[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4686 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4686

                  To revitalize the Mississippi River.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2004

Mr. Kind (for himself and Ms. McCollum) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
 Infrastructure, 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 revitalize the 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 ``Mississippi River 
Protection and Restoration Act of 2004''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 3. Secretary defined definition.
Sec. 4. Environmental management program.
Sec. 5. Upper Mississippi River trust fund.
Sec. 6. System maintenance.
Sec. 7. Lower Mississippi River resource assessment.
Sec. 8. Flood mitigation.
Sec. 9. Hazard mitigation.
Sec. 10. Gulf hypoxia research, coordination, and monitoring.
Sec. 11. Wetland restoration demonstration projects.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Mississippi River is a nationally-significant 
        social, cultural, economic, and environmental resource.
            (2) Millions of jobs depend upon the economic and 
        environmental health of the Mississippi River.
            (3) The Mississippi River is slowly losing wildlife 
        habitats that support hundreds of wildlife species.
            (4) Hundreds of communities are reconnecting to the 
        Mississippi River.
            (5) Direct discharges and runoff into the Mississippi River 
        are contributing to local and regional water quality problems.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To protect and restore the Mississippi River.
            (2) To protect and increase the number of jobs which depend 
        upon the health of the Mississippi River.
            (3) To help communities reconnect to the Mississippi River.
            (4) To protect and restore habitat.
            (5) To use science to aid habitat restoration and water 
        quality enhancement efforts.

SEC. 3. SECRETARY DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
Army.

SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Maintenance.--Section 1103(d)(3) of such Act is amended by 
inserting at the end the following: ``and the maintenance of completed 
projects on Federal lands.''.
    (b) Ranking System.--Section 1103(e)(1) of such Act is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``technical'' and 
        inserting ``science'';
            (2) at the end of subparagraph (B) by inserting the 
        following: ``The advisory committee shall include scientists, 
        hydrologists, and engineers and shall review and provide public 
        comment on project criteria, selection, and sequencing.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Project rankings.--The Secretary shall, in 
                consultation with the Independent Technical Advisory 
                Committee and the National Academy of Sciences, develop 
                a system to rank proposed projects. The ranking system 
                shall give greater weight to projects that restore 
                natural river processes, including dam reforms, levee 
                modification and removal, and training structure 
                modification and removal.''.
    (c) Funding Levels.--Section 1103(e) of the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 652(e)) is amended as follows:
            (1) In paragraph (3)--
                    (A) by striking ``$22,750,000'' and inserting 
                ``$80,000,000'';
                    (B) by inserting at the end the following: ``For 
                the purposes of carrying out paragraph (1)(A) of this 
                subsection, there is authorized to be appropriated to 
                the Secretary $35,000,000 per fiscal year, to purchase 
                floodplain land from willing sellers.''; and
                    (C) by striking ``thereafter'' and inserting 
                ``until the Trust Fund created in section 5 of the 
                Mississippi River Protection Act of 2004 reaches 
                $2,500,000,000''.
            (2) In paragraph (4), by striking ``$10,420,000'' and 
        inserting ``$20,000,000''.
            (3) By striking paragraph (7)(A) and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(7)(A) The costs of each project carried out pursuant to 
        paragraph (1)(A), including the costs of land acquisition, 
        shall be a Federal responsibility. A non-Federal sponsor shall 
        share 35 percent of the cost of projects constructed on private 
        land.''.
    (d) Recreational Projects.--Section 1103(f)(2) of such Act is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``$500,000'' and inserting ``$10,000,000'';
            (2) by adding at the end the following: ``The Secretary may 
        share the cost of riverfront projects, including trails, parks, 
        interpretive sites, and greenways.''; and
            (3) by striking ``thereafter'' and inserting ``until the 
        trust fund created in section 5 of the Mississippi River 
        Protection and Restoration Act of 2004 reaches 
        $2,500,000,000''.
    (e) Reservation.--Section 1103 of such Act is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(k) Funding.--One-half of the funds annually appropriated to 
operate and maintain the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway 
under section 102 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 shall 
be reserved to carry out subsections (e), (f), and (h) of section 1103 
of such Act.''.

SEC. 5. UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER TRUST FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a fund to be known as the ``Upper Mississippi River Trust 
Fund'' (referred to in this section as the ``Fund'').
    (b) Federal Funding.--Until the aggregate amount deposited in the 
Fund under this subsection is equal to at least $2,500,000,000, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer $100,000,000 from the general 
treasury to the Fund for fiscal year 2005 and each fiscal year 
thereafter.
    (c) Non-Federal Funding.--Non-federal funding may also be 
contributed to the Fund established in subsection (a).
    (d) Creation of a Non-Profit Corporation.--
            (1) In general.--There is established a charitable and non-
        profit corporation to administer the funds provided by this 
        section, and to encourage, accept, and administer private gifts 
        for the purpose of protecting and restoring the natural 
        resources of the Upper Mississippi River and its floodplain.
            (2) Members of board of trustees.--The Board of Trustees 
        shall be made up of 11 members appointed by the President and 
        shall include:
                    (A) One representative from each of the States of 
                Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.
                    (B) Six representatives of non profit organizations 
                dedicated to the protection and restoration of the 
                environment or other persons who have demonstrated 
                commitment to the environmental health and expertise 
                related to the Upper Mississippi River.
                    (C) The chairman shall be elected by the trustees 
                from its members for a 1-year term.
                    (D) A majority of the current membership of the 
                Trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction 
                of business.
                    (E) One ex-officio representative of the U.S. Fish 
                and Wildlife Service.
                    (F) One ex-officio representative of the U.S. Army 
                Corps of Engineers.
                    (G) One ex-officio representative of the U.S. 
                Environmental Protection Agency.
                    (H) One ex-officio representative of the Natural 
                Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department 
                of Agriculture.
            (3) Term.--A member of the Board of Trustees shall serve a 
        5 year, nonrenewable term.
            (4) General powers.--The Board of Trustees shall meet semi-
        annually to--
                    (A) allocate the funds annually provided by 
                subparagraph (f);
                    (B) solicit, accept, and use any gift or real or 
                personal property or any income or interest therefrom;
                    (C) acquire by purchase or exchange any real or 
                personal property or interest therein;
                    (D) enter into contracts as may be necessary to 
                carry out its functions; and
                    (E) appoint officers and employees, adopt bylaws, 
                and undertake other such acts as may be necessary to 
                carry out the provisions of this section.
    (e) Investments.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest 
        the amounts deposited under subsections (b) and (c) only in 
        interest bearing obligations of the United States or in 
        obligations guaranteed by the United States as to both 
        principal and interest.
            (2) Interest rate.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        invest the amounts in the fund in obligation that carry the 
        highest rate of interest among available obligations of the 
        required maturity.
    (f) Payments.--All amounts annually credited as interest under 
subsection (e) shall be available, without fiscal year limitation, to 
the trust established under subsection (d) after the Fund has been 
fully capitalized.
    (g) Use of Funds.--The trust established in subsection (d) may use 
funds transferred under subsection (f) for the following:
            (1) Aquatic habitat restoration.
            (2) Floodplain habitat restoration, including the 
        acquisition of land in fee title from willing sellers.
            (3) Not less than 5 percent of the funds generated under 
        subsection (f) shall be used to revitalize riverfronts.
            (4) Such sums as are necessary to administer the Fund, 
        including professional staff and the reimbursement of the 
        expenses of Trustees.
    (h) Science Advisory Board.--The Science Advisory Board established 
by section 509(a) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 shall 
annually review and comment on the projects proposed by the Board of 
Trustees.
    (i) Consistency.--Nothing in this section shall confer any new 
regulatory authority on any Federal or non-Federal entity, and the 
funds used pursuant to subsection (g) shall be subject to all 
applicable laws and regulations.

SEC. 6. SYSTEM MAINTENANCE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall use the funds provided by 
section 102 of Public Law 99-662 (33 U.S.C. 2212) to conduct 
maintenance activities consistent with the needs of the environment, 
including the following:
            (1) Water level management.
            (2) Gate adjustments.
            (3) Wingdam/dike field modifications.
            (4) Spillway modifications.
            (5) Abandoned barge removal.
            (6) Mooring buoys.
            (7) Forestry management.
            (8) Systemic fleeting plan.
            (9) Fish passage.
            (10) Other measures that the Secretary determines will 
        reduce the impacts of waterway management and barge movements 
        on aquatic and floodplain habitat.
    (b) Water Level Management.--Section 102 of Public Law 99-662 (33 
U.S.C. 2212) is amended by inserting the following: ``The Secretary 
shall provide 100 percent of the cost of dredging required to manage 
water levels to improve the environment.''.
    (c) Dredged Material Placement.--Section 204 of Public Law 102-580 
is amended by inserting the following: ``The Secretary shall develop 
and implement at full Federal expense a plan to dispose or reuse 
dredged material from the Upper Mississippi River to eliminate all 
harmful impacts on floodplain and aquatic habitat.''.
    (d) Water Level Management Study.--Not later than 6 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall assess the 
opportunities for water level management that benefits fish and 
wildlife consistent with commercial navigation.

SEC. 7. LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER RESOURCE ASSESSMENT.

    Section 402 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (114 
Stat. 2633) is amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (b) and (c) and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(b) Assessments.--Not later than June 30, 2004, the Secretary 
shall submit the assessments described in subsection (a) to the 
appropriate committees of Congress, including planning, construction, 
and enhancement measures needed to meet habitat needs.
    ``(c) Demonstration Projects.--To assist in the assessment, the 
Secretary may implement the following demonstration projects at Federal 
expense prior to the completion of the report under subsection (b).''
            (2) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated--
            ``(1) $2,000,000 for the assessment described in subsection 
        (b); and
            ``(2) $15,000,000 for the demonstration projects described 
        in subsection (c).''.

SEC. 8. FLOOD MITIGATION.

    (a) Section 212(i)(1) of the Water Resources Development Act of 
1999 (33 U.S.C. 2332(i)(1); 113 Stat. 291) is amended to read as 
follows:
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        $100,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal years 2005 
        through 2014.''.

SEC. 9. HAZARD MITIGATION.

    (a) Increased Federal Share.--Section 322(e)(1) of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5165(e)(1)) is amended by striking ``20 percent'' and inserting ``30 
percent.''.
    (b) Limitation on Total Amount of Federal Contributions.--Section 
404(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a)) is amended by striking ``15 percent 
of the estimated aggregate amount of grants to be made (less any 
associated administrative costs)'' and inserting ``25 percent of the 
estimated aggregate amount of grants to be made''.

SEC. 10. GULF HYPOXIA RESEARCH, COORDINATION, AND MONITORING.

    (a) Establishment.--To implement the recommendations of the 
Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, the 
Secretary shall establish at the Waterways Experiment Station in 
Vicksburg, Mississippi, a program to coordinate monitoring and research 
in the Mississippi River basin.
    (b) Monitoring Coordination.--The Secretary shall administer and 
coordinate programs to identify the sources of nutrients in the Gulf of 
Mexico, including the programs authorized by sections 16 and 17 of this 
title and the program authorized by section 304 of the Water Resources 
Development Act of 2000 and other programs authorized to monitor 
sediment and nutrient loadings into the Mississippi River.
    (c) Research Coordination.--The Secretary, in collaboration with 
the Secretary of Commerce, shall administer and coordinate research 
efforts.
    (d) Sub-Basin Nutrient Monitoring and Modeling.--Pursuant to 
section 403 of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000, the 
Secretary shall develop sediment and nutrient studies for the following 
sub-basins of the Mississippi River basin:
            (1) Missouri River basin.
            (2) Ohio River basin.
            (3) Tennessee River basin.
            (4) Arkansas River basin.
            (5) Lower Mississippi River basin.
    (e) Sub-Basin Collaboration.--The Secretary shall establish and 
coordinate sub-basin commissions in each of the following sub-basins to 
develop and implement long-term nutrient reduction strategies:
            (1) Missouri River basin.
            (2) Upper Mississippi River basin.
            (3) Ohio River basin.
            (4) Tennessee River basin.
            (5) Arkansas River basin.
            (6) Lower Mississippi River basin.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003 through 2012 to 
carry out this section.

SEC. 11. WETLAND RESTORATION DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a consortium of 
universities from States throughout the Mississippi River Basin to 
demonstrate the full range of wetland values and functions, including 
floodplain wetlands in the Lower Mississippi River floodplain, to 
reduce nutrient loadings to the Gulf of Mexico and to sequester carbon.
    (b) Report.--The Secretary shall annually report on the success of 
demonstration projects undertaken pursuant to this section.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2012 
to carry out this section.
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