I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9912 

To require the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology of the National Science and Technology Council to establish the Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon, require the Interagency Working 

Group to produce a national map and inventory of coastal blue carbon 

ecosystems, require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out pilot programs to protect intact 

and restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems, require the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution to establish the Coastal Carbon 

Data Clearinghouse, require the Administrator to seek to enter into 

an agreement with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, 

and Medicine to conduct an assessment regarding geologic stores of 

carbon dioxide, require the Administrator to establish the Coastal Blue 

Carbon Inventory Program, and require the Administrator to conduct 

a national assessment to quantify the carbon sequestration potential 

of coastal blue carbon ecosystems. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 4, 2024 

Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. POSEY, and Mr. BEYER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, 

and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, 

House Administration, and Energy and Commerce, 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 require the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology of the National Science and Technology Council 

to establish the Interagency Working Group on Coastal 

Blue Carbon, require the Interagency Working Group 


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to produce a national map and inventory of coastal blue 

carbon ecosystems, require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry 

out pilot programs to protect intact and restore degraded 

coastal blue carbon ecosystems, require the Secretary 

of the Smithsonian Institution to establish the Coastal 

Carbon Data Clearinghouse, require the Administrator 

to seek to enter into an agreement with the National 

Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct an assessment regarding geologic stores of carbon 

dioxide, require the Administrator to establish the Coastal Blue Carbon Inventory Program, and require the Administrator to conduct a national assessment to quantify 

the carbon sequestration potential of coastal blue carbon 

ecosystems. 

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 ‘‘Coastal Restoration 

5 Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT9 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com10 mittees’’ means— 

11 (A) the Committees on Natural Resources 

12 and Science, Space, and Technology of the 

13 House of Representatives; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

2 and Transportation of the Senate. 

3 (2) COASTAL BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEM.—The 

4 term ‘‘coastal blue carbon ecosystem’’— 

5 (A) means a coastal habitat, including a 

6 mangrove forest, a tidal marsh, a shrub-domi7 nated or -forested tidal swamp, a kelp forest, a 

8 tidal mudflat, seagrass, coastal subtidal sedi9 ment, and other tidal freshwater, brackish, or 

10 salt-water wetlands, that has the ability to se11 quester carbon from the atmosphere, accumu12 late such sequestered carbon in biomass for 

13 years to decades, and store such sequestered 

14 carbon in soil for centuries to millennia; and 

15 (B) includes— 

16 (i) autochthonous carbon ecosystems; 

17 and 

18 (ii) allochthonous carbon ecosystems. 

19 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

20 has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 

21 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

23 (4) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.—The term 

24 ‘‘Interagency Working Group’’ means the InterVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Oct 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9912.IH H9912

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1 agency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon es2 tablished under section 3(a). 

3 (5) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYSTEM.— 

4 The term ‘‘regional coastal observing system’’ has 

5 the meaning given the term in section 12303 of the 

6 Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System 

7 Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3602). 

8 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

9 the several States, the District of Columbia, and 

10 each territory and possession of the United States. 

11 (7) SUBCOMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Sub12 committee’’ means the Subcommittee on Ocean 

13 Science and Technology of the National Science and 

14 Technology Council. 

15 (8) UNDERSECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Undersec16 retary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for 

17 Oceans and Atmosphere in the Under Secretary’s 

18 capacity as the Administrator of the National Oce19 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

20 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON COASTAL BLUE 

21 CARBON. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Subcommittee shall es23 tablish an Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue 

24 Carbon to coordinate Federal efforts to research, monitor, 


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1 identify, map, protect, and restore coastal blue carbon eco2 systems, including by— 

3 (1) facilitating interagency coordination; 

4 (2) developing a national strategy; 

5 (3) supporting research and data collection; 

6 (4) identifying resource and policy needs; and 

7 (5) engaging relevant stakeholders. 

8 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Working Group 

9 shall be composed of senior representatives from— 

10 (1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad11 ministration; 

12 (2) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

13 (3) the National Science Foundation; 

14 (4) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin15 istration; 

16 (5) the United States Geological Survey; 

17 (6) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 

18 (7) the National Park Service; 

19 (8) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

20 (9) the Smithsonian Institution; 

21 (10) the Army Corps of Engineers; 

22 (11) the Department of Agriculture; 

23 (12) the Department of Energy; 

24 (13) the Department of Defense; 

25 (14) the Department of Transportation; 


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1 (15) the Department of State; 

2 (16) the Federal Emergency Management 

3 Agency; 

4 (17) the Office of Science and Technology Pol5 icy; and 

6 (18) the Council on Environmental Quality. 

7 (c) CHAIR.—The Interagency Working Group shall 

8 be chaired by the Undersecretary. 

9 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Interagency Working 

10 Group shall carry out the following activities: 

11 (1) In accordance with section 4, produce, over12 see, update, and maintain a national map and inven13 tory of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including in14 formation required under that section. 

15 (2) Develop a strategic assessment of the bio16 physical, chemical, economic, regulatory, social, and 

17 statutory impediments, including regionally specific 

18 opportunities to reduce such impediments and facili19 tating factors of such impediments, to restoration of 

20 coastal blue carbon ecosystems. 

21 (3) Develop a national strategy for foundational 

22 science necessary to study, synthesize, and evaluate 

23 the effects of climate change and environmental and 

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1 cluding lateral carbon fluxes, and greenhouse gas 

2 emissions in coastal blue carbon ecosystems. 

3 (4) Establish national protection and restora4 tion priorities for coastal blue carbon ecosystems, in5 cluding an assessment of Federal funding being used 

6 for restoration efforts with respect to coastal blue 

7 carbon ecosystems. 

8 (5) With other Federal agencies and users, en9 sure the continuity, use, and interoperability of rel10 evant data assets through the Coastal Carbon Data 

11 Clearinghouse established under section 6(a). 

12 (6) Coordinate with research, monitoring, 

13 standards development, project design, and other 

14 work related to marine carbon dioxide removal being 

15 conducted by relevant laboratories and offices of the 

16 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

17 and the Subcommittee. 

18 (7) Assess the legal authorities that exist to 

19 protect and restore coastal blue carbon ecosystems. 

20 (8) Implement the strategic plan required under 

21 subsection (e)(2). 

22 (e) REPORTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of the enactment of this section, the Inter25 agency Working Group shall submit to the approVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Oct 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9912.IH H9912

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1 priate congressional committees a report regarding 

2 the activities carried out by the Interagency Working 

3 Group under subsection (d), including the following: 

4 (A) Information regarding activities, chal5 lenges, analyses, and additional work and re6 search needed with respect to such activities. 

7 (B) A summary of each federally funded 

8 coastal blue carbon ecosystem research, moni9 toring, protection, and restoration activity, in10 cluding— 

11 (i) the budget for each such activity; 

12 and 

13 (ii) a description of the progress made 

14 by each such activity in advancing the na15 tional protection and restoration priorities 

16 established under subsection (d)(4). 

17 (C) The strategic assessment developed 

18 under subsection (d)(2), including information 

19 regarding the vulnerability of coastal blue car20 bon ecosystems to climate impacts, such as sea21 level rise, ocean and coastal acidification, and 

22 other environmental and human stressors. 

23 (2) STRATEGIC PLAN.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

25 months after the date on which the Interagency 


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1 Working Group submits the report required 

2 under paragraph (1), and not less than once 

3 every 5 years thereafter, the Interagency Work4 ing Group shall submit to the appropriate con5 gressional committees a strategic plan for Fed6 eral investments in basic research, development, 

7 demonstration, long-term monitoring and stew8 ardship, and deployment of coastal blue carbon 

9 ecosystem projects for the 5-year period begin10 ning on the date on which the first full fiscal 

11 year after the date on which the Interagency 

12 Working Group submits to Congress the report 

13 required under paragraph (1) begins. 

14 (B) REQUIREMENT.—The strategic plan 

15 required under subparagraph (A) shall include 

16 an assessment of the use of existing Federal au17 thorities and programs to protect and restore 

18 coastal blue carbon ecosystems and identify 

19 whether any additional such authorities or pro20 grams are needed. 

21 (C) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 90 

22 days before the Interagency Working Group 

23 submits to the appropriate congressional com24 mittees each strategic plan under subparagraph 

25 (A), the Interagency Working Group shall pubVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Oct 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9912.IH H9912

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1 lish each such strategic plan in the Federal 

2 Register and provide an opportunity for submis3 sion of public comments for a period of not less 

4 than 60 days. 

5 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MAP AND INVENTORY OF COASTAL BLUE 

6 CARBON ECOSYSTEMS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Working Group 

8 shall produce, oversee, update not less than once every 5 

9 years, and maintain a national map and inventory of 

10 coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including, with respect to 

11 each coastal blue carbon ecosystem— 

12 (1) the species and each type of habitat in the 

13 coastal blue carbon ecosystem; 

14 (2) the condition of each such habitat, including 

15 whether the habitat is minimally disturbed, de16 graded, drained, eutrophic, or tidally restricted; 

17 (3) the type of public or private ownership and 

18 any protected status; 

19 (4) the size; 

20 (5) the salinity class; 

21 (6) the tidal range; 

22 (7) an assessment of carbon sequestration po23 tential, methane production, and net greenhouse gas 

24 reductions, including— 

25 (A) consideration of— 


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1 (i) quantification; 

2 (ii) verifiability; and 

3 (iii) the permanence of such carbon 

4 sequestration potential, methane produc5 tion, and net greenhouse gas reductions; 

6 and 

7 (B) comparison to a historical baseline, as 

8 available; 

9 (8) an assessment of the co-benefits associated 

10 with restoration and carbon sequestration; 

11 (9) the potential for landward migration as a 

12 result of sea level rise; 

13 (10) any upstream restrictions detrimental to 

14 the watershed process and conditions of aquatic in15 frastructure, such as dams, dikes, and levees; 

16 (11) information regarding conversion to other 

17 land uses and the cause of such conversion; and 

18 (12) a depiction of the effects of climate 

19 change, including sea level rise, and environmental 

20 and human stressors on the carbon sequestration 

21 rate, carbon storage, and greenhouse gas emissions. 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

23 the Interagency Working Group shall— 

24 (1) incorporate, to the extent possible, existing 

25 data collected— 


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1 (A) through federally funded research; or 

2 (B) by a Federal, State, local, or Tribal 

3 agency, including data collected through— 

4 (i) the Coastal Change Analysis Pro5 gram of the National Oceanic and Atmos6 pheric Administration; 

7 (ii) the National Wetlands Inventory 

8 of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

9 Service; 

10 (iii) the LandCarbon program of the 

11 United States Geological Survey; 

12 (iv) the LiDar information coordina13 tion and knowledge program of the Federal 

14 Emergency Management Agency; 

15 (v) the Biological and Environmental 

16 Research program of the Department of 

17 Energy; and 

18 (vi) the National Coastal Blue Carbon 

19 Assessment of the Department of Agri20 culture; 

21 (2) procure, as the chair of the Interagency 

22 Working Group determines necessary, new data re23 lated to coastal blue carbon ecosystem mapping and 

24 inventorying; 


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1 (3) engage regional technical experts to accu2 rately account for regional differences in coastal blue 

3 carbon ecosystems; and 

4 (4) leverage relevant resources and information 

5 through the Marine Cadastre Hub and the National 

6 Marine Ecosystem Status Website. 

7 (c) USE.—The Interagency Working Group shall use 

8 the national map and inventory produced under subsection 

9 (a)— 

10 (1) to assess the carbon sequestration potential 

11 of different coastal blue carbon ecosystems, and ac12 count for any regional differences; 

13 (2) to assess and quantify emissions from de14 graded and destroyed coastal blue carbon eco15 systems; 

16 (3) to develop— 

17 (A) regional assessments of the number of 

18 degraded and destroyed coastal blue carbon eco19 systems and contributing factors to the deg20 radation and destruction of such coastal blue 

21 carbon ecosystems; and 

22 (B) regionally specific recommendations 

23 for actions to support the restoration of such 

24 coastal blue carbon ecosystems; 


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1 (4) to provide to regional, State, local, and 

2 Tribal agencies and regional coastal observing sys3 tem entities technical assistance, informed by the re4 gional assessment developed under paragraph (3), to 

5 develop coastal blue carbon ecosystem restoration 

6 goals practices; 

7 (5) to assess degraded coastal blue carbon eco8 systems and the potential restore such coastal blue 

9 carbon ecosystems, including developing scenario 

10 modeling to identify vulnerable areas where manage11 ment, protection, and restoration efforts should be 

12 focused; 

13 (6) to produce future predictions of coastal blue 

14 carbon ecosystems and carbon sequestration rates in 

15 the context of climate change, environmental 

16 stressors, and human stressors; 

17 (7) to inform the creation by the Administrator 

18 of the Environmental Protection Agency of the an19 nual Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

20 and Sinks; and 

21 (8) to develop, or scope development, of a coast22 al blue carbon calculator that is capable of providing 

23 estimates of carbon sequestration potential resulting 

24 from different restoration actions in coastal blue car25 bon ecosystems. 


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1 SEC. 5. RESTORATION AND PROTECTIONS FOR EXISTING 

2 COASTAL BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Undersecretary shall— 

4 (1) coordinate monitoring and research efforts 

5 of coastal blue carbon ecosystems among Federal 

6 agencies in cooperation with State, local, and Tribal 

7 governments, international partners, and nongovern8 mental organizations; 

9 (2) establish a national goal for conserving 

10 coastal blue carbon ecosystems within States and 

11 Tribal lands, and, as appropriate, setting targets for 

12 the protection and restoration of intact coastal blue 

13 carbon ecosystems and the restoration of degraded 

14 coastal blue carbon ecosystems; and 

15 (3) in coordination with the Interagency Work16 ing Group and as informed by the report required 

17 under section 3(e)(1)— 

18 (A) identify national coastal blue carbon 

19 ecosystem protection and restoration priorities, 

20 including, as applicable, the national priorities 

21 established under section 3(d)(4), that would 

22 produce the highest rate of carbon sequestra23 tion and greatest ecosystem benefits, such as 

24 flood protection, soil and beach retention, ero25 sion reduction, biodiversity, water purification, 


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1 and nutrient cycling in the context of other en2 vironmental stressors and climate change; and 

3 (B) identify ways to improve coordination 

4 and to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort 

5 among Federal agencies and departments with 

6 respect to research on coastal blue carbon eco7 systems through existing and new coastal man8 agement networks. 

9 (b) INTEGRATED PILOT PROGRAMS TO RESTORE

10 AND PROTECT DEGRADED COASTAL BLUE CARBON ECO11 SYSTEMS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Undersecretary, in co13 ordination with the Interagency Working Group, 

14 State, local, and Tribal governments, and coastal 

15 stakeholders and as informed by the report required 

16 under section 3(e)(1), shall carry out— 

17 (A) a pilot program to protect intact coast18 al blue carbon ecosystems; and 

19 (B) a pilot program to restore degraded 

20 coastal blue carbon ecosystems. 

21 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the pilot 

22 programs under paragraph (1), the Undersecretary 

23 shall— 

24 (A) integrate the pilot programs to allow 

25 for the sharing of data, monitoring resources, 


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1 and mapping information between the pilot pro2 grams; 

3 (B) develop best management practices, in4 cluding selection criteria for high-functioning 

5 coastal blue carbon ecosystems in need of pro6 tection, design criteria and performance func7 tions for coastal blue carbon ecosystem restora8 tion, nature-based adaptation, restoration areas 

9 that intersect with built environments as green10 gray infrastructure projects, and management 

11 of landward progression or migration of coastal 

12 blue carbon ecosystems; 

13 (C) identify any barriers to efforts to re14 store coastal blue carbon ecosystems; 

15 (D) seek to increase long-term carbon se16 questration and storage in coastal blue carbon 

17 ecosystems; 

18 (E) ensure that the pilot programs cover 

19 geographically and ecologically diverse locations 

20 with significant ecological, economic, and social 

21 benefits, such as flood protection, soil and 

22 beach retention, erosion reduction, biodiversity, 

23 water purification, and nutrient cycling to re24 duce hypoxic conditions, and maximum poten25 tial for greenhouse gas emission reduction; 


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1 (F) ensure that the goals and metrics for 

2 the pilot programs are communicated to the ap3 propriate State, Tribal, and local governments 

4 and to the general public; 

5 (G) coordinate with relevant Federal agen6 cies on the Interagency Working Group to pre7 vent unnecessary duplication of effort among 

8 Federal agencies and departments with respect 

9 to coastal blue carbon ecosystem restoration 

10 and protection programs; 

11 (H) establish a procedure to review appli12 cations to the pilot programs, taking into ac13 count— 

14 (i) quantification of coastal blue car15 bon ecosystem protection or restoration ac16 tivities and outcomes; 

17 (ii) verifiability of net carbon seques18 tration outcomes, including net climate ef19 fects; 

20 (iii) additionality of carbon seques21 tered or emissions that are avoided as a re22 sult of coastal blue carbon ecosystem pro23 tection or restoration activities as com24 pared to a historical baseline, when feasible 

25 and appropriate; and 


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1 (iv) permanence of the properties de2 scribed in clauses (i) through (iii); and 

3 (I) give priority to applications that pro4 pose restoration activities that the Undersecre5 tary determines would— 

6 (i) result in long-term protection and 

7 sequestration of carbon stored in coastal 

8 and marine environments; 

9 (ii) protect key habitats for fish, wild10 life, and maintenance of biodiversity; 

11 (iii) provide coastal protection from 

12 development, storms, flooding, and land13 based pollution; 

14 (iv) protect coastal resources of na15 tional, historical, and cultural significance; 

16 and 

17 (v) benefit communities of color, low18 income communities, Tribal or Indigenous 

19 communities, or rural communities. 

20 (3) REPORT.—The Undersecretary shall submit 

21 to the Interagency Working Group and the appro22 priate congressional committees a report regarding 

23 the pilot programs carried out under paragraph (1), 

24 including— 


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1 (A) the total number of acres of land or 

2 water protected or restored through the pilot 

3 programs; 

4 (B) the status of each project to restore 

5 degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems carried 

6 out under the pilot programs; and 

7 (C) the change in the potential of coastal 

8 blue carbon ecosystems to sequester carbon as9 sociated with each project to restore degraded 

10 coastal blue carbon ecosystems carried out 

11 under the pilot programs. 

12 SEC. 6. COASTAL CARBON DATA CLEARINGHOUSE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Smithsonian 

14 Institution, in coordination with the Undersecretary and 

15 the Interagency Working Group, shall establish and main16 tain the Coastal Carbon Data Clearinghouse to provide for 

17 the long-term stewardship of, and access to, data relating 

18 to national mapping of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, in19 cluding by leveraging resources developed by the Coastal 

20 Carbon Network of the Smithsonian Institution. 

21 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

22 the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, acting 

23 through the head of the Coastal Carbon Data Clearing24 house and in coordination with the Undersecretary and 

25 the Interagency Working Group, shall— 


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1 (1) to the greatest extent possible, process, 

2 store, archive, provide access to, and incorporate all 

3 data collected through federally funded research; 

4 (2) to the greatest extent possible, incorporate 

5 existing global and national data assets into the 

6 Coastal Carbon Data Clearinghouse; 

7 (3) establish standards, protocols, and proce8 dures to process, store, archive, and provide access 

9 to data in the Coastal Carbon Data Clearinghouse 

10 and best practices to share such data with Federal, 

11 State, and local agencies, Indian Tribes, coastal 

12 stakeholders, non-Federal resource managers, re13 search institutions, universities, and nonprofit and 

14 private organizations; 

15 (4) to the greatest extent possible, disseminate 

16 to the entities described in paragraph (3) data in the 

17 Coastal Carbon Data Clearinghouse; and 

18 (5) develop digital tools and resources to sup19 port the public use of the Coastal Carbon Data 

20 Clearinghouse. 

21 SEC. 7. NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES ASSESSMENT 

22 OF CONTAINMENT OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN 

23 DEEP SEAFLOOR ENVIRONMENT. 

24 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this section, the Undersecretary shall seek to 


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1 enter into an agreement with the National Academies of 

2 Science, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a com3 prehensive assessment regarding the long-term effects of 

4 geologic stores of carbon dioxide in a deep seafloor envi5 ronment on oceanic and climate conditions, including ef6 fects on marine species and ecosystems and the efficacy 

7 of existing storage technologies. 

8 SEC. 8. COASTAL BLUE CARBON INVENTORY PROGRAM. 

9 (a) PROGRAM.—The Undersecretary, in coordination 

10 with the Secretary of State, the Director of the White 

11 House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Sec12 retary of the Interior, the Administrator of the National 

13 Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Secretary 

14 of the Smithsonian Institution, shall establish the Coastal 

15 Blue Carbon Inventory Program. 

16 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out the Pro17 gram, the Undersecretary— 

18 (1) shall— 

19 (A) support domestic coastal blue carbon 

20 ecosystem conservation activities; 

21 (B) develop emissions mitigation, coastal 

22 resource management, and resilience strategies 

23 related to carbon storage and sequestration, in24 cluding long-term sustainable management of 


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1 coastal blue carbon ecosystems in the context of 

2 marine spatial and resilience planning; 

3 (C) assess coastal blue carbon ecosystem 

4 needs and prioritize scope; 

5 (D) build country-level awareness of bene6 fits and national priorities related to the res7 toration of coastal blue carbon ecosystem and 

8 capacity to restore coastal blue carbon eco9 systems; 

10 (E) address data and knowledge gaps re11 lated to— 

12 (i) carbon sequestration rates of eco13 logically distinct ecosystems; and 

14 (ii) the role of vertically migrating 

15 fishes, zooplankton, marine mammals, and 

16 fisheries in the carbon cycle; 

17 (F) expand data management tools; 

18 (G) develop national and regional inven19 tories of coastal blue carbon ecosystems; 

20 (H) provide to State, local, and Tribal gov21 ernments and other entities engaged in coastal 

22 blue carbon ecosystem conservation, including 

23 universities, research institutions, and private 

24 or nonprofit organizations, technical assistance 

25 such as— 


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1 (i) country- and regional-level work2 shops and trainings; and 

3 (ii) assessments of carbon stocks and 

4 stock changes; and 

5 (I) maintain a publicly available digital li6 brary of coastal blue carbon ecosystem data, 

7 which shall include— 

8 (i) open-source analysis and modeling 

9 tools; 

10 (ii) disaggregated soil carbon data col11 lected from coastal blue carbon ecosystems; 

12 (iii) mapping resources to identify 

13 protected coastal blue carbon ecosystems; 

14 (iv) surveys of ongoing and completed 

15 restoration projects in identified coastal 

16 blue carbon ecosystems; and 

17 (v) any other information the Under18 secretary determines necessary; and 

19 (2) may, for any international research, data 

20 collection, and technical assistance activities or any 

21 other activity the Undersecretary determines appro22 priate, coordinate with existing interagency efforts to 

23 inventory blue carbon. 

24 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

25 on which the Program is established under subsection (a), 


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1 and every 2 years thereafter, the Undersecretary shall 

2 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re3 port that— 

4 (1) describes the type and number of partici5 pants in the Program; 

6 (2) details each coastal blue carbon ecosystem 

7 inventoried since the previous report; 

8 (3) assesses barriers to providing quality tech9 nical assistance to participants in the Program; and 

10 (4) estimates the cost of the operation of the 

11 Program, including digital library maintenance and 

12 technical assistance. 

13 (d) PROGRAM DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

14 ‘‘Program’’ means the Coastal Blue Carbon Inventory 

15 Program established under subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 9. ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL BLUE CARBON ECO17 SYSTEM CLIMATE CONTRIBUTIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Undersecretary, in collabora19 tion with the Administrator of the Environmental Protec20 tion Agency, and in consultation with the Secretary of En21 ergy, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and 

22 Space Administration, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

23 Director of the National Science Foundation, and the 

24 heads of other Federal agencies the Undersecretary deter25 mines appropriate, shall conduct a measurements-based 


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1 national assessment to quantify the carbon sequestration 

2 potential of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including the 

3 net effects on and contributions to atmospheric and aquat4 ic accumulation of greenhouse gas emissions. 

5 (b) OBJECTIVES.—In conducting the assessment re6 quired under subsection (a), the Undersecretary shall— 

7 (1) develop standardization metrics to quantify 

8 the carbon sequestration potential of coastal blue 

9 carbon ecosystems, including— 

10 (A) surface area of coastal blue eco11 systems; 

12 (B) soil carbon density and accumulation 

13 rate; 

14 (C) ecosystem-specific carbon cycles; and 

15 (D) any other metrics the Undersecretary 

16 determines appropriate; 

17 (2) examine the climate contributions of re18 leased stored carbon dioxide, methane, and other 

19 harmful greenhouse gases by degraded coastal blue 

20 carbon ecosystems, including coastal blue carbon 

21 ecosystems degraded or damaged by— 

22 (A) coastal development; 

23 (B) climate change; or 

24 (C) other human activities; 


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•HR 9912 IH

1 (3) measure the amount of carbon removed 

2 from the atmosphere by coastal restoration; 

3 (4) understand measurable sensitivities of 

4 coastal blue carbon ecosystems to natural disturb5 ances and human land use stressors; 

6 (5) understand the complementary role that 

7 marine sediments play in contributing to organic 

8 carbon accumulation, including— 

9 (A) relative rates of accumulation by dif10 ferent sediment types; 

11 (B) the relationship between marine sedi12 ment surface area and organic carbon accumu13 lation; and 

14 (C) the effects of natural and human dis15 turbances of continental shelf and slope sedi16 ments on releasing carbon dioxide, methane, 

17 and other greenhouse gases into the water col18 umn from marine sediments that are rich in or19 ganic carbon, including— 

20 (i) the amount of greenhouse gas re21 leased; 

22 (ii) the period of time that released 

23 greenhouse gases may remain in the water 

24 column; and 


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•HR 9912 IH

1 (iii) the amount of released green2 house gases that may reach the atmos3 phere; 

4 (6) develop standards for actionable data collec5 tion methodologies and archive that are useful to in6 form coastal management and policy decisions by 

7 State, local, and Tribal governments, including— 

8 (A) carbon accounting tools; 

9 (B) field and laboratory protocols; and 

10 (C) valuation metrics; 

11 (7) evaluate the barriers and opportunities to 

12 conducting data collection, assessment, project plan13 ning, and conservation and restoration work for 

14 coastal blue carbon ecosystems with State, local, and 

15 Tribal governments; 

16 (8) determine the actions necessary to conduct 

17 national and regional research and monitoring of 

18 post-restoration coastal blue carbon ecosystems; 

19 (9) assess the viability, barriers, and estimated 

20 environmental, social, and economic value of estab21 lishing a coastal blue carbon credit market for the 

22 purposes of supporting coastal blue carbon eco23 system restoration activities; and 

24 (10) evaluate the current and potential opportu25 nities to coordinate coastal blue carbon ecosystem 


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•HR 9912 IH

1 protection and restoration activities, research, and 

2 climate impact assessments with freshwater wetland 

3 ecosystem protection and restoration activities, in4 cluding swamps and marshes, in and around the 

5 Great Lakes. 

6 (c) UPDATES.—The Undersecretary, in collaboration 

7 with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

8 Agency, and in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, 

9 the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

10 Administration, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director 

11 of the National Science Foundation, and the heads of 

12 other Federal agencies the Undersecretary determines ap13 propriate, shall update the assessment required under sub14 section (a) every 2 years after the date of the enactment 

15 of this section— 

16 (1) to provide long-term data access (and ar17 chive such data), recommendations, measurements, 

18 and reporting regarding the objectives described in 

19 subsection (b); and 

20 (2) to consider objectives beyond those de21 scribed in subsection (b) the Undersecretary deter22 mines appropriate to research the long-term climate 

23 contributions of coastal blue carbon ecosystems. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the Un25 dersecretary completes the assessment required under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Oct 22, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9912.IH H9912

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•HR 9912 IH

1 section (a) or updates such assessment under subsection 

2 (c), the Undersecretary shall submit to the appropriate 

3 congressional committees a report describing the findings 

4 and recommendations regarding the coastal blue carbon 

5 ecosystem climate effects based on the assessment as they 

6 relate to the objectives outlined in subsection (b). 

7 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Un9 dersecretary to carry out this Act $15,000,000 for each 

10 of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 

Æ 


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