§1269. Long Island Sound
(a) Office of Management Conference of the Long Island Sound Study
The Administrator shall continue the Management Conference of the Long Island Sound Study (hereinafter referred to as the "Conference") as established pursuant to section 1330 of this title, and shall establish an office (hereinafter referred to as the "Office") to be located on or near Long Island Sound.
(b) Administration and staffing of Office
The Office shall be headed by a Director, who shall be detailed by the Administrator, following consultation with the Administrators of EPA regions I and II, from among the employees of the Agency who are in civil service. The Administrator shall delegate to the Director such authority and detail such additional staff as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Director under this section.
(c) Duties of Office
The Office shall assist the conference study in carrying out its goals. Specifically, the Office shall-
(1) assist and support the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Long Island Sound developed pursuant to section 1330 of this title, including efforts to establish, within the process for granting watershed general permits, a system for promoting innovative methodologies and technologies that are cost-effective and consistent with the goals of the Plan;
(2) conduct or commission studies deemed necessary for strengthened implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan including, but not limited to-
(A) population growth and the adequacy of wastewater treatment facilities;
(B) the use of biological methods for nutrient removal in sewage treatment plants;
(C) contaminated sediments, and dredging activities;
(D) nonpoint source pollution abatement and land use activities in the Long Island Sound watershed;
(E) wetland protection and restoration;
(F) atmospheric deposition of acidic and other pollutants into Long Island Sound;
(G) water quality requirements to sustain fish, shellfish, and wildlife populations, and the use of indicator species to assess environmental quality;
(H) State water quality programs, for their adequacy pursuant to implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan;
(I) options for long-term financing of wastewater treatment projects and water pollution control programs;
(J) environmental vulnerabilities of the Long Island Sound watershed, including-
(i) the identification and assessment of such vulnerabilities in the watershed;
(ii) the development and implementation of adaptation strategies to reduce such vulnerabilities; and
(iii) the identification and assessment of the effects of sea level rise on water quality, habitat, and infrastructure; and 1
(3) coordinate the grant, research and planning programs authorized under this section;
(4) develop and implement strategies to increase public education and awareness with respect to the ecological health and water quality conditions of Long Island Sound;
(5) provide administrative and technical support to the conference study;
(6) collect and make available to the public (including on a publicly accessible website) publications, and other forms of information the conference study determines to be appropriate, relating to the environmental quality of Long Island Sound;
(7) monitor the progress made toward meeting the identified goals, actions, and schedules of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, including through the implementation and support of a monitoring system for the ecological health and water quality conditions of Long Island Sound; and
(8) convene conferences and meetings for legislators from State governments and political subdivisions thereof for the purpose of making recommendations for coordinating legislative efforts to facilitate the environmental restoration of Long Island Sound and the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.
(d) Grants
(1) The Administrator is authorized to make grants for projects and studies which will help implement the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Special emphasis shall be given to implementation, research and planning, enforcement, and citizen involvement and education.
(2) State, interstate, and regional water pollution control agencies, and other public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, and organizations held to be eligible for grants pursuant to this subsection.
(3) Citizen involvement and citizen education grants under this subsection shall not exceed 95 per centum of the costs of such work. All other grants under this subsection shall not exceed 60 percent of the research, studies, or work. All grants shall be made on the condition that the non-Federal share of such costs are provided from non-Federal sources.
(e) Assistance to distressed communities
(1) Eligible communities
For the purposes of this subsection, a distressed community is any community that meets affordability criteria established by the State in which the community is located, if such criteria are developed after public review and comment.
(2) Priority
In making assistance available under this section for the upgrading of wastewater treatment facilities, the Administrator may give priority to a distressed community.
(f) Report
(1) In general
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the Director of the Office, in consultation with the Governor of each Long Island Sound State, shall submit to Congress a report that-
(A) summarizes and assesses the progress made by the Office and the Long Island Sound States in implementing the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, including an assessment of the progress made toward meeting the performance goals and milestones contained in the Plan;
(B) assesses the key ecological attributes that reflect the health of the ecosystem of the Long Island Sound watershed;
(C) describes any substantive modifications to the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan made during the 2-year period preceding the date of submission of the report;
(D) provides specific recommendations to improve progress in restoring and protecting the Long Island Sound watershed, including, as appropriate, proposed modifications to the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan;
(E) identifies priority actions for implementation of the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the 2-year period following the date of submission of the report; and
(F) describes the means by which Federal funding and actions will be coordinated with the actions of the Long Island Sound States and other entities.
(2) Public availability
The Administrator shall make the report described in paragraph (1) available to the public, including on a publicly accessible website.
(g) Federal entities
(1) Coordination
The Administrator shall coordinate the actions of all Federal departments and agencies that affect water quality in the Long Island Sound watershed in order to improve the water quality and living resources of the watershed.
(2) Methods
In carrying out this section, the Administrator, acting through the Director of the Office, may-
(A) enter into interagency agreements; and
(B) make intergovernmental personnel appointments.
(4) Consistency with comprehensive conservation and management plan
To the maximum extent practicable, the head of each Federal department or agency that owns or occupies real property, or carries out activities, within the Long Island Sound watershed shall ensure that the property and all activities carried out by the department or agency are consistent with the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (including any related subsequent agreements and plans).
(h) Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
(June 30, 1948, ch. 758, title I, §119, as added
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The date of enactment of this Act, referred to in subsec. (f)(1), probably means the date of enactment of
Amendments
2018-Subsec. (c).
Subsec. (c)(2).
Subsec. (c)(4).
Subsec. (c)(5).
Subsec. (c)(6).
Subsec. (c)(7).
Subsec. (d)(3).
Subsecs. (f), (g).
Subsec. (h).
2005-Subsec. (f).
2000-Subsec. (c)(1).
Subsec. (e).
Subsec. (f).
1996-Subsec. (e).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Long Island Sound Stewardship
"SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
"This Act may be cited as the 'Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2006'.
"SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
"(a)
"(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, diked, or impounded, reducing the ecological value of the marshes; and
"(8) much of the remaining exemplary natural landscape is vulnerable to further development.
"(b)
"SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
"In this Act, the following definitions apply:
"(1)
"(2)
"(3)
"(4)
"(5)
"(6)
"(7)
"(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 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)
"(9)
"SEC. 4. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE REGION.
"(a)
"(b)
"(1) Long Island Sound between mean high water and the inland boundary, as described on the map entitled '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' and included in the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the Peconic Estuary Program and dated November 15, 2001.
"SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF STEWARDSHIP SITES.
"(a)
"(b)
"(1) publish in the Federal Register and make available in general circulation in the States of Connecticut and New York the list of sites recommended by the Advisory Committee; and
"(2) provide a 90-day period for-
"(A) the submission of public comment on the list; and
"(B) an opportunity for owners of such sites to decline designation of such sites as stewardship sites.
"(c)
"(d)
"(1) shall review the recommendations of the Advisory Committee; and
"(2) may designate as a stewardship site any site included in the list.
"SEC. 6. RECOMMENDATIONS BY ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
"(a)
"(1) in accordance with this section, evaluate applications-
"(A) for designation of areas as stewardship sites;
"(B) to develop management plans to address threats to stewardship sites; and
"(C) to act on opportunities to protect and enhance stewardship sites;
"(2) develop recommended guidelines, criteria, schedules, and due dates for the submission of applications and the evaluation by the Advisory Committee of information to recommend areas for designation as stewardship sites that fulfill terms of a multi-year management plan;
"(3) recommend to the Administrator a list of sites for designation as stewardship sites that further the purpose of this Act;
"(4) develop management plans to address threats to stewardship sites;
"(5) raise awareness of the values of and threats to stewardship sites;
"(6) recommend that the Administrator award grants to qualified applicants; and
"(7) recommend to the Administrator ways to leverage additional resources for improved stewardship of the Region.
"(b)
"(1)
"(2)
"(3)
"(A) public access;
"(B) community support;
"(C) high population density;
"(D) environmental justice (as defined in section 385.3 of title 33, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations));
"(E) open spaces; and
"(F) cultural, historic, and scenic characteristics.
"(4)
"(A) measurable conservation targets for the Region; and
"(B) prioritizing new sites using systematic site selection, which shall include consideration of-
"(i) ecological uniqueness;
"(ii) species viability;
"(iii) habitat heterogeneity;
"(iv) size;
"(v) quality;
"(vi) open spaces;
"(vii) land cover;
"(viii) scientific, research, or educational value; and
"(ix) threats.
"(5)
"(A) determines that the site makes significant ecological or recreational contributions to the Region; and
"(B) provides to the Administrator the reasons for deviating from the process otherwise described in this subsection.
"(c)
"(1)
"(2)
"(A) notified of the inclusion of the site in the list; and
"(B) allowed to decline inclusion of the site in the list.
"(3)
"SEC. 7. GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE.
"(a)
"(b)
"SEC. 8. LONG ISLAND SOUND STEWARDSHIP ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
"(a)
"(b)
"(1)
"(2)
"(A) a representative of the Regional Plan Association;
"(B) a representative of marine trade organizations; and
"(C) a representative of private landowner interests.
"(3)
"(A) Federal, State, and local government interests and tribal interests;
"(B) the interests of nongovernmental organizations;
"(C) academic interests;
"(D) private interests including land, agriculture, and business interests; and
"(E) recreational and commercial fishing interests.
"(4)
"(5)
"(A) [sic]
"(i) shall be filled not later than 90 days after the vacancy occurs;
"(ii) shall not affect the powers of the Advisory Committee; and
"(iii) shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment was made.
"(c)
"(1)
"(2)
"(d)
"(e)
"(1)
"(2)
"(3)
"(f)
"(1)
"(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)
"(3)
"(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.
"(g)
"SEC. 9. REPORTS.
"(a)
"(1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 16, 2006], a report that-
"(A) assesses the role of this Act in protecting the Long Island Sound;
"(B) establishes in coordination with the Advisory Committee guidelines, criteria, schedules, and due dates for evaluating information to designate stewardship sites;
"(C) includes information about any grants that are available for the purchase of land or property rights to protect stewardship sites; and
"(D) accounts for funds received and expended during the previous fiscal year;
"(2) an update of such report, at least every other year; and
"(3) information on funding and any new stewardship sites more frequently than every other year.
"(b)
"(1)
"(A) a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the Advisory Committee since the last report under this subsection;
"(B) a description of all sites recommended by the Advisory Committee to the Administrator for designation as stewardship sites;
"(C) the recommendations of the Advisory Committee for such legislation and administrative actions as the Advisory Committee considers appropriate; and
"(D) in accordance with paragraph (2), the recommendations of the Advisory Committee for the awarding of grants.
"(2)
"(A)
"(i) purchase of the property of a stewardship site;
"(ii) purchase of relevant property rights to a stewardship site; or
"(iii) entering into any other binding legal arrangement that ensures that the values of a stewardship site are sustained, including entering into an arrangement with a land manager or property owner to develop or implement a management plan that is necessary for the conservation of natural resources.
"(B)
"SEC. 10. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION; NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
"(a)
"(1) requires any private property owner to allow public access (including Federal, State, or local government access) to the private property; or
"(2) modifies the application of 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)
"(c)
"(d)
"(e)
"(f)
"(g)
"(1)
"(2)
"SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
"(a)
"(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 Advisory Committee and the Administrator.
"(b)
"(c)
"(d)