I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4698 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to build 
upon and help coordinate funding for restoration and protection efforts 
at the Federal, regional, State, and local level for the four-State Delaware 
Basin, including all of Delaware Bay and portions of Delaware, New 
Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, located in the Delaware River 
watershed, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25, 2010 
Mr. CASTLE (for himself, Mr. DENT, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HOLT, and Mr. 
SESTAK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Trans-
portation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program 
to build upon and help coordinate funding for restoration 
and protection efforts at the Federal, regional, State, 
and local level for the four-State Delaware Basin, includ-
ing all of Delaware Bay and portions of Delaware, New 
Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, located in the 
Delaware River watershed, 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 ‘‘Delaware River Basin 
Conservation Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Delaware River Basin is a national 
treasure of great cultural, environmental, and eco-
logical importance. 
(2) The Delaware River Basin contains over 
12,500 square miles of land in Delaware, New Jer-
sey, New York, and Pennsylvania, nearly 800 square 
miles of bay, and more than 2,000 tributary rivers 
and streams. 
(3) The Basin is home to more than 8,000,000 
people who depend on the Delaware River and Bay 
as an economic engine, a place of recreation, and a 
vital habitat for fish and wildlife. 
(4) The Basin provides clean drinking water to 
more than 15,000,000 people. New York City relies 
on the Delaware River Basin for half of its drinking 
water supply. A study conducted by the City of 
Philadelphia Water Department determined that the 
most significant threat to its drinking water supply 
is forest clearing in the Upper Basin. 
(5) Almost 180 species of fish and wildlife are 
considered special status species in the Basin due to 
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habitat loss and degradation. Sturgeon, eastern oys-
ter, and red knots have been identified as unique 
species in need of habitat improvement. 
(6) The Basin provides habitat for over 200 
fish species, both residents and migrants, and in-
cludes significant recreational fisheries. The Basin is 
also a prolific source of eastern oyster, blue crab, 
and the largest population of the American horse-
shoe crab. 
(7) Current oyster landings in the Delaware 
Bay are at 100,000 bushels, down from 500,000 
harvested in the 1980s due, in part, to polluted 
water and disease. 
(8) The Delaware Bay has the second largest 
concentration of shorebirds in North America and is 
designated as one of the four most important 
shorebird migration sites in the world. 
(9) The Basin has 1,000,000 acres of wetlands, 
more than 126,000 acres of which are recognized as 
internationally important. Fifty percent of the Basin 
is covered by forest. This landscape provides essen-
tial ecosystem services, including recreation, com-
mercial, and water quality benefits. 
(10) Much of the remaining exemplary natural 
landscape is vulnerable to further degradation. The 
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Basin gains approximately 14 square miles of devel-
oped land annually. With new development, urban 
watersheds are increasingly covered by impervious 
surfaces, amplifying the amount of polluted runoff 
into rivers and streams. 
(11) The Delaware River is the longest 
undammed river east of the Mississippi, and a crit-
ical component of the National Wild and Scenic 
River System in the Northeast. 
(12) Management of water volume in the Basin 
is critical to flood mitigation and habitat for fish 
and wildlife. Following three major floods along the 
River since 2004, the governors of Delaware, New 
Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, have called for 
natural flood control measures to combat the prob-
lem, including restoring the function of riparian cor-
ridors. 
(13) The Delaware River Port Complex (includ-
ing docking facilities in Delaware, New Jersey, and 
Pennsylvania) is the largest freshwater port in the 
world. The Port of Philadelphia handles the largest 
volume of international tonnage and 70 percent of 
the oil shipped to the east coast. The Port of Wil-
mington, a full-service deepwater port and marine 
terminal, is the busiest terminal on the Delaware 
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River handling over 400 vessels per year with an an-
nual import/export cargo tonnage of over 4,000,000 
tons. 
(14) The Delaware Estuary, where fresh water 
from the Delaware River mixes with salt water from 
the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the largest and most 
complex of the 28 estuaries in the National Estuary 
Program, and the Partnership for the Delaware Es-
tuary works to improve the environmental health of 
the Delaware Estuary. 
(15) The Delaware River Basin Commission is 
a Federal-interstate compact government agency 
charged with overseeing a unified approach to man-
aging the river system and implements important 
water resources management projects and activities 
throughout the Basin that are in the national inter-
est. 
(16) Restoration in the Basin is presently sup-
ported through several State and Federal agency 
programs. Funding for these important programs 
should continue and complement the establishment 
of the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program. 
The Program and associated funding for the Basin 
is intended to build upon and help coordinate res-
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toration and protection funding mechanisms at the 
Federal, regional, State, and local level. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) BASIN.—The term ‘‘Basin’’ means the four- 
State Delaware Basin including all of Delaware Bay 
and portions of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, 
and Pennsylvania, located in the Delaware River wa-
tershed. 
(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service. 
(3) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 
means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a 
congressionally chartered foundation established 
under the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 
Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.). 
(4) GRANT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Grant Pro-
gram’’ refers to the Delaware River Basin Restora-
tion Grant Program. 
(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 
the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program. 
(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
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(7) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 
SEC. 4. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 
funds are made available for this purpose, the Secretary 
shall establish a program, through the Director, that shall 
be known as the ‘‘Delaware River Basin Restoration Pro-
gram’’. The Director shall— 
(1) work in consultation with existing manage-
ment structures, including representatives of the 
Partnership for the Delaware Estuary and the Dela-
ware River Basin Commission, and other Federal, 
State, local government, regional, and nonprofit or-
ganizations, as appropriate, to identify, prioritize, 
and implement restoration and protection activities 
within the Basin; 
(2) adopt a single plan that includes a shared 
set of priorities for implementation of the Program; 
(3) establish the Grant Program; and 
(4) provide for technical assistance in accord-
ance with this Act. 
(b) COORDINATION.—In establishing the Program, 
the Director shall consult, as appropriate, with— 
(1) Federal agencies, including the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, National Oceanic Atmos-
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pheric Administration, Natural Resource Conserva-
tion Service, United States Army Corps of Engi-
neers, the National Park Service, and any other rel-
evant agencies; 
(2) Basin States which include Delaware, New 
Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; 
(3) the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary; 
(4) the Delaware River Basin Commission; 
(5) fish and wildlife joint venture partnerships 
in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act 
as well as those formed after such date; and 
(6) other public agencies and organizations with 
authorities for planning and implementation of con-
servation strategies in the Basin. 
(c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Program in-
clude— 
(1) to coordinate restoration and protection ac-
tivities among Federal agencies, State, local and re-
gional entities, and conservation partners throughout 
the Basin; 
(2) to carry out coordinated restoration and 
protection activities throughout the Basin and the 
States to— 
(A) sustain and enhance habitat restora-
tion and protection activities; 
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(B) sustain and enhance water quality im-
provements, including drinking water; 
(C) sustain and enhance water manage-
ment and flood control improvements to benefit 
fish and wildlife habitat; 
(D) improve opportunities for public access 
and recreation in the Basin; 
(E) encourage environmentally sensitive 
land use planning and development; 
(F) increase the capacity to implement co-
ordinated restoration and protection activities 
in Basin by conducting public outreach and 
education, and promoting citizen involvement; 
and 
(G) coordinate, conduct, and support plan-
ning, studies, monitoring, and research nec-
essary to carry out coordinated restoration and 
protection activities; and 
(3) to provide competitive grants and for tech-
nical assistance for restoration and protection activi-
ties in Basin with priority given to activities with 
multiple benefits, including habitat, water quality, 
and flood protection. 
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SEC. 5. GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE. 
(a) DELAWARE RIVER BASIN RESTORATION PRO-
GRAM.—To the extent that funds are available for this 
purpose, the Director shall establish a ‘‘Delaware River 
Basin Restoration Grant Program’’ to provide competitive 
matching grants of varying amounts to State and local 
governments, nonprofit organizations, community organi-
zations, universities, and others to carry out activities for 
the purposes set forth in section 4. 
(b) CRITERIA.—The Director, in consultation with 
the organizations listed in section 4(b), shall develop cri-
teria for the Grant Program to help ensure that activities 
funded under this section address one or more of the fol-
lowing: 
(1) Restore or protect fish and wildlife species 
and their habitats. 
(2) Improve or protect water quality by reduc-
ing nonpoint and point source pollutants. 
(3) Reduce or improve management of water 
volume and flooding. 
(4) Address priority needs or actions identified 
in the single plan adopted under section 4(a)(2). 
(5) Include activities with multiple benefits in 
Basin, including habitat, water quality, and flood 
protection. 
(c) COST SHARING.— 
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(1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 
the cost of a project funded under the Grant Pro-
gram shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost 
of the activity. 
(2) NON-FEDERAL
SHARE.—The non-Federal 
share of the cost of a project funded under the 
Grant Program may be provided in cash or in the 
form of an in-kind contribution of services or mate-
rials. 
(d) ADMINISTRATION.—The Director may enter into 
an agreement with the National Fish and Wildlife Foun-
dation or another organization with the proper expertise 
to manage the Grant Program. If selected, the Foundation 
or other organization shall receive in lump sum, invest and 
reinvest funds for the Grant Program, and otherwise ad-
minister the Grant Program to support partnerships be-
tween the public and private sectors that further the pur-
poses of this Act. Amounts received by the Foundation 
under this section shall be subject to the provisions of the 
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act 
(16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), excluding section 3709(a) of 
that Act. 
(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Director may 
provide or provide for technical assistance, on a nonreim-
bursable basis, to other Federal agencies, State and local 
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governments, nonprofit organizations, community organi-
zations, universities, and others to carry out the purposes 
of the Program. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2011 through 2016 to carry out this Act. 
(b) PROPORTIONATE USE.—Of the amount appro-
priated, at least 75 percent shall be used to carry out the 
Grant Program and to provide or provide for technical as-
sistance under section 5. 
SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation 
of the Act, including what projects have been funded 
under this Act. 
Æ 
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