IB 
Union Calendar No. 354 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 223 
[Report No. 114–465] 
To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 8, 2015 
Mr. JOYCE (for himself, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. KELLY of Pennsyl-
vania, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. 
COLLINS of New York, Mr. NOLAN, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. REED, Mrs. 
WALORSKI, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. RENACCI, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. MILLER 
of Michigan, and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure 
MARCH 23, 2016 
Additional sponsors: Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. DUFFY, Mr. 
BUCSHON, Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. 
DOLD, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. KATKO, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. 
WALZ, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. HANNA, Mr. GIBSON, Mr. BISHOP of Michi-
gan, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. TROTT, Mr. 
ISRAEL, Mr. TONKO, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. TURNER, Mr. UPTON, Mr. 
WENSTRUP, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, and Mr. STIVERS 
MARCH 23, 2016 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 8, 2015] 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Restoration 
Initiative Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE. 
Section 118(c)(7) of the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)(7)) is amended— 
(1) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(B) FOCUS AREAS.—In carrying out the 
Initiative, the Administrator shall prioritize pro-
grams and projects, to be carried out in coordi-
nation with non-Federal partners, that address 
the priority areas described in the Initiative Ac-
tion Plan, including— 
‘‘(i) the remediation of toxic substances 
and areas of concern; 
‘‘(ii) the prevention and control of 
invasive species and the impacts of invasive 
species; 
‘‘(iii) the protection and restoration of 
nearshore health and the prevention and 
mitigation of nonpoint source pollution; 
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‘‘(iv) habitat and wildlife protection 
and restoration, including wetlands restora-
tion and preservation; and 
‘‘(v) accountability, monitoring, eval-
uation, communication, and partnership 
activities. 
‘‘(C) PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 
Initiative, the Administrator shall collabo-
rate with other Federal partners, including 
the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force es-
tablished by Executive Order 13340 (69 
Fed. Reg. 29043), to select the best combina-
tion of programs and projects for Great 
Lakes protection and restoration using ap-
propriate principles and criteria, including 
whether a program or project provides— 
‘‘(I) the ability to achieve stra-
tegic and measurable environmental 
outcomes that implement the Initiative 
Action Plan and the Great Lakes 
Water Quality Agreement; 
‘‘(II) the feasibility of— 
‘‘(aa) prompt implementa-
tion; 
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‘‘(bb) timely achievement of 
results; and 
‘‘(cc) resource leveraging; and 
‘‘(III) the opportunity to improve 
interagency, intergovernmental, and 
inter-organizational coordination and 
collaboration to reduce duplication and 
streamline efforts. 
‘‘(ii) OUTREACH.—In selecting the best 
combination of programs and projects for 
Great Lakes protection and restoration 
under clause (i), the Administrator shall 
consult with the Great Lakes States and In-
dian tribes and solicit input from other 
non-Federal stakeholders. 
‘‘(iii) HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM COOR-
DINATOR.—The Administrator shall des-
ignate a point person from an appropriate 
Federal partner to coordinate, with Federal 
partners and Great Lakes States, Indian 
tribes, and other non-Federal stakeholders, 
projects and activities under the Initiative 
involving harmful algal blooms in the Great 
Lakes.’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (D)— 
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(A) by striking clause (i) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (J)(ii), funds made available to carry 
out the Initiative shall be used to strategi-
cally implement— 
‘‘(I) Federal projects; 
‘‘(II) projects carried out in co-
ordination with States, Indian tribes, 
municipalities, institutions of higher 
education, and other organizations; 
and 
‘‘(III) operations and activities of 
the Program Office, including remedi-
ation of sediment contamination in 
areas of concern.’’; 
(B) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘(G)(i)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(J)(i)’’; and 
(C) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(iii) AGREEMENTS
WITH
NON-FED-
ERAL ENTITIES.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Adminis-
trator, or the head of any other Federal 
department or agency receiving funds 
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under clause (ii)(I), may make a grant 
to, or otherwise enter into an agree-
ment with, a qualified non-Federal en-
tity, as determined by the Adminis-
trator or the applicable head of the 
other Federal department or agency re-
ceiving funds, for planning, research, 
monitoring, outreach, or implementa-
tion of a project selected under sub-
paragraph (C), to support the Initia-
tive Action Plan or the Great Lakes 
Water Quality Agreement. 
‘‘(II) QUALIFIED
NON-FEDERAL 
ENTITY.—For purposes of this clause, a 
qualified non-Federal entity may in-
clude a governmental entity, nonprofit 
organization, 
institution, 
or 
indi-
vidual.’’; and 
(3) by striking subparagraphs (E) through (G) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(E) SCOPE.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Projects may be 
carried out under the Initiative on multiple 
levels, including— 
‘‘(I) locally; 
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‘‘(II) Great Lakes-wide; or 
‘‘(III) Great Lakes basin-wide. 
‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—No funds made 
available to carry out the Initiative may be 
used for any water infrastructure activity 
(other than a green infrastructure project 
that improves habitat and other ecosystem 
functions in the Great Lakes) for which fi-
nancial assistance is received— 
‘‘(I) from a State water pollution 
control 
revolving 
fund 
established 
under title VI; 
‘‘(II) from a State drinking water 
revolving loan fund established under 
section 1452 of the Safe Drinking 
Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12); or 
‘‘(III) pursuant to the Water In-
frastructure Finance and Innovation 
Act of 2014 (33 U.S.C. 3901 et seq.). 
‘‘(F) ACTIVITIES BY OTHER FEDERAL AGEN-
CIES.—Each relevant Federal department or 
agency shall, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable— 
‘‘(i) maintain the base level of funding 
for the Great Lakes activities of that depart-
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ment or agency without regard to funding 
under the Initiative; and 
‘‘(ii) 
identify 
new 
activities 
and 
projects to support the environmental goals 
of the Initiative. 
‘‘(G) REVISION
OF
INITIATIVE
ACTION 
PLAN.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not less often than 
once every 5 years, the Administrator, in 
conjunction with the Great Lakes Inter-
agency Task Force, shall review, and revise 
as appropriate, the Initiative Action Plan 
to guide the activities of the Initiative in 
addressing the restoration and protection of 
the Great Lakes system. 
‘‘(ii) OUTREACH.—In reviewing and 
revising the Initiative Action Plan under 
clause (i), the Administrator shall consult 
with the Great Lakes States and Indian 
tribes and solicit input from other non-Fed-
eral stakeholders. 
‘‘(H) MONITORING
AND
REPORTING.—The 
Administrator shall— 
‘‘(i) establish and maintain a process 
for monitoring and periodically reporting 
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to the public on the progress made in imple-
menting the Initiative Action Plan; 
‘‘(ii) make information about each 
project carried out under the Initiative Ac-
tion Plan available on a public website; and 
‘‘(iii) provide to the House Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure and 
the Senate Committee on Environment and 
Public Works a yearly detailed description 
of the progress of the Initiative and 
amounts transferred to participating Fed-
eral departments and agencies under sub-
paragraph (D)(ii). 
‘‘(I) INITIATIVE ACTION PLAN DEFINED.—In 
this paragraph, the term ‘Initiative Action Plan’ 
means the comprehensive, multi-year action plan 
for the restoration of the Great Lakes, first devel-
oped pursuant to the Joint Explanatory State-
ment of the Conference Report accompanying the 
Department of the Interior, Environment, and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub-
lic Law 111–88). 
‘‘(J) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized 
to be appropriated to carry out this para-
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graph $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2017 through 2021. 
‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this 
paragraph creates, expands, or amends the 
authority of the Administrator to imple-
ment programs or projects under— 
‘‘(I) this section; 
‘‘(II) the Initiative Action Plan; 
or 
‘‘(III) the Great Lakes Water 
Quality Agreement.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 354 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 223 
[Report No. 114–465] 
A BILL 
To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration 
Initiative, and for other purposes. 
MARCH 23, 2016 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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