[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 16 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 16
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve and
reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 4, 2007
Mr. Gilchrest (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia,
Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mrs. Drake, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Castle, Mr. Moran of
Virginia, Mr. Platts, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr.
Holden, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Cummings, Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of Virginia, Mr.
Wynn, Ms. Norton, Mr. Hinchey, and Mr. Sarbanes) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve and
reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay program.
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 ``Chesapeake Bay Restoration
Enhancement Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
Section 117(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1267(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3) by striking ``and its''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Chesapeake bay watershed.--The term `Chesapeake Bay
watershed' means the Chesapeake Bay and the area consisting of
36 tributary basins, within the States of Maryland, Virginia,
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York and the
District of Columbia, through which precipitation drains into
the Chesapeake Bay.
``(8) Local government advisory committee.--The term `Local
Government Advisory Committee' means the committee of the same
name formed through the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement. The
committee may include representative members from all
jurisdictions within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
``(9) Tributary strategy.--The term `tributary strategy'
means one of 36 strategies in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that
is a State approved, river-specific, cleanup plan that provides
best management practice implementation actions that, when
taken together, will meet the Chesapeake Bay Agreement goal of
removing nutrient and sediment impairments from the Chesapeake
Bay and its tidal tributaries.
``(10) Tributary basin.--The term `tributary basin' means
an area of land or body of water that drains into any one of 36
Chesapeake Bay tributaries or tributary segments and that is
managed through tributary strategies under this Act.''.
SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING GRANTS.
(a) In General.--Section 117(e)(1) of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(e)(1)) is amended by striking ``approved
and committed to implement all or substantially all aspects'' and
inserting ``signed all or the water quality portion''.
(b) Reporting.--Section 117(e)(7) of such Act (33 U.S.C.
1267(e)(7)) is amended to read as follows:
``(7) Reporting.--The Administrator shall make available to
the public on or before March 31 of each year, a document that
lists and describes, in the greatest practicable degree of
detail all projects completed or underway, and accomplishments
of the previous fiscal year, funded by the Federal Government
or by a State government in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that
contribute to Chesapeake Bay Agreement goals.''.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL FACILITIES AND BUDGET COORDINATION.
Section 117(f) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1267(f)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ``or carries out
activities'' after ``Administrator)'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by inserting ``or carries out activities''
after ``real property''; and
(B) by striking ``and actions taken by the agency
with respect to the property,'' and inserting ``actions
taken by the agency with respect to the property, and
the activities of the agency''; and
(3) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) Annual budget plan.--The President, as part of the
annual budget of the United States Government, shall submit
information regarding each Federal agency involved in
Chesapeake Bay restoration, including--
``(A) an interagency crosscut budget that displays
the proposed budget for use by each Federal agency in
carrying out restoration activities relating to the
Chesapeake Bay for the following fiscal year;
``(B) a detailed accounting of all funds received
and obligated by Federal agencies to achieve the goals
of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement during the preceding
fiscal year; and
``(C) a description of the Federal role in the
Chesapeake Bay Program and the specific role of each
agency involved in Chesapeake Bay restoration.''.
SEC. 5. ACHIEVING AND MAINTAINING NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT REDUCTION
GOALS.
Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1267) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (i);
(2) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), and (j) as
subsections (i), (j), and (k), respectively; and
(3) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
``(g) Achieving and Maintaining Nutrient and Sediment Reduction
Goals.--
``(1) Evaluation.--In transmitting State reports under
section 305(b)(2), the Administrator shall include a report
evaluating activities carried out during the preceding fiscal
year (including any practice implemented during the fiscal
year), and the overall progress made, in achieving and
maintaining nutrient and sediment reduction goals for each
tributary basin based on monitoring and modeling data.
``(2) Baseline.--The baseline for the report (in this
subsection referred to as the `baseline') shall be the
tributary load allocation agreement numbered EPA 903-R-03-007,
dated December 2003 and entitled `Setting and Allocating the
Chesapeake Bay Basin Nutrient and Sediment Loads: The
Collaborative Process, Technical Tools and Innovative
Approaches'.
``(3) Inclusions.--The report shall include, for each
tributary basin--
``(A) an identification of the total allocation of
nutrients and sediment under the baseline;
``(B) an identification of any reduction or
increase in the monitored and modeled quantities of
nutrients and sediment during the preceding fiscal
year, expressed numerically and as a percentage of the
reduction or increase;
``(C) a list (organized from least to most progress
made) that ranks the comparative progress made, based
on the percentage of the reduction or increase under
subparagraph (B), in each tributary basin toward
meeting the annual allocation goal of that tributary
basin for nutrients and sediment; and
``(D) to the maximum extent practicable, an
identification of the principal sources of pollutants
in the tributary basins, including airborne sources of
pollutants.
``(4) Use of data; effects of drought and wet weather
conditions.--In preparing the evaluation, the Administrator
shall--
``(A) use monitoring and modeled data and
information submitted under subsection (h)(1); and
``(B) describe the effects of drought and wet
weather conditions on the condition of water quality
parameters.
``(5) Distribution.--The Administrator shall--
``(A) submit the report to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Environment and
Public Works of the Senate; and
``(B) make the report available to the public,
including distribution in an electronic format.''.
SEC. 6. ACTIONS BY STATES.
Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1267) (as amended by section 5 of this Act) is further amended by
inserting after subsection (g) the following:
``(h) Actions by States.--
``(1) Submission of information.--Not later than January 31
of each year, each of the States of Delaware, Maryland, New
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia and the
District of Columbia shall submit to the Administrator
information describing, for each tributary basin located in the
State or District of Columbia, for the preceding fiscal year--
``(A) the levels of nutrients and sediment
contamination in the basin;
``(B) the principal sources of nutrients and
sediment in the basin, by category;
``(C) for each category of pollutant source, the
technologies and practices used to achieve reductions,
including levels of best management practices
implementation and sewage treatment plant upgrades;
``(D) any Federal or State funding used to
implement a technology or practice described in
subparagraph (C); and
``(E) all projects completed or underway, and
accomplishments of the previous fiscal year, funded by
the Federal Government, the State, or the District of
Columbia in the Chesapeake Bay watershed that
contribute to Chesapeake Bay Agreement goals.
``(2) Failure to act.--The Administrator may not make a
grant to a State under this section if the State fails to
submit information in accordance with paragraph (1).''.
SEC. 7. CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 117(i) of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (as redesignated by section 5(2) of this Act) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by inserting ``tributary strategies and'' after
``ensure that'';
(B) by striking ``and implementation is begun'' and
inserting ``, approved, and implemented''; and
(C) by inserting ``all or the water quality portion
of'' after ``signatories to'';
(2) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ``and its''; and
(3) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
``(2) Local government involvement.--
``(A) Measurable goals.--The Administrator shall
request the Local Government Advisory Committee to
prepare, in coordination with the Chesapeake Executive
Council, and submit to the Administrator, within one
year of the date of enactment of the Chesapeake Bay
Restoration Enhancement Act of 2007, a report
describing measurable goals for local governments to
achieve by 2010 toward Chesapeake Bay Agreement
nutrient and sediment reduction goals and associated
funding needs.
``(B) Consideration of priorities.--In preparing
information for the annual budget under subsection (f),
the President, in consultation with the States, shall
consider priorities for funding needs recommended by
the Local Government Advisory Committee.
``(3) Implementation assistance program.--
``(A) Establishment.--The Administrator, in
cooperation with the Chesapeake Executive Council,
shall establish an implementation assistance program to
support tributary strategies and other projects toward
achievement of Chesapeake Bay Agreement goals.
``(B) Small watershed grants.--
``(i) In general.--In carrying out the
program, the Administrator shall provide
technical assistance and assistance grants
under subsection (d) to local governments and
nonprofit organizations, including academic
institutions, to implement tributary strategies
and other cooperative, locally based protection
and restoration programs or projects within a
tributary basin that complement the tributary
strategy for such basin, including--
``(I) measures to improve water
quality for the purpose of making
progress toward Chesapeake Bay
Agreement goals; and
``(II) measures for the creation,
restoration, protection, or enhancement
of habitat associated with the
Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.
``(ii) Priority.--In selecting projects to
receive grants under clause (i), the
Administrator shall give priority to projects
led by or partnered with local governments.
``(C) Capacity building program.--In carrying out
the program, the Administrator, in cooperation with the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, shall provide capacity building
assistance, including technical and financial
assistance, to enhance the technical and environmental
planning capabilities of local governments to carry out
protection and restoration programs or projects within
a tributary basin.
``(D) Targeted watershed grants.--In carrying out
the program, the Administrator shall provide technical
assistance and assistance grants to implement tributary
strategies that accelerate the quantifiable reduction
of nonpoint source nutrient and sediment pollution
through innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective
strategies.
``(4) Permit limitations.--Until such time that an
applicable total maximum daily load is established under
section 303(d), the applicable load allocation in the tributary
strategy for any discharge for which a permit is required by
section 301 and issued under section 402 in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed shall be incorporated into the permit for the
discharge so that the applicable load allocation for the
discharge is attained and maintained.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 117 of such Act (33 U.S.C.
1267) is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)(2)(B)--
(A) by striking ``Small watershed grants program''
and inserting ``Implementation assistance program'';
(B) by striking ``implementing''; and
(C) by striking ``(g)(2)'' and inserting
``(i)(3)''; and
(2) in subsection (e)(2)(B)(i) by striking ``and its''.
SEC. 8. STUDY OF CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM.
Section 117(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (as
redesignated by section 5(2) of this Act) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)(B) by striking ``and 1995'' and
inserting ``1995, and 2005''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(C)--
(A) by inserting ``tributary strategies and''
before ``management strategies''; and
(B) by striking ``on the date of enactment of this
section''.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 117(k) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (as
redesignated by section 5(2) of this Act) is amended to read as
follows:
``(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
$30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry
out this section (other than subsection (i)(3)).
``(2) Implementation assistance program.--
``(A) Small watershed grants; capacity building
program.--There is authorized to be appropriated
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012
to carry out subsections (i)(3)(B) and (i)(3)(C). Of
such funds--
``(i) 30 percent per fiscal year shall be
used to carry out subsection (i)(3)(B); and
``(ii) 70 percent per fiscal year shall be
used to carry out subsection (i)(3)(C).
``(B) Targeted watershed grants.--There is
authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out subsection
(i)(3)(D).
``(3) Period of availability.--Funds appropriated to carry
out this section shall remain available until expended.''.
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