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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1269. Long Island Sound
(a) Office of Management Conference of the Long Island Sound Study
The Administrator shall continue the Management Conference of the
Long Island Sound Study (hereinafter referred to as the
"Conference") as established pursuant to section 1330 of this
title, and shall establish an office (hereinafter referred to as
the "Office") to be located on or near Long Island Sound.
(b) Administration and staffing of Office
The Office shall be headed by a Director, who shall be detailed
by the Administrator, following consultation with the
Administrators of EPA regions I and II, from among the employees of
the Agency who are in civil service. The Administrator shall
delegate to the Director such authority and detail such additional
staff as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Director
under this section.
(c) Duties of Office
The Office shall assist the Management Conference of the Long
Island Sound Study in carrying out its goals. Specifically, the
Office shall -
(1) assist and support the implementation of the Comprehensive
Conservation and Management Plan for Long Island Sound developed
pursuant to section 1330 of this title, including efforts to
establish, within the process for granting watershed general
permits, a system for promoting innovative methodologies and
technologies that are cost-effective and consistent with the
goals of the Plan;
(2) conduct or commission studies deemed necessary for
strengthened implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and
Management Plan including, but not limited to -
(A) population growth and the adequacy of wastewater
treatment facilities,
(B) the use of biological methods for nutrient removal in
sewage treatment plants,
(C) contaminated sediments, and dredging activities,
(D) nonpoint source pollution abatement and land use
activities in the Long Island Sound watershed,
(E) wetland protection and restoration,
(F) atmospheric deposition of acidic and other pollutants
into Long Island Sound,
(G) water quality requirements to sustain fish, shellfish,
and wildlife populations, and the use of indicator species to
assess environmental quality,
(H) State water quality programs, for their adequacy pursuant
to implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and
Management Plan, and
(I) options for long-term financing of wastewater treatment
projects and water pollution control programs.
(3) coordinate the grant, research and planning programs
authorized under this section;
(4) coordinate activities and implementation responsibilities
with other Federal agencies which have jurisdiction over Long
Island Sound and with national and regional marine monitoring and
research programs established pursuant to the Marine Protection,
Research, and Sanctuaries Act [16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq., 1447 et
seq.; 33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq., 2801 et seq.];
(5) provide administrative and technical support to the
conference;
(6) collect and make available to the public publications, and
other forms of information the conference determines to be
appropriate, relating to the environmental quality of Long Island
Sound;
(7) not more than two years after the date of the issuance of
the final Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Long
Island Sound under section 1330 of this title, and biennially
thereafter, issue a report to the Congress which -
(A) summarizes the progress made by the States in
implementing the Comprehensive Conservation and Management
Plan;
(B) summarizes any modifications to the Comprehensive
Conservation and Management Plan in the twelve-month period
immediately preceding such report; and
(C) incorporates specific recommendations concerning the
implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management
Plan; and
(8) convene conferences and meetings for legislators from State
governments and political subdivisions thereof for the purpose of
making recommendations for coordinating legislative efforts to
facilitate the environmental restoration of Long Island Sound and
the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and
Management Plan.
(d) Grants
(1) The Administrator is authorized to make grants for projects
and studies which will help implement the Long Island Sound
Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Special emphasis
shall be given to implementation, research and planning,
enforcement, and citizen involvement and education.
(2) State, interstate, and regional water pollution control
agencies, and other public or nonprofit private agencies,
institutions, and organizations held to be eligible for grants
pursuant to this subsection.
(3) Citizen involvement and citizen education grants under this
subsection shall not exceed 95 per centum of the costs of such
work. All other grants under this subsection shall not exceed 50
per centum of the research, studies, or work. All grants shall be
made on the condition that the non-Federal share of such costs are
provided from non-Federal sources.
(e) Assistance to distressed communities
(1) Eligible communities
For the purposes of this subsection, a distressed community is
any community that meets affordability criteria established by
the State in which the community is located, if such criteria are
developed after public review and comment.
(2) Priority
In making assistance available under this section for the
upgrading of wastewater treatment facilities, the Administrator
may give priority to a distressed community.
(f) Authorizations
(1) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator
for the implementation of this section, other than subsection (d)
of this section, such sums as may be necessary for each of the
fiscal years 2001 through 2005.
(2) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator
for the implementation of subsection (d) of this section not to
exceed $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.
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