[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3196 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3196
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide assistance
for programs and activities to protect the water quality of Puget
Sound, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 25, 2008
Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Mrs. Murray) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide assistance
for programs and activities to protect the water quality of Puget
Sound, 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 ``Puget Sound Recovery Act of 2008''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Puget Sound, as the Nation's second largest estuary, is
a cornerstone of the Pacific Northwest's regional identity and
at the heart of the region's prosperity, supporting a thriving
natural resource and marine industry.
(2) The water quality of Puget Sound is in decline, with
areas of deadly low oxygen and increasing toxic pollutants.
Resident species such as salmon and orcas are endangered.
(3) The declining health of Puget Sound threatens the
economic and environmental vitality of the Pacific Northwest.
(4) The Governor of the State of Washington has taken steps
to combat the decline of Puget Sound at the State government
level.
(5) The Federal Government should now match the efforts of
the State of Washington. The Environmental Protection Agency
should take the lead at the Federal level to create a
comprehensive recovery package for Puget Sound, in coordination
with the comprehensive conservation and management plan for
Puget Sound, and should establish a Puget Sound office in the
State of Washington. Other Federal agencies to be involved
should include the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the
National Park Service, the United States Geological Survey, the
Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the
Corps of Engineers, and the Departments of Commerce, Defense,
Homeland Security, and Transportation.
(6) The Puget Sound recovery plan efforts should be listed
in the President's annual budget and should serve as a model of
the use of science and efficient coordination between Federal,
tribal, State, regional, and local efforts with an emphasis on
monitoring, assessment, and reaching demonstrable goals.
(7) Canada should join in this enhanced effort, given that
Puget Sound and the Georgia Straits are the same waterway.
SEC. 3. PUGET SOUND.
Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 123. PUGET SOUND.
``(a) Program Office.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish in
the Environmental Protection Agency a Puget Sound Program
Office (in this section referred to as the `Office').
``(2) Appointment of director.--The Office shall be headed
by a Director who, by reason of management experience and
technical expertise relating to Puget Sound, is highly
qualified to direct the development of programs and plans on a
variety of issues relating to Puget Sound. The Office shall be
located in the State of Washington.
``(3) Delegation of authority; staffing.--The Administrator
shall delegate to the Director such authority, and provide such
additional staff, as may be necessary to carry out the duties
of the Director under this section.
``(b) Duties of Director.--
``(1) In general.--The Director shall assist the management
conference convened for Puget Sound under section 320 (in this
section referred to as the `Conference') in carrying out its
goals.
``(2) Specific duties.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
Director shall--
``(A) assist and support the implementation of the
comprehensive conservation and management plan
developed by the Conference pursuant to section 320 (in
this section referred to as the `Comprehensive Plan'),
including efforts to establish, within the process for
granting watershed general permits, a system for
promoting innovative methodologies and technologies
that are cost-effective and consistent with the goals
of the Comprehensive Plan;
``(B) to the extent practicable, coordinate the
major functions of the Federal Government related to
the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, including
programs and activities for water quality improvements,
wetland and estuary restoration and protection,
endangered species recovery, and research and studies
commissioned under this Act;
``(C) conduct or commission studies and research
considered necessary for strengthened implementation of
the Comprehensive Plan, including studies and research
described in paragraph (3);
``(D) coordinate and manage environmental data
related to Puget Sound;
``(E) coordinate the grant, research, and planning
programs authorized under this section;
``(F) coordinate activities for the protection of
Puget Sound and the Georgia Straits with Canadian
authorities;
``(G) coordinate activities and implementation
responsibilities, including activities under species
recovery plans, through cooperation with other Federal
agencies that have jurisdiction in the Puget Sound
watershed;
``(H) collect and make available to the public
publications, and other forms of information the
Conference determines to be appropriate, relating to
the environmental quality of Puget Sound; and
``(I) biennially issue a report to Congress that--
``(i) summarizes the progress made in
implementing the Comprehensive Plan;
``(ii) summarizes any modifications to the
Comprehensive Plan in the 12-month period
immediately preceding such report; and
``(iii) incorporates specific
recommendations concerning the implementation
of the Comprehensive Plan.
``(3) Studies and research.--Areas for studies and research
under paragraph (2)(C) shall include--
``(A) population growth and the adequacy of
wastewater treatment facilities and on-site septic
systems;
``(B) the use of physical, chemical, and biological
methods for nutrient removal in sewage treatment
plants;
``(C) contaminated sediments and dredging
activities;
``(D) nonpoint source pollution abatement,
including pollution from stormwater discharges, and
land use activities in the Puget Sound watershed;
``(E) wetland, riparian, and near shore protection
and restoration;
``(F) flood abatement and floodplain restoration
techniques;
``(G) the impacts of forest and agricultural
practices on the health of Puget Sound;
``(H) atmospheric deposition of pollutants into the
Puget Sound watershed;
``(I) water quality requirements to sustain fish,
shellfish, and wildlife populations, and the use of
indicator species to assess environmental quality;
``(J) State water quality programs, for their
adequacy pursuant to implementation of the
Comprehensive Plan;
``(K) options for long-term financing of wastewater
treatment projects and water pollution control
programs;
``(L) water usage and efficiency;
``(M) toxic pollutants; and
``(N) such other areas as the Director considers
appropriate.
``(4) Implementation methods.--The Director may enter into
interagency agreements, make intergovernmental personnel
appointments, and utilize other available methods in carrying
out the Director's duties under this subsection.
``(c) Grants To Implement Comprehensive Plan.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator may make grants to
eligible recipients for projects and studies that will help
implement the Comprehensive Plan.
``(2) Eligible activities.--Projects and studies eligible
for assistance under this subsection include planning,
research, modeling, construction, monitoring, implementation,
citizen involvement and education, and such other activities as
the Administrator considers appropriate.
``(3) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of a
project or study receiving grant assistance under this
subsection shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the
project or study.
``(4) Eligible recipient defined.--In this subsection, the
term `eligible recipient' means a State, interstate, tribal,
regional, or local water pollution control agency or other
public or nonprofit private agency, institution, or
organization.
``(d) Grants for Projects To Address Sewage and Stormwater
Discharges.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator may make grants to
eligible recipients for projects to address sewage and
stormwater discharges into the Puget Sound watershed.
``(2) Eligible projects.--Projects eligible for assistance
under this subsection include demonstration and research
projects that provide treatment for, or that minimize, sewage
or stormwater discharges using one or more approaches,
including decentralized or distributed stormwater controls,
decentralized wastewater treatment, low-impact development
practices, conservation easements, stream buffers, and wetlands
restoration.
``(3) Award of grants.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
Administrator shall award grants under this subsection
on a competitive basis.
``(B) Distressed communities.--In awarding grants
under this subsection, the Administrator may give
priority to a project located in a distressed
community.
``(4) Federal share.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
Federal share of the cost of a project receiving grant
assistance under this subsection shall not exceed 75
percent of the cost of the project.
``(B) Distressed communities.--The Federal share of
the cost of a project receiving grant assistance under
this subsection shall not exceed 100 percent of the
cost of the project if the project is located in a
distressed community.
``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection, the following
definitions apply:
``(A) Eligible recipient.--The term `eligible
recipient' means a State, interstate, tribal, regional,
or local water pollution control agency or other public
or nonprofit private agency, institution, or
organization.
``(B) Distressed community.--The term `distressed
community' means a community that meets affordability
criteria established by the State in which the
community is located, if such criteria are developed
after public review and comment.
``(e) Annual Budget Plan.--
``(1) In general.--The President, as part of the annual
budget of the United States Government, shall submit
information regarding each Federal agency involved in Puget
Sound protection and restoration, including--
``(A) an interagency crosscut budget that displays
for each Federal agency--
``(i) amounts obligated in the preceding
fiscal year for protection and restoration
activities relating to Puget Sound;
``(ii) the estimated budget for the current
fiscal year for protection and restoration
activities relating to Puget Sound; and
``(iii) the proposed budget for protection
and restoration activities relating to Puget
Sound; and
``(B) a description of the Federal role in the
Puget Sound Program and the specific role of each
agency involved in Puget Sound protection and
restoration, including specific activities conducted or
planned to achieve the goals of the Comprehensive Plan.
``(2) Coordination with the conference.--In carrying out
this subsection, the President, to the extent practical, shall
coordinate reporting, data collection, and planning activities
with the Conference.
``(f) Authorizations.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Administrator to carry out this section such sums as may be
necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.''.
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