[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5085-5087]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  AMENDING THE FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT TO REAUTHORIZE THE 
                        NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM

  Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 1523) to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to 
reauthorize the National Estuary Program, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 1523

       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.--Using the amounts 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;
       ``(iii) unusual marine mammal mortalities;
       ``(iv) invasive exotic species that may threaten wastewater 
     systems and cause other damage;
       ``(v) jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to 
     water during peak tourism seasons;
       ``(vi) flooding that may be related to sea level rise or 
     wetland degradation or loss; and
       ``(vii) 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 $26,500,000 for each of fiscal years 
     2017 through 2021 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,

[[Page 5086]]

     except that such expenses may not exceed 5 percent of the 
     amount appropriated under this subsection for a fiscal year; 
     and
       ``(B) making grants and awards under subsection (g).
       ``(2) Allocations.--
       ``(A) Conservation and management plans.--Not less than 80 
     percent of the amount made available under this subsection 
     for a fiscal year shall be used by the Administrator to 
     provide grant assistance for the development, implementation, 
     and monitoring of each of the conservation and management 
     plans eligible for grant assistance under subsection (g)(2).
       ``(B) Competitive awards.--Not less than 15 percent of the 
     amount made available under this subsection for a fiscal year 
     shall be used by the Administrator for making competitive 
     awards described in subsection (g)(4).''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Gibbs) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GIBBS. 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 S. 1523.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today we are here to reauthorize the National Estuary 
Program found in section 320 of the Clean Water Act. Last June, here in 
the House, we passed Mr. LoBiondo's H.R. 944, and today we are passing 
S. 1523, which was introduced by Senator Whitehouse.
  Estuaries are unique and highly productive waters that are important 
to the ecological and economic bases of our Nation. Congress first 
authorized the National Estuary Program in the 1987 amendments to the 
Clean Water Act to promote the protection of nationally significant 
estuaries in the United States that are deemed to be threatened by 
pollution, development, or overuse.
  Unlike many of the 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.
  Using consensus building and a collaborative decisionmaking process 
instead of a top-down driven regulatory approach, the National Estuary 
Program has been effective at promoting locally based involvement. In 
addition, NEP leverages non-Federal money for restoration activities by 
providing funding for the program.
  In reauthorizing the National Estuary Program, S. 1523 makes prudent 
fiscal adjustments. The amendment to S. 1523 strikes the text of the 
Senate bill and instead uses the legislative text of the House-passed 
bill, H.R. 944. An agreement was reached to split the difference in 
authorized appropriations levels of the two bills.
  As amended, the bill reauthorizes section 320 of the Clean Water Act 
through 2021, at an amount of $26.5 million a year. This amount is 
consistent with appropriations over the past 5 years and in recognition 
of the fiscal realities of today.
  S. 1523 also directs more funds to where they need to be, the 
individual estuaries in the program. The bill achieves this by reducing 
the amount of discretionary funds made available to the EPA.
  Finally, the bill allocates a portion of the eligible program funds 
for competitive awards to Federal, State, and local stakeholders to 
address certain high-priority estuary needs, including algal blooms, 
hypoxia, flooding, and invasive species.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of S. 1523.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased the House is again considering legislation 
to reauthorize EPA's National Estuary Program. Last summer the House 
approved by voice vote a similar bill championed by my colleagues, the 
gentlemen from Washington (Mr. Larsen) and Florida (Mr. Murphy). I 
thank them for their hard work and dedication to produce this important 
piece of legislation.
  Estuaries are integral to the health and vibrancy of our national 
economy and environment. They are formed, as we all know, when fresh 
water drained from land mixes with salty seawater, and they serve as a 
nesting and feeding grounds for many plants and animals that form the 
basis of the aquatic food chain.
  Estuaries also help to maintain healthy ocean and coastal 
environments by filtering out sediments and pollutants that flow 
through our rivers and streams before they reach the ocean. Moreover, 
during storm and flood events, estuaries help defend our shores by 
softening the blow of storm surge.
  More than one-half of our population lives in coastal areas, and 
countless Americans depend on estuaries for storm and flood protection, 
and for the cultivation of their livelihoods. Estuarine habitats 
provide for millions of jobs in our country and contribute trillions to 
our national economy every year. These jobs are created by commercial 
and recreational fishing and boating, as well as tourism and other 
forms of recreation taking place just off our shores. As one of my 
colleagues noted during previous consideration of this legislation, 
restoring our estuaries can create more than 30 jobs for every $1 
million invested.
  Regrettably, before we understood--fully understood--the 
extraordinary and irreplaceable value of estuaries, numerous activities 
were undertaken that have led to the decline in the health of our 
estuaries, leaving these coastal areas of our country vulnerable to 
pollution and more frequent and severe storm events. It is also 
undeniable that the population growth near estuaries has led to 
increased storm water runoff and sewage discharges fed into these 
fragile environments. Simply put, estuaries are too ecologically 
important to leave their fate to chance.
  With that in mind, today we consider S. 1523, desperately needed 
legislation that will reauthorize EPA's National Estuary Program. Since 
1987, the National Estuary Program has operated at EPA in partnership 
with State and local partners and has developed innovative solutions to 
local water quality problems in estuarine environments. This 
nonregulatory program currently works to improve the health of 28 
estuaries across the country, including three estuaries in Northwest: 
Puget Sound, Tillamook, and Columbia River estuaries. These estuaries 
are of great support to my home State, Oregon, and our regional and 
national economies. Restoring and protecting these areas should be one 
of our highest concerns.
  Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan bill would ensure that logical 
organizations across the country in partnership with the EPA can 
protect and restore estuaries for the benefit of future generations. I 
support passage of this legislation and hope that this is the last time 
this House must act to send this important bill to the President.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S. 1523.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo), who is a sponsor of the bill 
and has worked tirelessly to protect estuaries throughout the Nation.

                              {time}  1600

  Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank Chairman 
Shuster, Chairman Gibbs, Ranking Members DeFazio and Napolitano, as 
well as my colleagues Mr. Larsen, Mr. Posey, and Mr. Murphy of Florida 
for helping to draft this legislation and reauthorization. We all share 
the hope that this is the last go-around to get this done.
  Estuaries across the country, including the Delaware Bay and Barnegat 
Bay estuaries in my district, have immeasurable economic, ecological, 
and environmental benefit. They deserve continued congressional 
support.

[[Page 5087]]

  This version of the National Estuary Program reauthorization is a 
bipartisan, fiscally responsible compromise with the Senate that 
reduces the authorization by $8.5 million. The important part is it 
ultimately increases the amount of money each estuary program will 
receive.
  Unlike many programs under the Clean Water Act, the National Estuary 
Program is a nonregulatory program, uniquely designed to support the 
collaborative, voluntary efforts of Federal, State, and local 
stakeholders to restore degraded estuaries. Unfortunately, the NEPs 
have been losing money due to increasing EPA administrative costs. We 
have heard that before, but, in this particular case, it is really 
hurting.
  To correct that, our legislation details precisely how the EPA is to 
spend the authorized and appropriated money. By setting limits of 5 
percent for the EPA's administrative costs, we can guarantee 80 percent 
of the funding goes directly to the needs of the estuary and not 
bureaucratic salary and red tape.
  Also, in this year's reauthorization, we have set aside 15 percent of 
the funding for a competitive award program. This program seeks 
applications 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 responsibility. I want to thank my colleagues once again 
for their strong support of this, and I urge all Members to support the 
bill.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this important legislation 
to protect estuaries throughout the country.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, S. 1523, 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.

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