I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2551 

To require the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere to update periodically the environmental sensitivity index products of the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration for each coastal area of the Great 

Lakes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2019 

Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. 

HUIZENGA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere 

to update periodically the environmental sensitivity index 

products of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for each coastal area of the Great Lakes, 

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 ‘‘Great Lakes Environ5 mental Sensitivity Index Act of 2019’’. 


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•HR 2551 IH

1 SEC. 2. UPDATE TO ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX 

2 PRODUCTS OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT3 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FOR GREAT 

4 LAKES. 

5 (a) UPDATE REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL SENSI6 TIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS FOR GREAT LAKES.—Not later 

7 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

8 the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall 

9 commence updating the environmental sensitivity index 

10 products of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin11 istration for each coastal area of the Great Lakes. 

12 (b) PERIODIC UPDATES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SEN13 SITIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS GENERALLY.—Subject to the 

14 availability of appropriations and the priorities set forth 

15 in subsection (c), the Under Secretary shall— 

16 (1) periodically update the environmental sensi17 tivity index products of the Administration; and 

18 (2) endeavor to do so not less frequently than 

19 once every 7 years. 

20 (c) PRIORITIES.—When prioritizing geographic areas 

21 to update environmental sensitivity index products, the 

22 Under Secretary shall consider— 

23 (1) the age of existing environmental sensitivity 

24 index products for the areas; 


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•HR 2551 IH

1 (2) the occurrence of extreme events, be it nat2 ural or man-made, which have significantly altered 

3 the shoreline or ecosystem since the last update; 

4 (3) the natural variability of shoreline and 

5 coastal environment; and 

6 (4) the volume of vessel traffic and general vul7 nerability to spilled pollutants. 

8 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX PRODUCT

9 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘environmental 

10 sensitivity index product’’ means a map or similar tool 

11 that is utilized to identify sensitive shoreline, coastal or 

12 offshore, resources prior to an oil spill event in order to 

13 set baseline priorities for protection and plan cleanup 

14 strategies, typically including information relating to 

15 shoreline type, biological resources, and human use re16 sources. 

17 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

19 appropriated to the Under Secretary $7,500,000 to 

20 carry out subsection (a). 

21 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated or 

22 otherwise made available pursuant to paragraph (1) 

23 shall be available to the Under Secretary for the 

24 purposes set forth in such paragraph until expended. 

Æ 


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