[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2292 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
103d CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2292
To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to establish
a Waterways Restoration Program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 18 (legislative day, July 11), 1994
Mr. Hatfield introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to establish
a Waterways Restoration Program, and for other purposes.
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 ``Waterways Restoration Act of 1994''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) restoring degraded streams, rivers, wetlands, and other
waterways to their natural state is a cost effective and
environmentally sensitive means to control flooding, excessive
erosion, sedimentation, and nonpoint pollution, including
stormwater runoff;
(2) protecting and restoring watersheds provides critical
ecological benefits by restoring and maintaining biodiversity,
providing fish and wildlife habitat, filtering pollutants, and
performing other important ecological functions;
(3) waterway restoration and protection projects can
provide important economic benefits by rejuvenating waterfront
areas, providing recreational opportunities, and creating
community service jobs and job training opportunities in
environmental restoration for disadvantaged youth, displaced
resource harvesters, and other unemployed residents; and
(4) restoring waterways helps to increase the fishing
potential of waterways and restore diminished fisheries, which
are important to local and regional cultures and economies and
to low-income and ethnic cultural groups who rely heavily on
fish as a food source.
(b) Policy.--Congress declares it is in the national interest to--
(1) protect and restore the chemical, biological, and
physical components of streams and rivers and associated
wetland systems in order to restore the biological and physical
structures, diversity, functions, and dynamics of the stream
and wetland ecological systems;
(2) replace deteriorating stormwater structural
infrastructures and physical waterway alterations that are
environmentally destructive with cost effective, low
maintenance, and environmentally sensitive projects;
(3) promote the use of nonstructural means to manage and
convey streamflow, stormwater, and flood waters;
(4) increase the involvement of the public and youth
conservation and service corps in the monitoring, inventorying,
and restoration of watersheds in order to improve public
education, prevent pollution, and develop coordinated citizen
and governmental partnerships to restore damaged waterways; and
(5) benefit business districts, local economies, and
neighborhoods through the restoration of waterways.
SEC. 3. WORKS OF IMPROVEMENT DEFINED.
Section 2 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16
U.S.C. 1002) is amended by striking the following sentence: ``Each
project must contain benefits directly related to agriculture,
including rural communities, that account for at least 20 percent of
the total benefits of the project.''.
SEC. 4. WATERWAYS RESTORATION PROGRAM.
The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 14. WATERWAYS RESTORATION PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--As used in this section:
``(1) Biotechnical slope protection.--The term
`biotechnical slope protection' means the use of live and dead
plant material to repair and fortify a watershed slope,
roadcut, stream bank, or other site that is vulnerable to
excessive erosion, using such systems as brush piling, brush
layering, brush matting, fascines, joint plantings, and wood
cribwalls.
``(2) Channelization.--The term `channelization' means
removing the meanders and vegetation from a river or stream for
purposes of accelerating storm flow velocity, filling habitat
to accommodate land development and existing structures, or
stabilizing a bank with concrete or riprap.
``(3) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) any tribal or local government, flood control
district, water district, conservation district (as
defined in section 1201(a)(2) of the Food Security Act
of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801(a)(2)), agricultural extension
4-H program, nonprofit organization, or watershed
council; or
``(B) any unincorporated neighborhood organization,
watershed council, or small citizen nongovernmental or
nonprofessional organization for which an incorporated
nonprofit organization acts as a fiscal agent.
``(4) Fiscal agent.--The term `fiscal agent' means an
incorporated nonprofit organization that--
``(A) acts as a legal entity that is authorized to
accept government or private funds and pass them onto
an unincorporated community, cultural, or neighborhood
organization; and
``(B) has entered into a written agreement with
such an unincorporated organization that specifies the
funding, program, and working arrangements for carrying
out a project under the program.
``(5) Nonprofit organization.--The term `nonprofit
organization' means any organization with a tax exempt status
under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
``(6) Program.--The term `program' means the Waterways
Restoration Program established by the Secretary under
subsection (b).
``(7) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Soil
Conservation Service.
``(8) Stream channel quasi-equilibrium.--The term `stream
channel quasi-equilibrium' means restoring channel geometrics,
meanders, and slopes so that channel dimensions are
appropriately sized to the watershed and the slope of the
watershed, bankfull discharges, and sediment sizes and
transport rates for the purpose of correcting excessive channel
erosion and deposition.
``(9) Watershed council.--The term `watershed council'
means a representative group of local watershed residents
(including the private, public, government, and nonprofit
sectors) organized to develop and carry out a consensus
watershed restoration plan that includes restoration,
acquisition, and other activities.
``(10) Waterway.--The term `waterway' means any natural,
degraded, seasonal, or created wetland on private or public
land, including a river, stream, riparian area, marsh, pond,
bog, mudflat, lake, or estuary. The term includes any natural
or humanmade watercourse on public or private land that is
culverted, channelized, or vegetatively cleared, including a
canal, irrigation ditch, drainage way, or navigation,
industrial, flood control, or water supply channel.
``(11) Youth conservation and service corps.--The term
`youth conservation and service corps program' means a full-
time, year-round youth corps program or a full-time summer
youth corps program described in section 122(a)(2) of the
National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
12572(a)(2)).
``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief of
the Soil Conservation Service, shall establish and carry out a
Waterways Restoration Program in accordance with this section. Under
the program, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance and
grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to assist the
entities in carrying out waterway restoration projects.
``(c) Project Eligibility.--
``(1) Project objectives.--A project shall be eligible for
assistance under the program if the project is designed to
achieve ecological restoration or protection and 1 or more of
the following objectives:
``(A) Flood damage reduction.
``(B) Erosion control.
``(C) Stormwater management.
``(D) Water quality enhancement.
``(2) Location of projects.--A project may be carried out
under the program on Federal lands or on State or private lands
in any case in which the State or the private land owner is a
sponsor or cosponsor of the project.
``(3) Project descriptions.--A project eligible for
assistance under the program shall include a project
established for any of the following purposes:
``(A) Restoration and monitoring of degraded
waterways, including revegetation, restoration of
biological communities, and changes in land management
practices.
``(B) Reestablishment of stream channel quasi-
equilibrium.
``(C) Restoration or establishment of wetland and
riparian environments as part of a multiobjective
stormwater management system in which the restored or
established areas provide stormwater storage,
detention, and retention, nutrient filtering, wildlife
habitat, and increased biological diversity.
``(D) Reduction of runoff.
``(E) Stream bank restoration using the principles
of biotechnical slope protection.
``(F) Creation and acquisition of multiobjective
floodplain riparian zones, including removal of natural
or humanmade levees, for floodwater and sediment
storage, wildlife habitat, and recreation.
``(G) Removal of culverts and storm drains to
establish natural environmental conditions.
``(H) Organization of local watershed councils in
conjunction with the implementation of on-the-ground
action education or restoration projects.
``(I) Training of participants, including youth
conservation and service corps program participants, in
restoration techniques in conjunction with the
implementation of on-the-ground action education or
restoration projects.
``(J) Development of waterway restoration or
watershed plans that are intended for use within the
grant agreement period to carry out specific
restoration projects.
``(K) Restoration of any stream channel to
reestablish a meandering, bankfull flow channel,
riparian vegetation, and floodplain in order--
``(i) to restore the functions and dynamics
of a natural stream system to a previously
channelized waterway; or
``(ii) to convey larger flood flows as an
alternative to a channelization project.
``(L) Release of reservoir flows to restore
riparian and instream habitat.
``(M) Carrying out watershed or wetland programs
that have undergone planning pursuant to other Federal,
State, tribal, or local programs and laws and have
received necessary environmental review and permits.
``(N) Carrying out early action projects that a
watershed council wants to carry out prior to the
completion of the required final consensus watershed
plan of the council, if the council determines that the
project meets the watershed management objectives of
the council and is useful in fostering citizen
involvement in the planning process.
``(4) Priority projects.--Projects that have any of the
following attributes shall be given priority by
interdisciplinary teams established under subsection (g) in
determining funding priorities:
``(A) Projects located in or directly benefiting
low-income or economically depressed areas adversely
impacted by poor watershed management.
``(B) Projects that will restore or create
businesses or occupations in the project area.
``(C) Projects providing opportunities for
participants in Federal, State, tribal, and local youth
conservation and service corps and provide training in
environmental restoration, monitoring, and inventory
work.
``(D) Projects serving communities composed of
minorities or Native Americans, including the
development of outreach programs to facilitate the
participation by the groups in the program.
``(E) Projects identified as regional priorities
that have been planned within a regional context and
coordinated with Federal, State, tribal, and local
agencies.
``(F) Projects that will restore wildlife or
fisheries of commercial, recreational, subsistence, or
scientific concern.
``(G) Projects training and employing fishers and
other resource harvesters whose livelihoods have been
adversely impacted by habitat degradation.
``(H) Projects providing significant improvements
in ecological values and functions in the project area.
``(I) Projects previously approved under this Act
that meet or are redesigned to meet the requirements of
this section.
``(5) Cost-benefit analysis.--A project shall be eligible
for assistance under the program if an interdisciplinary team
established under subsection (g) determines that the local
social, economic, ecological, and community benefits of the
project based on local needs, problems, and conditions equal or
exceed the financial and social costs of the project.
``(6) Flood damage reduction.--A project for which 1 of the
purposes is to reduce flood damages shall be designed for the
level of risk selected by the local sponsor and cosponsor of
the project, taking into account local needs for the reduction
of flood risks, the ability of the sponsor and cosponsor to pay
project costs, and community objectives to protect or restore
environmental quality.
``(7) Ineligible projects.--A project involving
channelization, stream bank stabilization using a method other
than a biotechnical slope protection method, or construction of
a reservoir shall not be eligible for assistance under the
program.
``(d) Program Administration.--
``(1) Designation of program administrators.--The Secretary
shall designate a program administrator for each State who
shall be responsible for administering the program in the
State. Except as provided by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall
designate the State Conservationist of the Soil Conservation
Service of a State as the program administrator of the State.
``(2) Approval of state agencies.--
``(A) In general.--A State may submit to the
Secretary an application for designation of a State
agency to serve as the program administrator of the
State.
``(B) Criteria.--The Secretary shall approve an
application of a State submitted under subparagraph (A)
if the application demonstrates--
``(i) the ability of the State agency to
solicit, select, and fund projects within a 1-
year grant administration cycle;
``(ii) the responsiveness of the State
agency to the administrative needs and
limitations of small nonprofit organizations
and low-income or minority communities;
``(iii) the success of the State agency in
carrying out State or local programs with
objectives similar to the objectives of this
section; and
``(iv) the ability of the State agency to
jointly plan and carry out with Indian tribes
programs with objectives similar to this
section.
``(C) Redesignation.--If the Secretary determines,
after a public hearing, that a State agency with an
approved application under this paragraph no longer
meets the criteria set forth in subparagraph (B), the
Secretary shall so notify the State and, if appropriate
corrective action has not been taken within a
reasonable time, withdraw the designation of the State
agency as the program administrator of the State and
designate the State Conservationist of the Soil
Conservation Service of the State as the program
administrator of the State.
``(3) Technical assistance.--The State Conservationist of a
State shall continue to carry out the technical assistance
portion of the program in the State even if the State receives
approval of an application submitted under paragraph (2)(A).
``(e) Grant Application Cycle.--
``(1) In general.--A grant under the program shall be
awarded on an annual basis.
``(2) Grant agreements.--The program administrator of a
State may enter into a grant agreement with an eligible entity
to permit the entity to phase in a project under the program
for a period of not to exceed 3 years, except that the project
shall remain subject to reevaluation each year as part of the
annual funding cycle.
``(f) Selection of Projects.--
``(1) Applications.--To receive assistance to carry out a
project under the program in a State, an eligible entity shall
submit to the program administrator of the State an application
that is in such form and contains such information as the
Secretary may by regulation require.
``(2) Review of applications by interdisciplinary teams.--
``(A) Transmittal.--Each application for assistance
under the program received by the program administrator
of a State shall be transmitted to the
interdisciplinary team of the State established
pursuant to subsection (g).
``(B) Review.--On an annual basis, the
interdisciplinary team of each State shall--
``(i) review applications transmitted to
the team pursuant to subparagraph (A);
``(ii) determine the eligibility of
proposed projects for funding under the
program;
``(iii) make recommendations concerning
funding priorities for the eligible projects;
and
``(iv) transmit the findings and
recommendations of the team to the program
administrator of the State.
``(C) Project opposition by federal
representatives.--If 2 or more of the members of an
interdisciplinary team of a State appointed pursuant to
clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of subsection (g)(2)(B) are
opposed to a project that is supported by a majority of
the members of the interdisciplinary team, a
determination on whether the project is eligible to
receive assistance under the program shall be made by
the Chief of the Soil Conservation Service. In making a
determination under this subparagraph, the Chief shall
consult with the Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, the Director of the Fish and
Wildlife Service, and, in a coastal area, the Assistant
Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The Secretary shall conduct such monitoring activities
as are necessary to ensure the success and
effectiveness of project determinations made pursuant
to this subparagraph.
``(3) Final selection.--The final determination on whether
to provide assistance for a project under the program shall be
made by the program administrator of the State and shall be
based on the recommendations of the interdisciplinary team of
the State transmitted pursuant to paragraph (2)(B).
``(g) Appointment of Interdisciplinary Teams.--
``(1) In general.--There shall be established in each State
an interdisciplinary team of specialists to assist in reviewing
project applications under the program.
``(2) Appointment.--The interdisciplinary team of a State
shall be composed of the following members:
``(A) Appointees of the program administrator.--
Individuals to be appointed on an annual basis by the
program administrator of the State, including at least
1 representative of each of the following specialties:
``(i) Hydrologists.
``(ii) Plant ecologists.
``(iii) Aquatic biologists.
``(iv) Biotechnical slope protection
experts.
``(v) Landscape architect or planners.
``(vi) Members of the agricultural
community.
``(vii) Representatives of the fish and
wildlife agency of the State.
``(viii) Representatives of the soil and
water conservation agency of the State.
``(B) Representatives of federal agencies.--One
representative of each of the following Federal
agencies to be appointed on an annual basis by the
appropriate regional or State director of the agency:
``(i) The Soil Conservation Service.
``(ii) The Environmental Protection Agency.
``(iii) The National Marine Fisheries
Service (in a coastal State).
``(iv) The United States Fish and Wildlife
Service.
``(3) Affiliation of members.--A member appointed pursuant
to paragraph (2)(A) may be an employee of a Federal, State,
tribal, or local agency or nonprofit organization.
``(4) Federal advisory committee act.--The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2) shall not apply to an
interdisciplinary team established under this subsection.
``(h) Conditions for Receiving Assistance.--
``(1) Project sponsors and cosponsors.--
``(A) Requirement.--To be eligible for assistance
under the program, a project shall have as project
participants both a citizens organization and a State,
regional, tribal, or local governing body, agency, or
district.
``(B) Project sponsor.--One of the project
participants described in subparagraph (A) shall be
designated as the project sponsor. The project sponsor
shall act as the principal party making the grant
application and have the primary responsibility for
executing the grant agreement, submitting invoices, and
receiving reimbursements.
``(C) Project cosponsor.--The other project
participant described in subparagraph (A) shall be
designated as the project cosponsor. The project
cosponsor shall, jointly with the project sponsor,
support and actively participate in the project. There
may be more than 1 cosponsor for any project.
``(2) Use of grant funds.--Grant funds made available under
the program shall not supplant other available funds for
waterway restoration projects, including developer fees,
mitigation, or compensation required as a permit condition or
as a result of a violation of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) or any other law.
``(3) Maintenance requirement.--At least 1 project sponsor
or cosponsor shall be designated as responsible for ongoing
maintenance of the project.
``(i) Non-Federal Share.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), the
non-Federal share of the cost of a project under this section,
including structural and nonstructural features, shall be 25
percent.
``(2) Economically depressed communities.--The Secretary
may waive all or part of the non-Federal share of the cost of
any project that is to be carried out under the program in an
economically depressed community.
``(3) In-kind contributions.--Non-Federal interests may
meet any portion of the non-Federal share of the cost of a
project under this section through in-kind contributions,
including contributions of labor, involvement of youth service
and conservation corps program participants, materials,
equipment, consulting services, and land.
``(4) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue
regulations to establish procedures for granting waivers under
paragraph (2).
``(j) Limitations on Costs of Administration and Technical
Assistance.--Of the total amount made available for any fiscal year to
carry out this section--
``(1) not to exceed 15 percent may be used for
administrative expenses; and
``(2) not to exceed 25 percent may be used for providing
technical assistance.
``(k) Consultation With Federal Agencies.--In establishing and
carrying out the program, the Secretary shall consult with the heads of
appropriate Federal agencies, including--
``(1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency;
``(2) the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works;
``(3) the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service;
``(4) the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation;
``(5) the Director of the Geological Survey;
``(6) the Chief of the Forest Service; and
``(7) the Assistant Administrator for the National Marine
Fisheries Service.
``(l) Citizens Oversight Committee.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Governor of each State shall
establish a citizens oversight committee to evaluate management
of the program in the State. The membership of a citizens
oversight committee shall represent a diversity of regions,
cultures, and watershed management interests.
``(2) Program components.--A citizens oversight committee
established under paragraph (1) shall evaluate the following
program components:
``(A) Program outreach, accessibility, and service
to low-income and minority ethnic communities and
displaced resource harvesters.
``(B) The manageability of grant application
procedures, contracting transactions, and invoicing for
disbursement for small nonprofit organizations.
``(C) The success of the program in supporting the
range of the program objectives, including evaluation
of the environmental impacts of the program as carried
out.
``(D) The number of jobs created for identified
target groups.
``(E) The diversity of job skills fostered for
long-term watershed related employment.
``(F) The extent of involvement of youth
conservation and service corps programs.
``(3) Annual report.--The program administrator of each
State shall issue an annual report summarizing the program
evaluation under paragraph (1). The report shall be signed by
each member of the citizens oversight committee of the State
and shall be submitted to the Secretary.
``(4) Federal advisory committee act.--The Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2) shall not apply to a citizens
oversight committee established under this subsection.
``(m) Funding.--
``(1) Minimum amounts.--Not less than 20 percent of the
total amount made available to carry out this Act for any
fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1994, shall be used
by the Secretary to carry out this section.
``(2) Transferred funds.--The Secretary may accept
transfers of funds from other Federal agencies to carry out
this section.
``(3) Applicability of requirements.--Funds made available
to carry out this section, and financial assistance provided
with the funds, shall not be subject to any requirements of
this Act other than the requirements of this section.''.
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S 2292 IS----2