I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2773 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to protect and restore 
the Great Lakes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2013 
Mr. JOYCE (for himself, Mr. PETRI, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. LEVIN, 
Mr. DINGELL, and Ms. SLAUGHTER) 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 protect 
and restore the Great Lakes. 
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 Ecological 
and Economic Protection Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES PROVISION MODIFICATIONS. 
(a) FINDINGS; PURPOSE.—Section 118(a) of the 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(a)) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
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(A) by striking subparagraph (B) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(B) the United States should seek to at-
tain the goals embodied in the Great Lakes 
Restoration Initiative Action Plan, the Great 
Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy, and the 
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 
(including subsequent amendments); and’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘, 
tribal,’’ after ‘‘State’’; 
(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is 
to achieve the goals established in the Great Lakes 
Restoration Initiative Action Plan, the Great Lakes 
Regional Collaboration Strategy, and the Great 
Lakes Water Quality Agreement through— 
‘‘(A) improved organization and definition 
of mission on the part of the Agency; 
‘‘(B) the funding of grants, contracts, and 
interagency agreements for protection, restora-
tion, and pollution control in the Great Lakes 
area; and 
‘‘(C) improved accountability.’’; and 
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(3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(A) AGENCY.—The term ‘Agency’ means 
the Environmental Protection Agency. 
‘‘(B) AREA OF CONCERN.—The term ‘area 
of concern’ means a geographic area located 
within the Great Lakes, in which beneficial uses 
are impaired and which has been officially des-
ignated as an area of concern under Annex 2 
of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. 
‘‘(C) GREAT
LAKES.—The term ‘Great 
Lakes’ means Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake 
Huron (including Lake St. Clair), Lake Michi-
gan, and Lake Superior, and the connecting 
channels (Saint Mary’s River, Saint Clair River, 
Detroit River, Niagara River, and Saint Law-
rence River to the Canadian Border). 
‘‘(D) GREAT
LAKES
MAYOR.—The term 
‘Great Lakes mayor’ means a mayor of a mu-
nicipality located in a Great Lakes State. 
‘‘(E) GREAT LAKES REGIONAL COLLABO-
RATION
STRATEGY.—The term ‘Great Lakes 
Regional Collaboration Strategy’ means the 
Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy to 
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Protect and Restore the Great Lakes, released 
on December 12, 2005, including any amend-
ments or updates thereafter. 
‘‘(F) GREAT
LAKES
STATE.—The term 
‘Great Lakes State’ means any of the States of 
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New 
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. 
‘‘(G) GREAT
LAKES
SYSTEM.—The term 
‘Great Lakes System’ means all the streams, 
rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water within 
the drainage basin of the Great Lakes. 
‘‘(H) GREAT
LAKES
WATER
QUALITY 
AGREEMENT.—The term ‘Great Lakes Water 
Quality Agreement’ means the Agreement on 
Great Lakes Water Quality, 1978, signed at 
Ottawa on November 22, 1978 (30 UST 1383; 
TIAS 9257), between the United States and 
Canada. 
‘‘(I) LAKEWIDE MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The 
term ‘Lakewide Management Plan’ means a 
written document that embodies a systematic 
and comprehensive ecosystem approach to re-
storing and protecting the beneficial uses of the 
open waters of each of the Great Lakes, in ac-
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cordance with article VI and Annex 2 of the 
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. 
‘‘(J) 
POTENTIALLY
RESPONSIBLE 
PARTY.—The 
term 
‘potentially 
responsible 
party’ means an individual or entity that may 
be liable under any Federal or State authority 
that is being used or may be used to facilitate 
the cleanup and protection of the Great Lakes. 
‘‘(K) PROGRAM OFFICE.—The term ‘Pro-
gram Office’ means the Great Lakes National 
Program Office established by this section. 
‘‘(L) REMEDIAL ACTION PLAN.—The term 
‘Remedial Action Plan’ means a written docu-
ment that embodies a systematic and com-
prehensive ecosystem approach to restoring and 
protecting the beneficial uses of areas of con-
cern, in accordance with article VI and Annex 
2 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. 
‘‘(M) RESEARCH OFFICE.—The term ‘Re-
search Office’ means the Great Lakes Research 
Office established by subsection (d). 
‘‘(N) SITE CHARACTERIZATION.—The term 
‘site characterization’ means a process for mon-
itoring and evaluating the nature and extent of 
sediment contamination in accordance with the 
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guidance of the Agency for the assessment of 
contaminated sediment in an area of concern lo-
cated wholly or partially within the United 
States.’’. 
(b) GREAT LAKES MANAGEMENT.—Section 118(c) of 
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1268(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘,;’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(B) by striking subparagraph (E); 
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 
and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec-
tively; 
(D) in subparagraph (D) (as so redesig-
nated), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(E) in subparagraph (E) (as so redesig-
nated), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a pe-
riod; and 
(F) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 
the following: 
‘‘(C) coordinate with the Great Lakes 
Interagency Task Force, as required under 
paragraph (8);’’; 
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(2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ‘‘subpara-
graph (c)(1)(C) of this section’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graph (1)(D)’’; 
(3) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(6) GREAT LAKES GOVERNANCE AND MANAGE-
MENT.— 
‘‘(A) GREAT LAKES ADVISORY BOARD.— 
‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Adminis-
trator shall establish an advisory board, to 
be known as the ‘Great Lakes Advisory 
Board’, to provide advice and recommenda-
tions to the Administrator on matters per-
taining to Great Lakes restoration and 
protection. 
‘‘(ii) 
MEMBERSHIP.—The 
Great 
Lakes Advisory Board shall be composed 
of not fewer than 12 and not more than 20 
members of whom— 
‘‘(I) 1 shall be appointed by the 
Great Lakes Governors to represent 
the interests of all of the Great Lakes 
States; 
‘‘(II) 1 shall be appointed by the 
Great Lakes mayors to represent the 
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interests of local governments in the 
Great Lakes Region; 
‘‘(III) 1 shall be from a Great 
Lakes tribal government; and 
‘‘(IV) the remaining members 
shall be appointed by the Adminis-
trator and shall include, in a manner 
that ensures to the maximum extent 
practicable geographic representation 
of the Great Lakes basin, representa-
tives of or individuals affiliated with— 
‘‘(aa) environmental groups; 
‘‘(bb) hunting, fishing, and 
conservation organizations; 
‘‘(cc) businesses; 
‘‘(dd) agricultural groups; 
‘‘(ee) foundations; 
‘‘(ff) environmental justice 
organizations; 
‘‘(gg) academia; and 
‘‘(hh) State, local, and tribal 
governments. 
‘‘(iii) MEETINGS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—The Great 
Lakes Advisory Board shall meet not 
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less frequently than once every 180 
days. 
‘‘(II) OPEN
TO
PUBLIC.—The 
meetings of the Great Lakes Advisory 
Board shall be open to the public. 
‘‘(iv) OPERATION.—The Great Lakes 
Advisory Board shall— 
‘‘(I) operate on a collaborative 
basis; and 
‘‘(II) seek input from a broad va-
riety of stakeholders. 
‘‘(v) COSTS.—The members of the 
Great Lakes Advisory Board shall be al-
lowed travel expenses, including per diem 
in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized 
for employees of agencies under subchapter 
I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
Code, while away from their homes or reg-
ular places of business in the performance 
of services for the Board.’’; 
(4) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(7) GREAT
LAKES
RESTORATION
INITIA-
TIVE.— 
‘‘(A) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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‘‘(i) the goal of the Great Lakes pro-
gram of the Agency is to restore and main-
tain the chemical, physical, and biological 
integrity of the Great Lakes basin eco-
system; and 
‘‘(ii) in 2010, the Agency, in coordina-
tion with Federal partners, commenced im-
plementation of a new Great Lakes Res-
toration Initiative (referred to in this para-
graph as the ‘Initiative’), which is de-
signed— 
‘‘(I) to identify programs and 
projects that are strategically se-
lected— 
‘‘(aa) to target the most sig-
nificant environmental problems 
in the Great Lakes ecosystem; 
and 
‘‘(bb) 
to 
implement 
the 
Great Lakes Regional Collabora-
tion Strategy; 
‘‘(II) to be based on the work of 
the Great Lakes Interagency Task 
Force 
established 
by 
paragraph 
(8)(A); and 
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‘‘(III) to represent the commit-
ment of the Federal Government to 
significantly advancing Great Lakes 
protection and restoration. 
‘‘(B) FOCUS AREAS.—The Initiative shall 
prioritize work done by non-Federal partners 
using funding made available for the Great 
Lakes for priority areas for each fiscal year, 
such as— 
‘‘(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; 
‘‘(iv) habitat and wildlife protection 
and restoration, including wetlands res-
toration and preservation; 
‘‘(v) accountability, monitoring, eval-
uation, communication, and partnership 
activities; and 
‘‘(vi) other areas prioritized by the 
Great Lakes Advisory Board. 
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‘‘(C) PROJECTS.—Pursuant to the Initia-
tive, the Agency shall consult with Federal 
partners, including the Great Lakes Inter-
agency Task Force, and take into consideration 
the recommendations of the Great Lakes Advi-
sory Board to select the best combination of 
programs and projects for Great Lakes protec-
tion and restoration using principles and cri-
teria such as— 
‘‘(i) the ability to achieve strategic 
and measurable environmental outcomes 
that implement the Great Lakes Collabora-
tion Strategy and the Great Lakes Water 
Quality Agreement; 
‘‘(ii) the feasibility of— 
‘‘(I) prompt implementation; 
‘‘(II) timely achievement of re-
sults; and 
‘‘(III) the ability to leverage re-
sources; and 
‘‘(iii) opportunities for improved inter-
agency and inter-organizational coordina-
tion and collaboration to reduce duplication 
and streamline efforts. 
‘‘(D) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS.— 
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