[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3025 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3025

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide assistance 
for programs and activities to protect and restore the water quality of 
           the Columbia River Basin, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 23, 2010

  Mr. Merkley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide assistance 
for programs and activities to protect and restore the water quality of 
           the Columbia River Basin, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Columbia River Restoration Act of 
2010''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific 
        Northwest and the fourth largest river in the United States by 
        volume. The river is 1,243 miles long, and its drainage basin 
        includes 259,000 square miles, extending into 7 States and 
        British Columbia, Canada, and including all or part of 5 
        national parks, the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, 
        and the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.
            (2) The Columbia River Basin and its tributaries provide 
        significant ecological and economic benefits to the Pacific 
        Northwest and the entire United States. Traditionally, the 
        Columbia River Basin and its tributaries were the largest 
        salmon producing river system in the world, with annual returns 
        peaking at as many as 30 million fish. The Columbia River 
        drainage basin includes more than 6 million acres of irrigated 
        agricultural land, and its 14 hydroelectric dams, combined with 
        additional dams on its tributaries, produce more hydroelectric 
        power than any other North American river.
            (3) The Lower Columbia River Estuary stretches 146 miles 
        from the Bonneville Dam to the mouth of the Pacific Ocean, and 
        much of this area is degraded. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 
        in salmon tissue and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 
        salmon prey exceed estimated thresholds for delayed mortality, 
        increased disease susceptibility, and reduced growth. Legacy 
        contaminants (DDT and PCBs) banned in the 1970s are still 
        detected in river water, sediments, and juvenile Chinook 
        salmon. Several pesticides have been detected, including 
        atrazine and simazine, which can affect salmon behavior or act 
        as hormone disruptors. Emerging contaminants, such as hormone 
        disruptors from pharmaceutical and personal care products, have 
        been found in river water and juvenile male salmon. These 
        contaminants may impair salmon growth, health, and 
        reproduction.
            (4) The Middle and Upper Columbia River Basin includes 
        1,050 miles of the mainstem Columbia River upstream of the 
        Bonneville Dam, including the 1,040 miles of its largest 
        tributary, the Snake River, and all of the tributaries to both 
        rivers. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Columbia 
        River Basin Fish Contaminant Survey detected the presence of 92 
        priority pollutants, including PCBs, dioxins, furans, arsenic, 
        mercury, and DDE (a breakdown product of DDT), in fish that are 
        consumed by the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, the 
        Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the 
        Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the 
        Nez Perce Tribe, as well as by other people consuming fish 
        throughout the Columbia River Basin. A fish consumption survey 
        by the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission showed that 
        tribal members were eating 6 to 11 times more fish than EPA's 
        estimated national average. The nuclear and toxic contamination 
        at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation presents an ongoing risk of 
        contamination in the Middle Columbia Basin. Sampling of 
        sediments by the EPA in 2004 documented widespread presence of 
        toxic flame retardants known as polyrominated diphenyl ethers.
            (5) Contamination of the Middle and Upper Columbia River 
        Basin has a direct impact on water quality and habitat quality 
        in the Lower Columbia River Estuary. Investments in habitat 
        restoration and toxics reduction in the Middle and Upper 
        Columbia River Basin can have significant benefits for fish and 
        wildlife throughout the entire basin.
            (6) Together with the Governors of Oregon and Washington, 
        the EPA created the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership 
        (Estuary Partnership) in 1995 to provide regional coordination 
        to focus on the lower river, to advance the science of the 
        ecosystem, and to deliver environmental results. The Estuary 
        Partnership was formed within the National Estuary Program and 
        provides a structure for organization and collaboration to 
        implement Federal priorities. The Estuary Partnership includes 
        all key Federal agencies as part of its management and 
        governing structure, including the EPA, the United States 
        Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration (NOAA), the Army Corps of Engineers, the Forest 
        Service, and tribal, State, and local governments.
            (7) The Columbia River Basin was designated by the EPA as 
        an ``Estuary of National Significance'' in 1995 and a ``Large 
        Aquatic Ecosystem'' in 2006.
            (8) The Estuary Partnership has developed an unparalleled 
        2-State, public and private partnership, including 
        unprecedented collaborative efforts among key Federal partners, 
        including the EPA, the NOAA, the USGS, and the Army Corps of 
        Engineers to advance Federal goals, and the Estuary Partnership 
        and its partners have gathered scientific information and 
        compiled data, and have made significant gains in habitat 
        protection and environmental education.
            (9) Despite these advances, further degradation exists and 
        contaminants persist in the Columbia River Basin and are 
        impairing the health of fish, wildlife, and humans. Degraded 
        conditions in the river exacerbate the challenges already faced 
        by the 13 species of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River 
        Basin listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered 
        Species Act of 1973.
            (10) The ``Estuary Partnership Comprehensive Conservation 
        and Management Plan'' (1999), the ``Northwest Power and 
        Conservation Council Lower Columbia Province Plan'' (2004, 
        amended 2008), the draft ``NOAA Columbia River Estuary Recovery 
        Module for Salmon and Steelhead'' (2010), the States of Oregon, 
        Idaho, and Washington Recovery Plans, the ``Biological Opinion 
        for the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS)'' (2000, 
        2004, 2008), and the ``EPA Columbia Basin State of the River 
        Report for Toxics'' (2009) consistently identify habitat loss 
        and toxic contamination as threats to fish and wildlife.

SEC. 3. COLUMBIA RIVER.

    Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 123. COLUMBIA RIVER.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions 
apply:
            ``(1) Action plan.--The term `Action Plan' means the 
        `Columbia River Basin Toxics Reduction Action Plan' developed 
        by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Columbia River 
        Toxics Reduction Working Group in 2010, including any 
        amendments thereto.
            ``(2) Comprehensive plan.--The term `Comprehensive Plan' 
        means the `Estuary Partnership Comprehensive Conservation and 
        Management Plan' adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency 
        and the Governors of Oregon and Washington on October 20, 1999, 
        under section 320, including any amendments thereto.
            ``(3) Estuary partnership.--The term `Estuary Partnership' 
        means the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership, an entity 
        created by the States of Oregon and Washington and the 
        Environmental Protection Agency under section 320.
            ``(4) Lower columbia river and estuary.--The term `Lower 
        Columbia River and Estuary' means the region consisting of the 
        lower 146 miles of the Columbia River Basin from the Bonneville 
        Dam to the Pacific Ocean.
            ``(5) Middle and upper columbia river basin.--The term 
        `Middle and Upper Columbia River Basin' means the region 
        consisting of the United States portion of the Columbia River 
        Basin above Bonneville Dam, including the Snake River (and its 
        tributaries) and other tributaries of the Columbia River.
            ``(6) Team leader.--The term `Team Leader' means the Team 
        Leader appointed under subsection (b).
    ``(b) Program Team.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish in 
        the Environmental Protection Agency a Columbia River Program 
        Team. The Team shall be located within the Oregon Operations 
        Office for Region 10 of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            ``(2) Appointment of team leader.--The Administrator shall 
        appoint a Team Leader, who, by reason of management experience 
        and technical expertise relating to the Columbia River Basin, 
        shall be highly qualified to support the development and 
        implementation of projects, programs, and studies necessary to 
        implement the Action Plan.
            ``(3) Delegation of authority; staffing.--The Administrator 
        shall delegate to the Team Leader such authority and provide 
        such additional staff as may be necessary to carry out this 
        section.
    ``(c) Duties.--
            ``(1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Administrator, acting through the Team Leader, shall--
                    ``(A) assist and support the implementation of the 
                Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan;
                    ``(B) coordinate the implementation of the Action 
                Plan and the Comprehensive Plan, and the development of 
                any updates to those plans, with programs and projects 
                in the Middle and Upper Columbia River Basin;
                    ``(C) make such other updates to the Action Plan 
                and the Comprehensive Plan as the Administrator, in 
                consultation with appropriate Federal agencies, the 
                States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, tribal 
                governments, local governments, and other public and 
                private interests in the Columbia River Basin, 
                considers appropriate;
                    ``(D) provide funding and make grants for 
                implementation of the Action Plan and the Comprehensive 
                Plan and projects, programs, and studies consistent 
                with the priorities of the Action Plan and the 
                Comprehensive Plan;
                    ``(E) promote innovative methodologies and 
                technologies that are cost effective and consistent 
                with the identified goals and objectives of the Action 
                Plan and the Comprehensive Plan and the permitting 
                processes of the Environmental Protection Agency;
                    ``(F) coordinate the major functions of the Federal 
                Government related to the implementation of the Action 
                Plan and the Comprehensive Plan, including projects, 
                programs, and studies for--
                            ``(i) water quality improvements;
                            ``(ii) toxics reduction and monitoring;
                            ``(iii) wetland, riverine, and estuary 
                        restoration and protection;
                            ``(iv) nearshore and endangered species 
                        recovery; and
                            ``(v) stewardship and environmental 
                        education;
                    ``(G) coordinate the research and planning projects 
                authorized under this section with Federal agencies, 
                State agencies, tribal governments, universities, and 
                the Estuary Partnership, including conducting or 
                commissioning studies considered necessary for 
                strengthened implementation of the Action Plan and the 
                Comprehensive Plan;
                    ``(H) track progress toward meeting the identified 
                goals and objectives of the Action Plan and the 
                Comprehensive Plan by--
                            ``(i) implementing and supporting a 
                        project, program, and monitoring system 
                        consistent with performance-based ecosystem 
                        standards and management; and
                            ``(ii) coordinating, managing, and 
                        reporting environmental data related to the 
                        Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan in a 
                        manner consistent with methodologies utilized 
                        by the Estuary Partnership, including making 
                        such data and reports on such data available to 
                        the public, including on the Internet, in a 
                        timely fashion; and
                    ``(I) collect and make available to the public, 
                including on the Internet, publications and other forms 
                of information relating to the environmental quality of 
                the Lower Columbia River and Estuary.
            ``(2) Implementation methods.--The Administrator, acting 
        through the Team Leader, may enter into interagency agreements, 
        make intergovernmental personnel appointments, provide funding, 
        make grants, and utilize other available methods in carrying 
        out the duties under this subsection.
    ``(d) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment 
of this section, and biennially thereafter, the Administrator shall 
submit to Congress a report that--
            ``(1) summarizes the progress made in implementing the 
        Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan and the progress made 
        toward achieving the identified goals and objectives described 
        in such plans;
            ``(2) summarizes any modifications to the Action Plan and 
        the Comprehensive Plan made in the period immediately preceding 
        the report;
            ``(3) incorporates specific recommendations concerning the 
        implementation of the Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan; 
        and
            ``(4) summarizes the roles and progress of each Federal 
        agency that has jurisdiction in the Columbia River Basin toward 
        meeting the identified goals and objectives of the Action Plan 
        and the Comprehensive Plan.
    ``(e) Implementation of Action Plan and Comprehensive Plan.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator, acting through the 
        Team Leader and in consultation with the Estuary Partnership, 
        shall carry out projects, programs, and studies to implement 
        the Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan.
            ``(2) Priority projects, programs, and studies.--The 
        Administrator may give special emphasis to projects, programs, 
        and studies that are identified as priorities by the Estuary 
        Partnership in the Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan.
            ``(3) Grants.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator, acting 
                through the Team Leader, is authorized to make grants 
                for projects, programs, and studies to implement the 
                Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan.
                    ``(B) Allocations.--In making grants using funds 
                appropriated to carry out this paragraph for a fiscal 
                year, the Administrator, acting through the Team 
                Leader, shall use--
                            ``(i) not less than 40 percent of the funds 
                        to make a comprehensive grant to the Estuary 
                        Partnership to manage implementation of the 
                        Comprehensive Plan;
                            ``(ii) not less than 50 percent of the 
                        funds to make grants, as allocated by the Team 
                        Leader, for projects, programs and studies 
                        prioritized in the Action Plan throughout the 
                        Columbia River Basin, and for other coordinated 
                        projects, programs, and studies in the Middle 
                        and Upper Columbia River Basin; and
                            ``(iii) not more than 5 percent of the 
                        funds for project management, administration, 
                        and reporting.
            ``(4) Federal share.--The Federal share of the costs for 
        which a grant is made under this section shall be 75 percent, 
        except that the Administrator may increase the Federal share in 
        such circumstances as the Administrator determines appropriate.
    ``(f) Annual Budget Plan.--The President, as part of the 
President's annual budget submission to Congress under section 1105(a) 
of title 31, United States Code, shall submit information regarding 
each Federal agency involved in protection and restoration of the 
Columbia River Basin, including--
            ``(1) an interagency crosscut budget that displays for each 
        Federal agency--
                    ``(A) the amounts obligated in the preceding fiscal 
                year for protection and restoration projects, programs, 
                and studies relating to the Columbia River Basin;
                    ``(B) the estimated budget for the current fiscal 
                year for protection and restoration projects, programs, 
                and studies relating to the Columbia River Basin; and
                    ``(C) the proposed budget for protection and 
                restoration projects, programs, and studies relating to 
                the Columbia River Basin; and
            ``(2) a description and assessment of the Federal role in 
        the development and implementation of the Action Plan and the 
        Comprehensive Plan and the specific role of each Federal agency 
        involved in protection and restoration of the Columbia River 
        Basin, including specific projects, programs, and studies 
        conducted or planned to achieve the identified goals and 
        objectives of the Action Plan and the Comprehensive Plan.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section $40,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016. Such sums shall remain 
available until expended.''.
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