IB 
Union Calendar No. 317 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5340 
[Report No. 109–561] 
To promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis 
for the management of sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mis-
sissippi River Basin, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 10, 2006 
Mr. KIND introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Resources 
JULY 13, 2006 
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 May 10, 2006] 
A BILL 
To promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide 
a scientific basis for the management of sediment and 
nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 
Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
Sec. 3. Reliance on sound science. 
TITLE I—SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING NETWORK 
Sec. 101. Establishment of monitoring network. 
Sec. 102. Data collection and storage responsibilities. 
Sec. 103. Relationship to existing sediment and nutrient monitoring. 
Sec. 104. Collaboration with other public and private monitoring efforts. 
Sec. 105. Reporting requirements. 
Sec. 106. National Research Council assessment. 
TITLE II—COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH 
Sec. 201. Computer modeling and research of sediment and nutrient sources. 
Sec. 202. Use of electronic means to distribute information. 
Sec. 203. Reporting requirements. 
TITLE III—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND RELATED 
MATTERS 
Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 302. Cost-sharing requirements. 
Sec. 303. Sunset. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The terms ‘‘Upper Mississippi River Basin’’ 
and ‘‘Basin’’ mean the watershed portion of the 
Upper Mississippi River and Illinois River basins, 
from Cairo, Illinois, to the headwaters of the Mis-
sissippi River, in the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, 
Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. The designation includes 
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the Kaskaskia watershed along the Illinois River and 
the Meramec watershed along the Missouri River. 
(2) The terms ‘‘Upper Mississippi River Stew-
ardship Initiative’’ and ‘‘Initiative’’ mean the activi-
ties authorized or required by this Act to monitor nu-
trient and sediment loss in the Upper Mississippi 
River Basin. 
(3) The term ‘‘sound science’’ refers to the use of 
accepted and documented scientific methods to iden-
tify and quantify the sources, transport, and fate of 
nutrients and sediment and to quantify the effect of 
various treatment methods or conservation measures 
on nutrient and sediment loss. Sound science requires 
the use of documented protocols for data collection 
and data analysis, and peer review of the data, re-
sults, and findings. 
SEC. 3. RELIANCE ON SOUND SCIENCE. 
It is the policy of Congress that Federal investments 
in the Upper Mississippi River Basin must be guided by 
sound science. 
TITLE I—SEDIMENT AND NUTRI-
ENT MONITORING NETWORK 
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF MONITORING NETWORK. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—As part of the Upper Mis-
sissippi River Stewardship Initiative, the Secretary of the 
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Interior shall establish a sediment and nutrient monitoring 
network for the Upper Mississippi River Basin for the pur-
poses of— 
(1) 
identifying 
and 
evaluating 
significant 
sources of sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mis-
sissippi River Basin; 
(2) quantifying the processes affecting mobiliza-
tion, transport, and fate of those sediments and nutri-
ents on land and in water; 
(3) quantifying the transport of those sediments 
and nutrients to and through the Upper Mississippi 
River Basin; 
(4) recording changes to sediment and nutrient 
loss over time; 
(5) providing coordinated data to be used in 
computer modeling of the Basin, pursuant to section 
201; and 
(6) identifying major sources of sediment and 
nutrients within the Basin for the purpose of tar-
geting resources to reduce sediment and nutrient loss. 
(b) ROLE OF UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.— 
The Secretary of the Interior shall carry out this title acting 
through the office of the Director of the United States Geo-
logical Survey. 
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SEC. 102. DATA COLLECTION AND STORAGE RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES. 
(a) GUIDELINES FOR DATA COLLECTION AND STOR-
AGE.—The Secretary of the Interior shall establish guide-
lines for the effective design of data collection activities re-
garding sediment and nutrient monitoring, for the use of 
suitable and consistent methods for data collection, and for 
consistent reporting, data storage, and archiving practices. 
(b) RELEASE OF DATA.—Data resulting from sediment 
and nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi River 
Basin shall be released to the public using generic station 
identifiers and hydrologic unit codes. In the case of a moni-
toring station located on private lands, information regard-
ing the location of the station shall not be disseminated 
without the landowner’s permission. 
(c) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY.—Data resulting from 
sediment and nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi 
River Basin is not subject to the mandatory disclosure pro-
visions of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, but 
may be released only as provided in subsection (b). 
SEC. 103. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING SEDIMENT AND NU-
TRIENT MONITORING. 
(a) INVENTORY.—To the maximum extent practicable, 
the Secretary of the Interior shall inventory the sediment 
and nutrient monitoring efforts, in existence as of the date 
of the enactment of this Act, of Federal, State, local, and 
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nongovernmental entities for the purpose of creating a base-
line understanding of overlap, data gaps and redundancies. 
(b) INTEGRATION.—On the basis of the inventory, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall integrate the existing sedi-
ment and nutrient monitoring efforts, to the maximum ex-
tent practicable, into the sediment and nutrient monitoring 
network required by section 101. 
(c) CONSULTATION AND USE OF EXISTING DATA.—In 
carrying out this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
make maximum use of data in existence as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act and of ongoing programs and ef-
forts of Federal, State, tribal, local, and nongovernmental 
entities in developing the sediment and nutrient monitoring 
network required by section 101. 
(d) COORDINATION WITH LONG-TERM ESTUARY AS-
SESSMENT PROJECT.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 
carry out this section in coordination with the long-term 
estuary assessment project authorized by section 902 of the 
Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law 106– 
457; 33 U.S.C. 2901 note). 
SEC. 104. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER PUBLIC AND PRI-
VATE MONITORING EFFORTS. 
To establish the sediment and nutrient monitoring net-
work, the Secretary of the Interior shall collaborate, to the 
maximum extent practicable, with other Federal, State, 
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tribal, local and private sediment and nutrient monitoring 
programs that meet guidelines prescribed under section 
102(a), as determined by the Secretary. 
SEC. 105. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
The Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress 
not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act on the development of the sediment and nutrient 
monitoring network. 
SEC. 106. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ASSESSMENT. 
The National Research Council of the National Acad-
emy of Sciences shall conduct a comprehensive water re-
sources assessment of the Upper Mississippi River Basin. 
TITLE II—COMPUTER MODELING 
AND RESEARCH 
SEC. 201. COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH OF SEDI-
MENT AND NUTRIENT SOURCES. 
(a) MODELING PROGRAM REQUIRED.—As part of the 
Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative, the Direc-
tor of the United States Geological Survey shall establish 
a modeling program to identify significant sources of sedi-
ment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. 
(b) ROLE.—Computer modeling shall be used to iden-
tify subwatersheds which are significant sources of sediment 
and nutrient loss and shall be made available for the pur-
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poses of targeting public and private sediment and nutrient 
reduction efforts. 
(c) COMPONENTS.—Sediment and nutrient models for 
the Upper Mississippi River Basin shall include the fol-
lowing: 
(1) Models to relate nutrient loss to landscape, 
land use, and land management practices. 
(2) Models to relate sediment loss to landscape, 
land use, and land management practices. 
(3) Models to define river channel nutrient 
transformation processes. 
(d) COLLECTION OF ANCILLARY INFORMATION.—An-
cillary information shall be collected in a GIS format to 
support modeling and management use of modeling results, 
including the following: 
(1) Land use data. 
(2) Soils data. 
(3) Elevation data. 
(4) Information on sediment and nutrient reduc-
tion improvement actions. 
(5) Remotely sense data. 
SEC. 202. USE OF ELECTRONIC MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE IN-
FORMATION. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Director of the United States Geological Sur-
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vey shall establish a system that uses the telecommuni-
cations medium known as the Internet to provide informa-
tion regarding the following: 
(1) Public and private programs designed to re-
duce sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mis-
sissippi River Basin. 
(2) Information on sediment and nutrient levels 
in the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries. 
(3) Successful sediment and nutrient reduction 
projects. 
SEC. 203. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) MONITORING ACTIVITIES.—Commencing one year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of 
the United States Geological Survey shall provide to Con-
gress and make available to the public an annual report 
regarding monitoring activities conducted in the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin. 
(b) MODELING ACTIVITIES.—Every three years, the 
Director of the United States Geological Survey shall pro-
vide to Congress and make available to the public a progress 
report regarding modeling activities. 
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TITLE III—AUTHORIZATION OF 
APPROPRIATIONS 
AND 
RE-
LATED MATTERS 
SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ACTIVI-
TIES.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the United 
States Geological Survey $6,250,000 each fiscal year to 
carry out this Act (other than section 106). Of the amounts 
appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to this authoriza-
tion of appropriations, one-third shall be made available 
for the United States Geological Survey Cooperative Water 
Program and the remainder shall be made available for the 
United States Geological Survey Hydrologic Networks and 
Analysis Program. 
(b) WATER RESOURCE AND WATER QUALITY MANAGE-
MENT ASSESSMENT.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated $650,000 to allow the National Research Council 
to perform the assessment required by section 106. 
SEC. 302. COST-SHARING REQUIREMENTS. 
Funds made available for the United States Geological 
Survey Cooperative Water Program under section 301(a) 
shall be subject to the same cost sharing requirements as 
specified in the last proviso under the heading ‘‘UNITED 
STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY–SURVEYS, INVESTIGA-
TIONS, AND RESEARCH’’ of the Department of the Inte-
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rior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations 
Act, 2006 (Public Law 109–54; 119 Stat. 510; 43 U.S.C. 
50). 
SEC. 303. SUNSET. 
The authority of the Secretary of the Interior to carry 
out any provisions of this Act shall terminate 10 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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