II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 66 

To require the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and 

Hypoxia to develop a plan for reducing, mitigating, and controlling harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 27, 2021 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal 

Blooms and Hypoxia to develop a plan for reducing, 

mitigating, and controlling harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘South Florida Clean 

5 Coastal Waters Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SOUTH FLORIDA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND 

2 HYPOXIA ASSESSMENT AND ACTION PLAN. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Harmful Algal Bloom and 

4 Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (Public Law 

5 105–383; 33 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating sections 605 through 609 

7 as sections 606 through 610, respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after section 604 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 605. SOUTH FLORIDA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND 

10 HYPOXIA. 

11 ‘‘(a) SOUTH FLORIDA.—In this section, the term 

12 ‘South Florida’ means— 

13 ‘‘(1) all lands and waters within the administra14 tive boundaries of the South Florida Water Manage15 ment District; 

16 ‘‘(2) regional coastal waters, including Biscayne 

17 Bay, the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida Bay, In18 dian River Lagoon, and St. Lucie River Estuary; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(3) the Florida Reef Tract. 

21 ‘‘(b) INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(1) INTERIM INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT.—Not 

23 later than 540 days after the date of enactment of 

24 the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 

25 2021, the Task Force, in accordance with the au26 thority under section 603, shall complete and submit 


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1 to Congress and the President an interim integrated 

2 assessment. 

3 ‘‘(2) FINALIZED INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT.— 

4 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

5 of the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 

6 2021, the Task Force shall finalize, and submit to 

7 Congress and the President, the interim integrated 

8 assessment required by paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS OF INTEGRATED ASSESS10 MENT.—The integrated assessment required by 

11 paragraphs (1) and (2) shall examine the causes, 

12 consequences, and potential approaches to reduce 

13 harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, 

14 and the status of, and gaps within, current harmful 

15 algal bloom and hypoxia research, monitoring, man16 agement, prevention, response, and control activities 

17 that directly affect the region by— 

18 ‘‘(A) Federal agencies; 

19 ‘‘(B) State agencies; 

20 ‘‘(C) regional research consortia; 

21 ‘‘(D) academia; 

22 ‘‘(E) private industry; 

23 ‘‘(F) nongovernmental organizations; and 


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1 ‘‘(G) Indian tribes (as defined in section 4 

2 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

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

4 ‘‘(c) ACTION PLAN.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years and 

6 180 days after the date of the enactment of the 

7 South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 2021, 

8 the Task Force shall develop and submit to Con9 gress a plan, based on the integrated assessment 

10 under subsection (b), for reducing, mitigating, and 

11 controlling harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in 

12 South Florida. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The plan submitted under 

14 paragraph (1) shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) address the monitoring needs identi16 fied in the integrated assessment under sub17 section (b); 

18 ‘‘(B) develop a timeline and budgetary re19 quirements for deployment of future assets; 

20 ‘‘(C) identify requirements for the develop21 ment and verification of South Florida harmful 

22 algal bloom and hypoxia models, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) all assumptions built into the 

24 models; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) data quality methods used to en2 sure the best available data are utilized; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(D) propose a plan to implement a re5 mote monitoring network and early warning 

6 system for alerting local communities in the re7 gion to harmful algal bloom risks that may im8 pact human health. 

9 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the action 

10 plan, the Task Force shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) consult with the State of Florida, and 

12 affected local and tribal governments; 

13 ‘‘(B) consult with representatives from re14 gional academic, agricultural, industry, and 

15 other stakeholder groups; 

16 ‘‘(C) ensure that the plan complements 

17 and does not duplicate activities conducted by 

18 other Federal or State agencies, including the 

19 South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task 

20 Force; 

21 ‘‘(D) identify critical research for reducing, 

22 mitigating, and controlling harmful algal bloom 

23 events and their effects; 

24 ‘‘(E) evaluate cost-effective, incentive25 based partnership approaches; 


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1 ‘‘(F) ensure that the plan is technically 

2 sound and cost-effective; 

3 ‘‘(G) utilize existing research, assessments, 

4 reports, and program activities; 

5 ‘‘(H) publish a summary of the proposed 

6 plan in the Federal Register at least 180 days 

7 prior to submitting the completed plan to Con8 gress; and 

9 ‘‘(I) after submitting the completed plan to 

10 Congress, provide biennial progress reports on 

11 the activities toward achieving the objectives of 

12 the plan.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT AND CORRECTION.—The 

14 table of contents in section 2 of the Coast Guard Author15 ization Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–383) is amended by 

16 striking the items relating to title VI and inserting the 

17 following new items: 

‘‘TITLE VI—HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA 

‘‘Sec. 601. Short title. 

‘‘Sec. 602. Findings. 

‘‘Sec. 603. Assessments. 

‘‘Sec. 603A. National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program. 

‘‘Sec. 603B. Comprehensive research plan and action strategy. 

‘‘Sec. 604. Northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. 

‘‘Sec. 605. South Florida harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. 

‘‘Sec. 606. Great Lakes hypoxia and harmful algal blooms. 

‘‘Sec. 607. Protection of States’ rights. 

‘‘Sec. 608. Effect on other Federal authority. 

‘‘Sec. 609. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 610. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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