A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the National Estuary Program, and for other purposes. 2016-05-20 Public Law (This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on April 26, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

(Sec. 1) This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise the National Estuary Program by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to make competitive awards to address urgent and challenging issues that threaten the economic and ecological well-being of coastal areas, including:

  • extensive seagrass habitat losses,
  • recurring harmful algae blooms,
  • unusual marine mammal mortalities,
  • invasive exotic species,
  • jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to water during peak tourism seasons,
  • flooding that may be related to sea level rise or wetland degradation or loss, and
  • low dissolved oxygen conditions in estuarine waters and related nutrient management.

(Sec. 2) The bill authorizes appropriations for FY2017-FY2021 for: (1) EPA administrative expenses relating to a grant or award, and (2) making grants and awards. The bill allocates funding for conservation and management plans for estuaries and for competitive awards.

]]> 2016-04-26 Passed House amended (Sec. 1) This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise the National Estuary Program by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make competitive awards to address urgent and challenging issues that threaten the economic and ecological well-being of coastal areas, including:

  • extensive seagrass habitat losses,
  • recurring harmful algae blooms,
  • unusual marine mammal mortalities,
  • invasive exotic species,
  • jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to water during peak tourism seasons,
  • flooding that may be related to sea level rise or wetland degradation or loss, and
  • low dissolved oxygen conditions in estuarine waters and related nutrient management.

(Sec. 2) The bill authorizes appropriations for FY2017-FY2021 for: (1) EPA administrative expenses relating to a grant or award, and (2) making grants and awards. The bill allocates funding for conservation and management plans for estuaries and for competitive awards.

]]> 2015-08-05 Passed Senate amended (Sec. 1) This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise the National Estuary Program by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to make competitive awards to address urgent and challenging issues that threaten the economic and ecological well-being of coastal areas, including:

  • extensive seagrass habitat losses,
  • recurring harmful algae blooms,
  • unusual marine mammal mortalities,
  • invasive exotic species,
  • jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to water during peak tourism seasons,
  • flooding that may be related to sea level rise or wetland degradation or loss, and
  • low dissolved oxygen conditions in estuarine waters and related nutrient management.

This bill reauthorizes through FY2020 a program of grants to develop, implement, and monitor comprehensive conservation and management plans for estuaries.

]]> 2015-06-08 Introduced in Senate This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise the National Estuary Program by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to make competitive awards to address urgent and challenging issues that threaten the economic and ecological well-being of coastal areas, including:

  • extensive seagrass habitat losses,
  • recurring harmful algae blooms,
  • unusual marine mammal mortalities,
  • invasive exotic species,
  • jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to water during peak tourism seasons,
  • flooding that may be related to sea level rise or wetland degradation or loss, and
  • low dissolved oxygen conditions in estuarine waters and related nutrient management.

This bill reauthorizes through FY2020 a program of grants to develop, implement, and monitor comprehensive conservation and management plans for estuaries.

]]> text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.