[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 9, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H1101-H1104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN PROTECTION ACT OF 2001

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3480) to promote Department of the Interior efforts to 
provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient 
loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3480

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Upper 
     Mississippi River Basin Protection Act of 2001''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Reliance on sound science.

           TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING NETWORK

Sec. 101. Establishment of monitoring network.

[[Page H1102]]

Sec. 102. Data collection and storage responsibilities.
Sec. 103. Relationship to existing sediment and nutrient monitoring.
Sec. 104. Collaboration with other public and private monitoring 
              efforts.
Sec. 105. Cost share requirements.
Sec. 106. Reporting requirements.
Sec. 107. National Research Council assessment.

                TITLE II--COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH

Sec. 201. Computer modeling and research of sediment and nutrient 
              sources.
Sec. 202. Use of electronic means to distribute information.
Sec. 203. Reporting requirements.

               TITLE III--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) The terms ``Upper Mississippi River Basin'' and 
     ``Basin'' mean the watershed portion of the Upper Mississippi 
     River and Illinois River basins, from Cairo, Illinois, to the 
     headwaters of the Mississippi River, in the States of 
     Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. The 
     designation includes the Kaskaskia watershed along the 
     Illinois River and the Meramec watershed along the Missouri 
     River.
       (2) The terms ``Upper Mississippi River Stewardship 
     Initiative'' and ``Initiative'' mean the activities 
     authorized or required by this Act to monitor nutrient and 
     sediment loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
       (3) The term ``sound science'' means a scientific method 
     that uses the best available technical and scientific 
     information and techniques to identify and understand natural 
     resource management needs and appropriate treatments, to 
     implement conservation measures, and to assess the results of 
     treatments on natural resource health and sustainability in 
     the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

     SEC. 3. RELIANCE ON SOUND SCIENCE.

       It is the policy of Congress that Federal investments in 
     the Upper Mississippi River Basin must be guided by sound 
     science.

           TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING NETWORK

     SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF MONITORING NETWORK.

       (a) Establishment.--As part of the Upper Mississippi River 
     Stewardship Initiative, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
     establish a sediment and nutrient monitoring network for the 
     Upper Mississippi River Basin for the purposes of--
       (1) identifying and evaluating significant sources of 
     sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin;
       (2) quantifying the processes affecting mobilization, 
     transport, and fate of those sediments and nutrients on land 
     and in water;
       (3) quantifying the transport of those sediments and 
     nutrients to and through the Upper Mississippi River Basin;
       (4) recording changes to sediment and nutrient loss over 
     time;
       (5) providing coordinated data to be used in computer 
     modeling of the Basin, pursuant to section 201; and
       (6) identifying major sources of sediment and nutrients 
     within the Basin for the purpose of targeting resources to 
     reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
       (b) Role of United States Geological Survey.--The Secretary 
     of the Interior shall carry out this title acting through the 
     office of the Director of the United States Geological 
     Survey.
       (c) Headquarters.--Sediment and nutrient monitoring 
     information shall be headquartered at the Upper Midwest 
     Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

     SEC. 102. DATA COLLECTION AND STORAGE RESPONSIBILITIES.

       (a) Guidelines for Data Collection and Storage.--The 
     Secretary of the Interior shall establish guidelines for the 
     effective design of data collection activities regarding 
     sediment and nutrient monitoring, for the use of suitable and 
     consistent methods for data collection, and for consistent 
     reporting, data storage, and archiving practices.
       (b) Release of Data.--Data resulting from sediment and 
     nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi River Basin 
     shall be released to the public using generic station 
     identifiers and hydrologic unit codes. In the case of a 
     monitoring station located on private lands, information 
     regarding the location of the station shall not be 
     disseminated without the landowner's permission.
       (c) Protection of Privacy.--Data resulting from sediment 
     and nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi River Basin 
     is not subject to the mandatory disclosure provisions of 
     section 552 of title V, United States Code, but may be 
     released only as provided in subsection (b).

     SEC. 103. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT 
                   MONITORING.

       (a) Inventory.--To the maximum extent practicable, the 
     Secretary of the Interior shall inventory the sediment and 
     nutrient monitoring efforts, in existence as of the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, of Federal, State, local, and 
     nongovernmental entities for the purpose of creating a 
     baseline understanding of overlap, data gaps and 
     redundancies.
       (b) Integration.--On the basis of the inventory, the 
     Secretary of the Interior shall integrate the existing 
     sediment and nutrient monitoring efforts, to the maximum 
     extent practicable, into the sediment and nutrient monitoring 
     network required by section 101.
       (c) Consultation and Use of Existing Data.--In carrying out 
     this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall make 
     maximum use of data in existence as of the date of the 
     enactment of this Act and of ongoing programs and efforts of 
     Federal, State, tribal, local, and nongovernmental entities 
     in developing the sediment and nutrient monitoring network 
     required by section 101.
       (d) Coordination With Lower Estuary Assessment Group.--The 
     Secretary of the Interior shall carry out this section in 
     coordination with the Lower Estuary Assessment Group, as 
     authorized by section 902 of the Estuaries and Clean Waters 
     Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-457; 33 U.S.C. 2901 note).

     SEC. 104. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 
                   MONITORING EFFORTS.

       To establish the sediment and nutrient monitoring network, 
     the Secretary of the Interior shall collaborate, to the 
     maximum extent practicable, with other Federal, State, 
     tribal, local and private sediment and nutrient monitoring 
     programs that meet guidelines prescribed under section 
     102(a), as determined by the Secretary.

     SEC. 105. COST SHARE REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Required Cost Sharing.--The non-Federal sponsors of the 
     sediment and nutrient monitoring network shall be responsible 
     for not less than 25 percent of the costs of maintaining the 
     network.
       (b) In-Kind Contributions.--Up to 80 percent of the non-
     Federal share may be provided through in-kind contributions.
       (c) Treatment of Existing Efforts.--A State or local 
     monitoring effort, in existence as of the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, that the Secretary of the Interior 
     finds adheres to the guidelines prescribed under section 
     102(a) shall be deemed to satisfy the cost share requirements 
     of this section.

     SEC. 106. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       The Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress not 
     later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act on the development of the sediment and nutrient 
     monitoring network.

     SEC. 107. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ASSESSMENT.

       The National Research Council of the National Academy of 
     Sciences shall conduct a comprehensive water resources 
     assessment of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

                TITLE II--COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH

     SEC. 201. COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH OF SEDIMENT AND 
                   NUTRIENT SOURCES.

       (a) Modeling Program Required.--As part of the Upper 
     Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative, the Director of the 
     United States Geological Survey shall establish a modeling 
     program to identify significant sources of sediment and 
     nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
       (b) Role.--Computer modeling shall be used to identify 
     subwatersheds which are significant sources of sediment and 
     nutrient loss and shall be made available for the purposes of 
     targeting public and private sediment and nutrient reduction 
     efforts.
       (c) Components.--Sediment and nutrient models for the Upper 
     Mississippi River Basin shall include the following:
       (1) Models to relate nutrient loss to landscape, land use, 
     and land management practices.
       (2) Models to relate sediment loss to landscape, land use, 
     and land management practices.
       (3) Models to define river channel nutrient transformation 
     processes.
       (d) Collection of Ancillary Information.--Ancillary 
     information shall be collected in a GIS format to support 
     modeling and management use of modeling results, including 
     the following:
       (1) Land use data.
       (2) Soils data.
       (3) Elevation data.
       (4) Information on sediment and nutrient reduction 
     improvement actions.
       (5) Remotely sense data.
       (e) Headquarters.--Information developed by computer 
     modeling shall be headquartered at the Upper Midwest 
     Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

     SEC. 202. USE OF ELECTRONIC MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE
                   INFORMATION.

       Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Director of the United States Geological Survey 
     shall establish a system that uses the telecommunications 
     medium known as the Internet to provide information regarding 
     the following:
       (1) Public and private programs designed to reduce sediment 
     and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
       (2) Information on sediment and nutrient levels in the 
     Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries.
       (3) Successful sediment and nutrient reduction projects.

     SEC. 203. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Monitoring Activities.--Commencing one year after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the United 
     States Geological Survey shall provide to Congress and make 
     available to the public an annual report regarding monitoring 
     activities conducted in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
       (b) Modeling Activities.--Every three years, the Director 
     of the United States Geological Survey shall provide to 
     Congress and make available to the public a progress report 
     regarding modeling activities.

[[Page H1103]]

               TITLE III--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

     SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
     the Secretary of the Interior $6,250,000 each fiscal year to 
     carry out this Act.
       (b) Water Resource and Water Quality Management 
     Assessment.--There is authorized to be appropriated $650,000 
     to allow the National Research Council to perform the 
     assessment required by section 107.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 3480, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act of 2001, 
provides for the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey to 
supplement, coordinate and manage data collection on sediments and 
nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin and use the data to 
perform computer modeling to provide the baseline data and modeling 
tools needed to make scientifically sound and cost-effective river 
management decisions. The legislation includes a provision requiring 
landowner permission prior to disseminating information from monitoring 
stations located on private lands to protect the privacy of individual 
landowners. Finally, it provides for the National Research Council of 
the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive water 
resources assessment of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, this legislation offered today is meant to 
better preserve and protect one of the great national treasures that 
exist in this country, the Mississippi River Basin. I would like to 
thank, first of all, Chairman Hansen of our committee and Chairman 
Calvert of the subcommittee and their staffs for the assistance and the 
cooperation we received in putting this legislation together. I also 
want to thank Ranking Member Rahall and also Ranking Member Smith of 
the subcommittee and their staff for all the help and assistance that 
we have received.
  This is simple legislation, Mr. Speaker. The intent of it is to 
authorize the U.S. Geological Survey to be able to put together the 
science and implement the science so we can better track and monitor 
the nutrients and sediments that flow into the Upper Mississippi River 
Basin. It would develop for the first time a public-private approach 
and coordination in order to develop a comprehensive monitoring and a 
state-of-the-art computer modeling program in order to track the 
sediment and nutrient flows into the river basin.
  This legislation has been near and dear to my heart, Mr. Speaker. As 
a young boy growing up in western Wisconsin, I spent an inordinate 
amount of my time growing up on the Mississippi River. I guess you 
could refer to me as the ``Tom Sawyer'' of the United States Congress, 
but since we already have a Tom Sawyer from Ohio I guess I will just 
accept the label of Huck Finn. Huck was probably more colorful, anyway. 
But as a young kid growing up, I spent a lot of my time on the 
Mississippi enjoying the recreational activities, the swimming, the 
fishing, the hunting, but I still remember those days during the 
sixties and during the seventies when I would go down to my favorite 
swimming beaches and find that they were closed because of high 
bacteria count, or going down to my favorite fishing holes and finding 
notices that were posted around these popular fishing areas warning the 
fishermen not to eat the fish that they were catching because of the 
contamination and the effect on the quality of the fish supplies. I 
knew even then as a young boy that something was not quite right.
  Since those days, a lot of progress has been made in regards to the 
health, viability and sustainability of the river basin. There is still 
much work that needs to be done. If you talk to the experts in the 
river system both in the north and the southern part, the one thing 
that has really been lacking or missing is a comprehensive scientific 
program so we can collect the baseline data at sub-basin level in order 
to understand more the effects of the sediment and nutrient flows going 
into this valuable ecosystem.
  Why is this important? It is important on a number of fronts, not 
least of which is economic. This is a multiple-use river system, from 
commercial navigation to tourist activity to recreation activity. It 
has been in the past with the lock and dam system; it is today and it 
will continue to be so in the future. But there also is the need for 
balance and balanced use in regards to the river basin. There is a $1.2 
billion recreation impact in the Upper Mississippi States alone and a 
$6.6 billion tourism impact. In fact, we have more visitors every year 
to the Upper Mississippi Wildlife Refuge than they do in the 
Yellowstone National Park System. It is also the primary drinking 
supply source for over 22 million Americans. It is North America's 
largest migratory route, with over 40 percent of the waterfowl species 
using the river basin as its main corridor during its migratory pattern 
every year. It also provides us, as this picture demonstrates, the 
fertile farmland which makes the Midwest the breadbasket of the United 
States and the rest of the world.
  But there are also some challenges with the system. Because of the 
sediment flows flowing into the river, it is costing us roughly $100 
million every year just to maintain a 9-foot navigable channel with the 
dredging costs in order to keep the commercial navigation flowing along 
the river system. Our farmers are losing valuable topsoil. In fact, 
they are losing $300 million worth of applied nitrogen every year that 
ultimately flows into the rivers and streams and affects the ecosystem 
adversely.
  This litigation has received wide bipartisan support, from the 
original cosponsors when I introduced the legislation to a variety of 
experts in the Upper Mississippi States. It is consistent with the 
Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force that was 
formed over the last few years, studying the nutrient problems that are 
affecting especially the Gulf of Mexico and the dead zone that is being 
created there. The Upper Mississippi, although it supplies 22 percent 
of the water that ultimately flows into the Gulf of Mexico, 
nevertheless it is the source of 32 percent of the nutrients that are 
flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, and it is consistent with the 
recommendations that they are making for a public and private 
coordinated approach with Federal, State, local agencies, private 
entities and tribes to do a better job of collaborating and to 
standardize the data that is now being collected.

                              {time}  1500

  At one point during the research of this legislation, I discovered 
there were 77 different private entities that were doing some form of 
water quality testing, but there was very little sharing of information 
because the data was not standardized. This legislation will address 
that problem.
  But it also addresses a very important privacy protection concern 
that some groups that we worked with raised, and I feel the language 
that we have in here with regard to the protection of sharing personal 
data of private landowners meets the test that a lot of these groups 
were raising.
  It is also consistent with what a number of States have talked about 
that is needed in regards to the River Basin and its protection. In 
fact, a number of States have also weighed in on the need to increase 
monitoring and modeling efforts throughout the Upper Mississippi River 
Basin.
  In October of 2001, in a letter to a Bush administration official, 
six Governors of the States bordering the Mississippi wrote that, ``A 
monitoring effort conducted jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey and 
the States is required within the Basin to determine the water quality 
effects of the actions taken and to measure the success of efforts on a 
sub-basin and project level.''
  H.R. 3480 does exactly what the Governors of those States were 
recommending, bringing in a variety of groups in order to have a more 
comprehensive monitoring and computer

[[Page H1104]]

modeling system so that the science will be able to demonstrate where 
the hot spots exist, where the problem areas are, so we are in a better 
position then of making policy choices of how better to direct the 
limited resources to get the optimal effect of the investment in land 
stewardship through , voluntary and incentive-based land conservation 
programs, and the benefit that is going to bring to the entire river 
basin area.
  My district, Mr. Speaker, has more miles that border the Mississippi 
River than any other congressional district in the Nation, and 
therefore I felt a certain personal responsibility to keep an eye on 
the river and to promote good policy and legislation that will enhance 
the long-term sustainability of this great natural resource.
  It is one of the reasons I was motivated to help form a bipartisan 
Mississippi River Task Force so that we can start working more 
effectively together between the upper Mississippi region and the 
southern Mississippi River region on issues of common ground and to 
better educate ourselves in regard to the different uses of this 
valuable river system.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I do want to thank a few individuals who have 
been very helpful in support of this legislation. I want to, of course, 
thank the original cosponsors of this legislation, including the other 
cochairs of the Upper Mississippi River Task Force, the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht), the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), and the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello).
  I also want to thank the congressional cochairs of the entire 
Mississippi River Caucus, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Hulshof) and 
the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Boswell) for their support and their 
staff's support for this legislation.
  In addition, I want to thank Ms. Holly Stoerker of the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin Association, Mr. Doug Daigle of the Mississippi 
River Basin Alliance, Dr. Jerry Schnoor of the University of Iowa, and 
Dr. Barry Drazkowski and the administration and staff at St. Mary's 
University in Minnesota for a lot of the ideas that are contained 
within this legislation. Their expertise and testimony during the 
hearings that we have had on this legislation was essential in crafting 
the bipartisan approach that this legislation takes.
  Also greatly appreciated is the tireless work of a few individuals in 
my office, former Sea Grant fellow Allen Hance, who is now with the 
Northeast Midwest Institute, along with other Sea Grant fellows, Laura 
Cimo, Jeff Stein and Ed Buckner, who have worked in my office, worked 
specifically on this legislation dealing with a lot of the shareholders 
and groups interested in this legislation, as well as other issues 
affecting the Mississippi River Basin area.
  I also want to thank a couple permanent members on my staff, Ben 
Proctor, who is with us on the floor today, and also Brad Pfaff, who 
has carried a lot of the weight with this legislation during the period 
of time we have been working on it. Their help has been greatly 
appreciated.
  H.R. 3480 represents a commonsense move toward building the 
scientific foundation necessary to remedy nutrient and sediment 
problems throughout the Mississippi River Basin. I believe this is a 
needed, cost-effective step in preserving the Upper Mississippi River 
and its multiple-use heritage for future generations, and I would urge 
my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3480, the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin Protection Act.
  For quite some time there have been several federal, state, and local 
programs designed to address the problem of sediment and nutrient loss 
in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, but there has been little 
coordination between them. This bill will provide this much needed 
coordination and enable a more comprehensive approach to addressing 
this problem.
  In Wisconsin, and particularly in my district, agriculture is a vital 
industry. The soil erosion suffered by farmers in the area reduces and 
threatens the long-term sustainability and income of my state's family 
farms.
  Furthermore, the cost of dredging the sediment fills in the river's 
main shipping channel costs over $100 million each year. These fills 
also threaten the region's $1.2 billion recreation and $6.6 billion 
tourism industries.
  While the Upper Mississippi River Basin contributes 22 percent of the 
water flowing into the Lower Mississippi, it contributes 31 percent of 
the nitrogen, threatening the water quality of that part of the river.
  By designating the U.S. Geological Survey as the lead agency, this 
bill will provide the much needed coordination, monitoring, and 
scientific data collection to implement informed and effective 
conservation decisions for the river basin. I urge my colleagues to 
support its passage.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, as a co-chair of the Upper Mississippi 
River Task Force, I am proud that the House is considering the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin Protection Act today.
  This bill is good for farmers, and it is good for the environment.
  Every year, farmers collectively lose more than $300 million in 
applied nitrogen due to erosion. Not only does this hurt the 
Mississippi River ecosystem--it hurts farmers' checkbooks.
  Soil erosion also causes sedimentation problems on the river. 
Dredging costs due to increased sedimentation run over $100 million 
each year, and removing the sediment is integral to keeping the river a 
viable transportation mechanism. Sediments also fill critical wetland 
areas in the Mississippi River basin, threatening the plants and 
wildlife.
  Currently there is insufficient data on the amounts and sources of 
sediments and nutrients in the upper Mississippi River basin. Local, 
state, and federal water quality monitoring and modeling efforts are 
not coordinated or standardized. This legislation will develop a 
coordinated public-private approach to reducing nutrient and sediment 
losses in the upper Mississippi River basin, and will establish a water 
quality monitoring network and an integral computer modeling program.
  This bill will provide the baseline data needed to make 
scientifically sound and cost-effective decisions that will benefit all 
who depend on the health of the upper Mississippi River basin for 
transportation, recreation, or whatever their needs may be.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Walden of Oregon). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3480.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________