Promoting United Government Efforts to Save Our Sound Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2247 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 10, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works AN ACT To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to pro- vide assistance for programs and activities to protect the water quality of Puget Sound, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2247 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting United Gov- 2 ernment Efforts to Save Our Sound Act’’ or the ‘‘PUGET 3 SOS Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. PUGET SOUND COORDINATED RECOVERY. 5 Title I of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 6 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 7 the following: 8 ‘‘SEC. 124. PUGET SOUND. 9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 10 definitions apply: 11 ‘‘(1) COASTAL NONPOINT POLLUTION CONTROL 12 PROGRAM.—The term ‘Coastal Nonpoint Pollution 13 Control Program’ means the State of Washington’s 14 Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program ap- 15 proved by the Secretary of Commerce as required 16 under section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reau- 17 thorization Amendments of 1990. 18 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 19 the Director of the Program Office. 20 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL ACTION PLAN.—The term ‘Fed- 21 eral Action Plan’ means the plan developed under 22 subsection (d)(2)(B). 23 ‘‘(4) INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION.—The 24 term ‘International Joint Commission’ means the 25 International Joint Commission established by the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2247 RFS United States and Canada under the International 1 Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 (36 Stat. 2448). 2 ‘‘(5) PACIFIC SALMON COMMISSION.—The term 3 ‘Pacific Salmon Commission’ means the Pacific 4 Salmon Commission established by the United 5 States and Canada under the Treaty between the 6 Government of the United States of America and 7 the Government of Canada Concerning Pacific Salm- 8 on, signed at Ottawa, January 28, 1985 (commonly 9 known as the ‘Pacific Salmon Treaty’). 10 ‘‘(6) PROGRAM OFFICE.—The term ‘Program 11 Office’ means the Puget Sound Recovery National 12 Program Office established by subsection (c). 13 ‘‘(7) PUGET SOUND ACTION AGENDA; ACTION 14 AGENDA.—The term ‘Puget Sound Action Agenda’ 15 or ‘Action Agenda’ means the most recent plan de- 16 veloped by the Puget Sound National Estuary Pro- 17 gram Management Conference, in consultation with 18 the Puget Sound Tribal Management Conference, 19 and approved by the Administrator as the com- 20 prehensive conservation and management plan for 21 Puget Sound under section 320. 22 ‘‘(8) PUGET SOUND FEDERAL LEADERSHIP 23 TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Puget Sound Federal 24 Leadership Task Force’ means the Puget Sound 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2247 RFS Federal Leadership Task Force established under 1 subsection (d). 2 ‘‘(9) PUGET SOUND FEDERAL TASK FORCE.— 3 The term ‘Puget Sound Federal Task Force’ means 4 the Puget Sound Federal Task Force established in 5 2016 under a memorandum of understanding among 6 9 Federal agencies. 7 ‘‘(10) PUGET SOUND NATIONAL ESTUARY PRO- 8 GRAM MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE; MANAGEMENT 9 CONFERENCE.—The term ‘Puget Sound National 10 Estuary Program Management Conference’ or ‘Man- 11 agement Conference’ means the management con- 12 ference for Puget Sound convened pursuant to sec- 13 tion 320. 14 ‘‘(11) PUGET SOUND PARTNERSHIP.—The term 15 ‘Puget Sound Partnership’ means the State agency 16 that is established under the laws of the State of 17 Washington (section 90.71.210 of the Revised Code 18 of Washington), or its successor agency, that has 19 been designated by the Administrator as the lead en- 20 tity to support the Puget Sound National Estuary 21 Program Management Conference. 22 ‘‘(12) PUGET SOUND REGION.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Puget 24 Sound region’ means the land and waters in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2247 RFS northwest corner of the State of Washington 1 from the Canadian border to the north to the 2 Pacific Ocean on the west, including Hood 3 Canal and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 4 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘Puget Sound 5 region’ includes all of the water that falls on 6 the Olympic and Cascade Mountains and flows 7 to meet Puget Sound’s marine waters. 8 ‘‘(13) PUGET SOUND TRIBAL MANAGEMENT 9 CONFERENCE.—The term ‘Puget Sound Tribal Man- 10 agement Conference’ means the 20 treaty Indian 11 tribes of western Washington and the Northwest In- 12 dian Fisheries Commission. 13 ‘‘(14) SALISH SEA.—The term ‘Salish Sea’ 14 means the network of coastal waterways on the west 15 coast of North America that includes the Puget 16 Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan 17 de Fuca. 18 ‘‘(15) SALMON RECOVERY PLANS.—The term 19 ‘Salmon Recovery Plans’ means the recovery plans 20 for salmon and steelhead species approved by the 21 Secretary of the Interior under section 4(f) of the 22 Endangered Species Act of 1973. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2247 RFS ‘‘(16) STATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The 1 term ‘State Advisory Committee’ means the advisory 2 committee established by subsection (e). 3 ‘‘(17) TREATY RIGHTS AT RISK INITIATIVE.— 4 The term ‘Treaty Rights at Risk Initiative’ means 5 the report from the treaty Indian tribes of western 6 Washington entitled ‘Treaty Rights at Risk: Ongo- 7 ing Habitat Loss, the Decline of the Salmon Re- 8 source, and Recommendations for Change’ and 9 dated July 14, 2011, or its successor report, which 10 outlines issues and offers solutions for the protection 11 of Tribal treaty rights, recovery of salmon habitat, 12 and management of sustainable treaty and nontreaty 13 salmon fisheries, including through tribal salmon 14 hatchery programs. 15 ‘‘(b) CONSISTENCY.—All Federal agencies rep- 16 resented on the Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task 17 Force shall act consistently with the protection of Tribal, 18 treaty-reserved rights and, to the greatest extent prac- 19 ticable given such agencies’ existing obligations under 20 Federal law, act consistently with the objectives and prior- 21 ities of the Action Agenda, Salmon Recovery Plans, the 22 Treaty Rights at Risk Initiative, and the Coastal Nonpoint 23 Pollution Control Program, when— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 2247 RFS ‘‘(1) conducting Federal agency activities within 1 or outside Puget Sound that affect any land or 2 water use or natural resources of Puget Sound and 3 its tributary waters, including activities performed 4 by a contractor for the benefit of a Federal agency; 5 ‘‘(2) interpreting and enforcing regulations that 6 impact the restoration and protection of Puget 7 Sound; 8 ‘‘(3) issuing Federal licenses or permits that 9 impact the restoration and protection of Puget 10 Sound; and 11 ‘‘(4) granting Federal assistance to State, local, 12 and Tribal governments for activities related to the 13 restoration and protection of Puget Sound. 14 ‘‘(c) PUGET SOUND RECOVERY NATIONAL PROGRAM 15 OFFICE.— 16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 17 the Environmental Protection Agency a Puget 18 Sound Recovery National Program Office to be lo- 19 cated in the State of Washington. 20 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 22 Program Office shall be a career reserved posi- 23 tion, as such term is defined in section 24 3132(a)(8) of title 5, United States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 2247 RFS ‘‘(B) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Director of 1 the Program Office shall have leadership and 2 project management experience and shall be 3 highly qualified to— 4 ‘‘(i) direct the integration of multiple 5 project planning efforts and programs 6 from different agencies and jurisdictions; 7 and 8 ‘‘(ii) align numerous, and often con- 9 flicting, needs toward implementing a 10 shared Action Agenda with visible and 11 measurable outcomes. 12 ‘‘(3) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY; STAFFING.— 13 Using amounts made available pursuant to sub- 14 section (i), the Administrator shall delegate to the 15 Director such authority and provide such staff as 16 may be necessary to carry out this section. 17 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The Director shall— 18 ‘‘(A) coordinate and manage the timely 19 execution of the requirements of this section, 20 including the formation and meetings of the 21 Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task Force; 22 ‘‘(B) coordinate activities related to the 23 restoration and protection of Puget Sound 24 across the Environmental Protection Agency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 2247 RFS ‘‘(C) coordinate and align the activities of 1 the Administrator with the Action Agenda, 2 Salmon Recovery Plans, the Treaty Rights at 3 Risk Initiative, and the Coastal Nonpoint Pollu- 4 tion Control Program; 5 ‘‘(D) promote the efficient use of Environ- 6 mental Protection Agency resources in pursuit 7 of Puget Sound restoration and protection; 8 ‘‘(E) serve on the Puget Sound Federal 9 Leadership Task Force and collaborate with, 10 help coordinate, and implement activities with 11 other Federal agencies that have responsibilities 12 involving Puget Sound restoration and protec- 13 tion; 14 ‘‘(F) provide or procure such other advice, 15 technical assistance, research, assessments, 16 monitoring, or other support as is determined 17 by the Director to be necessary or prudent to 18 most efficiently and effectively fulfill the objec- 19 tives and priorities of the Action Agenda, Salm- 20 on Recovery Plans, the Treaty Rights at Risk 21 Initiative, and the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution 22 Control Program consistent with the best avail- 23 able science and to ensure the health of the 24 Puget Sound ecosystem; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 2247 RFS ‘‘(G) track the progress of the Environ- 1 mental Protection Agency towards meeting the 2 Agency’s specified objectives and priorities with- 3 in the Action Agenda and the Federal Action 4 Plan; 5 ‘‘(H) implement the recommendations of 6 the Comptroller General, set forth in the report 7 entitled ‘Puget Sound Restoration: Additional 8 Actions Could Improve Assessments of 9 Progress’ and dated July 19, 2018; 10 ‘‘(I) serve as liaison and coordinate activi- 11 ties for the restoration and protection of the 12 Salish Sea, with Canadian authorities, the Pa- 13 cific Salmon Commission, and the International 14 Joint Commission; and 15 ‘‘(J) carry out such additional duties as 16 the Administrator determines necessary and ap- 17 propriate. 18 ‘‘(d) PUGET SOUND FEDERAL LEADERSHIP TASK 19 FORCE.— 20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 21 Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task Force. 22 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.— 23 ‘‘(A) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Puget 24 Sound Federal Leadership Task Force shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 2247 RFS ‘‘(i) uphold Federal trust responsibil- 1 ities to restore and protect resources cru- 2 cial to Tribal treaty rights, including by 3 carrying out government-to-government 4 consultation with Indian tribes when re- 5 quested by such tribes; 6 ‘‘(ii) provide a venue for dialogue and 7 coordination across all Federal agencies on 8 the Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task 9 Force to align Federal resources for the 10 purposes of carrying out the requirements 11 of this section and all other Federal laws 12 that contribute to the restoration and pro- 13 tection of Puget Sound, including by— 14 ‘‘(I) enabling and encouraging 15 the Federal agencies represented on 16 the Puget Sound Federal Leadership 17 Task Force to act consistently with 18 the objectives and priorities of the Ac- 19 tion Agenda, Salmon Recovery Plans, 20 the Treaty Rights at Risk Initiative, 21 and the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution 22 Control Program; 23 ‘‘(II) facilitating the coordination 24 of Federal activities that impact the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 2247 RFS restoration and protection of Puget 1 Sound; 2 ‘‘(III) facilitating the delivery of 3 feedback given by Federal agencies to 4 the Puget Sound Partnership during 5 the development of the Action Agen- 6 da; 7 ‘‘(IV) facilitating the resolution 8 of interagency conflicts associated 9 with the restoration and protection of 10 Puget Sound among the agencies rep- 11 resented on the Puget Sound Federal 12 Leadership Task Force; 13 ‘‘(V) providing a forum for ex- 14 changing information among agencies 15 regarding activities being conducted, 16 including obstacles or efficiencies 17 found, during Puget Sound restora- 18 tion and protection activities; and 19 ‘‘(VI) promoting the efficient use 20 of government resources in pursuit of 21 Puget Sound restoration and protec- 22 tion through coordination and collabo- 23 ration, including by ensuring that the 24 Federal efforts relating to the science 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2247.RFS H2247 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 HR 2247 RFS necessary for restoration and protec- 1 tion of Puget Sound are consistent, 2 and not duplicative, across the Fed- 3 eral Government; 4 ‘‘(iii) catalyze public leaders at all lev- 5 els to work together toward shared goals 6 by demonstrating interagency best prac- 7 tices coming from the members of the 8 Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task 9 Force; 10 ‘‘(iv) provide advice and support on 11 scientific and technical issues and act as [Text truncated for display. 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