A bill to establish 4 regional institutes as centers of excellence for research, planning, and related efforts to assess and prepare for the impacts of climate change on ocean and coastal areas and for other purposes.

Summary: Ocean and Coastal Adaptation Planning Act - Directs the Administrators of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to jointly establish four Institutes for Ocean and Coastal Adaptation to Climate Change and Ocean Acidification to: (1) assess, prepare for, and adapt to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on ocean and coastal areas and resources, including the Great Lakes; and (2) create centers of excellence to document and predict coastal and ocean effects of climate change and ocean acidification and to serve as principal national and international resources for technical expertise on adaptation strategies.

Requires the Administrators to jointly select and award a grant to one institution of higher education to serve as such an Institute in each of four regions: (1) the Great Lakes Region; (2) the Northeast Region; (3) the Southeast and Gulf Coast Region; and (4) the Western and Pacific Region.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ocean and Coastal Adaptation 
Planning Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Oceans are a major carbon sink and have absorbed nearly 
        50 percent of all anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted into the 
        atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
            (2) The increased absorption of carbon dioxide by the 
        oceans due to rising greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere 
        has--
                    (A) increased ocean acidity, which negatively 
                impacts the health of marine and coastal ecosystems and 
                resources; and
                    (B) influenced the important role oceans play in 
                the global cycling of carbon, compounding the effects 
                of temperature change on the ability of ocean and 
                coastal areas to serve as carbon sinks.
            (3) Climate change has contributed to sea levels rising 7 
        inches during the 20th century and nearly 1.5 inches between 
        1993 and 2003.
            (4) Higher atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases 
        result in increased air temperatures, which in turn lead to 
        warmer ocean waters and resulting changes in ecosystem 
        dynamics.
            (5) Climate change will greatly amplify risks to coastal 
        populations, economies, and ecosystems from--
                    (A) saltwater inundation of low-lying coastal 
                regions;
                    (B) more frequent flooding due to storm surges;
                    (C) shifts in plant and animal species 
                distributions; and
                    (D) worsening beach erosion from relative sea level 
                rise and increased storm inundation.
            (6) Researching the effects of climate change and ocean 
        acidification on coastal environments and the ways in which 
        coastal communities must adapt to the challenges these effects 
        will bring is an essential component to the overall response to 
        climate change and greenhouse gas pollution.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrators.--The term ``Administrators'' means the 
        Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration and the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency.
            (2) Institute.--The term ``Institute'' means each of the 4 
        Institutes for Ocean and Coastal Adaptation to Climate Change 
        and Ocean Acidification established under section 4(a).

SEC. 4. INSTITUTES FOR OCEAN AND COASTAL ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrators shall jointly establish 4 
regional institutes, to be known as Institutes for Ocean and Coastal 
Adaptation to Climate Change and Ocean Acidification, at institutions 
of higher education in the United States.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of each Institute shall be--
            (1) to conduct research, planning, and related efforts to 
        assess, prepare for, and adapt to the ongoing and expected 
        impacts of climate change and ocean acidification on ocean and 
        coastal areas and resources, including the Great Lakes; and
            (2) to create centers of excellence--
                    (A) to document and predict coastal and ocean 
                effects of climate change and ocean acidification; and
                    (B) to serve as principal national and 
                international resources for technical expertise on 
                adaptation strategies, including the enhancement and 
                preservation of ecosystem and resource resilience, 
                necessary for ocean and coastal areas to respond to the 
                impacts of climate change and ocean acidification.
    (c) Selection.--
            (1) Location.--The Administrators shall jointly select 1 
        institution of higher education to serve as an Institute in 
        each of the following regions:
                    (A) The Great Lakes Region, which shall include 
                Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and 
                Wisconsin.
                    (B) The Northeast Region, which shall include 
                Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, 
                New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and 
                Vermont.
                    (C) The Southeast and Gulf Coast Region, which 
                shall include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, 
                Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South 
                Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and the Virgin Islands.
                    (D) The Western and Pacific Region, which shall 
                include Alaska, American Samoa, California, Guam, 
                Hawaii, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, and 
                Washington.
            (2) Application.--An institution of higher education 
        seeking to be selected as an Institute shall submit an 
        application to the Administrators at such time, in such manner, 
        and containing such information as the Administrators may 
        reasonably require.
    (d) Grants for Institutes.--The Administrators shall award a grant 
to each institutions of higher education selected as an Institute to 
carry out the purposes of the Institute.
    (e) Schedule.--The Administrators shall--
            (1) not later than 9 months after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, begin accepting the applications referred to in 
        subsection (c)(2); and
            (2) not later than 90 days after the first date that 
        applications are accepted under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) select each institution of higher education to 
                serve as an Institute; and
                    (B) award a grant to each such institution, as 
                authorized under subsection (d).

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.