[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4126 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4126

    To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve and 
                reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 25, 2005

   Mr. Gilchrest (for himself, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. 
 Cardin, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Hoyer, Mrs. Drake, 
Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Holden, Mr. Cummings, 
Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Platts, Ms. Norton, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, and Mr. 
   Castle) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve and 
                reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay program.

    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 ``Chesapeake Bay Restoration 
Enhancement Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 117(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1287(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3) by striking ``and its''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(7)  chesapeake bay watershed.--The term `Chesapeake Bay 
        watershed' means the Chesapeake Bay and the area consisting of 
        36 tributary basins, within the States of Maryland, Virginia, 
        West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York and the 
        District of Columbia, through which precipitation drains into 
        the Chesapeake Bay.
            ``(8) Local government advisory committee.--The term `Local 
        Government Advisory Committee' means the committee of the same 
        name formed through the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement. The 
        committee may include representative members from all 
        jurisdictions within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
            ``(9) Tributary strategy.--The term `tributary strategy' 
        means one of 36 strategies in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that 
        is a State approved, river-specific, cleanup plan that provides 
        best management practice implementation actions that, when 
        taken together, will meet the Chesapeake Bay Agreement goal of 
        removing nutrient and sediment impairments from the Chesapeake 
        Bay and its tidal tributaries.
            ``(10) Tributary basin.--The term `tributary basin' means 
        an area of land that drains into any one of 36 Chesapeake Bay 
        tributaries or tributary segments and that is managed through 
        tributary strategies under this Act.''.

SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING GRANTS.

    Section 117(e)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1287(e)(1)) is amended by striking ``approved and committed to 
implement all or substantially all aspects'' and inserting ``signed all 
or a significant portion''.

SEC. 4. REPORTING.

    Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1287) is amended by striking subsection (e)(7) and subsection (f) and 
inserting the following:
            ``(7) Reporting.--The Administrator shall make available to 
        the public on or before January 31 of each year, a document 
        that lists and describes, in the greatest practicable degree of 
        detail, all completed projects and accomplishments of the 
        previous fiscal year funded by the Federal Government, and all 
        completed projects and accomplishments of the previous fiscal 
        year funded by a State government, for the Chesapeake Bay 
        watershed that contribute to Chesapeake Bay Agreement goals.
    ``(f) Reporting Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall publish, on or 
        before January 31 of each year, a `tributary health report 
        card' to evaluate, based on monitoring and modeling data, 
        progress made during the preceding fiscal year (including any 
        practice implemented during the fiscal year), and overall 
        progress made, in achieving and maintaining nutrient and 
        sediment reduction goals for each tributary basin.
            ``(2) Baseline.--The baseline for the report card (in this 
        subsection referred to as the `baseline') shall be the 
        tributary cap load allocation agreement numbered EPA 903-R-03-
        007, dated December 2003, and entitled `Setting and Allocating 
        the Chesapeake Bay Basin Nutrient and Sediment Loads: The 
        Collaborative Process, Technical Tools and Innovative 
        Approaches'.
            ``(3) Inclusions.--The report card shall include, for each 
        tributary basin--
                    ``(A) an identification of the total allocation of 
                nutrients and sediments under the baseline;
                    ``(B) the monitored and modeled quantities of 
                nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment reductions achieved 
                during the preceding fiscal year, expressed numerically 
                and as a percentage of reduction;
                    ``(C) a list (organized from least to most progress 
                made) that ranks the comparative progress made, based 
                on the percentage of reduction under subparagraph (B), 
                by each tributary basin toward meeting the annual 
                allocation goal of that tributary basin for nitrogen, 
                phosphorus, and sediment; and
                    ``(D) to the maximum extent practicable, an 
                identification of the principal sources of pollutants 
                of the tributaries, including airborne sources of 
                pollutants.
            ``(4) Use of data; consideration.--In preparing the report 
        card, the Administrator shall--
                    ``(A) use monitoring data and data submitted under 
                subsection (g)(1); and
                    ``(B) take into consideration the effects of 
                drought and wet weather conditions on the condition of 
                water quality parameters.
            ``(5) Distribution.--The Administrator shall--
                    ``(A) distribute report cards to appropriate 
                committees of the Senate and House of Representatives;
                    ``(B) post report cards on the Internet; and
                    ``(C) distribute paper copies of the report cards 
                to the public.''.

SEC. 5. ACTIONS BY STATES.

    (a) In General.--Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1287) is amended by redesignating subsections (g), (h), 
(i), and (j) as subsections (i), (j), (k), and (l), respectively, and 
by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
    ``(g) Actions by States.--
            ``(1) Submission of information.--Not later than November 
        30 of each year, each of the States of Delaware, Maryland, New 
        York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia and the 
        District of Columbia shall submit to the Administrator 
        information describing, for each tributary basin located in the 
        State or District of Columbia, for the preceding fiscal year--
                    ``(A) the nutrient and sediment cap load allocation 
                of the basin;
                    ``(B) the principal sources of nutrients and 
                sediment in the basin, by category;
                    ``(C) for each category of pollutant source, the 
                technologies and practices used to achieve reductions, 
                including levels of best management practices 
                implementation and sewage treatment plan upgrades; and
                    ``(D) any Federal, State, or non-Federal funding 
                used to implement a technology or practice described in 
                subparagraph (C).
            ``(2) Failure to act.--The Administrator shall not make a 
        grant to a State under this section if the State fails to 
        submit any information in accordance with paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Such section is further amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(2)(B) by striking ``(g)(2)'' and 
        inserting ``(i)(3)''; and
            (2) in subsection (e)(2)(B)(i) by striking ``and its''.

SEC. 6. PLANNING AND BUDGET REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1287) (as amended by section 4(a) of this Act) is further amended by 
inserting after subsection (g) the following:
    ``(h) Planning and Budget Requirements.--
            ``(1) Annual budget plan.--Not later than April 15 of each 
        year, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in 
        cooperation with the Administrator, the Secretary of the 
        Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 
        Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other 
        appropriate Federal agencies, shall submit to the appropriate 
        committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives a 
        report containing--
                    ``(A) an interagency crosscut budget that displays 
                the proposed budget for use by each Federal agency in 
                carrying out restoration activities relating to the 
                Chesapeake Bay for the following fiscal year; and
                    ``(B) a detailed accounting of all funds received 
                and obligated by Federal and State governments 
                (including formula and grant funds, such as State 
                revolving loan funds and agriculture conservation 
                funds) to achieve the goals of the Chesapeake Bay 
                Agreement during the preceding fiscal year.
            ``(2) Role of federal government.--Not later than 120 days 
        after the date of enactment of the Chesapeake Bay Restoration 
        Enhancement Act of 2005, the Council on Environmental Quality 
        shall provide to Congress a document briefly describing the 
        Federal role in the Chesapeake Bay Program and the specific 
        role of each Federal agency involved in Chesapeake Bay 
        restoration.
            ``(3) Federal actions.--Federal agencies acting in the 
        Chesapeake Bay watershed should plan and execute, to the 
        maximum extent practicable, such activities to support the 
        achievement of Chesapeake Bay Agreement goals.''.

SEC. 7. CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM.

    Section 117(i) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1287) (as redesignated by section 4(a) of this Act) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by inserting ``tributary strategies and'' after 
                ``ensure that'';
                    (B) by striking ``and implementation is begun'' and 
                inserting ``, approved, and implemented'';
                    (C) by inserting ``all or a significant portion 
                of'' after ``signatories to''; and
                    (D) by striking ``and its'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3);
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Local government involvement.--
                    ``(A) Measurable goals.--The Administrator shall 
                establish, in coordination with other members of the 
                Chesapeake Executive Council and the Local Government 
                Advisory Committee, measurable goals for local 
                governments to achieve toward Chesapeake Bay Agreement 
                nutrient and sediment reduction goals not later than 
                120 days after the date of enactment of the Chesapeake 
                Bay Restoration Enhancement Act of 2005.
                    ``(B) Consideration of priorities.--In preparing an 
                annual budget for the Chesapeake Bay under subsection 
                (h)(1), the Administrator shall consider priorities for 
                funding needs recommended by the Local Government 
                Advisory Committee.'';
            (4) in paragraph (3)(A) (as redesignated by paragraph (2) 
        of this section) by striking ``as part of the Chesapeake Bay 
        Program; and'' and inserting ``to support tributary strategies 
        and other projects toward achievement of Chesapeake Bay 
        Agreement goals;'';
            (5) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by paragraph (2) of 
        this section) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(B) provide technical assistance and assistance 
                grants under subsection (d) to local governments and 
                nonprofit organizations and individuals in the 
                Chesapeake Bay watershed to implement tributary 
                strategies and other cooperative, locally based 
                protection and restoration programs or projects within 
                a tributary basin that complement the tributary 
                strategy for such basin, including--
                            ``(i) the improvement of water quality 
                        toward Chesapeake Bay Agreement goals; or
                            ``(ii) the creation, restoration, 
                        protection, or enhancement of habitat 
                        associated with the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem;
                    ``(C) under the small watershed grants program, 
                make such grants--
                            ``(i) so that local governments receive not 
                        less than 40 percent of total annually amount 
                        appropriated to carry out such program; and
                            ``(ii) taking into consideration priority 
                        recommendations provided to the Chesapeake 
                        Executive Council by the Local Government 
                        Advisory Committee; and
                    ``(D) consider recommendations of the Local 
                Government Advisory Committee with regard to 
                sufficiency of grant requests in meeting tributary 
                strategy goals.''; and
            (6) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Wasteload allocations.--Before May 11, 2001, the load 
        allocations in the tributary strategies for any activity for 
        which a permit is issued under section 402 of this Act for the 
        Chesapeake Bay watershed shall be treated as the functional 
        equivalent of wasteload allocations for total maximum daily 
        loads and shall be incorporated in such permit.''.

SEC. 8. STUDY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM.

    Section 117(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1287(j)) (as redesignated by section 4(a) of this Act) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(B) by striking ``and 1995'' and 
        inserting ``1995, and 2005''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(C)--
                    (A) by inserting after ``management strategies'' 
                the following: ``, including tributary strategies,''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``on the date of enactment of this 
                section''.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1287) (as amended by section 4(a) of this Act) is amended by striking 
subsections (k) and (l) and inserting the following:
    ``(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011 to carry 
        out this section (other than subsection (i)(3)).
            ``(2) Small watershed grants program.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 
        through 2011 to carry out subsection (i)(3).
            ``(3) Period of availability.--Funds appropriated to carry 
        out this section shall remain available until expended.''.
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