II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 170 

To authorize the acquisition of interests in undeveloped coastal areas in 

order better to ensure their protection from development and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 8, 2009 

Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, 

Ms. SNOWE, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced 

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

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize the acquisition of interests in undeveloped 

coastal areas in order better to ensure their protection 

from development 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 ‘‘Coastal and Estuarine 

5 Land Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Coastal and estuarine areas provide impor2 tant nursery habitat for two-thirds of the United 

3 States commercial fish and shellfish, provide nesting 

4 and foraging habitat for coastal birds, harbor signifi5 cant natural plant communities, and serve to facili6 tate coastal flood control and pollutant filtration. 

7 (2) The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 

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

11 comprehensive Federal and State partnership for 

12 protecting natural reserves and managing growth in 

13 these areas. 

14 (3) The National Estuarine Research Reserve 

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

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

19 coastal and estuarine resources. 

20 (4) Intense development pressures within the 

21 coastal watershed are driving the need to provide 

22 coastal managers with a wider range of tools to pro23 tect and conserve important coastal and estuarine 

24 areas. 


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1 (5) Protection of undeveloped coastal lands 

2 through the acquisition of interests in property from 

3 a willing seller are a cost-effective means of pro4 viding these areas with permanent protection from 

5 development. 

6 (6) Permanent protection of lands in the coast7 al zone is a necessary component of any program to 

8 maintain and enhance coastal and estuarine areas 

9 for the benefit of the United States, including pro10 tection of water quality, access to public beachfront, 

11 conserving wildlife habitat, and sustaining sport and 

12 commercial fisheries. 

13 (7) Federal, State, and nongovernmental orga14 nization pilot land acquisition projects have already 

15 substantially contributed to the long-term health and 

16 viability of coastal and estuarine systems. 

17 (8) Enhanced protection of estuarine and coast18 al areas can be attained through watershed-based 

19 acquisition strategies coordinated through Federal, 

20 State, regional, and local efforts. 

21 (9) Conserving coastal and estuarine lands can 

22 support the traditional economic and natural re23 source bases of communities in the coastal water24 shed, including well-managed forests that demVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:49 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S170.IS S170

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1 onstrate outstanding ecological, recreational, histor2 ical, and aesthetic attributes. 

3 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COASTAL AND ESTUARINE 

4 LAND PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Com7 merce shall establish a Coastal and Estuarine Land 

8 Protection Program (hereinafter referred to as the 

9 ‘‘program’’), in cooperation with appropriate State, 

10 regional, and other units of Government for the pur11 poses of protecting the environmental integrity of 

12 important coastal and estuarine areas, including 

13 wetlands and forests, that have significant conserva14 tion, recreation, ecological, historical, aesthetic, or 

15 watershed protection values, and that are threatened 

16 by conversion from their natural, undeveloped, or 

17 recreational state to other uses. 

18 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The program shall be 

19 administered by the National Ocean Service of the 

20 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

21 through the head of the Office of Ocean and Coastal 

22 Resource Management. 

23 (b) PROPERTY ACQUISITION GRANTS.—The Sec24 retary shall make grants under the program to coastal 

25 States with approved coastal zone management plans or 


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1 National Estuarine Research Reserve units for the pur2 pose of acquiring property or interests in property de3 scribed in subsection (a) that will further the goals of— 

4 (1) a Coastal Zone Management Plan or Pro5 gram approved under the Coastal Zone Management 

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

7 (2) a National Estuarine Research Reserve 

8 management plan; or 

9 (3) a regional or State watershed protection 

10 plan involving coastal States with approved coastal 

11 zone management plans. 

12 (c) GRANT PROCESS.—The Secretary shall allocate 

13 grants authorized under subsection (b) to coastal States 

14 or National Estuarine Research Reserves through a com15 petitive grant process in accordance with the following re16 quirements: 

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

18 coastal zone management program, any National Es19 tuarine Research Reserve in that State, and the lead 

20 agency designated by the Governor for coordinating 

21 the implementation of this Act (if different from the 

22 coastal zone management program). 

23 (2) Each participating State, after consultation 

24 with nongovernmental and local governmental enti25 ties, shall identify priority conservation needs within 


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1 the State, the values to be protected by inclusion of 

2 lands in the program, and the threats to those val3 ues that should be avoided. 

4 (3) Each participating State shall evaluate how 

5 the acquisition of property or easements might im6 pact working waterfront needs. 

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

8 protected by inclusion of the lands in the program, 

9 management activities that are planned and the 

10 manner in which they may affect the values identi11 fied, and any other information from the landowner 

12 relevant to administration and management of the 

13 land. 

14 (5) Awards shall be based on demonstrated 

15 need for protection and ability to successfully lever16 age funds among participating entities, including 

17 Federal programs, regional organizations, State and 

18 other governmental units, landowners, corporations, 

19 or private organizations. 

20 (6) The governor of the State, or the lead agen21 cy designated by the governor for coordinating the 

22 implementation of this Act, shall determine that the 

23 application is consistent with the State’s or terri24 tory’s approved coastal zone plan, program, and 

25 policies prior to submittal to the Secretary. 


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

2 subsection (a) that can be effectively managed and 

3 protected and that have significant ecological or wa4 tershed protection value. 

5 (8) In developing guidelines under this section, 

6 the Secretary shall consult with other Federal agen7 cies and non-governmental entities with expertise in 

8 land acquisition and conservation procedures. 

9 (9) Eligible States or National Estuarine Re10 search Reserves may allocate grants to local govern11 ments or agencies eligible for assistance under sec12 tion 306A(e) of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

13 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455a(e)) and may acquire 

14 lands in cooperation with nongovernmental entities 

15 and Federal agencies. 

16 (10) The Secretary shall develop measures that 

17 will ensure that property or interests in property ac18 quired in whole or in part through the use of funds 

19 under the program are acquired only from willing 

20 sellers. 

21 (11) The Secretary shall develop performance 

22 measures that the Secretary shall use to evaluate 

23 and report on the program’s effectiveness in accom24 plishing its purposes, and shall submit such evaluaVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:49 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S170.IS S170

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1 tions to Congress not less often than once every 3 

2 years. 

3 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

5 make a grant of Federal funds under the program 

6 unless such Federal funds are matched by non-Fed7 eral funds in accordance with this subsection. 

8 (2) MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.— 

9 (A) 75 PERCENT FEDERAL FUNDS.—Sub10 ject to subparagraph (B), not more than 75 

11 percent of the funding for any project funded 

12 with a grant made under the program shall be 

13 derived from Federal sources. 

14 (B) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The Sec15 retary may grant a waiver of the limitation in 

16 subparagraph (A) for underserved communities, 

17 communities that have an inability to draw on 

18 other sources of funding because of the small 

19 population or low income of the community, or 

20 for other reasons the Secretary deems appro21 priate. 

22 (3) OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—If a grant 

23 awarded under the program represents only a por24 tion of the total cost of a project, funding from other 

25 Federal sources may be applied to the cost of the 


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1 project. Each portion shall be subject to match re2 quirements under the applicable provision of law. 

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

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

5 share for a project may be determined by taking into 

6 account the following: 

7 (A) The value of land or a conservation 

8 easement may be used as non-Federal match if 

9 the lands are identified in project plans and ac10 quired within 3 years prior to the submission of 

11 the project application or after the submission 

12 of a project application until the project grant 

13 is closed (not to exceed 3 years). The appraised 

14 value of the land at the time of project closing 

15 will be considered the non-Federal cost share. 

16 The value of land that is held by a nongovern17 mental organization may be used for such pur18 pose if it is held in perpetuity by a qualified 

19 conservation organization, as determined by the 

20 Secretary. 

21 (B) Costs associated with land acquisition, 

22 land management planning, remediation, res23 toration, and enhancement may be used as non24 Federal match if the activities are identified in 

25 the plan and expenses are incurred within the 


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1 period of the grant award, or, for lands de2 scribed in (A), within the same time limits de3 scribed therein. These costs may include either 

4 cash or in-kind contributions. 

5 (e) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR NATIONAL ESTUA6 RINE RESEARCH RESERVE SITES.—No less than 15 per7 cent of funds made available under the program shall be 

8 available for acquisitions benefitting National Estuarine 

9 Research Reserves. 

10 (f) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

11 than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec12 retary under this section shall be used by the Secretary 

13 for planning or administration of the program. The Sec14 retary shall provide a report to Congress with an account 

15 of all expenditures under this section for fiscal year 2009 

16 and not less often than once every 3 years thereafter. 

17 (g) TITLE AND MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED PROP18 ERTY.—If any property is acquired in whole or in part 

19 with funds made available through a grant under the pro20 gram, the grant recipient shall provide such assurances 

21 as the Secretary may require that— 

22 (1) the title to the property will be held by the 

23 grant recipient or another appropriate public agency 

24 designated by the recipient in perpetuity; 


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1 (2) the property will be managed in a manner 

2 that is consistent with the purposes for which the 

3 land entered into the program and shall not convert 

4 such property to other uses; and 

5 (3) if the property or interest in land is sold, 

6 exchanged, or divested, funds equal to the correct 

7 value will be returned to the Secretary in accordance 

8 with applicable Federal law for re-distribution in the 

9 grant process. 

10 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 

12 State’’ has the meaning given that term by section 

13 304(4) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

14 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(4)). 

15 (2) CONSERVATION EASEMENT.—The term 

16 ‘‘conservation easement’’ includes an easement or re17 striction, recorded deed, or a reserve interest deed 

18 where the grantee acquires all rights, title, and in19 terest in a property, that do not conflict with the 

20 goals of this Act except those rights, title, and inter21 ests that may run with the land that are expressly 

22 reserved by a grantor and are agreed to at the time 

23 of purchase. 

24 (3) INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘inter25 est in property’’ includes a conservation easement. 


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1 (4) OTHER TERMS.—Any term used in this sec2 tion that is defined in section 304 of the Coastal 

3 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453) 

4 has the meaning given that term in that section. 

5 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

7 sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act for fiscal 

8 years 2009 through 2013. 

Æ 


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