IIB
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4104
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 13, 2000
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and
Public Works
AN ACT
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to au-
thorize funding to carry out certain water quality and
environmental restoration projects for the Mississippi
Sound, Mississippi, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mississippi Sound Res-
toration Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM.
(a) FINDING.—Congress finds that the Mississippi
Sound is an estuary of national significance.
(b) ADDITION TO NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM.—
Section 320(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(a)(2)(B)) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘Mississippi Sound, Mississippi;’’ before ‘‘and Peconic
Bay, New York.’’.
SEC. 3. MISSISSIPPI SOUND.
Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘SEC. 121. MISSISSIPPI SOUND.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
RESTORATION
PRO-
GRAM.—The Administrator shall establish within the En-
vironmental Protection Agency the Mississippi Sound Res-
toration Program.
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program shall
be to restore the ecological health of the Sound, including
barrier islands, coastal wetlands, keys, and reefs, by devel-
oping and funding restoration projects and related sci-
entific and public education projects and by coordinating
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efforts among Federal, State, and local governmental
agencies and nonregulatory organizations.
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the Ad-
ministrator shall—
‘‘(1) provide administrative and technical assist-
ance to a management conference convened for the
Sound under section 320;
‘‘(2) assist and support the activities of the
management conference, including the implementa-
tion of recommendations of the management con-
ference;
‘‘(3) support environmental monitoring of the
Sound and research to provide necessary technical
and scientific information;
‘‘(4) develop a comprehensive research plan to
address the technical needs of the program;
‘‘(5) coordinate the grant, research, and plan-
ning programs authorized under this section; and
‘‘(6) collect and make available to the public
publications, and other forms of information the
management conference determines to be appro-
priate, relating to the environmental quality of the
Sound.
‘‘(d) 
GRANTS.—The 
Administrator 
may 
make
grants—
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‘‘(1) for restoration projects and studies rec-
ommended by a management conference convened
for the Sound under section 320; and
‘‘(2) for public education projects recommended
by the management conference.
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following
definitions apply:
‘‘(1) SOUND.—The term ‘Sound’ means the
Mississippi Sound located on the Gulf Coast of the
State of Mississippi.
‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means
the Mississippi Sound Restoration Program estab-
lished under subsection (a).
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out
this section. Such sums shall remain available until ex-
pended.’’.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that all recipients of
grants under this Act (including amendments made by
this Act) shall abide by the Buy American Act. The Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall
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give notice of the Buy American Act requirements to grant
applicants under this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives September 12,
2000.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.