I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9705 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Oyster Reef Restoration 

and Conservation Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ (for herself and Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Oyster 

Reef Restoration and Conservation Program. 

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 ‘‘Oyster Reef Recovery 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OYSTER REEF RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 (a) OYSTER REEF RESTORATION AND CONSERVA9 TION PROGRAM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es2 tablish a program for the conservation of oyster 

3 reefs, to be known as the ‘‘Oyster Reef Restoration 

4 and Conservation Program’’. 

5 (2) PROGRAM DUTIES.—In carrying out the 

6 Program, the Administrator shall provide technical 

7 and financial assistance to covered entities to— 

8 (A) identify priorities for oyster reef res9 toration, including existing oyster reef sites and 

10 locations of historically significant oyster reefs 

11 with the potential for restoration; 

12 (B) evaluate the health of and threats to 

13 oyster reefs, including through mapping and 

14 water quality monitoring, and identify conserva15 tion actions to address such threats; 

16 (C) conduct voluntary planning, construc17 tion, assessment, protection, monitoring, res18 toration, and enhancement projects with respect 

19 to oyster reefs; 

20 (D) work to ensure the health and resil21 ience of existing and restored oyster reefs 

22 through adaptive management procedures based 

23 on the best available science; 


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1 (E) build partnerships and capacity to 

2 carry out environmental conservation and stew3 ardship measures with respect to oyster reefs; 

4 (F) develop and implement monitoring pro5 tocols to ensure the success of conservation, 

6 restoration, and enhancement measures with re7 spect to oyster reefs; 

8 (G) collaborate and share information with 

9 other covered entities and the public with re10 spect to best management practices for the con11 servation, restoration, and enhancement of oys12 ter reefs; and 

13 (H) support workforce training focused on 

14 coastal resilience and restoration concepts, prin15 ciples, techniques, and implementation, espe16 cially to benefit underserved communities. 

17 (3) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

19 shall establish a competitive grant program to 

20 award amounts to persons that submit an appli21 cation under subparagraph (B) for the purposes 

22 of conducting research, planning, construction, 

23 assessments, management, building capacity, 

24 monitoring, collaborating and sharing informa25 tion, or workforce training with respect to the 


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1 conservation, restoration, enhancement, or man2 agement of oyster reefs. 

3 (B) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a 

4 grant under this paragraph, a person shall sub5 mit to the Administrator an application in such 

6 form, at such time, and containing such infor7 mation, including a sufficient demonstration 

8 that the project will not reasonably interfere 

9 with commercial or recreational fishing or other 

10 water-related uses of the relevant area, as the 

11 Administrator determines appropriate. 

12 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec13 tion may be construed to preempt or limit the authority 

14 of a State or an Indian Tribe to manage oyster reefs or 

15 species of oysters. 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 

18 carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

19 2025 through 2029. 

20 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis22 trator’’ means the Secretary of Commerce, acting 

23 through the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

24 and Atmospheric Administration. 


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1 (2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en2 tity’’ means— 

3 (A) a unit of the Federal or a State, local, 

4 or Tribal government; 

5 (B) a nongovernmental institution; 

6 (C) a nonprofit organization; 

7 (D) an institution of higher education; 

8 (E) the shellfish industry; and 

9 (F) a private individual or entity. 

10 (3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

11 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization— 

12 (A) described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

13 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

14 (B) exempt from tax under section 501(a) 

15 of such Code. 

16 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

17 the Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Pro18 gram established under subsection (a)(1). 

19 (5) SHELLFISH INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘shell20 fish industry’’ means shellfish growers and shellfish 

21 harvesters. 

Æ 


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