II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2429 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2019 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, and Ms. 

HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

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. 

TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 

ACT OF 2000 


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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; 

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

18 and sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems to ben19 efit local communities and the Nation, including 


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1 through improved integration and cooperation 

2 among Federal, State, and locally managed jurisdic3 tions with coral reef equities; 

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

5 the condition of coral reef ecosystems, continuing 

6 and emerging threats to such ecosystems, and the 

7 efficacy of innovative tools, technologies, and strate8 gies to restore such ecosystems; 

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

10 by supporting consensus-driven State and commu11 nity-based coral reef management, including con12 servation and restoration projects that empower 

13 local communities, small businesses, and nongovern14 mental organizations; 

15 ‘‘(5) to provide financial resources, technical as16 sistance, and scientific expertise to supplement and 

17 strengthen State and community-based management 

18 programs and conservation and restoration projects; 

19 ‘‘(6) to establish a formal mechanism for col20 lecting and allocating monetary donations from the 

21 private sector to be used for coral reef conservation 

22 and restoration projects; 

23 ‘‘(7) to support the rapid and effective, science24 based response to emergencies that imminently 

25 threaten coral reefs, such as coral disease outbreaks, 


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1 invasive species, coral bleaching, natural disasters, 

2 vessel groundings or chemical spills, and other exi3 gent circumstances; and 

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

5 international efforts to preserve, sustain, and restore 

6 coral reef ecosystems in the jurisdictions of United 

7 States allies and trading partners. 

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

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

10 date of the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act 

11 of 2019, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate 

12 congressional committees and publish in the Federal Reg13 ister a national coral reef resilience strategy. 

14 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by para15 graph (1) shall include— 

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

17 implementation plan for supporting— 

18 ‘‘(A) future Federal coral reef management 

19 and restoration activities under section 205; 

20 ‘‘(B) the coral reef conservation program 

21 under section 221; and 

22 ‘‘(C) research priorities for the coral reef 

23 cooperative institutes and coral reef research 

24 centers under section 223(c); 

25 ‘‘(2) national maps of— 


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

2 reef ecosystems; 

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

4 coral reef ecosystems; and 

5 ‘‘(C) prime habitat for restoring reef eco6 system structure and functions to benefit coast7 al communities and living marine resources; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(3) a discussion of— 

10 ‘‘(A) continuing and emerging threats to 

11 the resilience of United States coral reef eco12 systems; 

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

14 reef ecosystem research, monitoring, and as15 sessments; 

16 ‘‘(C) the status of efforts to improve man17 agement, integration, and cooperation among 

18 Federal, State, Tribal, and locally managed ju19 risdictions with coral reef equities; and 

20 ‘‘(D) efforts to manage and disseminate 

21 critical information, such as publicly accessible 

22 research, reports, datasets, and maps, including 

23 through interjurisdictional data sharing. 

24 ‘‘(c) REVISIONS.—The Administrator shall periodi25 cally, but not less frequently than every 20 years, review 


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1 and revise the strategy required by subsection (a) as ap2 propriate. 

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

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

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

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

7 the Administrator, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

8 Administration’s 2018 Coral Reef Conservation Program 

9 Strategic Plan may be considered to fulfill the require10 ments of this section until January 1, 2040. 

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

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

13 2021, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator 

14 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

15 and publish in the Federal Register a compilation of coral 

16 reef action plans for each individual management unit of 

17 a Federal agency specified in section 205(c) with jurisdic18 tion over coral reef ecosystems and established for at least 

19 5 years— 

20 ‘‘(1) developed and submitted to the Adminis21 trator by the Secretary of the Interior and the As22 sistant Administrator of the National Ocean Service, 

23 as applicable; and 

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

25 (b). 


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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL CORAL REEF

2 ACTION PLANS.—A coral reef action plan of a manage3 ment unit described in subsection (a) meets the require4 ments of this subsection if the plan includes— 

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

6 accomplished during the 5-year period following de7 velopment of the plan and consistent with the na8 tional coral reef resilience strategy in effect as devel9 oped in accordance with section 203; and 

10 ‘‘(2) a discussion of— 

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

12 success in managing and restoring coral reef 

13 ecosystems under the previous coral reef action 

14 plan in effect as developed under this section, 

15 if applicable, and how such review informs the 

16 newly effective action plan; 

17 ‘‘(B) short- and mid-term coral reef con18 servation and restoration objectives for such 

19 unit’s coral reef ecosystems; 

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

21 retains less than 50 percent of its historical liv22 ing coral cover as of the date of the plan; 

23 ‘‘(D) an updated adaptive management 

24 framework to inform research, monitoring, and 

25 assessment needs; 


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1 ‘‘(E) any coral reef emergency plans cer2 tified under section 216 for coral reef eco3 systems within such unit, and a review of any 

4 circumstance that led to the activation of such 

5 plans within such unit, including an evaluation 

6 of the emergency responses; 

7 ‘‘(F) tools and strategies to address pollu8 tion and water quality impacts to coral reef eco9 systems arising wholly from within the adminis10 trative boundaries of such unit; 

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

12 reef ecosystem management integration and co13 operation among neighboring Federal, State, 

14 Tribal, or locally managed jurisdictions, includ15 ing identification of existing research and moni16 toring activities that can be leveraged for coral 

17 reef status and trends assessments within such 

18 unit; 

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

20 significant units of coral reefs identified by 

21 coral reef stewardship partnerships certified 

22 under section 210(e) or subject to stewardship 

23 activities governed by coral reef stewardship 

24 plans certified under section 212 during the 

25 preceding 5-year period within such unit; 


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

2 education efforts; 

3 ‘‘(J) an accounting of annual unit expendi4 tures on coral reef management and restoration 

5 during the 5-year period preceding the date of 

6 the plan; and 

7 ‘‘(K) estimated budgetary and other re8 source considerations necessary to carry out 

9 such plan. 

10 ‘‘(c) ADOPTION OF STEWARDSHIP AND EMERGENCY

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

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

13 may adopt any coral reef stewardship plans certified under 

14 section 212 and coral reef emergency plans certified under 

15 section 216 governing stewardship or emergency response 

16 activities within the administrative boundaries of such 

17 unit. 

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

19 plans required by subsection (a), the Secretary of the Inte20 rior or the Assistant Administrator of the National Ocean 

21 Service may consult with the Administrator and the Task 

22 Force. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 205. FEDERAL CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RES2 TORATION ACTIVITIES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct ac4 tivities described in subsection (b) to conserve and restore 

5 coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems that are consistent 

6 with— 

7 ‘‘(1) all applicable laws governing resource 

8 management in Federal and State waters, including 

9 this title; 

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

11 in effect as developed under section 203; and 

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

13 and developed under section 204. 

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

15 in this subsection are activities to conserve and restore 

16 coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems in waters managed 

17 under the jurisdiction of a Federal agency specified in sub18 section (c), including— 

19 ‘‘(1) enhancing compliance with Federal laws 

20 that prohibit or regulate— 

21 ‘‘(A) the taking of coral products or spe22 cies associated with coral reefs; or 

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

24 ecosystems; 

25 ‘‘(2) mapping of— 


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

2 reef ecosystems; 

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

4 coral reef ecosystems; and 

5 ‘‘(C) prime habitat for restoring reef eco6 system structure and functions to benefit coast7 al communities and living marine resources; 

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

9 reef ecosystems; 

10 ‘‘(4) implementing species-specific recovery 

11 plans for listed coral species consistent with the En12 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

13 seq.); 

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

15 ‘‘(6) promoting ecologically sound navigation 

16 and anchorages, including mooring buoy systems to 

17 promote enhanced recreational access, near coral 

18 reefs; and 

19 ‘‘(7) monitoring and responding to severe 

20 bleaching or mortality events, disease outbreaks, 

21 invasive species outbreaks, and significant maritime 

22 accidents, including chemical spill cleanup and the 

23 removal of grounded vessels. 

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

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


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1 ‘‘(1) The National Ocean Service of the Na2 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

3 ‘‘(2) The National Park Service. 

4 ‘‘(3) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv5 ice. 

6 ‘‘(4) The Office of Insular Affairs of the De7 partment of the Interior. 

8 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF

9 THE INTERIOR.—The Secretary shall coordinate with the 

10 Secretary of the Interior regarding the conduct of any ac11 tivities to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral reef 

12 ecosystems in waters managed under the jurisdiction of 

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

14 of subsection (c). 

15 ‘‘(e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

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

17 Secretary, the Administrator may enter into cooper18 ative agreements with States to fund coral reef con19 servation and restoration activities in waters man20 aged under the jurisdiction of such States that are 

21 consistent with the national coral reef resilience 

22 strategy in effect as developed under section 203. 

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

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

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


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1 ‘‘SEC. 206. STATE CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RES2 TORATION STRATEGIES. 

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

4 2022, and every 20 years thereafter, the Administrator 

5 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

6 and publish in the Federal Register a compilation of State 

7 coral reef management and restoration strategies— 

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

9 Administrator by covered States; and 

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

11 (b). 

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

13 coral reef management and restoration strategy of a cov14 ered State meets the requirements of this subsection if the 

15 strategy includes— 

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

17 accomplished during the 20-year period following the 

18 development of the strategy; and 

19 ‘‘(2) a discussion of— 

20 ‘‘(A) updated State mapping of— 

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

22 coral reef ecosystems; 

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

24 coral reef ecosystems; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) prime habitat for restoring reef 

2 ecosystem functions to benefit coastal com3 munities and living marine resources; 

4 ‘‘(B) continuing and emerging threats to 

5 the resilience of coral reef ecosystems within 

6 such State; 

7 ‘‘(C) statewide gaps in research, moni8 toring, and assessment; 

9 ‘‘(D) long-term State conservation and res10 toration goals, including the status of efforts to 

11 improve management integration and coopera12 tion among Federal, State, Tribal, and locally 

13 managed jurisdictions with coral reef equities; 

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

15 partnerships certified under section 210(e) 

16 within such State, and the role of such partner17 ships in the coral reef management and restora18 tion strategy of such State; and 

19 ‘‘(F) efforts to manage and disseminate 

20 critical information such as publicly accessible 

21 research, reports, datasets, and maps, including 

22 through interjurisdictional data sharing. 

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

24 covered State, the Administrator shall make reasonable ef25 forts to provide technical assistance, including through 


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1 consultation with the Task Force, in the development of 

2 the coral reef management and restoration strategy of 

3 such State under this subsection. 

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

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

6 2023, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator 

7 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

8 and publish in the Federal Register a compilation of State 

9 coral reef action plans— 

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

11 Administrator by covered States; and 

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

13 (b). 

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

15 coral reef action plan meets the requirements of this sub16 section if the plan includes— 

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

18 accomplished during the 5-year period following de19 velopment of the plan and consistent with such cov20 ered State’s coral reef management and restoration 

21 strategy in effect as developed in accordance with 

22 section 206, if any; and 

23 ‘‘(2) a discussion of— 

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

25 coral reef action plan assessment developed 


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1 under section 208, as applicable, and how such 

2 assessment informs the newly submitted action 

3 plan; 

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

5 conservation and restoration objectives; 

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

7 retains less than 50 percent of its historical liv8 ing coral cover as of the date of the plan; 

9 ‘‘(D) an updated adaptive management 

10 framework to inform research, monitoring, and 

11 assessment needs; 

12 ‘‘(E) any coral reef emergency plans cer13 tified under section 216 in effect for coral reef 

14 ecosystems within such State, and a review of 

15 any circumstance that led to the activation of 

16 such plans within such State, including an eval17 uation of the emergency responses; 

18 ‘‘(F) tools and strategies to address pollu19 tion and water quality impacts to coral reef eco20 systems within such State; 

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

22 reef ecosystem management integration and co23 operation among Federal, State, Tribal, or lo24 cally managed jurisdictions, including identifica25 tion of existing research and monitoring activiVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2429.IS S2429

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1 ties that can be leveraged for coral reef status 

2 and trends assessments within such State; 

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

4 significant units of coral reefs identified by 

5 coral reef stewardship partnerships certified 

6 under section 210(e) or subject to stewardship 

7 activities governed by coral reef stewardship 

8 plans certified under section 212 during the 

9 preceding 5-year period within such State; 

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

11 education efforts; 

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

13 expenditures on coral reef management and res14 toration during the 5-year period preceding the 

15 date of the plan; and 

16 ‘‘(K) estimated budgetary and other re17 source considerations necessary to carry out 

18 such plan. 

19 ‘‘(c) ADOPTION OF STEWARDSHIP AND EMERGENCY

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

21 section, a covered State may adopt any coral reef steward22 ship plans certified under section 212 and coral reef emer23 gency plans certified under section 216 governing steward24 ship or emergency response activities within the adminis25 trative boundaries of the State. 


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

2 covered State, the Administrator shall make reasonable ef3 forts to provide technical assistance, including through 

4 consultation with the Task Force, in the development of 

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

6 ‘‘SEC. 208. STATE CORAL REEF ACTION PLAN ASSESS7 MENTS. 

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

9 2027, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator 

10 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

11 and publish in the Federal Register an assessment, for 

12 each covered State with an action plan developed under 

13 section 207 and in effect, of— 

14 ‘‘(1) the capacity of such covered State to man15 age coral reef ecosystems in the State; 

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

17 and success in managing and restoring coral reef 

18 ecosystems under the previous coral reef action plan 

19 developed under section 207 and in effect, as appli20 cable; and 

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

22 the activation of a coral reef emergency plan cer23 tified under section 216 and in effect within such 

24 covered State, including an evaluation of the emer25 gency responses. 


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

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

3 Administrator may consult with the covered State, the 

4 Task Force, coral reef stewardship partnerships certified 

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

6 and impacted Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations. 

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

8 ACTION PLANS.—It is the sense of Congress that the Ad9 ministrator should conduct assessments under subsection 

10 (a) with the goal of informing and supporting the develop11 ment of subsequent State coral reef action plans developed 

12 under section 207. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 209. STATE BLOCK GRANTS. 

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

15 block grants of financial assistance to covered States in 

16 response to annual proposals for funds to support State 

17 activities that would further the implementation of State 

18 coral reef management and restoration strategies devel19 oped under section 206, State coral reef action plans de20 veloped under section 207, and coral reef stewardship 

21 plans certified under section 212. 

22 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A covered State is eligible to re23 ceive a grant under this subsection if the State has in ef24 fect— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a State coral reef management and res2 toration strategy in effect published by the Adminis3 trator in the Federal Register under section 206 and 

4 a State coral reef action plan in effect published by 

5 the Administrator in the Federal Register under sec6 tion 207; or 

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

8 certified under section 212 in effect within its ad9 ministrative boundaries. 

10 ‘‘(c) FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2) or subsection (d), the amount of Federal 

13 funds provided to a covered State as a block grant 

14 under this section may not exceed the total amount 

15 of the annual expenditures of the State on the im16 plementation of its State coral reef management and 

17 restoration strategy under section 206, its State 

18 coral reef action plan under section 207, and its re19 sponsibilities to coral reef stewardship plans certified 

20 under section 212. 

21 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—Any Federal funds pro22 vided to a natural resource management authority of 

23 a State or other State government authority under 

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

25 shall not be considered State expenditures for the 


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1 purposes of calculating the limitation under para2 graph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—Notwithstanding para4 graph (1), in determining the amount of Federal 

5 funds a covered State receives as a block grant 

6 under this section, the Administrator may consider 

7 the following factors: 

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

9 proposal under subsection (a). 

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

11 recent action plan assessment under section 

12 208, if applicable. 

13 ‘‘(C) Estimates of direct and indirect eco14 nomic activity supported by coral reef eco15 systems within such State. 

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

17 Administrator may waive the eligibility requirements 

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

19 2023. 

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

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

22 The Administrator shall establish standards for the forma23 tion of partnerships among government and community 

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


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1 referred to as ‘coral reef stewardship partnerships’) in ac2 cordance with this section. 

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

4 stewardship partnership shall identify with particularity 

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

6 that will be the subject of its stewardship activities. 

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

8 reef stewardship partnership that has identified, as the 

9 subject of its stewardship activities, a coral reef or eco10 logically significant unit of a coral reef that is fully or par11 tially under the management jurisdiction of any Federal 

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

13 include the following: 

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

15 which shall serve as chair of the coral reef steward16 ship partnership. 

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

18 resource management agency. 

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

20 section 223(c)(2) or other institution of higher edu21 cation. 

22 ‘‘(4) A nongovernmental organization. 

23 ‘‘(5) Other members as appropriate, such as in24 terested stakeholder groups. 

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


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

2 partnership that has identified, as the subject of its 

3 stewardship activities, a coral reef or ecologically sig4 nificant unit of a coral reef that is not under the 

5 management jurisdiction of any Federal agency 

6 specified in section 205(c) shall, at a minimum, in7 clude the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) A State, county, or Tribal organiza9 tion’s resource management agency, a rep10 resentative of which shall serve as the chair of 

11 the coral reef stewardship partnership. 

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

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

14 higher education. 

15 ‘‘(C) A nongovernmental organization. 

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

17 as interested stakeholder groups. 

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

19 stewardship partnership described in paragraph (1) 

20 may also include one or more Federal agencies that 

21 have a management interest in the identified reef 

22 that is subject to the partnership’s stewardship ac23 tivities. 

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

25 as a coral reef stewardship partnership under this section 


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1 may petition the Administrator for certification as a coral 

2 reef stewardship partnership, and the Administrator shall 

3 accept or reject the petition for certification not later than 

4 30 days after receiving the petition. 

5 ‘‘(f) MULTIPLE GROUPS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each coral reef, or eco7 logically significant unit of a coral reef, may be the 

8 subject of the stewardship activities of only one coral 

9 reef stewardship partnership. 

10 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES REQUIRED.—The Adminis11 trator shall develop procedures to govern the disposi12 tion of petitions from multiple groups seeking to 

13 identify the same coral reef or ecologically signifi14 cant unit of a coral reef as the subject of the stew15 ardship activities of a coral reef stewardship part16 nership. 

17 ‘‘(g) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY

18 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

19 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to coral reef stewardship 

20 partnerships. 

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

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

23 stewardship partnership certified under section 210(e) 

24 may develop plans for the stewardship of the coral reef 

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


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1 subject of the stewardship activities of the partnership (in 

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

3 ‘‘(b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—A coral reef steward4 ship plan shall include the following elements: 

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

6 and water quality impacts to the identified coral reef 

7 ecosystems. 

8 ‘‘(2) An updated adaptive management frame9 work to inform research, monitoring, and assessment 

10 needs. 

11 ‘‘(3) Short- and mid-term coral reef steward12 ship objectives. 

13 ‘‘(4) Coral reef-related public outreach and edu14 cation efforts. 

15 ‘‘(5) Establishment of roles and responsibilities 

16 for implementing the plan. 

17 ‘‘(6) Evidence of engagement with interested 

18 stakeholder groups in the development of the plan. 

19 ‘‘(7) Any other information the Administrator 

20 considers to be necessary for evaluating the plan. 

21 ‘‘(c) BEST STEWARDSHIP PRACTICES.—The Admin22 istrator shall convene representatives of coral reef stew23 ardship partnerships not less than once a year to share 

24 experiences and identify best practices for developing and 

25 implementing coral reef stewardship plans. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 212. STEWARDSHIP PLAN CERTIFICATIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION TO ADMINISTRATOR FOR CERTIFI3 CATION.—A coral reef stewardship partnership certified 

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

5 plan developed under section 211 to the Administrator for 

6 certification. 

7 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION.— 

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

9 ‘‘(A) evaluate a plan submitted under sub10 section (a) to determine whether the plan com11 plies with the requirements of section 211(b); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) grant or deny the petition for certifi14 cation not later than 120 days (except as pro15 vided by paragraph (2)) after receiving the peti16 tion. 

17 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The Administrator may ex18 tend the date provided for under paragraph (1)(B) 

19 by not more than 60 days. 

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

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

22 reef stewardship partnership, the partnership may, not 

23 later than 30 days after receiving notice of the denial, ap24 peal the denial to the Secretary. Not later than 60 days 

25 after receiving an appeal under this subsection, the Sec26 retary shall grant or deny the appeal. 


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

2 reef stewardship plan under this section shall expire on 

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

4 A coral reef stewardship partnership may submit an up5 dated version of such a plan for recertification prior to 

6 the expiration of the certification of the plan under this 

7 section. 

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

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

10 The Administrator may enter into an agreement with the 

11 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (in this section re12 ferred to as the ‘Foundation’), authorizing the Foundation 

13 to receive, hold, and administer funds received pursuant 

14 to this section. 

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

16 and otherwise administer the funds received pursuant to 

17 this section and maintain such funds and any interest or 

18 revenues earned in a separate interest bearing account, 

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

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

21 Foundation solely to support coral reef stewardship part22 nership activities that— 

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

24 ‘‘(2) are consistent with— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the national coral reef resilience 

2 strategy in effect as developed under section 

3 203; 

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

5 restoration strategy in effect, if any, as devel6 oped under section 206 by the covered State in 

7 which such activities will be carried out; 

8 ‘‘(C) the State coral reef action plan in ef9 fect, if any, as developed under section 207 by 

10 the covered State in which such activities will 

11 be carried out; 

12 ‘‘(D) Federal coral reef action plans in ef13 fect, if any, as developed under section 204 by 

14 a Federal agency with management jurisdiction 

15 of a coral reef ecosystem to be impacted by 

16 such activities, if applicable; and 

17 ‘‘(E) the coral reef stewardship plan in ef18 fect as certified under section 212 governing 

19 such stewardship activities. 

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

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

22 entered into under subsection (a), the Foundation 

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

24 any gift (including, notwithstanding section 1342 of 


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

2 to further the purposes of this title. 

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

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

5 funds received as a gift shall be deposited and main6 tained in the Fund. 

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

8 30 days after funds are deposited in the Fund under 

9 paragraph (2), the Foundation shall notify the Com10 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

11 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep12 resentatives of the source and amount of such funds. 

13 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—The Adminis14 trator shall conduct a continuing review of the grant pro15 gram administered by the Foundation under this section. 

16 Each review shall include a written assessment concerning 

17 the extent to which the Foundation has implemented the 

18 goals and requirements of— 

19 ‘‘(1) this section; and 

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

21 in effect as developed under section 203. 

22 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—Under an agreement en23 tered into pursuant to subsection (a), the Administrator 

24 may transfer funds appropriated to carry out this title to 

25 the Foundation. Amounts received by the Foundation 


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

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

3 property) made to the Foundation by private persons, 

4 State or local government agencies, or Tribal organiza5 tions. 

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

7 INFRASTRUCTURE. 

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

9 CERTIFIED CORAL REEF PLANS.—Any coral reef or eco10 logically significant unit of a coral reef that is the subject 

11 of stewardship activities of a coral reef stewardship part12 nership plan in effect as certified under section 212 or 

13 a coral reef emergency plan in effect as certified under 

14 section 216 shall be eligible for public assistance under 

15 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As16 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

17 ‘‘(b) OTHER CORAL REEFS.—Any coral reef or eco18 logically significant unit of a coral reef not described in 

19 subsection (a) may be considered eligible for public assist20 ance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

21 Emergency Assistance Act. 

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

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

24 Federal agencies specified in section 205(c) with jurisdic25 tion over coral reef ecosystems, covered States, and coral 


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1 reef stewardship partnerships certified under section 

2 210(e) may develop plans (in this title referred to as ‘coral 

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

4 to circumstances that pose an urgent and immediate 

5 threat to the coral reef ecosystems subject to the steward6 ship activities of such management unit, covered State, or 

7 coral reef stewardship partnership. 

8 ‘‘(b) CORAL REEF EMERGENCIES.—The Adminis9 trator shall develop a list and criteria for circumstances 

10 that pose an urgent and immediate threat to coral reefs 

11 (in this title referred to as ‘coral reef emergencies’), in12 cluding— 

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

14 ‘‘(2) new and ongoing outbreaks of invasive spe15 cies; 

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

17 ‘‘(4) natural disasters; 

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

19 groundings, hazardous spills, or coastal construction 

20 accidents; and 

21 ‘‘(6) other exigent circumstances. 

22 ‘‘(c) BEST RESPONSE PRACTICES.—The Adminis23 trator shall develop guidance on best practices to respond 

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


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1 ‘‘(1) based on the best available science and in2 tegrated with evolving innovative technologies; and 

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

4 every 5 years. 

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

6 plan shall include the following elements: 

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

8 proposed responses, consistent with the best prac9 tices developed under subsection (c). 

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

11 for executing such plan. 

12 ‘‘(3) Evidence of engagement with interested 

13 stakeholder groups, as applicable, in the develop14 ment of such plan. 

15 ‘‘(4) Any other information the Administrator 

16 considers to be necessary for evaluating such plan. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 216. EMERGENCY PLAN CERTIFICATIONS. 

18 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION TO ADMINISTRATOR FOR CERTIFI19 CATION.—Federal agencies specified in subsection 205(c), 

20 covered States, and coral reef stewardship partnerships 

21 certified under section 210(e) may submit coral reef emer22 gency plans developed under section 215 to the Adminis23 trator for certification. 

24 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION.— 

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


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1 ‘‘(A) evaluate a plan submitted under sub2 section (a) to determine whether the plan com3 plies with the requirements of section 215(d); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) grant or deny the petition for certifi6 cation not later than 120 days (except as pro7 vided by paragraph (2)) after receiving the peti8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION.—The Administrator may ex10 tend the date provided for under paragraph (1)(B) 

11 by not more than 60 days. 

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

13 for certification submitted under subsection (a), the peti14 tioning entity may, not later than 30 days after receiving 

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

16 Not later than 60 days after receiving an appeal under 

17 this subsection, the Secretary shall grant or deny the ap18 peal. 

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

20 reef emergency plan under this section shall expire on the 

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

22 The petitioning entity may submit an updated version of 

23 such a plan for recertification prior to the expiration of 

24 the certification of the plan under this section. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 217. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 

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

3 may be construed to supersede or modify the requirements 

4 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

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

6 ‘‘(b) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS.—To the ex7 tent permissible under the National Environmental Policy 

8 Act of 1969, the Administrator may conduct an environ9 mental assessment or environmental impact statement 

10 under that Act with respect to coral reef emergency plans 

11 developed under section 215 or certified under section 

12 216. 

13 ‘‘(c) GUIDANCE AND OUTREACH.—The Adminis14 trator shall issue guidance and conduct outreach with re15 spect to the implementation of this section. 

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

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

18 The Administrator may enter into an agreement with the 

19 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (in this section re20 ferred to as the ‘Foundation’), authorizing the Foundation 

21 to receive, hold, and administer funds received pursuant 

22 to this section. 

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

24 and otherwise administer funds received pursuant to this 

25 section and maintain such funds and any interest or reve26 nues earned in a separate interest-bearing account, to be 


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1 known as the ‘Coral Reef Emergency Fund’ (in this sec2 tion referred as the ‘Fund’), established by the Founda3 tion solely to support rapid and effective responses to coral 

4 reef emergencies by Federal agencies specified in sub5 section 205(c), covered States, and coral reef stewardship 

6 partnerships certified under section 210(e), and as other7 wise consistent with this title. 

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

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

10 entered into under subsection (a), the Foundation 

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

12 any gift (including, notwithstanding section 1342 of 

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

14 to further the purposes of this title. 

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

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

17 funds received as a gift shall be deposited and main18 tained in the Fund. 

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

20 30 days after funds are deposited in the Fund under 

21 paragraph (2), the Foundation shall notify the Com22 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

23 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep24 resentatives of the source and amount of such funds. 


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1 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE.—The Adminis2 trator shall conduct a continuing review of the grant pro3 gram administered by the Foundation under this section. 

4 Each review shall include a written assessment concerning 

5 the extent to which the Foundation has implemented the 

6 goals and requirements of this section. 

7 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—Under an agreement en8 tered into pursuant to subsection (a), the Administrator 

9 may transfer funds appropriated to carry out this title to 

10 the Foundation. Amounts received by an organization 

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

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

13 property) made to the organization by private persons, 

14 State or local government agencies, or Tribal organiza15 tions. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 219. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. 

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

18 ‘‘(1) SUA SPONTE DECLARATION.—The Sec19 retary may determine and declare a coral reef emer20 gency. 

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

22 stewardship partnership certified under section 

23 210(e) believes that a coral reef emergency has oc24 curred, and is impacting coral reefs or ecologically 

25 significant units of coral reefs subject to the coral 


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1 reef stewardship activities of the State or partner2 ship, the State or partnership may petition the Sec3 retary for a declaration of a coral reef emergency. 

4 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND ACTION.— 

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

6 days after receiving a petition under paragraph 

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

8 the Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) evaluate the petition to determine 

10 whether a coral reef emergency has oc11 curred; and 

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

13 deny the petition. 

14 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION.—The Administrator 

15 may extend the deadline provided for under 

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

17 ‘‘(4) APPEAL.—If the Secretary denies a peti18 tion for an emergency declaration submitted under 

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

20 partnership, the State or partnership may, not later 

21 than 15 days after receiving notice of the denial, ap22 peal the denial to the Secretary. Not later than 15 

23 days after receiving an appeal under this paragraph, 

24 the Secretary shall grant or deny the appeal. 


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

2 any declaration of a coral reef emergency in whole 

3 or in part after determining that circumstances no 

4 longer require an emergency response. 

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

6 The Administrator may seek compensation from 

7 negligent parties to recover emergency funds ex8 pended in excess of $500,000 under this section as 

9 a result of an emergency declaration arising from di10 rect impacts to coral reefs from man-made disasters 

11 or accidents. 

12 ‘‘(b) GRANT AUTHORITY.— 

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

14 coral reef emergency under subsection (a), the Sec15 retary shall provide grants to carry out proposals 

16 that meet the requirements of paragraph (2) to im17 plement coral reef emergency plans certified under 

18 section 216. 

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

20 under this subsection to implement a coral reef 

21 emergency plan shall include— 

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

23 submitting the proposal; 

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

25 plan; 


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

2 the individuals and entities who will implement 

3 the plan; 

4 ‘‘(D) an estimate of the funds and time re5 quired to complete the implementation of the 

6 plan; and 

7 ‘‘(E) any other information the Secretary 

8 considers to be necessary for evaluating the eli9 gibility of the proposal for a grant under this 

10 subsection. 

11 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after re12 ceiving a proposal for a grant under this subsection, 

13 the Secretary shall review the proposal and deter14 mine if the proposal meets the criteria requirements 

15 of paragraph (2). 

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

17 entity seeking a grant under this subsection may 

18 submit a project proposal under paragraph (2) to 

19 the Secretary at any time following the submission 

20 of a petition for an emergency declaration under 

21 subsection (a)(2) that is applicable to coral reefs or 

22 ecologically significant units of coral reefs subject to 

23 the coral reef stewardship activities of the individual 

24 or entity. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 220. VESSEL GROUNDING INVENTORY. 

2 ‘‘The Administrator, in coordination with the heads 

3 of other Federal agencies, may maintain an inventory of 

4 all vessel grounding incidents involving United States 

5 coral reefs, including a description of— 

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

7 ‘‘(2) vessel and ownership information relating 

8 to each such incident, if available; 

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

10 or restoration relating to each such incident; 

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

12 the vessel, the Administrator, the Commandant of 

13 the Coast Guard, or other Federal or State agency 

14 representatives; 

15 ‘‘(5) the status of the response actions, includ16 ing the dates of— 

17 ‘‘(A) vessel removal; 

18 ‘‘(B) mitigation or restoration activities, 

19 including whether an applicable coral reef emer20 gency plan as certified under section 216 was 

21 implemented; and 

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

23 grounding incidents; and 

24 ‘‘(6) recommendations for additional naviga25 tional aids or other mechanisms for preventing fu26 ture grounding incidents. 


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

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

3 grants of financial assistance for projects for the conserva4 tion and restoration of coral reef ecosystems (in this sec5 tion referred to as ‘coral reef projects’) for proposals ap6 proved by the Administrator in accordance with this sec7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

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

10 paragraph (2) may submit to the Administrator a 

11 proposal for a coral reef project. 

12 ‘‘(2) ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—An entity de13 scribed in this paragraph is— 

14 ‘‘(A) a natural resource management au15 thority of a State or local government or Tribal 

16 organization— 

17 ‘‘(i) with responsibility for coral reef 

18 management; or 

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

20 indirectly affect coral reefs or coral reef 

21 ecosystems; 

22 ‘‘(B) a coral reef stewardship partnership 

23 certified under section 210(e) seeking to imple24 ment a coral reef stewardship plan certified 

25 under section 212; 


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1 ‘‘(C) a coral reef research center des2 ignated under section 223(c)(2); or 

3 ‘‘(D) another educational or nongovern4 mental research institution with demonstrated 

5 expertise in the conservation or restoration of 

6 coral reefs in practice or through significant 

7 contributions to the body of existing scientific 

8 research on coral reefs. 

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

10 grant under this section for a coral reef project shall in11 clude the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) The name of the individual or entity re13 sponsible for conducting the project. 

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

15 individual or entity. 

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

17 the project. 

18 ‘‘(4) An estimate of the funds and time re19 quired to complete the project. 

20 ‘‘(5) Evidence of support for the project by ap21 propriate representatives of States or other govern22 ment jurisdictions in which the project will be con23 ducted. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Information regarding the source and 

2 amount of matching funding available to the appli3 cant. 

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

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

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

7 coral reef stewardship partnership certified under 

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

9 aligns with the coral reef stewardship plan in effect 

10 as certified under section 212. 

11 ‘‘(9) Any other information the Administrator 

12 considers to be necessary for evaluating the eligi13 bility of the project for a grant under this sub14 section. 

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

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall re17 view each coral reef project proposal submitted 

18 under this section to determine if the project meets 

19 the criteria set forth in subsection (e). 

20 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIZATION OF RESTORATION

21 PROJECTS.—The Administrator shall prioritize the 

22 awarding of grants for applicable projects that meet 

23 the criteria for approval under subparagraphs (F), 

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

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1 tive boundaries of an individual management unit of 

2 a Federal agency specified in section 205(c) or a 

3 covered State, if that unit or covered State retains 

4 less than 50 percent of its historical living coral 

5 cover as of the date of the proposal, as determined 

6 by the Federal coral reef action plan or State coral 

7 reef action plan in effect as developed under section 

8 204 or 208, respectively. 

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

10 Not later than 180 days after receiving a proposal 

11 for a coral reef project under this section, the Ad12 ministrator shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) request and consider written com14 ments on the proposal from each Federal agen15 cy, State government, Tribal organization, or 

16 other government jurisdiction, including the rel17 evant regional fishery management councils es18 tablished under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

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

20 1801 et seq.), or any National Marine Sanc21 tuary, with jurisdiction or management author22 ity over coral reef ecosystems in the area where 

23 the project is to be conducted, including the ex24 tent to which the project is consistent with lo25 cally established priorities, unless such entities 


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1 were directly involved in the development of the 

2 project proposal; 

3 ‘‘(B) provide for the merit-based peer re4 view of the proposal and require standardized 

5 documentation of that peer review; 

6 ‘‘(C) after considering any written com7 ments and recommendations based on the re8 views under subparagraphs (A) and (B), ap9 prove or disapprove the proposal; and 

10 ‘‘(D) provide written notification of that 

11 approval or disapproval, with summaries of all 

12 written comments, recommendations, and peer13 reviews, to the entity that submitted the pro14 posal, and each of those States, Tribal organi15 zations, and other government jurisdictions that 

16 provided comments under subparagraph (A). 

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

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

19 this section unless the project— 

20 ‘‘(1) is consistent with— 

21 ‘‘(A) the national coral reef resilience 

22 strategy in effect as developed under section 

23 203; 

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

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1 oped under section 206 by the covered State in 

2 which the project will be carried out; 

3 ‘‘(C) the State coral reef action plan in ef4 fect, if any, as developed under section 207 by 

5 such State; 

6 ‘‘(D) Federal coral reef action plans in ef7 fect, if any, as developed under section 204 by 

8 a Federal agency with management jurisdiction 

9 of a coral reef ecosystem to be impacted by 

10 such project, if applicable; and 

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

12 if any, as certified under section 212 governing 

13 the stewardship activities at a coral reef or eco14 logically significant unit of a coral reef to be 

15 impacted by such project, if applicable; and 

16 ‘‘(2) will enhance the conservation and restora17 tion of coral reefs by— 

18 ‘‘(A) addressing conflicts arising from the 

19 use of environments near coral reefs or from 

20 the use of corals, species associated with coral 

21 reefs, and coral products, including supporting 

22 consensus-driven, community-based planning 

23 and management initiatives for the protection 

24 of coral reef ecosystems; 


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1 ‘‘(B) improving compliance with laws that 

2 prohibit or regulate the taking of coral products 

3 or species associated with coral reefs or regulate 

4 the use and management of coral reef eco5 systems; 

6 ‘‘(C) designing and implementing networks 

7 of real-time water quality monitoring along 

8 coral reefs, including data collection related to 

9 turbidity, nutrient availability, harmful algal 

10 blooms, and plankton assemblages, with an em11 phasis on coral reefs impacted by agriculture 

12 and urban development; 

13 ‘‘(D) promoting ecologically sound naviga14 tion and anchorages, including mooring buoy 

15 systems to promote enhanced recreational ac16 cess, near coral reefs; 

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

18 coral reef stewardship plans certified under sec19 tion 212 and coral reef emergency plans cer20 tified under section 216; 

21 ‘‘(F) mapping the location and distribution 

22 of coral reefs and potential coral reef habitat; 

23 ‘‘(G) implementing research to ensure the 

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1 lation-based recovery criteria included in spe2 cies-specific recovery plans consistent with the 

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

4 1531 et seq.); 

5 ‘‘(H) developing and implementing cost-ef6 fective methods to restore degraded coral reef 

7 ecosystems or to create native coral reef eco8 systems in suitable waters, including by improv9 ing habitat or promoting success of keystone 

10 species, with an emphasis on novel restoration 

11 strategies and techniques to advance coral reef 

12 recovery and growth near population centers 

13 threatened by rising sea levels and storm surge; 

14 ‘‘(I) translating and applying coral genet15 ics research to coral reef ecosystem restoration, 

16 including research related to traits that pro17 mote resilience to increasing ocean tempera18 tures, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, coral 

19 diseases, and invasive species; 

20 ‘‘(J) developing and maintaining in situ 

21 native coral propagation sites; or 

22 ‘‘(K) developing and maintaining ex situ 

23 coral propagation nurseries and land-based 

24 coral gene banks to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) conserve or augment genetic di2 versity of native coral populations; 

3 ‘‘(ii) support captive breeding of rare 

4 coral species; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) enhance resilience of native coral 

6 populations to increasing ocean tempera7 tures, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, 

8 and coral diseases through selective breed9 ing, conditioning, or other approaches that 

10 target genes, gene expression, phenotypic 

11 traits, or phenotypic plasticity. 

12 ‘‘(f) FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) FIFTY PERCENT MATCH.— 

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

15 subparagraph (C), Federal funds for any coral 

16 reef project under this section may not exceed 

17 50 percent of the total cost of the project. For 

18 purposes of this paragraph, the non-Federal 

19 share of project costs may be provided by in20 kind contributions and other noncash support. 

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

22 waive all or part of the matching requirement 

23 under subparagraph (A) with respect to a coral 

24 reef project if the Administrator determines 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) no reasonable means are available 

2 through which the entity that submitted 

3 the proposal for the project can meet the 

4 matching requirement; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the probable benefit of the 

6 project outweighs the public interest in the 

7 matching requirement. 

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

9 section 209 may not be used to satisfy the 

10 matching requirement under subparagraph (A). 

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

12 practicable based upon proposals for coral reef 

13 projects submitted to the Administrator, the Admin14 istrator shall ensure that funding for grants award15 ed under this section during a fiscal year is distrib16 uted as follows: 

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

18 available shall be awarded for projects in the 

19 Pacific Ocean within the maritime areas and 

20 zones subject to the jurisdiction or control of 

21 the United States. 

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

23 available shall be awarded for projects in the 

24 Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Car25 ibbean Sea within the maritime areas and zones 


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1 subject to the jurisdiction or control of the 

2 United States. 

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

4 distributed in each region in accordance with 

5 subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be made ex6 clusively available to projects that are— 

7 ‘‘(i) submitted by a coral reef steward8 ship partnership certified under section 

9 210(e); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) consistent with the coral reef 

11 stewardship plan developed by such part12 nership as certified under section 212. 

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

14 projects in accordance with subparagraph (C), 

15 not less than 20 percent and not more than 33 

16 percent shall be awarded for projects impacting 

17 coral reef ecosystems within the administrative 

18 boundaries of individual management units of 

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

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

21 grant under this section shall submit to the Administrator 

22 such reports at such times and containing such informa23 tion for evaluating project performance as the Adminis24 trator may require. 


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

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

3 obtain guidance in establishing priorities for coral reef 

4 projects under this section. 

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

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than annu7 ally, the Administrator shall submit to the committees 

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

9 of this title, including— 

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

11 the previous fiscal year to implement the most re12 cent national coral reef resilience strategy under sec13 tion 203(a); 

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

15 the authorities of this title; and 

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

17 Federal and non-Federal contributions toward the 

18 costs of each project or activity funded under section 

19 205, 209, 213, 218, 219, 221, or 223. 

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

21 specified in this subsection are— 

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

23 Transportation and the Committee on Appropria24 tions of the Senate; and 


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

2 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

3 Representatives. 

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

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

6 into and perform such contracts, leases, grants, or cooper7 ative agreements as may be necessary to carry out the 

8 purposes of this title. 

9 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under an agreement en11 tered into under subsection (a), the Secretary may 

12 reimburse or provide funds authorized to be appro13 priated by section 224 to, and may receive funds or 

14 reimbursements from, individuals and entities de15 scribed in paragraph (2) to carry out activities au16 thorized by this title. 

17 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES DE18 SCRIBED.—Individuals and entities described in this 

19 paragraph are the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) Federal agencies, instrumentalities, 

21 and laboratories. 

22 ‘‘(B) State and local governments. 

23 ‘‘(C) Indian Tribes and Tribal organiza24 tions. 

25 ‘‘(D) International organizations. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Foreign governments not subject to 

2 economic sanctions imposed by the United 

3 States. 

4 ‘‘(F) Institutions of higher education, re5 search centers, and other educational institu6 tions. 

7 ‘‘(G) Nonprofit organizations. 

8 ‘‘(H) Commercial organizations. 

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

10 entities. 

11 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE INSTITUTES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es13 tablish 2 cooperative institutes for the purpose of 

14 advancing and sustaining essential capabilities in 

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

16 Coral Reef Cooperative Institute’ and the ‘Pacific 

17 Coral Reef Cooperative Institute’. 

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

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

20 coral reef research center designated by the Admin21 istrator that— 

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

23 education or nonprofit marine research organi24 zation; 


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1 ‘‘(B) has established management-driven 

2 national or regional coral reef research or res3 toration programs; 

4 ‘‘(C) is located in a covered State that con5 tains a coral reef ecosystem; 

6 ‘‘(D) has demonstrated abilities to coordi7 nate closely with appropriate Federal and State 

8 agencies, as well as other academic and non9 profit organizations; and 

10 ‘‘(E) maintains significant local community 

11 engagement and outreach programs related to 

12 coral reef ecosystems. 

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

14 under paragraph (1) shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) conduct federally directed research to 

16 fill national and regional coral reef ecosystem 

17 research gaps and improve understanding of, 

18 and responses to, continuing and emerging 

19 threats to the resilience of United States coral 

20 reef ecosystems; 

21 ‘‘(B) support ecological research and moni22 toring to study the effects of conservation and 

23 restoration activities funded by this title on pro24 moting more effective coral reef management 

25 and restoration; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) through agreements with coral reef 

2 research centers referred to in paragraph (2)— 

3 ‘‘(i) collaborate directly with govern4 mental resource management agencies, 

5 coral reef stewardship partnerships cer6 tified under section 210(e), nonprofit orga7 nizations, institutions of higher education, 

8 and other research organizations; 

9 ‘‘(ii) assist in the development and im10 plementation of State coral reef manage11 ment and restoration strategies developed 

12 under section 206, State coral reef action 

13 plans developed under section 207, State 

14 coral reef action plan assessments devel15 oped under section 208, coral reef steward16 ship plans developed under section 211 or 

17 certified under section 212, and coral reef 

18 emergency plans developed under section 

19 215 or certified under section 216; 

20 ‘‘(iii) build capacity within govern21 mental resource management agencies to 

22 establish research priorities and translate 

23 and apply research findings to manage24 ment and restoration practices; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) conduct public education and 

2 awareness programs for policymakers, re3 source managers, and the general public 

4 on— 

5 ‘‘(I) coral reefs and coral reef 

6 ecosystems; 

7 ‘‘(II) best practices for coral reef 

8 ecosystem management and restora9 tion; 

10 ‘‘(III) the value of coral reefs; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(IV) the threats to the sustain13 ability of coral reef ecosystems. 

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

15 Administrator may enter into multiyear cooperative agree16 ments with the heads of other Federal agencies, States, 

17 Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, local governments, 

18 the coral reef cooperative institutes established under sub19 section (c), and other institutions of higher education, 

20 nonprofit research organizations, and nongovernmental 

21 organizations to carry out activities authorized under sec22 tions 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 213, 218, 219, 220, 

23 and 221. 

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

25 The Administrator may use, with consent and with or 


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1 without reimbursement, the land, services, equipment, per2 sonnel, and facilities of any agency or instrumentality of— 

3 ‘‘(1) the United States; 

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

5 ‘‘(3) any Indian Tribe; or 

6 ‘‘(4) any foreign government not subject to eco7 nomic sanctions imposed by the United States. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 224. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap10 propriated to the Secretary to carry out this title the fol11 lowing amounts, which shall remain available until ex12 pended: 

13 ‘‘(1) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 

14 ‘‘(2) $30,500,000 for fiscal year 2021. 

15 ‘‘(3) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 

16 ‘‘(4) $33,500,000 for fiscal year 2023. 

17 ‘‘(5) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

18 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.—Of the amounts appro19 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 

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

21 $1,500,000 or 10 percent may be used for program ad22 ministration or for overhead costs incurred by the Na23 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the De24 partment of Commerce and assessed as an administrative 

25 charge. 


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1 ‘‘(c) CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION

2 ACTIVITIES.—From the amounts authorized to be appro3 priated under subsection (a), there shall be made available 

4 to the Secretary not less than the following amounts for 

5 authorized activities under sections 205 and 209: 

6 ‘‘(1) $21,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, of which 

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

8 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

9 under section 209. 

10 ‘‘(2) $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2021, of which 

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

12 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

13 under section 209. 

14 ‘‘(3) $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, of which 

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

16 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

17 under section 209. 

18 ‘‘(4) $25,500,000 for fiscal year 2023, of which 

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

20 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

21 under section 209. 

22 ‘‘(5) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, of which 

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

24 the Secretary for the provision State block grants 

25 under section 209. 


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1 ‘‘(d) FEDERALLY DIRECTED RESEARCH AND CORAL

2 REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM GRANTS.—From the 

3 amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection 

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

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

6 2024 to support purposes consistent with this title, of 

7 which— 

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

9 available for each such fiscal year for authorized ac10 tivities under section 221; and 

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

12 available for each such fiscal year through coopera13 tive agreements with the cooperative institutes estab14 lished under section 223(c). 

15 ‘‘SEC. 225. DEFINITIONS. 

16 ‘‘In this title: 

17 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis18 trator’ means the Administrator of the National 

19 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT21 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com22 mittees’ means the Committee on Commerce, 

23 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

24 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

25 Representatives. 


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

2 means the use of methods and procedures necessary 

3 to preserve or sustain native corals and associated 

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

5 reef ecosystems with minimal impacts from invasive 

6 species, including— 

7 ‘‘(A) all activities associated with resource 

8 management, such as monitoring, assessment, 

9 protection, restoration, sustainable use, man10 agement of habitat, and maintenance or aug11 mentation of genetic diversity; 

12 ‘‘(B) mapping; 

13 ‘‘(C) scientific expertise and technical as14 sistance in the development and implementation 

15 of management strategies for marine protected 

16 areas and marine resources consistent with the 

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

18 1431 et seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fish19 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 

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

21 ‘‘(D) law enforcement; 

22 ‘‘(E) conflict resolution initiatives; 

23 ‘‘(F) community outreach and education; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(G) promotion of safe and ecologically 

2 sound navigation and anchoring. 

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

4 of the phylum Cnidaria, including— 

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

6 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), 

7 Gorgonacea (horny corals), Stolonifera 

8 (organpipe corals and others), Alcyanacea (soft 

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

10 class Anthozoa; and 

11 ‘‘(B) all species of the order 

12 Hydrocorallina (fire corals and hydrocorals) of 

13 the class Hydrozoa. 

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

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

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

17 coral, skeletal remains of coral, crustose coralline 

18 algae, and other associated sessile marine plants and 

19 animals. 

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

21 ‘coral reef ecosystem’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) corals and the associated community 

23 of other species of reef organisms (including 

24 reef plants and animals) associated with coral 

25 reef habitat; and 


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

2 processes that control coral growth, reproduc3 tion, and abundance and diversity in such habi4 tat. 

5 ‘‘(7) CORAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘coral prod6 ucts’ means any living or dead specimens, parts, or 

7 derivatives, or any product containing specimens, 

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

9 paragraph (4). 

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

11 State’ means Florida, Hawaii, the Northern Mariana 

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

13 the United States Virgin Islands. 

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

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

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

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

18 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

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

21 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

22 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High23 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

24 ‘‘(11) INTERESTED STAKEHOLDER GROUPS.— 

25 The term ‘interested stakeholder groups’ includes 


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1 community members such as businesses, commercial 

2 and recreational fishermen, other recreationalists, 

3 Federal, State, Tribal, and local government units 

4 with related jurisdiction, institutions of higher edu5 cation, and nongovernmental organizations. 

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

7 ‘nonprofit organization’ means an organization that 

8 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under sec10 tion 501(a) of such Code. 

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

12 means the use of methods and procedures necessary 

13 to enhance, rehabilitate, recreate, or create a func14 tioning coral reef or coral reef ecosystem, in whole 

15 or in part, within suitable waters of the historical 

16 geographic range of such ecosystems, to provide eco17 logical, economic, cultural, or coastal resiliency serv18 ices associated with healthy coral reefs and benefit 

19 native populations of coral reef organisms. 

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

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

22 coral reef ecosystems to recover from natural and 

23 human disturbance as determined by clearly identifi24 able, measurable, and science-based standards. 


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

2 means the Secretary of Commerce. 

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

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

5 contains a coral reef ecosystem within its sea6 ward boundaries; 

7 ‘‘(B) American Samoa, Guam, the North8 ern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin 

9 Islands; or 

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

11 the United States or separate sovereign in free 

12 association with the United States that contains 

13 a coral reef ecosystem within its seaward 

14 boundaries. 

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

16 with respect to a coral reef, includes conservation 

17 and restoration. 

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

19 means the United States Coral Reef Task Force es20 tablished under section 201 of the Restoring Resil21 ient Reefs Act of 2019.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—UNITED STATES 

2 CORAL REEF TASK FORCE 

3 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT. 

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

5 and strengthen Federal Government actions to better pre6 serve, conserve, and restore coral reef ecosystems, to be 

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

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

9 SEC. 202. DUTIES. 

10 The duties of the Task Force shall be— 

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

12 Tribal, and local government partners, academic 

13 partners, and nongovernmental partners if appro14 priate, activities regarding the mapping, monitoring, 

15 research, conservation, mitigation, restoration of 

16 coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems; 

17 (2) to monitor and advise regarding implemen18 tation of the policy and Federal agency responsibil19 ities set forth in— 

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

21 32701; relating to coral reef protection); and 

22 (B) the national coral reef resilience strat23 egy developed under section 203(a) of the Coral 

24 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by 

25 section 101; 


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

2 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

3 International Development, and in coordination with 

4 the other members of the Task Force— 

5 (A) to assess the United States role in 

6 international trade and protection of coral spe7 cies; and 

8 (B) to encourage implementation of appro9 priate strategies and actions to promote con10 servation and sustainable use of coral reef re11 sources worldwide; 

12 (4) to provide technical assistance for the devel13 opment and implementation, as appropriate, of— 

14 (A) the national coral reef resilience strat15 egy under section 203 of the Coral Reef Con16 servation Act of 2000, as amended by section 

17 101; 

18 (B) State coral reef management and res19 toration strategies under section 206 of that 

20 Act; 

21 (C) State coral reef action plans under sec22 tion 207 of that Act; and 

23 (D) State coral reef action plan assess24 ments under section 208 of that Act; and 


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1 (5) to produce a report each year, for submis2 sion to the appropriate congressional committees 

3 and publication in the Federal Register, highlighting 

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

5 on a rotating basis, including— 

6 (A) a summary of recent coral reef man7 agement and restoration activities undertaken 

8 in the State; and 

9 (B) updated estimates of the direct and in10 direct economic activity supported by, and other 

11 benefits associated with, those coral reef equi12 ties. 

13 SEC. 203. MEMBERSHIP. 

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

15 have the following voting members: 

16 (1) The Secretary of Commerce, acting through 

17 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At18 mospheric Administration, and the Secretary of the 

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

20 (2) The Administrator of the United States 

21 Agency for International Development. 

22 (3) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

23 (4) The Secretary of Defense. 

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

25 the Chief of Engineers. 


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1 (6) The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting 

2 through the Administrator of the Federal Emer3 gency Management Agency. 

4 (7) The Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

5 (8) The Attorney General. 

6 (9) The Secretary of State. 

7 (10) The Secretary of Transportation. 

8 (11) The Administrator of the Environmental 

9 Protection Agency. 

10 (12) The Administrator of the National Aero11 nautics and Space Administration. 

12 (13) The Director of the National Science 

13 Foundation. 

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

15 Governor, of each covered State. 

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

17 have the following nonvoting members: 

18 (1) The member of the South Atlantic Fishery 

19 Management Council who is designated by the Gov20 ernor of Florida under section 302(b)(1) of the Mag21 nuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage22 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(b)(1)). 

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

24 Management Council who is designated by the Gov25 ernor of Florida under such section. 


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1 (3) The members of the Western Pacific Fish2 ery Management Council who are designated by the 

3 Governors of Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and 

4 the Northern Mariana Islands under such section. 

5 (4) The members of the Caribbean Fishery 

6 Management Council who are designated by the 

7 Governors of Puerto Rico and the United States Vir8 gin Islands under such section. 

9 (5) A member appointed by the President rep10 resenting each of the following: 

11 (A) The Freely Associated States of the 

12 Federated States of Micronesia. 

13 (B) The Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

14 (C) The Republic of Palau. 

15 SEC. 204. RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCY MEM16 BERS. 

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

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

19 shall— 

20 (1) identify the actions of the agency that mem21 ber represents that may affect coral reef ecosystems; 

22 (2) utilize the programs and authorities of that 

23 agency to protect and enhance the conditions of such 

24 ecosystems, including through the promotion of basic 

25 and applied scientific research; 


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1 (3) collaborate with the Task Force to appro2 priately reflect budgetary needs for coral reef con3 servation and restoration activities in all agency 

4 budget planning and justification documents and 

5 processes; and 

6 (4) engage in any other coordinated efforts ap7 proved by the Task Force. 

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

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

10 administer performance of the functions of the Task Force 

11 and facilitate the coordination of the members of the Task 

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

13 203(a). 

14 SEC. 205. WORKING GROUPS. 

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

16 may establish working groups as necessary to meet the 

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

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

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

20 working group under subsection (a). 

21 (c) PARTICIPATION BY NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANI22 ZATIONS.—The co-chairs may allow nongovernmental or23 ganizations, including academic institutions, conservation 

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1 tions, to participate in a working group established under 

2 subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means the Committee on Commerce, 

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

9 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

10 Representatives. 

11 (2) CONSERVATION, CORAL, CORAL REEF, 

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

13 reef’’, ‘‘coral reef ecosystem’’, ‘‘covered State’’, ‘‘res14 toration’’, ‘‘resilience’’, and ‘‘State’’ have the mean15 ing given those terms in section 225 of the Coral 

16 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by sec17 tion 101. 

18 TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE 

19 INTERIOR CORAL REEF AU20 THORITIES 

21 SEC. 301. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION 

22 ASSISTANCE. 

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

24 provide scientific expertise and technical assistance and, 

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1 sistance for the conservation and restoration of coral reefs 

2 consistent with all applicable laws governing resource 

3 management in Federal and State waters, including— 

4 (1) the national coral reef resilience strategy in 

5 effect and developed under section 203 of the Coral 

6 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by sec7 tion 101; and 

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

9 developed under section 204 of that Act. 

10 (b) CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF

11 COMMERCE.—The Secretary of the Interior may consult 

12 with the Secretary of Commerce regarding the conduct of 

13 any activities to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral 

14 reef ecosystems in waters managed under the jurisdiction 

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

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

17 Act of 2000, as amended by section 101. 

18 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of 

19 the Interior may enter into cooperative agreements with 

20 States to fund coral reef conservation and restoration ac21 tivities in waters managed under the jurisdiction of such 

22 States that are consistent with the national coral reef re23 silience strategy in effect and developed under section 203 

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

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


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1 Federal coral reef action plans in effect and developed 

2 under section 204 of that Act. 

3 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘con4 servation’’, ‘‘coral reef’’, ‘‘restoration’’, and ‘‘State’’ have 

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

6 Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as amended by section 

7 101. 

Æ 


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