[House Report 107-442]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-442
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CONTROL OR ERADICATION OF NUTRIA IN MARYLAND AND LOUISIANA
_______
May 7, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 4044]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4044) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
provide assistance to the State of Maryland for implementation
of a program to eradicate nutria and restore marshland damaged
by nutria, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) Wetlands and tidal marshes of the Chesapeake Bay and in
Louisiana provide significant cultural, economic, and
ecological benefits to the Nation.
(2) The South American nutria (Myocastor coypus) is directly
contributing to substantial marsh loss in Maryland and
Louisiana on Federal, State, and private land.
(3) Traditional harvest methods to control or eradicate
nutria have failed. Consequently, marsh loss is accelerating.
(4) The nutria eradication and control pilot program
authorized by Public Law 105-322 is to develop new and
effective methods for eradication of nutria.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to provide financial assistance to the State of
Maryland and the State of Louisiana for a program to implement measures
to eradicate or control nutria and restore marshland damaged by nutria.
SEC. 2. NUTRIA ERADICATION PROGRAM.
(a) Grant Authority.--The Secretary of the Interior (in this section
referred to as the ``Secretary''), subject to the availability of
appropriations, may provide financial assistance to the State of
Maryland and the State of Louisiana for a program to implement measures
to eradicate or control nutria and restore marshland damaged by nutria.
(b) Goals.--The goals of the program shall be to--
(1) eradicate nutria in Maryland;
(2) eradicate or control nutria in Louisiana and other
States; and
(3) restore marshland damaged by nutria.
(c) Activities.--In the State of Maryland, the Secretary shall
require that the program consist of management, research, and public
education activities carried out in accordance with the document
published by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service entitled
``Eradication Strategies for Nutria in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay
Watersheds'', dated March 2002.
(d) Cost Sharing.--
(1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the costs of the
program may not exceed 75 percent of the total costs of the
program.
(2) In-kind contributions.--The non-Federal share of the
costs of the program may be provided in the form of in-kind
contributions of materials or services.
(e) Limitation on Administrative Expenses.--Not more than 5 percent
of financial assistance provided by the Secretary under this section
may be used for administrative expenses.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--For financial assistance under
this section, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
$4,000,000 for the State of Maryland program and $2,000,000 for the
State of Louisiana program for each of fiscal years 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006, and 2007.
SEC. 3. REPORT.
No later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary and the National Invasive Species Council shall give
consideration to the 2002 report for the Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries titled ``Nutria in Louisiana'', and shall
develop, in cooperation with the State of Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries, a long-term nutria control program with the
objective to significantly reduce and restore the damage nutria cause
to coastal wetlands in the State of Louisiana.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
provide assistance to the State of Maryland and the State of
Louisiana for implementation of a program to eradicate or
control nutria and restore marshland damaged by nutria.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4044 as ordered reported is to
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance
to the State of Maryland and the State of Louisiana for
implementation of a program to eradicate or control nutria and
restore marshland damaged by nutria.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Nutria are large semi-aquatic, surface feeding herbivores
that are extremely destructive to marsh vegetation. Nutria are
extremely prolific, producing two to three litters annually. On
average, nutria have five young, but a female may have as many
as 13 offspring per litter. Nutria weigh on average up to 18
pounds which is 5 to10 times the size of native muskrats.
This species was introduced in Maryland in the 1940s to
assist the fur industry. There are currently between 50,000 to
75,000 nutria living at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
in Cambridge, Maryland. The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
was established under the authority of the Migratory Bird
Conservation Commission on January 23, 1933, for the purpose of
providing habitat for migrating and wintering birds. Since that
time, the size of the Refuge has been expanded to over 23,700
acres from funding obtained from the Endangered Species Act of
1973, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989 and
the Refuge Recreation Act of 1962.
Nutria forage directly on the vegetative root mat, leaving
the marsh pitted with digging sites and fragmented with deep
swim canals. In the face of rising sea levels, nutria damage is
particularly problematic because it accelerates the erosional
processes associated with tidal currents and wave action. The
cumulative result of an overabundance of nutria and rising sea
level has been a rapid conversion of emergent marsh to open
water. To compound this problem, there are no natural predators
to control nutria and populations have exploded, causing
significant impacts to native wildlife, fish, shellfish, plants
and marsh ecosystems.
According to the Blackwater Refuge Manager, at least 7,000
out of the 17,000 total acres of refuge marsh have already been
lost to nutria and the remaining acreage is at serious risk in
the future. Trapping is conducted on the Refuge in an effort to
control nutria populations. Trapping income from the refuge has
been estimated to contribute approximately $30,000 to the local
economy but overall the limited trapping program has not made a
real impact on the population of nutria.
Blackwater is one of nine national wildlife refuges on the
low-lying Delmarva Peninsula, which is so named to represent
the three states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, which
share its 200-mile length. This finger of land lies on the
track of the Eastern Flyway and its extensive marshes make it
prime habitat for nesting and migrating birds. This Refuge is
home to over 250 bird species including bald and golden eagles,
Great blue herons, Northern loons, ospreys and thousands of
geese and ducks. In fact, there are more than 20 different
varieties of ducks including mallards, black ducks, blue-winged
teals, green-winged teals, wood ducks, wigeons and pintails
that spend the winter months at Blackwater.
The Refuge also supports a number of mammal species
including bats, sika and white-tailed deer, muskrats, otters,
red foxes and the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel. This steel-
gray squirrel was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service in 1967. The fundamental reason for this
designation was the loss of habitat. While the Delmarva fox
squirrel once ranged from southeastern Pennsylvania throughout
the Delmarva Peninsula, today there are only four counties
along the Maryland's Eastern Shore that support wild
populations.
Due to its abundant wildlife, the Refuge hosts over 500,000
visitors annually. It is the largest tourist attraction in
Dorchester County. The County's Department of Tourism estimates
that Blackwater Refuge visitors annually spend $15 million in
the county. This expenditure has a tremendous impact on local
restaurants, hotels, retail merchants, and other businesses. An
irreplaceable component of the Refuge are the thousands of
acres of wetlands which are the essential habitat for migrating
birds. These wetlands are in serious jeopardy because of the
increasing population of nutria.
During the 105th Congress, legislation sponsored by
Congressman Wayne T. Gilchrest was enacted to establish the
Maryland Nutria Control Pilot Project to address the serious
problems of an exploding population of nutria. Under Public Law
105-322, $2.9 million was authorized over three years to help
alleviate this invasive problem. To date, Congress has
appropriated about $1.5 million to study the impact of nutria
on wetland habitats, the reproductive capacity of this species,
methods to restore wetlands and methods to eradicate nutria
populations along Maryland's Eastern Shore.
While the long-term goal of the project is to eradicate
nutria in Maryland, the authorization of appropriations for
Public Law 105-322 expires on September 30, 2002. In addition,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has calculated that it will
costs about $30,000 per acre to restore wetlands at the
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. There is an immediate need
to eradicate nutria and to restore wetlands that have been
destroyed by this invasive species.
This legislation would extend this act for five years with
an annual authorization of $6 million per year, with $4 million
for the State of Maryland and $2 million for Louisiana. The
State of Louisiana has done an effective job for a number of
years in stopping the expansion of wetland destruction by
nutria and this new authorization will allow the State to
conduct aerial vegetation surveys, to provide additional
incentive payments for a more aggressive nutria control program
and to continue efforts to develop effective means to restore
wetlands subject to nutria damage. The Committee expects the
Secretary of the Interior and the National Invasive Species
Council to support efforts of the Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries to control and restore nutria damage.
After three years of study and analysis, it is time to
begin the difficult job of eradicating and restoring marshland
destroyed by nutria. Specifically, the goals of this measure
are to remove nutria from the Blackwater National Wildlife
Refuge, the Fishing Bay Wildlife Management Area and Tudor
Farms in Maryland, eradicate or control nutria in Louisiana and
other states and restore marshland damaged by these animals.
The federal share of this program will remain at not more than
75 percent and administrative expenses are capped at five
percent.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4044 was introduced by Congressman Wayne T. Gilchrest
(R-MD) on March 20, 2002. The bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans. On
April 11, 2002, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On
April 17, 2002, the Subcommittee met to mark up the bill.
Congressman Gilchrest offered an amendment that changed the
limitation on administrative expenses from ten to five percent.
It was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was then
ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee by voice vote.
On April 24, 2002, the Full Resources Committee met to consider
the bill. Congressman W.J. ``Billy'' Tauzin (R-LA) offered an
amendment in the nature of a substitute that authorized up to
$2 million each year until September 30, 2007, to control the
ever-increasing population of nutria and to restore the damaged
caused to coastal wetlands in the State of Louisiana. The
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill as amended
was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill as ordered reported is to authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to the State of
Maryland and the State of Louisiana for implementation of a
program to eradicate or control nutria and restore marshland
damaged by nutria.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, May 3, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4044, a bill to
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance
to the state of Maryland and the state of Louisiana for
implementation of a program to eradicate or control nutria and
restore marshland damaged by nutria.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 4044--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide
assistance to the state of Maryland and the state of Louisiana
for implementation of a program to eradicate or control nutria
and restore marshland damaged by nutria
Summary: H.R. 4044 would authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to provide financial assistance to Maryland and
Louisiana for the control or eradication of South American
nutria (a foreign invasive species) and for the restoration of
marshlands damaged by the mammal. For this purpose, the bill
would authorize the appropriate of $6 million for each of
fiscal years 2003 through 2007. The bill also would require the
Secretary (acting through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS), to develop a long-term nutria control program for
Louisiana.
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 4044 would cost $30 million
over the 2003-2007 period. The legislation would not affect
direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures would not apply.
H.R. 4044 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments. The grant funds authorized by this bill would
benefit the states of Maryland and Louisiana, and any costs
incurred by those states to comply with the conditions of that
assistance would be voluntary.
Estimated cost of the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of H.R. 4044 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and environment).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
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SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization level........................................... 6 6 6 6 6
Estimated outlays............................................. 6 6 6 6 6
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Basis of estimate: For the estimate, CBO assumes that the
amounts authorized by H.R. 4044 will be appropriated for each
fiscal year and will be paid to the two states in annual lump
sums. The annual authorization level consists of $4 million for
Maryland and $2 million for Louisiana. CBO estimates that
developing the long-term nutria program for Louisiana required
by section 3 of the bill would have no significant effect on
USFWS spending.
Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 4044
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments. The grants funds authorized by this bill
would benefit the states of Maryland and Louisiana, and any
costs incurred by those states to comply with the conditions of
that assistance would be voluntary.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Deborah Reis; impact
on state, local, and tribal governments: Marjorie Miller;
impact on the private sector: Cecil McPherson.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any state, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.