Section 1330 · National estuary program

(a) Management conference (1) Nomination of estuaries The Governor of any State may nominate to the Administrator an estuary lying in whole or in part within the State as an estuary of national significance and request a management conference to develop a comprehensive management plan for the estuary. The nomination shall document the need for the conference, the likelihood of success, and information relating to the factors in paragraph (2). (2) Convening of conference (A) In general In any case where the Administrator determines, on his own initiative or upon nomination of a State under paragraph (1), that the attainment or maintenance of that water quality in an estuary which assures protection of public water supplies and the protection and propagation of a balanced, indigenous population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife, and allows recreational activities, in and on the water, requires the control of point and nonpoint sources of pollution to supplement existing controls of pollution in more than one State, the Administrator shall select such estuary and convene a management conference. (B) Priority consideration The Administrator shall give priority consideration under this section to Long Island Sound, New York and Connecticut; Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island; Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts (including Cape Cod Bay and Boston Harbor); Puget Sound, Washington; New York-New Jersey Harbor, New York and New Jersey; Delaware Bay, Delaware and New Jersey; Delaware Inland Bays, Delaware; Albemarle Sound, North Carolina; Sarasota Bay, Florida; San Francisco Bay, California; Santa Monica Bay, California; Galveston Bay, Texas; Barataria-Terrebonne Bay estuary complex, Louisiana; Indian River Lagoon, Florida; Lake Pontchartrain Basin, Louisiana and Mississippi; Peconic Bay, New York; Casco Bay, Maine; Tampa Bay, Florida; Coastal Bend, Texas; San Juan Bay, Puerto Rico; Tillamook Bay, Oregon; Piscataqua Region, New Hampshire; Barnegat Bay, New Jersey; Maryland Coastal Bays, Maryland; Charlotte Harbor, Florida; Mobile Bay, Alabama; Morro Bay, California; Lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington; and Pensacola and Perdido Bays, Florida. (3) Boundary dispute exception In any case in which a boundary between two States passes through an estuary and such boundary is disputed and is the subject of an action in any court, the Administrator shall not convene a management conference with respect to such estuary before a final adjudication has been made of such dispute.

(b) Purposes of conference The purposes of any management conference convened with respect to an estuary under this subsection shall be to— (1) assess trends in water quality, natural resources, and uses of the estuary; (2) collect, characterize, and assess data on toxics, nutrients, and natural resources within the estuarine zone to identify the causes of environmental problems; (3) develop the relationship between the inplace loads and point and nonpoint loadings of pollutants to the estuarine zone and the potential uses of the zone, water quality, and natural resources; (4) develop a comprehensive conservation and management plan that— (A) recommends priority corrective actions and compliance schedules addressing point and nonpoint sources of pollution to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the estuary, including restoration and maintenance of water quality, a balanced indigenous population of shellfish, fish and wildlife, and recreational activities in the estuary, and assure that the designated uses of the estuary are protected; (B) addresses the effects of recurring extreme weather events on the estuary, including the identification and assessment of vulnerabilities in the estuary and the development and implementation of adaptation strategies; and (C) increases public education and awareness of the ecological health and water quality conditions of the estuary; (5) develop plans for the coordinated implementation of the plan by the States as well as Federal and local agencies participating in the conference; (6) monitor the effectiveness of actions taken pursuant to the plan; and (7) review all Federal financial assistance programs and Federal development projects in accordance with the requirements of Executive Order 12372, as in effect on September 17, 1983, to determine whether such assistance program or project would be consistent with and further the purposes and objectives of the plan prepared under this section. For purposes of paragraph (7), such programs and projects shall not be limited to the assistance programs and development projects subject to Executive Order 12372, but may include any programs listed in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance which may have an effect on the purposes and objectives of the plan developed under this section.

(c) Members of conference The members of a management conference convened under this section shall include, at a minimum, the Administrator and representatives of— (1) each State and foreign nation located in whole or in part in the estuarine zone of the estuary for which the conference is convened; (2) international, interstate, or regional agencies or entities having jurisdiction over all or a significant part of the estuary; (3) each interested Federal agency, as determined appropriate by the Administrator; (4) local governments having jurisdiction over any land or water within the estuarine zone, as determined appropriate by the Administrator; and (5) affected industries, public and private educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and the general public, as determined appropriate by the Administrator.

(g) Grants (1) Recipients The Administrator is authorized to make grants to State, interstate, and regional water pollution control agencies and entities, State coastal zone management agencies, interstate agencies, other public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, organizations, and individuals. (2) Purposes Grants under this subsection shall be made to pay for activities necessary for the development and implementation of a comprehensive conservation and management plan under this section. (3) Federal share The Federal share of a grant to any person (including a State, interstate, or regional agency or entity) under this subsection for a fiscal year— (A) shall not exceed— (i) 75 percent of the annual aggregate costs of the development of a comprehensive conservation and management plan; and (ii) 50 percent of the annual aggregate costs of the implementation of the plan; and (B) shall be made on condition that the non-Federal share of the costs are provided from non-Federal sources. (4) Competitive awards (A) In general Using the amounts made available under subsection (i)(2)(B), the Administrator shall make competitive awards under this paragraph. (B) Application for awards The Administrator shall solicit applications for awards under this paragraph from State, interstate, and regional water pollution control agencies and entities, State coastal zone management agencies, interstate agencies, other public or nonprofit private agencies, institutions, organizations, and individuals. (C) Selection of recipients In selecting award recipients under this paragraph, the Administrator shall select recipients that are best able to address urgent, emerging, and challenging issues that threaten the ecological and economic well-being of the estuaries selected by the Administrator under subsection (a)(2), or that relate to the coastal resiliency of such estuaries. Such issues shall include— (i) extensive seagrass habitat losses resulting in significant impacts on fisheries and water quality; (ii) recurring harmful algae blooms; (iii) unusual marine mammal mortalities; (iv) invasive exotic species that may threaten wastewater systems and cause other damage; (v) jellyfish proliferation limiting community access to water during peak tourism seasons; (vi) stormwater runoff; (vii) accelerated land loss; (viii) flooding that may be related to sea level rise, extreme weather, or wetland degradation or loss; and (ix) low dissolved oxygen conditions in estuarine waters and related nutrient management.

(h) Grant reporting Any person (including a State, interstate, or regional agency or entity) that receives a grant under subsection (g) shall report to the Administrator not later than 18 months after receipt of such grant and biennially thereafter on the progress being made under this section.

(i) Authorization of appropriations (1) In general There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator $26,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021, and $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, for— (A) expenses relating to the administration of grants or awards by the Administrator under this section, including the award and oversight of grants and awards, except that such expenses may not exceed 5 percent of the amount appropriated under this subsection for a fiscal year; and (B) making grants and awards under subsection (g). (2) Allocations (A) Conservation and management plans Not less than 80 percent of the amount made available under this subsection for a fiscal year shall be used by the Administrator to provide grant assistance for the development, implementation, and monitoring of each of the conservation and management plans eligible for grant assistance under subsection (g)(2). (B) Competitive awards Not less than 15 percent of the amount made available under this subsection for a fiscal year shall be used by the Administrator for making competitive awards described in subsection (g)(4).