[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E905-E907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            ENHANCING THE CHESAPEAKE BAY RESTORATION PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 13, 1997

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, today Representative Wayne Gilchrest and I 
are joining in a unique, bipartisan partnership to promote the next 
stage of the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. Over the past 20 years 
the Federal Government has played a vital role in coordinating and 
encouraging intergovernmental work to reverse declines in the bay 
ecosystem. The bills Representative Gilchrest and I are introducing 
today will build upon the success of this program as the preeminent 
national model for cooperative, regional environmental restoration. Our 
joint effort speaks to the importance of both these bills.
  The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act, H.R. 1578, which I introduced 
with Representative Gilchrest as the lead cosponsor, reauthorizes 
Federal participation with State and local

[[Page E906]]

governments in implementing the Chesapeake Bay agreement.
  The bill: clarifies the leading role of the Environmental Protection 
Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program Office in coordinating scientific 
information, public outreach, and the activities and responsibilities 
of varying Federal agencies in the restoration; integrates ongoing 
habitat protection and enhancement, toxics reduction and prevention, 
nutrient management and water quality control efforts in the watershed 
with the overall bay program; establishes a program of small technical 
assistance and watershed improvement grants to communities, local 
governments, nonprofit organizations, and individuals to assist in 
projects complementing tributary basin strategies; assures the 
participation and compliance of Federal agencies owning or operating 
facilities in the Chesapeake watershed with the bay program; directs 
the EPA Administrator, working with the other signatories to the bay 
agreement, to regularly report to Congress on progress toward the goals 
established under the agreement; and authorizes $30 million per year 
between 1998 and 2003 for these purposes.
  This legislation enhances and better coordinates the efforts of the 
Federal Government as a partner in the Chesapeake Bay restoration, 
while providing resources in line with current funding of the varying 
programs integrated under H.R. 1578.
  Representative Gilchrest today introduced legislation, the Chesapeake 
Bay Gateways and Watertrails Act, H.R. 1579, that will complement the 
Restoration Act. I am joining him as the lead cosponsor of H.R. 1579. 
The Gateways and Watertrails Act will improve access and knowledge of 
the ``Jewels of the Chesapeake'' to those in our region and Nation. The 
bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to identify key sites and 
waterways in the watershed, work to protect them, and link them by 
roads, scenic byways, courses by water, and other means. It is an 
innovative project that will further enhance the goals of the bay 
program. Senator Sarbanes, with many of his colleagues from the region, 
has introduced companion legislation to both the bills Representative 
Gilchrest and I are introducing today.
  At a recent meeting of the Maryland congressional delegation held in 
the Capitol to review the Chesapeake Bay Program it was stated that the 
bay's restoration is not an event, but a process. The Chesapeake Bay is 
our Nation's largest estuary and the foundation for the ecological and 
economic health of the mid-Atlantic region. Nearly 15 million people 
live within its six State watershed and enjoy the many benefits of a 
healthy bay. Over the past two decades the overwhelming majority of the 
citizens in our region have committed to restoring the Chesapeake with 
a unanimity rarely found in public affairs.
  Intergovernmental and private efforts to save the bay over the past 
generation have realized real successes in understanding and reversing 
declines in the Chesapeake ecosystem. But pressures on the bay continue 
to grow and for every victory, like the return of striped bass, there 
are many more challenges, from the devastated oyster population to the 
loss of wetlands. I ask my colleagues to join my distinguished friend 
from Maryland, Wayne Gilchrest, and I in building on the successes of 
the bay program and taking on the new challenges we face.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Chesapeake 
Bay Restoration Act, H.R. 1578, be printed in the Record at this point.

                               H.R. 1578

       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 
     Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and a 
     resource of worldwide significance;
       (2) in recent years, the productivity and water quality of 
     the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the Bay have been 
     diminished by pollution, excessive sedimentation, shoreline 
     erosion, the impacts of population growth and development in 
     the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and other factors;
       (3) the Federal Government (acting through the 
     Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency), the 
     Governor of the State of Maryland, the Governor of the 
     Commonwealth of Virginia, the Governor of the Commonwealth of 
     Pennsylvania, the Chairperson of the Chesapeake Bay 
     Commission, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia have 
     committed as Chesapeake Bay Agreement signatories to a 
     comprehensive and cooperative program to achieve improved 
     water quality and improvements in the productivity of living 
     resources of the Bay;
       (4) the cooperative program described in paragraph (3) 
     serves as a national and international model for the 
     management of estuaries; and
       (5) there is a need to expand Federal support for 
     monitoring, management, and restoration activities in the 
     Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the Bay in order to 
     meet and further the original and subsequent goals and 
     commitments of the Chesapeake Bay Program.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to restore 
     and protect the Chesapeake Bay; and
       (2) to achieve the goals established in the Chesapeake Bay 
     Agreement.

     SEC. 3. CHESAPEAKE BAY.

       Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
     U.S.C. 1267) is amended to read as follows:


                            ``Chesapeake Bay

       ``Sec. 117. (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Chesapeake bay agreement.--The term  `Chesapeake Bay 
     Agreement' means the formal, voluntary agreements executed to 
     achieve the goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake 
     Bay ecosystem and the living resources of the ecosystem and 
     signed by the Chesapeake Executive Council.
       ``(2) Chesapeake bay program.--The term `Chesapeake Bay 
     Program' means the program directed by the Chesapeake 
     Executive Council in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay 
     Agreement.
       ``(3) Chesapeake bay watershed.--The term `Chesapeake Bay 
     watershed' shall have the meaning determined by the 
     Administrator.
       ``(4) Chesapeake executive council.--The term `Chesapeake 
     Executive Council' means the signatories to the Chesapeake 
     Bay Agreement.
       ``(5) Signatory jurisdiction.--The term `signatory 
     jurisdiction' means a jurisdiction of a signatory to the 
     Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
       ``(b) Continuation of Chesapeake Bay Program.--
       ``(1) In general.--In cooperation with the Chesapeake 
     Executive Council (and as a member of the Council), the 
     Administrator shall continue the Chesapeake Bay Program.
       ``(2) Program office.--The Administrator shall maintain in 
     the Environmental Protection Agency a Chesapeake Bay Program 
     Office. The Chesapeake Bay Program Office shall provide 
     support to the Chesapeake Executive Council by--
       ``(A) implementing and coordinating science, research, 
     modeling, support services, monitoring, data collection, and 
     other activities that support the Chesapeake Bay Program;
       ``(B) developing and making available, through 
     publications, technical assistance, and other appropriate 
     means, information pertaining to the environmental quality 
     and living resources of the Chesapeake Bay;
       ``(C) in cooperation with appropriate Federal, State, and 
     local authorities, assisting the signatories to the 
     Chesapeake Bay Agreement in developing and implementing 
     specific action plans to carry out the responsibilities of 
     the signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement;
       ``(D) coordinating 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 to--
       ``(i) improve the water quality and living resources of the 
     Chesapeake Bay; and
       ``(ii) obtain the support of the appropriate officials of 
     the agencies and authorities in achieving the objectives of 
     the Chesapeake Bay Agreement; and
       ``(E) implementing outreach programs for public 
     information, education, and participation to foster 
     stewardship of the resources of the Chesapeake Bay.
       ``(c) Interagency Agreements.--The Administrator may enter 
     into an interagency agreement with a Federal agency to carry 
     out this section.
       ``(d) Technical Assistance and Assistance Grants.--
       ``(1) In general.--In consultation with other members of 
     the Chesapeake Executive Council, the Administrator may 
     provide technical assistance, and assistance grants, to 
     nonprofit private organizations and individuals, State and 
     local governments, colleges, universities, and interstate 
     agencies to carry out this section, subject to such terms and 
     conditions as the Administrator considers appropriate.
       ``(2) Federal share.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the Federal share of an assistance grant provided under 
     paragraph (1) shall be determined by the Administrator in 
     accordance with Environmental Protection Agency guidance.
       ``(B) Small watershed grants program.--The Federal share of 
     an assistance grant provided under paragraph (1) to carry out 
     an implementing activity under subsection (g)(2) shall not 
     exceed 75 percent of eligible project costs, as determined by 
     the Administrator.
       ``(3) Non-federal share.--An assistance grant under 
     paragraph (1) shall be provided on the condition that non-
     Federal sources provide the remainder of eligible project 
     costs, as determined by the Administrator.
       ``(4) Administrative costs.--Administrative costs 
     (including salaries, overhead, and indirect costs for 
     services provided and charged against projects supported by 
     funds made available under this subsection) incurred by a 
     person described in paragraph (1) in carrying out a project 
     under this subsection during a fiscal year shall not exceed 
     10 percent of the grant made to the person under this 
     subsection for the fiscal year.
       ``(e) Implementation Grants.--
       ``(1) In general.--If a signatory jurisdiction has approved 
     and committed to implement all or substantially all aspects 
     of the

[[Page E907]]

     Chesapeake Bay Agreement, on the request of the chief 
     executive of the jurisdiction, the Administrator shall make a 
     grant to the jurisdiction for the purpose of implementing the 
     management mechanisms established under the Chesapeake Bay 
     Agreement, subject to such terms and conditions as the 
     Administrator considers appropriate.
       ``(2) Proposals.--A signatory jurisdiction described in 
     paragraph (1) may apply for a grant under this subsection for 
     a fiscal year by submitting to the Administrator a 
     comprehensive proposal to implement management mechanisms 
     established under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. The proposal 
     shall include--
       ``(A) a description of proposed management mechanisms that 
     the jurisdiction commits to take within a specified time 
     period, such as reducing or preventing pollution in the 
     Chesapeake Bay and to meet applicable water quality 
     standards; and
       ``(B) the estimated cost of the actions proposed to be 
     taken during the fiscal year.
       ``(3) Approval.--If the Administrator finds that the 
     proposal is consistent with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement and 
     the national goals established under section 101(a), the 
     Administrator may approve the proposal for a fiscal year.
       ``(4) Federal share.--The Federal share of an 
     implementation grant provided under this subsection shall not 
     exceed 50 percent of the costs of implementing the management 
     mechanisms during the fiscal year.
       ``(5) Non-federal share.--An implementation grant under 
     this subsection shall be made on the condition that non-
     Federal sources provide the remainder of the costs of 
     implementing the management mechanisms during the fiscal 
     year.
       ``(6) Administrative costs.--Administrative costs 
     (including salaries, overhead, and indirect costs for 
     services provided and charged against projects supported by 
     funds made available under this subsection) incurred by a 
     signatory jurisdiction in carrying out a project under this 
     subsection during a fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent 
     of the grant made to the jurisdiction under this subsection 
     for the fiscal year.
       ``(f) Compliance of Federal Facilities.--
       ``(1) Subwatershed planning and restoration.--A Federal 
     agency that owns or operates a facility (as defined by the 
     Administrator) within the Chesapeake Bay watershed shall 
     participate in regional and subwatershed planning and 
     restoration programs.
       ``(2) Compliance with agreement.--The head of each Federal 
     agency that owns or occupies real property in the Chesapeake 
     Bay watershed shall ensure that the property, and actions 
     taken by the agency with respect to the property, comply with 
     the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
       ``(g) Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Tributary, and River Basin 
     Program.--
       ``(1) Nutrient and water quality management strategies.--
     Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     subsection, the Administrator, in consultation with other 
     members of the Chesapeake Executive Council, shall ensure 
     that management plans are developed and implementation is 
     begun by signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement for the 
     tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay to achieve and maintain--
       ``(A) the nutrient goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement 
     for the quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the main 
     stem Chesapeake Bay;
       ``(B) the water quality requirements necessary to restore 
     living resources in both the tributaries and the main stem of 
     the Chesapeake Bay;
       ``(C) the Chesapeake Bay basinwide toxics reduction and 
     prevention strategy goal of reducing or eliminating the input 
     of chemical contaminants from all controllable sources to 
     levels that result in no toxic or bioaccumulative impact on 
     the living resources that inhabit the Bay or on human health; 
     and
       ``(D) habitat restoration, protection, and enhancement 
     goals established by Chesapeake Bay Agreement signatories for 
     wetlands, forest riparian zones, and other types of habitat 
     associated with the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the 
     Chesapeake Bay.
       ``(2) Small watershed grants program.--The Administrator, 
     in consultation with other members of the Chesapeake 
     Executive Council, may offer the technical assistance and 
     assistance grants authorized under subsection (d) to local 
     governments and nonprofit private organizations and 
     individuals in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to implement--
       ``(A) cooperative tributary basin strategies that address 
     the Chesapeake Bay's water quality and living resource needs; 
     or
       ``(B) locally based protection and restoration programs or 
     projects within a watershed that complement the tributary 
     basin strategies.
       ``(h) Study of Chesapeake Bay Program.--Not later than 
     January 1, 1999, and each 3 years thereafter, the 
     Administrator, in cooperation with other members of the 
     Chesapeake Executive Council, shall complete a study and 
     submit a comprehensive report to Congress on the results of 
     the study. The study and report shall, at a minimum--
       ``(1) assess the commitments and goals of the management 
     strategies established under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement and 
     the extent to which the commitments and goals are being met;
       ``(2) assess the priority needs required by the management 
     strategies and the extent to which the priority needs are 
     being met;
       ``(3) assess the effects of air pollution deposition on 
     water quality of the Chesapeake Bay;
       ``(4) assess the state of the Chesapeake Bay and its 
     tributaries and related actions of the Chesapeake Bay 
     Program;
       ``(5) make recommendations for the improved management of 
     the Chesapeake Bay Program; and
       ``(6) provide the report in a format transferable to and 
     usable by other watershed restoration programs.
       ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 1998 through 2003.''.

     

                          ____________________