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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1187 Engrossed in House (EH)]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1187

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
To expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine 
Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell 
Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Gulf of the Farallones extends approximately 100 
        miles along the coast of Marin and Sonoma counties of northern 
        California. It includes approximately one-half of California's 
        nesting seabirds, rich benthic marine life on hard-rock 
        substrate, prolific fisheries, and substantial concentrations 
        of resident and seasonally migratory marine mammals.
            (2) Cordell Bank is adjacent to the Gulf of the Farallones 
        and is a submerged island with spectacular, unique, and 
        nationally significant marine environments.
            (3) These marine environments have national and 
        international significance, exceed the biological productivity 
        of tropical rain forests, and support high levels of biological 
        diversity.
            (4) These biological communities are easily susceptible to 
        damage from human activities, and must be properly conserved 
        for themselves and to protect the economic viability of their 
        contribution to national and regional economies.
            (5) The Gulf of Farallones and Cordell Bank include some of 
        the Nation's richest fishing grounds, supporting important 
        commercial and recreational fisheries. These fisheries are 
        regulated by State and Federal fishery agencies and are 
        supported and fostered through protection of the waters and 
        habitats of Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary 
        and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
            (6) The report of the Commission on Ocean Policy 
        established by Public Law 106-256 calls for comprehensive 
        protection for the most productive ocean environments and 
        recommends that they be managed as ecosystems.
            (7) New scientific discoveries by the National Marine 
        Sanctuary Program support comprehensive protection for these 
        marine environments by broadening the geographic scope of the 
        existing Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and 
        the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
            (8) Cordell Bank is at the nexus of an ocean upwelling 
        system, which produces the highest biomass concentrations on 
        the west coast of the United States.

SEC. 3. POLICY AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States in this Act to 
protect and preserve living and other resources of the Gulf of the 
Farallones and Cordell Bank marine environments.
    (b) Purpose.--The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To extend the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones 
        National Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine 
        Sanctuary to the areas described in section 5.
            (2) To strengthen the protections that apply in the 
        Sanctuaries.
            (3) To educate and interpret for the public the ecological 
        value and national importance of those marine environments.
            (4) To manage human uses of the Sanctuaries under this Act 
        and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et 
        seq.).
    (c) Effect on Fishing Activities.--Nothing in this Act is intended 
to alter any existing authorities regarding the conduct and location of 
fishing activities in the Sanctuaries.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Mariculture.--The term ``mariculture'' means the 
        propagation or rearing of aquatic organisms in controlled or 
        selected aquatic environments for any commercial, recreational, 
        or public purpose.
            (2) Cordell bank nms.--The term ``Cordell Bank NMS'' means 
        the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
            (3) Farallones nms.--The term ``Farallones NMS'' means the 
        Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
            (4) Sanctuaries.--The term ``Sanctuaries'' means the Gulf 
        of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell 
        Bank National Marine Sanctuary, as expanded by section 5.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce.

SEC. 5. NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS.

    (a) Gulf of the Farallones.--
            (1) Boundary adjustment.--The areas described in paragraph 
        (2) are added to the existing Gulf of the Farallones National 
        Marine Sanctuary described in part 922.80 of title 15, Code of 
        Federal Regulations.
            (2) Areas included.--
                    (A) In general.--The areas referred to in paragraph 
                (1) consist of the following:
                            (i) All submerged lands and waters, 
                        including living marine and other resources 
                        within and on those lands and waters, from the 
                        mean high water line to the boundary described 
                        in subparagraph (B).
                            (ii) The submerged lands and waters, 
                        including living marine and other resources 
                        within those waters, within the approximately 
                        two-square-nautical-mile portion of the Cordell 
                        Bank NMS (as in effect immediately before the 
                        enactment of this Act) that is located south of 
                        the area that is added to Cordell Bank NMS by 
                        subsection (b)(2), which are transferred to the 
                        Farallones NMS from the Cordell Bank NMS.
                    (B) Boundary described.--The boundary referred to 
                in subparagraph (A)(i) commences from the mean high 
                water line (MHWL) at 39.00000 degrees north in a 
                westward direction approximately 29 nautical miles (nm) 
                to 39.00000 north, 124.33333 west. The boundary then 
                extends in a southeasterly direction to 38.30000 
                degrees north, 124.00000 degrees west, approximately 44 
                nm westward of Bodega Head. The boundary then extends 
                eastward to the most northeastern corner of the 
                expanded Cordell Bank NMS at 38.30000 north, 123.20000 
                degrees west, approximately 6 nm miles westward of 
                Bodega Head. The boundary then extends in a 
                southeasterly direction to 38.26500 degrees north, 
                123.18166 degrees west at the northwestern most point 
                of the current Gulf of the Farallones Boundary. The 
                boundary then follows the current northern Gulf of the 
                Farallones NMS boundary in a northeasterly direction to 
                the MHWL near Bodega Head. The boundary then follows 
                the MHWL in a northeasterly direction to the 
                commencement point at the intersection of the MHWL and 
                39.00000 north. Coordinates listed in this subparagraph 
                are based on the North American Datum 1983 and the 
                geographic projection.
    (b) Cordell Bank.--
            (1) Boundary adjustment.--The area described in paragraph 
        (2) is added to the existing Cordell Bank National Marine 
        Sanctuary described in part 922.80 of title 15, Code of Federal 
        Regulations.
            (2) Area included.--
                    (A) In general.--The area referred to in paragraph 
                (1) consists of all submerged lands and waters, 
                including living marine and other resources within 
                those waters, within the boundary described in 
                subparagraph (B).
                    (B) Boundary.--The boundary referred to in 
                subparagraph (A) commences at the most northeastern 
                point of the current Cordell Bank NMS boundary at 
                38.26500 degrees north, 123.18166 degrees west and 
                extends northwestward to 38.30000 degrees north, 
                123.20000 degrees west, approximately 6 nautical miles 
                (nm) west of Bodega Head. The boundary then extends 
                westward to 38.30000 degrees north, 124.00000 degrees 
                west, approximately 44 nautical miles west of Bodega 
                Head. The boundary then turns southeastward and 
                continues approximately 34 nautical miles to 37.76687 
                degrees north, 123.75142 degrees west, and then 
                approximately 15 nm eastward to 37.76687 north, 
                123.42694 west at an intersection with the current 
                Cordell Bank NMS boundary. The boundary then follows 
                the current Cordell Bank NMS, which is coterminous with 
                the current Gulf of the Farallones boundary, in a 
                northeasterly and the northwesterly direction to its 
                commencement point at 38.26500 degrees north, 123.18166 
                degrees west. Coordinates listed in this subparagraph 
                are based on NAD83 Datum and the geographic projection.
    (c) Inclusion in the System.--The areas included in the Sanctuaries 
under subsections (a) and (b) shall be managed as part of the National 
Marine Sanctuary System, established by section 301(c) of the National 
Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431(c)), in accordance with that 
Act.
    (d) Updated NOAA Charts.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) produce updated National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration nautical charts for the areas in which the 
        Sanctuaries are located; and
            (2) include on those nautical charts the boundaries of the 
        Sanctuaries, as revised by this Act.
    (e) Boundary Adjustments.--In producing revised nautical charts as 
directed by subsection (d) and in describing the boundaries in 
regulations issued by the Secretary, the Secretary may make technical 
modifications to the boundaries described in this section for clarity 
and ease of identification, as appropriate.

SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING AND PERMITTING.

    No lease or permit may be issued that authorizes exploration, 
development, production, or transporting by pipeline of minerals or 
hydrocarbons within the Sanctuaries.

SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLANS AND REGULATIONS.

    (a) Interim Plan.--The Secretary shall complete an interim 
supplemental management plan for the Sanctuaries by not later than 24 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, that focuses on 
management in the areas added to the Sanctuaries under this Act. The 
Secretary shall ensure that the supplemental plan does not weaken 
existing resource protections.
    (b) Revised Plans.--The Secretary shall issue a revised 
comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuaries during the first 
management review initiated after the date of the enactment of this Act 
under section 304(e) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 
1434(e)) for the Sanctuaries, and issue such final regulations as may 
be necessary.
    (c) Application of Existing Regulations.--The regulations for the 
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (15 C.F.R. 922, 
subpart H) and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (15 C.F.R. 
922, subpart K), including any changes made as a result of a joint 
management plan review for the Sanctuaries conducted pursuant to 
section 304(e) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 
1434(e)), shall apply to the areas added to each Sanctuary, 
respectively, under section 5 until the Secretary modifies such 
regulations in accordance with subsection (d) of this section.
    (d) Revised Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out an 
        assessment of necessary revisions to the regulations for the 
        Sanctuaries in a manner that ensures the protection of the 
        resources of the Sanctuaries consistent with the purposes and 
        policies of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and the goals 
        and objectives for the new areas added to each sanctuary under 
        section 5 of this Act. The assessment and any corresponding 
        regulatory changes shall be complete within 24 months of the 
        date of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Regulation of specific activities.--In revising the 
        regulations for the Sanctuaries pursuant to this subsection, 
        the Secretary shall consider appropriate regulations for the 
        following activities:
                    (A) The deposit or release of introduced species.
                    (B) The alteration of stream and river drainage 
                into the Sanctuaries.
                    (C) Mariculture operations in the Sanctuaries.
            (3) Considerations.--In revising the regulations for the 
        Sanctuaries pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall 
        consider exempting from further regulation under the National 
        Marine Sanctuaries Act and this Act discharges that are 
        permitted under a National Pollution Discharge Elimination 
        System permit in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, 
        or under a new or renewed National Pollution Discharge 
        Elimination System permit that does not increase pollution in 
        the Sanctuaries and that originates--
                    (A) in the Russian River Watershed outside the 
                boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones National 
                Marine Sanctuary; or
                    (B) from the Bodega Marine Laboratory.
    (e) Contents of Plans.--Revisions to each comprehensive management 
plan under this section shall, in addition to matters required under 
section 304(a)(2) of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries 
Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1434(A)(2))--
            (1) facilitate all appropriate public and private uses of 
        the national marine sanctuary to which each respective plan 
        applies consistent with the primary objective of sanctuary 
        resource protection;
            (2) establish temporal and geographical zoning if necessary 
        to ensure protection of sanctuary resources;
            (3) identify priority needs for research that will--
                    (A) improve management of the Sanctuaries;
                    (B) diminish threats to the health of the 
                ecosystems in the Sanctuaries; or
                    (C) fulfill both of subparagraphs (A) and (B);
            (4) establish a long-term ecological monitoring program and 
        database, including the development and implementation of a 
        resource information system to disseminate information on the 
        Sanctuaries' ecosystem, history, culture, and management;
            (5) identify alternative sources of funding needed to fully 
        implement the plan's provisions and supplement appropriations 
        under section 313 of the Marine Protection, Research, and 
        Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1444);
            (6) ensure coordination and cooperation between sanctuary 
        superintendents and other Federal, State, and local authorities 
        with jurisdiction over areas within or adjacent to the 
        Sanctuaries to deal with issues affecting the Sanctuaries, 
        including surface water run-off, stream and river drainages, 
        and navigation;
            (7) in the case of revisions to the plan for the Farallones 
        NMS, promote cooperation with farmers and ranchers operating in 
        the watersheds adjacent to the Farallones NMS and establish 
        voluntary best management practices programs;
            (8) promote cooperative and educational programs with 
        fishing vessel operators and crews operating in the waters of 
        the Sanctuaries, and, whenever possible, include individuals 
        who engage in fishing and their vessels in cooperative 
        research, assessment, and monitoring programs and educational 
        programs to promote sustainable fisheries, conservation of 
        resources, and navigational safety; and
            (9) promote education and public awareness, among users of 
        the Sanctuaries, about the need for marine resource 
        conservation and safe navigation and marine transportation.
    (f) Public Participation.--The Secretary shall provide for 
participation by the general public in the revision of the 
comprehensive management plans and relevant regulations under this 
section.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary--
            (1) $3,000,000 to carry out this Act for each of fiscal 
        years 2009 through 2013, other than for construction and 
        acquisition projects; and
            (2) $3,500,000 for fiscal year 2009 and such sums as may be 
        necessary for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2013 for 
        construction and acquisition projects related to the 
        Sanctuaries.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 31, 2008.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1187

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine 
Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and for other 
                               purposes.
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