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Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed
by House)
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 961
AN ACT
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, and for other purposes.
HR 961 EH
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 961
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN ACT
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, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Upper Mississippi
River Basin Protection Act'.
(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. Reporting requirements.
Sec. 106. 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 AND RELATED MATTERS
Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 302. Cost-sharing requirements.
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' refers to the use of accepted
and documented scientific methods to identify and quantify
the sources, transport, and fate of nutrients and sediment
and to quantify the effect of various treatment methods or
conservation measures on nutrient and sediment loss. Sound
science requires the use of documented protocols for data
collection and data analysis, and peer review of the data,
results, and findings.
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.
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 5, 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 LONG-TERM ESTUARY ASSESSMENT PROJECT-
The Secretary of the Interior shall carry out this section
in coordination with the long-term estuary assessment project
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. 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. 106. 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.
SEC. 202. USE OF ELECTRONIC MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION.
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 AND RELATED MATTERS
SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ACTIVITIES- There is
authorized to be appropriated to the United States Geological
Survey $6,250,000 each fiscal year to carry out this Act (other
than section 106). Of the amounts appropriated for a fiscal
year pursuant to this authorization of appropriations, one-third
shall be made available for the United States Geological Survey
Cooperative Water Program and the remainder shall be made
available for the United States Geological Survey Hydrologic
Networks and Analysis Program.
(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 106.
SEC. 302. COST-SHARING REQUIREMENTS.
Funds made available for the United States Geological Survey
Cooperative Water Program under section 301(a) shall be subject
to the same cost sharing requirements as specified in the
last proviso under the heading `UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY-SURVEYS,
INVESTIGATIONS, AND RESEARCH' of the Department of the Interior
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (Public Law
107-63; 115 Stat. 427; 43 U.S.C. 50).
Passed the House of Representatives March 25, 2003.
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