{
  "id": "97-644",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "97-644",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 100701,
      "date": "2001-01-12",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:29:56.325941",
      "title": "National Estuary Program: A Collaborative Approach to Protecting Coastal Water Quality",
      "summary": "Estuaries are coastal bays or rivers and their freshwater tributaries. These waterways provide\nresources for diverse uses including commerce, public infrastructure, and recreation. The Clean\nWater Act Amendments of 1987 ( P.L. 100-4 ) established the National Estuary Program to identify\nnationally significant estuaries that are threatened by pollution, land development, or overuse, and\nto award grants that support the development of comprehensive management plans to restore and\nprotect them. State governors can nominate estuaries within their states to be admitted into the\nNational Estuary Program, and a total of 28 estuaries have been admitted thus far. The\nEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) collaborates with other federal agencies, state and local\ngovernments, non-profit institutions, industry, and citizens to address an estuary's environmental\nproblems.\n  Appropriations for the National Estuary Program have ranged from an initial funding level of\n$11.1 million in FY1987 to a high of $17.9 million in FY1992. The current funding level for\nFY2001 is $13.8 million, the same amount as enacted for FY2000. The Clean Water Act\nAmendments of 1987 originally authorized funding for the National Estuary Program through\nFY1991, but Congress continued to fund it through FY2000 without enacting reauthorizing\nlegislation. The 106th Congress enacted the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 ( P.L. 106-457 ),\nwhich reauthorized the program at $35 million annually from FY2001 to FY2005. The law also\namended the Clean Water Act to allow funding to be used for implementing as well as developing\nestuary management plans.\n  Apart from the National Estuary Program,  P.L. 106-457  also authorized a total of $275 million\nin matching funds from FY2001 to FY2005 for a new estuary habitat restoration program to be\ncarried out by the Army Corps of Engineers. The goal of the program is to restore 1 million acres\nof estuary habitat by 2010. It would be a new potential source of funding for implementing approved\nmanagement plans under the National Estuary Program. However, the total funding level of $275\nmillion is an authorized amount, which still must be appropriated by Congress before it would\nbecome available.\n  While geographic and demographic factors differ among estuaries in the National Estuary\nProgram, many of them share the following environmental problems: eutrophication, contamination\nfrom toxic substances and pathogens, habitat loss, altered freshwater inflows, and endangered and\nnon-native species. Common sources of these problems include industrial pollution, wastewater\noverflows, stormwater and agricultural runoff, waste from boaters and swimmers, land development,\nand freshwater diversion. EPA has approved the management plans for 22 estuaries in the National\nEstuary Program, and many interests are working together to address the above environmental\nproblems. While the program's collaborative nature offers flexibility, achieving results can require\nsignificantly more time than instituting conventional regulatory measures. Its long-term success will\ndepend on the continued participation, commitment, and resources of the stakeholders in each\nlocality.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/97-644",
          "sha1": "9e007a32b188ecf9545a44afaf1a10e5fb2158f7",
          "filename": "files/20010112_97-644_9e007a32b188ecf9545a44afaf1a10e5fb2158f7.pdf",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20010112_97-644_9e007a32b188ecf9545a44afaf1a10e5fb2158f7.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Appropriations"
  ]
}