text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
  
      (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Upper Mississippi 
  River Basin Protection Act''.
      (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
  follows:
  
  Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
  Sec. 2. Definitions.
  Sec. 3. Reliance on scientific knowledge.
             TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING NETWORK
  
  Sec. 101. Establishment of monitoring network.
  Sec. 102. Data collection and storage responsibilities.
  Sec. 103. Relationship to existing sediment and nutrient monitoring and 
                              assessment.
  Sec. 104. Collaboration with other public and private monitoring 
                              efforts.
  Sec. 105. Reporting requirements.
  Sec. 106. National research council assessment.
                  TITLE II--COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH
  
  Sec. 201. Computer modeling and research of sediment and nutrient 
                              sources.
  Sec. 202. Communication plan to distribute information.
  Sec. 203. Reporting requirements.
       TITLE III--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND RELATED MATTERS
  
  Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.
  Sec. 302. Cost-sharing requirements.
  
  SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
  
      In this Act:
              (1) The terms ``Upper Mississippi River Basin'' and 
          ``Basin'' mean the watershed portion of the Upper Mississippi 
          River and Illinois River basins, from Cairo, Illinois, to the 
          headwaters of the Mississippi River, in the States of 
          Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. The 
          designation includes the Kaskaskia watershed along the Illinois 
          River and the Meramec watershed along the Missouri River.
              (2) The terms ``Upper Mississippi River Stewardship 
          Initiative'' and ``Initiative'' mean the activities authorized 
          or required by this Act to monitor nutrients and sediment in 
          the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
  
  SEC. 3. RELIANCE ON SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE.
  
      Federal investments in the Upper Mississippi River Basin shall be 
  guided by accepted and documented scientific methods, including the use 
  of documented protocols for data collection and data analysis, and peer 
  review of data, results, and findings, and shall take into account the 
  results of studies using accepted and documented scientific methods to 
  identify and quantify the sources, transport, and fate of nutrients and 
  sediment and to quantify the effect of various treatment methods or 
  conservation measures on nutrient and sediment management.
  
             TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING NETWORK
  
  SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF MONITORING NETWORK.
  
      (a) Establishment.--As part of the Upper Mississippi River 
  Stewardship Initiative, the Secretary of the Interior shall establish a 
  sediment and nutrient monitoring network for the Upper Mississippi 
  River Basin for the purposes of--
              (1) identifying and quantifying significant sources of 
          sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin;
              (2) quantifying the processes affecting mobilization, 
          transport, and fate of those sediments and nutrients on land 
          and in water;
              (3) quantifying the transport of those sediments and 
          nutrients to and through the Upper Mississippi River Basin;
              (4) quantifying changes to sediment and nutrient 
          concentrations and loads over time; and
              (5) coordinating with other Federal, State, tribal, and 
          local agencies on the acquisition of data to be used in 
          computer modeling of the Basin, pursuant to section 201.
      (b) Role of United States Geological Survey.--The Secretary of the 
  Interior shall carry out this title acting through the office of the 
  Director of the United States Geological Survey.
  
  SEC. 102. DATA COLLECTION AND STORAGE RESPONSIBILITIES.
  
      (a) Guidelines for Data Collection and Storage.--The Secretary of 
  the Interior shall establish guidelines for the effective design of 
  data collection activities regarding sediment and nutrient monitoring, 
  for the use of suitable and consistent methods for data collection, and 
  for consistent reporting, data storage, and archiving practices.
      (b) Release of Data.--Data resulting from sediment and nutrient 
  monitoring and the compilation of ancillary information in the Upper 
  Mississippi River Basin shall be released to the public using generic 
  station identifiers and hydrologic unit codes. In the case of a 
  monitoring station located on private lands, information regarding the 
  location of the station shall not be disseminated without the 
  landowner's permission.
  
  SEC. 103. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING AND 
                ASSESSMENT.
  
      (a) Inventory.--To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of 
  the Interior shall inventory the sediment and nutrient monitoring 
  efforts in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act of 
  Federal, State, tribal, local, and nongovernmental entities for the 
  purpose of creating a baseline understanding of overlap, data gaps and 
  redundancies.
      (b) Integration.--On the basis of the inventory, the Secretary of 
  the Interior shall integrate the existing sediment and nutrient 
  monitoring efforts, to the maximum extent practicable, into the 
  sediment and nutrient monitoring network required by section 101.
      (c) Consultation and Use of Existing Data.--In carrying out this 
  section, the Secretary of the Interior shall make maximum use of data 
  in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act and of ongoing 
  programs and efforts of Federal, State, tribal, local, and 
  nongovernmental entities in developing the sediment and nutrient 
  monitoring network required by section 101.
      (d) Coordination With Long-Term Estuary Assessment Project.--The 
  Secretary of the Interior shall carry out this section in coordination 
  with the long-term estuary assessment project authorized by section 902 
  of the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-457; 33 
  U.S.C. 2901 note).
  
  SEC. 104. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MONITORING 
                EFFORTS.
  
      To establish the sediment and nutrient monitoring network, the 
  Secretary of the Interior shall collaborate, to the maximum extent 
  practicable, with other Federal, State, tribal, local and private 
  sediment and nutrient monitoring and assessment programs that meet 
  guidelines prescribed under section 102(a), as determined by the 
  Secretary.
  
  SEC. 105. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
  
      The Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress not later 
  than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act on the 
  development of the sediment and nutrient monitoring network.
  
  SEC. 106. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ASSESSMENT.
  
      The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences 
  shall conduct a comprehensive water resources assessment of the Upper 
  Mississippi River Basin within 3 years after the date of the enactment 
  of this Act.
  
                  TITLE II--COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH
  
  SEC. 201. COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH OF SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT 
                SOURCES.
  
      (a) Modeling Program Required.--As part of the Upper Mississippi 
  River Stewardship Initiative, the Director of the United States 
  Geological Survey shall develop and implement a plan to improve 
  existing water-quality models to identify and quantify significant 
  sources of sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin 
  at the subwatershed (12-digit Hydrologic Unit Code) scale.
      (b) Role.--Computer modeling shall be used to identify 
  subwatersheds which are significant sources of sediment and nutrients 
  and shall be made available for the purposes of targeting public and 
  private sediment and nutrient management efforts.
      (c) Components.--Sediment and nutrient models for the Upper 
  Mississippi River Basin shall--
              (1) relate nutrient sources to landscape, land use, and 
          land management practices;
              (2) relate sediment sources to landscape, land use, and 
          land management practices; and
              (3) quantify river channel nutrient and sediment transport 
          and transformation processes.
      (d) Collection of Ancillary Information.--Ancillary information 
  shall be collected, by remote sensing or other appropriate means, in a 
  GIS format to support modeling and management use of modeling results, 
  including the following:
              (1) Land use data.
              (2) Soils data.
              (3) Elevation data.
              (4) Hydrologic modifications.
              (5) Information on sediment and nutrient management actions 
          including conservation tillage practices and other Best 
          Management Practices.
              (6) Estimates of loads of nutrients from point sources and 
          key nonpoint sources, including commercial fertilizer, 
          applications of manure, geologic sources, and atmospheric 
          deposition.
  
  SEC. 202. COMMUNICATION PLAN TO DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION.
  
      Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
  Act, the Director of the United States Geological Survey shall 
  establish a communication plan that includes use of the Internet to 
  provide information including the following:
              (1) Accomplishments of public and private programs designed 
          to manage sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River 
          Basin.
              (2) Seasonal and annual concentrations and loads of 
          sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River and its 
          tributaries.
  
  SEC. 203. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
  
      (a) Monitoring Activities.--Commencing one year after the date of 
  the enactment of this Act, the Director of the United States Geological 
  Survey shall provide to Congress and make available to the public an 
  annual report that includes data and information on concentrations and 
  loads of nutrients and sediment derived from monitoring activities 
  conducted in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
      (b) Modeling Activities.--Every five years, the Director of the 
  United States Geological Survey shall provide to Congress and make 
  available to the public a progress report assessing changes in nutrient 
  and sediment concentrations and loads in relation to such factors as 
  climate variability and changes in land and water management practices.
  
       TITLE III--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND RELATED MATTERS
  
  SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  
      (a) United States Geological Survey Activities.--There is 
  authorized to be appropriated to the United States Geological Survey 
  $6,250,000 each fiscal year to carry out this Act (other than section 
  106).
      (b) Water Resource and Water Quality Management Assessment.--There 
  is authorized to be appropriated $650,000 to allow the National 
  Research Council to perform the assessment required by section 106.
  
  SEC. 302. COST-SHARING REQUIREMENTS.
  
      Funds made available for the United States Geological Survey 
  Cooperative Water Program under section 301(a) shall be subject to the 
  same cost-sharing requirements as specified in the last proviso under 
  the heading ``United States Geological Survey--surveys, investigations, 
  and research'' of the Department of the Interior, Environment, and 
  Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109-54; 119 Stat. 
  510; 43 U.S.C. 50).
target: Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act - Requires federal investments in the Upper Mississippi River Basin to be guided by accepted and documented scientific methods and to take into account the results of studies using such methods to identify and quantify the sources, transport, and fate of nutrients and sediment and to quantify the effect of treatment methods or conservation measures on nutrient and sediment management.
  
  Directs the Secretary of the Interior, as part of an Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative and acting through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), to establish a nutrient and sediment monitoring network for the Basin.
  
  Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish guidelines for related data collection and storage activities; (2) inventory the sediment and monitoring efforts of governmental, tribal, and nongovernmental entities for the purpose of creating a baseline understanding of overlap, data gaps, and redundancies; (3) integrate such monitoring efforts into the sediment and nutrient monitoring network; and (4) collaborate with other public, tribal, and private monitoring and assessment programs in establishing the monitoring network. Directs the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a water resources assessment of the Basin. Requires the Director of the USGS: (1) as part of the Initiative, to develop and implement a plan to improve existing water-quality models to identify and quantify significant sources of sediment and nutrients in the Basin at the subwatershed scale; (2) to establish a communication plan that includes use of the Internet to provide information on accomplishments of public and private programs designed to manage sediment and nutrients in the Basin and on seasonal and annual concentrations and loads of sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries; and (3) provide an annual report that includes information on concentrations and loads of nutrients and sediment derived from monitoring activities conducted in the Basin.
feat_title: To promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, and for other purposes.