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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2025 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2025

  To promote the protection and conservation of United States ocean, 
      coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 10, 2015

Mr. Whitehouse introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To promote the protection and conservation of United States ocean, 
      coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Oceans and Coastal Security 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Coastal shoreline county.--The term ``coastal shoreline 
        county'' has the meaning given the term by the Administrator of 
        the Federal Emergency Management Agency for purposes of 
        administering the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 
        U.S.C. 4001 et seq.).
            (2) Coastal state.--The term ``coastal State'' has the 
        meaning given the term ``coastal state'' in section 304 of the 
        Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453).
            (3) Corpus.--The term ``corpus'', with respect to the Fund, 
        means an amount equal to the Federal payments to the Fund, 
        amounts contributed to the Fund from non-Federal sources, and 
        appreciation from capital gains and reinvestment of income.
            (4) Foundation.--The term ``Foundation'' means the National 
        Fish and Wildlife Foundation established by section 2(a) of the 
        National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 
        U.S.C. 3701(a)).
            (5) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the National Oceans and 
        Coastal Security Fund established under section 4(a).
            (6) Income.--The term ``income'', with respect to the Fund, 
        means an amount equal to the dividends and interest accruing 
        from investments of the corpus of the Fund.
            (7) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
            (8) Secretary.--Except as otherwise specifically provided, 
        the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce.
            (9) Tidal shoreline.--The term ``tidal shoreline'' has the 
        meaning given that term pursuant to section 923.110(c)(2)(i) of 
        title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, or a similar successor 
        regulation.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES AND AGREEMENTS.

    (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to protect, conserve, 
and restore the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes of the United States, 
ensuring present and future generations will benefit from the full 
range of ecological, economic, social, and recreational opportunities 
and services these resources are capable of providing.
    (b) Agreements.--The Secretary and the Foundation may enter into 
such agreements as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
Act.

SEC. 4. NATIONAL OCEANS AND COASTAL SECURITY FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary and the Foundation are authorized 
to establish the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund as a tax 
exempt fund to further the purposes of this Act.
    (b) Deposits.--
            (1) In general.--There shall be deposited into the Fund, 
        which shall constitute the Fund's assets amounts as follows:
                    (A) Amounts appropriated or otherwise made 
                available to carry out this Act.
                    (B) Amounts earned through investment under 
                subsection (c).
            (2) Prohibitions on donations from foreign governments.--No 
        amounts donated by a foreign government, as defined in section 
        7342 of title 5, United States Code, may be deposited into the 
        Fund.
    (c) Investments.--The Foundation shall invest the Fund corpus and 
income for the benefit of the Fund.
    (d) Requirements.--Any amounts received by the Foundation pursuant 
to this Act shall be subject to the provisions of the National Fish and 
Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act (16 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), except 
the provisions of--
            (1) section 4(e)(1)(B) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 
        3703(e)(1)(B)); and
            (2) section 10(a) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 3709(a)).
    (e) Withdrawals and Expenditures.--
            (1) Allocation of funds.--Each fiscal year, the Foundation 
        shall, in consultation with the Secretary, allocate an amount 
        equal to not less than 3 percent and not more than 7 percent of 
        the corpus of the Fund and the income generated from the Fund 
        from the current fiscal year.
            (2) Expenditure.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), of 
        the amounts allocated under paragraph (1) for each fiscal 
        year--
                    (A) at least 59 percent shall be used by the 
                Foundation to award grants to coastal States under 
                section 6(b);
                    (B) at least 39 percent shall be allocated by the 
                Foundation to award grants under section 6(c); and
                    (C) no more than 2 percent may be used by the 
                Secretary and the Foundation for administrative 
                expenses to carry out this Act, which amount shall be 
                divided between the Secretary and the Foundation 
                pursuant to an agreement reached and documented by both 
                the Secretary and the Foundation.
            (3) Program adjustments.--
                    (A) In general.--In any fiscal year in which the 
                amount described in subparagraph (B) is less than 
                $100,000,000, the Foundation, in consultation with the 
                Secretary, may elect not to use any of the amounts 
                allocated under paragraph (1) for that fiscal year to 
                award grants under subsection (b) or (c) of section 6.
                    (B) Determination amount.--The amount described in 
                this subparagraph for a fiscal year is the amount that 
                is equal to the sum of--
                            (i) the amount that is 5 percent of the 
                        corpus of the Fund; and
                            (ii) the aggregate amount of income the 
                        Foundation expects to be generated from the 
                        Fund in that fiscal year.
    (f) Recovery of Payments.--After notice and an opportunity for a 
hearing, the Secretary is authorized to recover any Federal payments 
under this section if the Foundation--
            (1) makes a withdrawal or expenditure of the corpus of the 
        Fund or the income of the Fund that is not consistent with the 
        requirements of section 5; or
            (2) fails to comply with a procedure, measure, method, or 
        standard established under section 6(a)(1).

SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE USES.

    (a) In General.--Amounts in the Fund may be allocated by the 
Foundation to support programs and activities intended to protect, 
conserve, and restore ocean and coastal resources and coastal 
infrastructure, including baseline scientific research, ocean 
observing, and other programs and activities carried out in 
coordination with Federal and State departments or agencies, including 
the following:
            (1) Ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes restoration and 
        protection, including efforts to address potential impacts of 
        sea level change, changes in ocean chemistry, and changes in 
        ocean temperature.
            (2) Restoration, protection, or maintenance of living 
        ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and their habitats.
            (3) Planning for and managing coastal development to 
        enhance ecosystem integrity or minimize impacts from sea level 
        change and coastal erosion.
            (4) Analyses of current and anticipated impacts of ocean 
        acidification and potential responses.
            (5) Projects to address management issues which are 
        regional or interstate in scope.
            (6) Efforts that contribute to the understanding of 
        ecological, economic, and societal threats faced by changes to 
        the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes.
            (7) Efforts to better understand the processes that govern 
        the fate and transport of petroleum hydrocarbons released into 
        the marine environment from natural and anthropogenic sources, 
        including spills and spill response and preparedness 
        technologies.
            (8) Efforts to preserve, protect, and expand coastal access 
        for persons engaged in water-dependent commercial activities 
        including commercial fishing, recreational fishing businesses, 
        aquaculture, boatbuilding, or other water-dependent coastal-
        related businesses.
            (9) Efforts to assist coastal States in strengthening, 
        stabilizing, hardening, elevating, relocating, or otherwise 
        enhancing the resiliency of bridges, roads, pedestrian 
        walkways, and bicycle transportation facilities, and associated 
        infrastructure, that are already subject to or face increased 
        future risks of coastal flooding, coastal erosion, or sea level 
        change.
            (10) Acquiring property or interests in property if--
                    (A) the area is located within a coastal shoreline 
                county or adjacent county;
                    (B) the funds made available under this subtitle 
                are used to acquire land or interest in land by 
                purchase, exchange, or donation from a willing seller;
                    (C) the Governor of the State in which the property 
                or interests in property are acquired approves of the 
                acquisition; and
                    (D) such property or interest is acquired in a 
                manner that will ensure such property or interest will 
                be administered to support the purposes of this Act.
            (11) Protection and relocation of critical coastal public 
        infrastructure affected by erosion or sea level change.
    (b) Matching Requirement.--An amount from the Fund may not be 
allocated to fund a project or activity described in paragraph (10) or 
(11) of subsection (a) unless non-Federal contributions in an amount 
equal to 30 percent or more of the cost of such project or activity is 
made available to carry out such project or activity.
    (c) Prohibition on Use of Funds for Litigation.--No funds made 
available under this Act may be used to fund litigation over any 
matter.

SEC. 6. GRANTS.

    (a) Administration of Grants.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after funds are 
        deposited into the Fund and made available to the Foundation 
        for administrative purposes, the Foundation shall establish the 
        following:
                    (A) Application and review procedures for the 
                awarding of grants under this section, including 
                requirements ensuring that any amounts awarded under 
                such subsections may only be used for an eligible use 
                described under section 5.
                    (B) Selection procedures and criteria for the 
                awarding of grants under this section that--
                            (i) require consultation with the Secretary 
                        and the Secretary of the Interior; and
                            (ii) prioritize projects where non-Federal 
                        partners have committed to share the cost of 
                        the project.
                    (C) Eligibility criteria for awarding grants--
                            (i) under subsection (b) to coastal States; 
                        and
                            (ii) under subsection (c) to entities 
                        including States, Indian tribes, regional 
                        bodies, associations, non-governmental 
                        organizations, and academic institutions.
                    (D) Performance accountability and monitoring 
                measures for programs and activities funded by a grant 
                awarded under subsection (b) or (c).
                    (E) Procedures and methods to ensure accurate 
                accounting and appropriate administration of grants 
                awarded under this section, including standards of 
                recordkeeping.
                    (F) Procedures to carry out audits of the Fund as 
                necessary, but not less frequently than once every 5 
                years.
                    (G) Procedures to carry out audits of the 
                recipients of grants under this section.
                    (H) Procedures to make publicly available on the 
                Internet a list of all projects funded by the Fund, 
                that includes at a minimum the grant recipient, grant 
                amount, project description, and project status.
            (2) Approval.--The Foundation shall submit to the Secretary 
        for approval each procedure, measure, method, and standard 
        established under paragraph (1).
    (b) Grants to Coastal States.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (3), the Foundation 
        shall award grants of amounts allocated under section 
        4(e)(2)(A) to eligible coastal States that have a coastal 
        management program approved under the Coastal Zone Management 
        Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), based on the following 
        formula:
                    (A) Fifty percent of the funds are allocated 
                equally among such coastal States.
                    (B) Twenty-five percent of the funds are allocated 
                on the basis of the ratio of tidal shoreline miles in a 
                coastal State to the tidal shoreline miles of all 
                coastal States.
                    (C) Twenty-five percent of the funds are allocated 
                on the basis of the ratio of population density of the 
                coastal shoreline counties of a coastal State to the 
                population density of all coastal shoreline counties.
            (2) Eligible coastal state defined.--In this subsection, 
        the term ``eligible coastal State'' means--
                    (A) a coastal State that has a coastal management 
                program approved under the Coastal Zone Management Act 
                of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); or
                    (B) during the period beginning on the date of the 
                enactment of this Act and ending on December 31, 2018, 
                a coastal State that had, during the period beginning 
                January 1, 2008, and ending on the date of the 
                enactment of this Act, a coastal management program 
                approved under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 
                (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.).
            (3) Maximum allocation to states.--Notwithstanding 
        paragraph (1), not more than 10 percent of the total funds 
        distributed under this subsection may be allocated to any 
        single State. Any amount exceeding this limit shall be 
        redistributed among the remaining eligible coastal States 
        according to the formula established under paragraph (1).
            (4) Maximum allocation to certain geographic areas.--
                    (A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
                each geographic area described in subparagraph (B) may 
                not receive more than 1 percent of the total funds 
                distributed under this subsection. Any amount exceeding 
                this limit shall be redistributed among the remaining 
                eligible coastal States according to the formula 
                established under paragraph (1).
                    (B) Geographic areas described.--The geographic 
                areas described in this subparagraph are the following:
                            (i) American Samoa.
                            (ii) The Commonwealth of the Northern 
                        Mariana Islands.
                            (iii) Guam.
                            (iv) Puerto Rico.
                            (v) The Virgin Islands.
            (5) Requirement to submit plans.--
                    (A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
                under this subsection, a coastal State shall submit to 
                the Secretary, and the Secretary shall review for 
                approval, a 5-year plan, which shall include the 
                following:
                            (i) Criteria to determine eligibility for 
                        entities which may receive grants under this 
                        subsection.
                            (ii) A description of the competitive 
                        process the coastal State will use in 
                        allocating funds received from the Fund, except 
                        in the case of allocating funds under paragraph 
                        (7), which shall include--
                                    (I) a description of the relative 
                                roles in the State competitive process 
                                of the State coastal zone management 
                                program approved under the Coastal Zone 
                                Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 
                                et seq.) and any State Sea Grant 
                                Program; and
                                    (II) a demonstration that such 
                                competitive process is consistent with 
                                the application and review procedures 
                                established by the Foundation under 
                                subsection (a)(1).
                            (iii) A process to certify that the project 
                        or program and the awarding of a contract for 
                        the expenditure of amounts received under this 
                        paragraph are consistent with the standard 
                        procurement rules and regulations governing a 
                        comparable project or program in that State, 
                        including all applicable competitive bidding 
                        and audit requirements.
                            (iv) Procedures to make publicly available 
                        on the Internet a list.
                    (B) Updates.--As a condition of receiving a grant 
                under this subsection, a coastal State shall submit to 
                the Secretary, not less frequently than once every 5 
                years, an update to the plan submitted by the coastal 
                State under subparagraph (A) for the 5-year period 
                immediately following the most recent submittal under 
                this paragraph.
            (6) Opportunity for public comment.--In determining whether 
        to approve a plan or an update to a plan described in 
        subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (5), the Secretary shall 
        provide the opportunity for, and take into consideration, 
        public input and comment on the plan.
            (7) Indian tribes.--As a condition on receipt of a grant 
        under this subsection, a State that receives a grant under this 
        subsection shall ensure that Indian tribes in the State are 
        eligible to participate in the competitive process described in 
        the State's plan under paragraph (5)(A)(ii).
    (c) National Grants for Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes.--
            (1) In general.--The Foundation may use amounts allocated 
        under section 4(e)(2)(B) to award grants according to the 
        procedures established in subsection (a) to support activities 
        consistent with section 5.
            (2) Advisory panel.--
                    (A) In general.--The Foundation shall establish an 
                advisory panel to conduct reviews of applications for 
                grants under paragraph (1) and the Foundation shall 
                consider the recommendations of the advisory panel with 
                respect to such applications.
                    (B) Membership.--The advisory panel established 
                under subparagraph (A) shall include persons 
                representing--
                            (i) dependent industries;
                            (ii) geographic regions;
                            (iii) nonprofit organizations; and
                            (iv) academic institutions.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) Requirement for Annual Report.--Subject to subsection (c), 
beginning with fiscal year 2017, not later than 60 days after the end 
of each fiscal year, the Foundation shall submit to the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 
on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report on the 
operation of the Fund during that fiscal year.
    (b) Content.--Each annual report submitted under subsection (a) for 
a fiscal year shall include--
            (1) a full and complete statement of the receipts, 
        including the source of all receipts, expenditures, and 
        investments of the Fund;
            (2) a statement of the amounts deposited in the Fund and 
        the balance remaining in the Fund at the end of the fiscal 
        year; and
            (3) a description of the expenditures made from the Fund 
        for the fiscal year, including the purpose of the expenditures.
    (c) Exception for Certain Years.--For any fiscal year in which the 
amount described in section 4(e)(3)(B) is less than $100,000,000, the 
Foundation, in consultation with the Secretary, may elect not to submit 
an annual report under this section for such fiscal year.

SEC. 8. FUNDING.

    (a) Outer Continental Shelf Lease Revenue.--Section 8 of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(q) Deposits in the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund.--
            ``(1) In general.--Beginning with the first fiscal year 
        beginning after the date of the enactment of the National 
        Oceans and Coastal Security Act, the Secretary shall deposit 
        12.5 percent of the revenue paid to the United States under 
        this section in the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund 
        established pursuant to section 4 of that Act.
            ``(2) Fines collected for violations of federal law.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Beginning with the first fiscal 
                year beginning after the date of the enactment of the 
                National Oceans and Coastal Security Act, the President 
                shall ensure that 10 percent of the civil penalties 
                paid to the United States for a violation of a law set 
                out under subparagraph (B) or for a violation of any 
                requirement or prohibition of any rule, order, or 
                permit promulgated, issued, or approved under such a 
                law that occurs on the outer Continental Shelf are 
                deposited in the National Oceans and Coastal Security 
                Fund.
                    ``(B) Laws.--The laws set out under this 
                subparagraph are the following:
                            ``(i) The Federal Water Pollution Control 
                        Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) other than 
                        penalties provided for under section 311 of 
                        such Act (33 U.S.C. 1321).
                            ``(ii) The Comprehensive Environmental 
                        Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
                        1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).
                            ``(iii) Chapter 601 of title 49, United 
                        States Code.
                            ``(iv) The Act of March 3, 1899 (30 Stat. 
                        1151, chapter 425; 33 U.S.C. 401 et seq.).''.
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