103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2604

AN ACT

To establish a Wetlands Center at the Port of

Brownsville, Texas, and for other purposes.
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2604

AN ACT

To establish a Wetlands Center at the Port of Brownsville,

Texas, 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 ‘‘Brownsville Wetlands

5 Policy Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF WETLANDS POLICY CENTER AT

2 THE PORT OF BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER.—For purposes of

4 utilizing grants made by the United States Fish and Wild5 life Service there may be established in accordance with

6 this Act, on property owned or held in trust by the

7 Brownsville Navigation District at the Port of Browns8 ville, Texas, a wetlands policy center which shall be known

9 as the ‘‘Brownsville Wetlands Policy Center at the Port

10 of Brownsville, Texas’’ (in this Act referred to as the

11 ‘‘Center’’). The Center shall be operated and maintained

12 by the Port of Brownsville with programs to be adminis13 tered by the University of Texas at Brownsville.

14 (b) MISSION OF THE CENTER.—The primary mission

15 of the Center shall be to utilize the unique wetlands prop16 erty at the Port of Brownsville and adjacent waters of

17 South Texas to focus on wetland matters for the purposes

18 of protecting, restoring, and maintaining the Lagoon

19 Ecosystems of the Western Gulf of Mexico Region.

20 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The Center shall be gov21 erned by a Board of Directors to oversee the management

22 and financial affairs of the Center. The Board of Directors

23 shall be cochaired by the Port of Brownsville, the Univer24 sity of Texas at Brownsville, and the designee of the Di25 rector of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and shall include
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1 as members other representatives considered appropriate

2 by those cochairs.

3 (d) OVERSIGHT OF THE CENTER.—

4 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Board of Directors

5 of the Center shall prepare an annual report and

6 submit it through the Director of the United States

7 Fish and Wildlife Service to the Congress.

8 (2) CONTENTS.—Annual reports under this

9 subsection shall cover the programs, projects, activi10 ties, and accomplishments of the Center. The reports

11 shall include a review of the budget of the Center,

12 including all sources of funding received to carry out

13 Center operations.

14 (3) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The

15 Board of Directors of the Center shall make avail16 able all pertinent information and records to allow

17 preparation of annual reports under this subsection.

18 (4) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.—The

19 Comptroller General of the United States shall peri20 odically submit to the Congress reports on the oper21 ations of the Center.

22 SEC. 3. GRANTS.

23 The Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife

24 Service shall, subject to the availability of appropriations,
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1 make grants to the Center for use for carrying out activi2 ties of the Center.

3 SEC. 4. LEASE.

4 The Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife

5 Service, subject to the availability of appropriations, may

6 enter into a long-term lease with the Port of Brownsville

7 for use by the Center of wetlands property owned by the

8 Port of Brownsville. Terms of the lease shall be nego9 tiated, and the lease shall be signed by both parties, prior

10 to the disposal of any Federal funds pursuant to this Act.

11 The lease shall include a provision authorizing the Direc12 tor to terminate the lease at any time.

13 SEC. 5. OTHER REQUIREMENT.

14 As conditions of receiving assistance under this Act—

15 (1) the University of Texas at Brownsville shall

16 make available to the Center for fiscal years 1994,

17 1995, 1996, and 1997—

18 (A) administrative office space;

19 (B) classroom space; and

20 (C) other in-kind contributions for the

21 Center, including overhead and personnel; and

22 (2) the Port of Brownsville shall make available

23 up to 7,000 acres of Port Property for the pro24 grams, projects, and activities of the Center.
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1 The Board of Directors of the Center shall include in their

2 annual report under section 2(d) a statement of whether

3 these conditions have been met.

4 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Direc6 tor of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

7 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, $4,000,000 for fiscal year

8 1995, $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1996; and such sums as

9 may be necessary for fiscal year 1997, for making grants

10 to the Center under section 3, including for use for the

11 establishment, operation, maintenance, and management

12 of the Center.

13 SEC. 7. RELATIONSHIP OF CENTER WITH THE CENTER FOR

14 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND SERVICES,

15 CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS.

16 None of the funds appropriated pursuant to this Act

17 may be used to relocate any of the administrative oper18 ations of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from

19 the Center for Environmental Studies and Services Build20 ing on the campus of Corpus Christi State University, to
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1 the Brownsville Wetlands Policy Center at the Port of

2 Brownsville, Texas, established pursuant to this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives September 21,

1993.

Attest:

Clerk.