II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1142 

To authorize the acquisition of interests in undeveloped coastal areas in 

order better to ensure their protection from development. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 18, 2007 

Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. 

WYDEN, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Ms. SNOWE, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. 

KERRY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. REED, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. SUNUNU) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize the acquisition of interests in undeveloped 

coastal areas in order better to ensure their protection 

from development. 

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 and Estuarine 

5 Land Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Coastal and estuarine areas provide impor2 tant nursery habitat for two-thirds of the nation’s 

3 commercial fish and shellfish, provide nesting and 

4 foraging habitat for coastal birds, harbor significant 

5 natural plant communities, and serve to facilitate 

6 coastal flood control and pollutant filtration. 

7 (2) The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 

8 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) recognizes the national im9 portance of these areas and their ecological vulner10 ability to anthropogenic activities by establishing a 

11 comprehensive Federal-State partnership for pro12 tecting natural reserves and managing growth in 

13 these areas. 

14 (3) The National Estuarine Research Reserve 

15 system established under that Act relies on the pro16 tection of pristine designated areas for long-term 

17 protection and for the conduct of education and re18 search critical to the protection and conservation of 

19 coastal and estuarine resources. 

20 (4) Intense development pressures within the 

21 coastal watershed are driving the need to provide 

22 coastal managers with a wider range of tools to pro23 tect and conserve important coastal and estuarine 

24 areas. 


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1 (5) Protection of undeveloped coastal lands 

2 through the acquisition of interests in property from 

3 a willing seller are a cost-effective means of pro4 viding these areas with permanent protection from 

5 development. 

6 (6) Permanent protection of lands in the coast7 al zone is a necessary component of any program to 

8 maintain and enhance coastal and estuarine areas 

9 for the benefit of the Nation, including protection of 

10 water quality, access to public beachfront, con11 serving wildlife habitat, and sustaining sport and 

12 commercial fisheries. 

13 (7) Federal-State-nongovernmental organization 

14 pilot land acquisition projects have already substan15 tially contributed to the long-term health and viabil16 ity of coastal and estuarine systems. 

17 (8) Enhanced protection of estuarine and coast18 al areas can be attained through watershed-based 

19 acquisition strategies coordinated through Federal, 

20 State, regional, and local efforts. 

21 (9) Conserving coastal and estuarine lands can 

22 support the traditional economic and natural re23 source bases of communities in the coastal water24 shed, including well-managed forests that demVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:18 Apr 26, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1142.IS S1142

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1 onstrate outstanding ecological, recreational, histor2 ical, and aesthetic attributes. 

3 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COASTAL AND ESTUARINE 

4 LAND PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 

6 establish a Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Pro7 gram, in cooperation with appropriate State, regional, and 

8 other units of government for the purposes of protecting 

9 the environmental integrity of important coastal and estu10 arine areas, including wetlands and forests, that have sig11 nificant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, 

12 aesthetic, or watershed protection values, and that are 

13 threatened by conversion from their natural, undeveloped, 

14 or recreational state to other uses. The program shall be 

15 administered by the National Ocean Service of the Na16 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through 

17 the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. 

18 (b) PROPERTY ACQUISITION GRANTS.—The Sec19 retary shall make grants under the program to coastal 

20 States with approved coastal zone management plans or 

21 National Estuarine Research Reserve units for the pur22 pose of acquiring property or interests in property de23 scribed in subsection (a) that will further the goals of— 


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1 (1) a Coastal Zone Management Plan or Pro2 gram approved under the Coastal Zone Management 

3 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.); or 

4 (2) a National Estuarine Research Reserve 

5 management plan; or 

6 (3) a regional or State watershed protection 

7 plan involving coastal States with approved coastal 

8 zone management plans. 

9 (c) GRANT PROCESS.—The Secretary shall allocate 

10 funds to coastal States or National Estuarine Research 

11 Reserves under this section through a competitive grant 

12 process in accordance with guidelines that meet the fol13 lowing requirements: 

14 (1) The Secretary shall consult with the State’s 

15 coastal zone management program, any National Es16 tuarine Research Reserve in that State, and the lead 

17 agency designated by the Governor for coordinating 

18 the implementation of this Act (if different from the 

19 coastal zone management program). 

20 (2) Each participating State, after consultation 

21 with nongovernmental and local governmental enti22 ties, shall identify priority conservation needs within 

23 the State, the values to be protected by inclusion of 

24 lands in the program, and the threats to those val25 ues that should be avoided. 


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1 (3) Each participating State shall evaluate how 

2 the acquisition of property or easements might im3 pact working waterfront needs. 

4 (4) The applicant shall identify the values to be 

5 protected by inclusion of the lands in the program, 

6 management activities that are planned and the 

7 manner in which they may affect the values identi8 fied, and any other information from the landowner 

9 relevant to administration and management of the 

10 land. 

11 (5) Awards shall be based on demonstrated 

12 need for protection and ability to successfully lever13 age funds among participating entities, including 

14 Federal programs, regional organizations, State and 

15 other governmental units, landowners, corporations, 

16 or private organizations. 

17 (6) The governor, or the lead agency designated 

18 by the governor for coordinating the implementation 

19 of this Act, shall determine that the application is 

20 consistent with the State’s or territory’s approved 

21 coastal zone plan, program and policies prior to sub22 mittal to the Secretary. 

23 (7) Priority shall be given to lands described in 

24 subsection (a) that can be effectively managed and 


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1 protected and that have significant ecological or wa2 tershed protection value. 

3 (8) In developing guidelines under this section, 

4 the Secretary shall consult with other Federal agen5 cies and non-governmental entities with expertise in 

6 land acquisition and conservation procedures. 

7 (9) Eligible States or National Estuarine Re8 search Reserves may allocate grants to local govern9 ments or agencies eligible for assistance under sec10 tion 306A(e) of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

11 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455a) and may acquire lands 

12 in cooperation with nongovernmental entities and 

13 Federal agencies. 

14 (10) The Secretary shall develop measures that 

15 will ensure that property or interests in property ac16 quired in whole or in part through the use of funds 

17 under the program are acquired only from willing 

18 sellers. 

19 (11) The Secretary shall develop performance 

20 measures that the Secretary shall use to evaluate 

21 and report on the program’s effectiveness in accom22 plishing its purposes, and shall submit such evalua23 tions to Congress trienially. 

24 (d) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

2 make a grant under the program unless the Federal 

3 funds are matched by non-Federal funds in accord4 ance with this subsection. 

5 (2) MAXIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.— 

6 (A) 75 PERCENT FEDERAL FUNDS.—No 

7 more than 75 percent of the funding for any 

8 project under this section shall be derived from 

9 Federal sources, unless such requirement is 

10 specifically waived by the Secretary. 

11 (B) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The Sec12 retary may grant a waiver of the limitation in 

13 subparagraph (A) for underserved communities, 

14 communities that have an inability to draw on 

15 other sources of funding because of the small 

16 population or low income of the community, or 

17 for other reasons the Secretary deems appro18 priate. 

19 (3) OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—Where financial 

20 assistance awarded under this section represents 

21 only a portion of the total cost of a project, funding 

22 from other Federal sources may be applied to the 

23 cost of the project. Each portion shall be subject to 

24 match requirements under the applicable provision 

25 of law. 


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1 (4) SOURCE OF MATCHING COST SHARE.—For 

2 purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the non-Federal cost 

3 share for a project may be determined by taking into 

4 account the following: 

5 (A) The value of land or a conservation 

6 easement may be used as non-Federal match if 

7 the lands are identified in project plans and ac8 quired within 3 years prior to the submission of 

9 the project application or after the submission 

10 of a project application until the project grant 

11 is closed (not to exceed 3 years). The appraised 

12 value of the land at the time of project closing 

13 will be considered the non-Federal cost share. 

14 The value of land that is held by a nongovern15 mental organization may be used for such pur16 pose if it is held in perpetuity by a qualified 

17 conservation organization, as determined by the 

18 Secretary. 

19 (B) Costs associated with land acquisition, 

20 land management planning, remediation, res21 toration, and enhancement may be used as non22 Federal match if the activities are identified in 

23 the plan and expenses are incurred within the 

24 period of the grant award, or, for lands de25 scribed in (A), within the same time limits deVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:18 Apr 26, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1142.IS S1142

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1 scribed therein. These costs may include either 

2 cash or in-kind contributions. 

3 (e) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR NATIONAL ESTUA4 RINE RESEARCH RESERVE SITES.—No less than 15 per5 cent of funds made available under this section shall be 

6 available for acquisitions benefiting National Estuarine 

7 Research Reserves. 

8 (f) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

9 than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec10 retary under this section shall be used by the Secretary 

11 for planning or administration of the program. The Sec12 retary shall provide a report to Congress with an account 

13 of all expenditures under this section for fiscal year 2008 

14 and triennially thereafter. 

15 (g) TITLE AND MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED PROP16 ERTY.—If any property is acquired in whole or in part 

17 with funds made available through a grant under this sec18 tion, the grant recipient shall provide such assurances as 

19 the Secretary may require that— 

20 (1) the title to the property will be held by the 

21 grant recipient or another appropriate public agency 

22 designated by the recipient in perpetuity; 

23 (2) the property will be managed in a manner 

24 that is consistent with the purposes for which the 


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1 land entered into the program and shall not convert 

2 such property to other uses; and 

3 (3) if the property or interest in land is sold, 

4 exchanged, or divested, funds equal to the correct 

5 value will be returned to the Secretary in accordance 

6 with applicable Federal law for re-distribution in the 

7 grant process. 

8 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 

10 State’’ has the meaning given that term by section 

11 304(4) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

12 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(4)). 

13 (2) CONSERVATION EASEMENT.—The term 

14 ‘‘conservation easement’’ includes an easement or re15 striction, recorded deed, or a reserve interest deed 

16 where the grantee acquires all rights, title, and in17 terest in a property, that do not conflict with the 

18 goals of this Act except those rights, title, and inter19 ests that may run with the land that are expressly 

20 reserved by a grantor and are agreed to at the time 

21 of purchase. 

22 (3) INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘inter23 est in property’’ includes a conservation easement. 

24 (4) OTHER TERMS.—Any term used in this sec25 tion that is defined in section 304 of the Coastal 


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1 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453) 

2 has the meaning given that term in that section. 

3 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

5 sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act for fiscal 

6 years 2008 through 2012. 

Æ 


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