II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1215 

To authorize the acquisition of interests in undeveloped coastal areas in 

order better to ensure their protection from development. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 9, 2005 

Mr. GREGG (for himself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. 

CORZINE, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. REED, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. 

COCHRAN, Mr. KERRY, Mr. INOUYE, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced 

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

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize the acquisition of interests in undeveloped 

coastal areas in order better to ensure their protection 

from development. 

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 ‘‘Coastal and Estuarine 

5 Land Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) Coastal and estuarine areas provide impor2 tant nursery habitat for two-thirds of the nation’s 

3 commercial fish and shellfish, provide nesting and 

4 foraging habitat for coastal birds, harbor significant 

5 natural plant communities, and serve to facilitate 

6 coastal flood control and pollutant filtration. 

7 (2) The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 

8 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) recognizes the national im9 portance of these areas and their ecological vulner10 ability to anthropogenic activities by establishing a 

11 comprehensive Federal-State partnership for pro12 tecting natural reserves and managing growth in 

13 these areas. 

14 (3) The National Estuarine Research Reserve 

15 system established under that Act relies on the pro16 tection of pristine designated areas for long-term 

17 protection and for the conduct of education and re18 search critical to the protection and conservation of 

19 coastal and estuarine resources. 

20 (4) Intense development pressures within the 

21 coastal zone are driving the need to provide coastal 

22 managers with a wider range of tools to protect and 

23 conserve important coastal and estuarine areas. 

24 (5) Protection of undeveloped coastal lands 

25 through the acquisition of interests in property from 
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1 a willing seller are a cost-effective means of pro2 viding these areas with permanent protection from 

3 development. 

4 (6) Permanent protection of lands in the coast5 al zone is a necessary component of any program to 

6 maintain and enhance coastal and estuarine areas 

7 for the benefit of the Nation, including protection of 

8 water quality, access to public beachfront, con9 serving wildlife habitat, and sustaining sport and 

10 commercial fisheries. 

11 (7) Federal-State-nongovernmental organization 

12 pilot land acquisition projects have already substan13 tially contributed to the long-term health and viabil14 ity of coastal and estuarine systems. 

15 (8) Enhanced protection of estuarine and coast16 al areas can be attained through watershed-based 

17 acquisition strategies coordinated through Federal, 

18 State, regional, and local efforts. 

19 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COASTAL AND ESTUARINE 

20 LAND PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

22 establish a Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Pro23 gram, in cooperation with appropriate State, regional, and 

24 other units of government for the purposes of protecting 

25 the environmental integrity of important coastal and estu-
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1 arine areas, including wetlands and forests, that have sig2 nificant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or 

3 aesthetic values, and that are threatened by conversion 

4 from their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state to 

5 other uses. The program shall be administered by the Na6 tional Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmos7 pheric Administration through the Office of Ocean and 

8 Coastal Resource Management. 

9 (b) PROPERTY ACQUISITION GRANTS.—The Sec10 retary shall make grants under the program to coastal 

11 States, except coastal States that have lost less than 1 

12 percent of their wetlands to development or conversion to 

13 other land uses by the date of enactment of this Act, with 

14 approved coastal zone management plans or National Es15 tuarine Research Reserve units for the purpose of acquir16 ing property or interests in property described in sub17 section (a) that will further the goals of— 

18 (1) a Coastal Zone Management Plan or Pro19 gram approved under the Coastal Zone Management 

20 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); or 

21 (2) a National Estuarine Research Reserve 

22 management plan; or 

23 (3) a regional or State watershed protection 

24 plan involving coastal States with approved coastal 

25 zone management plans. 
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1 (c) GRANT PROCESS.—The Secretary shall allocate 

2 funds to coastal States or National Estuarine Research 

3 Reserves under this section through a competitive grant 

4 process in accordance with guidelines that meet the fol5 lowing requirements: 

6 (1) The Secretary shall consult with the State’s 

7 coastal zone management program, any National Es8 tuarine Research Reserve in that State, and the lead 

9 agency designated by the Governor for coordinating 

10 the establishment and implementation of this Act (if 

11 different from the coastal zone management pro12 gram). 

13 (2) Each participating State shall identify pri14 ority conservation needs within the State, the values 

15 to be protected by inclusion of lands of the program, 

16 and the threats to those values that should be avoid17 ed. 

18 (3) Each participating State shall evaluate how 

19 the acquisition of property or easements might im20 pact working waterfront needs. 

21 (4) The applicant shall identify the values to be 

22 protected by inclusion of the lands in the program, 

23 management activities that are planned and the 

24 manner in which they may affect the values identi25 fied, and any other information from the landowner 
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1 relevant to administration and management of the 

2 land. 

3 (5) Awards shall be based on demonstrated 

4 need for protection and ability to successfully lever5 age funds among participating entities, including 

6 Federal programs, regional organizations, State and 

7 other governmental units, landowners, corporations, 

8 or private organizations. 

9 (6) Applications must be determined to be con10 sistent with the State’s or territory’s approved coast11 al zone plan, program and policies prior to submittal 

12 to the Secretary. 

13 (7) Priority shall be given to lands described in 

14 subsection (a) that can be effectively managed and 

15 protected and that have significant ecological or wa16 tershed protection value. 

17 (8) In developing guidelines under this section, 

18 the Secretary shall consult with other Federal agen19 cies and non-governmental entities expert in land ac20 quisition and conservation procedures. 

21 (9) Eligible States or National Estuarine Re22 search Reserves may allocate grants to local govern23 ments or agencies eligible for assistance under sec24 tion 306A(e) of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

25 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455a) and may acquire lands 
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1 in cooperation with nongovernmental entities and 

2 Federal agencies. 

3 (10) The Secretary shall develop performance 

4 measures that will allow periodic evaluation of the 

5 program’s effectiveness in meeting the purposes of 

6 this section and such evaluation shall be reported to 

7 Congress. 

8 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

10 make a grant under the program unless the Federal 

11 funds are matched by non-Federal funds in accord12 ance with this subsection. 

13 (2) MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.— 

14 (A) 75 PERCENT FEDERAL FUNDS.—No 

15 more than 75 percent of the funding for any 

16 grant under this section shall be derived from 

17 Federal sources, unless such requirement is 

18 specifically waived by the Secretary. 

19 (B) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The Sec20 retary may grant a waiver of the limitation in 

21 subparagraph (A) for underserved communities, 

22 communities that have an inability to draw on 

23 other sources of funding because of the small 

24 population or low income of the community, or 
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1 for other reasons the Secretary deems appro2 priate. 

3 (3) OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—Where financial 

4 assistance awarded under this section represents 

5 only a portion of the total cost of a project, funding 

6 from other Federal sources may be applied to the 

7 cost of the project. Each portion shall be subject to 

8 match requirements under the applicable provision 

9 of law. 

10 (4) SOURCE OF MATCHING COST SHARE.—For 

11 purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the non-Federal cost 

12 share for a project may be determined by taking into 

13 account the following: 

14 (A) Land value may be used as non-Fed15 eral match if the lands are identified in project 

16 plans and acquired within three years prior to 

17 the submission of the project application or 

18 after the submission of a project application 

19 until the project grant is closed (not to exceed 

20 3 years). The appraised value of the land at the 

21 time of project closing will be considered the 

22 non-Federal cost share. 

23 (B) Costs associated with land acquisition, 

24 land management planning, remediation, res25 toration, and enhancement may be used as non- 
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1 Federal match if the activities are identified in 

2 the plan and expenses are incurred within the 

3 period of the grant award. These costs may in4 clude either case or in-kind contributions. 

5 (e) REGIONAL WATERSHED DEMONSTRATION

6 PROJECT.—The Secretary may provide up to $5,000,000 

7 for a regional watershed protection demonstration project 

8 that will meet the requirements of this section, and— 

9 (1) leverages land acquisition funding from 

10 other Federal land conservation or acquisition pro11 grams such that other Federal contributions, at a 

12 minimum, equal the amounts provided by the Sec13 retary; 

14 (2) involves partnerships from a broad spec15 trum of Federal, State, and non-governmental enti16 ties; 

17 (3) provides for the creation of conservation 

18 corridors and preservation of unique coastal habitat; 

19 (4) protects largely unfragmented habitat under 

20 imminent threat of development or conversion; 

21 (5) provides water quality protection for areas 

22 set aside for research under the National Estuarine 

23 Research Reserve program; and 

24 (6) provides a model for future regional water25 shed protection projects. 
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1 (f) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR NATIONAL ESTUA2 RINE RESEARCH RESERVE SITES.—No less than 15 per3 cent of funds made available under this section shall be 

4 available for acquisitions benefiting National Estuarine 

5 Research Reserve acquisitions. 

6 (g) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

7 than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec8 retary under this section shall be used by the Secretary 

9 for planning or administration of the program. The Sec10 retary shall provide a report to Congress with an account 

11 of all expenditures under this section for fiscal year 2006, 

12 fiscal year 2007, and triennially thereafter. 

13 (h) TITLE AND MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED PROP14 ERTY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—If any property is acquired 

16 in whole or in part with funds made available 

17 through a grant under this section, the grant recipi18 ent shall provide such assurances as the Secretary 

19 may require that— 

20 (A) the title to the property will be held by 

21 the grant recipient or other appropriate public 

22 agency designated by the recipient in per23 petuity; 

24 (B) the property will be managed in a 

25 manner that is consistent with the purposes for 
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1 which the land entered into the program and 

2 shall not convert such property to other uses; 

3 and 

4 (C) if the property or interest in land is 

5 sold, exchanged, or divested, funds equal to the 

6 correct value will be returned to the Secretary, 

7 for re-distribution in the grant process. 

8 (2) CONSERVATION EASEMENT.—In this sub9 section, the term ‘‘conservation easement’’ includes 

10 an easement, recorded deed, or interest deed where 

11 the grantee acquires all rights, title, and interest in 

12 a property, that do not conflict with the goals of this 

13 Act except those rights, title, and interests that may 

14 run with the land that are expressly reserved by a 

15 grantor and are agreed to at the time of purchase. 

16 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘coastal 

17 State’’ has the meaning given that term by section 304(4) 

18 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

19 1453(4)), and any other term used in this section that 

20 is defined in section 304 of that Act has the meaning given 

21 that term in that section. 

22 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary— 
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1 (1) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

2 fiscal years 2006 through 2009 to carry out this sec3 tion (other than subsection (e)); and 

4 (2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out 

5 subsection (e), such sum to remain available without 

6 fiscal year limitation. 

7 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER AGENCIES. 

8 Section 310(a) of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

9 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1456c(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘any 

10 qualified person for the purposes of carrying out this sub11 section.’’ and inserting ‘‘any other Federal agencies (in12 cluding interagency financing of Coastal America activi13 ties) and any other qualified person for the purposes of 

14 carrying out this section.’’. 

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