I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5589 

To establish an Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2020 

Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. POSEY, Mr. BEYER, Mr. MAST, Mr. 

HUFFMAN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. CASE, Mr. CASTEN

of Illinois, and Ms. BROWNLEY of California) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 

addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and 

House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish an Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue 

Carbon, 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 ‘‘Blue Carbon for Our 

5 Planet Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The National Science and 

3 Technology Council Subcommittee on Ocean Science and 

4 Technology shall establish an Interagency Working Group 

5 on Coastal Blue Carbon. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The Interagency Working Group on 

7 Coastal Blue Carbon shall oversee the development of a 

8 national map of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, establish 

9 national coastal blue carbon ecosystem restoration prior10 ities, assess the biophysical, social, and economic impedi11 ments to coastal blue carbon ecosystem restoration, study 

12 the effects of climate change, environmental, and human 

13 stressors on sequestration rates, and preserve the con14 tinuity of coastal blue carbon data. 

15 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Working Group 

16 on Coastal Blue Carbon shall be comprised of senior rep17 resentatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

18 Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 

19 National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics 

20 and Space Administration, the United States Geological 

21 Survey, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 

22 National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the 

23 Smithsonian Institution, the Army Corps of Engineers, 

24 the Department of Agriculture, the Department of En25 ergy, the Department of Defense, the Department of 


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1 Transportation, and the Federal Emergency Management 

2 Agency. 

3 (d) CHAIR.—The Interagency Working Group shall 

4 be chaired by the Administrator. 

5 (e) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Interagency Working 

6 Group shall— 

7 (1) oversee the development, update, and main8 tenance of a national map and inventory of coastal 

9 blue carbon ecosystems, including habitat types with 

10 a regional focus in analysis that is usable for local 

11 level protection planning and restoration; 

12 (2) develop a strategic assessment of the bio13 physical, social, statutory, regulatory, and economic 

14 impediments to protection and restoration of coastal 

15 blue carbon ecosystems; 

16 (3) develop a national strategy for foundational 

17 science necessary to study, synthesize, and evaluate 

18 the effects of climate change, environmental, and 

19 human stressors on sequestration rates and capabili20 ties of coastal blue carbon ecosystems protection; 

21 (4) establish national coastal blue carbon eco22 system protection and restoration priorities, includ23 ing an assessment of current Federal funding being 

24 used for restoration efforts; and 


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1 (5) ensure the continuity, use, and interoper2 ability of data assets through the Smithsonian Envi3 ronmental Research Center’s Coastal Carbon Data 

4 Clearinghouse. 

5 (f) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

8 Interagency Working Group shall provide to the 

9 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

10 House of Representatives, the Committee on Natural 

11 Resources of the House of Representatives, and the 

12 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor13 tation of the Senate a report containing the fol14 lowing: 

15 (A) A summary of federally funded coastal 

16 blue carbon ecosystem research, monitoring, 

17 preservation, and restoration activities, includ18 ing the budget for each of these activities and 

19 describe the progress in advancing the national 

20 priorities established in section 4(a)(4)(A). 

21 (B) An assessment of biophysical, social, 

22 and economic impediments to coastal blue car23 bon ecosystem restoration. 

24 (2) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Work2 ing group shall create a strategic plan for Fed3 eral investments in basic research, development, 

4 demonstration, long-term monitoring and stew5 ardship, and deployment of coastal blue carbon 

6 ecosystem projects for the 5-year period begin7 ning at the start of the first fiscal year after 

8 the date on which the budget assessment is sub9 mitted under paragraph (1). The plan shall in10 clude an assessment of the use of existing Fed11 eral programs to protect and preserve coastal 

12 blue carbon ecosystems. 

13 (B) TIMING.—The Interagency Working 

14 Group shall— 

15 (i) submit the strategic plan under 

16 paragraph (A) to the Committee on 

17 Science, Space, and Technology of the 

18 House of Representatives, the Committee 

19 on Natural Resources of the House of Rep20 resentatives, and the Committee on Com21 merce, Science, and Transportation of the 

22 Senate on a date that is not later than one 

23 year after the enactment of this Act and 

24 not earlier than the date on which the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Jan 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5589.IH H5589

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1 port under paragraph (1) is submitted to 

2 such committees of Congress; and 

3 (ii) submit a revised version of such 

4 plan not less than quinquennially there5 after. 

6 (C) FEDERAL REGISTER.—Not later than 

7 90 days before the strategic plan under this 

8 paragraph, or any revision thereof, is submitted 

9 under subparagraph (B), the Interagency 

10 Working Group shall publish such plan in the 

11 Federal Register and provide an opportunity for 

12 submission of public comments for a period of 

13 not less than 60 days. 

14 SEC. 3. NATIONAL MAP OF COASTAL BLUE CARBON ECO15 SYSTEMS. 

16 (a) NATIONAL MAP.—The Interagency Working 

17 Group shall— 

18 (1) produce, update, and maintain a national 

19 level map and inventory of coastal blue carbon eco20 systems, including— 

21 (A) the types of habitats and species in the 

22 ecosystem; 

23 (B) the condition of such habitats includ24 ing whether a habitat is degraded, drained, eu25 trophic, or tidally restricted; 


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1 (C) the size of the ecosystem; 

2 (D) the salinity boundaries; 

3 (E) the tidal boundaries; 

4 (F) an assessment of carbon sequestration 

5 potential, methane production, and net green6 house gas reductions; 

7 (G) an assessment of cobenefits of eco8 system and carbon sequestration; 

9 (H) the potential for landward migration 

10 as a result of sea level rise; 

11 (I) any upstream restrictions detrimental 

12 to the watershed process and conditions such as 

13 dams, dikes, and levees; 

14 (J) the conversion of coastal blue carbon 

15 ecosystems to other land uses and the cause of 

16 such conversion; and 

17 (K) a depiction of the effects of climate 

18 change, including sea level rise, environmental 

19 stressors, and human stressors on the seques20 tration rate, carbon storage, and potential of 

21 coastal blue carbon ecosystems; and 

22 (2) in carrying out paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) incorporate, to the extent possible, ex24 isting data collected through federally funded 

25 research and by a Federal agency, State agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Jan 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5589.IH H5589

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1 cy, local agency, Tribe, including data collected 

2 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

3 Administration Coastal Change Analysis Pro4 gram, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National 

5 Wetlands Inventory, United States Geological 

6 Survey LandCarbon program, and Department 

7 of Agriculture National Coastal Blue Carbon 

8 Assessment; and 

9 (B) engage regional technical experts in 

10 order to accurately account for regional dif11 ferences in coastal blue carbon ecosystems. 

12 (b) USE.—The Interagency Working Group shall use 

13 the national map and inventory— 

14 (1) to assess the carbon sequestration potential 

15 of different coastal blue carbon habitats, and ac16 count for any regional differences; 

17 (2) to assess and quantify emissions from de18 graded and destroyed coastal blue carbon eco19 systems; 

20 (3) to develop regional assessments and to pro21 vide technical assistance to regional, State, Tribal, 

22 and local government agencies, and regional infor23 mation coordination entities as defined in section 

24 123030(6) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Ob25 servation System Act (33 U.S.C. 3602); 


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1 (4) to assess degraded coastal blue carbon eco2 systems and their potential for restoration, including 

3 developing scenario modeling to identify vulnerable 

4 land areas where management, protection, and res5 toration efforts should be focused; and 

6 (5) produce future predictions of coastal blue 

7 carbon ecosystems and carbon sequestration rates in 

8 the context of climate change, environmental 

9 stressors, and human stressors. 

10 SEC. 4. RESTORATION AND PROTECTIONS FOR EXISTING 

11 COASTAL BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEMS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

13 (1) lead the Interagency Working Group in im14 plementing the strategic plan under section 2(e)(2); 

15 (2) coordinate monitoring and research efforts 

16 among Federal agencies in cooperation with State, 

17 local, and Tribal government and international part18 ners and nongovernmental organizations; 

19 (3) assess the feasibility and potential of estab20 lishing a national goal of conserving at least 30 per21 cent of the ocean and coastal blue carbon ecosystems 

22 within the territory of the United States by 2030, 

23 including the effects of climate change and sea level 

24 rise on such goal, and as appropriate setting targets 


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1 for restoration of degraded coastal blue carbon eco2 systems; 

3 (4) in coordination with the Interagency Work4 ing Group and as informed by the report under sec5 tion 2(e) on current Federal expenditures on coastal 

6 blue carbon ecosystem restoration, identify— 

7 (A) national coastal blue carbon ecosystem 

8 protection and restoration priorities that would 

9 produce the highest rate of carbon sequestra10 tion and greatest ecosystem benefits such as 

11 flood protection, soil and beach retention, ero12 sion reduction, biodiversity, water purification, 

13 and nutrient cycling in the context of other en14 vironmental stressors and climate change; and 

15 (B) ways to improve coordination and to 

16 prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among 

17 Federal agencies and departments with respect 

18 to research on coastal blue carbon ecosystems 

19 through existing and new coastal management 

20 networks; and 

21 (5) in coordination with State, local, and Tribal 

22 governments and coastal stakeholders, develop inte23 grated pilot programs to restore degraded coastal 

24 blue carbon ecosystems in accordance with sub25 section (b). 


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1 (b) INTEGRATED PILOT PROGRAMS TO RESTORE

2 DEGRADED COASTAL BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEMS.—In 

3 carrying out subsection (a)(5), the Administrator shall— 

4 (1) establish integrated pilot programs that de5 velop best management practices, including design 

6 criteria and performance functions for coastal blue 

7 carbon ecosystem restoration, nature-based adapta8 tion strategies, restoration areas that intersect with 

9 the built environments as green-gray infrastructure 

10 projects, management practices for landward pro11 gression or migration of coastal blue carbon eco12 systems, and identify potential barriers to restora13 tion efforts; 

14 (2) ensure that the pilot programs cover geo15 graphically and ecologically diverse locations with 

16 significant ecological, economic, and social benefits, 

17 such as flood protection, soil and beach retention, 

18 erosion reduction, biodiversity, water purification, 

19 and nutrient cycling to reduce hypoxic conditions, 

20 and maximum potential for greenhouse gas emission 

21 reduction; 

22 (3) establish a procedure for reviewing applica23 tions for the pilot program; 

24 (4) ensure, through consultation with the Inter25 agency Working Group, that the goals and metrics 


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1 for the pilot programs are communicated to the ap2 propriate State, Tribe, and local governments, and 

3 to the general public; and 

4 (5) coordinate with relevant Federal agencies 

5 on the Interagency Working Group to prevent un6 necessary duplication of effort among Federal agen7 cies and departments with respect to restoration 

8 programs. 

9 SEC. 5. COASTAL CARBON DATA CLEARINGHOUSE. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Smithso11 nian, in coordination with the Administrator and members 

12 of the Interagency Working Group, shall provide for the 

13 long-term stewardship of, and access to, data relating to 

14 coastal blue carbon ecosystems and national mapping, by 

15 supporting the maintenance of the Coastal Carbon Data 

16 Clearinghouse. 

17 (b) COASTAL CARBON DATA CLEARINGHOUSE DU18 TIES.—Acting through the Coastal Carbon Data Clearing19 house, the Secretary of the Smithsonian in coordination 

20 with the Administrator and members of the Interagency 

21 Working Group shall process, store, archive, provide ac22 cess to, and incorporate to the extent possible, all data 

23 collected through federally funded research by a Federal 

24 agency, State, local agency, Tribe, academic scientist, or 

25 any other relevant entity. 


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1 (c) GLOBAL AND NATIONAL DATA ASSETS.—The 

2 Secretary of the Smithsonian in coordination with the Ad3 ministrator and members of the Interagency Working 

4 Group shall ensure that existing global and national data 

5 assets are incorporated into the Coastal Carbon Data 

6 Clearinghouse to the greatest extent possible. 

7 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS, PROTOCOLS, 

8 AND PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of the Smithsonian in 

9 coordination with the Administrator and members of the 

10 Interagency Working Group, shall establish standards, 

11 protocols, and procedures for the processing, storing, 

12 archiving, and providing access to data in the Coastal Car13 bon Data Clearinghouse and best practices for sharing 

14 such data with State, local, and Tribal governments, 

15 coastal stakeholders, non-Federal resource managers, and 

16 academia. The Administrator shall work to disseminate 

17 such data to the greatest extent practicable. 

18 (e) DIGITAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES.—The Sec19 retary of the Smithsonian, in coordination with the Ad20 ministrator and members of the Interagency Working 

21 Group, shall develop digital tools and resources to support 

22 the public use of the Coastal Carbon Data Clearinghouse. 


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1 SEC. 6. NAS ASSESSMENT OF CONTAINMENT OF CARBON 

2 DIOXIDE IN DEEP SEAFLOOR ENVIRONMENT. 

3 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall seek to enter 

5 into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences 

6 to conduct a comprehensive assessment on the long-term 

7 effects of containment of carbon dioxide in a deep seafloor 

8 environment on marine ecosystems and the integrity of ex9 isting storage technologies. 

10 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na12 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry 

13 out this Act $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2021 

14 through 2025. 

15 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis18 trator’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for 

19 Oceans and Atmosphere in the Under Secretary’s 

20 capacity as the Administrator of the National Oce21 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

22 (2) COASTAL BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEM.—The 

23 term ‘‘coastal blue carbon ecosystem’’ refers to vege24 tated coastal habitats including mangroves, tidal 

25 marshes, seagrasses, kelp forests, and other tidal or 

26 salt-water wetlands, and their ability to sequester 


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1 carbon from the atmosphere, accumulate it in bio2 mass for years to decades, and store it in soils for 

3 centuries to millennia. Coastal blue carbon eco4 systems include both autochthonous carbon and 

5 allochthonous carbon. 

6 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 

7 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

8 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 

9 Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

10 Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United 

11 States, and any other territory or possession of the 

12 United States. 

Æ 


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