HR 3480 IH

To promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

December 13, 2001

Mr. KIND (for himself, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. LEACH, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. PETRI, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. LUTHER, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. PHELPS, and Mr. BOSWELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee onResources

To promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

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 Protection 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. Definitions.

Sec. 3. 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. National Research Council assessment.

TITLE II--COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH

Sec. 201. Computer modeling and research of sediment and nutrient sources.

Sec. 202. Use of electronic means to distribute information.

Sec. 203. Reporting requirements.

TITLE III--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) 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, in the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. The designation includes the Kaskaskia watershed along the Illinois River and the Meramec watershed along the Missouri River.

(2) The terms `Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative' and `Initiative' mean the activities authorized or required by this Act to monitor nutrient and sediment loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

(3) 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.

SEC. 3. RELIANCE ON SOUND SCIENCE.

It is the policy of Congress that Federal investments in the Upper Mississippi River Basin must be guided by sound science.

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 purposes of--

(1) identifying and evaluating significant sources of sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin;

(2) quantifying the processes affecting mobilization, transport, and fate of those sediments and nutrients on land and in water;

(3) quantifying the transport of those sediments and nutrients to and through the Upper Mississippi River Basin;

(4) recording changes to sediment and nutrient loss over time;

(5) providing coordinated data to be used in computer modeling of the Basin, pursuant to section 201; and

(6) 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 hydrologic unit codes. 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) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY- Data resulting from sediment and nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi River Basin is not subject to the mandatory disclosure provisions of section 552 of title V, United States Code, but may be released only as provided in subsection (b).

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.

(d) COORDINATION WITH LOWER ESTUARY ASSESSMENT GROUP- The Secretary of the Interior shall carry out this section in coordination with the Lower Estuary Assessment Group, as authorized by section 902 of the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-457; 33 U.S.C. 2901 note).

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.

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. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ASSESSMENT.

The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences shall conduct a comprehensive water resources assessment of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

TITLE II--COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH

SEC. 201. COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH 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 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 to relate nutrient loss to landscape, land use, and land management practices.

(2) Models to relate sediment loss to landscape, land use, and land management practices.

(3) Models to define river channel nutrient transformation processes.

(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:

(1) Land use data.

(2) Soils data.

(3) Elevation data.

(4) Information on sediment and nutrient reduction improvement actions.

(5) Remotely sense data.

(e) HEADQUARTERS- Information developed by computer modeling shall be headquartered at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

SEC. 202. USE OF ELECTRONIC MEANS TO DISTRIBUTEINFORMATION.

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.

SEC. 203. 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--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior $6,250,000 each fiscal year 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 required by section 107.

END