[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2350 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2350
To establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship System.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 27, 2004
Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Schumer)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Long Island Sound Stewardship System.
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 ``Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of
2004''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) Long Island Sound is a national treasure of great
cultural, environmental, and ecological importance;
(2) 8,000,000 people live within the Long Island Sound
watershed and 28,000,000 people (approximately 10 percent of
the population of the United States) live within 50 miles of
Long Island Sound;
(3) activities that depend on the environmental health of
Long Island Sound contribute more than $5,000,000,000 each year
to the regional economy;
(4) the portion of the shoreline of Long Island Sound that
is accessible to the general public (estimated at less than 20
percent of the total shoreline) is not adequate to serve the
needs of the people living in the area;
(5) existing shoreline facilities are in many cases
overburdened and underfunded;
(6) large parcels of open space already in public ownership
are strained by the effort to balance the demand for recreation
with the needs of sensitive natural resources;
(7) approximately \1/3\ of the tidal marshes of Long Island
Sound have been filled, and much of the remaining marshes have
been ditched, dyked, or impounded, reducing the ecological
value of the marshes; and
(8) many of the remaining exemplary natural landscape is
vulnerable to further development.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish the Long
Island Sound Stewardship System to preserve areas of critical
importance because of the open space, public access, and ecological
value of the areas.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Committee.--The term ``Committee'' means the Long
Island Sound Stewardship Coordinating Committee established by
section 5(a).
(2) Region.--The term ``Region'' means the Long Island
Sound Stewardship System Region established by section 4(a).
(3) States.--The term ``States'' means the States of
Connecticut and New York.
SEC. 4. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP SYSTEM REGION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the States the Long
Island Sound Stewardship System Region.
(b) Boundaries.--The Region shall encompass the immediate coastal
upland and underwater areas along Long Island Sound, including those
portions of the Sound with coastally influenced vegetation, as
described on the map entitled the ``Long Island Sound Stewardship
Region'' and dated April 21, 2004.
SEC. 5. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP COORDINATING COMMITTEE.
(a) Establishment.--There is established a committee to be known as
the ``Long Island Sound Stewardship Coordinating Committee''.
(b) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the Committee shall be the
Director of the Long Island Sound Office of the Environmental
Protection Agency, or designee.
(c) Membership.--
(1) Composition.--
(A) In general.--The chairperson shall appoint the
members of the Committee in accordance with this
subsection and section 320(c) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330(c)).
(B) Representation.--The Committee shall--
(i) include equal representation of the
interests of the States; and
(ii) represent--
(I) Federal, State, and local
government interests;
(II) the interests of
nongovernmental organizations;
(III) academic interests; and
(IV) private interests.
(2) Date of appointments.--The appointment of a member of
the Committee shall be made not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(d) Term; Vacancies.--
(1) Term.--A member shall be appointed for the life of the
Committee.
(2) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Committee--
(A) shall not affect the powers of the Committee;
and
(B) shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointment was made.
(e) Initial Meeting.--Not later than 30 days after the date on
which all members of the Committee have been appointed, the Committee
shall hold the initial meeting of the Committee.
(f) Meetings.--The Committee shall meet at the call of the
Chairperson, but not less than 4 times each year.
(g) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Committee shall
constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may hold hearings.
SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.
The Committee shall--
(1) consistent with the guidelines described in section
9(c)--
(A) establish specific criteria for the evaluation
of applications for stewardship site designations; and
(B) evaluate and award or deny stewardship
designation to applicants for that designation;
(2) consistent with the guidelines described in section
9(d)--
(A) evaluate applications from government or
nonprofit organizations qualified to hold conservation
easements for funds to purchase land or development
rights for stewardship sites; and
(B) award funds to qualified applicants;
(3) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, develop and publish a management plan that--
(A) assesses the current resources of and threats
to Long Island Sound;
(B) assesses the role of the Long Island Sound
Stewardship System in protecting Long Island Sound;
(C) establishes--
(i) guidelines, schedules, and due dates
for applying for designation as a stewardship
site; and
(ii) specific criteria to be used in
evaluating stewardship site applications;
(D) includes information about any grants that are
available for the purchase of land or property rights
to protect stewardship sites;
(E) shall be made available to the public on the
Internet and in hardcopy form; and
(F) shall be updated at least every other year,
with information on applications for stewardship site
designation and funding published more frequently; and
(4) concurrent with the first management plan, publish a
list of sites that the Committee considers most appropriate for
designation as stewardship sites.
SEC. 7. POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
(a) Hearings.--The Committee may hold such hearings, meet and act
at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such
evidence as the Committee considers advisable to carry out this Act.
(b) Information From Federal Agencies.--
(1) In general.--The Committee may secure directly from a
Federal agency such information as the Committee considers
necessary to carry out this Act.
(2) Provision of information.--On request of the
Chairperson of the Committee, the head of the agency shall
provide the information to the Committee.
(c) Postal Services.--The Committee may use the United States mails
in the same manner and under the same conditions as other agencies of
the Federal Government.
(d) Gifts.--The Committee may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or
donations of services or property.
SEC. 8. COMMITTEE PERSONNEL MATTERS.
(a) Compensation of Members.--
(1) Non-federal employees.--A member of the Committee who
is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall
be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the
annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States
Code, for each day (including travel time) during which the
member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the
Committee.
(2) Federal employees.--A member of the Committee who is an
officer or employee of the Federal Government shall serve
without compensation in addition to the compensation received
for the services of the member as an officer or employee of the
Federal Government.
(b) Travel Expenses.--A member of the Committee shall be allowed
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates
authorized for an employee of an agency under subchapter I of chapter
57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from the home or regular
place of business of the member in the performance of the duties of the
Committee.
(c) Staff.--
(1) In general.--The Chairperson of the Committee may,
without regard to the civil service laws (including
regulations), appoint and terminate an executive director and
such other additional personnel as are necessary to enable the
Committee to perform the duties of the Committee.
(2) Confirmation of executive director.--The employment of
an executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the
Committee.
(3) Compensation.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), the Chairperson of the Committee may fix the
compensation of the executive director and other
personnel without regard to the provisions of chapter
51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United
States Code, relating to classification of positions
and General Schedule pay rates.
(B) Maximum rate of pay.--The rate of pay for the
executive director and other personnel shall not exceed
the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule
under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
(d) Detail of Federal Government Employees.--
(1) In general.--An employee of the Federal Government may
be detailed to the Committee without reimbursement.
(2) Civil service status.--The detail of the employee shall
be without interruption or loss of civil service status or
privilege.
(e) Procurement of Temporary and Intermittent Services.--The
Chairperson of the Committee may procure temporary and intermittent
services in accordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, United States
Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily equivalent
of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive
Schedule under section 5316 of that title.
SEC. 9. STEWARDSHIP SITES.
(a) Definition of Qualifying Land.--In this section, the term
``qualifying land'' means land--
(1) that is in the Region; and
(2) that is--
(A) Federal, State, local, or tribal land;
(B) land owned by a nonprofit organization; or
(C) privately owned land.
(b) Application for Designation.--Owners or other parties in
control of qualifying land may apply to the Committee to have the
qualifying land designated as a Long Island Sound stewardship site.
(c) General Guidelines for Stewardship Site Designation.--
(1) In general.--The Committee shall choose land to be
designated as a stewardship site based on--
(A) the contribution of the land to open space on
and public access to Long Island Sound; and
(B) the ecological value of the land.
(2) Criteria.--In considering land described in
applications submitted under subsection (b), the Committee
shall consider--
(A) land cover;
(B) size;
(C) adjacency and connectivity to existing parks
and open spaces;
(D) water quality;
(E) current or prospective recreational use;
(F) visitor demand;
(G) scenic quality;
(H) cultural resources;
(I) erosion and flood hazard prevention;
(J) environmental justice;
(K) fish and wildlife productivity;
(L) biodiversity;
(M) scientific value;
(N) water quality protection;
(O) habitat restoration characteristics;
(P) connectivity to other habitats that are vital
to sustaining healthy living resources in the Long
Island Sound watershed;
(Q) risk of development; and
(R) other criteria developed by the Committee under
section 6(1)(A).
(d) General Guidelines for Awarding Funds.--
(1) In general.--The Committee shall award funds to
qualified applicants to help to secure and improve the open
space, public access, or ecological values of stewardship
sites, through--
(A) purchase of the property of the site;
(B) purchase of relevant property rights of the
site; or
(C) entering into any other binding legal
arrangement that ensures that the values of the site
are preserved.
(2) Equitable distribution of funds.--The Committee shall
exert due diligence to distribute funds equitably between the
States.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this Act $40,000,000 for each fiscal year, to be allocated from the
national estuary program under section 320 of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1330).
(b) Allocation of Funds.--For each fiscal year--
(1) not more than 15 percent of funds made available under
subsection (a) shall be used to improve the facilities of
stewardship sites; and
(2) at least 85 percent of funds made available under
subsection (a) shall be used to secure the values of
stewardship sites.
(c) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of an activity
carried out using any assistance or grant under this Act shall not
exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the activity.
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