§ 3953 — Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation Planning

(1) The Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator are directed to enter into an agreement with the Governor, as set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection, upon notification of the Governor’s willingness to enter into such agreement. (A) Upon receiving notification pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator shall promptly enter into an agreement (hereafter in this section referred to as the “agreement”) with the State under the terms set forth in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph. (B) The agreement shall— (i) set forth a process by which the State agrees to develop, in accordance with this section, a coastal wetlands conservation plan (hereafter in this section referred to as the “conservation plan”); (ii) designate a single agency of the State to develop the conservation plan; (iii) assure an opportunity for participation in the development of the conservation plan, during the planning period, by the public and by Federal and State agencies; (iv) obligate the State, not later than three years after the date of signing the agreement, unless extended by the parties thereto, to submit the conservation plan to the Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator for their approval; and (v) upon approval of the conservation plan, obligate the State to implement the conservation plan. (3) Upon the date of signing the agreement— (A) the Administrator shall, in consultation with the Director, with the funds made available in accordance with section 3955 of this title, make grants during the development of the conservation plan to assist the designated State agency in developing such plan. Such grants shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost of developing the plan; and (B) the Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator shall provide technical assistance to the State to assist it in the development of the plan. (b) If a conservation plan is developed pursuant to this section, it shall have a goal of achieving no net loss of wetlands in the coastal areas of Louisiana as a result of development activities initiated subsequent to approval of the plan, exclusive of any wetlands gains achieved through implementation of section 3952 of this title. (c) The conservation plan authorized by this section shall include— (1) identification of the entire coastal area in the State that contains coastal wetlands; (2) designation of a single State agency with the responsibility for implementing and enforcing the plan; (3) identification of measures that the State shall take in addition to existing Federal authority to achieve a goal of no net loss of wetlands as a result of development activities, exclusive of any wetlands gains achieved through implementation of section 3952 of this title; (4) a system that the State shall implement to account for gains and losses of coastal wetlands within coastal areas for purposes of evaluating the degree to which the goal of no net loss of wetlands as a result of development activities in such wetlands or other waters has been attained; (5) satisfactory assurances that the State will have adequate personnel, funding, and authority to implement the plan; (6) a program to be carried out by the State for the purpose of educating the public concerning the necessity to conserve wetlands; (7) a program to encourage the use of technology by persons engaged in development activities that will result in negligible impact on wetlands; and (8) a program for the review, evaluation, and identification of regulatory and nonregulatory options that will be adopted by the State to encourage and assist private owners of wetlands to continue to maintain those lands as wetlands. (1) If the Governor submits a conservation plan to the Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator for their approval, the Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator shall, within one hundred and eighty days following receipt of such plan, approve or disapprove it. (2) The Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator shall approve a conservation plan submitted by the Governor, if they determine that— (A) the State has adequate authority to fully implement all provisions of such a plan; (B) such a plan is adequate to attain the goal of no net loss of coastal wetlands as a result of development activities and complies with the other requirements of this section; and (C) the plan was developed in accordance with terms of the agreement set forth in subsection (a) of this section. (1) If the Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator determine that a conservation plan submitted by the Governor does not comply with the requirements of subsection (d) of this section, they shall submit to the Governor a statement explaining why the plan is not in compliance and how the plan should be changed to be in compliance. (2) If the Governor submits a modified conservation plan to the Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator for their reconsideration, the Secretary, the Director, and Administrator shall have ninety days to determine whether the modifications are sufficient to bring the plan into compliance with requirements of subsection (d) of this section. (3) If the Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator fail to approve or disapprove the conservation plan, as modified, within the ninety-day period following the date on which it was submitted to them by the Governor, such plan, as modified, shall be deemed to be approved effective upon the expiration of such ninety-day period. (f) If the Governor amends the conservation plan approved under this section, any such amended plan shall be considered a new plan and shall be subject to the requirements of this section; except that minor changes to such plan shall not be subject to the requirements of this section. (g) A conservation plan approved under this section shall be implemented as provided therein. (1) accounting, as required under subsection (c) of this section, of the gains and losses of coastal wetlands as a result of development activities. (2) Twenty-four months after the initial one hundred and eighty day period set forth in paragraph (1), and at the end of each twenty-four-month period thereafter, the Secretary, the Director, and the Administrator shall, report to the Congress on the status of the conservation plan and provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of the plan in meeting the goal of this section.