I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1578
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to assist in the restoration
of the Chesapeake Bay, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 13, 1997
Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. GILCHREST) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to assist
in the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, 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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay Res-
toration Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) the Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure
and a resource of worldwide significance;
(2) in recent years, the productivity and water
quality of the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of
the Bay have been diminished by pollution, excessive
sedimentation, shoreline erosion, the impacts of pop-
ulation growth and development in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed, and other factors;
(3) the Federal Government (acting through
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency), the Governor of the State of Maryland, the
Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Gov-
ernor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the
Chairperson of the Chesapeake Bay Commission,
and the Mayor of the District of Columbia have
committed as Chesapeake Bay Agreement signato-
ries to a comprehensive and cooperative program to
achieve improved water quality and improvements in
the productivity of living resources of the Bay;
(4) the cooperative program described in para-
graph (3) serves as a national and international
model for the management of estuaries; and
(5) there is a need to expand Federal support
for monitoring, management, and restoration activi-
ties in the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of
the Bay in order to meet and further the original
and subsequent goals and commitments of the
Chesapeake Bay Program.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to expand and strengthen cooperative ef-
forts to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay;
and
(2) to achieve the goals established in the
Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
SEC. 3. CHESAPEAKE BAY.
Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘CHESAPEAKE BAY
‘‘SEC. 117. (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) CHESAPEAKE
BAY
AGREEMENT.—The
term ‘Chesapeake Bay Agreement’ means the for-
mal, voluntary agreements executed to achieve the
goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay
ecosystem and the living resources of the ecosystem
and signed by the Chesapeake Executive Council.
‘‘(2) CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM.—The term
‘Chesapeake Bay Program’ means the program di-
rected by the Chesapeake Executive Council in ac-
cordance with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
‘‘(3) CHESAPEAKE
BAY
WATERSHED.—The
term ‘Chesapeake Bay watershed’ shall have the
meaning determined by the Administrator.
‘‘(4) CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.—The
term ‘Chesapeake Executive Council’ means the sig-
natories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
‘‘(5) SIGNATORY
JURISDICTION.—The term
‘signatory jurisdiction’ means a jurisdiction of a sig-
natory to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
‘‘(b) CONTINUATION
OF CHESAPEAKE BAY PRO-
GRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In cooperation with the
Chesapeake Executive Council (and as a member of
the Council), the Administrator shall continue the
Chesapeake Bay Program.
‘‘(2) PROGRAM
OFFICE.—The Administrator
shall maintain in the Environmental Protection
Agency a Chesapeake Bay Program Office. The
Chesapeake Bay Program Office shall provide sup-
port to the Chesapeake Executive Council by—
‘‘(A) 
implementing 
and 
coordinating
science, research, modeling, support services,
monitoring, data collection, and other activities
that support the Chesapeake Bay Program;
‘‘(B) developing and making available,
through publications, technical assistance, and
other appropriate means, information pertain-