Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2013

Bill: 113-hr-644
Sponsor: Rep. Carney, John C., Jr. [D-DE-At Large]
Introduced: 2013-02-13 in the House
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Delaware
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Floods and storm protection
Intergovernmental relations
Lakes and rivers
Land use and conservation
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
New Jersey
New York State
Pennsylvania
Water quality
Water resources funding
Watersheds
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2013-02-13
text: 
Delaware River Basin Conservation Act of 2013 - Requires the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a Delaware River Basin restoration program, under which the Director shall: (1) draw on management plans for the Basin or portions of the Basin and work in consultation with applicable management entities, including representatives of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, the Delaware River Basin Commission, the federal government, other state and local governments, and regional and nonprofit organizations, to identify, prioritize, and implement restoration and protection activities within the Basin; and (2) adopt a Basin-wide strategy that supports the implementation of a shared set of science-based restoration and protection activities, targets cost-effective conservation projects, supports measurable conservation efforts, and maximizes conservation outcomes with no net gain of federal full-time equivalent employees.
 
Defines "Basin" as the four-state Delaware Basin region, including all of Delaware Bay and portions of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania located in the Delaware River watershed. 
 
Requires the Director to establish the Delaware River Basin restoration grant program to provide competitive matching grants to carry out the restoration program. Requires the Director to develop criteria to ensure that funded activities: (1) restore or protect fish and wildlife and their habitats; (2) improve or protect water quality by reducing pollutants and restoring headwater areas and drinking water basins; (3) improve the management of water volume and mitigation of flood damage to support the ecological needs of fish and wildlife and their habitats; (4) include priority needs or actions identified in the Basin-wide strategy; and/or (5) include restoration and protection activities with multiple benefits in the Basin, including habitat, water quality, and flood damage mitigation. Limits the federal share of the total cost of a funded project to 50%. Authorizes the Director to contract with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or another organization that offers grant management services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-02-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs.
action_date: 2013-02-14
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
action_date: 2013-02-13
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2013-02-13
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2013-02-13
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2013-02-13
text: Introduced in House