I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2717 

To modify the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act 

of 2009, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 10, 2015 

Mr. FARR (for himself, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, and Mrs. CAPPS) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 

and Technology 

A BILL 

To modify the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and 

Monitoring Act of 2009, 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 ‘‘Federal Ocean Acidifi5 cation Research and Monitoring Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 Section 12402(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

8 Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3701(a)) 

9 is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘development 

2 and coordination’’ and inserting ‘‘coordination and 

3 implementation’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘ocean 

5 chemistry and’’ after ‘‘ocean acidification on’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘establish 

7 an interagency research and monitoring’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘maintain and advise an interagency research, 

9 monitoring, and public outreach’’; and 

10 (4) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘establish11 ment’’ and inserting ‘‘maintenance’’. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 Section 12403 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re14 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3702) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and changes in ocean’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘, estuaries, and the Great Lakes 

19 and changes in their’’; and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘from the atmosphere, in21 cluding carbon dioxide’’ and inserting ‘‘, includ22 ing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere’’; and 

23 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Joint’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY SUBCOMMITTEE. 

2 Section 12404 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re3 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3703) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘Joint Subcommittee 

8 on Ocean Science and Technology of the 

9 National Science and Technology Council’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘Subcommittee, with the as11 sistance of the interagency working group 

12 described in paragraph (2),’’; and 

13 (ii) by inserting ‘‘on ocean acidifica14 tion’’ after ‘‘working group’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘United 

16 States Geological Survey, the United States 

17 Fish and Wildlife Service, and such other Fed18 eral agencies as appropriate’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the 

20 Department of Agriculture, the Department of 

21 State, the Environmental Protection Agency, 

22 the United States Geological Survey, the United 

23 States Fish and Wildlife Service, the United 

24 States Navy, the Department of Energy, and 

25 such other Federal agencies as the Sub26 committee considers appropriate’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

4 subparagraph (A); 

5 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

6 subparagraph (B); and 

7 (iii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(C) adaptation and mitigation strategies 

10 to address socioeconomic impacts resulting from 

11 ocean acidification;’’; 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para13 graph (4); 

14 (C) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

15 paragraph (6); 

16 (D) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

17 following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(5) ensure that each of the agencies rep19 resented on the interagency working group delivers 

20 data and information to support the Information 

21 Exchange described in paragraph (6) and the data 

22 archive established under section 12406(c)(1); and’’; 

23 and 

24 (E) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated 

25 by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph— 


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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘through the National 

2 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

3 in collaboration with the other agency 

4 members of the interagency working group, 

5 and in consultation with the Advisory 

6 Board established under subsection (d),’’ 

7 before ‘‘establish or designate’’; 

8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘create a platform for 

9 community coordination and to’’ after 

10 ‘‘Exchange to’’; and 

11 (iii) by inserting ‘‘State, local, and 

12 tribal governments,’’ after ‘‘useful to pol13 icymakers,’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘Not later than 2 years 

17 after the delivery of the initial report 

18 under paragraph (1) and every 2 years 

19 thereafter, the Subcommittee’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘Not later than 3 years after publica21 tion of the most recent strategic research 

22 plan under section 12405, the Sub23 committee, in consultation with the Advi24 sory Board established under subsection 

25 (d),’’; 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and to the Office 

2 of Management and Budget,’’ after 

3 ‘‘House of Representatives’’; and 

4 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

5 ‘‘the interagency research plan developed 

6 by the Subcommittee under section 12405’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘such strategic research 

8 plan’’; and 

9 (B) by striking paragraph (3); and 

10 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(d) ADVISORY BOARD.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Chairman of the 

14 Subcommittee shall establish an Ocean Acidification 

15 Advisory Board. 

16 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Board shall 

17 have 15 members, with a reasonable cross-sectional 

18 representation of the United States coastal, island, 

19 and Great Lakes regions, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) 2 representatives of the shellfish and 

21 crab industry; 

22 ‘‘(B) 1 representative of the finfish indus23 try; 

24 ‘‘(C) 1 representative of seafood proc25 essors; 


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1 ‘‘(D) 3 representatives from academia, in2 cluding both natural and social sciences; 

3 ‘‘(E) 1 representative of relevant non4 governmental organizations; 

5 ‘‘(F) 6 representatives from relevant State, 

6 local, and tribal governments and Federal agen7 cies; and 

8 ‘‘(G) 1 additional qualified member. 

9 ‘‘(3) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—The Chair10 man of the Subcommittee shall appoint members to 

11 5-year terms, giving consideration to ensuring an ap12 propriate balance of scientific, industry, and geo13 graphical interests, and ensuring representation 

14 from all relevant sectors. A member may be ap15 pointed to more than one term. 

16 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—The Chairman of the Sub17 committee shall seek and give due consideration to 

18 applications from members of the public for seats on 

19 the Advisory Board. 

20 ‘‘(5) NOMINATION.—The Chairman of the Sub21 committee shall seek and give due consideration to 

22 nominations and recommendations from the public 

23 and the members of the interagency working group 

24 for the appointments to the Advisory Board. 


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1 ‘‘(6) MEMBER EXPERTISE.—Selection of indi2 viduals for the Advisory Board shall be based on 

3 their demonstrated expertise on ocean acidification 

4 and its scientific, economic, industry, and commu5 nity impacts, and their record of distinguished serv6 ice in relation to this issue. Their perspectives shall 

7 broadly represent the interest group for which the 

8 seat is designated. 

9 ‘‘(7) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman of the Sub10 committee shall appoint one member of the Advisory 

11 Board to serve as Chairman. 

12 ‘‘(8) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Board shall 

13 meet at such times and places as may be designated 

14 by the Chairman of the Advisory Board, in consulta15 tion with the Chairman of the Subcommittee. 

16 ‘‘(9) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) not later than 6 months after trans18 mittal of a report by the Subcommittee under 

19 subsection (c)(2), transmit to the Sub20 committee, the Committee on Commerce, 

21 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the 

22 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

23 of the House of Representatives, and the Com24 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of 

25 Representatives an analysis of such report; 


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1 ‘‘(B) not later than 6 months after publi2 cation of the most recent strategic research 

3 plan under section 12405, transmit to the Sub4 committee, the Committee on Commerce, 

5 Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the 

6 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

7 of the House of Representatives, and the Com8 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of 

9 Representatives an analysis of such strategic re10 search plan and the implementation thereof; 

11 ‘‘(C) provide ongoing advice to the Sub12 committee and the interagency working group 

13 on matters related to Federal activities on 

14 ocean acidification taken pursuant to this sub15 title; 

16 ‘‘(D) advise the Subcommittee and the 

17 interagency working group on the content and 

18 design of the Information Exchange described 

19 in subsection (b)(6); 

20 ‘‘(E) advise the Subcommittee and the 

21 interagency working group on the standards de22 veloped for data archiving as required under 

23 section 12406(c); 


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1 ‘‘(F) establish a publicly accessible web 

2 page, hosted by the National Oceanic and At3 mospheric Administration, that includes— 

4 ‘‘(i) the charter required under section 

5 9(c) of the Federal Advisory Committee 

6 Act (5 U.S.C. App.); 

7 ‘‘(ii) schedules and minutes for meet8 ings of the Advisory Board; 

9 ‘‘(iii) any documents described in sub10 sections (b) and (c) of section 9 of the 

11 Federal Advisory Committee Act that are 

12 created by the Advisory Board; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) any reports prepared by the Ad14 visory Board; 

15 ‘‘(G) publish in the Federal Register the 

16 charter described in subparagraph (F)(i); and 

17 ‘‘(H) provide to the Library of Congress 

18 any charter or document described in subpara19 graph (F)(i) or (iii). 

20 ‘‘(10) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

21 The Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not apply 

22 to the Advisory Board, except for section 9(b) and 

23 (c) and section 10(a) through (d).’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN. 

2 Section 12405 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re3 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) by inserting ‘‘and not later than 5 

7 years after publication of the most recent plan 

8 under this section,’’ after ‘‘enactment of this 

9 Act,’’; 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘address socioeconomic 

11 impacts and’’ after ‘‘mitigation strategies to’’; 

12 and 

13 (C) by striking ‘‘National Academy of 

14 Sciences in the review of the plan required 

15 under subsection (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘Advisory 

16 Board’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and so19 cial’’ after ‘‘among the ocean’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘im21 prove the ability to’’; 

22 (C) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting ‘‘ad23 dress socioeconomic impacts and’’ after ‘‘miti24 gation strategies to’’; 

25 (D) in paragraph (3)(F), by inserting ‘‘and 

26 management’’ after ‘‘database development’’; 


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1 (E) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para2 graph (3)(H); 

3 (F) by redesignating subparagraph (I) of 

4 paragraph (3) as subparagraph (J); 

5 (G) by inserting after paragraph (3)(H) 

6 the following new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(I) education and outreach activities; 

8 and’’; 

9 (H) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘set 

10 forth’’ and inserting ‘‘ensure an appropriate 

11 balance of contribution in setting forth’’; and 

12 (I) by amending paragraph (7) to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(7) estimate budget requirements by fiscal 

15 year for full implementation of each element of the 

16 plan over the course of the 10 years of the plan;’’; 

17 (3) in subsection (c)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘sur19 face’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘input’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘inputs’’; and 

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, marine food webs,’’ 

24 after ‘‘marine ecosystems’’; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘on 

2 moorings and autonomous floats’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘for monitoring and research’’; and 

4 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(6) Research to understand related and cumu7 lative stressors and other biogeochemical processes 

8 occurring in conjunction with ocean acidification, in9 cluding hypoxia and harmful algal blooms.’’; and 

10 (4) by striking subsections (d) and (e) and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION AND PUBLIC COMMENT.—Not 

13 later than 90 days before the strategic research plan, or 

14 any revision thereof, is transmitted to Congress, the Sub15 committee shall publish the plan in the Federal Register 

16 and provide an opportunity for submission of public com17 ments for a period of not less than 60 days.’’. 

18 SEC. 6. NOAA OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ACTIVITIES. 

19 Section 12406 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re20 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3705) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘coordination,’’ after ‘‘re24 search, monitoring,’’; 

25 (B) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

2 (I) by inserting ‘‘including the 

3 Integrated Ocean Observing System 

4 and the ocean observing assets of 

5 other agencies,’’ after ‘‘ocean observ6 ing assets,’’; and 

7 (II) by inserting ‘‘and agency 

8 and department missions, prioritizing 

9 co-location of monitoring instruments, 

10 assets, and projects for efficient use of 

11 resources and to optimize under12 standing of socioeconomic impacts and 

13 ecosystem health’’ after ‘‘research 

14 program’’; 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

16 ‘‘and protecting impacted industries and 

17 communities’’ after ‘‘marine ecosystems’’; 

18 and 

19 (iii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

20 ‘‘monitoring and impacts research’’ and in21 serting ‘‘research, monitoring, and adapta22 tion strategies’’; and 

23 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘projects 

24 that explore’’ and inserting ‘‘and education 

25 projects that explore and communicate’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(c) DATA ARCHIVE, ACCESS, AND AVAILABILITY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in co5 ordination with members of the interagency working 

6 group, shall establish data processing, storage, and 

7 archive facilities and procedures to provide for the 

8 long-term stewardship of environmental data, prod9 ucts, and information necessary for carrying out this 

10 subtitle. 

11 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—Activities under this sub12 section shall include— 

13 ‘‘(A) archiving environmental data col14 lected by Federal, State, and local agencies, 

15 academic scientists, citizen scientists, industry 

16 and tribal organizations, and federally funded 

17 research; 

18 ‘‘(B) promoting widespread availability and 

19 dissemination of environmental data and infor20 mation through full and open access exchange 

21 to the greatest extent possible, including in elec22 tronic format on the Internet through resources 

23 such as the Information Exchange described in 

24 section 12404(b)(6); 


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1 ‘‘(C) developing standards, protocols, and 

2 procedures for interoperability and intercalibra3 tion and the sharing of Federal data with State 

4 and local government programs, the private sec5 tor, and academia; and 

6 ‘‘(D) developing metadata standards in ac7 cordance with available guidelines. 

8 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—Recipients of grants 

9 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin10 istration under this subtitle shall collect data in ac11 cordance with the interoperability, intercalibration, 

12 and metadata standards described in paragraph (2) 

13 and submit those data to the Secretary on a timely 

14 basis.’’. 

15 SEC. 7. NSF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ACTIVITIES. 

16 Section 12407 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re17 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3706) is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘continue to 

20 carry out research activities on ocean acidification 

21 which shall’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub23 section: 

24 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT.—Recipients of grants from the 

25 National Science Foundation under this subtitle shall colVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jun 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2717.IH H2717

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1 lect data in accordance with the interoperability, inter2 calibration, and metadata standards described in section 

3 12406(c)(2) and submit those data to the Secretary on 

4 a timely basis.’’. 

5 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 Section 12409 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Re7 search and Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3708) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘this subtitle’’ 

10 and all that follows through ‘‘2012’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘$20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2016 

12 through 2019’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘this subtitle’’ 

14 and all that follows through ‘‘2012’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2016 

16 through 2019’’. 

Æ 


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