Volume 143, No. 62 covering the 1st Session of the 105th Congress (1997 - 1998) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ENHANCING THE CHESAPEAKE BAY RESTORATION PROGRAM” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E905-E907 on May 13, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ENHANCING THE CHESAPEAKE BAY RESTORATION PROGRAM
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HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN
of maryland
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, May 13, 1997
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, today Representative Wayne Gilchrest and I are joining in a unique, bipartisan partnership to promote the next stage of the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. Over the past 20 years the Federal Government has played a vital role in coordinating and encouraging intergovernmental work to reverse declines in the bay ecosystem. The bills Representative Gilchrest and I are introducing today will build upon the success of this program as the preeminent national model for cooperative, regional environmental restoration. Our joint effort speaks to the importance of both these bills.
The Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act, H.R. 1578, which I introduced with Representative Gilchrest as the lead cosponsor, reauthorizes Federal participation with State and local governments in implementing the Chesapeake Bay agreement.
The bill: clarifies the leading role of the Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program Office in coordinating scientific information, public outreach, and the activities and responsibilities of varying Federal agencies in the restoration; integrates ongoing habitat protection and enhancement, toxics reduction and prevention, nutrient management and water quality control efforts in the watershed with the overall bay program; establishes a program of small technical assistance and watershed improvement grants to communities, local governments, nonprofit organizations, and individuals to assist in projects complementing tributary basin strategies; assures the participation and compliance of Federal agencies owning or operating facilities in the Chesapeake watershed with the bay program; directs the EPA Administrator, working with the other signatories to the bay agreement, to regularly report to Congress on progress toward the goals established under the agreement; and authorizes $30 million per year between 1998 and 2003 for these purposes.
This legislation enhances and better coordinates the efforts of the Federal Government as a partner in the Chesapeake Bay restoration, while providing resources in line with current funding of the varying programs integrated under H.R. 1578.
Representative Gilchrest today introduced legislation, the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Act, H.R. 1579, that will complement the Restoration Act. I am joining him as the lead cosponsor of H.R. 1579. The Gateways and Watertrails Act will improve access and knowledge of the ``Jewels of the Chesapeake'' to those in our region and Nation. The bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to identify key sites and waterways in the watershed, work to protect them, and link them by roads, scenic byways, courses by water, and other means. It is an innovative project that will further enhance the goals of the bay program. Senator Sarbanes, with many of his colleagues from the region, has introduced companion legislation to both the bills Representative Gilchrest and I are introducing today.
At a recent meeting of the Maryland congressional delegation held in the Capitol to review the Chesapeake Bay Program it was stated that the bay's restoration is not an event, but a process. The Chesapeake Bay is our Nation's largest estuary and the foundation for the ecological and economic health of the mid-Atlantic region. Nearly 15 million people live within its six State watershed and enjoy the many benefits of a healthy bay. Over the past two decades the overwhelming majority of the citizens in our region have committed to restoring the Chesapeake with a unanimity rarely found in public affairs.
Intergovernmental and private efforts to save the bay over the past generation have realized real successes in understanding and reversing declines in the Chesapeake ecosystem. But pressures on the bay continue to grow and for every victory, like the return of striped bass, there are many more challenges, from the devastated oyster population to the loss of wetlands. I ask my colleagues to join my distinguished friend from Maryland, Wayne Gilchrest, and I in building on the successes of the bay program and taking on the new challenges we face.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Act, H.R. 1578, be printed in the Record at this point.
H.R. 1578
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 Act of 1997''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and a resource of worldwide significance;
(2) in recent years, the productivity and water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the Bay have been diminished by pollution, excessive sedimentation, shoreline erosion, the impacts of population growth and development in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and other factors;
(3) the Federal Government (acting through the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency), the Governor of the State of Maryland, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Chairperson of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and the Mayor of the District of Columbia have committed as Chesapeake Bay Agreement signatories to a comprehensive and cooperative program to achieve improved water quality and improvements in the productivity of living resources of the Bay;
(4) the cooperative program described in paragraph (3) serves as a national and international model for the management of estuaries; and
(5) there is a need to expand Federal support for monitoring, management, and restoration activities in the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the Bay in order to meet and further the original and subsequent goals and commitments of the Chesapeake Bay Program.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay; and
(2) to achieve the goals established in the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
SEC. 3. CHESAPEAKE BAY.
Section 117 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267) is amended to read as follows:
``Chesapeake Bay
``Sec. 117. (a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Chesapeake bay agreement.--The term `Chesapeake Bay Agreement' means the formal, voluntary agreements executed to achieve the goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and the living resources of the ecosystem and signed by the Chesapeake Executive Council.
``(2) Chesapeake bay program.--The term `Chesapeake Bay Program' means the program directed by the Chesapeake Executive Council in accordance with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
``(3) Chesapeake bay watershed.--The term `Chesapeake Bay watershed' shall have the meaning determined by the Administrator.
``(4) Chesapeake executive council.--The term `Chesapeake Executive Council' means the signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
``(5) Signatory jurisdiction.--The term `signatory jurisdiction' means a jurisdiction of a signatory to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
``(b) Continuation of Chesapeake Bay Program.--
``(1) In general.--In cooperation with the Chesapeake Executive Council (and as a member of the Council), the Administrator shall continue the Chesapeake Bay Program.
``(2) Program office.--The Administrator shall maintain in the Environmental Protection Agency a Chesapeake Bay Program Office. The Chesapeake Bay Program Office shall provide support to the Chesapeake Executive Council by--
``(A) implementing and coordinating science, research, modeling, support services, monitoring, data collection, and other activities that support the Chesapeake Bay Program;
``(B) developing and making available, through publications, technical assistance, and other appropriate means, information pertaining to the environmental quality and living resources of the Chesapeake Bay;
``(C) in cooperation with appropriate Federal, State, and local authorities, assisting the signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement in developing and implementing specific action plans to carry out the responsibilities of the signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement;
``(D) coordinating the actions of the Environmental Protection Agency with the actions of the appropriate officials of other Federal agencies and State and local authorities in developing strategies to--
``(i) improve the water quality and living resources of the Chesapeake Bay; and
``(ii) obtain the support of the appropriate officials of the agencies and authorities in achieving the objectives of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement; and
``(E) implementing outreach programs for public information, education, and participation to foster stewardship of the resources of the Chesapeake Bay.
``(c) Interagency Agreements.--The Administrator may enter into an interagency agreement with a Federal agency to carry out this section.
``(d) Technical Assistance and Assistance Grants.--
``(1) In general.--In consultation with other members of the Chesapeake Executive Council, the Administrator may provide technical assistance, and assistance grants, to nonprofit private organizations and individuals, State and local governments, colleges, universities, and interstate agencies to carry out this section, subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrator considers appropriate.
``(2) Federal share.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Federal share of an assistance grant provided under paragraph (1) shall be determined by the Administrator in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency guidance.
``(B) Small watershed grants program.--The Federal share of an assistance grant provided under paragraph (1) to carry out an implementing activity under subsection (g)(2) shall not exceed 75 percent of eligible project costs, as determined by the Administrator.
``(3) Non-federal share.--An assistance grant under paragraph (1) shall be provided on the condition that non-Federal sources provide the remainder of eligible project costs, as determined by the Administrator.
``(4) Administrative costs.--Administrative costs
(including salaries, overhead, and indirect costs for services provided and charged against projects supported by funds made available under this subsection) incurred by a person described in paragraph (1) in carrying out a project under this subsection during a fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of the grant made to the person under this subsection for the fiscal year.
``(e) Implementation Grants.--
``(1) In general.--If a signatory jurisdiction has approved and committed to implement all or substantially all aspects of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, on the request of the chief executive of the jurisdiction, the Administrator shall make a grant to the jurisdiction for the purpose of implementing the management mechanisms established under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, subject to such terms and conditions as the Administrator considers appropriate.
``(2) Proposals.--A signatory jurisdiction described in paragraph (1) may apply for a grant under this subsection for a fiscal year by submitting to the Administrator a comprehensive proposal to implement management mechanisms established under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. The proposal shall include--
``(A) a description of proposed management mechanisms that the jurisdiction commits to take within a specified time period, such as reducing or preventing pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and to meet applicable water quality standards; and
``(B) the estimated cost of the actions proposed to be taken during the fiscal year.
``(3) Approval.--If the Administrator finds that the proposal is consistent with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement and the national goals established under section 101(a), the Administrator may approve the proposal for a fiscal year.
``(4) Federal share.--The Federal share of an implementation grant provided under this subsection shall not exceed 50 percent of the costs of implementing the management mechanisms during the fiscal year.
``(5) Non-federal share.--An implementation grant under this subsection shall be made on the condition that non-Federal sources provide the remainder of the costs of implementing the management mechanisms during the fiscal year.
``(6) Administrative costs.--Administrative costs
(including salaries, overhead, and indirect costs for services provided and charged against projects supported by funds made available under this subsection) incurred by a signatory jurisdiction in carrying out a project under this subsection during a fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of the grant made to the jurisdiction under this subsection for the fiscal year.
``(f) Compliance of Federal Facilities.--
``(1) Subwatershed planning and restoration.--A Federal agency that owns or operates a facility (as defined by the Administrator) within the Chesapeake Bay watershed shall participate in regional and subwatershed planning and restoration programs.
``(2) Compliance with agreement.--The head of each Federal agency that owns or occupies real property in the Chesapeake Bay watershed shall ensure that the property, and actions taken by the agency with respect to the property, comply with the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
``(g) Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Tributary, and River Basin Program.--
``(1) Nutrient and water quality management strategies.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Administrator, in consultation with other members of the Chesapeake Executive Council, shall ensure that management plans are developed and implementation is begun by signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement for the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay to achieve and maintain--
``(A) the nutrient goals of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement for the quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the main stem Chesapeake Bay;
``(B) the water quality requirements necessary to restore living resources in both the tributaries and the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay;
``(C) the Chesapeake Bay basinwide toxics reduction and prevention strategy goal of reducing or eliminating the input of chemical contaminants from all controllable sources to levels that result in no toxic or bioaccumulative impact on the living resources that inhabit the Bay or on human health; and
``(D) habitat restoration, protection, and enhancement goals established by Chesapeake Bay Agreement signatories for wetlands, forest riparian zones, and other types of habitat associated with the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay.
``(2) Small watershed grants program.--The Administrator, in consultation with other members of the Chesapeake Executive Council, may offer the technical assistance and assistance grants authorized under subsection (d) to local governments and nonprofit private organizations and individuals in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to implement--
``(A) cooperative tributary basin strategies that address the Chesapeake Bay's water quality and living resource needs; or
``(B) locally based protection and restoration programs or projects within a watershed that complement the tributary basin strategies.
``(h) Study of Chesapeake Bay Program.--Not later than January 1, 1999, and each 3 years thereafter, the Administrator, in cooperation with other members of the Chesapeake Executive Council, shall complete a study and submit a comprehensive report to Congress on the results of the study. The study and report shall, at a minimum--
``(1) assess the commitments and goals of the management strategies established under the Chesapeake Bay Agreement and the extent to which the commitments and goals are being met;
``(2) assess the priority needs required by the management strategies and the extent to which the priority needs are being met;
``(3) assess the effects of air pollution deposition on water quality of the Chesapeake Bay;
``(4) assess the state of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and related actions of the Chesapeake Bay Program;
``(5) make recommendations for the improved management of the Chesapeake Bay Program; and
``(6) provide the report in a format transferable to and usable by other watershed restoration programs.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2003.''.
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