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(c) CONCURRENCE.—The mitigation required for the 
projects authorized under subsections (a) and (b), includ-
ing any acquisition of lands or interests in lands, shall be 
undertaken or acquired concurrently with lands and inter-
ests in lands for the projects authorized under subsections 
(a) and (b), and physical construction required for the 
purposes of mitigation shall be undertaken concurrently 
with the physical construction of such projects. 
SEC. 8004. ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION AUTHORIZATION. 
(a) OPERATION.—To ensure the environmental sus-
tainability of the existing Upper Mississippi River and Illi-
nois Waterway System, the Secretary shall modify, con-
sistent with requirements to avoid adverse effects on navi-
gation, the operation of the Upper Mississippi River and 
Illinois Waterway System to address the cumulative envi-
ronmental impacts of operation of the system and improve 
the ecological integrity of the Upper Mississippi River and 
Illinois River. 
(b) ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PROJECTS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 
out, consistent with requirements to avoid adverse 
effects on navigation, ecosystem restoration projects 
to attain and maintain the sustainability of the eco-
system of the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois
399
River in accordance with the general framework out-
lined in the Plan. 
(2) PROJECTS INCLUDED.—Ecosystem restora-
tion projects may include—
(A) island building; 
(B) construction of fish passages; 
(C) floodplain restoration; 
(D) water level management (including 
water drawdown); 
(E) backwater restoration; 
(F) side channel restoration; 
(G) wing dam and dike restoration and 
modification; 
(H) island and shoreline protection; 
(I) topographical diversity; 
(J) dam point control; 
(K) use of dredged material for environ-
mental purposes; 
(L) tributary confluence restoration; 
(M) spillway, dam, and levee modification; 
and 
(N) land and easement acquisition. 
(3) COST SHARING.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Federal share
400
of the cost of carrying out an ecosystem res-
toration project under this subsection shall be 
65 percent. 
(B) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN RESTORA-
TION
PROJECTS.—In the case of a project 
under this section for ecosystem restoration, the 
Federal share of the cost of carrying out the 
project shall be 100 percent if the project—
(i) is located below the ordinary high 
water mark or in a connected backwater; 
(ii) modifies the operation of struc-
tures for navigation; or 
(iii) is located on federally owned 
land. 
(C) SAVINGS
CLAUSE.—Nothing in this 
subsection affects the applicability of section 
906(e) of the Water Resources Development 
Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2283(e)). 
(D) 
NONGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZA-
TIONS.—Notwithstanding section 221(b) of the 
Flood Control Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 1962d–
5(b)), for any project carried out under this 
title, a non-Federal sponsor may include a non-
profit entity, with the consent of the affected 
local government.
401
(4) LAND
ACQUISITION.—The Secretary may 
acquire land or an interest in land for an ecosystem 
restoration project from a willing seller through con-
veyance of—
(A) fee title to the land; or 
(B) a flood plain conservation easement. 
(c) ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION PRECONSTRUCTION 
ENGINEERING AND DESIGN.—
(1) RESTORATION
DESIGN.—Before initiating 
the construction of any individual ecosystem restora-
tion project, the Secretary shall—
(A) establish ecosystem restoration goals 
and identify specific performance measures de-
signed to demonstrate ecosystem restoration; 
(B) establish the without-project condition 
or baseline for each performance indicator; and 
(C) for each separable element of the eco-
system restoration, identify specific target goals 
for each performance indicator. 
(2) OUTCOMES.—Performance measures identi-
fied under paragraph (1)(A) shall include specific 
measurable 
environmental 
outcomes, 
such 
as 
changes in water quality, hydrology, or the well-
being of indicator species the population and dis-
tribution of which are representative of the abun-