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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10491 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10491

 To require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
   Administration to establish a Blue Carbon Program to conserve and 
        restore blue carbon ecosystems, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 18, 2024

 Mr. Huffman (for himself, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Norton, Ms. Pingree, and 
 Ms. Matsui) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
    Science, Space, and Technology, 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 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
   Administration to establish a Blue Carbon Program to conserve and 
        restore blue carbon ecosystems, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Blue Carbon Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. BLUE CARBON PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish and maintain 
a Blue Carbon Program for the purposes of conserving and restoring fish 
and wildlife habitat and improving coastal resilience, including 
developing ways to incorporate ecosystem services from coastal and 
marine carbon storage into domestic and international policies, 
programs, and activities.
    (b) Activities.--In carrying out the Program, the Administrator 
shall carry out the following activities:
            (1) Collaborate with Federal agencies, State agencies, 
        Indian Tribes, and non-governmental organizations with regard 
        to research, restoration, and protection efforts relating to 
        blue carbon ecosystems.
            (2) Develop a database of blue carbon stocks, inputs, and 
        storage potential trends in the United States.
            (3) Explore the feasibility of using market-based financing 
        mechanisms, such as a blue carbon credit market, as tools to 
        support protection and restoration initiatives for blue carbon 
        ecosystems, including research on types of such mechanism, 
        development of protocols, and the efficacy of each such 
        mechanism as a tool for protecting blue carbon ecosystems.
            (4) Raise awareness of blue carbon ecosystems as a tool to 
        further conservation objectives through education and extension 
        activities.
            (5) Use existing models or develop new models to assess the 
        blue carbon storage potential of ecosystems, including best 
        practices for quantification, verification, storage trends, and 
        storage permanence.
            (6) Quantify current total and net carbon sequestration and 
        carbon storage in coastal and marine areas.
            (7) Project future total and net blue carbon storage and 
        sequestration under different scenarios influenced by human 
        population growth, sea level rise, and other system-wide 
        changes.
            (8) Protect and restore habitats, waters, and organisms 
        that are long-term carbon sinks and will be subject to habitat 
        change as a result of climate change and development.
            (9) Quantify co-benefits of protecting and restoring blue 
        carbon ecosystems, including--
                    (A) flood risk reduction;
                    (B) habitat for and benefit to--
                            (i) endangered and threatened species; and
                            (ii) commercial and recreational fisheries;
                    (C) improved water quality;
                    (D) cycling of nutrients other than carbon; and
                    (E) any other economic or societal benefit the 
                Administrator determines appropriate.
            (10) Assess regional and national environmental and 
        socioeconomic impacts of blue carbon sequestration and storage.
            (11) Research innovative techniques for effective, long-
        term natural blue carbon sequestration and storage, including 
        variability in effectiveness and risk of reversal.
            (12) Identify coastal and marine areas of particularly high 
        potential for carbon sequestration and high rates of carbon 
        storage.
            (13) Assess legal issues of landownership and leases in 
        blue carbon markets and develop guidelines to help landowners 
        navigate the requirements of blue carbon markets.
            (14) Assess the impacts of protection and restoration 
        efforts in blue carbon ecosystems on methane emissions.

SEC. 3. BLUE CARBON PARTNERSHIP GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish a competitive 
grant program, to be known as the ``Blue Carbon Partnership Grant 
Program'', to award amounts to eligible entities to carry out projects 
that protect, restore, or research blue carbon stocks or blue carbon 
ecosystems and increase the long-term carbon sequestration and carbon 
storage of marine and coastal ecosystems.
    (b) Requirements.--In carrying out the grant program, the 
Administrator shall develop--
            (1) criteria for the selection of eligible entities to be 
        awarded amounts under the grant program;
            (2) guidelines for the use by eligible entities of awarded 
        amounts and any contracts relating to the use of such amounts;
            (3) reporting requirements for eligible entities that are 
        awarded amounts under the grant program; and
            (4) metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the use by 
        eligible entities of any awarded amounts.
    (c) Applications.--To be eligible for a grant under this section, 
an eligible entity shall submit to the Administrator an application in 
such form, at such time, and containing such information as the 
Administrator determines appropriate.
    (d) Priority.--In awarding amounts under the grant program, the 
Administrator shall give priority to applications from eligible 
entities that propose projects that the Administrator determines will 
result in long-term protection and sequestration of carbon stored in 
coastal and marine environments, and would--
            (1) protect key habitats for fish, wildlife, and the 
        maintenance of biodiversity;
            (2) provide coastal protection from development, storms, 
        flooding, and land-based pollution;
            (3) protect coastal resources of national, historical, or 
        cultural significance;
            (4) benefit communities of color, low-income communities, 
        Tribal or Indigenous communities, or rural communities; or
            (5) capitalize on public-private partnerships established 
        before the date of the enactment of this section.
    (e) Acreage Goal.--To the maximum extent possible, the 
Administrator shall award amounts under the grant program to eligible 
entities to carry out projects to protect and restore blue carbon 
ecosystems on at least 1,500,000 acres over 10 years.
    (f) Report.--The Administrator shall annually submit to Congress, 
and make available to the public, a report regarding the grant program, 
including an analysis, by State, of the--
            (1) total number of acres of land and water protected or 
        restored through fee title acquisition, easement, restoration, 
        or other activities carried out under the grant program;
            (2) status of each project carried out using amounts 
        awarded under the grant program; and
            (3) amount of blue carbon captured or protected over a 100-
        year time period as a result of the grant program.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section 
$300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 to 2029.

SEC. 4. BLUE CARBON AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall, based on the guidelines 
established under subsection (b), identify for designation as a blue 
carbon area of significance under subsection (c) each area that--
            (1) is within the--
                    (A) coastal zone;
                    (B) territorial waters of the United States; or
                    (C) exclusive economic zone of the United States;
            (2) contains water, a substrate, or an ecosystem that 
        provides for significant amounts of long-term carbon 
        sequestration and carbon storage and--
                    (A) limits erosion and facilitates future landward 
                migration of coastal wetlands;
                    (B) provides a buffer against storm surge, 
                especially for communities of color, low-income 
                communities, and Tribal and Indigenous communities; or
                    (C) provides a spawning, breeding, feeding, or 
                nesting habitat for fish or wildlife; and
            (3) is not exclusive of coastal or other resources that are 
        significant in for mitigating or adapting to climate change.
    (b) Guidelines.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this section, the Administrator shall, by 
        regulation and based on the best available science, establish 
        guidelines to describe and identify--
                    (A) blue carbon areas of significance; and
                    (B) measures to ensure the protection of blue 
                carbon areas of significance.
            (2) Review and update.--The Administrator shall review and 
        update the guidelines established under paragraph (1) not less 
        frequently than once every 5 years or when new information 
        warrants such a review and update.
    (c) Designation.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall designate as a 
        blue carbon area of significance each area identified under 
        subsection (a).
            (2) Initial designations.--Not later than 1 year after the 
        date on which the guidelines required under subsection (b) are 
        established, the Administrator shall make initial designations 
        of any blue carbon area of significance in each coastal State.
    (d) Schedule.--The Administrator shall establish a schedule--
            (1) for the identification of blue carbon areas of 
        significance under subsection (a);
            (2) to review and update the guidelines established under 
        subsection (b); and
            (3) to make designations under subsection (c).
    (e) Recommendations and Information.--The Administrator shall, with 
respect to each blue carbon area of significance, provide 
recommendations and information regarding--
            (1) adverse impacts and threats to the carbon storage, 
        ecosystem services, and habitat capacity of the blue carbon 
        area of significance; and
            (2) the actions that should be considered to avoid such 
        adverse impacts and threats and ensure the conservation and 
        enhancement of the blue carbon area of significance.
    (f) Requirements for Federal Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--A Federal agency that proposes an action 
        that has the potential to cause an adverse impact to the carbon 
        storage, carbon sequestration, ecosystem services, or habitat 
        capacity of a blue carbon area of significance shall notify the 
        Administrator of such proposed action.
            (2) Determination of adverse impact.--Upon notification 
        under paragraph (1), the Administrator, in consultation with 
        the head of the notifying Federal agency, shall determine 
        whether the proposed action that is the subject of the 
        notification will cause an adverse impact described in that 
        paragraph to a blue carbon area of significance.
            (3) Alternative action.--
                    (A) In general.--If the Administrator determines, 
                under paragraph (2), that a proposed action that is the 
                subject of a notification under paragraph (1) will 
                cause an adverse impact described in that paragraph to 
                a blue carbon area of significance, the head of the 
                notifying Federal agency, in consultation with the 
                Administrator, shall determine whether there is an 
                available alternative action that will prevent the 
                adverse impact and fulfill the purpose of the proposed 
                action.
                    (B) Alternative action available.--If the head of 
                the notifying Federal agency determines, under 
                subparagraph (A) that there is an available alternative 
                action described in that subparagraph, the notifying 
                Federal agency may not take the proposed action.
                    (C) Alternative action not available.--If the head 
                of the notifying Federal agency determines, under 
                subparagraph (A) that there is no available alternative 
                action described in that subparagraph, the notifying 
                Federal agency shall--
                            (i) in consultation with the Administrator, 
                        take measures to mitigate the adverse impact;
                            (ii) take such action as the Administrator 
                        determines necessary to create a marine blue 
                        carbon and blue carbon ecosystem storage offset 
                        that, taken in conjunction with the proposed 
                        action, will result in a long-term net increase 
                        in carbon storage, lasting an equivalent time 
                        period as the carbon storage lost by the 
                        adverse impact;
                            (iii) demonstrate quantitatively, using the 
                        best available science, that the carbon storage 
                        offset created under clause (ii)--
                                    (I) will result in a net increase 
                                in biological carbon storage; and
                                    (II) is located in close proximity 
                                to the original site to keep the 
                                affected communities whole; and
                            (iv) maintain such carbon storage offset 
                        for a period of time to be determined by the 
                        Administrator that is not less than 100 years.
    (g) Required Restrictions.--A Federal agency may only enter into a 
lease, easement, right-of-way, or sale that involves an area designated 
as a blue carbon area of significance if the Federal agency attaches 
such restrictions to the use of the area as the Administrator 
determines appropriate to protect the blue carbon area of significance.
    (h) Requirement for Authorization or Appropriation.--Each request 
for a new authorization or appropriation from a Federal agency 
transmitted to the Office of Management and Budget shall include, if 
such authorization or appropriation may affect a blue carbon area of 
significance, a certification that the Federal agency will use such 
authorization or appropriation in compliance with this section.
    (i) Exception.--Preparation, revision, implementation, or 
enforcement of a fishery management plan under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) that 
applies to an area that is subject to a prohibition on all bottom-
tending fishing gear shall not be treated as a proposed action that is 
subject to subsection (f).
    (j) Use of Certain Programs.--The Administrator shall use programs 
administered by the Administrator to carry out this section and ensure 
the conservation and enhancement of each blue carbon area of 
significance.

SEC. 5. FEDERAL COASTAL AND MARINE RESTORATION AND PROTECTION 
              ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service, the Director of the National Park Service, and the 
Administrator shall each conduct coastal and marine restoration and 
protection activities on land and water managed by each such agency 
sufficient to achieve at least 1 of the following:
            (1) The sequestration of additional atmospheric carbon 
        dioxide through--
                    (A) the restoration of degraded blue carbon 
                ecosystems; and
                    (B) the protection of threatened blue carbon 
                ecosystems.
            (2) The halting of ongoing carbon dioxide emissions within 
        the area in which the activities are carried out, and the 
        resumption of the natural rate of carbon sequestration of the 
        area, through the restoration of drained coastal wetlands.
            (3) The halting of ongoing methane emissions within the 
        area in which the activities are carried out, and the 
        resumption of the natural rate of carbon sequestration of the 
        area, through the restoration of impounded wetlands.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to each of the Director of the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service, the Director of the National Park Service, and the 
Administrator to carry out this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2029.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to 
carry out sections 1 through 5 of this Act $16,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2025 to 2029.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere in the 
        Under Secretary's capacity as Administrator of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
            (2) Biological carbon storage.--The term ``biological 
        carbon storage'' means the storage of atmospheric carbon 
        dioxide in vegetation, soils, woody products, and aquatic 
        environments.
            (3) Blue carbon.--The term ``blue carbon'' means 
        atmospheric carbon dioxide sequestered by the ocean or a blue 
        carbon ecosystem.
            (4) Blue carbon area of significance.--The term ``blue 
        carbon area of significance'' means an area designated by the 
        Administrator under section 4 as a blue carbon area of 
        significance.
            (5) Blue carbon ecosystem.--The term ``blue carbon 
        ecosystem'' means a vegetated coastal habitat, including 
        mangroves, tidal marshes, seagrasses, kelp forests, and other 
        tidal- or salt-water wetlands, that has the capacity to 
        sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide for a period of not less 
        than 100 years.
            (6) Blue carbon stocks.--The term ``blue carbon stocks'' 
        means coastal and marine vegetation and wildlife, and 
        underlying sediment, that have the capacity to sequester and 
        store atmospheric carbon dioxide.
            (7) Carbon sequestration.--The term ``carbon 
        sequestration'' means the process of capturing and storing 
        atmospheric carbon dioxide.
            (8) Carbon sink.--The term ``carbon sink'' means a natural 
        or artificial system that absorbs more atmospheric carbon 
        dioxide than it releases.
            (9) Carbon storage.--The term ``carbon storage'' means the 
        storing of sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide out of the 
        atmosphere in biogenic material or sediment.
            (10) Coastal state.--The term ``coastal State'' has the 
        meaning given the term ``coastal state'' in section 304 of the 
        Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453).
            (11) Coastal zone.--The term ``coastal zone'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 304 of the Coastal Zone 
        Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453).
            (12) Ecosystem services.--The term ``ecosystem services'' 
        means the direct and indirect benefits that ecosystems provide 
        to humans.
            (13) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a private landowner or group of landowners;
                    (B) a State agency that manages natural resources 
                or wildlife;
                    (C) an Indian Tribe;
                    (D) a unit of local government;
                    (E) a nonprofit organization or land trust;
                    (F) an institution of higher education and 
                research; or
                    (G) any group of entities described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (F).
            (14) Grant program.--The term ``grant program'' means the 
        Blue Carbon Partnership Grant Program established under section 
        3(a).
            (15) Impounded wetland.--The term ``impounded wetland'' 
        means an area that was a tidal wetland but, as a result of a 
        loss of tidal connectivity, has become a freshwater wetland.
            (16) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (17) Marine blue carbon.--The term ``marine blue carbon'' 
        means carbon dioxide sequestered in pelagic and deep sea 
        ecosystems, including in sediments and through the ecosystem 
        impacts of marine wildlife.
            (18) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Blue Carbon 
        Program established under section 2(a).
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