
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-541 Section 344]
[CITE: 33USC1268]

 
                TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
 
           CHAPTER 26--WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
 
               SUBCHAPTER I--RESEARCH AND RELATED PROGRAMS
 
Sec. 1268. Great Lakes


(a) Findings, purpose, and definitions

                            (1) Findings

        The Congress finds that--
            (A) the Great Lakes are a valuable national resource, 
        continuously serving the people of the United States and other 
        nations as an important source of food, fresh water, recreation, 
        beauty, and enjoyment;
            (B) the United States should seek to attain the goals 
        embodied in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, as 
        amended by the Water Quality Agreement of 1987 and any other 
        agreements and amendments, with particular emphasis on goals 
        related to toxic pollutants; and
            (C) the Environmental Protection Agency should take the lead 
        in the effort to meet those goals, working with other Federal 
        agencies and State and local authorities.

                             (2) Purpose

        It is the purpose of this section to achieve the goals embodied 
    in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, as amended by 
    the Water Quality Agreement of 1987 and any other agreements and 
    amendments, through improved organization and definition of mission 
    on the part of the Agency, funding of State grants for pollution 
    control in the Great Lakes area, and improved accountability for 
    implementation of such agreement.

                           (3) Definitions

        For purposes of this section, the term--
            (A) ``Agency'' means the Environmental Protection Agency;
            (B) ``Great Lakes'' means Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake 
        Huron (including Lake St. Clair), Lake Michigan, and Lake 
        Superior, and the connecting channels (Saint Mary's River, Saint 
        Clair River, Detroit River, Niagara River, and Saint Lawrence 
        River to the Canadian Border);
            (C) ``Great Lakes System'' means all the streams, rivers, 
        lakes, and other bodies of water within the drainage basin of 
        the Great Lakes;
            (D) ``Program Office'' means the Great Lakes National 
        Program Office established by this section;
            (E) ``Research Office'' means the Great Lakes Research 
        Office established by subsection (d) of this section;
            (F) ``area of concern'' means a geographic area located 
        within the Great Lakes, in which beneficial uses are impaired 
        and which has been officially designated as such under Annex 2 
        of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement;
            (G) ``Great Lakes States'' means the States of Illinois, 
        Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and 
        Wisconsin;
            (H) ``Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement'' means the 
        bilateral agreement, between the United States and Canada which 
        was signed in 1978 and amended by the Protocol of 1987;
            (I) ``Lakewide Management Plan'' means a written document 
        which embodies a systematic and comprehensive ecosystem approach 
        to restoring and protecting the beneficial uses of the open 
        waters of each of the Great Lakes, in accordance with article VI 
        and Annex 2 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; and
            (J) ``Remedial Action Plan'' means a written document which 
        embodies a systematic and comprehensive ecosystem approach to 
        restoring and protecting the beneficial uses of areas of 
        concern, in accordance with article VI and Annex 2 of the Great 
        Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

(b) Great Lakes National Program Office

    The Great Lakes National Program Office (previously established by 
the Administrator) is hereby established within the Agency. The Program 
Office shall be headed by a Director who, by reason of management 
experience and technical expertise relating to the Great Lakes, is 
highly qualified to direct the development of programs and plans on a 
variety of Great Lakes issues. The Great Lakes National Program Office 
shall be located in a Great Lakes State.

(c) Great Lakes management

                            (1) Functions

        The Program Office shall--
            (A) in cooperation with appropriate Federal, State, tribal, 
        and international agencies, and in accordance with section 
        1251(e) of this title, develop and implement specific action 
        plans to carry out the responsibilities of the United States 
        under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, as 
        amended by the Water Quality Agreement of 1987 and any other 
        agreements and amendments,; \1\
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    \1\ So in original.
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            (B) establish a Great Lakes system-wide surveillance network 
        to monitor the water quality of the Great Lakes, with specific 
        emphasis on the monitoring of toxic pollutants;
            (C) serve as the liaison with, and provide information to, 
        the Canadian members of the International Joint Commission and 
        the Canadian counterpart to the Agency;
            (D) coordinate actions of the Agency (including actions by 
        headquarters and regional offices thereof) aimed at improving 
        Great Lakes water quality; and
            (E) coordinate actions of the Agency with the actions of 
        other Federal agencies and State and local authorities, so as to 
        ensure the input of those agencies and authorities in developing 
        water quality strategies and obtain the support of those 
        agencies and authorities in achieving the objectives of such 
        agreement.

               (2) Great Lakes water quality guidance

        (A) By June 30, 1991, the Administrator, after consultation with 
    the Program Office, shall publish in the Federal Register for public 
    notice and comment proposed water quality guidance for the Great 
    Lakes System. Such guidance shall conform with the objectives and 
    provisions of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, shall be no 
    less restrictive than the provisions of this chapter and national 
    water quality criteria and guidance, shall specify numerical limits 
    on pollutants in ambient Great Lakes waters to protect human health, 
    aquatic life, and wildlife, and shall provide guidance to the Great 
    Lakes States on minimum water quality standards, antidegradation 
    policies, and implementation procedures for the Great Lakes System.
        (B) By June 30, 1992, the Administrator, in consultation with 
    the Program Office, shall publish in the Federal Register, pursuant 
    to this section and the Administrator's authority under this 
    chapter, final water quality guidance for the Great Lakes System.
        (C) Within two years after such Great Lakes guidance is 
    published, the Great Lakes States shall adopt water quality 
    standards, antidegradation policies, and implementation procedures 
    for waters within the Great Lakes System which are consistent with 
    such guidance. If a Great Lakes State fails to adopt such standards, 
    policies, and procedures, the Administrator shall promulgate them 
    not later than the end of such two-year period. When reviewing any 
    Great Lakes State's water quality plan, the agency shall consider 
    the extent to which the State has complied with the Great Lakes 
    guidance issued pursuant to this section.

                      (3) Remedial Action Plans

        (A) For each area of concern for which the United States has 
    agreed to draft a Remedial Action Plan, the Program Office shall 
    ensure that the Great Lakes State in which such area of concern is 
    located--
            (i) submits a Remedial Action Plan to the Program Office by 
        June 30, 1991;
            (ii) submits such Remedial Action Plan to the International 
        Joint Commission by January 1, 1992; and
            (iii) includes such Remedial Action Plans within the State's 
        water quality plan by January 1, 1993.

        (B) For each area of concern for which Canada has agreed to 
    draft a Remedial Action Plan, the Program Office shall, pursuant to 
    subparagraph (c)(1)(C) of this section, work with Canada to assure 
    the submission of such Remedial Action Plans to the International 
    Joint Commission by June 30, 1991, and to finalize such Remedial 
    Action Plans by January 1, 1993.
        (C) For any area of concern designated as such subsequent to 
    November 16, 1990, the Program Office shall (i) if the United States 
    has agreed to draft the Remedial Action Plan, ensure that the Great 
    Lakes State in which such area of concern is located submits such 
    Plan to the Program Office within two years of the area's 
    designation, submits it to the International Joint Commission no 
    later than six months after submitting it to the Program Office, and 
    includes such Plan in the State's water quality plan no later than 
    one year after submitting it to the Commission; and (ii) if Canada 
    has agreed to draft the Remedial Action Plan, work with Canada, 
    pursuant to subparagraph (c)(1)(C) of this section, to ensure the 
    submission of such Plan to the International Joint Commission within 
    two years of the area's designation and the finalization of such 
    Plan no later than eighteen months after submitting it to such 
    Commission.
        (D) The Program Office shall compile formal comments on 
    individual Remedial Action Plans made by the International Joint 
    Commission pursuant to section 4(d) of Annex 2 of the Great Lakes 
    Water Quality Agreement and, upon request by a member of the public, 
    shall make such comments available for inspection and copying. The 
    Program Office shall also make available, upon request, formal 
    comments made by the Environmental Protection Agency on individual 
    Remedial Action Plans.

                    (4) Lakewide Management Plans

        The Administrator, in consultation with the Program Office 
    shall--
            (A) by January 1, 1992, publish in the Federal Register a 
        proposed Lakewide Management Plan for Lake Michigan and solicit 
        public comments;
            (B) by January 1, 1993, submit a proposed Lakewide 
        Management Plan for Lake Michigan to the International Joint 
        Commission for review; and
            (C) by January 1, 1994, publish in the Federal Register a 
        final Lakewide Management Plan for Lake Michigan and begin 
        implementation.

    Nothing in this subparagraph shall preclude the simultaneous 
    development of Lakewide Management Plans for the other Great Lakes.

              (5) Spills of oil and hazardous materials

        The Program Office, in consultation with the Coast Guard, shall 
    identify areas within the Great Lakes which are likely to experience 
    numerous or voluminous spills of oil or other hazardous materials 
    from land based facilities, vessels, or other sources and, in 
    consultation with the Great Lakes States, shall identify weaknesses 
    in Federal and State programs and systems to prevent and respond to 
    such spills. This information shall be included on at least a 
    biennial basis in the report required by this section.

                     (6) 5-year plan and program

        The Program Office shall develop, in consultation with the 
    States, a five-year plan and program for reducing the amount of 
    nutrients introduced into the Great Lakes. Such program shall 
    incorporate any management program for reducing nutrient runoff from 
    nonpoint sources established under section 1329 of this title and 
    shall include a program for monitoring nutrient runoff into, and 
    ambient levels in, the Great Lakes.

             (7) 5-year study and demonstration projects

        (A) The Program Office shall carry out a five-year study and 
    demonstration projects relating to the control and removal of toxic 
    pollutants in the Great Lakes, with emphasis on the removal of toxic 
    pollutants from bottom sediments. In selecting locations for 
    conducting demonstration projects under this paragraph, priority 
    consideration shall be given to projects at the following locations: 
    Saginaw Bay, Michigan; Sheboygan Harbor, Wisconsin; Grand Calumet 
    River, Indiana; Ashtabula River, Ohio; and Buffalo River, New York.
        (B) The Program Office shall--
            (i) by December 31, 1990, complete chemical, physical, and 
        biological assessments of the contaminated sediments at the 
        locations selected for the study and demonstration projects;
            (ii) by December 31, 1990, announce the technologies that 
        will be demonstrated at each location and the numerical standard 
        of protection intended to be achieved at each location;
            (iii) by December 31, 1992, complete full or pilot scale 
        demonstration projects on site at each location of promising 
        technologies to remedy contaminated sediments; and
            (iv) by December 31, 1993, issue a final report to Congress 
        on its findings.

        (C) The Administrator, after providing for public review and 
    comment, shall publish information concerning the public health and 
    environmental consequences of contaminants in Great Lakes sediment. 
    Information published pursuant to this subparagraph shall include 
    specific numerical limits to protect health, aquatic life, and 
    wildlife from the bioaccumulation of toxins. The Administrator 
    shall, at a minimum, publish information pursuant to this 
    subparagraph within 2 years of November 16, 1990.

                 (8) Administrator's responsibility

        The Administrator shall ensure that the Program Office enters 
    into agreements with the various organizational elements of the 
    Agency involved in Great Lakes activities and the appropriate State 
    agencies specifically delineating--
            (A) the duties and responsibilities of each such element in 
        the Agency with respect to the Great Lakes;
            (B) the time periods for carrying out such duties and 
        responsibilities; and
            (C) the resources to be committed to such duties and 
        responsibilities.

                           (9) Budget item

        The Administrator shall, in the Agency's annual budget 
    submission to Congress, include a funding request for the Program 
    Office as a separate budget line item.

                            (10) Omitted

(d) Great Lakes research

                (1) Establishment of Research Office

        There is established within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
    Administration the Great Lakes Research Office.

                    (2) Identification of issues

        The Research Office shall identify issues relating to the Great 
    Lakes resources on which research is needed. The Research Office 
    shall submit a report to Congress on such issues before the end of 
    each fiscal year which shall identify any changes in the Great Lakes 
    system \2\ with respect to such issues.
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    \2\ So in original. Probably should be capitalized.
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                            (3) Inventory

        The Research Office shall identify and inventory Federal, State, 
    university, and tribal environmental research programs (and, to the 
    extent feasible, those of private organizations and other nations) 
    relating to the Great Lakes system,\2\ and shall update that 
    inventory every four years.

                        (4) Research exchange

        The Research Office shall establish a Great Lakes research 
    exchange for the purpose of facilitating the rapid identification, 
    acquisition, retrieval, dissemination, and use of information 
    concerning research projects which are ongoing or completed and 
    which affect the Great Lakes System.

                        (5) Research program

        The Research Office shall develop, in cooperation with the 
    Coordination Office, a comprehensive environmental research program 
    and data base for the Great Lakes system.\2\ The data base shall 
    include, but not be limited to, data relating to water quality, 
    fisheries, and biota.

                           (6) Monitoring

        The Research Office shall conduct, through the Great Lakes 
    Environmental Research Laboratory, the National Sea Grant College 
    program, other Federal laboratories, and the private sector, 
    appropriate research and monitoring activities which address 
    priority issues and current needs relating to the Great Lakes.

                            (7) Location

        The Research Office shall be located in a Great Lakes State.

(e) Research and management coordination

                           (1) Joint plan

        Before October 1 of each year, the Program Office and the 
    Research Office shall prepare a joint research plan for the fiscal 
    year which begins in the following calendar year.

                        (2) Contents of plan

        Each plan prepared under paragraph (1) shall--
            (A) identify all proposed research dedicated to activities 
        conducted under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, 
        as amended by the Water Quality Agreement of 1987 and any other 
        agreements and amendments,; \3\
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            (B) include the Agency's assessment of priorities for 
        research needed to fulfill the terms of such Agreement; and
            (C) identify all proposed research that may be used to 
        develop a comprehensive environmental data base for the Great 
        Lakes System and establish priorities for development of such 
        data base.

                     (3) Health research report

        (A) Not later than September 30, 1994, the Program Office, in 
    consultation with the Research Office, the Agency for Toxic 
    Substances and Disease Registry, and Great Lakes States shall submit 
    to the Congress a report assessing the adverse effects of water 
    pollutants in the Great Lakes System on the health of persons in 
    Great Lakes States and the health of fish, shellfish, and wildlife 
    in the Great Lakes System. In conducting research in support of this 
    report, the Administrator may, where appropriate, provide for 
    research to be conducted under cooperative agreements with Great 
    Lakes States.
        (B) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 
    to carry out this section not to exceed $3,000,000 for each of 
    fiscal years 1992, 1993, and 1994.

(f) Interagency cooperation

    The head of each department, agency, or other instrumentality of the 
Federal Government which is engaged in, is concerned with, or has 
authority over programs relating to research, monitoring, and planning 
to maintain, enhance, preserve, or rehabilitate the environmental 
quality and natural resources of the Great Lakes, including the Chief of 
Engineers of the Army, the Chief of the Soil Conservation Service, the 
Commandant of the Coast Guard, the Director of the Fish and Wildlife 
Service, and the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, shall submit an annual report to the Administrator with 
respect to the activities of that agency or office affecting compliance 
with the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978, as amended by the 
Water Quality Agreement of 1987 and any other agreements and 
amendments,.\3\

(g) Relationship to existing Federal and State laws and international 
        treaties

    Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the 
jurisdiction, powers, or prerogatives of any department, agency, or 
officer of the Federal Government or of any State government, or of any 
tribe, nor any powers, jurisdiction, or prerogatives of any 
international body created by treaty with authority relating to the 
Great Lakes.

(h) Authorizations of Great Lakes appropriations

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 
carry out this section not to exceed $11,000,000 per fiscal year for the 
fiscal years 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990, and $25,000,000 for fiscal year 
1991. Of the amounts appropriated each fiscal year--
        (1) 40 percent shall be used by the Great Lakes National Program 
    Office on demonstration projects on the feasibility of controlling 
    and removing toxic pollutants;
        (2) 7 percent shall be used by the Great Lakes National Program 
    Office for the program of nutrient monitoring; and
        (3) 30 percent or $3,300,000, whichever is the lesser, shall be 
    transferred to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
    for use by the Great Lakes Research Office.

(June 30, 1948, ch. 758, title I, Sec. 118, as added Pub. L. 100-4, 
title I, Sec. 104, Feb. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 11; amended Pub. L. 100-688, 
title I, Sec. 1008, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4151; Pub. L. 101-596, 
title I, Secs. 101-106, Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3000-3004.)

                          Codification

    November 16, 1990, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(C), (7)(C), was in 
the original ``the enactment of this Act'', and ``the date of the 
enactment of this title'' which were translated as meaning the date of 
enactment of Pub. L. 101-596, title I of which enacted subsec. (c)(3), 
(7)(C), to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
    Subsec. (c)(10) of this section, which required the Administrator to 
submit a comprehensive annual report to Congress on implementation of 
the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 and certain related 
matters, terminated, effective May 15, 2000, pursuant to section 3003 of 
Pub. L. 104-66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of 
Title 31, Money and Finance. See, also, page 163 of House Document No. 
103-7.


                               Amendments

    1990--Subsec. (a)(3)(F) to (J). Pub. L. 101-596, Sec. 103, added 
subpars. (F) to (J).
    Subsec. (c)(2) to (11). Pub. L. 101-596, Secs. 101, 102, 104, added 
pars. (2) to (5) after par. (1) and renumbered existing paragraphs 
accordingly, which was executed by renumbering pars. (2) to (6) as (6) 
to (10), respectively, redesignated existing provisions of par. (7) as 
subpar. (A) and added subpars. (B) and (C), and added par. (11).
    Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 101-596, Sec. 106, added par. (3).
    Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 101-596, Sec. 105, substituted ``and 1990, and 
$25,000,000 for fiscal year 1991'' for ``1990, and 1991'' in 
introductory provisions and inserted ``or $3,300,000, whichever is the 
lesser,'' after ``30 percent'' in par. (3).
    1988--Subsecs. (a)(1)(B), (2), (c)(1)(A), (6)(A), (D), (e)(2)(A), 
(f). Pub. L. 100-688 inserted ``, as amended by the Water Quality 
Agreement of 1987 and any other agreements and amendments,'' after ``the 
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978''.


       Great Lakes Remedial Action Plans and Sediment Remediation

    Pub. L. 101-640, title IV, Sec. 401, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4644, 
as amended by Pub. L. 104-303, title V, Sec. 515, Oct. 12, 1996, 110 
Stat. 3763; Pub. L. 106-53, title V, Sec. 505, Aug. 17, 1999, 113 Stat. 
338; Pub. L. 106-541, title III, Sec. 344, Dec. 11, 2000, 114 Stat. 
2613, provided that:
    ``(a) Great Lakes Remedial Action Plans.--
        ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may provide technical, 
    planning, and engineering assistance to State and local governments 
    and nongovernmental entities designated by a State or local 
    government in the development and implementation of remedial action 
    plans for Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes identified under the 
    Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978.
        ``(2) Non-federal share.--
            ``(A) In general.--Non-Federal interests shall contribute, 
        in cash or by providing in-kind contributions, 35 percent of 
        costs of activities for which assistance is provided under 
        paragraph (1).
            ``(B) Contributions by entities.--Nonprofit public or 
        private entities may contribute all or a portion of the non-
        Federal share.
    ``(b) Sediment Remediation Projects.--
        ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
    Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (acting through 
    the Great Lakes National Program Office), may conduct pilot- and 
    full-scale projects of promising technologies to remediate 
    contaminated sediments in freshwater coastal regions in the Great 
    Lakes basin. The Secretary shall conduct not fewer than 3 full-scale 
    projects under this subsection.
        ``(2) Site selection for projects.--In selecting the sites for 
    the technology projects, the Secretary shall give priority 
    consideration to Saginaw Bay, Michigan, Sheboygan Harbor, Wisconsin, 
    Grand Calumet River, Indiana, Ashtabula River, Ohio, Buffalo River, 
    New York, and Duluth-Superior Harbor, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
        ``(3) Non-federal share.--Non-Federal interests shall contribute 
    35 percent of costs of projects under this subsection. Such costs 
    may be paid in cash or by providing in-kind contributions.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2001 through 2006.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 2902 of this title; title 16 
section 1447b.
