I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 368 

To authorize the acquisition of land and interests in land from willing sellers 

to improve the conservation of, and to enhance the ecological values 

and functions of, coastal and estuarine areas to benefit both the environment and the economies of coastal communities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2009 

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

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

A BILL 

To authorize the acquisition of land and interests in land 

from willing sellers to improve the conservation of, and 

to enhance the ecological values and functions of, coastal 

and estuarine areas to benefit both the environment and 

the economies of 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coastal and Estuarine 

5 Land Conservation Program Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF COASTAL AND ESTUARINE 

2 LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 

3 The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

4 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

5 307 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF THE COASTAL AND ESTUARINE

7 LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM

8 ‘‘SEC. 307A. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

9 conduct a Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Pro10 gram, in cooperation with appropriate State, regional, and 

11 other units of government, for the purposes of protecting 

12 important coastal and estuarine areas that have signifi13 cant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aes14 thetic values, or that are threatened by conversion from 

15 their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state to other 

16 uses or could be managed or restored to effectively con17 serve, enhance, or restore ecological function. The pro18 gram shall be administered by the National Ocean Service 

19 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

20 through the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Man21 agement. 

22 ‘‘(b) PROPERTY ACQUISITION GRANTS.—The Sec23 retary shall make grants under the program to coastal 

24 states with approved coastal zone management plans or 

25 National Estuarine Research Reserve units for the purVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:29 Jan 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H368.IH H368

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1 pose of acquiring property or interests in property de2 scribed in subsection (a) that will further the goals of— 

3 ‘‘(1) a Coastal Zone Management Plan or Pro4 gram approved under this title; 

5 ‘‘(2) a National Estuarine Research Reserve 

6 management plan; 

7 ‘‘(3) a regional or State watershed protection or 

8 management plan involving coastal states with ap9 proved coastal zone management programs; or 

10 ‘‘(4) a State coastal land acquisition plan that 

11 is consistent with an approved coastal zone manage12 ment program. 

13 ‘‘(c) GRANT PROCESS.—The Secretary shall allocate 

14 funds to coastal states or National Estuarine Research 

15 Reserves under this section through a competitive grant 

16 process in accordance with guidelines that meet the fol17 lowing requirements: 

18 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall consult with the coast19 al state’s coastal zone management program, any 

20 National Estuarine Research Reserve in that State, 

21 and the lead agency designated by the Governor for 

22 coordinating the implementation of this section (if 

23 different from the coastal zone management pro24 gram). 


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1 ‘‘(2) Each participating coastal state, after con2 sultation with local governmental entities and other 

3 interested stakeholders, shall identify priority con4 servation needs within the State, the values to be 

5 protected by inclusion of lands in the program, and 

6 the threats to those values that should be avoided. 

7 ‘‘(3) Each participating coastal state shall to 

8 the extent practicable ensure that the acquisition of 

9 property or easements shall complement working wa10 terfront needs. 

11 ‘‘(4) The applicant shall identify the values to 

12 be protected by inclusion of the lands in the pro13 gram, management activities that are planned and 

14 the manner in which they may affect the values 

15 identified, and any other information from the land16 owner relevant to administration and management of 

17 the land. 

18 ‘‘(5) Awards shall be based on demonstrated 

19 need for protection and ability to successfully lever20 age funds among participating entities, including 

21 Federal programs, regional organizations, State and 

22 other governmental units, landowners, corporations, 

23 or private organizations. 

24 ‘‘(6) The governor, or the lead agency des25 ignated by the governor for coordinating the impleVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:29 Jan 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H368.IH H368

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1 mentation of this section, where appropriate in con2 sultation with the appropriate local government, 

3 shall determine that the application is consistent 

4 with the State’s or territory’s approved coastal zone 

5 plan, program, and policies prior to submittal to the 

6 Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(7)(A) Priority shall be given to lands de8 scribed in subsection (a) that can be effectively man9 aged and protected and that have significant ecologi10 cal value. 

11 ‘‘(B) Of the projects that meet the standard in 

12 subparagraph (A), priority shall be given to lands 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(i) are under an imminent threat of con15 version to a use that will degrade or otherwise 

16 diminish their natural, undeveloped, or rec17 reational state; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) serve to mitigate the adverse impacts 

19 caused by coastal population growth in the 

20 coastal environment. 

21 ‘‘(8) In developing guidelines under this section, 

22 the Secretary shall consult with coastal states, other 

23 Federal agencies, and other interested stakeholders 

24 with expertise in land acquisition and conservation 

25 procedures. 


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1 ‘‘(9) Eligible coastal states or National Estua2 rine Research Reserves may allocate grants to local 

3 governments or agencies eligible for assistance under 

4 section 306A(e). 

5 ‘‘(10) The Secretary shall develop performance 

6 measures that the Secretary shall use to evaluate 

7 and report on the program’s effectiveness in accom8 plishing its purposes, and shall submit such evalua9 tions to Congress triennially. 

10 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS AND PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTEC11 TIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) A grant awarded under this section may 

13 be used to purchase land or an interest in land, in14 cluding an easement, only from a willing seller. Any 

15 such purchase shall not be the result of a forced tak16 ing under this section. Nothing in this section re17 quires a private property owner to participate in the 

18 program under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) Any interest in land, including any ease20 ment, acquired with a grant under this section shall 

21 not be considered to create any new liability, or have 

22 any effect on liability under any other law, of any 

23 private property owner with respect to any person 

24 injured on the private property. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this section requires a private 

2 property owner to provide access (including Federal, 

3 State, or local government access) to or use of pri4 vate property unless such property or an interest in 

5 such property (including a conservation easement) 

6 has been purchased with funds made available under 

7 this section. 

8 ‘‘(e) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL

9 LAND USE.—Nothing in this title modifies the authority 

10 of Federal, State, or local governments to regulate land 

11 use. 

12 ‘‘(f) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

14 make a grant under the program unless the Federal 

15 funds are matched by non-Federal funds in accord16 ance with this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE REQUIREMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds under 

19 the program shall require a 100 percent match 

20 from other non-Federal sources. 

21 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The 

22 Secretary may grant a waiver of subparagraph 

23 (A) for underserved communities, communities 

24 that have an inability to draw on other sources 

25 of funding because of the small population or 


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1 low income of the community, or for other rea2 sons the Secretary deems appropriate and con3 sistent with the purposes of the program. 

4 ‘‘(3) OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—Where finan5 cial assistance awarded under this section represents 

6 only a portion of the total cost of a project, funding 

7 from other Federal sources may be applied to the 

8 cost of the project. Each portion shall be subject to 

9 match requirements under the applicable provision 

10 of law. 

11 ‘‘(4) SOURCE OF MATCHING COST SHARE.—For 

12 purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the non-Federal cost 

13 share for a project may be determined by taking into 

14 account the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) The value of land or a conservation 

16 easement may be used by a project applicant as 

17 non-Federal match, if the Secretary determines 

18 that— 

19 ‘‘(i) the land meets the criteria set 

20 forth in section 2(b) and is acquired in the 

21 period beginning 3 years before the date of 

22 the submission of the grant application 

23 and ending 3 years after the date of the 

24 award of the grant; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the value of the land or easement 

2 is held by a non-governmental organization 

3 included in the grant application in per4 petuity for conservation purposes of the 

5 program; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) the land or easement is con7 nected either physically or through a con8 servation planning process to the land or 

9 easement that would be acquired. 

10 ‘‘(B) The appraised value of the land or 

11 conservation easement at the time of the grant 

12 closing will be considered and applied as the 

13 non-Federal cost share. 

14 ‘‘(C) Costs associated with land acquisi15 tion, land management planning, remediation, 

16 restoration, and enhancement may be used as 

17 non-Federal match if the activities are identi18 fied in the plan and expenses are incurred with19 in the period of the grant award, or, for lands 

20 described in (A), within the same time limits 

21 described therein. These costs may include ei22 ther cash or in-kind contributions. 

23 ‘‘(g) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR NATIONAL ESTU24 ARINE RESEARCH RESERVE SITES.—No less than 15 per25 cent of funds made available under this section shall be 


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1 available for acquisitions benefitting National Estuarine 

2 Research Reserves. 

3 ‘‘(h) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

4 than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec5 retary under this section shall be used by the Secretary 

6 for planning or administration of the program. The Sec7 retary shall provide a report to Congress with an account 

8 of all expenditures under this section for fiscal year 2009 

9 and triennially thereafter. 

10 ‘‘(i) TITLE AND MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED PROP11 ERTY.—If any property is acquired in whole or in part 

12 with funds made available through a grant under this sec13 tion, the grant recipient shall provide— 

14 ‘‘(1) such assurances as the Secretary may re15 quire that— 

16 ‘‘(A) the title to the property will be held 

17 by the grant recipient or another appropriate 

18 public agency designated by the recipient in 

19 perpetuity; 

20 ‘‘(B) the property will be managed in a 

21 manner that is consistent with the purposes for 

22 which the land entered into the program and 

23 shall not convert such property to other uses; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) if the property or interest in land is 

2 sold, exchanged, or divested, funds equal to the 

3 current value will be returned to the Secretary 

4 in accordance with applicable Federal law for 

5 redistribution in the grant process; and 

6 ‘‘(2) certification that the property (including 

7 any interest in land) will be acquired from a willing 

8 seller. 

9 ‘‘(j) REQUIREMENT FOR PROPERTY USED FOR NON10 FEDERAL MATCH.—If the grant recipient elects to use 

11 any land or interest in land held by a non-governmental 

12 organization as a non-Federal match under subsection (g), 

13 the grant recipient must to the Secretary’s satisfaction 

14 demonstrate in the grant application that such land or in15 terest will satisfy the same requirements as the lands or 

16 interests in lands acquired under the program. 

17 ‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) CONSERVATION EASEMENT.—The term 

19 ‘conservation easement’ includes an easement or re20 striction, recorded deed, or a reserve interest deed 

21 where the grantee acquires all rights, title, and in22 terest in a property, that do not conflict with the 

23 goals of this section except those rights, title, and 

24 interests that may run with the land that are exVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:29 Jan 12, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H368.IH H368

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1 pressly reserved by a grantor and are agreed to at 

2 the time of purchase. 

3 ‘‘(2) INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The term ‘in4 terest in property’ includes a conservation easement. 

5 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

7 out this section $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

8 through 2013.’’. 

Æ 


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