[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 307 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 307

       To establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 25, 2005

 Mr. Simmons (for himself, Mr. Shays, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, Ms. 
  DeLauro, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Israel, Mr. Ackerman, Mrs. 
 McCarthy, Mr. Crowley, Mr. King of New York, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Engel, 
   Mr. Serrano, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. 
Nadler, Mrs. Lowey, and Mr. Owens) 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 establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative.

    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 ``Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) Long Island Sound is a national treasure of great 
        cultural, environmental, and ecological importance;
            (2) 8,000,000 people live within the Long Island Sound 
        watershed and 28,000,000 people (approximately 10 percent of 
        the population of the United States) live within 50 miles of 
        Long Island Sound;
            (3) activities that depend on the environmental health of 
        Long Island Sound contribute more than $5,000,000,000 each year 
        to the regional economy;
            (4) the portion of the shoreline of Long Island Sound that 
        is accessible to the general public (estimated at less than 20 
        percent of the total shoreline) is not adequate to serve the 
        needs of the people living in the area;
            (5) existing shoreline facilities are in many cases 
        overburdened and underfunded;
            (6) large parcels of open space already in public ownership 
        are strained by the effort to balance the demand for recreation 
        with the needs of sensitive natural resources;
            (7) approximately \1/3\ of the tidal marshes of Long Island 
        Sound have been filled, and much of the remaining marshes have 
        been ditched, dyked, or impounded, reducing the ecological 
        value of the marshes; and
            (8) much of the remaining exemplary natural landscape is 
        vulnerable to further development.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish the Long 
Island Sound Stewardship Initiative to identify, protect, and enhance 
sites within the Long Island Sound ecosystem with significant 
ecological, educational, open space, public access, or recreational 
value through a bi-State network of sites best exemplifying these 
values.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Adaptive management.--The term ``adaptive management'' 
        means a scientific process--
                    (A) for--
                            (i) developing predictive models;
                            (ii) making management policy decisions 
                        based upon the model outputs;
                            (iii) revising the management policies as 
                        data become available with which to evaluate 
                        the policies; and
                            (iv) acknowledging uncertainty, complexity, 
                        and variance in the spatial and temporal 
                        aspects of natural systems; and
                    (B) that requires that management be viewed as 
                experimental.
            (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (3) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Long 
        Island Sound Stewardship Advisory Committee established by 
        section 5(a).
            (4) Region.--The term ``Region'' means the Long Island 
        Sound Stewardship Initiative Region established by section 
        4(a).
            (5) States.--The term ``States'' means the States of 
        Connecticut and New York.
            (6) Stewardship site.--The term ``stewardship site'' means 
        a site that--
                    (A) qualifies for identification by the Committee 
                under section 8; and
                    (B) is an area of land or water or a combination of 
                land and water--
                            (i) that is in the Region; and
                            (ii) that is--
                                    (I) Federal, State, local, or 
                                tribal land or water;
                                    (II) land or water owned by a 
                                nonprofit organization; or
                                    (III) privately owned land or 
                                water.
            (7) Systematic site selection.--The term ``systematic site 
        selection'' means a process of selecting stewardship sites 
        that--
                    (A) has explicit goals, methods, and criteria;
                    (B) produces feasible, repeatable, and defensible 
                results;
                    (C) provides for consideration of natural, 
                physical, and biological patterns;
                    (D) addresses reserve size, replication, 
                connectivity, species viability, location, and public 
                recreation values;
                    (E) uses geographic information systems technology 
                and algorithms to integrate selection criteria; and
                    (F) will result in achieving the goals of 
                stewardship site selection at the lowest cost.
            (8) Threat.--The term ``threat'' means a threat that is 
        likely to destroy or seriously degrade a conservation target or 
        a recreation area.

SEC. 4. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE REGION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the States the Long 
Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Region.
    (b) Boundaries.--The Region shall encompass the immediate coastal 
upland and underwater areas along Long Island Sound, including those 
portions of the Sound with coastally influenced vegetation, as 
described on the map entitled the ``Long Island Sound Stewardship 
Region'' and dated April 21, 2004, as well as the Peconic Estuary as 
described on the map entitled ``Peconic Estuary Program Study Area 
Boundaries'' included in the Comprehensive Conservation and Management 
Plan for the Peconic Estuary Program and dated November 15, 2001.

SEC. 5. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a committee to be known as 
the ``Long Island Sound Stewardship Advisory Committee''.
    (b) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the Committee shall be the 
Director of the Long Island Sound Office of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, or a designee of the Director.
    (c) Membership.--
            (1) Composition.--
                    (A) Appointment of members.--
                            (i) In general.--The Chairperson shall 
                        appoint the members of the Committee in 
                        accordance with this subsection and section 
                        320(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
                        Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)).
                            (ii) Additional members.--In addition to 
                        the requirements described in clause (i), the 
                        Committee shall include--
                                    (I) a representative from the 
                                Regional Plan Association;
                                    (II) a representative of the marine 
                                trade organizations; and
                                    (III) a representative of private 
                                landowner interests.
                    (B) Representation.--In appointing members to the 
                Committee, the Chairperson shall consider--
                            (i) Federal, State, and local government 
                        interests;
                            (ii) the interests of nongovernmental 
                        organizations;
                            (iii) academic interests; and
                            (iv) private interests.
            (2) Date of appointments.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the appointment of all 
        members of the Committee shall be made.
    (d) Term; Vacancies.--
            (1) Term.--
                    (A) In general.--A member shall be appointed for a 
                term of 4 years.
                    (B) Multiple terms.--A person may be appointed as a 
                member of the Committee for more than 1 term.
            (2) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Committee shall--
                    (A) be filled not later than 90 days after the 
                vacancy occurs;
                    (B) not affect the powers of the Committee; and
                    (C) be filled in the same manner as the original 
                appointment was made.
            (3) Staff.--
                    (A) In general.--The Chairperson of the Committee 
                may appoint and terminate personnel as necessary to 
                enable the Committee to perform the duties of the 
                Committee.
                    (B) Personnel as federal employees.--
                            (i) In general.--Any personnel of the 
                        Committee who are employees of the Committee 
                        shall be employees under section 2105 of title 
                        5, United States Code, for purposes of chapters 
                        63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that 
                        title.
                            (ii) Members of committee.--Clause (i) does 
                        not apply to members of the Committee.
    (e) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date on 
which all members of the Committee have been appointed, the Committee 
shall hold the initial meeting of the Committee.
    (f) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet at the call of the 
Chairperson, but no fewer than 4 times each year.
    (g) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Committee shall 
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings.

SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.

    The Committee shall--
            (1) consistent with the guidelines described in section 8--
                    (A) evaluate applications from government or 
                nonprofit organizations qualified to hold conservation 
                easements for funds to purchase land or development 
                rights for stewardship sites;
                    (B) evaluate applications to develop and implement 
                management plans to address threats;
                    (C) evaluate applications to act on opportunities 
                to protect and enhance stewardship sites; and
                    (D) recommend that the Administrator award grants 
                to qualified applicants;
            (2) recommend guidelines, criteria, schedules, and due 
        dates for evaluating information to identify stewardship sites;
            (3) publish a list of sites that further the purposes of 
        this Act if owners of sites are--
                    (A) notified prior to the publication of the list; 
                and
                    (B) allowed to decline inclusion on the list;
            (4) raise awareness of the values of and threats to these 
        sites; and
            (5) leverage additional resources for improved stewardship 
        of the Region.

SEC. 7. POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE.

    (a) Hearings.--The Committee may hold such hearings, meet and act 
at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such 
evidence as the Committee considers advisable to carry out this Act.
    (b) Information From Federal Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--The Committee may secure directly from a 
        Federal agency such information as the Committee considers 
        necessary to carry out this Act.
            (2) Provision of information.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (C), on 
                request of the Chairperson of the Committee, the head 
                of a Federal agency shall provide the information 
                requested by the Chairperson to the Committee.
                    (B) Administration.--The furnishing of information 
                by a Federal agency to the Committee shall not be 
                considered a waiver of any exemption available to the 
                agency under section 552 of title 5, United States 
                Code.
                    (C) Information to be kept confidential.--
                            (i) In general.--For purposes of section 
                        1905 of title 18, United States Code--
                                    (I) the Committee shall be 
                                considered an agency of the Federal 
                                Government; and
                                    (II) any individual employed by an 
                                individual, entity, or organization 
                                that is a party to a contract with the 
                                Committee under this Act shall be 
                                considered an employee of the 
                                Committee.
                            (ii) Prohibition on disclosure.--
                        Information obtained by the Committee, other 
                        than information that is available to the 
                        public, shall not be disclosed to any person in 
                        any manner except to an employee of the 
                        Committee as described in clause (i) for the 
                        purpose of receiving, reviewing, or processing 
                        the information.
    (c) Postal Services.--The Committee may use the United States mails 
in the same manner and under the same conditions as other agencies of 
the Federal Government.
    (d) Donations.--The Committee may accept, use, and dispose of 
donations of services or property that advance the goals of the Long 
Island Sound Stewardship Initiative.

SEC. 8. STEWARDSHIP SITES.

    (a) Initial Sites.--
            (1) Identification.--
                    (A) In general.--The Committee shall identify 20 
                initial Long Island Sound stewardship sites that the 
                Committee has determined--
                            (i)(I) are natural resource-based 
                        recreation areas; or
                            (II) are exemplary natural areas with 
                        ecological value; and
                            (ii) best promote the purposes of this Act.
                    (B) Exemption.--Sites described in subparagraph (A) 
                are not subject to the site identification process 
                described in subsection (d).
            (2) Equitable distribution of funds for initial sites.--In 
        identifying initial sites under paragraph (1), the Committee 
        shall exert due diligence to recommend an equitable 
        distribution of funds between the States for the initial sites.
    (b) Application for Identification as a Stewardship Site.--
Subsequent to the identification of the initial stewardship sites under 
subsection (a), owners of sites may submit applications to the 
Committee in accordance with subsection (c) to have the sites 
identified as stewardship sites.
    (c) Identification.--The Committee shall review applications 
submitted by owners of potential stewardship sites to determine whether 
the sites should be identified as exhibiting values consistent with the 
purposes of this Act.
    (d) Site Identification Process.--
            (1) Natural resource-based recreation areas.--The Committee 
        shall identify additional recreation areas with potential as 
        stewardship sites using a selection technique that includes--
                    (A) public access;
                    (B) community support;
                    (C) areas with high population density;
                    (D) environmental justice (as defined in section 
                385.3 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
                successor regulations));
                    (E) connectivity to existing protected areas and 
                open spaces;
                    (F) cultural, historic, and scenic areas; and
                    (G) other criteria developed by the Committee.
            (2) Natural areas with ecological value.--The Committee 
        shall identify additional natural areas with ecological value 
        and potential as stewardship sites--
                    (A) based on measurable conservation targets for 
                the Region; and
                    (B) following a process for prioritizing new sites 
                using systematic site selection, which shall include--
                            (i) ecological uniqueness;
                            (ii) species viability;
                            (iii) habitat heterogeneity;
                            (iv) size;
                            (v) quality;
                            (vi) connectivity to existing protected 
                        areas and open spaces;
                            (vii) land cover;
                            (viii) scientific, research, or educational 
                        value;
                            (ix) threats; and
                            (x) other criteria developed by the 
                        Committee.
            (3) Publication of list.--After completion of the site 
        identification process, the Committee shall--
                    (A) publish in the Federal Register a list of sites 
                that further the purposes of this Act; and
                    (B) prior to publication of the list, provide to 
                owners of the sites to be published--
                            (i) a notification of publication; and
                            (ii) an opportunity to decline inclusion of 
                        the site of the owner on the list.
            (4) Deviation from process.--
                    (A) In general.--The Committee may identify as a 
                potential stewardship site, a site that does not meet 
                the criteria in paragraph (1) or (2), or reject a site 
                selected under paragraph (1) or (2), if the Committee--
                            (i) selects a site that makes significant 
                        ecological or recreational contributions to the 
                        Region;
                            (ii) publishes the reasons that the 
                        Committee decided to deviate from the 
                        systematic site selection process; and
                            (iii) before identifying or rejecting the 
                        potential stewardship site, provides to the 
                        owners of the site the notification of 
                        publication, and the opportunity under 
                        paragraph (3)(B) to decline inclusion of the 
                        site on the list published under paragraph 
                        (3)(A).
            (5) Public comment.--In identifying potential stewardship 
        sites, the Committee shall consider public comments.
    (e) General Guidelines for Management.--
            (1) In general.--The Committee shall use an adaptive 
        management framework to identify the best policy initiatives 
        and actions through--
                    (A) definition of strategic goals;
                    (B) definition of policy options for methods to 
                achieve strategic goals;
                    (C) establishment of measures of success;
                    (D) identification of uncertainties;
                    (E) development of informative models of policy 
                implementation;
                    (F) separation of the landscape into geographic 
                units;
                    (G) monitoring key responses at different spatial 
                and temporal scales; and
                    (H) evaluation of outcomes and incorporation into 
                management strategies.
            (2) Application of adaptive management framework.--The 
        Committee shall apply the adaptive management framework to the 
        process for updating the list of recommended stewardship sites.

SEC. 9. REPORTS.

    (a) In General.--For each of fiscal years 2006 through 2013, the 
Committee shall submit to the Administrator an annual report that 
contains--
            (1) a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of 
        the Committee since the last report;
            (2) a description of all sites recommended by the Committee 
        to be approved as stewardship sites;
            (3) the recommendations of the Committee for such 
        legislation and administrative actions as the Committee 
        considers appropriate; and
            (4) in accordance with subsection (b), the recommendations 
        of the Committee for the awarding of grants.
    (b) General Guidelines for Recommendations.--
            (1) In general.--The Committee shall recommend that the 
        Administrator award grants to qualified applicants to help to 
        secure and improve the open space, public access, or ecological 
        values of stewardship sites, through--
                    (A) purchase of the property of the site;
                    (B) purchase of relevant property rights of the 
                site; or
                    (C) entering into any other binding legal 
                arrangement that ensures that the values of the site 
                are sustained, including entering into an arrangement 
                with a land manager or owner to develop or implement an 
                approved management plan that is necessary for the 
                conservation of natural resources.
            (2) Equitable distribution of funds.--The Committee shall 
        exert due diligence to recommend an equitable distribution of 
        funds between the States.
    (c) Action by the Administrator.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after receiving a 
        report under subsection (a), the Administrator shall--
                    (A) review the recommendations of the Committee; 
                and
                    (B) take actions consistent with the 
                recommendations of the Committee, including the 
                approval of identified stewardship sites and the award 
                of grants, unless the Administrator makes a finding 
                that any recommendation is unwarranted by the facts.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall develop and 
        publish a report that--
                    (A) assesses the current resources of and threats 
                to Long Island Sound;
                    (B) assesses the role of the Long Island Sound 
                Stewardship Initiative in protecting Long Island Sound;
                    (C) establishes guidelines, criteria, schedules, 
                and due dates for evaluating information to identify 
                stewardship sites;
                    (D) includes information about any grants that are 
                available for the purchase of land or property rights 
                to protect stewardship sites;
                    (E) accounts for funds received and expended during 
                the previous fiscal year;
                    (F) shall be made available to the public on the 
                Internet and in hardcopy form; and
                    (G) shall be updated at least every other year, 
                except that information on funding and any new 
                stewardship sites identified shall be published more 
                frequently.

SEC. 10. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.

    (a) Access to Private Property.--Nothing in this Act--
            (1) requires any private property owner to allow public 
        access (including Federal, State, or local government access) 
        to the private property; or
            (2) modifies any provision of Federal, State, or local law 
        with regard to public access to or use of private property, 
        except as entered into by voluntary agreement of the owner or 
        custodian of the property.
    (b) Liability.--Approval of the Long Island Sound Stewardship 
Initiative Region does not create any liability, or have any effect on 
any liability under any other law, of any private property owner with 
respect to any person injured on the private property.
    (c) Recognition of Authority to Control Land Use.--Nothing in this 
Act modifies the authority of Federal, State, or local governments to 
regulate land use.
    (d) Participation of Private Property Owners in the Long Island 
Sound Stewardship Initiative Region.--Nothing in this Act requires the 
owner of any private property located within the boundaries of the 
Region to participate in or be associated with the Initiative.
    (e) Effect of Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The boundaries approved for the Region 
        represent the area within which Federal funds appropriated for 
        the purpose of this Act may be expended.
            (2) Regulatory authority.--The establishment of the Region 
        and the boundaries of the Region does not provide any 
        regulatory authority not in existence on the date of enactment 
        of this Act on land use in the Region by any management entity, 
        except for such property rights as may be purchased from or 
        donated by the owner of the property (including the Federal 
        Government or a State or local government, if applicable).

SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2013.
    (b) Use of Funds.--For each fiscal year, funds made available under 
subsection (a) shall be used by the Administrator, after reviewing the 
recommendations of the Committee submitted under section 9, for--
            (1) acquisition of land and interests in land;
            (2) development and implementation of site management 
        plans;
            (3) site enhancements to reduce threats or promote 
        stewardship; and
            (4) administrative expenses of the Committee.
    (c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of an activity 
carried out using any assistance or grant under this Act shall not 
exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the activity.

SEC. 12. LONG ISLAND SOUND AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 119(f) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1269(f)) is amended by striking ``2005'' each place it appears 
and inserting ``2009''.

SEC. 13. TERMINATION OF COMMITTEE.

    The Committee shall terminate on December 31, 2013.
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