S. 158 – Reading Mode | Legislate.dev

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2005.

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)

much 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 Initiative to identify, protect, and enhance sites within the Long Island Sound ecosystem with significant ecological, educational, open space, public access, or recreational value through a bi-State network of sites best exemplifying these values.

3.

Definitions

In this Act:

(1)

Adaptive management

The term adaptive management means a scientific process—

(A)

for—

(i)

developing predictive models;

(ii)

making management policy decisions based upon the model outputs;

(iii)

revising the management policies as data become available with which to evaluate the policies; and

(iv)

acknowledging uncertainty, complexity, and variance in the spatial and temporal aspects of natural systems; and

(B)

that requires that management be viewed as experimental.

(2)

Administrator

The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

(3)

Committee

The term Committee means the Long Island Sound Stewardship Advisory Committee established by section 5(a).

(4)

Region

The term Region means the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Region established by section 4(a).

(5)

States

The term States means the States of Connecticut and New York.

(6)

Stewardship site

The term stewardship site means a site that—

(A)

qualifies for identification by the Committee under section 8; and

(B)

is an area of land or water or a combination of land and water—

(i)

that is in the Region; and

(ii)

that is—

(I)

Federal, State, local, or tribal land or water;

(II)

land or water owned by a nonprofit organization; or

(III)

privately owned land or water.

(7)

Systematic site selection

The term systematic site selection means a process of selecting stewardship sites that—

(A)

has explicit goals, methods, and criteria;

(B)

produces feasible, repeatable, and defensible results;

(C)

provides for consideration of natural, physical, and biological patterns;

(D)

addresses reserve size, replication, connectivity, species viability, location, and public recreation values;

(E)

uses geographic information systems technology and algorithms to integrate selection criteria; and

(F)

will result in achieving the goals of stewardship site selection at the lowest cost.

(8)

Threat

The term threat means a threat that is likely to destroy or seriously degrade a conservation target or a recreation area.

4.

Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Region

(a)

Establishment

There is established in the States the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Region.

(b)

Boundaries

The Region shall encompass the immediate coastal upland and underwater areas along Long Island Sound, including—

(1)

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; and

(2)

the Peconic Estuary, as described on the map entitled Peconic Estuary Program Study Area Boundaries, included in the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the Peconic Estuary Program and dated November 15, 2001.

5.

Long Island Sound Stewardship Advisory Committee

(a)

Establishment

There is established a committee to be known as the Long Island Sound Stewardship Advisory Committee.

(b)

Chairperson

The Chairperson of the Committee shall be the Director of the Long Island Sound Office of the Environmental Protection Agency, or a designee of the Director.

(c)

Membership

(1)

Composition

(A)

Appointment of members

(i)

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)).

(ii)

Additional members

In addition to the requirements described in clause (i), the Committee shall include—

(I)

a representative from the Regional Plan Association;

(II)

a representative of the marine trade organizations; and

(III)

a representative of private landowner interests.

(B)

Representation

In appointing members to the Committee, the Chairperson shall consider—

(i)

Federal, State, and local government interests;

(ii)

the interests of nongovernmental organizations;

(iii)

academic interests; and

(iv)

private interests.

(2)

Date of appointments

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the appointment of all members of the Committee shall be made.

(d)

Term; vacancies

(1)

Term

(A)

In general

A member shall be appointed for a term of 4 years.

(B)

Multiple terms

A person may be appointed as a member of the Committee for more than 1 term.

(2)

Vacancies

A vacancy on the Committee shall—

(A)

be filled not later than 90 days after the vacancy occurs;

(B)

not affect the powers of the Committee; and

(C)

be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made.

(3)

Staff

(A)

In general

The Chairperson of the Committee may appoint and terminate personnel as necessary to enable the Committee to perform the duties of the Committee.

(B)

Personnel as Federal employees

(i)

In general

Any personnel of the Committee who are employees of the Committee shall be employees under section 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for purposes of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, and 90 of that title.

(ii)

Members of Committee

Clause (i) does not apply to members of the Committee.

(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 no fewer 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.

6.

Duties of the Committee

The Committee shall—

(1)

consistent with the guidelines described in section 8—

(A)

evaluate applications from government or nonprofit organizations qualified to hold conservation easements for funds to purchase land or development rights for stewardship sites;

(B)

evaluate applications to develop and implement management plans to address threats;

(C)

evaluate applications to act on opportunities to protect and enhance stewardship sites; and

(D)

recommend that the Administrator award grants to qualified applicants;

(2)

recommend guidelines, criteria, schedules, and due dates for evaluating information to identify stewardship sites;

(3)

publish a list of sites that further the purposes of this Act, provided that owners of sites shall be—

(A)

notified prior to the publication of the list; and

(B)

allowed to decline inclusion on the list;

(4)

raise awareness of the values of and threats to these sites; and

(5)

leverage additional resources for improved stewardship of the Region.

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

(A)

In general

Subject to subparagraph (C), on request of the Chairperson of the Committee, the head of a Federal agency shall provide the information requested by the Chairperson to the Committee.

(B)

Administration

The furnishing of information by a Federal agency to the Committee shall not be considered a waiver of any exemption available to the agency under section 552 of title 5, United States Code.

(C)

Information to be kept confidential

(i)

In general

For purposes of section 1905 of title 18, United States Code—

(I)

the Committee shall be considered an agency of the Federal Government; and

(II)

any individual employed by an individual, entity, or organization that is a party to a contract with the Committee under this Act shall be considered an employee of the Committee.

(ii)

Prohibition on disclosure

Information obtained by the Committee, other than information that is available to the public, shall not be disclosed to any person in any manner except to an employee of the Committee as described in clause (i) for the purpose of receiving, reviewing, or processing the information.

(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)

Donations

The Committee may accept, use, and dispose of donations of services or property that advance the goals of the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative.

8.

Stewardship sites

(a)

Initial sites

(1)

Identification

(A)

In general

The Committee shall identify 20 initial Long Island Sound stewardship sites that the Committee has determined—

(i)

(I)

are natural resource-based recreation areas; or

(II)

are exemplary natural areas with ecological value; and

(ii)

best promote the purposes of this Act.

(B)

Exemption

Sites described in subparagraph (A) are not subject to the site identification process described in subsection (d).

(2)

Equitable distribution of funds for initial sites

In identifying initial sites under paragraph (1), the Committee shall exert due diligence to recommend an equitable distribution of funds between the States for the initial sites.

(b)

Application for identification as a stewardship site

Subsequent to the identification of the initial stewardship sites under subsection (a), owners of sites may submit applications to the Committee in accordance with subsection (c) to have the sites identified as stewardship sites.

(c)

Identification

The Committee shall review applications submitted by owners of potential stewardship sites to determine whether the sites should be identified as exhibiting values consistent with the purposes of this Act.

(d)

Site identification process

(1)

Natural resource-based recreation areas

The Committee shall identify additional recreation areas with potential as stewardship sites using a selection technique that includes—

(A)

public access;

(B)

community support;

(C)

areas with high population density;

(D)

environmental justice (as defined in section 385.3 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations));

(E)

connectivity to existing protected areas and open spaces;

(F)

cultural, historic, and scenic areas; and

(G)

other criteria developed by the Committee.

(2)

Natural areas with ecological value

The Committee shall identify additional natural areas with ecological value and potential as stewardship sites—

(A)

based on measurable conservation targets for the Region; and

(B)

following a process for prioritizing new sites using systematic site selection, which shall include—

(i)

ecological uniqueness;

(ii)

species viability;

(iii)

habitat heterogeneity;

(iv)

size;

(v)

quality;

(vi)

connectivity to existing protected areas and open spaces;

(vii)

land cover;

(viii)

scientific, research, or educational value;

(ix)

threats; and

(x)

other criteria developed by the Committee.

(3)

Publication of list

After completion of the site identification process, the Committee shall—

(A)

publish in the Federal Register a list of sites that further the purposes of this Act; and

(B)

prior to publication of the list, provide to owners of the sites to be published—

(i)

a notification of publication; and

(ii)

an opportunity to decline inclusion of the site of the owner on the list.

(4)

Deviation from process

(A)

In general

The Committee may identify as a potential stewardship site, a site that does not meet the criteria in paragraph (1) or (2), or reject a site selected under paragraph (1) or (2), if the Committee—

(i)

selects a site that makes significant ecological or recreational contributions to the Region;

(ii)

publishes the reasons that the Committee decided to deviate from the systematic site selection process; and

(iii)

before identifying or rejecting the potential stewardship site, provides to the owners of the site the notification of publication, and the opportunity to decline inclusion of the site on the list published under paragraph (3)(A), described in paragraph (3)(B).

(5)

Public comment

In identifying potential stewardship sites, the Committee shall consider public comments.

(e)

General guidelines for management

(1)

In general

The Committee shall use an adaptive management framework to identify the best policy initiatives and actions through—

(A)

definition of strategic goals;

(B)

definition of policy options for methods to achieve strategic goals;

(C)

establishment of measures of success;

(D)

identification of uncertainties;

(E)

development of informative models of policy implementation;

(F)

separation of the landscape into geographic units;

(G)

monitoring key responses at different spatial and temporal scales; and

(H)

evaluation of outcomes and incorporation into management strategies.

(2)

Application of adaptive management framework

The Committee shall apply the adaptive management framework to the process for updating the list of recommended stewardship sites.

9.

Reports

(a)

In general

For each of fiscal years 2006 through 2013, the Committee shall submit to the Administrator an annual report that contains—

(1)

a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the Committee since the last report;

(2)

a description of all sites recommended by the Committee to be approved as stewardship sites;

(3)

the recommendations of the Committee for such legislation and administrative actions as the Committee considers appropriate; and

(4)

in accordance with subsection (b), the recommendations of the Committee for the awarding of grants.

(b)

General guidelines for recommendations

(1)

In general

The Committee shall recommend that the Administrator award grants 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 sustained, including entering into an arrangement with a land manager or owner to develop or implement an approved management plan that is necessary for the conservation of natural resources.

(2)

Equitable distribution of funds

The Committee shall exert due diligence to recommend an equitable distribution of funds between the States.

(c)

Action by the Administrator

(1)

In general

Not later than 90 days after receiving a report under subsection (a), the Administrator shall—

(A)

review the recommendations of the Committee; and

(B)

take actions consistent with the recommendations of the Committee, including the approval of identified stewardship sites and the award of grants, unless the Administrator makes a finding that any recommendation is unwarranted by the facts.

(2)

Report

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall develop and publish a report that—

(A)

assesses the current resources of and threats to Long Island Sound;

(B)

assesses the role of the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative in protecting Long Island Sound;

(C)

establishes guidelines, criteria, schedules, and due dates for evaluating information to identify stewardship sites;

(D)

includes information about any grants that are available for the purchase of land or property rights to protect stewardship sites;

(E)

accounts for funds received and expended during the previous fiscal year;

(F)

shall be made available to the public on the Internet and in hardcopy form; and

(G)

shall be updated at least every other year, except that information on funding and any new stewardship sites identified shall be published more frequently.

10.

Private property protection

(a)

Access to private property

Nothing in this Act—

(1)

requires any private property owner to allow public access (including Federal, State, or local government access) to the private property; or

(2)

modifies any provision of Federal, State, or local law with regard to public access to or use of private property, except as entered into by voluntary agreement of the owner or custodian of the property.

(b)

Liability

Approval of the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Region does not create any liability, or have any effect on any liability under any other law, of any private property owner with respect to any person injured on the private property.

(c)

Recognition of authority to control land use

Nothing in this Act modifies the authority of Federal, State, or local governments to regulate land use.

(d)

Participation of private property owners in the Long Island Sound Stewardship Initiative Region

Nothing in this Act requires the owner of any private property located within the boundaries of the Region to participate in or be associated with the Initiative.

(e)

Effect of establishment

(1)

In general

The boundaries approved for the Region represent the area within which Federal funds appropriated for the purpose of this Act may be expended.

(2)

Regulatory authority

The establishment of the Region and the boundaries of the Region does not provide any regulatory authority not in existence on the date of enactment of this Act on land use in the Region by any management entity, except for such property rights as may be purchased from or donated by the owner of the property (including the Federal Government or a State or local government, if applicable).

11.

Authorization of appropriations

(a)

In general

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2013.

(b)

Use of funds

For each fiscal year, funds made available under subsection (a) shall be used by the Administrator, after reviewing the recommendations of the Committee submitted under section 9, for—

(1)

acquisition of land and interests in land;

(2)

development and implementation of site management plans;

(3)

site enhancements to reduce threats or promote stewardship; and

(4)

administrative expenses of the Committee.

(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.

12.

Long Island Sound authorization of appropriations

Section 119(f) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1269(f)) is amended by striking 2005 each place it appears and inserting 2009.

13.

Termination of Committee

The Committee shall terminate on December 31, 2013.