II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4800 

To designate certain communities as resilient waterfront communities, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 25, 2024 

Ms. BALDWIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To designate certain communities as resilient waterfront 

communities, 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 ‘‘Waterfront Community 

5 Revitalization and Resiliency Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WORKING WATERFRONTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle V of title 46, 

8 United States Code, is amended by adding after chapter 

9 543 the following: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘CHAPTER 544—WATERFRONT 

2 COMMUNITIES 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘54401. Definitions. 

‘‘54402. Purpose. 

‘‘54403. Resilient waterfront communities designation. 

‘‘54404. Resilient waterfront communities network. 

3 ‘‘§ 54401. Definitions 

4 ‘‘In this chapter: 

5 ‘‘(1) BLUE ECONOMY.—The term ‘blue econ6 omy’ means industries related to the Great Lakes, 

7 oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts in the economy of 

8 the United States, including living resources, marine 

9 construction, marine transportation, offshore energy 

10 development and siting, including for renewable en11 ergy, offshore mineral production, ship- and boat12 building, tourism, recreation, subsistence, commer13 cial, recreational, and charter fishing, seafood proc14 essing, and other fishery-related businesses, aqua15 culture (such as kelp and shellfish), and other indus16 tries the Secretary of Commerce considers appro17 priate. 

18 ‘‘(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered en19 tity’ means the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) A State. 

21 ‘‘(B) A political subdivision of a State, or 

22 a local government. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(C) A public agency or publicly chartered 

2 authority established by 1 or more States. 

3 ‘‘(D) A special purpose district with a 

4 transportation function. 

5 ‘‘(E) An Indian Tribe or a Native Hawai6 ian organization. 

7 ‘‘(F) A multistate or multijurisdictional 

8 group of entities described in subparagraphs 

9 (A) through (E). 

10 ‘‘(G) A lead entity described in subpara11 graphs (A) through (F), jointly with an addi12 tional entity or group of entities that may in13 clude— 

14 ‘‘(i) a nonprofit organization with rel15 evant expertise; 

16 ‘‘(ii) an institution of higher education 

17 (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher 

18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 1001(a)); or 

20 ‘‘(iii) a private entity. 

21 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

22 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

23 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

24 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(4) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 

2 term ‘Native Hawaiian organization’ has the mean3 ing given the term under section 6207 of the Ele4 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

5 U.S.C. 7517). 

6 ‘‘(5) PORT.—The term ‘port’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) any port on the navigable waters of 

8 the United States; and 

9 ‘‘(B) any harbor, marine terminal, or other 

10 shore side facility used principally for the move11 ment of goods on inland waters. 

12 ‘‘(6) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ means con13 struction, reconstruction, environmental rehabilita14 tion, acquisition of property, including land related 

15 to the project and improvements to the land, equip16 ment acquisition, and operational improvements. 

17 ‘‘(7) RESILIENT.—The term ‘resilient’ means 

18 the ability to anticipate, prepare for, adapt to, with19 stand, respond to, and recover from operational dis20 ruptions including disruptions caused by natural or 

21 manmade hazards or extreme weather events. 

22 ‘‘(8) RESILIENT WATERFRONT COMMUNITY.— 

23 The term ‘resilient waterfront community’ means a 

24 resilient waterfront community designated under 

25 section 54403. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(9) WORKING WATERFRONT.—The term 

2 ‘working waterfront’ means real property (including 

3 support structures over water and other facilities) 

4 that provides access to coastal and Great Lakes 

5 waters to persons engaged in commercial and rec6 reational fishing, recreational fishing and boating 

7 businesses, boatbuilding, aquaculture, or other 

8 water-dependent, coastal-related business and is 

9 used for, or that supports, commercial and rec10 reational fishing, recreational fishing and boating 

11 businesses, boatbuilding, aquaculture, or other 

12 water-dependent, coastal-related business and recre13 ation. 

14 ‘‘§ 54402. Purpose 

15 ‘‘The purpose of this chapter is to promote the rec16 ognition and support of resilient waterfront communities 

17 so that such communities may support working water18 fronts, resilience, economic development, port infrastruc19 ture, natural infrastructure, coastal activities, public ac20 cess, the associated blue economy, and related projects. 

21 ‘‘§ 54403. Resilient waterfront communities designa22 tion 

23 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION AS RESILIENT WATERFRONT

24 COMMUNITIES.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—Subject to para2 graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary of Commerce 

3 (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’), 

4 in coordination with the Secretary of Transpor5 tation, shall designate certain communities that 

6 submit a plan to the Secretary as ‘resilient wa7 terfront communities’, based on the extent to 

8 which the community plan meets the criteria 

9 described in subsection (b). 

10 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE COMMUNITIES.—A commu11 nity shall be eligible to be designated under 

12 subparagraph (A) if it is a local government, an 

13 Indian Tribe, or a Native Hawaiian community 

14 that operates in an area with a working water15 front that is bound in part by— 

16 ‘‘(i) at least one of the Great Lakes; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(ii) the ocean. 

19 ‘‘(2) COLLABORATION.—In carrying out this 

20 section, the Secretary shall work with the Secretary 

21 of Transportation and the heads of other Federal 

22 agencies, as the Secretary determines necessary. 

23 ‘‘(3) ENGAGEMENT.—In carrying out this sec24 tion, the Secretary shall engage with Indian Tribes 

25 and Native Hawaiian communities. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out 

2 this section, the Secretary shall provide technical as3 sistance to communities seeking to be designated as 

4 a resilient waterfront community. Technical assist5 ance shall include— 

6 ‘‘(A) providing information about relevant 

7 programs under sections 25010 and 21205 of 

8 the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (49 

9 U.S.C. 102 note; 116 note; Public Law 117– 

10 58); 

11 ‘‘(B) providing information about relevant 

12 grants; 

13 ‘‘(C) providing information about best 

14 practices; 

15 ‘‘(D) providing copies of relevant studies 

16 and research; and 

17 ‘‘(E) other support, as determined by the 

18 Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(b) RESILIENT WATERFRONT COMMUNITY PLAN.— 

20 A community seeking to be designated as a resilient water21 front community shall submit a resilient waterfront com22 munity plan to the Secretary. Such plan shall be a commu23 nity-driven vision and plan that is developed— 

24 ‘‘(1) voluntarily at the discretion of the commu25 nity— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(A) to respond to local needs; or 

2 ‘‘(B) to take advantage of new water-ori3 ented opportunities; 

4 ‘‘(2) with the leadership of the relevant govern5 mental entity, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 

6 community, and with the active participation of— 

7 ‘‘(A) community residents; 

8 ‘‘(B) utilities; and 

9 ‘‘(C) interested business and nongovern10 mental stakeholders; 

11 ‘‘(3) as a new document or by amending or 

12 compiling community planning documents, as nec13 essary, at the discretion of the Secretary; 

14 ‘‘(4) to address economic competitive strengths; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(5) to complement and incorporate the objec17 tives and recommendations of applicable regional 

18 economic plans. 

19 ‘‘(c) COMPONENTS OF A RESILIENT WATERFRONT

20 COMMUNITY PLAN.—A resilient waterfront community 

21 plan shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) consider all, or a portion of, the relevant 

23 waterfront area and adjacent land and water to 

24 which the waterfront is connected ecologically, ecoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:03 Aug 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4800.IS S4800

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 4800 IS

1 nomically, or through local governmental or Tribal 

2 boundaries; and 

3 ‘‘(2) describe a vision and plan for the commu4 nity to be developed or preserved as a vital and resil5 ient waterfront community, integrating consideration 

6 of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the economic opportunities resulting 

8 from water proximity and access, including— 

9 ‘‘(i) water-dependent industries; 

10 ‘‘(ii) water-oriented commerce; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) recreation and tourism; 

12 ‘‘(B) the community relationship to the 

13 water, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) quality of life; 

15 ‘‘(ii) public health; 

16 ‘‘(iii) community and economic herit17 age, such as maritime and waterfront in18 dustries; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) public access; 

20 ‘‘(C) the environment; 

21 ‘‘(D) ecosystem challenges and projections, 

22 including— 

23 ‘‘(i) unresolved and emerging impacts 

24 to the health and safety of the applicable 

25 waterfront; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) the impact of natural disasters 

2 and weather events on the physical and fi3 nancial security of residents, based on for4 ward-looking, long-term meteorological 

5 data; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) projections for extreme weather 

7 and water conditions; 

8 ‘‘(E) infrastructure needs and opportuni9 ties, such as— 

10 ‘‘(i) docks, piers, and harbor facilities; 

11 ‘‘(ii) protection against storm surges, 

12 waves, and flooding; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) natural infrastructure; and 

14 ‘‘(F) other community facilities and private 

15 development. 

16 ‘‘(d) DURATION.—After the designation of a commu17 nity as a resilient waterfront community under subsection 

18 (a), a resilient waterfront community plan developed in ac19 cordance with this section shall have a duration effective 

20 for the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the 

21 Secretary approves the resilient waterfront community 

22 plan. 

23 ‘‘(e) WITHDRAWAL OF DESIGNATION.—A covered en24 tity that represents a community that is designated as a 

25 resilient waterfront community under subsection (a) may 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 4800 IS

1 submit a request at any time to the Secretary that such 

2 designation be withdrawn. 

3 ‘‘(f) UPDATES.—A resilient waterfront community 

4 plan under this section may be updated by a covered enti5 ty, and submitted to the Secretary for approval, before 

6 the expiration of the 10-year period described in sub7 section (d). 

8 ‘‘(g) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall approve or dis9 approve a resilient waterfront community plan submitted 

10 under subsection (b), or an update to such plan submitted 

11 under subsection (f), by not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of receipt of the plan. 

13 ‘‘§ 54404. Resilient waterfront communities network 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop and 

15 maintain a resilient waterfront communities network to fa16 cilitate the sharing of best practices among communities 

17 that have been designated as resilient waterfront commu18 nities under section 54403. 

19 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC RECOGNITION.—In consultation with 

20 designated resilient waterfront communities, the Secretary 

21 shall provide formal public recognition of the designated 

22 resilient waterfront communities to promote tourism, rec23 reational activities, commercial investment, or other com24 munity benefits. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(c) WEBSITE.—The Secretary of Commerce shall es2 tablish, and update periodically, a publicly accessible 

3 website to provide information for communities— 

4 ‘‘(1) to access best practices in establishing a 

5 designation under section 54403, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) the technological, economic, environ7 mental, social, and cultural impacts of resiliency 

8 planning and investment; 

9 ‘‘(B) the barriers communities face to suc10 cessfully planning, implementing, and achieving 

11 short, and long-term benefits from resiliency 

12 and revitalization activities, as well as solutions 

13 to diagnose, understand, and overcome those 

14 barriers; and 

15 ‘‘(C) changing environmental and economic 

16 conditions and information on incorporating 

17 forward-looking projections into strategic com18 munity decision making; and 

19 ‘‘(2) about funding opportunities throughout 

20 the Federal Government, including technical assist21 ance opportunities that could support the implemen22 tation of resilient waterfront community plans.’’. 

23 (b) TABLE OF CHAPTERS AMENDMENT.—The table 

24 of chapters at the beginning of subtitle V of title 46, 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 4800 IS

1 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end of 

2 the items relating to part C the following new item: 

544. Waterfront Communities ................................................................. 54401 

3 (c) SPECIAL GRANTS.—Section 205(b) of the Na4 tional Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 

5 1124(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

7 (3) as clauses (i) through (iii), respectively, moving 

8 such clauses to follow paragraph (2)(A) (as des9 ignated under paragraph (4) of this subsection), and 

10 adjusting the margins accordingly; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL GRANTS GENERALLY.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 

15 (3) by inserting ‘‘and activities under para16 graph (3)’’ after ‘‘section 202(b)’’; 

17 (4) by striking ‘‘No grant may be made under 

18 this subsection’’ and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL GRANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a 

21 grant under this subsection that is not a grant 

22 described in paragraph (3), no grant may be 

23 made’’; 

24 (5) by striking ‘‘The total amount’’ and insert25 ing the following: 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—Except with respect to 

2 grants described under paragraph (3), the total 

3 amount’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL GRANTS FOR WORKING WATER6 FRONTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

8 other provision of this Act, the Secretary may 

9 make special grants under this subsection to 

10 support covered entities (as defined in section 

11 54401 of title 46, United States Code) for the 

12 purposes of— 

13 ‘‘(i) development of the plan described 

14 under section 54403(b) of title 46, United 

15 States Code, including by— 

16 ‘‘(I) conducting economic and 

17 community development marketing 

18 and outreach; 

19 ‘‘(II) updating zoning regula20 tions; 

21 ‘‘(III) conducting environmental 

22 reviews; 

23 ‘‘(IV) completing engineering and 

24 landscape architecture design plans; 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(V) collaborating across local 

2 agencies and regional, State, Tribal, 

3 and Federal agencies to identify, un4 derstand, and develop responses to 

5 changing ecosystems and economic 

6 circumstances; and 

7 ‘‘(VI) conducting such other 

8 planning activities as the Secretary 

9 considers to be necessary for the de10 velopment of a resilient waterfront 

11 community plan that responds to revi12 talization and resiliency issues faced 

13 by such covered entity; 

14 ‘‘(ii) carrying out projects that enable 

15 the execution of the plan described under 

16 section 54403(b) of title 46, United States 

17 Code, including— 

18 ‘‘(I) site preparation; 

19 ‘‘(II) acquiring easements or land 

20 for uses such as green infrastructure, 

21 public amenities, or assembling devel22 opment sites; 

23 ‘‘(III) construction of— 

24 ‘‘(aa) public waterfront or 

25 boating amenities; and 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(bb) public spaces; 

2 ‘‘(IV) infrastructure upgrades to 

3 improve coastal resiliency, including 

4 green infrastructure; and 

5 ‘‘(V) other activities, at the dis6 cretion of the Secretary; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) executing other projects that are 

8 consistent with the plan described under 

9 section 54403(b) of title 46, United States 

10 Code. 

11 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(i) TITLE 46 TERMS.—The terms 

13 ‘covered entity’, ‘resilient’, and ‘working 

14 waterfront’ have the meanings given those 

15 terms in section 54401 of title 46, United 

16 States Code. 

17 ‘‘(ii) PROJECT.—The term ‘project’ 

18 has the meaning given that term in section 

19 54401 of title 46, United States Code, ex20 cept that such term shall only apply to ac21 tivities— 

22 ‘‘(I) within the boundary of a 

23 working waterfront; or 

24 ‘‘(II) outside the boundary of a 

25 working waterfront, if the projects are 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 4800 IS

1 directly related to the working water2 front or such plan. 

3 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY; TERMS AND CONDI4 TIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY AND PROCEDURE.— 

6 The provisions of subsection (c) shall apply 

7 with respect to grants under this para8 graph, except that only covered entities 

9 shall be eligible to receive a grant under 

10 this paragraph. Notwithstanding such sub11 section (c), the Secretary shall not be re12 quired to prescribe application require13 ments and procedures for grants under 

14 this paragraph by regulation. 

15 ‘‘(ii) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Para16 graphs (1) through (3) of subsection (d) 

17 shall not apply with respect to grants 

18 under this paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(D) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

21 may select a project described in this para22 graph for funding under this subsection if 

23 the Secretary determines that— 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(I) the project is consistent with 

2 the plan under section 54403(b) of 

3 title 46, United States Code; 

4 ‘‘(II) the covered entity has au5 thority to carry out the project; 

6 ‘‘(III) the covered entity has suf7 ficient funding to execute the project 

8 or phase of the project; 

9 ‘‘(IV) the project will be com10 pleted without unreasonable delay; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(V) the project cannot be easily 

13 and efficiently completed without Fed14 eral funding or financial assistance 

15 available to the covered entity. 

16 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL CONSIDER17 ATIONS.—In selecting projects described in 

18 this paragraph for funding under this sub19 section, the Secretary shall give consider20 ation to— 

21 ‘‘(I) the utilization of non-Fed22 eral contributions; and 

23 ‘‘(II) the net benefits of the 

24 funds awarded under this subsection. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 4800 IS

1 ‘‘(E) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.—The 

2 Secretary shall issue guidelines to establish ap3 propriate accounting, reporting, and review pro4 cedures for grants made under this paragraph 

5 to ensure that— 

6 ‘‘(i) grant funds are used for the pur7 poses for which those funds were made 

8 available; 

9 ‘‘(ii) each grantee properly accounts 

10 for all expenditures of grant funds; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) grant funds not used for such 

12 purposes and amounts not obligated or ex13 pended are returned.’’. 

14 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 205 of the 

15 National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 

16 1124) is further amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘Any person’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (b)(3), any per19 son’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘Any 

21 grant’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (b)(3), 

22 any grant’’. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 4800 IS

1 SEC. 3. RESILIENT WATERFRONT COMMUNITIES REPORT. 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re4 port describing— 

5 (1) the participation in the program of desig6 nating resilient waterfront communities under chap7 ter 544 of title 46, United States Code, the results 

8 of such program, and the Secretary’s plans to im9 prove outreach, implementation, and best practice 

10 guidance regarding such program; and 

11 (2) the participation in the program of special 

12 grants for working waterfronts described in para13 graph (3) of section 205(b) of the National Sea 

14 Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1124(b)), 

15 the results of such program, and the Secretary’s 

16 plans to improve outreach, implementation, and best 

17 practice guidance regarding such program. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS