I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6841 

To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to allow the Secretary 

of Commerce to establish a Coastal and Estuarine Resilience and Restoration Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 15, 2023 

Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. MAST, Ms. BONAMICI, Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia, 

Mr. HUFFMAN, Mrs. GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, Mr. KILMER, and Mr. VAN

DREW) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to 

allow the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Coastal 

and Estuarine Resilience and Restoration Program, 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. COASTAL AND ESTUARINE RESILIENCE AND 

4 RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

5 Section 307A of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

6 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1456–1) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking the heading and inserting 

2 ‘‘COASTAL AND ESTUARINE RESILIENCE AND RES3 TORATION PROGRAM’’; 

4 (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct a 

7 Coastal and Estuarine Resilience and Restoration Pro8 gram, in cooperation with State, regional, and other units 

9 of government, the National Estuarine Research Reserves, 

10 and non-governmental organizations for the purposes of— 

11 ‘‘(1) protecting important coastal and estuarine 

12 areas that— 

13 ‘‘(A) have significant conservation, rec14 reational, coastal access, ecological, historical, 

15 community protection, or aesthetic value; 

16 ‘‘(B) are threatened by conversion from 

17 their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state 

18 to other uses; or 

19 ‘‘(C) could be managed or restored to ef20 fectively conserve, enhance, or restore ecological 

21 function or mitigate climate change; and 

22 ‘‘(2) restoring developed property in vulnerable 

23 coastal and estuarine areas to a natural state to re24 store ecological function, allow for shoreline migra25 tion, and protect coastal communities.’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘or National 

2 Estuarine Research Reserve units’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

3 National Estuarine Research Reserves, or non-gov4 ernmental organizations that meet the requirements 

5 of subsection (k)’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (c)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘or National Estuarine Re8 search Reserves’’ and inserting ‘‘, National Es9 tuarine Research Reserves, or non-governmental 

10 organizations’’; 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘shall 

12 identify’’ and inserting ‘‘may identify’’; 

13 (C) by amending paragraph (7) to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(7)(A) Priority shall be given to lands that— 

16 ‘‘(i) can be effectively managed and pro17 tected and are described in subsection 

18 (a)(1)(A); 

19 ‘‘(ii) to the maximum extent practicable, 

20 benefit communities that may not have ade21 quate resources to prepare for or respond to 

22 coastal hazards or to access coastline, including 

23 low-income communities; or 

24 ‘‘(iii)(I) are under an imminent threat of 

25 conversion to a use that will degrade or otherVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:32 Jan 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6841.IH H6841

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1 wise diminish their natural, undeveloped, or rec2 reational state; 

3 ‘‘(II) serve to mitigate the adverse impacts 

4 caused by coastal population growth on the 

5 coastal environment; 

6 ‘‘(III) are within or adjacent to a National 

7 Estuarine Research Reserve designated under 

8 section 315, a national wildlife refuge, or a na9 tional estuary program, or are proposed for des10 ignation as such a reserve or other such pro11 tected area; or 

12 ‘‘(IV) are under threat due to climate 

13 change or may serve to mitigate the adverse ef14 fects of climate change, including through long15 term carbon storage, and to facilitate inland 

16 migration of coastal ecosystems in response to 

17 sea level rise. 

18 ‘‘(B) Of the projects that are given priority 

19 under subparagraph (A), priority shall be given to 

20 lands that reflect conservation priorities identified 

21 pursuant to paragraphs (1) through (4).’’; and 

22 (D) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘tri23 ennially’’ and inserting ‘‘every 5 years’’; 

24 (5) in subsection (f)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘for 

2 any territory of the United States that is un3 able to provide such match,’’ after ‘‘commu4 nity,’’; and 

5 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

6 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

7 ‘‘the land meets the criteria set forth in 

8 section 2(b) and’’ and inserting ‘‘such use 

9 will further the goals set forth in sub10 section (b) and such land interest’’; 

11 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

12 redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub13 paragraph (B); 

14 (iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so redes15 ignated), by striking ‘‘described in (A)’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘described in subparagraph 

17 (A)’’; and 

18 (iv) by inserting at the end the fol19 lowing new subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(C) The value of ecosystem services that 

21 such interest in land provides, including as a 

22 buffer for storm surge, as a habitat for eco23 nomically valuable species, and as a long-term 

24 carbon store.’’; 


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1 (6) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘15’’ and in2 serting ‘‘20’’; 

3 (7) by redesignating subsections (k) and (l) as 

4 subsections (l) and (m), respectively; 

5 (8) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(k) NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A non-governmental orga9 nization that applies for a grant under this section 

10 may only be awarded a grant under subsection (b) 

11 to acquire property or an interest in property if such 

12 organization, with respect to the property or interest 

13 in property— 

14 ‘‘(A) provides such documentation as the 

15 Secretary determines appropriate to dem16 onstrate that the agency that is primarily re17 sponsible for managing coastal and estuarine 

18 land of the State in which the property or inter19 est in property is located has provided public 

20 notice of the support of such agency for the 

21 grant application of such organization; 

22 ‘‘(B) either— 

23 ‘‘(i) ensures that the property or in24 terest in property is, or will be made, ac25 cessible to the public; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) provides documentation showing 

2 that public access to the property or inter3 est in property is required to be restricted 

4 to maintain the biological integrity, biologi5 cal diversity, or environmental health of 

6 the property or interest in property; and 

7 ‘‘(C) includes in the deed for the property 

8 or interest in property a clear statement regard9 ing how the property or interest in property will 

10 be disposed of if such organization becomes 

11 nonviable after the date such organization ac12 quires such property or interest in property. 

13 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary shall de14 velop objective measures that each non-governmental 

15 organization that applies for a grant under this sec16 tion shall use to demonstrate the compliance of such 

17 organization with the requirements of paragraph 

18 (1).’’; and 

19 (9) in subsection (m), as so redesignated, by 

20 striking ‘‘fiscal years 2009 through 2013’’ and in21 serting ‘‘fiscal years 2024 through 2028’’. 

22 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO NATIONAL ESTUARINE RE23 SEARCH RESERVE SYSTEM PROGRAM. 

24 (a) DESIGNATION OF ADDITIONAL RESERVES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 

2 the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec3 retary shall designate not less than 5 new national 

4 estuarine reserves in the System. 

5 (2) PRIORITIZATION.—In making each designa6 tion under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

7 prioritize nominated sites that will promote the fol8 lowing with respect to the System: 

9 (A) The presence of a National Estuarine 

10 Research Reserve in each coastal State. 

11 (B) Full representation of biogeographic 

12 regions to ensure research in areas with distinct 

13 biodiversity or estuarine geography. 

14 (b) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 

15 315(e)(1)(A)(ii) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

16 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1461(f)(1)(A)(ii)) is amended by insert17 ing ‘‘and maintaining’’ after ‘‘constructing’’. 

18 (c) GUIDELINES FOR TRACKING AND MODELING THE

19 IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.—Section 315(c) of the 

20 Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

21 1461(c)) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

23 (5) as paragraphs (4) through (6), respectively; and 

24 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(3) the establishment of coordinated long-term 

2 data monitoring and methods throughout the Sys3 tem for tracking and modeling the impacts of cli4 mate change on estuarine systems, including impacts 

5 on lake levels and sea levels;’’. 

6 (d) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Section 315 of the 

7 Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1461) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(h) SYSTEMWIDE ELEMENTS OF THE NATIONAL

10 ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE SYSTEM.—The Sec11 retary shall coordinate systemwide programs and activities 

12 in the System including— 

13 ‘‘(1) the centralized management and dissemi14 nation of data from System observation and moni15 toring networks; 

16 ‘‘(2) a grant program employing the collabo17 rative research model on coastal research and man18 agement priorities to be conducted at research re19 serve sites focused on the priorities determined by 

20 the Secretary; 

21 ‘‘(3) using National Estuarine Research Re22 serves as living laboratories and as preferred place23 ments for fellowship and research positions for the 

24 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(4) establishing the Margaret A. Davidson 

2 Graduate Research Fellowship Program to address 

3 key coastal management questions and the coastal 

4 research and management priorities of the System 

5 and its place-based sites to help scientists and com6 munities understand the coastal challenges that may 

7 influence future policy and management strategies. 

8 ‘‘(i) PLACE-BASED PROGRAM ELEMENTS OF THE

9 NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE SYSTEM.— 

10 Each National Estuarine Research Reserve shall establish 

11 and maintain place-based program elements that in12 clude— 

13 ‘‘(1) a research, monitoring, and observation 

14 network that detects environmental change and in15 forms suitable adaptation and mitigation strategies 

16 to coastal hazards; 

17 ‘‘(2) identifying and monitoring sentinel sites 

18 that provide an opportunity to develop and test tech19 niques for adapting to and mitigating the harmful 

20 effects of climate change; 

21 ‘‘(3) education, outreach, training, and inter22 pretive programs that communicate the value and 

23 changing dynamics of coastal systems; 

24 ‘‘(4) stewardship programs that provide science25 based tools, habitat management, and restoration 


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1 and that provide resources and information to in2 form coastal management; 

3 ‘‘(5) coastal training programs that provide 

4 technical assistance to coastal communities, resource 

5 managers, and coastal decisionmakers; 

6 ‘‘(6) identifying priority land for acquisition to 

7 enhance ecosystem and community resilience to the 

8 negative effects of climate change; and 

9 ‘‘(7) the lands and facilities that support such 

10 accessible research, monitoring, stewardship, edu11 cation, and coastal training activities. 

12 ‘‘(j) EXISTING USES.—Except as otherwise explicitly 

13 provided in a management plan of a National Estuarine 

14 Research Reserve, each Reserve shall permit existing uses 

15 of System lands and waters, including (as applicable)— 

16 ‘‘(1) commercial and recreational fishing; 

17 ‘‘(2) hunting; and 

18 ‘‘(3) cultural uses. 

19 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

21 $47,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 

22 to provide financial assistance under this section.’’. 

23 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 

25 State’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘coastal 


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1 state’’ in section 304 of title III of the Coastal Zone 

2 Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453), as ap3 plicable to such title. 

4 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ has 

5 the meaning given the term in section 304 of the 

6 Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

7 1453). 

8 (3) SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘System’’ means the 

9 National Estuarine Research Reserve System estab10 lished under section 315 of the Coastal Zone Man11 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1461). 

Æ 


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