116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 335 

AN ACT 

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. 

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 ‘‘South Florida Clean 

3 Coastal Waters Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SOUTH FLORIDA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND 

5 HYPOXIA ASSESSMENT AND ACTION PLAN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Harmful Algal Bloom and 

7 Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (Public Law 

8 105–383; 33 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating sections 605 through 609 

10 as sections 606 through 610, respectively; and 

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

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

13 HYPOXIA. 

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

15 ‘South Florida’ means— 

16 ‘‘(1) all lands and waters within the administra17 tive boundaries of the South Florida Water Manage18 ment District; 

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

20 Bay, the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida Bay, and 

21 Indian River Lagoon; and 

22 ‘‘(3) the Florida Reef Tract. 

23 ‘‘(b) INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 

24 540 days after the date of enactment of the South Florida 

25 Clean Coastal Waters Act of 2019, the Task Force, in ac26 cordance with the authority under section 603, shall com-
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1 plete and submit to Congress and the President an interim 

2 integrated assessment. Not later than 3 years after such 

3 date of enactment, the Task Force shall finalize, and sub4 mit to Congress and the President, such assessment. Such 

5 assessment shall examine the causes, consequences, and 

6 potential approaches to reduce harmful algal blooms and 

7 hypoxia in South Florida, and the status of, and gaps 

8 within, current harmful algal bloom and hypoxia research, 

9 monitoring, management, prevention, response, and con10 trol activities that directly affect the region by— 

11 ‘‘(1) Federal agencies; 

12 ‘‘(2) State agencies; 

13 ‘‘(3) regional research consortia; 

14 ‘‘(4) academia; 

15 ‘‘(5) private industry; 

16 ‘‘(6) nongovernmental organizations; and 

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

18 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist19 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). 

20 ‘‘(c) ACTION PLAN.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years and 

22 6 months after the date of the enactment of the 

23 South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 2019, 

24 the Task Force shall develop and submit to Con25 gress a plan, based on the integrated assessment 
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1 under subsection (b), for reducing, mitigating, and 

2 controlling harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in 

3 South Florida. 

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

5 paragraph (1) shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) address the monitoring needs identi7 fied in the integrated assessment under sub8 section (b); 

9 ‘‘(B) develop a timeline and budgetary re10 quirements for deployment of future assets; 

11 ‘‘(C) identify requirements for the develop12 ment and verification of South Florida harmful 

13 algal bloom and hypoxia models, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) all assumptions built into the 

15 models; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) data quality methods used to en17 sure the best available data are utilized; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(D) propose a plan to implement a re20 mote monitoring network and early warning 

21 system for alerting local communities in the re22 gion to harmful algal bloom risks that may im23 pact human health. 

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

25 plan, the Task Force shall— 
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1 ‘‘(A) consult with the State of Florida, and 

2 affected local and tribal governments; 

3 ‘‘(B) consult with representatives from re4 gional academic, agricultural, industry, and 

5 other stakeholder groups; 

6 ‘‘(C) ensure that the plan complements 

7 and does not duplicate activities conducted by 

8 other Federal or State agencies, including the 

9 South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task 

10 Force; 

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

12 mitigating, and controlling harmful algal bloom 

13 events and their effects; 

14 ‘‘(E) evaluate cost-effective, incentive15 based partnership approaches; 

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

17 sound and cost-effective; 

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

19 reports, and program activities; 

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

21 plan in the Federal Register at least 180 days 

22 prior to submitting the completed plan to Con23 gress; and 

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

25 Congress, provide biennial progress reports on 
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1 the activities toward achieving the objectives of 

2 the plan.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT AND CORRECTION.—The 

4 table of contents in section 2 of the Coast Guard Author5 ization Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–383) is amended by 

6 striking the items relating to title VI and inserting the 

7 following 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.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 

2019. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 335 

AN ACT 

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