I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4093 

To improve the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2019 

Mr. BEYER (for himself and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 

addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To improve the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act, 

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 ‘‘National Oceans and 

5 Coastal Security Improvements Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE NATIONAL OCEANS AND 

2 COASTAL SECURITY ACT. 

3 (a) DEFINITION OF TIDAL SHORELINE REFINED.— 

4 Section 902 of the National Oceans and Coastal Security 

5 Act (16 U.S.C. 7501) is amended— 

6 (1) by amending paragraph (7) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(7) TIDAL SHORELINE.—The term ‘tidal 

9 shoreline’ means a ‘tidal shoreline’ or a ‘Great Lake 

10 shoreline’ as such terms are used in section 

11 923.110(c)(2)(i) of title 15, Code of Federal Regula12 tions, or a similar successor regulation.’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 

15 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

16 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

17 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’. 

18 (b) IMPROVEMENTS TO NATIONAL OCEANS AND

19 COASTAL SECURITY FUND.— 

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND REQUIRED.— 

21 Subsection (a) of section 904 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

22 7503) is amended by inserting ‘‘and jointly manage’’ 

23 after ‘‘establish’’. 

24 (2) DEPOSITS.—Paragraph (1) of subsection 

25 (b) of section 904 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be deposited 

2 into the Fund, which shall constitute the assets of 

3 the Fund, amounts as follows: 

4 ‘‘(A) Amounts transferred to the Fund 

5 under section 908. 

6 ‘‘(B) Such other amounts as may be ap7 propriated or otherwise made available to carry 

8 out this Act.’’. 

9 (3) EXPENDITURES.—Strike subsection (d) of 

10 section 904 and insert the following: 

11 ‘‘(d) EXPENDITURE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) Of the amounts deposited into the Fund 

13 for each fiscal year, if those funds are equal to or 

14 greater than $100,000,000— 

15 ‘‘(A) not more than 80 percent may be 

16 used for the award of grants under subsection 

17 (b) of section 906; 

18 ‘‘(B) not more than 20 percent may be 

19 used for the award of grants under subsection 

20 (c) of such section; and 

21 ‘‘(C) no more than 4 percent may be used 

22 by the Administrator and the Foundation for 

23 administrative expenses to carry out this chap24 ter, which amount shall be divided between the 

25 Administrator and the Foundation pursuant to 


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1 an agreement reached and documented by both 

2 the Administrator and the Foundation. 

3 ‘‘(2) Of the amounts deposited into the Fund 

4 for each fiscal year, if those funds are less than 

5 $100,000,000, all funds shall be used for the award 

6 of grants under subsection (c) of section 906 and no 

7 more than 4 percent may be used by the Adminis8 trator and the Foundation for administrative ex9 penses to carry out this chapter, which amount shall 

10 be divided between the Administrator and the Foun11 dation pursuant to an agreement reached and docu12 mented by both the Administrator and the Founda13 tion.’’. 

14 (c) ELIGIBLE USES OF THE FUND.—Section 905 of 

15 such Act (16 U.S.C. 7504) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 905. ELIGIBLE USES. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund may be 

18 allocated by the Administrator and the Foundation to sup19 port programs and activities intended to protect, conserve, 

20 restore, better understand, and utilize ocean and coastal 

21 resources and coastal infrastructure, including scientific 

22 research, resiliency and spatial planning, data-sharing, 

23 and other programs and activities carried out in coordina24 tion with Federal and State departments or agencies, in25 cluding the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes restora2 tion and protection, including efforts to address po3 tential impacts of sea level change, sedimentation, 

4 erosion, changes in ocean chemistry, hurricanes and 

5 other extreme weather, flooding, and changes in 

6 ocean temperature to natural resources, commu7 nities, and coastal economies. 

8 ‘‘(2) Restoration, protection, or maintenance of 

9 living ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and 

10 their habitats. 

11 ‘‘(3) Planning for and managing coastal devel12 opment to enhance ecosystem and community integ13 rity, or to minimize impacts from sea level change, 

14 hurricanes and other extreme weather, flooding, and 

15 coastal erosion. 

16 ‘‘(4) Projects to address management, planning, 

17 or resiliency and readiness issues which are regional 

18 or interstate in scope, such as regional ocean part19 nerships or similar bodies. 

20 ‘‘(5) Efforts that contribute to the under21 standing of ecological, economic, societal, and na22 tional security threats driven by changes to the 

23 oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes. 

24 ‘‘(6) Efforts to preserve, protect, and collect 

25 data, including but not limited to public ocean and 


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1 coastal data portals, that would support sustainable 

2 water-dependent commercial activities including 

3 commercial fishing, recreational fishing businesses, 

4 aquaculture, boat building, or other coastal-related 

5 businesses. 

6 ‘‘(7) Efforts to assist coastal States in strength7 ening, stabilizing, hardening, elevating, modifying, 

8 repositioning, or otherwise enhancing the resiliency 

9 of critical coastal transportation, emergency re10 sponse, water, electrical, and other infrastructure, 

11 that are already subject to or face increased future 

12 risks of hurricanes, coastal flooding, coastal erosion, 

13 or sea level change to ensure the economic security, 

14 safety, and ecological well-being of the coasts of the 

15 United States. 

16 ‘‘(8) Acquiring property or interests in property 

17 if— 

18 ‘‘(A) the area is located within a coastal 

19 county or adjacent county; 

20 ‘‘(B) the funds made available under this 

21 subtitle are used to acquire land or interest in 

22 land by purchase, exchange, or donation from a 

23 willing seller; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the Governor of the State in which 

2 the property or interests in property are ac3 quired approves of the acquisition; and 

4 ‘‘(D) such property or interest is acquired 

5 in a manner that will ensure such property or 

6 interest will be administered to support the pur7 poses of this Act. 

8 ‘‘(9) Protection and modification of critical 

9 coastal public infrastructure affected by erosion, 

10 hurricanes or other extreme weather, flooding, or sea 

11 level change. 

12 ‘‘(10) Assistance for small businesses and com13 munities that are dependent on coastal tourism as 

14 eligible efforts that help coastal economies minimize 

15 impacts from sea level rise and disasters. 

16 ‘‘(11) Projects that reinforce wastewater and 

17 stormwater infrastructure as eligible critical infra18 structure projects (as compared to just general 

19 water infrastructure, which can also include drinking 

20 water systems). 

21 ‘‘(12) Technical assistance to help develop com22 prehensive resilience and mitigation plans as an eli23 gible funding effort. 


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1 ‘‘(b) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The Administrator 

2 and the Foundation shall require a non-Federal match for 

3 all awards made under section 906(c) from the Fund. 

4 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR LITIGA5 TION.—No funds made available under this Act may be 

6 used to fund litigation against the Federal Government.’’. 

7 (d) GRANTS.— 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATION.—Subsection (a)(1) of 

9 section 906 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 7505) is amend10 ed— 

11 (A) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

12 as follows: 

13 ‘‘(B) Selection procedures and criteria for 

14 the awarding of grants under this section that 

15 require consultation with the Administrator and 

16 the Secretary of the Interior.’’; 

17 (B) by amending subparagraph (C)(ii) to 

18 read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(ii) under subsection (c) to entities 

20 including States, local governments, re21 gional and interstate collaboratives, asso22 ciations, nonprofit and for-profit private 

23 entities, public-private partnerships, aca24 demic institutions, and Indian Tribes.’’; 


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1 (C) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘year 

2 if grants have been awarded in that year’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘five years’’. 

4 (2) GRANTS TO COASTAL STATES.—Subsection 

5 (b) of section 906 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(b) GRANTS TO COASTAL STATES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 

8 904(d)(1) and paragraphs (3) and (4) of this sub9 section, the Administrator and the Foundation shall 

10 award grants to eligible coastal States based on the 

11 following formula: 

12 ‘‘(A) Fifty percent of the funds are allo13 cated equally among such coastal States. 

14 ‘‘(B) Twenty-five percent of the funds are 

15 allocated on the basis of the ratio of tidal shore16 line miles in a coastal State to the tidal shore17 line miles of all coastal States. 

18 ‘‘(C) Twenty-five percent of the funds are 

19 allocated on the basis of the ratio of population 

20 density of the coastal counties of a coastal 

21 State to the average population density of all 

22 coastal counties based on the most recent data 

23 available by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

24 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE COASTAL STATES.—For pur25 poses of this subsection, an eligible coastal State is 


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1 any coastal State as defined in section 1453 of this 

2 title. 

3 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM ALLOCATION TO STATES.—Not4 withstanding paragraph (1), not more than 5 per5 cent of the total funds distributed under this sub6 section may be allocated to any single State. Any 

7 amount exceeding this limit shall be redistributed 

8 equally among the remaining eligible coastal States. 

9 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENT TO SUBMIT PLANS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re11 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 

12 coastal State shall submit to the Administrator 

13 for review and approval, a 5-year plan, which 

14 shall include the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) Criteria to determine eligibility 

16 for entities which may receive grants under 

17 this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(ii) A description of the competitive 

19 process the coastal State will use in allo20 cating funds received from the Fund, ex21 cept in the case of allocating funds under 

22 paragraph (7), which shall include— 

23 ‘‘(I) a description of the relative 

24 roles in the State competitive process 

25 of the State coastal zone management 


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1 program approved under the Coastal 

2 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

3 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), if the coastal 

4 State has such a plan, and any State 

5 Sea Grant Program, if the state has 

6 such program; and 

7 ‘‘(II) a demonstration that such 

8 competitive process is consistent with 

9 the application and review procedures 

10 established by the Administrator and 

11 Foundation under subsection (a)(1). 

12 ‘‘(iii) A process to certify that the 

13 project or program and the awarding of a 

14 contract for the expenditure of amounts re15 ceived under this paragraph are consistent 

16 with the standard procurement rules and 

17 regulations governing a comparable project 

18 or program in that State, including all ap19 plicable competitive bidding and audit re20 quirements. 

21 ‘‘(iv) Procedures to make publicly 

22 available on the internet a list of all 

23 projects supported by the Fund, that in24 cludes at a minimum the grant recipient, 


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1 grant amount, project description, and 

2 project status. 

3 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—As a condition of receiv4 ing a grant under this subsection, a coastal 

5 State shall submit to the Administrator, not 

6 less frequently than once every 5 years, an up7 date to the plan submitted by the coastal State 

8 under subparagraph (A) for the 5-year period 

9 immediately following the most recent submittal 

10 under this paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(5) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.—In 

12 determining whether to approve a plan or an update 

13 to a plan described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

14 paragraph (5), the Administrator or the Foundation 

15 shall provide the opportunity for, and take into con16 sideration, public input and comment on the plan. 

17 ‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBES.—As a condition on receipt 

18 of a grant under this subsection, a State that re19 ceives a grant under this subsection shall ensure 

20 that Indian Tribes in the State are eligible to par21 ticipate in the competitive process described in the 

22 State’s plan under paragraph (5)(A)(ii). 

23 ‘‘(7) NONPARTICIPATION BY A STATE.—In any 

24 year, if an eligible coastal State or geographic area 

25 described in paragraph (4)(B) does not submit the 


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1 plan required by paragraph (5) or declines the funds 

2 distributed under this subsection, the funds that 

3 would have been allocated to the State or area shall 

4 be redistributed equally among the remaining eligible 

5 coastal States and geographic areas.’’. 

6 (3) NATIONAL GRANTS FOR OCEANS, COASTS, 

7 AND GREAT LAKES.—Subsection (c)(2) of such sec8 tion is amended— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

10 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

11 and inserting a semicolon; 

12 (ii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 

13 clause (iv); and 

14 (iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(iii) nongovernmental organizations; 

17 and’’; and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(C) CAP ON STATE FUNDING.—The 

20 amount of a grant awarded under this sub21 section shall not count toward the cap on fund22 ing to States through grants awarded under 

23 subsection (b).’’. 

24 (e) FUNDING.—Section 908 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

25 7507) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 908. FUNDING. 

2 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated 

3 $100,000,000 for this title for fiscal year 2020 and each 

4 fiscal year thereafter.’’. 

Æ 


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