| HR 1800 IH
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1800
To establish the
Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative to monitor and reduce sediment
and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 10, 2001
Mr. KIND (for himself, Mr. LEACH,
Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. EVANS, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. DINGELL,
Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. PALLONE,
Mr. LUTHER, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Ms. MCCOLLUM,
Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. TANNER, Mr. PETRI, and Mr. FORD) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To establish the
Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative to monitor and reduce sediment
and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River.
Be it enacted by the
Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE
OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE- This Act
may be cited as the `Upper Mississippi River Basin Conservation Act of
2001'.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS- The
table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table
of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings, purposes,
and reliance on sound science.
TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT
MONITORING NETWORK
Sec. 101. Establishment
of monitoring network.
Sec. 102. Data collection
and storage responsibilities.
Sec. 103. Relationship to
existing sediment and nutrient monitoring.
Sec. 104. Collaboration
with other public and private monitoring efforts.
Sec. 105. Cost share requirements.
Sec. 106. Reporting requirements.
Sec. 107. Assessment of
water resource and water quality management.
TITLE II--INITIATIVE GRANT,
DEMONSTRATION, AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Sec. 201. Computer modeling
of sediment and nutrient sources.
Sec. 202. Research regarding
best management practices and sediment and nutrient loss.
Sec. 203. Demonstration
projects regarding new best management practices to reduce sediment and
nutrient loss.
Sec. 204. Use of electronic
means to distribute information.
Sec. 205. Reporting requirements.
TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PERSONAL
DATA
Sec. 301. Privacy of personal
data received by Department of Agriculture and data gathering locations.
TITLE IV--ADVISORY COUNCIL ON
THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE
Sec. 401. Establishment
of Advisory Council.
Sec. 402. Responsibilities
of Advisory Council.
Sec. 403. Advisory nature
of Council.
TITLE V--FEDERAL INTERAGENCY
WORKING GROUP
Sec. 501. Establishment
of Interagency Working Group.
TITLE VI--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
Sec. 601. Authorization
of appropriations.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSES,
AND RELIANCE ON SOUND SCIENCE.
(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds
the following:
(1) The Upper Mississippi
River and its tributaries are an important source of municipal and industrial
water supplies for many of the region's more than 24,000,000 residents.
(2) The Upper Mississippi
River Basin supports many economic activities of regional and national
importance and is an important element of the national transportation infrastructure,
enabling shipment of agricultural, petroleum, coal, and many other products.
(3) Millions of tourists
annually visit the Upper Mississippi River Basin to fish, hunt, swim, boat,
and camp, as well as to visit the region's many historic towns and archaeological
sites.
(4) The sediments and nutrients
that inadvertently enter streams, and ultimately the Mississippi River,
result in--
(A) a reduction in the quality
and quantity of farm crops and thereby a reduction in farm income;
(B) an increase in channel
maintenance costs;
(C) a threat to drinking
water supplies; and
(D) the filling of side
channels used by river wildlife.
(5) The public and private
costs associated with sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi
River Basin are significant:
(A) Farmers lose more than
$300,000,000 worth of applied nitrogen annually.
(B) Dredging costs exceed
$100,000,000 annually.
(C) The cost of habitat
restoration efforts along the main stem of the Upper Mississippi River
will soon reach $33,000,000 annually.
(6) Although there are more
than 75 local, State, tribal, and Federal public and private programs designed
to address sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin,
there is a lack of collaboration by resource managers to identify and address
significant sources of sediment and nutrient loss, monitor results, share
information, or set priorities. Consequently, programs often overlap, gaps
are left unfilled, and scarce resources are not used efficiently.
(7) Results of research
conducted in the Mississippi River Basin by the Mississippi River Basin/Gulf
of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force call for a cooperative, interagency,
adaptive management approach to natural resource management at the basin
level.
(8) Congress and the executive
branch recognize the need to focus Federal investment in natural resources
management and stewardship in the Upper Mississippi River Basin in a manner
that is coordinated, efficient, and effective to meet local, State, tribal,
Basin-wide, and national goals for agriculture and environmental health
and sustainability.
(9) An approach to natural
resource management at the basin level, which is region-specific and coordinates
existing Federal, State and local programs, is essential to attain common
water quality goals while reducing duplication. Involving advisory groups
of local, State, and tribal residents, in concert with Federal agencies
with appropriate natural resource authorities, is the most effective means
to ensure that Federal investments accomplish desired results at the local,
State, tribal, and Basin-wide levels. This would ensure that conservation
activities would contribute to similar national goals.
(10) A public-private approach
to natural resource management in the Upper Mississippi River Basin would
ensure that all voices would be heard
and all interested persons would
be able to contribute to a process of meeting complimentary and overlapping
resource management and environmental goals.
(b) PURPOSES- The purposes
of this Act are--
(1) to adopt a coordinated
public-private approach in the Upper Mississippi River Basin to take action
to control nutrient and sediment loss, to monitor the results of such actions,
share information, and make adjustments to further reduce nutrient and
sediment loss;
(2) to identify major sources
of sediment and nutrients that wash into rivers and streams of the Upper
Mississippi River Basin;
(3) to use computer models
in conjunction with monitoring data to track, over the short- and long-term,
the quantity, transport, and fate of sediments and nutrients that enter
the Upper Mississippi River Basin;
(4) to increase and target
technical and financial assistance to reduce nutrient and sediment loss
in the Upper Mississippi River Basin;
(5) to develop innovative
ways to reduce sediment and nutrient loss;
(6) to expand efforts to
share information; and
(7) to coordinate public
and private programs to collaboratively set and meet priorities.
(c) RELIANCE ON SOUND SCIENCE
AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT- It is the policy of Congress that Federal investments
in the Upper Mississippi River Basin must be guided by sound science and
management actions should be guided by an adaptive management framework.
(d) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
USE OF COLLECTED DATA- The Secretary of Agriculture may use the scientific
data collected from the monitoring and modeling network established pursuant
to section 101 to target conservation programs, including, but not limited
to, the following:
(1) The Environmental Quality
Incentives Program.
(2) The Wetland Reserve
Program.
(3) The Conservation Reserve
Program.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(1) The term `Advisory Council'
means the Advisory Council on the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative
established by title IV.
(2) The terms `Upper Mississippi
River Basin' and `Basin' mean the watershed portion of the Upper Mississippi
River and Illinois River basins, from Cairo, Illinois to the headwaters
of the Mississippi River. The designation includes the Kaskaskia watershed
along the Illinois River, and the Meramec watershed along the Missouri
River.
(3) The terms `Upper Mississippi
River Stewardship Initiative' and `Initiative' mean the activities authorized
or required by this Act to monitor and reduce nutrient and sediment loss
in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
(4) The term `sound science'
means a scientific method that uses the best available technical and scientific
information and techniques to identify and understand natural resource
management needs and appropriate treatments, to implement conservation
measures, and to assess the results of treatments on natural resource health
and sustainability in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
(5) The term `adaptive management
framework' refers to a comprehensive management program that combines planning,
monitoring, modeling, and research to improve scientific knowledge, make
adjustments in management practices based upon new information, and target
actions within watersheds where the actions will be most effective.
TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT
MONITORING NETWORK
SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF MONITORING
NETWORK.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT- As part
of the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative, the Secretary of
the Interior shall establish a sediment and nutrient monitoring network
for the Upper Mississippi River Basin for the purpose of--
(1) monitoring sediment
and nutrient loss into Upper Mississippi River Basin;
(2) recording changes to
sediment and nutrient loss over time;
(3) providing coordinated
data to be used in computer modeling of the Basin, pursuant to section
201; and
(4) identifying major sources
of sediment and nutrients within the Basin for the purpose of targeting
resources to reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
(b) ROLE OF UNITED STATES
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY- The Secretary of the Interior shall carry out this title
acting through the office of the Director of the United States Geological
Survey.
(c) HEADQUARTERS- Sediment
and nutrient monitoring information shall be headquartered at the Upper
Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
SEC. 102. DATA COLLECTION AND
STORAGE RESPONSIBILITIES.
(a) GUIDELINES FOR DATA
COLLECTION AND STORAGE- The Secretary of the Interior shall establish guidelines
for the effective design of data collection activities regarding sediment
and nutrient monitoring, for the use of suitable and consistent methods
for data collection, and for consistent reporting, data storage, and archiving
practices.
(b) RELEASE OF DATA- Data
resulting from sediment and nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi
River Basin shall be released to the public using generic station identifiers
and location coordinates. In the case of a monitoring station located on
private lands, information regarding the location of the station shall
not be disseminated without the landowner's permission.
(c) CONSULTATION- The Secretary
of the Interior shall establish the guidelines under subsection (a) in
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and all entities known to
be conducting sediment and nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi
River Basin.
SEC. 103. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING
SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING.
(a) INVENTORY- To the maximum
extent practicable, the Secretary of the Interior shall inventory the sediment
and nutrient monitoring efforts, in existence as of the date of the enactment
of this Act, of Federal, State, local, and nongovernmental entities for
the purpose of creating a baseline understanding of overlap, data gaps
and redundancies.
(b) INTEGRATION- On the
basis of the inventory, the Secretary of the Interior shall integrate the
existing sediment and nutrient monitoring efforts, to the maximum extent
practicable, into the sediment and nutrient monitoring network required
by section 101.
(c) CONSULTATION AND USE
OF EXISTING DATA- In carrying out this section, the Secretary of the Interior
shall make maximum use of data in existence as of the date of the enactment
of this Act and of ongoing programs and efforts of Federal, State, tribal,
local, and nongovernmental entities in developing the sediment and nutrient
monitoring network required by section 101.
SEC. 104. COLLABORATION WITH
OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MONITORING EFFORTS.
To establish the sediment
and nutrient monitoring network, the Secretary of the Interior shall collaborate,
to the maximum extent practicable, with other Federal, State, tribal, local
and private sediment and nutrient monitoring programs that meet guidelines
prescribed under section 102(a), as determined by the Secretary of the
Interior.
SEC. 105. COST SHARE REQUIREMENTS.
(a) REQUIRED COST SHARING-
The non-Federal sponsors of the sediment and nutrient monitoring network
shall be responsible for not less than 25 percent of the costs of maintaining
the network.
(b) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS-
Up to 80 percent of the non-Federal share may be provided through in-kind
contributions.
(c) TREATMENT OF EXISTING
EFFORTS- A State or local monitoring effort, in existence as of the date
of the enactment of this Act, that the Secretary of the Interior finds
adheres to the guidelines prescribed under section 102(a) shall be deemed
to satisfy the cost share requirements of this section.
SEC. 106. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
The Secretary of the Interior
shall report to Congress not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act on the development of the sediment and nutrient monitoring
network.
SEC. 107. ASSESSMENT OF WATER
RESOURCE AND WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT.
The National Research Council
of the National Academy of Sciences shall conduct a comprehensive assessment
of the water resource and water quality management within the Upper Mississippi
River Basin for the purpose of reviewing nonpoint source water quality
issues and providing scientific and policy advice for addressing water
quality and associated watershed problems.
TITLE II--INITIATIVE GRANT,
DEMONSTRATION, AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS
SEC. 201. COMPUTER MODELING
OF SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT SOURCES.
(a) MODELING PROGRAM REQUIRED-
As part of the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative, the Director
of the United States Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Chief
of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, shall establish a modeling
program to identify significant sources of sediment and nutrients in the
Upper Mississippi River Basin.
(b) ROLE- Computer modeling
shall be used to identify subwatersheds which are significant sources of
sediment and nutrient loss and shall be made available for the purposes
of targeting public and private sediment and nutrient reduction efforts.
(c) COMPONENTS- Sediment
and nutrient models for the Upper Mississippi River Basin shall include
the following:
(1) Models of processes
affecting field sediment and nutrient losses.
(2) Models of watersheds.
(3) Models of main river
channels.
(4) Models that relate sediment
and nutrient yields from large basins to sources, land uses, and management
practices.
(d) COLLECTION OF ANCILLARY
INFORMATION- Ancillary information shall be collected in a GIS format to
support modeling and management use of modeling results, including the
following:
(4) Information on sediment
and nutrient reduction improvement actions.
(e) HEADQUARTERS- Information
developed by computer modeling shall be headquartered at the Upper Midwest
Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
SEC. 202. RESEARCH REGARDING
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT LOSS.
(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary
of Agriculture shall evaluate the benefits and costs of best management
practices designed to reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
(b) EVALUATION PRACTICES-
The Secretary of Agriculture shall work with other partnering agencies,
whether Federal, State, tribal, and local, and with other public and nonpublic
agencies to evaluate the benefits of best management practices designed
to reduce nutrient and sediment loss.
(c) ECONOMIC RISK ASSESSMENT-
The Secretary of Agriculture shall assess the economic risks associated
with new best management practices designed to reduce sediment and nutrient
loss.
SEC. 203. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS
REGARDING NEW BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO REDUCE SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT
LOSS.
The Secretary of Agriculture
shall administer a grant program to supplement non-Federal funds being
used by State, tribal, local, and private projects to demonstrate new best
management practices designed to reduce sediment and nutrient loss in the
Upper Mississippi River Basin.
SEC. 204. USE OF ELECTRONIC
MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM-
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Director of the United States Geological Survey shall establish a system
that uses the telecommunications medium known as the Internet to provide
information regarding the following:
(1) Public and private programs
designed to reduce sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi
River Basin.
(2) Information on sediment
and nutrient levels in the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries.
(3) Successful sediment
and nutrient reduction projects.
(b) COOPERATION- The Director
of the United States Geological Survey shall establish the system in cooperation
with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
SEC. 205. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) MONITORING ACTIVITIES-
Commencing one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director
of the United States Geological Survey shall provide to Congress and make
available to the public an annual report regarding monitoring activities
conducted in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
(b) MODELING ACTIVITIES-
Every three years, the Director of the United States Geological Survey
shall provide to Congress and make available to the public a progress report
regarding modeling activities.
TITLE III--PROTECTION OF PERSONAL
DATA
SEC. 301. PRIVACY OF PERSONAL
DATA RECEIVED BY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND DATA GATHERING LOCATIONS.
The Food Security Act of
1985 is amended by inserting after section 1243 (16 U.S.C. 3843) the following
new section:
`SEC. 1244. PRIVACY OF PERSONAL
DATA RELATING TO NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.
`(a) INFORMATION AND DATA
RECEIVED FOR TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE- Notwithstanding any other
provision of law and except as provided in subsection (c), information
and data provided to, or developed by, the Secretary of Agriculture (including
a contractor of the Secretary) for the purpose of providing technical or
financial assistance to a landowner or operator with respect to any natural
resources conservation program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation
Service or the Farm Service Agency shall not be released or disclosed (including
release or disclosure pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States
Code) to any agency or person outside the Department of Agriculture.
`(b) INVENTORY, MONITORING,
AND SITE SPECIFIC DATA- Notwithstanding any other provision of law and
except as provided in subsection (c), in order to maintain the personal
privacy, confidentiality, and cooperation of landowners and operators,
and to maintain the integrity of sample sites, the specific geographic
locations of the National Resources Inventory of the Department of Agriculture
data gathering sites and the information and data generated by such sites
are not public information and shall not be subject to the mandatory disclosure
provisions of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, or released to
any local, tribal, State, or Federal agency outside the Department of Agriculture.
`(1) RELEASE AND DISCLOSURE
FOR ENFORCEMENT- The Secretary of Agriculture may release or disclose information
or data covered by subsection (a) or (b) to the extent necessary to enforce
the natural resources conservation programs referred to in subsection (a).
`(2) LIMITED DISCLOSURE
TO COOPERATING PERSONS AND AGENCIES- The Secretary may release or disclose
information or data covered by subsection (a) or (b) to a person or a local,
tribal, State, or Federal agency working in cooperation with the Secretary
of Agriculture in providing technical and financial assistance described
in subsection (a) or collecting information and data from National Resources
Inventory data gathering sites. However, the person or local, tribal, State,
or Federal agency that receives the information or data may release the
information or data only for the purpose of assisting the Secretary in
providing the requested technical or financial assistance or in collecting
information and data from National Resources Inventory data gathering sites.
`(3) LIMITED EXCEPTION FOR
STATISTICAL AND AGGREGATE DATA- The Secretary may release information or
data covered by subsection (b), if the information or data has been transformed
into a statistical or aggregate form that does not allow identification
of the individual landowner, operator, or specific data gathering site.
`(d) VIOLATIONS- Section
1770(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 2276) shall apply to
any person who releases or causes to be released information or data in
violation of this section.'.
TITLE IV--ADVISORY COUNCIL ON
THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE
SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY
COUNCIL.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT- The Secretary
of Agriculture, in consultation with the governors specified in subsection
(c), shall establish an advisory body, to be known as the Advisory Council
on the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative, to provide guidance
regarding the Initiative.
(1) VOTING MEMBERS- The
Advisory Council shall consist of a total of 15 voting members.
(2) CHAIRPERSON- Voting
members shall elect one member appointed under subparagraph (c) to serve
as chairperson for the Advisory Council. The chairperson shall serve for
a term lasting no more than one year.
(c) APPOINTMENT- The governors
of the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri shall
each appoint two voting members of the Advisory Council, to be selected
from nongovernmental agriculture, natural resources, recreational, and
environmental groups and other persons with interests in the sustainability
and
health of the natural resources
of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
(d) STATE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
REPRESENTATION- The five remaining voting members of the Advisory Council
shall be drawn from the State Technical Committees established by the Secretary
of Agriculture under section 1261 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3861) for the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and
Missouri. The Secretary of Agriculture shall select one member from each
of these State Technical Committees.
(e) NONVOTING MEMBERS- The
governors referred to in subsection (c) shall also each appoint one nonvoting
member for the Advisory Council who will serve as representatives of the
governors.
(f) PER DIEM- Members of
the Advisory Council, including members appointed pursuant to subsection
(e), shall receive the Federal per diem for transportation and lodging
associated with meetings and other activities of the Advisory Council.
SEC. 402. RESPONSIBILITIES OF
ADVISORY COUNCIL.
(a) COORDINATION AND COMMUNICATION-
The Advisory Council shall serve as a means for coordination, communication,
and information sharing regarding such issues in the Upper Mississippi
River Basin as follows:
(1) Science and technology
concerning conservation practices.
(2) Monitoring and modeling
needs.
(3) Strategies for implementing
conservation assistance and programs.
(4) Performance assessment.
(5) Evaluation and reporting.
(b) ANNUAL REPORT ON REDUCTION
EFFORTS-
(1) PREPARATION- The Advisory
Council shall prepare an annual report regarding publicly-financed efforts
to reduce sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
In the case of any such report, output data shall conform to the standards
established pursuant to section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985,
as added by section 301.
(2) SUBMISSION- The annual
report shall be submitted--
(A) to the State legislatures
of the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi;
(B) to the Upper Mississippi
River Basin Association; and
(c) SPECIAL TASK FORCES-
For the purpose of maximizing and diversifying the involvement of people
in the activities of the Advisory Council and addressing specific issues
referred to in subsection (a), the Advisory Council shall create issue
specific task forces as necessary to effectively carry out the responsibilities
of the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council shall consult with the Interagency
Working Group and appropriate State agencies in establishing any such task
force and before dissolving any such task force when it becomes obsolete.
(d) PUBLIC MEETINGS- As
part of its responsibilities under this section, the Advisory Council shall
hold annual public meetings in each of the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri to formulate recommendations and seek public
input regarding methods and priorities to reduce sediment and nutrient
loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. To qualify as the annual meeting
in a State, at least two of the three members of the Advisory Council from
that State must be present at the meeting.
(e) STAFF DIRECTOR- The
Secretary of Agriculture shall appoint an employee of the Natural Resources
Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture to act as staff director
for the Advisory Council. The staff director shall work in conjunction
with the chairperson of the Advisory Council to assist in coordinating
the activities of the Advisory Council.
SEC. 403. ADVISORY NATURE OF
COUNCIL.
(a) IN GENERAL- The Advisory
Council is purely advisory and shall have no implementation or enforcement
authority. However, the Secretary of Agriculture and the heads of the other
Federal agencies in the Interagency Working Group established under section
501 shall give strong consideration to the recommendations of the Advisory
Council in administering natural resources programs of the Upper Mississippi
River Basin.
(b) PUBLIC OUTREACH- The
Secretary of Agriculture shall work with the Advisory Council to coordinate
outreach activities in the Upper Mississippi River Basin related to technologies
and other methods to reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
TITLE V--FEDERAL INTERAGENCY
WORKING GROUP
SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY
WORKING GROUP.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT- The Secretary
of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior shall
establish an Interagency Working Group to coordinate Federal nutrient and
sediment reduction efforts in the Upper Mississippi River Basin under the
Initiative.
(b) PARTICIPATION- The Interagency
Working Group shall include the following:
(1) The Secretary of Agriculture,
or the designee of the Secretary.
(2) The Secretary of the
Interior, or the designee of the Secretary.
(c) CHAIRPERSON; ADDITIONAL
INPUT AND PARTICIPATION- The Secretary of Agriculture (or the designee
of the Secretary) shall serve as chairperson of the Interagency Working
Group and may solicit input and participation by other Federal agencies
engaged in sediment and nutrient reduction efforts in the Upper Mississippi
River Basin.
(d) ANNUAL WORK PLAN AND
BUDGET- The Interagency Working Group shall annually develop a coordinated
work plan and budget for the Federal agencies participating in the Initiative--
(1) to better coordinate
Federal efforts to address sediment and nutrient reduction in the Upper
Mississippi River Basin;
(2) to encourage Federal
agencies responsible for sediment and nutrient reduction efforts to leverage
local, State, and Federal resources;
(3) to identify gaps and
overlapping programs; and
(4) to better prioritize
existing Federal spending to address major sources of sediment and nutrient
loss.
(e) COORDINATION- The Interagency
Working Group shall coordinate its recommendations to be included in the
work plan and budget with those of individual agencies.
(f) SUBMISSION OF WORK PLAN
AND BUDGET- Not later than September 15 of each year, the Interagency Working
Group shall submit to the Office of Management and Budget the work plan
and budget required by subsection (d).
TITLE VI--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
SEC. 601. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL- There is
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this Act.
(b) WATER RESOURCE AND WATER
QUALITY MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT- There is authorized to be appropriated $650,000
to allow the National Research Council to perform the assessment of water
resource and water quality management within the Upper Mississippi River
Basin required by section 107.
END
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