I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2509 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1992 to provide for the restoration, protection, 
and enhancement of the environmental integrity and social and economic 
benefits of the Anacostia Watershed in the State of Maryland and the 
District of Columbia. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 19, 2005 
Ms. NORTON (for herself, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, 
Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. WYNN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. BRADY of Pennsyl-
vania, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and 
the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to provide 
for the restoration, protection, and enhancement of the 
environmental integrity and social and economic benefits 
of the Anacostia Watershed in the State of Maryland 
and the District of Columbia. 
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 ‘‘Anacostia Watershed 
Initiative Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) the Anacostia Watershed encompasses 176 
square miles in the State of Maryland and the Dis-
trict of Columbia; 
(2) the Anacostia Watershed— 
(A) features the Anacostia River and its 
tributaries; and 
(B) has the potential to provide great eco-
logical, biodiversity, recreational, social, and 
economic benefits to— 
(i) the District of Columbia; 
(ii) the State of Maryland; 
(iii) the State of Virginia; and 
(iv) the United States as a whole; 
(3) the Anacostia Watershed provides habitat 
for the bald eagle, a species that— 
(A) is a symbol of the United States; and 
(B) is listed as a threatened species under 
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
1531 et seq.); 
(4) the Anacostia Watershed is 1 of the most 
densely populated watersheds within the Chesapeake 
Bay drainage basin; 
(5) because of its location in the Nation’s Cap-
ital, the Anacostia River—
(A) has special significance; and 
(B) should be a national model of urban 
river restoration and stewardship; 
(6) the Federal Government owns and manages 
approximately 70 percent of the Anacostia River wa-
terfront land in the District of Columbia; 
(7) the Anacostia Watershed is— 
(A) a degraded urban ecosystem; and 
(B) 1 of 3 toxic regions of concern in the 
Chesapeake Bay region; 
(8) the natural ecology and nationally signifi-
cant biodiversity of the Anacostia Watershed are 
under stress because— 
(A) more than 300 years of farming, min-
ing, industrial development, and urban sprawl 
have damaged 
the 
ecological 
health 
and 
hydrological function of the Anacostia Water-
shed; and 
(B) the Anacostia River and its tributaries 
have been, and continue to be, adversely im-
pacted by— 
(i) discharges of combined sewer over-
flows; 
(ii) channelization; 
(iii) toxic pollution;
(iv) forest and wetland habitat loss; 
(v) erosion; 
(vi) sedimentation; 
(vii) flooding; and 
(viii) uncontrolled stormwater run-off 
that comprises 75 to 90 percent of total 
pollutant loads; 
(C) water quality has been severely and 
chronically degraded as a result of activities de-
scribed in subparagraph (B); 
(D) populations of anadromous fish species 
have been dramatically reduced by man-made 
barriers that interfere with spawning activities; 
(E) invasive species are adversely altering 
the ecological balance in the Anacostia Water-
shed; and 
(F) bacteria and other pathogens from 
combined sewer systems and urban runoff (in-
cluding the combined sewer system of the Dis-
trict, which was constructed by the Federal 
Government more than 100 years ago) and 
toxics-laden stormwater discharges from the 
State of Maryland and the District, have pre-
cluded safe swimming, fish consumption, and
numerous other types of recreation in the Ana-
costia River for decades; 
(9) the deteriorated Anacostia River diminishes 
the quality of life for all residents in the Anacostia 
Watershed, especially those individuals who reside 
east of the river in the economically distressed 
neighborhoods of the District; 
(10) Federal, State, District, and regional agen-
cies, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and 
dedicated private citizens have been working for 
many years to restore and protect the Anacostia Wa-
tershed; 
(11) in 2001, the Mayor of the District, the 
Governor of the State of Maryland, and the county 
executives of Prince George’s County and Mont-
gomery County, Maryland, entered into the Ana-
costia Watershed Restoration Agreement, which es-
tablished goals and timeframes for restoring the eco-
logical integrity of the Anacostia Watershed; 
(12) despite progress in restoration efforts and 
growing interest in the environmental condition of 
the Anacostia Watershed, research, restoration, and 
protection activities relating to the Anacostia Water-
shed remain under funded and in some cases unco-
ordinated;
(13) restoration and protection of the Anacostia 
Watershed are central to the ecological, recreational, 
social, and economic sustainability of the Anacostia 
Region; 
(14) the environmental and recreational at-
tributes of the Anacostia Watershed could attract 
visitors to the Anacostia Region; 
(15) in recognition of local efforts and to secure 
the Anacostia Watershed as an ecological, economic, 
and recreational resource for the Washington metro-
politan area and the United States, a comprehensive 
environmental protection, restoration, and resource 
management plan for the Anacostia Watershed 
should be developed and implemented; 
(16) a comprehensive action plan should be de-
veloped and implemented with the input, participa-
tion, and cooperation of interested stakeholders, with 
special consideration given to the input and under-
takings of the Anacostia Watershed Restoration 
Committee; 
(17) the comprehensive action plan referred to 
in paragraph (16) should not be inconsistent with 
and promote implementation of a federally-approved 
combined sewer long-term control plan; and
(18) the Water and Sewer Authority of the Dis-
trict has developed a long term control plan for com-
bined sewer overflows designed to significantly re-
duce discharges from the combined sewer system 
into the Anacostia River through the construction of 
an Anacostia storage tunnel and other sewer system 
improvements. 
SEC. 3. ANACOSTIA WATERSHED RESTORATION INITIATIVE. 
Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 121 the second 
place it appears, as section 122; and 
(2) by adding after section 122 (as redesignated 
by paragraph (1)) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 123. ANACOSTIA WATERSHED RESTORATION INITIA-
TIVE. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ANACOSTIA WATERSHED.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Anacostia 
Watershed’ means the 176 square miles (456 
square kilometers) of land and water in the 
State of Maryland and the District of Columbia 
that—
‘‘(i) approximately mirrors the bound-
ary between Montgomery County and 
Prince George’s County, Maryland; and 
‘‘(ii) converges with the Potomac 
River near the southern tip of the District. 
‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘Anacostia 
Watershed’ includes— 
‘‘(i) the tidal Anacostia River; 
‘‘(ii) the northwest branch, northeast 
branch, contributing tributaries, and tidal 
drainage areas of the Anacostia River; and 
‘‘(iii) the Anacostia Park managed by 
the National Park Service. 
‘‘(2) ANACOSTIA
WATERSHED
AGREEMENT.— 
The term ‘Anacostia Watershed Agreement’ means 
the agreement entered into by the Mayor of the Dis-
trict, the Governor of the State of Maryland, and 
the county executives in 2001. 
‘‘(3) ANACOSTIA
WATERSHED
RESTORATION 
COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Anacostia Watershed Res-
toration Committee’ means the organization that— 
‘‘(A) was established in 1987 to oversee 
and coordinate the regional restoration effort 
for, to enhance awareness of, and to expand
communication regarding the Anacostia Water-
shed; and 
‘‘(B) is comprised of representatives of— 
‘‘(i) the District; 
‘‘(ii) the State of Maryland; 
‘‘(iii) Montgomery County, Maryland; 
‘‘(iv) Prince George’s County, Mary-
land; 
‘‘(v) the United States Army Corps of 
Engineers; 
‘‘(vi) the Environmental Protection 
Agency; and 
‘‘(vii) the National Park Service. 
‘‘(4) COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOW.—The term 
‘combined sewer overflow’ means the mixture of 
stormwater and sanitary waste that is discharged di-
rectly into the Anacostia River during periods of sig-
nificant rainfall once the capacity of the Combined 
Sewer System is exceeded. 
‘‘(5) COMBINED
SEWER
SYSTEM.—The term 
‘combined sewer system’ means the wastewater col-
lection system serving approximately 12,955 acres of 
the Anacostia River, Rock Creek, and Potomac 
River drainage areas within the District that conveys
sanitary sewage and stormwater into a single piping 
system. 
‘‘(6) COMPREHENSIVE
ACTION
PLAN.—The 
term ‘Comprehensive Action Plan’ means the Com-
prehensive Action Plan required to be developed and 
implemented under subsection (d). 
‘‘(7) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means the 
Anacostia Watershed Council established by sub-
section (c)(1). 
‘‘(8) COUNTY EXECUTIVE.—The term ‘County 
Executive’ means the county executive of Prince 
George’s County or Montgomery County, Maryland, 
whichever is applicable. 
‘‘(9) DISTRICT.—The term ‘District’ means the 
District of Columbia. 
‘‘(10) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘Initiative’ means 
the Anacostia Watershed Initiative established by 
subsection (b)(1). 
‘‘(11) STATE.—Unless otherwise specified, the 
term ‘State’ means the State of Maryland. 
‘‘(12) WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Washington 
metropolitan area’ means the area in the region 
of the capital of the United States surrounding 
the Anacostia Watershed.
‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘Washington 
metropolitan area’ includes— 
‘‘(i) the District of Columbia; and 
‘‘(ii) portions of the States of Mary-
land and Virginia surrounding the Ana-
costia Watershed. 
‘‘(b) ANACOSTIA WATERSHED RESTORATION INITIA-
TIVE.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 
program within the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy to be known as the ‘Anacostia Watershed Res-
toration Initiative’. 
‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Initiative 
are— 
‘‘(A) to restore the environmental integrity 
of the Anacostia Watershed; 
‘‘(B) to plan and fund related restoration 
improvements in the Anacostia Watershed; and 
‘‘(C) to assist the Council in achieving its 
goals through the development and implementa-
tion of the Comprehensive Action Plan. 
‘‘(c) ANACOSTIA WATERSHED COUNCIL.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 
council, to be known as the ‘Anacostia Watershed 
Council’, to develop, carry out, and provide assist-