(g) COMPENSATION.—Members of the board shall not
be considered to be employees of the United States and
may not receive compensation for their service as members
of the board, except that while engaged in the performance
of their duties while away from their homes or regular
place of business, members of the board may be allowed
necessary travel expenses as authorized by section 5703
of title 5, United States Code.
(h) TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—Technical support may
be provided to the board by regional and field staff of the
Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the De-
partment of Agriculture. The Secretary shall coordinate
the provision of such assistance.
(i) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon the
request of the board, the Secretary may provide to the
board the administrative support services necessary for
the board to carry out its responsibilities under this Act.
(j) FUNDING.—From amounts appropriated for that
purpose under section 10, the Secretary shall provide
funding for the board to carry out its duties under this
Act.
SEC. 7. ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION STRATEGY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Council, in consulta-
tion with the advisory board established under section 6,
shall develop an estuary habitat restoration strategy de-
signed to ensure a comprehensive approach to maximize
benefits derived from estuary habitat restoration projects
and to foster the coordination of Federal and non-Federal
activities related to restoration of estuary habitat.
(b) GOAL.—The goal of the strategy shall be the res-
toration of 1,000,000 acres of estuary habitat by the year
2010.
(c) INTEGRATION OF ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORA-
TION PLANS, PROGRAMS, AND PARTNERSHIPS.—In devel-
oping the estuary habitat restoration strategy, the Council
shall—
(1) conduct a review of estuary management or
habitat restoration plans and Federal programs es-
tablished under other laws that authorize funding
for estuary habitat restoration activities; and
(2) ensure that the estuary habitat restoration
strategy is developed in a manner that is consistent
with the estuary management or habitat restoration
plans.
(d) ELEMENTS
OF
THE STRATEGY.—The estuary
habitat restoration strategy shall include proposals, meth-
ods, and guidance on—
(1) maximizing the incentives for the creation
of new public-private partnerships to carry out estu-
ary habitat restoration projects and the use Federal
resources to encourage increased private sector in-
volvement in estuary habitat restoration activities;
(2) ensuring that the estuary habitat restora-
tion strategy will be implemented in a manner that
is consistent with the estuary management or habi-
tat restoration plans;
(3) promoting estuary habitat restoration
projects to—
(A) provide healthy ecosystems in order to
support—
(i) wildlife, including endangered and
threatened species, migratory birds, and
resident species of an estuary watershed;
and
(ii) fish and shellfish, including com-
mercial and recreational fisheries;
(B) improve surface and ground water
quality and quantity, and flood control;
(C) provide outdoor recreation and other
direct and indirect values; and
(D) address other areas of concern that
the Council determines to be appropriate for
consideration;
(4) addressing the estimated historic losses, es-
timated current rate of loss, and extent of the threat
of future loss or degradation of each type of estuary
habitat;
(5) measuring the rate of change for each type
of estuary habitat;
(6) selecting a balance of smaller and larger es-
tuary habitat restoration projects; and
(7) ensuring equitable geographic distribution
of projects funded under this Act.
(e) PUBLIC REVIEW
AND COMMENT.—Before the
Council adopts a final or revised estuary habitat restora-
tion strategy, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal
Register a draft of the estuary habitat restoration strategy
and provide an opportunity for public review and com-
ment.
(f) PERIODIC REVISION.—Using data and informa-
tion developed through project monitoring and manage-
ment, and other relevant information, the Council may pe-
riodically review and update, as necessary, the estuary
habitat restoration strategy.
SEC. 8. MONITORING OF ESTUARY HABITAT RESTORATION
PROJECTS.
(a) UNDER SECRETARY.—In this section, the term
‘‘Under Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary for Oceans
and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce.
(b) DATABASE OF RESTORATION PROJECT INFORMA-
TION.—The Under Secretary, in consultation with the
Council, shall develop and maintain an appropriate data-
base of information concerning estuary habitat restoration
projects carried out under this Act, including information
on project techniques, project completion, monitoring
data, and other relevant information.
(c) MONITORING DATA STANDARDS.—The Under
Secretary, in consultation with the Council, shall develop
standard data formats for monitoring projects, along with
requirements for types of data collected and frequency of
monitoring.
(d) COORDINATION OF DATA.—The Under Secretary
shall compile information that pertains to estuary habitat
restoration projects from other Federal, State, and local
sources and that meets the quality control requirements
and data standards established under this section.
(e) USE OF EXISTING PROGRAMS.—The Under Sec-
retary shall use existing programs within the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create and
maintain the database required under this section.
(f) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Under Secretary
shall make the information collected and maintained under
this section available to the public.
SEC. 9. REPORTING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—At the end of the third and fifth
fiscal years following the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary, after considering the advice and rec-
ommendations of the Council, shall transmit to Congress
a report on the results of activities carried out under this
Act.
(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—A report under sub-
section (a) shall include—
(1) data on the number of acres of estuary
habitat restored under this Act, including descrip-
tions of, and partners involved with, projects se-
lected, in progress, and completed under this Act
that comprise those acres;
(2) information from the database established
under section 8(b) related to ongoing monitoring of
projects to ensure that short-term and long-term
restoration goals are achieved;