114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1935 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to undertake certain 

activities to support waterfront community revitalization 

and resiliency. 

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Waterfront Community 

3 Revitalization and Resiliency Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) many communities in the United States 

7 were developed along waterfronts; 

8 (2) water proximity and access is a recognized 

9 economic driver; 

10 (3) water shortages faced by parts of the 

11 United States underscore the need to manage water 

12 sustainably and restore water quality; 

13 (4) interest in waterfront revitalization and de14 velopment has grown, while the circumstances driv15 ing waterfront development have changed; 

16 (5) waterfront communities face challenges to 

17 revitalizing and leveraging water resources, such as 

18 outdated development patterns, deteriorated water 

19 infrastructure, industrial contamination of soil and 

20 sediment, and lack of public access to the water21 front, which are often compounded by overarching 

22 economic distress in the community; 

23 (6) public investment in waterfront community 

24 development and infrastructure should reflect chang25 ing ecosystem conditions and extreme weather pro26 jections to ensure strategic, resilient investments; 
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1 (7) individual communities have unique prior2 ities, concerns, and opportunities related to water3 front restoration and community revitalization; and 

4 (8) the Secretary of Commerce has unique ex5 pertise in Great Lakes and ocean coastal resiliency 

6 and economic development. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

11 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

13 (2) RESILIENT WATERFRONT COMMUNITY.— 

14 The term ‘‘resilient waterfront community’’ means a 

15 unit of local government or Indian tribe that is— 

16 (A)(i) bound in part by— 

17 (I) the Great Lakes; or 

18 (II) the ocean; or 

19 (ii) bordered or traversed by a riverfront or 

20 an inland lake; 

21 (B) self-nominated as a resilient water22 front community; and 

23 (C) designated by the Secretary as a resil24 ient waterfront community on the basis of the 

25 development by the community of an eligible re-
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1 silient waterfront community plan, with eligi2 bility determined by the Secretary after consid3 ering the requirements of subsections (b) and 

4 (c) of section 4. 

5 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Commerce. 

7 SEC. 4. RESILIENT WATERFRONT COMMUNITIES DESIGNA8 TION. 

9 (a) DESIGNATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

11 the Secretary shall designate resilient waterfront 

12 communities based on the extent to which a commu13 nity meets the criteria described in subsection (b). 

14 (2) COLLABORATION.—For inland lake and 

15 riverfront communities, in making the designation 

16 described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall work 

17 with the Administrator of the Environmental Protec18 tion Agency and the heads of other Federal agen19 cies, as the Secretary determines to be necessary. 

20 (b) RESILIENT WATERFRONT COMMUNITY PLAN.— 

21 A resilient waterfront community plan is a community22 driven vision and plan that is developed— 

23 (1) voluntarily at the discretion of the commu24 nity— 

25 (A) to respond to local needs; or 
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1 (B) to take advantage of new water-ori2 ented opportunities; 

3 (2) with the leadership of the relevant govern4 mental entity or Indian tribe with the active partici5 pation of— 

6 (A) community residents; 

7 (B) utilities; and 

8 (C) interested business and nongovern9 mental stakeholders; 

10 (3) as a new document or by amending or com11 piling community planning documents, as necessary, 

12 at the discretion of the Secretary; 

13 (4) in consideration of all applicable State and 

14 Federal coastal zone management planning require15 ments; 

16 (5) to address economic competitive strengths; 

17 and 

18 (6) to complement and incorporate the objec19 tives and recommendations of applicable regional 

20 economic plans. 

21 (c) COMPONENTS OF A RESILIENT WATERFRONT

22 COMMUNITY PLAN.—A resilient waterfront community 

23 plan shall— 

24 (1) consider all, or a portion of, the waterfront 

25 area and adjacent land and water to which the wa-
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1 terfront is connected ecologically, economically, or 

2 through local governmental or tribal boundaries; 

3 (2) describe a vision and plan for the commu4 nity to develop as a vital and resilient waterfront 

5 community, integrating consideration of— 

6 (A) the economic opportunities resulting 

7 from water proximity and access, including— 

8 (i) water-dependent industries; 

9 (ii) water-oriented commerce; and 

10 (iii) recreation and tourism; 

11 (B) the community relationship to the 

12 water, including— 

13 (i) quality of life; 

14 (ii) public health; 

15 (iii) community heritage; and 

16 (iv) public access, particularly in areas 

17 in which publicly funded ecosystem res18 toration is underway; 

19 (C) ecosystem challenges and projections, 

20 including unresolved and emerging impacts to 

21 the health and safety of the waterfront and pro22 jections for extreme weather and water condi23 tions; 
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1 (D) infrastructure needs and opportunities, 

2 to facilitate strategic and sustainable capital in3 vestments in— 

4 (i) docks, piers, and harbor facilities; 

5 (ii) protection against storm surges, 

6 waves, and flooding; 

7 (iii) stormwater, sanitary sewer, and 

8 drinking water systems, including green in9 frastructure and opportunities to control 

10 nonpoint source runoff; and 

11 (iv) other community facilities and 

12 private development; and 

13 (E) such other factors as are determined 

14 by the Secretary to align with metrics or indica15 tors for resiliency, considering environmental 

16 and economic changes. 

17 (d) DURATION.—After the designation of a commu18 nity as a resilient waterfront community under subsection 

19 (a), a resilient waterfront community plan developed in ac20 cordance with subsections (b) and (c) may be— 

21 (1) effective for the 10-year period beginning on 

22 the date on which the Secretary approves the resil23 ient waterfront community plan; and 

24 (2) updated by the resilient waterfront commu25 nity and submitted to the Secretary for the approval 
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1 of the Secretary before the expiration of the 10-year 

2 period. 

3 SEC. 5. RESILIENT WATERFRONT COMMUNITIES NETWORK. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop and 

5 maintain a resilient waterfront communities network to fa6 cilitate the sharing of best practices among waterfront 

7 communities. 

8 (b) PUBLIC RECOGNITION.—In consultation with 

9 designated resilient waterfront communities, the Secretary 

10 shall provide formal public recognition of the designated 

11 resilient waterfront communities to promote tourism, in12 vestment, or other benefits. 

13 SEC. 6. WATERFRONT COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION AC14 TIVITIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—To support a community in 

16 leveraging other sources of public and private investment, 

17 the Secretary may use existing authority to support— 

18 (1) the development of a resilient waterfront 

19 community plan, including planning and feasibility 

20 analysis; and 

21 (2) the implementation of strategic components 

22 of a resilient waterfront community plan after the 

23 resilient waterfront community plan has been ap24 proved by the Secretary. 

25 (b) NON-FEDERAL PARTNERS.— 
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1 (1) LEAD NON-FEDERAL PARTNERS.—A unit of 

2 local government or an Indian tribe shall be eligible 

3 to be considered as a lead non-Federal partner if the 

4 unit of local government or Indian tribe is— 

5 (A) bound in part by— 

6 (i) the Great Lakes; or 

7 (ii) the ocean; or 

8 (B) bordered or traversed by a riverfront 

9 or an inland lake. 

10 (2) NON-FEDERAL IMPLEMENTATION PART11 NERS.—Subject to subsection (d)(3), a lead non12 Federal partner may contract with an eligible non13 Federal implementation partner for implementation 

14 activities described in subsection (d)(2). 

15 (c) PLANNING ACTIVITIES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Technical assistance may be 

17 provided for the development of a resilient water18 front community plan. 

19 (2) ELIGIBLE PLANNING ACTIVITIES.—In devel20 oping a resilient waterfront community plan, a resil21 ient waterfront community may— 

22 (A) conduct community visioning and out23 reach; 

24 (B) identify challenges and opportunities; 

25 (C) develop strategies and solutions; 
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1 (D) prepare plan materials, including text, 

2 maps, design, and preliminary engineering; 

3 (E) collaborate across local agencies and 

4 work with regional, State, and Federal agencies 

5 to identify, understand, and develop responses 

6 to changing ecosystem and economic cir7 cumstances; and 

8 (F) conduct other planning activities that 

9 the Secretary considers necessary for the devel10 opment of a resilient waterfront community 

11 plan that responds to revitalization and resil12 iency issues confronted by the resilient water13 front community. 

14 (d) IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Implementation assistance 

16 may be provided— 

17 (A) to initiate implementation of a resilient 

18 waterfront community plan and facilitate high19 quality development, including leveraging local 

20 and private sector investment; and 

21 (B) to address strategic community prior22 ities that are identified in the resilient water23 front community plan. 

24 (2) ASSISTANCE.—Assistance may be provided 

25 to advance implementation activities, such as— 
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1 (A) site preparation; 

2 (B) environmental review; 

3 (C) engineering and design; 

4 (D) acquiring easements or land for uses 

5 such as green infrastructure, public amenities, 

6 or assembling development sites; 

7 (E) updates to zoning codes; 

8 (F) construction of— 

9 (i) public waterfront or boating amen10 ities; and 

11 (ii) public spaces; 

12 (G) infrastructure upgrades to improve 

13 coastal resiliency; 

14 (H) economic and community development 

15 marketing and outreach; and 

16 (I) other activities at the discretion of the 

17 Secretary. 

18 (3) IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—To assist in the com20 pletion of implementation activities, a lead non21 Federal partner may contract or otherwise col22 laborate with a non-Federal implementation 

23 partner, including— 

24 (i) a nonprofit organization; 

25 (ii) a public utility; 
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1 (iii) a private entity; 

2 (iv) an institution of higher education; 

3 (v) a State government; or 

4 (vi) a regional organization. 

5 (B) LEAD NON-FEDERAL PARTNER RE6 SPONSIBILITY.—The lead non-Federal partner 

7 shall ensure that assistance and resources re8 ceived by the lead non-Federal partner to ad9 vance the resilient waterfront community plan 

10 of the lead non-Federal partner and for related 

11 activities are used for the purposes of, and in 

12 a manner consistent with, any initiative ad13 vanced by the Secretary for the purpose of pro14 moting waterfront community revitalization and 

15 resiliency. 

16 (e) USE OF NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—A resilient waterfront com18 munity receiving assistance under this section shall 

19 provide non-Federal funds toward completion of 

20 planning or implementation activities. 

21 (2) NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES.—Non-Federal 

22 funds may be provided by— 

23 (A) 1 or more units of local or tribal gov24 ernment; 

25 (B) a State government; 
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1 (C) a nonprofit organization; 

2 (D) a private entity; 

3 (E) a foundation; 

4 (F) a public utility; or 

5 (G) a regional organization. 

6 SEC. 7. INTERAGENCY AWARENESS. 

7 At regular intervals, the Secretary shall provide a list 

8 of resilient waterfront communities to the applicable 

9 States and the heads of national and regional offices of 

10 interested Federal agencies, including at a minimum— 

11 (1) the Secretary of Transportation; 

12 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

13 (3) the Administrator of the Environmental 

14 Protection Agency; 

15 (4) the Administrator of the Federal Emer16 gency Management Agency; 

17 (5) the Assistant Secretary of the Army for 

18 Civil Works; 

19 (6) the Secretary of the Interior; and 

20 (7) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel21 opment. 
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1 SEC. 8. NO NEW REGULATORY AUTHORITY. 

2 Nothing in this Act may be construed as establishing 

3 new authority for any Federal agency. 

Passed the Senate July 14, 2016. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1935 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of Commerce to undertake 

nity revitalization and resiliency. certain activities to support waterfront commu-