II 

Calendar No. 223 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 46 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and to establish 

the United States Coral Reef Task Force, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 26, 2021 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. 

COONS, and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 17, 2021 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 

and to establish the United States Coral Reef Task 

Force, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

ACT OF 2000 

Sec. 101. Reauthorization of Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. 

Sec. 102. Modification to section 204 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 

2000 (16 U.S.C. 6403). 

TITLE II—UNITED STATES CORAL REEF TASK FORCE 

Sec. 201. Establishment. 

Sec. 202. Duties. 

Sec. 203. Membership. 

Sec. 204. Responsibilities of Federal agency members. 

Sec. 205. Working groups. 

Sec. 206. Definitions. 

TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CORAL REEF 

AUTHORITIES 

Sec. 301. Coral reef conservation and restoration assistance. 

TITLE IV—SUSAN L. WILLIAMS NATIONAL CORAL REEF 

MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Definitions. 

Sec. 403. Establishment of fellowship program. 

Sec. 404. Fellowship awards. 

Sec. 405. Matching requirement. 

3 TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF 

4 CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

5 ACT OF 2000 

6 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVA7 TION ACT OF 2000. 

8 (a) PURPOSES; FEDERAL CORAL REEF MANAGE9 MENT AND RESTORATION ACTIVITIES.—The Coral Reef 

10 Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is 

11 amended by striking sections 202 and 203 and inserting 

12 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 202. PURPOSES. 

2 ‘‘The purposes of this title are— 

3 ‘‘(1) to preserve, sustain, and restore the condi4 tion of United States coral reef ecosystems chal5 lenged by natural and human-accelerated changes, 

6 including increasing ocean temperatures, ocean 

7 acidification, coral bleaching, coral diseases, water 

8 quality degradation, invasive species, and illegal, un9 reported, and unregulated fishing; 

10 ‘‘(2) to promote the science-based management 

11 and sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems to ben12 efit local communities and the Nation, including 

13 through improved integration and cooperation 

14 among Federal, State, and locally managed jurisdic15 tions with coral reef equities; 

16 ‘‘(3) to develop sound scientific information on 

17 the condition of coral reef ecosystems, continuing 

18 and emerging threats to such ecosystems, and the 

19 efficacy of innovative tools, technologies, and strate20 gies to mitigate stressors and restore such eco21 systems, including evaluation criteria to determine 

22 the effectiveness of management interventions, and 

23 accurate mapping for coral reef restoration; 

24 ‘‘(4) to assist in the preservation of coral reefs 

25 by supporting science-based, consensus-driven State, 

26 Tribal, and community-based coral reef manageVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Dec 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S46.RS S46

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1 ment, including conservation and restoration 

2 projects that empower local communities, small busi3 nesses, and nongovernmental organizations; 

4 ‘‘(5) to provide financial resources, technical as5 sistance, and scientific expertise to supplement and 

6 strengthen State and community-based management 

7 programs and conservation and restoration projects; 

8 ‘‘(6) to establish a formal mechanism for col9 lecting and allocating monetary donations from the 

10 private sector to be used for coral reef conservation 

11 and restoration projects; 

12 ‘‘(7) to support the rapid and effective, science13 based assessment and response to emergencies that 

14 imminently threaten coral reefs, such as coral dis15 ease outbreaks, invasive species, hurricanes, marine 

16 heat waves, coral bleaching, and other natural disas17 ters, vessel groundings or chemical spills, and other 

18 exigent circumstances; and 

19 ‘‘(8) to serve as a model for advancing similar 

20 international efforts to preserve, sustain, and restore 

21 coral reef ecosystems in the jurisdictions of United 

22 States allies and trading partners. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 203. FEDERAL CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RES2 TORATION ACTIVITIES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator or the Sec4 retary of the Interior may conduct activities described in 

5 subsection (b) to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral 

6 reef ecosystems that are consistent with— 

7 ‘‘(1) all applicable laws governing resource 

8 management in Federal and State waters, including 

9 this Act; 

10 ‘‘(2) the national coral reef resilience strategy 

11 in effect under section 204A; 

12 ‘‘(3) coral reef action plans in effect under sec13 tion 205, as applicable; and 

14 ‘‘(4) coral reef emergency plans in effect under 

15 section 209, as applicable. 

16 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—Activities described 

17 in this subsection are activities to conserve, research, mon18 itor, assess, and restore coral reefs and coral reef eco19 systems in waters managed under the jurisdiction of a 

20 Federal agency specified in subsection (c) or in coordina21 tion with a State in waters managed under the jurisdiction 

22 of such State, including— 

23 ‘‘(1) developing, including through the collection 

24 of requisite data, high-quality and digitized maps re25 flecting— 


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1 ‘‘(A) current and historical live coral cover 

2 data; 

3 ‘‘(B) coral reef habitat quality data; 

4 ‘‘(C) priority areas for coral reef conserva5 tion to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem 

6 structure and function that benefit coastal com7 munities and living marine resources; 

8 ‘‘(D) priority areas for coral reef restora9 tion to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem 

10 structure and function to benefit coastal com11 munities and living marine resources; and 

12 ‘‘(E) areas of concern that may require en13 hanced monitoring of coral health and cover; 

14 ‘‘(2) enhancing compliance with Federal laws 

15 that prohibit or regulate— 

16 ‘‘(A) the taking of coral products or spe17 cies associated with coral reefs; or 

18 ‘‘(B) the use and management of coral reef 

19 ecosystems; 

20 ‘‘(3) long-term ecological monitoring of coral 

21 reef ecosystems; 

22 ‘‘(4) implementing species-specific recovery 

23 plans for listed coral species consistent with the En24 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

25 seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(5) restoring degraded coral reef ecosystems; 

2 ‘‘(6) promoting ecologically sound navigation 

3 and anchorages, including mooring buoy systems to 

4 promote enhanced recreational access, near coral 

5 reefs; 

6 ‘‘(7) monitoring and responding to severe 

7 bleaching or mortality events, disease outbreaks, 

8 invasive species outbreaks, and significant maritime 

9 accidents, including chemical spill cleanup and the 

10 removal of grounded vessels; 

11 ‘‘(8) conducting scientific research that contrib12 utes to the understanding, sustainable use, and long13 term conservation of coral reefs; 

14 ‘‘(9) enhancing public awareness, under15 standing, and appreciation of coral reefs and coral 

16 reef ecosystems; 

17 ‘‘(10) preventing or minimizing the likelihood of 

18 vessel impacts or other physical damage to coral 

19 reefs through navigational aids and expansion of 

20 reef-safe anchorages; and 

21 ‘‘(11) centrally archiving, managing, and dis22 tributing data sets and coral reef ecosystem assess23 ments and publishing such information on publicly 

24 available internet websites of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Coral Reef Conservation Program 

2 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad3 ministration; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the Task Force. 

5 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL AGENCIES SPECIFIED.—A Federal 

6 agency specified in this subsection is one of the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

8 Administration. 

9 ‘‘(2) The National Park Service. 

10 ‘‘(3) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv11 ice. 

12 ‘‘(4) The Office of Insular Affairs. 

13 ‘‘(d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 

15 of appropriations and at the discretion of the Sec16 retary of Commerce, the Administrator may enter 

17 into cooperative agreements with States to fund 

18 coral reef conservation and restoration activities in 

19 waters managed under the jurisdiction of such 

20 States that are consistent with the national coral 

21 reef resilience strategy in effect under section 204A. 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Administrator may not 

23 provide more than $500,000 in total funding under 

24 paragraph (1) to any one State in any fiscal year.’’. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—The Coral Reef Con2 servation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended 

3 by striking sections 205 through 210 and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 204A. NATIONAL CORAL REEF RESILIENCE STRAT6 EGY. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) develop a national coral reef resilience 

9 strategy; and 

10 ‘‘(2) periodically, but not less frequently than 

11 every 15 years, review and revise the strategy. 

12 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by sub13 section (a) shall include the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) A discussion addressing— 

15 ‘‘(A) continuing and emerging threats to 

16 the resilience of United States coral reef eco17 systems; 

18 ‘‘(B) remaining gaps in coral reef eco19 system research, monitoring, and assessment; 

20 ‘‘(C) the status of management coopera21 tion and integration among Federal, State, 

22 Tribal, and locally managed jurisdictions with 

23 coral reef equities; 

24 ‘‘(D) the status of efforts to manage and 

25 disseminate critical information, and enhance 


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1 interjurisdictional data sharing, related to re2 search, reports, datasets, and maps; 

3 ‘‘(E) areas of special focus, which may in4 clude— 

5 ‘‘(i) improving natural coral recruit6 ment; 

7 ‘‘(ii) preventing avoidable losses of 

8 corals and their habitat; 

9 ‘‘(iii) enhancing the resilience of coral 

10 populations; 

11 ‘‘(iv) supporting a resilience-based 

12 management approach; 

13 ‘‘(v) developing, coordinating, and im14 plementing watershed management plans; 

15 ‘‘(vi) building and sustaining water16 shed management capacity at the local 

17 level; 

18 ‘‘(vii) providing data essential for 

19 coral reef fisheries management; 

20 ‘‘(viii) building capacity for coral reef 

21 fisheries management; 

22 ‘‘(ix) increasing understanding of 

23 coral reef ecosystem services; 


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1 ‘‘(x) educating the public on the im2 portance of coral reefs, threats and solu3 tions; and 

4 ‘‘(xi) evaluating intervention efficacy; 

5 ‘‘(F) the status of conservation efforts, in6 cluding the use of marine protected areas to 

7 serve as replenishment zones developed con8 sistent with local practices and traditions and 

9 in cooperation with, and with respect for the 

10 scientific, technical, and management expertise 

11 and responsibilities of, State fish and wildlife 

12 management agencies; and 

13 ‘‘(G) science-based adaptive management 

14 and restoration efforts. 

15 ‘‘(2) A statement of national goals and objec16 tives designed to guide— 

17 ‘‘(A) future Federal coral reef management 

18 and restoration activities authorized under sec19 tion 203; 

20 ‘‘(B) conservation and restoration prior21 ities for grants awarded under section 213; and 

22 ‘‘(C) research priorities for the cooperative 

23 institutes established under section 215(c). 

24 ‘‘(3) General templates for use by covered reef 

25 managers to guide the development of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) coral reef action plans under section 

2 205; and 

3 ‘‘(B) coral reef emergency plans under sec4 tion 209. 

5 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing all elements of 

6 the strategy required by subsection (a), the Administrator 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) consult with the Secretary of the Interior, 

9 the Task Force, covered States, and Tribal organiza10 tions; 

11 ‘‘(2) engage stakeholders, including coral reef 

12 stewardship partnerships, coral reef institutes and 

13 research centers described in section 215(c), and 

14 coral reef conservation grant awardees; and 

15 ‘‘(3) solicit public review and comment regard16 ing scoping and the draft strategy. 

17 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS; PUBLICATION.— 

18 The Administrator shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) submit the strategy required by subsection 

20 (a) and any revisions to the strategy to the appro21 priate congressional committees; and 

22 ‘‘(2) publish the strategy and any such revisions 

23 on publicly available internet websites of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Coral Reef Conservation Program 

2 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad3 ministration; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the Task Force. 

5 ‘‘(e) TRANSITION RULE.—On and after the date of 

6 the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 

7 2021, the 2018 Coral Reef Conservation Program Stra8 tegic Plan of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad9 ministration shall be considered to be the national coral 

10 reef resilience strategy in effect under this section until 

11 the earlier of— 

12 ‘‘(1) September 30, 2033; or 

13 ‘‘(2) the date on which the Administrator devel14 ops a national coral reef resilience strategy under 

15 this section. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 205. CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS. 

17 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS.—Except as pro18 vided in subsection (h), not later than 3 years after the 

19 date of the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act 

20 of 2021, and not later than 2 years after the publication 

21 of a revised national coral reef resilience strategy under 

22 section 204A, each covered reef manager shall prepare and 

23 submit to the Task Force a coral reef action plan to guide 

24 management and restoration activities to be undertaken 

25 within the responsibilities and jurisdiction of the manager. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A covered reef manager pre2 paring a coral reef action plan under subsection (a) 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) ensure that the plan is consistent with all 

5 elements of the national coral reef resilience strategy 

6 in effect; and 

7 ‘‘(2) revise the plan not less frequently than 

8 once every 5 years. 

9 ‘‘(c) PLAN ELEMENTS.—A coral reef action plan 

10 under subsection (a) shall include a discussion of the fol11 lowing elements: 

12 ‘‘(1) Short- and mid-term coral reef conserva13 tion and restoration objectives within the applicable 

14 jurisdiction. 

15 ‘‘(2) An updated adaptive management frame16 work to inform research, monitoring, and assessment 

17 needs. 

18 ‘‘(3) The status of any coral reef emergency 

19 plans in effect under section 209 covering coral reef 

20 ecosystems within the applicable jurisdiction. 

21 ‘‘(4) Tools, strategies, and partnerships nec22 essary to identify, monitor, and redress pollution 

23 and water quality impacts to coral reef ecosystems 

24 within the applicable jurisdiction. 


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1 ‘‘(5) The status of efforts to improve coral reef 

2 ecosystem management cooperation and integration 

3 among neighboring Federal, State, Tribal, or locally 

4 managed jurisdictions, including the identification of 

5 existing research and monitoring activities that can 

6 be leveraged for coral reef status and trends assess7 ments within the applicable jurisdiction. 

8 ‘‘(6) An accounting of annual expenditures on 

9 coral reef management and restoration activities 

10 within the applicable jurisdiction while the preceding 

11 action plan, if any, was in effect. 

12 ‘‘(7) Estimated budgetary and resource consid13 erations necessary to carry out the proposed action 

14 plan. 

15 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

16 and the Task Force shall make all reasonable efforts to 

17 provide technical assistance upon request by a covered reef 

18 manager developing a coral reef action plan under sub19 section (a). 

20 ‘‘(e) ADOPTION OF CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS.— 

21 A covered reef manager may adopt a coral reef action plan 

22 developed by another covered reef manager, in full or in 

23 part, as relevant to the adopting manager’s applicable ju24 risdiction. 


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1 ‘‘(f) PUBLIC REVIEW.—The development of a coral 

2 reef action plan by a covered reef manager under sub3 section (a), and the adoption of a plan under subsection 

4 (e), shall be subject to public review and comment. 

5 ‘‘(g) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall publish 

6 each coral reef action plan prepared and submitted to the 

7 Task Force under this section on publicly available inter8 net websites of— 

9 ‘‘(1) the Coral Reef Conservation Program of 

10 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra11 tion; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the Task Force. 

13 ‘‘(h) APPLICABILITY TO COVERED STATES AND

14 CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP PARTNERSHIPS.—A covered 

15 State or non-Federal coral reef stewardship partnership 

16 is not required to develop a coral reef action plan under 

17 subsection (a), but may do so in its own discretion. In 

18 developing a coral reef action plan, a covered State or non19 Federal coral reef stewardship partnership is encouraged, 

20 but not mandated, to comply with the requirements of this 

21 section. 

22 ‘‘(i) PLAN IN EFFECT.—A coral reef action plan shall 

23 be deemed to be in effect if the plan was submitted to 

24 the Task Force under this section during the preceding 

25 6 years. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 206. CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP PARTNERSHIPS. 

2 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP PARTNERSHIPS.— 

3 The Administrator shall establish standards for the forma4 tion of partnerships among government and community 

5 members for the stewardship of coral reefs (in this title 

6 referred to as ‘coral reef stewardship partnerships’) in ac7 cordance with this section, including guidance for prepara8 tion and submission of coral reef action plans under sec9 tion 205. 

10 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF REEFS.—Each coral reef 

11 stewardship partnership shall identify with particularity 

12 the coral reef or ecologically significant component of a 

13 coral reef that will be the subject of its stewardship activi14 ties. 

15 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP FOR FEDERAL REEFS.—A coral 

16 reef stewardship partnership that has identified, as the 

17 subject of its stewardship activities, a coral reef or eco18 logically significant component of a coral reef that is fully 

19 or partially under the management jurisdiction of any 

20 Federal agency specified in section 203(c) shall, at a min21 imum, include the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) That Federal agency, a representative of 

23 which shall serve as chair of the coral reef steward24 ship partnership. 

25 ‘‘(2) A State, county, or Tribal organization’s 

26 resource management agency. 


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1 ‘‘(3) A coral reef research center described in 

2 section 215(c)(4) or another institution of higher 

3 education. 

4 ‘‘(4) A nongovernmental organization. 

5 ‘‘(5) Such other members as the partnership 

6 considers appropriate, such as interested stakeholder 

7 groups. 

8 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP FOR NON-FEDERAL REEFS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A coral reef stewardship 

10 partnership that has identified, as the subject of its 

11 stewardship activities, a coral reef or ecologically sig12 nificant component of a coral reef that is not under 

13 the management jurisdiction of any Federal agency 

14 specified in section 203(c) shall, at a minimum, in15 clude the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) A State, county, or Tribal organiza17 tion’s resource management agency, a rep18 resentative of which shall serve as the chair of 

19 the coral reef stewardship partnership. 

20 ‘‘(B) A coral reef research center described 

21 in section 215(c)(4) or another institution of 

22 higher education. 

23 ‘‘(C) A nongovernmental organization. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Such other members as the partner2 ship considers appropriate, such as interested 

3 stakeholder groups. 

4 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graph (B), a coral reef stewardship partnership 

7 described in paragraph (1) may also include 

8 representatives of one or more Federal agencies 

9 that have management responsibility in the reef 

10 that is the subject of the partnership’s steward11 ship activities. 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS; APPROVAL.—A represent13 ative of a Federal agency described in subpara14 graph (A) may become a member of a coral reef 

15 stewardship partnership described in paragraph 

16 (1) if— 

17 ‘‘(i) the representative submits a re18 quest to become a member to the chair of 

19 the partnership referred to in paragraph 

20 (1)(A); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the chair consents to the request. 

22 ‘‘(e) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

23 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

24 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to coral reef stewardship 

25 partnerships. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 207. STATE BLOCK GRANTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall provide 

3 block grants of financial assistance to covered States to 

4 support management and restoration activities and fur5 ther the implementation of coral reef action plans in effect 

6 under section 205 by covered States and non-Federal coral 

7 reef stewardship partnerships. 

8 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.—A 

9 covered State shall qualify for and receive additional grant 

10 amounts beyond the base award specified in subsection 

11 (c)(1) if there is at least one coral reef action plan in effect 

12 within the jurisdiction of the covered State developed by 

13 that covered State or a non-Federal coral reef stewardship 

14 partnership. 

15 ‘‘(c) FUNDING FORMULA.—Subject to the availability 

16 of appropriations, the amount of each block grant awarded 

17 to a covered State under this section shall be the sum of— 

18 ‘‘(1) a base award of $100,000; and 

19 ‘‘(2) if the State is eligible under subsection 

20 (b)— 

21 ‘‘(A) an amount that is equal to non-Fed22 eral expenditures of up to $3,000,000 on coral 

23 reef management and restoration activities 

24 within the jurisdiction of the State, as reported 

25 within the previous fiscal year; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) an additional amount, from any 

2 funds appropriated for block grants under this 

3 section that remain after distribution under 

4 subparagraph (A) and paragraph (1), based on 

5 the proportion of the State’s share of total non6 Federal expenditures on coral reef management 

7 and restoration activities, as reported within the 

8 previous fiscal year, in excess of $3,000,000, 

9 relative to other covered States. 

10 ‘‘(d) EXCLUSIONS.—For the purposes of calculating 

11 block grant amounts under subsection (c), Federal funds 

12 provided to a covered State or non-Federal coral reef stew13 ardship partnership shall not be considered as qualifying 

14 non-Federal expenditures, but non-Federal matching 

15 funds used to leverage Federal awards may be considered 

16 as qualifying non-Federal expenditures. 

17 ‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.— 

18 The Administrator is responsible for— 

19 ‘‘(1) providing guidance on qualifying non-Fed20 eral expenditures and the proper documentation of 

21 such expenditures; 

22 ‘‘(2) issuing annual solicitations to covered 

23 States for additional awards under this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) determining the appropriate allocation of 

2 additional amounts among covered States in accord3 ance with this section. 

4 ‘‘(f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COVERED STATES.—Each 

5 covered State is responsible for documenting non-Federal 

6 expenditures within the jurisdiction of the State and for7 mally reporting those expenditures for review in response 

8 to annual solicitations by the Administrator under sub9 section (e). 

10 ‘‘(g) UNEXPENDED AMOUNTS.—Any amounts avail11 able for block grants under this section that are not ex12 pended shall be transferred to the Coral Reef Stewardship 

13 Fund under section 208(b). 

14 ‘‘(h) WAIVERS OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—The 

15 Administrator may waive the eligibility requirements 

16 under subsection (b) through fiscal year 2023. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 208. CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP FUND. 

18 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.— 

19 The Administrator may enter into an agreement with the 

20 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (in this section re21 ferred to as the ‘Foundation’), authorizing the Foundation 

22 to receive, hold, and administer funds received under this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(b) FUND.—The Foundation shall invest, reinvest, 

25 and otherwise administer the funds received under this 


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1 section and maintain such funds and any interest or reve2 nues earned in a separate interest-bearing account, to be 

3 known as the ‘Coral Reef Stewardship Fund’ (in this sec4 tion referred to as the ‘Fund’, and known before the date 

5 of the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 

6 2021 as the Coral Reef Conservation Fund administered 

7 through a public-private partnership with the Founda8 tion), established by the Foundation solely to support 

9 coral reef stewardship partnership activities that— 

10 ‘‘(1) further the purposes of this title; and 

11 ‘‘(2) are consistent with— 

12 ‘‘(A) the national coral reef resilience 

13 strategy in effect under section 204A; and 

14 ‘‘(B) coral reef action plans in effect, if 

15 any, under section 205 covering a coral reef or 

16 ecologically significant component of a coral 

17 reef to be impacted by such activities, if appli18 cable. 

19 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION TO SOLICIT DONATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to an agreement 

21 entered into under subsection (a), the Foundation 

22 may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use 

23 any gift (including, notwithstanding section 1342 of 

24 title 31, United States Code, donations of services) 

25 to further the purposes of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN FUND.—Notwithstanding 

2 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, any 

3 funds received as a gift shall be deposited and main4 tained in the Fund. 

5 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 

6 30 days after funds are deposited in the Fund under 

7 paragraph (2), the Foundation shall notify the Com8 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

9 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep10 resentatives of the source and amount of such funds. 

11 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—The Adminis12 trator shall conduct a continuing review of all deposits 

13 into, and disbursements from, the Fund. Each review shall 

14 include a written assessment concerning the extent to 

15 which the Foundation has implemented the goals and re16 quirements of— 

17 ‘‘(1) this section; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the national coral reef resilience strategy 

19 in effect under section 204A. 

20 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—Under an agreement en21 tered into pursuant to subsection (a), and subject to the 

22 availability of appropriations, the Administrator may 

23 transfer funds appropriated to carry out this title to the 

24 Foundation. Amounts received by the Foundation under 

25 this subsection may be used for matching, in whole or in 


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1 part, contributions (whether in money, services, or prop2 erty) made to the Foundation by private persons, State 

3 or local government agencies, or Tribal organizations. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 209. CORAL REEF EMERGENCY PLANS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered reef manager may de6 velop and periodically update a plan (in this title referred 

7 to as a ‘coral reef emergency plan’) consistent with the 

8 template described in section 204A(b)(3) to guide the 

9 rapid and effective response to circumstances that pose 

10 an urgent and immediate threat to the coral reef eco11 systems within the manager’s responsibilities and jurisdic12 tions, and consistent with any applicable coral reef action 

13 plan. 

14 ‘‘(b) CORAL REEF EMERGENCIES.—The Adminis15 trator shall develop a list of, and criteria for, cir16 cumstances that pose an urgent and immediate threat to 

17 coral reefs (in this title referred to as ‘coral reef emer18 gencies’), including— 

19 ‘‘(1) new and ongoing outbreaks of disease; 

20 ‘‘(2) new and ongoing outbreaks of invasive or 

21 nuisance species; 

22 ‘‘(3) new and ongoing coral bleaching events; 

23 ‘‘(4) natural disasters; 


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1 ‘‘(5) man-made disasters, including vessel 

2 groundings, hazardous spills, or coastal construction 

3 accidents; and 

4 ‘‘(6) other exigent circumstances. 

5 ‘‘(c) BEST RESPONSE PRACTICES.—The Adminis6 trator shall develop guidance on best practices to respond 

7 to coral reef emergencies that can be adopted within coral 

8 reef emergency plans. Such best practices shall be— 

9 ‘‘(1) based on the best available science and in10 tegrated with evolving innovative technologies; and 

11 ‘‘(2) revised not less frequently than once every 

12 5 years. 

13 ‘‘(d) PLAN ELEMENTS.—A coral reef emergency plan 

14 shall include the following elements: 

15 ‘‘(1) A description of particular threats, and the 

16 proposed responses, consistent with the best prac17 tices developed under subsection (d). 

18 ‘‘(2) A delineation of roles and responsibilities 

19 for executing the plan. 

20 ‘‘(3) Evidence of engagement with interested 

21 stakeholder groups, as applicable, in the develop22 ment of the plan. 

23 ‘‘(4) Any other information the Administrator 

24 considers to be necessary for the plan. 


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1 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

2 and the Task Force shall make all reasonable efforts to 

3 provide technical assistance upon request by a covered reef 

4 manager developing a coral reef emergency plan under 

5 subsection (a). 

6 ‘‘(f) ADOPTION OF CORAL REEF EMERGENCY

7 PLANS.—A covered reef manager may adopt a coral reef 

8 emergency plan developed by another covered reef man9 ager, in full or in part, as relevant to the adopting man10 ager’s applicable jurisdiction. 

11 ‘‘(g) PUBLIC REVIEW.—The development of a coral 

12 reef action plan by a covered reef manager under sub13 section (a), and the adoption of a plan under subsection 

14 (f), shall be subject to public review and comment. 

15 ‘‘(h) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall publish 

16 each coral reef emergency plan prepared and submitted 

17 to the Task Force under this section on publicly available 

18 internet websites of— 

19 ‘‘(1) the Coral Reef Conservation Program of 

20 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra21 tion; and 

22 ‘‘(2) the Task Force. 

23 ‘‘(i) PLAN IN EFFECT.—A coral reef emergency plan 

24 shall be deemed to be in effect if the plan was submitted 


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1 to the Task Force under this section during the preceding 

2 6 years. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 210. CORAL REEF EMERGENCY FUND. 

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab5 lished in the Treasury an interest-bearing fund to be 

6 known as the ‘Coral Reef Emergency Fund’, which shall 

7 consist of amounts deposited into the Fund under sub8 section (c). 

9 ‘‘(b) USES.—Amounts in the Fund— 

10 ‘‘(1) shall be available only for use by the Sec11 retary to compensate covered coral reef mangers to 

12 implement a coral reef emergency plan in effect 

13 under sections 210 and 212; and 

14 ‘‘(2) shall remain available until expended. 

15 ‘‘(c) DEPOSITS INTO THE FUND.—Subject to the 

16 availability of appropriations, there shall be deposited into 

17 the Fund— 

18 ‘‘(1) amounts appropriated for the Fund; and 

19 ‘‘(2) other amounts appropriated to the Sec20 retary for use with respect to coral reef emergencies. 

21 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of carrying 

23 out this title, the Secretary may accept, receive, so24 licit, hold, administer, and use any gift (including, 


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1 notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United 

2 States Code, donations of services). 

3 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN FUND.—Notwithstanding 

4 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, any 

5 funds received as a gift shall be deposited and main6 tained in the Fund. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 211. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. 

8 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEF EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) SUA SPONTE DECLARATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

11 determine and declare a coral reef emergency, 

12 including at the recommendation of the Sec13 retary of the Interior. 

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In declaring a 

15 coral reef emergency under subparagraph (A), 

16 the Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) certify that an emergency has oc18 curred that is ecologically significant and 

19 harmful to coral reefs; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) submit to the appropriate con21 gressional committees findings and anal22 ysis to justify the declaration. 

23 ‘‘(2) PETITIONS.—If a covered State or non24 Federal coral reef stewardship partnership believes 

25 that a coral reef emergency has occurred, and is imVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Dec 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S46.RS S46

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1 pacting coral reefs or ecologically significant compo2 nents of coral reefs subject to the responsibilities or 

3 jurisdiction of the State or partnership, the State or 

4 partnership may petition the Secretary for a declara5 tion of a coral reef emergency. 

6 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND ACTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

8 days after receiving a petition under paragraph 

9 (2) (except as provided in subparagraph (B)), 

10 the Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) evaluate the petition to determine 

12 whether a coral reef emergency has oc13 curred; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) declare a coral reef emergency or 

15 deny the petition. 

16 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—The Secretary may ex17 tend the deadline provided for under subpara18 graph (A) by not more than 15 days. 

19 ‘‘(4) APPEAL.—If the Secretary denies a peti20 tion for an emergency declaration submitted under 

21 paragraph (2), the State or partnership that sub22 mitted the petition may, not later than 15 days after 

23 receiving notice of the denial, appeal the denial to 

24 the Secretary. Not later than 15 days after receiving 


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1 an appeal under this paragraph, the Secretary shall 

2 grant or deny the appeal. 

3 ‘‘(5) REVOCATION.—The Secretary may revoke 

4 any declaration of a coral reef emergency in whole 

5 or in part after determining that circumstances no 

6 longer require an emergency response. 

7 ‘‘(6) RECOVERY OF EMERGENCY FUNDING.— 

8 The Administrator may seek compensation from 

9 negligent parties to recover emergency funds ex10 pended in excess of $500,000 under this section as 

11 a result of an emergency declaration arising from di12 rect impacts to coral reefs from man-made disasters 

13 or accidents. 

14 ‘‘(b) GRANT AUTHORITY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 

16 of appropriations, upon the declaration of a coral 

17 reef emergency under subsection (a), the Secretary 

18 shall provide grants to carry out proposals that meet 

19 the requirements of paragraph (2) to implement 

20 coral reef emergency plans in effect under section 

21 209. 

22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A proposal for a grant 

23 under this subsection to implement a coral reef 

24 emergency plan in effect under section 209 shall in25 clude— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the name of the entity submitting the 

2 proposal; 

3 ‘‘(B) a copy of the coral reef emergency 

4 plan; 

5 ‘‘(C) a description of the qualifications of 

6 the individuals and entities who will implement 

7 the plan; 

8 ‘‘(D) an estimate of the funds and time re9 quired to complete the implementation of the 

10 plan; and 

11 ‘‘(E) any other information the Secretary 

12 considers to be necessary for evaluating the eli13 gibility of the proposal for a grant under this 

14 subsection. 

15 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after re16 ceiving a proposal for a grant under this subsection, 

17 the Secretary shall review the proposal and deter18 mine if the proposal meets the requirements of para19 graph (2). 

20 ‘‘(4) CONCURRENT REVIEW.—An entity seeking 

21 a grant under this subsection may submit a proposal 

22 under paragraph (2) to the Secretary at any time 

23 following the submission of a petition for an emer24 gency declaration under subsection (a)(2) that is ap25 plicable to coral reefs or ecologically significant comVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Dec 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S46.RS S46

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1 ponents of coral reefs subject to the responsibilities 

2 or jurisdiction of the entity. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 212. VESSEL GROUNDING INVENTORY. 

4 ‘‘The Administrator, in coordination with the heads 

5 of other Federal agencies, shall establish and maintain an 

6 inventory of all vessel grounding incidents involving 

7 United States coral reefs, including a description of— 

8 ‘‘(1) the impacts of each such incident to coral 

9 reefs and related natural resources; 

10 ‘‘(2) vessel and ownership information relating 

11 to each such incident, if available; 

12 ‘‘(3) the estimated cost of removal of the vessel, 

13 mitigation, or restoration relating to each such inci14 dent; 

15 ‘‘(4) the response actions taken by the owner of 

16 the vessel, the Administrator, the Commandant of 

17 the Coast Guard, or representatives of other Federal 

18 or State agencies; 

19 ‘‘(5) the status of the response actions, includ20 ing the dates of— 

21 ‘‘(A) vessel removal; 

22 ‘‘(B) mitigation or restoration activities, 

23 including whether a coral reef emergency plan 

24 was implemented; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) any actions taken to prevent future 

2 grounding incidents; and 

3 ‘‘(6) recommendations for additional naviga4 tional aids or other mechanisms for preventing fu5 ture grounding incidents. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 213. RUTH D. GATES CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

7 GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—Subject to the availability of appro9 priations, the Administrator shall establish a program (to 

10 be known as the ‘Ruth D. Gates Coral Reef Conservation 

11 Grant Program’) to provide grants for projects for the 

12 conservation and restoration of coral reef ecosystems (in 

13 this section referred to as ‘coral reef projects’) pursuant 

14 to proposals approved by the Administrator in accordance 

15 with this section. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity described in 

18 paragraph (2) may submit to the Administrator a 

19 proposal for a coral reef project. 

20 ‘‘(2) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—An entity de21 scribed in this paragraph is— 

22 ‘‘(A) a natural resource management au23 thority of a State or local government or Tribal 

24 organization— 


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1 ‘‘(i) with responsibility for coral reef 

2 management; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the activities of which directly or 

4 indirectly affect coral reefs or coral reef 

5 ecosystems; 

6 ‘‘(B) a regional fishery management coun7 cil established under the Magnuson-Stevens 

8 Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

9 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); 

10 ‘‘(C) a coral reef stewardship partnership 

11 seeking to implement a coral reef action plan in 

12 effect under section 205; 

13 ‘‘(D) a coral reef research center des14 ignated under section 215(c)(4); or 

15 ‘‘(E) another nongovernmental organiza16 tion or research institution with demonstrated 

17 expertise in the conservation or restoration of 

18 coral reefs in practice or through significant 

19 contributions to the body of existing scientific 

20 research on coral reefs. 

21 ‘‘(c) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—Each proposal for a 

22 grant under this section for a coral reef project shall in23 clude the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) The name of the individual or entity re25 sponsible for conducting the project. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A description of the qualifications of the 

2 individual or entity. 

3 ‘‘(3) A succinct statement of the purposes of 

4 the project. 

5 ‘‘(4) An estimate of the funds and time re6 quired to complete the project. 

7 ‘‘(5) Evidence of support for the project by ap8 propriate representatives of States or other govern9 ment jurisdictions in which the project will be con10 ducted. 

11 ‘‘(6) Information regarding the source and 

12 amount of matching funding available to the appli13 cant. 

14 ‘‘(7) A description of how the project meets one 

15 or more of the criteria under subsection (e)(2). 

16 ‘‘(8) In the case of a proposal submitted by a 

17 coral reef stewardship partnership, a description of 

18 how the project aligns with the applicable coral reef 

19 action plan in effect under section 205. 

20 ‘‘(9) Any other information the Administrator 

21 considers to be necessary for evaluating the eligi22 bility of the project for a grant under this sub23 section. 

24 ‘‘(d) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall re2 view each coral reef project proposal submitted 

3 under this section to determine if the project meets 

4 the criteria set forth in subsection (e). 

5 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIZATION OF CONSERVATION

6 PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall prioritize the 

7 awarding of grants for projects that meet the cri8 teria for approval under subparagraphs (A) through 

9 (G) of subsection (e)(2) that are proposed to be con10 ducted within priority areas identified for coral reef 

11 conservation by the Administrator and consistent 

12 with the national coral reef resilience strategy in ef13 fect under section 204A. 

14 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIZATION OF RESTORATION

15 PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall prioritize the 

16 awarding of grants for projects that meet the cri17 teria for approval under subparagraphs (E) through 

18 (L) of subsection (e)(2) that are proposed to be con19 ducted within priority areas identified for coral reef 

20 restoration by the Administrator and consistent with 

21 the national coral reef resilience strategy in effect 

22 under section 204A. 

23 ‘‘(4) REVIEW; APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.— 

24 Not later than 180 days after receiving a proposal 


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1 for a coral reef project under this section, the Ad2 ministrator shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) request and consider written com4 ments on the proposal from each Federal agen5 cy, State government, Tribal organization, or 

6 other government jurisdiction, including the rel7 evant regional fishery management councils es8 tablished under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

9 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

10 1801 et seq.), or any National Marine Sanc11 tuary or Marine National Monument, with ju12 risdiction or management authority over coral 

13 reef ecosystems in the area where the project is 

14 to be conducted, including the extent to which 

15 the project is consistent with locally established 

16 priorities, unless such entities were directly in17 volved in the development of the project pro18 posal; 

19 ‘‘(B) provide for the merit-based peer re20 view of the proposal and require standardized 

21 documentation of that peer review; 

22 ‘‘(C) after considering any written com23 ments and recommendations based on the re24 views under subparagraphs (A) and (B), ap25 prove or disapprove the proposal; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) provide written notification of that 

2 approval or disapproval, with summaries of all 

3 written comments, recommendations, and peer4 reviews, to the entity that submitted the pro5 posal, and each of those States, Tribal organi6 zations, and other government jurisdictions that 

7 provided comments under subparagraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(e) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Administrator 

9 may not approve a proposal for a coral reef project under 

10 this section unless the project— 

11 ‘‘(1) is consistent with— 

12 ‘‘(A) the national coral reef resilience 

13 strategy in effect under section 204A; and 

14 ‘‘(B) any Federal or non-Federal coral reef 

15 action plans in effect under section 205 cov16 ering a coral reef or ecologically significant 

17 component of a coral reef to be affected by the 

18 project; and 

19 ‘‘(2) will enhance the conservation and restora20 tion of coral reefs by— 

21 ‘‘(A) addressing conflicts arising from the 

22 use of environments near coral reefs or from 

23 the use of corals, species associated with coral 

24 reefs, and coral products, including supporting 

25 consensus-driven, community-based planning 


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1 and management initiatives for the protection 

2 of coral reef ecosystems; 

3 ‘‘(B) improving compliance with laws that 

4 prohibit or regulate the taking of coral products 

5 or species associated with coral reefs or regulate 

6 the use and management of coral reef eco7 systems; 

8 ‘‘(C) designing and implementing networks 

9 of real-time water quality monitoring along 

10 coral reefs, including data collection related to 

11 turbidity, nutrient availability, harmful algal 

12 blooms, and plankton assemblages, with an em13 phasis on coral reefs impacted by agriculture 

14 and urban development; 

15 ‘‘(D) promoting ecologically sound naviga16 tion and anchorages, including mooring buoy 

17 systems to promote enhanced recreational ac18 cess, near coral reefs; 

19 ‘‘(E) furthering the goals and objectives of 

20 coral reef action plans in effect under section 

21 205 and coral reef emergency plans in effect 

22 under section 209; 

23 ‘‘(F) mapping the location and distribution 

24 of coral reefs and potential coral reef habitat; 


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1 ‘‘(G) stimulating innovation to advance the 

2 ability of the United States to understand, re3 search, or monitor coral reef ecosystems, or to 

4 develop management or adaptation options to 

5 preserve, sustain, and restore coral reef eco6 systems; 

7 ‘‘(H) implementing research to ensure the 

8 population viability of listed coral species in 

9 United States waters as detailed in the popu10 lation-based recovery criteria included in spe11 cies-specific recovery plans consistent with the 

12 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

13 1531 et seq.); 

14 ‘‘(I) developing and implementing cost-ef15 fective methods to restore degraded coral reef 

16 ecosystems or to create geographically appro17 priate coral reef ecosystems in suitable waters, 

18 including by improving habitat or promoting 

19 success of keystone species, with an emphasis 

20 on novel restoration strategies and techniques 

21 to advance coral reef recovery and growth near 

22 population centers threatened by rising sea lev23 els and storm surge; 

24 ‘‘(J) translating and applying coral genet25 ics research to coral reef ecosystem restoration, 


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1 including research related to traits that pro2 mote resilience to increasing ocean tempera3 tures, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, coral 

4 diseases, and invasive species; 

5 ‘‘(K) developing and maintaining in situ 

6 native coral propagation sites; or 

7 ‘‘(L) developing and maintaining ex situ 

8 coral propagation nurseries and land-based 

9 coral gene banks to— 

10 ‘‘(i) conserve or augment genetic di11 versity of native coral populations; 

12 ‘‘(ii) support captive breeding of rare 

13 coral species; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) enhance resilience of native coral 

15 populations to increasing ocean tempera16 tures, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, 

17 and coral diseases through selective breed18 ing, conditioning, or other approaches that 

19 target genes, gene expression, phenotypic 

20 traits, or phenotypic plasticity. 

21 ‘‘(f) FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.—To the extent prac22 ticable based upon proposals for coral reef projects sub23 mitted to the Administrator, the Administrator shall en24 sure that funding for grants awarded under this section 

25 during a fiscal year is distributed as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Not less than 40 percent of funds available 

2 shall be awarded for projects in the Pacific Ocean 

3 within the maritime areas and zones subject to the 

4 jurisdiction or control of the United States. 

5 ‘‘(2) Not less than 40 percent of the funds 

6 available shall be awarded for projects in the Atlan7 tic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Caribbean Sea 

8 within the maritime areas and zones subject to the 

9 jurisdiction or control of the United States. 

10 ‘‘(3) Not more than 67 percent of funds distrib11 uted in each region in accordance with paragraphs 

12 (1) and (2) shall be made exclusively available to 

13 projects that are— 

14 ‘‘(A) submitted by a coral reef stewardship 

15 partnership; and 

16 ‘‘(B) consistent with the coral reef action 

17 plan in effect under section 205 by such a part18 nership. 

19 ‘‘(4) Of the funds distributed to support 

20 projects in accordance with paragraph (3), not less 

21 than 20 percent and not more than 33 percent shall 

22 be awarded for projects submitted by a Federal coral 

23 reef stewardship partnership. 

24 ‘‘(g) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each entity receiving a 

25 grant under this section shall submit to the Administrator 


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1 such reports at such times and containing such informa2 tion for evaluating project performance as the Adminis3 trator may require. 

4 ‘‘(h) TASK FORCE.—The Administrator may consult 

5 with the Secretary of the Interior and the Task Force to 

6 obtain guidance in establishing priorities and evaluating 

7 proposals for coral reef projects under this section. 

8 ‘‘(i) UNEXPENDED AMOUNTS.—Any amounts avail9 able for grants under this section that are not expended 

10 shall be transferred to the Coral Reef Stewardship Fund 

11 under section 208(b). 

12 ‘‘SEC. 214. REPORTS ON ADMINISTRATION. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

14 date of the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act 

15 of 2021, and every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator 

16 shall submit to the committees specified in subsection (b) 

17 a report on the administration of this title during the 2- 

18 year period preceding submission of the report, includ19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(1) a description of all activities undertaken to 

21 implement the most recent national coral reef resil22 ience strategy under section 204A; 

23 ‘‘(2) a statement of all funds obligated under 

24 the authorities of this title; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) a summary, disaggregated by State, of 

2 Federal and non-Federal contributions toward the 

3 costs of each project or activity funded, in full or in 

4 part, under the authorities of this title. 

5 ‘‘(b) COMMITTEES SPECIFIED.—The committees 

6 specified in this subsection are— 

7 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

8 Transportation and the Committee on Appropria9 tions of the Senate; and 

10 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Natural Resources and 

11 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

12 Representatives. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 215. AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may enter 

15 into and perform such contracts, leases, grants, or cooper16 ative agreements as may be necessary to carry out the 

17 purposes of this title. 

18 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under an agreement en20 tered into under subsection (a), the Administrator 

21 may reimburse or provide funds authorized to be ap22 propriated by section 216 to, and may receive funds 

23 or reimbursements from, individuals and entities de24 scribed in paragraph (2) to carry out activities au25 thorized by this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES DE2 SCRIBED.—Individuals and entities described in this 

3 paragraph are the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) Federal agencies, instrumentalities, 

5 and laboratories. 

6 ‘‘(B) State and local governments. 

7 ‘‘(C) Indian Tribes and Tribal organiza8 tions. 

9 ‘‘(D) International organizations. 

10 ‘‘(E) Foreign governments not subject to 

11 economic sanctions imposed by the United 

12 States. 

13 ‘‘(F) Institutions of higher education, re14 search centers, and other educational institu15 tions. 

16 ‘‘(G) Nonprofit organizations. 

17 ‘‘(H) Commercial organizations. 

18 ‘‘(I) Other public or private individuals or 

19 entities. 

20 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE INSTITUTES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es22 tablish 2 cooperative institutes for the purpose of 

23 advancing and sustaining essential capabilities in 

24 coral reef research, to be known as the ‘Atlantic 


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1 Coral Reef Institute’ and the ‘Pacific Coral Reef In2 stitute’. 

3 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Each institute established 

4 under paragraph (1) shall be housed within a single 

5 coral reef research center designated by the Admin6 istrator under paragraph (4) in the Atlantic and Pa7 cific basins, respectively, and may contract with 

8 other coral reef research centers within the same 

9 basin to support each institute’s capacity and reach. 

10 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The institutes established 

11 under paragraph (1) shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) conduct federally directed research to 

13 fill national and regional coral reef ecosystem 

14 research gaps and improve understanding of, 

15 and responses to, continuing and emerging 

16 threats to the resilience of United States coral 

17 reef ecosystems consistent with the national 

18 coral reef resilience strategy in effect under sec19 tion 204A; 

20 ‘‘(B) support ecological research and moni21 toring to study the effects of conservation and 

22 restoration activities funded by this title on pro23 moting more effective coral reef management 

24 and restoration; and 

25 ‘‘(C) through agreements— 


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1 ‘‘(i) collaborate directly with govern2 mental resource management agencies, 

3 coral reef stewardship partnerships, non4 profit organizations, and other coral reef 

5 research centers designated under para6 graph (4); 

7 ‘‘(ii) assist in the development and im8 plementation of— 

9 ‘‘(I) the national coral reef resil10 ience strategy under section 204A; 

11 ‘‘(II) coral reef action plans 

12 under section 205; and 

13 ‘‘(III) coral reef emergency plans 

14 under section 209; 

15 ‘‘(iii) build capacity within govern16 mental resource management agencies to 

17 establish research priorities and translate 

18 and apply research findings to manage19 ment and restoration practices; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) conduct public education and 

21 awareness programs for policymakers, re22 source managers, and the general public 

23 on— 

24 ‘‘(I) coral reefs and coral reef 

25 ecosystems; 


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1 ‘‘(II) best practices for coral reef 

2 ecosystem management and restora3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(III) the value of coral reefs; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(IV) the threats to the sustain7 ability of coral reef ecosystems. 

8 ‘‘(4) CORAL REEF RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

10 shall periodically solicit applications and des11 ignate all qualifying institutions in a covered 

12 State as coral reef research centers. 

13 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—An institution qualifies 

14 for designation as a coral reef research center 

15 under subparagraph (A) if the Administrator 

16 determines that the institution— 

17 ‘‘(i) is operated by an institution of 

18 higher education or nonprofit marine re19 search organization; 

20 ‘‘(ii) has established management21 driven national or regional coral reef re22 search or restoration programs; 

23 ‘‘(iii) has demonstrated abilities to co24 ordinate closely with appropriate Federal 


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1 and State agencies, as well as other aca2 demic and nonprofit organizations; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) maintains significant local com4 munity engagement and outreach pro5 grams related to coral reef ecosystems. 

6 ‘‘(d) MULTIYEAR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

7 Administrator may enter into multiyear cooperative agree8 ments with the heads of other Federal agencies, States, 

9 Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, local governments, 

10 the coral reef cooperative institutes established under sub11 section (c), and other institutions of higher education, 

12 nonprofit research organizations, and nongovernmental 

13 organizations to carry out activities authorized under this 

14 title. 

15 ‘‘(e) USE OF RESOURCES OF OTHER AGENCIES.— 

16 The Administrator may use, with consent and with or 

17 without reimbursement, the land, services, equipment, per18 sonnel, and facilities of any agency or instrumentality of— 

19 ‘‘(1) the United States; 

20 ‘‘(2) any State or local government; 

21 ‘‘(3) any Indian Tribe; or 

22 ‘‘(4) any foreign government not subject to eco23 nomic sanctions imposed by the United States. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 216. CORAL REEF PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of any Federal agency 

3 with a representative serving on the U.S. Coral Reef Task 

4 Force established by Executive Order 13089 (16 U.S.C. 

5 6401 note; relating to coral reef protection), may, individ6 ually or in cooperation with one or more agencies, carry 

7 out a program to award prizes competitively under section 

8 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

9 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719). 

10 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—Any program carried out under 

11 this section shall be for the purpose of stimulating innova12 tion to advance the ability of the United States to under13 stand, research, or monitor coral reef ecosystems, or to 

14 develop management or adaptation options to preserve, 

15 sustain, and restore coral reef ecosystems. 

16 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY PROGRAMS.—Priority shall be given to 

17 establishing programs under this section that address 

18 communities, environments, or industries that are in dis19 tress as a result of the decline or degradation of coral reef 

20 ecosystems, including— 

21 ‘‘(1) scientific research and monitoring that 

22 furthers the understanding of causes behind coral 

23 reef decline and degradation and the generally slow 

24 recovery following disturbances, including ocean 

25 acidification and its impacts on coral reproduction; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the development of monitoring or manage2 ment options for communities or industries that are 

3 experiencing significant financial hardship; 

4 ‘‘(3) the development of adaptation options to 

5 alleviate economic harm and job loss caused by dam6 age to coral reef ecosystems; 

7 ‘‘(4) the development of measures to help vul8 nerable communities or industries, with an emphasis 

9 on rural communities and businesses; and 

10 ‘‘(5) the development of adaptation and man11 agement options for impacted tourism industries. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 217. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap14 propriated to the Secretary to carry out this title the fol15 lowing amounts, which shall remain available until ex16 pended: 

17 ‘‘(1) $31,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 

18 ‘‘(2) $32,500,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

19 ‘‘(3) $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2023. 

20 ‘‘(4) $35,500,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

21 ‘‘(5) $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 

22 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.—Of the amounts appro23 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 

24 under subsection (a), not more than the lesser of 

25 $1,500,000 or 10 percent may be used for program adVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Dec 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S46.RS S46

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1 ministration or for overhead costs incurred by the Na2 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the De3 partment of Commerce and assessed as an administrative 

4 charge. 

5 ‘‘(c) CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION

6 ACTIVITIES.—From the amounts authorized to be appro7 priated under subsection (a), there shall be made available 

8 to the Secretary not less than the following amounts for 

9 authorized activities under sections 203 and 207: 

10 ‘‘(1) $23,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, of which 

11 not less than $8,000,000 shall be made available to 

12 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

13 under section 207. 

14 ‘‘(2) $24,500,000 for fiscal year 2022, of which 

15 not less than $8,500,000 shall be made available to 

16 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

17 under section 207. 

18 ‘‘(3) $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2023, of which 

19 not less than $9,000,000 shall be made available to 

20 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

21 under section 207. 

22 ‘‘(4) $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2024, of which 

23 not less than $10,000,000 shall be made available to 

24 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

25 under section 207. 


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1 ‘‘(5) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, of which 

2 not less than $11,000,000 shall be made available to 

3 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

4 under section 207. 

5 ‘‘(d) FEDERALLY DIRECTED RESEARCH AND CORAL

6 REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM GRANTS.—From the 

7 amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection 

8 (a), there shall be made available to the Secretary not less 

9 than $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

10 2025 to support purposes consistent with this title, of 

11 which— 

12 ‘‘(1) not less than $3,500,000 shall be made 

13 available for each such fiscal year for authorized ac14 tivities under section 213; and 

15 ‘‘(2) not less than $4,500,000 shall be made 

16 available for each such fiscal year through coopera17 tive agreements with the cooperative institutes estab18 lished under section 215(c). 

19 ‘‘SEC. 218. DEFINITIONS. 

20 ‘‘In this title: 

21 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis22 trator’ means the Administrator of the National 

23 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

24 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT25 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional comVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Dec 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S46.RS S46

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1 mittees’ means the Committee on Commerce, 

2 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

3 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

4 Representatives. 

5 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘conservation’ 

6 means the use of methods and procedures necessary 

7 to preserve or sustain native corals and associated 

8 species as diverse, viable, and self-perpetuating coral 

9 reef ecosystems with minimal impacts from invasive 

10 species, including— 

11 ‘‘(A) all activities associated with resource 

12 management, such as monitoring, assessment, 

13 protection, restoration, sustainable use, man14 agement of habitat, and maintenance or aug15 mentation of genetic diversity; 

16 ‘‘(B) mapping; 

17 ‘‘(C) scientific expertise and technical as18 sistance in the development and implementation 

19 of management strategies for marine protected 

20 areas and marine resources consistent with the 

21 National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 

22 1431 et seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fish23 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 

24 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); 

25 ‘‘(D) law enforcement; 


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1 ‘‘(E) conflict resolution initiatives; 

2 ‘‘(F) community outreach and education; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(G) promotion of safe and ecologically 

5 sound navigation and anchoring. 

6 ‘‘(4) CORAL.—The term ‘coral’ means species 

7 of the phylum Cnidaria, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) all species of the orders Antipatharia 

9 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), 

10 Alcyonacea (soft corals, organ pipe corals, 

11 gorgonians), and Helioporacea (blue coral), of 

12 the class Anthozoa; and 

13 ‘‘(B) all species of the order Anthoathecata 

14 (fire corals and other hydrocorals) of the class 

15 Hydrozoa. 

16 ‘‘(5) CORAL REEF.—The term ‘coral reef’ 

17 means limestone structures in the form of a reef or 

18 shoal, composed in whole or in part by living coral, 

19 skeletal remains of coral, crustose coralline algae, 

20 and other associated sessile marine plants and ani21 mals. 

22 ‘‘(6) CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM.—The term 

23 ‘coral reef ecosystem’ means— 

24 ‘‘(A) corals and other geographically and 

25 ecologically associated marine communities of 


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1 other reef organisms (including reef plants and 

2 animals) associated with coral reef habitat; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the biotic and abiotic factors and 

4 processes that control coral calcification rates, 

5 tissue growth, reproduction, recruitment, abun6 dance, coral-algal symbiosis, and biodiversity in 

7 such habitat. 

8 ‘‘(7) CORAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘coral prod9 ucts’ means any living or dead specimens, parts, or 

10 derivatives, or any product containing specimens, 

11 parts, or derivatives, of any species referred to in 

12 paragraph (4). 

13 ‘‘(8) COVERED REEF MANAGER.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 

15 reef manager’ means a management unit of a 

16 Federal agency specified in subparagraph (B) 

17 with jurisdiction over a coral reef ecosystem, 

18 covered State, or coral reef stewardship part19 nership. 

20 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL AGENCIES SPECIFIED.—A 

21 Federal agency specified in this subparagraph 

22 is one of the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) The National Oceanic and Atmos24 pheric Administration. 

25 ‘‘(ii) The National Park Service. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) The United States Fish and 

2 Wildlife Service. 

3 ‘‘(iv) The Office of Insular Affairs. 

4 ‘‘(9) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘covered 

5 State’ means Florida, Hawaii, and the territories of 

6 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North7 ern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the 

8 United States Virgin Islands. 

9 ‘‘(10) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

10 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

11 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

13 ‘‘(11) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

14 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

15 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High16 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

17 ‘‘(12) INTERESTED STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.— 

18 The term ‘interested stakeholder groups’ includes 

19 community members such as businesses, commercial 

20 and recreational fishermen, other recreationalists, 

21 Federal, State, Tribal, and local government units 

22 with related jurisdiction, institutions of higher edu23 cation, and nongovernmental organizations. 

24 ‘‘(13) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

25 ‘nonprofit organization’ means an organization that 


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1 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Rev2 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under sec3 tion 501(a) of such Code. 

4 ‘‘(14) RESTORATION.—The term ‘restoration’ 

5 means the use of methods and procedures necessary 

6 to enhance, rehabilitate, recreate, or create a func7 tioning coral reef or coral reef ecosystem, in whole 

8 or in part, within suitable waters of the historical 

9 geographic range of such ecosystems, to provide eco10 logical, economic, cultural, or coastal resiliency serv11 ices associated with healthy coral reefs and benefit 

12 native populations of coral reef organisms. 

13 ‘‘(15) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘resilience’ 

14 means the capacity for corals within their native 

15 range, coral reefs, or coral reef ecosystems to recover 

16 from natural and human disturbances as determined 

17 by clearly identifiable, measurable, and science-based 

18 standards. 

19 ‘‘(16) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

20 means the Secretary of Commerce. 

21 ‘‘(17) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) any State of the United States that 

23 contains a coral reef ecosystem within its sea24 ward boundaries; 


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1 ‘‘(B) American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

2 of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto 

3 Rico, or the United States Virgin Islands; or 

4 ‘‘(C) any other territory or possession of 

5 the United States or separate sovereign in free 

6 association with the United States that contains 

7 a coral reef ecosystem within its seaward 

8 boundaries. 

9 ‘‘(18) STEWARDSHIP.—The term ‘stewardship’, 

10 with respect to a coral reef, includes conservation, 

11 restoration, and public outreach and education. 

12 ‘‘(19) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

13 means the United States Coral Reef Task Force es14 tablished under section 201 of the Restoring Resil15 ient Reefs Act of 2021. 

16 ‘‘(20) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Trib17 al organization’ has the meaning given the term 

18 ‘tribal organization’ in section 3765 of title 38, 

19 United States Code.’’. 

20 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO NATIONAL

21 OCEANS AND COASTAL SECURITY ACT.—Section 905(a) 

22 of the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act (16 

23 U.S.C. 7504(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘and coastal in24 frastructure’’ and inserting ‘‘, coastal infrastructure, and 


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1 ecosystem services provided by natural systems such as 

2 coral reefs’’. 

3 SEC. 102. MODIFICATION TO SECTION 204 OF THE CORAL 

4 REEF CONSERVATION ACT OF 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

5 6403). 

6 Section 204 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 

7 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6403) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘this section’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘section 213’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of para13 graph (1), block grant funds awarded to the terri14 tories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

15 Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, or 

16 the United States Virgin Islands under section 207 

17 shall qualify as the non-Federal share of project 

18 costs.’’; and 

19 (3) by striking subsections (c) through (j). 

20 TITLE II—UNITED STATES 

21 CORAL REEF TASK FORCE 

22 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT. 

23 There is established a task force to lead, coordinate, 

24 and strengthen Federal Government actions to better pre25 serve, conserve, and restore coral reef ecosystems, to be 


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1 known as the ‘‘United States Coral Reef Task Force’’ (in 

2 this title referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

3 SEC. 202. DUTIES. 

4 The duties of the Task Force shall be— 

5 (1) to coordinate, in cooperation with State, 

6 Tribal, and local government partners, coral reef re7 search centers designated under section 215(c) of 

8 the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (as amend9 ed by section 101), and other nongovernmental and 

10 academic partners as appropriate, activities regard11 ing the mapping, monitoring, research, conservation, 

12 mitigation, and restoration of coral reefs and coral 

13 reef ecosystems; 

14 (2) to monitor and advise regarding implemen15 tation of the policy and Federal agency responsibil16 ities set forth in— 

17 (A) Executive Order 13089 (63 Fed. Reg. 

18 32701; relating to coral reef protection); and 

19 (B) the national coral reef resilience strat20 egy developed under section 204A of the Coral 

21 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by 

22 section 101; 

23 (3) to work with the Secretary of State and the 

24 Administrator of the United States Agency for 


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1 International Development, and in coordination with 

2 the other members of the Task Force— 

3 (A) to assess the United States role in 

4 international trade and protection of coral spe5 cies; 

6 (B) to encourage implementation of appro7 priate strategies and actions to promote con8 servation and sustainable use of coral reef re9 sources worldwide; and 

10 (C) to collaborate with international com11 munities successful in managing coral reefs; 

12 (4) to provide technical assistance for the devel13 opment and implementation, as appropriate, of— 

14 (A) the national coral reef resilience strat15 egy under section 204A of the Coral Reef Con16 servation Act of 2000, as amended by section 

17 101; 

18 (B) coral reef action plans under section 

19 205 of that Act; and 

20 (C) coral reef emergency plans under sec21 tion 209 of that Act; and 

22 (5) to produce a report each year, for submis23 sion to the appropriate congressional committees 

24 and publication on a publicly available internet 

25 website of the Task Force, highlighting the status of 


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1 the coral reef equities of a covered State on a rotat2 ing basis, including— 

3 (A) a summary of recent coral reef man4 agement and restoration activities undertaken 

5 in that State; and 

6 (B) updated estimates of the direct and in7 direct economic activity supported by, and other 

8 benefits associated with, those coral reef equi9 ties. 

10 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP. 

11 (a) VOTING MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall 

12 have the following voting members: 

13 (1) The Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

14 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At15 mospheric Administration, and the Secretary of the 

16 Interior, who shall be co-chairs of the Task Force. 

17 (2) The Administrator of the United States 

18 Agency for International Development. 

19 (3) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

20 (4) The Secretary of Defense. 

21 (5) The Secretary of the Army, acting through 

22 the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. 

23 (6) The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 

24 through the Administrator of the Federal Emer25 gency Management Agency. 


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1 (7) The Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

2 (8) The Attorney General. 

3 (9) The Secretary of State. 

4 (10) The Secretary of Transportation. 

5 (11) The Administrator of the Environmental 

6 Protection Agency. 

7 (12) The Administrator of the National Aero8 nautics and Space Administration. 

9 (13) The Director of the National Science 

10 Foundation. 

11 (14) The Governor, or a representative of the 

12 Governor, of each covered State. 

13 (b) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall 

14 have the following nonvoting members: 

15 (1) A member of the South Atlantic Fishery 

16 Management Council who is designated by the Gov17 ernor of Florida under section 302(b)(1) of the Mag18 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage19 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(1)). 

20 (2) A member of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

21 Management Council who is designated by the Gov22 ernor of Florida under such section. 

23 (3) A member of the Western Pacific Fishery 

24 Management Council who is designated under such 

25 section and selected as follows: 


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1 (A) For the period beginning on the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act and ending on De3 cember 31 of the calendar year during which 

4 such date of enactment occurs, the member 

5 shall be selected jointly by the governors of Ha6 waii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Com7 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

8 (B) For each calendar year thereafter, the 

9 governors of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, 

10 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar11 iana Islands shall, on a rotating basis, take 

12 turns selecting the member. 

13 (4) A member of the Caribbean Fishery Man14 agement Council who is designated under such sec15 tion and selected as follows: 

16 (A) For the period beginning on the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act and ending on De18 cember 31 of the calendar year during which 

19 such date of enactment occurs, the member 

20 shall be selected jointly by the governors of 

21 Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Is22 lands. 

23 (B) For each calendar year thereafter, the 

24 governors of Puerto Rico and the United States 


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1 Virgin Islands shall, on an alternating basis, 

2 take turns selecting the member. 

3 (5) A member appointed by the President of 

4 the Federated States of Micronesia. 

5 (6) A member appointed by the President of 

6 the Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

7 (7) A member appointed by the President of 

8 the Republic of Palau. 

9 SEC. 204. RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCY MEM10 BERS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Task Force 

12 specified in paragraphs (1) through (14) of section 203(a) 

13 shall— 

14 (1) identify the actions of the agency that mem15 ber represents that may affect coral reef ecosystems; 

16 (2) utilize the programs and authorities of that 

17 agency to protect and enhance the conditions of such 

18 ecosystems, including through the promotion of basic 

19 and applied scientific research; 

20 (3) collaborate with the Task Force to appro21 priately reflect budgetary needs for coral reef con22 servation and restoration activities in all agency 

23 budget planning and justification documents and 

24 processes; and 


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1 (4) engage in any other coordinated efforts ap2 proved by the Task Force. 

3 (b) CO-CHAIRS.—In addition to their responsibilities 

4 under subsection (a), the co-chairs of the Task Force shall 

5 administer performance of the functions of the Task Force 

6 and facilitate the coordination of the members of the Task 

7 Force specified in paragraphs (1) through (14) of section 

8 203(a). 

9 SEC. 205. WORKING GROUPS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The co-chairs of the Task Force 

11 may establish working groups as necessary to meet the 

12 goals and carry out the duties of the Task Force. 

13 (b) REQUESTS FROM MEMBERS.—The members of 

14 the Task Force may request that the co-chairs establish 

15 a working group under subsection (a). 

16 (c) PARTICIPATION BY NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANI17 ZATIONS.—The co-chairs may allow nongovernmental or18 ganizations as appropriate, including academic institu19 tions, conservation groups, and commercial and rec20 reational fishing associations, to participate in a working 

21 group established under subsection (a). 

22 (d) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

23 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

24 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to working groups estab25 lished under this section. 


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1 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means the Committee on Commerce, 

6 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

7 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

8 Representatives. 

9 (2) CONSERVATION, CORAL, CORAL REEF, 

10 ETC.—The terms ‘‘conservation’’, ‘‘coral’’, ‘‘coral 

11 reef’’, ‘‘coral reef ecosystem’’, ‘‘covered State’’, ‘‘res12 toration’’, ‘‘resilience’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the mean13 ing given those terms in section 218 of the Coral 

14 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by sec15 tion 101. 

16 TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE 

17 INTERIOR CORAL REEF AU18 THORITIES 

19 SEC. 301. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 

20 ASSISTANCE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior may 

22 provide scientific expertise and technical assistance, and 

23 subject to the availability of appropriations, financial as24 sistance for the conservation and restoration of coral reefs 

25 consistent with all applicable laws governing resource 


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1 management in Federal, State, and Tribal waters, includ2 ing— 

3 (1) the national coral reef resilience strategy in 

4 effect under section 204A of the Coral Reef Con5 servation Act of 2000, as amended by section 101; 

6 (2) coral reef action plans in effect under sec7 tion 205 of that Act, as applicable; and 

8 (3) coral reef emergency plans in effect under 

9 section 209 of that Act, as applicable. 

10 (b) OFFICE OF INSULAR AFFAIRS CORAL REEF INI11 TIATIVE.—The Secretary may establish within the Office 

12 of Insular Affairs a Coral Reef Initiative Program— 

13 (1) to provide grant funding to support local 

14 management, conservation, and protection of coral 

15 reef ecosystems in— 

16 (A) insular areas of covered States; and 

17 (B) Freely Associated States; 

18 (2) to complement the other conservation and 

19 assistance activities conducted under this Act; and 

20 (3) to provide other technical, scientific, and fi21 nancial assistance and conduct conservation activi22 ties that advance the purpose of this Act. 

23 (c) CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF

24 COMMERCE.—The Secretary of the Interior may consult 

25 with the Secretary of Commerce regarding the conduct of 


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1 any activities to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral 

2 reef ecosystems in waters managed under the jurisdiction 

3 of the Federal agencies specified in paragraphs (2) and 

4 (3) of section 203(c) of the Coral Reef Conservation Act 

5 of 2000, as amended by section 101. 

6 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Subject to the 

7 availability of appropriations, the Secretary of the Interior 

8 may enter into cooperative agreements with covered reef 

9 managers to fund coral reef conservation and restoration 

10 activities in waters managed under the jurisdiction of such 

11 managers that— 

12 (1) are consistent with the national coral reef 

13 resilience strategy in effect under section 204A of 

14 the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amend15 ed by section 101; and 

16 (2) support and enhance the success of— 

17 (A) coral reef action plans in effect under 

18 section 205 of that Act; and 

19 (B) coral reef emergency plans in effect 

20 under section 209 of that Act. 

21 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘con22 servation’’, ‘‘coral reef’’, ‘‘covered reef manager’’, ‘‘covered 

23 State’’, ‘‘restoration’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meaning 

24 given those terms in section 218 of the Coral Reef Con25 servation Act of 2000, as amended by section 101. 


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1 TITLE IV—SUSAN L. WILLIAMS 

2 NATIONAL CORAL REEF MAN3 AGEMENT FELLOWSHIP 

4 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Susan L. Williams 

6 National Coral Reef Management Fellowship Act of 

7 2021’’. 

8 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title: 

10 (1) FELLOW.—The term ‘‘fellow’’ means a Na11 tional Coral Reef Management Fellow. 

12 (2) FELLOWSHIP.—The term ‘‘fellowship’’ 

13 means the National Coral Reef Management Fellow14 ship established in section 403. 

15 (3) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

16 The terms ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ and ‘‘Tribal organiza17 tion’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

18 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

19 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

20 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of Commerce. 

22 SEC. 403. ESTABLISHMENT OF FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a National 

24 Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program. 


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1 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the fellowship 

2 are— 

3 (1) to encourage future leaders of the United 

4 States to develop additional coral reef management 

5 capacity in States and local communities with coral 

6 reefs; 

7 (2) to provide management agencies of States, 

8 Tribal organizations, and Freely Associated States 

9 with highly qualified candidates whose education and 

10 work experience meet the specific needs of each 

11 State, Indian Tribe, and Freely Associated State; 

12 and 

13 (3) to provide fellows with professional experi14 ence in management of coastal and coral reef re15 sources. 

16 SEC. 404. FELLOWSHIP AWARDS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award the fel18 lowship in accordance with this section. 

19 (b) TERM OF FELLOWSHIP.—A fellowship awarded 

20 under this section shall be for a term of not more than 

21 24 months. 

22 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Secretary shall award the 

23 fellowship to individuals who have demonstrated— 

24 (1) an intent to pursue a career in marine serv25 ices and outstanding potential for such a career; 


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1 (2) leadership potential, actual leadership expe2 rience, or both; 

3 (3) a college or graduate degree in biological 

4 science, experience that correlates with aptitude and 

5 interest for marine management, or both; 

6 (4) proficient writing and speaking skills; and 

7 (5) such other attributes as the Secretary con8 siders appropriate. 

9 SEC. 405. MATCHING REQUIREMENT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

11 (b), the non-Federal share of the costs of a fellowship 

12 under this section shall be 25 percent of such costs. 

13 (b) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

14 may waive the application of subsection (a) if the Sec15 retary finds that such waiver is necessary to support a 

16 project that the Secretary has identified as a high priority. 

17 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

18 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Re19 storing Resilient Reefs Act of 2021’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

21 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION ACT 

OF 2000 

Sec. 101. Reauthorization of Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. 

TITLE II—UNITED STATES CORAL REEF TASK FORCE 

Sec. 201. Establishment. 


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Sec. 202. Duties. 

Sec. 203. Membership. 

Sec. 204. Responsibilities of Federal agency members. 

Sec. 205. Working groups. 

Sec. 206. Definitions. 

TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CORAL REEF 

AUTHORITIES 

Sec. 301. Coral reef conservation and restoration assistance. 

TITLE IV—SUSAN L. WILLIAMS NATIONAL CORAL REEF 

MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Definitions. 

Sec. 403. Establishment of fellowship program. 

Sec. 404. Fellowship awards. 

Sec. 405. Matching requirement. 

1 TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF 

2 CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

3 ACT OF 2000 

4 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVA5 TION ACT OF 2000. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Coral Reef Conservation Act 

7 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating sections 209 and 210 as sec9 tions 217 and 218, respectively; 

10 (2) by striking sections 202 through 208 and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 202. PURPOSES. 

13 ‘‘The purposes of this title are— 

14 ‘‘(1) to conserve and restore the condition of 

15 United States coral reef ecosystems challenged by nat16 ural and human-accelerated changes, including in17 creasing ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, 


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1 coral bleaching, coral diseases, water quality degrada2 tion, invasive species, and illegal, unreported, and 

3 unregulated fishing; 

4 ‘‘(2) to promote the science-based management 

5 and sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems to benefit 

6 local communities and the Nation, including through 

7 improved integration and cooperation among Federal 

8 and non-Federal stakeholders with coral reef equities; 

9 ‘‘(3) to develop sound scientific information on 

10 the condition of coral reef ecosystems, continuing and 

11 emerging threats to such ecosystems, and the efficacy 

12 of innovative tools, technologies, and strategies to 

13 mitigate stressors and restore such ecosystems, includ14 ing evaluation criteria to determine the effectiveness 

15 of management interventions, and accurate mapping 

16 for coral reef restoration; 

17 ‘‘(4) to assist in the preservation of coral reefs by 

18 supporting science-based, consensus-driven, and com19 munity-based coral reef management by covered 

20 States and covered Native entities, including moni21 toring, conservation, and restoration projects that em22 power local communities, small businesses, and non23 governmental organizations; 

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1 plement, and strengthen community-based manage2 ment programs and conservation and restoration 

3 projects of non-Federal reefs; 

4 ‘‘(6) to establish a formal mechanism for col5 lecting and allocating monetary donations from the 

6 private sector to be used for coral reef conservation 

7 and restoration projects; 

8 ‘‘(7) to support the rapid and effective, science9 based assessment and response to exigent cir10 cumstances that pose immediate and long-term 

11 threats to coral reefs, such as coral disease, invasive 

12 or nuisance species, coral bleaching, natural disasters, 

13 and industrial or mechanical disasters, such as vessel 

14 groundings, hazardous spills, or coastal construction 

15 accidents; and 

16 ‘‘(8) to serve as a model for advancing similar 

17 international efforts to monitor, conserve, and restore 

18 coral reef ecosystems. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 203. FEDERAL CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RES20 TORATION ACTIVITIES. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator or the Sec22 retary of the Interior may conduct activities described in 

23 subsection (b) to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral 

24 reef ecosystems that are consistent with— 


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1 ‘‘(1) all applicable laws governing resource man2 agement in Federal and State waters, including this 

3 Act; 

4 ‘‘(2) the national coral reef resilience strategy in 

5 effect under section 204; and 

6 ‘‘(3) coral reef action plans in effect under sec7 tion 205, as applicable. 

8 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—Activities described in 

9 this subsection are activities to conserve, research, monitor, 

10 assess, and restore coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems in 

11 waters managed under the jurisdiction of a Federal agency 

12 specified in subsection (c) or in coordination with a State 

13 in waters managed under the jurisdiction of such State, in14 cluding— 

15 ‘‘(1) developing, including through the collection 

16 of requisite in situ and remotely sensed data, high17 quality and digitized maps reflecting— 

18 ‘‘(A) current and historical live coral cover 

19 data; 

20 ‘‘(B) coral reef habitat quality data; 

21 ‘‘(C) priority areas for coral reef conserva22 tion to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem 

23 structure and function, including the reef ma24 trix, that benefit coastal communities and living 

25 marine resources; 


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1 ‘‘(D) priority areas for coral reef restora2 tion to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem struc3 ture and function, including the reef matrix, to 

4 benefit coastal communities and living marine 

5 resources; and 

6 ‘‘(E) areas of concern that may require en7 hanced monitoring of coral health and cover; 

8 ‘‘(2) enhancing compliance with Federal laws 

9 that prohibit or regulate— 

10 ‘‘(A) the taking of coral products or species 

11 associated with coral reefs; or 

12 ‘‘(B) the use and management of coral reef 

13 ecosystems; 

14 ‘‘(3) long-term ecological monitoring of coral reef 

15 ecosystems; 

16 ‘‘(4) implementing species-specific recovery plans 

17 for listed coral species consistent with the Endangered 

18 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

19 ‘‘(5) restoring degraded coral reef ecosystems; 

20 ‘‘(6) promoting ecologically sound navigation 

21 and anchorages, including through navigational aids 

22 and expansion of reef-safe anchorages and mooring 

23 buoy systems, to enhance recreational access while 

24 preventing or minimizing the likelihood of vessel im25 pacts or other physical damage to coral reefs; 


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1 ‘‘(7) monitoring and responding to severe bleach2 ing or mortality events, disease outbreaks, invasive 

3 species outbreaks, and significant maritime accidents, 

4 including chemical spill cleanup and the removal of 

5 grounded vessels; 

6 ‘‘(8) conducting scientific research that contrib7 utes to the understanding, sustainable use, and long8 term conservation of coral reefs; 

9 ‘‘(9) enhancing public awareness, understanding, 

10 and appreciation of coral reefs and coral reef eco11 systems; and 

12 ‘‘(10) centrally archiving, managing, and dis13 tributing data sets and coral reef ecosystem assess14 ments and publishing such information on publicly 

15 available internet websites, by means such as 

16 leveraging and partnering with existing data reposi17 tories, of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Coral Reef Conservation Program 

19 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad20 ministration; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Task Force. 

22 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL AGENCIES SPECIFIED.—A Federal 

23 agency specified in this subsection is one of the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad25 ministration. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The National Park Service. 

2 ‘‘(3) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv3 ice. 

4 ‘‘(4) The Office of Insular Affairs. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 204. NATIONAL CORAL REEF RESILIENCE STRATEGY. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) not later than 2 years after the date of the 

8 enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 

9 2021, develop a national coral reef resilience strategy; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(2) periodically thereafter, but not less fre12 quently than once every 15 years (and not less fre13 quently than once every 5 years, in the case of guid14 ance on best practices under subsection (b)(4)), review 

15 and revise the strategy as appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 

17 (a) shall include the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) A discussion addressing— 

19 ‘‘(A) continuing and emerging threats to the 

20 resilience of United States coral reef ecosystems; 

21 ‘‘(B) remaining gaps in coral reef ecosystem 

22 research, monitoring, and assessment; 

23 ‘‘(C) the status of management cooperation 

24 and integration among Federal reef managers 

25 and covered reef managers; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the status of efforts to manage and 

2 disseminate critical information, and enhance 

3 interjurisdictional data sharing, related to re4 search, reports, datasets, and maps; 

5 ‘‘(E) areas of special focus, which may in6 clude— 

7 ‘‘(i) improving natural coral recruit8 ment; 

9 ‘‘(ii) preventing avoidable losses of cor10 als and their habitat; 

11 ‘‘(iii) enhancing the resilience of coral 

12 populations; 

13 ‘‘(iv) supporting a resilience-based 

14 management approach; 

15 ‘‘(v) developing, coordinating, and im16 plementing watershed management plans; 

17 ‘‘(vi) building and sustaining water18 shed management capacity at the local level; 

19 ‘‘(vii) providing data essential for 

20 coral reef fisheries management; 

21 ‘‘(viii) building capacity for coral reef 

22 fisheries management; 

23 ‘‘(ix) increasing understanding of coral 

24 reef ecosystem services; 


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1 ‘‘(x) educating the public on the im2 portance of coral reefs, threats and solu3 tions; and 

4 ‘‘(xi) evaluating intervention efficacy; 

5 ‘‘(F) the status of conservation efforts, in6 cluding the use of marine protected areas to serve 

7 as replenishment zones developed consistent with 

8 local practices and traditions and in cooperation 

9 with, and with respect for the scientific, tech10 nical, and management expertise and respon11 sibilities of, covered reef managers; 

12 ‘‘(G) science-based adaptive management 

13 and restoration efforts; and 

14 ‘‘(H) management of coral reef emergencies 

15 and disasters. 

16 ‘‘(2) A statement of national goals and objectives 

17 designed to guide— 

18 ‘‘(A) future Federal coral reef management 

19 and restoration activities authorized under sec20 tion 203; 

21 ‘‘(B) conservation and restoration priorities 

22 for grants awarded under section 213 and coop23 erative agreements under section 208; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) research priorities for the reef research 

2 coordination institutes designated under section 

3 214. 

4 ‘‘(3) A designation of priority areas for con5 servation, and priority areas for restoration, to sup6 port the review and approval of grants under section 

7 213(e). 

8 ‘‘(4) General templates for use by covered reef 

9 managers and Federal reef managers to guide the de10 velopment of coral reef action plans under section 

11 205, including guidance on the best science-based 

12 practices to respond to coral reef emergencies that can 

13 be included in coral reef action plans. 

14 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing all elements of 

15 the strategy required by subsection (a), the Administrator 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) consult with the Secretary of the Interior, 

18 the Task Force, covered States, and covered Native en19 tities; 

20 ‘‘(2) engage stakeholders, including covered 

21 States, coral reef stewardship partnerships, reef re22 search coordination institutes and research centers 

23 designated under section 214, and recipients of grants 

24 under section 213; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) solicit public review and comment regard2 ing scoping and the draft strategy. 

3 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS; PUBLICATION.—The 

4 Administrator shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) submit the strategy required by subsection 

6 (a) and any revisions to the strategy to the appro7 priate congressional committees; and 

8 ‘‘(2) publish the strategy and any such revisions 

9 on publicly available internet websites of— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Coral Reef Conservation Program 

11 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad12 ministration; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the Task Force. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 205. CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS. 

15 ‘‘(a) PLANS PREPARED BY FEDERAL REEF MAN16 AGERS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

18 the date of the enactment of the Restoring Resilient 

19 Reefs Act of 2021, each Federal reef manager shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) prepare a coral reef action plan to 

21 guide management and restoration activities to 

22 be undertaken within the responsibilities and ju23 risdiction of the manager; or 

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of a reef under the jurisdic25 tion of a Federal reef manager for which there 


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1 is a management plan in effect as of such date 

2 of enactment, update that plan to comply with 

3 the requirements of this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—A plan prepared under para5 graph (1) by a Federal reef manager shall include a 

6 discussion of the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) Short- and mid-term coral reef con8 servation and restoration objectives within the 

9 jurisdiction of the manager. 

10 ‘‘(B) A current adaptive management 

11 framework to inform research, monitoring, and 

12 assessment needs. 

13 ‘‘(C) Tools, strategies, and partnerships nec14 essary to identify, monitor, and address pollu15 tion and water quality impacts to coral reef eco16 systems within the jurisdiction of the manager. 

17 ‘‘(D) The status of efforts to improve coral 

18 reef ecosystem management cooperation and inte19 gration between Federal reef managers and cov20 ered reef managers, including the identification 

21 of existing research and monitoring activities 

22 that can be leveraged for coral reef status and 

23 trends assessments within the jurisdiction of the 

24 manager. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Estimated budgetary and resource con2 siderations necessary to carry out the plan. 

3 ‘‘(F) Contingencies for response to and re4 covery from emergencies and disasters. 

5 ‘‘(G) In the case of an updated plan, an6 nual records of significant management and res7 toration actions taken under the previous plan, 

8 cash and non-cash resources used to undertake 

9 the actions, and the source of such resources. 

10 ‘‘(H) Documentation by the Federal reef 

11 manager that the plan is consistent with the na12 tional coral reef resilience strategy in effect 

13 under section 204. 

14 ‘‘(I) A data management plan to ensure 

15 data, assessments, and accompanying informa16 tion are appropriately preserved, curated, pub17 licly accessible, and broadly reusable. 

18 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO TASK FORCE.—Each Fed19 eral reef manager shall submit a plan prepared under 

20 paragraph (1) to the Task Force. 

21 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCE22 DURE ACT.—Each plan prepared under paragraph 

23 (1) shall be subject to the requirements of subchapter 

24 II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United 


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1 States Code (commonly known as the ‘Administrative 

2 Procedure Act’). 

3 ‘‘(b) PLANS PREPARED BY COVERED REEF MAN4 AGERS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered reef manager may 

6 elect to prepare, submit to the Task Force, and main7 tain a coral reef action plan to guide management 

8 and restoration activities to be undertaken within the 

9 responsibilities and jurisdiction of the manager. 

10 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—A plan prepared 

11 under this subsection shall remain in effect for 5 

12 years, or until an updated plan is submitted to the 

13 Task Force, whichever occurs first. 

14 ‘‘(3) ELEMENTS.—A plan prepared under para15 graph (1) by a covered reef manager— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall contain a discussion of— 

17 ‘‘(i) short- and mid-term coral reef 

18 conservation and restoration objectives with19 in the jurisdiction of the manager; 

20 ‘‘(ii) estimated budgetary and resource 

21 considerations necessary to carry out the 

22 plan; 

23 ‘‘(iii) in the case of an updated plan, 

24 annual records of significant management 

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1 vious plan, cash and non-cash resources 

2 used to undertake the actions, and the 

3 source of such resources; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) contingencies for response to and 

5 recovery from emergencies and disasters; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) may contain a discussion of— 

8 ‘‘(i) the status of efforts to improve 

9 coral reef ecosystem management coopera10 tion and integration between Federal reef 

11 managers and covered reef managers, in12 cluding the identification of existing re13 search and monitoring activities that can be 

14 leveraged for coral reef status and trends as15 sessments within the jurisdiction of the 

16 manager; 

17 ‘‘(ii) a current adaptive management 

18 framework to inform research, monitoring, 

19 and assessment needs; 

20 ‘‘(iii) tools, strategies, and partner21 ships necessary to identify, monitor, and 

22 address pollution and water quality im23 pacts to coral reef ecosystems within the ju24 risdiction of the manager; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a data management plan to en2 sure data, assessments, and accompanying 

3 information are appropriately preserved, 

4 curated, publicly accessible, and broadly re5 usable.. 

6 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator 

7 and the Task Force shall make all reasonable efforts to pro8 vide technical assistance upon request by a Federal reef 

9 manager or covered reef manager developing a coral reef 

10 action plan under this section. 

11 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION.—The Administrator shall publish 

12 each coral reef action plan prepared and submitted to the 

13 Task Force under this section on publicly available internet 

14 websites of— 

15 ‘‘(1) the Coral Reef Conservation Program of the 

16 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(2) the Task Force. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 206. CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP PARTNERSHIPS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To further the community-based 

21 stewardship of coral reefs, coral reef stewardship partner22 ships for Federal and non-Federal coral reefs may be estab23 lished in accordance with this section. 

24 ‘‘(b) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.—The Adminis25 trator shall develop and adopt— 


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1 ‘‘(1) standards for identifying individual coral 

2 reefs and ecologically significant units of coral reefs; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(2) processes for adjudicating multiple appli5 cants for stewardship of the same coral reef or eco6 logically significant unit of a reef to ensure no geo7 graphic overlap in representation among stewardship 

8 partnerships authorized by this section. 

9 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP FOR FEDERAL CORAL REEFS.—A 

10 coral reef stewardship partnership that has identified, as 

11 the subject of its stewardship activities, a coral reef or eco12 logically significant unit of a coral reef that is fully or par13 tially under the management jurisdiction of any Federal 

14 agency specified in section 203(c) shall, at a minimum, in15 clude the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) That Federal agency, a representative of 

17 which shall serve as chairperson of the coral reef stew18 ardship partnership. 

19 ‘‘(2) A State or county’s resource management 

20 agency. 

21 ‘‘(3) A coral reef research center designated 

22 under section 214(b). 

23 ‘‘(4) A nongovernmental organization. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Such other members as the partnership con2 siders appropriate, such as interested stakeholder 

3 groups and covered Native entities. 

4 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP FOR NON-FEDERAL CORAL

5 REEFS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A coral reef stewardship 

7 partnership that has identified, as the subject of its 

8 stewardship activities, a coral reef or ecologically sig9 nificant component of a coral reef that is not under 

10 the management jurisdiction of any Federal agency 

11 specified in section 203(c) shall, at a minimum, in12 clude the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) A State or county’s resource manage14 ment agency or a covered Native entity, a rep15 resentative of which shall serve as the chair16 person of the coral reef stewardship partnership. 

17 ‘‘(B) A coral reef research center designated 

18 under section 214(b). 

19 ‘‘(C) A nongovernmental organization. 

20 ‘‘(D) Such other members as the partner21 ship considers appropriate, such as interested 

22 stakeholder groups. 

23 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), a coral reef stewardship partnership 


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1 described in paragraph (1) may also include 

2 representatives of one or more Federal agencies. 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS; APPROVAL.—A representa4 tive of a Federal agency described in subpara5 graph (A) may become a member of a coral reef 

6 stewardship partnership described in paragraph 

7 (1) if— 

8 ‘‘(i) the representative submits a re9 quest to become a member to the chair10 person of the partnership referred to in 

11 paragraph (1)(A); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the chairperson consents to the re13 quest. 

14 ‘‘(e) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM15 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

16 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to coral reef stewardship part17 nerships under this section. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 207. BLOCK GRANTS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall provide 

20 block grants of financial assistance to covered States to sup21 port management and restoration activities and further the 

22 implementation of coral reef action plans in effect under 

23 section 205 by covered States and non-Federal coral reef 

24 stewardship partnerships in accordance with this section. 

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1 cation for block grant funding to ensure that applications 

2 are consistent with applicable action plans and the national 

3 coral reef resilience strategy in effect under section 204. 

4 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered State shall qualify 

6 for and receive additional grant amounts beyond the 

7 base award specified in subsection (c)(1) if there is at 

8 least one coral reef action plan in effect within the ju9 risdiction of the covered State developed by that cov10 ered State or a non-Federal coral reef stewardship 

11 partnership. 

12 ‘‘(2) WAIVER FOR CERTAIN FISCAL YEARS.—The 

13 Administrator may waive the requirement under 

14 paragraph (1) during fiscal years 2022 and 2023. 

15 ‘‘(c) FUNDING FORMULA.—Subject to the availability 

16 of appropriations, the amount of each block grant awarded 

17 to a covered State under this section shall be the sum of— 

18 ‘‘(1) a base award of $100,000; and 

19 ‘‘(2) if the State is eligible under subsection 

20 (b)— 

21 ‘‘(A) an amount that is equal to non-Fed22 eral expenditures of up to $3,000,000 on coral 

23 reef management and restoration activities with24 in the jurisdiction of the State, as reported with25 in the previous fiscal year; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) an additional amount, from any funds 

2 appropriated for block grants under this section 

3 that remain after distribution under subpara4 graph (A) and paragraph (1), based on the pro5 portion of the State’s share of total non-Federal 

6 expenditures on coral reef management and res7 toration activities, as reported within the pre8 vious fiscal year, in excess of $3,000,000, relative 

9 to other covered States. 

10 ‘‘(d) EXCLUSIONS.—For the purposes of calculating 

11 block grant amounts under subsection (c), Federal funds 

12 provided to a covered State or non-Federal coral reef stew13 ardship partnership shall not be considered as qualifying 

14 non-Federal expenditures, but non-Federal matching funds 

15 used to leverage Federal awards may be considered as quali16 fying non-Federal expenditures. 

17 ‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.— 

18 The Administrator is responsible for— 

19 ‘‘(1) providing guidance on qualifying non-Fed20 eral expenditures and the proper documentation of 

21 such expenditures; 

22 ‘‘(2) issuing annual solicitations to covered 

23 States for awards under this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) determining the appropriate allocation of 

2 additional amounts among covered States in accord3 ance with this section. 

4 ‘‘(f) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COVERED STATES.—Each 

5 covered State is responsible for documenting non-Federal 

6 expenditures within the jurisdiction of the State and for7 mally reporting those expenditures for review in response 

8 to annual solicitations by the Administrator under sub9 section (e). 

10 ‘‘(g) UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS.—Any amounts avail11 able for block grants under this section that are not obli12 gated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis13 tration shall be transferred to the Coral Reef Stewardship 

14 Fund established under section 209. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 208. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall seek to 

17 enter into cooperative agreements with covered States to 

18 fund coral reef conservation and restoration activities in 

19 waters managed under the jurisdiction of those covered 

20 States that are consistent with the national coral reef resil21 ience strategy in effect under section 204 and any applica22 ble action plans under section 205. 

23 ‘‘(b) ALL ISLANDS COMMITTEE.—The Administrator 

24 may enter into a cooperative agreement with the All Islands 


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1 Committee of the Task Force to provide support for its ac2 tivities. 

3 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Cooperative agreements under sub4 section (a) shall provide not less than $500,000 to each cov5 ered State and are not subject to any matching requirement. 

6 ‘‘(d) UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS.—Any amounts avail7 able for cooperative agreements under this section that are 

8 not obligated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad9 ministration shall be transferred to the Coral Reef Steward10 ship Fund established under section 209. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 209. CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP FUND. 

12 ‘‘(a) AGREEMENT.—The Administrator shall seek to 

13 enter into an agreement with the National Fish and Wild14 life Foundation (in this section referred to as the ‘Founda15 tion’), authorizing the Foundation to receive, hold, and ad16 minister funds received under this section. 

17 ‘‘(b) FUND.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall estab19 lish an account, which shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) be known as the ‘Coral Reef Steward21 ship Fund’ (in this section referred to as the 

22 ‘Fund’); and 

23 ‘‘(B) serve as the successor to the account 

24 known before the date of the enactment of the Re25 storing Resilient Reefs Act of 2021 as the Coral 


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1 Reef Conservation Fund and administered 

2 through a public-private partnership with the 

3 Foundation. 

4 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—The Foundation shall deposit 

5 funds received under this section into the Fund. 

6 ‘‘(3) PURPOSES.—The Fund shall be available 

7 solely to support coral reef stewardship activities 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) further the purposes of this title; and 

10 ‘‘(B) are consistent with— 

11 ‘‘(i) the national coral reef resilience 

12 strategy in effect under section 204; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) coral reef action plans in effect, if 

14 any, under section 205 covering a coral reef 

15 or ecologically significant component of a 

16 coral reef to be impacted by such activities, 

17 if applicable. 

18 ‘‘(4) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.—The 

20 Foundation shall invest such portion of the Fund 

21 as is not required to meet current withdrawals 

22 in interest-bearing obligations of the United 

23 States or in obligations guaranteed as to both 

24 principal and interest by the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(B) INTEREST AND PROCEEDS.—The inter2 est on, and the proceeds from the sale or redemp3 tion of, any obligations held in the Fund shall 

4 be credited to and form a part of the Fund. 

5 ‘‘(5) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—The Adminis6 trator shall conduct a continuing review of all depos7 its into, and disbursements from, the Fund. Each re8 view shall include a written assessment concerning 

9 the extent to which the Foundation has implemented 

10 the goals and requirements of— 

11 ‘‘(A) this section; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the national coral reef resilience strat13 egy in effect under section 204. 

14 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION TO SOLICIT DONATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to an agreement 

16 entered into under subsection (a), the Foundation 

17 may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use 

18 any gift (including, notwithstanding section 1342 of 

19 title 31, United States Code, donations of services) to 

20 further the purposes of this title. 

21 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN FUND.—Notwithstanding sec22 tion 3302 of title 31, United States Code, any funds 

23 received as a gift shall be deposited and maintained 

24 in the Fund. 


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1 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.—Under an agreement entered 

2 into pursuant to subsection (a), and subject to the avail3 ability of appropriations, the Administrator shall transfer 

4 funds described in sections 207(g), 208(d), 213(i), and 

5 214(c) that are not obligated by the National Oceanic and 

6 Atmospheric Administration, and may transfer funds ap7 propriated to carry out this title, to the Foundation. 

8 Amounts received by the Foundation under this subsection 

9 may be used for matching, in whole or in part, contribu10 tions (whether in money, services, or property) made to the 

11 Foundation by private persons, State or local government 

12 agencies, or covered Native entities. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 210. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi15 sion of law, from funds appropriated pursuant to the au16 thorization of appropriations under section 217, the Ad17 ministrator may provide emergency assistance to any cov18 ered State or coral reef stewardship partnership to respond 

19 to immediate harm to coral reefs or coral reef ecosystems 

20 arising from any of the exigent circumstances described in 

21 subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘(b) CORAL REEF EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES.—The 

23 Administrator shall develop a list of, and criteria for, cir24 cumstances that pose an exigent threat to coral reefs, includ25 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(1) new and ongoing outbreaks of disease; 

2 ‘‘(2) new and ongoing outbreaks of invasive or 

3 nuisance species; 

4 ‘‘(3) new and ongoing coral bleaching events; 

5 ‘‘(4) natural disasters; 

6 ‘‘(5) industrial or mechanical incidents, such as 

7 vessel groundings, hazardous spills, or coastal con8 struction accidents; and 

9 ‘‘(6) other circumstances that pose an urgent 

10 threat to coral reefs. 

11 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT ON EXIGENT CIR12 CUMSTANCES.—On February 1 of each year, the Adminis13 trator shall submit to the appropriate congressional com14 mittees, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 

15 and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep16 resentatives a report that— 

17 ‘‘(1) describes locations with exigent cir18 cumstances described in subsection (b) that were con19 sidered but declined for emergency assistance, and the 

20 rationale for the decision; and 

21 ‘‘(2) with respect to each instance in which emer22 gency assistance under this section was provided— 

23 ‘‘(A) the location and a description of the 

24 exigent circumstances that prompted the emer25 gency assistance, the entity that received the asVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Dec 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S46.RS S46

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1 sistance, and the current and expected outcomes 

2 from the assistance; 

3 ‘‘(B) a description of activities of the Na4 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

5 that were curtailed as a result of providing the 

6 emergency assistance; 

7 ‘‘(C) in the case of an incident described in 

8 subsection (b)(5), a statement of whether legal 

9 action was commenced under subsection (c), and 

10 the rationale for the decision; and 

11 ‘‘(D) an assessment of whether further ac12 tion is needed to restore the affected coral reef, 

13 recommendations for such restoration, and a cost 

14 estimate to implement such recommendations. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 211. CORAL REEF DISASTER FUND. 

16 ‘‘(a) AGREEMENTS.—The Administrator shall seek to 

17 enter into an agreement with the National Fish and Wild18 life Foundation (in this section referred to as the ‘Founda19 tion’), authorizing the Foundation to receive, hold, and ad20 minister funds received under this section. 

21 ‘‘(b) FUND.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall estab23 lish an account, to be known as the ‘Coral Reef Dis24 aster Fund’ (in this section referred to as the ‘Fund’). 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—The Foundation shall deposit 

2 funds received under this section into the Fund. 

3 ‘‘(3) PURPOSES.—The Fund shall be available 

4 solely to support the long-term recovery of coral reefs 

5 from exigent circumstances described in section 210— 

6 ‘‘(A) in partnership with non-Federal stake7 holders; and 

8 ‘‘(B) in a manner that is consistent with— 

9 ‘‘(i) the national coral reef resilience 

10 strategy in effect under section 204; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) coral reef action plans in effect, if 

12 any, under section 205. 

13 ‘‘(4) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.—The 

15 Foundation shall invest such portion of the Fund 

16 as is not required to meet current withdrawals 

17 in interest-bearing obligations of the United 

18 States or in obligations guaranteed as to both 

19 principal and interest by the United States. 

20 ‘‘(B) INTEREST AND PROCEEDS.—The inter21 est on, and the proceeds from the sale or redemp22 tion of, any obligations held in the Fund shall 

23 be credited to and form a part of the Fund. 

24 ‘‘(5) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—The Adminis25 trator shall conduct continuing reviews of all deposits 


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1 into, and disbursements from, the Fund. Each such 

2 review shall include a written assessment concerning 

3 the extent to which the Foundation has implemented 

4 the goals and requirements of this section. 

5 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION TO SOLICIT DONATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to an agreement 

7 entered into under subsection (a), the Foundation 

8 may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use 

9 any gift (including, notwithstanding section 1342 of 

10 title 31, United States Code, donations of services) to 

11 further the purposes of this title. 

12 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN FUND.—Notwithstanding sec13 tion 3302 of title 31, United States Code, any funds 

14 received as a gift shall be deposited and maintained 

15 in the Fund. 

16 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.—Under an agreement entered 

17 into under subsection (a), and subject to the availability 

18 of appropriations, the Administrator may transfer funds 

19 appropriated to carry out this title to the Foundation. 

20 Amounts received by the Foundation under this subsection 

21 may be used for matching, in whole or in part, contribu22 tions (whether in money, services, or property) made to the 

23 Foundation by private persons, State or local government 

24 agencies, or covered Native entities. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 212. VESSEL GROUNDING INVENTORY. 

2 ‘‘The Administrator, in coordination with the Com3 mandant of the Coast Guard, the Administrator of the Mar4 itime Administration, and the heads of other Federal and 

5 State agencies as appropriate, shall establish and maintain 

6 an inventory of all vessel grounding incidents involving 

7 United States coral reefs, including a description of— 

8 ‘‘(1) the location of each such incident; 

9 ‘‘(2) vessel and ownership information relating 

10 to each such incident, if available; 

11 ‘‘(3) the impacts of each such incident to coral 

12 reefs, coral reef ecosystems, and related natural re13 sources; 

14 ‘‘(4) the estimated cost of removal of the vessel, 

15 remediation, or restoration arising from each such in16 cident; 

17 ‘‘(5) any response actions taken by the owner of 

18 the vessel, the Administrator, the Commandant, or 

19 representatives of other Federal or State agencies; 

20 ‘‘(6) the status of such response actions, includ21 ing— 

22 ‘‘(A) when the grounded vessel was removed, 

23 the costs of removal, and the how the removal 

24 was resourced; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a narrative and timeline of remedi2 ation or restoration activities undertaken by a 

3 Federal agency or agencies; 

4 ‘‘(C) any emergency or disaster assistance 

5 provided under section 210 or 211; 

6 ‘‘(D) any actions taken to prevent future 

7 grounding incidents; and 

8 ‘‘(7) recommendations for additional naviga9 tional aids or other mechanisms for preventing future 

10 grounding incidents. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 213. RUTH D. GATES CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

12 GRANT PROGRAM. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap14 propriations, the Administrator shall establish a program 

15 (to be known as the ‘Ruth D. Gates Coral Reef Conservation 

16 Grant Program’) to provide grants for projects for the con17 servation and restoration of coral reef ecosystems (in this 

18 section referred to as ‘coral reef projects’) pursuant to pro19 posals approved by the Administrator in accordance with 

20 this section. 

21 ‘‘(b) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (3), Federal funds for any coral reef project for 

24 which a grant is provided under subsection (a) may 

25 not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the project. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

2 share of the cost of a coral reef project may be pro3 vided by in-kind contributions and other noncash 

4 support. 

5 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Administrator may waive 

6 all or part of the matching requirement under para7 graph (1) if the Administrator determines that no 

8 reasonable means are available through which an ap9 plicant can meet the matching requirement with re10 spect to a coral reef project and the probable benefit 

11 of the project outweighs the public interest in the 

12 matching requirement. 

13 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity described in para15 graph (2) may submit to the Administrator a pro16 posal for a coral reef project. 

17 ‘‘(2) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—An entity described 

18 in this paragraph is— 

19 ‘‘(A) a covered reef manager or a covered 

20 Native entity— 

21 ‘‘(i) with responsibility for coral reef 

22 management; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the activities of which directly or 

24 indirectly affect coral reefs or coral reef eco25 systems; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a regional fishery management council 

2 established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

3 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

4 1801 et seq.); 

5 ‘‘(C) a coral reef stewardship partnership 

6 seeking to implement a coral reef action plan in 

7 effect under section 205; 

8 ‘‘(D) a coral reef research center designated 

9 under section 214(b); or 

10 ‘‘(E) another nongovernmental organization 

11 or research institution with demonstrated exper12 tise in the conservation or restoration of coral 

13 reefs in practice or through significant contribu14 tions to the body of existing scientific research on 

15 coral reefs. 

16 ‘‘(d) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—Each proposal for a 

17 grant under this section for a coral reef project shall include 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) The name of the individual or entity re20 sponsible for conducting the project. 

21 ‘‘(2) A description of the qualifications of the in22 dividual or entity. 

23 ‘‘(3) A succinct statement of the purposes of the 

24 project. 


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1 ‘‘(4) An estimate of the funds and time required 

2 to complete the project. 

3 ‘‘(5) Evidence of support for the project by ap4 propriate representatives of States or other govern5 ment jurisdictions in which the project will be con6 ducted. 

7 ‘‘(6) Information regarding the source and 

8 amount of matching funding available to the appli9 cant. 

10 ‘‘(7) A description of how the project meets one 

11 or more of the criteria under subsection (f)(2). 

12 ‘‘(8) In the case of a proposal submitted by a 

13 coral reef stewardship partnership, a description of 

14 how the project aligns with the applicable coral reef 

15 action plan in effect under section 205. 

16 ‘‘(9) Any other information the Administrator 

17 considers to be necessary for evaluating the eligibility 

18 of the project for a grant under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(e) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall re21 view each coral reef project proposal submitted under 

22 this section to determine if the project meets the cri23 teria set forth in subsection (f). 

24 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIZATION OF CONSERVATION

25 PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall prioritize the 


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1 awarding of funding for projects that meet the cri2 teria for approval under subparagraphs (A) through 

3 (G) of subsection (f)(2) that are proposed to be con4 ducted within priority areas identified for coral reef 

5 conservation by the Administrator under the national 

6 coral reef resilience strategy in effect under section 

7 204. 

8 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIZATION OF RESTORATION

9 PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall prioritize the 

10 awarding of funding for projects that meet the cri11 teria for approval under subparagraphs (E) through 

12 (L) of subsection (f)(2) that are proposed to be con13 ducted within priority areas identified for coral reef 

14 restoration by the Administrator under the national 

15 coral reef resilience strategy in effect under section 

16 204. 

17 ‘‘(4) REVIEW; APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—Not 

18 later than 180 days after receiving a proposal for a 

19 coral reef project under this section, the Adminis20 trator shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) request and consider written comments 

22 on the proposal from each Federal agency, State 

23 government, covered Native entity, or other gov24 ernment jurisdiction, including the relevant re25 gional fishery management councils established 


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1 under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva2 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 

3 seq.), or any National Marine Sanctuary or Ma4 rine National Monument, with jurisdiction or 

5 management authority over coral reef ecosystems 

6 in the area where the project is to be conducted, 

7 including the extent to which the project is con8 sistent with locally established priorities, unless 

9 such entities were directly involved in the devel10 opment of the project proposal; 

11 ‘‘(B) provide for the merit-based peer review 

12 of the proposal and require standardized docu13 mentation of that peer review; 

14 ‘‘(C) after considering any written com15 ments and recommendations based on the reviews 

16 under subparagraphs (A) and (B), approve or 

17 disapprove the proposal; and 

18 ‘‘(D) provide written notification of that 

19 approval or disapproval, with summaries of all 

20 written comments, recommendations, and peer 

21 reviews, to the entity that submitted the pro22 posal, and each of those States, covered Native 

23 entity, and other government jurisdictions that 

24 provided comments under subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(f) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Administrator 

2 may not approve a proposal for a coral reef project under 

3 this section unless the project— 

4 ‘‘(1) is consistent with— 

5 ‘‘(A) the national coral reef resilience strat6 egy in effect under section 204; and 

7 ‘‘(B) any Federal or non-Federal coral reef 

8 action plans in effect under section 205 covering 

9 a coral reef or ecologically significant unit of a 

10 coral reef to be affected by the project; and 

11 ‘‘(2) will enhance the conservation and restora12 tion of coral reefs by— 

13 ‘‘(A) addressing conflicts arising from the 

14 use of environments near coral reefs or from the 

15 use of corals, species associated with coral reefs, 

16 and coral products, including supporting con17 sensus-driven, community-based planning and 

18 management initiatives for the protection of 

19 coral reef ecosystems; 

20 ‘‘(B) improving compliance with laws that 

21 prohibit or regulate the taking of coral products 

22 or species associated with coral reefs or regulate 

23 the use and management of coral reef ecosystems; 

24 ‘‘(C) designing and implementing networks 

25 of real-time water quality monitoring along 


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1 coral reefs, including data collection related to 

2 turbidity, nutrient availability, harmful algal 

3 blooms, and plankton assemblages, with an em4 phasis on coral reefs impacted by agriculture 

5 and urban development; 

6 ‘‘(D) promoting ecologically sound naviga7 tion and anchorages, including mooring buoy 

8 systems to promote enhanced recreational access, 

9 near coral reefs; 

10 ‘‘(E) furthering the goals and objectives of 

11 coral reef action plans in effect under section 

12 205; 

13 ‘‘(F) mapping the location and distribution 

14 of coral reefs and potential coral reef habitat; 

15 ‘‘(G) stimulating innovation to advance the 

16 ability of the United States to understand, re17 search, or monitor coral reef ecosystems, or to de18 velop management or adaptation options to con19 serve and restore coral reef ecosystems; 

20 ‘‘(H) implementing research to ensure the 

21 population viability of listed coral species in 

22 United States waters as detailed in the popu23 lation-based recovery criteria included in species24 specific recovery plans consistent with the EnVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Dec 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S46.RS S46

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1 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

2 seq.); 

3 ‘‘(I) developing and implementing cost-effec4 tive methods to restore degraded coral reef eco5 systems or to create geographically appropriate 

6 coral reef ecosystems in suitable waters, includ7 ing by improving habitat or promoting success of 

8 keystone species, with an emphasis on novel res9 toration strategies and techniques to advance 

10 coral reef recovery and growth near population 

11 centers threatened by rising sea levels and storm 

12 surge; 

13 ‘‘(J) translating and applying coral genet14 ics research to coral reef ecosystem restoration, 

15 including research related to traits that promote 

16 resilience to increasing ocean temperatures, 

17 ocean acidification, coral bleaching, coral dis18 eases, and invasive species; 

19 ‘‘(K) developing and maintaining in situ 

20 native coral propagation sites; or 

21 ‘‘(L) developing and maintaining ex situ 

22 coral propagation nurseries and land-based coral 

23 gene banks to— 

24 ‘‘(i) conserve or augment genetic diver25 sity of native coral populations; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) support captive breeding of rare 

2 coral species; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) enhance resilience of native coral 

4 populations to increasing ocean tempera5 tures, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, 

6 and coral diseases through selective breed7 ing, conditioning, or other approaches that 

8 target genes, gene expression, phenotypic 

9 traits, or phenotypic plasticity. 

10 ‘‘(g) FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.—To the extent prac11 ticable based upon proposals for coral reef projects sub12 mitted to the Administrator, the Administrator shall ensure 

13 that funding for grants awarded under this section during 

14 a fiscal year is distributed as follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) Not less than 40 percent of funds available 

16 shall be awarded for projects in the Pacific Ocean 

17 within the maritime areas and zones subject to the ju18 risdiction or control of the United States. 

19 ‘‘(2) Not less than 40 percent of the funds avail20 able shall be awarded for projects in the Atlantic 

21 Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Caribbean Sea with22 in the maritime areas and zones subject to the juris23 diction or control of the United States. 

24 ‘‘(3) Not more than 67 percent of funds distrib25 uted in each region in accordance with paragraphs 


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1 (1) and (2) shall be made exclusively available to 

2 projects that are— 

3 ‘‘(A) submitted by a coral reef stewardship 

4 partnership; and 

5 ‘‘(B) consistent with the coral reef action 

6 plan in effect under section 205 by such a part7 nership. 

8 ‘‘(4) Of the funds distributed to support projects 

9 in accordance with paragraph (3), not less than 20 

10 percent and not more than 33 percent shall be award11 ed for projects submitted by a Federal coral reef stew12 ardship partnership. 

13 ‘‘(h) TASK FORCE.—The Administrator may consult 

14 with the Secretary of the Interior and the Task Force to 

15 obtain guidance in establishing priorities and evaluating 

16 proposals for coral reef projects under this section. 

17 ‘‘(i) UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS.—Any amounts avail18 able for grants under this section that are not obligated by 

19 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

20 shall be transferred to the Coral Reef Stewardship Fund 

21 established under section 209. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 214. NON-FEDERAL CORAL REEF RESEARCH. 

23 ‘‘(a) REEF RESEARCH COORDINATION INSTITUTES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall 

25 designate 2 reef research coordination institutes for 


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1 the purpose of advancing and sustaining essential ca2 pabilities in coral reef research, one each in the At3 lantic and Pacific basins, to be known as the ‘Atlan4 tic Reef Research Coordination Institute’ and the ‘Pa5 cific Reef Research Coordination Institute’, respec6 tively. 

7 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—Each institute designated 

8 under paragraph (1) shall be housed within a single 

9 coral reef research center designated by the Adminis10 trator under subsection (b) and may enter into con11 tracts with other coral reef research centers designated 

12 under subsection (b) within the same basin to support 

13 the institute’s capacity and reach. 

14 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The institutes designated 

15 under paragraph (1) shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) conduct federally directed research to 

17 fill national and regional coral reef ecosystem re18 search gaps and improve understanding of, and 

19 responses to, continuing and emerging threats to 

20 the resilience of United States coral reef eco21 systems consistent with the national coral reef 

22 resilience strategy in effect under section 204; 

23 ‘‘(B) support ecological research and moni24 toring to study the effects of conservation and 

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1 moting more effective coral reef management and 

2 restoration; and 

3 ‘‘(C) through agreements— 

4 ‘‘(i) collaborate directly with govern5 mental resource management agencies, coral 

6 reef stewardship partnerships, nonprofit or7 ganizations, and other coral reef research 

8 centers designated under subsection (b); 

9 ‘‘(ii) assist in the development and im10 plementation of— 

11 ‘‘(I) the national coral reef resil12 ience strategy under section 204; and 

13 ‘‘(II) coral reef action plans under 

14 section 205; 

15 ‘‘(iii) build capacity within non-Fed16 eral governmental resource management 

17 agencies to establish research priorities and 

18 translate and apply research findings to 

19 management and restoration practices; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) conduct public education and 

21 awareness programs for policymakers, re22 source managers, and the general public 

23 on— 

24 ‘‘(I) coral reefs and coral reef eco25 systems; 


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1 ‘‘(II) best practices for coral reef 

2 ecosystem management and restora3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(III) the value of coral reefs; and 

5 ‘‘(IV) the threats to the sustain6 ability of coral reef ecosystems. 

7 ‘‘(b) CORAL REEF RESEARCH CENTERS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) periodically solicit applications for 

10 designation of qualifying institutions in covered 

11 States as coral reef research centers; and 

12 ‘‘(B) designate all qualifying institutions in 

13 covered States as coral reef research centers. 

14 ‘‘(2) QUALIFYING INSTITUTIONS.—For purposes 

15 of paragraph (1), an institution is a qualifying insti16 tution if the Administrator determines that the insti17 tution— 

18 ‘‘(A) is operated by an institution of higher 

19 education or nonprofit marine research organi20 zation; 

21 ‘‘(B) has established management-driven 

22 national or regional coral reef research or res23 toration programs; 

24 ‘‘(C) has demonstrated abilities to coordi25 nate closely with appropriate Federal and State 


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1 agencies, as well as other academic and non2 profit organizations; and 

3 ‘‘(D) maintains significant local commu4 nity engagement and outreach programs related 

5 to coral reef ecosystems. 

6 ‘‘(c) UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS.—Any amounts avail7 able for reef research coordination institutes under this sec8 tion that are not obligated by the National Oceanic and 

9 Atmospheric Administration shall be transferred to the 

10 Coral Reef Stewardship Fund established under section 209. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 215. REPORTS ON ADMINISTRATION. 

12 ‘‘Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment 

13 of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021, and every 2 

14 years thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the ap15 propriate congressional committees, the Committee on Ap16 propriations of the Senate, and the Committee on Appro17 priations of the House of Representatives a report on the 

18 administration of this title during the 2-year period pre19 ceding submission of the report, including— 

20 ‘‘(1) a description of all activities undertaken to 

21 implement the most recent national coral reef resil22 ience strategy under section 204; 

23 ‘‘(2) a statement of all funds obligated under the 

24 authorities of this title; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) a summary, disaggregated by State, of Fed2 eral and non-Federal contributions toward the costs of 

3 each project or activity funded, in full or in part, 

4 under the authorities of this title. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 216. CORAL REEF PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of any Federal agency 

7 with a representative serving on the United States Coral 

8 Reef Task Force established by Executive Order 13089 (16 

9 U.S.C. 6401 note; relating to coral reef protection), may, 

10 individually or in cooperation with one or more agencies, 

11 carry out a program to award prizes competitively under 

12 section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation 

13 Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719). 

14 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—Any program carried out under this 

15 section shall be for the purpose of stimulating innovation 

16 to advance the ability of the United States to understand, 

17 research, or monitor coral reef ecosystems, or to develop 

18 management or adaptation options to preserve, sustain, 

19 and restore coral reef ecosystems. 

20 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY PROGRAMS.—Priority shall be given to 

21 establishing programs under this section that address com22 munities, environments, or industries that are in distress 

23 as a result of the decline or degradation of coral reef eco24 systems, including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) scientific research and monitoring that fur2 thers the understanding of causes behind coral reef de3 cline and degradation and the generally slow recovery 

4 following disturbances, including ocean acidification, 

5 temperature-related bleaching, disease, and their asso6 ciated impacts on coral physiology; 

7 ‘‘(2) the development of monitoring or manage8 ment options for communities or industries that are 

9 experiencing significant financial hardship; 

10 ‘‘(3) the development of adaptation options to al11 leviate economic harm and job loss caused by damage 

12 to coral reef ecosystems; 

13 ‘‘(4) the development of measures to help vulner14 able communities or industries, with an emphasis on 

15 rural communities and businesses; and 

16 ‘‘(5) the development of adaptation and manage17 ment options for impacted tourism industries.’’; 

18 (3) in section 217, as redesignated by paragraph 

19 (1)— 

20 (A) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘section 

21 204’’ and inserting ‘‘section 213’’; 

22 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘under 

23 section 207’’ and inserting ‘‘authorized under 

24 this title’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(e) BLOCK GRANTS.—There is authorized to be ap2 propriated to the Administrator $10,000,000 for each of fis3 cal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out section 207. 

4 ‘‘(f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—There is authorized 

5 to be appropriated to the Administrator $10,000,000 for 

6 each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out section 

7 208. 

8 ‘‘(g) NON-FEDERAL CORAL REEF RESEARCH.—There 

9 is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

10 $4,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 for 

11 agreements with the reef research coordination institutes 

12 designated under section 214.’’; and 

13 (4) by amending section 218, as redesignated by 

14 paragraph (1), to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 218. DEFINITIONS. 

16 ‘‘In this title: 

17 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis18 trator’ means the Administrator of the National Oce19 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

20 ‘‘(2) ALASKA NATIVE CORPORATION.—The term 

21 ‘Alaska Native Corporation’ has the meaning given 

22 the term ‘Native Corporation’ in section 3 of the Alas23 ka Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602). 

24 ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT25 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional commitVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Dec 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00123 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S46.RS S46

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1 tees’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

2 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

3 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. 

4 ‘‘(4) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘conservation’ 

5 means the use of methods and procedures necessary to 

6 preserve or sustain native corals and associated spe7 cies as diverse, viable, and self-perpetuating coral reef 

8 ecosystems with minimal impacts from invasive spe9 cies, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) all activities associated with resource 

11 management, such as monitoring, assessment, 

12 protection, restoration, sustainable use, manage13 ment of habitat, and maintenance or augmenta14 tion of genetic diversity; 

15 ‘‘(B) mapping; 

16 ‘‘(C) scientific expertise and technical as17 sistance in the development and implementation 

18 of management strategies for marine protected 

19 areas and marine resources consistent with the 

20 National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 

21 1431 et seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

22 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

23 1801 et seq.); 

24 ‘‘(D) law enforcement; 

25 ‘‘(E) conflict resolution initiatives; 


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1 ‘‘(F) community outreach and education; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(G) promotion of safe and ecologically 

4 sound navigation and anchoring. 

5 ‘‘(5) CORAL.—The term ‘coral’ means species of 

6 the phylum Cnidaria, including— 

7 ‘‘(A) all species of the orders Antipatharia 

8 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), 

9 Alcyonacea (soft corals, organ pipe corals, 

10 gorgonians), and Helioporacea (blue coral), of 

11 the class Anthozoa; and 

12 ‘‘(B) all species of the order Anthoathecata 

13 (fire corals and other hydrocorals) of the class 

14 Hydrozoa. 

15 ‘‘(6) CORAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘coral prod16 ucts’ means any living or dead specimens, parts, or 

17 derivatives, or any product containing specimens, 

18 parts, or derivatives, of any species referred to in 

19 paragraph (5). 

20 ‘‘(7) CORAL REEF.—The term ‘coral reef’ means 

21 calcium carbonate structures in the form of a reef or 

22 shoal, composed in whole or in part by living coral, 

23 skeletal remains of coral, crustose coralline algae, and 

24 other associated sessile marine plants and animals. 


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1 ‘‘(8) CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM.—The term ‘coral 

2 reef ecosystem’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) corals and other geographically and 

4 ecologically associated marine communities of 

5 other reef organisms (including reef plants and 

6 animals) associated with coral reef habitat; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the biotic and abiotic factors and proc8 esses that control or affect coral calcification 

9 rates, tissue growth, reproduction, recruitment, 

10 abundance, coral-algal symbiosis, and biodiver11 sity in such habitat. 

12 ‘‘(9) COVERED NATIVE ENTITY.—The term ‘cov13 ered Native entity’ means a Native entity of a covered 

14 State with interests in a coral reef ecosystem. 

15 ‘‘(10) COVERED REEF MANAGER.—The term ‘cov16 ered reef manager’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a management unit of a covered State 

18 with jurisdiction over a coral reef ecosystem; 

19 ‘‘(B) a covered State; or 

20 ‘‘(C) a coral reef stewardship partnership 

21 under section 206(d). 

22 ‘‘(11) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘covered 

23 State’ means Florida, Hawaii, and the territories of 

24 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 


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1 Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United 

2 States Virgin Islands. 

3 ‘‘(12) FEDERAL REEF MANAGER.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Federal reef 

5 manager’ means— 

6 ‘‘(i) a management unit of a Federal 

7 agency specified in subparagraph (B) with 

8 lead management jurisdiction over a coral 

9 reef ecosystem; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) a coral reef stewardship partner11 ship under section 206(c). 

12 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL AGENCIES SPECIFIED.—A 

13 Federal agency specified in this subparagraph is 

14 one of the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) The National Oceanic and Atmos16 pheric Administration. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The National Park Service. 

18 ‘‘(iii) The United States Fish and 

19 Wildlife Service. 

20 ‘‘(iv) The Office of Insular Affairs. 

21 ‘‘(13) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

22 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

23 meaning given that term in section 101 of the Higher 

24 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 


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1 ‘‘(14) INTERESTED STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.— 

2 The term ‘interested stakeholder groups’ includes com3 munity members such as businesses, commercial and 

4 recreational fishermen, other recreationalists, covered 

5 Native entities, Federal, State, and local government 

6 units with related jurisdiction, institutions of higher 

7 education, and nongovernmental organizations. 

8 ‘‘(15) NATIVE ENTITY.—The term ‘Native entity’ 

9 means any of the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) An Indian Tribe (as defined in section 

11 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu12 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). 

13 ‘‘(B) An Alaska Native Corporation. 

14 ‘‘(C) The Department of Hawaiian Home 

15 Lands. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Office of Hawaiian Affairs. 

17 ‘‘(E) A Native Hawaiian organization (as 

18 defined in section 6207 of the Elementary and 

19 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

20 7517)). 

21 ‘‘(16) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

22 ‘nonprofit organization’ means any corporation, 

23 trust, association, cooperative, or other organization, 

24 not including an institutions of higher education, 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is operated primarily for scientific, 

2 educational, service, charitable, or similar pur3 poses in the public interest; 

4 ‘‘(B) is not organized primarily for profit; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(C) uses net proceeds to maintain, im7 prove, or expand the operations of the organiza8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(17) RESTORATION.—The term ‘restoration’ 

10 means the use of methods and procedures necessary to 

11 enhance, rehabilitate, recreate, or create a functioning 

12 coral reef or coral reef ecosystem, in whole or in part, 

13 within suitable waters of the historical geographic 

14 range of such ecosystems, to provide ecological, eco15 nomic, cultural, or coastal resiliency services associ16 ated with healthy coral reefs and benefit native popu17 lations of coral reef organisms. 

18 ‘‘(18) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘resilience’ means 

19 the capacity for corals within their native range, 

20 coral reefs, or coral reef ecosystems to resist and re21 cover from natural and human disturbances, and 

22 maintain structure and function to provide ecosystem 

23 services, as determined by clearly identifiable, meas24 urable, and science-based standards. 


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1 ‘‘(19) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

2 the Secretary of Commerce. 

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

4 ‘‘(A) any State of the United States that 

5 contains a coral reef ecosystem within its sea6 ward boundaries; 

7 ‘‘(B) American Samoa, the Commonwealth 

8 of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto 

9 Rico, or the United States Virgin Islands; or 

10 ‘‘(C) any other territory or possession of the 

11 United States or separate sovereign in free asso12 ciation with the United States that contains a 

13 coral reef ecosystem within its seaward bound14 aries. 

15 ‘‘(21) STEWARDSHIP.—The term ‘stewardship’, 

16 with respect to a coral reef, includes conservation, res17 toration, and public outreach and education. 

18 ‘‘(22) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

19 means the United States Coral Reef Task Force estab20 lished under section 201 of the Restoring Resilient 

21 Reefs Act of 2021.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO NATIONAL OCEANS

23 AND COASTAL SECURITY ACT.—Section 905(a) of the Na24 tional Oceans and Coastal Security Act (16 U.S.C. 

25 7504(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘and coastal infrastrucVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:08 Dec 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00130 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S46.RS S46

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1 ture’’ and inserting ‘‘, coastal infrastructure, and ecosystem 

2 services provided by natural systems such as coral reefs’’. 

3 TITLE II—UNITED STATES 

4 CORAL REEF TASK FORCE 

5 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT. 

6 There is established a task force to lead, coordinate, 

7 and strengthen Federal Government actions to better pre8 serve, conserve, and restore coral reef ecosystems, to be 

9 known as the ‘‘United States Coral Reef Task Force’’ (in 

10 this title referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

11 SEC. 202. DUTIES. 

12 The duties of the Task Force shall be— 

13 (1) to coordinate, in cooperation with covered 

14 States, covered Native entities, Federal reef managers, 

15 covered reef managers, coral reef research centers des16 ignated under section 214(b) of the Coral Reef Con17 servation Act of 2000 (as amended by section 101), 

18 and other nongovernmental and academic partners as 

19 appropriate, activities regarding the mapping, moni20 toring, research, conservation, mitigation, and res21 toration of coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems; 

22 (2) to monitor and advise regarding implemen23 tation of the policy and Federal agency responsibil24 ities set forth in— 


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1 (A) Executive Order 13089 (63 Fed. Reg. 

2 32701; relating to coral reef protection); and 

3 (B) the national coral reef resilience strat4 egy developed under section 204 of the Coral Reef 

5 Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by section 

6 101; 

7 (3) to work with the Secretary of State and the 

8 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter9 national Development, and in coordination with the 

10 other members of the Task Force— 

11 (A) to assess the United States role in inter12 national trade and protection of coral species; 

13 (B) to encourage implementation of appro14 priate strategies and actions to promote con15 servation and sustainable use of coral reef re16 sources worldwide; and 

17 (C) to collaborate with international com18 munities successful in managing coral reefs; 

19 (4) to provide technical assistance for the devel20 opment and implementation, as appropriate, of— 

21 (A) the national coral reef resilience strat22 egy under section 204 of the Coral Reef Con23 servation Act of 2000, as amended by section 

24 101; and 


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1 (B) coral reef action plans under section 

2 205 of that Act; and 

3 (5) to produce a report each year, for submission 

4 to the appropriate congressional committees and pub5 lication on a publicly available internet website of the 

6 Task Force, highlighting the status of the coral reef 

7 equities of a covered State on a rotating basis, includ8 ing— 

9 (A) a summary of recent coral reef manage10 ment and restoration activities undertaken in 

11 that State; and 

12 (B) updated estimates of the direct and in13 direct economic activity supported by, and other 

14 benefits associated with, those coral reef equities. 

15 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP. 

16 (a) VOTING MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall have 

17 the following voting members: 

18 (1) The Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

19 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At20 mospheric Administration, and the Secretary of the 

21 Interior, who shall be co-chairpersons of the Task 

22 Force. 

23 (2) The Administrator of the United States 

24 Agency for International Development. 

25 (3) The Secretary of Agriculture. 


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1 (4) The Secretary of Defense. 

2 (5) The Secretary of the Army, acting through 

3 the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. 

4 (6) The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 

5 through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

6 Management Agency. 

7 (7) The Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

8 (8) The Attorney General. 

9 (9) The Secretary of State. 

10 (10) The Secretary of Transportation. 

11 (11) The Administrator of the Environmental 

12 Protection Agency. 

13 (12) The Administrator of the National Aero14 nautics and Space Administration. 

15 (13) The Director of the National Science Foun16 dation. 

17 (14) The Governor, or a representative of the 

18 Governor, of each covered State. 

19 (b) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall have 

20 the following nonvoting members: 

21 (1) A member of the South Atlantic Fishery 

22 Management Council who is designated by the Gov23 ernor of Florida under section 302(b)(1) of the Mag24 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

25 Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(1)). 


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1 (2) A member of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

2 Management Council who is designated by the Gov3 ernor of Florida under such section. 

4 (3) A member of the Western Pacific Fishery 

5 Management Council who is designated under such 

6 section and selected as follows: 

7 (A) For the period beginning on the date of 

8 the enactment of this Act and ending on Decem9 ber 31 of the calendar year during which such 

10 date of enactment occurs, the member shall be se11 lected jointly by the governors of Hawaii, Amer12 ican Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of 

13 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

14 (B) For each calendar year thereafter, the 

15 governors of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, 

16 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

17 Islands shall, on a rotating basis, take turns se18 lecting the member. 

19 (4) A member of the Caribbean Fishery Manage20 ment Council who is designated under such section 

21 and selected as follows: 

22 (A) For the period beginning on the date of 

23 the enactment of this Act and ending on Decem24 ber 31 of the calendar year during which such 

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1 lected jointly by the governors of Puerto Rico 

2 and the United States Virgin Islands. 

3 (B) For each calendar year thereafter, the 

4 governors of Puerto Rico and the United States 

5 Virgin Islands shall, on an alternating basis, 

6 take turns selecting the member. 

7 (5) A member appointed by the President of the 

8 Federated States of Micronesia. 

9 (6) A member appointed by the President of the 

10 Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

11 (7) A member appointed by the President of the 

12 Republic of Palau. 

13 SEC. 204. RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCY MEM14 BERS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Task Force speci16 fied in paragraphs (1) through (14) of section 203(a) 

17 shall— 

18 (1) identify the actions of the agency that mem19 ber represents that may affect coral reef ecosystems; 

20 (2) utilize the programs and authorities of that 

21 agency to protect and enhance the conditions of such 

22 ecosystems, including through the promotion of basic 

23 and applied scientific research; 

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1 servation and restoration activities in all agency 

2 budget planning and justification documents and 

3 processes; and 

4 (4) engage in any other coordinated efforts ap5 proved by the Task Force. 

6 (b) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.—In addition to their respon7 sibilities under subsection (a), the co-chairpersons of the 

8 Task Force shall administer performance of the functions 

9 of the Task Force and facilitate the coordination of the 

10 members of the Task Force specified in paragraphs (1) 

11 through (14) of section 203(a). 

12 SEC. 205. WORKING GROUPS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The co-chairpersons of the Task 

14 Force may establish working groups as necessary to meet 

15 the goals and carry out the duties of the Task Force. 

16 (b) REQUESTS FROM MEMBERS.—The members of the 

17 Task Force may request that the co-chairpersons establish 

18 a working group under subsection (a). 

19 (c) PARTICIPATION BY NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA20 TIONS.—The co-chairpersons may allow nongovernmental 

21 organizations as appropriate, including academic institu22 tions, conservation groups, and commercial and rec23 reational fishing associations, to participate in a working 

24 group established under subsection (a). 


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1 (d) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

3 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to working groups established 

4 under this section. 

5 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title: 

7 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit9 tees’’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 

11 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) CONSERVATION, CORAL, CORAL REEF, ETC.— 

13 The terms ‘‘conservation’’, ‘‘coral’’, ‘‘coral reef’’, 

14 ‘‘coral reef ecosystem’’, ‘‘covered Native entity’’, ‘‘cov15 ered reef manager’’, ‘‘covered State’’, ‘‘Federal reef 

16 manager’’, ‘‘Native entity’’, ‘‘restoration’’, ‘‘resil17 ience’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those 

18 terms in section 218 of the Coral Reef Conservation 

19 Act of 2000, as amended by section 101. 


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1 TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE 

2 INTERIOR CORAL REEF AU3 THORITIES 

4 SEC. 301. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 

5 ASSISTANCE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior may 

7 provide scientific expertise and technical assistance, and 

8 subject to the availability of appropriations, financial as9 sistance for the conservation and restoration of coral reefs 

10 consistent with all applicable laws governing resource man11 agement in Federal, State, and Tribal waters, including— 

12 (1) the national coral reef resilience strategy in 

13 effect under section 204 of the Coral Reef Conserva14 tion Act of 2000, as amended by section 101; and 

15 (2) coral reef action plans in effect under section 

16 205 of that Act, as applicable. 

17 (b) CORAL REEF INITIATIVE.—The Secretary may es18 tablish a Coral Reef Initiative Program— 

19 (1) to provide grant funding to support local 

20 management, conservation, and protection of coral 

21 reef ecosystems in— 

22 (A) coastal areas of covered States; and 

23 (B) Freely Associated States; 

24 (2) to enhance resource availability of National 

25 Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System 


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1 management units to implement coral reef conserva2 tion and restoration activities; 

3 (3) to complement the other conservation and as4 sistance activities conducted under this Act or the 

5 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by 

6 section 101; and 

7 (4) to provide other technical, scientific, and fi8 nancial assistance and conduct conservation and res9 toration activities that advance the purposes of this 

10 Act and the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as 

11 amended by section 101. 

12 (c) CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF COM13 MERCE.— 

14 (1) CORAL REEF CONSERVATION AND RESTORA15 TION ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of the Interior may 

16 consult with the Secretary of Commerce regarding the 

17 conduct of any activities to conserve and restore coral 

18 reefs and coral reef ecosystems in waters managed 

19 under the jurisdiction of the Federal agencies speci20 fied in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 203(c) of the 

21 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by 

22 section 101. 

23 (2) AWARD OF CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT FEL24 LOWSHIP.—The Secretary of the Interior shall consult 

25 with the Secretary of Commerce to award the Susan 


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1 L. Williams Coral Reef Management Fellowship 

2 under title IV. 

3 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Subject to the 

4 availability of appropriations, the Secretary of the Interior 

5 may enter into cooperative agreements with covered reef 

6 managers to fund coral reef conservation and restoration 

7 activities in waters managed under the jurisdiction of such 

8 managers that— 

9 (1) are consistent with the national coral reef re10 silience strategy in effect under section 204 of the 

11 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by 

12 section 101; and 

13 (2) support and enhance the success of coral reef 

14 action plans in effect under section 205 of that Act. 

15 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) CONSERVATION, CORAL, CORAL REEF, ETC.— 

17 The terms ‘‘conservation’’, ‘‘coral reef’’, ‘‘covered reef 

18 manager’’, ‘‘covered State’’, ‘‘restoration’’, and 

19 ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec20 tion 218 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, 

21 as amended by section 101. 

22 (2) TRIBE; TRIBAL.—The terms ‘‘Tribe’’ and 

23 ‘‘Tribal’’ refer to Indian Tribes (as defined in section 

24 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act 

25 of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130)). 


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1 TITLE IV—SUSAN L. WILLIAMS 

2 NATIONAL CORAL REEF MAN3 AGEMENT FELLOWSHIP 

4 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Susan L. Williams Na6 tional Coral Reef Management Fellowship Act of 2021’’. 

7 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this title: 

9 (1) ALASKA NATIVE CORPORATION.—The term 

10 ‘‘Alaska Native Corporation’’ has the meaning given 

11 the term ‘‘Native Corporation’’ in section 3 of the 

12 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 

13 1602). 

14 (2) FELLOW.—The term ‘‘fellow’’ means a Na15 tional Coral Reef Management Fellow. 

16 (3) FELLOWSHIP.—The term ‘‘fellowship’’ means 

17 the National Coral Reef Management Fellowship es18 tablished in section 403. 

19 (4) COVERED NATIVE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘cov20 ered Native entity’’ means a Native entity of a cov21 ered State with interests in a coral reef ecosystem. 

22 (5) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘‘covered State’’ 

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1 iana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United 

2 States Virgin Islands. 

3 (6) NATIVE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Native entity’’ 

4 means any of the following: 

5 (A) An Indian Tribe (as defined in section 

6 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu7 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). 

8 (B) An Alaska Native Corporation. 

9 (C) The Department of Hawaiian Home 

10 Lands. 

11 (D) The Office of Hawaiian Affairs. 

12 (E) A Native Hawaiian organization (as 

13 defined in section 6207 of the Elementary and 

14 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

15 7517)). 

16 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Commerce. 

18 SEC. 403. ESTABLISHMENT OF FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a National 

20 Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program. 

21 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the fellowship are— 

22 (1) to encourage future leaders of the United 

23 States to develop additional coral reef management 

24 capacity in States and local communities with coral 

25 reefs; 


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1 (2) to provide management agencies of covered 

2 States or covered Native entities with highly qualified 

3 candidates whose education and work experience meet 

4 the specific needs of each covered State or covered Na5 tive entity; and 

6 (3) to provide fellows with professional experi7 ence in management of coastal and coral reef re8 sources. 

9 SEC. 404. FELLOWSHIP AWARDS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in partnership with 

11 the Secretary of the Interior, shall award the fellowship in 

12 accordance with this section. 

13 (b) TERM OF FELLOWSHIP.—A fellowship awarded 

14 under this section shall be for a term of not more than 24 

15 months. 

16 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Secretary shall award the 

17 fellowship to individuals who have demonstrated— 

18 (1) an intent to pursue a career in marine serv19 ices and outstanding potential for such a career; 

20 (2) leadership potential, actual leadership expe21 rience, or both; 

22 (3) a college or graduate degree in biological 

23 science, a resource management college or graduate 

24 degree with experience that correlates with aptitude 

25 and interest for marine management, or both; 


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1 (4) proficient writing and speaking skills; and 

2 (5) such other attributes as the Secretary con3 siders appropriate. 

4 SEC. 405. MATCHING REQUIREMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

6 (b), the non-Federal share of the costs of a fellowship under 

7 this section shall be 25 percent of such costs. 

8 (b) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 

9 waive the application of subsection (a) if the Secretary 

10 finds that such waiver is necessary to support a project that 

11 the Secretary has identified as a high priority. 


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Calendar No. 223 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 46 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 

Reef Task Force, and for other purposes. 2000 and to establish the United States Coral 

DECEMBER 17, 2021 

Reported with an amendment 


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