I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5622 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 15, 2006 

Mr. POMBO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Resources 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, 

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 ‘‘Coral Reef Conserva5 tion Legacy Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

7 GRANTS PROGRAM. 

8 (a) PROJECT DIVERSITY.—Section 204(d) of the 

9 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6403(d)) 


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1 is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(3) Remaining funds shall be awarded for— 

4 ‘‘(A) projects (with priority given to com5 munity-based local action strategies) that ad6 dress emerging priorities or threats, including 

7 international and territorial priorities, or 

8 threats identified by the Administrator in con9 sultation with the Coral Reef Task Force; and 

10 ‘‘(B) other appropriate projects, as deter11 mined by the Administrator, including moni12 toring and assessment, research, pollution re13 duction, education, and technical support.’’. 

14 (b) APPROVAL CRITERIA.—Section 204(g) of that 

15 Act (16 U.S.C. 6403(g)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in 

17 paragraph (9); 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (10) as para19 graph (12); and 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(10) activities designed to minimize the likeli23 hood of damage to coral reefs, including the use of 

24 devices to minimize human impacts on coral reefs; 


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1 ‘‘(11) promoting and assisting entities to work 

2 with local communities, and all appropriate govern3 mental and nongovernmental organizations, to sup4 port community-based planning and management 

5 initiatives for the protection of coral reef systems; 

6 or’’. 

7 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIONS. 

8 Section 206 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 

9 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6404) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 206. EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator and the Sec12 retary of the Interior may each undertake or authorize ac13 tion within areas under their administrative jurisdiction 

14 as necessary to prevent or minimize the destruction or loss 

15 of, or injury to, coral reefs or coral reef ecosystems from 

16 vessel impacts or other physical damage to coral reefs, in17 cluding damage from unforeseen or disaster-related cir18 cumstances. 

19 ‘‘(b) ACTIONS AUTHORIZED.—Action authorized by 

20 subsection (a) includes vessel removal and emergency re21 stabilization of the vessel and any impacted coral reef. 

22 ‘‘(c) PARTNERING WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—When 

23 possible, actions under this section should— 

24 ‘‘(1) be conducted in partnership with other 

25 government agencies, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Coast Guard, the Federal Emer2 gency Management Agency, and the Corps of 

3 Engineers; and 

4 ‘‘(B) agencies of States and territories of 

5 the United States; and 

6 ‘‘(2) leverage resources of such other agencies, 

7 including funding or assistance authorized under 

8 other Federal laws.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208 of the Coral Reef 

11 Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6407) is amended 

12 to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 208. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGY.—Not later 

15 than October 1, 2007, and every 3 years thereafter, the 

16 Administrator, in consultation with the United States 

17 Coral Reef Task Force, shall submit to the Committee on 

18 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

19 the Committee on Resources of the House of Representa20 tives a report describing all activities undertaken to imple21 ment the strategy, including— 

22 ‘‘(1) a description of the funds obligated by 

23 each participating Federal agency to advance coral 

24 reef conservation during each of the 3 fiscal years 


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1 next preceding the fiscal year in which the report is 

2 submitted; 

3 ‘‘(2) a description of Federal interagency and 

4 cooperative efforts with States and United States 

5 territories to prevent or address overharvesting, 

6 coastal runoff, or other anthropogenic impacts on 

7 coral reefs, including projects undertaken with the 

8 Department of the Interior, Department of Agri9 culture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and 

10 the Army Corps of Engineers; 

11 ‘‘(3) a description of Federal disaster response 

12 actions taken pursuant to the National Response 

13 Plan to address damage to coral reefs and coral reef 

14 ecosystems; and 

15 ‘‘(4) an assessment of accomplishments under 

16 this Act and the effectiveness of management ac17 tions to address threats to coral reefs. 

18 ‘‘(b) CONDITION OF CORAL REEFS.—Not later than 

19 October 1, 2008, and every 3 years thereafter, the Admin20 istrator, in consultation with the United States Coral Reef 

21 Task Force, shall submit to the Committees referred to 

22 in subsection (a) an assessment of the condition of United 

23 States coral reefs.’’. 

24 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

25 for the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 


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1 6401 et seq.) is amended by striking the item relating to 

2 section 208 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 208. Report to Congress.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. FUND; GRANTS; COORDINATION; TASK FORCE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Coral Reef Conservation Act 

5 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘organization solely’’ and all 

7 that follows in section 205(a) (16 U.S.C. 6404(a)) 

8 and inserting ‘‘organization— 

9 ‘‘(1) to support partnerships between the public 

10 and private sectors that further the purposes of this 

11 Act and are consistent with the national coral reef 

12 strategy under section 203; and 

13 ‘‘(2) to address emergency response actions 

14 under section 206.’’; 

15 (2) by adding at the end of section 205(b) 16 

16 U.S.C. 6404(b)) ‘‘The organization is encouraged to 

17 solicit funding and in-kind services from the private 

18 sector, including nongovernmental organizations, for 

19 emergency response actions under section 206 and 

20 for activities to prevent damage to coral reefs, in21 cluding activities described in section 210(b)(2).’’; 

22 (3) by striking ‘‘the grant program’’ in section 

23 205(c) (16 U.S.C. 6404(c)) and inserting ‘‘any 

24 grant program or emergency response action’’; 


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1 (4) by redesignating sections 209 and 210 as 

2 sections 212 and 213, respectively; and 

3 (5) by inserting after section 208 the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 209. COMMUNITY-BASED PLANNING GRANTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may make a 

6 grant to any person that may submit a coral conservation 

7 proposal under section 204(e) to provide additional funds 

8 to such person to work with local communities and 

9 through appropriate Federal and State entities to prepare 

10 and implement plans for the increased protection of coral 

11 reef areas identified by the community and the best sci12 entific information available as high priorities for focused 

13 attention. The plans shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) support attainment of 1 or more of the cri15 teria described in section 204(g); 

16 ‘‘(2) be developed at the community level; 

17 ‘‘(3) utilize watershed-based approaches; 

18 ‘‘(4) provide for coordination with Federal and 

19 State experts and managers; 

20 ‘‘(5) build upon local approaches or models, in21 cluding traditional or island-based resource manage22 ment concepts; and 

23 ‘‘(6) compliment local action strategies or other 

24 regional plans for coral reef conservation. 


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1 ‘‘(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The provisions of 

2 subsections (b), (d), (f), and (h) of section 204 apply to 

3 grants under subsection (a), except that, for the purpose 

4 of applying section 204(b)(1) to grants under this section, 

5 ‘75 percent’ shall be substituted for ‘50 percent’. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 210. REGIONAL COORDINATION. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall work in 

8 coordination and collaboration with other Federal agen9 cies, States, and United States territorial governments to 

10 implement the strategies developed under section 203, in11 cluding regional and local strategies, to address multiple 

12 threats to coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems such as 

13 coastal runoff, vessel impacts, and overharvesting. 

14 ‘‘(b) MULTIYEAR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

15 Administrator may enter into multiyear cooperative agree16 ments with other Federal agencies, States and local gov17 ernments, academic institutions, and nongovernmental or18 ganizations to carry out the activities of the national coral 

19 reef action strategy. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 211. UNITED STATES CORAL REEF TASK FORCE. 

21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

22 the United States Coral Reef Task Force. 

23 ‘‘(b) GOAL.—The goal of the Task Force shall be to 

24 lead, coordinate, and strengthen Federal Government ac25 tions to better preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems. 


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1 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The duties of the Task Force shall 

2 be— 

3 ‘‘(1) to coordinate, in cooperation with State, 

4 territory, commonwealth, and local government part5 ners, and nongovernmental partners if appropriate, 

6 activities regarding the mapping, monitoring, re7 search, conservation, mitigation, restoration of coral 

8 reefs and coral reef ecosystems; 

9 ‘‘(2) work with the Secretary of State and the 

10 Administrator of the Agency for International Devel11 opment, and in coordination with the other members 

12 of the Task Force, to— 

13 ‘‘(A) assess the United States role in inter14 national trade and protection of coral reef spe15 cies; and 

16 ‘‘(B) implement appropriate strategies and 

17 actions to promote conservation and sustainable 

18 use of coral reef resources worldwide. 

19 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP, GENERALLY.—The Task Force 

20 shall be comprised of— 

21 ‘‘(1) the Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

22 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At23 mospheric Administration, and the Secretary of the 

24 Interior, who shall be co-chairs of the Task Force; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the Administrator of the Agency of Inter2 national Development; 

3 ‘‘(3) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

4 ‘‘(4) the Secretary of Defense; 

5 ‘‘(5) the Secretary of the Army, acting through 

6 the Corps of Engineers; 

7 ‘‘(6) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

8 ‘‘(7) the Attorney General; 

9 ‘‘(8) the Secretary of State; 

10 ‘‘(9) the Secretary of Transportation; 

11 ‘‘(10) the Administrator of the Environmental 

12 Protection Agency; 

13 ‘‘(11) the Administrator of the National Aero14 nautics and Space Administration; 

15 ‘‘(12) the Director of the National Science 

16 Foundation; 

17 ‘‘(13) the Governor, or a representative of the 

18 Governor, of the Commonwealth of the Northern 

19 Mariana Islands; 

20 ‘‘(14) the Governor, or a representative of the 

21 Governor, of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

22 ‘‘(15) the Governor, or a representative of the 

23 Governor, of the State of Florida; 

24 ‘‘(16) the Governor, or a representative of the 

25 Governor, of the State of Hawaii; 


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1 ‘‘(17) the Governor, or a representative of the 

2 Governor, of the Territory of Guam; 

3 ‘‘(18) the Governor, or a representative of the 

4 Governor, of the Territory of American Samoa; and 

5 ‘‘(19) the Governor, or a representative of the 

6 Governor, of the Virgin Islands. 

7 ‘‘(e) NON-VOTING MEMBERS.—The President, or a 

8 representative of the President, of each of the Freely Asso9 ciated States of the Federated States of Micronesia, the 

10 Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of 

11 Palau may appoint a non-voting member of the Task 

12 Force. 

13 ‘‘(f) WORKING GROUPS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The co-chairs of the Task 

15 Force may establish working groups as necessary to 

16 meet the goals and duties of this Act. The Task 

17 Force may request the co-chairs to establish such a 

18 working group. 

19 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATION BY NONGOVERNMENTAL

20 ORGANIZATIONS.—The co-chairs may allow a non21 governmental organization to participate in such a 

22 working group. 

23 ‘‘(g) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

24 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Task Force.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 for the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

3 6401 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec5 tions 208 through 211 as relating to sections 211 

6 through 214; and 

7 (b) by inserting the following after the item re8 lating to section 207: 

‘‘Sec. 209. Community-based planning grants. 

‘‘Sec. 210. Regional coordination. 

‘‘Sec. 211. United States Coral Reef Task Force.’’. 

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 Section 212 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 

11 2000 (formerly 16 U.S.C. 6408), as redesignated by sec12 tion 6, is amended— 

13 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

16 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 

17 be appropriated to carry out this title— 

18 ‘‘(A) to the Secretary of Commerce, 

19 $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $32,000,000 

20 for fiscal year 2009, and $34,000,000 for fiscal 

21 year 2010; and 

22 ‘‘(B) to the Secretary of the Interior, 

23 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

24 through 2010. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount authorized 

2 by this subsection for each of fiscal years 2008 

3 through 2010— 

4 ‘‘(A) no less than 30 percent shall be used 

5 for the grant program under section 204; 

6 ‘‘(B) up to 10 percent shall be used for the 

7 Fund established under section 205; 

8 ‘‘(C) $500,000 may be used by the Sec9 retary of the Interior to support operations of 

10 the United States Coral Reef Task Force; and 

11 ‘‘(D) $250,000 may be used by the Sec12 retary of Commerce to support such oper13 ations.’’; 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘$1,000,000’’ in subsection (b) 

15 and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000’’; and 

16 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(c) COMMUNITY-BASED PLANNING GRANTS.— 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Adminis20 trator to carry out section 209 the sum of $8,000,000 for 

21 fiscal years 2008 through 2010, such sum to remain avail22 able until expended.’’; and 

23 (4) by striking subsection (d). 

Æ 


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