[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3113 Introduced in House (IH)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 3113

 To amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 relating to cost 
sharing for creation of dredged material disposal areas, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 1996

 Mr. Pallone (for himself and Mr. Franks of New Jersey) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 relating to cost 
sharing for creation of dredged material disposal areas, 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 ``Partnership for Productive Ports 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) A network of ports and harbors is essential to the 
        United States economy, competitiveness in world trade, and 
        national security. Approximately 95 percent of United States 
        overseas trade moves on ships in and out of United States 
        ports.
            (2) The Nation's coastal, ocean, and freshwater resources 
        are critical assets which must be protected, conserved, and 
        restored. These resources provide numerous economic and 
        environmental benefits.
            (3) Port facilities serve as a key link in the intermodal 
        transportation chain and can realize their full potential as 
        magnets for shipping and commerce only if timely, cost-
        effective, and environmentally sound dredging and dredged 
        material management occurs.
            (4) Approximately 400,000,000 cubic yards of sediment are 
        dredged from our Nation's ports each year, 300,000,000 cubic 
        yards of which is dredged from Federal channels.
            (5) Improved environmental responsibility requires that 
        dredged material demonstrating a potential to unreasonably 
        degrade human health or the environment be appropriately 
        managed to minimize negative environmental interactions, yet 
        suitable disposal sites are often not readily available.
            (6) All Federal navigation dredging projects are approved 
        because they are in the national interest and therefore should 
        not be blocked because of a lack of disposal capacity that 
        meets the necessary Federal requirements.
            (7) The cost of disposal and management of sediments 
        dredged in the course of constructing and maintaining a 
        navigation project are integral to the total project costs and 
        as such should be cost shared according to the allocations 
        under existing law.
            (8) Inconsistent cost-sharing policies for the use of open 
        water, upland, and confined disposal facilities create an 
        economic incentive to use open water disposal sites even when 
        more environmentally positive alternatives are preferable.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide Federal-non-
Federal cost sharing for the construction and operation of confined 
disposal facilities for contaminated dredged materials in order to make 
suitable alternatives to open water disposal available nationwide.

SEC. 3. CREATION OF CONFINED DREDGED MATERIAL DISPOSAL FACILITIES.

    (a) Federal Share.--Section 101(b) of the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2211(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Federal share'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) General federal share.--The Federal share'';
            (2) by moving the text of paragraph (1), as so designated, 
        2 ems to the right; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Federal share for confined disposal facilities.--The 
        Federal share of the cost of project features that are 
        necessary for creation of confined dredged material disposal 
        facilities shall be determined in accordance with subsection 
        (a)(1). The cost sharing requirements of this paragraph shall 
        apply to projects authorized before, on, or after the the date 
        of the enactment of this paragraph.
            ``(3) Confined disposal facility defined.--In this section 
        and section 210, the term `confined disposal facility' means 
        any alternative to ocean disposal or ocean disposal with 
        capping, including subaqueous borrow pits, containment islands, 
        and upland confined disposal facilities.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 101 of such Act is further 
amended--
            (1) in the second sentence of subsection (a)(2)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and'' after ``rights-of-way,''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``, and dredged material disposal 
                areas'';
            (2) in subsection (a)(3)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and'' after ``rights-of-way,''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``, and dredged material disposal 
                areas'' and inserting ``, including those required for 
                confined dredged material disposal facilities,''; and
            (3) in subsection (e)(1) by striking ``, and to provide 
        dredged material disposal areas''.

SEC. 4. FUNDING FROM HARBOR MAINTENANCE TRUST FUND.

    Section 210 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (33 
U.S.C. 2238) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Inclusion of Disposal Costs as O&M Costs.--For purposes of 
this section, the term `operation and maintenance costs' includes costs 
related to disposal of dredged materials in a confined dredged material 
disposal facility. Operation and maintenance costs other than costs 
related to such disposal shall receive priority consideration for 
funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.''.

SEC. 5.         CONFINED DISPOSAL FACILITY IN THE PORT OF NEW YORK AND 
              NEW JERSEY.

    (a) Creation and Operation.--Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army, in 
cooperation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency and State and local governmental agencies, shall create, 
operate, and maintain a         confined dredged material disposal 
facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The facility shall be 
designed for the disposal of dredged materials that do not meet 
applicable criteria for open water disposal.
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