II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 646 

To create the National Endowment for the Oceans to promote the protection 

and conservation of United States ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2013 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. 

NELSON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To create the National Endowment for the Oceans to promote the protection and conservation of United States 

ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Endowment 

5 for the Oceans Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are to protect, conserve, re8 store, and understand the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes 


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1 of the United States, ensuring present and future genera2 tions will benefit from the full range of ecological, eco3 nomic, educational, social, cultural, nutritional, and rec4 reational opportunities and services these resources are ca5 pable of providing. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COASTAL SHORELINE COUNTY.—The term 

9 ‘‘coastal shoreline county’’ has the meaning given 

10 the term by the Administrator of the Federal Emer11 gency Management Agency for purposes of admin12 istering the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

13 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.). 

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

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

16 state’’ in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Manage17 ment Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453). 

18 (3) CORPUS.—The term ‘‘corpus’’, with respect 

19 to the Endowment fund, means an amount equal to 

20 the Federal payments to such fund, amounts con21 tributed to the fund from non-Federal sources, and 

22 appreciation from capital gains and reinvestment of 

23 income. 


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1 (4) ENDOWMENT.—The term ‘‘Endowment’’ 

2 means the endowment established under subsection 

3 (a). 

4 (5) ENDOWMENT FUND.—The term ‘‘Endow5 ment fund’’ means a fund, or a tax-exempt founda6 tion, established and maintained pursuant to this 

7 Act by the Foundation for the purposes described in 

8 section 4(a). 

9 (6) FOUNDATION.—The term ‘‘Foundation’’ 

10 means the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 

11 established by section 2(a) of the National Fish and 

12 Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 3701(a)). 

14 (7) INCOME.—The term ‘‘income’’, with respect 

15 to the Endowment fund, means an amount equal to 

16 the dividends and interest accruing from investments 

17 of the corpus of such fund. 

18 (8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

19 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

20 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

21 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

22 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Commerce. 

24 (10) TIDAL SHORELINE.—The term ‘‘tidal 

25 shoreline’’ has the meaning given that term pursuVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:29 Mar 27, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S646.IS S646

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1 ant to section 923.110(c)(2)(i) of title 15, Code of 

2 Federal Regulations, or a similar successor regula3 tion. 

4 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE OCEANS. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary and the Foun6 dation are authorized to establish the National Endow7 ment for the Oceans as a permanent Endowment fund, 

8 in accordance with this section, to further the purposes 

9 of this Act and to support the programs established under 

10 this Act. 

11 (b) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary and the Founda12 tion may enter into such agreements as may be necessary 

13 to carry out the purposes of this Act. 

14 (c) INVESTMENTS.—The Foundation shall invest the 

15 Endowment fund corpus and income for the benefit of the 

16 Endowment. 

17 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—Any amounts received by the 

18 Foundation pursuant to this Act shall be subject to the 

19 provisions of the National Fish and Wildlife Establish20 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), except the provisions 

21 of section 10(a) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)). 

22 (e) WITHDRAWALS AND EXPENDITURES.— 

23 (1) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Each fiscal year, 

24 the Foundation shall, in consultation with the Sec25 retary, allocate an amount equal to not less than 3 


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1 percent and not more than 7 percent of the corpus 

2 of the Endowment fund and the income generated 

3 from the Endowment fund from the current fiscal 

4 year. 

5 (2) EXPENDITURE.—Of the amounts allocated 

6 under paragraph (1) for each fiscal year— 

7 (A) at least 59 percent shall be used by the 

8 Foundation to award grants to coastal States 

9 under section 6(b); 

10 (B) at least 39 percent shall be allocated 

11 by the Foundation to award grants under sec12 tion 6(c); and 

13 (C) no more than 2 percent may be used 

14 by the Secretary and the Foundation for ad15 ministrative expenses to carry out this Act, 

16 which amount shall be divided between the Sec17 retary and the Foundation pursuant to an 

18 agreement reached and documented by both the 

19 Secretary and the Foundation. 

20 (f) RECOVERY OF PAYMENTS.—After notice and an 

21 opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary is authorized to 

22 recover any Federal payments under this section if the 

23 Foundation— 

24 (1) makes a withdrawal or expenditure of the 

25 corpus of the Endowment fund or the income of the 


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1 Endowment fund that is not consistent with the re2 quirements of section 5; or 

3 (2) fails to comply with a procedure, measure, 

4 method, or standard established under section 

5 6(a)(1). 

6 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE USES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Endowment may 

8 be allocated by the Foundation to support programs and 

9 activities intended to restore, protect, maintain, or under10 stand living marine resources and their habitats and 

11 ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources, including base12 line scientific research, ocean observing, and other pro13 grams and activities carried out in coordination with Fed14 eral and State departments or agencies, that are con15 sistent with Federal environmental laws and that avoid en16 vironmental degradation, including the following: 

17 (1) Ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes restoration 

18 and protection, including the protection of the envi19 ronmental integrity of such areas, and their related 

20 watersheds, including efforts to mitigate potential 

21 impacts of sea level change, changes in ocean chem22 istry, and changes in ocean temperature. 

23 (2) Restoration, protection, or maintenance of 

24 living ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and 

25 their habitats, including marine protected areas and 


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1 riparian migratory habitat of coastal and marine 

2 species. 

3 (3) Planning for and managing coastal develop4 ment to enhance ecosystem integrity or minimize im5 pacts from sea level change and coastal erosion. 

6 (4) Analyses of current and anticipated impacts 

7 of ocean acidification and assessment of potential ac8 tions to minimize harm to ocean, coastal, and Great 

9 Lakes ecosystems. 

10 (5) Analyses of, and planning for, current and 

11 anticipated uses of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

12 areas. 

13 (6) Regional, subregional, or site-specific man14 agement efforts designed to manage, protect, or re15 store ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and 

16 ecosystems. 

17 (7) Research, assessment, monitoring, observa18 tion, modeling, and sharing of scientific information 

19 that contribute to the understanding of ocean, coast20 al, and Great Lakes ecosystems and support the 

21 purposes of this Act. 

22 (8) Efforts to understand better the processes 

23 that govern the fate and transport of petroleum hy24 drocarbons released into the marine environment 


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1 from natural and anthropogenic sources, including 

2 spills. 

3 (9) Efforts to improve spill response and pre4 paredness technologies. 

5 (10) Acquiring property or interests in property 

6 in coastal and estuarine areas, if such property or 

7 interest is acquired in a manner that will ensure 

8 such property or interest will be administered to 

9 support the purposes of this Act. 

10 (11) Protection and relocation of critical coastal 

11 public infrastructure affected by erosion or sea level 

12 change. 

13 (b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—An amount from the 

14 Endowment may not be allocated to fund a project or ac15 tivity described in paragraph (10) or (11) of subsection 

16 (a) unless non-Federal contributions in an amount equal 

17 to 30 percent or more of the cost of such project or activity 

18 is made available to carry out such project or activity. 

19 (c) CONSIDERATIONS FOR GREAT LAKES STATES.— 

20 Programs and activities funded in Great Lakes States 

21 shall also seek to attain the goals embodied in the Great 

22 Lakes Restoration Initiative Plan, the Great Lakes Re23 gional Collaboration Strategy, the Great Lakes Water 

24 Quality Agreement, or other collaborative planning efforts 

25 of the Great Lakes Region. 


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1 (d) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR LITIGA2 TION.—No funds made available under this Act may be 

3 used to fund litigation over any matter. 

4 SEC. 6. GRANTS. 

5 (a) ADMINISTRATION OF GRANTS.— 

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

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Founda8 tion shall establish the following: 

9 (A) Application and review procedures for 

10 the awarding of grants under this section, in11 cluding requirements ensuring that any 

12 amounts awarded under such subsections may 

13 only be used for an eligible use described under 

14 section 5. 

15 (B) Approval procedures for the awarding 

16 of grants under this section that require con17 sultation with the Secretary of Commerce and 

18 the Secretary of the Interior. 

19 (C) Eligibility criteria for awarding 

20 grants— 

21 (i) under subsection (b) to coastal 

22 States; and 

23 (ii) under subsection (c) to entities in24 cluding States, Indian tribes, regional bodVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:29 Mar 27, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S646.IS S646

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1 ies, associations, non-governmental organi2 zations, and academic institutions. 

3 (D) Performance accountability and moni4 toring measures for programs and activities 

5 funded by a grant awarded under subsection (b) 

6 or (c). 

7 (E) Procedures and methods to ensure ac8 curate accounting and appropriate administra9 tion of grants awarded under this section, in10 cluding standards of record keeping. 

11 (F) Procedures to carry out audits of the 

12 Endowment as necessary, but not less fre13 quently than once every 5 years. 

14 (G) Procedures to carry out audits of the 

15 recipients of grants under this section. 

16 (2) APPROVAL PROCEDURES.— 

17 (A) SUBMITTAL.—The Foundation shall 

18 submit to the Secretary each procedure, meas19 ure, method, and standard established under 

20 paragraph (1). 

21 (B) DETERMINATION AND NOTICE.—Not 

22 later than 90 days after receiving the proce23 dures, measures, methods, and standards under 

24 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— 


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1 (i) determine whether to approve or 

2 disapprove of such procedures, measures, 

3 methods, and standards; and 

4 (ii) notify the Foundation of such de5 termination. 

6 (C) JUSTIFICATION OF DISAPPROVAL.—If 

7 the Secretary disapproves of the procedures, 

8 measures, methods, and standards under sub9 paragraph (B), the Secretary shall include in 

10 notice submitted under clause (ii) of such sub11 paragraph the rationale for such disapproval. 

12 (D) RESUBMITTAL.—Not later than 30 

13 days after the Foundation receives notification 

14 under subparagraph (B)(ii) that the Secretary 

15 has disapproved the procedures, measures, 

16 methods, and standards, the Foundation shall 

17 revise such procedures, measures, methods, and 

18 standards and submit such revised procedures, 

19 measures, methods, and standards to the Sec20 retary. 

21 (E) REVIEW OF RESUBMITTAL.—Not later 

22 than 30 days after receiving revised procedures, 

23 measures, methods, and standards resubmitted 

24 under subparagraph (D), the Secretary shall— 


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1 (i) determine whether to approve or 

2 disapprove the revised procedures, meas3 ures, methods, and standards; and 

4 (ii) notify the Foundation of such de5 termination. 

6 (b) GRANTS TO COASTAL STATES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

8 and (3), the Foundation shall award grants of 

9 amounts allocated under section 4(e)(2)(A) to coast10 al States that have a coastal management program 

11 approved under the Coastal Zone Management Act 

12 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), based on the fol13 lowing formula: 

14 (A) Fifty percent of the funds are allocated 

15 equally among such coastal States. 

16 (B) Twenty-five percent of the funds are 

17 allocated on the basis of the ratio of tidal shore18 line miles in a coastal State to the tidal shore19 line miles of all coastal States. 

20 (C) Twenty-five percent of the funds are 

21 allocated on the basis of the ratio of population 

22 density of the coastal shoreline counties of a 

23 coastal State to the population density of all 

24 coastal shoreline counties. 


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1 (2) MAXIMUM ALLOCATION TO STATES.—Not2 withstanding paragraph (1), not more than 10 per3 cent of the total funds distributed under this sub4 section may be allocated to any single State. Any 

5 amount exceeding this limit shall be redistributed 

6 among the remaining States according to the for7 mula established under paragraph (1). 

8 (3) MAXIMUM ALLOCATION TO CERTAIN GEO9 GRAPHIC AREAS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para11 graph (1), each geographic area described in 

12 subparagraph (B) may not receive more than 1 

13 percent of the total funds distributed under this 

14 subsection. Any amount exceeding this limit 

15 shall be redistributed among the remaining 

16 States according to the formula established 

17 under paragraph (1). 

18 (B) GEOGRAPHIC AREAS DESCRIBED.— 

19 The geographic areas described in this subpara20 graph are the following: 

21 (i) American Samoa. 

22 (ii) The Commonwealth of the North23 ern Mariana Islands. 

24 (iii) Guam. 

25 (iv) Puerto Rico. 


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1 (v) The Virgin Islands. 

2 (4) REQUIREMENT TO SUBMIT PLANS.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 

4 a grant under this subsection, a coastal State 

5 shall submit to the Secretary, and the Secretary 

6 shall review, a 5-year plan, which shall include 

7 the following: 

8 (i) A prioritized list of goals the coast9 al State intends to achieve during the time 

10 period covered by the 5-year plan. 

11 (ii) Identification and general descrip12 tions of existing State projects or activities 

13 that contribute to realization of such goals, 

14 including a description of the entities con15 ducting those projects or activities. 

16 (iii) General descriptions of projects 

17 or activities, consistent with the eligible 

18 uses described in section 5, applicable pro19 visions of law relating to the environment, 

20 and existing Federal ocean policy, that 

21 could contribute to realization of such 

22 goals. 

23 (iv) Criteria to determine eligibility 

24 for entities which may receive grants under 

25 this subsection. 


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1 (v) A description of the competitive 

2 process the coastal State will use in allo3 cating funds received from the Endow4 ment, except in the case of allocating funds 

5 under paragraph (7), which shall include— 

6 (I) a description of the relative 

7 roles in the State competitive process 

8 of the State coastal zone management 

9 program approved under the Coastal 

10 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

11 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) and any State 

12 Sea Grant Program; and 

13 (II) a demonstration that such 

14 competitive process is consistent with 

15 the application and review procedures 

16 established by the Foundation under 

17 subsection (a)(1). 

18 (B) UPDATES.—As a condition of receiving 

19 a grant under this subsection, a coastal State 

20 shall submit to the Secretary, not less fre21 quently than once every 5 years, an update to 

22 the plan submitted by the coastal State under 

23 subparagraph (A) for the 5-year period imme24 diately following the most recent submittal 

25 under this paragraph. 


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1 (5) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.—In 

2 determining whether to approve a plan or an update 

3 to a plan described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

4 paragraph (4), the Secretary shall provide the oppor5 tunity for, and take into consideration, public input 

6 and comment on the plan. 

7 (6) APPROVAL PROCEDURE.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

9 after the opportunity for public comment on a 

10 plan or an update to a plan of a coastal State 

11 under paragraph (5), the Secretary shall notify 

12 such coastal State that the Secretary— 

13 (i) approves the plan as submitted; or 

14 (ii) disapproves the plan as submitted. 

15 (B) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary dis16 approves a proposed plan or an update of a 

17 plan submitted under subparagraph (A) or (B) 

18 of paragraph (4), the Secretary shall provide 

19 notice of such disapproval to the submitting 

20 coastal State in writing, and include in such no21 tice the rationale for the Secretary’s decision. 

22 (C) RESUBMITTAL.—If the Secretary dis23 approves a plan of a coastal State under sub24 paragraph (A), the coastal State shall resubmit 

25 the plan to the Secretary not later than 30 days 


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1 after receiving the notice of disapproval under 

2 subparagraph (B). 

3 (D) REVIEW OF RESUBMITTAL.—Not later 

4 than 60 days after receiving a plan resubmitted 

5 under subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall re6 view the plan. 

7 (7) INDIAN TRIBES.—As a condition on receipt 

8 of a grant under this subsection, a State that re9 ceives a grant under this subsection shall ensure 

10 that Indian tribes in the State are eligible to partici11 pate in the competitive process described in the 

12 State’s plan under paragraph (4)(A)(v). 

13 (c) NATIONAL GRANTS FOR OCEANS, COASTS, AND

14 GREAT LAKES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation may use 

16 amounts allocated under section 4(e)(2)(B) to award 

17 grants according to the procedures established in 

18 subsection (a) to support activities consistent with 

19 section 5. 

20 (2) ADVISORY PANEL.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall 

22 establish an advisory panel to conduct reviews 

23 of applications for grants under paragraph (1) 

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1 ommendations of the Advisory Panel with re2 spect to such applications. 

3 (B) MEMBERSHIP.—The advisory panel es4 tablished under subparagraph (A) shall include 

5 persons representing a balanced and diverse 

6 range, as determined by the Foundation, of— 

7 (i) ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

8 dependent industries; 

9 (ii) geographic regions; 

10 (iii) nonprofit conservation organiza11 tions with a mission that includes the con12 servation and protection of living marine 

13 resources and their habitats; and 

14 (iv) academic institutions with strong 

15 scientific or technical credentials and expe16 rience in marine science or policy. 

17 SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL REPORT.—Begin19 ning with fiscal year 2014, not later than 60 days after 

20 the end of each fiscal year, the Foundation shall submit 

21 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor22 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re23 sources of the House of Representatives a report on the 

24 operation of the Endowment during the fiscal year. 


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1 (b) CONTENT.—Each annual report submitted under 

2 subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall include— 

3 (1) a statement of the amounts deposited in the 

4 Endowment and the balance remaining in the En5 dowment at the end of the fiscal year; and 

6 (2) a description of the expenditures made from 

7 the Endowment for the fiscal year, including the 

8 purpose of the expenditures. 

9 SEC. 8. FUNDING. 

10 (a) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LEASE REV11 ENUE.—Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

12 Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(q) DEPOSITS IN THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR

15 THE OCEANS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the first 

17 fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment 

18 of the National Endowment for the Oceans Act, the 

19 Secretary shall deposit 12.5 percent of the revenue 

20 paid to the United States under this section in the 

21 National Endowment for the Oceans established 

22 pursuant to section 4 of that Act. 

23 ‘‘(2) FINES COLLECTED FOR VIOLATIONS OF

24 FEDERAL LAW.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the 

2 first fiscal year beginning after the date of the 

3 enactment of the National Endowment for the 

4 Oceans Act, the President shall ensure that 10 

5 percent of the civil penalties paid to the United 

6 States for a violation of a law set out under 

7 subparagraph (B) or for a violation of any re8 quirement or prohibition of any rule, order, or 

9 permit promulgated, issued, or approved under 

10 such a law that occurs on the outer Continental 

11 Shelf are deposited in the National Endowment 

12 for the Oceans referred to in paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(B) LAWS.—The laws set out under this 

14 subparagraph are the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) The Federal Water Pollution 

16 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (com17 monly referred to as the ‘Clean Water 

18 Act’) other than penalties provided for 

19 under section 311 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

20 1321). 

21 ‘‘(ii) The Comprehensive Environ22 mental Response, Compensation, and Li23 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et 

24 seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Chapter 601 of title 49, United 

2 States Code. 

3 ‘‘(iv) The Act of March 3, 1899 (30 

4 Stat. 1151, chapter 425; 33 U.S.C. 401 et 

5 seq.).’’. 

Æ 


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