II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2633 

To require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to award grants to certain entities for purposes of carrying 

out climate-resilient living shoreline projects that protect coastal communities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2021 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced 

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

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration to award grants to certain 

entities for purposes of carrying out climate-resilient living shoreline projects that protect coastal communities, 

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. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis6 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

7 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 


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1 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

2 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

3 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

4 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

5 (3) NATURE-BASED INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 

6 term ‘‘nature-based infrastructure’’ means a feature 

7 that is created by human design, engineering, and 

8 construction to provide risk reduction in coastal 

9 areas by acting in conjunction with natural proc10 esses. 

11 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

12 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

13 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States 

14 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

15 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

16 SEC. 2. LIVING SHORELINE GRANT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall 

18 award grants to eligible entities for purposes of— 

19 (1) designing and implementing large- and 

20 small-scale, climate-resilient living shoreline projects; 

21 and 

22 (2) applying innovative uses of natural mate23 rials and systems to protect coastal communities, 

24 habitats, and natural system functions. 


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1 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, an eligible entity is any of the following: 

3 (1) A unit of a State or local government. 

4 (2) An organization described in section 

5 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that 

6 is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of 

7 such Code. 

8 (3) An Indian Tribe. 

9 (c) LIVING SHORELINE PROJECTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this section, 

11 a living shoreline project is a coastal natural infra12 structure project that— 

13 (A) restores or stabilizes a shoreline using 

14 predominately natural materials to create buff15 ers to attenuate the impact of coastal storms, 

16 currents, flooding, and wave energy and to pre17 vent or minimize shoreline erosion while pro18 viding a net ecological and climate benefit to 

19 ecosystems and habitats; 

20 (B) to the extent possible, maintains or re21 stores existing natural slopes and connections 

22 between uplands and adjacent wetlands or sur23 face waters; 

24 (C) as necessary, can retrofit hardened 

25 structures or surfaces to create blended projects 


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1 that combine living shoreline elements with 

2 hardened techniques; and 

3 (D) meets such minimum standards as the 

4 Administrator shall develop. 

5 (2) MINIMUM STANDARDS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—In developing minimum 

7 standards applicable to living shoreline projects 

8 under paragraph (1)(D), the Administrator 

9 shall take into account— 

10 (i) the considerations described in 

11 subsection (e)(2); and 

12 (ii) the need for the standards to be 

13 general enough to accommodate concerns 

14 related to specific project sites. 

15 (B) CONSULTATION; INPUT.—In devel16 oping minimum standards applicable to living 

17 shoreline projects under (1)(D), the Adminis18 trator may— 

19 (i) consult with— 

20 (I) State coastal management 

21 agencies; 

22 (II) Indian Tribes and Tribal or23 ganizations; and 


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1 (III) relevant interagency coun2 cils, such as the Estuary Habitat Res3 toration Council; and 

4 (ii) seek input from relevant non5 governmental organizations. 

6 (d) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—To be eligible to receive 

7 a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit 

8 to the Administrator a proposal for a living shoreline 

9 project that includes— 

10 (1) monitoring, data collection, and measurable 

11 performance criteria with respect to the project; and 

12 (2) an engagement or education component that 

13 seeks and solicits feedback from the local or regional 

14 community most directly affected by the proposal. 

15 (e) SELECTION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall se17 lect eligible entities to receive grants under this sec18 tion to carry out living shoreline projects based on 

19 criteria developed by the Administrator. 

20 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing criteria 

21 under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall take 

22 into account— 

23 (A) the potential of the project proposed 

24 by the eligible entity to protect the community 

25 and maintain the viability of the environment, 


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1 such as through protection of ecosystem func2 tions, environmental benefits, or habitat types, 

3 in the area where the project is to be carried 

4 out; 

5 (B) the historic and future environmental 

6 conditions of the project site, particularly those 

7 environmental conditions affected by climate 

8 change; 

9 (C) the net ecological benefits of the 

10 project, including the potential of the project to 

11 contribute to carbon sequestration and storage; 

12 (D) the ability of the entity proposing the 

13 project to demonstrate the potential of the 

14 project to protect the coastal community where 

15 the project is to be carried out, including 

16 through— 

17 (i) mitigating the effects of erosion; 

18 (ii) attenuating the impact of coastal 

19 storms and storm surge; 

20 (iii) mitigating shoreline flooding; 

21 (iv) mitigating the effects of sea level 

22 rise, accelerated land loss, and extreme 

23 tides; 


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1 (v) sustaining, protecting, or restoring 

2 the functions and habitats of coastal eco3 systems; 

4 (vi) protecting important cultural sites 

5 or values; 

6 (vii) protecting low-income commu7 nities, communities of color, Tribal com8 munities, Indigenous communities, and 

9 rural communities; 

10 (viii) sustaining, protecting, or restor11 ing the functions and habitats of marine 

12 protected areas; or 

13 (ix) such other forms of protection as 

14 the Administrator considers appropriate; 

15 and 

16 (E) the potential of the project to support 

17 climate resiliency at a military installation or 

18 community infrastructure supportive of a mili19 tary installation (as such terms are defined in 

20 section 2391 of title 10, United States Code). 

21 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant awarded under this 

22 section to an eligible entity to carry out a living shoreline 

23 project may be used by the eligible entity only— 


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1 (1) to carry out the project, including adminis2 tration, design, permitting, entry into negotiated in3 direct cost rate agreements, and construction; 

4 (2) to monitor, collect, and report data on the 

5 performance (including performance over time) of 

6 the project, in accordance with the standards devel7 oped by the Administration under subsection 

8 (c)(1)(D); or 

9 (3) to incentivize landowners to engage in living 

10 shoreline projects. 

11 (g) MONITORING AND REPORTING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall re13 quire each eligible entity that receives a grant under 

14 this section to carry out a living shoreline project (or 

15 a representative of the entity)— 

16 (A) to monitor the project and to collect 

17 data on— 

18 (i) the ecological, climate, and eco19 nomic benefits of the project; and 

20 (ii) the protection provided by the 

21 project for the coastal community where 

22 the project is carried out; 

23 (B) to transmit to the Administrator data 

24 collected under the project; 


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1 (C) to make data collected under the 

2 project available on a publicly accessible inter3 net website of the National Oceanic and Atmos4 pheric Administration; and 

5 (D) upon the completion of the project, to 

6 submit to the Administrator a report on— 

7 (i) the monitoring and data collection 

8 activities carried out under subparagraph 

9 (A); and 

10 (ii) the effectiveness of the project in 

11 increasing protection of the coastal com12 munity where the project is carried out 

13 through living shorelines techniques, in14 cluding— 

15 (I) a description of— 

16 (aa) the project; 

17 (bb) the activities carried 

18 out under the project; and 

19 (cc) the techniques and ma20 terials used in carrying out the 

21 project; and 

22 (II) data on the performance of 

23 the project in providing protection to 

24 that coastal community. 


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1 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

3 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 

4 for purposes of carrying out this section. 

5 SEC. 3. LIVING SHORELINE AND NATURE-BASED INFRA6 STRUCTURE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall 

8 award, on a competitive basis, research grants to eligible 

9 entities to carry out projects focused on developing and 

10 assessing the effectiveness of innovative approaches to na11 ture-based infrastructure for the purposes of— 

12 (1) preparing more climate-resilient, sustainable 

13 cities and climate-resilient communities; 

14 (2) reducing the costs associated with climate15 related disasters, the degradation of built infrastruc16 ture, and human relocation; and 

17 (3) accomplishing improved climate resilience 

18 while maintaining ecosystem functions and habitats 

19 to the greatest extent possible. 

20 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For purposes of this sec21 tion, an eligible entity is any of the following: 

22 (1) An institution of higher education. 

23 (2) A nonprofit organization. 

24 (3) A State, local, or Tribal government. 

25 (4) A for-profit organization. 


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1 (5) A United States territory. 

2 (6) A Federal agency that is authorized by stat3 ute to receive transfers of funds. 

4 (c) RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—The Administrator 

5 shall award grants to eligible entities for projects that 

6 focus on one or more of the following: 

7 (1) Assessing the effectiveness of installed na8 ture-based infrastructure in addressing, as applica9 ble, coastal resilience, shoreline erosion, storm dam10 age, including windstorms, inland flooding, water 

11 quality, impact on local ecosystems, and such other 

12 criteria as the Administrator determines appro13 priate. 

14 (2) Novel approaches to nature-based infra15 structure and living shorelines aimed at optimizing 

16 resilience to climate change, extreme weather, and 

17 ecosystem sustainability. 

18 (3) Interdisciplinary research, including engi19 neering, environmental and ecosystem sciences, biol20 ogy, and social science. 

21 (4) Regional, community, and industry partner22 ships to create locally informed solutions. 

23 (d) REPORTS FOR INFORMING GRANT SELECTION.— 

24 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—An eligible entity that 

25 receives a grant for a project under this section 


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1 shall, not later than the date on which such project 

2 concludes, submit to the Administrator a report 

3 summarizing the findings of the project. 

4 (2) USE OF REPORTS.—The Administrator 

5 shall use each report submitted under paragraph (1) 

6 to inform the selection and prioritization of living 

7 shoreline projects under section 2 and other nature8 based infrastructure projects. 

9 (e) USE OF PROGRAMS.—In carrying out this section, 

10 the Administrator is encouraged to use— 

11 (1) the National Oceanographic Partnership 

12 Program established under section 8931 of title 10, 

13 United States Code, as a means for collaboration 

14 and coordination to leverage partnerships between 

15 public institutions of higher education and Federal 

16 agencies; 

17 (2) the Coastlines and People initiative of the 

18 National Science Foundation as a tool to use ongo19 ing interdisciplinary research; 

20 (3) the National Sea Grant College Program 

21 maintained under the National Sea Grant College 

22 Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.) as a resource 

23 to help foster collaboration between public institu24 tions of higher education and Federal agencies; and 


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1 (4) the Community Resilience Center of Excel2 lence of the National Institute of Standards and 

3 Technology. 

4 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

6 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 

7 for purposes of carrying out this section. 

Æ 


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