[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1578 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1578

   To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to assist in the 
       restoration of the Chesapeake Bay, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 1997

  Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Gilchrest) 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 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 
1997''.

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) in recent years, the productivity and water quality of 
        the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the Bay have been 
        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 have committed as 
        Chesapeake Bay Agreement signatories to a comprehensive and 
        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.

    Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1267) is amended to read as follows:

                            ``chesapeake bay

    ``Sec. 117. (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) 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 ecosystem and signed 
        by the Chesapeake Executive Council.
            ``(2) Chesapeake bay program.--The term `Chesapeake Bay 
        Program' means the program directed by the Chesapeake Executive 
        Council in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
            ``(3) Chesapeake bay watershed.--The term `Chesapeake Bay 
        watershed' shall have the meaning determined by the 
        Administrator.
            ``(4) Chesapeake executive council.--The term `Chesapeake 
        Executive Council' means the signatories to the Chesapeake Bay 
        Agreement.
            ``(5) 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.--The Administrator shall maintain in 
        the Environmental Protection Agency a Chesapeake Bay Program 
        Office. The Chesapeake Bay Program Office shall provide support 
        to the Chesapeake Executive Council by--
                    ``(A) implementing and coordinating science, 
                research, modeling, support services, monitoring, data 
                collection, and other activities that support the 
                Chesapeake Bay Program;
                    ``(B) 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;
                    ``(C) 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;
                    ``(D) 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 of the Chesapeake Bay; and
                            ``(ii) obtain the support of the 
                        appropriate officials of the agencies and 
                        authorities in achieving the objectives of the 
                        Chesapeake Bay Agreement; and
                    ``(E) 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 consultation with other members of 
        the Chesapeake Executive Council, the Administrator may provide 
        technical assistance, and assistance grants, to nonprofit 
        private organizations and individuals, State and local 
        governments, colleges, universities, and interstate agencies to 
        carry out this section, 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 Environmental 
                Protection Agency guidance.
                    ``(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 
        (including salaries, overhead, and indirect costs for services 
        provided and charged against projects supported by funds made 
        available under this subsection) incurred by a person described 
        in paragraph (1) in carrying out a project under this 
        subsection during a fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of 
        the grant made to the person under this subsection for the 
        fiscal year.
    ``(e) Implementation 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 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.
            ``(2) Proposals.--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. The proposal shall include--
                    ``(A) 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 to meet applicable 
                water quality standards; and
                    ``(B) 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 a fiscal year.
            ``(4) Federal share.--The Federal share of an 
        implementation grant provided under this subsection shall not 
        exceed 50 percent of the costs 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 
        (including salaries, overhead, and indirect costs for services 
        provided and charged against projects supported by funds made 
        available under this subsection) incurred by a signatory 
        jurisdiction in carrying out a project under this subsection 
        during a fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of the grant 
        made to the jurisdiction under this subsection for the fiscal 
        year.
    ``(f) Compliance of Federal Facilities.--
            ``(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.
    ``(g) Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Tributary, and River Basin 
Program.--
            ``(1) Nutrient and water quality management strategies.--
        Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
        subsection, the Administrator, in consultation 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 for the tributaries 
        of the Chesapeake Bay to achieve and maintain--
                    ``(A) the nutrient goals of the Chesapeake Bay 
                Agreement for the quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus 
                entering the main stem Chesapeake Bay;
                    ``(B) the water quality requirements necessary to 
                restore living resources in both the tributaries and 
                the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay;
                    ``(C) the Chesapeake Bay basinwide toxics 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 that 
                inhabit the Bay or on human health; and
                    ``(D) habitat restoration, protection, and 
                enhancement goals established by Chesapeake Bay 
                Agreement signatories for wetlands, forest riparian 
                zones, and other types of habitat associated with the 
                Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the Chesapeake 
                Bay.
            ``(2) Small watershed grants program.--The Administrator, 
        in consultation with other members of the Chesapeake Executive 
        Council, may offer the technical assistance and assistance 
        grants authorized under subsection (d) to local governments and 
        nonprofit private organizations and individuals in the 
        Chesapeake Bay watershed to implement--
                    ``(A) cooperative tributary basin strategies that 
                address the Chesapeake Bay's water quality and living 
                resource needs; or
                    ``(B) locally based protection and restoration 
                programs or projects within a watershed that complement 
                the tributary basin strategies.
    ``(h) Study of Chesapeake Bay Program.--Not later than January 1, 
1999, and each 3 years thereafter, the Administrator, in cooperation 
with other members of the Chesapeake Executive Council, shall complete 
a study and submit a comprehensive report to Congress on the results of 
the study. The study and report shall, at a minimum--
            ``(1) assess the commitments and goals of the management 
        strategies established under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement and 
        the extent to which the commitments and goals are being met;
            ``(2) assess the priority needs required by the management 
        strategies and the extent to which the priority needs are being 
        met;
            ``(3) assess the effects of air pollution deposition on 
        water quality of the Chesapeake Bay;
            ``(4) assess the state of the Chesapeake Bay and its 
        tributaries and related actions of the Chesapeake Bay Program;
            ``(5) make recommendations for the improved management of 
        the Chesapeake Bay Program; and
            ``(6) provide the report in a format transferable to and 
        usable by other watershed restoration programs.
    ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 1998 through 2003.''.

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