[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4289 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4289

To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to establish 
        a Waterways Restoration Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 1994

Ms. Furse (for herself, Mr. Dellums, Mr. Evans, Mr. Hochbrueckner, Mr. 
     Richardson, Mr. Shays, Ms. Norton, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Miller of 
   California, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Wyden, Mr. 
   Studds, Mr. Hamburg, Mr. Barrett of Wisconsin, Mrs. Unsoeld, Ms. 
   McKinney, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Rangel, and Ms. Velazquez) 
   introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the 
 Committees on Agriculture, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, and Public 
                        Works and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to establish 
        a Waterways Restoration Program, 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 ``Waterways Restoration Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) restoring degraded streams, rivers, wetlands, and other 
        waterways to their natural state is a cost effective and 
        environmentally sensitive means to control flooding, excessive 
        erosion, sedimentation, and nonpoint pollution, including 
        stormwater runoff;
            (2) protecting and restoring watersheds provides critical 
        ecological benefits by restoring and maintaining biodiversity, 
        providing fish and wildlife habitat, filtering pollutants, and 
        performing other important ecological functions;
            (3) waterway restoration and protection projects can 
        provide important economic benefits by rejuvenating waterfront 
        areas, providing recreational opportunities, and creating 
        community service jobs and job training opportunities in 
        environmental restoration for disadvantaged youth, displaced 
        resource harvesters, and other unemployed residents; and
            (4) restoring waterways helps to increase the fishing 
        potential of waterways and restore diminished fisheries, which 
        are important to local and regional cultures and economies and 
        to low income and ethnic cultural groups who rely heavily on 
        fish as a food source.
    (b) Policy.--Therefore, Congress declares it in the national 
interest to--
            (1) protect and restore the chemical, biological, and 
        physical components of streams and rivers and associated 
        wetland systems such that the biological and physical 
        structures, diversity, functions, and dynamics of the stream 
        and wetland ecological systems are restored;
            (2) replace deteriorating stormwater structural 
        infrastructures and physical waterway alterations that are 
        environmentally destructive with cost effective, low 
        maintenance, and environmentally sensitive projects;
            (3) promote the use of nonstructural means to manage and 
        convey streamflow, stormwater, and flood waters;
            (4) increase the involvement of the public and youth 
        conservation and service corps in the monitoring, inventorying, 
        and restoration of watersheds in order to improve public 
        education, prevent pollution, and develop coordinated citizen 
        and governmental partnerships to restore damaged waterways; and
            (5) benefit business districts, local economies, and 
        neighborhoods through the restoration of waterways.

SEC. 3. WORKS OF IMPROVEMENT DEFINED.

    The second paragraph of section 2 of the Watershed Protection and 
Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1002; relating to works of improvement) 
is amended by striking the following: ``Each project must contain 
benefits directly related to agriculture, including rural communities, 
that account for at least 20 percent of the total benefits of the 
project.''.

SEC. 4. WATERWAYS RESTORATION PROGRAM.

    The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001-
1008; 1010) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 14. WATERWAYS RESTORATION PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief of 
the Soil Conservation Service, shall establish and implement a 
Waterways Restoration Program in accordance with the requirements of 
this section. Under the program, the Secretary shall provide technical 
assistance and grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to 
assist such entities in carrying out waterway restoration projects.
    ``(b) Project Eligibility.--
            ``(1) Project objectives.--A project shall be eligible for 
        assistance under the program if the project is designed to 
        achieve ecological restoration or protection and 1 or more of 
        the following objectives:
                    ``(A) Flood damage reduction.
                    ``(B) Erosion control.
                    ``(C) Stormwater management.
                    ``(D) Water quality enhancement.
            ``(2) Location of projects.--A project may be carried out 
        under the program on Federal lands or on State or private lands 
        in any case in which the State or the private land owner is a 
        sponsor or cosponsor of the project.
            ``(3) Project descriptions.--Projects eligible for 
        assistance under the program shall include projects for any of 
        the following purposes:
                    ``(A) Restoration and monitoring of degraded 
                waterways, including revegetation, restoration of 
                biological communities, and changes in land management 
                practices.
                    ``(B) Reestablishment of stream channel quasi-
                equilibrium.
                    ``(C) Restoration or establishment of wetland and 
                riparian environments as part of a multiobjective 
                stormwater management system in which the restored or 
                established areas provide stormwater storage, 
                detention, and retention; nutrient filtering; wildlife 
                habitat; and increased biological diversity.
                    ``(D) Reduction of runoff.
                    ``(E) Stream bank restoration using the principles 
                of biotechnical slope stabilization.
                    ``(F) Creation and acquisition of multi-objective 
                floodplain riparian zones, including removal of natural 
                or humanmade levees, for floodwater and sediment 
                storage, wildlife habitat, and recreation.
                    ``(G) Removal of culverts and storm drains to 
                establish natural environmental conditions.
                    ``(H) Organization of local watershed councils in 
                conjunction with the implementation of on-the-ground 
                action education or restoration projects.
                    ``(I) Training of participants, including youth 
                conservation and service corps program participants, in 
                restoration techniques in conjunction with the 
                implementation of on-the-ground action education or 
                restoration projects.
                    ``(J) Development of waterway restoration or 
                watershed plans which are intended for use within the 
                grant agreement period to implement specific 
                restoration projects.
                    ``(K) Restoration of any stream channel to 
                reestablish a meandering, bankfull flow channel, 
                riparian vegetation, and floodplain in order--
                            ``(i) to restore the functions and dynamics 
                        of a natural stream system to a previously 
                        channelized waterway; or
                            ``(ii) to convey larger flood flows as an 
                        alternative to a channelization project.
                    ``(L) Release of reservoir flows to restore 
                riparian and instream habitat.
                    ``(M) Watershed or wetland programs that have 
                undergone planning pursuant to other Federal, State, 
                tribal, or local programs and laws and have received 
                necessary environmental review and permits.
                    ``(N) Early action projects which a watershed 
                council wants to implement prior to the completion of 
                its required final consensus watershed plan, if the 
                project is determined to meet the council's watershed 
                management objectives and is useful in fostering 
                citizen involvement in the planning process.
            ``(4) Priority projects.--Projects which have the following 
        attributes shall be given priority by interdisciplinary teams 
        established under this section in determining funding 
        priorities:
                    ``(A) Projects located in or directly benefiting 
                low-income or economically depressed areas adversely 
                impacted by poor watershed management.
                    ``(B) Projects that will restore or create 
                businesses or occupations in the project area.
                    ``(C) Projects providing opportunities for 
                participants in Federal, State, tribal, and local youth 
                conservation and service corps and provide training in 
                environmental restoration, monitoring, and inventory 
                work.
                    ``(D) Projects serving communities composed of 
                minorities or Native Americans, including the 
                development of outreach programs to facilitate the 
                participation by such groups in the program.
                    ``(E) Projects identified as regional priorities 
                that have been planned within a regional context and 
                coordinated with Federal, State, tribal, and local 
                agencies.
                    ``(F) Projects that will restore wildlife or 
                fisheries of commercial, recreational, subsistence, or 
                scientific concern.
                    ``(G) Projects training and employing fishers and 
                other resource harvesters whose livelihoods have been 
                adversely impacted by habitat degradation.
                    ``(H) Projects providing significant improvements 
                in ecological values and functions in the project area.
                    ``(I) Projects previously approved under this Act 
                which meet or are redesigned to meet the requirements 
                of this section.
            ``(5) Cost-benefit analysis.--A project shall be eligible 
        for assistance under the program if an interdisciplinary team 
        established under this section determines that the local 
        social, economic, ecological, and community benefits of the 
        project based on local needs, problems, and conditions equal or 
        exceed the financial and social costs of the project.
            ``(6) Flood damage reduction.--Projects for which one of 
        the purposes is to reduce flood damages shall be designed for 
        the level of risk selected by the local cosponsors and sponsors 
        to best meet their needs for reducing flood risks, their 
        ability to pay project costs, and community objectives to 
        protect or restore environmental quality.
            ``(7) Ineligible projects.--Projects involving 
        channelization, stream bank stabilization using methods other 
        than biotechnical slope protection methods, or construction of 
        reservoirs shall not be eligible for assistance under the 
        program.
    ``(c) Program Administration.--
            ``(1) Designation of program administrators.--The Secretary 
        shall designate a program administrator for each State who 
        shall be responsible for administering the program in the 
        State. Except as provided by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 
        designate the State Conservationist of the Soil Conservation 
        Service of a State as the program administrator of the State.
            ``(2) Approval of state agencies.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State may submit to the 
                Secretary an application for designation of a State 
                agency to serve as the program administrator of the 
                State.
                    ``(B) Criteria.--The Secretary shall approve an 
                application of a State submitted under subparagraph (A) 
                if the application meets the following criteria:
                            ``(i) Demonstration of the ability of the 
                        State agency to solicit, select, and fund 
                        projects within a 1-year grant administration 
                        cycle.
                            ``(ii) Demonstration of the responsiveness 
                        of the State agency to the administrative needs 
                        and limitations of small nonprofit 
                        organizations and low income or minority 
                        communities.
                            ``(iii) Demonstration of the success of the 
                        State agency in implementing State or local 
                        programs with objectives similar to the 
                        objectives of this section.
                            ``(iv) Demonstration of the ability of the 
                        State agency to jointly plan and implement with 
                        Indian Tribes programs with objectives similar 
                        to this section.
                    ``(C) Redesignation.--Whenever the Secretary 
                determines, after a public hearing, that a State agency 
                with an approved application under this paragraph no 
                longer meets the criteria set forth in subparagraph 
                (B), the Secretary shall so notify the State and, if 
                appropriate corrective action has not been taken within 
                a reasonable time, withdraw the designation of the 
                State agency as the program administrator of the State 
                and designate the State Conservationist of the Soil 
                Conservation Service of the State as the program 
                administrator of the State.
            ``(3) Technical assistance.--The State Conservationist of a 
        State shall continue to carry out the technical assistance 
        portion of the program in the State even if the State receives 
        approval of an application submitted under subparagraph (A).
    ``(d) Grant Application Cycle.--
            ``(1) In general.--Grants under the program shall be 
        awarded on an annual basis.
            ``(2) Grant agreements.--The program administrator of a 
        State may enter into a grant agreement with an eligible entity 
        to permit the entity to phase-in a project under the program 
        for a period of not to exceed 3 years; except that any such 
        project shall remain subject to reevaluation each year as part 
        of the annual funding cycle.
    ``(e) Selection of Projects.--
            ``(1) Applications.--In order to receive assistance to 
        carry out a project under the program in a State, an eligible 
        entity shall submit to the program administrator of the State 
        an application which is in such form and contains such 
        information as the Secretary may by regulation require.
            ``(2) Review of applications by interdisciplinary teams.--
                    ``(A) Transmittal.--Each application for assistance 
                under the program received by the program administrator 
                of a State shall be transmitted to the 
                interdisciplinary team of the State established 
                pursuant to this section.
                    ``(B) Review.--On an annual basis, the 
                interdisciplinary team of each State shall--
                            ``(i) review applications transmitted to 
                        the team pursuant to subparagraph (A);
                            ``(ii) determine the eligibility of 
                        proposed projects for funding under the 
                        program;
                            ``(iii) make recommendations concerning 
                        funding priorities for such eligible projects; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) transmit its findings and 
                        recommendations to the program administrator of 
                        the State.
                    ``(C) Project opposition by federal 
                representatives.--If 2 or more of the members of an 
                interdisciplinary team of a State appointed pursuant to 
                clause (ii), (iii) or (iv) of subsection (f)(2)(B) are 
                opposed to a project which is supported by a majority 
                of the members of the interdisciplinary team, a 
                determination on whether the project may receive 
                assistance under the program shall be made by the Chief 
                of the Soil Conservation Service. In making a 
                determination under this subparagraph, the Chief shall 
                consult with the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency, the Director of the Fish and 
                Wildlife Service, and, in coastal areas, the Assistant 
                Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service. 
                The Secretary shall conduct such monitoring activities 
                as are necessary to ensure the success and 
                effectiveness of project determinations made pursuant 
                to this subparagraph.
            ``(3) Final selection.--The final determination on whether 
        to provide assistance for a project under the program shall be 
        made by the program administrator of the State and shall be 
        based on the recommendations of the interdisciplinary team of 
        the State transmitted pursuant to paragraph (2)(B).
    ``(f) Appointment of interdisciplinary teams.--
            ``(1) In general.--There shall be established in each State 
        an interdisciplinary team of specialists to assist in reviewing 
        project applications under the program.
            ``(2) Appointment.--The interdisciplinary team of a State 
        shall be composed of the following members:
                    ``(A) Appointees of the program administrator.--
                Individuals to be appointed on an annual basis by the 
                program administrator of the State, including at least 
                1 representative of each of the following specialties:
                            ``(i) Hydrologists.
                            ``(ii) Plant ecologists.
                            ``(iii) Aquatic biologists.
                            ``(iv) Biotechnical slope protection 
                        experts.
                            ``(v) Landscape architect or planners.
                            ``(vi) Members of the agricultural 
                        community.
                            ``(vii) Representatives of the fish and 
                        wildlife agency of the State.
                            ``(viii) Representatives of the soil and 
                        water conservation agency of the State.
                    ``(B) Representatives of federal agencies.--One 
                representative of each of the following Federal 
                agencies to be appointed on an annual basis by the 
                appropriate regional or State director of the agency:
                            ``(i) The Soil Conservation Service.
                            ``(ii) The Environmental Protection Agency.
                            ``(iii) The National Marine Fishery Service 
                        (in coastal States).
                            ``(iv) The United States Fish and Wildlife 
                        Service.
            ``(3) Affiliation of members.--Members appointed pursuant 
        to paragraph (2)(A) may be employees of Federal, State, tribal, 
        or local agencies or non-profit organizations.
            ``(4) Federal advisory committee act.--The requirements of 
        the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq.) 
        shall not apply to an interdisciplinary team established under 
        this subsection.
    ``(g) Conditions for Receiving Assistance.--
            ``(1) Project sponsors and cosponsors.--
                    ``(A) Requirement.--In order to be eligible for 
                assistance under the program, a project shall have as 
                project participants both a citizens organization and a 
                State, regional, tribal, or local governing body, 
                agency, or district.
                    ``(B) Project sponsor.--One of the project 
                participants described in subparagraph (A) shall be 
                designated as the project sponsor. The project sponsor 
                shall act as the principal party making the grant 
                application and have the primary responsibility for 
                executing the grant agreement, submitting invoices, and 
                receiving reimbursements.
                    ``(C) Project cosponsor.--The other project 
                participant described in subparagraph (A) shall be 
                designated as the project cosponsor. The project 
                cosponsor shall, jointly with the project sponsor, 
                support and actively participate in the project. There 
                may be more than 1 cosponsor for any project.
            ``(2) Use of grant funds.--Grant funds made available under 
        the program shall not supplant other available funds for 
        waterway restoration projects, including developer fees, 
        mitigation, or compensation required as a permit condition or 
        as a result of a violation of the Federal Water Pollution 
        Control Act or any other law.
            ``(3) Maintenance requirement.--At least 1 project sponsor 
        or cosponsor shall be designated as responsible for on-going 
        maintenance of the project.
    ``(h) Non-Federal Share.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), the 
        non-Federal share of the cost of a project under this section, 
        including structural and non-structural features, shall be 25 
        percent.
            ``(2) Economically depressed communities.--The Secretary 
        may waive all or part of the non-Federal share of the cost of 
        any project that is to be carried out under the program in an 
        economically depressed community.
            ``(3) In-kind contributions.--Non-Federal interests may 
        meet any portion of the non-Federal share of the cost of a 
        project under this section through in-kind contributions, 
        including contributions of labor, involvement of youth service 
        and conservation corps program participants, materials, 
        equipment, consulting services, and land.
            ``(4) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue 
        regulations to establish procedures for granting waivers under 
        paragraph (2).
    ``(i) Limitations on Costs of Administration and Technical 
Assistance.--Of the total amount made available in any fiscal year to 
carry out this section--
            ``(1) not to exceed 15 percent may be used for 
        administrative expenses; and
            ``(2) not to exceed 25 percent may be used for providing 
        technical assistance.
    ``(j) Consultation With Federal Agencies.--In establishing and 
carrying out the program under this section, the Secretary shall 
consult with the heads of appropriate Federal departments and agencies, 
including the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the Director of the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Commissioner of the Bureau 
of Reclamation, the Director of the Geological Survey, the Chief of the 
Forest Service, and the Assistant Administrator for the National Marine 
Fishery Service.
    ``(k) Citizens Oversight Committee.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Governor of each State shall 
        establish a citizens oversight committee to evaluate management 
        of the program in the State. The membership of a citizens 
        oversight committee shall represent a diversity of regions, 
        cultures, and watershed management interests.
            ``(2) Components to be evaluated.--Program components to be 
        evaluated by a citizens oversight committee established under 
        paragraph (1) are as follows:
                    ``(A) Program outreach, accessibility, and service 
                to low income and minority ethnic communities and 
                displaced resource harvesters.
                    ``(B) The manageability of grant application 
                procedures, contracting transactions, and invoicing for 
                disbursement for small nonprofit organizations.
                    ``(C) The success of the program in supporting the 
                range of the program objectives, including evaluation 
                of the environmental impacts of the program as 
                implemented.
                    ``(D) The number of jobs created for identified 
                target groups.
                    ``(E) The diversity of job skills fostered for 
                long-term watershed related employment.
                    ``(F) The extent of involvement of youth 
                conservation and service corps programs.
            ``(3) Annual report.--The program administrator of each 
        State shall issue an annual report summarizing the program 
        evaluation under paragraph (1). Such report shall be signed by 
        each member of the citizens oversight committee of the State 
        and shall be submitted to the Secretary.
            ``(4) Federal advisory committee act.--The requirements of 
        the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq.) 
        shall not apply to a citizens oversight committee established 
        under this subsection.
    ``(l) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section, the following 
definitions apply:
            ``(1) Biotechnical slope protection.--The term 
        `biotechnical slope protection' means the use of live and dead 
        plant material to repair and fortify watershed slopes, 
        roadcuts, stream banks, and other sites vulnerable to excessive 
        erosion, using such systems as brush piling, brush layering, 
        brush matting, fascines, joint plantings, and wood cribwalls.
            ``(2) Channelization.--The term `channelization' means 
        removing the meanders and vegetation from rivers and streams 
        for purposes of accelerating storm flow velocities, filling 
        habitat to accommodate land development and existing 
        structures, and stabilizing banks with concrete or riprap.
            ``(3) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) any tribal or local government, flood control 
                district, water district, conservation district (as 
                defined by section 1201(a)(2) of the Food Security Act 
                of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801(a)(2)), agricultural extension 
                4-H program, nonprofit organization, or watershed 
                council; and
                    ``(B) any unincorporated neighborhood organization, 
                watershed council, or small citizen nongovernmental or 
                nonprofessional organization for which an incorporated 
                nonprofit organization acts as a fiscal agent.
            ``(4) Fiscal agent.--The term `fiscal agent' means an 
        incorporated nonprofit organization that--
                    ``(A) acts as a legal entity which can accept 
                government or private funds and pass them onto an 
                unincorporated community, cultural, or neighborhood 
                organization; and
                    ``(B) has entered into a written agreement with 
                such an unincorporated organization that specifies the 
                funding, program, and working arrangements for carrying 
                out a project under the program.
            ``(5) Nonprofit organization.--The term `nonprofit 
        organization' means any organization with tax exempt status 
        under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            ``(6) Program.--The term `program' means the Waterways 
        Restoration Program established by the Secretary under 
        subsection (a).
            ``(7) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture acting through the Chief of the Soil 
        Conservation Service.
            ``(8) Stream channel quasi-equilibrium.--The term `stream 
        channel quasi-equilibrium' means restoring channel geometrics, 
        meanders, and slopes so that channel dimensions are 
        appropriately sized to the watershed and its slope, bankfull 
        discharges, and sediment sizes and transport rates for the 
        purpose of correcting excessive channel erosion and deposition.
            ``(9) Watershed council.--The term `watershed council' 
        means a representative group of local watershed residents 
        (including the private, public, government, and nonprofit 
        sectors) organized to develop and implement a consensus 
        watershed restoration plan that includes restoration, 
        acquisition, and other activities.
            ``(10) Waterway.--The term `waterway' means any natural, 
        degraded, seasonal, or created wetland on private or public 
        lands, including rivers, streams, riparian areas, marshes, 
        ponds, bogs, mudflats, lakes, and estuaries. Such term includes 
        any natural or humanmade watercourse on public or private lands 
        which is culverted, channelized, or vegetatively cleared, 
        including canals, irrigation ditches, drainage ways, and 
        navigation, industrial, flood control, and water supply 
        channels.
            ``(11) Youth conservation and service corps.--The term 
        `youth conservation and service corps program' means a full-
        time, year-round youth corps program or a full-time summer 
        youth corps program described in section 122(a)(2) of the 
        National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
        12572(a)(2)).
    ``(m) Funding.--
            ``(1) Minimum amounts.--Not less than 20 percent of the 
        total amount appropriated to carry out this Act for any fiscal 
        year beginning after September 30, 1994, shall be used by the 
        Secretary to carry out this section.
            ``(2) Transferred funds.--The Secretary may accept 
        transfers of funds from other Federal departments and agencies 
        in order to carry out the objectives of this section.
            ``(3) Applicability of requirements.--Funds made available 
        to carry out this section, and financial assistance provided 
        with such funds, shall not be subject to any requirements of 
        this Act other than the requirements of this section.''.

                                 <all>

HR 4289 IH----2