IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 729 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to 

authorize grants to Indian Tribes to further achievement 

of Tribal coastal zone objectives, 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. FRONT MATTER. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Coastal and Great Lakes Communities Enhancement 

4 Act’’. 

5 (b) DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.— 

6 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of com7 plying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

8 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

9 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

10 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

11 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro12 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

13 vote on passage. 

14 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

15 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Front matter. 

TITLE I—COASTAL RESILIENCE AND ECONOMIC ENHANCEMENT 

Sec. 101. Grants to further achievement of Tribal coastal zone objectives. 

Sec. 102. Living Shoreline Grant Program. 

Sec. 103. Working Waterfronts Grant Program. 

Sec. 104. Working Waterfronts Preservation Fund; grants. 

Sec. 105. Eligibility of District of Columbia for Federal funding under the 

Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. 

Sec. 106. Climate change preparedness in the coastal zone. 

Sec. 107. Update to environmental sensitivity index products of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for Great Lakes. 

Sec. 108. Prize competitions. 

Sec. 109. Catalog of research on applicable coastal risk reduction and resilience 

measures. 

TITLE II—FISHERY RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION 

Subtitle A—National Fish Habitat Conservation Through Partnerships 

Sec. 201. Purpose. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. National Fish Habitat Board. 


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Sec. 204. Fish Habitat Partnerships. 

Sec. 205. Fish Habitat Conservation Projects. 

Sec. 206. Technical and scientific assistance. 

Sec. 207. Coordination with States and Indian Tribes. 

Sec. 208. Interagency Operational Plan. 

Sec. 209. Accountability and reporting. 

Sec. 210. Effect of this subtitle. 

Sec. 211. Nonapplicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

Sec. 212. Funding. 

Sec. 213. Prohibition against implementation of regulatory authority by Federal agencies through Partnerships. 

Subtitle B—Great Lakes Fishery Research Authorization 

Sec. 221. Definitions. 

Sec. 222. Findings. 

Sec. 223. Great Lakes monitoring, assessment, science, and research. 

Sec. 224. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle C—Chesapeake Bay Oyster Research 

Sec. 231. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 232. Grants for researching oysters in the Chesapeake Bay. 

TITLE III—MEETING 21ST CENTURY OCEAN AND COASTAL DATA 

NEEDS 

Subtitle A—Digital Coast 

Sec. 301. Findings. 

Sec. 302. Definitions. 

Sec. 303. Establishment of the Digital Coast. 

Subtitle B—Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System 

Sec. 311. Staggered terms for National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 312. Integrated coastal and ocean observation system cooperative agreements. 

Sec. 313. Reauthorization of Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System 

Act of 2009. 

Sec. 314. Advanced Research Projects Agency–Oceans. 

TITLE IV—NATIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM 

AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 401. References to the National Sea Grant College Program Act. 

Sec. 402. Modification of Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. 

Sec. 403. Modification of authority of Secretary of Commerce to accept donations for National Sea Grant College Program. 

Sec. 404. Repeal of requirement for report on coordination of oceans and coastal research activities. 

Sec. 405. Reduction in frequency required for National Sea Grant Advisory 

Board report. 

Sec. 406. Modification of elements of National Sea Grant College Program. 

Sec. 407. Direct hire authority; Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. 


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Sec. 408. Authorization of appropriations for National Sea Grant College Program. 

Sec. 409. Technical corrections. 

1 TITLE I—COASTAL RESILIENCE 

2 AND ECONOMIC ENHANCEMENT 

3 SEC. 101. GRANTS TO FURTHER ACHIEVEMENT OF TRIBAL 

4 COASTAL ZONE OBJECTIVES. 

5 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Coastal Zone Man6 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended 

7 by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 320. GRANTS TO FURTHER ACHIEVEMENT OF TRIBAL 

9 COASTAL ZONE OBJECTIVES. 

10 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may 

11 award competitive grants to Indian Tribes to further 

12 achievement of the objectives of such a Tribe for its Tribal 

13 coastal zone. 

14 ‘‘(b) COST SHARE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 

16 cost of any activity carried out with a grant under 

17 this section shall be— 

18 ‘‘(A) in the case of a grant of less than 

19 $200,000, 100 percent of such cost; and 

20 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grant of $200,000 or 

21 more, 95 percent of such cost, except as pro22 vided in paragraph (2). 

23 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

24 application of paragraph (1)(B) with respect to a 


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1 grant to an Indian Tribe, or otherwise reduce the 

2 portion of the share of the cost of an activity re3 quired to be paid by an Indian Tribe under such 

4 paragraph, if the Secretary determines that the 

5 Tribe does not have sufficient funds to pay such por6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(c) COMPATIBILITY.—The Secretary may not award 

8 a grant under this section unless the Secretary determines 

9 that the activities to be carried out with the grant are 

10 compatible with this title and that the grantee has con11 sulted with the affected coastal state regarding the grant 

12 objectives and purposes. 

13 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZED OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES.— 

14 Amounts awarded as a grant under this section shall be 

15 used for one or more of the objectives and purposes au16 thorized under subsections (b) and (c), respectively, of sec17 tion 306A. 

18 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—Of amounts appropriated to carry 

19 out this Act, $5,000,000 is authorized to carry out this 

20 section for each fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘Indian land’ 

23 has the meaning that term has under section 2601 

24 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501). 


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1 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

2 means an Indian tribe, as that term is defined in 

3 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu4 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

5 ‘‘(3) TRIBAL COASTAL ZONE.—The term ‘Tribal 

6 coastal zone’ means any Indian land of an Indian 

7 Tribe that is within the coastal zone. 

8 ‘‘(4) TRIBAL COASTAL ZONE OBJECTIVE.—The 

9 term ‘Tribal coastal zone objective’ means, with re10 spect to an Indian Tribe, any of the following objec11 tives: 

12 ‘‘(A) Protection, restoration, or preserva13 tion of areas in the Tribal coastal zone of such 

14 Tribe that hold— 

15 ‘‘(i) important ecological, cultural, or 

16 sacred significance for such Tribe; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) traditional, historic, and esthetic 

18 values essential to such Tribe. 

19 ‘‘(B) Preparing and implementing a special 

20 area management plan and technical planning 

21 for important coastal areas. 

22 ‘‘(C) Any coastal or shoreline stabilization 

23 measure, including any mitigation measure, for 

24 the purpose of public safety, public access, or 

25 cultural or historical preservation.’’. 


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1 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Com3 merce shall issue guidance for the program established 

4 under the amendment made by subsection (a), including 

5 the criteria for awarding grants under such program based 

6 on consultation with Indian Tribes (as that term is defined 

7 in that amendment). 

8 (c) USE OF STATE GRANTS TO FULFILL TRIBAL OB9 JECTIVES.—Section 306A(c)(2) of the Coastal Zone Man10 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455a(c)(2)) is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of sub12 paragraph (D), by striking the period at the end of sub13 paragraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at 

14 the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(F) fulfilling any Tribal coastal zone ob16 jective (as that term is defined in section 

17 320).’’. 

18 (d) OTHER PROGRAMS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in 

19 this section shall be construed to affect the ability of an 

20 Indian Tribe to apply for, receive assistance under, or par21 ticipate in any program authorized by the Coastal Zone 

22 Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) or 

23 other related Federal laws. 


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1 SEC. 102. LIVING SHORELINE GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall 

3 make grants to eligible entities for purposes of— 

4 (1) designing and implementing large- and 

5 small-scale, climate-resilient living shoreline projects; 

6 and 

7 (2) applying innovative uses of natural mate8 rials and systems to protect coastal communities, 

9 habitats, and natural system functions. 

10 (b) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—To be eligible to receive 

11 a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall— 

12 (1) submit to the Administrator a proposal for 

13 a living shoreline project, including monitoring, data 

14 collection, and measurable performance criteria with 

15 respect to the project; 

16 (2) demonstrate to the Administrator that the 

17 entity has any permits or other authorizations from 

18 local, State, and Federal government agencies nec19 essary to carry out the living shoreline project or 

20 provide evidence demonstrating general support from 

21 such agencies; and 

22 (3) include an outreach or education component 

23 that seeks and solicits feedback from the local or re24 gional community most directly affected by the pro25 posal. 

26 (c) PROJECT SELECTION.— 


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1 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA.—The Admin2 istrator shall select eligible entities to receive grants 

3 under this section based on criteria developed by the 

4 Administrator, in consultation with relevant offices 

5 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis6 tration, such as the Office of Habitat Conservation, 

7 the Office for Coastal Management, and the Res8 toration Center. 

9 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing criteria 

10 under paragraph (1) to evaluate a proposed living 

11 shoreline project, the Administrator shall take into 

12 account— 

13 (A) the potential of the project to protect 

14 the community and maintain the viability of the 

15 environment, such as through protection of eco16 system functions, environmental benefits, or 

17 habitat types, in the area where the project is 

18 to be carried out; 

19 (B) the historic and future environmental 

20 conditions of the project site, particularly those 

21 environmental conditions affected by climate 

22 change; 

23 (C) the ecological benefits of the project; 

24 (D) the ability of the entity proposing the 

25 project to demonstrate the potential of the 


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1 project to protect the coastal community where 

2 the project is to be carried out, including 

3 through— 

4 (i) mitigating the effects of erosion; 

5 (ii) attenuating the impact of coastal 

6 storms and storm surge; 

7 (iii) mitigating shoreline flooding; 

8 (iv) mitigating the effects of sea level 

9 rise, accelerated land loss, and extreme 

10 tides; 

11 (v) sustaining, protecting, or restoring 

12 the functions and habitats of coastal eco13 systems; or 

14 (vi) such other forms of coastal pro15 tection as the Administrator considers ap16 propriate; and 

17 (E) the potential of the project to support 

18 resiliency at a military installation or commu19 nity infrastructure supportive of a military in20 stallation (as such terms are defined in section 

21 2391 of title 10, United States Code). 

22 (3) PRIORITY.—In selecting living shoreline 

23 projects to receive grants under this section, the Ad24 ministrator shall give priority consideration to a pro25 posed project to be conducted in an area— 


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1 (A) for which the President has declared, 

2 during the 10-year period preceding the submis3 sion of the proposal for the project under sub4 section (b), that a major disaster exists pursu5 ant to section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 

6 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 5170) because of a hurricane, trop8 ical storm, coastal storm, or flooding; 

9 (B) that has a documented history of 

10 coastal erosion or frequent coastal inundation 

11 during that 10-year period; or 

12 (C) which include communities that may 

13 not have adequate resources to prepare for or 

14 respond to coastal hazards, including low in15 come communities, communities of color, Tribal 

16 communities, and rural communities. 

17 (4) MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

19 shall develop minimum standards to be used in 

20 selecting eligible entities to receive grants under 

21 this section, taking into account— 

22 (i) the considerations described in 

23 paragraph (2); 


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1 (ii) the need for such standards to be 

2 general enough to accommodate concerns 

3 relating to specific project sites; and 

4 (iii) the consideration of an estab5 lished eligible entity program with systems 

6 to disburse funding from a single grant to 

7 support multiple small-scale projects. 

8 (B) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing 

9 standards under subparagraph (A), the Admin10 istrator— 

11 (i) shall consult with relevant offices 

12 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

13 Administration, such as the Office of Habi14 tat Conservation, the Office for Coastal 

15 Management, and the Restoration Center; 

16 and 

17 (ii) may consult with— 

18 (I) relevant interagency councils, 

19 such as the Estuary Habitat Restora20 tion Council; 

21 (II) Tribes and Tribal organiza22 tions; 

23 (III) State coastal management 

24 agencies; and 


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1 (IV) relevant nongovernmental 

2 organizations. 

3 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant awarded under this 

4 section to an eligible entity to carry out a living shoreline 

5 project may be used by the eligible entity only— 

6 (1) to carry out the project, including adminis7 tration, design, permitting, entry into negotiated in8 direct cost rate agreements, and construction; 

9 (2) to monitor, collect, and report data on the 

10 performance (including performance over time) of 

11 the project, in accordance with standards issued by 

12 the Administrator under subsection (f)(2); and 

13 (3) to incentivize landowners to engage in living 

14 shoreline projects. 

15 (e) COST-SHARING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), an eligible entity that receives a grant 

18 under this section to carry out a living shoreline 

19 project shall provide, from non-Federal sources, 

20 funds or other resources (such as land or conserva21 tion easements or in-kind matching from private en22 tities) valued at not less than 50 percent of the total 

23 cost, including administrative costs, of the project. 

24 (2) REDUCED MATCHING REQUIREMENT FOR

25 CERTAIN COMMUNITIES.—The Administrator may 


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1 reduce or waive the matching requirement under 

2 paragraph (1) for an eligible entity representing a 

3 community or nonprofit organization if— 

4 (A) the eligible entity submits to the Ad5 ministrator in writing— 

6 (i) a request for such a reduction and 

7 the amount of the reduction; and 

8 (ii) a justification for why the entity 

9 cannot meet the matching requirement; 

10 and 

11 (B) the Administrator agrees with the jus12 tification. 

13 (f) MONITORING AND REPORTING.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall re15 quire each eligible entity receiving a grant under this 

16 section (or a representative of the entity) to carry 

17 out a living shoreline project— 

18 (A) to transmit to the Administrator data 

19 collected under the project; 

20 (B) to monitor the project and to collect 

21 data on— 

22 (i) the ecological benefits of the 

23 project and the protection provided by the 

24 project for the coastal community where 


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1 the project is carried out, including 

2 through— 

3 (I) mitigating the effects of ero4 sion; 

5 (II) attenuating the impact of 

6 coastal storms and storm surge; 

7 (III) mitigating shoreline flood8 ing; 

9 (IV) mitigating the effects of sea 

10 level rise, accelerated land loss, and 

11 extreme tides; 

12 (V) sustaining, protecting, or re13 storing the functions and habitats of 

14 coastal ecosystems; or 

15 (VI) such other forms of coastal 

16 protection as the Administrator con17 siders appropriate; and 

18 (ii) the performance of the project in 

19 providing such protection; 

20 (C) to make data collected under the 

21 project available on a publicly accessible inter22 net website of the National Oceanic and Atmos23 pheric Administration; and 

24 (D) not later than 1 year after the entity 

25 receives the grant, and annually thereafter until 


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1 the completion of the project, to submit to the 

2 Administrator a report on— 

3 (i) the measures described in subpara4 graph (B); and 

5 (ii) the effectiveness of the project in 

6 increasing protection of the coastal com7 munity where the project is carried out 

8 through living shorelines techniques, in9 cluding— 

10 (I) a description of— 

11 (aa) the project; 

12 (bb) the activities carried 

13 out under the project; and 

14 (cc) the techniques and ma15 terials used in carrying out the 

16 project; and 

17 (II) data on the performance of 

18 the project in providing protection to 

19 that coastal community. 

20 (2) GUIDELINES.—In developing guidelines re21 lating to paragraph (1)(C), the Administrator shall 

22 consider how additional data could safely be col23 lected before and after major disasters or severe 

24 weather events to measure project performance and 

25 project recovery. 


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1 (3) STANDARDS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

4 Administrator shall, in consultation with rel5 evant offices of the National Oceanic and At6 mospheric Administration, relevant interagency 

7 councils, and relevant nongovernmental organi8 zations, issue standards for the monitoring, col9 lection, and reporting under subsection (d)(2) 

10 of data regarding the performance of living 

11 shoreline projects for which grants are awarded 

12 under this section. 

13 (B) REPORTING.—The standards issued 

14 under subparagraph (A) shall require an eligi15 ble entity receiving a grant under this section 

16 to report the data described in that subpara17 graph to the Administrator on a regular basis. 

18 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 to the Ad20 ministrator for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025 

21 for purposes of carrying out this section. 

22 (h) MINIMUM REQUIRED FUNDS FOR SHORELINE

23 PROJECTS LOCATED WITHIN THE GREAT LAKES.—The 

24 Secretary shall make not less than 10 percent of the funds 


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1 awarded under this section to projects located in the Great 

2 Lakes. 

3 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

6 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

7 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti8 ty’’ means any of the following: 

9 (A) A unit of a State or local government. 

10 (B) An organization described in section 

11 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

12 that is exempt from taxation under section 

13 501(a) of such Code. 

14 (C) An Indian Tribe (as defined in section 

15 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu16 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). 

17 (3) LIVING SHORELINE PROJECT.—The term 

18 ‘‘living shoreline project’’— 

19 (A) means a project that— 

20 (i) restores or stabilizes a shoreline, 

21 including marshes, wetlands, and other 

22 vegetated areas that are part of the shore23 line ecosystem, by using natural materials 

24 and systems to create buffers to attenuate 

25 the impact of coastal storms, currents, 


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1 flooding, and wave energy and to prevent 

2 or minimize shoreline erosion while sup3 porting coastal ecosystems and habitats; 

4 (ii) incorporates as many natural ele5 ments as possible, such as native wetlands, 

6 submerged aquatic plants, corals, oyster 

7 shells, native grasses, shrubs, or trees; 

8 (iii) utilizes techniques that incor9 porate ecological and coastal engineering 

10 principles in shoreline stabilization; and 

11 (iv) to the extent possible, maintains 

12 or restores existing natural slopes and con13 nections between uplands and adjacent 

14 wetlands or surface waters; 

15 (B) may include the use of— 

16 (i) natural elements, such as sand, 

17 wetland plants, logs, oysters or other shell18 fish, submerged aquatic vegetation, corals, 

19 native grasses, shrubs, trees, or coir fiber 

20 logs; 

21 (ii) project elements that provide eco22 logical benefits to coastal ecosystems and 

23 habitats in addition to shoreline protection; 

24 and 


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1 (iii) structural materials, such as 

2 stone, concrete, wood, vinyl, oyster domes, 

3 or other approved engineered structures in 

4 combination with natural materials; and 

5 (C) may include a project that expands 

6 upon or restores natural living shorelines or ex7 isting living shoreline projects. 

8 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

9 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

10 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States 

11 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

12 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

13 SEC. 103. WORKING WATERFRONTS GRANT PROGRAM. 

14 The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

15 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 321. WORKING WATERFRONTS GRANT PROGRAM. 

18 ‘‘(a) WORKING WATERFRONT TASK FORCE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS.—The 

20 Secretary of Commerce shall establish a task force 

21 to work directly with coastal States, user groups, 

22 and coastal stakeholders to identify and address crit23 ical needs with respect to working waterfronts. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The members of the task 

2 force shall be appointed by the Secretary of Com3 merce, and shall include— 

4 ‘‘(A) experts in the unique economic, so5 cial, cultural, ecological, geographic, and re6 source concerns of working waterfronts; and 

7 ‘‘(B) representatives from the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Of9 fice of Coastal Management, the United States 

10 Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of 

11 Agriculture, the Environmental Protection 

12 Agency, the United States Geological Survey, 

13 the Navy, the National Marine Fisheries Serv14 ice, the Economic Development Agency, and 

15 such other Federal agencies as the Secretary 

16 considers appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The task force shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) identify and prioritize critical needs 

19 with respect to working waterfronts in States 

20 that have a management program approved by 

21 the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to section 

22 306, in the areas of— 

23 ‘‘(i) economic and cultural importance 

24 of working waterfronts to communities; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) changing environments and 

2 threats working waterfronts face from en3 vironment changes, trade barriers, sea level 

4 rise, extreme weather events, ocean acidifi5 cation, and harmful algal blooms; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) identifying working waterfronts 

7 and highlighting them within communities; 

8 ‘‘(B) outline options, in coordination with 

9 coastal States and local stakeholders, to address 

10 such critical needs, including adaptation and 

11 mitigation where applicable; 

12 ‘‘(C) identify Federal agencies that are re13 sponsible under existing law for addressing such 

14 critical needs; and 

15 ‘‘(D) recommend Federal agencies best 

16 suited to address any critical needs for which 

17 no agency is responsible under existing law. 

18 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION TO BE CONSIDERED.—In 

19 identifying and prioritizing policy gaps pursuant to 

20 paragraph (3), the task force shall consider the find21 ings and recommendations contained in section VI of 

22 the report entitled ‘The Sustainable Working Water23 fronts Toolkit: Final Report’, dated March 2013. 

24 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

25 the date of the enactment of this section, the task 


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1 force shall submit a report to Congress on its find2 ings. 

3 ‘‘(6) IMPLEMENTATION.—The head of each 

4 Federal agency identified in the report pursuant to 

5 paragraph (3)(C) shall take such action as is nec6 essary to implement the recommendations contained 

7 in the report by not later than 1 year after the date 

8 of the issuance of the report. 

9 ‘‘(b) WORKING WATERFRONT GRANT PROGRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall establish a Working 

11 Waterfront Grant Program, in cooperation with ap12 propriate State, regional, and other units of govern13 ment, under which the Secretary may make a grant 

14 to any coastal State for the purpose of implementing 

15 a working waterfront plan approved by the Secretary 

16 under subsection (c). 

17 ‘‘(2) Subject to the availability of appropria18 tions, the Secretary shall award matching grants 

19 under the Working Waterfronts Grant Program to 

20 coastal States with approved working waterfront 

21 plans through a regionally equitable, competitive 

22 funding process in accordance with the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) The Governor, or the lead agency 

24 designated by the Governor for coordinating the 

25 implementation of this section, where approVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:16 Dec 12, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H729.RFS H729

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1 priate in consultation with the appropriate local 

2 government, shall determine that the applica3 tion is consistent with the State’s or territory’s 

4 approved coastal zone plan, program, and poli5 cies prior to submission to the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(B) In developing guidelines under this 

7 section, the Secretary shall consult with coastal 

8 States, other Federal agencies, and other inter9 ested stakeholders with expertise in working 

10 waterfront planning. 

11 ‘‘(C) Coastal States may allocate grants to 

12 local governments, agencies, or nongovern13 mental organizations eligible for assistance 

14 under this section. 

15 ‘‘(3) In awarding a grant to a coastal State, the 

16 Secretary shall consider— 

17 ‘‘(A) the economic, cultural, and historical 

18 significance of working waterfront to the coast19 al State; 

20 ‘‘(B) the demonstrated working waterfront 

21 needs of the coastal State as outlined by a 

22 working waterfront plan approved for the coast23 al State under subsection (c), and the value of 

24 the proposed project for the implementation of 

25 such plan; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the ability to successfully leverage 

2 funds among participating entities, including 

3 Federal programs, regional organizations, State 

4 and other government units, landowners, cor5 porations, or private organizations; 

6 ‘‘(D) the potential for rapid turnover in 

7 the ownership of working waterfront in the 

8 coastal State, and where applicable the need for 

9 coastal States to respond quickly when prop10 erties in existing or potential working water11 front areas or public access areas as identified 

12 in the working waterfront plan submitted by 

13 the coastal State come under threat or become 

14 available; and 

15 ‘‘(E) the impact of the working waterfront 

16 plan approved for the coastal State under sub17 section (c) on the coastal ecosystem and the 

18 users of the coastal ecosystem. 

19 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall approve or reject an 

20 application for such a grant within 60 days after re21 ceiving an application for the grant. 

22 ‘‘(c) WORKING WATERFRONT PLANS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) To be eligible for a grant under subsection 

24 (b), a coastal State must submit and have approved 

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1 front plan in accordance with this subsection, or be 

2 in the process of developing such a plan and have an 

3 established working waterfront program at the State 

4 or local level, or the Secretary determines that an 

5 existing coastal land use plan for that State is in ac6 cordance with this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(2) Such plan— 

8 ‘‘(A) must provide for preservation and ex9 pansion of access to coastal waters to persons 

10 engaged in commercial fishing, recreational 

11 fishing and boating businesses, aquaculture, 

12 boatbuilding, or other water-dependent, coastal13 related business; 

14 ‘‘(B) shall include one or more of— 

15 ‘‘(i) an assessment of the economic, 

16 social, cultural, and historic value of work17 ing waterfront to the coastal State; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a description of relevant State 

19 and local laws and regulations affecting 

20 working waterfront in the geographic areas 

21 identified in the working waterfront plan; 

22 ‘‘(iii) identification of geographic 

23 areas where working waterfronts are cur24 rently under threat of conversion to uses 

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1 reational fishing, recreational fishing and 

2 boating businesses, aquaculture, 

3 boatbuilding, or other water-dependent, 

4 coastal-related business, and the level of 

5 that threat; 

6 ‘‘(iv) identification of geographic areas 

7 with a historic connection to working wa8 terfronts where working waterfronts are 

9 not currently available, and, where appro10 priate, an assessment of the environmental 

11 impacts of any expansion or new develop12 ment of working waterfronts on the coastal 

13 ecosystem; 

14 ‘‘(v) identification of other working 

15 waterfront needs including improvements 

16 to existing working waterfronts and work17 ing waterfront areas; 

18 ‘‘(vi) a strategic and prioritized plan 

19 for the preservation, expansion, and im20 provement of working waterfronts in the 

21 coastal State; 

22 ‘‘(vii) for areas identified under 

23 clauses (iii), (iv), (v), and (vi), identifica24 tion of current availability and potential 


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1 for expansion of public access to coastal 

2 waters; 

3 ‘‘(viii) a description of the degree of 

4 community support for such strategic plan; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ix) a contingency plan for properties 

7 that revert to the coastal State pursuant to 

8 determinations made by the coastal State 

9 under subsection (g)(4)(C); 

10 ‘‘(C) may include detailed environmental 

11 impacts on working waterfronts, including haz12 ards, sea level rise, inundation exposure, and 

13 other resiliency issues; 

14 ‘‘(D) may be part of the management pro15 gram approved under section 306; 

16 ‘‘(E) shall utilize to the maximum extent 

17 practicable existing information contained in 

18 relevant surveys, plans, or other strategies to 

19 fulfill the information requirements under this 

20 paragraph; and 

21 ‘‘(F) shall incorporate the policies and reg22 ulations adopted by communities under local 

23 working waterfront plans or strategies in exist24 ence before the date of the enactment of this 

25 section. 


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1 ‘‘(3) A working waterfront plan— 

2 ‘‘(A) shall be effective for purposes of this 

3 section for the 5-year period beginning on the 

4 date it is approved by the Secretary; 

5 ‘‘(B) must be updated and re-approved by 

6 the Secretary before the end of such period; and 

7 ‘‘(C) shall be complimentary to and incor8 porate the policies and objectives of regional or 

9 local working waterfront plans as in effect be10 fore the date of enactment of this section or as 

11 subsequently revised. 

12 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may— 

13 ‘‘(A) award planning grants to coastal 

14 States for the purpose of developing or revising 

15 comprehensive working waterfront plans; and 

16 ‘‘(B) award grants consistent with the pur17 poses of this section to States undertaking the 

18 working waterfront planning process under this 

19 section, for the purpose of preserving and pro20 tecting working waterfronts during such proc21 ess. 

22 ‘‘(5) Any coastal State applying for a working 

23 waterfront grant under this title shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) develop a working waterfront plan, 

2 using a process that involves the public and 

3 those with an interest in the coastal zone; 

4 ‘‘(B) coordinate development and imple5 mentation of such a plan with other coastal 

6 management programs, regulations, and activi7 ties of the coastal State; and 

8 ‘‘(C) if the coastal State allows qualified 

9 holders (other than the coastal State) to enter 

10 into working waterfront covenants, provide as 

11 part of the working waterfront plan under this 

12 subsection a mechanism or procedure to ensure 

13 that the qualified holders are complying their 

14 duties to enforce the working waterfront cov15 enant. 

16 ‘‘(d) USES, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) Each grant made by the Secretary under 

18 this section shall be subject to such terms and condi19 tions as may be appropriate to ensure that the grant 

20 is used for purposes consistent with this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) A grant under this section may be used— 

22 ‘‘(A) to acquire a working waterfront, or 

23 an interest in a working waterfront; 


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1 ‘‘(B) to make improvements to a working 

2 waterfront, including the construction or repair 

3 of wharfs, boat ramps, or related facilities; or 

4 ‘‘(C) for necessary climate adaptation miti5 gation. 

6 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC ACCESS REQUIREMENT.—A working 

7 waterfront project funded by grants made under this sec8 tion must provide for expansion, improvement, or preser9 vation of reasonable and appropriate public access to 

10 coastal waters at or in the vicinity of a working water11 front, except for commercial fishing or other industrial ac12 cess points where the coastal State determines that public 

13 access would be unsafe. 

14 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 

16 grant awarded under this section may be used to 

17 purchase working waterfront or an interest in work18 ing waterfront, including an easement, only from a 

19 willing seller and at fair market value. 

20 ‘‘(2) A grant awarded under this section may 

21 be used to acquire working waterfront or an interest 

22 in working waterfront at less than fair market value 

23 only if the owner certifies to the Secretary that the 

24 sale is being entered into willingly and without coer25 cion. 


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1 ‘‘(3) No Federal, State, or local entity may ex2 ercise the power of eminent domain to secure title to 

3 any property or facilities in connection with a 

4 project carried out under this section. 

5 ‘‘(g) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS TO LOCAL GOVERN6 MENTS AND OTHER ENTITIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall encourage coastal 

8 States to broadly allocate amounts received as 

9 grants under this section among working water10 fronts identified in working waterfront plans ap11 proved under subsection (c). 

12 ‘‘(2) Subject to the approval of the Secretary, 

13 a coastal State may, as part of an approved working 

14 waterfront plan, designate as a qualified holder any 

15 unit of State or local government or nongovern16 mental organization, if the coastal State is ulti17 mately responsible for ensuring that the property 

18 will be managed in a manner that is consistent with 

19 the purposes for which the land entered into the pro20 gram. 

21 ‘‘(3) A coastal State or a qualified holder des22 ignated by a coastal State may allocate to a unit of 

23 local government, nongovernmental organization, 

24 fishing cooperative, or other entity, a portion of any 

25 grant made under this section for the purpose of 


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1 carrying out this section, except that such an alloca2 tion shall not relieve the coastal State of the respon3 sibility for ensuring that any funds so allocated are 

4 applied in furtherance of the coastal State’s ap5 proved working waterfront plan. 

6 ‘‘(4) A qualified holder may hold title to or in7 terest in property acquired under this section, except 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(A) all persons holding title to or interest 

10 in working waterfront affected by a grant under 

11 this section, including a qualified holder, private 

12 citizen, private business, nonprofit organization, 

13 fishing cooperative, or other entity, shall enter 

14 into a working waterfront covenant; 

15 ‘‘(B) such covenant shall be held by the 

16 coastal State or a qualified holder designated 

17 under paragraph (2); 

18 ‘‘(C) if the coastal State determines, on 

19 the record after an opportunity for a hearing, 

20 that the working waterfront covenant has been 

21 violated— 

22 ‘‘(i) all right, title, and interest in and 

23 to the working waterfront covered by such 

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1 paragraph (D), revert to the coastal State; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the coastal State shall have the 

4 right of immediate entry onto the working 

5 waterfront; 

6 ‘‘(D) if a coastal State makes a determina7 tion under subparagraph (C), the coastal State 

8 may convey or authorize the qualified holder to 

9 convey the working waterfront or interest in 

10 working waterfront to another qualified holder; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(E) nothing in this subsection waives any 

13 legal requirement under any Federal or State 

14 law. 

15 ‘‘(h) MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 

17 Secretary shall require that each coastal State that 

18 receives a grant under this section, or a qualified 

19 holder designated by that coastal State under sub20 section (g), shall provide matching funds in an 

21 amount equal to at least 25 percent of the total cost 

22 of the project carried out with the grant. 

23 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may waive the application 

24 of paragraph (1) for any qualified holder that is an 

25 underserved community, a community that has an 


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1 inability to draw on other sources of funding because 

2 of the small population or low income of the commu3 nity, or for other reasons the Secretary considers ap4 propriate. 

5 ‘‘(3) A local community designated as a quali6 fied holder under subsection (g) may utilize funds or 

7 other in-kind contributions donated by a nongovern8 mental partner to satisfy the matching funds re9 quirement under this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(4) As a condition of receipt of a grant under 

11 this section, the Secretary shall require that a coast12 al State provide to the Secretary such assurances as 

13 the Secretary determines are sufficient to dem14 onstrate that the share of the cost of each eligible 

15 project that is not funded by the grant awarded 

16 under this section has been secured. 

17 ‘‘(5) If financial assistance under this section 

18 represents only a portion of the total cost of a 

19 project, funding from other Federal sources may be 

20 applied to the cost of the project. Each portion shall 

21 be subject to match requirements under the applica22 ble provision of law. 

23 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall treat as non-Federal 

24 match the value of a working waterfront or interest 

25 in a working waterfront, including conservation and 


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1 other easements, that is held in perpetuity by a 

2 qualified holder, if the working waterfront or inter3 est is identified in the application for the grant and 

4 acquired by the qualified holder within 3 years of 

5 the grant award date, or within 3 years after the 

6 submission of the application and before the end of 

7 the grant award period. Such value shall be deter8 mined by an appraisal performed at such time before 

9 the award of the grant as the Secretary considers 

10 appropriate. 

11 ‘‘(7) The Secretary shall treat as non-Federal 

12 match the costs associated with acquisition of a 

13 working waterfront or an interest in a working wa14 terfront, and the costs of restoration, enhancement, 

15 or other improvement to a working waterfront, if the 

16 activities are identified in the project application and 

17 the costs are incurred within the period of the grant 

18 award, or, for working waterfront described in para19 graph (6), within the same time limits described in 

20 that paragraph. These costs may include either cash 

21 or in-kind contributions. 

22 ‘‘(i) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

23 than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec24 retary under this section may be used by the Secretary 


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1 for planning or administration of the program under this 

2 section. 

3 ‘‘(j) OTHER TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSIST4 ANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) Up to 5 percent of the funds appropriated 

6 under this section shall be used by the Secretary for 

7 purposes of providing technical assistance as de8 scribed in this subsection. 

9 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) provide technical assistance to coastal 

11 States and local governments in identifying and 

12 obtaining other sources of available Federal 

13 technical and financial assistance for the devel14 opment and revision of a working waterfront 

15 plan and the implementation of an approved 

16 working waterfront plan; 

17 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to States 

18 and local governments for the development, im19 plementation, and revision of comprehensive 

20 working waterfront plans, which may include, 

21 subject to the availability of appropriations, 

22 planning grants and assistance, pilot projects, 

23 feasibility studies, research, and other projects 

24 necessary to further the purposes of this sec25 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(C) assist States in developing other tools 

2 to protect working waterfronts; 

3 ‘‘(D) collect and disseminate to States 

4 guidance for best storm water management 

5 practices in regards to working waterfronts; 

6 ‘‘(E) provide technical assistance to States 

7 and local governments on integrating resilience 

8 planning into working waterfront preservation 

9 efforts; and 

10 ‘‘(F) collect and disseminate best practices 

11 on working waterfronts and resilience planning. 

12 ‘‘(k) REPORTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) develop performance measures to 

15 evaluate and report on the effectiveness of the 

16 program under this section in accomplishing the 

17 purpose of this section; and 

18 ‘‘(B) submit to Congress a biennial report 

19 that includes such evaluations, an account of all 

20 expenditures, and descriptions of all projects 

21 carried out using grants awarded under this 

22 section. 

23 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may submit the biennial re24 port under paragraph (1)(B) by including it in the 

25 biennial report required under section 316. 


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1 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 ‘‘(1) The term ‘qualified holder’ means a coast3 al State or a unit of local or coastal State govern4 ment or a non-State organization designated by a 

5 coastal State under subsection (g). 

6 ‘‘(2) The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary, 

7 acting through the National Oceanic and Atmos8 pheric Administration. 

9 ‘‘(3) The term ‘working waterfront’ means real 

10 property (including support structures over water 

11 and other facilities) that provides access to coastal 

12 waters to persons engaged in commercial and rec13 reational fishing, recreational fishing and boating 

14 businesses, boatbuilding, aquaculture, or other 

15 water-dependent, coastal-related business and is 

16 used for, or that supports, commercial and rec17 reational fishing, recreational fishing and boating 

18 businesses, boatbuilding, aquaculture, or other 

19 water-dependent, coastal-related business. 

20 ‘‘(4) The term ‘working waterfront covenant’ 

21 means an agreement in recordable form between the 

22 owner of working waterfront and one or more quali23 fied holders, that provides such assurances as the 

24 Secretary may require that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the title to or interest in the working 

2 waterfront will be held by a grant recipient or 

3 qualified holder in perpetuity, except as pro4 vided in subparagraph (C); 

5 ‘‘(B) the working waterfront will be man6 aged in a manner that is consistent with the 

7 purposes for which the property is acquired 

8 pursuant to this section, and the property will 

9 not be converted to any use that is inconsistent 

10 with the purpose of this section; 

11 ‘‘(C) if the title to or interest in the work12 ing waterfront is sold or otherwise exchanged— 

13 ‘‘(i) all working waterfront owners 

14 and qualified holders involved in such sale 

15 or exchange shall accede to such agree16 ment; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) funds equal to the fair market 

18 value of the working waterfront or interest 

19 in working waterfront shall be paid to the 

20 Secretary by parties to the sale or ex21 change, and such funds shall, at the dis22 cretion of the Secretary, be paid to the 

23 coastal State in which the working water24 front is located for use in the implementa25 tion of the working waterfront plan of the 


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1 State approved by the Secretary under this 

2 section; and 

3 ‘‘(D) such covenant is subject to enforce4 ment and oversight by the coastal State or by 

5 another person as determined appropriate by 

6 the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 is authorized to be appropriated to the Grant Program 

9 $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 

10 SEC. 104. WORKING WATERFRONTS PRESERVATION FUND; 

11 GRANTS. 

12 The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

13 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is further amended by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 322. WORKING WATERFRONTS PRESERVATION LOAN 

16 FUND. 

17 ‘‘(a) FUND.—There is established in the Treasury a 

18 separate account that shall be known as the ‘Working Wa19 terfronts Preservation Loan Fund’ (in this section re20 ferred to as the ‘Fund’). 

21 ‘‘(b) USE.— 

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1 proved by the Secretary under section 321(c) 

2 through preservation, improvement, restoration, re3 habilitation, acquisition of working waterfront prop4 erties under criteria established by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(2) Upon enactment of this section, the Sec6 retary of Commerce shall conduct a feasibility study 

7 on the administration of the development and man8 agement of a Working Waterfronts Preservation 

9 Loan Fund. 

10 ‘‘(3) Upon the completion of the study under 

11 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall establish a fund 

12 in accordance with the results of that study, and es13 tablish such criteria as referenced in subsection (c) 

14 in consultation with States that have a management 

15 program approved by the Secretary of Commerce 

16 pursuant to section 306 and local government coast17 al management programs. 

18 ‘‘(c) AWARD CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall award 

19 loans under this section through a regionally equitable, 

20 competitive funding process, and in accordance with the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(1) The Governor, or the lead agency des23 ignated by the Governor for coordinating the imple24 mentation of this section, where appropriate in con25 sultation with the appropriate local government, 


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1 shall determine that an application for a loan is con2 sistent with the State’s approved coastal zone plan, 

3 program, and policies prior to submission to the Sec4 retary. 

5 ‘‘(2) In developing guidelines under this section, 

6 the Secretary shall consult with coastal States, other 

7 Federal agencies, and other interested stakeholders 

8 with expertise in working waterfront planning. 

9 ‘‘(3) Coastal States may allocate amounts 

10 loaned under this section to local governments, agen11 cies, or nongovernmental organizations eligible for 

12 loans under this section. 

13 ‘‘(4) In awarding a loan for activities in a 

14 coastal State, the Secretary shall consider— 

15 ‘‘(A) the economic and cultural significance 

16 of working waterfront to the coastal State; 

17 ‘‘(B) the demonstrated working waterfront 

18 needs of the coastal State as outlined by a 

19 working waterfront plan approved for the coast20 al State under section 321(c), and the value of 

21 the proposed loan for the implementation of 

22 such plan; 

23 ‘‘(C) the ability to successfully leverage 

24 loan funds among participating entities, includ25 ing Federal programs, regional organizations, 


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1 State and other government units, landowners, 

2 corporations, or private organizations; 

3 ‘‘(D) the potential for rapid turnover in 

4 the ownership of working waterfront in the 

5 coastal State, and where applicable the need for 

6 coastal States to respond quickly when prop7 erties in existing or potential working water8 front areas or public access areas as identified 

9 in the working waterfront plan submitted by 

10 the coastal State come under threat or become 

11 available; 

12 ‘‘(E) the impact of the loan on the coastal 

13 ecosystem and the users of the coastal eco14 system; and 

15 ‘‘(F) the extent of the historic connection 

16 between working waterfronts for which the loan 

17 will be used and the local communities within 

18 the coastal State. 

19 ‘‘(d) LOAN AMOUNT AND TERMS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) The amount of a loan under this section— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall be not less than $100,000; and 

22 ‘‘(B) shall not exceed 15 percent of the 

23 amount in the Fund as of July 1 of the fiscal 

24 year in which the loan is made. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The interest rate for a loan under this sec2 tion shall not exceed 4 percent. 

3 ‘‘(3) The repayment term for a loan under this 

4 section shall not exceed 20 years. 

5 ‘‘(e) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary 

6 shall approve or reject an application for a loan under this 

7 section within 60 days after receiving an application for 

8 the loan. 

9 ‘‘(f) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

10 than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec11 retary under this section may be used by the Secretary 

12 for planning or administration of the program under this 

13 section. 

14 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions in section 321(l) 

15 shall apply to this section. 

16 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $12,000,000 

18 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 

19 SEC. 105. ELIGIBILITY OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FOR 

20 FEDERAL FUNDING UNDER THE COASTAL 

21 ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1972. 

22 Section 304(4) of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

23 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘the 

24 District of Columbia,’’ after ‘‘the term also includes’’. 


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1 SEC. 106. CLIMATE CHANGE PREPAREDNESS IN THE 

2 COASTAL ZONE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Coastal Zone Management 

4 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by add5 ing at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 323. CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PREPAREDNESS 

7 AND RESPONSE PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish, 

9 consistent with the national policies set forth in section 

10 303, a coastal climate change adaptation preparedness 

11 and response program to— 

12 ‘‘(1) provide assistance to coastal States to vol13 untarily develop coastal climate change adaptation 

14 plans, pursuant to approved management programs 

15 approved under section 306, to minimize contribu16 tions to climate change and to prepare for and re17 duce the negative consequences that may result from 

18 climate change in the coastal zone; and 

19 ‘‘(2) provide financial and technical assistance 

20 and training to enable coastal States to implement 

21 plans developed pursuant to this section through 

22 coastal States’ enforceable policies. 

23 ‘‘(b) COASTAL CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

24 PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS GRANTS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, subject to 

26 the availability of appropriations, may make a grant 


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1 to any coastal State for the purpose of developing 

2 climate change adaptation plans pursuant to guide3 lines issued by the Secretary under paragraph (8). 

4 ‘‘(2) PLAN CONTENT.—A plan developed with a 

5 grant under this subsection shall include the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(A) Identification of public facilities and 

8 public services, working waterfronts, coastal re9 sources of national significance, coastal waters, 

10 energy facilities, or other land and water uses 

11 located in the coastal zone that are likely to be 

12 impacted by climate change. 

13 ‘‘(B) Adaptive management strategies for 

14 land use to respond or adapt to changing envi15 ronmental conditions, including strategies to 

16 combat invasive species, protect biodiversity, 

17 protect water quality, and establish habitat 

18 buffer zones, migration corridors, and climate 

19 refugia. 

20 ‘‘(C) Adaptive management strategies for 

21 ocean-based ecosystems and resources, includ22 ing strategies to plan for and respond to geo23 graphic or temporal shifts in marine resources, 

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1 mate refugia, and to maintain and restore 

2 ocean ecosystem function. 

3 ‘‘(D) Adaptive management strategies for 

4 Great Lakes ecosystems and resources, includ5 ing strategies to support freshwater fisheries, 

6 monitor ice cover, manage phosphorous and ni7 trogen chemical loads, minimize invasive species 

8 and harmful blooms of algae, and create pro9 tected areas to maintain Great Lakes eco10 systems. 

11 ‘‘(E) Requirements to initiate and main12 tain long-term monitoring of environmental 

13 change to assess coastal zone adaptation and to 

14 adjust when necessary adaptive management 

15 strategies and new planning guidelines to attain 

16 the policies under section 303. 

17 ‘‘(F) A description of how the plan will ad18 dress the impact of climate change affecting 

19 coastal communities will have on nearby Tribes, 

20 Tribal communities, and low-income or low-re21 source communities and how those stakeholders 

22 will be included in and informed about the de23 velopment of the plan. 

24 ‘‘(G) Other information considered nec25 essary by the Secretary to identify the full 


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1 range of climate change impacts affecting coast2 al communities. 

3 ‘‘(3) STATE HAZARD MITIGATION PLANS.— 

4 Plans developed with a grant under this subsection 

5 shall be consistent with State hazard mitigation 

6 plans and natural disaster response and recovery 

7 programs developed under State or Federal law. 

8 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION.—Grants under this sub9 section shall be available only to coastal States with 

10 management programs approved by the Secretary 

11 under section 306 and shall be allocated among such 

12 coastal States in a manner consistent with regula13 tions promulgated pursuant to section 306(c). 

14 ‘‘(5) PRIORITY.—In the awarding of grants 

15 under this subsection, the Secretary may give pri16 ority to any coastal State that has received grant 

17 funding to develop program changes pursuant to 

18 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of sec19 tion 309(a). 

20 ‘‘(6) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

21 may provide technical assistance to a coastal State 

22 consistent with section 310 to ensure the timely de23 velopment of plans supported by grants awarded 

24 under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(7) FEDERAL APPROVAL.—In order to be eligi2 ble for a grant under subsection (c), a coastal State 

3 must have its plan developed under this subsection 

4 approved by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(8) GUIDELINES.—Within 180 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary, in 

7 consultation with the coastal States, shall issue 

8 guidelines for the implementation of the grant pro9 gram established under this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(c) COASTAL CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

11 PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, subject to 

13 the availability of appropriations, may make grants 

14 to any coastal State that has a climate change adap15 tation plan approved under subsection (b)(7), in 

16 order to support projects that implement strategies 

17 contained within such plans. 

18 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec19 retary, within 90 days after approval of the first 

20 plan approved under subsection (b)(7), shall publish 

21 in the Federal Register requirements regarding ap22 plications, allocations, eligible activities, and all 

23 terms and conditions for grants awarded under this 

24 subsection. No less than 30 percent, and no more 

25 than 50 percent, of the funds appropriated in any 


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1 fiscal year for grants under this subsection shall be 

2 awarded through a merit-based competitive process. 

3 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 

4 may award grants to coastal States to implement 

5 projects in the coastal zone to address stress factors 

6 in order to improve coastal climate change adapta7 tion, including the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) Activities to address physical disturb9 ances within the coastal zone, especially activi10 ties related to public facilities and public serv11 ices, tourism, sedimentation, ocean acidification, 

12 coastal acidification, hypoxia, harmful algal 

13 blooms, and other factors negatively impacting 

14 coastal waters. 

15 ‘‘(B) Monitoring, control, or eradication of 

16 disease organisms and invasive species. 

17 ‘‘(C) Activities to address the loss, deg18 radation, or fragmentation of wildlife habitat 

19 through projects to establish or protect marine, 

20 avian, and terrestrial habitat buffers, wildlife 

21 refugia, other wildlife refuges, or networks 

22 thereof, preservation of migratory wildlife cor23 ridors and other transition zones, and restora24 tion of fish, avian, and wildlife habitat. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Projects to reduce, mitigate, or other2 wise address likely impacts caused by natural 

3 hazards in the coastal zone, including sea level 

4 rise, coastal inundation, storm water manage5 ment, coastal erosion and subsidence, severe 

6 weather events such as cyclonic storms, 

7 tsunamis and other seismic threats, and fluc8 tuating Great Lakes water levels. The Secretary 

9 shall give priority to projects that utilize green 

10 infrastructure solutions. 

11 ‘‘(E) Projects to adapt existing infrastruc12 ture, including enhancements to both built and 

13 natural environments, such as sea walls and liv14 ing shorelines. 

15 ‘‘(F) Provision of technical training and 

16 assistance to local coastal policy makers to in17 crease awareness of science, management, and 

18 technology information related to climate 

19 change and adaptation strategies. 

20 ‘‘(G) Projects to assess the impact on 

21 coastal resiliency of water level regulating prac22 tices on the Great Lakes. 

23 ‘‘(H) Activities or projects to address the 

24 immediate and long-term degradation or loss of 

25 coral and coral reefs in response to bacteria, 


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1 fungi, viruses, increased sea surface tempera2 tures, ultraviolet radiation, and pollutants. 

3 ‘‘(4) PROMOTION AND USE OF NATIONAL ESTU4 ARINE RESEARCH RESERVES.—The Secretary shall 

5 promote and encourage the use of National Estua6 rine Research Reserves as sites for pilot or dem7 onstration projects carried out with grants awarded 

8 under this section.’’. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

10 318(a) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

11 U.S.C. 1464(a)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

13 end of paragraph (1); 

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(3) for grants under section 323, such sums 

18 as are necessary.’’. 

19 (c) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—Nothing in this section 

20 shall be construed to require any coastal State to amend 

21 or modify its approved management program pursuant to 

22 section 306(e) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

23 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455(e)) or to extend the enforceable 

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1 tified in the coastal State’s approved management pro2 gram. 

3 SEC. 107. UPDATE TO ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX 

4 PRODUCTS OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT5 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FOR GREAT 

6 LAKES. 

7 (a) UPDATE REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL SENSI8 TIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS FOR GREAT LAKES.—Not later 

9 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

10 the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall 

11 commence updating the environmental sensitivity index 

12 products of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin13 istration for each coastal area of the Great Lakes. 

14 (b) PERIODIC UPDATES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SEN15 SITIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS GENERALLY.—Subject to the 

16 availability of appropriations and the priorities set forth 

17 in subsection (c), the Under Secretary shall— 

18 (1) periodically update the environmental sensi19 tivity index products of the Administration; and 

20 (2) endeavor to do so not less frequently than 

21 once every 7 years. 

22 (c) PRIORITIES.—When prioritizing geographic areas 

23 to update environmental sensitivity index products, the 

24 Under Secretary shall consider— 


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1 (1) the age of existing environmental sensitivity 

2 index products for the areas; 

3 (2) the occurrence of extreme events, be it nat4 ural or man-made, which have significantly altered 

5 the shoreline or ecosystem since the last update; 

6 (3) the natural variability of shoreline and 

7 coastal environment; and 

8 (4) the volume of vessel traffic and general vul9 nerability to spilled pollutants. 

10 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX PRODUCT

11 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘environmental 

12 sensitivity index product’’ means a map or similar tool 

13 that is utilized to identify sensitive shoreline, coastal or 

14 offshore, resources prior to an oil spill event in order to 

15 set baseline priorities for protection and plan cleanup 

16 strategies, typically including information relating to 

17 shoreline type, biological resources, and human use re18 sources. 

19 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

21 appropriated to the Under Secretary $7,500,000 to 

22 carry out subsection (a). 

23 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated or 

24 otherwise made available pursuant to paragraph (1) 


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1 shall be available to the Under Secretary for the 

2 purposes set forth in such paragraph until expended. 

3 SEC. 108. PRIZE COMPETITIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may carry out a 

5 program to award prizes competitively under section 24 

6 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 

7 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719), for the purpose described in sub8 section (b). 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose described in this sub10 section is to stimulate innovation to advance the following 

11 coastal risk reduction and resilience measures: 

12 (1) Natural features, including dunes, reefs, 

13 and wetlands. 

14 (2) Nature-based features, including beach 

15 nourishment, dune restoration, wetland and other 

16 coastal habitat restoration, and living shoreline con17 struction. 

18 (3) Nonstructural measures, including flood 

19 proofing of structures, flood warning systems, and 

20 elevated development. 


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1 SEC. 109. CATALOG OF RESEARCH ON APPLICABLE COAST2 AL RISK REDUCTION AND RESILIENCE MEAS3 URES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce, 

6 acting through the Administrator, shall— 

7 (1) identify all Department of Commerce re8 search activities regarding applicable coastal risk re9 duction and resilience measures; 

10 (2) consult with the heads of other Federal 

11 agencies to identify what activities, if any, those 

12 Federal agencies are conducting regarding applicable 

13 coastal risk reduction and resilience measures; 

14 (3) evaluate the effectiveness of the activities 

15 identified under paragraphs (1) and (2); and 

16 (4) appoint one or more officers or employees of 

17 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra18 tion to liaise with non-Federal entities conducting 

19 research related to applicable coastal risk reduction 

20 and resilience measures in order to eliminate 

21 redundancies, cooperate for common climate re22 search goals, and to make research findings readily 

23 available to the public. 

24 (b) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE COASTAL RISK RE25 DUCTION AND RESILIENCE MEASURES.—In this section, 

26 the term ‘‘applicable coastal risk reduction and resilience 


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1 measures’’ means natural features, nature-based features, 

2 or nonstructural measures. 

3 TITLE II—FISHERY RESEARCH 

4 AND CONSERVATION 

5 Subtitle A—National Fish Habitat 

6 Conservation Through Partner7 ships 

8 SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 

9 The purpose of this subtitle is to encourage partner10 ships among public agencies and other interested persons 

11 to promote fish conservation— 

12 (1) to achieve measurable habitat conservation 

13 results through strategic actions of Fish Habitat 

14 Partnerships that lead to better fish habitat condi15 tions and increased fishing opportunities by— 

16 (A) improving ecological conditions; 

17 (B) restoring natural processes; or 

18 (C) preventing the decline of intact and 

19 healthy systems; 

20 (2) to establish a consensus set of national con21 servation strategies as a framework to guide future 

22 actions and investment by Fish Habitat Partner23 ships; 

24 (3) to broaden the community of support for 

25 fish habitat conservation by— 


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1 (A) increasing fishing opportunities; 

2 (B) fostering the participation of local 

3 communities, especially young people in local 

4 communities, in conservation activities; and 

5 (C) raising public awareness of the role 

6 healthy fish habitat play in the quality of life 

7 and economic well-being of local communities; 

8 (4) to fill gaps in the National Fish Habitat As9 sessment and the associated database of the Na10 tional Fish Habitat Assessment— 

11 (A) to empower strategic conservation ac12 tions supported by broadly available scientific 

13 information; and 

14 (B) to integrate socioeconomic data in the 

15 analysis to improve the lives of humans in a 

16 manner consistent with fish habitat conserva17 tion goals; and 

18 (5) to communicate to the public and conserva19 tion partners— 

20 (A) the conservation outcomes produced 

21 collectively by Fish Habitat Partnerships; and 

22 (B) new opportunities and voluntary ap23 proaches for conserving fish habitat. 

24 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this subtitle: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

5 and Transportation and the Committee on En6 vironment and Public Works of the Senate; and 

7 (B) the Committee on Natural Resources 

8 of the House of Representatives. 

9 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na10 tional Fish Habitat Board established by section 

11 203. 

12 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

13 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife 

14 Service. 

15 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AS16 SISTANT ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Environ17 mental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator’’ 

18 means the Assistant Administrator for Water of the 

19 Environmental Protection Agency. 

20 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

21 has the meaning given to the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 

22 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu23 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

24 (6) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC AD25 MINISTRATION ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR.—The 


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1 term ‘‘National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis2 tration Assistant Administrator’’ means the Assist3 ant Administrator for Fisheries of the National Oce4 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

5 (7) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘Partnership’’ 

6 means an entity designated by Congress as a Fish 

7 Habitat Partnership under section 204. 

8 (8) REAL PROPERTY INTEREST.—The term 

9 ‘‘real property interest’’ means an ownership interest 

10 in— 

11 (A) land; or 

12 (B) water (including water rights). 

13 (9) MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSIONS.—The 

14 term ‘‘Marine Fisheries Commissions’’ means— 

15 (A) the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

16 Commission; 

17 (B) the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Com18 mission; and 

19 (C) the Pacific States Marine Commission. 

20 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

21 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

23 the several States, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 

24 Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the United 

25 States Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. 


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1 (12) STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘State agen2 cy’’ means— 

3 (A) the fish and wildlife agency of a State; 

4 and 

5 (B) any department or division of a de6 partment or agency of a State that manages in 

7 the public trust the inland or marine fishery re8 sources of the State or sustains the habitat for 

9 those fishery resources pursuant to State law or 

10 the constitution of the State. 

11 SEC. 203. NATIONAL FISH HABITAT BOARD. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

13 (1) FISH HABITAT BOARD.—There is estab14 lished a board, to be known as the ‘‘National Fish 

15 Habitat Board’’, whose duties are— 

16 (A) to promote, oversee, and coordinate the 

17 implementation of this subtitle; 

18 (B) to establish national goals and prior19 ities for fish habitat conservation; 

20 (C) to recommend to Congress entities for 

21 designation as Partnerships; and 

22 (D) to review and make recommendations 

23 regarding fish habitat conservation projects. 

24 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be com25 posed of 26 members, of whom— 


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1 (A) one shall be a representative of the De2 partment of the Interior; 

3 (B) one shall be a representative of the 

4 United States Geological Survey; 

5 (C) one shall be a representative of the De6 partment of Commerce; 

7 (D) one shall be a representative of the 

8 Department of Agriculture; 

9 (E) one shall be a representative of the As10 sociation of Fish and Wildlife Agencies; 

11 (F) four shall be representatives of State 

12 agencies, one of whom shall be nominated by a 

13 regional association of fish and wildlife agencies 

14 from each of the Northeast, Southeast, Mid15 west, and Western regions of the United States; 

16 (G) two shall be representatives of either— 

17 (i) Indian Tribes in the State of Alas18 ka; or 

19 (ii) Indian Tribes in States other than 

20 the State of Alaska; 

21 (H) one shall be a representative of ei22 ther— 

23 (i) the Regional Fishery Management 

24 Councils established under section 302 of 

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1 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

2 1852); or 

3 (ii) a representative of the Marine 

4 Fisheries Commissions; 

5 (I) one shall be a representative of the 

6 Sportfishing and Boating Partnership Council; 

7 (J) seven shall be representatives selected 

8 from at least one from each of the following: 

9 (i) the recreational sportfishing indus10 try; 

11 (ii) the commercial fishing industry; 

12 (iii) marine recreational anglers; 

13 (iv) freshwater recreational anglers; 

14 (v) habitat conservation organizations; 

15 and 

16 (vi) science-based fishery organiza17 tions; 

18 (K) one shall be a representative of a na19 tional private landowner organization; 

20 (L) one shall be a representative of an ag21 ricultural production organization; 

22 (M) one shall be a representative of local 

23 government interests involved in fish habitat 

24 restoration; 


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1 (N) two shall be representatives from dif2 ferent sectors of corporate industries, which 

3 may include— 

4 (i) natural resource commodity inter5 ests, such as petroleum or mineral extrac6 tion; 

7 (ii) natural resource user industries; 

8 and 

9 (iii) industries with an interest in fish 

10 and fish habitat conservation; and 

11 (O) one shall be a leadership private sector 

12 or landowner representative of an active part13 nership. 

14 (3) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Board 

15 shall serve without compensation. 

16 (4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the 

17 Board may be allowed travel expenses, including per 

18 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for 

19 an employee of an agency under subchapter I of 

20 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

21 away from the home or regular place of business of 

22 the member in the performance of the duties of the 

23 Board. 

24 (b) APPOINTMENT AND TERMS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this section, a member of the Board de3 scribed in any of subparagraphs (F) through (O) of 

4 subsection (a)(2) shall serve for a term of 3 years. 

5 (2) INITIAL BOARD MEMBERSHIP.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The initial Board shall 

7 consist of representatives as described in sub8 paragraphs (A) through (F) of subsection 

9 (a)(2). 

10 (B) REMAINING MEMBERS.—Not later 

11 than 60 days after the date of enactment of 

12 this Act, the representatives of the initial Board 

13 under subparagraph (A) shall appoint the re14 maining members of the Board described in 

15 subparagraphs (H) through (O) of subsection 

16 (a)(2). 

17 (C) TRIBAL REPRESENTATIVES.—Not later 

18 than 60 days after the enactment of this Act, 

19 the Secretary shall provide to the Board a rec20 ommendation of not fewer than three Tribal 

21 representatives, from which the Board shall ap22 point one representative pursuant to subpara23 graph (G) of subsection (a)(2). 


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1 (3) STAGGERED TERMS.—Of the members de2 scribed in subsection (a)(2)(J) initially appointed to 

3 the Board— 

4 (A) two shall be appointed for a term of 1 

5 year; 

6 (B) two shall be appointed for a term of 2 

7 years; and 

8 (C) three shall be appointed for a term of 

9 3 years. 

10 (4) VACANCIES.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy of a member 

12 of the Board described in subparagraph (H), 

13 (I), (J), (K), (L), (M), (N), or (O) of sub14 section (a)(2) shall be filled by an appointment 

15 made by the remaining members of the Board. 

16 (B) TRIBAL REPRESENTATIVES.—Fol17 lowing a vacancy of a member of the Board de18 scribed in subparagraph (G) of subsection 

19 (a)(2), the Secretary shall recommend to the 

20 Board a list of not fewer than three Tribal rep21 resentatives, from which the remaining mem22 bers of the Board shall appoint a representative 

23 to fill the vacancy. 

24 (5) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—An individual 

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1 pires may continue to serve on the Board until a 

2 successor is appointed. 

3 (6) REMOVAL.—If a member of the Board de4 scribed in any of subparagraphs (H) through (O) of 

5 subparagraph (a)(2) misses three consecutive regu6 larly scheduled Board meetings, the members of the 

7 Board may— 

8 (A) vote to remove that member; and 

9 (B) appoint another individual in accord10 ance with paragraph (4). 

11 (c) CHAIRPERSON.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The representative of the 

13 Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies appointed 

14 under subsection (a)(2)(E) shall serve as Chair15 person of the Board. 

16 (2) TERM.—The Chairperson of the Board shall 

17 serve for a term of 3 years. 

18 (d) MEETINGS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall meet— 

20 (A) at the call of the Chairperson; but 

21 (B) not less frequently than twice each cal22 endar year. 

23 (2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—All meetings of the 

24 Board shall be open to the public. 

25 (e) PROCEDURES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish 

2 procedures to carry out the business of the Board, 

3 including— 

4 (A) a requirement that a quorum of the 

5 members of the Board be present to transact 

6 business; 

7 (B) a requirement that no recommenda8 tions may be adopted by the Board, except by 

9 the vote of two-thirds of all members; 

10 (C) procedures for establishing national 

11 goals and priorities for fish habitat conservation 

12 for the purposes of this subtitle; 

13 (D) procedures for designating Partner14 ships under section 204; and 

15 (E) procedures for reviewing, evaluating, 

16 and making recommendations regarding fish 

17 habitat conservation projects. 

18 (2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

19 the Board shall constitute a quorum. 

20 SEC. 204. FISH HABITAT PARTNERSHIPS. 

21 (a) AUTHORITY TO RECOMMEND.—The Board may 

22 recommend to Congress the designation of Fish Habitat 

23 Partnerships in accordance with this section. 

24 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of a Partnership shall 

25 be— 


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1 (1) to work with other regional habitat con2 servation programs to promote cooperation and co3 ordination to enhance fish populations and fish habi4 tats; 

5 (2) to engage local and regional communities to 

6 build support for fish habitat conservation; 

7 (3) to involve diverse groups of public and pri8 vate partners; 

9 (4) to develop collaboratively a strategic vision 

10 and achievable implementation plan that is scientif11 ically sound; 

12 (5) to leverage funding from sources that sup13 port local and regional partnerships; 

14 (6) to use adaptive management principles, in15 cluding evaluation of project success and 

16 functionality; 

17 (7) to develop appropriate local or regional 

18 habitat evaluation and assessment measures and cri19 teria that are compatible with national habitat con20 dition measures; and 

21 (8) to implement local and regional priority 

22 projects that improve conditions for fish and fish 

23 habitat. 

24 (c) CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION.—An entity seeking 

25 to be designated by Congress as a Partnership shall— 


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1 (1) submit to the Board an application at such 

2 time, in such manner, and containing such informa3 tion as the Board may reasonably require; and 

4 (2) demonstrate to the Board that the entity 

5 has— 

6 (A) a focus on promoting the health of im7 portant fish and fish habitats; 

8 (B) an ability to coordinate the implemen9 tation of priority projects that support the goals 

10 and national priorities set by the Board that 

11 are within the Partnership boundary; 

12 (C) a self-governance structure that sup13 ports the implementation of strategic priorities 

14 for fish habitat; 

15 (D) the ability to develop local and re16 gional relationships with a broad range of enti17 ties to further strategic priorities for fish and 

18 fish habitat; 

19 (E) a strategic plan that details required 

20 investments for fish habitat conservation that 

21 addresses the strategic fish habitat priorities of 

22 the Partnership and supports and meets the 

23 strategic priorities of the Board; 

24 (F) the ability to develop and implement 

25 fish habitat conservation projects that address 


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1 strategic priorities of the Partnership and the 

2 Board; and 

3 (G) the ability to develop fish habitat con4 servation priorities based on sound science and 

5 data, the ability to measure the effectiveness of 

6 fish habitat projects of the Partnership, and a 

7 clear plan as to how Partnership science and 

8 data components will be integrated with the 

9 overall Board science and data effort. 

10 (d) REQUIREMENTS FOR RECOMMENDATION TO CON11 GRESS.—The Board may recommend to Congress for des12 ignation an application for a Partnership submitted under 

13 subsection (c) if the Board determines that the appli14 cant— 

15 (1) meets the criteria described in subsection 

16 (c)(2); 

17 (2) identifies representatives to provide support 

18 and technical assistance to the Partnership from a 

19 diverse group of public and private partners, which 

20 may include State or local governments, nonprofit 

21 entities, Indian Tribes, and private individuals, that 

22 are focused on conservation of fish habitats to 

23 achieve results across jurisdictional boundaries on 

24 public and private land; 


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1 (3) is organized to promote the health of impor2 tant fish species and important fish habitats, includ3 ing reservoirs, natural lakes, coastal and marine en4 vironments, coral reefs, and estuaries; 

5 (4) identifies strategic fish and fish habitat pri6 orities for the Partnership area in the form of geo7 graphical focus areas or key stressors or impair8 ments to facilitate strategic planning and decision 

9 making; 

10 (5) is able to address issues and priorities on a 

11 nationally significant scale; 

12 (6) includes a governance structure that— 

13 (A) reflects the range of all partners; and 

14 (B) promotes joint strategic planning and 

15 decision making by the applicant; 

16 (7) demonstrates completion of, or significant 

17 progress toward the development of, a strategic plan 

18 to address declines in fish populations, rather than 

19 simply treating symptoms, in accordance with the 

20 goals and national priorities established by the 

21 Board; and 

22 (8) promotes collaboration in developing a stra23 tegic vision and implementation program that is sci24 entifically sound and achievable. 

25 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1 

2 of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of en3 actment of this Act and each February 1 thereafter, 

4 the Board shall develop and submit to the appro5 priate congressional committees an annual report, to 

6 be entitled ‘‘Report to Congress on Future Fish 

7 Habitat Partnerships and Modifications’’, that— 

8 (A) identifies each entity that— 

9 (i) meets the requirements described 

10 in subsection (d); and 

11 (ii) the Board recommends to Con12 gress for designation as a Partnership; 

13 (B) describes any proposed modifications 

14 to a Partnership previously designated by Con15 gress under subsection (f); 

16 (C) with respect to each entity rec17 ommended for designation as a Partnership, de18 scribes, to the maximum extent practicable— 

19 (i) the purpose of the recommended 

20 Partnership; and 

21 (ii) how the recommended Partnership 

22 fulfills the requirements described in sub23 section (d). 

24 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY; NOTIFICATION.— 

25 The Board shall— 


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1 (A) make the report publicly available, in2 cluding on the internet; and 

3 (B) provide to the appropriate congres4 sional committees and the State agency of any 

5 State included in a recommended Partnership 

6 area written notification of the public avail7 ability of the report. 

8 (f) DESIGNATION OR MODIFICATION OF PARTNER9 SHIP.—Congress shall have the exclusive authority to des10 ignate or modify a Partnership. 

11 (g) EXISTING PARTNERSHIPS.— 

12 (1) DESIGNATION REVIEW.—Not later than 5 

13 years after the date of enactment of this Act, any 

14 partnership receiving Federal funds as of the date of 

15 enactment of this Act shall be subject to a designa16 tion review by Congress in which Congress shall 

17 have the opportunity to designate the partnership 

18 under subsection (f). 

19 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.—A 

20 partnership referred to in paragraph (1) that Con21 gress does not designate as described in that para22 graph shall be ineligible to receive Federal funds 

23 under this subtitle. 


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1 SEC. 205. FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECTS. 

2 (a) SUBMISSION TO BOARD.—Not later than March 

3 31 of each year, each Partnership shall submit to the 

4 Board a list of priority fish habitat conservation projects 

5 recommended by the Partnership for annual funding 

6 under this subtitle. 

7 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS BY BOARD.—Not later than 

8 July 1 of each year, the Board shall submit to the Sec9 retary a priority list of fish habitat conservation projects 

10 that includes a description, including estimated costs, of 

11 each project that the Board recommends that the Sec12 retary approve and fund under this subtitle for the fol13 lowing fiscal year. 

14 (c) CRITERIA FOR PROJECT SELECTION.—The 

15 Board shall select each fish habitat conservation project 

16 recommended to the Secretary under subsection (b) after 

17 taking into consideration, at a minimum, the following in18 formation: 

19 (1) A recommendation of the Partnership that 

20 is, or will be, participating actively in implementing 

21 the fish habitat conservation project. 

22 (2) The capabilities and experience of project 

23 proponents to implement successfully the proposed 

24 project. 

25 (3) The extent to which the fish habitat con26 servation project— 


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1 (A) fulfills a local or regional priority that 

2 is directly linked to the strategic plan of the 

3 Partnership and is consistent with the purpose 

4 of this subtitle; 

5 (B) addresses the national priorities estab6 lished by the Board; 

7 (C) is supported by the findings of the 

8 habitat assessment of the Partnership or the 

9 Board, and aligns or is compatible with other 

10 conservation plans; 

11 (D) identifies appropriate monitoring and 

12 evaluation measures and criteria that are com13 patible with national measures; 

14 (E) provides a well-defined budget linked 

15 to deliverables and outcomes; 

16 (F) leverages other funds to implement the 

17 project; 

18 (G) addresses the causes and processes be19 hind the decline of fish or fish habitats; and 

20 (H) includes an outreach or education 

21 component that includes the local or regional 

22 community. 

23 (4) The availability of sufficient non-Federal 

24 funds to match Federal contributions for the fish 


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1 habitat conservation project, as required by sub2 section (e). 

3 (5) The extent to which the fish habitat con4 servation project— 

5 (A) will increase fish populations in a man6 ner that leads to recreational fishing opportuni7 ties for the public; 

8 (B) will be carried out through a coopera9 tive agreement among Federal, State, and local 

10 governments, Indian Tribes, and private enti11 ties; 

12 (C) increases public access to land or 

13 water for fish and wildlife-dependent rec14 reational opportunities; 

15 (D) advances the conservation of fish and 

16 wildlife species that have been identified by a 

17 State agency as species of greatest conservation 

18 need; 

19 (E) where appropriate, advances the con20 servation of fish and fish habitats under the 

21 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

22 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and 

23 other relevant Federal law and State wildlife 

24 action plans; and 


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1 (F) promotes strong and healthy fish habi2 tats so that desired biological communities are 

3 able to persist and adapt. 

4 (6) The substantiality of the character and de5 sign of the fish habitat conservation project. 

6 (d) LIMITATIONS.— 

7 (1) REQUIREMENTS FOR EVALUATION.—No 

8 fish habitat conservation project may be rec9 ommended by the Board under subsection (b) or 

10 provided financial assistance under this subtitle un11 less the fish habitat conservation project includes an 

12 evaluation plan designed using applicable Board 

13 guidance— 

14 (A) to appropriately assess the biological, 

15 ecological, or other results of the habitat protec16 tion, restoration, or enhancement activities car17 ried out using the assistance; 

18 (B) to reflect appropriate changes to the 

19 fish habitat conservation project if the assess20 ment substantiates that the fish habitat con21 servation project objectives are not being met; 

22 (C) to identify improvements to existing 

23 fish populations, recreational fishing opportuni24 ties, and the overall economic benefits for the 


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1 local community of the fish habitat conservation 

2 project; and 

3 (D) to require the submission to the Board 

4 of a report describing the findings of the assess5 ment. 

6 (2) ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State, local govern8 ment, or other non-Federal entity is eligible to 

9 receive funds for the acquisition of real prop10 erty from willing sellers under this subtitle if 

11 the acquisition ensures— 

12 (i) public access for fish and wildlife13 dependent recreation; or 

14 (ii) a scientifically based, direct en15 hancement to the health of fish and fish 

16 populations, as determined by the Board. 

17 (B) STATE AGENCY APPROVAL.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—All real property 

19 interest acquisition projects funded under 

20 this subtitle must be approved by the State 

21 agency in the State in which the project is 

22 occurring. 

23 (ii) PROHIBITION.—The Board may 

24 not recommend, and the Secretary may not 

25 provide any funding for, any real property 


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1 interest acquisition that has not been ap2 proved by the State agency. 

3 (C) ASSESSMENT OF OTHER AUTHORI4 TIES.—The Board may not recommend, and the 

5 Secretary may not provide any funding under 

6 this subtitle for, any real property interest ac7 quisition unless the Partnership that rec8 ommended the project has conducted a project 

9 assessment, submitted with the funding request 

10 and approved by the Board, to demonstrate all 

11 other Federal, State, and local authorities for 

12 the acquisition of real property have been ex13 hausted. 

14 (D) RESTRICTIONS.—A real property in15 terest may not be acquired pursuant to a fish 

16 habitat conservation project by a State, local 

17 government, or other non-Federal entity con18 ducted with funds provided under this subtitle, 

19 unless— 

20 (i) the owner of the real property au21 thorizes the State, local government, or 

22 other non-Federal entity to acquire the 

23 real property; and 

24 (ii) the Secretary and the Board de25 termine that the State, local government, 


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1 or other non-Federal entity would benefit 

2 from undertaking the management of the 

3 real property being acquired because that 

4 is in accordance with the goals of a Part5 nership. 

6 (e) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graphs (2) and (4), no fish habitat conservation 

9 project may be recommended by the Board under 

10 subsection (b) or provided financial assistance under 

11 this subtitle unless at least 50 percent of the cost of 

12 the fish habitat conservation project will be funded 

13 with non-Federal funds. 

14 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Such non-Federal 

15 share of the cost of a fish habitat conservation 

16 project— 

17 (A) may not be derived from another Fed18 eral grant program; and 

19 (B) may include in-kind contributions and 

20 cash. 

21 (3) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIAN TRIBES.—Not22 withstanding paragraph (1) or any other provision of 

23 law, any funds made available to an Indian Tribe 

24 pursuant to this subtitle may be considered to be 

25 non-Federal funds for the purpose of paragraph (1). 


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1 (4) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary, in 

2 consultation with the Secretary of Commerce with 

3 respect to marine or estuarine projects, may waive 

4 the application of paragraph (2)(A) with respect to 

5 a State or an Indian Tribe, or otherwise reduce the 

6 portion of the non-Federal share of the cost of an 

7 activity required to be paid by a State or an Indian 

8 Tribe under paragraph (1), if the Secretary deter9 mines that the State or Indian Tribe does not have 

10 sufficient funds not derived from another Federal 

11 grant program to pay such non-Federal share, or 

12 portion of the non-Federal share, without the use of 

13 loans. 

14 (f) APPROVAL.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

16 the date of receipt of the recommended priority list 

17 of fish habitat conservation projects under sub18 section (b), and subject to subsection (d) and based, 

19 to the maximum extent practicable, on the criteria 

20 described in subsection (c), the Secretary, after con21 sulting with the Secretary of Commerce on marine 

22 or estuarine projects, shall approve or reject any fish 

23 habitat conservation project recommended by the 

24 Board. 


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1 (2) FUNDING.—If the Secretary approves a fish 

2 habitat conservation project under paragraph (1), 

3 the Secretary shall use amounts made available to 

4 carry out this subtitle to provide funds to carry out 

5 the fish habitat conservation project. 

6 (3) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary rejects 

7 under paragraph (1) any fish habitat conservation 

8 project recommended by the Board, not later than 

9 90 days after the date of receipt of the recommenda10 tion, the Secretary shall provide to the Board, the 

11 appropriate Partnership, and the appropriate con12 gressional committees a written statement of the 

13 reasons that the Secretary rejected the fish habitat 

14 conservation project. 

15 SEC. 206. TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, the National Oce17 anic and Atmospheric Administration Assistant Adminis18 trator, the Environmental Protection Agency Assistant 

19 Administrator, and the Director of the United States Geo20 logical Survey, in coordination with the Forest Service and 

21 other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, may 

22 provide scientific and technical assistance to Partnerships, 

23 participants in fish habitat conservation projects, and the 

24 Board. 


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1 (b) INCLUSIONS.—Scientific and technical assistance 

2 provided under subsection (a) may include— 

3 (1) providing technical and scientific assistance 

4 to States, Indian Tribes, regions, local communities, 

5 and nongovernmental organizations in the develop6 ment and implementation of Partnerships; 

7 (2) providing technical and scientific assistance 

8 to Partnerships for habitat assessment, strategic 

9 planning, and prioritization; 

10 (3) supporting the development and implemen11 tation of fish habitat conservation projects that are 

12 identified as high priorities by Partnerships and the 

13 Board; 

14 (4) supporting and providing recommendations 

15 regarding the development of science-based moni16 toring and assessment approaches for implementa17 tion through Partnerships; 

18 (5) supporting and providing recommendations 

19 for a national fish habitat assessment; 

20 (6) ensuring the availability of experts to assist 

21 in conducting scientifically based evaluation and re22 porting of the results of fish habitat conservation 

23 projects; and 

24 (7) providing resources to secure State agency 

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1 nerships, participants in fish habitat conservation 

2 projects, and the Board. 

3 SEC. 207. COORDINATION WITH STATES AND INDIAN 

4 TRIBES. 

5 The Secretary shall provide a notice to, and cooperate 

6 with, the appropriate State agency or Tribal agency, as 

7 applicable, of each State and Indian Tribe within the 

8 boundaries of which an activity is planned to be carried 

9 out pursuant to this subtitle, including notification, by not 

10 later than 30 days before the date on which the activity 

11 is implemented. 

12 SEC. 208. INTERAGENCY OPERATIONAL PLAN. 

13 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Director, in 

15 cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

16 Administration Assistant Administrator, the Environ17 mental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator, the 

18 Director of the United States Geological Survey, and the 

19 heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agen20 cies (including, at a minimum, those agencies represented 

21 on the Board) shall develop an interagency operational 

22 plan that describes— 

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1 rial needs for the implementation of this subtitle; 

2 and 

3 (2) any interagency agreements between or 

4 among Federal departments and agencies to address 

5 those needs. 

6 SEC. 209. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING. 

7 (a) REPORTING.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years 

10 thereafter, the Board shall submit to the appropriate 

11 congressional committees a report describing the 

12 progress of this subtitle. 

13 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

14 paragraph (1) shall include— 

15 (A) an estimate of the number of acres, 

16 stream miles, or acre-feet, or other suitable 

17 measures of fish habitat, that was maintained 

18 or improved by Partnerships under this subtitle 

19 during the 5-year period ending on the date of 

20 submission of the report; 

21 (B) a description of the public access to 

22 fish habitats established or improved under this 

23 subtitle during that 5-year period; 


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1 (C) a description of the improved opportu2 nities for public recreational fishing achieved 

3 under this subtitle; and 

4 (D) an assessment of the status of fish 

5 habitat conservation projects carried out with 

6 funds provided under this subtitle during that 

7 period, disaggregated by year, including— 

8 (i) a description of the fish habitat 

9 conservation projects recommended by the 

10 Board under section 205(b); 

11 (ii) a description of each fish habitat 

12 conservation project approved by the Sec13 retary under section 205(f), in order of 

14 priority for funding; 

15 (iii) a justification for— 

16 (I) the approval of each fish 

17 habitat conservation project; and 

18 (II) the order of priority for 

19 funding of each fish habitat conserva20 tion project; 

21 (iv) a justification for any rejection of 

22 a fish habitat conservation project rec23 ommended by the Board under section 

24 205(b) that was based on a factor other 


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1 than the criteria described in section 

2 205(c); and 

3 (v) an accounting of expenditures by 

4 Federal, State, or local governments, In5 dian Tribes, or other entities to carry out 

6 fish habitat conservation projects under 

7 this subtitle. 

8 (b) STATUS AND TRENDS REPORT.—Not later than 

9 December 31, 2020, and every 5 years thereafter, the 

10 Board shall submit to the appropriate congressional com11 mittees a report that includes— 

12 (1) a status of all Partnerships designated 

13 under this subtitle; 

14 (2) a description of the status of fish habitats 

15 in the United States as identified by designated 

16 Partnerships; and 

17 (3) enhancements or reductions in public access 

18 as a result of— 

19 (A) the activities of the Partnerships; or 

20 (B) any other activities carried out pursu21 ant to this subtitle. 

22 SEC. 210. EFFECT OF THIS SUBTITLE. 

23 (a) WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this subtitle— 

24 (1) establishes any express or implied reserved 

25 water right in the United States for any purpose; 


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1 (2) affects any water right in existence on the 

2 date of enactment of this Act; 

3 (3) preempts or affects any State water law or 

4 interstate compact governing water; or 

5 (4) affects any Federal or State law in exist6 ence on the date of enactment of the Act regarding 

7 water quality or water quantity. 

8 (b) AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE WATER RIGHTS OR

9 RIGHTS TO PROPERTY.—Only a State, local government, 

10 or other non-Federal entity may acquire, under State law, 

11 water rights or rights to property with funds made avail12 able through section 212. 

13 (c) STATE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this subtitle— 

14 (1) affects the authority, jurisdiction, or respon15 sibility of a State to manage, control, or regulate 

16 fish and wildlife under the laws and regulations of 

17 the State; or 

18 (2) authorizes the Secretary to control or regu19 late within a State the fishing or hunting of fish and 

20 wildlife. 

21 (d) EFFECT ON INDIAN TRIBES.—Nothing in this 

22 subtitle abrogates, abridges, affects, modifies, supersedes, 

23 or alters any right of an Indian Tribe recognized by treaty 

24 or any other means, including— 


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1 (1) an agreement between the Indian Tribe and 

2 the United States; 

3 (2) Federal law (including regulations); 

4 (3) an Executive order; or 

5 (4) a judicial decree. 

6 (e) ADJUDICATION OF WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in 

7 this subtitle diminishes or affects the ability of the Sec8 retary to join an adjudication of rights to the use of water 

9 pursuant to subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 208 of 

10 the Departments of State, Justice, Commerce, and The 

11 Judiciary Appropriation Act, 1953 (43 U.S.C. 666). 

12 (f) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AUTHORITY.— 

13 Nothing in this subtitle affects the authority, jurisdiction, 

14 or responsibility of the Department of Commerce to man15 age, control, or regulate fish or fish habitats under the 

16 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage17 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

18 (g) EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 

19 (1) PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.—Nothing 

20 in this subtitle permits the use of funds made avail21 able to carry out this subtitle to acquire real prop22 erty or a real property interest without the written 

23 consent of each owner of the real property or real 

24 property interest, respectively. 


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1 (2) MITIGATION.—Nothing in this subtitle au2 thorizes the use of funds made available to carry out 

3 this subtitle for fish and wildlife mitigation purposes 

4 under— 

5 (A) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

6 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 

7 (B) the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 

8 (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.); 

9 (C) the Water Resources Development Act 

10 of 1986 (Public Law 99–662; 100 Stat. 4082); 

11 or 

12 (D) any other Federal law or court settle13 ment. 

14 (3) CLEAN WATER ACT.—Nothing in this sub15 title affects any provision of the Federal Water Pol16 lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), includ17 ing any definition in that Act. 

18 SEC. 211. NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM19 MITTEE ACT. 

20 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

21 shall not apply to— 

22 (1) the Board; or 

23 (2) any Partnership. 

24 SEC. 212. FUNDING. 

25 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) FISH HABITAT CONSERVATION PROJECTS.— 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary $7,200,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

4 through 2023 to provide funds for fish habitat con5 servation projects approved under section 205(f), of 

6 which 5 percent is authorized only for projects car7 ried out by Indian Tribes. 

8 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE AND PLANNING EX9 PENSES.—There is authorized to be appropriated to 

10 the Secretary for each of fiscal years 2019 through 

11 2023 an amount equal to 5 percent of the amount 

12 appropriated for the applicable fiscal year pursuant 

13 to paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) for administrative and planning ex15 penses under this subtitle; and 

16 (B) to carry out section 209. 

17 (3) TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSISTANCE.— 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated for each of 

19 fiscal years 2020 through 2024 to carry out, and 

20 provide technical and scientific assistance under, sec21 tion 206— 

22 (A) $400,000 to the Secretary for use by 

23 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 

24 (B) $400,000 to the National Oceanic and 

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1 trator for use by the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration; 

3 (C) $400,000 to the Environmental Pro4 tection Agency Assistant Administrator for use 

5 by the Environmental Protection Agency; 

6 (D) $400,000 to the Secretary for use by 

7 the United States Geological Survey; and 

8 (E) $400,000 to the Chief of the Forest 

9 Service for use by the United States Depart10 ment of Agriculture Forest Service. 

11 (b) AGREEMENTS AND GRANTS.—The Secretary 

12 may— 

13 (1) on the recommendation of the Board, and 

14 notwithstanding sections 6304 and 6305 of title 31, 

15 United States Code, and the Federal Financial As16 sistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (31 

17 U.S.C. 6101 note; Public Law 106–107), enter into 

18 a grant agreement, cooperative agreement, or con19 tract with a Partnership or other entity to provide 

20 funds authorized by this subtitle for a fish habitat 

21 conservation project or restoration or enhancement 

22 project; 

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1 vidual or entity to carry out the purposes of this 

2 subtitle; and 

3 (3) subject to the availability of appropriations, 

4 make funds authorized by this Act available to any 

5 Federal department or agency for use by that de6 partment or agency to provide grants for any fish 

7 habitat protection project, restoration project, or en8 hancement project that the Secretary determines to 

9 be consistent with this subtitle. 

10 (c) DONATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 

12 (A) enter into an agreement with any orga13 nization described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt 

15 from taxation under section 501(a) of that 

16 Code to solicit private donations to carry out 

17 the purposes of this subtitle; and 

18 (B) accept donations of funds, property, 

19 and services to carry out the purposes of this 

20 subtitle. 

21 (2) TREATMENT.—A donation accepted under 

22 this subtitle— 

23 (A) shall be considered to be a gift or be24 quest to, or otherwise for the use of, the United 

25 States; and 


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1 (B) may be— 

2 (i) used directly by the Secretary; or 

3 (ii) provided to another Federal de4 partment or agency through an inter5 agency agreement. 

6 SEC. 213. PROHIBITION AGAINST IMPLEMENTATION OF 

7 REGULATORY AUTHORITY BY FEDERAL 

8 AGENCIES THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS. 

9 Any Partnership designated under this subtitle— 

10 (1) shall be for the sole purpose of promoting 

11 fish conservation; and 

12 (2) shall not be used to implement any regu13 latory authority of any Federal agency. 

14 Subtitle B—Great Lakes Fishery 

15 Research Authorization 

16 SEC. 221. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this subtitle: 

18 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

19 the Director of the United States Geological Survey. 

20 (2) GREAT LAKES BASIN.—The term ‘‘Great 

21 Lakes Basin’’ means the air, land, water, and living 

22 organisms in the United States within the drainage 

23 basin of the Saint Lawrence River at and upstream 

24 from the point at which such river and the Great 


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1 Lakes become the international boundary between 

2 Canada and the United States. 

3 SEC. 222. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The Great Lakes support a diverse eco6 system, on which the vibrant and economically valu7 able Great Lakes fisheries depend. 

8 (2) To continue successful fisheries manage9 ment and coordination, as has occurred since signing 

10 of the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries between 

11 the United States and Canada on September 10, 

12 1954, management of the ecosystem and its fisheries 

13 require sound, reliable science, and the use of mod14 ern scientific technologies. 

15 (3) Fisheries research is necessary to support 

16 multi-jurisdictional fishery management decisions 

17 and actions regarding recreational and sport fishing, 

18 commercial fisheries, tribal harvest, allocation deci19 sions, and fish stocking activities. 

20 (4) President Richard Nixon submitted, and the 

21 Congress approved, Reorganization Plan No. 4 (84 

22 Stat. 2090), conferring science activities and man23 agement of marine fisheries to the National Oceanic 

24 and Atmospheric Administration. 


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1 (5) Reorganization Plan No. 4 expressly ex2 cluded fishery research activities within the Great 

3 Lakes from the transfer, retaining management and 

4 scientific research duties within the already estab5 lished jurisdictions under the 1954 Convention on 

6 Great Lakes Fisheries, including those of the Great 

7 Lakes Fishery Commission and the Department of 

8 the Interior. 

9 SEC. 223. GREAT LAKES MONITORING, ASSESSMENT, 

10 SCIENCE, AND RESEARCH. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may conduct moni12 toring, assessment, science, and research, in support of 

13 the binational fisheries within the Great Lakes Basin. 

14 (b) SPECIFIC AUTHORITIES.—The Director shall, 

15 under subsection (a)— 

16 (1) execute a comprehensive, multi-lake, fresh17 water fisheries science program; 

18 (2) coordinate with and work cooperatively with 

19 regional, State, tribal, and local governments; and 

20 (3) consult with other interested entities 

21 groups, including academia and relevant Canadian 

22 agencies. 

23 (c) INCLUDED RESEARCH.—To properly serve the 

24 needs of fisheries managers, monitoring, assessment, 

25 science, and research under this section may include— 


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1 (1) deepwater ecosystem sciences; 

2 (2) biological and food-web components; 

3 (3) fish movement and behavior investigations; 

4 (4) fish population structures; 

5 (5) fish habitat investigations; 

6 (6) invasive species science; 

7 (7) harmful algal bloom development research; 

8 (8) research on the impacts of harmful algal 

9 blooms, nutrient pollution, and dead zones on Great 

10 Lakes fisheries; 

11 (9) research into the effects of per- and 

12 polyfluoroalkyl substances, mercury, and other con13 taminants on fisheries and fishery ecosystems; 

14 (10) use of existing, new, and experimental bio15 logical assessment tools, equipment, vessels, other 

16 scientific instrumentation and laboratory capabilities 

17 necessary to support fishery management decisions; 

18 and 

19 (11) studies to assess impacts on Great Lakes 

20 fishery resources. 

21 (d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this subtitle is in22 tended or shall be construed to impede, supersede, or alter 

23 the authority of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, 

24 States, and Indian tribes under the Convention on Great 

25 Lakes Fisheries between the United States of America and 


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1 Canada on September 10, 1954, and the Great Lakes 

2 Fishery Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 931 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 224. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 For each of fiscal years 2020 through 2029, there 

5 is authorized to be appropriated $17,500,000 to carry out 

6 this subtitle. 

7 Subtitle C—Chesapeake Bay Oyster 

8 Research 

9 SEC. 231. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

10 It is the sense of Congress that the Chesapeake Bay 

11 Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis12 tration shall be the primary representative of the Adminis13 tration in the Chesapeake Bay. 

14 SEC. 232. GRANTS FOR RESEARCHING OYSTERS IN THE 

15 CHESAPEAKE BAY. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Com17 merce, acting through the Administrator of the National 

18 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall establish 

19 a grant program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Pro20 gram’’) under which the Secretary shall award grants to 

21 eligible entities for the purpose of conducting research on 

22 the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters 

23 in the Chesapeake Bay. 

24 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

25 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 


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1 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 

2 and containing such information as the Secretary may re3 quire. 

4 (c) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award a 

6 grant under the Program to eligible entities that 

7 submit an application under subsection (b). 

8 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

10 subparagraph (B), the total amount of Federal 

11 funding received under the Program by an eligi12 ble entity may not exceed 85 percent of the 

13 total cost of the research project for which the 

14 funding was awarded. For the purposes of this 

15 subparagraph, the non-Federal share of project 

16 costs may be provided by in-kind contributions 

17 and other noncash support. 

18 (B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

19 all or part of the requirement in subparagraph 

20 (A) if the Secretary determines that no reason21 able means are available through which an eligi22 ble entity applying for a grant under this sec23 tion can meet such requirement and the prob24 able benefit of such research project outweighs 

25 the public interest in such requirement. 


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1 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi2 nitions apply: 

3 (1) ACADEMIC COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘aca4 demic community’’ means faculty, researchers, pro5 fessors, and representatives of State-accredited col6 leges and universities. 

7 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti8 ty’’ means a member of the academic community, 

9 the seafood industry, a relevant nonprofit organiza10 tion, or a relevant State agency, that is proposing or 

11 conducting a research project on the conservation, 

12 restoration, or management of oysters in the Chesa13 peake Bay developed through consultation with a 

14 member of the academic community, a member of 

15 the seafood industry, a relevant nonprofit organiza16 tion, or a relevant State agency. 

17 (3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

18 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de19 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

20 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

21 501(a) of such Code. 

22 (4) SEAFOOD INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘seafood 

23 industry’’ means shellfish growers, shellfish har24 vesters, commercial fishermen, and recreational fish25 ermen. 


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1 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Commerce, acting through the 

3 Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos4 pheric Administration. 

5 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $2,000,000 

7 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2025 to carry 

8 out this section. 

9 TITLE III—MEETING 21ST CEN10 TURY OCEAN AND COASTAL 

11 DATA NEEDS 

12 Subtitle A—Digital Coast 

13 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

14 Congress makes the following findings: 

15 (1) The Digital Coast is a model approach for 

16 effective Federal partnerships with State and local 

17 government, nongovernmental organizations, and the 

18 private sector. 

19 (2) Access to current, accurate, uniform, and 

20 standards-based geospatial information, tools, and 

21 training to characterize the United States coastal re22 gion is critical for public safety and for the environ23 ment, infrastructure, and economy of the United 

24 States. 


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1 (3) Collaborations and partnerships between in2 stitutions of higher education and Federal agencies 

3 help ensure digital data focused on coastal manage4 ment issues are communicated effectively between 

5 such entities. 

6 (4) More than half of all people of the United 

7 States (153,000,000) currently live on or near a 

8 coast and an additional 12,000,000 are expected in 

9 the next decade. 

10 (5) Coastal counties in the United States aver11 age 300 persons per square mile, compared with the 

12 national average of 98. 

13 (6) On a typical day, more than 1,540 permits 

14 for construction of single-family homes are issued in 

15 coastal counties, combined with other commercial, 

16 retail, and institutional construction to support this 

17 population. 

18 (7) Over half of the economic productivity of 

19 the United States is located within coastal regions. 

20 (8) Highly accurate, high-resolution remote 

21 sensing and other geospatial data play an increas22 ingly important role in decision making and manage23 ment of the coastal zone and economy, including 

24 for— 


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1 (A) flood and coastal storm surge pre2 diction; 

3 (B) hazard risk and vulnerability assess4 ment; 

5 (C) emergency response and recovery plan6 ning; 

7 (D) community resilience to longer range 

8 coastal change; 

9 (E) local planning and permitting; 

10 (F) habitat and ecosystem health assess11 ments; and 

12 (G) landscape change detection. 

13 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this subtitle: 

15 (1) COASTAL REGION.—The term ‘‘coastal re16 gion’’ means the area of United States waters ex17 tending inland from the shoreline to include coastal 

18 watersheds and seaward to the territorial sea. 

19 (2) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 

20 State’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘coastal 

21 state’’ in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Manage22 ment Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453). 

23 (3) FEDERAL GEOGRAPHIC DATA COM24 MITTEE.—The term ‘‘Federal Geographic Data 

25 Committee’’ means the interagency committee that 


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1 promotes the coordinated development, use, sharing, 

2 and dissemination of geospatial data on a national 

3 basis. 

4 (4) REMOTE SENSING AND OTHER

5 GEOSPATIAL.—The term ‘‘remote sensing and other 

6 geospatial’’ means collecting, storing, retrieving, or 

7 disseminating graphical or digital data depicting 

8 natural or manmade physical features, phenomena, 

9 or boundaries of the Earth and any information re10 lated thereto, including surveys, maps, charts, sat11 ellite and airborne remote sensing data, images, 

12 LiDAR, and services performed by professionals 

13 such as surveyors, photogrammetrists, hydrog14 raphers, geodesists, cartographers, and other such 

15 services. 

16 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Ad18 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos19 pheric Administration. 

20 SEC. 303. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DIGITAL COAST. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 a program for the provision of an enabling platform 

24 that integrates geospatial data, decision-support 

25 tools, training, and best practices to address coastal 


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1 management issues and needs. Under the program, 

2 the Secretary shall strive to enhance resilient com3 munities, ecosystem values, and coastal economic 

4 growth and development by helping communities ad5 dress their issues, needs, and challenges through 

6 cost-effective and participatory solutions. 

7 (2) DESIGNATION.—The program established 

8 under paragraph (1) shall be known as the ‘‘Digital 

9 Coast’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘pro10 gram’’). 

11 (b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the 

12 program, the Secretary shall ensure that the program pro13 vides data integration, tool development, training, docu14 mentation, dissemination, and archiving by— 

15 (1) making data and resulting integrated prod16 ucts developed under this section readily accessible 

17 via the Digital Coast Internet website of the Na18 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 

19 GeoPlatform.gov and data.gov Internet websites, and 

20 such other information distribution technologies as 

21 the Secretary considers appropriate; 

22 (2) developing decision-support tools that use 

23 and display resulting integrated data and provide 

24 training on use of such tools; 


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1 (3) documenting such data to Federal Geo2 graphic Data Committee standards; and 

3 (4) archiving all raw data acquired under this 

4 title at the appropriate National Oceanic and Atmos5 pheric Administration data center or such other 

6 Federal data center as the Secretary considers ap7 propriate. 

8 (c) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate 

9 the activities carried out under the program to optimize 

10 data collection, sharing and integration, and to minimize 

11 duplication by— 

12 (1) consulting with coastal managers and deci13 sion makers concerning coastal issues, and sharing 

14 information and best practices, as the Secretary con15 siders appropriate, with— 

16 (A) coastal States; 

17 (B) local governments; and 

18 (C) representatives of academia, the pri19 vate sector, and nongovernmental organizations; 

20 (2) consulting with other Federal agencies, in21 cluding interagency committees, on relevant Federal 

22 activities, including activities carried out under the 

23 Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act (33 

24 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Coastal Zone Management 

25 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), the Integrated 


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1 Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 

2 (33 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), and the Hydrographic 

3 Services Improvement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892 

4 et seq.); 

5 (3) participating, pursuant to section 216 of the 

6 E-Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–347; 

7 44 U.S.C. 3501 note), in the establishment of such 

8 standards and common protocols as the Secretary 

9 considers necessary to assure the interoperability of 

10 remote sensing and other geospatial data with all 

11 users of such information within— 

12 (A) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

13 Administration; 

14 (B) other Federal agencies; 

15 (C) State and local government; and 

16 (D) the private sector; 

17 (4) coordinating with, seeking assistance and 

18 cooperation of, and providing liaison to the Federal 

19 Geographic Data Committee pursuant to Office of 

20 Management and Budget Circular A–16 and Execu21 tive Order No. 12906 of April 11, 1994 (59 Fed. 

22 Reg. 17671), as amended by Executive Order No. 

23 13286 of February 28, 2003 (68 Fed. Reg. 10619); 

24 and 


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1 (5) developing and maintaining a best practices 

2 document that sets out the best practices used by 

3 the Secretary in carrying out the program and pro4 viding such document to the United States Geologi5 cal Survey, the Corps of Engineers, and other rel6 evant Federal agencies. 

7 (d) FILLING NEEDS AND GAPS.—In carrying out the 

8 program, the Secretary shall— 

9 (1) maximize the use of remote sensing and 

10 other geospatial data collection activities conducted 

11 for other purposes and under other authorities; 

12 (2) focus on filling data needs and gaps for 

13 coastal management issues, including with respect to 

14 areas that, as of the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act, were underserved by coastal data and the areas 

16 of the Arctic that are under the jurisdiction of the 

17 United States; 

18 (3) pursuant to the Ocean and Coastal Map19 ping Integration Act (33 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), sup20 port continue improvement in existing efforts to co21 ordinate the acquisition and integration of key data 

22 sets needed for coastal management and other pur23 poses, including— 

24 (A) coastal elevation data; 

25 (B) land use and land cover data; 


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1 (C) socioeconomic and human use data; 

2 (D) critical infrastructure data; 

3 (E) structures data; 

4 (F) living resources and habitat data; 

5 (G) cadastral data; and 

6 (H) aerial imagery; and 

7 (4) integrate the priority supporting data set 

8 forth under paragraph (3) with other available data 

9 for the benefit of the broadest measure of coastal re10 source management constituents and applications. 

11 (e) FINANCIAL AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, 

13 the Secretary— 

14 (A) may enter into financial agreements to 

15 carry out the program, including— 

16 (i) support to non-Federal entities 

17 that participate in implementing the pro18 gram; and 

19 (ii) grants, cooperative agreements, 

20 interagency agreements, contracts, or any 

21 other agreement on a reimbursable or non22 reimbursable basis, with other Federal, 

23 tribal, State, and local governmental and 

24 nongovernmental entities; and 


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1 (B) may, to the maximum extent prac2 ticable, enter into such contracts with private 

3 sector entities for such products and services as 

4 the Secretary determines may be necessary to 

5 collect, process, and provide remote sensing and 

6 other geospatial data and products for purposes 

7 of the program. 

8 (2) FEES.— 

9 (A) ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION.—The 

10 Secretary may assess and collect fees to conduct 

11 any planned training, workshop, or conference 

12 that advances the purposes of the program. 

13 (B) AMOUNTS.—The amount of a fee 

14 under this paragraph may not exceed the sum 

15 of costs incurred, or expected to be incurred, by 

16 the Secretary as a direct result of the conduct 

17 of the training, workshop, or conference, includ18 ing for subsistence expenses incidental to the 

19 training, workshop, or conference, as applicable. 

20 (C) USE OF FEES.—Amounts collected by 

21 the Secretary in the form of fees under this 

22 paragraph may be used to pay for— 

23 (i) the costs incurred for conducting 

24 an activity described in subparagraph (A); 

25 or 


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1 (ii) the expenses described in subpara2 graph (B). 

3 (3) SURVEY AND MAPPING.—Contracts entered 

4 into under paragraph (1)(B) shall be considered 

5 ‘‘surveying and mapping’’ services as such term is 

6 used in and as such contracts are awarded by the 

7 Secretary in accordance with the selection proce8 dures in chapter 11 of title 40, United States Code. 

9 (f) OCEAN ECONOMY.—The Secretary may establish 

10 publically available tools that track ocean and Great Lakes 

11 economy data for each coastal State. 

12 Subtitle B—Integrated Coastal and 

13 Ocean Observation System 

14 SEC. 311. STAGGERED TERMS FOR NATIONAL INTEGRATED 

15 COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVATION SYSTEM 

16 ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

17 Section 12304(d)(3)(B) of the Integrated Coastal 

18 and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

19 3603(d)(3)(B)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘Members’’ and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro23 vided in clause (ii), members’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) STAGGERED TERMS.—The Ad2 ministrator may appoint or reappoint a 

3 member for a partial term of 1 or 2 years 

4 in order to establish a system of staggered 

5 terms. The Administrator may appoint or 

6 reappoint a member under this clause only 

7 once. A member appointed or reappointed 

8 to a partial term under this clause may not 

9 serve more than one full term.’’. 

10 SEC. 312. INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVA11 TION SYSTEM COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. 

12 Section 12305(a) of the Integrated Coastal and 

13 Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

14 3604(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘disburse appropriated 

15 funds to,’’ after ‘‘agreements, with,’’. 

16 SEC. 313. REAUTHORIZATION OF INTEGRATED COASTAL 

17 AND OCEAN OBSERVATION SYSTEM ACT OF 

18 2009. 

19 Section 12311 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

20 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3610) is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 

22 such sums as are necessary’’ and inserting ‘‘$47,500,000 

23 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 314. ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY– 

2 OCEANS. 

3 (a) AGREEMENT.—Not later than 45 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this section, the Administrator 

5 shall seek to enter into an agreement with the National 

6 Academy of Sciences to conduct the comprehensive assess7 ment under subsection (b). 

8 (b) COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under an agreement be10 tween the Administrator and the National Academy 

11 of Sciences under this section, the National Acad12 emy of Sciences shall conduct a comprehensive as13 sessment of the need for and feasibility of estab14 lishing an Advanced Research Projects Agency– 

15 Oceans (ARPA–O). 

16 (2) ELEMENTS.—The comprehensive assess17 ment carried out pursuant to paragraph (1) shall in18 clude— 

19 (A) an assessment of how an ARPA–O 

20 could help overcome the long-term and high-risk 

21 technological barriers in the development of 

22 ocean technologies, with the goal of enhancing 

23 the economic, ecological, and national security 

24 of the United States through the rapid develop25 ment of technologies that result in— 


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1 (i) improved data collection, moni2 toring, and prediction of the ocean environ3 ment, including sea ice conditions; 

4 (ii) overcoming barriers to the appli5 cation of new and improved technologies, 

6 such as high costs and scale of operational 

7 missions; 

8 (iii) improved management practices 

9 for protecting ecological sustainability; 

10 (iv) improved national security capac11 ity; 

12 (v) improved technology for fishery 

13 population assessments; 

14 (vi) expedited processes between and 

15 among Federal agencies to successfully 

16 identify, transition, and coordinate re17 search and development output to oper18 ations, applications, commercialization, and 

19 other uses; and 

20 (vii) ensuring that the United States 

21 maintains a technological lead in devel22 oping and deploying advanced ocean tech23 nologies; 


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1 (B) an evaluation of the organizational 

2 structures under which an ARPA–O could be 

3 organized, which takes into account— 

4 (i) best practices for new research 

5 programs; 

6 (ii) metrics and approaches for peri7 odic program evaluation; 

8 (iii) capacity to fund and manage ex9 ternal research awards; and 

10 (iv) options for oversight of the activ11 ity through a Federal agency, an inter12 agency organization, nongovernmental or13 ganization, or other institutional arrange14 ment; and 

15 (C) an estimation of the scale of invest16 ment necessary to pursue high priority ocean 

17 technology projects. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

19 date of the enactment of this section, the Administrator 

20 shall submit to Congress a report on the comprehensive 

21 assessment conducted under subsection (b). 

22 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘Admin23 istrator’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for 

24 Oceans and Atmosphere in the Under Secretary’s capacity 


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1 as Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos2 pheric Administration. 

3 TITLE IV—NATIONAL SEA GRANT 

4 COLLEGE PROGRAM AMEND5 MENTS 

6 SEC. 401. REFERENCES TO THE NATIONAL SEA GRANT COL7 LEGE PROGRAM ACT. 

8 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

9 this title 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 National Sea Grant Col13 lege Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.). 

14 SEC. 402. MODIFICATION OF DEAN JOHN A. KNAUSS MA15 RINE POLICY FELLOWSHIP. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208(b) (33 U.S.C. 

17 1127(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘shall’’. 

19 (b) PLACEMENTS IN CONGRESS.—Such section is 

20 further amended— 

21 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec22 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (1), as designated by para2 graph (1) of this section, in the second sentence, by 

3 striking ‘‘A fellowship’’ and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) PLACEMENT PRIORITIES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In each year in which 

6 the Secretary awards a legislative fellowship 

7 under this subsection, when considering the 

8 placement of fellows, the Secretary shall 

9 prioritize placement of fellows in the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) Positions in offices of committees 

11 of Congress that have jurisdiction over the 

12 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin13 istration. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Positions in offices of Members 

15 of Congress who are on such committees. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Positions in offices of Members 

17 of Congress that have a demonstrated in18 terest in ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes re19 sources. 

20 ‘‘(B) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) FINDING AND RECOGNITION.— 

22 Congress— 

23 ‘‘(I) finds that both host offices 

24 and fellows benefit when fellows have 

25 the opportunity to choose from a 


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1 range of host offices from different 

2 States and regions, both chambers of 

3 Congress, and both political parties; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) recognizes the steps taken 

6 by the National Sea Grant College 

7 Program to facilitate an equitable dis8 tribution of fellows among the political 

9 parties. 

10 ‘‘(ii) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

11 shall ensure, to the maximum extent prac12 ticable, that fellows have the opportunity 

13 to choose from offices that are described in 

14 clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph 

15 (A) and that are equitably distributed 

16 among— 

17 ‘‘(I) the political parties; and 

18 ‘‘(II) the Senate and the House 

19 of Representatives. 

20 ‘‘(iii) POLITICAL AND CAMERAL EQ21 UITY.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

22 placements are equitably distributed be23 tween— 

24 ‘‘(I) the political parties; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the Senate and the House 

2 of Representatives. 

3 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—A fellowship’’. 

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 subsection (b) shall apply with respect to the first calendar 

6 year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act 

7 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

8 (d) SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING FEDERAL

9 HIRING OF FORMER FELLOWS.—It is the sense of Con10 gress that in recognition of the competitive nature of the 

11 fellowship under section 208(b) of the National Sea Grant 

12 College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)), and of the ex13 ceptional qualifications of fellowship awardees— 

14 (1) the Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

15 the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 

16 Atmosphere, should encourage participating Federal 

17 agencies to consider opportunities for fellowship 

18 awardees at the conclusion of their fellowships for 

19 workforce positions appropriate for their education 

20 and experience; and 

21 (2) Members and committees of Congress 

22 should consider opportunities for such awardees for 

23 such positions. 


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1 SEC. 403. MODIFICATION OF AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF 

2 COMMERCE TO ACCEPT DONATIONS FOR NA3 TIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(c)(4)(E) (33 U.S.C. 

5 1123(c)(4)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(E) accept donations of money and, not7 withstanding section 1342 of title 31, United 

8 States Code, of voluntary and uncompensated 

9 services;’’. 

10 (b) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary of Commerce, acting 

11 through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 

12 Atmosphere, shall establish priorities for the use of dona13 tions accepted under section 204(c)(4)(E) of the National 

14 Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 

15 1123(c)(4)(E)), and shall consider among those priorities 

16 the possibility of expanding the Dean John A. Knauss Ma17 rine Policy Fellowship’s placement of additional fellows in 

18 relevant legislative offices under section 208(b) of such 

19 Act (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)), in accordance with the rec20 ommendations under subsection (c) of this section. 

21 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National 

23 Sea Grant College Program, in consultation with the Na24 tional Sea Grant Advisory Board and the Sea Grant Asso25 ciation, shall— 


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1 (1) develop recommendations for the optimal 

2 use of any donations accepted under section 

3 204(c)(4)(E) of the National Sea Grant College Pro4 gram Act (33 U.S.C. 1123(c)(4)(E)); and 

5 (2) submit to Congress a report on the rec6 ommendations developed under paragraph (1). 

7 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

8 construed to limit or otherwise affect any other amounts 

9 available for marine policy fellowships under section 

10 208(b) of the National Sea Grant College Program Act 

11 (33 U.S.C. 1127(b)), including amounts— 

12 (1) accepted under section 204(c)(4)(F) of such 

13 Act (33 U.S.C. 1123(c)(4)(F)); or 

14 (2) appropriated under section 212 of such Act 

15 (33 U.S.C. 1131). 

16 SEC. 404. REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT ON CO17 ORDINATION OF OCEANS AND COASTAL RE18 SEARCH ACTIVITIES. 

19 Section 9 of the National Sea Grant College Program 

20 Act Amendments of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 857–20) is repealed. 

21 SEC. 405. REDUCTION IN FREQUENCY REQUIRED FOR NA22 TIONAL SEA GRANT ADVISORY BOARD RE23 PORT. 

24 Section 209(b)(2) (33 U.S.C. 1128(b)(2)) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘BIENNIAL’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘PERIODIC’’; and 

3 (2) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The 

4 Board shall report to the Congress every two years’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘Not less frequently than once every 

6 4 years, the Board shall submit to Congress a re7 port’’. 

8 SEC. 406. MODIFICATION OF ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL SEA 

9 GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM. 

10 Section 204(b) (33 U.S.C. 1123(b)) is amended by 

11 inserting ‘‘for research, education, extension, training, 

12 technology transfer, public service,’’ after ‘‘financial as13 sistance’’. 

14 SEC. 407. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY; DEAN JOHN A. KNAUSS 

15 MARINE POLICY FELLOWSHIP. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—During fiscal year 2019 and any 

17 fiscal year thereafter, the head of any Federal agency may 

18 appoint, without regard to the provisions of subchapter I 

19 of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, other than 

20 sections 3303 and 3328 of such title, a qualified candidate 

21 described in subsection (b) directly to a position with the 

22 Federal agency for which the candidate meets Office of 

23 Personnel Management qualification standards. 

24 (b) QUALIFIED CANDIDATE.—Subsection (a) applies 

25 with respect to a former recipient of a Dean John A. 


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1 Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship under section 208(b) of 

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

3 1127(b)) who— 

4 (1) earned a graduate or post-graduate degree 

5 in a field related to ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes 

6 resources or policy from an institution of higher edu7 cation accredited by an agency or association recog8 nized by the Secretary of Education pursuant to sec9 tion 496(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

10 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)); 

11 (2) received a Dean John A. Knauss Marine 

12 Policy Fellowship under section 208(b) of the Na13 tional Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 

14 1127(b)) within 5 years before the date the indi15 vidual is appointed under this section; and 

16 (3) successfully fulfilled the requirements of the 

17 fellowship within the executive or legislative branch 

18 of the United States Government. 

19 SEC. 408. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR NA20 TIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(a) (33 U.S.C. 

22 1131(a)) is amended— 

23 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol24 lows: 


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

2 appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this 

3 title— 

4 ‘‘(A) $87,520,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

5 ‘‘(B) $91,900,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

6 ‘‘(C) $96,500,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

7 ‘‘(D) $101,325,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

8 ‘‘(E) $106,380,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(F) $111,710,813 for fiscal year 2025.’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY ACTIVITIES FOR FISCAL YEARS

15 2020 THROUGH 2025.—In addition to the amounts 

16 authorized to be appropriated under paragraph (1), 

17 there are authorized to be appropriated $6,000,000 

18 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2025 for com19 petitive grants for the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) University research on the biology, 

21 prevention, and control of aquatic nonnative 

22 species. 

23 ‘‘(B) University research on oyster dis24 eases, oyster restoration, and oyster-related 

25 human health risks. 


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1 ‘‘(C) University research on the biology, 

2 prevention, and forecasting of harmful algal 

3 blooms. 

4 ‘‘(D) University research, education, train5 ing, and extension services and activities fo6 cused on coastal resilience and United States 

7 working waterfronts and other regional or na8 tional priority issues identified in the strategic 

9 plan under section 204(c)(1). 

10 ‘‘(E) University research and extension on 

11 sustainable aquaculture techniques and tech12 nologies. 

13 ‘‘(F) Fishery research and extension activi14 ties conducted by sea grant colleges or sea 

15 grant institutes to enhance, and not supplant, 

16 existing core program funding.’’. 

17 (b) MODIFICATION OF LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNTS

18 FOR ADMINISTRATION.—Paragraph (1) of section 212(b) 

19 (33 U.S.C. 1131(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There may not be 

22 used for administration of programs under this 

23 title in a fiscal year more than 5.5 percent of 

24 the lesser of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the amount authorized to be ap2 propriated under this title for the fiscal 

3 year; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the amount appropriated under 

5 this title for the fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(B) CRITICAL STAFFING REQUIRE7 MENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

9 use the authority under subchapter VI of 

10 chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, 

11 to meet any critical staffing requirement 

12 while carrying out the activities authorized 

13 under this title. 

14 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION FROM CAP.—For 

15 purposes of subparagraph (A), any costs 

16 incurred as a result of an exercise of au17 thority described in clause (i) shall not be 

18 considered an amount used for administra19 tion of programs under this title in a fiscal 

20 year.’’. 

21 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(d)(3) (33 

23 U.S.C. 1123(d)(3)) is amended— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘With respect to sea grant 

25 colleges and sea grant institutes’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘With respect to sea grant colleges, sea grant 

2 institutes, sea grant programs, and sea grant 

3 projects’’; and 

4 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

5 ‘‘funding among sea grant colleges and sea 

6 grant institutes’’ and inserting ‘‘funding among 

7 sea grant colleges, sea grant institutes, sea 

8 grant programs, and sea grant projects’’. 

9 (2) REPEAL OF REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING

10 DISTRIBUTION OF EXCESS AMOUNTS.—Section 212 

11 (33 U.S.C. 1131) is amended— 

12 (A) by striking subsection (c); and 

13 (B) by redesignating subsections (d) and 

14 (e) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively. 

15 SEC. 409. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

16 (a) Section 204(d)(3)(B) (33 U.S.C. 1123(d)(3)(B)) 

17 is amended by moving clause (vi) 2 ems to the right. 

18 (b) Section 209(b) (33 U.S.C. 1128(b)), as amended 

19 by this Act, is further amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘The Sec21 retary shall’’ and all that follows; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES OF DEPART2 MENT OF COMMERCE.—The Secretary shall’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 10, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS