Senate Report 111-171 - CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT REMEDIATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT

[Senate Report 111-171]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

Calendar No. 354
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-171

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CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT REMEDIATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT

_______

April 20, 2010.--Ordered to be printed

_______

Mrs. Boxer, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works,
submitted the following

R E P O R T

together with

MINORITY VIEWS

[To accompany S. 933]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was
referred a bill (S. 933) to amend the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act and the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002 to
reauthorize programs to address remediation of contaminated
sediment, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.

Purposes of the Legislation

S. 933 reauthorizes sections of the Great Lakes Legacy Act
of 2002, and increases amounts authorized for projects to
remediate contaminated sediment in the Great Lakes Areas of
Concern.

General Statement and Background

The Great Lakes are among the largest and most complex
freshwater ecosystems in the world--holding one-fifth of the
world's fresh surface water. Millions of people, aquatic
organisms and wildlife depend on the Great Lakes for water,
food and habitat. Although significant progress has been made
towards reducing the discharge of toxic chemicals into the
Great Lakes, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
found that persistent high concentrations of contaminants in
sediments of some rivers, harbors and bays still exist as a
``legacy'' of North America's industrialization. EPA further
reports that accumulation of these pollutants continues to
threaten the overall health of the Great Lakes ecosystem.
To address this problem, Congress enacted the Great Lakes
Legacy Act of 2002 to remove contaminated sediments from Areas
of Concern--sites in the Great Lakes that fail to meet water
quality goals established by agreement between the United
States and Canada in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Since this cleanup program was created in 2002, over 900,000
cubic yards of contaminated sediments have been cleaned up,
removing 1.7 million pounds of contaminants from the Great
Lakes. Through these projects, $53 million in Great Lakes
Legacy Act funds have leveraged nearly $44 million in state,
local and private entity dollars.
Despite significant progress under the Act, numerous Areas
of Concern remain to be addressed--as of January 2009, five
cleanup projects have been largely completed and three were
removed from the original list of forty-three Areas of Concern
in the United States and Canada. To continue tackling this
considerable problem, this legislation would increase
authorizations for contaminated sediment remediation programs
in the Great Lakes.

Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Short title

Section 1 provides that the Act may be cited as the
``Contaminated Sediment Remediation Reauthorization Act''.

Section 2. Remediation of sediment contamination in areas of concern

Section 2 authorizes $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2010 through 2014 to carry out Section 118(c)(12) of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

Section 3. Public information program

Section 3 extends the authorization through 2014 for the
Administrator to carry out a public information program to
provide information relating to the remediation of contaminated
sediment in areas of concern that are located wholly or
partially in the United States.

Section 4. Contaminated sediment remediation approaches, technologies,
and techniques

Section 4 increases the authorization for a research and
development program to $5 million, for each of the fiscal years
2010 through 2014.

Legislative History

S. 933 was introduced by Senator Levin of Michigan, and is
cosponsored by Senators Voinovich, Stabenow, Schumer, Durbin,
Brown, Gillibrand, and Klobuchar. The bill was read twice and
referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works. The Committee met on June 18, 2009 to consider the bill,
and S. 933 was ordered favorably reported without amendment by
voice vote.
The House of Representatives passed similar legislation
within H.R. 1262, the Water Quality Investment Act of 2009, on
March 12, 2009.

Hearings

No committee hearings were held on S. 933.

Rollcall Votes

The Committee on Environment and Public Works ordered S.
933 to be favorably reported by voice vote on June 18, 2009. No
rollcall votes were taken.

Regulatory Impact Statement

In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes evaluation of
the regulatory impact of the reported bill. The Committee finds
that this legislation does not have substantial regulatory
impacts.

Mandates Assessment

In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Pub. L. 104-4), the Committee finds that this legislation does
not impose intergovernmental mandates or private sector
mandates as those terms are defined in UMRA. The Congressional
Budget Office concurs, finding ``S. 933 contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).''

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

June 25, 2009.
Hon. Barbara Boxer,
Chairman, Committee on Environment and Public Works,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Madam Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 933, the
Contaminated Sediment Remediation Reauthorization Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Susanne S.
Mehlman.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.

S. 933--Contaminated Sediment Remediation Reauthorization Act

Summary: S. 933 would reauthorize the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with nonfederal
sponsors, to carry out projects aimed at cleaning up certain
areas of the Great Lakes where contamination has settled into
sediment at the bottom of the lakes. The bill would authorize
the appropriation of $150 million annually over the 2010-2014
period to EPA for that purpose. In addition, the bill would
authorize the appropriation of $5 million annually over the
five-year period for EPA to conduct research on the development
and use of innovative methods for cleaning up the Great Lakes.
Assuming appropriation of the specified amounts, CBO
estimates that implementing this legislation would cost $638
million over the 2010-2014 period. Enacting S. 933 would not
affect direct spending or receipts.
S. 933 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 933 is shown in the following table. The
costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and environment).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
------------------------------------------------------------
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010-2014
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

EPA Funding for Clean-up Projects:
Authorization Level............................ 150 150 150 150 150 750
Estimated Outlays.............................. 60 120 138 147 150 615
Research and Development:
Authorization Level............................ 5 5 5 5 5 25
Estimated Outlays.............................. 3 5 5 5 5 23
Total Proposed Changes:
Authorization Level........................ 155 155 155 155 155 775
Estimated Outlays.......................... 63 125 143 152 155 638
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Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that S.
933 will be enacted near the end of fiscal year 2009, that
specified amounts will be appropriated in each year starting in
2010, and that outlays will follow historical spending patterns
for the existing programs.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 933
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA. The bill would benefit state, local, and
tribal governments by extending EPA programs to clean up
sediment contamination in the Great Lakes and by continuing an
existing grant program to provide public information about such
contamination. Any costs those governments might incur,
including matching funds, would result from complying with
conditions of federal aid.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Susanne S. Mehlman;
Impact on state, local, and tribal governments: Ryan Miller;
Impact on the private sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.

MINORITY VIEWS OF SENATOR INHOFE

S. 933, the Contaminated Sediment Remediation
Reauthorization Act, increases the authorization level from
$50,000,000 to $150,000,000. Since FY 2004 the appropriated
funds for the Great Lakes Legacy Act have increased from
$9,900,000 to $37,000,000 in FY 2009, but the program has never
been fully funded at $50,000,000. This tripling in
authorization is unjustified for a program that currently
receives significantly less than its current authorization. The
first step to controlling government spending is for the
authorizers to set reasonable and achievable authorization
levels.
James M. Inhofe.
Changes in Existing Law

In compliance with section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill
as reported are shown as follows: Existing law proposed to be
omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in
italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in
roman:

* * * * * * *

Federal Water Pollution Control Act

* * * * * * *

SEC. 118. GREAT LAKES.

(a) * * *

* * * * * * *

(12) Remediation of sediment contamination in areas
of concern.--
(A) In general.--In accordance with this
paragraph, the Administrator, acting through
the Program Office, may carry out projects that
meet the requirements of subparagraph (B).
(B) * * *

* * * * * * *

(H) Authorization of appropriations.--
[(i) In general.--In addition to
other amounts authorized under this
section, there is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this
paragraph $50,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2004 through 2010.]
(i) In general.--In addition to other
amounts authorized under this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this paragraph--
(I) $50,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2004 through 2009;
and
(II) $150,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

* * * * * * *

(13) Public information program.--
(A) In general.--The Administrator, acting
through the Program Office and in coordination
with States, Indian tribes, local governments,
and other entities, may carry out a public
information program to provide information
relating to the remediation of contaminated
sediment to the public in areas of concern that
are located wholly or partially in the United
States.
(B) Authorization of appropriations.--There
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this paragraph $1,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2004 through [2010] 2014.

* * * * * * *

Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002

* * * * * * *

(a) In General.--* * *

* * * * * * *

(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--[In addition to amounts authorized
under other laws, there is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $3,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.]In addition to
amounts authorized under other laws, there are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
section--
(A) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004
through 2009; and
(B) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010
through 2014.

* * * * * * *