Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds that— the New York-New Jersey Watershed, which encompasses all the watersheds that flow into New York-New Jersey Harbor and the associated estuaries of that Harbor, such as the Hudson, Mohawk, Raritan, Passaic, Hackensack, and Bronx River Watersheds and the Hudson River Estuary, is of great ecological, economic, and cultural importance; the Watershed supports one of the most densely populated and economically important regions in the United States; millions of people rely on the Hudson, Mohawk, Raritan, and Hackensack Rivers as sources of drinking water; the Watershed supports multiple industries that attract over $60,700,000,000 in annual revenue through tourism, commercial fishing, and recreational activities; the New York-New Jersey Harbor— contributes $8,500,000,000 annually in Federal, State, and local tax revenue; and is directly or indirectly responsible for 629,000 jobs with $90,500,000,000 in annual personal and business wages; the water resources of the Mohawk River play an important role in tourism, shipping, and related businesses and industries in the region, with the tourism industry alone valued at more than $1,340,000,000 annually; the Watershed supports species listed as threatened species or endangered species under section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1533 ), including the shortnose sturgeon and the Atlantic sturgeon, as well as those species whose populations are at risk of steep declines; shorelines, marshes, and wetlands throughout the Watershed are critical to flood mitigation and provide important habitat for a diverse array of fish and wildlife; the Hudson River Estuary contains more than 7,000 acres of brackish wetlands that— filter contaminants; mitigate sea level rise; buffer coastal communities from storms; and provide habitat for fish and wildlife; for the past century, the Watershed has faced serious threats to water quality, including hazardous waste, legacy pollutants, and partially treated or untreated wastewater; many of the residents that benefit from the Watershed live in communities experiencing environmental injustice, where access to and enjoyment of fish, wildlife, clean water, and other natural resources has been impaired or compromised; the ongoing environmental injustice challenges described in paragraph
(11)are compounded by the impacts of climate change, including— rising air and water temperatures; increases in incidences of extreme weather; changing precipitation patterns; and rising sea levels; extreme weather events like Hurricanes Sandy, Irene, Lee, and Ida caused loss of life and billions of dollars in damages, and the shared coastline of New York and New Jersey remains highly vulnerable to frequent storm surges and rising seas; Federal, State, and local governments recognize that natural and nature-based flood hazard mitigation measures, including living shorelines and restoring the function of riparian corridors, are cost-effective solutions that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits; restoration activities in the Watershed are supported by several Federal and State programs, and funding for those important programs should continue and complement the establishment of the New York-New Jersey Watershed Restoration Program under section 4(a), which is intended to build on and help coordinate restoration and protection funding mechanisms at the Federal, State, Tribal, regional, and local levels; managing the Watershed requires leadership from the Department of the Interior and coordination among other Federal agencies, 2 States, Indian Tribes, hundreds of counties, cities and towns, and millions of property owners; the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has established a collaborative approach to delivering inclusive, meaningful conservation gains in urban communities through— the Urban Wildlife Conservation Program; and at landscape scales, the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program; and drawing on existing management plans and existing and ongoing voluntary conservation efforts in the Watershed will— improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of conservation and restoration efforts; and increase private sector investments and coordination of Federal and non-Federal resources.
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