110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1907 

AN ACT 

To authorize the acquisition of land and interests in land 

from willing sellers to improve the conservation of, and 

to enhance the ecological values and functions of, coastal 

and estuarine areas to benefit both the environment and 

the economies of coastal communities, and for other purposes. 
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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 and Estuarine 

5 Land Conservation Program Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF COASTAL AND ESTUARINE 

7 LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 

8 The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

9 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

10 307 the following new section: 

11 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF THE COASTAL AND ESTUARINE

12 LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM

13 ‘‘SEC. 307A. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

14 conduct a Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Pro15 gram, in cooperation with appropriate State, regional, and 

16 other units of government, for the purposes of protecting 

17 important coastal and estuarine areas that have signifi18 cant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aes19 thetic values, or that are threatened by conversion from 

20 their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state to other 

21 uses or could be managed or restored to effectively con22 serve, enhance, or restore ecological function. The pro23 gram shall be administered by the National Ocean Service 

24 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

25 through the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Man26 agement. 
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1 ‘‘(b) PROPERTY ACQUISITION GRANTS.—The Sec2 retary shall make grants under the program to coastal 

3 states with approved coastal zone management plans or 

4 National Estuarine Research Reserve units for the pur5 pose of acquiring property or interests in property de6 scribed in subsection (a) that will further the goals of— 

7 ‘‘(1) a Coastal Zone Management Plan or Pro8 gram approved under this title; 

9 ‘‘(2) a National Estuarine Research Reserve 

10 management plan; 

11 ‘‘(3) a regional or State watershed protection or 

12 management plan involving coastal states with ap13 proved coastal zone management programs; or 

14 ‘‘(4) a State coastal land acquisition plan that 

15 is consistent with an approved coastal zone manage16 ment program. 

17 ‘‘(c) GRANT PROCESS.—The Secretary shall allocate 

18 funds to coastal states or National Estuarine Research 

19 Reserves under this section through a competitive grant 

20 process in accordance with guidelines that meet the fol21 lowing requirements: 

22 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall consult with the coast23 al state’s coastal zone management program, any 

24 National Estuarine Research Reserve in that State, 

25 and the lead agency designated by the Governor for 
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1 coordinating the implementation of this section (if 

2 different from the coastal zone management pro3 gram). 

4 ‘‘(2) Each participating coastal state, after con5 sultation with local governmental entities and other 

6 interested stakeholders, shall identify priority con7 servation needs within the State, the values to be 

8 protected by inclusion of lands in the program, and 

9 the threats to those values that should be avoided. 

10 ‘‘(3) Each participating coastal state shall to 

11 the extent practicable ensure that the acquisition of 

12 property or easements shall complement working wa13 terfront needs. 

14 ‘‘(4) The applicant shall identify the values to 

15 be protected by inclusion of the lands in the pro16 gram, management activities that are planned and 

17 the manner in which they may affect the values 

18 identified, and any other information from the land19 owner relevant to administration and management of 

20 the land. 

21 ‘‘(5) Awards shall be based on demonstrated 

22 need for protection and ability to successfully lever23 age funds among participating entities, including 

24 Federal programs, regional organizations, State and 
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1 other governmental units, landowners, corporations, 

2 or private organizations. 

3 ‘‘(6) The governor, or the lead agency des4 ignated by the governor for coordinating the imple5 mentation of this section, where appropriate in con6 sultation with the appropriate local government, 

7 shall determine that the application is consistent 

8 with the State’s or territory’s approved coastal zone 

9 plan, program, and policies prior to submittal to the 

10 Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(7)(A) Priority shall be given to lands de12 scribed in subsection (a) that can be effectively man13 aged and protected and that have significant ecologi14 cal value. 

15 ‘‘(B) Of the projects that meet the standard in 

16 subparagraph (A), priority shall be given to lands 

17 that— 

18 ‘‘(i) are under an imminent threat of con19 version to a use that will degrade or otherwise 

20 diminish their natural, undeveloped, or rec21 reational state; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) serve to mitigate the adverse impacts 

23 caused by coastal population growth in the 

24 coastal environment. 
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1 ‘‘(8) In developing guidelines under this section, 

2 the Secretary shall consult with coastal states, other 

3 Federal agencies, and other interested stakeholders 

4 with expertise in land acquisition and conservation 

5 procedures. 

6 ‘‘(9) Eligible coastal states or National Estua7 rine Research Reserves may allocate grants to local 

8 governments or agencies eligible for assistance under 

9 section 306A(e). 

10 ‘‘(10) The Secretary shall develop performance 

11 measures that the Secretary shall use to evaluate 

12 and report on the program’s effectiveness in accom13 plishing its purposes, and shall submit such evalua14 tions to Congress triennially. 

15 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS AND PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTEC16 TIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) A grant awarded under this section may 

18 be used to purchase land or an interest in land, in19 cluding an easement, only from a willing seller. Any 

20 such purchase shall not be the result of a forced tak21 ing under this section. Nothing in this section re22 quires a private property owner to participate in the 

23 program under this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) Any interest in land, including any ease25 ment, acquired with a grant under this section shall 
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1 not be considered to create any new liability, or have 

2 any effect on liability under any other law, of any 

3 private property owner with respect to any person 

4 injured on the private property. 

5 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this section requires a private 

6 property owner to provide access (including Federal, 

7 State, or local government access) to or use of pri8 vate property unless such property or an interest in 

9 such property (including a conservation easement) 

10 has been purchased with funds made available under 

11 this section. 

12 ‘‘(e) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL

13 LAND USE.—Nothing in this title modifies the authority 

14 of Federal, State, or local governments to regulate land 

15 use. 

16 ‘‘(f) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

18 make a grant under the program unless the Federal 

19 funds are matched by non-Federal funds in accord20 ance with this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE REQUIREMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds under 

23 the program shall require a 100 percent match 

24 from other non-Federal sources. 
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1 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The 

2 Secretary may grant a waiver of subparagraph 

3 (A) for underserved communities, communities 

4 that have an inability to draw on other sources 

5 of funding because of the small population or 

6 low income of the community, or for other rea7 sons the Secretary deems appropriate and con8 sistent with the purposes of the program. 

9 ‘‘(3) OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—Where finan10 cial assistance awarded under this section represents 

11 only a portion of the total cost of a project, funding 

12 from other Federal sources may be applied to the 

13 cost of the project. Each portion shall be subject to 

14 match requirements under the applicable provision 

15 of law. 

16 ‘‘(4) SOURCE OF MATCHING COST SHARE.—For 

17 purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the non-Federal cost 

18 share for a project may be determined by taking into 

19 account the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) The value of land or a conservation 

21 easement may be used by a project applicant as 

22 non-Federal match, if the Secretary determines 

23 that— 

24 ‘‘(i) the land meets the criteria set 

25 forth in section 2(b) and is acquired in the 
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1 period beginning 3 years before the date of 

2 the submission of the grant application 

3 and ending 3 years after the date of the 

4 award of the grant; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the value of the land or easement 

6 is held by a non-governmental organization 

7 included in the grant application in per8 petuity for conservation purposes of the 

9 program; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the land or easement is con11 nected either physically or through a con12 servation planning process to the land or 

13 easement that would be acquired. 

14 ‘‘(B) The appraised value of the land or 

15 conservation easement at the time of the grant 

16 closing will be considered and applied as the 

17 non-Federal cost share. 

18 ‘‘(C) Costs associated with land acquisi19 tion, land management planning, remediation, 

20 restoration, and enhancement may be used as 

21 non- Federal match if the activities are identi22 fied in the plan and expenses are incurred with23 in the period of the grant award, or, for lands 

24 described in (A), within the same time limits 
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1 described therein. These costs may include ei2 ther cash or in-kind contributions. 

3 ‘‘(g) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR NATIONAL ESTU4 ARINE RESEARCH RESERVE SITES.—No less than 15 per5 cent of funds made available under this section shall be 

6 available for acquisitions benefitting National Estuarine 

7 Research Reserves. 

8 ‘‘(h) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

9 than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec10 retary under this section shall be used by the Secretary 

11 for planning or administration of the program. The Sec12 retary shall provide a report to Congress with an account 

13 of all expenditures under this section for fiscal year 2009 

14 and triennially thereafter. 

15 ‘‘(i) TITLE AND MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED PROP16 ERTY.—If any property is acquired in whole or in part 

17 with funds made available through a grant under this sec18 tion, the grant recipient shall provide— 

19 ‘‘(1) such assurances as the Secretary may re20 quire that— 

21 ‘‘(A) the title to the property will be held 

22 by the grant recipient or another appropriate 

23 public agency designated by the recipient in 

24 perpetuity; 
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1 ‘‘(B) the property will be managed in a 

2 manner that is consistent with the purposes for 

3 which the land entered into the program and 

4 shall not convert such property to other uses; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(C) if the property or interest in land is 

7 sold, exchanged, or divested, funds equal to the 

8 current value will be returned to the Secretary 

9 in accordance with applicable Federal law for 

10 redistribution in the grant process; and 

11 ‘‘(2) certification that the property (including 

12 any interest in land) will be acquired from a willing 

13 seller. 

14 ‘‘(j) REQUIREMENT FOR PROPERTY USED FOR NON15 FEDERAL MATCH.—If the grant recipient elects to use 

16 any land or interest in land held by a non-governmental 

17 organization as a non-Federal match under subsection (g), 

18 the grant recipient must to the Secretary’s satisfaction 

19 demonstrate in the grant application that such land or in20 terest will satisfy the same requirements as the lands or 

21 interests in lands acquired under the program. 

22 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) CONSERVATION EASEMENT.—The term 

24 ‘conservation easement’ includes an easement or re25 striction, recorded deed, or a reserve interest deed 
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1 where the grantee acquires all rights, title, and in2 terest in a property, that do not conflict with the 

3 goals of this section except those rights, title, and 

4 interests that may run with the land that are ex5 pressly reserved by a grantor and are agreed to at 

6 the time of purchase. 

7 ‘‘(2) INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The term ‘in8 terest in property’ includes a conservation easement. 

9 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

11 out this section $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

12 through 2013.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 22, 

2008. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1907 

AN ACT 

To authorize the acquisition of land and interests 

of coastal communities, and for other purposes. benefit both the environment and the economies and functions of, coastal and estuarine areas to servation of, and to enhance the ecological values in land from willing sellers to improve the con-