I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3424 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce unnecessary 

permitting delays by clarifying associated procedures to increase economic 

development and support coastal restoration programs, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 21, 2019 

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. 

PALAZZO, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. ABRAHAM, and Mr. ROUZER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to 

reduce unnecessary permitting delays by clarifying associated procedures to increase economic development and 

support coastal restoration programs, 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 ‘‘Streamlining Environ5 mental Approvals Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘SEA Act of 

6 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ADDRESSING PERMITS FOR TAKING OF MARINE 

2 MAMMALS. 

3 Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protec4 tion Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(5)(D)) is amended 

5 as follows: 

6 (1) In clause (i)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘citizens of the United 

8 States’’ and inserting ‘‘persons’’; 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘within a specific geo10 graphic region’’; 

11 (C) by striking ‘‘of small numbers’’; 

12 (D) by striking ‘‘such citizens’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘such persons’’; and 

14 (E) by striking ‘‘within that region’’. 

15 (2) In clause (ii)— 

16 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘, and 

17 other means of effecting the least practicable 

18 impact on such species or stock and its habi19 tat’’; 

20 (B) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘re21 quirements pertaining to the monitoring and re22 porting of such taking by harassment, includ23 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘efficient and practical re24 quirements pertaining to the monitoring of such 

25 taking by harassment while the activity is being 

26 conducted and the reporting of such taking, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424

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1 cluding, as the Secretary determines nec2 essary,’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘Any condition imposed pursuant to subclause (I), (II), 

5 or (III) may not result in more than a minor change to 

6 the specified activity and may not alter the basic design, 

7 location, scope, duration, or timing of the specified activ8 ity.’’. 

9 (3) In clause (iii), by striking ‘‘receiving an ap10 plication under this subparagraph’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘an application is accepted or required to be consid12 ered complete under subclause (I)(aa), (II)(aa), or 

13 (IV) of clause (viii), as applicable,’’. 

14 (4) In clause (vi), by striking ‘‘a determination 

15 of ‘least practicable adverse impact on such species 

16 or stock’ under clause (i)(I)’’ and inserting ‘‘condi17 tions imposed under subclause (I), (II), or (III) of 

18 clause (ii)’’. 

19 (5) By adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(viii)(I) The Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(aa) accept as complete a written request for 

22 authorization under this subparagraph for incidental 

23 taking described in clause (i), by not later than 45 

24 days after the date of submission of the request; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) provide to the requester, by not later than 

2 15 days after the date of submission of the request, 

3 a written notice describing any additional informa4 tion required to complete the request. 

5 ‘‘(II) If the Secretary provides notice under subclause 

6 (I)(bb), the Secretary shall, by not later than 30 days after 

7 the date of submission of the additional information de8 scribed in the notice— 

9 ‘‘(aa) accept the written request for authoriza10 tion under this subparagraph for incidental taking 

11 described in clause (i); or 

12 ‘‘(bb) deny the request and provide the re13 quester a written explanation of the reasons for the 

14 denial. 

15 ‘‘(III) The Secretary may not make a second request 

16 for information, request that the requester withdraw and 

17 resubmit the request, or otherwise delay a decision on the 

18 request. 

19 ‘‘(IV) If the Secretary fails to respond to a request 

20 for authorization under this subparagraph in the manner 

21 provided in subclause (I) or (II), the request shall be con22 sidered to be complete. 

23 ‘‘(ix)(I) At least 90 days before the expiration of any 

24 authorization issued under this subparagraph, the holder 

25 of such authorization may apply for a one-year extension 


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1 of such authorization. The Secretary shall grant such ex2 tension within 14 days after the date of such request on 

3 the same terms and without further review if there has 

4 been no substantial change in the activity carried out 

5 under such authorization nor in the status of the marine 

6 mammal species or stock, as applicable, as reported in the 

7 final annual stock assessment reports for such species or 

8 stock. 

9 ‘‘(II) In subclause (I) the term ‘substantial change’ 

10 means a change that prevents the Secretary from making 

11 the required findings to issue an authorization under 

12 clause (i) with respect to such species or stock. 

13 ‘‘(III) The Secretary shall notify the applicant of 

14 such substantial changes with specificity and in writing 

15 within 14 days after the applicant’s submittal of the exten16 sion request. 

17 ‘‘(x) If the Secretary fails to make the required find18 ings and, as appropriate, issue the authorization within 

19 120 days after the application is accepted or required to 

20 be considered complete under subclause (I)(aa), (II)(aa), 

21 or (III) of clause (viii), as applicable, the authorization 

22 is deemed to have been issued on the terms stated in the 

23 application and without further process or restrictions 

24 under this Act.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. REMOVING DUPLICATIONS. 

2 Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protec3 tion Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(5)(D)), as amended 

4 by section 2 of this Act, is further amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(xi) Any taking of a marine mammal in compliance 

7 with an authorization under this subparagraph is exempt 

8 from the prohibition on taking in section 9 of the Endan9 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538). Any Federal 

10 agency authorizing, funding, or carrying out an action 

11 that results in such taking, and any agency action author12 izing such taking, is exempt from the requirement to con13 sult regarding potential impacts to marine mammal spe14 cies or designated critical habitat under section 7(a)(2) 

15 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)).’’. 

Æ 


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