II

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1045

To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 to revise and enhance authorities, and to authorize

appropriations, for the Chesapeake Bay Office, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 14, 2001

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. ALLEN)

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 to revise and enhance

authorities, and to authorize appropriations, for the

Chesapeake Bay Office, 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 ‘‘NOAA Chesapeake

5 Bay Office Reauthorization Act of 2001’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 307(a) of the Na3 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Author4 ization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d(a)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Estuarine

6 Resources’’; and

7 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol8 lows:

9 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Commerce shall appoint

10 as Director of the Office an individual who has

11 knowledge of and experience in research or resource

12 management efforts in the Chesapeake Bay.’’.

13 (b) FUNCTIONS.—

14 (1) Section 307(b)(3) of the National Oceanic

15 and Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act

16 of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d(b)(3)) is amended to read

17 as follows:

18 ‘‘(3) facilitate coordination of the programs and

19 activities of the various organizations and facilities

20 within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad21 ministration, the Chesapeake Bay units of the Na22 tional Estuarine Research Reserve System, the

23 Chesapeake Bay Regional Sea Grant Programs, and

24 the Cooperative Oxford Lab, including—

25 ‘‘(A) programs and activities in—
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1 ‘‘(i) coastal and estuarine research,

2 monitoring, and assessment;

3 ‘‘(ii) fisheries research and stock as4 sessments;

5 ‘‘(iii) data management;

6 ‘‘(iv) remote sensing;

7 ‘‘(v) coastal management;

8 ‘‘(vi) habitat conservation and restora9 tion; and

10 ‘‘(vii) atmospheric deposition; and

11 ‘‘(B) programs and activities of the Coop12 erative Oxford Laboratory of the National

13 Ocean Service with respect to—

14 ‘‘(i) nonindigenous species;

15 ‘‘(ii) marine species pathology;

16 ‘‘(iii) human pathogens in marine en17 vironments; and

18 ‘‘(iv) ecosystems health;’’.

19 (2) Section 307(b)(7) of the National Oceanic

20 and Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act

21 of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d(b)(7)) is amended by

22 striking the period at the end and inserting the fol23 lowing: ‘‘, which report shall include an action plan

24 consisting of—
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1 ‘‘(A) a list of recommended research, moni2 toring, and data collection activities necessary

3 to continue implementation of the strategy de4 scribed in paragraph (2); and

5 ‘‘(B) proposals for—

6 ‘‘(i) continuing and new National Oce7 anic and Atmospheric Administration ac8 tivities in the Chesapeake Bay; and

9 ‘‘(ii) the integration of those activities

10 with the activities of the partners in the

11 Chesapeake Bay Program to meet the

12 commitments of the Chesapeake 2000

13 agreement and subsequent agreements.’’.

14 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 307 of the

15 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Au16 thorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) is amended

17 by striking the section heading and inserting the following:

18 ‘‘SEC. 307. CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.’’.

19 SEC. 3. MULTIPLE SPECIES MANAGEMENT STRATEGY;

20 CHESAPEAKE BAY FISHERY AND HABITAT

21 RESTORATION SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM;

22 COASTAL PREDICTION CENTER.

23 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra24 tion Authorization Act of 1992 is amended by inserting

25 after section 307 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 307A. MULTIPLE SPECIES MANAGEMENT STRATEGY.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after

3 the date of enactment of this section, the Director of the

4 Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and At5 mospheric Administration shall commence a 5-year study,

6 in cooperation with the scientific community of the Chesa7 peake Bay and appropriate Federal agencies—

8 ‘‘(1) to determine and expand the under9 standing of the role and response of living resources

10 in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem; and

11 ‘‘(2) to develop a multiple species management

12 strategy for the Chesapeake Bay.

13 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF STUDY.—In order to

14 improve the understanding necessary for the development

15 of the strategy under subsection (a), the study shall—

16 ‘‘(1) determine the current status and trends of

17 fish and shellfish that live in the Chesapeake Bay es18 tuary and are selected for study;

19 ‘‘(2) evaluate and assess interactions among the

20 fish and shellfish described in paragraph (1) and

21 other living resources, with particular attention to

22 the impact of changes within and among trophic lev23 els; and

24 ‘‘(3) recommend management actions to opti25 mize the return of a healthy and balanced ecosystem

26 for the Chesapeake Bay.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 307B. CHESAPEAKE BAY FISHERY AND HABITAT RES2 TORATION SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Chesapeake

4 Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad5 ministration (referred to in this section as the ‘Director’),

6 in cooperation with the Chesapeake Executive Council (as

7 defined in section 307(e)), shall carry out a community8 based fishery and habitat restoration small grants and

9 technical assistance program in the Chesapeake Bay wa10 tershed.

11 ‘‘(b) PROJECTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) SUPPORT.—The Director shall make

13 grants under the program under subsection (a) to

14 pay the Federal share of the cost of projects that

15 are carried out by eligible entities described in sub16 section (c) for the restoration of fisheries and habi17 tats in the Chesapeake Bay.

18 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

19 the cost of a project under paragraph (1) shall not

20 exceed 75 percent of the total cost of that project.

21 ‘‘(3) TYPES OF PROJECTS.—Projects for which

22 grants may be made under the program include—

23 ‘‘(A) the improvement of fish passageways;

24 ‘‘(B) the creation of natural or artificial

25 reefs or substrata for habitats;
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1 ‘‘(C) the restoration of wetland or sea

2 grass;

3 ‘‘(D) the production of oysters for restora4 tion projects; and

5 ‘‘(E) the identification and characteriza6 tion of contaminated habitats, and the develop7 ment of restoration plans for those habitats in

8 the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

9 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The following entities are

10 eligible to receive grants under the program under this

11 section:

12 ‘‘(1) The government of a political subdivision

13 of a State in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the

14 Government of the District of Columbia.

15 ‘‘(2) An organization in the Chesapeake Bay

16 watershed (such as an educational institution or a

17 community organization) that is described in section

18 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is

19 exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the

20 Code.

21 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Director

22 may prescribe any additional requirements, including pro23 cedures, that the Director considers necessary to carry out

24 the program under this section.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 307C. COASTAL PREDICTION CENTER.

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

4 the date of enactment of this section, the Director

5 of the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oce6 anic and Atmospheric Administration (referred to in

7 this section as the ‘Director’), in collaboration with

8 regional scientific institutions, shall establish a

9 coastal prediction center for the Chesapeake Bay

10 (referred to in this section as the ‘center’).

11 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE OF CENTER.—The center shall

12 serve as a knowledge bank for—

13 ‘‘(A) assembling, integrating, and modeling

14 coastal information and data from appropriate

15 government agencies and scientific institutions;

16 ‘‘(B) interpreting the data; and

17 ‘‘(C) organizing the data into predictive

18 products that are useful to policy makers, re19 source managers, scientists, and the public.

20 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—

21 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION AND PREDICTION SYS22 TEM.—The center shall develop an Internet-based

23 information system for integrating, interpreting, and

24 disseminating coastal information and predictions

25 concerning—

26 ‘‘(A) climate;
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1 ‘‘(B) land use;

2 ‘‘(C) coastal pollution;

3 ‘‘(D) coastal environmental quality;

4 ‘‘(E) ecosystem health and performance;

5 ‘‘(F) aquatic living resources and habitat

6 conditions; and

7 ‘‘(G) weather, tides, currents, and circula8 tion that affect the distribution of sediments,

9 nutrients, and organisms, coastline erosion, and

10 related physical and chemical events within the

11 Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of the

12 Chesapeake Bay.

13 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS TO PROVIDE DATA, INFOR14 MATION, AND SUPPORT.—The Director may enter

15 into agreements with other entities of the National

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, other ap17 propriate Federal, State, and local government agen18 cies, and academic institutions, to provide and inter19 pret data and information, and provide appropriate

20 support, relating to the activities of the center.

21 ‘‘(3) AGREEMENTS RELATING TO INFORMATION

22 PRODUCTS.—The Director may enter into grants,

23 contracts, and interagency agreements with eligible

24 entities for the collection, processing, analysis, inter-
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1 pretation, and electronic publication of information

2 products for the center.’’.

3 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.

4 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra5 tion Authorization Act of 1992 is amended by inserting

6 after section 307C (as added by section 3) the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 307D. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PILOT PRO8 GRAM.

9 ‘‘(a) PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—Not later

10 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section,

11 the Director, in cooperation with the Chesapeake Execu12 tive Council, shall establish the Chesapeake Bay Environ13 mental Education Program to improve the understanding

14 of elementary and secondary school students and teachers

15 of the living resources of the ecosystem of the Chesapeake

16 Bay, and to meet the educational goals of the Chesapeake

17 2000 agreement.

18 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, through the

20 pilot program established under subsection (a), shall

21 make grants to not-for-profit institutions (or con22 sortia of such institutions) to pay the federal share

23 of the cost of programs described in paragraph (3).

24 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The Director shall award

25 grants under this subsection based on the experience
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1 of the applicant in providing environmental edu2 cation and training programs regarding the Chesa3 peake Bay watershed to a range of participants and

4 in a range of settings.

5 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES.—Grants

6 awarded under this subsection may be used to sup7 port education and training programs that—

8 ‘‘(A) provide classroom education, includ9 ing the use of distance learning technologies, on

10 the issues, science, and problems of the living

11 resources of the Chesapeake Bay watershed;

12 ‘‘(B) provide meaningful outdoor experi13 ence on the Chesapeake Bay, or on a stream or

14 in a local watershed of the Chesapeake Bay, in

15 the design and implementation of field studies,

16 monitoring and assessments, or restoration

17 techniques for living resources;

18 ‘‘(C) provide professional development for

19 teachers related to the science of the Chesa20 peake Bay watershed and the dissemination of

21 pertinent education materials oriented to vary22 ing grade levels;

23 ‘‘(D) demonstrate or disseminate environ24 mental educational tools and materials related

25 to the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
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1 ‘‘(E) demonstrate field methods, practices

2 and techniques including assessment of environ3 mental and ecological conditions and analysis of

4 environmental problems; and

5 ‘‘(F) develop or disseminate projects de6 signed to—

7 ‘‘(i) enhance understanding and as8 sessment of a specific environmental prob9 lem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed or of

10 a goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program; or

11 ‘‘(ii) protect or restore living resources

12 of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

13 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of

14 the cost of a program under paragraph (1) shall not

15 exceed 75 percent of the total cost of that program.

16 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM REVIEW.—Not later than 1 year

17 after the date on which the Director awards the first

18 grant under this subsection, and annually thereafter,

19 the Director shall conduct a detailed review and

20 evaluation of the programs supported by grants

21 awarded under this subsection to determine whether

22 the quality of the content, delivery, and outcome of

23 the program warrants continued support.
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1 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURES.—The Director shall establish pro2 cedures, including safety protocols, as necessary for car3 rying out the purposes of this section.

4 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION AND REPORT.—

5 ‘‘(1) TERMINATION.—The program established

6 under this section shall be effective during the 4-

7 year period beginning on October 1, 2001.

8 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than December 31,

9 2005, the Director, in consultation with the Chesa10 peake Executive Council, shall submit a report

11 through the Administrator of National Oceanic and

12 Atmospheric Administration to Congress regarding

13 this program and, on the appropriate role of Fed14 eral, State and local governments in continuing the

15 program established under this section.

16 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘Chesa17 peake 2000 agreement’ means the agreement between the

18 United States, the States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and

19 Virginia, and the District of Columbia entered into on

20 June 28, 2000.’’.

21 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 307(d) of the National

23 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization

24 Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d(d)) is amended to read as

25 follows:
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1 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

3 appropriated to the Department of Commerce for

4 the Chesapeake Bay Office $8,000,000 for each of

5 fiscal years 2002 through 2005.

6 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS FOR PROGRAMS.—Of the

7 amount authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal

8 year under paragraph (1)—

9 ‘‘(A) not more than $2,500,000 shall be

10 available to operate the Chesapeake Bay Office

11 and to carry out section 307A;

12 ‘‘(B) not more than $1,000,000 shall be

13 available to carry out section 307B;

14 ‘‘(C) not more than $500,000 shall be

15 available to carry out section 307C; and

16 ‘‘(D) not more than $2,000,000 shall be

17 available to carry out section 307D.’’.

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2 of the

19 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine

20 Fisheries Program Authorization Act (97 Stat. 1409) is

21 amended by striking subsection (e), as added by section

22 307(d) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis23 tration Authorization Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 4285).
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1 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

2 Section 307(b) of the National Oceanic and Atmos3 pheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15

4 U.S.C. 1511d(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘Chesapeake

5 Bay Executive Council’’ and inserting ‘‘Chesapeake Exec6 utive Council’’.

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