[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 77 (Thursday, May 22, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6999-S7000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. DeWine, Ms. Stabenow, and Mr. 
        Voinovich):
  S. 1116. A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to 
direct the Great Lakes National Program Office of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to develop, implement, monitor, and report on a 
series of indicators of water quality and related environmental factors 
in the Great Lakes; to the Committee on Environmental and Public Works.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, my colleagues Senators DeWine and Voinovich 
of Ohio, Senator Stabenow of Michigan, and I are pleased to introduce 
the Great Lakes Water Quality Indicators and Monitoring Act. This bill 
will provide science-based assessments of the health of the Great Lakes 
and whether restoration projects are working. The bill directs the 
Environmental Protection Agency to develop indicators of Great Lakes 
water quality and related environmental factors and a comprehensive 
network to monitor those indicators.
  The Great Lakes contain almost 20 percent of the world's fresh water. 
Millions of people rely on the lakes for drinking water, for economic 
livelihoods such as fishing and shipping, and for recreational 
opportunities, including swimming and boating. But the Great Lakes have 
suffered from decades of toxic discharges, urban and agricultural 
runoff, and other environmental challenges. We've made some progress in 
improving water quality, but we know we have a long way to go.
  The stewards of the lakes at the Federal, State, and local levels use 
a variety of methods to determine the health of the Great Lakes and 
whether they are improving. For example, EPA and the Fish and Wildlife 
Service monitor the accumulation of chemicals in Great Lakes fish. The 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration detects changes in the 
ecosystem from space-based satellites and waterborne buoys. The 
Geological Survey samples stream flow and quality, and the states 
inspect for compliance with water quality standards.
  But these efforts to collect scientific data are largely voluntary 
and suffer from a lack of funding and coordination. They use 
inconsistent methods that often produce incompatible results.
  This week, members of the Great Lakes Task Force released a General 
Accounting Office report on Great Lakes environmental programs. GAO 
looked at almost 200 Federal and State programs and found that a lack 
of coordination, poorly defined goals, and insufficient data make it 
difficult to evaluate the success of these programs. GAO found that 
there are no data collected regularly throughout the Great Lakes, and 
that the existing data are inadequate to determine whether water 
quality and other environmental conditions are improving.
  In 1990, I authored the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act, which 
strengthened the water quality standards in the Great Lakes region. 
This year, Congress passed the Great Lakes Legacy Act, to speed the 
cleanup of contaminated bottom sediment. But we haven't established a 
way to evaluate the impact of these measures.
  A restoration program is only as good as its ability to demonstrate 
results. To show results, we need science-based indicators of water 
quality and related environmental factors, and we need to monitor those 
indicators regularly throughout the ecosystem.
  GAO recommends that EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office lead an 
effort to develop indicators and a monitoring network. Our bill gives 
that office the mandate to work with other federal agencies and Canada 
to identify and measure water quality and other environmental factors 
on a regular basis. The initial set of data collected through this 
network will serve as a benchmark against which to measure future 
improvements. Those measurements will help us make decisions on how to 
steer future restoration efforts. With a clear picture of how the Great 
Lakes are changing, we can change course when needed and spend public 
funds on the most pressing demands.
  This bill serves a second purpose--it provides EPA with dedicated 
funding to make sure that data collection can begin in a timely manner 
and be carried out consistently and comprehensively as long as the 
Great Lakes are in need.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this bill and help speed its 
passage.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.

[[Page S7000]]

  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1116

       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 ``Great Lakes Water Quality 
     Indicators and Monitoring Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) there are no comprehensive, regularly-collected data 
     that reveal whether the water quality or related 
     environmental factors of the Great Lakes have improved as a 
     result of efforts to remediate and protect the Great Lakes;
       (2) that lack of data was confirmed in May 2003 in a report 
     by the General Accounting Office that concluded that existing 
     data were inadequate to assess the overall progress of 
     restoration efforts in the Great Lakes; and
       (3) without those data, it is impossible to determine 
     whether--
       (A) progress is being made toward achieving the goals 
     contained in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between 
     the United States and Canada; or
       (B) Federal and State water quality standards and 
     remediation programs are effective.

     SEC. 3. GREAT LAKES WATER QUALITY INDICATORS AND MONITORING.

       (a) In General.--Section 118(c)(1) of the Federal Water 
     Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1268(c)(1)) is amended by 
     striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:
       ``(B)(i) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
     of this clause, in cooperation with Canada and appropriate 
     Federal agencies (including the United States Geological 
     Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
     and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service), develop and 
     implement a set of science-based indicators of water quality 
     and related environmental factors in the Great Lakes, 
     including, at a minimum, measures of toxic pollutants that 
     have accumulated in the Great Lakes for a substantial period 
     of time, as determined by the Program Office;
       ``(ii) not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 
     of this clause--
       ``(I) establish a Federal network for the regular 
     monitoring of, and collection of data throughout, the Great 
     Lakes basin with respect to the indicators described in 
     clause (i); and
       ``(II) collect an initial set of benchmark data from the 
     network; and
       ``(iii) not later than 2 years after the date of collection 
     of the data described in clause (ii)(II), and biennially 
     thereafter, in addition to the report required under 
     paragraph (10), submit to Congress, and make available to the 
     public, a report that--
       ``(I) describes the water quality and related environmental 
     factors of the Great Lakes (including any changes in those 
     factors), as determined through the regular monitoring of 
     indicators under clause (ii)(I) for the period covered by the 
     report; and
       ``(II) identifies any emerging problems in the water 
     quality or related environmental factors of the Great 
     Lakes.''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 118 of the 
     Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1268) is 
     amended by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
     to carry out this section (other than subsection (c)(1)(B)) 
     $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
       ``(2) Great lakes water quality indicators and 
     monitoring.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
     out subsection (c)(1)(B)--
       ``(A) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
       ``(B) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
       ``(C) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
       ``(D) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.''.
                                 ______