[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1519 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1519

   To provide for the eradication and control of nutria in Maryland, 
                  Louisiana, and other coastal States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 27, 2009

 Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Vitter, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Mikulski, and 
 Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for the eradication and control of nutria in Maryland, 
                  Louisiana, and other coastal States.

    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 ``Nutria Eradication and Control Act 
of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) wetland and tidal marshes in the Chesapeake Bay, the 
        State of Louisiana, and other coastal States provide 
        significant cultural, economic, and ecological benefits to the 
        United States;
            (2) the South American nutria (Myocastor coypus) is 
        directly contributing to substantial marsh loss on Federal, 
        State, and private land in the States of Maryland and Louisiana 
        and other coastal States;
            (3) the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 (Public 
        Law 108-16; 117 Stat. 621) authorized the Maryland Nutria 
        Project, which has successfully eradicated nutria from more 
        than 130,000 acres of Chesapeake Bay wetland in the State of 
        Maryland;
            (4) the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 (Public 
        Law 108-16; 117 Stat. 621) and the Coastal Wetlands Planning, 
        Protection, and Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 3951 et seq.) 
        authorized the Coastwide Nutria Control Program, which has 
        reduced nutria-impacted wetland acres in the State of Louisiana 
        from 80,000 acres to 23,141 acres; and
            (5) proven techniques developed under the Nutria 
        Eradication and Control Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-16; 117 
        Stat. 621) that are eradicating nutria from the State of 
        Maryland and are reducing the acres of nutria-impacted wetland 
        in Louisiana, should be applied to nutria eradication or 
        control programs in other nutria-infested coastal States.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to authorize the Secretary 
of the Interior to provide financial assistance to the States of 
Maryland, Louisiana, Delaware, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington to 
carry out activities--
            (1) to eradicate or control nutria; and
            (2) to restore nutria damaged wetland.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Coastal state.--The term ``coastal State'' means each 
        of the States of Delaware, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington.
            (2) Program.--The term ``program'' means the nutria 
        eradication program established by section 4(a).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 4. NUTRIA ERADICATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--There is established a nutria eradication program 
under which the Secretary may, subject to the availability of 
appropriations, provide financial assistance to the States of Maryland 
and Louisiana and the coastal States to implement measures--
            (1) to eradicate or control nutria; and
            (2) to restore wetland damaged by nutria.
    (b) Goals.--The goals of the program shall be--
            (1) to eradicate nutria in the State of Maryland;
            (2) to eradicate or control nutria in the State of 
        Louisiana and the coastal States; and
            (3) to restore wetland damaged by nutria.
    (c) Activities in the State of Maryland.--The Secretary shall 
require that the program carried out in the State of Maryland consist 
of management, research, and public education activities carried out in 
accordance with the document published by the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service entitled ``Eradication Strategies for Nutria in the 
Chesapeake and Delaware Bay Watersheds'', dated March 2002, and updated 
March 2009.
    (d) Cost-sharing Requirement.--
            (1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the total cost of 
        the program may not exceed 75 percent.
            (2) In-kind contributions.--The non-Federal share of the 
        total cost of the program may be provided in the form of in-
        kind contributions of materials or services.
    (e) Limitation on Administrative Expenses.--Not more that 5 percent 
of the financial assistance provided by the Secretary under the program 
may be used for administrative expenses.

SEC. 5. REPORT.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary and the National Invasive Species Council shall--
            (1) for purposes of the program, give consideration to--
                    (A) the 2002 report for the Louisiana Department of 
                Wildlife and Fisheries entitled ``Nutria in 
                Louisiana''; and
                    (B) the March 2009 update of the document entitled 
                ``Eradication Strategies for the Nutria in the 
                Chesapeake and Delaware Bay Watersheds'' and dated 
                March 2002;
            (2) continue, in cooperation with the State of Louisiana 
        Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the State of Maryland 
        Department of Natural Resources, a long-term nutria control or 
        eradication program, as appropriate, with the objective to 
        significantly reduce and restore the damage nutria cause to 
        coastal wetland in the States of Louisiana and Maryland; and
            (3) develop, in cooperation with the State of Delaware 
        Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the 
        State of Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the 
        State of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the State 
        of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, long-term nutria 
        control or eradication programs, as appropriate, with the 
        objective to significantly reduce and restore the damage nutria 
        cause to coastal wetland in the coastal States.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for each 
of fiscal years 2010 through 2014--
            (1) $4,000,000 to provide financial assistance under the 
        program to each of the States of Maryland and Louisiana; and
            (2) $1,000,000 to provide financial assistance under the 
        program to each of the coastal States.
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