Land and Water Conservation Fund Water Amendments Act of 2023

Subjects: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:  <p><strong>Land and Water Conservation Fund Water Amendments Act of 2023</strong> </p> <p>This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior to provide financial assistance for water quality improvement projects from amounts made available under the Land and Water Conservation Fund.</p> <p>Interior shall only provide such financial assistance to projects that seek to improve water quality by improving, restoring, or developing natural hydrological systems, such as wetlands or living shorelines.</p> <p>To be eligible for assistance, a state's comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plan shall identify </p> <ul> <li>any body of water within the state for which a water quality control plan has been developed pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and</li> <li>any proposed water quality project to be conducted with respect to such body of water.</li> </ul>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 798 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 798

 To amend title 54, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to make financial assistance to States under the Land and 
 Water Conservation Fund available for water quality projects, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 14, 2023

   Mr. Rubio introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 54, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to make financial assistance to States under the Land and 
 Water Conservation Fund available for water quality projects, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Land and Water Conservation Fund 
Water Amendments Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO STATES FOR WATER QUALITY PROJECTS.

    Section 200305 of title 54, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the second sentence, by inserting 
        ``and water quality improvement'' after ``outdoor recreation'';
            (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Water quality.--A comprehensive statewide outdoor 
        recreation plan shall identify--
                    ``(A) any body of water within the boundaries of 
                the State for which a State water quality control plan 
                has been developed pursuant to section 303(d) of the 
                Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
                1313(d)); and
                    ``(B) any proposed water quality project (as 
                defined in subsection (e)(4)(A)) to be conducted with 
                respect to a body of water that is identified under 
                subparagraph (A).''; and
            (3) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in the heading, by striking ``and Development 
                of Basic Outdoor Recreation Facilities'' and inserting 
                ``, Development of Basic Outdoor Recreation Facilities, 
                and Conduct of Water Quality Projects'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and (3)'' and 
                inserting ``, (3), and (4)''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Water quality projects.--
                    ``(A) Definition of water quality project.--In this 
                paragraph, the term `water quality project' means any 
                project identified in a State water quality control 
                plan developed for the purpose of restoring any body of 
                water that is identified by the State under section 
                303(d) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
                U.S.C. 1313(d)) as being impaired.
                    ``(B) Financial assistance.--Under paragraph (1), 
                the Secretary may provide financial assistance for the 
                conduct of water quality projects.
                    ``(C) Non-federal share credit.--The Secretary may 
                credit toward the non-Federal share required under 
                subsection (c) funds allocated by a State for the 
                conduct of a water quality project.
                    ``(D) Consultation.--The Secretary shall consult 
                with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
                Agency in carrying out this paragraph.
                    ``(E) Limitations.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In providing financial 
                        assistance to water quality projects under this 
                        paragraph, the Secretary shall only provide 
                        financial assistance to water quality projects 
                        that seek to improve water quality by 
                        improving, restoring, or developing natural 
                        hydrological systems, such as wetlands, 
                        marshes, living shorelines, or any other 
                        naturally occurring hydrological features the 
                        Secretary determines to be necessary for the 
                        purpose of reducing nutrient loads.
                            ``(ii) No reimbursement.--Funds made 
                        available for a water quality project under 
                        this paragraph may not be used to reimburse the 
                        cost of any water quality project that has 
                        already been completed or is otherwise fully 
                        funded.
                            ``(iii) Effect.--Nothing in this 
                        paragraph--
                                    ``(I) expands the authority of the 
                                Federal Government over nonnavigable 
                                waters; or
                                    ``(II) authorizes the Secretary to 
                                regulate the conduct of water quality 
                                projects.''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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