[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3570 Introduced in House (IH)]







                                    


107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3570

 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to monitor the health of the 
Missouri River and measure biological, chemical, and physical responses 
    to changes in river management and other significant variables.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 20, 2001

 Mr. Bereuter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
      Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
  Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 direct the Secretary of the Interior to monitor the health of the 
Missouri River and measure biological, chemical, and physical responses 
    to changes in river management and other significant variables.

    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 ``Lewis and Clark Voyage of Scientific 
Discovery Act''.

SEC. 2. LONG-TERM MONITORING PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 
with the Director of the United States Geological Survey, shall 
establish a program at the River Studies Center of the Biological 
Resources Division of the United States Geological Survey, located in 
Columbia, Missouri--
            (1) to determine and monitor the biological and chemical 
        characteristics of the Missouri River;
            (2) to determine and monitor the interrelationship of those 
        characteristics with the hydrology and geomorphology of the 
        river; and
            (3) to monitor and assess the biota, including threatened 
        or endangered species, habitats, and water quality of the 
        Missouri River.
    (b) Development.--To develop the program, the Secretary of the 
Interior and the Director of the United States Geological Survey shall 
consult with--
            (1) the Governors of affected States, acting through--
                    (A) the Missouri River Natural Resources Committee; 
                and
                    (B) the Missouri River Basin Association; and
            (2) the Secretary of Agriculture;
            (3) the Secretary of the Army;
            (4) the Western Area Power Administration;
            (5) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency; and
            (6) the Missouri River Basin Tribes.
    (c) Activities.--The program under subsection (b) shall provide 
scientific information to--
            (1) guide operation and management of the Missouri River; 
        and
            (2) measure and model the impact of management alternatives 
        through--
                    (A) monitoring of biota, including threatened or 
                endangered species, habitats, and water quality;
                    (B) focused investigations of cause and effect 
                relationships; and
                    (C) identification and evaluation of methods to 
                conserve fish and wildlife, including threatened and 
                endangered species.
    (d) Baseline.--The program under subsection (b) shall establish a 
baseline of conditions against which future activities can be measured.
    (e) Database.--The Secretary of the Interior shall--
            (1) establish a database on Missouri River biota, including 
        threatened or endangered species, habitats, and water quality; 
        and
            (2) make the database readily available to the public.
    (f) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of establishment 
of the program under subsection (b), and not less frequently than every 
3 years thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 
Director of the United States Geological Survey, shall--
            (1) review the program;
            (2) as necessary, establish and revise the objectives of 
        the program; and
            (3) submit to Congress a report on the environmental health 
        of the Missouri River.
    (g) Indian Tribes.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall enter into contracts, pursuant to the 
Indian Self Determination Act (title I of the Indian Self Determination 
and Education Assistance Act; 25 U.S.C. chapter 14, subchapter II, part 
A (25 U.S.C. 450f et. seq.)) with Tribes whose Reservations are located 
along the Missouri River and have an interest in environmental 
restoration. The tasks to be contracted shall implement the goals set 
forth in this section and shall complement the activities undertaken by 
the Secretary of the Interior and the affected State Governments.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Secretary of the Interior to carry out this section--
                    (A) $6,500,000 for fiscal year 2002;
                    (B) $8,500,000 for fiscal year 2003; and
                    (C) $15,100,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 
                through 2016.
            (2) Allocation of funds.--Funding of the program shall be 
        implemented in the following manner:
                    (A) Not more than the following percentage of the 
                funds available shall be directed to the River Studies 
                Center of the Biological Resources Division of the 
                United States Geological Survey, located in Columbia, 
                Missouri:
                            (i) 25 percent in fiscal year 2002
                            (ii) 40 perccent in fiscal year 2003
                            (iii) 65 percent in fiscal years after 
                        2003.
                At least 50 percent of such funds shall be directed to 
                the River Studies Center in fiscal years after 2003.
                    (B) The remaining funds shall be made available to 
                State fish and wildlife agencies in the Missouri River 
                basin to conduct monitoring activities designed to 
                enhance and supplement existing scientific knowledge of 
                the Missouri River system.
            (3) Threatened and endangered species.--Of the amounts made 
        available under paragraph (1) for each fiscal year, $1,500,000 
        shall be made available to the Secretary of the Interior and 
        the State agencies with jurisdiction for Missouri River fish 
        and wildlife to monitor and conduct focused investigations of 
        endangered fish, including pallid sturgeon response to main 
        stem reservoir operations.
            (4) State agency funding.--Funds authorized to be 
        appropriated under this section shall be made available as 
        necessary to contract with the State agencies with jurisdiction 
        for Missouri River fish and wildlife to collect field data and 
        support field operations for the monitoring component of the 
        program.
            (5) Funding of focused investigations.--The focused 
        investigations component of the program established under this 
        section shall be funded using a competitive process. Each year, 
        the directors of the State fish and game agencies with 
        jurisdiction for Missouri River fish and wildlife, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, and the 
        entities listed under section 2(b)(1), shall prioritize 
        information needs and issue a request for proposals to State, 
        Federal, for-profit, and not-for-profit organizations with 
        Missouri River interest and expertise. The directors and the 
        Secretary shall review and select those proposals to be funded.
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