercial, and water quality benefits; 

7 (11) much of the remaining exemplary natural 

8 landscape in the Basin is vulnerable to further deg9 radation, as the Basin gains approximately 10 

10 square miles of developed land annually, and with 

11 new development, urban watersheds are increasingly 

12 covered by impervious surfaces, amplifying the quan13 tity of polluted runoff into rivers and streams; 

14 (12) the Delaware River is the longest 

15 undammed river east of the Mississippi; a critical 

16 component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers 

17 System in the Northeast, with more than 400 miles 

18 designated; home to one of the most heavily visited 

19 National Park units in the United States, the Dela20 ware Water Gap National Recreation Area; and the 

21 location of 6 National Wildlife Refuges; 

22 (13) the Delaware River supports an inter23 nationally renowned cold water fishery in more than 

24 80 miles of its northern headwaters that attracts 

25 tens of thousands of visitors each year and generates 


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1 over $21,000,000 in annual revenue through tourism 

2 and recreational activities; 

3 (14) management of water volume in the Basin 

4 is critical to flood mitigation and habitat for fish 

5 and wildlife, and following 3 major floods along the 

6 Delaware River since 2004, the Governors of the 

7 States of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and 

8 Pennsylvania have called for natural flood damage 

9 reduction measures to combat the problem, including 

10 restoring the function of riparian corridors; 

11 (15) the Delaware River Port Complex (includ12 ing docking facilities in the States of Delaware, New 

13 Jersey, and Pennsylvania) is one of the largest 

14 freshwater ports in the world, the Port of Philadel15 phia handles the largest volume of international ton16 nage and 70 percent of the oil shipped to the East 

17 Coast, and the Port of Wilmington, a full-service 

18 deepwater port and marine terminal supporting 

19 more than 12,000 jobs, is the busiest terminal on 

20 the Delaware River, handling more than 400 vessels 

21 per year with an annual import/export cargo tonnage 

22 of more than 4,000,000 tons; 

23 (16) the Delaware Estuary, where freshwater 

24 from the Delaware River mixes with saltwater from 

25 the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the largest and most 


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1 complex of the 28 estuaries in the National Estuary 

2 Program, and the Partnership for the Delaware Es3 tuary works to improve the environmental health of 

4 the Delaware Estuary; 

5 (17) the Delaware River Basin Commission is a 

6 Federal-interstate compact government agency 

7 charged with overseeing a unified approach to man8 aging the river system and implementing important 

9 water resources management projects and activities 

10 throughout the Basin that are in the national inter11 est; 

12 (18) restoration activities in the Basin are sup13 ported through several Federal and State agency 

14 programs, and funding for those important pro15 grams should continue and complement the estab16 lishment of the Delaware River Basin Restoration 

17 Program, which is intended to build on and help co18 ordinate restoration and protection funding mecha19 nisms at the Federal, State, regional, and local lev20 els; and 

21 (19) the existing and ongoing voluntary con22 servation efforts in the Delaware River Basin neces23 sitate improved efficiency and cost effectiveness, as 

24 well as increased private-sector investments and co25 ordination of Federal and non-Federal resources. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) BASIN.—The term ‘‘Basin’’ means the 4- 

4 State Delaware Basin region, including all of Dela5 ware Bay and portions of the States of Delaware, 

6 New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania located in 

7 the Delaware River watershed. 

8 (2) BASIN STATE.—The term ‘‘Basin State’’ 

9 means each of the States of Delaware, New Jersey, 

10 New York, and Pennsylvania. 

11 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

12 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

13 Service. 

14 (4) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

15 means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a 

16 congressionally chartered foundation established by 

17 section 2 of the National Fish and Wildlife Founda18 tion Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701). 

19 (5) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘grant pro20 gram’’ means the voluntary Delaware River Basin 

21 Restoration Grant Program established under sec22 tion 5. 

23 (6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

24 the nonregulatory Delaware River Basin restoration 

25 program established under section 4. 


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1 (7) RESTORATION AND PROTECTION.—The 

2 term ‘‘restoration and protection’’ means the con3 servation, stewardship, and enhancement of habitat 

4 for fish and wildlife to preserve and improve eco5 systems and ecological processes on which they de6 pend, and for use and enjoyment by the public. 

7 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di9 rector. 

10 (9) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the 

11 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 

12 SEC. 4. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT. 

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

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es15 tablish a nonregulatory program to be known as the 

16 ‘‘Delaware River Basin restoration program’’. 

17 (b) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the Sec18 retary shall— 

19 (1) draw on existing and new management 

20 plans for the Basin, or portions of the Basin, and 

21 work in consultation with applicable management 

22 entities, including representatives of the Partnership 

23 for the Delaware Estuary, the Delaware River Basin 

24 Commission, the Federal Government, and other 

25 State and local governments, and regional and nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Apr 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S921.IS S921

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1 profit organizations, as appropriate, to identify, 

2 prioritize, and implement restoration and protection 

3 activities within the Basin; 

4 (2) adopt a Basinwide strategy that— 

5 (A) supports the implementation of a 

6 shared set of science-based restoration and pro7 tection activities developed in accordance with 

8 paragraph (1); 

9 (B) targets cost-effective projects with 

10 measurable results; and 

11 (C) maximizes conservation outcomes with 

12 no net gain of Federal full-time equivalent em13 ployees; and 

14 (3) establish the voluntary grant and technical 

15 assistance programs in accordance with section 5. 

16 (c) COORDINATION.—In establishing the program, 

17 the Secretary shall consult, as appropriate, with— 

18 (1) the heads of Federal agencies, including— 

19 (A) the Administrator of the Environ20 mental Protection Agency; 

21 (B) the Administrator of the National Oce22 anic and Atmospheric Administration; 

23 (C) the Chief of the Natural Resources 

24 Conservation Service; 


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1 (D) the Chief of Engineers of the Corps of 

2 Engineers; and 

3 (E) the head of any other applicable agen4 cy; 

5 (2) the Governors of the Basin States; 

6 (3) the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; 

7 (4) the Delaware River Basin Commission; 

8 (5) fish and wildlife joint venture partnerships; 

9 and 

10 (6) other public agencies and organizations with 

11 authority for the planning and implementation of 

12 conservation strategies in the Basin. 

13 (d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program in14 clude— 

15 (1) coordinating restoration and protection ac16 tivities among Federal, State, local, and regional en17 tities and conservation partners throughout the 

18 Basin; 

19 (2) carrying out coordinated restoration and 

20 protection activities, and providing for technical as21 sistance throughout the Basin and Basin States— 

22 (A) to sustain and enhance fish and wild23 life habitat restoration and protection activities; 

24 (B) to improve and maintain water quality 

25 to support fish and wildlife, as well as the habiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Apr 17, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S921.IS S921

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1 tats of fish and wildlife, and drinking water for 

2 people; 

3 (C) to sustain and enhance water manage4 ment for volume and flood damage mitigation 

5 improvements to benefit fish and wildlife habi6 tat; 

7 (D) to improve opportunities for public ac8 cess and recreation in the Basin consistent with 

9 the ecological needs of fish and wildlife habitat; 

10 (E) to facilitate strategic planning to maxi11 mize the resilience of natural systems and habi12 tats under changing watershed conditions; 

13 (F) to engage the public through outreach, 

14 education, and citizen involvement, to increase 

15 capacity and support for coordinated restora16 tion and protection activities in the Basin; 

17 (G) to increase scientific capacity to sup18 port the planning, monitoring, and research ac19 tivities necessary to carry out coordinated res20 toration and protection activities; and 

21 (H) to provide technical assistance to carry 

22 out restoration and protection activities in the 

23 Basin. 


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1 SEC. 5. GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) DELAWARE RIVER BASIN RESTORATION GRANT

3 PROGRAM.—To the extent that funds are available to 

4 carry out this section, the Secretary shall establish a vol5 untary grant and technical assistance program to be 

6 known as the ‘‘Delaware River Basin Restoration Grant 

7 Program’’ to provide competitive matching grants of vary8 ing amounts to State and local governments, nonprofit or9 ganizations, institutions of higher education, and other eli10 gible entities to carry out activities described in section 

11 4(d). 

12 (b) CRITERIA.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

13 the organizations described in section 4(c), shall develop 

14 criteria for the grant program to help ensure that activi15 ties funded under this section accomplish one or more of 

16 the purposes identified in section 4(d)(2) and advance the 

17 implementation of priority actions or needs identified in 

18 the Basinwide strategy adopted under section 4(b)(2). 

19 (c) COST SHARING.— 

20 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

21 the cost of a project funded under the grant pro22 gram shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost 

23 of the activity, as determined by the Secretary. 

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

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


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

2 an in-kind contribution of services or materials. 

3 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

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

5 into an agreement to manage the grant program 

6 with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or 

7 a similar organization that offers grant management 

8 services. 

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

10 agreement under paragraph (1), the organization se11 lected shall— 

12 (A) for each fiscal year, receive amounts to 

13 carry out this section in an advance payment of 

14 the entire amount on October 1, or as soon as 

15 practicable thereafter, of that fiscal year; 

16 (B) invest and reinvest those amounts for 

17 the benefit of the grant program; and 

18 (C) otherwise administer the grant pro19 gram to support partnerships between the pub20 lic and private sectors in accordance with this 

21 Act. 

22 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—If the Secretary enters 

23 into an agreement with the Foundation under para24 graph (1), any amounts received by the Foundation 

25 under this section shall be subject to the National 


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1 Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 

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

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

4 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTS. 

5 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

7 submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this 

8 Act, including a description of each project that has re9 ceived funding under this Act. 

10 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro12 priated to the Secretary to carry out this Act $5,000,000 

13 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2021. 

14 (b) USE.—Of any amount made available under this 

15 section for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall use at least 

16 75 percent to carry out the grant program under section 

17 5 and to provide, or provide for, technical assistance under 

18 such program. 

Æ 


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