I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1856

To reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control 

Act of 1998, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 29, 2003

Mr. EHLERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 and Hypoxia Research Amendments Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RETENTION OF TASK FORCE. 

7 Section 603 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hy8 poxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 1451 

9 note) is amended by striking subsection (e). 
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1 SEC. 3. SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS AND RESEARCH PLANS. 

2 Such section 603 is further amended—

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

4 following: 

5 ‘‘In developing the assessments and research plans de6 scribed in subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), the Task 

7 Force shall work with appropriate State, Indian tribe, and 

8 local governments to ensure that the assessments and re9 search plans fulfill the requirements of subsections (b)(2), 

10 (c)(2), (d)(2), (e)(2), and (f)(2). Additionally, the Task 

11 Force shall consult with appropriate industry, academic 

12 institutions, and non-governmental organizations through13 out the development of the assessments and research 

14 plans.’’; and 

15 (2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and in16 serting the following: 

17 ‘‘(b) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF HARMFUL ALGAL

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

19 Force shall complete and submit to the Committee on 

20 Science of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

22 Senate a scientific assessment of harmful algal blooms in 

23 United States coastal waters. The first such assessment 

24 shall be completed not later than 24 months after the date 

25 of enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 

26 Research Amendments Act of 2003 and should consider 
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1 only marine harmful algal blooms. All subsequent assess2 ments shall examine both marine and freshwater harmful 

3 algal blooms, including those in the Great Lakes and 

4 upper reaches of estuaries. 

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

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

8 blooms; 

9 ‘‘(B) describe the potential ecological and eco10 nomic costs and benefits of possible policy and man11 agement actions for preventing, controlling, and 

12 mitigating harmful algal blooms; 

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

14 of, Federal research programs on the causes, charac15 teristics, and impacts of harmful algal blooms; 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 harmful algal blooms. 

20 ‘‘(c) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF FRESHWATER

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

22 months after the date of enactment of the Harmful Algal 

23 Bloom and Hypoxia Research Amendments Act of 2003 

24 the Task Force shall complete and submit to the Com25 mittee on Science of the House of Representatives and the 
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1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

2 the Senate a scientific assessment of current knowledge 

3 about harmful algal blooms in freshwater locations such 

4 as the Great Lakes and upper reaches of estuaries, includ5 ing a research plan for coordinating Federal efforts to bet6 ter understand freshwater harmful algal blooms. 

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

8 assessment shall—

9 ‘‘(A) examine the causes and ecological con10 sequences, and the economic costs, of harmful algal 

11 blooms with significant effects on freshwater loca12 tions, including estimations of the frequency and oc13 currence of significant events; 

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

15 competitive, peer-reviewed, merit-based interagency 

16 research program, as part of the Ecology and 

17 Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) 

18 project, to better understand the causes, characteris19 tics, and impacts of harmful algal blooms in fresh20 water locations; and 

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

22 to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among 

23 Federal agencies and departments with respect to 

24 research on harmful algal blooms in freshwater loca25 tions. 
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1 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PLAN INTO

2 REDUCING IMPACTS FROM HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.—

3 (1) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 

4 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research 

5 Amendments Act of 2003, the Task Force shall develop 

6 and submit to the Committee on Science of the House of 

7 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a research plan 

9 providing for a comprehensive and coordinated national 

10 research program to develop prevention, control, and miti11 gation methods to reduce the impacts of harmful algal 

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

13 public health, and the economy. 

14 ‘‘(2) The research plan shall—

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

16 competitive, peer-reviewed, merit-based interagency 

17 research program on methods for the prevention, 

18 control, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms; 

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

20 to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among

21 Federal agencies and departments with respect to 

22 the actions described in paragraph (1); and 

23 ‘‘(C) ensure, through consultation with Sea 

24 Grant Programs, that the results and findings of the 

25 research program are communicated to State, Indian 
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1 tribe, and local governments, and to the general pub2 lic. 

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

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

5 complete and submit to the Committee on Science of the 

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on Com7 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a sci8 entific assessment of hypoxia in United States coastal wa9 ters including the Great Lakes. The first such assessment 

10 shall be completed not less than 24 months after the date 

11 of enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 

12 Research Amendments Act of 2003. 

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

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

16 ‘‘(B) describe the potential ecological and eco17 nomic costs and benefits of possible policy and man18 agement actions for preventing, controlling, and 

19 mitigating hypoxia; 

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

21 of, Federal research programs on the causes, charac22 teristics, and impacts of hypoxia, including rec23 ommendations of how to eliminate significant gaps 

24 in hypoxia modeling and monitoring data; and 
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1 ‘‘(D) identify ways to improve coordination and 

2 to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among 

3 Federal agencies and departments with respect to 

4 research on hypoxia. 

5 ‘‘(f) LOCAL AND REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC ASSESS6 MENTS.—(1) The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination 

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

8 and local governments, shall provide for local and regional 

9 scientific assessments of hypoxia or harmful algal blooms, 

10 as requested by State, Indian tribe, or local governments, 

11 or for affected areas as identified by the Secretary. If the 

12 Secretary receives multiple requests, the Secretary shall 

13 ensure, to the extent practicable, that assessments under 

14 this subsection cover geographically and ecologically di15 verse locations with significant ecological and economic 

16 impacts from hypoxia or harmful algal blooms. The Sec17 retary shall establish a procedure for reviewing requests 

18 for local and regional assessments. The Secretary shall en19 sure, through consultation with Sea Grant Programs, that 

20 the findings of the assessments are communicated to the 

21 appropriate State, Indian tribe, and local governments, 

22 and to the general public. 

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

24 shall examine—
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1 ‘‘(A) the causes and ecological consequences, 

2 and the economic costs, of hypoxia or harmful algal 

3 blooms in that area; 

4 ‘‘(B) methods to prevent, control, and mitigate 

5 hypoxia or harmful algal blooms in that area and 

6 the potential ecological and economic costs and bene7 fits of such methods; and 

8 ‘‘(C) other topics the Task Force consider ap9 propriate.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 Section 605 of such Act is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and $19,000,000 for fiscal year 

13 2001’’ and inserting ‘‘$19,000,000 for fiscal year 

14 2001, $27,200,000 for fiscal year 2004, 

15 $28,700,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $29,200,000 

16 for fiscal year 2006’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

18 ‘‘2000,’’ and by inserting ‘‘, and $3,000,000 for 

19 each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006’’ after 

20 ‘‘2001’’; 

21 (3) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

22 ‘‘2000,’’ and by inserting ‘‘, and $10,200,000, of 

23 which $2,000,000 shall be used for the research pro24 gram described in section 603(c)(2)(B), for each of 

25 fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006’’ after ‘‘2001’’; 
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1 (4) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

2 ‘‘2000,’’ and by inserting ‘‘, $2,000,000 for fiscal 

3 year 2004, $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and 

4 $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2006’’ after ‘‘2001’’; 

5 (5) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘2001’’ and in6 serting ‘‘2001, and $6,000,000 for each of fiscal 

7 years 2004, 2005, and 2006,’’; 

8 (6) in paragraph (4) by inserting ‘‘the Moni9 toring and Event Response for Harmful Algal 

10 Blooms (MERHAB) project under’’ after ‘‘adminis11 tered by’’; 

12 (7) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

13 end of paragraph (4); 

14 (8) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

15 ‘‘2000,’’ and by inserting ‘‘, $5,000,000 for fiscal 

16 year 2004, $5,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, and 

17 $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2006’’ after ‘‘2001’’; 

18 (9) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘Administra19 tion.’’ and inserting ‘‘Administration; and’’; and 

20 (10) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(6) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004, 

22 2005, and 2006 to carry out the activities described 

23 in section 603(f).’’.

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