[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1800 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1800

  To establish the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative to 
monitor and reduce sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi 
                                 River.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 10, 2001

Mr. Kind (for himself, Mr. Leach, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. Evans, Mr. Nussle, 
Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Kildee, Ms. 
Baldwin, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Luther, Mr. Udall of 
   New Mexico, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Ms. McCollum, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. 
Manzullo, Mr. Tanner, Mr. Petri, and Mr. Ford) introduced the following 
   bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in 
addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative to 
monitor and reduce sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi 
                                 River.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Upper Mississippi 
River Basin Conservation Act of 2001''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings, purposes, and reliance on sound science.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
           TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING NETWORK

Sec. 101. Establishment of monitoring network.
Sec. 102. Data collection and storage responsibilities.
Sec. 103. Relationship to existing sediment and nutrient monitoring.
Sec. 104. Collaboration with other public and private monitoring 
                            efforts.
Sec. 105. Cost share requirements.
Sec. 106. Reporting requirements.
Sec. 107. Assessment of water resource and water quality management.
    TITLE II--INITIATIVE GRANT, DEMONSTRATION, AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS

Sec. 201. Computer modeling of sediment and nutrient sources.
Sec. 202. Research regarding best management practices and sediment and 
                            nutrient loss.
Sec. 203. Demonstration projects regarding new best management 
                            practices to reduce sediment and nutrient 
                            loss.
Sec. 204. Use of electronic means to distribute information.
Sec. 205. Reporting requirements.
                 TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

Sec. 301. Privacy of personal data received by Department of 
                            Agriculture and data gathering locations.
 TITLE IV--ADVISORY COUNCIL ON THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER STEWARDSHIP 
                               INITIATIVE

Sec. 401. Establishment of Advisory Council.
Sec. 402. Responsibilities of Advisory Council.
Sec. 403. Advisory nature of Council.
               TITLE V--FEDERAL INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP

Sec. 501. Establishment of Interagency Working Group.
               TITLE VI--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

Sec. 601. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND RELIANCE ON SOUND SCIENCE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries are an 
        important source of municipal and industrial water supplies for 
        many of the region's more than 24,000,000 residents.
            (2) The Upper Mississippi River Basin supports many 
        economic activities of regional and national importance and is 
        an important element of the national transportation 
        infrastructure, enabling shipment of agricultural, petroleum, 
        coal, and many other products.
            (3) Millions of tourists annually visit the Upper 
        Mississippi River Basin to fish, hunt, swim, boat, and camp, as 
        well as to visit the region's many historic towns and 
        archaeological sites.
            (4) The sediments and nutrients that inadvertently enter 
        streams, and ultimately the Mississippi River, result in--
                    (A) a reduction in the quality and quantity of farm 
                crops and thereby a reduction in farm income;
                    (B) an increase in channel maintenance costs;
                    (C) a threat to drinking water supplies; and
                    (D) the filling of side channels used by river 
                wildlife.
            (5) The public and private costs associated with sediment 
        and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin are 
        significant:
                    (A) Farmers lose more than $300,000,000 worth of 
                applied nitrogen annually.
                    (B) Dredging costs exceed $100,000,000 annually.
                    (C) The cost of habitat restoration efforts along 
                the main stem of the Upper Mississippi River will soon 
                reach $33,000,000 annually.
            (6) Although there are more than 75 local, State, tribal, 
        and Federal public and private programs designed to address 
        sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River 
        Basin, there is a lack of collaboration by resource managers to 
        identify and address significant sources of sediment and 
        nutrient loss, monitor results, share information, or set 
        priorities. Consequently, programs often overlap, gaps are left 
        unfilled, and scarce resources are not used efficiently.
            (7) Results of research conducted in the Mississippi River 
        Basin by the Mississippi River Basin/Gulf of Mexico Watershed 
        Nutrient Task Force call for a cooperative, interagency, 
        adaptive management approach to natural resource management at 
        the basin level.
            (8) Congress and the executive branch recognize the need to 
        focus Federal investment in natural resources management and 
        stewardship in the Upper Mississippi River Basin in a manner 
        that is coordinated, efficient, and effective to meet local, 
        State, tribal, Basin-wide, and national goals for agriculture 
        and environmental health and sustainability.
            (9) An approach to natural resource management at the basin 
        level, which is region-specific and coordinates existing 
        Federal, State and local programs, is essential to attain 
        common water quality goals while reducing duplication. 
        Involving advisory groups of local, State, and tribal 
        residents, in concert with Federal agencies with appropriate 
        natural resource authorities, is the most effective means to 
        ensure that Federal investments accomplish desired results at 
        the local, State, tribal, and Basin-wide levels. This would 
        ensure that conservation activities would contribute to similar 
        national goals.
            (10) A public-private approach to natural resource 
        management in the Upper Mississippi River Basin would ensure 
        that all voices would be heard and all interested persons would 
be able to contribute to a process of meeting complimentary and 
overlapping resource management and environmental goals.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to adopt a coordinated public-private approach in the 
        Upper Mississippi River Basin to take action to control 
        nutrient and sediment loss, to monitor the results of such 
        actions, share information, and make adjustments to further 
        reduce nutrient and sediment loss;
            (2) to identify major sources of sediment and nutrients 
        that wash into rivers and streams of the Upper Mississippi 
        River Basin;
            (3) to use computer models in conjunction with monitoring 
        data to track, over the short- and long-term, the quantity, 
        transport, and fate of sediments and nutrients that enter the 
        Upper Mississippi River Basin;
            (4) to increase and target technical and financial 
        assistance to reduce nutrient and sediment loss in the Upper 
        Mississippi River Basin;
            (5) to develop innovative ways to reduce sediment and 
        nutrient loss;
            (6) to expand efforts to share information; and
            (7) to coordinate public and private programs to 
        collaboratively set and meet priorities.
    (c) Reliance on Sound Science and Adaptive Management.--It is the 
policy of Congress that Federal investments in the Upper Mississippi 
River Basin must be guided by sound science and management actions 
should be guided by an adaptive management framework.
    (d) Department of Agriculture Use of Collected Data.--The Secretary 
of Agriculture may use the scientific data collected from the 
monitoring and modeling network established pursuant to section 101 to 
target conservation programs, including, but not limited to, the 
following:
            (1) The Environmental Quality Incentives Program.
            (2) The Wetland Reserve Program.
            (3) The Conservation Reserve Program.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``Advisory Council'' means the Advisory 
        Council on the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative 
        established by title IV.
            (2) The terms ``Upper Mississippi River Basin'' and 
        ``Basin'' mean the watershed portion of the Upper Mississippi 
        River and Illinois River basins, from Cairo, Illinois to the 
        headwaters of the Mississippi River. The designation includes 
        the Kaskaskia watershed along the Illinois River, and the 
        Meramec watershed along the Missouri River.
            (3) The terms ``Upper Mississippi River Stewardship 
        Initiative'' and ``Initiative'' mean the activities authorized 
        or required by this Act to monitor and reduce nutrient and 
        sediment loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
            (4) The term ``sound science'' means a scientific method 
        that uses the best available technical and scientific 
        information and techniques to identify and understand natural 
        resource management needs and appropriate treatments, to 
        implement conservation measures, and to assess the results of 
        treatments on natural resource health and sustainability in the 
        Upper Mississippi River Basin.
            (5) The term ``adaptive management framework'' refers to a 
        comprehensive management program that combines planning, 
        monitoring, modeling, and research to improve scientific 
        knowledge, make adjustments in management practices based upon 
        new information, and target actions within watersheds where the 
        actions will be most effective.

           TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING NETWORK

SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF MONITORING NETWORK.

    (a) Establishment.--As part of the Upper Mississippi River 
Stewardship Initiative, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish a 
sediment and nutrient monitoring network for the Upper Mississippi 
River Basin for the purpose of--
            (1) monitoring sediment and nutrient loss into Upper 
        Mississippi River Basin;
            (2) recording changes to sediment and nutrient loss over 
        time;
            (3) providing coordinated data to be used in computer 
        modeling of the Basin, pursuant to section 201; and
            (4) identifying major sources of sediment and nutrients 
        within the Basin for the purpose of targeting resources to 
        reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
    (b) Role of United States Geological Survey.--The Secretary of the 
Interior shall carry out this title acting through the office of the 
Director of the United States Geological Survey.
    (c) Headquarters.--Sediment and nutrient monitoring information 
shall be headquartered at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences 
Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

SEC. 102. DATA COLLECTION AND STORAGE RESPONSIBILITIES.

    (a) Guidelines for Data Collection and Storage.--The Secretary of 
the Interior shall establish guidelines for the effective design of 
data collection activities regarding sediment and nutrient monitoring, 
for the use of suitable and consistent methods for data collection, and 
for consistent reporting, data storage, and archiving practices.
    (b) Release of Data.--Data resulting from sediment and nutrient 
monitoring in the Upper Mississippi River Basin shall be released to 
the public using generic station identifiers and location coordinates. 
In the case of a monitoring station located on private lands, 
information regarding the location of the station shall not be 
disseminated without the landowner's permission.
    (c) Consultation.--The Secretary of the Interior shall establish 
the guidelines under subsection (a) in consultation with the Secretary 
of Agriculture and all entities known to be conducting sediment and 
nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

SEC. 103. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING.

    (a) Inventory.--To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of 
the Interior shall inventory the sediment and nutrient monitoring 
efforts, in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act, of 
Federal, State, local, and nongovernmental entities for the purpose of 
creating a baseline understanding of overlap, data gaps and 
redundancies.
    (b) Integration.--On the basis of the inventory, the Secretary of 
the Interior shall integrate the existing sediment and nutrient 
monitoring efforts, to the maximum extent practicable, into the 
sediment and nutrient monitoring network required by section 101.
    (c) Consultation and Use of Existing Data.--In carrying out this 
section, the Secretary of the Interior shall make maximum use of data 
in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act and of ongoing 
programs and efforts of Federal, State, tribal, local, and 
nongovernmental entities in developing the sediment and nutrient 
monitoring network required by section 101.

SEC. 104. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MONITORING 
              EFFORTS.

    To establish the sediment and nutrient monitoring network, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall collaborate, to the maximum extent 
practicable, with other Federal, State, tribal, local and private 
sediment and nutrient monitoring programs that meet guidelines 
prescribed under section 102(a), as determined by the Secretary of the 
Interior.

SEC. 105. COST SHARE REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Required Cost Sharing.--The non-Federal sponsors of the 
sediment and nutrient monitoring network shall be responsible for not 
less than 25 percent of the costs of maintaining the network.
    (b) In-Kind Contributions.--Up to 80 percent of the non-Federal 
share may be provided through in-kind contributions.
    (c) Treatment of Existing Efforts.--A State or local monitoring 
effort, in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act, that 
the Secretary of the Interior finds adheres to the guidelines 
prescribed under section 102(a) shall be deemed to satisfy the cost 
share requirements of this section.

SEC. 106. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act on the 
development of the sediment and nutrient monitoring network.

SEC. 107. ASSESSMENT OF WATER RESOURCE AND WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT.

    The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences 
shall conduct a comprehensive assessment of the water resource and 
water quality management within the Upper Mississippi River Basin for 
the purpose of reviewing nonpoint source water quality issues and 
providing scientific and policy advice for addressing water quality and 
associated watershed problems.

    TITLE II--INITIATIVE GRANT, DEMONSTRATION, AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS

SEC. 201. COMPUTER MODELING OF SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT SOURCES.

    (a) Modeling Program Required.--As part of the Upper Mississippi 
River Stewardship Initiative, the Director of the United States 
Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Chief of the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service, shall establish a modeling program to 
identify significant sources of sediment and nutrients in the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin.
    (b) Role.--Computer modeling shall be used to identify 
subwatersheds which are significant sources of sediment and nutrient 
loss and shall be made available for the purposes of targeting public 
and private sediment and nutrient reduction efforts.
    (c) Components.--Sediment and nutrient models for the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin shall include the following:
            (1) Models of processes affecting field sediment and 
        nutrient losses.
            (2) Models of watersheds.
            (3) Models of main river channels.
            (4) Models that relate sediment and nutrient yields from 
        large basins to sources, land uses, and management practices.
    (d) Collection of Ancillary Information.--Ancillary information 
shall be collected in a GIS format to support modeling and management 
use of modeling results, including the following:
            (1) Land use data.
            (2) Soils data.
            (3) Elevation data.
            (4) Information on sediment and nutrient reduction 
        improvement actions.
            (5) Remotely sense data.
    (e) Headquarters.--Information developed by computer modeling shall 
be headquartered at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in 
La Crosse, Wisconsin.

SEC. 202. RESEARCH REGARDING BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND SEDIMENT AND 
              NUTRIENT LOSS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall evaluate the 
benefits and costs of best management practices designed to reduce 
sediment and nutrient loss.
    (b) Evaluation Practices.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall work 
with other partnering agencies, whether Federal, State, tribal, and 
local, and with other public and nonpublic agencies to evaluate the 
benefits of best management practices designed to reduce nutrient and 
sediment loss.
    (c) Economic Risk Assessment.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
assess the economic risks associated with new best management practices 
designed to reduce sediment and nutrient loss.

SEC. 203. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS REGARDING NEW BEST MANAGEMENT 
              PRACTICES TO REDUCE SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT LOSS.

    The Secretary of Agriculture shall administer a grant program to 
supplement non-Federal funds being used by State, tribal, local, and 
private projects to demonstrate new best management practices designed 
to reduce sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River 
Basin.

SEC. 204. USE OF ELECTRONIC MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION.

    (a) Establishment of System.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the United States 
Geological Survey shall establish a system that uses the 
telecommunications medium known as the Internet to provide information 
regarding the following:
            (1) Public and private programs designed to reduce sediment 
        and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
            (2) Information on sediment and nutrient levels in the 
        Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries.
            (3) Successful sediment and nutrient reduction projects.
    (b) Cooperation.--The Director of the United States Geological 
Survey shall establish the system in cooperation with the Natural 
Resources Conservation Service.

SEC. 205. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Monitoring Activities.--Commencing one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Director of the United States Geological 
Survey shall provide to Congress and make available to the public an 
annual report regarding monitoring activities conducted in the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin.
    (b) Modeling Activities.--Every three years, the Director of the 
United States Geological Survey shall provide to Congress and make 
available to the public a progress report regarding modeling 
activities.

                 TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

SEC. 301. PRIVACY OF PERSONAL DATA RECEIVED BY DEPARTMENT OF 
              AGRICULTURE AND DATA GATHERING LOCATIONS.

    The Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by inserting after section 
1243 (16 U.S.C. 3843) the following new section:

``SEC. 1244. PRIVACY OF PERSONAL DATA RELATING TO NATURAL RESOURCES 
              CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Information and Data Received for Technical and Financial 
Assistance.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as 
provided in subsection (c), information and data provided to, or 
developed by, the Secretary of Agriculture (including a contractor of 
the Secretary) for the purpose of providing technical or financial 
assistance to a landowner or operator with respect to any natural 
resources conservation program administered by the Natural Resources 
Conservation Service or the Farm Service Agency shall not be released 
or disclosed (including release or disclosure pursuant to section 552 
of title 5, United States Code) to any agency or person outside the 
Department of Agriculture.
    ``(b) Inventory, Monitoring, and Site Specific Data.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in 
subsection (c), in order to maintain the personal privacy, 
confidentiality, and cooperation of landowners and operators, and to 
maintain the integrity of sample sites, the specific geographic 
locations of the National Resources Inventory of the Department of 
Agriculture data gathering sites and the information and data generated 
by such sites are not public information and shall not be subject to 
the mandatory disclosure provisions of section 552 of title 5, United 
States Code, or released to any local, tribal, State, or Federal agency 
outside the Department of Agriculture.
    ``(c) Exceptions.--
            ``(1) Release and disclosure for enforcement.--The 
        Secretary of Agriculture may release or disclose information or 
        data covered by subsection (a) or (b) to the extent necessary 
        to enforce the natural resources conservation programs referred 
        to in subsection (a).
            ``(2) Limited disclosure to cooperating persons and 
        agencies.--The Secretary may release or disclose information or 
        data covered by subsection (a) or (b) to a person or a local, 
        tribal, State, or Federal agency working in cooperation with 
        the Secretary of Agriculture in providing technical and 
        financial assistance described in subsection (a) or collecting 
        information and data from National Resources Inventory data 
        gathering sites. However, the person or local, tribal, State, 
        or Federal agency that receives the information or data may 
        release the information or data only for the purpose of 
        assisting the Secretary in providing the requested technical or 
        financial assistance or in collecting information and data from 
        National Resources Inventory data gathering sites.
            ``(3) Limited exception for statistical and aggregate 
        data.--The Secretary may release information or data covered by 
        subsection (b), if the information or data has been transformed 
        into a statistical or aggregate form that does not allow 
        identification of the individual landowner, operator, or 
        specific data gathering site.
    ``(d) Violations.--Section 1770(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 
(7 U.S.C. 2276) shall apply to any person who releases or causes to be 
released information or data in violation of this section.''.

 TITLE IV--ADVISORY COUNCIL ON THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER STEWARDSHIP 
                               INITIATIVE

SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY COUNCIL.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation 
with the governors specified in subsection (c), shall establish an 
advisory body, to be known as the Advisory Council on the Upper 
Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative, to provide guidance regarding 
the Initiative.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Voting members.--The Advisory Council shall consist of 
        a total of 15 voting members.
            (2) Chairperson.--Voting members shall elect one member 
        appointed under subparagraph (c) to serve as chairperson for 
        the Advisory Council. The chairperson shall serve for a term 
        lasting no more than one year.
    (c) Appointment.--The governors of the States of Minnesota, 
Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri shall each appoint two voting 
members of the Advisory Council, to be selected from nongovernmental 
agriculture, natural resources, recreational, and environmental groups 
and other persons with interests in the sustainability and health of 
the natural resources of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
    (d) State Technical Committee Representation.--The five remaining 
voting members of the Advisory Council shall be drawn from the State 
Technical Committees established by the Secretary of Agriculture under 
section 1261 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3861) for the 
States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. The 
Secretary of Agriculture shall select one member from each of these 
State Technical Committees.
    (e) Nonvoting Members.--The governors referred to in subsection (c) 
shall also each appoint one nonvoting member for the Advisory Council 
who will serve as representatives of the governors.
    (f) Per Diem.--Members of the Advisory Council, including members 
appointed pursuant to subsection (e), shall receive the Federal per 
diem for transportation and lodging associated with meetings and other 
activities of the Advisory Council.

SEC. 402. RESPONSIBILITIES OF ADVISORY COUNCIL.

    (a) Coordination and Communication.--The Advisory Council shall 
serve as a means for coordination, communication, and information 
sharing regarding such issues in the Upper Mississippi River Basin as 
follows:
            (1) Science and technology concerning conservation 
        practices.
            (2) Monitoring and modeling needs.
            (3) Strategies for implementing conservation assistance and 
        programs.
            (4) Performance assessment.
            (5) Evaluation and reporting.
    (b) Annual Report on Reduction Efforts.--
            (1) Preparation.--The Advisory Council shall prepare an 
        annual report regarding publicly-financed efforts to reduce 
        sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River 
        Basin. In the case of any such report, output data shall 
        conform to the standards established pursuant to section 1244 
        of the Food Security Act of 1985, as added by section 301.
            (2) Submission.--The annual report shall be submitted--
                    (A) to the State legislatures of the States of 
                Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, 
                Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and 
                Mississippi;
                    (B) to the Upper Mississippi River Basin 
                Association; and
                    (C) to the Congress.
    (c) Special Task Forces.--For the purpose of maximizing and 
diversifying the involvement of people in the activities of the 
Advisory Council and addressing specific issues referred to in 
subsection (a), the Advisory Council shall create issue specific task 
forces as necessary to effectively carry out the responsibilities of 
the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council shall consult with the 
Interagency Working Group and appropriate State agencies in 
establishing any such task force and before dissolving any such task 
force when it becomes obsolete.
    (d) Public Meetings.--As part of its responsibilities under this 
section, the Advisory Council shall hold annual public meetings in each 
of the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri to 
formulate recommendations and seek public input regarding methods and 
priorities to reduce sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin. To qualify as the annual meeting in a State, 
at least two of the three members of the Advisory Council from that 
State must be present at the meeting.
    (e) Staff Director.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall appoint an 
employee of the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the 
Department of Agriculture to act as staff director for the Advisory 
Council. The staff director shall work in conjunction with the 
chairperson of the Advisory Council to assist in coordinating the 
activities of the Advisory Council.

SEC. 403. ADVISORY NATURE OF COUNCIL.

    (a) In General.--The Advisory Council is purely advisory and shall 
have no implementation or enforcement authority. However, the Secretary 
of Agriculture and the heads of the other Federal agencies in the 
Interagency Working Group established under section 501 shall give 
strong consideration to the recommendations of the Advisory Council in 
administering natural resources programs of the Upper Mississippi River 
Basin.
    (b) Public Outreach.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall work with 
the Advisory Council to coordinate outreach activities in the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin related to technologies and other methods to 
reduce sediment and nutrient loss.

               TITLE V--FEDERAL INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP

SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 
of the Department of the Interior shall establish an Interagency 
Working Group to coordinate Federal nutrient and sediment reduction 
efforts in the Upper Mississippi River Basin under the Initiative.
    (b) Participation.--The Interagency Working Group shall include the 
following:
            (1) The Secretary of Agriculture, or the designee of the 
        Secretary.
            (2) The Secretary of the Interior, or the designee of the 
        Secretary.
    (c) Chairperson; Additional Input and Participation.--The Secretary 
of Agriculture (or the designee of the Secretary) shall serve as 
chairperson of the Interagency Working Group and may solicit input and 
participation by other Federal agencies engaged in sediment and 
nutrient reduction efforts in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
    (d) Annual Work Plan and Budget.--The Interagency Working Group 
shall annually develop a coordinated work plan and budget for the 
Federal agencies participating in the Initiative--
            (1) to better coordinate Federal efforts to address 
        sediment and nutrient reduction in the Upper Mississippi River 
        Basin;
            (2) to encourage Federal agencies responsible for sediment 
        and nutrient reduction efforts to leverage local, State, and 
        Federal resources;
            (3) to identify gaps and overlapping programs; and
            (4) to better prioritize existing Federal spending to 
        address major sources of sediment and nutrient loss.
    (e) Coordination.--The Interagency Working Group shall coordinate 
its recommendations to be included in the work plan and budget with 
those of individual agencies.
    (f) Submission of Work Plan and Budget.--Not later than September 
15 of each year, the Interagency Working Group shall submit to the 
Office of Management and Budget the work plan and budget required by 
subsection (d).

               TITLE VI--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 601. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
    (b) Water Resource and Water Quality Management Assessment.--There 
is authorized to be appropriated $650,000 to allow the National 
Research Council to perform the assessment of water resource and water 
quality management within the Upper Mississippi River Basin required by 
section 107.
                                 <all>