I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3644 

To direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish 

education and watershed programs which advance environmental literacy, 

including preparedness and adaptability for the likely impacts of climate 

change in coastal watershed regions. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2009 

Mrs. CAPPS (for herself, Mr. EHLERS, and Mr. FARR) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish education and watershed programs 

which advance environmental literacy, including preparedness and adaptability for the likely impacts of climate change in coastal watershed regions. 

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 ‘‘Bay-Watershed Edu5 cation and Training (B-WET) Regional Program and Na6 tional Environmental Literacy Grant Program Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The United States faces major challenges, 

4 such as mitigating and adapting to the impacts of 

5 climate change, stewarding critical coastal and ma6 rine resources including fish and wildlife habitat 

7 while sustaining the commercial and recreational ac8 tivities that depend on these resources, and improv9 ing resilience to natural disasters, that collectively 

10 threaten human health, economic development, envi11 ronmental quality, and national security. 

12 (2) Communities in coastal watersheds are par13 ticularly vulnerable to these increasingly urgent, 

14 interconnected, and complex challenges and need 

15 support for teacher professional development and ex16 periential learning among students of all ages. 

17 (3) These challenges can be met with the help 

18 of comprehensive programs specifically targeted to 

19 engage coastal watershed communities, school20 children, and the general public to develop engaged 

21 and environmentally literate citizens who are better 

22 able to understand complex environmental issues, as23 sess risk, evaluate proposed plans, and understand 

24 how individual decisions affect the environment at 

25 local, regional, national, and global scales. 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to advance 

2 environmental literacy, develop public awareness and ap3 preciation of the economic, social, and environmental ben4 efits of coastal watersheds, and emphasize stewardship of 

5 critical coastal and marine resources, including an under6 standing of how climate change is impacting those re7 sources, through the establishment of— 

8 (1) a National Environmental Literacy Grant 

9 Program; and 

10 (2) regional Bay-Watershed Education and 

11 Training (B-WET) programs. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis15 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

17 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.—The term 

18 ‘‘environmental education’’ means interdisciplinary 

19 formal and informal learning about the relevant 

20 interrelationships between dynamic environmental 

21 and human systems, and which results in increasing 

22 the learner’s capacity for decisionmaking and stew23 ardship regarding natural and community resources. 

24 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY.—The term 

25 ‘‘environmental literacy’’ means the capacity to perVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:26 Sep 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3644.IH H3644

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1 ceive and interpret the relative health of environ2 mental systems and the interrelationships between 

3 natural and social systems and technology, and to 

4 assess options and take appropriate action to main5 tain, restore, or improve the health of those systems. 

6 (4) BAY-WATERSHED EDUCATION.—The term 

7 ‘‘bay-watershed education’’ means environmental 

8 education focused on watersheds, with an emphasis 

9 on stewardship of critical coastal and marine re10 sources, including an understanding of how climate 

11 change is impacting those resources. 

12 (5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti13 ty’’ means a State agency, local agency, school dis14 trict, institution of higher education, or for-profit or 

15 non-profit nongovernmental organization, consor16 tium, or other entity that the Administrator finds 

17 has demonstrated expertise and experience in the de18 velopment of the institutional, intellectual, or policy 

19 resources to help environmental education become 

20 more effective and widely practiced. 

21 (6) HIGH LEVERAGE PROJECTS.—The term 

22 ‘‘high leverage projects’’ means projects supported 

23 by grants authorized under this Act that use Fed24 eral, State and nongovernmental financial, technical, 

25 and other resources in such a manner that the poVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:26 Sep 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3644.IH H3644

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1 tential beneficial outcomes are highly magnified or 

2 enhanced. 

3 (7) NATIONAL PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘National 

4 Program’’ means the National Environmental Lit5 eracy Grant Program established under section 4 of 

6 this Act. 

7 (8) REGIONAL PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Regional 

8 Program’’ means the regional Bay-Watershed Edu9 cation and Training (B-WET) program established 

10 under section 5 of this Act. 

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

12 the several States of the United States, the District 

13 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

14 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com15 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, any 

16 other territory or possession of the United States, 

17 and any Indian tribe. 

18 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY GRANT 

19 PROGRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 

21 a national competitive grant program under which the Ad22 ministrator shall provide, subject to the availability of ap23 propriations, financial assistance to— 

24 (1) expand the adoption of coastal, ocean, and 

25 watershed environmental education within mainVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:26 Sep 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3644.IH H3644

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1 stream formal and informal educational systems and 

2 other appropriate media; 

3 (2) build administrative and technical capacity 

4 with coastal, ocean, and watershed communities and 

5 stakeholder groups to enhance their effectiveness; 

6 (3) encourage water-dependent and outdoor 

7 recreation, experiential learning, and hands-on in8 volvement with coastal and watershed resources as a 

9 method of promoting stewardship of those resources; 

10 and 

11 (4) develop and implement new approaches to 

12 advance coastal, ocean, and watershed education and 

13 environmental literacy at national, regional, and 

14 local levels. 

15 (b) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under this sec16 tion, the Administrator shall give priority consideration to 

17 innovative, strategic, high-leverage projects that dem18 onstrate strong potential for being sustained in the future 

19 by a grant recipient beyond the time period in which ac20 tivities are carried out with the grant. 

21 (c) GUIDELINES.—No later than 180 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act and after consultation with 

23 appropriate stakeholders, the Administrator shall publish 

24 in the Federal Register guidelines regarding the imple25 mentation of this grant program, including publication of 


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1 criteria for eligible entities, identification of national prior2 ities, establishment of performance measures to evaluate 

3 program effectiveness, information regarding sources of 

4 non-Federal matching funds or in-kind contributions, and 

5 reporting requirements for grant award recipients. 

6 (d) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS BY ADMINIS7 TRATOR.—Of the amounts made available to implement 

8 this section— 

9 (1) no less than 80 percent shall be used for 

10 competitive grants or cooperative agreements; 

11 (2) no more than 10 percent may be used by 

12 the Administrator to implement the grant program; 

13 and 

14 (3) no less than 10 percent of the annual funds 

15 appropriated for the program authorized under this 

16 section shall be used to fund contracts or cooperative 

17 agreements to conduct strategic planning, promote 

18 communications among grant recipients and within 

19 communities, coordinate grant activities to foster an 

20 integrated program, and oversee national evaluation 

21 efforts. 

22 SEC. 5. BAY-WATERSHED EDUCATION AND TRAINING (B23 WET) REGIONAL PROGRAMS. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es25 tablish the Bay-Watershed Education and Training (BVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:26 Sep 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3644.IH H3644

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1 WET) Regional Program, which shall be operated and 

2 carried out through regional program offices, as follows: 

3 (1) The B-WET Mid-Atlantic Program Office, 

4 which shall include the States of Pennsylvania, Dela5 ware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, 

6 New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia. 

7 (2) The B-WET California Program Office, 

8 which shall include the State of California. 

9 (3) The B-WET Pacific Islands Program Of10 fice, which shall include the State of Hawaii, as well 

11 as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

12 Northern Mariana Islands, and the territory of 

13 Guam. 

14 (4) The B-WET New England Program Office, 

15 which shall include the States of Maine, New Hamp16 shire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and 

17 Rhode Island. 

18 (5) The B-WET Pacific Northwest Program 

19 Office, which shall include the States of Washington, 

20 Montana, Idaho, and Oregon. 

21 (6) The B-WET Gulf Coast Program Office, 

22 which shall include the States of Texas, Louisiana, 

23 Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. 

24 (7) The B-WET Southeast Program Office, 

25 which shall include the States of Georgia, South 


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1 Carolina, and North Carolina, Florida, as well as 

2 Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 

3 (8) The B-WET Great Lakes Program Office, 

4 which shall include the States of Illinois, Indiana, 

5 Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, and 

6 Ohio. 

7 (9) The B-WET Alaska Program Office, which 

8 shall include the State of Alaska. 

9 (10) The B-WET Colorado River and Upper 

10 Mississippi/Missouri Program Office, which shall in11 clude the States of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New 

12 Mexico, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, 

13 Nebraska, and Wyoming. 

14 (11) The B-WET Lower Mississippi River, 

15 which shall include the States of Kentucky, Kansas, 

16 Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas. 

17 (b) NEW AND MODIFIED REGIONAL PROGRAMS.— 

18 The Administrator may create and modify the Bay-Water19 shed Education Programs based on need, interest, and 

20 available resources. 

21 (c) REGIONAL PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—The Ad22 ministrator shall appoint and select a Regional Program 

23 Manager for each regional program office, who shall reside 

24 in the region, be responsible for managing and admin25 istering the regional program, and demonstrate comVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:26 Sep 24, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3644.IH H3644

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1 petence and expertise in bay-watershed education and 

2 training. 

3 (d) FUNCTIONS.—Each regional program office 

4 shall— 

5 (1) administer the Bay-Watershed Education 

6 and Training Program in accordance with this Act; 

7 (2) determine the most appropriate commu8 nities within the region to be served by the Bay-Wa9 tershed Education and Training Program; 

10 (3) encourage water-dependent and outdoor 

11 recreation, experiential learning experiences for stu12 dents, and hands-on involvement with coastal and 

13 watershed resources as a method of promoting stew14 ardship of those resources and complementing core 

15 classroom curriculum; 

16 (4) support communication and collaboration 

17 among educators, natural resource planners and 

18 managers, and governmental and nongovernmental 

19 stakeholders; 

20 (5) share and distribute information regarding 

21 educational plans, strategies, learning activities, and 

22 curricula to all stakeholders within its region; 

23 (6) provide financial and technical assistance 

24 pursuant to the guidelines developed by the Adminis25 trator under this section; and 


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1 (7) perform any additional duties as necessary 

2 to carry out the functions of the program. 

3 (e) PROGRAM GUIDELINES.—No later than 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act and after consulta5 tion with appropriate stakeholders, the Administrator 

6 shall publish in the Federal Register guidelines regarding 

7 the implementation of this program, including: 

8 (1) CONTRACTS.—The Administrator shall cre9 ate guidelines through which each regional program 

10 may enter into contracts to support projects to de11 sign, demonstrate, evaluate, or disseminate prac12 tices, methods, or techniques related to Bay-water13 shed education and training. 

14 (2) GRANT MAKING AND COOPERATIVE AGREE15 MENTS.— 

16 (A) The Administrator shall create guide17 lines through which each regional program may 

18 provide financial assistance in the form of a 

19 grant or cooperative agreement to support 

20 projects which advance the goals and objectives 

21 of this bill, and which shall include criteria for 

22 eligible entities, identification of national prior23 ities, establishment of performance measures to 

24 evaluate program effectiveness, and reporting 

25 requirements for grant award recipients. 


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1 (B) In making grants pursuant to this sec2 tion, the regional programs shall give priority to 

3 those projects which will— 

4 (i) promote bay-watershed education 

5 throughout the region; 

6 (ii) advance strategic initiatives to in7 corporate bay-watershed education into 

8 formal and informal education systems; 

9 (iii) build capacity within bay-water10 shed education communities and stake11 holder groups for expanding and strength12 ening their work; 

13 (iv) build bay-watershed education 

14 into professional development or training 

15 activities for educators; and 

16 (v) broadly replicate existing, proven 

17 bay-watershed education programs. 

18 (f) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants under 

20 this section, the Administrator may give priority 

21 consideration to projects in which the Federal share 

22 does not exceed 75 percent of the aggregate cost of 

23 such project. 

24 (2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION.—The non-Federal 

25 share of the costs of any project supported by an 


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1 award of grant funding under this section may be 

2 cash or the fair market value of services, equipment, 

3 donations, or any other form of in-kind contribution. 

4 (3) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The Adminis5 trator may grant a waiver of paragraph (1) for any 

6 underserved community, for any community that has 

7 an inability to draw on other sources of funding be8 cause of the small population or low income of the 

9 community, or for any other person for any other 

10 reason the Administrator considers appropriate and 

11 consistent with the purposes of the program. 

12 (g) REGIONAL PROGRAM COORDINATION.—Within 

13 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

14 the Office of Education shall work with Regional Program 

15 Managers on the following regional B-WET functions: 

16 (1) Strategic planning efforts. 

17 (2) Integration and coordination of programs. 

18 (3) Coordination of national evaluation efforts. 

19 (4) Promotion of network wide communications. 

20 (5) Selection of new Regional Program Man21 agers. 

22 (6) Management, tracking, and oversight of the 

23 B-WET program. 


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1 (h) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS BY ADMINIS2 TRATOR.—Of the amounts made available to implement 

3 this section— 

4 (1) no less than 80 percent shall be used for 

5 implementation of regional program activities, in6 cluding the award of grants; and 

7 (2) no more than 20 percent may be used by 

8 the Administrator to implement the regional pro9 grams and regional program coordination. 

10 SEC. 6. BIENNIAL REPORT. 

11 Not later than December 31, 2011, and biennially 

12 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 

13 report on the grant programs authorized under this Act. 

14 Each such report shall include a description of the eligible 

15 activities carried out with grants awarded under the Act 

16 during the previous two fiscal years, an assessment of the 

17 success and impact of such activities, and a description 

18 of the type of programs carried out with such grant, 

19 disaggregated by State. 

20 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro22 priated to the Administrator to carry out this Act— 

23 (1) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

24 (2) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

25 (3) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 


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1 (4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

2 (5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2015. 

3 (b) ALLOCATION.—The amount authorized for each 

4 fiscal year under subsection (a) shall be divided equally 

5 to carry out sections 4 and section 5. 

Æ 


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