1.This Act may be cited as the
Gulf of Mexico Restoration and
Protection Act
.
2.
(a)Congress finds that—
(1)the Gulf of Mexico is a valuable resource
of national and international importance, continuously serving the people of
the United States and other countries as an important source of food, economic
productivity, recreation, beauty, and enjoyment;
(2)over many years, the resource productivity
and water quality of the Gulf of Mexico and its watershed have been diminished
by point and nonpoint source pollution resulting largely from the impacts of
agricultural runoff, increasing population growth and development in the Gulf
of Mexico watershed, and other factors;
(3)the United States should seek to attain the
protection and restoration of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem as a collaborative
regional goal of the Gulf of Mexico Program; and
(4)the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, in consultation with other Federal agencies and State and
local authorities, should coordinate the effort to meet those goals.
(b)The purposes of this Act are—
(1)to expand and strengthen cooperative
efforts to restore and protect the Gulf of Mexico;
(2)to expand Federal support for monitoring,
management, and restoration activities in the Gulf of Mexico and its
watershed;
(3)to commit the United States to a
comprehensive cooperative program to achieve improved water quality in, and
improvements in the productivity of living resources of, the Gulf of Mexico;
and
(4)to establish a Gulf of Mexico Program to
serve as a national and international model for the collaborative management of
large marine ecosystems.
3.Gulf of Mexico restoration and
protectionTitle I of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended—
(1)by redesignating the second section 121 (33
U.S.C. 1274) (relating to wet weather watershed pilot projects) as section 122;
and
(2)by inserting after section 122 (as
designated by paragraph (1)) the following:
123.Gulf of mexico restoration and
protection
(a)In this section;
(1)The term Gulf of Mexico
ecosystem means the ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico and its
watershed.
(2)Gulf of mexico executive
councilThe term Gulf
of Mexico Executive Council means the formal collaborative Federal,
State, local, and private participants in the Program.
(3)The term Program means the
Gulf of Mexico Program established by the Administrator in 1988 as a
nonregulatory, inclusive partnership to provide a broad geographic focus on the
primary environmental issues affecting the Gulf of Mexico.
(4)The term Program
Office means the office established by the Administrator to administer
the Program that is reestablished by subsection (b)(1)(A).
(b)Continuation of gulf of mexico
program
(1)Gulf of mexico program office
(A)The Program Office established before the
date of enactment of this section by the Administrator is reestablished as an
office of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(B)The Program Office shall be—
(i)headed by a Director who, by reason of
management experience and technical expertise relating to the Gulf of Mexico,
is highly qualified to direct the development of plans and programs on a
variety of Gulf of Mexico issues, as determined by the Administrator;
and
(ii)located in a State all or a portion of the
coastline of which is on the Gulf of Mexico.
(C)The Program Office shall—
(i)coordinate the actions of the Environmental
Protection Agency with the actions of the appropriate officials of other
Federal agencies and State and local authorities in developing
strategies—
(I)to improve the water quality and living
resources in the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem; and
(II)to obtain the support of appropriate
officials;
(ii)in cooperation with appropriate Federal,
State, and local authorities, assist in developing and implementing specific
action plans to carry out the Program;
(iii)coordinate and implement priority State-led
and community-led restoration plans and projects and facilitate science,
research, modeling, monitoring, data collection, and other activities that
support the Program;
(iv)implement outreach programs for public
information, education, and participation to foster stewardship of the
resources of the Gulf of Mexico;
(v)develop and make available, through
publications, technical assistance, and other appropriate means, information
pertaining to the environmental quality and living resources of the Gulf of
Mexico ecosystem; and
(vi)serve as the liaison with, and provide
information to, the Mexican members of the Gulf of Mexico States Accord and
Mexican counterparts of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(c)The Administrator may enter into 1 or more
interagency agreements with other Federal agencies to carry out this
section.
(d)
(1)In accordance with the Program, the
Administrator may provide grants to nonprofit organizations, State and local
governments, colleges, universities, interstate agencies, and individuals to
carry out this section for use in—
(A)monitoring the water quality and living
resources of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem;
(B)researching the effects of natural and
human-induced environmental changes on the water quality and living resources
of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem;
(C)developing and executing cooperative
strategies that address the water quality and living resource needs in the Gulf
of Mexico ecosystem;
(D)developing and implementing locally-based
protection and restoration programs or projects within a watershed that
complement those strategies, including the creation, restoration, protection,
or enhancement of habitat associated with the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem;
and
(E)eliminating or reducing point sources that
discharge pollutants that contaminate the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, including
activities to eliminate leaking septic systems and construct connections to
local sewage systems.
(2)The Federal share of the cost of any
project or activity carried out using a grant provided under this section shall
not exceed 75 percent, as determined by the Administrator.
(3)Administrative costs in the form of
salaries, overhead, or indirect costs for services provided and charged against
programs or projects carried out using funds made available through a grant
under this subsection shall not exceed 15 percent of the amount of the
grant.
(e)
(1)Not later than December 30, 2007, and
annually thereafter, the Director of the Program Office shall submit to the
Administrator and make available to the public a report that describes—
(A)each project and activity funded under this
section during the previous fiscal year;
(B)the goals and objectives of those projects
and activities; and
(C)the net benefits of projects and activities
funded under this section during previous fiscal years.
(2)
(A)Not later than April 30, 2008, and every 5
years thereafter, the Administrator, in coordination with the Gulf of Mexico
Executive Council, shall complete an assessment, and submit to Congress a
comprehensive report on the performance, of the Program.
(B)The assessment and report described in
subparagraph (A) shall—
(i)assess the overall state of the Gulf of
Mexico ecosystem;
(ii)compare the current state of the Gulf of
Mexico ecosystem with a baseline assessment;
(iii)assess the effectiveness of the Program
management strategies being implemented, and the extent to which the priority
needs of the region are being met through that implementation; and
(iv)make recommendations for the improved
management of the Program, including strengthening strategies being implemented
or adopting improved strategies.
(f)The Administrator, in the annual submission
to Congress of the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall include
a funding line item request for the Program Office as a separate budget line
item.
(g)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, to remain available
until expended—
(1)$10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
(2)$15,000,000 for fiscal year 2009;
and
(3)$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010
through
2012.
.