,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #accb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #h1 #bjag ,ms4 ,stabenow 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,peters1 and ,mr4 ,brown7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,environment and ,public ,works ,a ,,bill ,to establish the ,great ,lakes ,aquatic ,connectivity and ,infrastructure ,program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,great ,lakes ,aquatic ,connectivity and ,infrastructure ,program ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 modernizing aging infrastructure and the protection of habitat and ecosystems that support fish populations are critical to ,state1 regional1 and local economies in the ,great ,lakes basin2 7#b7 infrastructure-- 7,a7 maintains essential services and safety for communities in the ,great ,lakes basin2 and 7,b7 in some cases1 provides a long-term barrier to the expansion of aquatic invasive species2 7#c7 as of the date of enactment of this ,act1 there are more than #g1jjj recorded dams and an estimated #bfj1jjj road stream crossings of varying ages and conditions in the ,great ,lakes basin2 7#d7 fish and wildlife populations with reduced access to habitat are generally less robust and more susceptible to declines in abundance than populations with access to suitable habitat2 7#e7 efficiencies are increased when ,federal1 ,state1 and local experts and regulators work collaboratively to identify and implement best practices that result in addressing infrastructure needs while also1 to the extent possible1 expanding habitats for fish and wildlife populations and preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species2 and 7#f7 it is imperative to establish a program similar to the program established by the ,great ,lakes ,fish and ,wildlife ,restoration ,act of #aiij 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #ida et seq47 that is dedicated to collaboratively and strategically seeking opportunities to modernize ,great ,lakes infrastructure while conserving the aquatic ecosystem4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,committee ,the term ,committee means the ,great ,lakes ,aquatic ,connectivity and ,infrastructure ,committee established by section #e7;a74 7#b7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,united ,states ,fish and ,wildlife ,service4 7#c7 ,great ,lakes ,states ,the term ,great ,lakes ,states means each of the ,states of ,illinois1 ,indiana1 ,michigan1 ,minnesota1 ,ohio1 ,pennsylvania1 ,new ,york1 and ,wisconsin4 7#d7 ,program ,the term ,program means the ,great ,lakes ,aquatic ,connectivity and ,infrastructure ,program established by section #d7;a74 7#e7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,transportation4 7#f7 ,strategic plan ,the term strategic plan means the strategic plan developed under section #d7;d77#a74 #d4 ,great ,lakes ,aquatic ,connectivity and ,infrastructure ,program 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established within the ,united ,states ,fish and ,wildlife ,service a program for the removal or selective bypass of barriers to aquatic connectivity in tributaries of the ,great ,lakes1 to be known as the ,great ,lakes ,aquatic ,connectivity and ,infrastructure ,program4 7b7 ,goal 7#a7 ,in general ,the goal of the ,program is to identify and implement voluntary measures that restore aquatic species to self-sustaining levels by reconnecting aquatic habitats in the ,great ,lakes basin while maintaining and modernizing needed infrastructure1 particularly in locations where roads1 tributaries1 or dams intersect4 7#b7 ,approach ,the goal under paragraph 7#a7 shall be achieved by using a proactive science-based approach that-- 7,a7 balances infrastructure modernization while enhancing aquatic connectivity though the removal or bypass of barriers to the movement of aquatic organisms2 7,b7 minimizes the expansion of habitat for aquatic invasive species2 7,c7 supports the development and implementation of selective fish passage technologies2 7,d7 measures the effectiveness of projects under the ,program and informs strategic planning for the ,program2 and 7,e7 avoids the construction of unintended barriers by focusing on ecosystem resiliency through collaboration and best practices4 7c7 ,collaboration ,the ,director and the ,secretary shall collaborate with ,federal1 ,state1 local1 and tribal governments1 the ,great ,lakes ,fishery ,commission1 signatories to the ,joint ,strategic ,plan for ,management of ,great ,lakes ,fisheries1 and any other stakeholder the ,director and the ,secretary determine to be appropriate to support-- 7#a7 sound approaches to addressing infrastructure and aquatic populations in the ,great ,lakes2 and 7#b7 ecosystem resiliency4 7d7 ,strategic plan 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 subject to the availability of appropriations1 the ,director1 in consultation with the ,committee shall finalize a strategic plan for the ,program to address aquatic connectivity in the ,great ,lakes basin4 7#b7 ,inclusions ,the strategic plan shall include an analysis of ,federal1 ,state1 and local efforts to enhance aquatic connectivity in the ,great ,lakes basin4 7#c7 ,review ,not less frequently than once every #e years1 the ,director1 in consultation with the ,committee1 shall review and revise the strategic plan as appropriate4 7#d7 ,availability ,the ,director shall make the strategic plan available on a publicly accessible ,internet website4 7e7 ,proposals 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,director shall encourage the development and1 subject to the availability of appropriations1 the implementation of aquatic connectivity proposals to achieve the goal described in subsection 7b74 7#b7 ,request for proposals ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act and annually thereafter1 the ,director shall request that any interested entity submit a proposal to restore aquatic connectivity in the ,great ,lakes basin in support of the strategic plan4 7#c7 ,submission ,a proposal referred to in paragraph 7#b7 shall be submitted to the ,director-- 7,a7 at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,director may require2 and 7,b7 consistent with other laws relating to the restoration of the aquatic resources and habitat of the ,great ,lakes basin4 7#d7 ,selection criteria ,in selecting and funding proposals1 the ,director shall take into account the effectiveness and appropriateness of the proposed activities with respect to-- 7,a7 the strategic plan2 7,b7 the restoration of aquatic resources and habitat2 7,c7 transportation and infrastructure in the ,great ,lakes basin2 and 7,d7 minimizing the expansion of habitat for aquatic invasive species4 7#e7 ,implementation ,after considering the recommendations of the ,committee and the goal described in subsection 7b71 the ,director shall-- 7,a7 select proposals to be implemented2 and 7,b7 subject to the availability of funds and subsection 7f71 award funding to implement the selected proposals4 7f7 ,non-,federal matching funds required 7#a7 ,in general ,not less than #be percent of the cost of implementing a proposal shall be derived from non-,federal sources1 including in-kind contributions4 7#b7 ,timing ,the non-,federal share of the cost of implementing a proposal may be provided at any time during the #b-year period preceding ,january #a of the year in which the ,director receives the proposal4 7g7 ,report to ,congress ,not later than ,december #ca1 #bjai1 and annually thereafter1 the ,director shall submit to ,congress a report that includes-- 7#a7 a summary of the outcomes of actions taken under the ,program1 including recommendations of activities1 where appropriate1 that would contribute to achievement of the goal described in subsection 7b72 7#b7 a description of activities carried out under the ,program and an explanation of how those activities help achieve the goal described in subsection 7b72 and 7#c7 an analysis of ,federal1 ,state1 and local efforts to enhance multidisciplinary approaches to enhance aquatic connectivity and infrastructure improvements in the ,great ,lakes basin1 and recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the ,program4 #e4 ,great ,lakes ,aquatic ,connectivity and ,infrastructure ,committee 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established a committee1 to be known as the ,great ,lakes ,aquatic ,connectivity and ,infrastructure ,committee1 which shall operate under the guidance of the ,united ,states ,fish and ,wildlife ,service4 7b7 ,membership 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,committee shall consist of-- 7,a7 #b representatives of each of the ,great ,lakes ,states1 of whom-- 7i7 #a representative with expertise in road and dam infrastructure shall be appointed by1 and serve at the pleasure of1 as determined by the ,state-- 7,i7 the head of the transportation department of the ,state2 or 7,,ii7 the head of the dam safety department of the ,state2 and 7ii7 #a representative with expertise in aquatic habitat connectivity1 or a similar field1 shall be appointed by1 and serve at the pleasure of1 the head of the environmental management agency of the ,state2 and 7,b7 #b representatives of each tribal organization represented on the ,council of ,lake ,committees of the ,great ,lakes ,fishery ,commission1 of whom-- 7i7 #a representative with expertise in road and dam infrastructure shall be appointed by1 and serve at the pleasure of1 the tribal chair2 and 7ii7 #a representative with expertise in aquatic habitat connectivity1 or a similar field1 shall be appointed by1 and serve at the pleasure of1 the tribal chair4 7#b7 ,observers ,there shall be #c participants who shall serve as nonvoting observers of the ,committee1 of whom-- 7,a7 #a shall be appointed by the ,director2 7,b7 #a shall be appointed by the ,secretary2 and 7,c7 #a shall be appointed by the ,great ,lakes ,fishery ,commission4 7#c7 ,recusal ,a member of the ,committee shall recuse himself or herself from consideration of proposals that the member1 or the entity that the member represents1 has submitted4 7c7 ,duties ,the ,committee shall-- 7#a7 review proposals submitted under section #d7;e77#c7 to assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of the proposals to achieve the goal described in section #d7;b72 7#b7 recommend to the ,director any proposals reviewed under paragraph 7#a7 that the ,committee determines should receive funding and be implemented under the ,program2 7#c7 meet not less frequently than annually2 and 7#d7 establish the terms of reference of the ,committee1 as appropriate4 #f4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the ,program #e1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjah through #bjbb1 of which1 for each fiscal year-- 7#a7 not more than the lesser of #ae percent and #gej1jjj shall be available for proposals selected under section #d7;e77#e7 that support the development of selective fish passage technologies2 and 7#b7 the lesser of #e percent and #bej1jjj shall be available to the ,director and the ,secretary for costs incurred in coordinating the ,program and implementing the proposals selected under section #d7;e77#e74 #g4 ,savings clause ,nothing in this ,act conflicts with the authority of the ,great ,lakes ,fishery ,commission to eradicate or minimize a sea lamprey population under the ,convention on ,great ,lakes ,fisheries signed at ,washington ,september #aj1 #aied 7#f ,u4,s4,t4 #bhcf2 ,,tias #ccbf71 between the ,united ,states of ,america and ,canada4