16 U.S.C. § 777: Federal-State relationships

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to cooperate with the States through their respective State fish and game departments in fish restoration and management projects as hereinafter set forth: No money apportioned under this chapter to any State, except as hereinafter provided, shall be expended therein until its legislature, or other State agency authorized by the State constitution to make laws governing the conservation of fish, shall have assented to the provisions of this chapter and shall have passed laws for the conservation of fish, which shall include a prohibition against the diversion of license fees paid by fishermen for any other purpose than the administration of said State fish and game department, except that, until the final adjournment of the first regular session of the legislature held after passage of this chapter, the assent of the governor of the State shall be sufficient. The Secretary of the Interior and the State fish and game department of each State accepting the benefits of this chapter shall agree upon the fish restoration and management projects to be aided in such State under the terms of this chapter, and all projects shall conform to the standards fixed by the Secretary of the Interior. Subject to paragraph (2), each coastal State, to the extent practicable, shall equitably allocate amounts apportioned to such State under this chapter between marine fish projects and freshwater fish projects in the same proportion as the estimated number of resident marine anglers and the estimated number of resident freshwater anglers, respectively, bear to the estimated number of all resident anglers in that State. Subject to subparagraph (B), the amount allocated by a State pursuant to this subsection to freshwater fish projects for each fiscal year shall not be less than the amount allocated by such State to such projects for fiscal year 1988. Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a State with respect to any fiscal year for which the amount apportioned to the State under this chapter is less than the amount apportioned to the State under this chapter for fiscal year 1988. As used in this subsection, the term “coastal State” means any one of the States of Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. The term also includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. “This Act may be cited as the ‘Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act of 2000’. The term ‘Pacific Ocean drainage area’ means the area comprised of portions of the States of Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and California from which water drains into the Pacific Ocean. The term ‘Program’ means the Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Program established by section 3(a). The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. There is established the Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Program within the Department of the Interior. to decrease fish mortality associated with the withdrawal of water for irrigation and other purposes without impairing the continued withdrawal of water for those purposes; and to decrease the incidence of juvenile and adult fish entering water supply systems. Under the Program, the Secretary, in consultation with the heads of other appropriate agencies, shall develop and implement projects to mitigate impacts to fisheries resulting from the construction and operation of water diversions by local governmental entities (including soil and water conservation districts) in the Pacific Ocean drainage area. fish screens; fish passage devices; and other related features agreed to by non-Federal interests, relevant Federal and tribal agencies, and affected States; and inventories by the States on the need and priority for projects described in clauses (i) through (iii). The Secretary shall give priority to any project that has a total cost of less than $2,500,000. Non-Federal participation in the Program shall be voluntary. The Secretary shall take no action that would result in any non-Federal entity being held financially responsible for any action under the Program, unless the entity applies to participate in the Program. Development and implementation of projects under the Program on land or facilities owned by the United States shall be nonreimbursable Federal expenditures. benefits to fish species native to the project area, particularly to species that are listed as being, or considered by Federal or State authorities to be, endangered, threatened, or sensitive; the size and type of water diversion; the availability of other funding sources; cost effectiveness; and additional opportunities for biological or water delivery system benefits. the project meets the requirements of the Secretary, as applicable, and any applicable State requirements; and the project is agreed to by all Federal and non-Federal entities with authority and responsibility for the project. consult with other Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies; and make maximum use of all available data. The non-Federal share of the cost of development and implementation of any project under the Program on land or at a facility that is not owned by the United States shall be 35 percent. The non-Federal participants in any project under the Program on land or at a facility that is not owned by the United States shall provide all land, easements, rights-of-way, dredged material disposal areas, and relocations necessary for the project. The value of land, easements, rights-of-way, dredged material disposal areas, and relocations provided under subsection (b) for a project shall be credited toward the non-Federal share of the costs of the project. The Secretary may, without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation, accept any amounts provided to the Secretary by the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration. Any amounts provided by the Bonneville Power Administration directly or through a grant to another entity for a project carried under the Program shall be credited toward the non-Federal share of the costs of the project. The non-Federal participants in any project carried out under the Program on land or at a facility that is not owned by the United States shall be responsible for all costs associated with operating, maintaining, repairing, rehabilitating, and replacing the project. The Federal Government shall be responsible for costs referred to in paragraph (1) for projects carried out on Federal land or at a Federal facility. “A project that receives funds under this Act shall be ineligible to receive Federal funds from any other source for the same purpose. the projects that have been completed under this Act; the projects that will be completed with amounts made available under this Act during the remaining fiscal years for which amounts are authorized to be appropriated under section 10; and recommended changes to the Program as a result of projects that have been carried out under this Act. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $15 million through 2021. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), not more than 25 percent of the total amount of funds made available under this section may be used for one or more projects in any single State. On notification to Congress, the Secretary may waive the limitation under subparagraph (A) if a State is unable to use the entire amount of funding made available to the State under this Act. staffing and overhead, such as the rental of office space and the acquisition of office equipment; and the review, processing, and provision of applications for funding under the Program. Not more than 6 percent of amounts made available to carry out this Act for each fiscal year may be used for Federal and State administrative expenses of carrying out this Act. 50 percent shall be provided to the State agencies provided assistance under the Program; and an amount equal to the cost of 1 full-time equivalent Federal employee, as determined by the Secretary, shall be provided to the Federal agency carrying out the Program. shall be divided evenly among all States provided assistance under the Program; and arranging meetings to promote the Program to potential applicants; assisting applicants with the preparation of applications for funding under the Program; and visiting construction sites to provide technical assistance, if requested by the applicant.”