II

Calendar No. 667

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1480

[Report No. 105–357]

To authorize appropriations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct research, monitoring, education and management

activities for the prevention, reduction, and control of harmful algal

blooms, including blooms of Pfiesteria piscicida and other aquatic toxins,

hypoxia, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 8, 1997

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. BREAUX, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr.

INOUYE, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. ROTH, and Mr. ROBB) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,

Science, and Transportation

SEPTEMBER 30, 1998

Reported by Mr. MCCAIN, with an amendment

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

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration to conduct research, monitoring, education and management activities for the prevention, reduction, and control of harmful algal blooms,

including blooms of Pfiesteria piscicida and other aquatic

toxins, hypoxia, and for other purposes.
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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 ‘‘Harmful Algal Bloom

5 Research and Control Act of 1997’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the recent outbreak of the harmful microbe

9 Pfiesteria piscicida in the coastal waters of the

10 United States is one of a larger set of potentially

11 harmful algal blooms that appear to be increasing in

12 abundance and intensity in the Nation’s coastal wa13 ters;

14 (2) in recent years, harmful algal blooms have

15 resulted in massive fish kills, the deaths of numer16 ous endangered West Indian manatees, beach clo17 sures, and threats to public health and safety;

18 (3) other recent occurrences of harmful algal

19 blooms include red tides in the Gulf of Mexico and

20 the southeast, brown tides in New York and Texas,

21 and shellfish poisonings in the Gulf of Maine, the

22 Pacific northwest and the Gulf of Alaska;

23 (4) harmful algal blooms have been responsible

24 for an estimated $1,000,000,000 in economic losses

25 during the past decade;
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1 (5) harmful algal blooms are composed of natu2 rally occurring species that reproduce explosively

3 when the natural system is out of balance;

4 (6) under certain circumstances, harmful algal

5 blooms can lead directly to other damaging marine

6 conditions such as hypoxia, as has been found in the

7 Gulf of Mexico.

8 (7) factors thought to cause or contribute to

9 harmful algal blooms include excessive nutrients and

10 toxins from polluted runoff;

11 (8) there is a strong need for a national strat12 egy to identify better means of controlling polluted

13 runoff;

14 (9) the National Oceanic and Admospheric Ad15 ministration (NOAA) in the Department of Com16 merce, through its ongoing research, grant, and

17 coastal resource management programs, possesses a

18 full range of capabilities necessary to support a near

19 and long-term comprehensive effort to control and

20 eradicate harmful algal blooms; and

21 (10) funding for NOAA’s research and related

22 programs will aid in improving the Nation’s under23 standing and capabilities for addressing the human

24 and environmental costs associated with harmful

25 algal blooms.
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1 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR ALGAL

2 BLOOM ERADICATION AND CONTROL.

3 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec4 retary of Commerce for activities related to the research,

5 eradication, and control of harmful algal blooms

6 $32,000,000 in each of fiscal years 1998, 1999, and 2000,

7 to remain available until expended. Of such amounts for

8 each fiscal year—

9 (1) $5,000,000 may be used to enable the Na10 tional Oceanic and Admospheric Administration to

11 carry out research activities, including procurement

12 and maintenance of research facilities, of the Office

13 of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Ma14 rine Fisheries Service, and the National Ocean Serv15 ice;

16 (2) $10,500,000 may be used to carry out the

17 Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal

18 Blooms (ECO-HAB) project and related research

19 under the Coastal Ocean Program established under

20 section 201(c) of Public Law 102-567;

21 (3) $3,000,000 may be used for outreach, edu22 cation and advisory services administered by the Na23 tional Sea Grant Office established under subsection

24 204(a) of the National Sea Grant College Program

25 Act (33 U.S.C. 1123(a));
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1 (4) $5,500,000 may be used to carry out fed2 eral and state annual monitoring and analysis activi3 ties administered by the Office of Resource Con4 servation and Assessment of the National Oceanic

5 and Atmospheric Administration; and

6 (5) $8,000,000 may be used for grants under

7 sections 306, 306A and 310 of the Coastal Zone

8 Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455, 1455a

9 and 1456c).

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

11 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harmful Algal Bloom

12 and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998’’.

13 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

14 The Congress finds that—

15 (1) the recent outbreak of the harmful microbe

16 Pfiesteria piscicida in the coastal waters of the

17 United States is one example of potentially harmful

18 algal blooms composed of naturally occurring species

19 that reproduce explosively and that are increasing in

20 frequency and intensity in the Nation’s coastal wa21 ters;

22 (2) other recent occurrences of harmful algal

23 blooms include red tides in the Gulf of Mexico and the

24 Southeast; brown tides in New York and Texas;

25 ciguatera fish poisoning in Hawaii, Florida, Puerto
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1 Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and shellfish

2 poisonings in the Gulf of Maine, the Pacific North3 west, and the Gulf of Alaska;

4 (3) in recent years, harmful algal blooms have

5 resulted in massive fish kills, the deaths of numerous

6 endangered West Indian manatees, beach and shellfish

7 bed closures, threats to public health and safety, and

8 concern among the public about the safety of seafood;

9 (4) according to scientists, the factors causing or

10 contributing to harmful algal blooms may include ex11 cessive nutrients in coastal waters, other forms of pol12 lution, the transfer of harmful species through ship

13 ballast water, and ocean currents;

14 (5) harmful algal blooms have been responsible

15 for an estimated $1,000,000,000 in economic losses

16 during the past decade;

17 (6) harmful algal blooms and blooms of non-toxic

18 algal species can also lead directly to other damaging

19 marine conditions such as hypoxia (reduced oxygen

20 concentrations), which are harmful or fatal to fish,

21 shellfish, and benthic organisms;

22 (7) according to the National Oceanic and At23 mospheric Administration in the Department of Com24 merce, 53 percent of U.S. estuaries experience hypoxia

25 for at least part of the year and a 7,000 square mile
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1 area in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana and Texas

2 suffers from hypoxia, creating a massive ‘‘dead zone’’

3 during much of the year where little or no marine life

4 exists;

5 (8) according to scientists, the primary factor

6 known to cause hypoxia is excessive nutrient loading

7 into coastal waters;

8 (9) there is a strong need to identify more work9 able and effective actions to reduce nutrient loadings

10 to coastal waters;

11 (10) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad12 ministration, through its ongoing research, education,

13 grant, and coastal resource management programs,

14 possesses a full range of capabilities necessary to sup15 port a near and long-term comprehensive effort to

16 prevent, reduce, and control harmful algal blooms and

17 hypoxia;

18 (11) funding for the research and related pro19 grams of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad20 ministration will aid in improving the Nation’s un21 derstanding and capabilities for addressing the

22 human and environmental costs associated with

23 harmful algal blooms and hypoxia; and

24 (12) other Federal agencies such as the Environ25 mental Protection Agency, the Department of Agri-
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1 culture, and the National Science Foundation, along

2 with the States, Indian tribes, and local governments,

3 conduct important work related to the prevention, re4 duction, and control of harmful algal blooms and hy5 poxia.

6 SEC. 3. ACTION PLAN.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INTER-AGENCY TASK

8 FORCE.—The President, through the Committee on Envi9 ronment and Natural Resources of the National Science and

10 Technology Council, shall establish an Inter-Agency Task

11 Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia (hereinafter

12 referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). The Task Force shall con13 sist of the following representatives from—

14 (1) the Department of Commerce (who shall serve

15 as Chairman of the Task Force);

16 (2) the Environmental Protection Agency;

17 (3) the Department of Agriculture;

18 (4) the Department of the Interior;

19 (5) the Department of the Navy;

20 (6) the Department of Health and Human Serv21 ices;

22 (7) the National Science Foundation;

23 (8) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin24 istration;

25 (9) the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
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1 (10) the Council on Environmental Quality; and

2 (11) such other Federal agencies as the President

3 considers appropriate.

4 (b) ACTION PLAN ON HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.—

5 (1) Not later than 12 months after the date of

6 enactment of this Act, the Task Force, in consultation

7 with the coastal States, Indian tribes, and local gov8 ernments, industry, academic institutions, and non9 governmental organizations with expertise in coastal

10 zone management, shall develop an action plan pro11 viding for a comprehensive, coordinated, and timely

12 Federal response to harmful algal blooms.

13 (2) The action plan shall—

14 (A) consist of actions that each Federal de15 partment or agency represented on the Task

16 Force shall take to prevent, reduce, manage,

17 mitigate, and control harmful algal blooms and

18 their environmental and public health impacts;

19 (B) prevent unnecessary duplication of ef20 fort among Federal agencies and departments

21 with respect to the actions in subparagraph (A);

22 and

23 (C) provide for Federal cooperation and co24 ordination with and assistance to the coastal

25 States, Indian tribes, and local governments in
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1 the prevention, reduction, management, mitiga2 tion, and control of harmful algal blooms and

3 their environmental and public health impacts.

4 (c) ACTION PLAN ON HYPOXIA.—

5 (1) Not later than 12 months after the date of

6 enactment of this Act, the Task Force, in consultation

7 with the States, Indian tribes, local governments, in8 dustry, agricultural, academic institutions, and non9 governmental organizations with expertise in water10 shed and coastal zone management, shall develop an

11 action plan providing for a comprehensive, coordi12 nated, and timely Federal response to hypoxia in

13 U.S. coastal waters.

14 (2) The action plan shall—

15 (A) establish needs, priorities, and guide16 lines for a peer-reviewed, inter-agency research

17 program on the causes, characteristics, and im18 pacts of hypoxia, and on actions that can be

19 taken to prevent, reduce, manage, mitigate, and

20 control hypoxia;

21 (B) identify actions that each Federal de22 partment or agency represented on the Task

23 Force shall take to prevent, reduce, manage,

24 mitigate, and control hypoxia and its environ25 mental impacts;
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1 (C) prevent unnecessary duplication of ef2 fort among Federal agencies and departments

3 with respect to the research and actions in sub4 paragraphs (A) and (B); and

5 (D) provide for Federal cooperation and co6 ordination with and assistance to the States, In7 dian tribes, and local governments in the preven8 tion, reduction, management, mitigation, and

9 control of hypoxia and its environmental im10 pacts.

11 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Beginning 12 months after

12 the date the action plans in subsections (b) and (c) are pub13 lished, the Task Force shall submit 3 annual reports to the

14 Congress and the President which—

15 (1) describe the progress of the departments and

16 agencies represented on the Task Force in implement17 ing the actions contained in the action plans;

18 (2) assess the effectiveness of the action plans to

19 that date in preventing, reducing, managing, mitigat20 ing, and controlling harmful algal blooms and hy21 poxia;

22 (3) describe any changes to an action plan made

23 or proposed to improve the effectiveness of such plan;

24 and
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1 (4) contain any other information the Task

2 Force may wish to include.

3 (e) DISESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.—The Presi4 dent may disestablish the Task Force after submission of

5 the third report in subsection (d).

6 SEC. 4. NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO HYPOXIA.

7 (a) ASSESSMENT REPORT.—Not later than March 30,

8 1999, the Task Force shall complete and submit to Congress

9 and the President an integrated assessment of hypoxia in

10 the northern Gulf of Mexico that examines: the distribution,

11 dynamics, and causes; ecological and economic con12 sequences; sources and loads of nutrients transported by the

13 Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico; effects of reducing

14 nutrient loads; methods for reducing nutrient loads; and the

15 social and economic costs and benefits of such methods.

16 (b) SUBMISSION OF A PLAN.—No later than March 30,

17 2000, the President shall develop and submit to Congress

18 a plan, based on the integrated assessment submitted under

19 subsection (a), for reducing, mitigating, and controlling hy20 poxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In developing such

21 plan, the President shall consult with State, Indian tribe,

22 and local governments, academic, agricultural, industry,

23 and environmental groups and representatives. At least 90

24 days before the President submits such plan to the Congress,

25 a summary of the proposed plan shall be published in the
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1 Federal Register for a public comment period of not less

2 than 60 days.

3 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary of Commerce for research, education, and manage6 ment activities related to the prevention, reduction, and

7 control of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, $25.5 million

8 in each of fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001, to remain

9 available until expended. The Secretary shall consult with

10 the States on a regular basis regarding the development and

11 implementation of the activities authorized under this sec12 tion. Of such amounts for each fiscal year—

13 (1) $5,000,000 may be used to enable the Na14 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to

15 carry out research and assessment activities, includ16 ing procurement of necessary research equipment, at

17 research laboratories of the National Ocean Service

18 and the National Marine Fisheries Service;

19 (2) $7,000,000 may be used to carry out the

20 Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms

21 (ECOHAB) project under the Coastal Ocean Program

22 established under section 201(c) of Public Law 102-

23 567;

24 (3) $3,000,000 may be used by the National

25 Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
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1 pheric Administration to carry out a peer-reviewed

2 research project on management measures that can be

3 taken to prevent, reduce, control, and mitigate harm4 ful algal blooms;

5 (4) $5,500,000 may be used to carry out Federal

6 and State annual monitoring and analysis activities

7 for harmful algal blooms administered by the Na8 tional Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and At9 mospheric Administration;

10 (5) $5,000,000 may be used for activities related

11 to research and monitoring on hypoxia by the Na12 tional Ocean Service and the Office of Oceanic and

13 Atmospheric Research of the National Oceanic and

14 Atmospheric Administration.

15 SEC. 6. AMENDMENT TO NATIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE

16 PROGRAM ACT.

17 Section 212(a) of the National Sea Grant College Pro18 gram Act (33 U.S.C. 1131(a)) is amended by striking para19 graph (2)(C) and inserting the following:

20 ‘‘(C) up to $3,000,000 may be made avail21 able for competitive grants for university re22 search, education, training, and advisory serv23 ices on Pfiesteria piscicida and other harmful

24 algal blooms.’’.
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1 SEC. 7. AMENDMENT TO THE COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT

2 ACT.

3 Section 318(a) of the Coastal Zone Management Act

4 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1464 (a)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

6 (1);

7 (2) by striking ‘‘1999.’’ at the end of paragraph

8 (2) and inserting ‘‘1999; and’’; and

9 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following:

10 ‘‘(3) up to $2,000,000 for fiscal years 1999 and

11 2000 for technical assistance under section 310 to

12 support State implementation and analysis of the ef13 fectiveness of measures to prevent, reduce, mitigate, or

14 control harmful algal blooms and hypoxia.’’.
Calendar No. 667

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1480

[Report No. 105–357]

A BILL

To authorize appropriations for the National Ocepoxia, and for other purposes. Pfiesteria piscicida and other aquatic toxins, hy- trol of harmful algal blooms, including blooms of activities for the prevention, reduction, and con- research, monitoring, education and management anic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct

SEPTEMBER 30, 1998

Reported with an amendment