II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1224 

To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 10, 2009 

Mr. WARNER (for himself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. WEBB) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay 

5 Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 

6 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE 

2 OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 

3 ADMINISTRATION. 

4 Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

5 Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 

6 1511d) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘(1) The Secretary’’ 

10 and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘(in this section’’ and 

13 all that follows and inserting a period; 

14 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be 

18 headed by a Director who shall be selected by 

19 the Secretary of Commerce from among individ20 uals who have knowledge and experience in re21 search or resource management efforts in the 

22 Chesapeake Bay. 

23 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The duties of the Director 

24 are as follows: 

25 ‘‘(i) Administration and operation of 

26 the Office. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Carrying out the provisions of 

2 this section.’’; and 

3 (C) by striking paragraph (3); 

4 (2) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) by striking the matter preceding para6 graph (1) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 

8 focus the relevant science, research, and resource manage9 ment capabilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

10 Administration as they apply to the Chesapeake Bay and 

11 to utilize the Office to—’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Sec13 retary of Commerce’’ and inserting ‘‘Adminis14 trator’’; 

15 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

16 (i) by striking the matter preceding 

17 subparagraph (A) and inserting the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(3) coordinate with the programs and activi20 ties of the various organizations within the National 

21 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in further22 ance of such administration’s coastal resource stew23 ardship mission, including—’’; 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (I) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘; 

2 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; and 

3 (II) by inserting after clause (vii) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(viii) coastal hazards and climate 

6 change; and’’; and 

7 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

8 (I) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; 

9 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

10 (II) in clause (iv), by adding 

11 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

12 (III) by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(v) integrated ecosystem assess15 ments;’’; 

16 (D) in paragraph (4), by inserting before 

17 the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘as ap18 propriate to further the purposes of this sec19 tion’’; 

20 (E) by striking paragraphs (5) and (7); 

21 (F) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

22 paragraph (5); 

23 (G) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 

24 subparagraph (F), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

25 and 


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1 (H) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(6) perform such functions as may be nec3 essary to support the programs referred to in para4 graph (3)’’; and 

5 (3) by striking subsection (c) and all that fol6 lows through the end of the section and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall imple10 ment the program activities required by this sub11 section to support the activity of the Chesapeake Ex12 ecutive Council and to further the purposes of this 

13 section. 

14 ‘‘(2) ENSURING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL

15 MERIT.—The Director shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) establish and utilize an effective and 

17 transparent mechanism to ensure that projects 

18 funded under this section have undergone ap19 propriate peer review, using, to the extent prac20 ticable, the capabilities of the Maryland and 

21 Virginia Sea Grant Program; 

22 ‘‘(B) provide other appropriate means to 

23 determine that such projects have acceptable 

24 scientific and technical merit for the purpose of 

25 achieving maximum utilization of available 


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1 funds and resources to benefit the Chesapeake 

2 Bay area; and 

3 ‘‘(C) ensure that all data and other prod4 ucts generated by any project funded under this 

5 section be provided to the Director. 

6 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION WITH CHESAPEAKE EXEC7 UTIVE COUNCIL.—The Director shall, in the imple8 mentation of the program activities authorized under 

9 this section, consult with the Chesapeake Executive 

10 Council to ensure that the activities of the Office are 

11 consistent with the purposes and priorities of the 

12 Chesapeake Bay Agreement and plans developed 

13 pursuant to the Agreement. 

14 ‘‘(4) INTEGRATED COASTAL OBSERVATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall col16 laborate with scientific and academic institu17 tions, State and Federal agencies, nongovern18 mental organizations, and other constituents in 

19 the Chesapeake Bay watershed, to support the 

20 development of an integrated observations sys21 tem for the Chesapeake Bay. 

22 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—To sup23 port the system referred to in subparagraph (A) 

24 and provide a complete set of environmental inVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:50 Jun 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1224.IS S1224

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1 formation for the Chesapeake Bay, the Director 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) coordinate existing monitoring 

4 and observing activities in the Chesapeake 

5 Bay; 

6 ‘‘(ii) identify new data collection needs 

7 and deploy new technologies, as appro8 priate; 

9 ‘‘(iii) facilitate the collection and anal10 ysis of the scientific information necessary 

11 for the management of living marine re12 sources and the marine habitat associated 

13 with such resources; 

14 ‘‘(iv) coordinate with regional partners 

15 to manage and interpret the information 

16 described in clause (iii); and 

17 ‘‘(v) support regional partners to en18 sure the information described in clause 

19 (iii) is organized into products that are 

20 useful to policy makers, resource man21 agers, scientists, and the public. 

22 ‘‘(C) CHESAPEAKE BAY INTERPRETIVE

23 BUOY SYSTEM.—To further the development 

24 and implementation of the Chesapeake Bay In25 terpretive Buoy System, the Director shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) support the establishment and 

2 implementation of the Captain John Smith 

3 Chesapeake National Historic Trail; 

4 ‘‘(ii) delineate key waypoints along the 

5 trail and provide appropriate real-time 

6 data and information for trail users; 

7 ‘‘(iii) interpret data and information 

8 for use by educators and students to in9 spire stewardship of Chesapeake Bay; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) incorporate the Chesapeake Bay 

11 Interpretive Buoy System into the Inte12 grated Ocean Observing System regional 

13 network of observatories. 

14 ‘‘(5) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED EDU15 CATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es17 tablish a Chesapeake Bay watershed education 

18 and training program. The program shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) continue and expand the Chesa20 peake Bay watershed education programs 

21 offered by the Office on the day before the 

22 date of the enactment of the Chesapeake 

23 Bay Science, Education, and Ecosystem 

24 Enhancement Act of 2009; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) improve the understanding of el2 ementary and secondary school students 

3 and teachers of the living resources of the 

4 ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay; 

5 ‘‘(iii) provide community education to 

6 improve watershed protection; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) meet the educational goals of the 

8 most recent Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 

9 ‘‘(B) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Director 

10 may award grants to support education and 

11 training projects that enhance understanding 

12 and assessment of a specific environmental 

13 problem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed or a 

14 goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program, or pro15 tect or restore living resources of the Chesa16 peake Bay watershed, including projects that— 

17 ‘‘(i) provide classroom education, in18 cluding the development and use of dis19 tance learning and other innovative tech20 nologies, related to the Chesapeake Bay 

21 watershed; 

22 ‘‘(ii) provide watershed educational 

23 experiences in the Chesapeake Bay water24 shed; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) provide professional development 

2 for teachers related to the Chesapeake Bay 

3 watershed and the dissemination of perti4 nent education materials oriented to vary5 ing grade levels; 

6 ‘‘(iv) demonstrate or disseminate envi7 ronmental educational tools and materials 

8 related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed; 

9 ‘‘(v) demonstrate field methods, prac10 tices, and techniques including assessment 

11 of environmental and ecological conditions 

12 and analysis of environmental problems; 

13 ‘‘(vi) build the capacity of organiza14 tions to deliver high quality environmental 

15 education programs; and 

16 ‘‘(vii) educate local land use officials 

17 and decision makers on the relationship of 

18 land use to natural resource and watershed 

19 protection. 

20 ‘‘(C) COLLABORATION.—The Director shall 

21 provide technical assistance to support the edu22 cation and training program established under 

23 subparagraph (A) in collaboration with the 

24 heads of other relevant Federal agencies. 


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1 ‘‘(6) COASTAL AND LIVING RESOURCES MAN2 AGEMENT AND HABITAT PROGRAM.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es4 tablish a Chesapeake Bay coastal living re5 sources management and habitat program to 

6 support coordinated management, protection, 

7 characterization, and restoration of priority 

8 Chesapeake Bay habitats and living resources, 

9 including oysters, blue crabs, and submerged 

10 aquatic vegetation. 

11 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Under the program re12 quired by subparagraph (A), the Director may, 

13 subject to the availability of appropriations, 

14 carry out or enter into grants, contracts, and 

15 cooperative agreements and provide technical 

16 assistance to support— 

17 ‘‘(i) native oyster restoration; 

18 ‘‘(ii) fish and shellfish aquaculture; 

19 ‘‘(iii) establishment of submerged 

20 aquatic vegetation propagation programs; 

21 ‘‘(iv) the development of programs 

22 that protect and restore critical coastal 

23 habitats; 

24 ‘‘(v) habitat mapping, characteriza25 tion, and assessment techniques necessary 


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1 to identify, assess, and monitor restoration 

2 actions; 

3 ‘‘(vi) application and transfer of ap4 plied scientific research and ecosystem 

5 management tools to fisheries and habitat 

6 managers; 

7 ‘‘(vii) collection, synthesis, and shar8 ing of information to inform and influence 

9 coastal and living resource management 

10 issues; and 

11 ‘‘(viii) such other activities as the Di12 rector considers appropriate to carry out 

13 the program established under subpara14 graph (A). 

15 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall, not less 

17 frequently than once every 2 years, submit to Con18 gress a report on— 

19 ‘‘(A) the activities of the Office; and 

20 ‘‘(B) progress made in protecting and re21 storing the living resources and habitat of the 

22 Chesapeake Bay. 

23 ‘‘(2) ACTION PLAN.—Each report submitted 

24 under paragraph (1) shall include an action plan for 


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1 the 2-year period following submission of the report, 

2 consisting of— 

3 ‘‘(A) a list of recommended research, moni4 toring, and data collection activities necessary 

5 to continue implementation of the strategy 

6 under subsection (b)(2); and 

7 ‘‘(B) recommendations to integrate the ac8 tivities of the National Oceanic and Atmos9 pheric Administration with the activities of the 

10 partners in the Chesapeake Bay Program in 

11 order to meet the commitments of the Chesa12 peake Bay Agreement. 

13 ‘‘(e) AGREEMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may, subject 

15 to the availability of appropriations, enter into and 

16 perform such contracts, leases, grants, or coopera17 tive agreements as may be necessary to carry out 

18 the provisions of this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) USE OF OTHER RESOURCES.—For pur20 poses of understanding, protecting, and restoring the 

21 Chesapeake Bay, the Director may use, with or 

22 without reimbursement, the land, services, equip23 ment, personnel, and facilities of any Department, 

24 agency, or instrumentality of the United States, or 

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1 ment, or of any political subdivision thereof if the 

2 Director receives consent from the Department, 

3 agency, instrumentality, State, government, or polit4 ical subdivision concerned for such use. 

5 ‘‘(3) DONATIONS.—The Director may accept 

6 donations of funds, other property, and services for 

7 use in understanding, protecting, and restoring the 

8 Chesapeake Bay. Donations accepted under this sec9 tion shall be considered as a gift or bequest to or for 

10 the use of the United States. 

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

12 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis13 trator’ means the Administrator of the National 

14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

15 ‘‘(2) CHESAPEAKE BAY AGREEMENT.—The 

16 term ‘Chesapeake Bay Agreement’ means the for17 mal, voluntary agreements executed to achieve the 

18 goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay 

19 ecosystem and the living resources of the Chesa20 peake Bay ecosystem and are signed by the Chesa21 peake Executive Council. 

22 ‘‘(3) CHESAPEAKE BAY PROGRAM.—The term 

23 ‘Chesapeake Bay Program’ means the regional 

24 Chesapeake Bay restoration partnership that in25 cludes Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the DisVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:50 Jun 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1224.IS S1224

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1 trict of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, 

2 the Environmental Protection Agency, other appro3 priate Federal agencies, and participating citizen 

4 and local elected official advisory groups. 

5 ‘‘(4) CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.—The 

6 term ‘Chesapeake Executive Council’ means the rep7 resentatives from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the 

8 State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Pennsyl9 vania, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 

10 District of Columbia, and the Chesapeake Bay Com11 mission, who are signatories to the Chesapeake Bay 

12 Agreement, and any future signatories to that agree13 ment. 

14 ‘‘(5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

15 the Director of the Chesapeake Bay Office. 

16 ‘‘(6) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the 

17 Chesapeake Bay Office established under subsection 

18 (a). 

19 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

21 out this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

23 ‘‘(2) $18,700,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

24 ‘‘(3) $20,570,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) $22,627,000 for fiscal year 2014.’’. 

Æ 


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