US Congress Senate Bill 2042 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: Introduced on February 26 2014 - 25% progression, died in chamber
Action: 2014-07-31 - Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 525.
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Clean Estuaries Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to reauthorize the National Estuary Program. Revises the purposes of management conferences convened with respect to estuaries. Requires a management conference's membership to include, among other entities, not-for-profit organizations. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) include in EPA's annual budget request a clear description of the amounts requested for making grants under the national estuary program; (2) evaluate, every five years, the implementation of each comprehensive conservation and management plan developed under the Program to determine the degree to which the goals of the plan have been met; (3) provide notice to the management conference of the basis of a finding that a plan in incomplete and allow the conference to resubmit a revised plan; (4) submit the results of the evaluation to the appropriate management conference for review and comment; and (5) report on the results of the evaluation and make such report available to the public in the Federal Register and on the Internet. Requires management conferences to update plans 18 months after they are evaluated. Authorizes the Administrator to consider a management conference to be in probationary status if the conference has not received approval for an updated plan within five years of the date of the evaluation's publication. Requires the Administrator to: (1) reduce a grant for the implementation of a plan developed by a management conference with probationary status; and (2) terminate a management conference and cease funding for the implementation of the plan if the conference has been in probationary status for two consecutive years. Requires, after the Administrator's approval of a plan for an estuary, any federal action or activity affecting such estuary to be conducted in a manner consistent with such plan. Makes EPA the lead coordinating agency for implementing plans. Requires an agency head, in making annual budget requests, to consider the agency's responsibilities under the Program. Repeals provisions authorizing the Administrator to give grants to individuals for the development and implementation of plans. Authorizes appropriations for grants and monitoring the administration of plans. Requires the Administrator to include measures to track the introduction and establishment of nonnative species within the trend assessment program that monitors variations in environmental parameters which may affect estuarine zones. Requires the Administrator to evaluate and report to the public on the Program every five years. Revises the definition of: (1) "estuary" to include near-coastal waters and other bodies of water within the Great Lakes similar in form and function to waters otherwise described in such definition; and (2) "estuarine zones" to include such waters and transitional areas, associated aquatic ecosystems, and those portions of tributaries.

Clean Estuaries Act of 2014

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]

Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]

Sen. David Vitter [R-LA]

Date	Chamber	Action
2014-07-31	Senate	Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 525.
2014-07-31	Senate	Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 113-239.
2014-04-03	Senate	Committee on Environment and Public Works. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
2014-02-26	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/2042/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/113/bills/s2042/BILLS-113s2042is.pdf
Text	https://www.congress.gov/113/bills/s2042/BILLS-113s2042rs.pdf