II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1580 

To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2007 

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. STEVENS, and Ms. CANTWELL) 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 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 ‘‘Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2007’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Amendment of Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. 

Sec. 3. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 4. National coral reef action strategy. 

Sec. 5. Coral reef conservation program. 

Sec. 6. Coral reef conservation fund. 


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Sec. 7. Agreements. 

Sec. 8. Emergency assistance. 

Sec. 9. National program. 

Sec. 10. Community-based planning grants. 

Sec. 11. Vessel grounding inventory. 

Sec. 12. Prohibited activities. 

Sec. 13. Destruction of coral reefs. 

Sec. 14. Enforcement. 

Sec. 15. Permits. 

Sec. 16. Regional, State, and Territorial coordination. 

Sec. 17. Regulations. 

Sec. 18. Effectiveness report. 

Sec. 19. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 20. Judicial review. 

Sec. 21. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION ACT 

2 OF 2000. 

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

4 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

5 of an amendment to or repeal of a section or other provi6 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

7 section or other provision of the Coral Reef Conservation 

8 Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

10 Section 202 (16 U.S.C. 6401) is amended to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 202. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

13 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

14 ‘‘(1) coral reefs contain high biological diversity 

15 and serve important ecosystem functions; 

16 ‘‘(2) coral reef ecosystems provide economic and 

17 environmental benefits in the form of food, jobs, nat18 ural products, and pharmaceuticals; 


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1 ‘‘(3) coral reef ecosystems are the basis of 

2 thriving commercial and recreational fishing and 

3 tourism industries; 

4 ‘‘(4) a combination of stressors, including cli5 mate change, has caused a rapid decline in the 

6 health of many coral reef ecosystems globally; 

7 ‘‘(5) natural stressors on coral reef ecosystems 

8 are compounded by human impacts including pollu9 tion, overfishing, and physical damage; and 

10 ‘‘(6) healthy coral reefs provide shoreline pro11 tection for coastal communities and resources. 

12 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

13 ‘‘(1) to preserve, sustain, and restore the condi14 tion of coral reef ecosystems; 

15 ‘‘(2) to promote the wise management and sus16 tainable use of coral reef ecosystems to benefit local 

17 communities, the Nation, and the world; 

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

19 the condition of coral reef ecosystems and the 

20 threats to such ecosystems; 

21 ‘‘(4) to assist in the preservation of coral reef 

22 ecosystems by supporting conservation programs, in23 cluding projects that involve affected local commu24 nities and nongovernmental organizations; 


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1 ‘‘(5) to provide financial resources for those 

2 programs and projects; 

3 ‘‘(6) to establish a formal mechanism for col4 lecting and allocating monetary donations from the 

5 private sector to be used for coral reef conservation 

6 projects; and 

7 ‘‘(7) to provide mechanisms to prevent and 

8 minimize damage to coral reefs.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. NATIONAL CORAL REEF ACTION STRATEGY. 

10 Section 203(a) (16 U.S.C. 6402(a)) is amended to 

11 read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of the Coral Reef Conservation 

14 Amendments Act of 2007, the Secretary shall submit to 

15 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans16 portation and to the House of Representatives Committee 

17 on Natural Resources and publish in the Federal Register 

18 a national coral reef action strategy, consistent with the 

19 purposes of this title. The Secretary shall periodically re20 view and revise the strategy as necessary. In developing 

21 this national strategy, the Secretary may consult the Coral 

22 Reef Task Force established under Executive Order 13089 

23 (June 11, 1998).’’. 

24 SEC. 5. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 

25 Section 204 (16 U.S.C. 6403) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place it 

2 appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

3 (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary, subject to the avail6 ability of funds, shall provide grants of financial assistance 

7 for projects for the conservation of coral reef ecosystems 

8 (hereafter in this title referred to as ‘coral conservation 

9 projects’), for proposals approved by the Secretary in ac10 cordance with this section.’’; 

11 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—Any natural resource manage14 ment authority of a State or other government authority 

15 with jurisdiction over coral reef ecosystems, or whose ac16 tivities directly or indirectly affect coral reef ecosystems, 

17 or educational or nongovernmental institutions with dem18 onstrated expertise in the conservation of coral reef eco19 systems, may submit a coral conservation proposal to the 

20 Secretary under subsection (e).’’; 

21 (4) by striking ‘‘GEOGRAPHIC AND BIOLOGI22 CAL’’ in the heading for subsection (d) and inserting 

23 ‘‘PROJECT’’; 

24 (5) by striking paragraph (3) of subsection (d) 

25 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) Remaining funds shall be awarded for— 

2 ‘‘(A) projects (with priority given to com3 munity-based local action strategies) that ad4 dress emerging priorities or threats, including 

5 international and territorial priorities, or 

6 threats identified by the Secretary; and 

7 ‘‘(B) other appropriate projects, as deter8 mined by the Secretary, including monitoring 

9 and assessment, research, pollution reduction, 

10 education, and technical support.’’; 

11 (6) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(g) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 

14 not approve a project proposal under this section unless 

15 the project is consistent with the coral reef action strategy 

16 under section 203 and will enhance the conservation of 

17 coral reef ecosystems nationally or internationally by— 

18 ‘‘(1) implementing coral conservation programs 

19 which promote sustainable development and ensure 

20 effective, long-term conservation of coral reef eco21 systems and biodiversity; 

22 ‘‘(2) addressing the conflicts arising from the 

23 use of environments near coral reef ecosystems or 

24 from the use of corals, species associated with coral 

25 reef ecosystems, and coral products; 


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1 ‘‘(3) enhancing compliance with laws that pro2 hibit or regulate the taking of coral products or spe3 cies associated with coral reef ecosystems or regulate 

4 the use and management of coral reef ecosystems; 

5 ‘‘(4) developing sound scientific information on 

6 the condition of coral reef ecosystems or the threats 

7 to such ecosystems and their biodiversity, including 

8 factors that cause coral disease and bleaching; 

9 ‘‘(5) promoting and assisting the implementa10 tion of cooperative coral reef ecosystem conservation 

11 projects that involve affected local communities, non12 governmental organizations, or others in the private 

13 sector; 

14 ‘‘(6) increasing public knowledge and awareness 

15 of coral reef ecosystems and issues regarding their 

16 long-term conservation, including how they function 

17 to protect coastal communities; 

18 ‘‘(7) mapping the location, distribution, and 

19 biodiversity of coral reef ecosystems; 

20 ‘‘(8) developing and implementing techniques to 

21 monitor and assess the status and condition of coral 

22 reef ecosystems and biodiversity; 

23 ‘‘(9) developing and implementing cost-effective 

24 methods to restore degraded coral reef ecosystems 

25 and biodiversity; 


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1 ‘‘(10) responding to coral disease and bleaching 

2 events; 

3 ‘‘(11) promoting activities designed to prevent 

4 or minimize damage to coral reef ecosystems, includ5 ing the promotion of ecologically sound navigation 

6 and anchorages; or 

7 ‘‘(12) promoting and assisting entities to work 

8 with local communities, and all appropriate govern9 mental and nongovernmental organizations, to sup10 port community-based planning and management 

11 initiatives for the protection of coral reef systems.’’; 

12 and 

13 (7) by striking ‘‘coral reefs’’ in subsection (j) 

14 and inserting ‘‘coral reef ecosystems’’. 

15 SEC. 6. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION FUND. 

16 Section 205 (16 U.S.C. 6404) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(a) FUND.—The Secretary may enter into agree20 ments with nonprofit organizations promoting coral reef 

21 ecosystem conservation by authorizing such organizations 

22 to receive, hold, and administer funds received pursuant 

23 to this section. Such organizations shall invest, reinvest, 

24 and otherwise administer the funds and maintain such 

25 funds and any interest or revenues earned in a separate 


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1 interest-bearing account (referred to in section 218(a) as 

2 the ‘Fund’) established by such organizations solely to 

3 support partnerships between the public and private sec4 tors that further the purposes of this title and are con5 sistent with the national coral reef action strategy under 

6 section 203.’’; 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ in subsection 

8 (c) and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; 

9 (3) by striking ‘‘the grant program’’ in sub10 section (c) and inserting ‘‘any grant program’’; and 

11 (4) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ in subsection 

12 (d) and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’. 

13 SEC. 7. AGREEMENTS. 

14 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by re15 designating sections 206 through 210 as sections 207 

16 through 211, respectively, and inserting after section 205 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 206. AGREEMENTS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may execute and 

20 perform such contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative 

21 agreements as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 

22 of this title. 

23 ‘‘(b) USE OF OTHER AGENCIES’ RESOURCES.—For 

24 purposes related to the conservation, preservation, protec25 tion, restoration, or replacement of coral reefs or coral reef 


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1 ecosystems and the enforcement of this title, the Secretary 

2 is authorized to use, with their consent and with or with3 out reimbursement, the land, services, equipment, per4 sonnel, and facilities of any Department, agency, or in5 strumentality of the United States, or of any State, local 

6 government, Indian tribal government, Territory or pos7 session, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any 

8 foreign government or international organization. 

9 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY TO UTILIZE GRANT FUNDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 

11 Secretary may apply for, accept, and obligate re12 search grant funding from any Federal source oper13 ating competitive grant programs where such fund14 ing furthers the purpose of this title. 

15 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not apply for, accept, 

16 or obligate any grant funding under paragraph (1) 

17 for which the granting agency lacks authority to 

18 grant funds to Federal agencies, or for any purpose 

19 or subject to conditions that are prohibited by law 

20 or regulation. 

21 ‘‘(3) Appropriated funds may be used to satisfy 

22 a requirement to match grant funds with recipient 

23 agency funds, except that no grant may be accepted 

24 that requires a commitment in advance of appropria25 tions. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Funds received from grants shall be depos2 ited in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad3 ministration account for the purpose for which the 

4 grant was awarded.’’. 

5 SEC. 8. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. 

6 Section 207 (formerly 16 U.S.C. 6405), as redesig7 nated, is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 207. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE. 

9 ‘‘The Secretary, in cooperation with the Federal 

10 Emergency Management Agency, as appropriate, may pro11 vide assistance to any State, local, or territorial govern12 ment agency with jurisdiction over coral reef ecosystems 

13 to address any unforeseen or disaster-related circumstance 

14 pertaining to coral reef ecosystems.’’. 

15 SEC. 9. NATIONAL PROGRAM. 

16 Section 208 (formerly 16 U.S.C. 6406), as redesig17 nated, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 208. NATIONAL PROGRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap20 propriations, the Secretary may conduct activities, includ21 ing with local, regional, or international programs and 

22 partners, as appropriate, to conserve coral reef eco23 systems, that are consistent with this title, the National 

24 Marine Sanctuaries Act, the Coastal Zone Management 

25 Act of 1972, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 


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1 and Management Act, the Endangered Species Act of 

2 1973, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. 

3 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities author4 ized under subsection (a) include— 

5 ‘‘(1) mapping, monitoring, assessment, restora6 tion, socioeconomic and scientific research that ben7 efit the understanding, sustainable use, biodiversity, 

8 and long-term conservation of coral reef ecosystems; 

9 ‘‘(2) enhancing public awareness, education, un10 derstanding, and appreciation of coral reef eco11 systems; 

12 ‘‘(3) removing, and providing assistance to 

13 States in removing, abandoned fishing gear, marine 

14 debris, and abandoned vessels from coral reef eco15 systems to conserve living marine resources; 

16 ‘‘(4) responding to incidents and events that 

17 threaten and damage coral reef ecosystems, includ18 ing disease and bleaching; 

19 ‘‘(5) conservation and management of coral reef 

20 ecosystems; 

21 ‘‘(6) centrally archiving, managing, and distrib22 uting data sets and providing coral reef ecosystem 

23 assessments and services to the general public. with 

24 local, regional, or international programs and part25 ners; and 


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1 ‘‘(7) activities designed to prevent or minimize 

2 damage to coral reef ecosystems, including those ac3 tivities described in section 211 of this title. 

4 ‘‘(c) DATA ARCHIVE, ACCESS, AND AVAILABILITY.— 

5 The Secretary, in coordination with similar efforts at other 

6 Departments and agencies shall provide for the long-term 

7 stewardship of environmental data, products, and informa8 tion via data processing, storage, and archive facilities 

9 pursuant to this title. The Secretary may— 

10 ‘‘(1) archive environmental data collected by 

11 Federal, State, local agencies and tribal organiza12 tions and federally funded research; 

13 ‘‘(2) promote widespread availability and dis14 semination of environmental data and information 

15 through full and open access and exchange to the 

16 greatest extent possible, including in electronic for17 mat on the Internet; 

18 ‘‘(3) develop standards, protocols and proce19 dures for sharing Federal data with State and local 

20 government programs and the private sector or aca21 demia; and 

22 ‘‘(4) develop metadata standards for coral reef 

23 ecosystems in accordance with Federal Geographic 

24 Data Committee guidelines. 


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1 ‘‘(d) EMERGENCY RESPONSE, STABILIZATION, AND

2 RESTORATION.—The Secretary shall establish an account 

3 (to be called the Emergency Response, Stabilization, and 

4 Restoration Account) in the Damage Assessment Restora5 tion Revolving Fund established by the Department of 

6 Commerce Appropriations Act, 1991 (33 U.S.C. 2706 

7 note), for implementation of this subsection for emergency 

8 actions. Amounts appropriated for the Account under sec9 tion 218, and funds authorized by sections 212(d)(3)(B) 

10 and 213(f)(3)(B), shall be deposited into the Account and 

11 made available for use by the Secretary as specified in sec12 tions 212 and 213.’’. 

13 SEC. 10. COMMUNITY-BASED PLANNING GRANTS. 

14 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by fur15 ther redesignating sections 209 through 211, as redesig16 nated, as sections 210 through 212, respectively, and in17 serting after section 208 the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 209. COMMUNITY-BASED PLANNING GRANTS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

20 to entities who have received grants under section 204 to 

21 provide additional funds to such entities to work with local 

22 communities and through appropriate Federal and State 

23 entities to prepare and implement plans for the increased 

24 protection of coral reef areas identified by the community 


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1 and scientific experts as high priorities for focused atten2 tion. The plans shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) support attainment of 1 or more of the cri4 teria described in section 204(g); 

5 ‘‘(2) be developed at the community level; 

6 ‘‘(3) utilize watershed-based approaches; 

7 ‘‘(4) provide for coordination with Federal and 

8 State experts and managers; and 

9 ‘‘(5) build upon local approaches or models, in10 cluding traditional or island-based resource manage11 ment concepts. 

12 ‘‘(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The provisions of 

13 subsections (b), (d), (f), and (h) of section 204 apply to 

14 grants under subsection (a), except that, for the purpose 

15 of applying section 204(b)(1) to grants under this section, 

16 ‘75 percent’ shall be substituted for ‘50 percent’.’’. 

17 SEC. 11. VESSEL GROUNDING INVENTORY. 

18 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is further amended 

19 by redesignating sections 210 through 212, as redesig20 nated, as sections 211 through 213, and inserting after 

21 section 209, as added by section 10, the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 210. VESSEL GROUNDING INVENTORY. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may maintain an 

24 inventory of all vessel grounding incidents involving coral 

25 reefs, including a description of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the impacts to affected coral reef eco2 systems; 

3 ‘‘(2) vessel and ownership information, if avail4 able; 

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

6 or restoration; 

7 ‘‘(4) the response action taken by the owner, 

8 the Secretary, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, 

9 or other Federal or State agency representatives; 

10 ‘‘(5) the status of the response action, including 

11 the dates of vessel removal and mitigation or res12 toration and any actions taken to prevent future 

13 grounding incidents; and 

14 ‘‘(6) recommendations for additional naviga15 tional aids or other mechanisms for preventing fu16 ture grounding incidents. 

17 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF AT-RISK REEFS.—The Sec18 retary may— 

19 ‘‘(1) use information from any inventory main20 tained under subsection (a) or any other available 

21 information source to identify coral reef ecosystems 

22 that have a high incidence of vessel impacts, includ23 ing groundings and anchor damage; 

24 ‘‘(2) identify appropriate measures, including 

25 the acquisition and placement of aids to navigation, 


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1 moorings, fixed anchors and other devices, to reduce 

2 the likelihood of such impacts; and 

3 ‘‘(3) develop a strategy and timetable to imple4 ment such measures, including cooperative actions 

5 with other government agencies and non-govern6 mental partners.’’. 

7 SEC. 12. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES. 

8 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended by fur9 ther redesignating sections 211 through 213, as redesig10 nated, as sections 217 through 220, and inserting after 

11 section 210 the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 211. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND SCOPE OF PROHI13 BITIONS. 

14 ‘‘(a) PROVISIONS AS COMPLEMENTARY.—The provi15 sions of this section are in addition to, and shall not affect 

16 the operation of, other Federal, State, or local laws or reg17 ulations providing protection to coral reef ecosystems. 

18 ‘‘(b) DESTRUCTION, LOSS, TAKING, OR INJURY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graph (2), it is unlawful for any person to destroy, 

21 take, cause the loss of, or injure any coral reef or 

22 any component thereof. 

23 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The destruction, loss, tak24 ing, or injury of a coral reef or any component 

25 thereof is not unlawful if it— 


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1 ‘‘(A) was caused by the use of fishing gear 

2 used in a manner permitted under the Magnu3 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage4 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or other 

5 Federal or State law; 

6 ‘‘(B) was caused by an activity that is au7 thorized by Federal or State law (including law8 ful discharges from vessels of graywater, cooling 

9 water, engine exhaust, ballast water, or sewage 

10 from marine sanitation devices), unless the de11 struction, loss, or injury resulted from actions 

12 such as vessel groundings, vessel scrapings, an13 chor damage, excavation not authorized by Fed14 eral or State permit, or other similar activities; 

15 ‘‘(C) was the necessary result of bona fide 

16 marine scientific research (including marine sci17 entific research activities approved by Federal, 

18 State, or local permits), other than excessive 

19 sampling or collecting, or actions such as vessel 

20 groundings, vessel scrapings, anchor damage, 

21 excavation, or other similar activities; 

22 ‘‘(D) was caused by a Federal Government 

23 agency— 

24 ‘‘(i) during— 


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1 ‘‘(I) an emergency that posed an 

2 unacceptable threat to human health 

3 or safety or to the marine environ4 ment; 

5 ‘‘(II) an emergency that posed a 

6 threat to national security; or 

7 ‘‘(III) an activity necessary for 

8 law enforcement or search and rescue; 

9 and 

10 could not reasonably be avoided; or 

11 ‘‘(E) was caused by an action taken to en12 sure the safety of the vessel or the lives of pas13 sengers or crew. 

14 ‘‘(c) INTERFERENCE WITH ENFORCEMENT.—It is 

15 unlawful for any person to interfere with the enforcement 

16 of this title by— 

17 ‘‘(1) refusing to permit any officer authorized 

18 to enforce this title to board a vessel (other than a 

19 vessel operated by the Department of Defense or 

20 United States Coast Guard) subject to such person’s 

21 control for the purposes of conducting any search or 

22 inspection in connection with the enforcement of this 

23 title; 

24 ‘‘(2) resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, 

25 harassing, bribing, interfering with, or forcibly asVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:19 Jun 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1580.IS S1580

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1 saulting any person authorized by the Secretary to 

2 implement this title or any such authorized officer in 

3 the conduct of any search or inspection performed 

4 under this title; or 

5 ‘‘(3) submitting false information to the Sec6 retary or any officer authorized to enforce this title 

7 in connection with any search or inspection con8 ducted under this title. 

9 ‘‘(d) VIOLATIONS OF TITLE, PERMIT, OR REGULA10 TION.—It is unlawful for any person to violate any provi11 sion of this title, any permit issued pursuant to this title, 

12 or any regulation promulgated pursuant to this title. 

13 ‘‘(e) POSSESSION AND DISTRIBUTION.—It is unlaw14 ful for any person to possess, sell, deliver, carry, transport, 

15 or ship by any means any coral taken in violation of this 

16 title.’’. 

17 SEC. 13. DESTRUCTION OF CORAL REEFS. 

18 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is further amended 

19 by inserting after section 211, as added by section 12, the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 212. DESTRUCTION, LOSS, OR TAKING OF, OR INJURY 

22 TO, CORAL REEFS. 

23 ‘‘(a) LIABILITY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) LIABILITY TO THE UNITED STATES.—Ex25 cept as provided in subsection (f), all persons who 


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1 engage in an activity that is prohibited under sub2 sections (a) or (c) of section 211, or create an immi3 nent risk thereof, are liable, jointly and severally, to 

4 the United States for an amount equal to the sum 

5 of— 

6 ‘‘(A) response costs and damages resulting 

7 from the destruction, loss, taking, or injury, or 

8 imminent risk thereof, including damages re9 sulting from the response actions; 

10 ‘‘(B) costs of seizure, forfeiture, storage, 

11 and disposal arising from liability under this 

12 section; and 

13 ‘‘(C) interest on that amount calculated in 

14 the manner described in section 1005 of the Oil 

15 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2705). 

16 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY IN REM.— 

17 ‘‘(A) Any vessel used in an activity that is 

18 prohibited under subsection (a) or (c) of section 

19 211, or creates an imminent risk thereof, shall 

20 be liable in rem to the United States for an 

21 amount equal to the sum of— 

22 ‘‘(i) response costs and damages re23 sulting from such destruction, loss, or in24 jury, or imminent risk thereof, including 


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1 damages resulting from the response ac2 tions; 

3 ‘‘(ii) costs of seizure, forfeiture, stor4 age, and disposal arising from liability 

5 under this section; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) interest on that amount cal7 culated in the manner described in section 

8 1005 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

9 U.S.C. 2705). 

10 ‘‘(B) The amount of liability shall con11 stitute a maritime lien on the vessel and may 

12 be recovered in an action in rem in any district 

13 court of the United States that has jurisdiction 

14 over the vessel. 

15 ‘‘(3) DEFENSES.—A person or vessel is not lia16 ble under this subsection if that person or vessel es17 tablishes that the destruction, loss, taking, or injury 

18 was caused solely by an act of God, an act of war, 

19 or an act or omission of a third party (other than 

20 an employee or agent of the defendant or one whose 

21 act or omission occurs in connection with a contrac22 tual relationship, existing directly or indirectly with 

23 the defendant), and the person or master of the ves24 sel acted with due care. 


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1 ‘‘(4) NO LIMIT TO LIABILITY.—Nothing in sec2 tions 30501 through 30512 or section 30706 of title 

3 46, United States Code, shall limit liability to any 

4 person under this title. 

5 ‘‘(b) RESPONSE ACTIONS AND DAMAGE ASSESS6 MENT.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RESPONSE ACTIONS.—The Secretary may 

8 undertake or authorize all necessary actions to pre9 vent or minimize the destruction, loss, or taking of, 

10 or injury to, coral reefs, or components thereof, or 

11 to minimize the risk or imminent risk of such de12 struction, loss, or injury. 

13 ‘‘(2) DAMAGE ASSESSMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall assess damages 

15 (as defined in section 220(8)) to coral reefs and 

16 shall consult with State officials regarding re17 sponse and damage assessment actions under18 taken for coral reefs within State waters. 

19 ‘‘(B) There shall be no double recovery 

20 under this chapter for coral reef damages, in21 cluding the cost of damage assessment, for the 

22 same incident. 

23 ‘‘(c) COMMENCEMENT OF CIVIL ACTION FOR RE24 SPONSE COSTS AND DAMAGES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) COMMENCEMENT.—The Attorney General, 

2 upon the request of the Secretary, may commence a 

3 civil action against any person or vessel that may be 

4 liable under subsection (a) of this section for re5 sponse costs, seizure, forfeiture, storage, or disposal 

6 costs, and damages, and interest on that amount 

7 calculated in the manner described in section 1005 

8 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2705). 

9 The Secretary, acting as trustee for coral reefs for 

10 the United States, shall submit a request for such 

11 an action to the Attorney General whenever a person 

12 may be liable for such costs or damages. 

13 ‘‘(2) VENUE IN CIVIL ACTIONS.—A civil action 

14 under this title may be brought in the United States 

15 district court for any district in which— 

16 ‘‘(A) the defendant is located, resides, or is 

17 doing business, in the case of an action against 

18 a person; 

19 ‘‘(B) the vessel is located, in the case of an 

20 action against a vessel; 

21 ‘‘(C) the destruction, loss, or taking of, or 

22 injury to a coral reef, or component thereof, oc23 curred or in which there is an imminent risk of 

24 such destruction, loss, or injury; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) where some or all of the coral reef or 

2 component thereof that is the subject of the ac3 tion is not within the territory covered by any 

4 United States district court, such action may be 

5 brought either in the United States district 

6 court for the district closest to the location 

7 where the destruction, loss, injury, or risk of in8 jury occurred, or in the United States District 

9 Court for the District of Columbia. 

10 ‘‘(d) USE OF RECOVERED AMOUNTS.—Any costs, in11 cluding response costs and damages recovered by the Sec12 retary under this section shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) be deposited into an account or accounts 

14 in the Damage Assessment Restoration Revolving 

15 Fund established by the Department of Commerce 

16 Appropriations Act, 1991 (33 U.S.C. 2706 note), or 

17 the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Res18 toration Fund established by the Department of the 

19 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 

20 1992 (43 U.S.C. 1474b), as appropriate given the 

21 location of the violation; 

22 ‘‘(2) be available for use by the Secretary with23 out further appropriation and remain available until 

24 expended; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) be for use, as the Secretary considers ap2 propriate— 

3 ‘‘(A) to reimburse the Secretary or any 

4 other Federal or State agency that conducted 

5 activities under subsection (a) or (b) of this sec6 tion for costs incurred in conducting the activ7 ity; 

8 ‘‘(B) to be transferred to the Emergency 

9 Response, Stabilization and Restoration Ac10 count established under section 208(d) to reim11 burse that account for amounts used for au12 thorized emergency actions; and 

13 ‘‘(C) after reimbursement of such costs, to 

14 restore, replace, or acquire the equivalent of 

15 any coral reefs, or components thereof, includ16 ing the reasonable costs of monitoring, or to 

17 minimize or prevent threats of equivalent injury 

18 to, or destruction of coral reefs, or components 

19 thereof. 

20 ‘‘(e) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action for re21 sponse costs or damages under subsection (c) shall be 

22 barred unless the complaint is filed within 3 years after 

23 the date on which the Secretary completes a damage as24 sessment and restoration plan for the coral reefs, or com25 ponents thereof, to which the action relates. If the SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:49 Jun 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1580.IS S1580

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1 retary fails to complete such damage assessment and res2 toration plan within one year after discovery of the dam3 age, then for the purposes of this subsection such assess4 ment and plan shall be deemed to have been completed 

5 by the Secretary on the 366th day following discovery of 

6 the damage. 

7 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES.—In the 

8 event of threatened or actual destruction of, loss of, or 

9 injury to a coral reef or component thereof resulting from 

10 an incident caused by a component of any Department or 

11 agency of the United States Government, the cognizant 

12 Department or agency shall satisfy its obligations under 

13 this section by promptly, in coordination with the Sec14 retary, taking appropriate actions to respond to and miti15 gate the harm and restoring or replacing the coral reef 

16 or components thereof and reimbursing the Secretary for 

17 all assessment costs.’’. 

18 SEC. 14. ENFORCEMENT. 

19 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is further amended 

20 by inserting after section 212, as added by section 13, the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 213. ENFORCEMENT. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct en24 forcement activities to carry out this title. 


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1 ‘‘(b) POWERS OF AUTHORIZED OFFICERS.—Any per2 son who is authorized to enforce this title may— 

3 ‘‘(1) board, search, inspect, and seize any vessel 

4 or other conveyance suspected of being used to vio5 late this title, any regulation promulgated under this 

6 title, or any permit issued under this title, and any 

7 equipment, stores, and cargo of such vessel; 

8 ‘‘(2) seize wherever found any component of 

9 coral reef taken or retained in violation of this title, 

10 any regulation promulgated under this title, or any 

11 permit issued under this title; 

12 ‘‘(3) seize any evidence of a violation of this 

13 title, any regulation promulgated under this title, or 

14 any permit issued under this title; 

15 ‘‘(4) execute any warrant or other process 

16 issued by any court of competent jurisdiction; 

17 ‘‘(5) exercise any other lawful authority; and 

18 ‘‘(6) arrest any person, if there is reasonable 

19 cause to believe that such person has committed an 

20 act prohibited by section 211. 

21 ‘‘(c) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT AND PERMIT SANC22 TIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) CIVIL ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY.—Any 

24 person subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

25 States who violates this title or any regulation proVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:49 Jun 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1580.IS S1580

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1 mulgated or permit issued hereunder, shall be liable 

2 to the United States for a civil administrative pen3 alty of not more than $200,000 for each such viola4 tion, to be assessed by the Secretary. Each day of 

5 a continuing violation shall constitute a separate vio6 lation. In determining the amount of civil adminis7 trative penalty, the Secretary shall take into account 

8 the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the 

9 prohibited acts committed and, with respect to the 

10 violator, the degree of culpability, and any history of 

11 prior violations, and such other matters as justice 

12 may require. In assessing such penalty, the Sec13 retary may also consider information related to the 

14 ability of the violator to pay. 

15 ‘‘(2) PERMIT SANCTIONS.—For any person sub16 ject to the jurisdiction of the United States who has 

17 been issued or has applied for a permit under this 

18 title, and who violates this title or any regulation or 

19 permit issued under this title, the Secretary may 

20 deny, suspend, amend, or revoke in whole or in part 

21 any such permit. For any person who has failed to 

22 pay or defaulted on a payment agreement of any 

23 civil penalty or criminal fine or liability assessed 

24 pursuant to any natural resource law administered 

25 by the Secretary, the Secretary may deny, suspend, 


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1 amend or revoke in whole or in part any permit 

2 issued or applied for under this title. 

3 ‘‘(3) IMPOSITION OF CIVIL JUDICIAL PEN4 ALTIES.—Any person who violates any provision of 

5 this title, any regulation promulgated or permit 

6 issued thereunder, shall be subject to a civil judicial 

7 penalty not to exceed $250,000 for each such viola8 tion. Each day of a continuing violation shall con9 stitute a separate violation. The Attorney General, 

10 upon the request of the Secretary, may commence a 

11 civil action in an appropriate district court of the 

12 United States, and such court shall have jurisdiction 

13 to award civil penalties and such other relief as jus14 tice may require. In determining the amount of a 

15 civil penalty, the court shall take into account the 

16 nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the 

17 prohibited acts committed and, with respect to the 

18 violator, the degree of culpability, any history of 

19 prior violations, and such other matters as justice 

20 may require. In imposing such penalty, the district 

21 court may also consider information related to the 

22 ability of the violator to pay. 

23 ‘‘(4) NOTICE.—No penalty or permit sanction 

24 shall be assessed under this subsection until after 


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1 the person charged has been given notice and an op2 portunity for a hearing. 

3 ‘‘(5) IN REM JURISDICTION.—A vessel used in 

4 violating this title, any regulation promulgated under 

5 this title, or any permit issued under this title, shall 

6 be liable in rem for any civil penalty assessed for 

7 such violation. Such penalty shall constitute a mari8 time lien on the vessel and may be recovered in an 

9 action in rem in the district court of the United 

10 States having jurisdiction over the vessel. 

11 ‘‘(6) COLLECTION OF PENALTIES.—If any per12 son fails to pay an assessment of a civil penalty 

13 under this section after it has become a final and 

14 unappealable order, or after the appropriate court 

15 has entered final judgment in favor of the Secretary, 

16 the Secretary shall refer the matter to the Attorney 

17 General, who shall recover the amount assessed in 

18 any appropriate district court of the United States 

19 (plus interest at current prevailing rates from the 

20 date of the final order). In such action, the validity 

21 and appropriateness of the final order imposing the 

22 civil penalty shall not be subject to review. Any per23 son who fails to pay, on a timely basis, the amount 

24 of an assessment of a civil penalty shall be required 

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1 torney’s fees and costs for collection proceedings and 

2 a quarterly nonpayment penalty for each quarter 

3 during which such failure to pay persists. Such non4 payment penalty shall be in an amount equal to 20 

5 percent of the aggregate amount of such person’s 

6 penalties and nonpayment penalties that are unpaid 

7 as of the beginning of such quarter. 

8 ‘‘(7) COMPROMISE OR OTHER ACTION BY SEC9 RETARY.—The Secretary may compromise, modify, 

10 or remit, with or without conditions, any civil admin11 istrative penalty or permit sanction which is or may 

12 be imposed under this section and that has not been 

13 referred to the Attorney General for further enforce14 ment action. 

15 ‘‘(8) JURISIDICTION.—The several district 

16 courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction 

17 over any actions brought by the United States aris18 ing under this section. For the purpose of this sec19 tion, American Samoa shall be included within the 

20 judicial district of the District Court of the United 

21 States for the District of Hawaii. Each violation 

22 shall be a separate offense and the offense shall be 

23 deemed to have been committed not only in the dis24 trict where the violation first occurred, but also in 

25 any other district as authorized by law. 


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1 ‘‘(d) FORFEITURE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.—A person who is 

3 convicted of an offense in violation of this title shall 

4 forfeit to the United States— 

5 ‘‘(A) any property, real or personal, consti6 tuting or traceable to the gross proceeds taken, 

7 obtained, or retained, in connection with or as 

8 a result of the offense, including, without limi9 tation, any coral reef or coral reef component 

10 (or the fair market value thereof); and 

11 ‘‘(B) any property, real or personal, used 

12 or intended to be used, in any manner, to com13 mit or facilitate the commission of the offense, 

14 including, without limitation, any vessel (includ15 ing the vessel’s equipment, stores, catch and 

16 cargo), vehicle, aircraft, or other means of 

17 transportation. 

18 Pursuant to section 2461(c) of title 28, United 

19 States Code, the provisions of section 413 of the 

20 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853) other 

21 than subsection (d) thereof shall apply to criminal 

22 forfeitures under this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) CIVIL FORFEITURE.—The property set 

24 forth below shall be forfeited to the United States in 

25 accordance with the provisions of chapter 46 of title 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 18, United States Code, and no property right shall 

2 exist in it: 

3 ‘‘(A) Any property, real or personal, con4 stituting or traceable to the gross proceeds 

5 taken, obtained, or retained, in connection with 

6 or as a result of a violation of this title, includ7 ing, without limitation, any coral reef or coral 

8 reef component (or the fair market value there9 of). 

10 ‘‘(B) Any property, real or personal, used 

11 or intended to be used, in any manner, to com12 mit or facilitate the commission of a violation of 

13 this title, including, without limitation, any ves14 sel (including the vessel’s equipment, stores, 

15 catch and cargo), vehicle, aircraft, or other 

16 means of transportation. 

17 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF THE CUSTOMS LAWS.— 

18 All provisions of law relating to seizure, summary 

19 judgment, and judicial forfeiture and condemnation 

20 for violation of the customs laws, the disposition of 

21 the property forfeited or condemned or the proceeds 

22 from the sale thereof, the remission or mitigation of 

23 such forfeitures, and the compromise of claims shall 

24 apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged 

25 to have been incurred, under the provisions of this 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 title, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with 

2 the provisions hereof. For seizures and forfeitures of 

3 property under this section by the Secretary, such 

4 duties as are imposed upon the customs officer or 

5 any other person with respect to the seizure and for6 feiture of property under the customs law may be 

7 performed by such officers as are designated by the 

8 Secretary or, upon request of the Secretary, by any 

9 other agency that has authority to manage and dis10 pose of seized property. 

11 ‘‘(4) PRESUMPTION.—For the purposes of this 

12 section there is a rebuttable presumption that all 

13 coral reefs, or components thereof, found on board 

14 a vessel that is used or seized in connection with a 

15 violation of this title or of any regulation promul16 gated under this title were taken, obtained, or re17 tained in violation of this title or of a regulation pro18 mulgated under this title. 

19 ‘‘(e) PAYMENT OF STORAGE, CARE, AND OTHER

20 COSTS.—Any person assessed a civil penalty for a viola21 tion of this title or of any regulation promulgated under 

22 this title and any claimant in a forfeiture action brought 

23 for such a violation, shall be liable for the reasonable costs 

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•S 1580 IS 

1 nance of any property seized in connection with the viola2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(f) EXPENDITURES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, 

5 United States Code, or section 311 of the Magnu6 son-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 

7 Act (16 U.S.C. 1861), amounts received by the 

8 United States as civil penalties under subsection (c) 

9 of this section, forfeitures of property under sub10 section (d) of this section, and costs imposed under 

11 subsection (e) of this section, shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) be placed into an account; 

13 ‘‘(B) be available for use by the Secretary 

14 without further appropriation; and 

15 ‘‘(C) remain available until expended. 

16 ‘‘(2) Amounts received under this section for 

17 forfeitures under subsection (d) and costs imposed 

18 under subsection (e) shall be used to pay the reason19 able and necessary costs incurred by the Secretary 

20 to provide temporary storage, care, maintenance, 

21 and disposal of any property seized in connection 

22 with a violation of this title or any regulation pro23 mulgated under this title. 

24 ‘‘(3) Amounts received under this section as 

25 civil penalties under subsection (c) of this section 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 and any amounts remaining after the operation of 

2 paragraph (2) of this subsection shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) be used to stabilize, restore, or other4 wise manage the coral reef with respect to 

5 which the violation occurred that resulted in the 

6 penalty or forfeiture; 

7 ‘‘(B) be transferred to the Emergency Re8 sponse, Stabilization, and Restoration Account 

9 established under section 208(d) or an account 

10 described in section 212(d)(1) of this title, to 

11 reimburse such account for amounts used for 

12 authorized emergency actions; 

13 ‘‘(C) be used to conduct monitoring and 

14 enforcement activities; 

15 ‘‘(D) be used to conduct research on tech16 niques to stabilize and restore coral reefs; 

17 ‘‘(E) be used to conduct activities that pre18 vent or reduce the likelihood of future damage 

19 to coral reefs; 

20 ‘‘(F) be used to stabilize, restore or other21 wise manage any other coral reef; or 

22 ‘‘(G) be used to pay a reward to any per23 son who furnishes information leading to an as24 sessment of a civil penalty, or to a forfeiture of 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 property, for a violation of this title or any reg2 ulation promulgated under this title. 

3 ‘‘(g) CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) Any person (other than a foreign govern5 ment or any entity of such government) who know6 ingly commits any act prohibited by section 211(b) 

7 of this title shall be imprisoned for not more than 

8 5 years and shall be fined not more than $500,000 

9 for individuals or $1,000,000 for an organization; 

10 except that if in the commission of any such offense 

11 the individual uses a dangerous weapon, engages in 

12 conduct that causes bodily injury to any officer au13 thorized to enforce the provisions of this title, or 

14 places any such officer in fear of imminent bodily in15 jury, the maximum term of imprisonment is not 

16 more than 10 years. 

17 ‘‘(2) Any person (other than a foreign govern18 ment or any entity of such government) who know19 ingly violates subsection (a) or (c) of section 211 

20 shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or 

21 imprisoned not more than 5 years or both. 

22 ‘‘(3) The several district courts of the United 

23 States shall have jurisdiction over any actions 

24 brought by the United States arising under this sub25 section. For the purpose of this subsection, AmerVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:49 Jun 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1580.IS S1580

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1 ican Samoa shall be included within the judicial dis2 trict of the District Court of the United States for 

3 the District of Hawaii. Each violation shall be a sep4 arate offense and the offense shall be deemed to 

5 have been committed not only in the district where 

6 the violation first occurred, but also in any other 

7 district as authorized by law. Any offenses not com8 mitted in any district are subject to the venue provi9 sions of section 3238 of title 18, United States 

10 Code. 

11 ‘‘(h) SUBPOENAS.—In the case of any investigation 

12 or hearing under this section or any other natural resource 

13 statute administered by the National Oceanic and Atmos14 pheric Administration which is determined on the record 

15 in accordance with the procedures provided for under sec16 tion 554 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary may 

17 issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of wit18 nesses and the production of relevant papers, books, elec19 tronic files, and documents, and may administer oaths. 

20 ‘‘(i) COAST GUARD AUTHORITY NOT LIMITED.— 

21 Nothing in this section shall be considered to limit the au22 thority of the Coast Guard to enforce this or any other 

23 Federal law under section 89 of title 14, United States 

24 Code. 

25 ‘‘(j) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 ‘‘(1) If the Secretary determines that there is 

2 an imminent risk of destruction or loss of or injury 

3 to a coral reef, or that there has been actual de4 struction or loss of, or injury to, a coral reef which 

5 may give rise to liability under section 212 of this 

6 title, the Attorney General, upon request of the Sec7 retary, shall seek to obtain such relief as may be 

8 necessary to abate such risk or actual destruction, 

9 loss, or injury, or to restore or replace the coral reef, 

10 or both. The district courts of the Unites States 

11 shall have jurisdiction in such a case to order such 

12 relief as the public interest and the equities of the 

13 case may require. 

14 ‘‘(2) Upon the request of the Secretary, the At15 torney General may seek to enjoin any person who 

16 is alleged to be in violation of any provision of this 

17 title, or any regulation or permit issued under this 

18 title, and the district courts shall have jurisdiction to 

19 grant such relief. 

20 ‘‘(k) AREA OF APPLICATION AND ENFORCE21 ABILITY.—The area of application and enforceability of 

22 this title includes the internal waters of the United States, 

23 the territorial sea of the United States, as described in 

24 Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988, 

25 the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States as deVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:19 Jun 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1580.IS S1580

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•S 1580 IS 

1 scribed in Presidential Proclamation 5030 of March 10, 

2 1983, and the continental shelf, consistent with inter3 national law. 

4 ‘‘(l) NATIONWIDE SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In any ac5 tion by the United States under this title, process may 

6 be served in any district where the defendant is found, 

7 resides, transacts business, or has appointed an agent for 

8 the service of process, and for civil cases may also be 

9 served in a place not within the United States in accord10 ance with rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

11 ‘‘(m) VENUE IN CIVIL ACTIONS.—A civil action 

12 under this title may be brought in the United States dis13 trict court for any district in which— 

14 ‘‘(1) the defendant is located, resides, or is 

15 doing business, in the case of an action against a 

16 person; 

17 ‘‘(2) the vessel is located, in the case of an ac18 tion against a vessel; 

19 ‘‘(3) the destruction of, loss of, or injury to a 

20 coral reef, or component thereof, occurred or in 

21 which there is an imminent risk of such destruction, 

22 loss, or injury; or 

23 ‘‘(4) where some or all of the coral reef or com24 ponent thereof that is the subject of the action is not 

25 within the territory covered by any United States 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 district court, such action may be brought either in 

2 the United States district court for the district clos3 est to the location where the destruction, loss, in4 jury, or risk of injury occurred, or in the United 

5 States District Court for the District of Columbia.’’. 

6 SEC. 15. PERMITS. 

7 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is further amended 

8 by inserting after section 213, as added by section 14, the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 214. PERMITS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may allow for the 

12 conduct of— 

13 ‘‘(1) bona fide research, and 

14 ‘‘(2) activities that would otherwise be prohib15 ited by this title or regulations issued thereunder, 

16 through issuance of coral reef conservation permits in ac17 cordance with regulations issued under this title. 

18 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION OF NON-RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.— 

19 The Secretary may not issue a permit for activities other 

20 than for bona fide research unless the Secretary finds— 

21 ‘‘(1) the activity proposed to be conducted is 

22 compatible with one or more of the purposes in sec23 tion 202(b) of this title; 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) the activity conforms to the provisions of 

2 all other laws and regulations applicable to the area 

3 for which such permit is to be issued; and 

4 ‘‘(3) there is no practicable alternative to con5 ducting the activity in a manner that destroys, 

6 causes the loss of, or injures any coral reef or any 

7 component thereof. 

8 ‘‘(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may 

9 place any terms and conditions on a permit issued under 

10 this section that the Secretary deems reasonable. 

11 ‘‘(d) FEES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ASSESSMENT AND COLLECTION.—Subject 

13 to regulations issued under this title, the Secretary 

14 may assess and collect fees as specified in this sub15 section. 

16 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Any fee assessed shall be equal 

17 to the sum of— 

18 ‘‘(A) all costs incurred, or expected to be 

19 incurred, by the Secretary in processing the 

20 permit application, including indirect costs; and 

21 ‘‘(B) if the permit is approved, all costs in22 curred, or expected to be incurred, by the Sec23 retary as a direct result of the conduct of the 

24 activity for which the permit is issued, including 

25 costs of monitoring the conduct of the activity 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 and educating the public about the activity and 

2 coral reef resources related to the activity. 

3 ‘‘(3) USE OF FEES.—Amounts collected by the 

4 Secretary in the form of fees under this section shall 

5 be collected and available for use only to the extent 

6 provided in advance in appropriations Acts and may 

7 be used by the Secretary for issuing and admin8 istering permits under this section. 

9 ‘‘(4) WAIVER OR REDUCTION OF FEES.—For 

10 any fee assessed under paragraph (2) of this sub11 section, the Secretary may— 

12 ‘‘(A) accept in-kind contributions in lieu of 

13 a fee; or 

14 ‘‘(B) waive or reduce the fee. 

15 ‘‘(e) FISHING.—Nothing in this section shall be con16 sidered to require a person to obtain a permit under this 

17 section for the conduct of any fishing activities not prohib18 ited by this title or regulations issued thereunder.’’. 

19 SEC. 16. REGIONAL, STATE, AND TERRITORIAL COORDINA20 TION.. 

21 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is further amended 

22 by inserting after section 214, as added by section 15, the 

23 following: 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 ‘‘SEC. 215. REGIONAL, STATE, AND TERRITORIAL COORDI2 NATION. 

3 ‘‘(a) REGIONAL COORDINATION.—The Secretary 

4 shall work in coordination and collaboration with other 

5 Federal agencies, States, and United States territorial 

6 governments to implement the strategies developed under 

7 section 203, including regional and local strategies, to ad8 dress multiple threats to coral reefs and coral reef eco9 systems such as coastal runoff, vessel impacts, and over10 harvesting. 

11 ‘‘(b) RESPONSE AND RESTORATION ACTIVITIES.— 

12 The Secretary shall, when appropriate, enter into a writ13 ten agreement with any affected State regarding the man14 ner in which response and restoration activities will be 

15 conducted within the affected State’s waters. 

16 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.— 

17 All cooperative enforcement agreements in place between 

18 the Secretary and States affected by this title shall be up19 dated to include enforcement of this title where appro20 priate.’’. 

21 SEC. 17. REGULATIONS. 

22 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is further amended 

23 by inserting after section 215, as added by section 16, the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 216. REGULATIONS. 

2 ‘‘The Secretary may issue such regulations as are 

3 necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of 

4 this title. This title and any regulations promulgated 

5 under this title shall be applied in accordance with inter6 national law. No restrictions shall apply to or be enforced 

7 against a person who is not a citizen, national, or resident 

8 alien of the United States (including foreign flag vessels) 

9 unless in accordance with international law.’’. 

10 SEC. 18. EFFECTIVENESS REPORT. 

11 Section 217 (formerly 16 U.S.C. 6407), as redesig12 nated, is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 217. EFFECTIVENESS REPORT. 

14 ‘‘Not later than March 1, 2009, and every 3 years 

15 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

16 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

17 and the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep18 resentatives a report describing all activities undertaken 

19 to implement the strategy, including— 

20 ‘‘(1) a description of the funds obligated by 

21 each participating Federal agency to advance coral 

22 reef conservation during each of the 3 fiscal years 

23 next preceding the fiscal year in which the report is 

24 submitted; 

25 ‘‘(2) a description of Federal interagency and 

26 cooperative efforts with States and United States 


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•S 1580 IS 

1 territories to prevent or address overharvesting, 

2 coastal runoff, or other anthropogenic impacts on 

3 coral reefs, including projects undertaken with the 

4 Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, 

5 the Environmental Protection Agency, and the 

6 United States Army Corps of Engineers; 

7 ‘‘(3) a summary of the information contained in 

8 the vessel grounding inventory established under sec9 tion 210, including additional authorization or fund10 ing, needed for response and removal of such ves11 sels;’’ 

12 ‘‘(4) a description of Federal disaster response 

13 actions taken pursuant to the National Response 

14 Plan to address damage to coral reefs and coral reef 

15 ecosystems; and 

16 ‘‘(5) an assessment of the condition of United 

17 States coral reefs, accomplishments under this Act, 

18 and the effectiveness of management actions to ad19 dress threats to coral reefs.’’. 

20 SEC. 19. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 Section 218 (formerly 16 U.S.C. 6408), as redesig22 nated, is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘$16,000,000 for each of fiscal 

24 years 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004,’’ in subsection 

25 (a) and inserting ‘‘$34,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, 


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1 $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, $38,000,000 for 

2 fiscal year 2010, and $40,000,000 for each of fiscal 

3 years 2011 through 2014, of which no less than 30 

4 percent per year (for each of fiscal years 2008 

5 through 2014) shall be used for the grant program 

6 under section 204 and up to 10 percent per year 

7 shall be used for the Fund established under section 

8 205(a),’’; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘$1,000,000’’ in subsection (b) 

10 and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000’’; 

11 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(c) COMMUNITY-BASED PLANNING GRANTS.— 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

15 to carry out section 209 the sum of $8,000,000 for fiscal 

16 years 2007 through 2012, such sum to remain available 

17 until expended.’’; and 

18 (4) by striking subsection (d). 

19 SEC. 20. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

20 The Act (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is further amended 

21 by inserting after section 218, as amended by section 19, 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 219. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Judicial review of any action 

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1 ance with sections 701 through 706 of title 5, United 

2 States Code, except that— 

3 ‘‘(1) review of any final agency action of the 

4 Secretary taken pursuant to sections 211(c)(1) and 

5 211(c)(2) may be had only by the filing of a com6 plaint by an interested person in the United States 

7 District Court for the appropriate district within 30 

8 days after the date such final agency action is taken; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(2) review of all other final agency actions of 

11 the Secretary under this title may be had only by 

12 the filing of a petition for review by an interested 

13 person in the Circuit Court of Appeals of the United 

14 States for the Federal judicial district in which such 

15 person resides or transacts business which is directly 

16 affected by the action taken within 120 days after 

17 the date such final agency action is taken. 

18 ‘‘(b) NO REVIEW IN ENFORCEMENT PRO19 CEEDINGS.—Final agency action with respect to which re20 view could have been obtained under subsection (a)(2) 

21 shall not be subject to judicial review in any civil or crimi22 nal proceeding for enforcement. 

23 ‘‘(c) COST OF LITIGATION.—In any judicial pro24 ceeding under subsection (a), the court may award costs 

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1 ness fees) to any prevailing party whenever it determines 

2 that such award is appropriate.’’. 

3 SEC. 21. DEFINITIONS. 

4 Section 220 (formerly 16 U.S.C. 6409), as redesig5 nated, is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 220. DEFINITIONS. 

7 ‘‘In this title: 

8 ‘‘(1) BIODIVERSITY.—The term ‘biodiversity’ 

9 means the variability among living organisms from 

10 all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine, 

11 and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological 

12 complexes of which they are part, including diversity 

13 within species, between species, and of ecosystems. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘conservation’ 

15 means the use of methods and procedures necessary 

16 to preserve or sustain corals and associated species 

17 and habitat as resilient, diverse, viable, and self-per18 petuating coral reef ecosystems, including all activi19 ties associated with resource management (such as 

20 assessment, conservation, protection, restoration, 

21 sustainable use, and management of habitat, map22 ping, habitat monitoring, assistance in the develop23 ment of management strategies for marine protected 

24 areas and marine resources consistent with the Na25 tional Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et 


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1 seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva2 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), 

3 law enforcement, conflict resolution initiatives, and 

4 community outreach and education) that promote 

5 safe and ecologically sound navigation. 

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

7 of the phylum Cnidaria, including— 

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

9 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), 

10 Gorgonacea (horny corals), Stolonifera 

11 (organpipe corals and others), Alcyonacea (soft 

12 corals), and Helioporacea (blue coral) of the 

13 class Anthozoa; and 

14 ‘‘(B) all species of the families Milleporidea 

15 (fire corals) and Stylasteridae (stylasterid 

16 hydrocorals) of the class Hydrozoa. 

17 ‘‘(4) CORAL REEF.—The term ‘coral reef’ 

18 means limestone structures composed in whole or in 

19 part of living corals, as described in paragraph (3), 

20 their skeletal remains, or both, and including other 

21 corals, associated sessile invertebrates and plants, 

22 and any adjacent or associated seagrasses. 

23 ‘‘(5) CORAL REEF COMPONENT.—The term 

24 ‘coral reef component’ means any part of a coral 

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1 ciated sessile invertebrates and plants, and any adja2 cent or associated seagrasses. 

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

4 ‘coral reef ecosystem’ means the system of coral 

5 reefs and geographically associated species, habitats, 

6 and environment, including mangroves and seagrass 

7 habitats, and the processes that control its dynam8 ics. 

9 ‘‘(7) CORAL PRODUCTS.—The term ‘coral prod10 ucts’ means any living or dead specimens, parts, or 

11 derivatives, or any product containing specimens, 

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

13 paragraph (3). 

14 ‘‘(8) DAMAGES.—The term ‘damages’ in15 cludes— 

16 ‘‘(A) compensation for— 

17 ‘‘(i) the cost of replacing, restoring, or 

18 acquiring the equivalent of the coral reef, 

19 or component thereof; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the lost services of, or the value 

21 of the lost use of, the coral reef or compo22 nent thereof, or the cost of activities to 

23 minimize or prevent threats of, equivalent 

24 injury to, or destruction of coral reefs or 

25 components thereof, pending restoration or 


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1 replacement or the acquisition of an equiv2 alent coral reef or component thereof; 

3 ‘‘(B) the reasonable cost of damage assess4 ments under section 212; 

5 ‘‘(C) the reasonable costs incurred by the 

6 Secretary in implementing section 208(d); 

7 ‘‘(D) the reasonable cost of monitoring ap8 propriate to the injured, restored, or replaced 

9 resources; 

10 ‘‘(E) the reasonable cost of curation, con11 servation and loss of contextual information of 

12 any coral encrusted archaeological, historical, 

13 and cultural resource; 

14 ‘‘(F) the cost of legal actions under section 

15 212, undertaken by the United States, associ16 ated with the destruction or loss of, or injury 

17 to, a coral reef or component thereof, including 

18 the costs of attorney time and expert witness 

19 fees; and 

20 ‘‘(G) the indirect costs associated with the 

21 costs listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) 

22 of this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(9) EMERGENCY ACTIONS.—The term ‘emer24 gency actions’ means all necessary actions to prevent 

25 or minimize the additional destruction or loss of, or 


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1 injury to, coral reefs or components thereof, or to 

2 minimize the risk of such additional destruction, 

3 loss, or injury. 

4 ‘‘(10) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

5 ‘Exclusive Economic Zone’ means the waters of the 

6 Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States under 

7 Presidential Proclamation 5030, dated March 10, 

8 1983. 

9 ‘‘(11) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any 

10 individual, private or public corporation, partnership, 

11 trust, institution, association, or any other public or 

12 private entity, whether foreign or domestic, private 

13 person or entity, or any officer, employee, agent, De14 partment, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal 

15 Government, of any State or local unit of govern16 ment, or of any foreign government. 

17 ‘‘(12) RESPONSE COSTS.—The term ‘response 

18 costs’ means the costs of actions taken or authorized 

19 by the Secretary to minimize destruction or loss of, 

20 or injury to, a coral reef, or component thereof, or 

21 to minimize the imminent risks of such destruction, 

22 loss, or injury, including costs related to seizure, for23 feiture, storage, or disposal arising from liability 

24 under section 212. 


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

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(A) for purposes of sections 201 through 

4 210, sections 217 through 219, and the other 

5 paragraphs of this section, the Secretary of 

6 Commerce, acting through the Administrator of 

7 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin8 istration; and 

9 ‘‘(B) for purposes of sections 211 through 

10 219— 

11 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of the Interior for 

12 any coral reef or component thereof located 

13 in (I) the National Wildlife Refuge System, 

14 (II) the National Park System, and (III) 

15 the waters surrounding Wake Island under 

16 the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the In17 terior, as set forth in Executive Order 

18 11048 (27 Fed. Reg. 8851 (September 4, 

19 1962)); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Commerce for 

21 any coral reef or component thereof located 

22 in any area not described in clause (i). 

23 ‘‘(14) SERVICE.—The term ‘service’ means 

24 functions, ecological or otherwise, performed by a 

25 coral reef or component thereof. 


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1 ‘‘(15) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

2 State of the United States that contains a coral reef 

3 ecosystem within its seaward boundaries, American 

4 Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puer5 to Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and any other terri6 tory or possession of the United States, or separate 

7 sovereign in free association with the United States, 

8 that contains a coral reef ecosystem within its sea9 ward boundaries. 

10 ‘‘(16) TERRITORIAL SEA.—The term ‘Terri11 torial Sea’ means the waters of the Territorial Sea 

12 of the United States under Presidential Proclama13 tion 5928, dated December 27, 1988.’’. 

Æ 


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