Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection Act
Latest action · Aug 2, 2010 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 501.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 19, 2009
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to reestablish the Program Office of the Gulf of Mexico Program as an office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to be headed by a Director. Requires the Office to: (1) coordinate the actions of EPA and of other federal agencies and state and local authorities in developing strategies to improve the water quality and living resources in the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and obtain the support of appropriate officials; (2) assist in developing specific action plans to carry out the Program; (3) coordinate and implement priority state- and community-led restoration plans and projects and facilitate activities that support the Program through the provision of grants authorized by this Act; (4) implement outreach programs to foster stewardship of the Gulf's resources; (5) develop and make available information about the environmental quality and living resources of the Gulf ecosystem; (6) serve as the liaison with the Mexican members of the Gulf of Mexico States Accord and Mexican counterparts of the EPA; and (7) focus on activities that will result in measurable improvements to water quality and living resources of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.
Authorizes the EPA Administrator, acting through such Office, to enter into interagency agreements to carry out this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to provide grants for use in: (1) monitoring the water quality and living resources of the Gulf ecosystem; (2) researching the effects of environmental changes on such water quality and resources; (3) developing cooperative strategies that address the water quality and needs of Gulf resources; (4) developing locally-based protection and restoration programs or projects within a watershed that complement those strategies; and (5) eliminating or reducing nonpoint sources that discharge pollutants that contaminate the Gulf ecosystem. Limits the federal share of the cost of any project carried out using a grant to 75% of the project's total costs. Limits administrative costs in the form of salaries, overhead, or indirect costs for services provided and charged against programs carried out using fund made available through a grant to 15% of the grant amount.
Requires the Director to report to the Administrator and the public on projects funded by such grants. Requires the Administrator to: (1) complete an assessment of the Program and submit to Congress a comprehensive report on the Program's performance no later than April 30, 2011, and every five years thereafter; and (2) include a funding line item request for the Program Office as a separate budget line item in the annual submission to Congress of EPA's budget.
Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 19, 2009 to Sep 27, 2010; 2 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-LA | Mary L. Landrieu | Original | Jun 19, 2009 |
| R-MS | Thad Cochran | Original | Jun 19, 2009 |
| R-LA | David Vitter | Nov 9, 2009 | |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Jul 19, 2010 | |
| R-FL | George S. LeMieux | Sep 27, 2010 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Environment and Public Works Committee | Referred Jun 19, 2009Markup Jun 30, 2010Reported Aug 2, 2010 |
| Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife Subcommittee | Hearings Nov 9, 2009 |
Actions 7
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 2, 2010Committee on Environment and Public Works. Reported by Senator Boxer with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 111-241.
- Aug 2, 2010Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 501.
- Jun 30, 2010Committee on Environment and Public Works. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Nov 9, 2009Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife. Hearings held.
- Jun 19, 2009Introduced in Senate
- Jun 19, 2009Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6848)
- Jun 19, 2009Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6045 | Benjamin L. Cardin D-MD | Jul 21, 2010 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6848 | Roger F. Wicker R-MS | Jun 19, 2009 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Jul 8, 2010S. 1311, Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection Act<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on June 30, 2010</p>
- Jul 8, 2010S. 1311, Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on June 30, 2010
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 111-40 | HEARING TO REVIEW THE REGULATORY AND LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES IN THE CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED125 pages | Agriculture Committee | Dec 9, 2009 |
| S. Hrg. 111-1216 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON GREAT WATER BODY LEGISLATION: S. 1816 AND S. 1311213 pages | Environment and Public Works Committee | Nov 9, 2009 |
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R40098 | Water Quality Issues in the 111th Congress: Oversight and Implementation Archived | Report | Jan 11, 2011 |
| R41517 | Water Quality Bills in the Lame Duck Session of the 111th Congress Archived | Report | Dec 23, 2010 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to expand and strengthen cooperative efforts to monitor, restore, and protect the resource productivity, water quality, and marine ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection Act
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 2, 2010Reported to Senate
- Jun 19, 2009Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
