I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5390 

To designate Regional Ocean Partnerships of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 11, 2019 

Mr. CRIST (for himself, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. LOWENTHAL, and Mr. SMITH of 

New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate Regional Ocean Partnerships of the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 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 ‘‘Regional Ocean Part5 nership Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 


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1 (1) The ocean and coastal waters of the United 

2 States are foundational to the economy, security, 

3 global competitiveness, and well-being of the United 

4 States and continuously serve the people of the 

5 United States and other countries as an important 

6 source of food, energy, economic productivity, recre7 ation, beauty, and enjoyment. 

8 (2) Over many years, the resource productivity 

9 and water quality of the ocean and coastal areas of 

10 the United States have been diminished by pollution, 

11 increasing population demands, economic develop12 ment, and natural and man-made hazard events, 

13 both acute and chronic. 

14 (3) Ocean and coastal areas of the United 

15 States are managed by State and Federal resource 

16 agencies and regulated on an interstate and regional 

17 scale by various overlapping Federal authorities, 

18 thereby creating a significant need for interstate co19 ordination to enhance regional priorities, including 

20 the ecological and economic health of those areas. 

21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that— 

23 (1) the United States should seek to support 

24 interstate coordination of shared regional priorities 

25 relating to the management, conservation, resilience, 


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1 and restoration of ocean and coastal areas to maxi2 mize efficiencies through collaborative regional ef3 forts by Regional Ocean Partnerships, in consulta4 tion with Federal and State agencies, Tribal govern5 ments, and local authorities; and 

6 (2) such efforts would enhance existing and ef7 fective State coastal management efforts based on 

8 shared regional priorities. 

9 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol10 lows: 

11 (1) To complement and expand cooperative vol12 untary efforts intended to manage and restore ocean 

13 and coastal areas spanning across multiple State 

14 boundaries. 

15 (2) To expand Federal support for monitoring, 

16 data management, and restoration activities in ocean 

17 and coastal areas. 

18 (3) To commit the United States to a com19 prehensive cooperative program to achieve improved 

20 water quality in, and improvements in the produc21 tivity of living resources of, all coastal ecosystems. 

22 (4) To authorize Regional Ocean Partnerships 

23 as intergovernmental coordinators for shared inter24 state and regional priorities relating to the collabo25 rative management of the large marine ecosystems, 


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1 thereby reducing duplication of efforts and maxi2 mizing opportunities to leverage support in the 

3 ocean and coastal regions. 

4 (5) To enable Regional Ocean Partnerships, or 

5 designated fiscal management entities of such part6 nerships, to receive Federal funding to conduct the 

7 scientific research, conservation and restoration ac8 tivities, and priority coordination on shared regional 

9 priorities necessary to achieve the purposes described 

10 in paragraphs (1) through (4). 

11 SEC. 3. REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis14 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

15 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

16 (2) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal state’’ 

17 has the meaning given that term in section 304 of 

18 the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

19 U.S.C. 1453). 

20 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

21 means an Indian tribe, as defined in section 4 of the 

22 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

23 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

24 (b) REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A coastal state may partici2 pate in a Regional Ocean Partnership with one or 

3 more other coastal states that share a common 

4 ocean or coastal area with the coastal state, without 

5 regard to whether the coastal states are contiguous. 

6 (2) APPLICATION.—The Governor of a coastal 

7 state or the Governors of a group of coastal states 

8 may apply to the Secretary of Commerce, on behalf 

9 of a partnership, for the partnership to receive des10 ignation as a Regional Ocean Partnership if the 

11 partnership— 

12 (A) meets the requirements under para13 graph (3); and 

14 (B) submits an application for such des15 ignation in such manner, in such form, and 

16 containing such information as the Secretary 

17 may require. 

18 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—A partnership is eligible 

19 for designation as a Regional Ocean Partnership by 

20 the Secretary under paragraph (2) if the partner21 ship— 

22 (A) is established to coordinate the inter23 state management of coastal resources; 


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1 (B) focuses on the environmental issues af2 fecting the ocean and coastal areas of the mem3 bers participating in the partnership; 

4 (C) complements existing State coastal and 

5 ocean management efforts on an interstate 

6 scale, focusing on shared regional priorities; 

7 (D) does not have a regulatory function; 

8 and 

9 (E) is not duplicative of an existing Re10 gional Ocean Partnership designated under 

11 paragraph (4), as determined by the Secretary. 

12 (4) DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN ENTITIES AS RE13 GIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS.—Notwithstanding 

14 paragraph (2) or (3), the following entities are des15 ignated as Regional Ocean Partnerships: 

16 (A) The Gulf of Mexico Alliance, comprised 

17 of the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, 

18 Mississippi, and Texas. 

19 (B) The Northeast Regional Ocean Coun20 cil, comprised of the States of Maine, Vermont, 

21 New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, 

22 and Rhode Island. 

23 (C) The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on 

24 the Ocean, comprised of the States of New 


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1 York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and 

2 Virginia. 

3 (D) The West Coast Ocean Alliance, com4 prised of the States of California, Oregon, and 

5 Washington and the coastal Indian Tribes 

6 therein. 

7 (c) GOVERNING BODIES OF REGIONAL OCEAN PART8 NERSHIPS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Regional Ocean Partner10 ship designated under subsection (b) shall be gov11 erned by a governing body. 

12 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—A governing body described 

13 in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) shall be comprised, at a minimum, of 

15 voting members from each coastal state partici16 pating in the Regional Ocean Partnership, des17 ignated by the Governor of the coastal state; 

18 and 

19 (B) may include such other members as 

20 the partnership considers appropriate. 

21 (d) FUNCTIONS.—A Regional Ocean Partnership des22 ignated under subsection (b) may perform the following 

23 functions: 

24 (1) Promote coordination of the actions of the 

25 agencies of coastal states participating in the partVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390

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1 nership with the actions of the appropriate officials 

2 of Federal agencies and State and Tribal govern3 ments in developing strategies— 

4 (A) to conserve living resources, increase 

5 valuable habitats, enhance coastal resilience, 

6 and address such other issues related to the 

7 shared ocean or coastal area as are determined 

8 to be a shared, regional priority by those states; 

9 and 

10 (B) to manage regional data portals and 

11 develop associated data products for purposes 

12 that support the priorities of the partnership. 

13 (2) In cooperation with appropriate Federal and 

14 State agencies, Tribal governments, and local au15 thorities, develop and implement specific action 

16 plans to carry out coordination goals. 

17 (3) Coordinate and implement priority plans 

18 and projects, and facilitate science, research, mod19 eling, monitoring, data collection, and other activi20 ties that support the goals of the partnership 

21 through the provision of grants and contracts under 

22 subsection (e). 

23 (4) Engage, coordinate, and collaborate with 

24 relevant governmental entities and stakeholders to 


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1 address ocean and coastal related matters that re2 quire interagency or intergovernmental solutions. 

3 (5) Implement outreach programs for public in4 formation, education, and participation to foster 

5 stewardship of the resources of the ocean and coast6 al areas, as relevant. 

7 (6) Develop and make available, through publi8 cations, technical assistance, and other appropriate 

9 means, information pertaining to cross-jurisdictional 

10 issues being addressed through the coordinated ac11 tivities of the partnership. 

12 (7) Serve as a liaison with, and provide infor13 mation to, international counterparts, as appropriate 

14 on priority issues for the partnership. 

15 (e) GRANTS AND CONTRACTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Regional Ocean Partner17 ship designated under subsection (b) may, in coordi18 nation with existing Federal and State management 

19 programs, from amounts made available to the part20 nership by the Administrator or the head of another 

21 Federal agency— 

22 (A) provide grants to eligible persons de23 scribed in paragraph (2) for the purposes de24 scribed in paragraph (3); and 


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1 (B) enter into contracts with such persons 

2 for such purposes. 

3 (2) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—The eligible persons 

4 described in this paragraph are the following: 

5 (A) Indian Tribes. 

6 (B) State and local governments. 

7 (C) Nongovernmental organizations. 

8 (D) Institutions of higher education. 

9 (E) Individuals. 

10 (F) Private entities. 

11 (3) PURPOSES.—The purposes described in this 

12 paragraph include any of the following: 

13 (A) Monitoring the water quality and living 

14 resources of multi-State ocean and coastal eco15 systems and to coastal communities. 

16 (B) Researching and addressing the effects 

17 of natural and human-induced environmental 

18 changes to— 

19 (i) ocean and coastal ecosystems; and 

20 (ii) coastal communities. 

21 (C) Developing and executing cooperative 

22 strategies that— 

23 (i) address regional data issues identi24 fied by the partnership; and 


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1 (ii) will result in more effective man2 agement of common ocean and coastal 

3 areas. 

4 (f) REPORTS AND ASSESSMENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 5 

7 years thereafter until 2040, the Administrator, in 

8 coordination with the Regional Ocean Partnerships 

9 designated under subsection (b), shall— 

10 (A) assess the effectiveness of the partner11 ships in supporting regional priorities relating 

12 to the management of common ocean and coast13 al areas; and 

14 (B) submit to Congress a report on that 

15 assessment. 

16 (2) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—The report re17 quired under paragraph (1)(B) shall include the fol18 lowing: 

19 (A) An assessment of the overall status of 

20 the work of the Regional Ocean Partnerships 

21 designated under subsection (b). 

22 (B) An assessment of the effectiveness of 

23 the strategies that the Regional Ocean Partner24 ships are supporting or implementing and the 

25 extent to which the priority needs of the regions 


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1 covered by such partnerships are being met 

2 through such strategies. 

3 (C) Such recommendations as the Admin4 istrator may have for the improvement of ef5 forts of the Regional Ocean Partnerships to 

6 support the purposes of this Act. 

7 (D) An assessment of how the efforts of 

8 the Regional Ocean Partnerships support or en9 hance Federal and State efforts in line with the 

10 purposes of this Act. 

11 (E) Recommendations for improvements to 

12 the collective strategies that support the pur13 poses of this Act in coordination and consulta14 tion with all relevant Federal, State, and Tribal 

15 entities. 

16 (g) AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—In addition 

17 to amounts made available to Regional Ocean Partner18 ships designated under subsection (b) by the Adminis19 trator under this section, the head of any other Federal 

20 agency may provide grants to, enter into contracts with, 

21 or otherwise provide funding to such partnerships. 

22 (h) AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this section estab23 lishes any new legal or regulatory authority of the Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or of the 


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1 Regional Ocean Partnerships designated under subsection 

2 (b), other than— 

3 (1) the authority of the Administrator to pro4 vide amounts to the partnerships; and 

5 (2) the authority of the partnerships to provide 

6 grants and enter into contracts under subsection (e). 

7 (i) FUNDING.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of amounts authorized to be 

9 appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmos10 pheric Administration, the Administrator may make 

11 the following amounts available to Regional Ocean 

12 Partnerships designated under subsection (b) or des13 ignated fiscal management entities of such partner14 ships to carry out activities of the partnerships 

15 under this Act: 

16 (A) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 

17 (B) $10,100,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

18 (C) $10,202,000 for fiscal year 2023. 

19 (D) $10,306,040 for fiscal year 2024. 

20 (E) $10,412,160 for fiscal year 2025. 

21 (F) $10,520,404 for fiscal year 2026. 

22 (2) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts 

23 made available under paragraph (1) shall be divided 

24 evenly among the Regional Ocean Partnerships des25 ignated under subsection (b). 


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1 (3) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts 

2 made available under paragraph (1) shall remain 

3 available until expended. 

Æ 


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