I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2957
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize funding
to carry out certain water quality restoration projects for Lake Pont-
chartrain Basin, Louisiana, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 27, 1999
Mr. VITTER (for himself and Mr. JEFFERSON) 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 au-
thorize funding to carry out certain water quality res-
toration projects for Lake Pontchartrain Basin, Lou-
isiana, 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 ‘‘Lake Pontchartrain
Basin Restoration Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) the Lake Pontchartrain Basin forms one of
the largest natural estuaries in the continental
United States;
(2) the Basin drains an area of almost 5,000
square miles from 16 Louisiana parishes and 4 Mis-
sissippi counties;
(3) the ecology of the Basin provides the di-
verse essential habitat that supports numerous spe-
cies of fish, birds, mammals, and plants;
(4) the extensive wetlands of the Basin provide
the primary nursery for much of the seafood har-
vested in the Gulf Coast;
(5) urbanization, increasing population growth,
and rapid development combined with intensive land
use have resulted in dramatic threats to the environ-
ment and ecology of the Basin;
(6) sewage and septic tank discharges, animal
waste from farms, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers,
stormwater runoff, sediments from construction, and
sewage from fishing camps are all among the many
increasing threats to the Basin;
(7) a major source of pollution in the Basin is
raw or partially treated human waste from—
(A) communities with poor sewer systems
or without sewer systems; and
(B) septic tank systems that are not oper-
ating properly;
(8) stormwater discharges that combine with ef-
fluent from sanitary discharges from broken lines
are channeled directly into Lake Pontchartrain or
adjacent bodies of water;
(9) a number of State and local government
agencies are working on restoration efforts that have
a direct impact on water quality in the Basin, in-
cluding the Department of Environmental Quality of
Louisiana, the New Orleans Sewerage and Water
Board, Jefferson Parish, and other governmental
agencies;
(10) a number of non-regulatory organizations,
such as the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation
and the University of New Orleans, are performing
substantial, essential roles in restoration efforts;
(11) the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation,
the University of New Orleans, and the Regional
Planning Commission for Jefferson, Orleans, St.
Bernard, and St. Tammany, Louisiana, have entered
into a memorandum of understanding to better fa-
cilitate the restoration and preservation of water
quality and habitats throughout the Basin; and
(12) the programs and activities of the various
Federal agencies involved with administration of
laws, programs, and assets that affect the water
quality of the Basin, including the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers,
and other agencies, lack coordination and sufficient
resources to measure and remediate water quality
problems in the Basin.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to coordinate the restoration efforts of Fed-
eral, State, and local agencies and non-regulatory or-
ganizations in the restoration of the Basin;
(2) to establish the Lake Pontchartrain Basin
Restoration Program within the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency; and
(3) to authorize and provide adequate resources
for restoration projects in the Basin.
SEC. 3. LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN.
Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘SEC. 121. LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) BASIN.—The term ‘Basin’ means the Lake
Pontchartrain Basin located in the State of Lou-
isiana.
‘‘(2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means the
Lake Pontchartrain Executive Council established
under subsection (b)(3)(A).
‘‘(3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘manage-
ment plan’ means the watershed management plan
developed under subsection (b)(3)(B).
‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means
the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program
established under subsection (b)(1).
‘‘(b) LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN RESTORATION
PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180
days after the date of enactment of this section, the
Administrator shall establish within the Environ-
mental Protection Agency the Lake Pontchartrain
Basin Restoration Program.
‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program
shall be—
‘‘(A) to coordinate efforts among and pro-
vide resources for Federal, State, and local gov-
ernmental agencies and non-regulatory organi-
zations to reduce pollution in the Basin; and
‘‘(B) to restore the ecological health of the
Basin.
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(A) LAKE
PONTCHARTRAIN
EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL.—Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this section, the Adminis-
trator shall establish the Lake Pontchartrain
Executive Council, to be composed of the fol-
lowing individuals (or their designees):
‘‘(i) The Administrator.
‘‘(ii) The Governor of the State of
Louisiana.
‘‘(iii) The Chairman of the Regional
Planning Commission for Jefferson, Orle-
ans, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany, Lou-
isiana.
‘‘(iv) The Chancellor of the University
of New Orleans.
‘‘(v) The Executive Director of the
Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.
‘‘(B) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of
this section, the Administrator, in coopera-
tion with appropriate Federal, State, and
local authorities, shall assist the Council in
developing a comprehensive, multiuse, wa-
tershed management plan for the restora-
tion and protection of the Basin.
‘‘(ii) ASSISTANCE.—Assistance pro-
vided by the Administrator under subpara-
graph (A) shall include grants for and
technical assistance in—
‘‘(I) developing an annual work
plan endorsed by the Council;
‘‘(II) supporting Basin-wide envi-
ronmental monitoring and research to
provide technical and scientific infor-
mation necessary to support manage-
ment decisions;
‘‘(III) developing a comprehen-
sive research plan to address the tech-
nical needs of the program; and
‘‘(IV) recommending restoration
projects for implementation by the
State of Louisiana, parishes, and non-
governmental entities.
‘‘(c) RESTORATION PROJECTS.—In accordance with
the management plan, the Administrator shall provide
funding and oversight to carry out voluntary restoration
projects for the Basin that—
‘‘(1) address human waste problems in the
Basin by providing a cost-sharing construction and
education program that offers incentives to parishes
and local communities to improve sewage treatment
facilities and procedures (including the continuation
of funding for the inflow and infiltration projects of
Orleans and Jefferson Parishes, Louisiana);
‘‘(2) provide critical assistance to agricultural
operators designed to address and manage agricul-
tural runoff into the Basin;
‘‘(3) provide for the rerouting of discharges
from selected pumping stations through adjacent
wetlands, using existing canals and small water con-
trol structures, in order to use natural wetland to
filter pollutants from urban stormwater;
‘‘(4) improve Basin water quality—
‘‘(A) by eliminating discharges of raw or
partially treated sewage from fishing camps;
‘‘(B) where there are approved municipal
or community sewage systems, by providing tie-
ins from those systems for fishing camps; and
‘‘(C) by establishing new sanitation and
sewage systems where needed;
‘‘(5) reverse the trend of decreasing acreage of
coastal wetlands in the Basin by creating new sus-
tainable wetland habitat; and
‘‘(6) retain the integrity of natural structural
elements in the coastal landscape, such as ridges
and barrier islands, in order to reduce storm surge
impacts to essential habitats and human infrastruc-
ture.
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
essary, to remain available until expended—
‘‘(1) to continue to provide priority funding for
the New Orleans Inflow and Infiltration Project
sponsored by the New Orleans Sewerage and Water
Board and Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; and
‘‘(2) to carry out subsections (b) and (c).’’.
Æ