I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5684 

To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 27, 2020 

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. WEXTON, 

Mr. HOYER, Mr. TRONE, Mr. BEYER, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. 

SPANBERGER, and Mr. RASKIN) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office 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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay 

5 Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 

6 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that the National Oceanic 

3 and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office 

4 should be the primary representative of the National Oce5 anic and Atmospheric Administration in the Chesapeake 

6 Bay watershed. 

7 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC 

8 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION 

9 CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE. 

10 Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

11 Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 

12 1511d) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(in this 

15 section’’ and all that follows and inserting a pe16 riod; 

17 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director, 

20 who— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall have knowledge and experience 

22 in research or resource management efforts in 

23 the Chesapeake Bay; and 

24 ‘‘(B) shall be responsible for the adminis25 tration and operation of the office and the im26 plementation of this Act.’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking paragraph (3); 

2 (2) in subsection (b)— 

3 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Sec4 retary of Commerce’’ and inserting ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘, the Chesapeake Bay 

8 Regional Sea Grant Programs, and the 

9 Chesapeake Bay units of the National Es10 tuarine Research Reserve System,’’ and in11 serting ‘‘that relate to the Chesapeake Bay 

12 watershed in furtherance of such Adminis13 tration’s coastal resource stewardship mis14 sion,’’: 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

16 (I) in clause (vi), by striking 

17 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

18 (II) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(viii) coastal hazards and climate 

21 change; and’’; and 

22 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

23 (I) in clause (iii), by striking 

24 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (II) in clause (iv), by inserting 

2 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

3 (III) by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(v) integrated ecosystem assess6 ments;’’; 

7 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘Environmental Pro9 tection Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chesapeake 

10 Executive Council’’; and 

11 (ii) by inserting before the semicolon 

12 at the end the following: ‘‘as appropriate to 

13 further the purposes of this section’’; 

14 (D) by striking paragraphs (5) and (7); 

15 (E) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

16 paragraph (5); and 

17 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(6) perform any functions necessary to sup19 port the programs referred to in paragraph (3).’’; 

20 and 

21 (3) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e); and 

22 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

25 through the Director, shall implement the program 


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1 activities authorized by this section to support the 

2 activity of the Chesapeake Executive Council and to 

3 further the purposes of this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) ENSURING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL

5 MERIT.—The Director shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) establish and use an effective and 

7 transparent mechanism to ensure that projects 

8 funded under this section have undergone ap9 propriate peer review; and 

10 ‘‘(B) provide other appropriate means to 

11 determine that such projects have acceptable 

12 scientific and technical merit for the purpose of 

13 achieving maximum use of available funds and 

14 resources to benefit the Chesapeake Bay area. 

15 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION WITH CHESAPEAKE EXEC16 UTIVE COUNCIL.—The Director shall, in the imple17 mentation of the program activities authorized under 

18 this section, consult with the Chesapeake Executive 

19 Council, to ensure that the activities of the Office 

20 are consistent with the purposes and priorities of the 

21 Chesapeake Bay Agreement and plans developed 

22 pursuant to the such agreement. 

23 ‘‘(4) INTEGRATED COASTAL OBSERVATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

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1 entific and academic institutions, State and 

2 Federal agencies, non-governmental organiza3 tions, and other constituents in the Chesapeake 

4 Bay watershed, to support an integrated obser5 vations system for the Chesapeake Bay con6 sistent with the purposes of the Integrated 

7 Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

8 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—To sup10 port the system referred to in subparagraph (A) 

11 and provide a complete set of environmental in12 formation for the Chesapeake Bay, the Director 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) coordinate existing monitoring 

15 and observation activities in the Chesa16 peake Bay; 

17 ‘‘(ii) identify new data collection needs 

18 and deploy new technologies, as appro19 priate; 

20 ‘‘(iii) collect and analyze the scientific 

21 information necessary for the management 

22 of living marine resources and the marine 

23 habitat associated with such resources; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) organize the information de25 scribed in clause (iii) into products that 


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1 are useful to policy makers, resource man2 agers, scientists, and the public. 

3 ‘‘(C) CHESAPEAKE BAY INTERPRETIVE

4 BUOY SYSTEM.—To further the development 

5 and implementation of the Chesapeake Bay In6 terpretive Buoy System, the Director may— 

7 ‘‘(i) support the establishment and 

8 implementation of the Captain John Smith 

9 Chesapeake National Historic Trail; 

10 ‘‘(ii) delineate key waypoints along the 

11 trail and provide appropriate real-time 

12 data and information for trail users; 

13 ‘‘(iii) interpret data and information 

14 for use by educators and students to in15 spire stewardship of Chesapeake Bay; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) incorporate the Chesapeake Bay 

17 Interpretive Buoy System into the Inte18 grated Ocean Observing System regional 

19 network of observatories. 

20 ‘‘(5) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED EDU21 CATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

23 through the Director, may establish a Chesa24 peake Bay watershed education and training 

25 program. The program shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) continue and expand the Chesa2 peake Bay watershed education programs 

3 offered by the Office immediately before 

4 the enactment of the Chesapeake Bay 

5 Science, Education, and Ecosystem En6 hancement Act of 2019; 

7 ‘‘(ii) improve the understanding of el8 ementary and secondary school students 

9 and teachers of the living resources of the 

10 ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay; 

11 ‘‘(iii) provide community education to 

12 improve watershed protection; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) meet the educational goals of the 

14 Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 

15 ‘‘(B) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Director 

16 may award grants for the purposes of this para17 graph. Grants awarded under this subpara18 graph may be used to support education and 

19 training projects that enhance understanding 

20 and assessment of a specific environmental 

21 problem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed or a 

22 goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program, or pro23 tect or restore living resources of the Chesa24 peake Bay watershed, including projects that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provide classroom education, in2 cluding the development and use of dis3 tance learning and other innovative tech4 nologies, related to the Chesapeake Bay 

5 watershed; 

6 ‘‘(ii) provide watershed educational 

7 experiences in the Chesapeake Bay water8 shed; 

9 ‘‘(iii) provide professional development 

10 for teachers related to the Chesapeake Bay 

11 watershed and the dissemination of perti12 nent education materials oriented to vary13 ing grade levels; 

14 ‘‘(iv) demonstrate or disseminate envi15 ronmental educational tools and materials 

16 related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed; 

17 ‘‘(v) demonstrate field methods, prac18 tices, and techniques including assessment 

19 of environmental and ecological conditions 

20 and analysis of environmental problems; 

21 ‘‘(vi) build the capacity of organiza22 tions to deliver high quality environmental 

23 education programs; and 

24 ‘‘(vii) educate local land use officials 

25 and decision makers on the relationship of 


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1 land use to natural resource and watershed 

2 protection. 

3 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION.—The Director shall 

4 implement the education and training program 

5 in coordination with the heads of other Federal 

6 agencies, as the Director determines appro7 priate. 

8 ‘‘(6) COASTAL AND LIVING RESOURCES MAN9 AGEMENT AND HABITAT PROGRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

11 through the Director, may establish a Chesa12 peake Bay Coastal Living Resources Manage13 ment and Habitat Program to support coordi14 nated management, protection, characterization, 

15 and restoration of priority Chesapeake Bay 

16 habitats and living resources, including oysters, 

17 blue crabs, and submerged aquatic vegetation. 

18 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Under the Chesapeake 

19 Bay Coastal Living Resources Management and 

20 Habitat Program, the Director may carry out 

21 or enter into grants, contracts, and cooperative 

22 agreements and provide technical assistance to 

23 support— 

24 ‘‘(i) native oyster research and res25 toration; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) fish and shellfish aquaculture 

2 that is carried out in accordance with a 

3 valid Federal or State permit; 

4 ‘‘(iii) establishment of submerged 

5 aquatic vegetation propagation programs; 

6 ‘‘(iv) the development of programs 

7 that restore, protect, and build the resil8 ience of critical coastal habitats; 

9 ‘‘(v) habitat mapping, characteriza10 tion, and assessment techniques necessary 

11 to identify, assess, and monitor restoration 

12 actions; 

13 ‘‘(vi) application and transfer of ap14 plied scientific research and ecosystem 

15 management tools to fisheries and habitat 

16 managers; 

17 ‘‘(vii) collection, synthesis, and shar18 ing of information to inform and influence 

19 coastal and living resource management 

20 issues; and 

21 ‘‘(viii) other activities that the director 

22 determines are appropriate to carry out 

23 the purposes of such program. 

24 ‘‘(d) DELEGATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator shall del2 egate to the Director such authority as may be nec3 essary to carry out this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) STAFF.—The Administrator shall delegate 

5 to the Director appropriate staff representing exper6 tise that covers the breadth of the duties of the Of7 fice. 

8 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

10 through the Director, shall submit a biennial report 

11 to the Congress and the Secretary of Commerce on 

12 the activities of the Office and on progress made in 

13 protecting and restoring the living resources and 

14 habitat of the Chesapeake Bay. 

15 ‘‘(2) ACTION PLAN.—Each such report shall in16 clude an action plan for the 2-year period following 

17 submission of the report, consisting of— 

18 ‘‘(A) a list of recommended research, moni19 toring, and data collection activities necessary 

20 to continue implementation of the strategy 

21 under subsection (b)(2); and 

22 ‘‘(B) recommendations to integrate Na23 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

24 activities with the activities of the partners in 

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1 mitments of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement 

2 and subsequent agreements. 

3 ‘‘(f) AGREEMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

5 through the Director, may enter into and perform 

6 such contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agree7 ments as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 

8 of this Act. 

9 ‘‘(2) USE OF OTHER RESOURCES.—For pur10 poses related to the understanding, protection, and 

11 restoration of Chesapeake Bay, the Director may 

12 use, with consent and with or without reimburse13 ment, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and 

14 facilities of any Department, agency, or instrumen15 tality of the United States, or of any State, local 

16 government, Indian Tribe, or of any political sub17 division thereof. 

18 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis20 trator’ means the Administrator of the National 

21 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

22 ‘‘(2) CHESAPEAKE BAY AGREEMENT.—The 

23 term ‘Chesapeake Bay Agreement’ means the for24 mal, voluntary agreements executed to achieve the 

25 goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay 


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1 ecosystem and the living resources of the Chesa2 peake Bay ecosystem and are signed by the Chesa3 peake Executive Council. 

4 ‘‘(3) CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.—The 

5 term ‘Chesapeake Executive Council’ means the rep6 resentatives from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the 

7 State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Pennsyl8 vania, the Environmental Protection Agency, Dela9 ware, New York, West Virginia, the District of Co10 lumbia, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission, who 

11 are signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, 

12 and any future signatories to that agreement. 

13 ‘‘(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

14 the Director of the Office. 

15 ‘‘(5) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the 

16 Chesapeake Bay Office established under this sec17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

20 out this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

22 ‘‘(2) $20,700,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

23 ‘‘(3) $22,570,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 

24 ‘‘(4) $24,627,000 for fiscal year 2024.’’. 

Æ 


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