Coastal Resources Enhancement and Restoration Act of 2000

Summary: Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct a Federal agency found to have violated the Act in connection with the discharge or runoff of pollutants into U.S. coastal waters and ordered to undertake a supplemental environmental program in lieu of paying fines to be given the option of constructing artificial reefs and undertaking aquatic habitat restoration projects.
Requires the Secretary of the Army, in determining which shores other than public will be eligible for Federal assistance for shore protection, to consider a publicly owned shore with insufficient public access to be a privately owned shore.
Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to allow a publicly owned shore with insufficient public access to be considered a privately owned shore for purposes of costs of constructing projects or measures for beach erosion control and water quality enhancement assigned to projects for flood control and other water resources purposes.
Directs the Secretary of Commerce and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to carry out a comprehensive ocean observing system pilot program. Requires the establishment of two regional test projects, one of which shall be located at the Southern California Bight from Encinitas, Mexico, to Point Dume, California, with Orange County, California, serving as the focal point.
Establishes a beach nourishment account in the Treasury to carry out: (1) such pilot program; and (2) projects for beach nourishment, shore protection, and beach erosion control.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coastal Resources Enhancement and 
Restoration Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH GRANTS FOR COASTAL 
              ENGINEERING AND SHORELINE PROTECTION.

    Section 3 of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 
1862) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Beginning in fiscal year 2001, not less than 10 percent of 
the amounts appropriated for a fiscal year for making grants for 
engineering research under subsection (a)(1) shall be used by the 
Foundation for making grants for coastal engineering and coastline 
protection research.''.

SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS IN COASTAL AREAS.

    Section 313 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 
1323) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Artificial Reefs and Aquatic Habitat Restoration Projects.--A 
department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Government that 
is found to have violated this Act in connection with the discharge or 
runoff of pollutants into coastal waters of the United States and that, 
as a result of the violation, is ordered to undertake a supplemental 
environmental program in lieu of paying fines shall be given the option 
of constructing artificial reefs and undertaking aquatic habitat 
restoration projects.''.

SEC. 4. ACCESS TO PUBLICLY OWNED SHORES.

    (a) Eligibility of Shoreline Protection Projects.--Subsection (d) 
of the first section of the Act entitled ``An Act authorizing Federal 
participation in the cost of protecting the shores of publicly owned 
property'', approved August 13, 1946 (33 U.S.C. 426d), is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ``In making determinations under this 
subsection, the Secretary shall consider a publicly owned shore with 
insufficient public access (as determined in accordance with rules 
issued by the Secretary) to be a privately owned shore.''.
    (b) Cost Sharing.--Section 103(d) of the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2213(d)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:
            ``(3) Privately owned shores defined.--In this subsection, 
        the term `privately owned shores' includes a publicly owned 
        shore with insufficient public access, as determined in 
        accordance with rules issued by the Secretary.''.
    (c) Rules.--The Secretary of the Army shall issue rules to carry 
out the amendments made by this subsection. In issuing such rules, the 
Secretary shall seek to ensure public access to every one-half mile of 
publicly owned shore for which assistance is provided by the Secretary. 
The Secretary may allow for exceptions to such access requirements in 
cases of shores located in areas of extreme environmental sensitivity.

SEC. 5. BEACH NOURISHMENT ACCOUNT.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury a separate 
account to be known as the Beach Nourishment Account (in this section 
referred to as the ``account''), which shall consist of such funds as 
may be deposited or credited to the account under this section.
    (b) Source of Funds for Account.--For fiscal year 2001 and each 
fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
periodically transfer to the account amounts equivalent to 2 percent of 
the funds deposited in the general fund of the Treasury under section 9 
of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1338).
    (c) Use of Account.--Funds in the account shall be available 
without further appropriation--
            (1) in the amounts specified in section 6, to the Secretary 
        of Commerce and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics 
        and Space Administration to carry out the pilot program 
        authorized by section 6; and
            (2) in the amounts remaining after funds are made available 
        under paragraph (1), to the Secretary of the Army to carry out 
        projects for beach nourishment, shore protection, and beach 
        erosion control;
Funds in the account shall remain available until expended.
    (d) Applicability of Requirements.--The Secretary of the Army shall 
carry out beach nourishment, shore protection, and beach erosion 
control projects using amounts in the account in accordance with the 
cost-sharing requirements under section 103 of the Water Resources 
Development Act of 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2213) and other requirements 
applicable to such projects.
    (e) Reporting of Transactions.--Receipts, obligations, and 
expenditures of funds in the account shall be reported in annual 
estimates submitted to Congress by the Secretary of the Army.
    (f) Investment.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest 
        such portion of the account established by subsection (a) as is 
        not, in the judgment of the Secretary, required to meet current 
        withdrawals. Such investments may be made only in interest-
        bearing obligations of the United States. For such purpose, 
        such obligations may be acquired--
                    (A) on original issue at the issue price; or
                    (B) by purchase of outstanding obligations at the 
                market price.
            (2) Sale of obligations.--Any obligation acquired by the 
        account may be sold at the market price.
            (3) Interest on certain proceeds.--The interest on, and the 
        proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held 
        in the account shall be credited to and form part of the 
        account.

SEC. 6. COMPREHENSIVE OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEM PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce (acting through the 
Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere) and the Administrator of the 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall jointly carry out a 
pilot program to institute the mission of the Global Ocean Observing 
System in the United States by establishing a comprehensive monitoring 
network of ocean conditions.
    (b) Partnerships.--In carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary 
and the Administrator shall enter into partnerships with local and 
regional interests to monitor and collect the widest range of data 
possible about the coastal oceans and inland waterways in order to make 
such information available to interested persons in real time or near 
real time.
    (c) Information To Be Collected.--Information collected under the 
pilot program shall include the following:
            (1) Wave heights, periods, swell direction and water 
        temperature.
            (2) Coastal currents and their directions.
            (3) Large mammal movement via implanted sensors.
            (4) Sewage outfall movement.
            (5) Water quality, such as bacteria counts, sediment 
        movement, and red tides.
            (6) Beaconed fishing boat tracking (for tracking illegal 
        foreign whalers).
            (7) Oil spill tracking.
            (8) Beach erosion data.
            (9) Weather.
            (10) River mouth outflow sediment observation.
            (11) Global Information System coastal mapping.
    (d) Federal Cooperation.--The Secretary and the Administrator shall 
carry out the pilot project in cooperation with the Geological Survey, 
the Navy, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
    (e) Regional Test Projects.--In carrying out the pilot program, the 
Secretary and the Administrator shall establish 2 regional test 
projects. One of the test projects shall be located at the Southern 
California Bight from Encinitas, Mexico, to Point Dume, California, 
with Orange County, California, serving as the focal point. The second 
test project shall be carried out at a location to be determined by the 
Secretary and the Administrator.
    (f) Coordination of Existing Efforts.--In carrying out the pilot 
program, the Secretary and the Administrator shall not replace or 
duplicate existing efforts of Federal, State, and local entities in 
monitoring ocean conditions, but shall seek to coordinate such efforts 
and to obtain information that is not currently collected.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There shall be available from the Beach 
        Nourishment Account established by section 5 $4,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2001 through 2006 to carry out this 
        section.
            (2) Allocation.--Of the amounts made available under 
        paragraph (1), $2,000,000 per fiscal year shall be available 
        for carrying out each of the 2 regional test projects referred 
        to in subsection (e).