I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4692 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to conduct coastal 

community vulnerability assessments related to ocean acidification, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 20, 2014 

Ms. PINGREE of Maine introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 

Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, to conduct coastal community vulnerability assessments related to ocean acidification, 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 ‘‘Coastal Communities 

5 Ocean Acidification Act of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COASTAL COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESS2 MENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12406 of the Federal 

4 Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 

5 (33 U.S.C. 3705) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

8 after the semicolon; 

9 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe10 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) includes an ongoing mechanism that allows 

13 affected industry members, coastal stakeholders, 

14 non-federal resource managers, and outside scientific 

15 experts to provide input on research, data, and mon16 itoring needs that are necessary to support on-the17 ground management, decisionmaking, and adapta18 tion related to ocean acidification and its impacts.’’; 

19 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub20 section (c); and 

21 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(b) COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 

25 program established under subsection (a), shall con26 duct an ocean acidification coastal community vulVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:39 May 29, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4692.IH H4692

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1 nerability assessment, and issue a corresponding 

2 public report, that shall be updated at least once 

3 every 5 years. 

4 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The assessment con5 ducted under paragraph (1) shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) identify the United States coastal 

7 communities, including island communities, low8 population rural communities, and subsistence 

9 communities, that are most dependent on coast10 al and ocean resources that may be impacted by 

11 ocean acidification; 

12 ‘‘(B) assess the nature of those commu13 nities’ social and economic vulnerabilities; 

14 ‘‘(C) identify the ocean acidification im15 pacts that might harm those communities, in16 cluding impacts from changes in ocean and 

17 coastal marine resources that are not managed 

18 by the Federal Government; 

19 ‘‘(D) identify key knowledge gaps where 

20 research could be devoted to better understand 

21 the possible impacts of ocean acidification on 

22 these vulnerable communities, the risks and 

23 threats facing these communities, and possible 

24 adaptation strategies for these communities; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(E) be conducted in collaboration with ex2 perts who are familiar with the unique eco3 nomic, social, ecological, geographic, and re4 source concerns of the Nation’s coastal commu5 nities, including representatives from the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra7 tion’s National Marine Fisheries Service, and 

8 Coastal Services Center.’’. 

9 (b) STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN.—Section 12405(b) 

10 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Moni11 toring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

13 the semicolon; 

14 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at 

15 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(10) make recommendations for research that 

18 should be conducted, including in the social sciences 

19 and economics, to address the key knowledge gaps 

20 identified in the community vulnerability assessment 

21 report conducted under subsection (b) of section 

22 12406.’’. 

Æ 


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