“A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish an Ohio River Basin Restoration Program, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes the Ohio River Basin Restoration Program within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support projects and activities advancing large-scale restoration and protection of the Ohio River Basin (i.e., portions of 15 specified states—Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, New York, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and South Carolina—containing the Ohio River watershed), including improvements to water quality and ecological conditions. The section requires EPA to create an Ohio River National Program Office, headed by a Program Director who must (1) coordinate EPA restoration actions; (2) develop, implement, and update a restoration program and action plan in coordination with an advisory council; (3) document and publicly share related information; and (4) consult with Tribal Governments (i.e., governing bodies of federally recognized Indian tribes per 25 U.S.C. 5131) via the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It directs the Program Director to form an advisory council with representatives from Ohio River Basin states, the river's lower/middle/upper basins, Tribal Governments in the basin, and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission; enter relevant agreements; and submit the action plan, updates, and annual progress reports to Congress and a public website. Program projects and activities must accomplish at least one of eight goals—improving water quality and drinking water; increasing flood/storm resilience via natural systems restoration; protecting/restoring habitat; controlling aquatic invasives; remediating toxics; enhancing public access/recreation; monitoring data; and boosting outreach/education—and prioritize natural infrastructure and nature-based solutions.