II 

Calendar No. 205 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1057 

[Report No. 115–145] 

To amend the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control 

Act of 1998 to address harmful algal blooms, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 4, 2017 

Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. SULLIVAN, Ms. 

BALDWIN, Mr. BROWN, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

AUGUST 3, 2017 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To amend the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research 

and Control Act of 1998 to address harmful algal 

blooms, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harmful Algal Bloom 

3 and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 

4 2017’’. 

5 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM 

6 AND HYPOXIA RESEARCH AND CONTROL ACT 

7 OF 1998. 

8 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

9 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

10 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi11 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

12 section or other provision of the Harmful Algal Bloom and 

13 Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 

14 4001 et seq.). 

15 SEC. 3. INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE. 

16 Section 603(a) (33 U.S.C. 4001(a)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

18 end; 

19 (2) by redesignating paragraph (13) as para20 graph (14); and 

21 (3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(13) the Army Corps of Engineers; and’’. 

24 SEC. 4. SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF FRESHWATER HARM25 FUL ALGAL BLOOMS. 

26 Section 603 (33 U.S.C. 4001) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsection (f); 

2 (2) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), (i), 

3 and (j) as subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i), respec4 tively; and 

5 (3) in subsection (g), as redesignated— 

6 (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘MARINE

7 AND FRESHWATER’’ after ‘‘ASSESSMENTS OF’’; 

8 and 

9 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (i) by striking the second sentence; 

11 and 

12 (ii) by amending the third sentence to 

13 read as follows: ‘‘Each assessment shall ex14 amine both marine and freshwater harmful 

15 algal blooms, including those in the Great 

16 Lakes and upper reaches of estuaries and 

17 those that originate in freshwater lakes or 

18 rivers and migrate to coastal waters.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. CONSULTATION REQUIRED. 

20 Section 102 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hy21 poxia Amendments Act of 2004 (33 U.S.C. 4001a) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘the amendments made by this title’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Re24 search and Control Act of 1998’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. HYPOXIA OR HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM OF NA2 TIONAL SIGNIFICANCE. 

3 (a) RELIEF.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon a determination under 

5 subsection (b) that there is an event of national sig6 nificance, the appropriate Federal official is author7 ized to make sums available to the affected State or 

8 local government for the purposes of assessing and 

9 mitigating the environmental, economic, social, and 

10 public health effects of the event of national signifi11 cance. 

12 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

13 the cost of any activity carried out under this sub14 section for the purposes described in paragraph (1) 

15 may not exceed 75 percent of the cost of that activ16 ity. 

17 (3) DONATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of law, an appropriate Federal official may 

19 accept donations of funds, services, facilities, mate20 rials, or equipment that the appropriate Federal offi21 cial considers necessary for the purposes described 

22 in paragraph (1). Any funds donated to an appro23 priate Federal official under this paragraph may be 

24 expended without further appropriation and without 

25 fiscal year limitation. 

26 (b) DETERMINATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of an ap2 propriate Federal official, or at the request of the 

3 Governor of an affected State, an appropriate Fed4 eral official shall determine whether a hypoxia or 

5 harmful algal bloom event is an event of national 

6 significance. 

7 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a determina8 tion under paragraph (1), the appropriate Federal 

9 official shall consider such factors as the toxicity of 

10 the hypoxia or harmful algal bloom, its potential to 

11 spread, the economic impact, and the geographic 

12 scope, including the potential to affect several mu13 nicipalities, to affect more than 1 State, or to cross 

14 an international boundary. 

15 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 (1) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL OFFICIAL.—The 

17 term ‘‘appropriate Federal official’’ means— 

18 (A) in the case of a marine or coastal hy19 poxia or harmful algal bloom event, the Under 

20 Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmos21 phere; and 

22 (B) in the case of a freshwater hypoxia or 

23 harmful algal bloom event, the Administrator of 

24 the Environmental Protection Agency. 


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1 (2) EVENT OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.—The 

2 term ‘‘event of national significance’’ means a hy3 poxia or harmful algal bloom event that has had or 

4 will likely have a significant environmental, eco5 nomic, or public health impact on an affected State. 

6 (3) HYPOXIA OR HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM

7 EVENT.—The term ‘‘hypoxia or harmful algal bloom 

8 event’’ means the occurrence of hypoxia or a harm9 ful algal bloom as a result of a natural, anthropo10 genic, or undetermined cause. 

11 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 Section 609(a) (33 U.S.C. 4009(a)) is amended by 

13 inserting ‘‘, and $22,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

14 through 2023’’ before the period at the end. 

15 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harmful Algal Bloom 

17 and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 

18 2017’’. 

19 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND 

20 HYPOXIA RESEARCH AND CONTROL ACT OF 

21 1998. 

22 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

23 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 

24 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 

25 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 


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1 other provision of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 

2 Research and Control Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 3. INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE. 

4 Section 603(a) (33 U.S.C. 4001(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraph (13) as para8 graph (14); and 

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(13) the Army Corps of Engineers; and’’. 

12 SEC. 4. SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF FRESHWATER HARM13 FUL ALGAL BLOOMS. 

14 Section 603 (33 U.S.C. 4001) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking subsection (f); 

16 (2) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), (i), and 

17 (j) as subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i), respectively; 

18 and 

19 (3) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(g) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF MARINE AND

22 FRESHWATER HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.—Not less than 

23 once every 5 years the Task Force shall complete and submit 

24 to Congress a scientific assessment of harmful algal blooms 

25 in United States coastal waters and freshwater systems. 


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1 Each assessment shall examine both marine and freshwater 

2 harmful algal blooms, including those in the Great Lakes 

3 and upper reaches of estuaries, those in freshwater lakes and 

4 rivers, and those that originate in freshwater lakes or rivers 

5 and migrate to coastal waters.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. NATIONAL HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HYPOXIA 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 (a) PROGRAM DUTIES.—Section 603A(e) (33 U.S.C. 

9 4002(e)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, including 

11 to local and regional stakeholders through the estab12 lishment and maintenance of a publicly accessible 

13 Internet website that provides information as to Pro14 gram activities completed under this section’’ after 

15 ‘‘Program’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; 

18 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

19 (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

20 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(D) to accelerate the utilization of effective 

23 methods of intervention and mitigation to reduce 

24 the frequency, severity, and impacts of harmful 

25 algal bloom and hypoxia events;’’; 


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1 (3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and work co2 operatively with’’ and inserting ‘‘, and work coopera3 tively to provide technical assistance to,’’; and 

4 (4) in paragraph (7)— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘and extension’’ after ‘‘ex6 isting education’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘intervention,’’ after 

8 ‘‘awareness of the causes, impacts,’’. 

9 (b) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS10 TRATION ACTIVITIES.—Section 603A(f) (33 U.S.C. 4002(f)) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, which shall 

13 include unmanned systems,’’ after ‘‘infrastructure’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

15 end; 

16 (3) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking the period 

17 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

18 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(7) use cost effective methods in carrying out 

20 this Act; and 

21 ‘‘(8) develop contingency plans for the long-term 

22 monitoring of hypoxia.’’. 

23 SEC. 6. CONSULTATION REQUIRED. 

24 Section 102 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 

25 Amendments Act of 2004 (33 U.S.C. 4001a) is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘the amendments made by this title’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and 

3 Control Act of 1998’’. 

4 SEC. 7. HYPOXIA OR HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM OF NATIONAL 

5 SIGNIFICANCE. 

6 (a) RELIEF.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon a determination under 

8 subsection (b) that there is an event of national sig9 nificance, the appropriate Federal official is author10 ized to make sums available to the affected State or 

11 local government for the purposes of assessing and 

12 mitigating the environmental, economic, social, and 

13 public health effects of the event of national signifi14 cance. 

15 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

16 cost of any activity carried out under this subsection 

17 for the purposes described in paragraph (1) may not 

18 exceed 75 percent of the cost of that activity. 

19 (3) DONATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, an appropriate Federal official may 

21 accept donations of funds, services, facilities, mate22 rials, or equipment that the appropriate Federal offi23 cial considers necessary for the purposes described in 

24 paragraph (1). Any funds donated to an appropriate 

25 Federal official under this paragraph may be exVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Aug 04, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1057.RS S1057

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1 pended without further appropriation and without 

2 fiscal year limitation. 

3 (b) DETERMINATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of an appro5 priate Federal official, or at the request of the Gov6 ernor of an affected State, an appropriate Federal of7 ficial shall determine whether a hypoxia or harmful 

8 algal bloom event is an event of national significance. 

9 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a determina10 tion under paragraph (1), the appropriate Federal of11 ficial shall consider such factors as the toxicity of the 

12 harmful algal bloom, the severity of the hypoxia, its 

13 potential to spread, the economic impact, the relative 

14 size in relation to the past 5 occurrences of harmful 

15 algal blooms or hypoxia events that occur on a recur16 rent or annual basis, and the geographic scope, in17 cluding the potential to affect several municipalities, 

18 to affect more than 1 State, or to cross an inter19 national boundary. 

20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL OFFICIAL.—The 

22 term ‘‘appropriate Federal official’’ means— 

23 (A) in the case of a marine or coastal hy24 poxia or harmful algal bloom event, the Under 


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1 Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmos2 phere; and 

3 (B) in the case of a freshwater hypoxia or 

4 harmful algal bloom event, the Administrator of 

5 the Environmental Protection Agency. 

6 (2) EVENT OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.—The 

7 term ‘‘event of national significance’’ means a hy8 poxia or harmful algal bloom event that has had or 

9 will likely have a significant environmental, eco10 nomic, or public health impact on an affected State. 

11 (3) HYPOXIA OR HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM

12 EVENT.—The term ‘‘hypoxia or harmful algal bloom 

13 event’’ means the occurrence of hypoxia or a harmful 

14 algal bloom as a result of a natural, anthropogenic, 

15 or undetermined cause. 

16 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 Section 609(a) (33 U.S.C. 4009(a)) is amended by in18 serting ‘‘, and $22,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

19 through 2023’’ before the period at the end. 


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Calendar No. 205 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1057 

[Report No. 115–145] 

A BILL 

To amend the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 

harmful algal blooms, and for other purposes. Research and Control Act of 1998 to address 

AUGUST 3, 2017 

Reported with an amendment 


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