I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2565 

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

to establish a grant program to ensure waterfront access for commercial 

fishermen, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 5, 2007 

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act to establish a grant program to ensure 

waterfront access for commercial fishermen, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Working Waterfront 

5 Preservation Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COMMERCIAL FISHING ACCESS PROTECTION PRO2 GRAM. 

3 The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

4 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) is amended by 

5 adding at the end the following new title: 

6 ‘‘TITLE V—GRANTS FOR 

7 COMMERCIAL FISHING ACCESS 

8 ‘‘SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS. 

9 ‘‘In this title: 

10 ‘‘(1) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘Coastal 

11 State’ has the meaning given the term ‘coastal state’ 

12 in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

13 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453). 

14 ‘‘(2) COASTAL WATERS.—The term ‘coastal wa15 ters’ has the meaning given that term in section 304 

16 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1971 (16 

17 U.S.C. 1453). 

18 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en19 tity’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) the government of a Coastal State; 

21 ‘‘(B) a unit of local government within a 

22 Coastal State; or 

23 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit organization or a fishing 

24 cooperative that the Secretary determines is ap25 propriate to receive a grant under section 502. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘eligible 

2 project’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a project to acquire real property or 

4 an interest in real property located in a Coastal 

5 State for the purpose of providing access to 

6 persons engaged in the commercial fishing in7 dustry or the aquaculture industry to coastal 

8 waters in working waterfront areas; or 

9 ‘‘(B) a project to make improvements to 

10 real property located in a Coastal State and 

11 owned by an eligible entity, including the con12 struction or repair of wharfs or related facili13 ties, to provide access to persons engaged in the 

14 commercial fishing industry or the aquaculture 

15 industry to coastal waters in working water16 front areas. 

17 ‘‘(5) FISHING COOPERATIVE.—The term ‘fish18 ing cooperative’ means a fishing or fish marketing 

19 association organized in a coastal state for the pur20 pose of promoting, fostering, and encouraging fish21 ing or marketing of fish and fishery products 

22 through cooperation of the members of such associa23 tion and for the benefit of such members as pro24 ducers of such products. 


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1 ‘‘(6) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

2 ‘nonprofit organization’ means an organization that 

3 is— 

4 ‘‘(A) described in section 501(c) of the In5 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

6 ‘‘(B) exempt from taxation under section 

7 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

8 ‘‘(7) STATE FISHERIES OFFICIAL.—The term 

9 ‘State fisheries official’ means the principal State of10 ficial with marine fishery management responsibility 

11 and expertise in a coastal State, who is designated 

12 as such by the Governor of the State, so long as the 

13 official continues to hold such position, or the des14 ignee of such official. 

15 ‘‘(8) WORKING WATERFRONT AREAS.—The 

16 term ‘working waterfront areas’ means land that is 

17 used for, or that supports, commercial fishing or the 

18 aquaculture industry. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 502. GRANT PROGRAM. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 

21 award a grant to an eligible entity for the purpose of car22 rying out an eligible project. 

23 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding a grant for an 

24 eligible project under this section, the Secretary shall con25 sider— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the need for the eligible project based on 

2 the assessment of need submitted under subsection 

3 (c)(2)(A); 

4 ‘‘(2) the economic significance of the eligible 

5 project to the commercial fishing industry or the 

6 aquaculture industry in the immediate vicinity and 

7 in the Coastal State in which the eligible project is 

8 located; 

9 ‘‘(3) the degree of community support for the 

10 eligible project; 

11 ‘‘(4) the level of threat that the property pro12 posed to be acquired or improved with such grant 

13 will be converted to uses incompatible with commer14 cial fishing or the aquaculture industry; 

15 ‘‘(5) the utility of the eligible project for com16 mercial fishing or the aquaculture industry, with re17 spect to the natural characteristics and developed in18 frastructure of the property proposed to be acquired; 

19 ‘‘(6) whether a business plan or a harbor plan 

20 exists for the area in which the project will be lo21 cated and whether the eligible project is consistent 

22 with such plan; 

23 ‘‘(7) for an eligible project described in section 

24 501(4)(A), the availability of alternative real prop25 erty or an alternative interest in real property that 


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1 would ensure that persons engaged in the commer2 cial fishing industry or the aquaculture industry 

3 have access to coastal waters in working waterfront 

4 areas; and 

5 ‘‘(8) whether a land use plan exists for the area 

6 in which the project will be located and whether the 

7 project is consistent with such plan. 

8 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION AND REVIEW.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 

10 seeks a grant under this section shall submit to the 

11 appropriate State fisheries official, at such time and 

12 in such manner as the Secretary shall prescribe, an 

13 application for the grant. 

14 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENT OF NEED.—An application 

15 for a grant may be considered by the Secretary if 

16 the appropriate State fisheries official— 

17 ‘‘(A) prepares an assessment of the need 

18 for the proposed eligible project, taking into ac19 count— 

20 ‘‘(i) the needs of the commercial fish21 ing industry or the aquaculture industry in 

22 the State; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the needs of other industries and 

24 other parties in the area in which the 

25 project will be located; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) whether alternative sites exist 

2 for the proposed project; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) the social and cultural value of 

4 the industries to the affected community 

5 and State; and 

6 ‘‘(B) submits to the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(i) the application submitted under 

8 paragraph (1); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the assessment of need prepared 

10 under subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(d) COST SHARING.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 

13 awarded under this section to carry out an eligible 

14 project may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost 

15 of the eligible project. 

16 ‘‘(2) ASSURANCES.—As a condition of receipt of 

17 a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall 

18 provide to the Secretary such assurances as the Sec19 retary determines are sufficient to demonstrate that 

20 the share of the cost of each eligible project that is 

21 not funded by the grant awarded under this section 

22 has been secured. 

23 ‘‘(3) FORM.—The share of the cost of carrying 

24 out an eligible project that is not funded by a grant 


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1 awarded under this section may be provided in cash 

2 or in kind (including a donation of land). 

3 ‘‘(e) USE OF GRANT FUNDS FOR ELIGIBLE

4 PROJECTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) PURCHASES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B), grants awarded under this 

8 section may be used to purchase privately9 owned real property or interests in privately10 owned real property, including easements, only 

11 from willing sellers at fair market value. 

12 ‘‘(B) SALES AT LESS THAN FAIR MARKET

13 VALUE.—A grant awarded under this section 

14 may be used to acquire privately-owned real 

15 property or an interest in privately-owned real 

16 property at less than fair market value only if 

17 the owner certifies to the Secretary that the 

18 sale is being entered into willingly and without 

19 coercion. 

20 ‘‘(C) NO EXERCISE OF EMINENT DO21 MAIN.—No Federal, State, or local agency may 

22 exercise the power of eminent domain to secure 

23 title to any real property or facilities in connec24 tion with a project carried out under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TITLE.—Title to real property or an inter2 est in real property acquired with a grant awarded 

3 under this section may be held, as determined ap4 propriate by the Secretary in consultation with the 

5 appropriate Coastal State, by— 

6 ‘‘(A) the Coastal State; 

7 ‘‘(B) a unit of local government of the 

8 Coastal State; 

9 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit organization; or 

10 ‘‘(D) a fishing cooperative. 

11 ‘‘(f) CONTINUED ACCESS TO COASTAL WATERS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT FOR AGREEMENT.—The 

13 Secretary shall enter into an agreement with an eli14 gible entity that receives a grant under this section. 

15 Such agreement shall require the eligible entity to 

16 provide the Secretary the assurances that the Sec17 retary determines are appropriate to ensure that the 

18 eligible project is not converted to a use that is in19 consistent with the purposes for which the grant was 

20 awarded. 

21 ‘‘(2) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Governor of a 

23 Coastal State makes a determination described 

24 in subparagraph (B), all right, title, and inter25 est in and to the property shall, except as proVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:47 Jun 06, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2565.IH H2565

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1 vided in subparagraph (C), revert, at the option 

2 of the Governor, to the Coastal State, and the 

3 State shall have the right of immediate entry 

4 onto the property. Any determination of the 

5 Governor under this paragraph shall be made 

6 on the record after an opportunity for a hear7 ing. 

8 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION.—The determina9 tion referred to in subparagraph (A) is a deter10 mination that— 

11 ‘‘(i) the unit of local government or 

12 nonprofit organization is unable or unwill13 ing to enforce the terms of the easement; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(ii) the easement has been modified 

16 in a manner that is inconsistent with the 

17 purposes for which the grant was awarded. 

18 ‘‘(C) CONVEYANCE TO ANOTHER UNIT OF

19 LOCAL GOVERNMENT OR NONPROFIT ORGANIZA20 TION.—If the Governor of a Coastal State 

21 makes a determination under subparagraph 

22 (B), the State may convey or authorize the unit 

23 of local government or nonprofit organization to 

24 convey the easement to another unit of local 

25 government or nonprofit organization. 


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1 ‘‘(g) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

3 as soon as practicable after the date on which the 

4 Secretary receives an application under subsection 

5 (c)(2)(B), the Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) review the application; and 

7 ‘‘(B)(i) award a grant to the applicant; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) disapprove the application and pro9 vide the applicant a statement that describes 

10 the reasons why the application was dis11 approved, including a deadline by which the ap12 plicant may resubmit the application. 

13 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—A Coastal State, on 

14 approval of the Secretary and subject to any regulations 

15 promulgated by the Secretary, may use up to 10 percent 

16 of the amounts made available under this section to pay 

17 the administrative costs of the program incurred by the 

18 Coastal State. 

19 ‘‘(i) TREATMENT OF PURCHASE PROCEEDS.—For 

20 purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, gross in21 come shall not include 50 percent of the gain from the 

22 sale or exchange of private land or interests in private land 

23 in purchases described in subsection (e)(1). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 503. ANNUAL REPORT. 

2 ‘‘The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual 

3 report that describes the eligible projects carried out using 

4 grants awarded under this title.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION. 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec7 retary of Commerce $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

8 years 2008, 2009, and 2010 to carry out the provisions 

9 of title V of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

10 and Management Act, as added by section 2. 

Æ 


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