IB 

Union Calendar No. 159 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 335 

[Report No. 116–202, Part I] 

To require the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and 

Hypoxia to develop a plan for reducing, mitigating, and controlling harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2019 

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 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SOTO, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. POSEY, and Mr. 

WALTZ

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 

Reported from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology with an 

amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 

Committee on Natural Resources discharged; committed to the Committee of 

the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 8, 2019] 


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•HR 335 RH

A BILL 

To require the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal 

Blooms and Hypoxia to develop a plan for reducing, 

mitigating, and controlling harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, and for other purposes. 


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•HR 335 RH

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 ‘‘South Florida Clean 

5 Coastal Waters Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SOUTH FLORIDA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HY7 POXIA ASSESSMENT AND ACTION PLAN. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hy9 poxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (Public Law 105– 

10 383; 33 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating sections 605 through 609 as 

12 sections 606 through 610, respectively; and 

13 (2) by inserting after section 604 the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 605. SOUTH FLORIDA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND 

15 HYPOXIA. 

16 ‘‘(a) SOUTH FLORIDA.—In this section, the term 

17 ‘South Florida’ means— 

18 ‘‘(1) all lands and waters within the administra19 tive boundaries of the South Florida Water Manage20 ment District; 

21 ‘‘(2) regional coastal waters, including Biscayne 

22 Bay, the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida Bay, and 

23 Indian River Lagoon; and 

24 ‘‘(3) the Florida Reef Tract. 


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•HR 335 RH

1 ‘‘(b) INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 540 

2 days after the date of enactment of the South Florida Clean 

3 Coastal Waters Act of 2019, the Task Force, in accordance 

4 with the authority under section 603, shall complete and 

5 submit to Congress and the President an interim integrated 

6 assessment. Not later than 3 years after such date of enact7 ment, the Task Force shall finalize, and submit to Congress 

8 and the President, such assessment. Such assessment shall 

9 examine the causes, consequences, and potential approaches 

10 to reduce harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Flor11 ida, and the status of, and gaps within, current harmful 

12 algal bloom and hypoxia research, monitoring, manage13 ment, prevention, response, and control activities that di14 rectly affect the region by— 

15 ‘‘(1) Federal agencies; 

16 ‘‘(2) State agencies; 

17 ‘‘(3) regional research consortia; 

18 ‘‘(4) academia; 

19 ‘‘(5) private industry; 

20 ‘‘(6) nongovernmental organizations; and 

21 ‘‘(7) Indian tribes (as defined in section 4 of the 

22 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

23 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). 

24 ‘‘(c) ACTION PLAN.— 


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•HR 335 RH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

2 the date of the enactment of the South Florida Clean 

3 Coastal Waters Act of 2019, the Task Force shall de4 velop and submit to Congress a plan, based on the in5 tegrated assessment under subsection (b), for reducing, 

6 mitigating, and controlling harmful algal blooms and 

7 hypoxia in South Florida. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The plan submitted under 

9 paragraph (1) shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) address the monitoring needs identi11 fied in the integrated assessment under sub12 section (b); 

13 ‘‘(B) develop a timeline and budgetary re14 quirements for deployment of future assets; 

15 ‘‘(C) identify requirements for the develop16 ment and verification of South Florida harmful 

17 algal bloom and hypoxia models, including— 

18 ‘‘(i) all assumptions built into the 

19 models; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) data quality methods used to en21 sure the best available data are utilized; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(D) propose a plan to implement a remote 

24 monitoring network and early warning system 

25 for alerting local communities in the region to 


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•HR 335 RH

1 harmful algal bloom risks that may impact 

2 human health. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the action 

4 plan, the Task Force shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) consult with the State of Florida, and 

6 affected local and tribal governments; 

7 ‘‘(B) consult with representatives from re8 gional academic, agricultural, industry, and 

9 other stakeholder groups; 

10 ‘‘(C) ensure that the plan complements and 

11 does not duplicate activities conducted by other 

12 Federal or State agencies, including the South 

13 Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force; 

14 ‘‘(D) identify critical research for reducing, 

15 mitigating, and controlling harmful algal bloom 

16 events and their effects; 

17 ‘‘(E) evaluate cost-effective, incentive-based 

18 partnership approaches; 

19 ‘‘(F) ensure that the plan is technically 

20 sound and cost-effective; 

21 ‘‘(G) utilize existing research, assessments, 

22 reports, and program activities; 

23 ‘‘(H) publish a summary of the proposed 

24 plan in the Federal Register at least 180 days 


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1 prior to submitting the completed plan to Con2 gress; and 

3 ‘‘(I) after submitting the completed plan to 

4 Congress, provide biennial progress reports on 

5 the activities toward achieving the objectives of 

6 the plan.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT AND CORRECTION.—The 

8 table of contents in section 2 of the Coast Guard Authoriza9 tion Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–383) is amended by 

10 striking the items relating to title VI and inserting the fol11 lowing new items: 

‘‘TITLE VI—HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA 

‘‘Sec. 601. Short title. 

‘‘Sec. 602. Findings. 

‘‘Sec. 603. Assessments. 

‘‘Sec. 603A. National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program. 

‘‘Sec. 603B. Comprehensive research plan and action strategy. 

‘‘Sec. 604. Northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. 

‘‘Sec. 605. South Florida harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. 

‘‘Sec. 606. Great Lakes hypoxia and harmful algal blooms. 

‘‘Sec. 607. Protection of States’ Rights. 

‘‘Sec. 608. Effect on other Federal authority. 

‘‘Sec. 609. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 610. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 159 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 335 

[Report No. 116–202, Part I] 

A BILL 

To require the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmfor other purposes. algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, and for reducing, mitigating, and controlling harmful ful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia to develop a plan 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019 

Reported from the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology with an amendment 


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