[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 56 (Monday, March 27, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4657-S4660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       WATERWAYS RESTORATION ACT

  Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, development of the water resources of 
the United States have been a vital factor in the growth and prosperity 
of this country. Our water resources have brought us a strong 
agricultural base, power generation, navigation, and domestic and 
industrial water supplies. However, the gains we have made in terms of 
productivity and efficiency have in many cases exacted a toll on our 
water resources. Despite a concerted effort to improve the quality of 
our waterways, recent estimates indicate that 38 percent of our rivers, 
44 percent of our lakes, and 97 percent of the Great Lakes remain 
degraded.
  This is a continuing problem worthy of the earnest efforts of each of 
us. The Clean Water Act has made great improvements in the quality of 
the Nation's waterways. The goals of the Clean Water Act 
reauthorization legislation now pending on the Senate calendar 
certainly focus much needed attention on the continuing dilemma we face 
with respect to our water resources.
  Today, I am proud to join with Senator Thad Cochran, to introduce the 
Waterways Restoration Act in the hope of providing additional tools to 
improve the waterways of the United States. The legislation I introduce 
today is the companion to legislation introduced in the House by 
Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse of Oregon. I compliment Congresswoman 
Furse for her fine leadership in this area and I am proud to introduce 
the Senate version of this fine proposal.
  The Waterways Restoration Act would establish a technical assistance 
and grant program for waterway restoration programs within the Soil and 
Conservation Service [SCS] at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. No 
new money would be required to fund this program. Rather, the program 
would draw on existing funds by redirecting 20 percent of the SCS's 
existing Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Program budget to 
fund nonstructural, community-based projects.
  Waterway restoration is a cost effective way to control flooding, 
erosion and pollution runoff. This legislation would fund local 
projects to establish riparian zones, stabilize stream banks, and 
restore areas polluted by urban runoff. Both urban and rural areas 
would be eligible for project funding. The bill also contains an 
environmental justice provision that would place a priority on projects 
in historically disadvantaged communities overlooked by Federal cleanup 
efforts.
  Mr. President, this is sound, progressive legislation. It addresses 
in an effective way the pressing water resource problems continuing to 
face this Nation. As we search for ways to reinvent our Government to 
make it more responsive to the citizens of this country, we should look 
more and more to proposals--like this one--that draw on the initiative 
and ingenuity bubbling over in our communities rather than one-size-
fits-all, top-down Federal programs. As Congresswoman Furse has noted, 
this is a funded Federal nonmandate, which allows communities to design 
and implement the restoration projects they want for the streams, 
creeks, and rivers in their neighborhoods.
  I look forward to working with members of the Senate Agriculture 
Committee to advance this meritorious proposal.
  I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 626
       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 ``Waterways Restoration Act of 
     1995''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) restoring degraded streams, rivers, and other waterways 
     to a natural state is a cost effective means of controlling 
     flooding, excessive erosion, sedimentation, and nonpoint 
     pollution, including stormwater runoff;
       (2) protecting and restoring watersheds provides critical 
     ecological benefits by restoring and maintaining 
     biodiversity, providing fish and wildlife habitat, filtering 
     pollutants, and performing other important ecological 
     functions;
       (3) waterway restoration and protection projects can 
     provide important economic and educational benefits by 
     rejuvenating waterfront areas, providing recreational 
     opportunities such as greenways, and creating community 
     service jobs and job training opportunities in waterway 
     restoration for disadvantaged youths, displaced resource 
     harvesters, and other unemployed persons;
       (4) restoring waterways helps to increase the fishing 
     potential of waterways and restore diminished fisheries, 
     which are important to local and regional cultures and 
     economies; and
       (5) low income and minority communities frequently 
     experience disproportionately severe degradation of 
     waterways, but historically have had difficulty in meeting 
     eligibility requirements for Federal watershed projects under 
     the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 
     1001 et seq.) due to Federal policy obstacles such as local 
     cost share requirements and formulas for assessing costs and 
     benefits that favor high land values.
       (b) Policy.--Congress declares it in the national interest 
     to--
       (1) protect and restore the chemical, biological, and 
     physical components of waterways and associated ecological 
     systems such that the biological and physical structures, 
     diversity, functions, and dynamics of the waterways and 
     systems are restored;
       (2) replace deteriorating stormwater structural 
     infrastructures and physical waterway alterations that are 
     ecologically damaging with cost effective, low maintenance, 
     and ecologically sensitive projects;
       (3) promote the use of nonstructural means to manage and 
     convey streamflow, stormwater, and flood waters;
       (4) increase the involvement of the public and youth 
     conservation or service corps in the monitoring, 
     inventorying, and restoration of watersheds to improve public 
     education, prevent pollution, and develop coordinated citizen 
     and governmental partnerships to restore damaged waterways; 
     and
       (5) benefit business districts, local economies, and 
     neighborhoods through the restoration of waterways and the 
     development of multiuse greenway corridors.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF WORKS OF IMPROVEMENT.

       Section 2 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 1002) is amended by striking ``Each project'' 
     and all that follows through ``of the project.''.

     SEC. 4. WATERWAYS RESTORATION PROGRAM.

       The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 
     U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 14. WATERWAYS RESTORATION PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Biotechnical slope protection.--The term 
     `biotechnical slope protection' means the use of live or dead 
     plant material, alone or in conjunction with an inert 
     material, to repair and fortify a watershed slope, roadcut, 
     stream bank, or other site vulnerable to excessive erosion, 
     using systems such as brush piling, brush layering, brush 
     matting, fascines, joint plantings, live stakes, seeding, 
     stem cuttings, and pole cuttings.
     [[Page S4658]]   ``(2) Channelization.--The term 
     `channelization' means removing the meanders and vegetation 
     from a river or stream to accelerate storm flow velocity, 
     filling habitat to accommodate land development or existing 
     structures, or stabilizing a bank with concrete or riprap.
       ``(3) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
       ``(A) a tribal or local government, flood control district, 
     water district, conservation district (as defined by section 
     1201(a)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
     3801(a)(2))), agricultural extension 4-H program, nonprofit 
     organization, or watershed council; or
       ``(B) an unincorporated neighborhood organization, 
     watershed council, or small citizen nongovernmental or 
     nonprofessional organization for which an incorporated 
     nonprofit organization is acting as a fiscal agent.
       ``(4) Fiscal agent.--The term `fiscal agent' means an 
     incorporated nonprofit organization that--
       ``(A) is acting as a legal entity that can accept 
     government or private funds and pass the funds on to an 
     unincorporated community, cultural, or neighborhood 
     organization; and
       ``(B) has entered into a written agreement with the 
     unincorporated organization that specifies the funding, 
     program, and working arrangements for carrying out a project 
     under the program.
       ``(5) Greenway.--The term `greenway' means a floodplain, 
     floodprone, or project right-of-way that provides flood risk 
     reduction, floodwater conveyance, fish and wildlife habitat, 
     or ecological benefits, and that may provide public access, 
     including a waterfront.
       ``(6) Nonprofit organization.--The term `nonprofit 
     organization' means an organization described in section 
     501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which is 
     exempt from tax under section 501(a) of the Code.
       ``(7) Program.--The term `program' means the waterways 
     restoration program established by the Secretary under 
     subsection (b).
       ``(8) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
     of Agriculture.
       ``(9) Structure.--The term `structure' means a physical 
     project component used to restore a native ecosystem, 
     including a rock, wood cribwall, geotextile netting, geogrid, 
     dirt-filled gabion, weir, gully check dam, jack, groin, or 
     fence.
       ``(10) Watershed council.--The term `watershed council' 
     means a representative group of local watershed residents 
     (including representatives from the private, public, 
     government, and nonprofit sectors) organized to develop and 
     carry out a consensus watershed restoration plan that 
     includes restoration, acquisition, and related activities.
       ``(11) Waterway.--The term `waterway' means a natural, 
     degraded, seasonal, or created wetland on private or public 
     land, including--
       ``(A) a river, stream, riparian area, marsh, pond, bog, 
     mudflat, lake, or estuary; or
       ``(B) a natural or humanmade watercourse on public or 
     private land that is culverted, channelized, or vegetatively 
     cleared, including a canal, irrigation ditch, drainage way, 
     or navigation, industrial, flood control, or water supply 
     channel.
       ``(12) Youth conservation or service corps program.--The 
     term `youth conservation or service corps program' means a 
     full-time, year-round youth corps program or a full-time 
     summer youth corps program as described in section 122(a)(2) 
     of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     12572(a)(2)).
       ``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish and 
     carry out a waterways restoration program, under which the 
     Secretary shall provide technical assistance and grants, on a 
     competitive basis, to eligible entities to assist the 
     entities in carrying out waterway restoration projects.
       ``(c) Administration.--
       ``(1) Objectives.--A project shall be eligible for 
     assistance under the program if the project is designed to 
     achieve ecological restoration or protection and--
       ``(A) flood damage reduction;
       ``(B) erosion control;
       ``(C) stormwater management; or
       ``(D) water quality enhancement.
       ``(2) Uses.--Funds made available for an eligible project 
     may be used for--
       ``(A) restoration and monitoring of a degraded waterway, 
     including revegetation, restoration of a biological 
     community, or a change in land management practices;
       ``(B) restoration or establishment of a wetland or riparian 
     environment as part of a multiobjective stormwater management 
     system, in which the restored or established area provides 
     stormwater storage, detention, and retention, nutrient 
     filtering, wildlife habitat, and increased biological 
     diversity;
       ``(C) reduction of runoff;
       ``(D) stream bank restoration using the principles of 
     biotechnical slope stabilization;
       ``(E) establishment and acquisition of a multiobjective 
     floodplain riparian and adjacent floodprone land, including a 
     greenway, for sediment storage, floodwater storage and 
     conveyance, wildlife habitat, and recreation;
       ``(F) removal of a culvert or storm drain to reestablish 
     natural ecological conditions and reduce flood damage;
       ``(G) organization of a local watershed council, in 
     conjunction with the implementation of an on-the-ground 
     action education or restoration project;
       ``(H) training of a participant, including a youth 
     conservation or service corps program participant, in 
     restoration techniques, in conjunction with the 
     implementation of an on-the-ground action education or 
     restoration project;
       ``(I) development of a waterway restoration or watershed 
     plan that will be used within a grant agreement period, 
     referred to in subsection (d)(2), to carry out a specific 
     restoration project;
       ``(J) restoration of a stream channel to reestablish a 
     meandering, bankfull flow channel, riparian vegetation, or a 
     floodplain to--
       ``(i) restore the functions and dynamics of a natural 
     stream system to a previously channelized waterway so that 
     channel dimensions and floodplain zones are appropriately 
     sized to the watershed and the slope of the watershed, 
     bankfull discharges, and sediment sizes and transport rates; 
     or
       ``(ii) convey larger flood flows as an alternative to a 
     channelization project;
       ``(K) release of a reservoir flow to restore a riparian or 
     instream habitat;
       ``(L) a watershed or wetland project that has undergone 
     planning pursuant to another Federal, State, tribal, or local 
     program and law and has received any necessary environmental 
     review or permit; and
       ``(M) an early action project that a watershed council 
     wants to implement prior to the completion of the final 
     consensus watershed plan, if the project meets the watershed 
     management objectives of the council and is useful in 
     fostering citizen involvement in the planning process.
       ``(3) Location of project.--A project may be carried out 
     under the program on--
       ``(A) Federal lands; or
       ``(B) State or private lands, if the State or the private 
     land owner is a sponsor or cosponsor of the project or 
     otherwise consents.
       ``(4) Priority project.--In determining funding priorities, 
     a project shall have priority if the project--
       ``(A) is located in or directly benefits a low income or 
     economically depressed area that is adversely impacted by 
     poor watershed management;
       ``(B) restores or creates a business or occupation in the 
     project area, including a public access opportunity for a 
     waterfront greenway;
       ``(C) provides an opportunity for a participant in a 
     Federal, State, tribal, or local youth conservation or 
     service corps and provides training in waterway restoration, 
     monitoring, and inventory work;
       ``(D) serves a community composed of minorities or Native 
     Americans, including a project that develops an outreach 
     program to facilitate the participation by minorities or 
     Native Americans in the program;
       ``(E) is identified as a regional priority, planned in a 
     regional context, and coordinated with Federal, State, 
     tribal, and local agencies;
       ``(F) will restore wildlife or a fishery that has 
     commercial, recreational, subsistence, or scientific concern;
       ``(G) trains or employs a fisher or other resource 
     harvester whose livelihood has been adversely impacted by 
     habitat degradation;
       ``(H) provides a significant improvement in ecological 
     values and functions in the project area; or
       ``(I) was approved under this Act prior to the date of 
     enactment of this section, and the project meets or was 
     redesigned to meet the requirements of this section.
       ``(5) Cost-benefit analysis.--A project shall only be 
     eligible for assistance under the program if an 
     interdisciplinary team, established under subsection (e), 
     determines that the local social, economic, ecological, and 
     community benefits of the project based on local needs, 
     problems, and conditions equal or exceed the local social, 
     economic, ecological, and community costs of the project.
       ``(6) Flood damage reduction.--A project to reduce flood 
     damage shall be designed for the level of risk selected by 
     the local sponsor and cosponsors to best meet--
       ``(A) the needs of the local sponsor and cosponsors for 
     reducing flood risks;
       ``(B) the ability of the local sponsor and cosponsors to 
     pay project costs; and
       ``(C) community objectives to protect or restore 
     environmental quality.
       ``(7) Ineligible project.--A project involving 
     channelization, stream bank stabilization using a method 
     other than biotechnical slope protection, construction of a 
     reservoir, or construction of a structure shall not be 
     eligible for assistance under the program unless the project 
     is necessary for the reestablishment of the structure, 
     function, and diversity of a native ecosystem.
       ``(d) Program Administration.--
       ``(1) Designation of program administrators.--The Secretary 
     shall designate a program administrator for each State who 
     shall be responsible for administering the program in the 
     State. Except as provided by paragraph (2), the Secretary 
     shall designate the State Conservationist of the Natural 
     Resources Conservation Service as the program administrator 
     of the State.
       ``(2) Approval of a state agency.--
       ``(A) In general.--A State may submit to the Secretary an 
     application for designation of a State agency to serve as the 
     program administrator of the State.
       ``(B) Criteria.--The Secretary shall approve an application 
     of a State submitted under subparagraph (A) if the 
     application demonstrates--
       ``(i) the ability of the State agency to solicit, select, 
     and fund projects within a 1-year grant administration cycle;
       ``(ii) responsiveness by the State agency to the 
     administrative needs and limitations of 
     [[Page S4659]] small nonprofit organizations and low income 
     or minority communities;
       ``(iii) the success of the State agency in carrying out 
     State or local programs that are similar to the program; and
       ``(iv) the ability of the State agency to jointly plan and 
     carry out with Indian tribes programs similar to the program.
       ``(C) Redesignation.--If the Secretary determines, after a 
     public hearing, that a State agency approved under this 
     paragraph no longer meets the criteria set forth in 
     subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall so notify the State 
     and, if appropriate corrective action has not been taken 
     within a reasonable time, withdraw the approval of the State 
     agency as the program administrator of the State and 
     designate the State Conservationist of the Natural Resources 
     Conservation Service as the program administrator of the 
     State.
       ``(3) Technical assistance.--The State Conservationist of a 
     State shall carry out the technical assistance portion of the 
     program in the State regardless of approval under paragraph 
     (2)(B).
       ``(e) Establishment of Interdisciplinary Teams.--
       ``(1) In general.--There shall be established in each State 
     an interdisciplinary team of specialists to assist in 
     reviewing any project application submitted under the 
     program.
       ``(2) Appointment.--The interdisciplinary team of a State 
     shall be composed of--
       ``(A) individuals to be appointed on an annual basis by the 
     program administrator of the State, including at least 1--
       ``(i) hydrologist;
       ``(ii) plant ecologist;
       ``(iii) aquatic biologist;
       ``(iv) biotechnical slope protection expert;
       ``(v) landscape architect or planner;
       ``(vi) member of the agricultural community;
       ``(vii) representative of the fish and wildlife agency of 
     the State; and
       ``(viii) representative of the soil and water conservation 
     agency of the State; and
       ``(B) 4 representatives from Federal agencies (5 
     representatives from Federal agencies located in coastal 
     States), to be appointed on an annual basis by the 
     appropriate regional or State director of the agency, from--
       ``(i) the Natural Resources Conservation Service;
       ``(ii) the Environmental Protection Agency;
       ``(iii) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;
       ``(iv) the Corps of Engineers; and
       ``(v) the National Marine Fishery Service (in coastal 
     States).
       ``(3) Affiliation of representatives.--A representative 
     appointed pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) may be an employee of 
     a Federal, State, tribal, or local agency or a nonprofit 
     organization.
       ``(4) Federal advisory committee act.--Sections 9, 
     10(a)(2), and 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
     U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to an interdisciplinary team 
     established under this subsection.
       ``(5) Notice.--An interdisciplinary team shall provide 
     adequate public notice before conducting a meeting under this 
     section, including notification in the official State 
     journal.
       ``(f) Conditions for Receiving Assistance.--
       ``(1) Project sponsor and cosponsors.--
       ``(A) Requirement.--To be eligible for assistance under the 
     program, a project shall have as project participants--
       ``(i) a citizens organization; and
       ``(ii) a State, regional, tribal, or local governing body, 
     agency, or district.
       ``(B) Project sponsor.--A project participant referred to 
     in subparagraph (A) shall be designated as the project 
     sponsor. The project sponsor shall make the grant application 
     and have the primary responsibility for executing the grant 
     agreement, submitting invoices, and receiving reimbursements.
       ``(C) Project cosponsor.--A project participant that is not 
     the project sponsor shall be designated as the project 
     cosponsor. The project cosponsor shall, jointly with the 
     project sponsor, support and actively participate in the 
     project. There may be more than 1 cosponsor for a project.
       ``(2) Use of grant funds.--Grant funds made available under 
     the program shall not supplant other available funds for a 
     waterway restoration project, including developer fees, 
     mitigation, or compensation required as a permit condition or 
     as a result of a violation of this Act or any other law.
       ``(3) Maintenance requirement.--At least 1 project sponsor 
     or cosponsor shall be responsible for ongoing maintenance of 
     the project.
       ``(g) Selection of a Project.--
       ``(1) Application.--To receive assistance to carry out a 
     project under the program in a State, an eligible entity 
     shall submit to the program administrator of the State an 
     application in such form and containing such information as 
     the Secretary may by regulation require.
       ``(2) Review of applications by interdisciplinary teams.--
       ``(A) Transmittal.--Each application for assistance under 
     the program received by the program administrator of a State 
     shall be transmitted to the interdisciplinary team of the 
     State established pursuant to this section.
       ``(B) Review.--On an annual basis, the interdisciplinary 
     team of each State shall--
       ``(i) review the applications transmitted to the team 
     pursuant to subparagraph (A);
       ``(ii) determine the eligibility of proposed projects for 
     funding under the program;
       ``(iii) make recommendations concerning funding priorities 
     for the eligible projects; and
       ``(iv) transmit the findings and recommendations of the 
     team to the program administrator of the State.
       ``(C) Project opposition by certain representatives.--
       ``(i) In general.--If 2 or more of the members of an 
     interdisciplinary team of a State appointed pursuant to 
     clause (vii) or (viii) of subsection (e)(2)(A) or clause 
     (ii), (iii), or (v) of subsection (e)(2)(B) are opposed to a 
     project that is supported by a majority of the members of the 
     interdisciplinary team, a determination on whether the 
     project may receive assistance under the program shall be 
     made by the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 
     Service.
       ``(ii) Consultation.--In making a determination under this 
     subparagraph, the Chief shall consult with the Administrator 
     of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Director of the 
     Fish and Wildlife Service, and, in coastal areas, the 
     Assistant Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries 
     Service.
       ``(iii) Monitoring.--The Secretary shall conduct such 
     monitoring activities as are necessary to ensure the success 
     and effectiveness of a project determination made pursuant to 
     this subparagraph.
       ``(3) Final selection.--The final determination on whether 
     to provide assistance for a project under the program shall 
     be made by the program administrator of the State and shall 
     be based on the recommendations made by the interdisciplinary 
     team of the State pursuant to paragraph (2)(B).
       ``(h) Grant Application Cycle.--
       ``(1) In general.--A grant under the program shall be 
     awarded on an annual basis.
       ``(2) Grant agreements.--The program administrator of a 
     State may enter into a grant agreement with an eligible 
     entity to permit the entity to phase in a project under the 
     program for a period of not to exceed 3 years, subject to 
     reevaluation each year as part of the annual funding cycle.
       ``(i) Non-Federal Share.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), the 
     non-Federal share of the cost of a project under this 
     section, including structural and non-structural features, 
     shall be 25 percent.
       ``(2) Economically depressed communities.--The Secretary 
     may waive all or part of the non-Federal share of the cost of 
     a project that is carried out in an economically depressed 
     community.
       ``(3) In-kind contributions.--Non-Federal interests may 
     meet any portion of the non-Federal share of the cost of a 
     project under this section through an in-kind contribution, 
     including a contribution of labor, involvement of a youth 
     service or conservation corps program participant, material, 
     equipment, consulting services, or land.
       ``(4) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue 
     regulations to establish procedures for granting waivers 
     under paragraph (2).
       ``(j) Limitations on Costs of Administration and Technical 
     Assistance.--Of the total amount made available for any 
     fiscal year to carry out this section--
       ``(1) not more than 15 percent may be used for 
     administrative expenses; and
       ``(2) not more than 25 percent may be used for providing 
     technical assistance.
       ``(k) Consultation With a Federal Agency.--In establishing 
     and carrying out a program under this section, the Secretary 
     shall consult with the heads of appropriate Federal 
     departments or agencies, including the Administrator of the 
     Environmental Protection Agency, the Assistant Secretary of 
     the Army for Civil Works, the Director of the United States 
     Fish and Wildlife Service, the Commissioner of the Bureau of 
     Reclamation, the Director of the Geological Survey, the Chief 
     of the Forest Service, the Assistant Administrator for the 
     National Marine Fishery Service, or the Director of the 
     National Park Service.
       ``(l) Citizens Oversight Committee.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--The Governor of each State shall 
     establish a citizens oversight committee to evaluate 
     management of the program in the State. The membership of a 
     citizens oversight committee shall represent a diversity of 
     regions, cultures, and watershed management interests.
       ``(2) Components to be evaluated.--Program components to be 
     evaluated by a citizens oversight committee established under 
     paragraph (1) are--
       ``(A) program outreach, accessibility, and service to low 
     income and minority ethnic communities and displaced resource 
     harvesters;
       ``(B) the manageability of grant application procedures, 
     contracting transactions, and invoicing for disbursement for 
     small nonprofit organizations;
       ``(C) the success of the program in supporting the range of 
     the program objectives, including evaluation of the 
     environmental impacts of the program as implemented;
       ``(D) the number of jobs created for identified target 
     groups;
       ``(E) the diversity of job skills fostered for long-term 
     watershed related employment; and
       ``(F) the extent of involvement of youth conservation or 
     service corps programs.
     [[Page S4660]]   ``(3) Annual report.--The program 
     administrator of each State shall issue an annual report 
     summarizing the program evaluation under paragraph (1). The 
     report shall be signed by each member of the citizens 
     oversight committee of the State and shall be submitted to 
     the Secretary.
       ``(4) Federal advisory committee act.--The requirements of 
     sections 9, 10(a)(2), 10(e), 10(f), and 14 of the Federal 
     Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to a 
     citizens oversight committee established under this 
     subsection.
       ``(5) Notice.--A citizens oversight committee shall provide 
     adequate public notice before conducting a meeting under this 
     section, including notification in the official State 
     journal.
       ``(m) Funding.--
       ``(1) Funding priority.--The Secretary shall give priority 
     to a waterways restoration project under this section in 
     making funding decisions under this Act.
       ``(2) Transferred funds.--The Secretary may accept the 
     transfer of funds from other Federal departments and agencies 
     to carry out this section.
       ``(3) Applicability of requirements.--Funds made available 
     to carry out this section, and financial assistance provided 
     with the funds, shall be subject to this section and, to the 
     extent the requirements are consistent with this section, 
     other provisions of this Act.''.
                                 ______

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Moynihan, 
        and Mr. Graham):
  S. 627. A bill to require the general application of the antitrust 
laws to major league baseball, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.

                          ____________________