[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E907-E908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  INTRODUCTION OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY RESTORATION ACT OF 1997 AND THE 
          CHESAPEAKE BAY GATEWAYS AND WATERTRAILS ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WAYNE T. GILCHREST

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 13, 1997

  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased to introduce, with my 
distinguished colleague from my home State of Maryland, Mr. Cardin, two 
bills to continue the protection, restoration, and public access and 
education efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
  Our Nation's largest and most productive estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, 
is almost 200 miles long and is fed by 48 major rivers and hundreds of 
smaller rivers and streams. It is home to more than 2,700 plant and 
animal species and is the recreational destination of millions of 
people. The Chesapeake Bay also plays a primary role in this region's 
economy. In Maryland alone, the estimated value of commercial and 
recreational fishing, boating, hunting, and observing, feeding, and 
photographing wildlife in the Chesapeake Bay is $2.6 billion a year.
  Draining into the Chesapeake are some 64,000 square miles; the bay's 
watershed covers most of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, parts of 
Delaware, New York and West Virginia and all of the District of 
Columbia, and is home to over 15 million people. From the headwaters 
near Cooperstown, to the Appalachians in southwest Virginia and the 
Delmarva peninsula to the east of the bay, everything that affects the 
land, ultimately affects the bay. Every drop of rain, every ounce of 
polluted runoff, every best management practice, every tree planted 
within those 64,000 square miles makes the bay what it is.
  It is the recognition of this connection that makes the Chesapeake so 
special. Sadly, the Chesapeake Bay had to fall victim to unchecked 
pollution, degradation of water quality, loss of underwater vegetation, 
and diminution of key fisheries before this connection between land and 
estuary was really understood. Like many other water bodies in the 
United States, unchecked and unregulated activities threatened wildlife 
habitat, commercially important fish species, and human health. In the 
late 1970's the problems in the Chesapeake Bay estuary were brought to 
light and Congress rallied to provide Federal dollars and structure to 
what became known as the Chesapeake Bay Program.
  Since 1983, when the first Chesapeake Bay Agreement was signed by the 
Governors of the States of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the 
Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and 
the Administrator of the EPA, the Chesapeake Bay Program has been a 
Federal-State cooperative responsible for restoring and protecting the 
bay. It has become the national model for interstate and intrastate 
cooperative efforts when a resource of regional and national 
significance is shared, as is the Chesapeake Bay.

  The two bills we introduce today are a testimony to that initial 
recognition of the bay's unique value, the link between land and water 
and the need for additional education and outreach to continue the 
conservation, restoration and appreciation for the natural, cultural, 
historical, economical and recreational resources that the Chesapeake 
Bay provides this region.
  The first bill we are introducing today, the Chesapeake Bay 
Restoration Act of 1997, is designed to build upon the Federal role in 
the Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts by maintaining the EPA Bay 
Program Office and highlighting the important technical and financial 
assistance, research and monitoring and educational and outreach 
programs the office fosters. The bill specifically establishes a small 
watershed grants program to provide Federal assistance to local 
governments and nonprofit organizations within the watershed for 
locally significant restoration, protection and education initiatives.
  The second bill we are introducing today, the Chesapeake Bay Gateways 
and Watertrails Act of 1997, would further the connection of natural, 
historic, cultural and recreational resources to create an innovative

[[Page E908]]

Chesapeake Bay gateways and watertrails network throughout the bay and 
its tributaries. This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
identify and protect resources throughout the watershed, to identify 
these individual sites as Chesapeake Bay gateways, and to link them 
with trails, tour roads, scenic byways and other sites. It also directs 
the Secretary to establish important water routes as Chesapeake Bay 
watertrails, and connect these watertrails with gateways sites and 
other land resources to create a Chesapeake Bay gateways and 
watertrails network. This bill encourages the affiliation among all of 
these sites in an effort to improve overall access to the bay and its 
resources, as well as provide opportunities for education of visitors 
and residents alike.
  A similar effort is already underway in Maryland, where our 
Department of Natural Resources has been working on a program to 
feature the connections among a variety of protected lands, parks, and 
other special natural areas. This bay link system, as it is called, 
seeks to highlight each site's role in maintaining the integrity of the 
Chesapeake Bay ecosystem while providing a unique recreational 
opportunity. The collection of sites also acts to educate visitors as 
to the regional significance of the site by providing historical and 
ecological information. Such information will eventually be provided to 
virtual visitors who visit the bay via the Internet as well.
  Many residents of the watershed are familiar only with specific 
sites; many visitors to the bay are exposed only to particular areas. 
The Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Act of 1997 would promote 
the creation of a network of important sites across the entire 
watershed and provide residents and visitors alike the opportunity to 
recognize the connections between different parts of the watershed. It 
would provide financial and technical assistance for the conservation 
of important areas in the bay's watershed and promote linkages among 
national parks, waterways, local or regional heritage sites, wildlife 
refuges and other regionally or locally significant areas in the 
watershed. While encouraging visitors to experience the history and 
beauty of the bay, the gateways and watertrails network would also 
enhance public education, outreach and access around the bay and its 
tributaries.
  Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to let everyone know just how 
special the Chesapeake Bay is to Marylanders and everyone in our 
region. I am pleased to be introducing these two bills to further 
coordinate efforts to protect and conserve the treasures of the 
Chesapeake Bay and her watershed. I ask unanimous consent that the text 
of H.R. 1579, the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Act, be 
printed in the Record at this point.

                               H.R. 1579

       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 Gateways and 
     Watertrails Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Chesapeake bay gateways sites.--The term ``Chesapeake 
     Bay Gateways sites'' means the Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites 
     identified under section 5(a)(2).
       (2) Chesapeake bay gateways and watertrails network.--The 
     term ``Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network'' 
     means the network of Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites and 
     Chesapeake Bay Watertrails created under section 5(a)(5).
       (3) Chesapeake bay watershed.--The term ``Chesapeake Bay 
     Watershed'' shall have the meaning determined by the 
     Secretary.
       (4) Chesapeake bay watertrails.--The term ``Chesapeake Bay 
     Watertrails'' means the Chesapeake Bay Watertrails 
     established under section 5(a)(4).
       (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior (acting through the Director of the National 
     Park Service).

     SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and a 
     resource of international significance;
       (2) the region within the Chesapeake Bay watershed 
     possesses outstanding natural, cultural, historical, and 
     recreational resources that combine to form nationally 
     distinctive and linked waterway and terrestrial landscapes;
       (3) there is a need to study and interpret the connection 
     between the unique cultural heritage of human settlements 
     throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the waterways and 
     other natural resources that led to the settlements and on 
     which the settlements depend; and
       (4) as a formal partner in the Chesapeake Bay Program, the 
     Secretary has an important responsibility--
       (A) to further assist regional, State, and local partners 
     in efforts to increase public awareness of and access to the 
     Chesapeake Bay;
       (B) to help communities and private landowners conserve 
     important regional resources; and
       (C) to study, interpret, and link the regional resources 
     with each other and with Chesapeake Bay Watershed 
     conservation, restoration, and education efforts.

     SEC. 4. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to identify opportunities for increased public access 
     to and education about the Chesapeake Bay;
       (2) to provide financial and technical assistance to 
     communities for conserving important natural, cultural, 
     historical, and recreational resources within the Chesapeake 
     Bay Watershed; and
       (3) to link appropriate national parks, waterways, 
     monuments, parkways, wildlife refuges, other national 
     historic sites, and regional or local heritage areas into a 
     network of Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites and Chesapeake Bay 
     Watertrails.

     SEC. 5. CHESAPEAKE BAY GATEWAYS AND WATERTRAILS NETWORK.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide technical and 
     financial assistance, in cooperation with other Federal 
     agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit 
     organizations, and the private sector--
       (1) to identify, conserve, restore, and interpret natural, 
     recreational, historical, and cultural resources within the 
     Chesapeake Bay Watershed;
       (2) to identify and utilize the collective resources as 
     Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites for enhancing public education 
     of and access to the Chesapeake Bay;
       (3) to link the Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites with trails, 
     tour roads, scenic byways, and other connections as 
     determined by the Secretary;
       (4) to develop and establish Chesapeake Bay Watertrails 
     comprising water routes and connections to Chesapeake Bay 
     Gateways sites and other land resources within the Chesapeake 
     Bay Watershed; and
       (5) to create a network of Chesapeake Bay Gateways sites 
     and Chesapeake Bay Watertrails.
       (b) Components.--Components of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways 
     and Watertrails Network may include--
       (1) State or Federal parks or refuges;
       (2) historic seaports;
       (3) archaeological, cultural, historical, or recreational 
     sites; or
       (4) other public access and interpretive sites as selected 
     by the Secretary.

     SEC. 6. CHESAPEAKE BAY GATEWAYS GRANTS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a Chesapeake 
     Bay Gateways Grants Assistance Program to aid State and local 
     governments, local communities, nonprofit organizations, and 
     the private sector in conserving, restoring, and interpreting 
     important historic, cultural, recreational, and natural 
     resources within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.
       (b) Criteria.--The Secretary shall develop appropriate 
     eligibility, prioritization, and review criteria for grants 
     under this section.
       (c) Matching Funds and Administrative Expenses.--A grant 
     under this section--
       (1) shall not exceed 50 percent of eligible project costs;
       (2) shall be made on the condition that non-Federal 
     sources, including in-kind contributions of services or 
     materials, provide the remainder of eligible project costs; 
     and
       (3) shall be made on the condition that not more than 10 
     percent of all eligible project costs be used for 
     administrative expenses.

     SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     Act $3,000,000 for each fiscal year.

     

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