108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1856

AN ACT

To reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hyother purposes. poxia Research and Control Act of 1998, and for

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1856

AN ACT

To reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia

Research and Control Act of 1998, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harmful Algal Bloom

3 and Hypoxia Research Amendments Act of 2004’’.

4 SEC. 2. RETENTION OF TASK FORCE.

5 Section 603 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hy6 poxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 1451

7 note) is amended by striking subsection (e).

8 SEC. 3. SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS AND RESEARCH, DEM9 ONSTRATION, AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

10 PLANS.

11 Such section 603 is further amended—

12 (1) in subsection (a) by adding at the end the

13 following:

14 ‘‘In developing the assessments and plans described in

15 subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), the Task Force shall

16 work with appropriate State, Indian tribe, and local gov17 ernments to ensure that the assessments and plans fulfill

18 the requirements of subsections (b)(2), (c)(2), (d)(2),

19 (e)(2), and (f)(2). Additionally, the Task Force shall con20 sult with appropriate industry (including agriculture and

21 fertilizer industry), academic institutions, and non-govern22 mental organizations throughout the development of the

23 assessments and plans.’’; and

24 (2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and in25 serting the following:
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1 ‘‘(b) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF HARMFUL ALGAL

2 BLOOMS.—(1) Not less than once every 5 years the Task

3 Force shall complete and submit to Congress a scientific

4 assessment of harmful algal blooms in United States

5 coastal waters. The first such assessment shall be com6 pleted not later than 24 months after the date of enact7 ment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research

8 Amendments Act of 2004 and should consider only marine

9 harmful algal blooms. All subsequent assessments shall ex10 amine both marine and freshwater harmful algal blooms,

11 including those in the Great Lakes and upper reaches of

12 estuaries.

13 ‘‘(2) The assessments under this subsection shall—

14 ‘‘(A) examine the causes and ecological con15 sequences, and economic costs, of harmful algal

16 blooms;

17 ‘‘(B) describe the potential ecological and eco18 nomic costs and benefits of possible actions for pre19 venting, controlling, and mitigating harmful algal

20 blooms;

21 ‘‘(C) evaluate progress made by, and the needs

22 of, Federal research programs on the causes, charac23 teristics, and impacts of harmful algal blooms; and

24 ‘‘(D) identify ways to improve coordination and

25 to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among
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1 Federal agencies and departments with respect to

2 research on harmful algal blooms.

3 ‘‘(c) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF FRESHWATER

4 HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.—(1) Not later than 24

5 months after the date of enactment of the Harmful Algal

6 Bloom and Hypoxia Research Amendments Act of 2004

7 the Task Force shall complete and submit to Congress a

8 scientific assessment of current knowledge about harmful

9 algal blooms in freshwater locations such as the Great

10 Lakes and upper reaches of estuaries, including a research

11 plan for coordinating Federal efforts to better understand

12 freshwater harmful algal blooms.

13 ‘‘(2) The freshwater harmful algal bloom scientific

14 assessment shall—

15 ‘‘(A) examine the causes and ecological con16 sequences, and the economic costs, of harmful algal

17 blooms with significant effects on freshwater loca18 tions, including estimations of the frequency and oc19 currence of significant events;

20 ‘‘(B) establish priorities and guidelines for a

21 competitive, peer-reviewed, merit-based interagency

22 research program, as part of the Ecology and

23 Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB)

24 project, to better understand the causes, characteris-
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1 tics, and impacts of harmful algal blooms in fresh2 water locations; and

3 ‘‘(C) identify ways to improve coordination and

4 to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among

5 Federal agencies and departments with respect to

6 research on harmful algal blooms in freshwater loca7 tions.

8 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, DEVELOP9 MENT, DEMONSTRATION, AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

10 PLAN INTO REDUCING IMPACTS FROM HARMFUL ALGAL

11 BLOOMS.—(1) Not later than 12 months after the date

12 of enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia

13 Research Amendments Act of 2004, the Task Force shall

14 develop and submit to Congress a plan providing for a

15 comprehensive and coordinated national research program

16 to develop and demonstrate prevention, control, and miti17 gation methods to reduce the impacts of harmful algal

18 blooms on coastal ecosystems (including the Great Lakes),

19 public health, and the economy.

20 ‘‘(2) The plan shall—

21 ‘‘(A) establish priorities and guidelines for a

22 competitive, peer-reviewed, merit-based interagency

23 research, development, demonstration, and tech24 nology transfer program on methods for the preven-
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1 tion, control, and mitigation of harmful algal

2 blooms;

3 ‘‘(B) identify ways to improve coordination and

4 to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among

5 Federal agencies and departments with respect to

6 the actions described in paragraph (1); and

7 ‘‘(C) include to the maximum extent practicable

8 diverse institutions, including Historically Black Col9 leges and Universities and those serving large pro10 portions of Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pa11 cific Americans, and other underrepresented popu12 lations.

13 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Commerce, in conjunction with

14 other appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish a re15 search, development, demonstration, and technology trans16 fer program that meets the priorities and guidelines estab17 lished under paragraph (2)(A). The Secretary shall en18 sure, through consultation with Sea Grant Programs, that

19 the results and findings of the program are communicated

20 to State, Indian tribe, and local governments, and to the

21 general public.

22 ‘‘(e) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF HYPOXIA.—(1)

23 Not less than once every 5 years the Task Force shall

24 complete and submit to Congress a scientific assessment

25 of hypoxia in United States coastal waters including the
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1 Great Lakes. The first such assessment shall be completed

2 not less than 12 months after the date of enactment of

3 the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research Amend4 ments Act of 2004.

5 ‘‘(2) The assessments under this subsection shall—

6 ‘‘(A) examine the causes and ecological con7 sequences, and the economic costs, of hypoxia;

8 ‘‘(B) describe the potential ecological and eco9 nomic costs and benefits of possible actions for pre10 venting, controlling, and mitigating hypoxia;

11 ‘‘(C) evaluate progress made by, and the needs

12 of, Federal research programs on the causes, charac13 teristics, and impacts of hypoxia, including rec14 ommendations of how to eliminate significant gaps

15 in hypoxia modeling and monitoring data; and

16 ‘‘(D) identify ways to improve coordination and

17 to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among

18 Federal agencies and departments with respect to

19 research on hypoxia.

20 ‘‘(f) LOCAL AND REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC ASSESS21 MENTS.—(1) The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination

22 with the Task Force and appropriate State, Indian tribe,

23 and local governments, shall provide for local and regional

24 scientific assessments of hypoxia or harmful algal blooms,

25 as requested by State, Indian tribe, or local governments,
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1 or for affected areas as identified by the Secretary. If the

2 Secretary receives multiple requests, the Secretary shall

3 ensure, to the extent practicable, that assessments under

4 this subsection cover geographically and ecologically di5 verse locations with significant ecological and economic

6 impacts from hypoxia or harmful algal blooms. The Sec7 retary shall establish a procedure for reviewing requests

8 for local and regional assessments. The Secretary shall en9 sure, through consultation with Sea Grant Programs, that

10 the findings of the assessments are communicated to the

11 appropriate State, Indian tribe, and local governments,

12 and to the general public.

13 ‘‘(2) The scientific assessments under this subsection

14 shall examine—

15 ‘‘(A) the causes and ecological consequences,

16 and the economic costs, of hypoxia or harmful algal

17 blooms in that area;

18 ‘‘(B) potential methods to prevent, control, and

19 mitigate hypoxia or harmful algal blooms in that

20 area and the potential ecological and economic costs

21 and benefits of such methods; and

22 ‘‘(C) other topics the Task Force considers ap23 propriate.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 Section 605 of such Act is amended to read as fol3 lows:

4 ‘‘SEC. 605. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec6 retary of Commerce for research, education, monitoring,

7 demonstration, and technology transfer activities related

8 to the prevention, reduction, and control of harmful algal

9 blooms and hypoxia, $19,000,000 for each of fiscal years

10 2005, 2006, and 2007, to remain available until expended.

11 The Secretary shall consult with the States on a regular

12 basis regarding the development and implementation of

13 the activities authorized under this title. Of such amounts

14 for each fiscal year—

15 ‘‘(1) $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2005,

16 2006, and 2007 shall be used to enable the National

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry

18 out research and assessment activities, including

19 procurement of necessary research equipment, at re20 search laboratories of the National Ocean Service

21 and the National Marine Fisheries Service;

22 ‘‘(2) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005,

23 2006, and 2007 shall be used to carry out the Ecol24 ogy and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms

25 (ECOHAB) project, with $1,000,000 of such
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1 amount used to carry out research on freshwater

2 harmful algal blooms;

3 ‘‘(3) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005,

4 2006, and 2007 shall be used to carry out the re5 search program described in section 603(d)(3);

6 ‘‘(4) $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005,

7 2006, and 2007 shall be used to carry out the Moni8 toring and Event Response for Harmful Algal

9 Blooms (MERHAB) project;

10 ‘‘(5) $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005,

11 2006, and 2007 shall be used for activities related

12 to research and monitoring on hypoxia; and

13 ‘‘(6) $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2005,

14 2006, and 2007 shall be used to carry out the activi15 ties described in section 603(f).

16 Amounts authorized under paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and

17 (5) shall only be used to support competitive, peer-re18 viewed research programs.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives July 7, 2004.

Attest:

Clerk.