I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5216 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish within the 
Environmental Protection Agency a Columbia River Basin Restoration 
Program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 28, 2014 
Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself and Ms. BONAMICI) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to estab-
lish within the Environmental Protection Agency a Co-
lumbia River Basin Restoration Program. 
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 ‘‘Columbia River Basin 
Restoration Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:31 Jul 31, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5216.IH
H5216
tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) the Columbia River is the largest river in 
the Pacific Northwest by volume; 
(2) the river is 1,253 miles long, with a drain-
age basin that includes 259,000 square miles, ex-
tending to 7 States and British Columbia, Canada, 
and including all or part of— 
(A) multiple national parks; 
(B) components of the National Wilderness 
Preservation System; 
(C) National Monuments; 
(D) National Scenic Areas; 
(E) National Recreation Areas; 
(F) other areas managed for conservation; 
and 
(G) multiple tribal reservations and over 
45,000,000 acres of tribally comanaged land; 
(3) the Columbia River Basin and associated 
tributaries (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Basin’’) 
provide significant ecological and economic benefits 
to the Pacific Northwest and the entire United 
States; 
(4) traditionally, the Basin includes more than 
6,000,000 acres of irrigated agricultural land and 
produces more hydroelectric power than any other 
North American river; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:31 Jul 31, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5216.IH
H5216
tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(5) significant commerce takes place on the fed-
erally authorized Columbia Snake River System 
navigation channel, which is 465 miles in length, 
from the mouth of the Columbia River to Lewiston, 
Idaho; 
(6) the Basin— 
(A) historically constituted the largest 
salmon-producing river system in the world, 
with annual returns peaking at as many as 
16,000,000 fish; and 
(B) as of the date of enactment of this 
Act— 
(i) supports economically important 
commercial and recreational fisheries; 
(ii) supports treaty tribal fisheries; 
(iii) is home to numerous species of 
salmonids, including steelhead, bull trout, 
and Kootenai white sturgeon, that are list-
ed as threatened species or endangered 
species under the Endangered Species Act 
of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 
(iv) is a cultural and historical re-
source and provides sports and recreation 
opportunities for millions annually; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
01:31 Jul 31, 2014
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5216.IH
H5216
tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS