The following is a summary of federal legislation related to coastal, fisheries, water, and natural resources enacted during the first session of the 107th Congress.

107 Public Law 13 - Act to Authorize Funds for Endangered Species Act Consultation (H.R. 581)
Authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to use wildland fire management funds (appropriated in the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001) to reimburse the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service for the costs of their compliance with Endangered Species Act consultation requirements.

107 Public Law 20 - 2001 Supplemental Appropriations Act
(H.R. 2216)

Title I - National Security Matters
Chapter 2: Makes supplemental appropriations for the Department of Energy for defense-related environmental restoration and waste management.

Title II - Other Supplemental Appropriations
Chapter 1: Appropriates for the (1) enforcement and enhancement of activities under the Animal Welfare Act; (2) the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; and (3) Natural Resources Conservation Service, to repair damages to waterways and watersheds resulting from natural disasters. Rescinds specified funds appropriated to the Farm Service Agency for the Agricultural Conservation Program.

§§ 2104, 2107: Provide amounts for water conservation assistance to producers in the Klamath Basin (Oregon) and in the Yakima Basin (Washington).

Chapter 2: Amends a prior appropriation for the construction of a research center at the ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve, making $3 million available for construction and $5 million for land acquisition.

§ 2201: Revises the date for the adoption of final regulations concerning permits under the fishing capacity reduction program from May 1, 2001, to as soon as practicable and provides that interim Bering Sea crab fishery certificates issued after December 1, 2000 shall remain valid until the Secretary implements final regulations.

§ 2202: Amends the American Fisheries Act’s requirements for commercial lenders, mortgage trustees, and fisheries endorsements, including the revision of methods by which commercial fishing vessel lenders demonstrate citizenship status.

Chapter 11: Authorizes the EPA to award grants for work on New York watersheds.

107 Public Law 26 - Act to Reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (H.R. 2131)
Amends the Tropical Forest Conservation Act to authorize appropriations through FY 2004 for the reduction of debt owed by a developing country with a tropical forest, if the debt was a result of loans made or credits extended by the U.S. The act also revises language to require “investment reforms” by the country to be eligible for the debt reduction.

107 Public Law 63 - Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (H.R. 2217)
Provides funds for the following activities.

• Landowner Incentive Program - Provides for private conservation efforts funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the protection and management of habitat to benefit federally listed, proposed, or candidate species, or other at-risk species on private lands;
• Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing - Allows activities only within the area of Sale 181 in the eastern Gulf of Mexico;
• Glacier Bay National Park Vessels - Directs the National Park Service to complete (by January 1, 2004) an EIS to identify and analyze the possible effects of the 1996 increases in the number of vessel entries issued for Glacier Bay National Park, providing that the number of vessel entries into the Park shall be the same as that in effect during the 2000 calendar year until the Secretary sets levels consistent with the EIS.

107 Public Law 66 - Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2002 (H.R. 2311)
Section 502 Instructs the Secretary of the Army to study and report to Congress on the known and potential environmental effects of oil and gas drilling activity in the Great Lakes, including effects of drilling upon the shorelines and water and prohibits any state or federal permit or lease issuance for new oil and gas slant, directional, or offshore drilling in or under any of the Great Lakes.

107 Public Law 69 - Act to Amend the Reclamation Recreation Management Act of 1992 (H.R. 2925)
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations in order to provide for the security of dams, facilities, and resources under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation.

107 Public Law 73 - Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and (H.R. 2620)
Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002
Funds the Environmental Protection Agency for fiscal year 2002; in its conference report, it provides $10 million for coastal states to test and monitor the water at local beaches and to notify the public if the water quality is deemed unsafe for swimming, as required by the BEACH Act of 2000.

107 Public Law 91 - Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Establishment Act (H.R. 1230)
Establishes the nation’s first international Wildlife Refuge to protect the remaining high-quality fish and wildlife habitats of the Detroit River and to restore and enhance degraded wildlife habitats associated with the Detroit River. The act calls for assistance with international efforts to conserve, enhance, and restore the native aquatic and terrestrial community characteristics of the Detroit River in the U.S. and Canada, and for partnerships among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Canadian national and provincial authorities, State and local governments, communities, and conservation organizations. The refuge consists of the lands and waters managed by the Secretary in Michigan within the area extending from the point in Michigan directly across the river from northernmost point of Ojibway Shores to the southern boundary of the Sterling State Park, including the Wyandotte National Wildlife Refuge.

107 Public Law 107 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (H.R. 1438)
Creates a pilot program for emission reduction incentives by authorizing the Secretary of Defense to prepare a report on the sale of economic incentives for the reduction of emission of air pollutants attributable to military facilities. In addition, the following should be well detailed in the report: number and type of pollutants involved, extent of loss to U.S., extent to which retention of the proceeds of sales provided incentives, and the environmental impact of the program.