[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15483-15485]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAMS REAUTHORIZATION

  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5266) to reauthorize the National Estuary Programs, and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

[[Page 15484]]



                               H.R. 5266

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

     SECTION 1. COMPETITIVE AWARDS.

       Section 320(g) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
     (33 U.S.C. 1330(g)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(4) Competitive awards.--
       ``(A) In general.--Of the amount made available under 
     subsection (i)(2)(B), the Administrator shall make 
     competitive awards under this paragraph.
       ``(B) Application for awards.--The Administrator shall 
     solicit applications for awards under this paragraph from 
     State, interstate, and regional water pollution control 
     agencies and entities, State coastal zone management 
     agencies, interstate agencies, other public or nonprofit 
     private agencies, institutions, organizations, and 
     individuals.
       ``(C) Selection of recipients.--In selecting award 
     recipients under this paragraph, the Administrator shall 
     select recipients that are best able to address urgent and 
     challenging issues that threaten the ecological and economic 
     well-being of coastal areas. Such issues shall include--
       ``(i) extensive seagrass habitat losses resulting in 
     significant impacts on fisheries and water quality;
       ``(ii) recurring harmful algae blooms, unusual marine 
     mammal mortalities;
       ``(iii) invasive exotic species which can threaten 
     wastewater systems and cause other damage;
       ``(iv) jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to 
     water during peak tourism seasons;
       ``(v) flooding which may be related to sea level rise or 
     wetland degradation or loss; or
       ``(vi) low dissolved oxygen conditions in estuarine waters 
     and related nutrient management.''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 320 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
     U.S.C. 1330) is amended by striking subsection (i) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
     to the Administrator $27,000,000, for each of fiscal years 
     2014 through 2018 for--
       ``(A) expenses relating to the administration of grants or 
     awards by the Administrator under this section, including the 
     award and oversight of grants and awards, except that such 
     expenses shall not exceed 5 percent of the amount 
     appropriated under this subsection; and
       ``(B) making grants and awards under subsection (g).
       ``(2) Allocations.--
       ``(A) Conservation and management plan.--The Administrator 
     shall provide not less than 80 percent of the amounts made 
     available for this section for each fiscal year referred to 
     in paragraph (1) for the development, implementation, and 
     monitoring of each conservation and management plan eligible 
     for grant assistance under subsection (g)(2).
       ``(B) Competitive awards.--The Administrator shall provide 
     not less than 15 percent of the amounts made available for 
     this section in each fiscal year to make competitive awards 
     described in subsection (g)(4).''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bishop) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous materials on H.R. 5266.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  First, I want to thank Mr. Shuster, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Bishop, and Mr. 
Larsen for helping me bring H.R. 5266, the National Estuary Programs 
Reauthorization, to the floor.
  I also want to thank my colleagues, Mr. Posey and Mr. Murphy of 
Florida, in helping me get this legislation drafted and ushered through 
the committee in a bipartisan way.
  This version of the National Estuary Programs Reauthorization is 
fiscally responsible by reducing the authorization levels by $8 
million, while ultimately increasing the amount of money each estuary 
program will receive. This reauthorization will detail just how the EPA 
is to spend the authorized and appropriated money.
  Unlike many programs under the Clean Water Act, the National Estuary 
Program is a nonregulatory program; instead, it is designed to support 
the collaborative voluntary efforts of Federal, State, and local 
stakeholders to restore degraded estuaries.
  Unfortunately, National Estuary Programs have been losing money due 
to the EPA administrative costs. By setting limits of 5 percent for 
administrative costs for the EPA, we can guarantee 80 percent of the 
funding goes to the end user and the NEP and not bureaucratic salaries 
and red tape.
  In this year's reauthorization, we have also set aside 15 percent of 
the funding for a competitive award program. This program will seek 
applications meant to deal with urgent and challenging issues that 
threaten the ecological and economic well-being of coastal areas.
  By structuring how the money is spent and lowering authorization 
levels, this legislation strikes the right balance of fiscal and 
environmental responsibilities. I urge all Members to support H.R. 
5266.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 5266 to reauthorize appropriations for the 
National Estuary Program.
  First, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize my committee 
colleagues, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) and the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen), for introducing this 
legislation.
  Our Nation's coasts and oceans provide a wealth of resources for the 
entire country, and among these areas, nowhere is more valuable than 
estuaries. Estuaries are bodies of water that receive both water from 
rivers and saltwater from the sea. This mix makes a unique environment 
that is extremely productive in terms of its ecosystem values.
  Government studies have found that estuaries provide habitat for 75 
percent of the U.S. commercial and 80 to 90 percent of the recreational 
fishing catches.
  Perhaps the central problem in the protection and restoration of 
estuaries is that they ultimately lie downstream. Everything that 
enters the smallest stream, tributary, or headwater in a watershed 
eventually runs into a single outlet, impacting in some way all the 
biological elements of that ecosystem and all of the commerce that 
revolves around the estuary.
  The First Congressional District of New York, which I have had the 
honor to represent, abuts two priority estuaries with the Environmental 
Protection Agency's National Estuary Program, the Peconic Bay and the 
Long Island Sound.
  These unique waters are precious to the residents of Long Island, and 
their continued health and vitality provide multiple benefits to the 
residents of Long Island and to the economic and environmental health 
of the region.
  I am pleased that this legislation demonstrates the willingness of 
this Congress to move legislation that protects our water-related 
environment. The Federal seed money that comes from the EPA's National 
Estuary Program, when combined with other State and local resources, 
helps to implement locally-driven solutions to local water quality 
challenges.
  In my view, if there are limits in the success of these programs, 
they are closely related to the availability of adequate restoration 
funds.
  In the 111th Congress, I was the lead sponsor of another bill, H.R. 
4715, the Clean Estuaries Act of 2010, that would have also authorized 
the National Estuary Program, however, at higher levels than contained 
in the current bill.
  That legislation passed the House on a bipartisan basis and by an 
overwhelming margin; however, the Senate failed to ever act on that 
bill.
  While H.R. 5266 does represent a significant reduction in the 
authorization of appropriations for this important program, I commend 
the bipartisan sponsors of this legislation for ensuring that the new 
authorization shows some room to increase the funding of these locally-
driven restoration efforts, rather than simply cutting those efforts.
  Too often these days, we seem driven to cut Federal spending for 
programs that provide real benefit to our Nation without an awareness 
of the consequences of these actions.

                              {time}  1630

  I can only hope that in the years to come this Chamber will recognize 
that

[[Page 15485]]

there are places where the Federal Government can help and should be 
making increased investments, such as to repair our crumbling 
infrastructure or to protect our fragile natural environment.
  These are only some of the ongoing challenges that face this Nation, 
and we need a Congress that is serious about taking on the hard 
questions and about making the right investments, not only for our 
lives and livelihoods, but for those generations of Americans to come.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I support the passage of H.R. 5266, and I urge my 
colleagues to also support this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey).
  Mr. POSEY. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I, again, want to thank Congressman LoBiondo for his work on this 
National Estuary Program and this legislation to reauthorize this 
important program for another 5 years.
  Thank you also for working with me on provisions for my bill, which I 
introduced with Representative Murphy of Florida--H.R. 5117, the 
Estuary Urgent Needs Priority Program. Our provision establishes a 
competitive awards program for estuaries to help prioritize funding to 
estuaries facing urgent needs. It does so without spending any 
additional money. We simply reprioritize and require all money 
appropriated from Congress for estuaries to actually be spent on 
estuaries.
  Mr. Speaker, the National Estuary Program encourages communities to 
work toward having healthy estuaries by providing annual base grants 
for projects to improve and to monitor the quality of their water and 
the species that live in them. Healthy estuaries provide a diverse home 
for flora and fauna. Estuaries also provide for countless hours of 
recreational enjoyment and billions of dollars in economic impact.
  My congressional district is home to one of the most diverse 
estuaries in the country, if not in the world--the Indian River Lagoon. 
Our lagoon's natural beauty has always been central to our community as 
a key to improving our quality of life, as a recreational area for 
fishing and boating with friends and family, and as a significant 
contributor to our local economy. I raised my family along this 156-
mile lagoon, and I know firsthand how important this legislation is to 
making our local estuary program a success.
  We have all seen the adverse consequences of sea grass loss and 
harmful algae blooms. The opportunity to compete for additional 
funding, which this bill provides, would be a valuable tool in 
combating the types of issues we have seen in our estuary. The bill 
before us redirects money away from the EPA's Washington bureaucracy 
and toward actual projects and initiatives across the Nation's 
estuaries.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation so that we can 
continue the great work that the NEP provides as it facilitates estuary 
protection and restoration initiatives.
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen), my friend.
  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 
5266, the reauthorizing of the National Estuary Program.
  I want to thank Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Bishop on the subcommittee and, of 
course, my colleague whom I share the Aviation Subcommittee with, Mr. 
LoBiondo, for their leadership on getting this bill to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, estuaries are a critical habitat for salmon, birds, and 
many other species in the Pacific Northwest, where we know that 
protecting our natural resources is good for our environment and good 
for our economy.
  My district borders on Puget Sound, which is our country's second 
largest estuary and is a key driver of our economy in Washington State. 
Trade, fishing, tourism, and outdoor recreation in our region create 
and sustain thousands of jobs, and all of these activities are 
dependent on a healthy Puget Sound. I have long supported estuary 
restoration in the Puget Sound region, including projects like the 
Qwuloolt Estuary Restoration Project, which will be the largest tidal 
marsh restoration project ever completed in Washington State.
  Estuary restoration can also be a key component for absorbing carbon 
emissions and increasing resiliency to the effects of climate change. A 
recent study of the Snohomish Estuary, in my district, found that 
currently planned and in-construction restoration projects will result 
in at least 2.55 million tons of CO2 sequestered from the 
atmosphere over the next 100 years. That is the equivalent of a year's 
worth of emissions from a half a million automobiles. This bill is 
important. It is important for all of us.
  I want to thank my colleague again, Mr. LoBiondo, for his hard work 
on this legislation. I look forward to continuing our productive 
bipartisan relationship on this and on many other issues. I urge my 
colleagues to support H.R. 5266.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time, but I do not have any more speakers.
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thought I had one more 
speaker, but he is not here, so I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleagues Mr. Bishop, 
Mr. Larsen, Mr. Shuster, and Mr. Gibbs. I urge all of my colleagues to 
join me in supporting this important legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for H.R. 
5266, the reauthorization of the National Estuary Program (NEP).
  The 33rd Congressional District, which I represent, includes the 
Santa Monica Bay, an estuary that includes some of the most iconic 
coastline in the nation. In 1988, the State of California and the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Santa Monica Bay 
Restoration Project as a National Estuary Program under the Clean Water 
Act. Estuaries, protected and restored by funding from the National 
Estuary Program, are some of the most productive habitats on earth. 
Unfortunately, due to population growth across the coastline, these 
estuaries are increasingly under threat from pollution and 
environmental degradation.
  Luckily, the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission (SMBRC) is 
working to protect its vital resources. Through an action plan called 
the Bay Restoration Plan, the Commission and its partners are working 
to improve the environmental health of the Santa Monica Bay and its 
surroundings by improving water quality, restoring damaged habitats and 
conserving natural and marine resources.
  The reauthorization of the National Estuaries Program under H.R. 5266 
is essential to helping safeguard the ecological and economic viability 
of our nation's estuaries. This legislation will direct more money to 
our nation's estuaries while reducing overall authorization levels by 
reducing administrative costs at EPA and designating money to National 
Estuary Programs.
  Since 1987, the establishment of the National Estuaries Program has 
allowed us to identify and help preserve 28 different watersheds. These 
watersheds are essential to the future of our nation's coastlines. I 
urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5266 to protect our coastal ecology 
for generations to come.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5266, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________