II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3180 

To establish a working waterfronts grant program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 1, 2023 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 

Works 

A BILL 

To establish a working waterfronts grant program. 

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 ‘‘Working Waterfront 

5 Preservation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WORKING WATERFRONT ACCESS PROTECTION 

7 GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) BOAT.—The term ‘‘boat’’ means a 

10 watercraft that is not built in a shipyard, and is 


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1 typically of the type suitable or intended for personal 

2 use or for use in a fishery. 

3 (2) BOATBUILDING INDUSTRY.—The term 

4 ‘‘boatbuilding industry’’ means an industry primarily 

5 engaged in building boats. 

6 (3) COASTAL WATERS.—The term ‘‘coastal 

7 waters’’ means— 

8 (A) in the Great Lakes area, the waters 

9 within the territorial jurisdiction of the United 

10 States consisting of the Great Lakes, their con11 necting waters, harbors, roadsteads, and estu12 ary-type areas such as bays, shallows, and 

13 marshes; and 

14 (B) in other areas, those waters, adjacent 

15 to the shorelines, which contain a measurable 

16 quantity or percentage of sea water, including 

17 sounds, bays, lagoons, bayous, ponds, and estu18 aries. 

19 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti20 ty’’ means— 

21 (A) the government of a coastal State; 

22 (B) a unit of local government within a 

23 coastal State; 


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1 (C) a nonprofit organization that the Sec2 retary determines is appropriate to receive a 

3 grant under subsection (b); or 

4 (D) a participant in the commercial fishing 

5 industry, the aquaculture industry, or the for6 hire recreational fishing industry. 

7 (5) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

8 project’’ means a project— 

9 (A) to— 

10 (i) make improvements to real prop11 erty that is a working waterfront area lo12 cated in a coastal State and owned by an 

13 eligible entity, including— 

14 (I) the construction or repair of 

15 wharfs or related facilities; 

16 (II) the provision of access to 

17 coastal waters in working waterfront 

18 areas to persons engaged in the com19 mercial fishing industry, the aqua20 culture industry, the for-hire rec21 reational fishing industry, or the 

22 boatbuilding industry; and 

23 (III) improvements made to such 

24 property in order to be resilient to cli25 mate change; or 


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1 (ii) permanently designate or other2 wise protect real property owned or oper3 ated by an eligible entity as a working wa4 terfront area; 

5 (B) that has been approved or endorsed by 

6 the State government entity responsible for 

7 fishery management or the State’s coastal zone 

8 management agency; and 

9 (C) that is consistent with State coastal 

10 shoreline access laws (including regulations). 

11 (6) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

12 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that 

13 is— 

14 (A) described in section 501(c) of the In15 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

16 (B) exempt from taxation under section 

17 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

18 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Commerce. 

20 (8) WORKING WATERFRONT AREA.—The term 

21 ‘‘working waterfront area’’ means land that is used 

22 for, or that supports, the commercial fishing indus23 try, the aquaculture industry, the for-hire rec24 reational fishing industry, or the boatbuilding indus25 try. 


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1 (b) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

3 through the Economic Development Administration 

4 of the Department of Commerce, shall award grants, 

5 on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to carry 

6 out eligible projects that support the commercial 

7 fishing industry, the aquaculture industry, the for8 hire recreational fishing industry, or the 

9 boatbuilding industry in coastal States. 

10 (2) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a 

11 grant under this section shall submit an application 

12 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 

13 containing such information as the Secretary may 

14 reasonably require. 

15 (3) GRANT SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS.—In 

16 selecting eligible entities to receive grants under this 

17 section, the Secretary shall give substantial weight 

18 to— 

19 (A) the economic significance of the eligi20 ble project to the commercial fishing industry, 

21 the aquaculture industry, the for-hire rec22 reational fishing industry, or the boatbuilding 

23 industry in the immediate vicinity and in the 

24 coastal State in which the eligible project is lo25 cated; 


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1 (B) whether other adequate waterfront ac2 cess alternatives exist for the commercial fish3 ing industry within the community in which the 

4 eligible entity seeks to use grant funding; 

5 (C) the utility of the eligible project for use 

6 in the commercial fishing industry, the aqua7 culture industry, the for-hire recreational fish8 ing industry, or the boatbuilding industry, with 

9 respect to the natural characteristics and devel10 oped infrastructure of the relevant property; 

11 (D) whether the applicant has a business 

12 plan for the area in which the project will be lo13 cated; 

14 (E) the likelihood that the working water15 front area will remain compatible with commer16 cial fishing, aquaculture, for-hire recreational 

17 fishing, or boatbuilding, and the applicant’s 

18 ability to demonstrate a need for, or support 

19 for, the project within the community; and 

20 (F) whether the applicant intends to per21 manently protect the relevant property. 

22 (c) COST SHARING.—The amount of a grant awarded 

23 under this section to carry out an eligible project may not 

24 exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the eligible project. 


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1 (d) USE OF GRANT FUNDS FOR ELIGIBLE

2 PROJECTS.— 

3 (1) IMPROVED OR PROTECTED PROPERTY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under 

5 this section may be used to improve or protect 

6 privately owned real property or interests in 

7 privately owned real property, including ease8 ments, only from willing owners. 

9 (B) NO EXERCISE OF EMINENT DOMAIN.— 

10 No Federal, State, or local agency may exercise 

11 the power of eminent domain to secure title to 

12 any real property or facilities in connection with 

13 a project carried out under this Act. 

14 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to 

15 Congress an annual report that describes the eligible 

16 projects funded with grants awarded under this section. 

17 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 

19 $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 

20 2028. 

Æ 


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