Home > 106th Congressional Bills > H.R. 3039 (rh) To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to assist in the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, and for other purposes. [Reported in House] ...H.R. 3039 (rh) To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to assist in the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, and for other purposes. [Reported in House] ...
Calendar No. 507
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3039
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to assist in the
restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
April 13, 2000
Read twice and placed on the calendar
Calendar No. 507
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3039
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 13, 2000
Read twice and placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to assist in the
restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act of
2000''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and a
resource of worldwide significance;
(2) over many years, the productivity and water quality of
the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed were diminished by
pollution, excessive sedimentation, shoreline erosion, the
impacts of population growth and development in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed, and other factors;
(3) the Federal Government (acting through the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency), the
Governor of the State of Maryland, the Governor of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, the Governor of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, the Chairperson of the Chesapeake Bay Commission,
and the Mayor of the District of Columbia, as Chesapeake Bay
Agreement signatories, have committed to a comprehensive
cooperative program to achieve improved water quality and
improvements in the productivity of living resources of the
Bay;
(4) the cooperative program described in paragraph (3)
serves as a national and international model for the management
of estuaries; and
(5) there is a need to expand Federal support for
monitoring, management, and restoration activities in the
Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the Bay in order to meet
and further the original and subsequent goals and commitments
of the Chesapeake Bay Program.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to restore
and protect the Chesapeake Bay; and
(2) to achieve the goals established in the Chesapeake Bay
Agreement.
SEC. 3. CHESAPEAKE BAY.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act is amended by striking
section 117 (33 U.S.C. 1267) and inserting the following:
``SEC. 117. CHESAPEAKE BAY.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions
apply:
``(1) Administrative cost.--The term `administrative cost'
means the cost of salaries and fringe benefits incurred in
administering a grant under this section.
``(2) Chesapeake bay agreement.--The term `Chesapeake Bay
Agreement' means the formal, voluntary agreements executed to
achieve the goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay
ecosystem and the living resources of the Chesapeake Bay
ecosystem and signed by the Chesapeake Executive Council.
``(3) Chesapeake bay ecosystem.--The term `Chesapeake Bay
ecosystem' means the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay and its
watershed.
``(4) Chesapeake bay program.--The term `Chesapeake Bay
Program' means the program directed by the Chesapeake Executive
Council in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
``(5) Chesapeake executive council.--The term `Chesapeake
Executive Council' means the signatories to the Chesapeake Bay
Agreement.
``(6) Signatory jurisdiction.--The term `signatory
jurisdiction' means a jurisdiction of a signatory to the
Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
``(b) Continuation of Chesapeake Bay Program.--
``(1) In general.--In cooperation with the Chesapeake
Executive Council (and as a member of the Council), the
Administrator shall continue the Chesapeake Bay Program.
``(2) Program office.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall maintain
in the Environmental Protection Agency a Chesapeake Bay
Program Office.
``(B) Function.--The Chesapeake Bay Program Office
shall provide support to the Chesapeake Executive
Council by--
``(i) implementing and coordinating
science, research, modeling, support services,
monitoring, data collection, and other
activities that support the Chesapeake Bay
Program;
``(ii) developing and making available,
through publications, technical assistance, and
other appropriate means, information pertaining
to the environmental quality and living
resources of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem;
``(iii) in cooperation with appropriate
Federal, State, and local authorities,
assisting the signatories to the Chesapeake Bay
Agreement in developing and implementing
specific action plans to carry out the
responsibilities of the signatories to the
Chesapeake Bay Agreement;
``(iv) coordinating the actions of the
Environmental Protection Agency with the
actions of the appropriate officials of other
Federal agencies and State and local
authorities in developing strategies to--
``(I) improve the water quality and
living resources in the Chesapeake Bay
ecosystem; and
``(II) obtain the support of the
appropriate officials of the agencies
and authorities in achieving the
objectives of the Chesapeake Bay
Agreement; and
``(v) implementing outreach programs for
public information, education, and
participation to foster stewardship of the
resources of the Chesapeake Bay.
``(c) Interagency Agreements.--The Administrator may enter into an
interagency agreement with a Federal agency to carry out this section.
``(d) Technical Assistance and Assistance Grants.--
``(1) In general.--In cooperation with the Chesapeake
Executive Council, the Administrator may provide technical
assistance, and assistance grants, to nonprofit organizations,
State and local governments, colleges, universities, and
interstate agencies to achieve the goals and requirements
contained in subsection (g)(1), subject to such terms and
conditions as the Administrator considers appropriate.
``(2) Federal share.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the Federal share of an assistance
grant provided under paragraph (1) shall be determined
by the Administrator in accordance with guidance issued
by the Administrator.
``(B) Small watershed grants program.--The Federal
share of an assistance grant provided under paragraph
(1) to carry out an implementing activity under
subsection (g)(2) shall not exceed 75 percent of
eligible project costs, as determined by the
Administrator.
``(3) Non-federal share.--An assistance grant under
paragraph (1) shall be provided on the condition that non-
Federal sources provide the remainder of eligible project
costs, as determined by the Administrator.
``(4) Administrative costs.--Administrative costs shall not
exceed 10 percent of the annual grant award.
``(e) Implementation and Monitoring Grants.--
``(1) In general.--If a signatory jurisdiction has approved
and committed to implement all or substantially all aspects of
the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, on the request of the chief
executive of the jurisdiction, the Administrator--
``(A) shall make a grant to the jurisdiction for
the purpose of implementing the management mechanisms
established under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, subject
to such terms and conditions as the Administrator
considers appropriate; and
``(B) may make a grant to a signatory jurisdiction
for the purpose of monitoring the Chesapeake Bay
ecosystem.
``(2) Proposals.--
``(A) In general.--A signatory jurisdiction
described in paragraph (1) may apply for a grant under
this subsection for a fiscal year by submitting to the
Administrator a comprehensive proposal to implement
management mechanisms established under the Chesapeake
Bay Agreement.
``(B) Contents.--A proposal under subparagraph (A)
shall include--
``(i) a description of proposed management
mechanisms that the jurisdiction commits to
take within a specified time period, such as
reducing or preventing pollution in the
Chesapeake Bay and its watershed or meeting
applicable water quality standards or
established goals and objectives under the
Chesapeake Bay Agreement; and
``(ii) the estimated cost of the actions
proposed to be taken during the fiscal year.
``(3) Approval.--If the Administrator finds that the
proposal is consistent with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement and
the national goals established under section 101(a), the
Administrator may approve the proposal for an award.
``(4) Federal share.--The Federal share of an
implementation grant under this subsection shall not exceed 50
percent of the cost of implementing the management mechanisms
during the fiscal year.
``(5) Non-federal share.--An implementation grant under
this subsection shall be made on the condition that non-Federal
sources provide the remainder of the costs of implementing the
management mechanisms during the fiscal year.
``(6) Administrative costs.--Administrative costs shall not
exceed 10 percent of the annual grant award.
``(7) Reporting.--On or before October 1 of each fiscal
year, the Administrator shall make available to the public a
document that lists and describes, in the greatest practicable
degree of detail--
``(A) all projects and activities funded for the
fiscal year;
``(B) the goals and objectives of projects funded
for the previous fiscal year; and
``(C) the net benefits of projects funded for
previous fiscal years.
``(f) Federal Facilities and Budget Coordination.--
``(1) Subwatershed planning and restoration.--A Federal
agency that owns or operates a facility (as defined by the
Administrator) within the Chesapeake Bay watershed shall
participate in regional and subwatershed planning and
restoration programs.
``(2) Compliance with agreement.--The head of each Federal
agency that owns or occupies real property in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed shall ensure that the property, and actions taken
by the agency with respect to the property, comply with the
Chesapeake Bay Agreement, the Federal Agencies Chesapeake
Ecosystem Unified Plan, and any subsequent agreements and
plans.
``(3) Budget coordination.--
``(A) In general.--As part of the annual budget
submission of each Federal agency with projects or
grants related to restoration, planning, monitoring, or
scientific investigation of the Chesapeake Bay
ecosystem, the head of the agency shall submit to the
President a report that describes plans for the
expenditure of the funds under this section.
``(B) Disclosure to the council.--The head of each
agency referred to in subparagraph (A) shall disclose
the report under that subparagraph with the Chesapeake
Executive Council as appropriate.
``(g) Chesapeake Bay Program.--
``(1) Management strategies.--The Administrator, in
coordination with other members of the Chesapeake Executive
Council, shall ensure that management plans are developed and
implementation is begun by signatories to the Chesapeake Bay
Agreement to achieve--
``(A) the nutrient goals of the Chesapeake Bay
Agreement for the quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus
entering the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed;
``(B) the water quality requirements necessary to
restore living resources in the Chesapeake Bay
ecosystem;
``(C) the Chesapeake Bay Basinwide Toxins Reduction
and Prevention Strategy goal of reducing or eliminating
the input of chemical contaminants from all
controllable sources to levels that result in no toxic
or bioaccumulative impact on the living resources of
the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem or on human health;
``(D) habitat restoration, protection, creation,
and enhancement goals established by Chesapeake Bay
Agreement signatories for wetlands, riparian forests,
and other types of habitat associated with the
Chesapeake Bay ecosystem; and
``(E) the restoration, protection, creation, and
enhancement goals established by the Chesapeake Bay
Agreement signatories for living resources associated
with the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.
``(2) Small watershed grants program.--The Administrator,
in cooperation with the Chesapeake Executive Council, shall--
``(A) establish a small watershed grants program as
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