I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3551

To amend the Act entitled ‘‘An Act authorizing Federal participation in

the cost of protecting the shores of publicly owned property’’ to confirm

and clarify the authority and responsibility of the Secretary of the Army,

acting through the Chief of Engineers, to promote and carry out shore

protection projects, including beach nourishment projects, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 29, 1996

Mr. SHAW (for himself, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. ANDREWS, and Mr. CUNNINGHAM) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To amend the Act entitled ‘‘An Act authorizing Federal

participation in the cost of protecting the shores of publicly owned property’’ to confirm and clarify the authority

and responsibility of the Secretary of the Army, acting

through the Chief of Engineers, to promote and carry

out shore protection projects, including beach nourishment projects, 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 ‘‘Shore Protection Act

3 of 1996’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

6 (1) the beach, shore, and coastal resources of

7 the United States—

8 (A) are critical assets that must be pro9 tected, conserved, and restored; and

10 (B) provide economic and environmental

11 benefits that are of national significance;

12 (2) a network of healthy and nourished beaches

13 is essential to the economy, competitiveness in world

14 tourism, and safety of coastal communities of the

15 United States;

16 (3)(A) the coasts of the United States are an

17 economic asset, supporting 34 percent of national

18 employment, or 28,000,000 jobs; and

19 (B) the 413 coastal communities of the United

States generate $1,300,000,000,000, or 1 20 ⁄3, of the

21 gross domestic product;

22 (4)(A) travel and tourism—

23 (i) is the second largest sector of the econ24 omy of the United States; and

25 (ii) contributed over $746,000,000,000 to

26 the gross domestic product in 1995;
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1 (B) the health of the beaches and shoreline of

2 the United States contributes to this economic bene3 fit, since the leading tourist destinations in the Unit4 ed States are beaches; and

5 (C) 85 percent of all tourism-generated revenue

6 in the United States derives from coastal commu7 nities;

8 (5)(A) the value of the coastline of the United

9 States lies not only in the jobs and revenue that the

10 coastline generates, but also in the families, homes,

11 and businesses that the coastline protects from hur12 ricanes, typhoons, and tropical and extratropical

13 storms;

14 (B) almost 50 percent of the total United

15 States population lives in coastal communities; and

16 (C) beaches provide protection to prevent the

17 destruction of life and hundreds of billions of dollars

18 worth of property;

19 (6) shoreline protection projects can provide ec20 ological and environmental benefits by providing for,

21 or by restoring, marine and littoral habitat;

22 (7)(A) the coastline of the United States is a

23 national treasure, visited by millions of Americans

24 and foreign tourists every year;
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1 (B) over 90,000,000 Americans spend time

2 boating or fishing along the coast each year; and

3 (C) the average American spends 10 rec4 reational days per year on the coast; and

5 (8) since shoreline protection projects generate

6 positive economic, recreational, and environmental

7 outcomes that benefit the United States as a whole,

8 Federal responsibility for preserving this valuable re9 source should be maintained.

10 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide

11 for a Federal role in shore protection projects, including

12 projects involving the replacement of sand, for which the

13 economic and ecological benefits to the locality, region, or

14 Nation exceed the costs.

15 SEC. 3. SHORE PROTECTION.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The first section of the Act enti17 tled ‘‘An Act authorizing Federal participation in the cost

18 of protecting the shores of publicly owned property’’, ap19 proved August 13, 1946 (33 U.S.C. 426e), is amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a)—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘damage to the shores’’

22 and inserting ‘‘damage to the shores and beach23 es’’; and

24 (B) by striking ‘‘the following provisions’’

25 and all that follows through the period at the
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1 end and inserting the following: ‘‘this Act, to

2 promote shore protection projects and related

3 research that encourage the protection, restora4 tion, and enhancement of sandy beaches, in5 cluding beach restoration and periodic beach

6 nourishment, on a comprehensive and coordi7 nated basis by the Federal Government, States,

8 localities, and private enterprises. In carrying

9 out this policy, preference shall be given to

10 areas in which there has been a Federal invest11 ment of funds and areas with respect to which

12 the need for prevention or mitigation of damage

13 to shores and beaches is attributable to Federal

14 navigation projects or other Federal activities.’’;

15 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘or from the

16 protection of nearby public property’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘, if there are sufficient benefits to local and re18 gional economic development and to the local and re19 gional ecology (as determined under subsection

20 (e)(2)(B)),’’; and

21 (3) in subsection (e)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘(e) No’’ and inserting the

23 following:

24 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF PROJECTS.—

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No’’; and
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1 (B) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(2) STUDIES.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(i) recommend to Congress studies

5 concerning shore protection projects that

6 meet the criteria established under this Act

7 (including subparagraph (B)(iii)) and

8 other applicable law;

9 ‘‘(ii) conduct such studies as Congress

10 requires under applicable laws; and

11 ‘‘(iii) report the results of the studies

12 to the appropriate committees of Congress.

13 ‘‘(B) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SHORE PRO14 TECTION PROJECTS.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary

16 shall recommend to Congress the author17 ization or reauthorization of shore protec18 tion projects based on the studies con19 ducted under subparagraph (A).

20 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making

21 recommendations, the Secretary shall con22 sider the economic and ecological benefits

23 of a shore protection project and the abil24 ity of the non-Federal interest to partici25 pate in the project.
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1 ‘‘(iii) CONSIDERATION OF LOCAL AND

2 REGIONAL BENEFITS.—In analyzing the

3 economic and ecological benefits of a shore

4 protection project, or a flood control or

5 other water resource project the purpose of

6 which includes shore protection, the Sec7 retary shall consider benefits to local and

8 regional economic development, and to the

9 local and regional ecology, in calculating

10 the full economic and ecological justifica11 tions for the project.

12 ‘‘(iv) NEPA REQUIREMENTS.—Noth13 ing in this subparagraph imposes any re14 quirement on the Army Corps of Engineers

15 under the National Environmental Policy

16 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

17 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION OF PROJECTS.—In

18 conducting studies and making recommenda19 tions for a shore protection project under this

20 paragraph, the Secretary shall—

21 ‘‘(i) determine whether there is any

22 other project being carried out by the Sec23 retary or the head of another Federal

24 agency that may be complementary to the

25 shore protection project; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) if there is such a complementary

2 project, describe the efforts that will be

3 made to coordinate the projects.

4 ‘‘(3) SHORE PROTECTION PROJECTS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

6 construct, or cause to be constructed, any shore

7 protection project authorized by Congress, or

8 separable element of such a project, for which

9 funds have been appropriated by Congress.

10 ‘‘(B) AGREEMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENT.—After authoriza12 tion by Congress, and before commence13 ment of construction, of a shore protection

14 project or separable element, the Secretary

15 shall enter into a written agreement with a

16 non-Federal interest with respect to the

17 project or separable element.

18 ‘‘(ii) TERMS.—The agreement shall—

19 ‘‘(I) specify the life of the

20 project; and

21 ‘‘(II) ensure that the Federal

22 Government and the non-Federal in23 terest will cooperate in carrying out

24 the project or separable element.
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1 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION OF PROJECTS.—In

2 constructing a shore protection project or sepa3 rable element under this paragraph, the Sec4 retary shall, to the extent practicable, coordi5 nate the project or element with any com6 plementary project identified under paragraph

7 (2)(C).

8 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary

9 shall report annually to the appropriate committees

10 of Congress on the status of all ongoing shore pro11 tection studies and shore protection projects carried

12 out under the jurisdiction of the Secretary.’’.

13 (b) REQUIREMENT OF AGREEMENTS PRIOR TO RE14 IMBURSEMENTS.—

15 (1) SMALL SHORE PROTECTION PROJECTS.—

16 Section 2 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act authorizing

17 Federal participation in the cost of protecting the

18 shores of publicly owned property’’, approved August

19 13, 1946 (33 U.S.C. 426f), is amended—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘SEC. 2. The Secretary of

21 the Army’’ and inserting the following:

22 ‘‘SEC. 2. REIMBURSEMENTS.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’;

24 (B) in subsection (a) (as so designated)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘local interests’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘non-Federal interests’’;

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or separable element

4 of the project’’ after ‘‘project’’; and

5 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or separable ele6 ments’’ after ‘‘projects’’ each place it ap7 pears; and

8 (C) by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENTS.—

10 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—After authorization of re11 imbursement by the Secretary under this section,

12 and before commencement of construction, of a

13 shore protection project, the Secretary shall enter

14 into a written agreement with the non-Federal inter15 est with respect to the project or separable element.

16 ‘‘(2) TERMS.—The agreement shall—

17 ‘‘(A) specify the life of the project; and

18 ‘‘(B) ensure that the Federal Government

19 and the non-Federal interest will cooperate in

20 carrying out the project or separable element.’’.

21 (2) OTHER SHORELINE PROTECTION

22 PROJECTS.—Section 206(e)(1)(A) of the Water Re23 sources Development Act of 1992 (33 U.S.C. 426i–

24 1(e)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting before the semi25 colon the following: ‘‘and enters into a written agree-
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1 ment with the non-Federal interest with respect to

2 the project or separable element (including the terms

3 of cooperation)’’.

4 (c) STATE AND REGIONAL PLANS.—The Act entitled

5 ‘‘An Act authorizing Federal participation in the cost of

6 protecting the shores of publicly owned property’’, ap7 proved August 13, 1946, is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating section 4 (33 U.S.C. 426h)

9 as section 5; and

10 (2) by inserting after section 3 (33 U.S.C.

11 426g) the following:

12 ‘‘SEC. 4. STATE AND REGIONAL PLANS.

13 ‘‘The Secretary may—

14 ‘‘(1) cooperate with any State in the prepara15 tion of a comprehensive State or regional plan for

16 the conservation of coastal resources located within

17 the boundaries of the State;

18 ‘‘(2) encourage State participation in the imple19 mentation of the plan; and

20 ‘‘(3) submit to Congress reports and rec21 ommendations with respect to appropriate Federal

22 participation in carrying out the plan.’’.

23 (d) DEFINITIONS.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Act entitled

25 ‘‘An Act authorizing Federal participation in the
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1 cost of protecting the shores of publicly owned prop2 erty’’, approved August 13, 1946 (as redesignated

3 by subsection (c)(1)), is amended—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘SEC. 5. As used in this

5 Act, the word ‘shores’ includes all the shore6 lines’’ and inserting the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

8 ‘‘In this Act:

9 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

10 the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief

11 of Engineers.

12 ‘‘(2) SEPARABLE ELEMENT.—The term ‘sepa13 rable element’ has the meaning provided by section

14 103(f) of the Water Resources Development Act of

15 1986 (33 U.S.C. 2213(f)).

16 ‘‘(3) SHORE.—The term ‘shore’ includes each

17 shoreline of each’’; and

18 (B) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(4) SHORE PROTECTION PROJECT.—The term

20 ‘shore protection project’ includes a project for

21 beach nourishment, including the replacement of

22 sand.’’.

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Act en24 titled ‘‘An Act authorizing Federal participation in
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1 the cost of protecting the shores of publicly owned

2 property’’, approved August 13, 1946, is amended—

3 (A) in subsection (b)(3) of the first section

4 (33 U.S.C. 426e(b)(3)), by striking ‘‘Secretary

5 of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engi6 neers,’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary,’’; and

7 (B) in section 3 (33 U.S.C. 426g), by

8 striking ‘‘Secretary of the Army’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘Secretary’’.

10 (e) OBJECTIVES OF PROJECTS.—Section 209 of the

11 Flood Control Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 1962–2) is amend12 ed by inserting ‘‘(including shore protection projects such

13 as projects for beach nourishment, including the replace14 ment of sand)’’ after ‘‘water resource projects’’.

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