II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 725

To preserve and protect coral reefs, and other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 25, 1999

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, and Mr. MCCAIN) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and

Transportation

A BILL

To preserve and protect coral reefs, and 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 ‘‘Coral Reef Conserva5 tion Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this title are:

8 (1) To preserve, sustain, and restore the health

9 of coral reef ecosystems;

10 (2) To assist in the conservation and protection

11 of coral reefs by supporting conservation programs;
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1 (3) To provide financial resources for those pro2 grams; and

3 (4) To establish a formal mechanism for col4 lecting and allocating monetary donations from the

5 private sector to be used for coral reef conservation

6 projects.

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

8 In this title:

9 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis10 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National

11 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

12 (2) CORAL.—The term ‘‘coral’’ means species

13 of the phylum Cnidaria, including—

14 (A) all species of the orders Antipatharia

15 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals),

16 Gorgonacea (horny corals), Stolonifera

17 (organpipe corals and others), Alcyanacea (soft

18 corals), and Coenothecalia (blue coral), of the

19 class Anthozoa; and

20 (B) all species of the order Hydrocorallina

21 (fire corals and hydrocorals), of the class

22 Hydrozoa.

23 (3) CORAL REEF.—The term ‘‘coral reef’’

24 means those species (including reef plants), habitats,

25 and other natural resources associated with any
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1 reefs or shoals composed primarily of corals within

2 all maritime areas and zones subject to the jurisdic3 tion or control of the United States (e.g., Federal,

4 State, territorial, or commonwealth waters), includ5 ing in the south Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico,

6 and Pacific Ocean.

7 (4) CORALS AND CORAL PRODUCTS.—The term

8 ‘‘corals and coral products’’ means any living or

9 dead specimens, parts, or derivatives, or any product

10 containing specimens, parts, or derivatives, of any

11 species referred to in paragraph (2).

12 (5) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’

13 means the use of methods and procedures necessary

14 to preserve or sustain corals and species associated

15 with coral reefs as diverse, viable, and self-perpet16 uating coral reefs, including all activities associated

17 with resource management, such as assessment, con18 servation, protection, restoration, sustainable use,

19 and management of habitat; habitat monitoring; as20 sistance in the development of management strate21 gies for marine protected areas and marine re22 sources consistent with the National Marine Sanc23 tuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) and the Mag24 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage25 ment Act (16 U.S.C.1801 et seq.); law enforcement;
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1 conflict resolution initiatives; and community out2 reach and education.

3 (6) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘organization’’

4 means any qualified non-profit organization that

5 promotes coral reef conservation.

6 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

7 the Secretary of Commerce.

8 SEC. 4. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

9 (a) GRANTS.—The Secretary, through the Adminis10 trator and subject to the availability of funds, shall provide

11 grants of financial assistance for projects for the conserva12 tion of coral reefs, hereafter called coral conservation

13 projects, for proposals approved by the Administrator in

14 accordance with this section.

15 (b) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.—

16 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), Fed17 eral funds for any coral conservation project under

18 this section may not exceed 50 percent of the total

19 cost of such project. For purposes of this paragraph,

20 the non-Federal share of project costs may be pro21 vided by in-kind contributions and other noncash

22 support.

23 (2) The Administrator may waive all or part of

24 the matching requirement under paragraph (1) if—
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1 (A) the project costs are $25,000 or less;

2 or

3 (B) the Administrator determines that no

4 reasonable means are available through which

5 applicant can meet the matching requirement

6 and the probable benefit of such project out7 weighs the public interest in such matching re8 quirement.

9 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—Any relevant natural resource

10 management authority of a State or territory of the

11 United States or other government authority with jurisdic12 tion over coral reefs or whose activities directly or indi13 rectly affect coral reefs, or educational or non-govern14 mental institutions with demonstrated expertise in the

15 conservation of coral reefs, may submit to the Adminis16 trator a coral conservation proposal submitted under sub17 section (e) of this section.

18 (d) GEOGRAPHIC AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY.—The

19 Administrator shall ensure that funding for grants award20 ed under subsection (b) of this section during a fiscal year

21 are distributed in the following manner—

22 (1) no less than 40 percent of funds available

23 shall be awarded for coral conservation projects in

24 the Pacific Ocean;
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1 (2) no less than 40 percent of the funds avail2 able shall be awarded for coral conservation projects

3 in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Car4 ibbean Sea; and

5 (3) remaining funds shall be awarded for

6 projects that address emerging priorities or threats,

7 including international priorities or threats, identi8 fied by the Administrator in consultation with the

9 Coral Reef Task Force under subsection (i).

10 (e) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—Each proposal for a

11 grant under this section shall include the following:

12 (1) The name of the individual or entity respon13 sible for conducting the project.

14 (2) A succinct statement of the purposes of the

15 project.

16 (3) A description of the qualifications of the in17 dividuals who will conduct the project.

18 (4) An estimate of the funds and time required

19 to complete the project.

20 (5) Evidence of support of the project by appro21 priate representatives of States or territories of the

22 United States or other government jurisdictions in

23 which the project will be conducted.
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1 (6) Information regarding the source and

2 amount of matching funding available to the appli3 cant, as appropriate.

4 (7) A description of how the project meets one

5 or more of the criteria in subsection (g) of this sec6 tion.

7 (8) Any other information the Administrator

8 considers to be necessary for evaluating the eligi9 bility of the project for funding under this title.

10 (f) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall re12 view each final coral conservation project proposal to

13 determine if it meets the criteria set forth in sub14 section (g).

15 (2) REVIEW; APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—Not

16 later than 3 months after receiving a final project

17 proposal under this section, the Administrator

18 shall—

19 (A) request written comments on the pro20 posal from each State or territorial agency of

21 the United States or other government jurisdic22 tion, including the relevant regional fishery

23 management councils established under the

24 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

25 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), or
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1 any National Marine Sanctuary, with jurisdic2 tion or management authority over coral reefs

3 or coral reef ecosystems in the area where the

4 project is to be conducted, including the extent

5 to which the project is consistent with locally6 established priorities;

7 (B) for projects costing more than

8 $25,000, provide for the regional, merit-based

9 peer review of the proposal and require stand10 ardized documentation of that peer review;

11 (C) after considering any written com12 ments and recommendations based on the re13 views under subparagraphs (A) and (B), ap14 prove or disapprove the proposal; and

15 (D) provide written notification of that ap16 proval or disapproval to the person who sub17 mitted the proposal, and each of those States,

18 territories, and other government jurisdictions.

19 (g) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Administrator

20 may approve a final project proposal under this section

21 based on the extent that the project will enhance the con22 servation of coral reefs by—

23 (1) implementing coral conservation programs

24 which promote sustainable development and ensure

25 effective, long-term conservation of coral reefs.;
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1 (2) addressing the conflicts arising from the use

2 of environments near coral reefs or from the use of

3 corals, species associated with coral reefs, and coral

4 products;

5 (3) enhancing compliance with laws that pro6 hibit or regulate the taking of corals, species associ7 ated with coral reefs, and coral products or regulate

8 the use and management of coral reef ecosystems;

9 (4) developing sound scientific information on

10 the condition of coral reef ecosystems or the threats

11 to such ecosystems;

12 (5) promoting cooperative projects on coral reef

13 conservation that involve affected local communities,

14 non-governmental organizations, or others in the pri15 vate sector; or

16 (6) increasing public knowledge and awareness

17 of coral reef ecosystems and issues regarding their

18 long term conservation.

19 (h) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each grantee under this

20 section shall provide periodic reports, as specified by the

21 Administrator. Each report shall include all information

22 required by the Secretary for evaluating the progress and

23 success of the project.

24 (i) CORAL REEF TASK FORCE.—The Administrator

25 may consult with the Coral Reef Task Force established
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1 under Executive Order 13089 (June 11, 1998), to obtain

2 guidance in establishing coral conservation project prior3 ities under this section.

4 (j) IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES.—Within 90 days

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator

6 shall promulgate necessary guidelines for implementing

7 this section. In developing those guidelines, the Adminis8 trator shall consult with regional and local entities in9 volved in setting priorities for conservation of coral reefs.

10 SEC. 5. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION FUND.

11 (a) FUND.—The Administrator may enter into an

12 agreement with an organization authorizing such organi13 zation to receive, hold and administer funds received pur14 suant to this section. The organization shall invest, rein15 vest and otherwise administer the funds and maintain

16 such funds and any interest or revenues earned in a sepa17 rate interest bearing account, hereafter referred to as the

18 Fund, established by such organization solely to support

19 partnerships between the public and private sectors that

20 further the purposes of this title.

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION TO SOLICIT DONATIONS.—Con22 sistent with 16 U.S.C. 3703, and pursuant to the agree23 ment entered into under subsection (a) of this section, an

24 organization may accept, receive, solicit, hold administer

25 and use any gift or donation to further the purposes of
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1 this title. Such funds shall be deposited and maintained

2 in the Fund established by an organization under sub3 section (a) of this section.

4 (c) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—The Administrator

5 shall conduct a continuing review of the grant program

6 administered by an organization under this section. Each

7 review shall include a written assessment concerning the

8 extent to which that organization has implemented the

9 goals and requirements of this section.

10 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—Under the agreement entered

11 into pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Admin12 istrator may transfer funds appropriated to carry out this

13 Act to an organization. Amounts received by an organiza14 tion under this subsection may be used for matching, in

15 whole or in part, contributions (whether in currency, serv16 ices, or property) made to the organization by private per17 sons and State and local government agencies.

18 SEC. 6. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.

19 The Administrator may make grants to any State,

20 local or territorial government agency with jurisdiction

21 over coral reefs for emergencies to address unforeseen or

22 disaster related circumstance pertaining to coral reefs or

23 coral reef ecosystems.

24 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

25 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
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1 (1) There are authorized to be appropriated to

2 the Secretary $3,800,000 for each of fiscal years

3 2000, 2001, and 2002 for grants under section 4,

4 which may remain available until expended.

5 (2) There are authorized to be appropriated to

6 the Secretary $200,000 for each of fiscal years

7 2000, 2001, and 2002 for emergency assistance

8 under section 6.

9 (b) USE OF AMOUNTS APPROPRIATED.—Not more

10 than 5 percent of the amounts appropriated under sub11 section (a) may be used by the Secretary, through the Ad12 ministrator, for administration of this title.

13 (c) LIMITATION.—Only amounts appropriated to im14 plement this title are subject to its requirements.

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