§ 1270. — Lake Champlain Management Conference.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 33USC1270]
TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
CHAPTER 26--WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
SUBCHAPTER I--RESEARCH AND RELATED PROGRAMS
Sec. 1270. Lake Champlain Basin Program
(a) Establishment
(1) In general
There is established a Lake Champlain Management Conference to
develop a comprehensive pollution prevention, control, and
restoration plan for Lake Champlain. The Administrator shall convene
the management conference within ninety days of November 16, 1990.
(2) Implementation
The Administrator--
(A) may provide support to the State of Vermont, the State
of New York, and the New England Interstate Water Pollution
Control Commission for the implementation of the Lake Champlain
Basin Program; and
(B) shall coordinate actions of the Environmental Protection
Agency under subparagraph (A) with the actions of other
appropriate Federal agencies.
(b) Membership
The Members of the Management Conference shall be comprised of--
(1) the Governors of the States of Vermont and New York;
(2) each interested Federal agency, not to exceed a total of
five members;
(3) the Vermont and New York Chairpersons of the Vermont, New
York, Quebec Citizens Advisory Committee for the Environmental
Management of Lake Champlain;
(4) four representatives of the State legislature of Vermont;
(5) four representatives of the State legislature of New York;
(6) six persons representing local governments having
jurisdiction over any land or water within the Lake Champlain basin,
as determined appropriate by the Governors; and
(7) eight persons representing affected industries,
nongovernmental organizations, public and private educational
institutions, and the general public, as determined appropriate by
the trigovernmental Citizens Advisory Committee for the
Environmental Management of Lake Champlain, but not to be current
members of the Citizens Advisory Committee.
(c) Technical Advisory Committee
(1) The Management Conference shall, not later than one hundred and
twenty days after November 16, 1990, appoint a Technical Advisory
Committee.
(2) Such Technical Advisory Committee shall consist of officials of:
appropriate departments and agencies of the Federal Government; the
State governments of New York and Vermont; and governments of political
subdivisions of such States; and public and private research
institutions.
(d) Research program
The Management Conference shall establish a multi-disciplinary
environmental research program for Lake Champlain. Such research program
shall be planned and conducted jointly with the Lake Champlain Research
Consortium.
(e) Pollution prevention, control, and restoration plan
(1) Not later than three years after November 16, 1990, the
Management Conference shall publish a pollution prevention, control, and
restoration plan for Lake Champlain.
(2) The Plan developed pursuant to this section shall--
(A) identify corrective actions and compliance schedules
addressing point and nonpoint sources of pollution necessary to
restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological
integrity of water quality, a balanced, indigenous population of
shellfish, fish and wildlife, recreational, and economic activities
in and on the lake;
(B) incorporate environmental management concepts and programs
established in State and Federal plans and programs in effect at the
time of the development of such plan;
(C) clarify the duties of Federal and State agencies in
pollution prevention and control activities, and to the extent
allowable by law, suggest a timetable for adoption by the
appropriate Federal and State agencies to accomplish such duties
within a reasonable period of time;
(D) describe the methods and schedules for funding of programs,
activities, and projects identified in the Plan, including the use
of Federal funds and other sources of funds;
(E) include a strategy for pollution prevention and control that
includes the promotion of pollution prevention and management
practices to reduce the amount of pollution generated in the Lake
Champlain basin; and
(F) be reviewed and revised, as necessary, at least once every 5
years, in consultation with the Administrator and other appropriate
Federal agencies.
(3) The Administrator, in cooperation with the Management
Conference, shall provide for public review and comment on the draft
Plan. At a minimum, the Management Conference shall conduct one public
meeting to hear comments on the draft plan in the State of New York and
one such meeting in the State of Vermont.
(4) Not less than one hundred and twenty days after the publication
of the Plan required pursuant to this section, the Administrator shall
approve such plan if the plan meets the requirements of this section and
the Governors of the States of New York and Vermont concur.
(5) Upon approval of the plan, such plan shall be deemed to be an
approved management program for the purposes of section 1329(h) of this
title and such plan shall be deemed to be an approved comprehensive
conservation and management plan pursuant to section 1330 of this title.
(f) Grant assistance
(1) The Administrator may, in consultation with participants in the
Lake Champlain Basin Program, make grants to State, interstate, and
regional water pollution control agencies, and public or nonprofit
agencies, institutions, and organizations.
(2) Grants under this subsection shall be made for assisting
research, surveys, studies, and modeling and technical and supporting
work necessary for the development and implementation of the Plan.
(3) The amount of grants to any person under this subsection for a
fiscal year shall not exceed 75 per centum of the costs of such
research, survey, study and work and shall be made available on the
condition that non-Federal share of such costs are provided from non-
Federal sources.
(4) The Administrator may establish such requirements for the
administration of grants as he determines to be appropriate.
(g) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Lake Champlain Basin Program
The term ``Lake Champlain Basin Program'' means the coordinated
efforts among the Federal Government, State governments, and local
governments to implement the Plan.
(2) Lake Champlain drainage basin
The term ``Lake Champlain drainage basin'' means all or part of
Clinton, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren, Essex, and Washington counties
in the State of New York and all or part of Franklin, Grand Isle,
Chittenden, Addison, Rutland, Bennington, Lamoille, Orange,
Washington, Orleans, and Caledonia counties in Vermont, that contain
all of the streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water,
including wetlands, that drain into Lake Champlain.
(3) Plan
The term ``Plan'' means the plan developed under subsection (e)
of this section.
(h) No effect on certain authority
Nothing in this section--
(1) affects the jurisdiction or powers of--
(A) any department or agency of the Federal Government or
any State government; or
(B) any international organization or entity related to Lake
Champlain created by treaty or memorandum to which the United
States is a signatory;
(2) provides new regulatory authority for the Environmental
Protection Agency; or
(3) affects section 304 of the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act
of 1990 (Public Law 101-596; 33 U.S.C. 1270 note).
(i) Authorization
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Environmental
Protection Agency to carry out this section--
(1) $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994,
and 1995;
(2) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 1996
through 2003; and
(3) $11,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008.
(June 30, 1948, ch. 758, title I, Sec. 120, as added Pub. L. 101-596,
title III, Sec. 303, Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3006; amended Pub. L. 107-
303, title II, Sec. 202, Nov. 27, 2002, 116 Stat. 2358.)
Amendments
2002--Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(1), substituted ``Lake Champlain
Basin Program'' for ``Lake Champlain Management Conference'' in section
catchline.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(1), (2), designated existing
provisions as par. (1), inserted heading, and added par. (2).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(3), struck out par. (1)
designation before ``The Management''.
Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(4)(A), struck out
``(hereafter in this section referred to as the `Plan')'' after
``restoration plan''.
Subsec. (e)(2)(F). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(4)(B), added subpar.
(F).
Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(5)(A), substituted
``participants in the Lake Champlain Basin Program,'' for ``the
Management Conference,''.
Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(5)(B), substituted
``development and implementation of the Plan'' for ``development of the
Plan and for retaining expert consultants in support of litigation
undertaken by the State of New York and the State of Vermont to compel
cleanup or obtain cleanup damage costs from persons responsible for
pollution of Lake Champlain''.
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(6)(A), substituted
``Definitions'' for `` `Lake Champlain drainage basin' defined'' in
subsec. heading, inserted introductory provisions, added par. (1),
inserted par. (2) designation and heading after par. (1) and inserted
``The term'' before `` `Lake Champlain drainage''.
Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(6)(B), inserted
``Hamilton,'' after ``Franklin,'' and ``Bennington,'' after
``Rutland,''.
Subsec. (g)(3). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(6)(C), added par. (3).
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(7), added subsec. (h) and
struck out heading and text of former subsec. (h). Text read as follows:
``Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to affect the
jurisdiction or powers of--
``(1) any department or agency of the Federal Government or any
State government; or
``(2) any international organization or entity related to Lake
Champlain created by treaty or memorandum to which the United States
is a signatory.''
Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 107-303, Sec. 202(8), substituted ``section--''
for ``section $2,000,000'', inserted ``(1) $2,000,000'' before ``for
each of fiscal years 1991,'', substituted ``1995;'' for ``1995.'', and
added pars. (2) and (3).
Federal Program Coordination
Section 304 of Pub. L. 101-596, as amended by Pub. L. 104-127, title
III, Sec. 336(a)(2)(F), Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 1005, provided that:
``(a) Designation of Lake Champlain as a Priority Area Under the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the Lake Champlain basin, as defined under section 120(h) of the
Federal Water Pollution Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1270(h)], shall be
designated by the Secretary of Agriculture as a priority area under
the environmental quality incentives program established under
chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of
1985 [16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.].
``(2) Technical assistance reimbursement.--To carry out the
purposes of this subsection, the technical assistance reimbursement
from the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service
authorized under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act
[16 U.S.C. 590a et seq.], shall be increased from 5 per centum to 10
per centum.
``(3) Comprehensive agricultural monitoring.--The Secretary, in
consultation with the Management Conference and appropriate State
and Federal agencies, shall develop a comprehensive agricultural
monitoring and evaluation network for all major drainages within the
Lake Champlain basin.
``(4) Allocation of funds.--In allocating funds under this
subsection, the Secretary of Agriculture shall consult with the
Management Conference established under section 120 of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act and to the extent allowable by law,
allocate funds to those agricultural enterprises located at sites
that the Management Conference determines to be priority sites, on
the basis of a concern for ensuring implementation of nonpoint
source pollution controls throughout the Lake Champlain basin.
``(b) Cooperation of the United States Geological Survey of the
Department of the Interior.--For the purpose of enhancing and expanding
basic data collection and monitoring in operation in the Lake Champlain
basin, as defined under section 120 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1270], the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the heads of water resources divisions of the New York and New
England districts of the United States Geological Survey, shall--
``(1) in cooperation with appropriate universities and private
research institutions, and the appropriate officials of the
appropriate departments and agencies of the States of New York and
Vermont, develop an integrated geographic information system of the
Lake Champlain basin;
``(2) convert all partial recording sites in the Lake Champlain
basin to continuous monitoring stations with full gauging
capabilities and status; and
``(3) establish such additional continuous monitoring station
sites in the Lake Champlain basin as are necessary to carry out
basic data collection and monitoring, as defined by the Secretary of
the Interior, including groundwater mapping, and water quality and
sediment data collection.
``(c) Cooperation of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of
the Department of the Interior.--
``(1) Resource conservation program.--The Secretary of the
Interior, acting through the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, in cooperation with the Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife
Management Cooperative and the Management Conference established
pursuant to this subsection shall--
``(A) establish and implement a fisheries resources
restoration, development and conservation program, including
dedicating a level of hatchery production within the Lake
Champlain basin at or above the level that existed immediately
preceding the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 16, 1990]; and
``(B) conduct a wildlife species and habitat assessment
survey in the Lake Champlain basin, including--
``(i) a survey of Federal threatened and endangered
species, listed or proposed for listing under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), New York State
and State of Vermont threatened and endangered species and
other species of special concern, migratory nongame species
of management concern, and national resources plan species;
``(ii) a survey of wildlife habitats such as islands,
wetlands, and riparian areas; and
``(iii) a survey of migratory bird populations breeding,
migrating and wintering within the Lake Champlain basin.
``(2) To accomplish the purposes of paragraph (1), the Director
of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is authorized to
carry out activities related to--
``(A) controlling sea lampreys and other nonindigenous
aquatic animal nuisances;
``(B) improving the health of fishery resources;
``(C) conducting investigations about and assessing the
status of fishery resources, and disseminating that information
to all interested parties; and
``(D) conducting and periodically updating a survey of the
fishery resources and their habitats and food chains in the Lake
Champlain basin.
``(d) Authorizations.--(1) There is authorized to be appropriated to
the Department of Agriculture $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1991,
1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995 to carry out subsection (a) of this section.
``(2) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of
[the] Interior $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1991, 1992, 1993,
1994, and 1995 to carry out subsections (b) and (c) of this section.''
