I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 988 

To provide for a study by the Ocean Studies Board of the National Academies 

of Science examining the impact of ocean acidification and other stressors 

in estuarine environments. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2019 

Mr. POSEY (for himself, Ms. BONAMICI, and Mr. MAST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for a study by the Ocean Studies Board of 

the National Academies of Science examining the impact 

of ocean acidification and other stressors in estuarine 

environments. 

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 ‘‘National Estuaries and 

5 Acidification Research Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘NEAR Act 

6 of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Ocean acidification impacts human health, 

4 natural resources, and the environmental, economic, 

5 and recreational uses of the coastline. 

6 (2) The current understanding of ocean acidifi7 cation impacts on estuarine ecosystems is inadequate 

8 to fully prepare and manage for changing environ9 mental conditions in nearshore locations. 

10 (3) While pH can be measured with high preci11 sion and accuracy in open ocean environments, more 

12 understanding of the carbonate system in estuarine 

13 ecosystems is needed for precise and accurate meas14 urements and observations. 

15 (4) The interaction of multiple stressors, includ16 ing salinity, pH, temperature, sea level rise, and nu17 trient input, within estuarine ecosystems is inad18 equately understood for managing the health, eco19 nomic, recreational, and environmental impacts driv20 en by these interactions. 

21 (5) A better understanding is needed of how 

22 anthropogenic influences in coastal environments af23 fect estuarine ecosystems. 

24 (6) More integration and coordination is needed 

25 among regional, national, and global environmental 

26 observations in estuarine environments, supporting 


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1 prior investments in related topics such as nutrient 

2 loading, hypoxia, ocean acidification, and harmful 

3 algae bloom research and observational systems. 

4 SEC. 3. STUDY EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF OCEAN ACIDIFI5 CATION AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL 

6 STRESSORS ON ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce 

9 shall make appropriate arrangements with the Ocean 

10 Studies Board of the National Academies under which the 

11 Board shall conduct a study that— 

12 (1) examines the existing science of ocean acidi13 fication in estuarine environments; 

14 (2) examines the challenges to studying ocean 

15 acidification and ocean acidification’s interactions 

16 with other environment stressors in estuarine envi17 ronments; 

18 (3) provides recommendations for improving fu19 ture research with respect to ocean acidification in 

20 estuarine environments; and 

21 (4) identifies pathways for applying science in 

22 management and mitigation decisions relating to 

23 ocean acidification in estuarine environments. 

24 (b) CONTENTS OF STUDY.—The study described 

25 under subsection (a) shall include— 


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1 (1) the current state of data collection, inter2 pretation, storage, and retrieval and observational 

3 infrastructure of abiotic and biotic parameters in es4 tuarine ecosystems; 

5 (2) how environmental and anthropogenic 

6 changes or disturbances could affect abiotic and bi7 otic processes within estuaries; 

8 (3) how estuarine biotic and abiotic processes 

9 will be affected under predicted environmental 

10 changes; 

11 (4) the behavior of the carbonate system within 

12 estuarine environments; 

13 (5) the interactions of the carbonate system 

14 with other biotic and abiotic characteristics of estua15 rine ecosystems; 

16 (6) the gaps that exist in understanding the 

17 socio-economic and health impacts of ocean acidifica18 tion in estuaries; 

19 (7) future directions for scientific research; and 

20 (8) pathways for applying science in manage21 ment and mitigation decisions. 

22 (c) REPORT.—In entering into an arrangement under 

23 subsection (a), the Secretary shall request that the Board 

24 transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study 


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1 not later than 24 months after the date of enactment of 

2 this Act. 

Æ 


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