IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3644 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22 (legislative day, MARCH 19), 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ocean, Coastal, and 

3 Watershed Education Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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

6 (1) The United States faces major challenges, 

7 such as mitigating and adapting to the impacts of 

8 climate change, stewarding critical coastal and ma9 rine resources including fish and wildlife habitat 

10 while sustaining the commercial and recreational ac11 tivities that depend on these resources, and improv12 ing resilience to natural disasters, that collectively 

13 threaten human health, sustainable economic devel14 opment, environmental quality, and national secu15 rity. 

16 (2) Communities in coastal watersheds are par17 ticularly vulnerable to these increasingly urgent, 

18 interconnected, and complex challenges and need 

19 support for teacher professional development and ex20 periential learning among students of all ages. 

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

22 of comprehensive programs specifically targeted to 

23 engage coastal watershed communities, school24 children, and the general public to develop engaged 

25 and environmentally literate citizens who are better 

26 able to understand complex environmental issues, asVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:41 Mar 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3644.RFS H3644

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1 sess risk, evaluate proposed plans, and understand 

2 how individual decisions affect the environment at 

3 local, regional, national, and global scales. 

4 (4) The intrinsic social and conservation values 

5 of wildlife-dependent and other outdoor recreation 

6 can play an important role in outdoor educational 

7 programs that address the myriad of coastal and 

8 ocean concerns, as well as instill a sustainable con9 servation ethic that will enable them to face those 

10 challenges to the betterment of both the environment 

11 and coastal communities. 

12 (5) The economic importance of coastal areas 

13 and resources to the overall economy of the United 

14 States is significant. According to the U.S. Commis15 sion on Ocean Policy, coastal and ocean-related ac16 tivities support millions of American jobs and gen17 erate more than $1 trillion, or one tenth of the Na18 tion’s annual gross domestic product. Sustainable 

19 use of the Nation’s natural resources can provide 

20 additional economic opportunities to the United 

21 States economy. 

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

23 environmental literacy, develop public awareness and ap24 preciation of the economic, social, recreational, and envi25 ronmental benefits of coastal watersheds, and emphasize 


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1 stewardship and sustainable economic development of crit2 ical coastal and marine resources, including an under3 standing of how climate change is impacting those re4 sources, through the establishment of— 

5 (1) an Environmental Literacy Grant Program; 

6 and 

7 (2) regional programs under the B-WET Pro8 gram. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis12 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

13 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

14 (2) BAY-WATERSHED EDUCATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘bay-watershed education’’ means environmental 

16 education focused on watersheds, with an emphasis 

17 on stewardship and sustainable economic develop18 ment of critical coastal and marine resources, includ19 ing an understanding of how climate change is im20 pacting those resources. 

21 (3) B-WET PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘B-WET 

22 Program’’ means the Bay-Watershed Education and 

23 Training Program of the National Oceanic and At24 mospheric Administration, as in effect immediately 


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1 before the enactment of this Act and modified under 

2 this Act or any subsequently enacted Act. 

3 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti4 ty’’ means a State agency, local agency, school dis5 trict, institution of higher education, or for-profit or 

6 non-profit nongovernmental organization, consor7 tium, or other entity that the Administrator finds 

8 has demonstrated expertise and experience in the de9 velopment of the institutional, intellectual, or policy 

10 resources to help environmental education become 

11 more effective and widely practiced. 

12 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION.—The term 

13 ‘‘environmental education’’ means interdisciplinary 

14 formal and informal learning about the relevant 

15 interrelationships between dynamic environmental 

16 and human systems, including economic systems 

17 that depend on coastal, watershed and marine re18 sources for job creation and economic growth, that 

19 results in increasing the learner’s capacity for deci20 sionmaking, stewardship, and sustainable economic 

21 development of natural and community resources. 

22 (6) ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY.—The term 

23 ‘‘environmental literacy’’ means the capacity to per24 ceive and interpret the relative health of environ25 mental systems and the interrelationships between 


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1 natural, economic, and social systems and tech2 nology, and to assess options and take appropriate 

3 action to maintain, restore, or improve the health of 

4 those systems and promote sustainable economic de5 velopment. 

6 (7) HIGH-LEVERAGE PROJECTS.—The term 

7 ‘‘high-leverage projects’’ means projects supported 

8 by grants authorized under this Act that use Fed9 eral, State and nongovernmental financial, technical, 

10 and other resources in such a manner that the po11 tential beneficial outcomes are highly magnified or 

12 enhanced. 

13 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

14 the several States of the United States, the District 

15 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

16 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com17 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, any 

18 other territory or possession of the United States, 

19 and any Indian tribe. 

20 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

22 a national competitive grant program, to be known as the 

23 ‘‘Environmental Literacy Grant Program’’, under which 

24 the Administrator shall provide, subject to the availability 

25 of appropriations, financial assistance to— 


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1 (1) expand the adoption of coastal, ocean, Great 

2 Lakes, and climate on all time scales education; 

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, wildlife-depend7 ent, and other outdoor recreation, experiential learn8 ing, and hands-on involvement with coastal and wa9 tershed resources as a method of promoting steward10 ship and sustainable economic development of those 

11 resources; 

12 (4) develop and implement new approaches to 

13 advance coastal, ocean, Great Lakes, and climate on 

14 all time scales education and environmental literacy 

15 at national, regional, and local levels; and 

16 (5) encourage formal and informal environ17 mental education about the systemic interrelation18 ships between healthy coastal, watershed, and ma19 rine resources and sustainable economic systems 

20 that depend on such resources for job creation and 

21 economic development. 

22 (b) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under this sec23 tion, the Administrator shall give priority consideration to 

24 innovative, strategic, high-leverage projects that dem25 onstrate strong potential for being sustained in the future 


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1 by a grant recipient beyond the time period in which ac2 tivities are carried out with the grant. 

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

4 date of enactment of this Act and after consultation with 

5 appropriate stakeholders, the Administrator shall publish 

6 in the Federal Register guidelines regarding the imple7 mentation of this grant program, including publication of 

8 criteria for eligible entities, identification of national prior9 ities, establishment of performance measures to evaluate 

10 program effectiveness, information regarding sources of 

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

12 reporting requirements for grant award recipients. 

13 (d) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS BY ADMINIS14 TRATOR.—Of the amounts made available to implement 

15 this section— 

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

17 competitive grants or cooperative agreements; 

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

19 the Administrator to implement the grant program; 

20 and 

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

22 appropriated for the program authorized under this 

23 section shall be used to fund contracts or cooperative 

24 agreements to conduct strategic planning, promote 

25 communications among grant recipients and within 


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1 communities, coordinate grant activities to foster an 

2 integrated program, and oversee national evaluation 

3 efforts. 

4 SEC. 5. B-WET PROGRAM. 

5 (a) EXISTING PROGRAM.—The Administrator shall 

6 conduct the B-WET Program, including each of the re7 gional programs conducted or under active consideration 

8 for creation under such program immediately before the 

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 (b) NEW REGIONAL PROGRAMS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may cre12 ate new regional programs under the B-WET Pro13 gram in accordance with a strategy issued under 

14 this subsection. 

15 (2) STRATEGY.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

17 shall issue a strategy for establishing such new 

18 regional programs. 

19 (B) CONTENTS.—The strategy shall in20 clude the following: 

21 (i) Evaluation of the need for new re22 gional program in areas that are not 

23 served under the B-WET Program on the 

24 date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (ii) Identification of potential new re2 gional programs, including a listing of po3 tential principal non-Federal partners. 

4 (iii) A comprehensive budget for fu5 ture expansion of the B-WET Program 

6 over the period for which appropriations 

7 are authorized under this Act. 

8 (iv) Such other information as the Ad9 ministrator considers necessary. 

10 (C) CONSULTATION AND PUBLIC COM11 MENT.—The Administrator shall consult with 

12 relevant stakeholders and provide opportunity 

13 for public comment in the development of the 

14 strategy. 

15 (D) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Ad16 ministrator shall submit the strategy to the 

17 Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

18 of Representatives and the Committee on Com19 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen20 ate by not later than 270 days after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act. 

22 (3) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.—In creating 

23 new regional programs under this subsection, the 

24 Administrator shall give priority consideration to the 

25 needs of— 


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1 (A) United States territories, including 

2 Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

3 Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the 

4 Northern Mariana Islands, and American 

5 Samoa; 

6 (B) the Great Lakes States; 

7 (C) Alaska; and 

8 (D) the mid-Atlantic region. 

9 (c) MODIFICATION OF B-WET PROGRAM.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

11 modify or realign regional programs under the B12 WET Program, based on— 

13 (A) changes in regional needs; 

14 (B) mutual interest between the Adminis15 trator and relevant stakeholders within a region 

16 or regions; 

17 (C) changes in resources available to the 

18 Administrator to implement the B-WET Pro19 gram; and 

20 (D) other circumstances as determined 

21 necessary by the Administrator. 

22 (2) CONSULTATION AND PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

23 The Administrator shall— 

24 (A) consult with the persons conducting a 

25 regional program and provide opportunity for 


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1 public comment prior to making a final decision 

2 to modify or realign such regional program; and 

3 (B) publish public notice of such a decision 

4 no less than 30-days before the effective date of 

5 such a modification or realignment. 

6 (d) REGIONAL PROGRAM MANAGERS.— 

7 (1) APPOINTMENT OF REGIONAL PROGRAM

8 MANAGER.—The Administrator shall be responsible 

9 for the selection, appointment, and when necessary 

10 replacement of a regional program manager for each 

11 regional program under the B-WET Program. 

12 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To qualify for appoint13 ment as a regional program manager, an individual 

14 must— 

15 (A) reside in the region for which ap16 pointed; and 

17 (B) demonstrate competence and expertise 

18 in bay-watershed education and training. 

19 (3) FUNCTIONS.—Each regional program man20 ager shall— 

21 (A) be responsible for managing and ad22 ministering the B-WET Program in the region 

23 for which appointed, in accordance with this 

24 Act; 


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1 (B) determine the most appropriate com2 munities within the region to be served by the 

3 B-WET Program; 

4 (C) encourage water-dependent, wildlife-de5 pendent, and other outdoor recreation, experi6 ential learning experiences for students, and 

7 hands-on involvement with coastal and water8 shed resources as a method of promoting stew9 ardship and sustainable economic development 

10 of those resources and complementing core 

11 classroom curriculum; 

12 (D) support communication and collabora13 tion among educators, natural resource plan14 ners and managers, and governmental and non15 governmental stakeholders; 

16 (E) share and distribute information re17 garding educational plans, strategies, learning 

18 activities, and curricula to all stakeholders with19 in its region; 

20 (F) provide financial and technical assist21 ance pursuant to the guidelines developed by 

22 the Administrator under this section; and 

23 (G) perform any additional duties as nec24 essary to carry out the functions of the pro25 gram. 


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

2 after the date of enactment of this Act and after consulta3 tion with appropriate stakeholders, the Administrator 

4 shall publish in the Federal Register guidelines regarding 

5 the implementation of the B-WET Program, as follows: 

6 (1) CONTRACTS.—The Administrator shall cre7 ate guidelines through which each regional program 

8 manager may enter into contracts (subject to the 

9 availability of appropriations) to support projects to 

10 design, demonstrate, evaluate, or disseminate prac11 tices, methods, or techniques related to Bay-water12 shed education and training. 

13 (2) GRANT MAKING AND COOPERATIVE AGREE14 MENTS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

16 shall create guidelines through which each re17 gional program manager may provide financial 

18 assistance in the form of a grant (subject to the 

19 availability of appropriations) or cooperative 

20 agreement to support projects that advance the 

21 purpose of this Act. The guidelines shall include 

22 criteria for eligible entities, identification of na23 tional priorities, establishment of performance 

24 measures to evaluate program effectiveness, and 


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1 reporting requirements for grant award recipi2 ents. 

3 (B) PRIORITY.—In making grants under 

4 this paragraph, each regional program manager 

5 shall give priority to those projects that will— 

6 (i) promote bay-watershed education 

7 throughout the region concerned; 

8 (ii) advance strategic initiatives to in9 corporate bay-watershed education into 

10 formal and informal education systems; 

11 (iii) build capacity within bay-water12 shed education communities and stake13 holder groups for expanding and strength14 ening their work; 

15 (iv) build bay-watershed education 

16 into professional development or training 

17 activities for educators; and 

18 (v) broadly replicate existing, proven 

19 bay-watershed education programs. 

20 (f) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

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

22 this section, the regional program managers shall 

23 give priority consideration to a project for which the 

24 Federal share does not exceed 75 percent of the ag25 gregate cost of such project. 


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

2 share of the costs of any project supported by an 

3 award of grant funding under this section may be 

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

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

6 (3) OTHER PRIORITY.—The regional program 

7 managers shall give priority consideration to a 

8 project that will be conducted by or benefit any 

9 under-served community, any community that has 

10 an inability to draw on other sources of funding be11 cause of the small population or low income of the 

12 community, or any other person for any other reason 

13 the Administrator considers appropriate and con14 sistent with the purpose of this Act. 

15 (g) REGIONAL PROGRAM COORDINATION.—Within 

16 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

17 the Office of Education shall work with regional program 

18 managers on the following regional B-WET Program 

19 functions: 

20 (1) Strategic planning efforts. 

21 (2) Integration and coordination of programs. 

22 (3) Coordination of national evaluation efforts. 

23 (4) Promotion of network wide communications. 

24 (5) Selection of new Regional Program Man25 agers. 


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

2 B-WET Program. 

3 (h) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS BY ADMINIS4 TRATOR.—Of the amounts made available to implement 

5 this section— 

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

7 implementation of regional program activities, in8 cluding the award of grants; and 

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

10 the Administrator to implement the regional pro11 grams and regional program coordination. 

12 SEC. 6. BIENNIAL REPORT. 

13 Not later than December 31, 2011, and biennially 

14 thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 

15 report on the grant programs authorized under this Act. 

16 Each such report shall include a description of the eligible 

17 activities carried out with grants awarded under the Act 

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

19 success and impact of such activities, and a description 

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

21 disaggregated by State. 

22 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator— 


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1 (1) to carry out the Environmental Literacy 

2 Grant Program authorized by section 4 (including 

3 administrative expenses for preparing the report 

4 under section 6)— 

5 (A) for fiscal year 2011, $13,200,000; 

6 (B) for fiscal year 2012, $14,500,000; 

7 (C) for fiscal year 2013, $16,000,000; 

8 (D) for fiscal year 2014, $17,600,000; and 

9 (E) for fiscal year 2015, $19,300,000; and 

10 (2) to carry out the B-WET Program author11 ized by section 5 (including administrative expenses 

12 for preparing the report under section 6)— 

13 (A) for fiscal year 2011, $10,700,000; 

14 (B) for fiscal year 2012, $11,700,000; 

15 (C) for fiscal year 2013, $12,900,000; 

16 (D) for fiscal year 2014, $14,200,000; and 

17 (E) for fiscal year 2015, $15,600,000. 

18 (b) PROHIBITION ON EARMARKS.—None of the funds 

19 appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) may be used for 


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1 a congressional earmark as defined in clause 9(e) of rule 

2 XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 19, 

2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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