IB 

Union Calendar No. 206 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1672 

[Report No. 111–354] 

To reauthorize the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Act to 

promote the protection of the resources of the Northwest Straits, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 23, 2009 

Mr. LARSEN of Washington (for himself, Mr. INSLEE, and Mr. DICKS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

DECEMBER 7, 2009 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 23, 2009] 


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A BILL 

To reauthorize the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation 

Initiative Act to promote the protection of the resources 

of the Northwest Straits, and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northwest Straits Ma5 rine Conservation Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF NORTHWEST STRAITS MA7 RINE CONSERVATION INITIATIVE ACT. 

8 The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative 

9 Act (title IV of Public Law 105–384; 112 Stat. 3458) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in section 402, by striking ‘‘(in this title re12 ferred to as the ‘Commission’)’’; and 

13 (2) by striking sections 403 and 404; 

14 (3) by redesignating section 405 as section 410; 

15 and 

16 (4) by inserting after section 402 the following 

17 new sections: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 403. FINDINGS. 

19 ‘‘Congress makes the following findings: 

20 ‘‘(1) The marine waters and ecosystem of the 

21 Northwest Straits in Puget Sound in the State of 

22 Washington represent a unique resource of enormous 

23 environmental and economic value to the people of the 

24 United States. 


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1 ‘‘(2) During the 20th century, the environmental 

2 health of the Northwest Straits declined dramatically 

3 as indicated by impaired water quality, declines in 

4 marine wildlife, collapse of harvestable marine spe5 cies, loss of critical marine habitats, ocean acidifica6 tion, and sea level rise. 

7 ‘‘(3) At the start of the 21st century, the North8 west Straits have been threatened by sea level rise, 

9 ocean acidification, and other effects of climate 

10 change. 

11 ‘‘(4) In 1998, the Northwest Straits Marine Con12 servation Initiative Act (title IV of Public Law 105– 

13 384) was enacted to tap the unprecedented level of cit14 izen stewardship demonstrated in the Northwest 

15 Straits and create a mechanism to mobilize public 

16 support and raise capacity for local efforts to protect 

17 and restore the ecosystem of the Northwest Straits. 

18 ‘‘(5) The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation 

19 Initiative helps the National Oceanic and Atmos20 pheric Administration and other Federal agencies 

21 with their marine missions by fostering local interest 

22 in marine issues and involving diverse groups of citi23 zens. 

24 ‘‘(6) The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation 

25 Initiative shares many of the same goals with the NaVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:17 Dec 07, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1672.RH H1672

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1 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in2 cluding fostering citizen stewardship of marine re3 sources, general ecosystem management, and pro4 tecting federally managed marine species. 

5 ‘‘(7) Ocean literacy and identification and re6 moval of marine debris projects are examples of on7 going partnerships between the Northwest Straits Ma8 rine Conservation Initiative and the National Oce9 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 404. DEFINITIONS. 

11 ‘‘In this title: 

12 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 

13 means the Northwest Straits Advisory Commission es14 tablished by section 402. 

15 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ has 

16 the meaning given that term in section 4 of the In17 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

18 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

19 ‘‘(3) NORTHWEST STRAITS.—The term ‘North20 west Straits’ means the marine waters of the Strait 

21 of Juan de Fuca and of Puget Sound from the Cana22 dian border to the south end of Snohomish County. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 405. MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMISSION. 

2 ‘‘(a) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be com3 posed of up to 14 members who shall be appointed as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(1) One member appointed by a consensus of 

6 the members of a marine resources committee estab7 lished under section 408 for each of the following 

8 counties of the State of Washington: 

9 ‘‘(A) San Juan County. 

10 ‘‘(B) Island County. 

11 ‘‘(C) Skagit County. 

12 ‘‘(D) Whatcom County. 

13 ‘‘(E) Snohomish County. 

14 ‘‘(F) Clallam County. 

15 ‘‘(G) Jefferson County. 

16 ‘‘(2) Two members appointed by the Secretary of 

17 the Interior in trust capacity and in consultation 

18 with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission or 

19 the Indian tribes affected by this title collectively, as 

20 the Secretary of the Interior considers appropriate, to 

21 represent the interests of such tribes. 

22 ‘‘(3) One member appointed by the Governor of 

23 the State of Washington to represent the interests of 

24 the Puget Sound Partnership. 

25 ‘‘(4) Four members appointed by the Governor of 

26 the State of Washington who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) are residents of the State of Wash2 ington; and 

3 ‘‘(B) are not employed by a Federal, State, 

4 or local government. 

5 ‘‘(b) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall 

6 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment 

7 was made. 

8 ‘‘(c) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall select a 

9 Chairperson from among its members. 

10 ‘‘(d) MEETING.—The Commission shall meet at the 

11 call of the Chairperson, but not less frequently than quar12 terly. 

13 ‘‘(e) LIAISON.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, 

15 acting through the Under Secretary for Oceans and 

16 Atmosphere and in consultation with the Director of 

17 the Commission appointed under section 407(a), shall 

18 appoint an employee of the National Oceanic and At19 mospheric Administration— 

20 ‘‘(A) to serve as a liaison between the Com21 mission and the Department of Commerce; and 

22 ‘‘(B) to attend meetings and other events of 

23 the Commission as a nonvoting participant. 

24 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Service of an employee as an 

25 appointee under paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall be limited to service as a liaison 

2 and attendance of meetings and other events as 

3 a nonvoting participant; and 

4 ‘‘(B) does not obligate the employee to per5 form any duty of the Commission under section 

6 406(b). 

7 ‘‘SEC. 406. GOAL AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 

8 ‘‘(a) GOAL.—The goal of the Commission is to protect 

9 and restore the marine waters, habitats, and species of the 

10 Northwest Straits region to achieve ecosystem health and 

11 sustainable resource use by— 

12 ‘‘(1) designing and initiating projects that are 

13 driven by sound science, local priorities, community14 based decisions, and the ability to measure results; 

15 ‘‘(2) building awareness and stewardship and 

16 making recommendations to improve the health of the 

17 Northwest Straits marine resources; 

18 ‘‘(3) maintaining and expanding diverse mem19 bership and partner organizations; 

20 ‘‘(4) expanding partnerships with governments of 

21 Indian tribes affected by this title and continuing to 

22 foster respect for tribal cultures and treaties; and 

23 ‘‘(5) recognizing the importance of economic and 

24 social benefits that are dependent on marine environ25 ments and sustainable marine resources. 


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1 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The duties of the Commission are the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(1) To provide resources and technical support 

4 for marine resources committees established under sec5 tion 408. 

6 ‘‘(2) To work with such marine resources com7 mittees and appropriate entities of Federal and State 

8 governments and Indian tribes affected by this title to 

9 develop programs to monitor the overall health of the 

10 marine ecosystem of the Northwest Straits. 

11 ‘‘(3) To identify factors adversely affecting or 

12 preventing the restoration of the health of the marine 

13 ecosystem and coastal economies of the Northwest 

14 Straits. 

15 ‘‘(4) To develop scientifically sound restoration 

16 and protection recommendations, informed by local 

17 priorities, that address such factors. 

18 ‘‘(5) To assist in facilitating the successful im19 plementation of such recommendations by developing 

20 broad support among appropriate authorities, stake21 holder groups, and local communities. 

22 ‘‘(6) To develop and implement regional projects 

23 based on such recommendations to protect and restore 

24 the Northwest Straits ecosystem. 


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1 ‘‘(7) To serve as a public forum for the discus2 sion of policies and actions of Federal, State, or local 

3 government, an Indian tribe affected by this title, or 

4 the Government of Canada with respect to the marine 

5 ecosystem of the Northwest Straits. 

6 ‘‘(8) To inform appropriate authorities and local 

7 communities about the marine ecosystem of the North8 west Straits and about issues relating to the marine 

9 ecosystem of the Northwest Straits. 

10 ‘‘(9) To consult with all Indian tribes affected by 

11 this title to ensure that the work of the Commission 

12 does not violate tribal treaty rights. 

13 ‘‘(c) BENCHMARKS.—The Commission shall carry out 

14 its duties in a manner that promotes the achieving of the 

15 benchmarks described in subsection (f)(2). 

16 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION.—The Com17 mission shall carry out the duties described in subsection 

18 (b) in coordination and collaboration, when appropriate, 

19 with Federal, State, and local governments and Indian 

20 tribes affected by this title. 

21 ‘‘(e) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Commission 

22 shall have no power to issue regulations. 

23 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Commission 

25 shall prepare, submit to the Committee on Commerce, 


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1 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Com2 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep3 resentatives, and the Under Secretary for Oceans and 

4 Atmosphere, and make available to the public an an5 nual report describing— 

6 ‘‘(A) the activities carried out by the Com7 mission during the preceding year; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the progress of the Commission in 

9 achieving the benchmarks described in paragraph 

10 (2). 

11 ‘‘(2) BENCHMARKS.—The benchmarks described 

12 in this paragraph are the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Protection and restoration of marine, 

14 coastal, and nearshore habitats. 

15 ‘‘(B) Prevention of loss and achievement of 

16 a net gain of healthy habitat areas. 

17 ‘‘(C) Protection and restoration of marine 

18 populations to healthy, sustainable levels. 

19 ‘‘(D) Protection of the marine water quality 

20 of the Northwest Straits region and restoration 

21 of the health of marine waters. 

22 ‘‘(E) Collection of high-quality data and 

23 promotion of the use and dissemination of such 

24 data. 


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1 ‘‘(F) Promotion of stewardship and under2 standing of Northwest Straits marine resources 

3 through education and outreach. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 407. COMMISSION PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATIVE 

5 MATTERS. 

6 ‘‘(a) DIRECTOR.—The Manager of the Shorelands and 

7 Environmental Assistance Program of the Department of 

8 Ecology of the State of Washington may, upon the rec9 ommendation of the Commission and the Director of the 

10 Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, appoint 

11 and terminate a Director of the Commission. The employ12 ment of the Director shall be subject to confirmation by the 

13 Commission. 

14 ‘‘(b) STAFF.—The Director may hire such other per15 sonnel as may be appropriate to enable the Commission to 

16 perform its duties. Such personnel shall be hired through 

17 the personnel system of the Department of Ecology of the 

18 State of Washington. 

19 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.—If the Governor of 

20 the State of Washington makes available to the Commission 

21 the administrative services of the State of Washington De22 partment of Ecology, the Commission shall use such services 

23 for employment, procurement, grant and fiscal manage24 ment, and support services necessary to carry out the duties 

25 of the Commission. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 408. MARINE RESOURCES COMMITTEES. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The government of each of the 

3 counties referred to in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of 

4 section 405(a)(1) may establish a marine resources com5 mittee that— 

6 ‘‘(1) complies with the requirements of this sec7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(2) receives from such government the mission, 

9 direction, expert assistance, and financial resources 

10 necessary— 

11 ‘‘(A) to address issues affecting the marine 

12 ecosystems within its county; and 

13 ‘‘(B) to work to achieve the benchmarks de14 scribed in section 406(f)(2). 

15 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each marine resources com17 mittee established pursuant to this section shall be 

18 composed of— 

19 ‘‘(A) members with relevant scientific exper20 tise; and 

21 ‘‘(B) members that represent balanced rep22 resentation, including representation of— 

23 ‘‘(i) local governments, including plan24 ning staff from counties and cities with ma25 rine shorelines; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) affected economic interests, such 

2 as ports and commercial fishers; 

3 ‘‘(iii) affected recreational interests, 

4 such as sport fishers; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) conservation and environmental 

6 interests. 

7 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL MEMBERS.—With respect to a coun8 ty referred to in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of 

9 section 405(a)(1), each Indian tribe with usual and 

10 accustomed fishing rights in the waters of such county 

11 and each Indian tribe with reservation lands in such 

12 county, may appoint one member to the marine re13 sources committee for such county. Such member may 

14 be appointed by the respective tribal authority. 

15 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each marine resources 

17 committee established pursuant to this section 

18 shall select a chairperson from among members 

19 by a majority vote of the members of the com20 mittee. 

21 ‘‘(B) ROTATING POSITION.—Each marine 

22 resources committee established pursuant to this 

23 section shall select a new chairperson at a fre24 quency determined by the county charter of the 

25 marine resources committee to create a diversity 


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1 of representation in the leadership of the marine 

2 resources committee. 

3 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The duties of a marine resources com4 mittee established pursuant to this section are the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) To assist in assessing marine resource prob6 lems in concert with governmental agencies, tribes, 

7 and other entities. 

8 ‘‘(2) To assist in identifying local implications, 

9 needs, and strategies associated with the recovery of 

10 Puget Sound salmon and other species in the region 

11 of the Northwest Straits listed under the Endangered 

12 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) in co13 ordination with Federal, State, and local govern14 ments, Indian tribes affected by this title, and other 

15 entities. 

16 ‘‘(3) To work with other entities to enhance the 

17 scientific baseline and monitoring program for the 

18 marine environment of the Northwest Straits. 

19 ‘‘(4) To identify local priorities for marine re20 source conservation and develop new projects to ad21 dress those needs. 

22 ‘‘(5) To work closely with county leadership to 

23 implement local marine conservation and restoration 

24 initiatives. 


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1 ‘‘(6) To coordinate with the Commission on ma2 rine ecosystem objectives. 

3 ‘‘(7) To educate the public and key constituencies 

4 regarding the relationship between healthy marine 

5 habitats, harvestable resources, and human activities. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 409. NORTHWEST STRAITS MARINE CONSERVATION 

7 FOUNDATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Commis9 sion and the Director of the State of Washington Depart10 ment of Ecology, or his or her designee, may enter into an 

11 agreement with an organization described in section 

12 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish 

13 a nonprofit foundation to support the Commission and the 

14 marine resources committees established under section 408 

15 in carrying out their duties under this Act. 

16 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION.—The foundation authorized by 

17 subsection (a) shall be known as the ‘Northwest Straits Ma18 rine Conservation Foundation’. 

19 ‘‘(c) RECEIPT OF GRANTS.—The Northwest Straits 

20 Marine Conservation Foundation may, if eligible, apply 

21 for, accept, and use grants awarded by Federal agencies, 

22 States, local governments, regional agencies, interstate 

23 agencies, corporations, foundations, or other persons to as24 sist the Commission and the marine resources committees 

25 in carrying out their duties under this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(d) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Northwest Straits 

2 Marine Conservation Foundation may transfer funds to the 

3 Commission or the marine resources committees to assist 

4 them in carrying out their duties under this Act.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 206 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1672 

[Report No. 111–354] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Northwest Straits Marine Conother purposes. of the resources of the Northwest Straits, and for servation Initiative Act to promote the protection 

DECEMBER 7, 2009 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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