[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4104 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 4104


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 13, 2000

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
                              Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize funding 
   to carry out certain water quality and environmental restoration 
    projects for the Mississippi Sound, Mississippi, 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 ``Mississippi Sound Restoration Act of 
2000''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM.

    (a) Finding.--Congress finds that the Mississippi Sound is an 
estuary of national significance.
    (b) Addition to National Estuary Program.--Section 320(a)(2)(B) of 
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(a)(2)(B)) is 
amended by inserting ``Mississippi Sound, Mississippi;'' before ``and 
Peconic Bay, New York.''.

SEC. 3. MISSISSIPPI SOUND.

    Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 121. MISSISSIPPI SOUND.

    ``(a) Establishment of Restoration Program.--The Administrator 
shall establish within the Environmental Protection Agency the 
Mississippi Sound Restoration Program.
    ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the program shall be to restore the 
ecological health of the Sound, including barrier islands, coastal 
wetlands, keys, and reefs, by developing and funding restoration 
projects and related scientific and public education projects and by 
coordinating efforts among Federal, State, and local governmental 
agencies and nonregulatory organizations.
    ``(c) Duties.--In carrying out the program, the Administrator 
shall--
            ``(1) provide administrative and technical assistance to a 
        management conference convened for the Sound under section 320;
            ``(2) assist and support the activities of the management 
        conference, including the implementation of recommendations of 
        the management conference;
            ``(3) support environmental monitoring of the Sound and 
        research to provide necessary technical and scientific 
        information;
            ``(4) develop a comprehensive research plan to address the 
        technical needs of the program;
            ``(5) coordinate the grant, research, and planning programs 
        authorized under this section; and
            ``(6) collect and make available to the public 
        publications, and other forms of information the management 
        conference determines to be appropriate, relating to the 
        environmental quality of the Sound.
    ``(d) Grants.--The Administrator may make grants--
            ``(1) for restoration projects and studies recommended by a 
        management conference convened for the Sound under section 320; 
        and
            ``(2) for public education projects recommended by the 
        management conference.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions 
apply:
            ``(1) Sound.--The term `Sound' means the Mississippi Sound 
        located on the Gulf Coast of the State of Mississippi.
            ``(2) Program.--The term `program' means the Mississippi 
        Sound Restoration Program established under subsection (a).
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out this section. Such sums shall 
remain available until expended.''.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that all recipients of grants under 
this Act (including amendments made by this Act) shall abide by the Buy 
American Act. The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
shall give notice of the Buy American Act requirements to grant 
applicants under this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 12, 2000.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.