I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 21 

To establish a national policy for our oceans, to strengthen the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to establish a national and 

regional ocean governance structure, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2007 

Mr. FARR (for himself, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. GILCHREST, and Mr. SAXTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Science 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 establish a national policy for our oceans, to strengthen 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

to establish a national and regional ocean governance 

structure, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Oceans Conservation, Education, and National Strategy 

6 for the 21st Century Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Purpose. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL OCEANS POLICY 

Sec. 101. National oceans policy. 

TITLE II—NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 

ADMINISTRATION ORGANIC ACT 

Sec. 201. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Sec. 202. Administration leadership. 

Sec. 203. National Weather Service. 

Sec. 204. Resource management. 

Sec. 205. Operations and services. 

Sec. 206. Research and technology development. 

Sec. 207. Education and outreach. 

Sec. 208. Science Advisory Board. 

Sec. 209. Reports. 

Sec. 210. Public-private partnerships. 

Sec. 211. Reorganization plan. 

Sec. 212. Facility evaluation process. 

Sec. 213. Administration budget. 

Sec. 214. Baselines and cost controls. 

Sec. 215. Offshore performance of contracts for the procurement of goods and 

services. 

TITLE III—NATIONAL OCEAN LEADERSHIP AND COORDINATION 

Sec. 301. National Oceans Advisor. 

Sec. 302. Committee on Ocean Policy. 

Sec. 303. Establishing a coordinated management regime for activities in Federal waters. 

Sec. 304. Council of Advisors on Oceans Policy. 

TITLE IV—REGIONAL COORDINATION AND ECOSYSTEM 

PLANNING 

Sec. 401. Findings. 

Sec. 402. Regional Ocean Partnerships. 

Sec. 403. Regional Ocean Strategic Plans. 

Sec. 404. National Academy of Sciences study of regional oceans governance. 

Sec. 405. Ocean ecosystem resource information systems. 

Sec. 406. Regulations. 

Sec. 407. Other authority. 

Sec. 408. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE V—OCEAN AND GREAT LAKES CONSERVATION TRUST 

FUND 

Sec. 501. Establishment of fund. 


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Sec. 502. Limitation on use of available amounts for administration. 

Sec. 503. Recordkeeping requirements. 

Sec. 504. Maintenance of effort and matching funding. 

Sec. 505. Community assistance formula and payments. 

Sec. 506. Approval of State funding and spending plans. 

Sec. 507. Special postage stamp. 

TITLE VI—ADMINISTRATION FUNDING 

Sec. 601. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) United States ocean waters and the ocean 

4 resources they contain are vital for the national se5 curity, environment, economy, and culture of the 

6 United States. 

7 (2) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad8 ministration is the lead ocean agency in the United 

9 States, performing critical services and activities for 

10 the nation and its citizens. 

11 (3) Recent reports by the United States Com12 mission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Com13 mission call for, among other things— 

14 (A) a more comprehensive and integrated 

15 ecosystem-based management approach to ad16 dress current and future ocean and coastal 

17 challenges; 

18 (B) coordination and increased efficiency 

19 of ocean governance; 


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1 (C) a strengthened National Oceanic and 

2 Atmospheric Administration to enhance its abil3 ity to fulfill its core missions; and 

4 (D) the need for a dedicated source of 

5 funds for improved management and under6 standing of ocean and coastal resources. 

7 (4) Consistent with customary international 

8 law, the United States exercises sovereign rights 

9 over ocean resources within United States ocean wa10 ters. 

11 (5) These ocean resources are the property of 

12 the people of the United States, are held in trust for 

13 them by Federal, State, local, and tribal govern14 ments, and should be managed to preserve the full 

15 range of their benefits for present and future gen16 erations. 

17 (6) Knowledge of the world’s oceans is critically 

18 important to the operations of the United States 

19 Armed Forces, particularly the Navy and Coast 

20 Guard operations, and therefore to the national se21 curity of the United States. 

22 (7) Marine, terrestrial, and atmospheric sys23 tems are interdependent, requiring that policy, infor24 mation transfer, and the management of human ac25 tivities be coordinated across systems. 


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1 (8) Healthy and productive coastal and marine 

2 ecosystems are the keys to securing the full range of 

3 benefits from ocean resources, including important 

4 economic uses such as productive fisheries, for the 

5 people of the United States. 

6 (9) A variety of threats and practices have 

7 caused dramatic declines in the health and produc8 tivity of coastal and marine ecosystems of the 

9 United States. Among the major threats to marine 

10 ecosystem health are— 

11 (A) global climate change; 

12 (B) chemical, nutrient, and biological pol13 lution; 

14 (C) unwise land use and coastal develop15 ment; 

16 (D) habitat damage; 

17 (E) overfishing; 

18 (F) bycatch; and 

19 (G) invasive species. 

20 (10) These threats are exacerbated by the legal 

21 and geographic fragmentation of authority over 

22 ocean space and ocean resources. 

23 (11) Activities harming coastal and marine eco24 systems jeopardize the economies and social strucVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Jan 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H21.IH H21

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1 ture of coastal communities dependent on these re2 sources. 

3 (12) Healthy marine ecosystems provide more 

4 goods and services, such as seafood and tourism op5 portunities, than degraded marine ecosystems. 

6 (13) While there is a plethora of laws, govern7 ment agencies, and programs dealing with coastal 

8 resources and ocean resources, activities thereunder 

9 are poorly coordinated and do not constitute a uni10 fied and comprehensive public policy toward the 

11 ocean waters and resources. 

12 (14) To better enable the various levels of gov13 ernment with authority over coastal and ocean wa14 ters, habitats, and resources, and ocean resources to 

15 fulfill their public trust responsibilities, a unified na16 tional oceans policy is needed to govern the range of 

17 human activities affecting the health and produc18 tivity of marine ecosystems. 

19 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

20 The purpose of this Act is to secure, for present and 

21 future generations of people of the United States, the full 

22 range of ecological, economic, educational, social, cultural, 

23 nutritional, and recreational benefits of healthy marine 

24 ecosystems, by— 


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1 (1) establishing a comprehensive national 

2 oceans policy regarding all covered actions that may 

3 significantly affect United States ocean waters and 

4 ocean resources; 

5 (2) requiring covered actions to be consistent 

6 with the policies and standards of this Act; 

7 (3) setting clear standards against which com8 pliance with the national oceans policy can be meas9 ured; 

10 (4) providing standards through which compli11 ance with this Act can be assured; 

12 (5) promoting ecologically sustainable ocean re13 source use and management by strengthening and 

14 empowering ocean governance on regional and Fed15 eral levels; 

16 (6) promoting ecosystem-based approaches to 

17 management of ocean waters and resources; 

18 (7) enhancing responsible ocean stewardship 

19 through education, information collection, and cit20 izen involvement; and 

21 (8) establishing a ocean and great lakes con22 servation trust fund to support the purposes and 

23 policies of this Act. 

24 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) UNITED STATES OCEAN WATERS OR

2 OCEANS.—The term ‘‘United States ocean waters’’ 

3 or ‘‘oceans’’ means the zone extending from the 

4 baseline from which the breadth of the United 

5 States territorial sea is measured to the extent of 

6 the Exclusive Economic Zone as specified in Presi7 dential Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 

8 10, 1983, including the territorial waters of the 

9 Great Lakes and the waters of the continental shelf 

10 to which the United States is granted sovereign 

11 rights under international law. 

12 (2) COASTAL WATERS.—The term ‘‘coastal wa13 ters’’ means the waters within the coastal zone as 

14 defined in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Manage15 ment Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453), which includes 

16 such waters as bays and estuaries. 

17 (3) OCEAN RESOURCES OR COASTAL RE18 SOURCES.—The term ‘‘ocean resources’’ or ‘‘coastal 

19 resources’’ means any living, nonliving, or cultural 

20 amenity in United States ocean waters or coastal 

21 waters. 

22 (4) COVERED ACTION.—The term ‘‘covered ac23 tion’’ means any activity affecting United States 

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1 ized (including the issuance of a Federal license or 

2 permit), carried out, or funded by a Federal agency. 

3 (5) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra4 tion’’ means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

5 Administration provided for in section 201. 

6 (6) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

9 (7) ADVISOR.—The term ‘‘Advisor’’ means the 

10 National Oceans Advisor appointed under section 

11 301. 

12 (8) FUNCTION.—The term ‘‘function’’, when 

13 used in reference to a function of a government 

14 agency or official, includes authorities, powers, 

15 rights, privileges, immunities, programs, projects, 

16 activities, duties, and responsibilities. 

17 (9) BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY.—The term ‘‘bio18 logical diversity’’ means a collection of genomes, spe19 cies, and ecosystems occurring in a geographically 

20 defined region. 

21 (10) ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE.—The term 

22 ‘‘ecologically sustainable’’ means capable of main23 taining biological diversity and ecosystem structure 

24 and functioning from one human generation to the 


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1 next, so as not to deny future generations the goods 

2 and services that healthy marine ecosystems provide. 

3 (11) MARINE.—The term ‘‘marine’’ includes of 

4 or relating to United States ocean and coastal wa5 ters. 

6 (12) MARINE ECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND

7 HEALTH OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMS.—Each of the 

8 terms ‘‘marine ecosystem health’’ and ‘‘health of 

9 marine ecosystems’’ means the ability of a marine 

10 ecosystem to support and maintain a productive and 

11 resilient community of organisms, having a species 

12 composition, diversity, and functional organization 

13 resulting from the natural habitat of the region, 

14 such that it provides a complete range of ecological 

15 benefits, including— 

16 (A) a complete diversity of native species 

17 and habitats wherein each native species is able 

18 to maintain an abundance, population struc19 ture, and distribution supporting its ecological 

20 and evolutionary functions and processes; and 

21 (B) a physical, chemical, geological, and 

22 microbial environment that is supportive of the 

23 requirements of this paragraph. 

24 (13) HEALTHY MARINE ECOSYSTEM.—The term 

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1 system with the ability to support and maintain a 

2 productive and resilient community of organisms, 

3 having a species composition, diversity, and func4 tional organization resulting from the natural habi5 tat of the region, such that it provides a complete 

6 range of ecological benefits, including— 

7 (A) a complete diversity of native species 

8 and habitats wherein each native species is able 

9 to maintain an abundance, population struc10 ture, and distribution supporting its ecological 

11 and evolutionary functions and processes; and 

12 (B) a physical, chemical, geological, and 

13 microbial environment that is supportive of the 

14 requirements of this paragraph. 

15 (14) ECOSYSTEM-BASED MANAGEMENT.—The 

16 term ‘‘ecosystem-based management’’ means an inte17 grated approach to management that— 

18 (A) considers the entire ecosystem, includ19 ing humans; 

20 (B) has as its goal the maintenance of eco21 systems in a healthy, productive, and resilient 

22 condition so that they can provide the services 

23 humans want and need; 

24 (C) accounts for the interactions among 

25 species, activities, and sectors of management; 


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1 (D) considers the cumulative impacts of 

2 different sectors; 

3 (E) emphasizes the protection of ecosystem 

4 structure, functioning, and key processes; 

5 (F) is place-based in focusing on a specific 

6 ecosystem and the range of activities affecting 

7 it; 

8 (G) explicitly accounts for the inter9 connectedness within systems, recognizing the 

10 importance of interactions between many target 

11 species or key services and other non-target 

12 species; 

13 (H) acknowledges interconnectedness 

14 among systems, such as between air, land, and 

15 sea; and 

16 (I) integrates ecological, social, economic, 

17 and institutional perspectives, recognizing their 

18 strong interdependences. 

19 (15) IMPORTANT ECOLOGICAL AREA.—The term 

20 ‘‘Important Ecological Area’’ means an area that 

21 contributes significantly to the health of the local or 

22 larger marine ecosystem, such as areas that are crit23 ical habitats because they are breeding, feeding, 

24 spawning or nursery grounds for one or more species 


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1 and/or are especially unique or sensitive marine eco2 systems. 

3 (16) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

4 agency’’ means any department, agency, or instru5 mentality of the United States. 

6 (17) REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS.—The 

7 term ‘‘Regional Ocean Partnerships’’ means such a 

8 council established by the Administrator under sec9 tion 402. 

10 (18) OCEAN REGION.—The term ‘‘ocean re11 gion’’ means such a region designated under section 

12 402(b). 

13 (19) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 

14 State’’— 

15 (A) means a State of the United States in, 

16 or bordering on, the Atlantic, Pacific, or Arctic 

17 Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Long Island Sound, 

18 or one or more of the Great Lakes; and 

19 (B) includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is20 lands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the North21 ern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territories 

22 of the Pacific Islands, and American Samoa. 

23 (20) COASTAL POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.—The 

24 term ‘‘coastal political subdivision’’ means a political 

25 subdivision of a coastal State all or part of which 


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1 political subdivision is within the coastal zone (as de2 fined in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Manage3 ment Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)). 

4 (21) COASTAL POPULATION DENSITY.—The 

5 term ‘‘coastal population density’’ means the popu6 lation as determined by the most recent census data 

7 in the State’s coastal zone as determined pursuant 

8 to the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

9 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.). 

10 (22) OCEAN STEWARDSHIP.—The term ‘‘ocean 

11 stewardship’’ means the careful and responsible 

12 management of coastal and ocean resources by cur13 rent generations such that it ensures future genera14 tions can obtain the full range of benefits from those 

15 resources. 

16 (23) PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH.—The term 

17 ‘‘precautionary approach’’ means the approach used 

18 to ensure the health and sustainability of marine 

19 ecosystems for the benefit of current and future gen20 erations, in which lack of full scientific certainty 

21 shall not be used as a justification for postponing 

22 action to prevent environmental degradation. 


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1 TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT OF A 

2 NATIONAL OCEANS POLICY 

3 SEC. 101. NATIONAL OCEANS POLICY. 

4 (a) POLICY.—It is the continuing policy of the United 

5 States to protect, maintain, and restore the health of ma6 rine ecosystems in order to fulfill the ecological, economic, 

7 educational, social, cultural, nutritional, recreational and 

8 other requirements of current and future generations of 

9 Americans. 

10 (b) NATIONAL STANDARDS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the fullest extent pos12 sible, the policies, regulations, and Public Laws of 

13 the United States shall be interpreted and adminis14 tered by any Federal agency in accordance with the 

15 policy in subsection (a) for any covered actions. 

16 (2) COVERED ACTIONS.— 

17 (A) Covered actions affecting United 

18 States ocean waters or ocean resources must be 

19 conducted in a manner that is consistent with 

20 the protection, maintenance, and restoration of 

21 healthy ecosystems. 

22 (B) Any covered action that may signifi23 cantly affect United States ocean waters or 

24 ocean resources may proceed only if the covered 


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1 action, individually and in combination with 

2 other covered actions— 

3 (i) is not likely to significantly harm 

4 the health of any marine ecosystem; and 

5 (ii) is not likely to significantly im6 pede the restoration of the health of any 

7 marine ecosystem. 

8 (C) In the case of incomplete or inconclu9 sive information as to the effects of a covered 

10 action on United States ocean waters or ocean 

11 resources, decisions shall be made using the 

12 precautionary approach to ensure protection, 

13 maintenance, and restoration of healthy marine 

14 ecosystems. 

15 (D) Adverse social and economic impacts 

16 on communities that are significantly resource 

17 dependent shall be minimized to the extent 

18 practicable, while remaining consistent with 

19 other provisions of this Act that include the 

20 other national standards under this subsection. 

21 Consideration of impacts on resource dependent 

22 communities shall include, but not be limited to, 

23 cumulative impacts. 

24 (c) REGULATIONS.—Within 1 year after the date of 

25 enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation 


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1 with the Committee on Ocean Policy, shall issue such reg2 ulations as are necessary to implement this section of the 

3 Act. 

4 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—Each Federal agency that 

5 undertakes, authorizes, or funds a covered action shall en6 sure, in consultation with and with the assistance of the 

7 Administrator, that any covered action by such agency 

8 complies with the policy and national standards in sub9 section (a) and (b) of this section, in accordance with the 

10 following schedule: 

11 (1) Not less than 180 days prior to taking final 

12 agency action on a covered action, the head of each 

13 Federal agency shall certify whether the action com14 plies with the policy and national standards, and 

15 submit the certification to the Administrator for re16 view. 

17 (2) Not later than 90 days after receipt of the 

18 agency’s certification under subparagraph (a), the 

19 administrator shall determine whether he concurs 

20 with the agency’s finding and provide the head of 

21 such agency a written analysis documenting the 

22 basis for the administrator’s determination. this 

23 analysis shall include— 


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1 (A) a summary of the information on 

2 which the Administrator’s determination is 

3 based; 

4 (B) a detailed assessment of the effects the 

5 covered action has on marine ecosystem health; 

6 and 

7 (C) recommendations to remedy any iden8 tified deficiencies. 

9 (e) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

10 construed to supersede or diminish the authority and re11 sponsibility, under any other provision of law, of any Fed12 eral agency or State, or any political subdivision thereof, 

13 to establish or implement more stringent requirements to 

14 conserve ocean resources. 

15 (f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Regulations promulgated by 

16 the Administrator and determinations on covered actions, 

17 under this section of the Act, shall be subject to judicial 

18 review to the extent authorized by, and in accordance with, 

19 chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 


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1 TITLE II—NATIONAL OCEANIC 

2 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS3 TRATION ORGANIC ACT 

4 SEC. 201. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN5 ISTRATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be an agency known 

7 as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

8 Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970 shall have no further 

9 force or effect. 

10 (b) MISSION.—The mission of the administration is 

11 to— 

12 (1) act as the nonmilitary Federal agency with 

13 responsibility for providing oversight of all United 

14 States coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes waters and 

15 resources; 

16 (2) understand the systems of the Earth’s 

17 oceans and atmosphere and predict changes in the 

18 Earth’s oceans and atmosphere and the effects of 

19 such changes on the land environment; 

20 (3) conserve and manage coastal, ocean, and 

21 Great Lakes resources and ecosystems to meet na22 tional economic, social, and environmental needs, 

23 and promote the ecologically sustainable use of these 

24 resources so such future needs of the nation can be 

25 met; 


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1 (4) protect, maintain, and restore the health of 

2 coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes ecosystems; and 

3 (5) educate the public about these topics. 

4 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Administra5 tion, through which it shall carry out the policy and stand6 ards set forth in section 101, shall include— 

7 (1) conducting and supporting basic and ap8 plied research, development, and technology transfer 

9 as may be necessary to carry out the mission de10 scribed in subsection (b); 

11 (2) protecting, restoring, and maintaining the 

12 health and sustainability of the coasts, oceans, and 

13 Great Lakes through ecosystem-based research, de14 velopment, demonstration, and management; 

15 (3) collecting, through observation and other 

16 means, communicating, analyzing, processing, and 

17 disseminating comprehensive scientific data and in18 formation about weather and climate, solar and geo19 physical events on the Sun and in the space environ20 ment, and about the coasts, oceans, Great Lakes, 

21 upper reaches of estuaries, and hydrologic systems; 

22 (4) operating and maintaining a system for the 

23 storage, retrieval, and dissemination of data relating 

24 to weather and climate, solar and geophysical events 

25 on the Sun and in the space environment, and about 


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1 the coasts, oceans, Great Lakes, upper reaches of es2 tuaries, and hydrologic systems; 

3 (5) using observational data and technologies 

4 developed by other Federal agencies to improve the 

5 Administration’s operations; 

6 (6) coordinating efforts of Federal agencies 

7 with respect to meteorological and oceanic services, 

8 and acting as a focal point regarding oceans re9 search and management; 

10 (7) using the best available technology to ex11 plore and map the coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes 

12 waters of the United States, and work collabo13 ratively with other countries to use the best available 

14 technology to explore and map their coastal and 

15 ocean waters and other significant water bodies, in 

16 order to better understand ocean dynamics; 

17 (8) issuing weather, water, climate, space 

18 weather, tsunami, and other forecasts and warnings 

19 related to Earth’s oceans and atmosphere as to en20 hance society’s preparedness for responding to such 

21 weather-related conditions; 

22 (9) working with other Federal agencies, State, 

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1 mote ecosystem-based management of coasts, 

2 oceans, and Great Lakes; 

3 (10) understanding the science of Earth’s cli4 mate and the impact of related systems on climate 

5 variability and change, and undertaking research 

6 and development to enhance society’s ability to plan 

7 for and respond to climate variability and change; 

8 (11) administering public outreach and edu9 cation programs and services to increase scientific 

10 and environmental literacy about— 

11 (A) coasts, oceans, Great Lakes, upper 

12 reaches of estuaries, and hydrologic systems; 

13 (B) weather and climate; 

14 (C) solar and geophysical events on the 

15 Sun and in the space environment; and 

16 (D) direct and indirect human impacts on 

17 the systems of Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and 

18 related systems; 

19 (12) providing, as appropriate and in coopera20 tion with the Secretary of State, representation at 

21 all international meetings and conferences relating 

22 to the mission of the Administration, including mete23 orological, climate, and Earth and ocean observing 

24 issues; 


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1 (13) any other function assigned to the Admin2 istration by law; and 

3 (14) such other functions as are necessary to 

4 accomplish the mission described in subsection (b). 

5 SEC. 202. ADMINISTRATION LEADERSHIP. 

6 (a) UNDER SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR OCEANS

7 AND ATMOSPHERE AND ADMINISTRATOR.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be, as the Ad9 ministrator of the Administration, an Under Sec10 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. 

11 The Administrator shall be appointed by the Presi12 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen13 ate. The term of office of any individual appointed 

14 after the date of enactment of this Act to serve as 

15 Administrator shall be 6 years, with eligibility for re16 appointment. 

17 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Administrator, as head 

18 of the Administration, shall be responsible for— 

19 (A) ensuring that the functions of the Ad20 ministration under section 201(c) are fulfilled; 

21 (B) general management and supervision 

22 of the operations of the Administration; 

23 (C) policy development and guidance; 

24 (D) formulation, guidance, and execution 

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1 mission of annual budget requests to the Direc2 tor of the Office of Management and Budget; 

3 (E) serving as the Department of Com4 merce official for all ocean and atmosphere 

5 issues with other elements of the Department of 

6 Commerce and with other Federal agencies, 

7 State, tribal, and local governments, and the 

8 public; and 

9 (F) such other duties with respect to the 

10 Administration as the Secretary may prescribe. 

11 (3) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The Admin12 istrator may, except as otherwise prohibited by 

13 law— 

14 (A) delegate any functions, powers, or du15 ties of the Administrator to such officers and 

16 employees of the Administration as the Admin17 istrator may designate; and 

18 (B) authorize such successive redelegations 

19 of such functions, powers, or duties within the 

20 Administration as the Administrator considers 

21 necessary or appropriate. 

22 (4) PAY.—The Administrator shall be paid at 

23 the rate of basic pay for level III of the Executive 

24 Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United 

25 States Code. 


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1 (5) AUTHORITIES.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—As may be necessary or 

3 proper to carry out the Administration’s func4 tions under this Act or as otherwise provided by 

5 law, the Administrator may— 

6 (i) promulgate rules and regulations; 

7 (ii) hire personnel, including the selec8 tion, appointment, distribution, super9 vision, compensation, and separation of 

10 personnel; 

11 (iii) enter into and perform contracts, 

12 leases, grants, and cooperative agreements 

13 with Federal agencies, State and local gov14 ernments, regional and interstate agencies, 

15 Indian tribes, international organizations, 

16 foreign governments, educational institu17 tions, research institutions, nonprofit orga18 nizations, and commercial organizations; 

19 (iv) use, with their consent, and with 

20 or without reimbursement, the services, 

21 equipment, personnel, and facilities of 

22 other departments, agencies, and instru23 mentalities of the Federal Government; 


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1 (v) conduct education and outreach in 

2 direct support of the mission described in 

3 section 201(b); 

4 (vi) take reasonable steps to ensure 

5 that information systems and databases of 

6 the Administration are compatible with 

7 each other and with appropriate databases 

8 of other agencies; 

9 (vii) procure services of experts and 

10 consultants in accordance with section 

11 3109 of title 5, United States Code; and 

12 (viii) prescribe external affairs, includ13 ing legal, legislative, and public affairs. 

14 (B) EXCEPTION.—The authorities con15 ferred on the Administrator by this paragraph 

16 do not include the authority to contract for 

17 services that are an inherently governmental 

18 function as defined in section 5 of the Federal 

19 Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (31 

20 U.S.C. 501 note). 

21 (b) ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR OCEANS AND AT22 MOSPHERE AND DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be, as Deputy 

24 Administrator of the Administration, an Assistant 

25 Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. 


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1 The Deputy Administrator shall be appointed by the 

2 President, by and with the advice and consent of the 

3 Senate. The Deputy Administrator shall be the Ad4 ministrator’s first assistant for purposes of sub5 chapter III of chapter 33 of title 5, United States 

6 Code. 

7 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The deputy administrator 

8 shall— 

9 (A) serve as an advisor to the Adminis10 trator on all program and policy issues; 

11 (B) perform such functions and exercise 

12 such powers as the Administrator may pre13 scribe; and 

14 (C) act as Administrator during the ab15 sence or disability of the Administrator or in 

16 the event of a vacancy in the office of Adminis17 trator. 

18 (3) PAY.—The Assistant Secretary shall be 

19 paid at the rate of basic pay for level IV of the Ex20 ecutive Schedule. 

21 (c) DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY FOR OCEANS AND

22 ATMOSPHERE AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall, be as the Chief 

24 Operating Officer of the Administration, a Deputy 

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1 mosphere. The Deputy Under Secretary shall be ap2 pointed by the Secretary. The position of Deputy 

3 Under Secretary shall be a Senior Executive Service 

4 position authorized under section 3133 of title 5, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Deputy Under Secretary 

7 shall— 

8 (A) ensure the timely and effective imple9 mentation of Administration policies and objec10 tives; 

11 (B) be responsible for all aspects of the 

12 Administration’s operations and management, 

13 including budget, financial operations, informa14 tion services, facilities, human resources, pro15 curements, and associated services; 

16 (C) act as Assistant Secretary during the 

17 absence or disability of the Assistant Secretary 

18 or in the event of a vacancy in such position; 

19 and 

20 (D) perform such other duties as the Ad21 ministrator shall prescribe. 

22 (d) DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There may be in the Admin24 istration no more than three Deputy Assistant Sec25 retaries. 


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1 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Deputy 

2 Assistant Secretaries shall be designated by the Sec3 retary and must be consistent with at least one of 

4 the three primary functions of the Administration— 

5 (A) assessment, prediction, and operations; 

6 (B) management, especially ecosystem7 based; and 

8 (C) research and education. 

9 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Deputy Assistant 

10 Secretaries shall be appointed by the Secretary from 

11 among individuals who are qualified by reason of 

12 background and experience to direct the implementa13 tion and administration of the functions for which 

14 they are responsible. The positions of Deputy Assist15 ant Secretaries shall be Senior Executive Service po16 sitions authorized under section 3133 of title 5, 

17 United States Code. 

18 (e) ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATORS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Admin20 istration no more than five Assistant Administrators 

21 who shall head one of each of the operating offices 

22 of the Administration, overseeing the programs and 

23 activities of each such office. 

24 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Assist25 ant Administrators shall be specified by the AdminVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:41 Jan 12, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H21.IH H21

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1 istrator to fulfill the duties of the offices they over2 see and must be consistent with at least one of the 

3 three primary functions of the Administration, while 

4 minimizing overlap of such functions between them, 

5 including— 

6 (A) assessment, prediction, and operations; 

7 (B) management, especially ecosystem8 based; and 

9 (C) research and education. 

10 (3) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each Assistant Admin11 istrator shall be appointed by the Administrator 

12 from among individuals who are qualified by reason 

13 of background and experience to direct the imple14 mentation and administration of the functions for 

15 which they are responsible shall be designated by the 

16 Secretary and must be consistent with at least one 

17 of the three primary functions of the Administra18 tion— 

19 (A) assessment, prediction, and operations; 

20 (B) management, especially ecosystem21 based; and 

22 (C) research and education. 

23 (f) GENERAL COUNSEL.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Admin25 istration a General Counsel. The General Counsel 


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1 shall be appointed by the Secretary. The General 

2 Counsel shall be paid at the rate of basic pay for 

3 level V of the Executive Schedule. 

4 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The General Counsel shall— 

5 (A) serve as the chief legal officer of the 

6 Administration for all legal matters that arise 

7 in connection with the conduct of the functions 

8 of the Administration; and 

9 (B) perform such other functions and exer10 cise such powers as the Administrator may pre11 scribe. 

12 (g) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—Any individual 

13 serving on the effective date of this Act in a position pro14 vided for in this Act may continue to serve in that position 

15 until a successor is appointed under this Act. Nothing in 

16 this Act shall be construed to require the appointment of 

17 a successor under this Act sooner than would have been 

18 required under law as in effect before the effective date 

19 of this Act. 

20 SEC. 203. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall maintain 

22 within the Administration the National Weather Service. 

23 (b) MISSION.—The mission of the National Weather 

24 Service is to provide weather, water, climate, tsunami, and 

25 space weather forecasts and warnings for the United 


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1 States, its territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas for 

2 the protection of life and property and the enhancement 

3 of the national economy. In carrying out the mission of 

4 the National Weather Service, the Administrator shall en5 sure that the National Weather Service— 

6 (1) provides timely and accurate weather, 

7 water, climate, tsunami, and space weather fore8 casts; and 

9 (2) provides timely and accurate warnings of 

10 natural hazards related to weather, water, climate, 

11 and tsunamis, and of space weather hazards. 

12 (c) FUNCTIONS.—To accomplish the mission de13 scribed in section 201(b), and in addition to the functions 

14 described in section 201(c), the functions of the National 

15 Weather Service shall include— 

16 (1) maintaining a network of local weather fore17 cast offices; 

18 (2) maintaining a network of observation sys19 tems to collect weather and climate data; 

20 (3) operating national centers to deliver guid21 ance, forecasts, warnings, and analysis about weath22 er, water, climate, tsunami, and space weather phe23 nomena for the Administration and the public; 


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1 (4) providing information to Federal agencies 

2 and other organizations responsible for emergency 

3 preparedness and response as required by law; 

4 (5) conducting and supporting applied research 

5 to facilitate the rapid incorporation of weather and 

6 climate science advances into operational tools; and 

7 (6) other functions to serve the mission of the 

8 National Weather Service described in subsection 

9 (b). 

10 SEC. 204. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall maintain 

12 within the Administration programs to protect, maintain 

13 and restore the health and sustainability of coastal, ocean, 

14 and Great Lakes resources through ecosystem-based man15 agement. 

16 (b) FUNCTIONS.—To accomplish the mission de17 scribed in section 201(b), and in addition to the functions 

18 described in section 201(c), the resource management as19 pects of the Administration shall take an ecosystem-based 

20 approach to fulfilling its responsibilities with respect to— 

21 (1) management of domestic and international 

22 fisheries for increased sustainability; 

23 (2) conservation of marine mammals, protected 

24 species, coral reefs, and other living marine re25 sources; 


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1 (3) protection and management of ocean and 

2 coastal areas, including areas designated under the 

3 National Marine Sanctuary, National Estuarine Re4 search Reserve, and National Monument systems, 

5 other managed areas, areas considered essential fish 

6 habitat, and other important ecological areas as ap7 propriate; 

8 (4) management of coastal zones and water9 sheds; 

10 (5) response to, mitigation of, and adequate 

11 compensation for pollution events, including oil and 

12 other hazardous waste spills; 

13 (6) restoration of degraded coastal and ocean 

14 areas, including through a community-based ap15 proach; 

16 (7) partnerships with other Federal agencies 

17 and with States and communities to address the 

18 issues of land-based activities and their impact on 

19 the ocean environment; 

20 (8) mitigation of the impacts of natural and 

21 manmade hazards; 

22 (9) control and minimization of invasive species 

23 proliferation and marine debris; 

24 (10) assessment, monitoring, and promotion of 

25 the long-term health, productivity, and diversity of 


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1 the coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes, and their nat2 ural resources; and 

3 (11) such other ecosystem-based resource man4 agement functions to serve the mission of the Ad5 ministration as the Administrator may prescribe. 

6 SEC. 205. OPERATIONS AND SERVICES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall maintain 

8 within the Administration programs to support efforts, on 

9 a continuing basis, to collect data and provide information 

10 and products regarding satellites, observations, and coast11 al, ocean and Great Lakes information. 

12 (b) FUNCTIONS.—To accomplish the mission de13 scribed in section 201(b), and in addition to the functions 

14 described in section 201(c), the operations and service 

15 functions of the Administration include— 

16 (1) acquiring, managing, and operating coastal, 

17 ocean, and Great Lakes observing systems; 

18 (2) contributing to the operation of a global 

19 Earth-observing system; 

20 (3) integrating Administration remote sensing 

21 and in situ assets that provide critical data needed 

22 to support the mission of the Administration, and 

23 providing that data to decision-makers and the pub24 lic; 


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1 (4) developing, acquiring, and managing oper2 ational environmental satellite programs and associ3 ated ground control and data acquisition and deliv4 ery facilities to support the mission of the Adminis5 tration; 

6 (5) managing and distributing atmospheric, 

7 geophysical, and marine data and data products for 

8 the Administration through national environmental 

9 data centers; 

10 (6) providing for long-term stewardship of envi11 ronmental data, products, and information via data 

12 processing, storage, reanalysis, reprocessing, and ar13 chive facilities; 

14 (7) issuing licenses for private remote sensing 

15 space systems under the Land Remote Sensing Pol16 icy Act of 1992; 

17 (8) administering a national water level obser18 vation network, which shall include monitoring of 

19 the Great Lakes; 

20 (9) providing charts and other information for 

21 safe navigation of the oceans and inland waters, as 

22 provided by law; 

23 (10) maintaining a fleet of ships and aircraft to 

24 support the mission of the Administration; and 


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1 (11) such other operations and services func2 tions to serve the mission of the Administration as 

3 the Administrator may prescribe. 

4 SEC. 206. RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall maintain 

6 within the Administration programs to conduct and sup7 port research and the development of technologies relating 

8 to weather, climate, and the coasts, oceans, and Great 

9 Lakes. 

10 (b) FUNCTIONS.—To accomplish the mission de11 scribed in section 201(b), and in addition to the functions 

12 described in section 201(c), the research and development 

13 functions of the Administration shall include— 

14 (1) conducting and supporting research and 

15 technology development to improve the Administra16 tion’s capabilities to collect, through observation and 

17 otherwise, communicate, analyze, process, and dis18 seminate comprehensive scientific data and informa19 tion about weather, climate, and the coasts, oceans, 

20 and Great Lakes; 

21 (2) improving ecological prediction and manage22 ment capabilities through ecosystem-based research 

23 and technology development; 

24 (3) contributing information on the Earth’s cli25 mate and related systems, obtained through research 


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1 and observation, that addresses questions con2 fronting policymakers, resources managers, and 

3 other users; 

4 (4) reducing uncertainty in projections of how 

5 the Earth’s climate and related systems may change 

6 in the future; 

7 (5) conducting and supporting research and de8 velopment of technology for exploration of the 

9 oceans; 

10 (6) maintaining a system of laboratories to per11 form the functions described in this subsection; 

12 (7) supporting extramural peer-reviewed com13 petitive grant programs to assist the Administration 

14 in performing the functions described in this sub15 section; and 

16 (8) such other research and technology develop17 ment functions to serve the mission of the Adminis18 tration as the Administrator may prescribe. 

19 SEC. 207. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall maintain 

21 within the Administration the Office of Education. 

22 (b) MISSION.—The mission of the Office of Edu23 cation is to conduct and support education programs and 

24 outreach activities related to oceans and atmosphere, and 

25 to provide interagency and intra-agency coordination of 


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1 such programs and activities on the national, regional, 

2 State, and local levels. 

3 (c) FUNCTIONS.—To accomplish the mission de4 scribed in section 201(b), and in addition to the functions 

5 described in section 201(c), the education and outreach 

6 functions of the Administration, through the Office of 

7 Education, shall include— 

8 (1) fostering the public’s ability to understand 

9 and integrate scientific information into consider10 ations of national environmental issues through edu11 cation and public outreach activities; 

12 (2) informing the public about how the Earth’s 

13 climate and related systems may change in the fu14 ture, based on the best available science; 

15 (3) supporting and partnering with educational 

16 institutions to foster ocean literacy and promote the 

17 ocean workforce, especially minority-serving institu18 tions; 

19 (4) support professional development and a pro20 gram for certification of individuals engaged in com21 mercial uses of ocean waters; 

22 (5) create and implement effective approaches 

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1 cess to the Administration’s educational resources; 

2 and 

3 (6) such other education and outreach functions 

4 to serve the mission of the Administration as the 

5 Administrator may prescribe. 

6 SEC. 208. SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be within the Admin8 istration a Science Advisory Board, which shall provide 

9 such scientific advice as may be requested by the Adminis10 trator, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans11 portation of the Senate, or the Committee on Science or 

12 on Resources of the House of Representatives. 

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Science Advisory 

14 Board is to advise the Administrator and Congress on 

15 long-range and short-range strategies for research, edu16 cation, and the application of science to coastal, ocean, 

17 and Great Lakes resource management and environmental 

18 assessment and prediction. 

19 (c) MEMBERS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Science Advisory board 

21 shall be composed of at least 15 members appointed 

22 by the administrator. Each member of the board 

23 shall— 

24 (A) be qualified by education, training, and 

25 experience to evaluate scientific and technical 


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1 information on matters referred to the Board 

2 under this section; and 

3 (B) collectively represent a balanced group 

4 of experts reflecting the full breadth of the Ad5 ministration’s areas of responsibility. 

6 (2) TERMS OF SERVICE.—Members shall be ap7 pointed for 3-year terms, renewable once, and shall 

8 serve at the discretion of the Administrator. An indi9 vidual serving a term as a member of the Science 

10 Advisory Board on the date of enactment of this Act 

11 may complete that term, and may be reappointed 

12 once for another term of 3 years unless the term 

13 being served on such date of enactment is the second 

14 term served by that individual. Vacancy appoint15 ments shall be for the remainder of the unexpired 

16 term of the vacancy, and an individual so appointed 

17 may subsequently be appointed for 2 full 3-year 

18 terms if the remainder of the unexpired term is less 

19 than one year. 

20 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Administrator shall 

21 designate a chairperson from among the members of 

22 the Board. 

23 (4) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the Science 

24 Advisory Board shall be appointed as special Gov25 ernment employees, within the meaning given such 


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1 term in section 202(a) of title 18, United States 

2 Code, and subject to the ethical standards therein. 

3 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

4 (1) REPORTING.—The Science Advisory Board 

5 shall report to the Administrator and the appro6 priate requesting party. 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Adminis8 trator shall provide administrative support to the 

9 Science Advisory Board. 

10 (3) MEETINGS.—The Science Advisory Board 

11 shall meet at least twice each year, and at other 

12 times at the call of the Administrator or the Chair13 person. 

14 (4) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—A mem15 ber of the Science Advisory Board shall not be com16 pensated for service on such board, but may be al17 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

18 subsistence, in accordance with subchapter I of 

19 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

20 (5) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Science Advisory 

21 Board may establish such subcommittees of its 

22 members as may be necessary. The Science Advisory 

23 Board may establish task forces and working groups 

24 consisting of Board members and outside experts as 

25 may be necessary. 


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1 (e) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com3 mittee Act (5 App. U.S.C.) shall not apply to the 

4 Science Advisory Board. 

5 (2) COMPLIANCE.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

6 (1), the Science Advisory Board shall be appointed 

7 and operate in a manner consistent with all provi8 sions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act with 

9 respect to— 

10 (A) the balance of its membership; 

11 (B) provision of public notice regarding its 

12 activities; 

13 (C) open meetings; and 

14 (D) public access to documents created by 

15 Science Advisory Board. 

16 SEC. 209. REPORTS. 

17 (a) REPORT ON STATUS OF OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS

18 AND RESOURCES.— 

19 (1) CONTENTS.—Not later than 2 years after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

21 shall develop a baseline report on the status and 

22 condition of the ocean ecosystems and resources 

23 under United States jurisdiction. Once every 3 years 

24 thereafter, there shall be updates to the report. In 

25 preparing the report, the Administrator shall consult 


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1 with the heads of other departments and agencies as 

2 appropriate. The plan shall include— 

3 (A) a description of the related activities of 

4 the Administration to perform its functions 

5 under section 201(c) during the period covered 

6 by the report; 

7 (B) an assessment of the status and condi8 tion of the health of ecosystems in United 

9 States coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes waters; 

10 (C) an analysis of past, current, and pro11 jected trends in the quality, management, and 

12 utilization of United States coastal, ocean, and 

13 Great Lakes waters and the effects of those 

14 trends on the economic, social, educational, eco15 logical, and other needs of the United States; 

16 (D) a review of the programs and covered 

17 actions (including regulatory activities) of the 

18 Federal Government, State and local govern19 ments, and nongovernmental entities or individ20 uals with particular reference to their effect on 

21 coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes waters and on 

22 the conservation, development, and utilization 

23 of coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes resources; 

24 (E) an analysis of whether the programs 

25 and activities (including regulatory activities) of 


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1 the Administration fully implemented the na2 tional oceans policy under section 3 during the 

3 period covered by the report; and 

4 (F) a program for remedying the defi5 ciencies of existing programs and activities, in6 cluding recommendations for legislation and 

7 funding priorities. 

8 (2) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—The Admin9 istrator shall transmit to the Committee on Com10 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

11 and the Committee on Resources of the House of 

12 Representatives the report, and subsequent reports, 

13 as outlined in paragraph (1) upon completion. 

14 (b) REPORT ON DATA MANAGEMENT, ARCHIVAL, 

15 AND DISTRIBUTION.— 

16 (1) CONTENTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, and once every 5 

18 years thereafter, the Administrator shall do the fol19 lowing: 

20 (A) Enter into an arrangement with the 

21 National Academy of Sciences to review the en22 vironmental data and information systems of 

23 the Administration and to provide recommenda24 tions to address any inadequacies identified by 

25 the review. The review shall assess the adeVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Jan 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H21.IH H21

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1 quacy of the environmental data and informa2 tion systems of the Administration to— 

3 (i) provide adequate capacity to man4 age, archive and disseminate environmental 

5 information collected and processed, or ex6 pected to be collected and processed, by 

7 the Administration, including data gath8 ered by other agencies that is processed or 

9 stored by the Administration; 

10 (ii) establish, develop, and maintain 

11 information bases, including necessary 

12 management systems, which will provide 

13 for consistent, efficient, and compatible 

14 transfer and use of data; 

15 (iii) develop effective interfaces among 

16 the environmental data and information 

17 systems of the Administration and other 

18 appropriate departments and agencies; 

19 (iv) develop and use nationally accept20 ed formats and standards for data col21 lected by various national and international 

22 sources; 

23 (v) integrate and interpret data from 

24 different sources to produce information 

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1 veloping policies that effectively respond to 

2 national and global environmental con3 cerns; and 

4 (vi) reanalyze and reprocess the 

5 archived data as better science is developed 

6 to integrate diverse data sources. 

7 (B) Develop a strategic plan, with respect 

8 to the environmental data and information sys9 tems of the Administration, to— 

10 (i) respond to each of the rec11 ommendations in the review conducted 

12 under subparagraph (A); 

13 (ii) set forth modernization and im14 provement objectives for an integrated na15 tional environmental data access and ar16 chive system for the 10-year period begin17 ning with the year in which the plan is 

18 transmitted, including facility requirements 

19 and critical new technology components 

20 that would be necessary to meet the objec21 tives set forth; 

22 (iii) propose specific Administration 

23 programs and activities for implementing 

24 the plan; 


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1 (iv) identify the data and information 

2 management, reanalysis, reprocessing, ar3 chival, and distribution responsibilities of 

4 the Administration with respect to other 

5 Federal departments and agencies and 

6 international organizations; and 

7 (v) provide an implementation sched8 ule and estimate funding levels necessary 

9 to achieve modernization and improvement 

10 objectives. 

11 (2) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

12 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Com14 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

15 the Senate and the Committee on Science of the 

16 House of Representatives the initial review and stra17 tegic plan developed under paragraph (1). Subse18 quent reviews and strategic plans developed under 

19 paragraph (1) shall also be transmitted to those 

20 committees upon completion. 

21 (c) STRATEGIC PLAN FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOP22 MENT.— 

23 (1) CONTENTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, and once every 5 

25 years thereafter, the Administrator shall develop a 


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1 strategic plan for research and development at the 

2 Administration. The plan shall include— 

3 (A) an assessment of the science and tech4 nology needs of the Administration based on 

5 the Administration’s operational requirements 

6 and on input provided by external stakeholders 

7 at the national, regional, State, and local levels; 

8 and 

9 (B) a strategic plan that assigns specific 

10 programs within the administration the respon11 sibility to meet each need identified under sub12 paragraph (A) and that describes the extent to 

13 which each need identified in subparagraph (A) 

14 will be addressed through— 

15 (i) intramural research; 

16 (ii) extramural, peer-reviewed, com17 petitive grant programs; and 

18 (iii) work done in cooperation with 

19 other Federal agencies. 

20 (2) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES RE21 VIEW.—The Administrator shall enter into an ar22 rangement with the National Academy of Sciences 

23 for a review of the plan developed under paragraph 

24 (1). 


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1 (3) TRANSMITTAL TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

2 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, the Administrator shall transmit to the Com4 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

5 the Senate and the Committee on Science of the 

6 House of Representatives the initial strategic plan 

7 developed under paragraph (1) and the review pre8 pared pursuant to paragraph (2). Subsequent stra9 tegic plans developed under paragraph (1) shall also 

10 be transmitted to those committees upon completion. 

11 (d) OTHER REPORTS.— 

12 (1) The Administrator shall submit to Congress 

13 other reports and written notifications as explicitly 

14 described elsewhere in this Act. 

15 (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

16 waive any other reporting required of the Adminis17 trator prior to enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 210. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS. 

19 Not less than once every 5 years, the Secretary shall 

20 develop and submit to Congress a policy that defines proc21 esses for making decisions about the roles of the Adminis22 tration, the private sector, and the academic community 

23 in providing environmental information, products, tech24 nologies, and services. The first such submission shall be 

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1 ment of this Act. At least 90 days before each submission 

2 of the policy to Congress, the Secretary shall publish the 

3 policy in the Federal Register for a public comment period 

4 of not less than 60 days. Nothing in this section shall be 

5 construed to require changes in the policy in effect on the 

6 date of enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 211. REORGANIZATION PLAN. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop 

9 a reorganization plan for the Administration as described 

10 in this section, and in accordance with section 101. In de11 veloping the plan, the Administrator shall consult with in12 terested parties, including the States, academia, industry, 

13 conservation organizations, and Administration employees. 

14 (b) CONTENT.—The plan, to the greatest extent prac15 ticable, shall— 

16 (1) consider aspects of the administration, such 

17 as— 

18 (A) leadership positions and roles; 

19 (B) program offices and duties; 

20 (C) regional and ecosystem-wide ap21 proaches to management; 

22 (D) coordination with outside entities, both 

23 nationally and internationally; and 

24 (E) needs to expand or downsize employees 

25 and/or facilities. 


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1 (2) consistent with section 201 and the other 

2 provisions of this Act, maximize the efficiency with 

3 which the Administration carries out and assures the 

4 effectiveness of the functions of— 

5 (A) operations and services; 

6 (B) research and education; and 

7 (C) resource management; 

8 (3) improve the sharing of research and other 

9 information that is of use across programmatic 

10 themes; and 

11 (4) eliminate duplication of effort or overlap12 ping efforts among offices. 

13 (c) SCHEDULE.— 

14 (1) Not later than 18 months after the date of 

15 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall de16 velop the plan and shall publish the plan in the Fed17 eral Register. 

18 (2) The Federal Register notice shall solicit 

19 comments for a period of 60 days. 

20 (3) Not later than 120 days after the expiration 

21 date of the comment period described in paragraph 

22 (2), the Administrator shall complete a revised 

23 version of the plan that takes into account the com24 ments received. 


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1 (4) Upon completing the revision, along with an 

2 explanation of how the administrator addressed each 

3 issue raised by the public comments received, the ad4 ministrator shall— 

5 (A) transmit the revised plan and expla6 nation to the National Oceans Advisor, estab7 lished in section 301 for review; 

8 (B) transmit the revised plan and expla9 nation to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com11 mittees on Science and on Resources of the 

12 House of Representatives for review; and 

13 (C) publish the revised plan and expla14 nation in the Federal Register. 

15 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—If no objections are received 

16 from the National Oceans Advisor or Congress within 90 

17 days of transmittal of the revised plan, the Administrator 

18 shall implement the such plan. 

19 (e) REPORTING.— 

20 (1) ADMINISTRATION INTERNAL REVIEW.— 

21 Once every 3 years after implementation of the reor22 ganization plan, the Administrator shall transmit a 

23 report to Congress assessing the effectiveness and 

24 efficiency of the Administration in carrying out its 


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1 functions and fulfilling its mission, as set forth in 

2 sections 201(b) and 201(c), respectively; 

3 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE4 VIEW.—Not later than 5 years after the Administra5 tion implements the reorganization plan, and every 

6 5 years thereafter, the Government Accountability 

7 Office shall conduct an independent review of the ef8 fectiveness and efficiency of the Administration in 

9 carrying out its functions and fulfilling its mission, 

10 as set forth in sections 201(b) and 201(c), respec11 tively. Upon completing the review, the Government 

12 Accountability Office shall transmit a report to Con13 gress with its findings. 

14 SEC. 212. FACILITY EVALUATION PROCESS. 

15 (a) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section— 

16 (1) the term ‘‘facility’’ means a laboratory, op17 erations office, administrative service center, or 

18 other establishment of the Administration; and 

19 (2) the term ‘‘field office’’ has the same mean20 ing given that term in section 702 of the Weather 

21 Service Modernization Act. 

22 (b) PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT PROC23 ESS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall not 

25 close, consolidate, relocate, subdivide, or establish a 


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1 facility of the Administration, unless and until the 

2 Administrator has followed the procedures required 

3 by this section. 

4 (2) REVIEW PROCESS.—The Administrator 

5 shall not close, consolidate, relocate, subdivide, or es6 tablish a facility of the Administration with an an7 nual operating budget of $5,000,000 or greater, or 

8 a National Weather Service field office, unless and 

9 until— 

10 (A) the Administrator has published in the 

11 Federal Register the proposed action and a de12 scription of the offices, personnel, and activities 

13 of the Administration that would be affected by 

14 the proposed change, and has provided for a 

15 minimum of 60 days for public comment; 

16 (B) if the proposed change involves a 

17 science facility of the Administration, the 

18 Science Advisory Board has reviewed the pro19 posed change and provided to the Administrator 

20 written findings regarding the proposed change; 

21 (C) if the proposed change involves a Na22 tional Weather Service field office, the Adminis23 trator has prepared a report including— 

24 (i) a description of local weather char25 acteristics and weather-related concerns 


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1 which affect the weather services provided 

2 within the service area; 

3 (ii) a detailed comparison of the serv4 ices provided within the service area and 

5 the services to be provided after the pro6 posed change; 

7 (iii) a description of any recent or ex8 pected modernization of National Weather 

9 Service operations which will enhance serv10 ices in the service area; 

11 (iv) an identification of any area with12 in any State which would not receive cov13 erage (at an elevation of 10,000 feet) due 

14 to the proposed change; and 

15 (v) evidence, based on operational 

16 demonstration of National Weather Service 

17 operations, which was considered in reach18 ing the conclusion that no degradation in 

19 service will result from the proposed 

20 change; 

21 (D) the Administrator has prepared an 

22 analysis of the anticipated costs and savings as23 sociated with the proposed facility change, in24 cluding both costs and savings in the first fiscal 

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1 ations and maintenance costs and savings over 

2 a ten-year period; and 

3 (E) the Administrator has prepared an 

4 analysis of the effects of the facility change on 

5 operations and research of the Administration, 

6 and the potential impacts on cooperative insti7 tutes, other external Administration partner8 ships, partnerships with other Federal agencies, 

9 and any State and local partnerships. 

10 (3) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.— 

11 (A) The Administrator shall provide to 

12 Congress, at least 90 days before any closure, 

13 consolidation, relocation, subdivision, or estab14 lishment of a facility of the Administration with 

15 an annual budget of $5,000,000 or greater, or 

16 any National Weather Service field office, a 

17 summary of the public comments received pur18 suant to paragraph (2)(A), any written findings 

19 prepared under paragraph (2)(B), any report 

20 prepared under paragraph (2)(C), and the anal21 yses prepared under paragraph (2)(D) and (E). 

22 (B) The Administrator shall provide to 

23 Congress, at least 90 days before any closure, 

24 consolidation, relocation, subdivision, or estab25 lishment of a facility of the Administration not 


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1 described in subparagraph (A), written notifica2 tion of the planned closure, consolidation, relo3 cation, subdivision, or establishment. 

4 (c) NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MODERNIZA5 TION.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter the 

6 Weather Service Modernization Act (15 U.S.C. 313 note). 

7 SEC. 213. ADMINISTRATION BUDGET. 

8 (a) EXAMINATION.—When the Administrator sub9 mits the annual budget request for the Administration and 

10 its programs to the Director of the Office of Management 

11 and Budget, examination shall take place within natural 

12 resource programs. 

13 (b) REPROGRAMMING.—Whenever the Administrator 

14 transmits a budget reprogramming request to the Appro15 priations Committees of the House of Representatives and 

16 the Senate, the Administrator shall simultaneously submit 

17 a copy of the request to the Committee on Science and 

18 the Committee on Resources of the House of Representa19 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

20 Transportation of the Senate. 

21 SEC. 214. BASELINES AND COST CONTROLS. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec23 tion— 

24 (1) the term ‘‘development’’ means the phase of 

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1 ginning with the approval to proceed to implementa2 tion; 

3 (2) the term ‘‘development cost’’ means the 

4 total of all costs, including construction of facilities 

5 and civil servant costs, from the period beginning 

6 with the approval to proceed to implementation 

7 through the achievement of operational readiness, 

8 without regard to funding source or management 

9 control, for the life of the program; 

10 (3) the term ‘‘life-cycle cost’’ means the total of 

11 the direct, indirect, recurring, and nonrecurring 

12 costs, including the construction of facilities and civil 

13 servant costs, and other related expenses incurred or 

14 estimated to be incurred in the design, development, 

15 verification, production, operation, maintenance, 

16 support, and retirement of a program over its 

17 planned lifespan, without regard to funding source 

18 or management control; and 

19 (4) the term ‘‘major program’’ means an activ20 ity approved to proceed to implementation that has 

21 an estimated life-cycle cost of more than 

22 $250,000,000. 

23 (b) CONDITIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administration shall 

25 not enter into a contract for the development of a 


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1 major program unless the Administrator determines 

2 that— 

3 (A) the technical, cost, and schedule risks 

4 of the program are clearly identified and the 

5 program has developed a plan to minimize those 

6 risks; 

7 (B) the technologies required for the pro8 gram have been demonstrated in a relevant lab9 oratory or test environment; and 

10 (C) the program complies with all relevant 

11 policies, regulations, and directives of the Ad12 ministration. 

13 (2) REPORT.—The Administrator shall trans14 mit a report describing the basis for the determina15 tion required under paragraph (1) to the Committee 

16 on Science of the House of Representatives and the 

17 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor18 tation of the Senate at least 30 days before entering 

19 into a contract for development under a major pro20 gram. 

21 (3) NON-DELEGATION.—The Administrator 

22 may not delegate the determination requirement 

23 under this subsection, except in cases in which the 

24 Administrator has a conflict of interest. 

25 (c) MAJOR PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Annually, at the same 

2 time as the President’s annual budget submission to 

3 the Congress, the Administrator shall transmit to 

4 the Committee on Science of the House of Rep5 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

6 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

7 that includes the information required by this sec8 tion for each major program for which the Adminis9 tration proposes to expend funds in the subsequent 

10 fiscal year. Reports under this paragraph shall be 

11 known as Major Program Annual Reports. 

12 (2) BASELINE REPORT.—The first Major Pro13 gram Annual Report for each major program shall 

14 include a Baseline Report that shall, at a minimum, 

15 include— 

16 (A) the purposes of the program and key 

17 technical characteristics necessary to fulfill 

18 those purposes; 

19 (B) an estimate of the life-cycle cost for 

20 the program, with a detailed breakout of the 

21 development cost, program reserves, and an es22 timate of the annual costs until development is 

23 completed; 

24 (C) the schedule for development, including 

25 key program milestones; 


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1 (D) the plan for mitigating technical, cost, 

2 and schedule risks identified in accordance with 

3 subsection (b)(1)(A); and 

4 (E) the name of the person responsible for 

5 making notifications under subsection (d), who 

6 shall be an individual whose primary responsi7 bility is overseeing the program. 

8 (3) INFORMATION UPDATES.—For major pro9 grams for which a Baseline Report has been sub10 mitted, each subsequent Major Program Annual Re11 port shall describe any changes to the information 

12 that had been provided in the Baseline Report, and 

13 the reasons for those changes. 

14 (d) NOTIFICATION.— 

15 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The individual identified 

16 under subsection (c)(2)(E) shall immediately notify 

17 the Administrator any time that individual has rea18 sonable cause to believe that, for the major program 

19 for which he or she is responsible— 

20 (A) the development cost of the program is 

21 likely to exceed the estimate provided in the 

22 Baseline Report of the program by 15 percent 

23 or more; or 

24 (B) a milestone of the program is likely to 

25 be delayed by 6 months or more from the date 


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1 provided for it in the Baseline Report of the 

2 program. 

3 (2) REASONS.—Not later than 30 days after 

4 the notification required under paragraph (1), the 

5 individual identified under subsection (c)(2)(E) shall 

6 transmit to the Administrator a written notification 

7 explaining the reasons for the change in the cost or 

8 milestone of the program for which notification was 

9 provided under paragraph (1). 

10 (3) NOTIFICATION OF CONGRESS.—Not later 

11 than 15 days after the Administrator receives a writ12 ten notification under paragraph (2), the Adminis13 trator shall transmit the notification to the Com14 mittee on Science of the House of Representatives 

15 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

16 Transportation of the Senate. 

17 (e) FIFTEEN PERCENT, SIX-MONTH THRESHOLD.— 

18 Not later than 30 days after receiving a written notifica19 tion under subsection (d)(2), the Administrator shall de20 termine whether the development cost of the program is 

21 likely to exceed the estimate provided in the Baseline Re22 port of the program by 15 percent or more, or whether 

23 a milestone is likely to be delayed by 6 months or more. 

24 If the determination is affirmative, the Administrator 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) transmit to the Committee on Science of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

3 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen4 ate, not later than 15 days after making the deter5 mination, a report that includes— 

6 (A) a description of the increase in cost or 

7 delay in schedule and a detailed explanation for 

8 the increase or delay; 

9 (B) a description of actions taken or pro10 posed to be taken in response to the cost in11 crease or delay; and 

12 (C) a description of any impacts the cost 

13 increase or schedule delay, or the actions de14 scribed under subparagraph (B), will have on 

15 any other program within the Administration; 

16 and 

17 (2) if the Administrator intends to continue 

18 with the program, promptly initiate an analysis of 

19 the program, which shall include, at a minimum— 

20 (A) the projected cost and schedule for 

21 completing the program if current requirements 

22 of the program are not modified; 

23 (B) the projected cost and the schedule for 

24 completing the program after instituting the ac25 tions described under paragraph (1)(B); and 


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1 (C) a description of, and the projected cost 

2 and schedule for, a broad range of alternatives 

3 to the program. 

4 The Administration shall complete an analysis initi5 ated under paragraph (2) not later than 3 months 

6 after the Administrator makes a determination 

7 under this subsection. The Administrator shall 

8 transmit the analysis to the Committee on Science 

9 of the House of Representatives and Committee on 

10 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen11 ate not later than 30 days after its completion. 

12 (f) THIRTY PERCENT THRESHOLD.—If the Adminis13 trator determines under subsection (d) that the develop14 ment cost of a program will exceed the estimate provided 

15 in the Baseline Report of the program by more than 30 

16 percent, then, beginning 18 months after the date the Ad17 ministrator transmits a report under section (e)(1), the 

18 Administrator shall not expend any additional funds on 

19 the program, other than termination costs, unless the Con20 gress has subsequently authorized continuation of the pro21 gram by law. An appropriation for the specific program 

22 enacted subsequent to a report being transmitted shall be 

23 considered an authorization for purposes of this sub24 section. If the program is continued, the Administrator 

25 shall submit a new Baseline Report for the program no 


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1 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the Act 

2 under which Congress has authorized continuation of the 

3 program. 

4 SEC. 215. OFFSHORE PERFORMANCE OF CONTRACTS FOR 

5 THE PROCUREMENT OF GOODS AND SERV6 ICES. 

7 (a) LIMITATIONS.— 

8 (1) CONVERSIONS TO CONTRACTOR PERFORM9 ANCE OF ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES.—Except as 

10 provided in paragraph (3), an activity or function of 

11 the Administration that is converted to contractor 

12 performance under Office of Management and Budg13 et Circular A-76 may not be performed by the con14 tractor or any subcontractor at a location outside 

15 the United States. 

16 (2) CONTRACTS FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF

17 SERVICES.— 

18 (A) Except as provided in paragraph (3), 

19 a contract for the procurement of goods or serv20 ices that is entered into by the Administrator 

21 may not be performed outside the United 

22 States unless it is to meet a requirement of the 

23 Administration for goods or services specifically 

24 at a location outside the United States. 


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1 (B) The President may waive the prohibi2 tion in subparagraph (A) in the case of any 

3 contract for which the President determines in 

4 writing that it is necessary in the national secu5 rity interests of the United States for goods or 

6 services under the contract to be performed out7 side the United States. 

8 (C) The Administrator may waive the pro9 hibition in subparagraph (A) in the case of any 

10 contract for which the Administrator deter11 mines in writing that essential goods or services 

12 under the contract are only available from a 

13 source outside the United States. 

14 (3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2)(A) 

15 shall not apply to the extent that the activity or 

16 function under the contract was previously per17 formed by Federal Government employees outside 

18 the United States. 

19 (4) CONSISTENCY WITH INTERNATIONAL

20 AGREEMENTS.—The provisions of this section shall 

21 not apply to the extent that they are inconsistent 

22 with obligations of the United States under inter23 national agreements. 

24 (b) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIRE25 MENT.—The Administrator shall transmit to Congress, 


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1 not later than 120 days after the end of each fiscal year 

2 beginning with the first fiscal year after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, a report on the contracts and sub4 contracts performed overseas and the amount of purchases 

5 directly or indirectly by the Administration from foreign 

6 entities in that fiscal year. The report shall separately in7 dicate— 

8 (1) the contracts and subcontracts and their 

9 dollar values for which the Administrator determines 

10 that essential goods or services under the contract 

11 are available only from a source outside the United 

12 States; and 

13 (2) the items and their dollar values for which 

14 the Buy American Act was waived pursuant to obli15 gations of the United States under international 

16 agreements. 

17 TITLE III—NATIONAL OCEAN 

18 LEADERSHIP AND COORDINA19 TION 

20 SEC. 301. NATIONAL OCEANS ADVISOR. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

23 Executive Office of the President a National Oceans 

24 Advisor, who shall be appointed by the President, by 

25 and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 


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1 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Advisor shall be paid 

2 at a rate specified by the President not to exceed the 

3 rate payable for Level V of the Executive Schedule 

4 under section 5136 of title 5, United States Code. 

5 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Advisor shall— 

6 (1) advise the President on implementation of 

7 this Act, activities of the Committee on Ocean Pol8 icy, section 302, and other covered actions relating 

9 to United States ocean and coastal waters and ma10 rine ecosystem health; 

11 (2) serve as the Executive Director and Chair 

12 of the Committee on Ocean Policy established by 

13 section 302; and 

14 (3) in consultation with the Administrator, co15 ordinate Federal agency covered actions related to 

16 United States ocean waters and marine ecosystem 

17 health. 

18 (c) STAFFING.— 

19 (1) The Advisor, without regard to the civil 

20 service laws and regulations governing employment 

21 in the competitive service, may employ such officers 

22 and employees as may be necessary to carry out the 

23 functions of the National Oceans Advisor under this 

24 Act. 


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1 (2) The Advisor may accept, employ, and termi2 nate voluntary and uncompensated services in fur3 therance of the purposes of the Advisor. 

4 SEC. 302. COMMITTEE ON OCEAN POLICY. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

6 Executive Office of the President a Committee on Ocean 

7 Policy (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’), which 

8 succeeds the Committee on Ocean Policy established on 

9 December 17, 2004, by Executive Order 13366 and shall 

10 continue the activities of that committee as it was in exist11 ence on the day before the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Committee shall— 

13 (1) facilitate interagency coordination on Fed14 eral agency covered actions related to United States 

15 ocean waters and marine ecosystem health and the 

16 implementation of this Act; 

17 (2) review and appraise the various programs 

18 and activities of the Federal Government for consist19 ency with the policy and standards set forth in sec20 tion 101 and make recommendations to the Presi21 dent with respect thereto no later than 18 months 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act; 

23 (3) resolve interagency disputes regarding ma24 rine ecosystem health and in particular the imple25 mentation of this Act; 


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1 (4) coordinate and certify agency ocean budgets 

2 regarding their sufficiency to achieve the policy and 

3 standards set forth in section 101; 

4 (5) in coordination with the Administrator, sub5 mit to the President and publish at least once every 

6 3 years a report on the condition of United States 

7 ocean waters; and 

8 (6) obtain and provide information to facilitate 

9 and advance ecosystem-based management of Re10 gional Ocean Partnerships in accordance with title 

11 IV. 

12 (c) CHAIR.—The National Oceans Advisor shall be a 

13 non-voting member and the chair of the committee as set 

14 forth in section 301(b)(2), and shall, in this capacity, be 

15 responsible for— 

16 (1) regularly convening and presiding at meet17 ings of the Committee; 

18 (2) directing the work of the Committee; and 

19 (3) establishing and directing subcommittees of 

20 the Committee, as appropriate. 

21 (d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall have 

23 the following voting members: 

24 (A) The Secretary of Commerce. 

25 (B) The Secretary of State. 


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1 (C) The Secretary of the Interior. 

2 (D) The Secretary of Defense. 

3 (E) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

4 (F) The Secretary of Transportation. 

5 (G) The Secretary of Homeland Security. 

6 (H) The Secretary of Education. 

7 (I) The Secretary of Energy. 

8 (J) The Secretary of Health and Human 

9 Services. 

10 (K) The Secretary of Labor 

11 (L) The Attorney General 

12 (M) The Administrator of the Environ13 mental Protection Agency. 

14 (N) The Director of the Office of Manage15 ment and Budget. 

16 (O) The Director of the National Science 

17 Foundation. 

18 (P) Six State Governors appointed by the 

19 National Governors Association, who shall rep20 resent State and local interests. 

21 (Q) The Administrator of the National 

22 Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

23 (R) The Chair of the National Research 

24 Council Governing Board. 


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1 (S) The Chair of the Council on Environ2 mental Quality. 

3 (2) DELEGATION.—A member of the Com4 mittee may designate, to perform the Committee or 

5 subcommittee functions of the member, any person 

6 who is within such member’s department, agency, or 

7 office and who is— 

8 (A) an officer of the United States ap9 pointed by the President; 

10 (B) a member of the Senior Executive 

11 Service; or 

12 (C) an officer or employee within the Exec13 utive Office of the President. 

14 (3) STATE GOVERNOR MEMBERS.— 

15 (A) TERMS.—Of the members appointed 

16 under paragraph (1)(P)— 

17 (i) their term as a member shall be 4 

18 years, with eligibility for reappointment; 

19 (ii) at least 4 shall be Governors of 

20 coastal States; and 

21 (iii) any that cannot serve the full 

22 length of their term shall be replaced by 

23 the new Governor or acting Governor of 

24 that State to carry out the remainder of 

25 that term. 


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1 (B) LIMITATION ON APPOINTMENT.—A 

2 Governor of a State may not be appointed 

3 under paragraph (1)(P) to a term on the Com4 mittee that begins before the end of the 4-year 

5 period that begins upon the expiration of a 

6 prior term on the Committee served by the Gov7 ernor. 

8 (e) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Chair of the Committee, 

9 with consultation with the Administrator, has the author10 ity to create such subcommittees of the Committee as nec11 essary to help carry out the functions of the Committee. 

12 (f) COORDINATION.—The Chair of the Council on 

13 Environmental Quality and the National Oceans Advisor 

14 shall ensure appropriate coordination of the activities of 

15 the Committee and other policy coordination structures re16 lating to ocean or maritime issues. 

17 (g) FUNDING.—Consistent with applicable law and 

18 subject to the availability of appropriations, the Council 

19 on Environmental Quality shall provide the funding, in20 cluding through the Office of Environmental Quality and 

21 administrative support for the Committee necessary to im22 plement this section. 

23 (h) STAFF.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chair, without regard 

25 to the civil service laws and regulations, may employ 


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1 and terminate such employees as may be necessary 

2 to carry out its function under this Act. 

3 (2) VOLUNTARY AND UNCOMPENSATED SERV4 ICES.—The Chair may accept, employ, and termi5 nate voluntary and uncompensated services in fur6 therance of the purposes of the Committee. 

7 (i) RESOURCES.—In carrying out its functions under 

8 this Act, the Committee may secure directly from any 

9 Federal agency or department any information it con10 siders to be necessary to carry out its functions under this 

11 Act. Each such agency or department may cooperate with 

12 the Committee and, to the extent permitted by law, shall 

13 furnish such information (other than information de14 scribed in section 552(b)(1)(A) of title 5, United States 

15 Code) to the Committee, upon request of the Committee. 

16 (j) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com18 mittee Act (5 App. U.S.C.) shall not apply to the 

19 Committee on Ocean Policy, or any of its sub20 committees formed in accordance with section 

21 302(e). 

22 (2) COMPLIANCE.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

23 (1), the Committee and its subcommittees shall be 

24 appointed and operate in a manner consistent with 


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1 all provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

2 with respect to— 

3 (A) the balance of its of the Committee; 

4 (B) provision of public notice regarding its 

5 activities; 

6 (C) open meetings; and 

7 (D) public access to documents created by 

8 the Committee. 

9 SEC. 303. ESTABLISHING A COORDINATED MANAGEMENT 

10 REGIME FOR ACTIVITIES IN FEDERAL WA11 TERS. 

12 The Committee shall submit to the Congress by not 

13 later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act recommendations with justifications, a plan, and pro15 posed schedule for creating a balanced, efficient, and effec16 tive ecosystem-based management regime for activities in 

17 Federal waters that— 

18 (1) consider the use of ocean zoning and cumu19 lative impacts of multiple uses; 

20 (2) designate a lead Federal agency for each ex21 isting activity and new activity in Federal waters; 

22 (3) ensure that each such lead Federal agency 

23 coordinates with other applicable authorities, includ24 ing States and Regional Ocean Partnerships estab25 lished under title IV of this Act; 


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1 (4) consider possible consolidation of oceanic or 

2 atmospheric programs, functions, services, or re3 sources within or among Federal agencies, if their 

4 consolidation would not undermine policy goals set 

5 forth in this Act; 

6 (5) fully consider the public interest; and 

7 (6) are consistent with the national ocean policy 

8 and standards as set forth in section 101 of this 

9 Act. 

10 SEC. 304. COUNCIL OF ADVISORS ON OCEANS POLICY. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

12 Council of Advisors on Oceans Policy (in this section re13 ferred to as the ‘‘Council’’), which shall advise the Presi14 dent, the National Oceans Advisor, and the Committee on 

15 Ocean Policy on policies to protect, maintain, and restore 

16 the health of marine ecosystems on a regional and national 

17 basis. 

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall have at least 

19 15 members appointed by the president, in consultation 

20 with the National Ocean Advisor established in section 

21 301. Members of the Council shall— 

22 (1) be appointed based on their knowledge and 

23 experience in coastal, ocean, and atmospheric 

24 science, policy, and other related areas; and 


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1 (2) include at least 1 representative of each of 

2 the following: 

3 (A) State governments; 

4 (B) Local governments; 

5 (C) Indian tribes; 

6 (D) The marine science research commu7 nity; 

8 (E) The marine science education commu9 nity; 

10 (F) Fisheries; 

11 (G) Non-fishing marine activities; 

12 (H) Agriculture, which may include timber; 

13 (I) Watershed organizations (other than 

14 organizations represented under subparagraph 

15 (J)), which may include resource conservation 

16 districts; and 

17 (J) Nongovernmental organizations (other 

18 than organizations represented under subpara19 graph (I)), including groups interested in ma20 rine conservation. 

21 (c) TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), the term of a member of the Council shall 

24 be 4 years. 


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1 (2) INITIAL APPOINTEES.—Of the members ini2 tially appointed to the Council— 

3 (A) at least one-half shall be appointed to 

4 a 4-year term that ends in a Federal election 

5 year in which there occurs an election of the 

6 President; and 

7 (B) at least one-half shall be appointed to 

8 a 4-year term that ends in a Federal election 

9 year in which there does not occur an election 

10 of the President. 

11 (3) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill 

12 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 

13 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap14 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 

15 that term. 

16 (4) LIMITATION.—An individual may not serve 

17 more than 2 terms as a member of the Council. 

18 (d) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at least 2 

19 times each year and more often at the President’s discre20 tion. 

21 (e) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—A member of 

22 the Council shall not receive compensation for service on 

23 the Council, but upon request by the member may be al24 lowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Jan 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H21.IH H21

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1 sistence, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 

2 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com5 mittee Act (5 App. U.S.C.) shall not apply to the 

6 Council of Advisors on Oceans Policy. 

7 (2) COMPLIANCE.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

8 (1), the Council shall be appointed and operate in a 

9 manner consistent with all provisions of the Federal 

10 Advisory Committee Act with respect to 

11 (A) the balance of its membership; 

12 (B) provision of public notice regarding its 

13 activities; 

14 (C) open meetings; and 

15 (D) public access to documents created by 

16 the Council. 

17 TITLE IV—REGIONAL COORDI18 NATION AND ECOSYSTEM 

19 PLANNING 

20 SEC. 401. FINDINGS. 

21 The Congress finds the following: 

22 (1) Establishing a national network of govern23 ance planning bodies at the regional level is essential 

24 for solving many pressing United States ocean and 

25 coastal issues. 


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1 (2) Several States and regions have developed 

2 ocean management strategies that can be used as 

3 templates for coordinating among various govern4 ment entities. A new national framework is needed 

5 to extend, integrate, and support these efforts. 

6 (3) Large marine ecosystems are biogeographi7 cally distinct ecosystem units and provide an appro8 priate spatial scale for ecosystem-based regional 

9 ocean governance. 

10 (4) Because ecosystems do not align with polit11 ical jurisdictions, regional ocean governance mecha12 nisms must provide for cooperation and collaboration 

13 within and among multiple levels of government, in14 cluding local, State, tribal, and Federal govern15 ments. 

16 (5) Effective regional ocean governance requires 

17 transparency and must include ample opportunities 

18 for input and participation by stakeholders and the 

19 public. 

20 (6) Important ecological areas within each large 

21 marine ecosystem need to be identified and mon22 itored. 

23 (7) Additional funding and other resources are 

24 necessary to promote regional coordination and col25 laboration and to implement regional solutions to 


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1 current and future ocean and coastal management 

2 challenges. 

3 SEC. 402. REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of 

5 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator and appro6 priate States, in consultation with the Committee on 

7 Ocean Policy, shall establish a Regional Ocean Partner8 ship (in this title referred to as ‘‘Partnership’’) for each 

9 of the ocean regions established by this section, and in 

10 accordance with the policies and standards in section 101, 

11 in order to— 

12 (1) provide for more systematic communication, 

13 collaboration, and integration of Federal and State 

14 coastal and ocean environmental and resource man15 agement efforts; 

16 (2) provide for regional ecosystem assessment 

17 and information programs to guide management de18 cisions; 

19 (3) provide for the identification and moni20 toring of important ecological areas; 

21 (4) provide for the creation of a strategic plan 

22 for and implement adaptive, ecosystem-based man23 agement of coastal and ocean resources within ocean 

24 regions, building on and complementing local, State, 

25 and regional efforts; and 


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1 (5) provide for improved citizen and community 

2 stewardship of coastal and ocean resources. 

3 (b) REGIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby designated 

5 the following ocean regions: 

6 (A) NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN REGION.—The 

7 North Pacific Ocean Region, which shall consist 

8 of the coastal zone (as defined in section 304 

9 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 

10 (16 U.S.C. 1453)) and watershed areas of the 

11 State of Alaska that have a significant impact 

12 on coastal waters of the State of Alaska sea13 ward to the extent of the Exclusive Economic 

14 Zone as specified in Presidential Proclamation 

15 Number 5030, dated March 10, 1983. 

16 (B) PACIFIC OCEAN REGION.—The Pacific 

17 Ocean Region, which shall consist of the coastal 

18 zone (as defined in section 304 of the Coastal 

19 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

20 1453)) and watershed areas of the States that 

21 have a significant impact on coastal waters of 

22 the States of Washington, Oregon, and Cali23 fornia seaward to the extent of the Exclusive 

24 Economic Zone as specified in Presidential 


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1 Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 10, 

2 1983. 

3 (C) WESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN REGION.— 

4 The Western Pacific Ocean Region, which shall 

5 consist of the coastal zone (as defined in section 

6 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

7 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)) and watershed areas of 

8 the States that have a significant impact on 

9 coastal waters of the States of Hawaii, Guam, 

10 American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana 

11 Islands seaward to the extent of the Exclusive 

12 Economic Zone as specified in Presidential 

13 Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 10, 

14 1983, including the territorial waters of the 

15 Commonwealths, territories, and possessions of 

16 the United States in the Pacific Ocean. 

17 (D) GULF OF MEXICO OCEAN REGION.— 

18 The Gulf of Mexico Ocean Region, which shall 

19 consist of the coastal zone (as defined in section 

20 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

21 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)) and watershed areas of 

22 the States that have a significant impact on 

23 coastal waters of the States of Texas, Lou24 isiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida sea25 ward to the extent of the Exclusive Economic 


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1 Zone as specified in Presidential Proclamation 

2 Number 5030, dated March 10, 1983. 

3 (E) CARIBBEAN OCEAN REGION.—The 

4 Caribbean Ocean Region, which shall consist of 

5 the coastal zone (as defined in section 304 of 

6 the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

7 U.S.C. 1453)) and watershed areas of the 

8 States that have a significant impact on coastal 

9 waters of the Virgin Islands and the Common10 wealth of Puerto Rico seaward to the extent of 

11 the Exclusive Economic Zone as specified in 

12 Presidential Proclamation Number 5030, dated 

13 March 10, 1983, including the territorial waters 

14 of the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. 

15 (F) SOUTHEAST ATLANTIC OCEAN RE16 GION.—The Southeast Atlantic Ocean Region, 

17 which shall consist of the coastal zone (as de18 fined in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Man19 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)) and 

20 watershed areas of the States that have a sig21 nificant impact on coastal waters of the States 

22 of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North 

23 Carolina seaward to the extent of the Exclusive 

24 Economic Zone as specified in Presidential 


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1 Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 10, 

2 1983. 

3 (G) NORTHEAST ATLANTIC OCEAN RE4 GION.—The Northeast Atlantic Ocean Region, 

5 which shall consist of the coastal zone (as de6 fined in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Man7 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)) and 

8 watershed areas of the States that have a sig9 nificant impact on coastal waters of the States 

10 of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 

11 Rhode Island, and Connecticut seaward to the 

12 extent of the Exclusive Economic Zone as speci13 fied in Presidential Proclamation Number 

14 5030, dated March 10, 1983. 

15 (H) MID-ATLANTIC OCEAN REGION.—The 

16 Mid-Atlantic Ocean Region, which shall consist 

17 of the coastal zone (as defined in section 304 

18 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 

19 (16 U.S.C. 1453)) and watershed areas of the 

20 States that have a significant impact on coastal 

21 waters of the States of New York, New Jersey, 

22 Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Vir23 ginia seaward to the extent of the Exclusive 

24 Economic Zone as specified in Presidential 


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1 Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 10, 

2 1983. 

3 (I) GREAT LAKES REGION.—The Great 

4 Lakes Region, which shall consist of the coastal 

5 zone (as defined in section 304 of the Coastal 

6 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

7 1453)) and watershed areas of the States that 

8 have a significant impact on coastal waters of 

9 the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, 

10 Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Pennsyl11 vania to the extent of the territorial waters of 

12 the United States in the Great Lakes. 

13 (2) SUBREGIONS.—Each Partnership may es14 tablish such subregions, or geographically specified 

15 management areas, as necessary for efficient and ef16 fective management of region-specific ecosystem 

17 issues. 

18 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 (1) FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Within 90 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad22 ministrator, in consultation with the Committee 

23 on Ocean Policy, shall coordinate representa24 tives of the Federal Government to form each 

25 Partnership. Such representatives shall be offiVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Jan 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H21.IH H21

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1 cers or employees of Federal agencies and de2 partments that have expertise in and oversee 

3 ocean and coastal policy or resource manage4 ment. Each Federal agency or department shall 

5 select and appoint their representatives to each 

6 Partnership. The Administrator, or his or her 

7 designated representative, shall serve as the 

8 chairperson of each Partnership. 

9 (B) INCLUDED ENTITIES.—The represent10 atives appointed to each Partnership under this 

11 paragraph shall include one or more officers or 

12 employees of the Administration, the Depart13 ment of the Interior, the Environmental Protec14 tion Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the 

15 Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of 

16 Defense, the Department of Homeland Secu17 rity, the Department of Commerce, and other 

18 Federal agencies and departments as necessary. 

19 (2) STATE AND TRIBAL REPRESENTATIVES.— 

20 (A) COASTAL STATE APPOINTMENTS.—The 

21 Governor of each Coastal State within the 

22 ocean region of a Partnership shall appoint an 

23 officer or employee of the State agency with 

24 primary responsibility for overseeing ocean and 


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1 coastal policy or resource management to that 

2 Partnership. 

3 (B) INLAND STATE APPOINTMENT.— 

4 Where appropriate, the Administrator shall re5 ceive nominations and select one representative 

6 from each of two of the inland States that, ac7 cording to maps and data of the United States 

8 Geological Survey, have jurisdiction over waters 

9 that feed into the ocean region for which a 

10 Partnership must prepare a Regional Ocean 

11 Strategic Plan. 

12 (C) WESTERN PACIFIC AND CARIBBEAN

13 REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS.—The Gov14 ernors of American Samoa, Guam, and the 

15 Northern Mariana Islands shall each appoint an 

16 officer or employee of the agency with primary 

17 responsibility for overseeing ocean and coastal 

18 policy or resource management to the Western 

19 Pacific Regional Ocean Partnership. The Gov20 ernors of the Virgin Islands and the Common21 wealth of Puerto Rico shall each appoint an of22 ficer or employee of the agency with primary re23 sponsibility for overseeing ocean and coastal 

24 policy or resource management to the Carib25 bean Regional Ocean Partnership. 


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1 (D) NORTH PACIFIC REGIONAL OCEAN

2 PARTNERSHIP.—The Governor of the State of 

3 Washington shall appoint an officer or employee 

4 of the Washington State agency with primary 

5 responsibility for overseeing ocean and coastal 

6 policy or resource management to the North 

7 Pacific Regional Ocean Partnership. 

8 (3) INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES.— 

9 Where appropriate, each Partnership shall foster 

10 nonbinding relationships with foreign governments, 

11 agencies, States, provinces, and other entities as ap12 propriate, at scales appropriate to the region under 

13 the authority of a Partnership, including by pro14 viding opportunities for nonvoting participation by 

15 foreign representatives at meetings of the Partner16 ship, its advisory committees, and other working 

17 groups. 

18 (4) REGIONAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT COUN19 CIL REPRESENTATIVE.—The executive director of 

20 each Regional Fishery Management Council having 

21 jurisdiction over the ocean region of a Partnership 

22 shall serve as a voting member of the Partnership, 

23 and shall be considered a non-federal representative 

24 for the purposes of section 402(c)(6)(A). 


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1 (5) LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE.— 

2 Where appropriate, the Administrator will receive 

3 nominations and select one representative from a 

4 coastal political subdivision to represent the interests 

5 of local and county governments on the Partnership. 

6 (6) ADDITIONAL APPOINTMENTS.— 

7 (A) TOTALS.—The Administrator shall de8 termine the total number of additional rep9 resentatives of Indian tribes, Coastal States, 

10 and local governments within an ocean region 

11 of a Partnership as is necessary to ensure that 

12 the combined number of non-Federal voting 

13 representatives equals the number of Federal 

14 voting representatives on each Partnership. 

15 (B) SOLICITING NOMINATIONS.—The Ad16 ministrator shall solicit nominations for quali17 fied governmental officers or employees from 

18 Indian tribes, States, Commonwealths, terri19 tories, and possessions of the United States 

20 within an ocean region of a Partnership and se21 lect nominees to fill any vacant seats on that 

22 Partnership. 

23 (C) SELECTING NOMINEES.—In selecting 

24 among nominees to serve on each Regional 

25 Ocean Partnership, the Administrator shall 


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1 strive to ensure a balanced representation 

2 among these governmental entities. 

3 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 

4 (1) AUTHORITY.—Each Partnership may estab5 lish and appoint members of advisory committees 

6 and working groups as necessary for preparation of 

7 a Regional Ocean Strategic Plan under this title. 

8 (2) CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Each 

9 Partnership shall establish and appoint members of 

10 a Citizens Advisory Committee comprised of non11 governmental members of the public, including a 

12 wide range of citizens interested in multiple uses of 

13 United States ocean waters and ocean resources. 

14 (3) ADVICE AND INPUT.—Each Partnership 

15 shall take the advice and input of any Advisory 

16 Committee into consideration in the development of 

17 a Regional Ocean Strategic Plan. 

18 (e) COORDINATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Immediately following the 

20 appointment of representatives to each Partnership, 

21 the representatives shall take steps to identify oppor22 tunities and better coordinate and integrate existing 

23 programs or activities with the other governmental 

24 entities in the ocean region of the Partnership. 


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1 (2) EXISTING PROGRAMS.—Each Partnership 

2 shall not supplant the functions or authorities of ex3 isting regional entities and shall, to the maximum 

4 extent possible, build upon current State, multi5 state, and regional capacity and governance and in6 stitutional mechanisms to manage ocean and coastal 

7 resources. This shall include mechanisms to— 

8 (A) conduct coastal and ocean monitoring, 

9 mapping, assessment, and observations; 

10 (B) provide for ecologically sustainable 

11 growth; 

12 (C) restore and conserve habitat; 

13 (D) manage State and Federal fisheries; 

14 (E) maintain and improve the quality of 

15 coastal and ocean waters; and 

16 (F) protect and restore the resources of 

17 the Nation’s coastal zone. 

18 (3) INLAND REGIONS.—Each Partnership shall 

19 collaborate and coordinate as necessary and appro20 priate with inland States that may significantly im21 pact the health of marine ecosystems in the ocean 

22 region. 

23 (f) PROCEDURES.— 

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1 ance with procedures established by the Partnership 

2 and approved by the Administrator. 

3 (2) INTERIM PROCEDURES.—Each Partnership 

4 shall operate in accordance with interim procedures 

5 prescribed by the Administrator until such time as 

6 the Administrator approves procedures established 

7 by the Partnership under paragraph (1). 

8 (3) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—The Adminis9 trator shall prescribe requirements for approval of 

10 procedures under paragraph (1), and interim proce11 dures for purposes of paragraph (2), including such 

12 requirements and interim procedures that provide 

13 for— 

14 (A) transparency in decision-making; 

15 (B) opportunities for public input and par16 ticipation; and 

17 (C) the use of science, local government, 

18 and citizen advisory committees. 

19 (g) STAFF.— 

20 (1) HIRING AUTHORITY.—Each Partnership 

21 may hire such staff as is necessary to perform the 

22 functions of the Partnership. 

23 (2) TREATMENT.—Staff hired by a Partnership 

24 shall be treated as employees of the Administration. 

25 (h) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com2 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 

3 Regional Ocean Partnerships or to any advisory 

4 committees established under this title. 

5 (2) COMPLIANCE.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

6 (1), the Partnerships and any advisory committees 

7 of the Partnerships shall be appointed and operate 

8 in a manner consistent with all provisions of the 

9 Federal Advisory Committee Act with respect to— 

10 (A) the balance of their membership; 

11 (B) provision of public notice regarding 

12 their activities; 

13 (C) open meetings; and 

14 (D) public access to documents created by 

15 the Partnerships or advisory committees of the 

16 Partnerships. 

17 SEC. 403. REGIONAL OCEAN STRATEGIC PLANS. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Each Regional Ocean Partner19 ship shall, within 3 years after establishment of the Part20 nership, prepare and submit to the Administrator and the 

21 Committee on Ocean Policy for review and consultation 

22 and approval by the Administration, pursuant to this sec23 tion, a Regional Ocean Strategic Plan (referred to in this 

24 title as ‘‘Plan’’) for the ocean region of the Partnership. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—Each Plan prepared by a Partner2 ship shall include such information as the following: 

3 (1) An assessment of the ocean region in order 

4 to guide management decisions, including consider5 ation of ecological, economic, educational, social, cul6 tural nutritional, and recreational factors. 

7 (2) Identification of multiple indicators that 

8 measure ecosystem health and the effectiveness of 

9 current management efforts, and an analysis of their 

10 current status. 

11 (3) Identification of important ecological areas 

12 within the region and recommendations for a long13 term monitoring plan of such areas. 

14 (4) Determination of priority issues within the 

15 region and adjoining inland regions and an assess16 ment of the capacity of existing governance mecha17 nisms to address those issues. 

18 (5) Determination of solutions and specific poli19 cies to address the priority problems that take an 

20 adaptive, ecosystem-based approach. 

21 (6) Identification of short and long-term eco22 system goals, responsibilities for taking actions to 

23 implement solutions to priority problems and to 

24 achieve those ecosystem goals, and the necessary re25 sources. 


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1 (7) An analysis of the gaps in authority, coordi2 nation, and resources, including funding, that must 

3 be filled in order to fully achieve the Plan’s goals. 

4 (8) Identification of model programs whose ex5 isting infrastructure aid in implementation of the 

6 Plan. 

7 (c) MEETINGS.—Each Partnership shall meet— 

8 (1) at least twice each year— 

9 (A) during the development of the Plan; 

10 and 

11 (B) after completion of such plan to mon12 itor the implementation of the plan’s goals and 

13 objectives and develop strategies for adaptive 

14 management; and 

15 (2) at other times at the call of the Adminis16 trator. 

17 (d) AMENDING PLANS.—Each approved Plan shall be 

18 reviewed and revised by the relevant Partnership at least 

19 once every four years. Any proposed amendments to the 

20 plan shall be transmitted to the Administrator for review 

21 pursuant to this section. 

22 (e) ACTION BY ADMINISTRATOR.— 

23 (1) REVIEW OF PLANS.— 

24 (A) COMMENCEMENT OF REVIEW.—Within 

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1 nership to the Administrator and the Com2 mittee on Ocean Policy, or any amendment to 

3 such a Plan, the Administrator in consultation 

4 with the Committee on Ocean Policy shall com5 mence a review of the Plan or amendment. 

6 (B) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Im7 mediately after receipt of such a Plan, the Ad8 ministrator shall publish in the Federal Reg9 ister a notice stating that the plan or amend10 ment is available and that public comments 

11 may be submitted to the Administrator within 

12 60 days after the date the notice is published. 

13 (C) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL.—Be14 fore approving a Regional Ocean Strategic 

15 Plan, or any amendments to such a Plan, sub16 mitted by a Regional Ocean Partnership, the 

17 Administrator, in consultation with the Com18 mittee on Ocean Policy, must find that the 

19 Plan— 

20 (i) is consistent with the policy and 

21 standards set forth in section 101, and 

22 (ii) adequately addresses the required 

23 elements under subsection (a) of this sec24 tion. 


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1 (D) DEADLINE FOR REVIEW.—Within 120 

2 days after transmittal by the Partnership to the 

3 Administrator of a Regional Ocean Strategic 

4 Plan, or an amendment to such a Plan, the Ad5 ministrator in consultation with the Committee 

6 on Ocean Policy shall approve or disapprove the 

7 plan by written notice. If the Administrator dis8 approves a Plan or amendment, the Adminis9 trator in consultation with the Committee on 

10 Ocean Policy shall make conforming rec11 ommendations to the Partnership. Within 60 

12 days of receiving the recommendations, the 

13 Partnership shall submit a revised Plan or 

14 amendment(s) to the Administrator and the 

15 Committee on Ocean Policy for review under 

16 this title. 

17 (2) GRANTS.—The Administrator, subject to 

18 the availability of funds in the Ocean and Great 

19 Lakes Conservation Trust Fund established in sec20 tion 501, may award grants to members of a Part21 nership, other than representatives of the Federal 

22 Government, to cover appropriate expenses incurred 

23 in developing a draft Ocean Strategic plan or to im24 plement an approved plan. 

25 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Indian tribes, States, Com2 monwealths, territories and possessions of the 

3 United States with a representative on a Regional 

4 Ocean Partnership, and the Federal Government 

5 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, implement 

6 an approved Regional Ocean Strategic Plan con7 sistent with existing legal authorities. 

8 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MORE RE9 SOURCES.—If existing legal authority is inadequate 

10 or other resources are needed to successfully imple11 ment an approved Regional Ocean Strategic Plan in 

12 consultation with the Committee on Ocean Policy, 

13 the representatives of Indian tribes, States, Com14 monwealths, territories and possessions of the 

15 United States, and of the Federal Government serv16 ing on a Regional Ocean Partnership shall make rec17 ommendations to the Congress and States regarding 

18 necessary changes. 

19 SEC. 404. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY OF RE20 GIONAL OCEANS GOVERNANCE. 

21 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 enactment of this Act, the Administrator and the Com23 mittee on Ocean Policy shall enter into an arrangement 

24 with the National Research Council of the National Acad25 emy of Sciences to carry out a study of existing regional 


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1 and ecosystem-based approaches to coastal and ocean gov2 ernance. 

3 (b) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The study required by 

4 subsection (a) shall evaluate— 

5 (1) current coastal and oceans approaches to 

6 ecosystem-based management and their effectiveness 

7 at maintaining healthy marine ecosystems; 

8 (2) approaches to regional governance currently 

9 in use in the United States; and 

10 (3) mechanisms for engaging Federal, State, 

11 and local governments, special interest groups, and 

12 the general public in the management process. 

13 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In carrying out the study 

14 required by subsection (a), the National Research Council 

15 may develop recommendations it considers appropriate 

16 and directly related to the subject matter of the study. 

17 It is the sense of the Congress that the National Research 

18 Council should develop recommendations on the best 

19 methods of creating governance structures, specific to 

20 each of the Regional Ocean Partnerships created in sec21 tion 402, that include ecosystem-based management strat22 egies and broad participation. 

23 (d) REPORTS.—The National Research Council shall 

24 submit to the Administrator, the Committee on Ocean Pol25 icy, and each of the Regional Ocean Partnerships created 


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1 in section 402 by not later than one year after entering 

2 into the arrangement required by subsection (a), a final 

3 report on the study that includes all findings, conclusions, 

4 and recommendations. Upon receipt of the final report, 

5 each of the Regional Ocean Partnerships shall consider 

6 and integrate recommendations of the National Research 

7 Council to improve regional governance structures. 

8 (e) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—The Adminis9 trator and the Regional Ocean Partnerships shall, in a 

10 timely manner, make available to the National Research 

11 Council all information that the National Research Coun12 cil considers necessary to carry out its responsibilities 

13 under this section. 

14 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall not 

15 be construed to affect section 402, except to advise on effi16 cient structure and operation of the partnerships for the 

17 most effective ecosystem-based management of resources 

18 as practicable. 

19 (g) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available to the 

20 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pursu21 ant to the authorization of appropriations, an appropriate 

22 amount shall be available for carrying out the study re23 quired by this section. 


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1 SEC. 405. OCEAN ECOSYSTEM RESOURCE INFORMATION 

2 SYSTEMS. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

4 (1) Ecosystem-based management will require 

5 development of an ocean information systems com6 prised of a set of information management tools and 

7 products capable of integrating and disseminating 

8 information essential for informed decision-making. 

9 (2) Information generated by ocean monitoring 

10 systems, including the National Environmental Ob11 servatory Network, will be more useful if fully inte12 grated into resource information systems developed 

13 for ecosystem-based management applications. Data 

14 from these offshore monitoring programs, coupled 

15 with other information on ocean and aquatic eco16 systems, will provide a basis for understanding nat17 ural and anthropogenic environmental variability, in18 cluding climate change and the resulting impacts on 

19 living marine resources. 

20 (3) Natural resource information systems have 

21 been developed and are presently a successful man22 agement tool for onshore uses, including some Pa23 cific Coast watersheds, and they should now be ap24 plied to the ocean environment to facilitate eco25 system-based management of the United States 

26 oceans waters. 


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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

2 (1) REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator shall, 

3 within 90 days after the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act, establish a network of regional ocean eco5 system resource information systems to act as an or6 ganized repository of geophysical, atmospheric, 

7 oceanographic, and marine biological data, including 

8 genetic research, studies, data, maps, and analyses 

9 necessary to the understanding of the ocean eco10 system, and from which to draw information for the 

11 establishment of national policies and priorities re12 lated to the conservation, use, and management of 

13 United States ocean waters and the marine re14 sources therein. 

15 (2) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—Information 

16 maintained in each regional ocean ecosystem re17 source information system may include— 

18 (A) relevant historic or social science infor19 mation that may aid in the understanding of 

20 ocean ecosystems or their management; and 

21 (B) published and unpublished research, 

22 data, and scientifically peer-reviewed analysis, 

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1 search programs, and other reliable and rel2 evant information sources. 

3 (3) REVIEW OF INCLUDED ANALYSES AND IN4 TERPRETATIONS.—Each draft analysis and interpre5 tation of data to explain ecosystem relationships that 

6 is included in a regional ocean ecosystem resource 

7 information system shall be reviewed by qualified ex8 perts before being broadly disseminated through the 

9 system to the public. 

10 (4) CONTRACTS AND OTHER AGREEMENTS.— 

11 (A) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator, sub12 ject to the availability of appropriations, may 

13 enter into contracts and other agreements with 

14 other Federal agencies, State agencies, non-gov15 ernmental organizations, universities, and pri16 vate academic institutions for development of 

17 portions of each regional ocean ecosystem re18 source information system. 

19 (B) OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE AND THE

20 END-PRODUCT LICENSES.—The Administrator 

21 shall include in such agreements appropriate 

22 provisions requiring use of general public li23 cense open-source software and licensing of 

24 end-products to the Administration or to any 


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1 joint authority considered appropriate by the 

2 Administrator for efficient regional operations. 

3 (5) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Adminis4 trator shall ensure that information in each regional 

5 ocean ecosystem resource information system estab6 lished under this section shall be readily accessible 

7 at no cost, or at nominal cost, to the Congress, all 

8 Federal agencies, States, academic and scientific in9 stitutions, and the public through the Internet, li10 braries, and such other mediums as may be appro11 priate and practical. 

12 (c) INCLUDED REGIONS AND WATERS; SCHEDULE.— 

13 (1) OCEAN REGIONS.—The Administrator shall 

14 establish by not later than 5 years after the enact15 ment of the Act, a regional ocean ecosystem resource 

16 information system for each ocean region. 

17 (2) OTHER WATERS.—The Administrator, in 

18 cooperation with the affected States, shall establish 

19 by not later than 10 years after the enactment of 

20 this Act, a regional ocean ecosystem resource infor21 mation system for each of the following bodies of 

22 water: 

23 (A) The United States territorial waters of 

24 each of the Great Lakes. 

25 (B) Long Island Sound. 


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1 (C) The Gulf of Maine. 

2 (D) Chesapeake Bay. 

3 (E) The Mississippi River Delta. 

4 (F) San Francisco Bay and Delta. 

5 (G) The United States territorial waters of 

6 Puget Sound. 

7 (3) MODIFICATION OF REGIONS AND WA8 TERS.—The Administrator, with respect to the es9 tablishment of regional ocean ecosystem resource in10 formation systems, and for purposes of administra11 tive convenience and to ensure the timely completion 

12 of such systems, may divide the regions and waters 

13 referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) or include 

14 other waters not listed in those paragraphs. 

15 (d) COORDINATION.— 

16 (1) OBTAINING INFORMATION.—In establishing 

17 regional ocean ecosystem resource information sys18 tems, the Administrator— 

19 (A) shall cooperate and coordinate with the 

20 United States Geological Survey, the United 

21 States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Minerals 

22 Management Service, the Environmental Pro23 tection Agency, the Coast Guard, and the Navy, 

24 and all Administration offices, including the 

25 National Marine Sanctuaries program and ReVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:42 Jan 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H21.IH H21

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1 gional Fishery Management Councils, in order 

2 to obtain from such agencies and offices and 

3 use all unclassified information necessary for 

4 the development and operation of the systems; 

5 and 

6 (B) may seek to enter into cooperative 

7 agreements with States, local governments, uni8 versities, or private academic institutions in 

9 order to obtain access to information necessary 

10 or useful for the development and operation of 

11 the systems. 

12 (2) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—To avoid 

13 duplication, in establishing regional ocean ecosystem 

14 resource information systems the Administrator 

15 shall coordinate with other ocean data acquisition 

16 and distribution systems, including the National 

17 Geospatial Data Clearinghouse and the Sanctuary 

18 Integrated Monitoring Network program of the Ad19 ministration. 

20 (3) INTEGRATION OF WATERSHED, BAY, AND

21 ESTUARINE INFORMATION SYSTEMS.—The Adminis22 trator, in recognition of the effects of land-based and 

23 watershed uses on ocean ecosystems, shall facilitate 

24 to the extent practical the integration of watershed, 

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1 propriate regional ocean ecosystem resource informa2 tion system. 

3 (4) INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.—The Ad4 ministrator may, in consultation with the Secretary 

5 of State, enter into agreements with the Govern6 ments of Canada, Mexico, and the Russian Federa7 tion with respect to establishment of a regional 

8 ocean ecosystem resource information system for 

9 United States coastal waters that abut the territorial 

10 waters of any of those countries, for purposes of in11 clusion in such a system of any information or data 

12 that may be necessary or useful in the development 

13 and operation of such system. 

14 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For de15 velopment and implementation of the ocean ecosystem re16 source information systems for ocean regions and other 

17 waters under this section, there is authorized to be appro18 priated to the Administrator $12,000,000 for each of the 

19 fiscal years 2009 through 2018. 

20 SEC. 406. REGULATIONS. 

21 The Administrator shall issue such regulations as the 

22 Administrator considers necessary to ensure proper ad23 ministration of this title. 


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1 SEC. 407. OTHER AUTHORITY. 

2 This title shall not be construed as superseding or 

3 diminishing the authorities and responsibilities, under any 

4 other provision of law, of the Administrator or any other 

5 Federal, State, or tribal officer, employee, department, or 

6 agency. 

7 SEC. 408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Admin9 istrator for carrying out this title, including development, 

10 implementation, and monitoring of approved Regional 

11 Ocean Strategic Plans, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal 

12 years 2009 through 2013. 

13 TITLE V—OCEAN AND GREAT 

14 LAKES CONSERVATION 

15 TRUST FUND 

16 SEC. 501. ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—There is estab18 lished in the Treasury of the United States a fund which 

19 shall be known as the ‘‘Ocean and Great Lakes Conserva20 tion Trust Fund’’, in this title referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’. 

21 In each fiscal year after fiscal year 2007, the Secretary 

22 of the Treasury shall deposit into the Fund the following 

23 amounts: 

24 (1) GENERAL REVENUE.—An amount in each 

25 such fiscal year equal to the difference between 


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1 $1,300,000,000 and the amounts deposited in the 

2 Fund under paragraphs (2), (3), and (4). 

3 (2) HEALTHY OCEAN STAMP.—Amounts gen4 erated from the sale of a Healthy Oceans Stamp 

5 under section 507. 

6 (3) AMOUNTS NOT DISBURSED.—All allocated 

7 but undisbursed amounts returned to the Fund 

8 under section 505(a)(2). 

9 (4) INTEREST.—All interest earned under sub10 section (d). 

11 (b) TRANSFER FOR EXPENDITURE.—The Secretary 

12 of the Treasury shall transfer amounts deposited into the 

13 Fund as follows: 

14 (1) To the Administrator of the National Oce15 anic and Atmospheric Administration for purposes 

16 of making payments to coastal States only for car17 rying out their responsibilities for developing and 

18 implementing Regional Ocean Strategic Plans under 

19 title IV— 

20 (A) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

21 (B) $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

22 (C) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 

23 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

24 (2) To the Administrator for allocation, with 

25 concurrence of the Committee on Ocean Policy, only 


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1 for carrying out responsibilities of the Federal Gov2 ernment for development and implementation of Re3 gional Ocean Strategic Plans required under title 

4 IV— 

5 (A) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

6 (B) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

7 (C) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and 

8 each fiscal year thereafter. 

9 (c) SHORTFALL.—If amounts referred to in para10 graphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a) in any fiscal year 

11 after fiscal year 2007 are less than $1,300,000,000, the 

12 amounts transferred under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub13 section (b) for that fiscal year shall each be reduced pro14 portionately. 

15 (d) INTEREST.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall 

16 invest monies in the Fund (including interest), and in any 

17 fund or account to which monies are transferred pursuant 

18 to subsection (b) of this section, in public debt securities 

19 with maturities suitable to the needs of the Fund, as de20 termined by the Secretary of the Treasury, and bearing 

21 interest at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treas22 ury, taking into consideration current market yields on 

23 outstanding marketable obligations of the United States 

24 of comparable maturity. Such invested monies shall reVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:41 Jan 12, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00112 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H21.IH H21

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1 main invested until needed to meet requirements for dis2 bursement for the programs financed under this Act. 

3 (e) INTENT OF CONGRESS TO SUPPLEMENT ANNUAL

4 APPROPRIATIONS FOR FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Amounts 

5 made available by this Act are intended by the Congress 

6 to supplement, and not detract from, annual appropria7 tions for Federal agencies receiving funding under this 

8 title. 

9 SEC. 502. LIMITATION ON USE OF AVAILABLE AMOUNTS 

10 FOR ADMINISTRATION. 

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, of 

12 amounts made available by this title (including the amend13 ments made by this title) for a particular activity, not 

14 more than 2 percent may be used for administrative ex15 penses of that activity. 

16 SEC. 503. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS. 

17 The Administrator, in consultation with the Com18 mittee on Ocean Policy, shall establish such rules regard19 ing recordkeeping by State and local governments and the 

20 auditing of expenditures made by State and local govern21 ments from funds made available under this Act as may 

22 be necessary. Such rules shall be in addition to other re23 quirements established regarding recordkeeping and the 

24 auditing of such expenditures under other authority of 

25 law. 


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1 SEC. 504. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT AND MATCHING FUND2 ING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the intent of the Congress 

4 in this Act that States not use this Act as an opportunity 

5 to reduce State or local resources for the programs funded 

6 by this Act. Except as provided in subsection (b), no State 

7 or local government shall receive any funds under this Act 

8 during any fiscal year in which its expenditures of non9 Federal funds for recurrent expenditures for programs for 

10 which funding is provided under this Act will be less than 

11 its expenditures were for such programs during the pre12 ceding fiscal year. No State or local government shall re13 ceive funding under this Act with respect to a program 

14 unless the Administrator is satisfied that such a grant will 

15 be so used to supplement and, to the extent practicable, 

16 increase the level of State, local, or other non-Federal 

17 funds available for such program. 

18 (b) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator may provide 

19 funding under this Act to a State or local government not 

20 meeting the requirements of subsection (a) if the Adminis21 trator determines that a reduction in expenditures— 

22 (1) is attributable to a nonselective reduction in 

23 expenditures for the programs of all executive 

24 branch agencies of the State or local government; or 

25 (2) is a result of reductions in State or local 

26 revenue as a result of a downturn in the economy. 


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1 (c) USE OF FUND TO MEET MATCHING REQUIRE2 MENTS.—All funds received by a State or local govern3 ment under this Act shall be treated as Federal funds for 

4 purposes of compliance with any provision in effect under 

5 any other law requiring that non-Federal funds be used 

6 to provide a portion of the funding for any program or 

7 project. 

8 SEC. 505. COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE FORMULA AND PAY9 MENTS. 

10 (a) CONSERVATION PAYMENTS TO COASTAL

11 STATES.— 

12 (1) GRANT PROGRAM.—Amounts transferred to 

13 the Administrator from the Fund under section 

14 501(b)(1) for purposes of making payments to coast15 al States under this title in any fiscal year shall be 

16 allocated by the Administrator among coastal States 

17 as provided in this section each such fiscal year. In 

18 each such fiscal year, the Administrator shall, with19 out further appropriation, disburse such allocated 

20 funds to those coastal States for which the Adminis21 trator has approved a spending plan under section 

22 506 and that have met all other requirements of this 

23 title. Payments for all projects shall be made by the 

24 Administrator to the Governor of the State or to the 

25 State official or agency designated by the Governor 


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1 or by State law as having authority and responsi2 bility to accept and to administer funds paid here3 under. No payment shall be made to any State until 

4 the State has agreed to provide such reports to the 

5 Administrator, in such form and containing such in6 formation, as may be reasonably necessary to enable 

7 the Administrator to perform the duties of the Ad8 ministrator under this title, and provide such fiscal 

9 control and fund accounting procedures as may be 

10 necessary to assure proper disbursement and ac11 counting for Federal revenues paid to the State 

12 under this title. 

13 (2) FAILURE TO MAKE SUFFICIENT PROGRESS

14 AT DEVELOPING OR IMPLEMENTING A REGIONAL

15 OCEAN STRATEGIC PLAN.—At the end of each fiscal 

16 year, the Administrator shall return to the Fund any 

17 amount that the Administrator allocated, but did not 

18 disburse, in that fiscal year to a coastal State that, 

19 in the judgment of the Administrator, has failed to 

20 make sufficient progress in developing or imple21 menting a Regional Ocean Strategic Plan under title 

22 IV before the end of the fiscal year in which such 

23 grant is allocated, except that the Administrator 

24 shall hold in escrow until the final resolution of the 

25 appeal any amount allocated, but not disbursed, to 


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1 a coastal State that has appealed the disapproval of 

2 such funding. 

3 (b) ALLOCATION AMONG COASTAL STATES.— 

4 (1) ALLOCABLE SHARE FOR EACH STATE.—For 

5 each coastal State, the Administrator shall deter6 mine the State’s allocable share of the total amount 

7 transferred from the Fund under section 501(b)(1) 

8 for each fiscal year using the following weighted for9 mula: 

10 (A) Thirty-five percent of such amount 

11 shall be allocated to each coastal State based on 

12 the ratio of each State’s shoreline miles to the 

13 shoreline miles of all coastal States. 

14 (B) Sixty-five percent of such amount shall 

15 be allocated to each coastal State based on the 

16 ratio of each State’s coastal population to the 

17 coastal population of all coastal States. 

18 (2) MINIMUM STATE SHARE.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The allocable share de20 termined by the Administrator under this sub21 section for each coastal State with a manage22 ment program approved by the Secretary of 

23 Commerce under the Coastal Zone Management 

24 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), or that 

25 is making satisfactory progress toward one, 


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1 shall not be less in any fiscal year than 0.50 

2 percent of the total amount transferred by the 

3 Secretary of the Treasury to the Administrator 

4 for that fiscal year under section 501(b)(1). 

5 For any other coastal State the allocable share 

6 shall not be less than 0.25 percent of such 

7 transferred amount. 

8 (B) RECOMPUTATION.—If 1 or more coast9 al States’ allocable shares, as computed under 

10 paragraphs (1) and (2), are increased by any 

11 amount under this paragraph, the allocable 

12 share for all other coastal States shall be re13 computed and reduced by the same amount so 

14 that not more than 100 percent of the amount 

15 transferred by the Secretary of the Treasury to 

16 the Administrator for that fiscal year under 

17 section 501(b)(1) is allocated to all coastal 

18 States. The reduction shall be divided pro rata 

19 among such other coastal States. 

20 (c) PAYMENTS TO POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.—In the 

21 case of a coastal State, the Governor of the State shall 

22 hold 50 percent of the State’s allocable share, as deter23 mined under subsection (b), in a State ocean grants fund. 

24 The Governor or his designee shall award, on a competi25 tive basis, grants to coastal political subdivisions of the 


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1 State from the State ocean grants fund only for activities 

2 relating to the development and implementation of feder3 ally approved Regional Ocean Strategic Plans that are 

4 consistent with the standard set forth in subsection 

5 506(b). 

6 (d) TIME OF PAYMENT.—Payments to coastal States 

7 and coastal political subdivisions under this section shall 

8 be made not later than December 31 of each year from 

9 revenues received during the immediately preceding fiscal 

10 year. 

11 SEC. 506. APPROVAL OF STATE FUNDING AND SPENDING 

12 PLANS. 

13 (a) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION OF REGIONAL

14 OCEAN STRATEGIC PLANS.—Each coastal State seeking 

15 to receive grants under this title shall participate in the 

16 development and implementation of Regional Ocean Stra17 tegic Plans under title IV. 

18 (b) STANDARD GOVERNING THE EXPENDITURE OF

19 FUNDS.—All Funds disbursed to coastal States and polit20 ical subdivisions shall only be used for activities that— 

21 (1) develop or implement federally approved Re22 gional Ocean Strategic Plans, and 

23 (2) are consistent with the national standards 

24 set forth in section 101(b). 


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1 (c) SUBMISSION OF SPENDING PLAN.—Each coastal 

2 State seeking funding under this title shall submit annu3 ally to the Administrator a spending plan for funds pro4 vided under this title. In addition to such other require5 ments as the Administrator by regulation shall prescribe, 

6 each State spending plan shall include— 

7 (1) The name of the State agency that will have 

8 the authority to represent and act for the State in 

9 dealing with the Administrator for purposes of this 

10 title. 

11 (2) A description of how funds provided under 

12 this title will be used to meet the State’s responsibil13 ities to develop and implement the applicable Re14 gional Ocean Strategic Plan. 

15 (3) A description of how the funds provided 

16 under this title will be used by coastal political sub17 divisions to develop and implement the applicable 

18 Regional Ocean Strategic Plan. 

19 (4) An analysis of how the funds provided 

20 under this title to both coastal States and coastal 

21 political subdivisions will be consistent with the 

22 standard set forth in subsection 506(b). 

23 (5) Certification by the Governor of the coastal 

24 State that all the funds provided under this title to 

25 coastal political subdivisions will be used to develop 


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1 and implement a Regional Ocean Strategic Plan in 

2 a manner that is consistent with the standard set 

3 forth in subsection 506(b). 

4 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.— 

5 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—A coastal State shall re6 ceive funding under this title if, in consultation with 

7 the Committee on Ocean Policy, the Adminis8 trator— 

9 (A) certifies that such coastal State is par10 ticipating actively and sufficiently in the devel11 opment and implementation of a Regional 

12 Ocean Strategic Plan under title IV; 

13 (B) approves a spending plan submitted by 

14 such State that specifies how funds provided 

15 under this title will be used to meet the State’s 

16 obligations and responsibilities in developing 

17 and implementing a Regional Ocean Strategic 

18 Plan under title IV; and 

19 (C) ensures any payments under this title 

20 to coastal States and political subdivisions are 

21 used to develop and implement an approved Re22 gional Ocean Strategic Plan in a manner that 

23 is consistent with the standard set forth in sub24 section 506(b). 


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1 (2) PROCEDURE AND TIMING; REVISIONS.—The 

2 Administrator shall approve or disapprove each 

3 spending plan submitted in accordance with this sec4 tion. If a State first submits a plan by not later 

5 than 90 days before the beginning of the first fiscal 

6 year to which the plan applies, the Administrator 

7 shall approve or disapprove the plan by not later 

8 than 30 days before the beginning of that fiscal 

9 year. 

10 (3) AMENDMENT OR REVISION.—Any amend11 ment to or revision of the plan shall be prepared in 

12 accordance with the requirements of this subsection 

13 and shall be submitted to the Administrator for ap14 proval or disapproval. Any such amendment or revi15 sion shall take effect only for fiscal years after the 

16 fiscal year in which the amendment or revision is ap17 proved by the Administrator. 

18 (4) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Before approving or 

19 disapproving a spending plan of a State, amend20 ment, or revision to a plan, the Administrator shall 

21 provide for public comment on the State’s proposed 

22 expenditures for the forthcoming year. 

23 SEC. 507. SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMP. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to afford a convenient 

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1 tect, maintain, and restore marine ecosystems, the United 

2 States Postal Service shall provide for a special postage 

3 stamp in accordance with this section. 

4 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The issuance and sale 

5 of the stamp referred to in subsection (a) shall be gov6 erned by section 416 of title 39, United States Code, and 

7 regulations under such section, subject to the following: 

8 (1) TRANSFERS.—All amounts becoming avail9 able from the sale of such stamp shall be transferred 

10 to the Ocean and Great Lakes Conservation Trust 

11 Fund (as established by section 501) through pay12 ments which shall be made, at least twice a year, in 

13 the manner required by subsection (d)(1) of section 

14 416 of such title 39. 

15 (2) NUMERICAL LIMITATION.—For purposes of 

16 applying any numerical limitation referred to in sub17 section (e)(1)(C) of section 416 of such title 39, 

18 such stamp shall not be taken into account. 

19 (3) DURATION.—Such stamp shall be made 

20 available to the public over such period of time as 

21 the Postal Service may determine, except that such 

22 period— 

23 (A) shall commence not later than 12 

24 months after the date of the enactment of this 

25 Act; and 


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1 (B) shall terminate not later than the close 

2 of the period referred to in section 416(g) of 

3 title 39, United States Code. 

4 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion shall be considered to permit or require that any de6 termination of the amounts becoming available from the 

7 sale of the stamp referred to in subsection (a) be made 

8 in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of section 

9 416(d) of title 39, United States Code. 

10 TITLE VI—ADMINISTRATION 

11 FUNDING 

12 SEC. 601. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Admin14 istrator such sums as necessary for the functions and ac15 tivities carried out by the Administration in accordance 

16 with this Act. Sums appropriated under this section shall 

17 remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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