§1275 Columbia River Basin Restoration

Summary

Creates a Columbia River Basin Restoration Program inside the Environmental Protection Agency and says what it must do. Definitions: Columbia River Basin = the U.S. part of the river’s watershed. Estuary Partnership = the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership set up by Oregon, Washington, and EPA. Estuary Plan = the Partnership’s plan adopted October 20, 1999, including any changes. Lower Columbia River Estuary = the main river from Bonneville Dam to the ocean and nearby tidal tributaries. Middle and Upper Columbia River Basin = the U.S. part of the basin above Bonneville Dam. Program = the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program. The EPA Administrator must run a collaborative, stakeholder-based program. Setting up the program does not change any federal roles in effect on December 16, 2016, and it does not create new regulatory power. The Administrator must track water-quality trends, collect and study water data to find causes of problems, and give competitive grants for projects that reduce pollution, clean up contaminated sites, improve water quality, monitor trends, cut runoff, protect habitat, or boost public engagement and knowledge. The Administrator must form a voluntary Working Group and invite states, governors, tribes, local governments, industry, utilities, private landowners, conservation districts, non‑profits, the public, and the Estuary Partnership. The Working Group must include state reps and reps from the lower, middle, and upper basins, and it must recommend and prioritize projects and review their progress. While the Estuary Partnership is the management conference for the Lower Estuary, it will perform Working Group duties there; if it stops, the EPA can name a new management conference, and if removed the duties for the lower 146 miles go to the Working Group. Grants are open to states, tribes, regional water agencies, local governments, non‑profits, and soil and water conservation districts. Federal funding for a project normally cannot be more than 75 percent of total cost and the non‑Federal share must come from non‑Federal sources, but tribal governments may use Federal funds for their share and the Administrator may raise the Federal share when appropriate. At least 25 percent of grant funds must go to the Lower Estuary, at least 25 percent to the Middle and Upper Basin (including the Snake River Basin), and EPA may keep up to 5 percent to run the program. Grant recipients must report progress on timelines the Administrator sets. The Estuary Partnership remains eligible for other funding under section 1330(g), and these funds cannot be used to run a management conference under section 1330. There is authorization of $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The President must include in the annual budget an interagency crosscut showing, for each Federal agency, amounts obligated in the prior year, estimates for the current year, and proposed funding for Columbia River Basin protection and restoration.