II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 778 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to conduct coastal 

community vulnerability assessments related to ocean acidification, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 13, 2019 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. PETERS, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 

Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, to conduct coastal community vulnerability assessments related to ocean acidification, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coastal Communities 

5 Ocean Acidification Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COASTAL COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESS2 MENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12406 of the Federal 

4 Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 

5 (33 U.S.C. 3705) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub7 section (d); and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(b) COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 

12 program established under subsection (a), shall con13 duct an ocean acidification coastal community vul14 nerability assessment, and issue a corresponding 

15 public report, which shall be updated at least once 

16 every 7 years. 

17 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The assessment con18 ducted under paragraph (1) shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) identify the United States coastal 

20 communities, including island communities, low21 population rural communities, and subsistence 

22 communities, that are most dependent on coast23 al and ocean resources that may be impacted by 

24 ocean acidification; 

25 ‘‘(B) assess the nature of the social and 

26 economic vulnerabilities of those communities; 


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1 ‘‘(C) identify the ocean acidification im2 pacts that might harm those communities, in3 cluding impacts from changes in ocean and 

4 coastal marine resources that are not managed 

5 by the Federal Government; 

6 ‘‘(D) identify key knowledge gaps where 

7 research could be devoted to better understand 

8 the possible impacts of ocean acidification on 

9 those communities, the risks and threats facing 

10 those communities, and possible adaptation 

11 strategies for those communities; and 

12 ‘‘(E) be conducted in collaboration with ex13 perts, indigenous knowledge groups, and stake14 holders who are familiar with the unique eco15 nomic, social, ecological, geographic, and re16 source concerns of coastal communities in the 

17 United States, including representatives of— 

18 ‘‘(i) the National Marine Fisheries 

19 Service and the Office for Coastal Manage20 ment of the National Oceanic and Atmos21 pheric Administration; 

22 ‘‘(ii) National Integrated Coastal and 

23 Ocean Observation System regional infor24 mation coordination entities established 

25 under section 12304(c)(4) of the InteVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S778.IS S778

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1 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation 

2 System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

3 3603(c)(4)); 

4 ‘‘(iii) regional ocean acidification net5 works; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) State sea grant programs (as de7 fined in section 203 of the National Sea 

8 Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 

9 1122)). 

10 ‘‘(c) SUPPORT FOR STATE AND LOCAL VULNER11 ABILITY ASSESSMENTS AND STRATEGIC RESEARCH

12 PLANNING.—In carrying out the program established 

13 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall collaborate with 

14 State, local, and tribal government entities that are con15 ducting or have completed vulnerability assessments, stra16 tegic research planning, or other similar activities related 

17 to ocean acidification and its impacts on coastal commu18 nities, for the purpose of— 

19 ‘‘(1) determining whether such activities can be 

20 used as a model for other communities; and 

21 ‘‘(2) identifying opportunities for the National 

22 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other 

23 relevant Federal agencies to support such activi24 ties.’’. 


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1 (b) ONGOING INPUT MECHANISM.—Section 

2 12404(b)(5) of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research 

3 And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3703(b)(5)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘including information’’ and in6 serting the following: ‘‘including— 

7 ‘‘(A) information’’; 

8 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert9 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) an ongoing mechanism that allows af12 fected industry members, coastal stakeholders, 

13 non-Federal resource managers, community 

14 acidification networks, indigenous knowledge 

15 groups, and scientific experts not employed by 

16 the Federal Government to provide input on re17 search, data, and monitoring that is necessary 

18 to support on-the-ground management, deci19 sionmaking, and adaptation related to ocean 

20 acidification and its impacts.’’. 

21 (c) STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN.—Section 12405 of 

22 the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring 

23 Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

2 after the semicolon; 

3 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(10) make recommendations for research that 

7 should be conducted, including in the social sciences 

8 and economics, to address the key knowledge gaps 

9 identified in the community vulnerability assessment 

10 report conducted under section 12406(b).’’; and 

11 (2) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘, tribal gov12 ernments, indigenous knowledge groups,’’ after ‘‘in13 dustry’’. 

14 (d) REPORT ON SUPPORT FOR STATE AND LOCAL

15 VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS AND STRATEGIC RE16 SEARCH PLANNING.—Not later than 180 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

18 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

19 shall submit to Congress a report on the efforts of the 

20 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to sup21 port State, local, and tribal community vulnerability as22 sessments, strategic research and planning, and moni23 toring needs, pursuant to section 12406(c) of the Federal 


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1 Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 

2 (as added by subsection (a) of this section). 

Æ 


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