text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration 
  Act of 1999''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
  
      (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
              (1) the Lake Pontchartrain Basin forms one of the largest 
          natural estuaries in the continental United States;
              (2) the Basin drains an area of almost 5,000 square miles 
          from 16 Louisiana parishes and 4 Mississippi counties;
              (3) the ecology of the Basin provides the diverse essential 
          habitat that supports countless species of fish, birds, 
          mammals, and plants;
              (4) the extensive wetland of the Basin provides the primary 
          nursery for much of the seafood harvested in the Gulf Coast;
              (5) conditions resulting from urbanization, increasing 
          population growth and development, sewage and septic tank 
          discharges, animal waste, herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, 
          stormwater runoff, sediments from construction, and sewage from 
          fishing camps and residences should be addressed to improve the 
          environment and ecology of the Basin;
              (6) a major source of pollution in the Basin is raw or 
          partially treated human waste from--
                      (A) communities with poor sewer systems or without 
                  sewer systems; and
                      (B) septic tank systems that are not operating 
                  properly;
              (8) stormwater discharges that combine with effluent from 
          sanitary discharges from broken lines are channeled directly 
          into Lake Pontchartrain or adjacent bodies of water;
              (7) a number of local government agencies are working on 
          restoration efforts that have a direct impact on water quality 
          in the Basin, including the Department of Environmental Quality 
          of Louisiana, the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, 
          Jefferson Parish, and other governmental agencies;
              (8) a number of non-regulating organizations, such as the 
          Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and the University of New 
          Orleans, are playing substantial, essential roles in 
          restoration efforts;
              (9) the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, the University 
          of New Orleans, and the Regional Planning Commission for 
          Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany 
          Parishes, Louisiana, have entered into a memorandum of 
          understanding to better facilitate the restoration and 
          preservation of water quality and habitats throughout the 
          Basin; and
              (10) the programs and activities of the various Federal 
          agencies involved with administration of laws, programs, and 
          assets that affect the water quality of the Basin, including 
          the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of 
          Engineers, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the 
          Interior, and other agencies, lack coordination and sufficient 
          resources to measure and remediate water quality problems in 
          the Basin.
      (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
              (1) to coordinate the restoration efforts of Federal, 
          State, and local agencies and organizations in the restoration 
          of the Basin;
              (2) to establish the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration 
          Program in the office of the Environmental Protection Agency; 
          and
              (3) to authorize and provide resources for restoration 
          projects in the Basin.
  
  SEC. 3. LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN.
  
      Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 
  et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
  
  ``SEC. 121. LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN.
  
      ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
              ``(1) Basin.--The term `Basin' means the Lake Pontchartrain 
          Basin located in the State of Louisiana.
              ``(2) Council.--The term `Council' means the Lake 
          Pontchartrain Executive Council established under subsection 
          (b)(3)(A).
              ``(3) Management plan--The term `management plan' means the 
          watershed management plan developed under subsection (b)(3)(B).
              ``(4) Program.--The term `program' means the Lake 
          Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program established under 
          subsection (b)(1).
      ``(b) Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program.--
              ``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the 
          date of enactment of this section, the Administrator shall 
          establish within the Environmental Protection Agency the Lake 
          Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program.
              ``(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the program shall be--
                      ``(A) to coordinate efforts among and provide 
                  resources to the various Federal, State, and local 
                  governmental agencies and nonregulatory organizations 
                  to reduce pollution in the Basin; and
                      ``(B) to restore the Basin to ecological health.
              ``(3) Administration.--
                      ``(A) Lake pontchartrain executive council.--Not 
                  later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
                  section, the Administrator shall establish the Lake 
                  Pontchartrain Executive Council, to be composed of--
                              ``(i) the Administrator;
                              ``(ii) the Governor of the State of 
                          Louisiana;
                              ``(iii) the Chairman of the Regional 
                          Planning Commission;
                              ``(iv) the Chancellor of the University of 
                          New Orleans; and
                              ``(v) the Executive Director of the Lake 
                          Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.
                      ``(B) Management plan.--
                              ``(i) In general.--Not later than 180 days 
                          after the date of enactment of this section, 
                          the Administrator, in cooperation with 
                          appropriate Federal, State, and local 
                          authorities, shall assist the Council in 
                          developing a comprehensive, multiuse, watershed 
                          management plan for the restoration and 
                          protection of the Basin.
                              ``(ii) Assistance.--Assistance provided by 
                          the Administrator under subparagraph (A) shall 
                          include grants for and technical assistance 
                          in--
                                      ``(I) developing an annual work 
                                  plan endorsed by the Council;
                                      ``(II) supporting Basin-wide 
                                  environmental monitoring and research 
                                  to provide technical and scientific 
                                  information necessary to support 
                                  management decisions;
                                      ``(III) developing a comprehensive 
                                  research plan to address the technical 
                                  needs of the program; and
                                      ``(IV) recommending restoration 
                                  projects for implementation by the 
                                  State of Louisiana, parishes, and 
                                  nongovernmental entities.
      ``(c) Restoration Projects.--In accordance with the management 
  plan, the Administrator shall provide funding and oversight to carry 
  out voluntary restoration projects for the Basin that--
              ``(1) address human waste problems in the Basin by 
          providing a cost-sharing construction and education program 
          that offers incentives to parishes and local communities to 
          improve sewage treatment facilities and procedures (including 
          the continuation of funding for the inflow and infiltration 
          projects of Orleans and Jefferson Parishes, Louisiana);
              ``(2) provide critical assistance to agricultural operators 
          designed to address and curb agricultural runoff into the 
          Basin;
              ``(3) provide for the rerouting of discharges from selected 
          pumping stations through adjacent wetland, using existing 
          canals and small water control structures, in order to use 
          natural wetland to filter pollutants from urban stormwater;
              ``(4) improve Basin water quality--
                      ``(A) by eliminating discharges of raw or partially 
                  treated sewage from fishing camps and residences;
                      ``(B) where there are approved municipal or 
                  community sewage systems, by providing tie-ins from 
                  those systems for fishing camps and residences; and
                      ``(C) by establishing new sanitation and sewage 
                  systems where needed;
              ``(5) reverse the trend of decreasing acreage of coastal 
          wetland in the Basin by creating new sustainable wetland 
          habitat; and
              ``(6) retain the integrity of natural structural elements 
          in the coastal landscape, such as ridges and barrier islands, 
          in order to reduce storm surge impacts to essential habitats 
          and human infrastructure.
      ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
  appropriated such sums as are necessary, to remain available until 
  expended--
              ``(1) to continue to provide priority funding for the New 
          Orleans Inflow and Infiltration Project sponsored by the New 
          Orleans Sewerage and Water Board and Jefferson Parish, 
          Louisiana; and
              ``(2) to carry out subsections (b) and (c).''.
target: Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Program within EPA. 
  Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish the Lake Pontchartrain Executive Council; (2) assist the Council in developing a comprehensive, multi-use watershed management plan for the restoration and protection of the Basin; and (3) provide funding and oversight for voluntary restoration projects for the Basin. 
  Authorizes appropriations to: (1) continue to provide priority funding for the New Orleans Inflow and Infiltration Project sponsored by the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board and Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; and (2) carry out this Act.
feat_title: Lake Pontchartrain Basin Restoration Act of 1999