To amend the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000 to modify requirements that apply to projects carried out under the estuary habitat restoration program established by the Secretary of the Army, and for other purposes.

To amend the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000 to modify requirements that apply to projects carried out under the estuary habitat restoration program established by the Secretary of the Army, and for other purposes. 1. Estuary habitat restoration (a) Cost sharing Section 104(d) of the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000 ( 33 U.S.C. 2903(d) (1) in paragraph (3)— (A) by striking The non-Federal share (A) In general The non-Federal share ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (B) Provision of land by nongovernmental organizations A nongovernmental organization allowed to serve as a non-Federal interest for a project under subsection (f)(2) may provide lands owned and managed by a legally constituted public body (including a federally recognized Indian tribe) for habitat or fish and wildlife conservation if the public body responsible for the lands executes a legally binding agreement with the nongovernmental interest under which the public body agrees to— (i) operate and maintain the project, or allow the nongovernmental organization to operate and maintain the project; and (ii) retain the land in public ownership for uses compatible with the project. . (b) Cooperation of non-Federal interests Section 104(f) of such Act ( 33 U.S.C. 2903(f) (1) by striking paragraph (1)(B) and inserting the following: (B) provide for operation, maintenance, and monitoring of the project. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (3) Project agreements For a project carried out under this title, the requirements of section 103(j)(1) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 ( 33 U.S.C. 2213(j)(1) . (c) Guidelines for project implementation Section 104 of such Act ( 33 U.S.C. 2903 (h) Guidelines for project implementation (1) Issuance Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall issue guidelines for implementing estuary habitat restoration projects under this title. (2) Purposes In issuing the guidelines, the Secretary shall make every effort to streamline implementation requirements and reduce overhead costs of estuary habitat restoration projects under this title, including by maximizing consistency with the requirements of restoration programs administered by other Federal agencies, including the Community Restoration Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant program of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. (3) Public participation; revisions The Secretary shall develop and revise the guidelines through a public process, with the frequency of revision to be determined by the Secretary. .

Summary: This bill amends the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000 to authorize a nongovernmental organization, that is allowed to serve as a non-federal interest for an estuary habitat restoration project, to provide lands owned and managed by a legally constituted public body (including a federally recognized Indian tribe) for habitat or fish and wildlife conservation. Such body must agree to: (1) operate and maintain, or allow the nongovernmental organization to operate and maintain, the project; and (2) retain the land in public ownership for uses compatible with the project. The Secretary of the Army may not carry out such a project unless a non-federal interest has agreed to provide for operation, maintenance, and monitoring of the project (current law requires that such interest has agreed to provide for long-term maintenance and monitoring of the project). The bill authorizes a nongovernmental organization serving as the non-federal interest for a project to pay the operation, maintenance, and replacement and rehabilitation costs of the project and the non-federal share of the costs of construction of the project. The Secretary shall: (1) issue guidelines for implementing such projects, making every effort to streamline implementation requirements and reduce overhead costs, including by maximizing consistency with the requirements of restoration programs administered by other federal agencies; and (2) develop and revise the guidelines through a public process.