H.R. 1053 (111th): Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act of 2009

Introduced:
Feb 12, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Rep. Robert Wittman [R-VA1]
Status:
Died (Passed House)
See Instead:
This bill was re-introduced as H.R. 258 (112th) on Jan 07, 2011.

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on September 30, 2009 but was never passed by the Senate.

Progress
Introduced Feb 12, 2009
Referred to Committee Feb 12, 2009
Reported by Committee Feb 12, 2009
Referred to Committee Feb 20, 2009
Reported by Committee Jul 29, 2009
Passed House Sep 30, 2009
Votes

House Vote on Passage
Sep 30, 2009 3:21 p.m.
Passed 418/1

Cosponsors
11 cosponsors (6D, 5R) (show)
Committees

House Natural Resources

House Transportation and Infrastructure

Senate Environment and Public Works

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To require the Office of Management and Budget to prepare a crosscut budget for restoration activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, to require the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and implement an adaptive management plan, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Oct 01, 2009.
10 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

9/30/2009--Passed House amended.
Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act of 2009 - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the Chesapeake Executive Council, the chief executive of each Chesapeake Bay state, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission, to submit to Congress a financial report containing:
(1) an interagency crosscut budget for restoration activities that protect, conserve, or restore living resources, habitat, water resources, or water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
(2) an accounting of funds received and obligated by all federal agencies for restoration activities;
(3) an accounting from each state of all funds received and obligated from a federal agency for restoration activities; and
(4) a description of each of the proposed federal and state restoration activities.
Requires:
(1) such report to describe only federal restoration activities that have funding amounts of at least $100,000 and state restoration activities that have funding amounts of at least $50,000; and
(2) the Director to submit the report no later than 30 days after the submission of the President's annual budget to Congress. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and update every three years an adaptive management plan for restoration activities in the Chesapeake Bay waterhsed that includes:
(1) a definition of specific and measurable objectives to improve water quality, habitat, and fisheries;
(2) a process for stakeholder participation;
(3) monitoring, modeling, experimentation, and other research and evaluation practices;
(4) a process for modification of restoration activities that have not attained or will not attain such objectives; and
(5) a process for prioritizing restoration activities and programs to which adaptive management shall be applied.
Sets forth reporting requirements.
Requires the Administrator to report annually to Congress on the Plan. Requires an Independent Evaluator for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, who shall review and report to Congress every three years on restoration activities and the use of adaptive management in such activities.
Requires the Evaluator to be appointed by the Administrator from among nominees submitted by the Chesapeake Executive Council.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr1053.

Background

The Chesapeake Bay Program is a federal and State partnership that participates in restoration projects on the Chesapeake Bay.  The program is administered by the EPA and includes the States of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and the District of Columbia.  The program was created in 1983 when each of the participating States, the District of Columbia, and the EPA signed the Chesapeake Bay Agreement.  The program provides grants to local governments and non-profit organizations that conduct restorative, scientific, and education projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and tributaries.  According to their website, since 1995, EPA funding of the Bay Program Office has remained steady at about $20 million annually.

For more information on the program, visit its website: http://www.chesapeakebay.net/.

 

Summary

H.R. 1053 would require the Director of the Environment Protection Agency's (EPA) Chesapeake Bay Program, in consultation with the Chesapeake Executive Council, the chief executive of each Chesapeake Bay State, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission, to submit a financial report to Congress. The bill would require the report to display the proposed funding for federal restoration activities, the estimated State funding level for any restoration activities, and the State and federal expenditures for restoration activities over the past three years.

H.R. 1053 would require that the report provide a detailed accounting of all federal funds obligated for restoration projects and a description of the project and its current status. The EPA would only have to report on federal projects that cost more than $100,000 and State projects that cost more than $50,000. The report would be required within 30 days of the submission of the President's annual budget.

After the report is submitted, H.R. 1053 would require the EPA Administrator to develop a management plan for the Chesapeake Bay Program and to base all project and program decisions on an ongoing, consistent, and science-based process designed in the management plan. The Administrator would be required to submit and implement the plan within one year. The Administration would have to review and update the management plan every three years.

 

Cost

According to CBO, H.R. 1053 would cost $1 million in FY 2010 and approximately $500,000 in each subsequent year for the EPA to develop the report and implement the new management plan.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

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United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)