I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 223 
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 
A BILL 
To authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and 
for other purposes. 
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 Restora-
tion Initiative Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES RESTORATION INITIATIVE. 
Section 118(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)) is amended by striking para-
graph (7) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(7) GREAT
LAKES
RESTORATION
INITIA-
TIVE.— 
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab-
lished in the Agency a Great Lakes Restoration 
Initiative (referred to in this paragraph as the 
‘Initiative’) to carry out programs and projects 
for Great Lakes protection and restoration. 
‘‘(B) FOCUS AREAS.—The Initiative shall 
prioritize programs and projects carried out in 
coordination with non-Federal partners and 
programs and projects that address priority 
areas each fiscal year, including— 
‘‘(i) the remediation of toxic sub-
stances 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 res-
toration and preservation; and 
‘‘(v) accountability, monitoring, eval-
uation, communication, and partnership 
activities. 
‘‘(C) PROJECTS.—Under the Initiative, the 
Agency shall collaborate with Federal partners, 
including the Great Lakes Interagency Task 
Force, to select the best combination of pro-
grams and projects for Great Lakes protection 
and restoration using appropriate principles 
and criteria, including whether a program or 
project provides— 
‘‘(i) the ability to achieve strategic 
and measurable environmental outcomes 
that implement the Great Lakes Action 
Plan and the Great Lakes Water Quality 
Agreement; 
‘‘(ii) the feasibility of— 
‘‘(I) prompt implementation; 
‘‘(II) timely achievement of re-
sults; and 
‘‘(III) resource leveraging; and 
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‘‘(iii) the opportunity to improve 
interagency and inter-organizational co-
ordination and collaboration to reduce du-
plication and streamline efforts. 
‘‘(D) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Funds made avail-
able to carry out the Initiative shall be 
used to strategically implement— 
‘‘(I) Federal projects; and 
‘‘(II) projects carried out in co-
ordination with States, Indian tribes, 
municipalities, institutions of higher 
education, and other organizations. 
‘‘(ii) TRANSFER
OF
FUNDS.—With 
amounts made available for the Initiative 
each fiscal year, the Administrator may— 
‘‘(I) transfer not more than 
$300,000,000 to the head of any Fed-
eral department or agency, with the 
concurrence of the department or 
agency head, to carry out activities to 
support the Initiative and the Great 
Lakes Water Quality Agreement; and 
‘‘(II) enter into an interagency 
agreement with the head of any Fed-
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eral department or agency to carry 
out activities described in subclause 
(I). 
‘‘(E) SCOPE.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Projects shall be 
carried out under the Initiative on multiple 
levels, including— 
‘‘(I) Great Lakes-wide; and 
‘‘(II) 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 
amounts are made available from— 
‘‘(I) a State water pollution con-
trol revolving fund established under 
title VI; or 
‘‘(II) a State drinking water re-
volving loan fund established under 
section 1452 of the Safe Drinking 
Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12). 
‘‘(F) ACTIVITIES
BY
OTHER
FEDERAL 
AGENCIES.—Each relevant Federal department 
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or agency shall, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable— 
‘‘(i) maintain the base level of funding 
for the Great Lakes activities of that de-
partment 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) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated 
to 
carry 
out 
the 
Initiative 
$300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 
through 2020.’’. 
Æ 
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