[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 174 (Tuesday, November 25, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15985-S15986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Mikulski, and Mr. 
        Allen):
  S. 1959. A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and 
the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 to provide for the 
restoration, protection, and enhancement of the environmental integrity 
and social and economic benefits of the Anacostia Watershed in the 
State of Maryland and the District of Columbia; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation to 
bolster efforts to restore the Anacostia River. Joining me in 
sponsoring this measure are my colleagues Senators Landrieu, Mikulski 
and Allen. A companion bill has also been introduced in the House, 
sponsored by Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton and other members of 
the Washington metropolitan area Congressional Delegation.
  Mr. President, the Anacostia River is a resource rich in history and 
with tremendous natural resources and recreational potential. It is 
homes to 43 species of fish, some 200 species of birds, as well as more 
than 800,000 people whose neighborhoods border the watershed. Flowing 
through Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland and 
emptying into the Potomac at the District of Columbia, the watershed 
consists of a 176-square-mile drainage area. One of the most urbanized 
watersheds in the United States, the Anacostia suffers a series of 
problems including trash, toxic pollution from urban runoff, sewage 
pollution from leaking sewer lines and combined sewer overflows, 
sediment pollution from erosion, and loss of fish and wildlife and 
recreational resources. It is a resource that has long been abused and 
neglected, but one that, in my view, can and must be protected and 
restored.
  Efforts to begin rejuvenating the Anacostia watershed began formally 
in 1987 when the State of Maryland, Montgomery and Prince George's 
Counties, and the District of Columbia signed an Anacostia Watershed 
Restoration Agreement. The agreement authorized the Washington Area 
Council of Governments, COG, to manage the restoration program and the 
Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, ICPRB, to protect the 
resources and facilitate public participation. COG created an Anacostia 
Watershed Restoration Committee, AWRC, to coordinate and implement 
restoration projects throughout the watershed. Since that time, local, 
State, and Federal Government agencies, as well as the Anacostia 
Watershed Society, the Anacostia Citizens Advisory Committee and other 
environmental organizations and dedicated private citizens have 
contributed significant resources toward re-establishing the Anacostia 
watershed ecosystem.
  Thanks to this cooperative and coordinated Federal, State, local and 
private effort, we are beginning to make some progress in restoring the 
watershed. A Six Point Action Plan was signed in 1991 setting ambitious 
and broad-reaching goals for the river's restoration. In 1993 we 
celebrated the successful restoration of 32 acres of emergent tidal 
wetlands by the Army Corps of Engineers at Kenilworth marsh. The 
project has shown significant results in improving tidal water flow 
through the marsh, and reducing the concentration of nitrogen and 
phosphorus in the area and demonstrates what can be achieved in urban 
river restoration. There have been other success stories as well in 
urban stream restoration in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, 
removing barriers to fish passage and reforestation efforts throughout 
the watershed, to name only a few. In 1999, a new Anacostia Watershed 
Agreement was signed to strengthen the regional governmental commitment 
to Anacostia restoration. There are today more than 60 local, State and 
Federal agencies involved in Anacostia watershed restoration. And more 
than $100 million has been spent cleaning up the river. There is 
clearly much for which we can all be proud. But the job of restoring 
the Anacostia watershed is far from complete. The Anacostia is still 
one of North America's most endangered and threatened rivers. It is 
designated one of three ``regions of concern'' for toxics in the 
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
  The legislation which we are introducing authorizes more than $200 
million in Federal assistance over the next 10 years to restore the 
Anacostia. Of these funds, $170 million is authorized to address the 
biggest pollution problems in the watershed--stormwater runoff and 
failing wastewater infrastructure. As the builder of much of the 
original infrastructure and a major user, the Federal Government has an 
important responsibility to help stem the flow of this pollution and 
comply with the Clean Water Act. The remaining funds will allow the 
administrator of EPA, working together with an ``Anacostia Watershed 
Council'' of State and local officials, to develop a comprehensive 
environmental protection and resource management plan for the 
watershed, for several Federal agencies to join in the implementation 
of the plan.
  Mr. President, the Anacostia River suffers from centuries of impacts 
and changes. Once a healthy, thriving river, it is today severely 
degraded. This legislation is urgently needed if we are to achieve the 
goal of making the Anacostia and its tributaries swimmable and fishable 
again. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure and 
ask unanimous consent that a section-by-section analysis of the 
legislation be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the analysis was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Section-by-Section Analysis of the ``Anacostia Watershed Initiative Act 
                               of 2003''

       Section 1--Title--``The Anacostia Watershed Restoration Act 
     of 2003''
       Section 2--Findings--Describes the attributes and 
     challenges of the watershed, addresses the economic and 
     natural potential of the watershed to Maryland, DC and the 
     United States; relates the history of efforts to restore the 
     Anacostia River and watershed; and suggests that the 
     importance of the Anacostia River combined with the need for 
     concerted sustained actions among the affected jurisdictions, 
     requires the development of comprehensive environmental 
     protection and resource management action plan.
       Section 3--Anacostia Watershed Initiative--Amends Federal 
     Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) by adding a new 
     section 123 that:
       a. Provides definitions.
       b. Establishes the ``Anacostia Watershed Restoration 
     Initiative'' in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to 
     restore the environmental integrity of the Anacostia 
     watershed and plan and fund restoration improvements.

[[Page S15986]]

       c. Establishes the Anacostia Watershed Council (comprised 
     of the Administrator of the EPA, the Interior Secretary, the 
     Secretary of the Army, the Governor of Maryland, the Governor 
     of Virginia, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the 
     County Executives from Prince Georges and Montgomery 
     Counties) and provides minimum meeting requirements.
       d. Establishes objectives and guidelines for the 
     development, review and approval, within one year after 
     enactment, of a 10-year multi-jurisdictional Comprehensive 
     Action Plan for restoration of the Anacostia watershed. 
     Directs that the comprehensive action plan shall incorporate 
     the goals of the 1991 Anacostia Watershed Restoration 
     Agreement; provide for public input; identify annual 
     restoration targets, describe the duties of federal, state 
     and local agencies, and suggest methods, schedules, and 
     amounts of funding required for programs, activities, and 
     projects. Directs that the plan shall promote implementation 
     of a federally approved combined sewer long term control 
     plan. Allows the plan to be amended as appropriated.
       e. Requires the Anacostia Watershed Council to report 
     annually to the Congressional authorizing and appropriating 
     committees.
       f. Permits the Administrator, in consultation with the 
     Anacostia Watershed Council, to provide financial and 
     technical support to local public and non-profit entities to 
     develop and implement the Comprehensive Action Plan.
       g. Directs Under or Assistant Secretaries of the EPA, 
     Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Army, HUD, and 
     Transportation acting through designed agencies to support 
     the Initiative and Comprehensive Action Plan.
       h. Provides that the Initiative shall not affect existing 
     obligations.
       i. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 2004-2013; 
     $3,000,000 to the Administrator for development and 
     implementation of the Initiative and $6,000,000 of which 
     shall be used by EPA, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, 
     Transportation, HUD, and the Army; provided that not more 
     than 10 percent of these funds may be used for administrative 
     costs.
       Section 4--Water Infrastructure--Amends Section 219(f) of 
     the Water Resource Development Act to provide $150 million to 
     support upgrading the DC combined sewer and $20 million for a 
     program of assistance to non-federal entities to address 
     other water quality issues.
                                 ______