Onondaga Lake Watershed Improvement Act

Bill: 118-hr-8579
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Williams, Brandon [R-NY-22]
Introduced: 2024-05-28
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Latest action: action_date: 2024-05-28
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8579 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 28, 2024 Mr. Williams of New York 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 direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out further improvement of Onondaga Lake, New York, and for the purposes of integrating research, education, planning and restoration of the watershed.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Onondaga Lake Watershed Improvement Act . 2. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the recovery of Onondaga Lake is of National importance. 3. Onondaga Lake, New York (a) Management activities 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: 127. Onondaga Lake, New York (a) Management activities (1) Establishment of onondaga lake watershed council The Administrator shall establish a council, to be known as the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council , to develop a plan, to be known as the Adaptive Management Plan , consistent with the Onondaga Lake Management Plan, for further improvement of Onondaga Lake. (2) Implementation of adaptive management plan The Administrator shall cooperate with Federal and State agencies to carry out the recommendations of the Adaptive Management Plan, and such recommendations shall be carried out— (A) in consultation with the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council; and (B) with the participation of the public, including the Onondaga Nation, Federal, State, and local governmental entities, and any other entities that may be affected by activities carried out under this section. (b) Onondaga lake watershed council (1) Duties (A) Development of adaptive management plan The Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall develop and periodically revise the Adaptive Management Plan in consultation with the Onondaga Lake Scientific Center established under subsection (d). (B) Establishment of program for public participation The Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall establish and carry out a comprehensive, inclusive, and ongoing program for participation of the public, including the Onondaga Nation, Federal, State, and local governmental entities, and any other entities that may be affected by activities under this section, in the development and revision of the Adaptive Management Plan under subparagraph (A). (2) Membership (A) In general The Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall consist of the following members: (i) The Administrator. (ii) The Secretary of the Army. (iii) The head of any other interested Federal department of agency, as determined by the Administrator. (iv) A representative of the Governor of the State of New York. (v) A representative of the Attorney General. (vi) A representative designated by the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs. (vii) A representative designated by the County Executive of Onondaga County, New York. (viii) A representative designated by the mayor of the City of Syracuse, New York. (B) Ex officio membership The Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall consist of the following ex officio, nonvoting members: (i) The Senators from the State of New York. (ii) Each Member of the House of Representatives whose congressional district is located all or partially within the Onondaga Lake watershed. (iii) Each member of the New York State Legislature whose district is located all or partially within the Onondaga Lake watershed. (iv) Other members as the Administrator determines appropriate. (C) Designees Any member of the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council specified in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (A) or in subparagraph (B) may appoint a designee to serve in place of the member on the Council. (3) Committees (A) Establishment The Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall adopt bylaws providing for the establishment of standing committees including the following: (i) A Public Participation Committee. (ii) A Science and Engineering Committee, which shall include representatives of the member institutions of the Onondaga Lake Science Center established under subsection (d). (B) Appointment The Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall appoint members to each committee described in subparagraph (A). (c) Adaptive management plan (1) Identification of goals In developing the Adaptive Management Plan under this section, the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall identify measurable goals for— (A) the further restoration, conservation, and management of Onondaga Lake; and (B) compliance with all provisions of law affecting the further restoration and conservation of Onondaga Lake, including the water quality standards established for Onondaga Lake (including total maximum daily loads established under section 303(d)(C)) and the Amended Consent Judgment and all effluent limitations therein (or otherwise promulgated under this Act). (2) Recommendation of strategies To achieve the goals identified under paragraph (1), the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall incorporate and specify the recommendations of the Onondaga Lake Management Plan in the Adaptive Management Plan and recommend strategies for management of— (A) the biological and chemical makeup and structural attributes of Onondaga Lake; and (B) the use of Onondaga Lake for educational, recreational, and other purposes. (3) Coordination with other activities The strategies recommended under paragraph (2) shall provide for coordination with all other activities to further restore or conserve, or otherwise affecting the restoration or conservation of, Onondaga Lake, including ongoing public participation activities, scientific and engineering activities, and other activities carried out under Federal, State, or local law. (4) Ongoing evaluation of strategies To evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies recommended under paragraph (2) in achieving the goals identified under paragraph (1), the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall— (A) identify a specific, integrated scientific and engineering program, which may include monitoring, process studies, and modeling, by which the Council may make such evaluation, and provide for the periodic revision of such program to achieve such goals; (B) establish and implement the integrated scientific and engineering program identified under subparagraph (A); and (C) provide for the periodic evaluation of the information provided by such program. (5) Approval (A) In general The recommendations of the Adaptive Management Plan shall not be implemented under subsection (a)(2) before the date on which the plan is approved by the Administrator, in consultation with the Governor of the State of New York. (B) Timeline The Administrator, after providing an opportunity for public review and comment, shall approve the Adaptive Management Plan not later than 120 days after the date on which such plan is developed if the Adaptive Management Plan meets the requirements of this section. (6) Effect on onondaga lake management plan This section shall not be construed to interfere with any activity carried out under the Onondaga Lake Management Plan, or any other activity affecting the further restoration, conservation or management of Onondaga Lake. (d) Onondaga lake scientific center (1) Establishment The Onondaga Lake Watershed Council shall establish and direct a center to be known as the Onondaga Lake Scientific Center . (2) Duties The Onondaga Lake Scientific Center shall advise the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council on— (A) development of benchmarks to accomplish the goals identified under subsection (c)(1); (B) implementation of the strategies recommended under subsection (c)(2); (C) implementation of the integrated scientific and engineering program under subsection (c)(4); (D) establishment of the program for public participation described in subsection (b)(1)(B); and (E) other matters concerning the development and implementation of the Adaptive Management Plan under this section. (3) Membership The Onondaga Lake Scientific Center shall consist of the following members: (A) The Administrator. (B) Non-Federal entities appointed by the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council, including— (i) Syracuse University; (ii) the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; (iii) the Onondaga Environmental Institute; and (iv) other members as the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council determines appropriate. (4) Reporting The Onondaga Lake Scientific Center shall submit to the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council an annual report— (A) assessing the effectiveness of the strategies recommended under subsection (c)(2) in accomplishing the goals identified under subsection (c)(1); (B) recommending changes to management and activities of the integrated scientific and engineering program to accomplish the goals identified under subsection (c)(1); and (C) recommending means for implementation of such changes. (e) Grants (1) In general The Administrator, in consultation with the Onondaga Lake Watershed Council, may make grants to the State of New York, the City of Syracuse, New York, Onondaga County, New York, and the Onondaga Environmental Institute— (A) to implement the strategies recommended under section (c)(2); (B) for research, surveys, administrative services, studies and elements of the integrated scientific program; and (C) to gather data necessary to carry out the objectives of this section. (2) Conditions As a condition of receiving a grant under this subsection, the Onondaga Environmental Institute shall provide administrative services for the development and implementation of the Onondaga Lake Science Center and the Adaptive Management Plan. (3) Matching requirement (A) In general The non-Federal share of the cost of an activity carried out with a grant under this subsection may not exceed 35 percent of the cost of such activity. (B) In-kind contribution The non-Federal share required under this paragraph shall be provided from non-Federal sources, and may be satisfied through the provision of in-kind services. (4) No relief from liability Grants made under this subsection shall not relieve from liability any person that would otherwise be liable under Federal or State law for damages, response costs, natural resource damages, restitution, equitable relief, or any other relief. (f) Relationship to other laws (1) No effect on Federal or State law This section shall not be construed to alter, modify, or otherwise affect any other provision of Federal or State law or any responsibility assigned thereunder, including— (A) this Act; or (B) a provision of law (including a provision of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 ( 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq. ) or the New York State Environmental Conservation Law) that requires, and assigns responsibility for, the performance of cleanup activities (including response and removal activities) or other activities affecting the restoration or conservation of Onondaga Lake. (2) No effect on existing liabilities This section shall not be construed to create or enlarge any liability that any party may have for natural resource damages under any provision of law. (g) Definitions In this section: (1) Amended consent judgment The term Amended Consent Judgment means the Amended Consent Judgment entered January 20, 1998, in the case of Atlantic States Legal Foundation v. The Onondaga County Department of Drainage and Sanitation, Civil Action No. 88–CV–0066, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, as amended. (2) Onondaga environmental institute The term Onondaga Environmental Institute means the not-for-profit corporation established pursuant to section 401(d)(1) of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 3010) and section 411(d)(1) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 4648). (3) Onondaga lake The term Onondaga Lake means Onondaga Lake, New York and its watershed and tributaries. (4) Onondaga lake management plan The term Onondaga Lake Management Plan means the plan— (A) developed pursuant to section 401(a)(1) of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 3010) and 411(a)(1) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 4648); (B) modified by the Amended Consent Judgment; and (C) revised under section 573(c)(1) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 (113 Stat. 372), as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act. (h) Authorization of Appropriations (1) In general There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section $10,000,000 each fiscal year, to remain available until expended. (2) Administrative expenses The Administrator may use amounts made available under paragraph (1) for administrative expenses associated with carrying out this section. . (b) Water Resources Development Act of 1999 Section 573 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 (113 Stat. 372) is repealed. Such section 573, as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, shall continue to apply to amounts appropriated before such date and made available to carry out such section.