IB
Union Calendar No. 324
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2957
[Report No. 106–594]
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
MAY 2, 2000
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 27, 1999]
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 2000’’.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM.
(a) 
FINDING.—Congress 
finds 
that 
the 
Lake
Ponchartrain Basin is an estuary of national significance.
(b) ADDITION TO NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM.—
Section 320(a)(2)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(a)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting
‘‘Lake Ponchartrain Basin, Louisiana and Mississippi;’’
before ‘‘and Peconic Bay, New York.’’.
SEC. 3. LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Federal Water Pollu-
tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 121. LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF RESTORATION PROGRAM.—
The Administrator shall establish within the Environ-
mental Protection Agency the Lake Pontchartrain Basin
Restoration Program.
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program shall be
to restore the ecological health of the Basin by developing
and funding restoration projects and related scientific and
public education projects.
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the Ad-
ministrator shall—
‘‘(1) provide administrative and technical assist-
ance to a management conference convened for the
Basin under section 320;
‘‘(2) assist and support the activities of the man-
agement conference, including the implementation of
recommendations of the management conference;
‘‘(3) support environmental monitoring of the
Basin and research to provide necessary technical and
scientific information;
‘‘(4) develop a comprehensive research plan to
address the technical needs of the program;
‘‘(5) coordinate the grant, research, and plan-
ning programs authorized under this section; and
‘‘(6) collect and make available to the public
publications, and other forms of information the man-
agement conference determines to be appropriate, re-
lating to the environmental quality of the Basin.
‘‘(d) 
GRANTS.—The 
Administrator 
may 
make
grants—
‘‘(1) for restoration projects and studies rec-
ommended by a management conference convened for
the Basin under section 320;
‘‘(2) for public education projects recommended
by the management conference; and