[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 839 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 839

 To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
   carry out a pilot program for restoration of urban watersheds and 
 community environments in the Anacostia River watershed, District of 
             Columbia and Maryland, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 24, 1999

  Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
   carry out a pilot program for restoration of urban watersheds and 
 community environments in the Anacostia River watershed, District of 
             Columbia and Maryland, 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 ``National Urban Watershed Model 
Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. ANACOSTIA RIVER WATERSHED RESTORATION AND PROTECTION PILOT 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency shall develop and carry out a pilot program to serve as a 
national model for the restoration of urban watersheds and community 
environments. The purposes of the program shall be to demonstrate 
methods to encourage urban communities to use their environmental 
resources as a catalyst for sustainable community redevelopment and to 
meet the objectives of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 
including stormwater, combined sewer overflows, and other water quality 
objectives. The program shall have a dual function of restoration and 
protection of river resources and reduction of environmental human 
health risks in the surrounding communities.
    (b) Location.--The pilot program under this section shall be 
carried out in the Anacostia River watershed, District of Columbia and 
Maryland.
    (c) Activities.--In carrying out the program under this section, 
the Administrator shall--
            (1) integrate on a community or geographic basis the 
        regulatory and nonregulatory programs of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency with other Federal, State, and local 
        government programs and provide effective coordination among 
        such programs;
            (2) support baseline monitoring efforts of State and local 
        governments to determine key trends in ambient environmental 
        conditions for the purpose of filling gaps in critical data 
        about the environmental condition of the watershed;
            (3) develop and maintain environmental indicators in 
        conjunction with interested public entities and ensure regular 
        public reporting of these indicators;
            (4) provide grants in accordance with subsection (d) to 
        local community groups and nonprofit organizations to foster 
        community involvement in the decisionmaking process, 
        environmental educational goals, and restoration strategies;
            (5) assist in the establishment of measurable goals for 
        such restoration;
            (6) maintain annual program plans which provide for public 
        input;
            (7) provide opportunities for the education of school 
        children and community groups on local environmental resources 
        and on what individuals can do to reduce environmental and 
        health risks;
            (8) develop consensus strategies for the restoration and 
        protection of the watershed in cooperation with other Federal, 
        State, and local groups to address critical issues and needs;
            (9) maintain a biennial Federal work planning process for 
        Federal landholders and programmatic agencies to identify 
        specific opportunities and needs for Federal activities in 
        support of the pilot program's goals;
            (10) demonstrate new technologies and approaches which are 
        applicable nationally to stormwater management, combined sewer 
        overflow control, floatables reduction, forest buffer 
        restoration, and other activities being conducted under the 
        Federal Water Pollution Control Act;
            (11) participate in urban habitat improvement projects in 
        the watershed on a demonstration basis;
            (12) assist in the implementation of the regional action 
        plan for toxics reduction and prevention in the watershed;
            (13) implement on the ground projects for restoration of 
        the watershed to the extent they are unique or transferable to 
        national audiences; and
            (14) maintain and enhance the Biennial Work Plan for the 
        Anacostia River Watershed published by the United States Army 
        Corp of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency on 
        April 22, 1997, for the purpose of identifying specific 
        opportunities for Federal landholders to contribute to the 
        pilot program.
    (d) Challenge Grants.--
            (1) Set-aside.--The Administrator may set aside no less 
        than $400,000 of amounts appropriated to carry out this section 
        for each fiscal year to make grants under subsection (c)(4).
            (2) Environmental protection agency share.--The 
        Environmental Protection Agency's share of the costs of 
        activities to be carried out with a grant under this section 
        shall be not less than 75 percent. The remaining share of such 
        costs may be provided through in-kind contributions and may be 
        provided from Federal funds appropriated to carry out any law, 
        other than this Act, if the Federal agency making such funds 
        available agrees.
    (e) Coordination.--In carrying out the pilot program under this 
section, the Administrator shall work in coordination with other 
Federal agencies, particularly the Army Corps of Engineers, to identify 
projects and activities which are supportive of the goals of the pilot 
program.
    (f) Reports.--The Administrator shall transmit to Congress by 
January 1 of each fiscal years 2000 through 2004 a report on the 
activities carried out under, and results of, the pilot program during 
the preceding fiscal year, including a report on the technical, 
managerial, and public involvement aspects of the pilot program which 
are transferable to other urban areas.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $750,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2000 through 2004. Such sums shall remain available until 
expended.
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