Purpose

It is the purpose of this Act to establish the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative to protect and restore the ecological health and resilience of the Mississippi River for current and succeeding generations of Americans and for the fish and wildlife that rely on the Mississippi River and its floodplain. The MRRRI is a nonregulatory initiative that will build upon existing efforts and provide funding for projects and activities to protect and restore the nationally significant resources of the Mississippi River by— (1) establishing the Mississippi River National Program Office; (2) establishing the focus areas and identifying qualifying activities for MRRRI programs and projects; (3) directing the development of actionable goals, an action plan, and a science plan, and regular updates to such plans, to guide the MRRRI and ensuring the integration of the MRRRI with other Federal, State, Tribal, and local programs; (4) establishing criteria for measuring the success of the MRRRI in restoring the ecological health and resilience of the Mississippi River; (5) requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate and consult with Federal and non-Federal stakeholders to implement the MRRRI; and (6) establishing the Mississippi River Corridor Research Centers.