I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4160 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and to establish 

the United States Coral Reef Task Force, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 2, 2019 

Mr. SOTO (for himself, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of Puerto Rico, Mr. CRIST, 

Mr. MAST, Mrs. MURPHY, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, and Ms. GABBARD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 

and to establish the United States Coral Reef Task 

Force, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2019’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

ACT OF 2000 

Sec. 101. Reauthorization of Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. 

TITLE II—UNITED STATES CORAL REEF TASK FORCE 

Sec. 201. Establishment. 

Sec. 202. Duties. 

Sec. 203. Membership. 

Sec. 204. Responsibilities of Federal agency members. 

Sec. 205. Working groups. 

Sec. 206. Definitions. 

TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CORAL REEF 

AUTHORITIES 

Sec. 301. Coral reef conservation and restoration assistance. 

1 TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF 

2 CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

3 ACT OF 2000 

4 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVA5 TION ACT OF 2000. 

6 The Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

7 6401 et seq.) is amended by striking sections 202 through 

8 210 and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 202. PURPOSES. 

10 ‘‘The purposes of this title are— 

11 ‘‘(1) to preserve, sustain, and restore the condi12 tion of United States coral reef ecosystems chal13 lenged by natural and human-accelerated changes, 

14 including increasing ocean temperatures, ocean 

15 acidification, coral bleaching, coral diseases, and 

16 invasive species; 


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1 ‘‘(2) to promote the science-based management 

2 and sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems to ben3 efit local communities and the Nation, including 

4 through improved integration and cooperation 

5 among Federal, State, and locally managed jurisdic6 tions with coral reef equities; 

7 ‘‘(3) to develop sound scientific information on 

8 the condition of coral reef ecosystems, continuing 

9 and emerging threats to such ecosystems, and the 

10 efficacy of innovative tools, technologies, and strate11 gies to restore such ecosystems; 

12 ‘‘(4) to assist in the preservation of coral reefs 

13 by supporting consensus-driven State and commu14 nity-based coral reef management, including con15 servation and restoration projects that empower 

16 local communities, small businesses, and nongovern17 mental organizations; 

18 ‘‘(5) to provide financial resources, technical as19 sistance, and scientific expertise to supplement and 

20 strengthen State and community-based management 

21 programs and conservation and restoration projects; 

22 ‘‘(6) to establish a formal mechanism for col23 lecting and allocating monetary donations from the 

24 private sector to be used for coral reef conservation 

25 and restoration projects; 


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1 ‘‘(7) to support the rapid and effective, science2 based response to emergencies that imminently 

3 threaten coral reefs, such as coral disease outbreaks, 

4 invasive species, coral bleaching, natural disasters, 

5 vessel groundings or chemical spills, and other exi6 gent circumstances; and 

7 ‘‘(8) to serve as a model for advancing similar 

8 international efforts to preserve, sustain, and restore 

9 coral reef ecosystems in the jurisdictions of United 

10 States allies and trading partners. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 203. NATIONAL CORAL REEF RESILIENCE STRATEGY. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

13 date of the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act 

14 of 2019, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate 

15 congressional committees and publish in the Federal Reg16 ister a national coral reef resilience strategy. 

17 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by para18 graph (1) shall include— 

19 ‘‘(1) a statement of goals and objectives and an 

20 implementation plan for supporting— 

21 ‘‘(A) the coral reef conservation program 

22 under section 221; and 

23 ‘‘(B) future Federal coral reef manage24 ment and restoration activities under section 

25 205; 


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1 ‘‘(2) national maps of— 

2 ‘‘(A) the current range and extent of coral 

3 reef ecosystems; 

4 ‘‘(B) the historic range and extent of coral 

5 reef ecosystems; and 

6 ‘‘(C) prime habitat for restoring reef eco7 system structure and functions to benefit coast8 al communities and living marine resources; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(3) a discussion of— 

11 ‘‘(A) continuing and emerging threats to 

12 the resilience of United States coral reef eco13 systems; 

14 ‘‘(B) national and regional gaps in coral 

15 reef ecosystem research, monitoring, and as16 sessments; 

17 ‘‘(C) the status of efforts to improve man18 agement, integration, and cooperation among 

19 Federal, State, Tribal, and locally managed ju20 risdictions with coral reef equities; and 

21 ‘‘(D) efforts to manage and disseminate 

22 critical information, such as publicly accessible 

23 research, reports, datasets, and maps, including 

24 through interjurisdictional data sharing. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REVISIONS.—The Administrator shall periodi2 cally, but not less frequently than every 20 years, review 

3 and revise the strategy required by subsection (a) as ap4 propriate. 

5 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing the strategy 

6 required by subsection (a), the Administrator shall consult 

7 with the Secretary of the Interior and the Task Force. 

8 ‘‘(e) USE OF EXISTING PLAN.—At the discretion of 

9 the Administrator, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

10 Administration’s 2018 Coral Reef Conservation Program 

11 Strategic Plan may be considered to fulfill the require12 ments of this section until January 1, 2040. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 204. FEDERAL CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30, 

15 2021, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator 

16 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

17 and publish in the Federal Register a compilation of coral 

18 reef action plans for each individual management unit of 

19 a Federal agency specified in section 205(c) with jurisdic20 tion over coral reef ecosystems and established for at least 

21 5 years— 

22 ‘‘(1) developed and submitted to the Adminis23 trator by the Secretary of the Interior and the As24 sistant Administrator of the National Ocean Service, 

25 as applicable; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) that meet the requirements of subsection 

2 (b). 

3 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL CORAL REEF

4 ACTION PLANS.—A coral reef action plan of a manage5 ment unit described in subsection (a) meets the require6 ments of this subsection if the plan includes— 

7 ‘‘(1) a statement of goals and objectives to be 

8 accomplished during the 5-year period following de9 velopment of the plan and consistent with the na10 tional coral reef resilience strategy in effect as devel11 oped in accordance with section 203; and 

12 ‘‘(2) a discussion of— 

13 ‘‘(A) a review of such unit’s efforts and 

14 success in managing and restoring coral reef 

15 ecosystems under the previous coral reef action 

16 plan in effect as developed under this section, 

17 if applicable, and how such review informs the 

18 newly effective action plan; 

19 ‘‘(B) short- and mid-term coral reef con20 servation and restoration objectives for such 

21 unit’s coral reef ecosystems; 

22 ‘‘(C) an assessment of whether such unit 

23 has experienced more than a 10 percent loss of 

24 living coral cover during the 10-year period pre25 ceding the date of the plan or retains less than 


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1 50 percent of its historic living coral cover as 

2 of that date; 

3 ‘‘(D) an updated adaptive management 

4 framework to inform research, monitoring, and 

5 assessment needs; 

6 ‘‘(E) any coral reef emergency plans cer7 tified under section 216 for coral reef eco8 systems within such unit, and a review of any 

9 circumstance that led to the activation of such 

10 plans within such unit, including an evaluation 

11 of the emergency responses; 

12 ‘‘(F) tools and strategies to address pollu13 tion and water quality impacts to coral reef eco14 systems arising wholly from within the adminis15 trative boundaries of such unit; 

16 ‘‘(G) the status of efforts to improve coral 

17 reef ecosystem management integration and co18 operation among neighboring Federal, State, 

19 Tribal, or locally managed jurisdictions, includ20 ing identification of existing research and moni21 toring activities that can be leveraged for coral 

22 reef status and trends assessments within such 

23 unit; 

24 ‘‘(H) a list of all coral reefs or ecologically 

25 significant units of coral reefs identified by 


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1 coral reef stewardship partnerships certified 

2 under section 210(e) or subject to stewardship 

3 activities governed by coral reef stewardship 

4 plans certified under section 212 during the 

5 preceding 5-year period within such unit; 

6 ‘‘(I) coral reef-related public outreach and 

7 education efforts; 

8 ‘‘(J) an accounting of annual unit expendi9 tures on coral reef management and restoration 

10 during the 5-year period preceding the date of 

11 the plan; and 

12 ‘‘(K) estimated budgetary and other re13 source considerations necessary to carry out 

14 such plan. 

15 ‘‘(c) ADOPTION OF STEWARDSHIP AND EMERGENCY

16 PLANS.—In developing a coral reef action plan under this 

17 section, a management unit described in subsection (a) 

18 may adopt any coral reef stewardship plans certified under 

19 section 212 and coral reef emergency plans certified under 

20 section 216 governing stewardship or emergency response 

21 activities within the administrative boundaries of such 

22 unit. 

23 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing the action 

24 plans required by subsection (a), the Secretary of the Inte25 rior or the Assistant Administrator of the National Ocean 


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1 Service may consult with the Administrator and the Task 

2 Force. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 205. FEDERAL CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RES4 TORATION ACTIVITIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct ac6 tivities described in subsection (b) to conserve and restore 

7 coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems that are consistent 

8 with— 

9 ‘‘(1) all applicable laws governing resource 

10 management in Federal and State waters, including 

11 this title; 

12 ‘‘(2) the national coral reef resilience strategy 

13 in effect as developed under section 203; and 

14 ‘‘(3) Federal coral reef action plans in effect 

15 and developed under section 204. 

16 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—Activities described 

17 in this subsection are activities to conserve and restore 

18 coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems in waters managed 

19 under the jurisdiction of a Federal agency specified in sub20 section (c), including— 

21 ‘‘(1) enhancing compliance with Federal laws 

22 that prohibit or regulate— 

23 ‘‘(A) the taking of coral products or spe24 cies associated with coral reefs; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) the use and management of coral reef 

2 ecosystems; 

3 ‘‘(2) mapping of— 

4 ‘‘(A) the current range and extent of coral 

5 reef ecosystems; 

6 ‘‘(B) the historical range and extent of 

7 coral reef ecosystems; and 

8 ‘‘(C) prime habitat for restoring reef eco9 system structure and functions to benefit coast10 al communities and living marine resources; 

11 ‘‘(3) long-term ecological monitoring of coral 

12 reef ecosystems; 

13 ‘‘(4) implementing species-specific recovery 

14 plans for listed coral species consistent with the En15 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

16 seq.); 

17 ‘‘(5) restoring degraded coral reef ecosystems; 

18 ‘‘(6) promoting ecologically sound navigation 

19 and anchorages, including mooring buoy systems to 

20 promote enhanced recreational access, near coral 

21 reefs; and 

22 ‘‘(7) monitoring and responding to severe 

23 bleaching or mortality events, disease outbreaks, 

24 invasive species outbreaks, and significant maritime 


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1 accidents, including chemical spill cleanup and the 

2 removal of grounded vessels. 

3 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL AGENCIES SPECIFIED.—A Federal 

4 agency specified in this subsection is one of the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) The National Ocean Service of the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

7 ‘‘(2) The National Park Service. 

8 ‘‘(3) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv9 ice. 

10 ‘‘(4) The Office of Insular Affairs of the De11 partment of the Interior. 

12 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF

13 THE INTERIOR.—The Secretary shall coordinate with the 

14 Secretary of the Interior regarding the conduct of any ac15 tivities to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral reef 

16 ecosystems in waters managed under the jurisdiction of 

17 a Federal agency specified in paragraph (2), (3), or (4) 

18 of subsections (c). 

19 ‘‘(e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of the 

21 Secretary, the Administrator may enter into cooper22 ative agreements with States to fund coral reef con23 servation and restoration activities in waters man24 aged under the jurisdiction of such States that are 


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1 consistent with the national coral reef resilience 

2 strategy in effect as developed under section 203. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Administrator may not 

4 provide more than $500,000 in total funding under 

5 paragraph (1) to one State in a fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 206. STATE CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RES7 TORATION STRATEGIES. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30, 

9 2022, and every 20 years thereafter, the Administrator 

10 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

11 and publish in the Federal Register a compilation of State 

12 coral reef management and restoration strategies— 

13 ‘‘(1) developed and voluntarily submitted to the 

14 Administrator by covered States; and 

15 ‘‘(2) that meet the requirements of subsection 

16 (b). 

17 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE STRATEGIES.—A 

18 coral reef management and restoration strategy of a cov19 ered State meets the requirements of this subsection if the 

20 strategy includes— 

21 ‘‘(1) a statement of goals and objectives to be 

22 accomplished during the 20-year period following the 

23 development of the strategy; and 

24 ‘‘(2) a discussion of— 

25 ‘‘(A) updated State mapping of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the current range and extent of 

2 coral reef ecosystems; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the historical range and extent of 

4 coral reef ecosystems; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) prime habitat for restoring reef 

6 ecosystem functions to benefit coastal com7 munities and living marine resources; 

8 ‘‘(B) continuing and emerging threats to 

9 the resilience of coral reef ecosystems within 

10 such State; 

11 ‘‘(C) statewide gaps in research, moni12 toring, and assessment; 

13 ‘‘(D) long-term State conservation and res14 toration goals, including the status of efforts to 

15 improve management integration and coopera16 tion among Federal, State, Tribal, and locally 

17 managed jurisdictions with coral reef equities; 

18 ‘‘(E) the role of coral reef stewardship 

19 partnerships certified under section 210(e) 

20 within such State, and the role of such partner21 ships in the coral reef management and restora22 tion strategy of such State; and 

23 ‘‘(F) efforts to manage and disseminate 

24 critical information such as publicly accessible 


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1 research, reports, datasets, and maps, including 

2 through interjurisdictional data sharing. 

3 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Upon request by a 

4 covered State, the Administrator shall make reasonable ef5 forts to provide technical assistance in the development 

6 of the coral reef management and restoration strategy of 

7 such State under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 207. STATE CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30, 

10 2023, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator 

11 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

12 and publish in the Federal Register a compilation of State 

13 coral reef action plans— 

14 ‘‘(1) developed and voluntarily submitted to the 

15 Administrator by covered States; and 

16 ‘‘(2) that meet the requirements of subsection 

17 (b). 

18 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE PLANS.—A State 

19 coral reef action plan meets the requirements of this sub20 section if the plan includes— 

21 ‘‘(1) a statement of goals and objectives to be 

22 accomplished during the 5-year period following de23 velopment of the plan and consistent with such cov24 ered State’s coral reef management and restoration 


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1 strategy in effect as developed in accordance with 

2 section 206, if any; and 

3 ‘‘(2) a discussion of— 

4 ‘‘(A) a review of the most recent State 

5 coral reef action plan assessment developed 

6 under section 208, as applicable, and how such 

7 assessment informs the newly submitted action 

8 plan; 

9 ‘‘(B) short- and mid-term State coral reef 

10 conservation and restoration objectives; 

11 ‘‘(C) an assessment of whether such State 

12 has experienced more than a 10 percent loss of 

13 living coral cover during the 10-year period pre14 ceding the date of the plan or retains less than 

15 50 percent of its historical living coral cover as 

16 of that date; 

17 ‘‘(D) an updated adaptive management 

18 framework to inform research, monitoring, and 

19 assessment needs; 

20 ‘‘(E) any coral reef emergency plans cer21 tified under section 216 in effect for coral reef 

22 ecosystems within such State, and a review of 

23 any circumstance that led to the activation of 

24 such plans within such State, including an eval25 uation of the emergency responses; 


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1 ‘‘(F) tools and strategies to address pollu2 tion and water quality impacts to coral reef eco3 systems within such State; 

4 ‘‘(G) the status of efforts to improve coral 

5 reef ecosystem management integration and co6 operation among Federal, State, Tribal, or lo7 cally managed jurisdictions, including identifica8 tion of existing research and monitoring activi9 ties that can be leveraged for coral reef status 

10 and trends assessments within such State; 

11 ‘‘(H) a list of all coral reefs or ecologically 

12 significant units of coral reefs identified by 

13 coral reef stewardship partnerships certified 

14 under section 210(e) or subject to stewardship 

15 activities governed by coral reef stewardship 

16 plans certified under section 212 during the 

17 preceding 5-year period within such State; 

18 ‘‘(I) coral reef-related public outreach and 

19 education efforts; 

20 ‘‘(J) an accounting of such State’s annual 

21 expenditures on coral reef management and res22 toration during the 5-year period preceding the 

23 date of the plan; and 


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1 ‘‘(K) estimated budgetary and other re2 source considerations necessary to carry out 

3 such plan. 

4 ‘‘(c) ADOPTION OF STEWARDSHIP AND EMERGENCY

5 PLANS.—In developing a coral reef action plan under this 

6 section, a covered State may adopt any coral reef steward7 ship plans certified under section 212 and coral reef emer8 gency plans certified under section 216 governing steward9 ship or emergency response activities within the adminis10 trative boundaries of the State. 

11 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Upon request by a 

12 covered State, the Administrator shall make reasonable ef13 forts to provide technical assistance in the development 

14 of the State’s coral reef action plan under this section. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 208. STATE CORAL REEF ACTION PLAN ASSESS16 MENTS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30, 

18 2027, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator 

19 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

20 and publish in the Federal Register an assessment, for 

21 each covered State with an action plan developed under 

22 section 207 and in effect, of— 

23 ‘‘(1) the capacity of such covered State to man24 age coral reef ecosystems in the State; 


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1 ‘‘(2) a review of such covered State’s efforts 

2 and success in managing and restoring coral reef 

3 ecosystems under the previous coral reef action plan 

4 developed under section 207 and in effect, as appli5 cable; and 

6 ‘‘(3) a review of any circumstance that led to 

7 the activation of a coral reef emergency plan cer8 tified under section 216 and in effect within such 

9 covered State, including an evaluation of the emer10 gency responses. 

11 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATIONS.—In conducting an assessment 

12 under subsection (a) with respect to a covered State, the 

13 Administrator may consult with the covered State, the 

14 Task Force, coral reef stewardship partnerships certified 

15 under section 210(e) operating within the covered State, 

16 and impacted Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations. 

17 ‘‘(c) USE IN DEVELOPMENT OF STATE CORAL REEF

18 ACTION PLANS.—It is the sense of Congress that the Ad19 ministrator should conduct assessments under subsection 

20 (a) with the goal of informing and supporting the develop21 ment of subsequent State coral reef action plans developed 

22 under section 207. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 209. STATE BLOCK GRANTS. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall provide 

25 block grants of financial assistance to covered States in 


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1 response to annual proposals for funds to support State 

2 activities that would further the implementation of State 

3 coral reef management and restoration strategies devel4 oped under section 206, State coral reef action plans de5 veloped under section 207, and coral reef stewardship 

6 plans certified under section 212. 

7 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A covered State is eligible to re8 ceive a grant under this subsection if the State has in ef9 fect— 

10 ‘‘(1) a State coral reef management and res11 toration strategy in effect published by the Adminis12 trator in the Federal Register under section 206 and 

13 a State coral reef action plan in effect published by 

14 the Administrator in the Federal Register under sec15 tion 207; or 

16 ‘‘(2) at least one coral reef stewardship plan 

17 certified under section 212 in effect within its ad18 ministrative boundaries. 

19 ‘‘(c) FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2) or subsection (d), the amount of Federal 

22 funds provided to a covered State as a block grant 

23 under this section may not exceed the total amount 

24 of the annual expenditures of the State on the im25 plementation of its State coral reef management and 


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1 restoration strategy under section 206, its State 

2 coral reef action plan under section 207, and its re3 sponsibilities to coral reef stewardship plans certified 

4 under section 212. 

5 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—Any Federal funds pro6 vided to a natural resource management authority of 

7 a State or other State government authority under 

8 this section or section 205, 213, 218, 219, or 221 

9 shall not be considered State expenditures for the 

10 purposes of calculating the limitation under para11 graph (1). 

12 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—Notwithstanding para13 graph (1), in determining the amount of Federal 

14 funds a covered State receives as a block grant 

15 under this section, the Administrator may consider 

16 the following factors: 

17 ‘‘(A) The quality of such State’s funding 

18 proposal under subsection (a). 

19 ‘‘(B) The findings from such State’s most 

20 recent action plan assessment under section 

21 208, if applicable. 

22 ‘‘(C) Estimates of direct and indirect eco23 nomic activity supported by coral reef eco24 systems within such State. 


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1 ‘‘(d) WAIVERS OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—The 

2 Administrator may waive the eligibility requirements 

3 under subsection (b), in full or in part, through fiscal year 

4 2023. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 210. CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP PARTNERSHIPS. 

6 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP PARTNERSHIPS.— 

7 The Administrator shall establish standards for the forma8 tion of partnerships among government and community 

9 members for the stewardship of coral reefs (in this title 

10 referred to as ‘coral reef stewardship partnerships’) in ac11 cordance with this section. 

12 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF REEFS.—Each coral reef 

13 stewardship partnership shall identify with particularity 

14 the coral reef or ecologically significant unit of a coral reef 

15 that will be the subject of its stewardship activities. 

16 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP FOR FEDERAL REEFS.—A coral 

17 reef stewardship partnership that has identified, as the 

18 subject of its stewardship activities, a coral reef or eco19 logically significant unit of a coral reef that is fully or par20 tially under the management jurisdiction of any Federal 

21 agency specified in section 205(c), shall, at a minimum, 

22 include the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) That Federal agency, a representative of 

24 which shall serve as chair of the coral reef steward25 ship partnership. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A State, county, or Tribal organization’s 

2 resource management agency. 

3 ‘‘(3) A coral reef research center described in 

4 section 223(c)(2) or other institution of higher edu5 cation. 

6 ‘‘(4) A nongovernmental organization. 

7 ‘‘(5) Other members as appropriate, such as in8 terested stakeholder groups. 

9 ‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP FOR NON-FEDERAL REEFS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A coral reef stewardship 

11 partnership that has identified, as the subject of its 

12 stewardship activities, a coral reef or ecologically sig13 nificant unit of a coral reef that is not under the 

14 management jurisdiction of any Federal agency 

15 specified in section 205(c) shall, at a minimum, in16 clude the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) A State, county, or Tribal organiza18 tion’s resource management agency, a rep19 resentative of which shall serve as the chair of 

20 the coral reef stewardship partnership. 

21 ‘‘(B) A coral reef research center described 

22 in section 223(c)(2) or another institution of 

23 higher education. 

24 ‘‘(C) A nongovernmental organization. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Other members as appropriate, such 

2 as interested stakeholder groups. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—A coral reef 

4 stewardship partnership described in paragraph (1) 

5 may also include one or more Federal agencies that 

6 have a management interest in the identified reef 

7 that is subject to the partnership’s stewardship ac8 tivities. 

9 ‘‘(e) CERTIFICATION.—A group seeking recognition 

10 as a coral reef stewardship partnership under this section 

11 may petition the Administrator for certification as a coral 

12 reef stewardship partnership, and the Administrator shall 

13 accept or reject the petition for certification not later than 

14 30 days after receiving the petition. 

15 ‘‘(f) MULTIPLE GROUPS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each coral reef, or eco17 logically significant unit of a coral reef, may be the 

18 subject of the stewardship activities of only one coral 

19 reef stewardship partnership. 

20 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES REQUIRED.—The Adminis21 trator shall develop procedures to govern the disposi22 tion of petitions from multiple groups seeking to 

23 identify the same coral reef or ecologically signifi24 cant unit of a coral reef as the subject of the stewVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4160.IH H4160

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1 ardship activities of a coral reef stewardship part2 nership. 

3 ‘‘(g) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

4 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

5 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to coral reef stewardship 

6 partnerships. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 211. CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP PLANS. 

8 ‘‘(a) REEF STEWARDSHIP PLANS.—A coral reef 

9 stewardship partnership certified under section 210(e) 

10 may develop plans for the stewardship of the coral reef 

11 or ecologically significant unit of a coral reef that is the 

12 subject of the stewardship activities of the partnership (in 

13 this title referred to as ‘coral reef stewardship plans’). 

14 ‘‘(b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—A coral reef steward15 ship plan shall include the following elements: 

16 ‘‘(1) Tools and strategies to address pollution 

17 and water quality impacts to the identified coral reef 

18 ecosystems. 

19 ‘‘(2) An updated adaptive management frame20 work to inform research, monitoring, and assessment 

21 needs. 

22 ‘‘(3) Short- and mid-term coral reef steward23 ship objectives. 

24 ‘‘(4) Coral reef-related public outreach and edu25 cation efforts. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Establishment of roles and responsibilities 

2 for implementing the plan. 

3 ‘‘(6) Evidence of engagement with interested 

4 stakeholder groups in the development of the plan. 

5 ‘‘(7) Any other information the Administrator 

6 considers to be necessary for evaluating the plan. 

7 ‘‘(c) BEST STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES.—The Admin8 istrator shall convene representatives of coral reef stew9 ardship partnerships not less than once a year to share 

10 experiences and identify best practices for developing and 

11 implementing coral reef stewardship plans. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 212. STEWARDSHIP PLAN CERTIFICATIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION TO ADMINISTRATOR FOR CERTIFI14 CATION.—A coral reef stewardship partnership certified 

15 under section 210(e) may submit a coral reef stewardship 

16 plan developed under section 211 to the Administrator for 

17 certification. 

18 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) evaluate a plan submitted under sub21 section (a) to determine whether the plan com22 plies with the requirements of section 211(b); 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) grant or deny the petition for certifi25 cation not later than 120 days (except as proVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4160.IH H4160

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1 vided by paragraph (2)) after receiving the peti2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The Administrator may ex4 tend the date provided for under paragraph (1)(B) 

5 by not more than 60 days. 

6 ‘‘(c) APPEAL.—If the Administrator denies a petition 

7 for certification submitted under subsection (a) by a coral 

8 reef stewardship partnership, the partnership may, not 

9 later than 30 days after receiving notice of the denial, ap10 peal the denial to the Secretary. Not later than 60 days 

11 after receiving an appeal under this subsection, the Sec12 retary shall grant or deny the appeal. 

13 ‘‘(d) RECERTIFICATION.—The certification of a coral 

14 reef stewardship plan under this section shall expire on 

15 the date that is 5 years after the certification was granted. 

16 A coral reef stewardship partnership may submit an up17 dated version of such a plan for recertification prior to 

18 the expiration of the certification of the plan under this 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 213. CORAL REEF STEWARDSHIP FUND. 

21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.— 

22 The Administrator may enter into an agreement with the 

23 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (in this section re24 ferred to as the ‘Foundation’), authorizing the Foundation 


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1 to receive, hold, and administer funds received pursuant 

2 to this section. 

3 ‘‘(b) FUND.—The Foundation shall invest, reinvest, 

4 and otherwise administer the funds received pursuant to 

5 this section and maintain such funds and any interest or 

6 revenues earned in a separate interest bearing account, 

7 to be known as the ‘Coral Reef Stewardship Fund’ (in this 

8 section referred to as the ‘Fund’), established by the 

9 Foundation solely to support coral reef stewardship part10 nership activities that— 

11 ‘‘(1) further the purposes of this title; and 

12 ‘‘(2) are consistent with— 

13 ‘‘(A) the national coral reef resilience 

14 strategy in effect as developed under section 

15 203; 

16 ‘‘(B) the State coral reef management and 

17 restoration strategy in effect, if any, as devel18 oped under section 206 by the covered State in 

19 which such activities will be carried out; 

20 ‘‘(C) the State coral reef action plan in ef21 fect, if any, as developed under section 207 by 

22 the covered State in which such activities will 

23 be carried out; 

24 ‘‘(D) Federal coral reef action plans in ef25 fect, if any, as developed under section 204 by 


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1 a Federal agency with management jurisdiction 

2 of a coral reef ecosystem to be impacted by 

3 such activities, if applicable; and 

4 ‘‘(E) the coral reef stewardship plan in ef5 fect as certified under section 212 governing 

6 such stewardship activities. 

7 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION TO SOLICIT DONATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to an agreement 

9 entered into under subsection (a), the Foundation 

10 may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use 

11 any gift (including, notwithstanding section 1342 of 

12 title 31, United States Code, donations of services) 

13 to further the purposes of this title. 

14 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN FUND.—Notwithstanding 

15 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, any 

16 funds received as a gift shall be deposited and main17 tained in the Fund. 

18 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 

19 30 days after funds are deposited in the Fund under 

20 paragraph (2), the Foundation shall notify the Com21 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

22 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep23 resentatives of the source and amount of such funds. 

24 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—The Adminis25 trator shall conduct a continuing review of the grant proVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4160.IH H4160

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1 gram administered by the Foundation under this section. 

2 Each review shall include a written assessment concerning 

3 the extent to which the Foundation has implemented the 

4 goals and requirements of— 

5 ‘‘(1) this section; and 

6 ‘‘(2) the national coral reef resilience strategy 

7 in effect as developed under section 203. 

8 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—Under an agreement en9 tered into pursuant to subsection (a), the Administrator 

10 may transfer funds appropriated to carry out this title to 

11 the Foundation. Amounts received by the Foundation 

12 under this subsection may be used for matching, in whole 

13 or in part, contributions (whether in money, services, or 

14 property) made to the Foundation by private persons, 

15 State or local government agencies, or Tribal organiza16 tions. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 214. CORAL REEFS AS MAINTAINED OR ENGINEERED 

18 INFRASTRUCTURE. 

19 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEFS THAT ARE THE SUBJECT OF

20 CERTIFIED CORAL REEF PLANS.—Any coral reef or eco21 logically significant unit of a coral reef that is the subject 

22 of stewardship activities of a coral reef stewardship part23 nership plan in effect as certified under section 212 or 

24 a coral reef emergency plan in effect as certified under 

25 section 216 shall be eligible for public assistance under 


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1 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As2 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(b) OTHER CORAL REEFS.—Any coral reef or eco4 logically significant unit of a coral reef not described in 

5 subsection (a) may be considered eligible for public assist6 ance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

7 Emergency Assistance Act. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 215. CORAL REEF EMERGENCY PLANS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Individual management units of 

10 Federal agencies specified in section 205(c) with jurisdic11 tion over coral reef ecosystems, covered States, and coral 

12 reef stewardship partnerships certified under section 

13 210(e) may develop plans (in this title referred to as ‘coral 

14 reef emergency plans’) for the rapid and effective response 

15 to circumstances that pose an urgent and immediate 

16 threat to the coral reef ecosystems subject to the steward17 ship activities of such management unit, covered State, or 

18 coral reef stewardship partnership. 

19 ‘‘(b) CORAL REEF EMERGENCIES.—The Adminis20 trator shall develop a list and criteria for circumstances 

21 that pose an urgent and immediate threat to coral reefs 

22 (in this title referred to as ‘coral reef emergencies’), in23 cluding— 

24 ‘‘(1) new and ongoing outbreaks of disease; 


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1 ‘‘(2) new and ongoing outbreaks of invasive spe2 cies; 

3 ‘‘(3) new and ongoing coral bleaching events; 

4 ‘‘(4) natural disasters; 

5 ‘‘(5) man-made disasters, including vessel 

6 groundings, chemical spills, or coastal construction 

7 accidents; and 

8 ‘‘(6) other exigent circumstances. 

9 ‘‘(c) BEST RESPONSE PRACTICES.—The Adminis10 trator shall develop guidance on best practices to respond 

11 to coral reef emergencies. Such best practices shall be— 

12 ‘‘(1) based on the best available science and in13 tegrated with evolving innovative technologies; and 

14 ‘‘(2) updated not less frequently than once 

15 every 5 years. 

16 ‘‘(d) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—A coral reef emergency 

17 plan shall include the following elements: 

18 ‘‘(1) A description of particular threats, and the 

19 proposed responses, consistent with the best prac20 tices developed under subsection (c). 

21 ‘‘(2) A delineation of roles and responsibilities 

22 for executing such plan. 

23 ‘‘(3) Evidence of engagement with interested 

24 stakeholder groups, as applicable, in the develop25 ment of such plan. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Any other information the Administrator 

2 considers to be necessary for evaluating such plan. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 216. EMERGENCY PLAN CERTIFICATIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION TO ADMINISTRATOR FOR CERTIFI5 CATION.—Federal agencies specified in subsection 205(c), 

6 covered States, and coral reef stewardship partnerships 

7 certified under section 210(e) may submit coral reef emer8 gency plans developed under section 215 to the Adminis9 trator for certification. 

10 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) evaluate a plan submitted under sub13 section (a) to determine whether the plan com14 plies with the requirements of section 215(d); 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) grant or deny the petition for certifi17 cation not later than 120 days (except as pro18 vided by paragraph (2)) after receiving the peti19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The Administrator may ex21 tend the date provided for under paragraph (1)(B) 

22 by not more than 60 days. 

23 ‘‘(c) APPEAL.—If the Administrator denies a petition 

24 for certification submitted under subsection (a), the peti25 tioning entity may, not later than 30 days after receiving 


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1 notice of the denial, appeal the denial to the Secretary. 

2 Not later than 60 days after receiving an appeal under 

3 this subsection, the Secretary shall grant or deny the ap4 peal. 

5 ‘‘(d) RECERTIFICATION.—The certification of a coral 

6 reef emergency plan under this section shall expire on the 

7 date that is 5 years after the certification was granted. 

8 The petitioning entity may submit an updated version of 

9 such a plan for recertification prior to the expiration of 

10 the certification of the plan under this section. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 217. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 

12 ‘‘(a) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

13 may be construed to supersede or modify the requirements 

14 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

15 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

16 ‘‘(b) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS.—To the ex17 tent permissible under the National Environmental Policy 

18 Act of 1969, the Administrator may conduct an environ19 mental assessment or environmental impact statement 

20 under that Act with respect to coral reef emergency plans 

21 developed under section 215 or certified under section 

22 216. 

23 ‘‘(c) GUIDANCE AND OUTREACH.—The Adminis24 trator shall issue guidance and conduct outreach with re25 spect to the implementation of this section. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 218. CORAL REEF EMERGENCY FUND. 

2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.— 

3 The Administrator may enter into an agreement with the 

4 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (in this section re5 ferred to as the ‘Foundation’), authorizing the Foundation 

6 to receive, hold, and administer funds received pursuant 

7 to this section. 

8 ‘‘(b) FUND.—The Foundation shall invest, reinvest, 

9 and otherwise administer funds received pursuant to this 

10 section and maintain such funds and any interest or reve11 nues earned in a separate interest-bearing account, to be 

12 known as the ‘Coral Reef Emergency Fund’ (in this sec13 tion referred as the ‘Fund’), established by the Founda14 tion solely to support rapid and effective responses to coral 

15 reef emergencies by Federal agencies specified in sub16 section 205(c), covered States, and coral reef stewardship 

17 partnerships certified under section 210(e), and as other18 wise consistent with this title. 

19 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION TO SOLICIT DONATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to an agreement 

21 entered into under subsection (a), the Foundation 

22 may accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer, and use 

23 any gift (including, notwithstanding section 1342 of 

24 title 31, United States Code, donations of services) 

25 to further the purposes of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEPOSITS IN FUND.—Notwithstanding 

2 section 3302 of title 31, United States Code, any 

3 funds received as a gift shall be deposited and main4 tained in the Fund. 

5 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 

6 30 days after funds are deposited in the Fund under 

7 paragraph (2), the Foundation shall notify the Com8 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

9 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep10 resentatives of the source and amount of such funds. 

11 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—The Adminis12 trator shall conduct a continuing review of the grant pro13 gram administered by the Foundation under this section. 

14 Each review shall include a written assessment concerning 

15 the extent to which the Foundation has implemented the 

16 goals and requirements of this section. 

17 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—Under an agreement en18 tered into pursuant to subsection (a), the Administrator 

19 may transfer funds appropriated to carry out this title to 

20 the Foundation. Amounts received by an organization 

21 under this subsection may be used for matching, in whole 

22 or in part, contributions (whether in money, services, or 

23 property) made to the organization by private persons, 

24 State or local government agencies, or Tribal organiza25 tions. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 219. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. 

2 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEF EMERGENCY DECLARATIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) SUA SPONTE DECLARATION.—The Sec4 retary may determine and declare a coral reef emer5 gency. 

6 ‘‘(2) PETITIONS.—If a State or a coral reef 

7 stewardship partnership certified under section 

8 210(e) believes that a coral reef emergency has oc9 curred, and is impacting coral reefs or ecologically 

10 significant units of coral reefs subject to the coral 

11 reef stewardship activities of the State or partner12 ship, the State or partnership may petition the Sec13 retary for a declaration of a coral reef emergency. 

14 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND ACTION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

16 days after receiving a petition under paragraph 

17 (2) (except as provided in subparagraph (B)), 

18 the Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) evaluate the petition to determine 

20 whether a coral reef emergency has oc21 curred; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) declare a coral reef emergency or 

23 deny the petition. 

24 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—The Administrator 

25 may extend the deadline provided for under 

26 subparagraph (A) by not more than 15 days. 


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1 ‘‘(4) APPEAL.—If the Secretary denies a peti2 tion for an emergency declaration submitted under 

3 paragraph (2) by a State or coral reef stewardship 

4 partnership, the State or partnership may, not later 

5 than 15 days after receiving notice of the denial, ap6 peal the denial to the Secretary. Not later than 15 

7 days after receiving an appeal under this paragraph, 

8 the Secretary shall grant or deny the appeal. 

9 ‘‘(5) REVOCATION.—The Secretary may revoke 

10 any declaration of a coral reef emergency in whole 

11 or in part after determining that circumstances no 

12 longer require an emergency response. 

13 ‘‘(6) RECOVERY OF EMERGENCY FUNDING.— 

14 The Administrator may seek compensation from 

15 negligent parties to recover emergency funds ex16 pended in excess of $500,000 under this section as 

17 a result of an emergency declaration arising from di18 rect impacts to coral reefs from man-made disasters 

19 or accidents. 

20 ‘‘(b) GRANT AUTHORITY.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the declaration of a 

22 coral reef emergency under subsection (a), the Sec23 retary shall provide grants to carry out proposals 

24 that meet the requirements of paragraph (2) to imVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4160.IH H4160

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1 plement coral reef emergency plans certified under 

2 section 216. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A proposal for a grant 

4 under this subsection to implement a coral reef 

5 emergency plan shall include— 

6 ‘‘(A) the name of the individual or entity 

7 submitting the proposal; 

8 ‘‘(B) a copy of the coral reef emergency 

9 plan; 

10 ‘‘(C) a description of the qualifications of 

11 the individuals and entities who will implement 

12 the plan; 

13 ‘‘(D) an estimate of the funds and time re14 quired to complete the implementation of the 

15 plan; and 

16 ‘‘(E) any other information the Secretary 

17 considers to be necessary for evaluating the eli18 gibility of the proposal for a grant under this 

19 subsection. 

20 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after re21 ceiving a proposal for a grant under this subsection, 

22 the Secretary shall review the proposal and deter23 mine if the proposal meets the criteria requirements 

24 of paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(4) CONCURRENT REVIEW.—An individual or 

2 entity seek a grant under this subsection may sub3 mit a project proposal under paragraph (2) to the 

4 Secretary at any time following the submission of a 

5 petition for an emergency declaration under sub6 section (a)(2) that is applicable to coral reefs or eco7 logically significant units of coral reefs subject to the 

8 coral reef stewardship activities of the individual or 

9 entity. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 220. VESSEL GROUNDING INVENTORY. 

11 ‘‘The Administrator, in coordination with the heads 

12 of other Federal agencies, may maintain an inventory of 

13 all vessel grounding incidents involving United States 

14 coral reefs, including a description of— 

15 ‘‘(1) the impacts of each such incident; 

16 ‘‘(2) vessel and ownership information relating 

17 to each such incident, if available; 

18 ‘‘(3) the estimated cost of removal, mitigation, 

19 or restoration relating to each such incident; 

20 ‘‘(4) the response actions taken by the owner of 

21 the vessel, the Administrator, the Commandant of 

22 the Coast Guard, or other Federal or State agency 

23 representatives; 

24 ‘‘(5) the status of the response actions, includ25 ing the dates of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) vessel removal; 

2 ‘‘(B) mitigation or restoration activities, 

3 including whether an applicable coral reef emer4 gency plan as certified under section 216 was 

5 implemented; and 

6 ‘‘(C) any actions taken to prevent future 

7 grounding incidents; and 

8 ‘‘(6) recommendations for additional naviga9 tional aids or other mechanisms for preventing fu10 ture grounding incidents. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 221. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 

12 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Administrator shall provide 

13 grants of financial assistance for projects for the conserva14 tion and restoration of coral reef ecosystems (in this sec15 tion referred to as ‘coral reef projects’) for proposals ap16 proved by the Administrator in accordance with this sec17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity described in 

20 paragraph (2) may submit to the Administrator a 

21 proposal for a coral reef project. 

22 ‘‘(2) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—An entity de23 scribed in this paragraph is— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a natural resource management au2 thority of a State or local government or Tribal 

3 organization— 

4 ‘‘(i) with responsibility for coral reef 

5 management; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the activities of which directly or 

7 indirectly affect coral reefs or coral reef 

8 ecosystems; 

9 ‘‘(B) a coral reef stewardship partnership 

10 certified under section 210(e) seeking to imple11 ment a coral reef stewardship plan certified 

12 under section 212; 

13 ‘‘(C) a coral reef research center des14 ignated under section 223(c)(2); or 

15 ‘‘(D) another educational or nongovern16 mental research institution with demonstrated 

17 expertise in the conservation or restoration of 

18 coral reefs in practice or through significant 

19 contributions to the body of existing scientific 

20 research on coral reefs. 

21 ‘‘(c) PROJECT PROPOSALS.—Each proposal for a 

22 grant under this section for a coral reef project shall in23 clude the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) The name of the individual or entity re25 sponsible for conducting the project. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A description of the qualifications of the 

2 individual or entity. 

3 ‘‘(3) A succinct statement of the purposes of 

4 the project. 

5 ‘‘(4) An estimate of the funds and time re6 quired to complete the project. 

7 ‘‘(5) Evidence of support for the project by ap8 propriate representatives of States or other govern9 ment jurisdictions in which the project will be con10 ducted. 

11 ‘‘(6) Information regarding the source and 

12 amount of matching funding available to the appli13 cant. 

14 ‘‘(7) A description of how the project meets one 

15 or more of the criteria under subsection (e)(2). 

16 ‘‘(8) In the case of a proposal submitted by a 

17 coral reef stewardship partnership certified under 

18 section 210(e), a description of how the project 

19 aligns with the coral reef stewardship plan in effect 

20 as certified under section 212. 

21 ‘‘(9) Any other information the Administrator 

22 considers to be necessary for evaluating the eligi23 bility of the project for a grant under this sub24 section. 

25 ‘‘(d) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall re2 view each coral reef project proposal submitted 

3 under this section to determine if the project meets 

4 the criteria set forth in subsection (e). 

5 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIZATION OF RESTORATION

6 PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall prioritize the 

7 awarding of grants for applicable projects that meet 

8 the criteria for approval under subparagraphs (F), 

9 (G), (H), (I), (J), and (K) of subsection (e)(2) that 

10 are proposed to be conducted within the administra11 tive boundaries of— 

12 ‘‘(A) an individual management unit of a 

13 Federal agency specified in section 205(c); or 

14 ‘‘(B) a covered State that— 

15 ‘‘(i) has experienced more than a 10 

16 percent loss of living coral cover during the 

17 10-year period preceding the date of the 

18 plan as determined by the applicable Fed19 eral coral reef action plan in effect as de20 veloped under section 204; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) retains less than 50 percent of 

22 its historical living coral cover as of that 

23 date, as determined by the State coral reef 

24 action plan in effect as developed under 

25 section 208. 


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1 ‘‘(3) REVIEW; APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.— 

2 Not later than 180 days after receiving a proposal 

3 for a coral reef project under this section, the Ad4 ministrator shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) request and consider written com6 ments on the proposal from each Federal agen7 cy, State government, Tribal organization, or 

8 other government jurisdiction, including the rel9 evant regional fishery management councils es10 tablished under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

11 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

12 1801 et seq.), or any National Marine Sanc13 tuary, with jurisdiction or management author14 ity over coral reef ecosystems in the area where 

15 the project is to be conducted, including the ex16 tent to which the project is consistent with lo17 cally established priorities, unless such entities 

18 were directly involved in the development of the 

19 project proposal; 

20 ‘‘(B) provide for the merit-based peer re21 view of the proposal and require standardized 

22 documentation of that peer review; 

23 ‘‘(C) after considering any written com24 ments and recommendations based on the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:56 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4160.IH H4160

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1 views under subparagraphs (A) and (B), ap2 prove or disapprove the proposal; and 

3 ‘‘(D) provide written notification of that 

4 approval or disapproval, with summaries of all 

5 written comments, recommendations, and peer6 reviews, to the entity that submitted the pro7 posal, and each of those States, Tribal organi8 zations, and other government jurisdictions that 

9 provided comments under subparagraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(e) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Administrator 

11 may not approve a proposal for a coral reef project under 

12 this section unless the project— 

13 ‘‘(1) is consistent with— 

14 ‘‘(A) the national coral reef resilience 

15 strategy in effect as developed under section 

16 203; 

17 ‘‘(B) the State coral reef management and 

18 restoration strategy in effect, if any, as devel19 oped under section 206 by the covered State in 

20 which the project will be carried out; 

21 ‘‘(C) the State coral reef action plan in ef22 fect, if any, as developed under section 207 by 

23 such State; 

24 ‘‘(D) Federal coral reef action plans in ef25 fect, if any, as developed under section 204 by 


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1 a Federal agency with management jurisdiction 

2 of a coral reef ecosystem to be impacted by 

3 such project, if applicable; and 

4 ‘‘(E) coral reef stewardship plans in effect, 

5 if any, as certified under section 212 governing 

6 the stewardship activities at a coral reef or eco7 logically significant unit of a coral reef to be 

8 impacted by such project, if applicable; and 

9 ‘‘(2) will enhance the conservation and restora10 tion of coral reefs by— 

11 ‘‘(A) addressing conflicts arising from the 

12 use of environments near coral reefs or from 

13 the use of corals, species associated with coral 

14 reefs, and coral products, including supporting 

15 consensus-driven, community-based planning 

16 and management initiatives for the protection 

17 of coral reef ecosystems; 

18 ‘‘(B) improving compliance with laws that 

19 prohibit or regulate the taking of coral products 

20 or species associated with coral reefs or regulate 

21 the use and management of coral reef eco22 systems; 

23 ‘‘(C) designing and implementing networks 

24 of real-time water quality monitoring along 

25 coral reefs, including data collection related to 


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1 turbidity, nutrient availability, harmful algal 

2 blooms, and plankton assemblages, with an em3 phasis on coral reefs impacted by agriculture 

4 and urban development; 

5 ‘‘(D) promoting ecologically sound naviga6 tion and anchorages, including mooring buoy 

7 systems to promote enhanced recreational ac8 cess, near coral reefs; 

9 ‘‘(E) furthering the goals and objectives of 

10 coral reef stewardship plans certified under sec11 tion 212 and coral reef emergency plans cer12 tified under section 216; 

13 ‘‘(F) mapping the location and distribution 

14 of coral reefs and potential coral reef habitat; 

15 ‘‘(G) implementing research to ensure the 

16 population viability of listed coral species in 

17 United States waters as detailed in the popu18 lation-based recovery criteria included in spe19 cies-specific recovery plans consistent with the 

20 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

21 1531 et seq.); 

22 ‘‘(H) developing and implementing cost-ef23 fective methods to restore degraded coral reef 

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1 ing habitat or promoting success of keystone 

2 species, with an emphasis on novel restoration 

3 strategies and techniques to advance coral reef 

4 recovery and growth near population centers 

5 threatened by rising sea levels and storm surge; 

6 ‘‘(I) translating and applying coral genet7 ics research to coral reef ecosystem restoration, 

8 including research related to traits that pro9 mote resilience to increasing ocean tempera10 tures, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, coral 

11 diseases, and invasive species; 

12 ‘‘(J) developing and maintaining in situ 

13 native coral propagation sites; or 

14 ‘‘(K) developing and maintaining ex situ 

15 coral propagation nurseries and land-based 

16 coral gene banks to— 

17 ‘‘(i) conserve or augment genetic di18 versity of native coral populations; 

19 ‘‘(ii) support captive breeding of rare 

20 coral species; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) enhance resilience of native coral 

22 populations to increasing ocean tempera23 tures, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, 

24 and coral diseases through selective breed25 ing, conditioning, or other approaches that 


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1 target genes, gene expression, phenotypic 

2 traits, or phenotypic plasticity. 

3 ‘‘(f) FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) FIFTY PERCENT MATCH.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by 

6 subparagraph (C), Federal funds for any coral 

7 reef project under this section may not exceed 

8 50 percent of the total cost of the project. For 

9 purposes of this paragraph, the non-Federal 

10 share of project costs may be provided by in11 kind contributions and other noncash support. 

12 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Administrator may 

13 waive all or part of the matching requirement 

14 under subparagraph (A) with respect to a coral 

15 reef project if the Administrator determines 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(i) no reasonable means are available 

18 through which the entity that submitted 

19 the proposal for the project can meet the 

20 matching requirement; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the probable benefit of the 

22 project outweighs the public interest in the 

23 matching requirement. 


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1 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION.—Funds provided under 

2 section 209 may not be used to satisfy the 

3 matching requirement under subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—To the extent 

5 practicable based upon proposals for coral reef 

6 projects submitted to the Administrator, the Admin7 istrator shall ensure that funding for grants award8 ed under this section during a fiscal year is distrib9 uted as follows: 

10 ‘‘(A) Not less than 40 percent of funds 

11 available shall be awarded for projects in the 

12 Pacific Ocean within the maritime areas and 

13 zones subject to the jurisdiction or control of 

14 the United States. 

15 ‘‘(B) Not less than 40 percent of the funds 

16 available shall be awarded for projects in the 

17 Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Car18 ibbean Sea within the maritime areas and zones 

19 subject to the jurisdiction or control of the 

20 United States. 

21 ‘‘(C) Not more than 67 percent of funds 

22 distributed in each region in accordance with 

23 subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be made ex24 clusively available to projects that are— 


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1 ‘‘(i) submitted by a coral reef steward2 ship partnership certified under section 

3 210(e); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) consistent with the coral reef 

5 stewardship plan developed by such part6 nership as certified under section 212. 

7 ‘‘(D) Of the funds distributed to support 

8 projects in accordance with subparagraph (C), 

9 not less than 20 percent and not more than 33 

10 percent shall be awarded for projects impacting 

11 coral reef ecosystems within the administrative 

12 boundaries of individual management units of 

13 the Federal agencies specified in section 205(c). 

14 ‘‘(g) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each entity receiving a 

15 grant under this section shall submit to the Administrator 

16 such reports at such times and containing such informa17 tion for evaluating project performance as the Adminis18 trator may require. 

19 ‘‘(h) TASK FORCE.—The Administrator may consult 

20 with the Secretary of the Interior and the Task Force to 

21 obtain guidance in establishing priorities for coral reef 

22 projects under this section. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 222. ANNUAL REPORTS ON ADMINISTRATION. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than annu25 ally, the Administrator shall submit to the committees 


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1 specified in subsection (b) a report on the administration 

2 of this title, including— 

3 ‘‘(1) a description of all activities undertaken in 

4 the previous fiscal year to implement the most re5 cent national coral reef resilience strategy under sec6 tion 203(a); 

7 ‘‘(2) a statement of all funds obligated under 

8 the authorities of this title; and 

9 ‘‘(3) a summary, disaggregated by State, of 

10 Federal and non-Federal contributions toward the 

11 costs of each project or activity funded under section 

12 205, 209, 213, 218, 219, 221, or 223. 

13 ‘‘(b) COMMITTEES SPECIFIED.—The committees 

14 specified in this subsection are— 

15 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

16 Transportation and the Committee on Appropria17 tions of the Senate; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Natural Resources and 

19 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

20 Representatives. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 223. AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may enter 

23 into and perform such contracts, leases, grants, or cooper24 ative agreements as may be necessary to carry out the 

25 purposes of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under an agreement en3 tered into under subsection (a), the Secretary may 

4 reimburse or provide funds authorized to be appro5 priated by section 224 to, and may receive funds or 

6 reimbursements from, individuals and entities de7 scribed in paragraph (2) to carry out activities au8 thorized by this title. 

9 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES DE10 SCRIBED.—Individuals and entities described in this 

11 paragraph are the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Federal agencies, instrumentalities, 

13 and laboratories. 

14 ‘‘(B) State and local governments. 

15 ‘‘(C) Indian Tribes and Tribal organiza16 tions. 

17 ‘‘(D) International organizations. 

18 ‘‘(E) Foreign governments not subject to 

19 economic sanctions imposed by the United 

20 States. 

21 ‘‘(F) Institutions of higher education, re22 search centers, and other educational institu23 tions. 

24 ‘‘(G) Nonprofit organizations. 

25 ‘‘(H) Commercial organizations. 


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1 ‘‘(I) Other public or private individuals or 

2 entities. 

3 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE INSTITUTES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es5 tablish 2 cooperative institutes for the purpose of 

6 advancing and sustaining essential capabilities in 

7 coral reef research, to be known as the ‘Atlantic 

8 Coral Reef Cooperative Institute’ and the ‘Pacific 

9 Coral Reef Cooperative Institute’. 

10 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The institutes established 

11 under paragraph (1) shall each include at least one 

12 coral reef research center designated by the Admin13 istrator that— 

14 ‘‘(A) is operated by an institution of higher 

15 education or nonprofit marine research organi16 zation; 

17 ‘‘(B) has established management-driven 

18 national or regional coral reef research or res19 toration programs; 

20 ‘‘(C) is located in a covered State that con21 tains a coral reef ecosystem; 

22 ‘‘(D) has demonstrated abilities to coordi23 nate closely with appropriate Federal and State 

24 agencies, as well as other academic and non25 profit organizations; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) maintains significant local community 

2 engagement and outreach programs related to 

3 coral reef ecosystems. 

4 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The institutes established 

5 under paragraph (1) shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) support ecological research and moni7 toring to study the effects of conservation and 

8 restoration activities funded by this title on pro9 moting more effective coral reef management 

10 and restoration; and 

11 ‘‘(B) through agreements with centers re12 ferred to in paragraph (2)— 

13 ‘‘(i) collaborate directly with govern14 mental resource management agencies, 

15 coral reef stewardship partnerships cer16 tified under section 210(e), nonprofit orga17 nizations, institutions of higher education, 

18 and other research organizations; 

19 ‘‘(ii) assist in the development and im20 plementation of State coral reef manage21 ment and restoration strategies developed 

22 under section 206, State coral reef action 

23 plans developed under section 207, State 

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1 ship plans developed under section 211 or 

2 certified under section 212, and coral reef 

3 emergency plans developed under section 

4 215 or certified under section 216; 

5 ‘‘(iii) build capacity within govern6 mental resource management agencies to 

7 establish research priorities and translate 

8 and apply research findings to manage9 ment and restoration practices; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) conduct public education and 

11 awareness programs for policymakers, re12 source managers, and the general public 

13 on— 

14 ‘‘(I) coral reefs and coral reef 

15 ecosystems; 

16 ‘‘(II) best practices for coral reef 

17 ecosystem management and restora18 tion; 

19 ‘‘(III) the value of coral reefs; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(IV) the threats to the sustain22 ability of coral reef ecosystems. 

23 ‘‘(d) MULTIYEAR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The 

24 Administrator may enter into multiyear cooperative agree25 ments with the heads of other Federal agencies, States, 


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1 Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, local governments, 

2 the coral reef cooperative institutes established under sub3 section (c), and other institutions of higher education, 

4 nonprofit research organizations, and nongovernmental 

5 organizations to carry out activities authorized under sec6 tions 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 213, 218, 219, 220, 

7 and 221. 

8 ‘‘(e) USE OF RESOURCES OF OTHER AGENCIES.— 

9 The Administrator may use, with consent and with or 

10 without reimbursement, the land, services, equipment, per11 sonnel, and facilities of any agency or instrumentality of— 

12 ‘‘(1) the United States; 

13 ‘‘(2) any State or local government; 

14 ‘‘(3) any Indian Tribe; or 

15 ‘‘(4) any foreign government not subject to eco16 nomic sanctions imposed by the United States. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 224. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap19 propriated to the Secretary to carry out this title the fol20 lowing amounts, which shall remain available until ex21 pended: 

22 ‘‘(1) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 

23 ‘‘(2) $30,500,000 for fiscal year 2021. 

24 ‘‘(3) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

25 ‘‘(4) $33,500,000 for fiscal year 2023. 


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1 ‘‘(5) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

2 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.—Of the amounts appro3 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 

4 under subsection (a), not more than the lesser of 

5 $1,500,000 or 10 percent may be used for program ad6 ministration or for overhead costs incurred by the Na7 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the De8 partment of Commerce and assessed as an administrative 

9 charge. 

10 ‘‘(c) CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION

11 ACTIVITIES.—From the amounts authorized to be appro12 priated under subsection (a), there shall be made available 

13 to the Secretary not less than the following amounts for 

14 authorized activities under sections 205 and 209: 

15 ‘‘(1) $21,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, of which 

16 not less than $6,000,000 shall be made available to 

17 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

18 under section 209. 

19 ‘‘(2) $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2021, of which 

20 not less than $6,750,000 shall be made available to 

21 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

22 under section 209. 

23 ‘‘(3) $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, of which 

24 not less than $7,500,000 shall be made available to 


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1 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

2 under section 209. 

3 ‘‘(4) $25,500,000 for fiscal year 2023, of which 

4 not less than $8,250,000 shall be made available to 

5 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

6 under section 209. 

7 ‘‘(5) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, of which 

8 not less than $9,000,000 shall be made available to 

9 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

10 under section 209. 

11 ‘‘(d) FEDERALLY DIRECTED RESEARCH AND CORAL

12 REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM GRANTS.—From the 

13 amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection 

14 (a), there shall be made available to the Secretary not less 

15 than $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

16 2024 to support purposes consistent with this title, of 

17 which— 

18 ‘‘(1) not less than $3,500,000 shall be made 

19 available for each such fiscal year for authorized ac20 tivities under section 221; and 

21 ‘‘(2) not less than $4,500,000 shall be made 

22 available for each such fiscal year through coopera23 tive agreements with the cooperative institutes estab24 lished under section 223(c). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 225. DEFINITIONS. 

2 ‘‘In this title: 

3 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis4 trator’ means the Administrator of the National 

5 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

6 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’ means the Committee on Commerce, 

9 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

10 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

11 Representatives. 

12 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘conservation’ 

13 means the use of methods and procedures necessary 

14 to preserve or sustain native corals and associated 

15 species as diverse, viable, and self-perpetuating coral 

16 reef ecosystems with minimal impacts from invasive 

17 species, including— 

18 ‘‘(A) all activities associated with resource 

19 management, such as monitoring, assessment, 

20 protection, restoration, sustainable use, man21 agement of habitat, and maintenance or aug22 mentation of genetic diversity; 

23 ‘‘(B) mapping; 

24 ‘‘(C) scientific expertise and technical as25 sistance in the development and implementation 

26 of management strategies for marine protected 


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1 areas and marine resources consistent with the 

2 National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 

3 1431 et seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fish4 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 

5 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); 

6 ‘‘(D) law enforcement; 

7 ‘‘(E) conflict resolution initiatives; 

8 ‘‘(F) community outreach and education; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(G) promotion of safe and ecologically 

11 sound navigation and anchoring. 

12 ‘‘(4) CORAL.—The term ‘coral’ means species 

13 of the phylum Cnidaria, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) all species of the orders Antipatharia 

15 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), 

16 Gorgonacea (horny corals), Stolonifera 

17 (organpipe corals and others), Alcyanacea (soft 

18 corals), and Coenothecalia (blue coral), of the 

19 class Anthozoa; and 

20 ‘‘(B) all species of the order 

21 Hydrocorallina (fire corals and hydrocorals) of 

22 the class Hydrozoa. 

23 ‘‘(5) CORAL REEF.—The term ‘coral reef’ 

24 means a limestone relief feature, in the form of a 

25 reef or shoal, composed in whole or in part by living 


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1 coral, skeletal remains of coral, crustose coralline 

2 algae, and other associated sessile marine plants and 

3 animals. 

4 ‘‘(6) CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM.—The term 

5 ‘coral reef ecosystem’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) corals and the associated community 

7 of other species of reef organisms (including 

8 reef plants and animals) associated with coral 

9 reef habitat; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the biotic and abiotic factors and 

11 processes that control coral growth, reproduc12 tion, and abundance and diversity in such habi13 tat. 

14 ‘‘(7) CORAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘coral prod15 ucts’ means any living or dead specimens, parts, or 

16 derivatives, or any product containing specimens, 

17 parts, or derivatives, of any species referred to in 

18 paragraph (4). 

19 ‘‘(8) COVERED STATE.—The term ‘covered 

20 State’ means Florida, Hawaii, the Northern Mariana 

21 Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or 

22 the United States Virgin Islands. 

23 ‘‘(9) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

24 The terms ‘Indian Tribe’ and ‘Tribal organization’ 

25 have the meanings given the terms ‘Indian tribe’ and 


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1 ‘tribal organization’, respectively, in section 4 of the 

2 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

3 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

4 ‘‘(10) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

5 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

6 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High7 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

8 ‘‘(11) INTERESTED STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.— 

9 The term ‘interested stakeholder groups’ includes 

10 community members such as businesses, commercial 

11 and recreational fishermen, other recreationalists, 

12 Federal, State, Tribal, and local government units 

13 with related jurisdiction, institutions of higher edu14 cation, and nongovernmental organizations. 

15 ‘‘(12) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

16 ‘nonprofit organization’ means an organization that 

17 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Rev18 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under sec19 tion 501(a) of such Code. 

20 ‘‘(13) RESTORATION.—The term ‘restoration’ 

21 means the use of methods and procedures necessary 

22 to enhance, rehabilitate, recreate, or create a func23 tioning coral reef or coral reef ecosystem, in whole 

24 or in part, within suitable waters of the historical 

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1 logical, economic, cultural, or coastal resiliency serv2 ices associated with healthy coral reefs and benefit 

3 native populations of coral reef organisms. 

4 ‘‘(14) RESILIENCE.—The term ‘resilience’ 

5 means the capacity for native corals, coral reefs, or 

6 coral reef ecosystems to recover from natural and 

7 human disturbance as determined by clearly identifi8 able, measurable, and science-based standards. 

9 ‘‘(15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

10 means the Secretary of Commerce. 

11 ‘‘(16) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) any State of the United States that 

13 contains a coral reef ecosystem within its sea14 ward boundaries; 

15 ‘‘(B) American Samoa, Guam, the North16 ern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin 

17 Islands; or 

18 ‘‘(C) any other territory or possession of 

19 the United States or separate sovereign in free 

20 association with the United States that contains 

21 a coral reef ecosystem within its seaward 

22 boundaries. 

23 ‘‘(17) STEWARDSHIP.—The term ‘stewardship’, 

24 with respect to a coral reef, includes conservation 

25 and restoration. 


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1 ‘‘(18) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

2 means the United States Coral Reef Task Force es3 tablished under section 201 of the Restoring Resil4 ient Reefs Act of 2019.’’. 

5 TITLE II—UNITED STATES 

6 CORAL REEF TASK FORCE 

7 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT. 

8 There is established a task force to lead, coordinate, 

9 and strengthen Federal Government actions to better pre10 serve, conserve, and restore coral reef ecosystems, to be 

11 known as the ‘‘United States Coral Reef Task Force’’ (in 

12 this title referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 

13 SEC. 202. DUTIES. 

14 The duties of the Task Force shall be— 

15 (1) to coordinate, in cooperation with State, 

16 Tribal, and local government partners, academic 

17 partners, and nongovernmental partners if appro18 priate, activities regarding the mapping, monitoring, 

19 research, conservation, mitigation, restoration of 

20 coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems; 

21 (2) to monitor and advise regarding implemen22 tation of the policy and Federal agency responsibil23 ities set forth in— 

24 (A) Executive Order 13089 (63 Fed. Reg. 

25 32701; relating to coral reef protection); and 


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1 (B) the national coral reef resilience strat2 egy developed under section 203(a) of the Coral 

3 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by 

4 section 101; 

5 (3) to work with the Secretary of State and the 

6 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

7 International Development, and in coordination with 

8 the other members of the Task Force— 

9 (A) to assess the United States role in 

10 international trade and protection of coral spe11 cies; and 

12 (B) to encourage implementation of appro13 priate strategies and actions to promote con14 servation and sustainable use of coral reef re15 sources worldwide; 

16 (4) to provide technical assistance for the devel17 opment and implementation, as appropriate, of— 

18 (A) the national coral reef resilience strat19 egy under section 203 of the Coral Reef Con20 servation Act of 2000, as amended by section 

21 101; 

22 (B) State coral reef management and res23 toration strategies under section 206 of that 

24 Act; 


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1 (C) State coral reef action plans under sec2 tion 207 of that Act; and 

3 (D) State coral reef action plan assess4 ments under section 208 of that Act; and 

5 (5) to produce a report each year, for submis6 sion to the appropriate congressional committees 

7 and publication in the Federal Register, highlighting 

8 the status of one State member’s coral reef equities 

9 on a rotating basis, including— 

10 (A) a summary of recent coral reef man11 agement and restoration activities undertaken 

12 in the State; and 

13 (B) updated estimates of the direct and in14 direct economic activity supported by, and other 

15 benefits associated with, those coral reef equi16 ties. 

17 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP. 

18 (a) VOTING MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall 

19 have the following voting members: 

20 (1) The Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

21 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At22 mospheric Administration, and the Secretary of the 

23 Interior, who shall be co-chairs of the Task Force. 

24 (2) The Administrator of the United States 

25 Agency for International Development. 


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1 (3) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

2 (4) The Secretary of Defense. 

3 (5) The Secretary of the Army, acting through 

4 the Chief of Engineers. 

5 (6) The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 

6 through the Administrator of the Federal Emer7 gency Management Agency. 

8 (7) The Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

9 (8) The Attorney General. 

10 (9) The Secretary of State. 

11 (10) The Secretary of Transportation. 

12 (11) The Administrator of the Environmental 

13 Protection Agency. 

14 (12) The Administrator of the National Aero15 nautics and Space Administration. 

16 (13) The Director of the National Science 

17 Foundation. 

18 (14) The Governor, or a representative of the 

19 Governor, of each covered State. 

20 (b) NONVOTING MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall 

21 have the following nonvoting members: 

22 (1) The member of the South Atlantic Fishery 

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1 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage2 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(1)). 

3 (2) The member of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

4 Management Council who is designated by the Gov5 ernor of Florida under such section. 

6 (3) The members of the Western Pacific Fish7 ery Management Council who are designated by the 

8 Governors of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and 

9 the Northern Mariana Islands under such section. 

10 (4) The members of the Caribbean Fishery 

11 Management Council who are designated by the 

12 Governors of Puerto Rico and the United States Vir13 gin Islands under such section. 

14 (5) A member appointed by the President rep15 resenting each of the following: 

16 (A) The Freely Associated States of the 

17 Federated States of Micronesia. 

18 (B) The Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

19 (C) The Republic of Palau. 

20 SEC. 204. RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCY MEM21 BERS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Task Force 

23 specified in paragraphs (1) through (14) of section 203(a) 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) identify the actions of the agency that mem2 ber represents that may affect coral reef ecosystems; 

3 (2) utilize the programs and authorities of that 

4 agency to protect and enhance the conditions of such 

5 ecosystems, including through the promotion of basic 

6 and applied scientific research; 

7 (3) collaborate with the Task Force to appro8 priately reflect budgetary needs for coral reef con9 servation and restoration activities in all agency 

10 budget planning and justification documents and 

11 processes; and 

12 (4) engage in any other coordinated efforts ap13 proved by the Task Force. 

14 (b) CO-CHAIRS.—In addition to their responsibilities 

15 under subsection (a), the co-chairs of the Task Force shall 

16 administer performance of the functions of the Task Force 

17 and facilitate the coordination of the members of the Task 

18 Force specified in paragraphs (1) through (13) of section 

19 203(a). 

20 SEC. 205. WORKING GROUPS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The co-chairs of the Task Force 

22 may establish working groups as necessary to meet the 

23 goals and carry out the duties of the Task Force. 


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1 (b) REQUESTS FROM MEMBERS.—The members of 

2 the Task Force may request the co-chairs to establish a 

3 working group under subsection (a). 

4 (c) PARTICIPATION BY NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANI5 ZATIONS.—The co-chairs may allow nongovernmental or6 ganizations, including academic institutions, conservation 

7 groups, and commercial and recreational fishing associa8 tions, to participate in a working group established under 

9 subsection (a). 

10 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this title: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means the Committee on Commerce, 

15 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

16 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

17 Representatives. 

18 (2) CONSERVATION, CORAL, CORAL REEF, 

19 ETC.—The terms ‘‘conservation’’, ‘‘coral’’, ‘‘coral 

20 reef’’, ‘‘coral reef ecosystem’’, ‘‘covered State’’, ‘‘res21 toration’’, ‘‘resilience’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the mean22 ing given those terms in section 225 of the Coral 

23 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by sec24 tion 101. 


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1 TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE 

2 INTERIOR CORAL REEF AU3 THORITIES 

4 SEC. 301. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 

5 ASSISTANCE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior may 

7 provide scientific expertise and technical assistance and, 

8 subject to the availability of appropriations, financial as9 sistance for the conservation and restoration of coral reefs 

10 consistent with all applicable laws governing resource 

11 management in Federal and State waters, including— 

12 (1) the national coral reef resilience strategy in 

13 effect and developed under section 203 of the Coral 

14 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by sec15 tion 101; and 

16 (2) Federal coral reef action plans in effect and 

17 developed under section 204 of that Act. 

18 (b) CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF

19 COMMERCE.—The Secretary of the Interior may consult 

20 with the Secretary of Commerce regarding the conduct of 

21 any activities to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral 

22 reef ecosystems in waters managed under the jurisdiction 

23 of the Federal agencies specified in paragraphs (2), (3), 

24 and (4) of section 205(c) of the Coral Reef Conservation 

25 Act of 2000, as amended by section 101. 


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•HR 4160 IH

1 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of 

2 the Interior may enter into cooperative agreements with 

3 States to fund coral reef conservation and restoration ac4 tivities in waters managed under the jurisdiction of such 

5 States that are consistent with the national coral reef re6 silience strategy in effect and developed under section 203 

7 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended 

8 by section 101, and support and enhance the success of 

9 Federal coral reef action plans in effect and developed 

10 under section 204 of that Act. 

11 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘con12 servation’’, ‘‘coral reef’’, ‘‘restoration’’, and ‘‘State’’ have 

13 the meaning given those terms in section 225 of the Coral 

14 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by section 

15 101. 

Æ 


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