IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1187 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 1 (legislative day, MARCH 13), 2008 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gulf of the Farallones 

3 and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary 

4 Modification and Protection Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 The Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The Gulf of the Farallones extends approxi8 mately 100 miles along the coast of Marin and 

9 Sonoma counties of northern California. It includes 

10 approximately one-half of California’s nesting 

11 seabirds, rich benthic marine life on hard-rock sub12 strate, prolific fisheries, and substantial concentra13 tions of resident and seasonally migratory marine 

14 mammals. 

15 (2) Cordell Bank is adjacent to the Gulf of the 

16 Farallones and is a submerged island with spectac17 ular, unique, and nationally significant marine envi18 ronments. 

19 (3) These marine environments have national 

20 and international significance, exceed the biological 

21 productivity of tropical rain forests, and support 

22 high levels of biological diversity. 

23 (4) These biological communities are easily sus24 ceptible to damage from human activities, and must 

25 be properly conserved for themselves and to protect 


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1 the economic viability of their contribution to na2 tional and regional economies. 

3 (5) The Gulf of Farallones and Cordell Bank 

4 include some of the Nation’s richest fishing grounds, 

5 supporting important commercial and recreational 

6 fisheries. These fisheries are regulated by State and 

7 Federal fishery agencies and are supported and fos8 tered through protection of the waters and habitats 

9 of Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary 

10 and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 

11 (6) The report of the Commission on Ocean 

12 Policy established by Public Law 106–256 calls for 

13 comprehensive protection for the most productive 

14 ocean environments and recommends that they be 

15 managed as ecosystems. 

16 (7) New scientific discoveries by the National 

17 Marine Sanctuary Program support comprehensive 

18 protection for these marine environments by broad19 ening the geographic scope of the existing Gulf of 

20 the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the 

21 Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 

22 (8) Cordell Bank is at the nexus of an ocean 

23 upwelling system, which produces the highest bio24 mass concentrations on the west coast of the United 

25 States. 


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1 SEC. 3. POLICY AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States in 

3 this Act to protect and preserve living and other resources 

4 of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank marine 

5 environments. 

6 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are the fol7 lowing: 

8 (1) To extend the boundaries of the Gulf of the 

9 Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the 

10 Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary to the 

11 areas described in section 5. 

12 (2) To strengthen the protections that apply in 

13 the Sanctuaries. 

14 (3) To educate and interpret for the public the 

15 ecological value and national importance of those 

16 marine environments. 

17 (4) To manage human uses of the Sanctuaries 

18 under this Act and the National Marine Sanctuaries 

19 Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.). 

20 (c) EFFECT ON FISHING ACTIVITIES.—Nothing in 

21 this Act is intended to alter any existing authorities re22 garding the conduct and location of fishing activities in 

23 the Sanctuaries. 

24 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) MARICULTURE.—The term ‘‘mariculture’’ 

2 means the propagation or rearing of aquatic orga3 nisms in controlled or selected aquatic environments 

4 for any commercial, recreational, or public purpose. 

5 (2) CORDELL BANK NMS.—The term ‘‘Cordell 

6 Bank NMS’’ means the Cordell Bank National Ma7 rine Sanctuary. 

8 (3) FARALLONES NMS.—The term ‘‘Farallones 

9 NMS’’ means the Gulf of the Farallones National 

10 Marine Sanctuary. 

11 (4) SANCTUARIES.—The term ‘‘Sanctuaries’’ 

12 means the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine 

13 Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine 

14 Sanctuary, as expanded by section 5. 

15 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Commerce. 

17 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY BOUNDARY AD18 JUSTMENTS. 

19 (a) GULF OF THE FARALLONES.— 

20 (1) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—The areas de21 scribed in paragraph (2) are added to the existing 

22 Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary 

23 described in part 922.80 of title 15, Code of Federal 

24 Regulations. 

25 (2) AREAS INCLUDED.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The areas referred to 

2 in paragraph (1) consist of the following: 

3 (i) All submerged lands and waters, 

4 including living marine and other resources 

5 within and on those lands and waters, 

6 from the mean high water line to the 

7 boundary described in subparagraph (B). 

8 (ii) The submerged lands and waters, 

9 including living marine and other resources 

10 within those waters, within the approxi11 mately two-square-nautical-mile portion of 

12 the Cordell Bank NMS (as in effect imme13 diately before the enactment of this Act) 

14 that is located south of the area that is 

15 added to Cordell Bank NMS by subsection 

16 (b)(2), which are transferred to the 

17 Farallones NMS from the Cordell Bank 

18 NMS. 

19 (B) BOUNDARY DESCRIBED.—The bound20 ary referred to in subparagraph (A)(i) com21 mences from the mean high water line 

22 (MHWL) at 39.00000 degrees north in a west23 ward direction approximately 29 nautical miles 

24 (nm) to 39.00000 north, 124.33333 west. The 

25 boundary then extends in a southeasterly direcVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:36 Apr 02, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1187.RFS H1187

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1 tion to 38.30000 degrees north, 124.00000 de2 grees west, approximately 44 nm westward of 

3 Bodega Head. The boundary then extends east4 ward to the most northeastern corner of the ex5 panded Cordell Bank NMS at 38.30000 north, 

6 123.20000 degrees west, approximately 6 nm 

7 miles westward of Bodega Head. The boundary 

8 then extends in a southeasterly direction to 

9 38.26500 degrees north, 123.18166 degrees 

10 west at the northwestern most point of the cur11 rent Gulf of the Farallones Boundary. The 

12 boundary then follows the current northern 

13 Gulf of the Farallones NMS boundary in a 

14 northeasterly direction to the MHWL near 

15 Bodega Head. The boundary then follows the 

16 MHWL in a northeasterly direction to the com17 mencement point at the intersection of the 

18 MHWL and 39.00000 north. Coordinates listed 

19 in this subparagraph are based on the North 

20 American Datum 1983 and the geographic pro21 jection. 

22 (b) CORDELL BANK.— 

23 (1) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—The area de24 scribed in paragraph (2) is added to the existing 

25 Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary described 


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1 in part 922.80 of title 15, Code of Federal Regula2 tions. 

3 (2) AREA INCLUDED.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The area referred to in 

5 paragraph (1) consists of all submerged lands 

6 and waters, including living marine and other 

7 resources within those waters, within the 

8 boundary described in subparagraph (B). 

9 (B) BOUNDARY.—The boundary referred 

10 to in subparagraph (A) commences at the most 

11 northeastern point of the current Cordell Bank 

12 NMS boundary at 38.26500 degrees north, 

13 123.18166 degrees west and extends 

14 northwestward to 38.30000 degrees north, 

15 123.20000 degrees west, approximately 6 nau16 tical miles (nm) west of Bodega Head. The 

17 boundary then extends westward to 38.30000 

18 degrees north, 124.00000 degrees west, ap19 proximately 44 nautical miles west of Bodega 

20 Head. The boundary then turns southeastward 

21 and continues approximately 34 nautical miles 

22 to 37.76687 degrees north, 123.75142 degrees 

23 west, and then approximately 15 nm eastward 

24 to 37.76687 north, 123.42694 west at an inter25 section with the current Cordell Bank NMS 


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1 boundary. The boundary then follows the cur2 rent Cordell Bank NMS, which is coterminous 

3 with the current Gulf of the Farallones bound4 ary, in a northeasterly and the northwesterly di5 rection to its commencement point at 38.26500 

6 degrees north, 123.18166 degrees west. Coordi7 nates listed in this subparagraph are based on 

8 NAD83 Datum and the geographic projection. 

9 (c) INCLUSION IN THE SYSTEM.—The areas included 

10 in the Sanctuaries under subsections (a) and (b) shall be 

11 managed as part of the National Marine Sanctuary Sys12 tem, established by section 301(c) of the National Marine 

13 Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431(c)), in accordance with 

14 that Act. 

15 (d) UPDATED NOAA CHARTS.—The Secretary 

16 shall— 

17 (1) produce updated National Oceanic and At18 mospheric Administration nautical charts for the 

19 areas in which the Sanctuaries are located; and 

20 (2) include on those nautical charts the bound21 aries of the Sanctuaries, as revised by this Act. 

22 (e) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS.—In producing re23 vised nautical charts as directed by subsection (d) and in 

24 describing the boundaries in regulations issued by the Sec25 retary, the Secretary may make technical modifications to 


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1 the boundaries described in this section for clarity and 

2 ease of identification, as appropriate. 

3 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING AND PER4 MITTING. 

5 No lease or permit may be issued that authorizes ex6 ploration, development, production, or transporting by 

7 pipeline of minerals or hydrocarbons within the Sanc8 tuaries. 

9 SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLANS AND REGULATIONS. 

10 (a) INTERIM PLAN.—The Secretary shall complete an 

11 interim supplemental management plan for the Sanc12 tuaries by not later than 24 months after the date of en13 actment of this Act, that focuses on management in the 

14 areas added to the Sanctuaries under this Act. The Sec15 retary shall ensure that the supplemental plan does not 

16 weaken existing resource protections. 

17 (b) REVISED PLANS.—The Secretary shall issue a re18 vised comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuaries 

19 during the first management review initiated after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act under section 304(e) 

21 of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 

22 1434(e)) for the Sanctuaries, and issue such final regula23 tions as may be necessary. 

24 (c) APPLICATION OF EXISTING REGULATIONS.—The 

25 regulations for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine 


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1 Sanctuary (15 C.F.R. 922, subpart H) and the Cordell 

2 Bank National Marine Sanctuary (15 C.F.R. 922, subpart 

3 K), including any changes made as a result of a joint man4 agement plan review for the Sanctuaries conducted pursu5 ant to section 304(e) of the National Marine Sanctuaries 

6 Act (16 U.S.C. 1434(e)), shall apply to the areas added 

7 to each Sanctuary, respectively, under section 5 until the 

8 Secretary modifies such regulations in accordance with 

9 subsection (d) of this section. 

10 (d) REVISED REGULATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

12 out an assessment of necessary revisions to the regu13 lations for the Sanctuaries in a manner that ensures 

14 the protection of the resources of the Sanctuaries 

15 consistent with the purposes and policies of the Na16 tional Marine Sanctuaries Act and the goals and ob17 jectives for the new areas added to each sanctuary 

18 under section 5 of this Act. The assessment and any 

19 corresponding regulatory changes shall be complete 

20 within 24 months of the date of enactment of this 

21 Act. 

22 (2) REGULATION OF SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.—In 

23 revising the regulations for the Sanctuaries pursuant 

24 to this subsection, the Secretary shall consider ap25 propriate regulations for the following activities: 


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1 (A) The deposit or release of introduced 

2 species. 

3 (B) The alteration of stream and river 

4 drainage into the Sanctuaries. 

5 (C) Mariculture operations in the Sanc6 tuaries. 

7 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In revising the regula8 tions for the Sanctuaries pursuant to this sub9 section, the Secretary shall consider exempting from 

10 further regulation under the National Marine Sanc11 tuaries Act and this Act discharges that are per12 mitted under a National Pollution Discharge Elimi13 nation System permit in effect on the date of enact14 ment of this Act, or under a new or renewed Na15 tional Pollution Discharge Elimination System per16 mit that does not increase pollution in the Sanc17 tuaries and that originates— 

18 (A) in the Russian River Watershed out19 side the boundaries of the Gulf of the 

20 Farallones National Marine Sanctuary; or 

21 (B) from the Bodega Marine Laboratory. 

22 (e) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—Revisions to each com23 prehensive management plan under this section shall, in 

24 addition to matters required under section 304(a)(2) of 


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1 the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 

2 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1434(A)(2))— 

3 (1) facilitate all appropriate public and private 

4 uses of the national marine sanctuary to which each 

5 respective plan applies consistent with the primary 

6 objective of sanctuary resource protection; 

7 (2) establish temporal and geographical zoning 

8 if necessary to ensure protection of sanctuary re9 sources; 

10 (3) identify priority needs for research that 

11 will— 

12 (A) improve management of the Sanc13 tuaries; 

14 (B) diminish threats to the health of the 

15 ecosystems in the Sanctuaries; or 

16 (C) fulfill both of subparagraphs (A) and 

17 (B); 

18 (4) establish a long-term ecological monitoring 

19 program and database, including the development 

20 and implementation of a resource information sys21 tem to disseminate information on the Sanctuaries’ 

22 ecosystem, history, culture, and management; 

23 (5) identify alternative sources of funding need24 ed to fully implement the plan’s provisions and sup25 plement appropriations under section 313 of the MaVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:36 Apr 02, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1187.RFS H1187

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1 rine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 

2 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1444); 

3 (6) ensure coordination and cooperation be4 tween sanctuary superintendents and other Federal, 

5 State, and local authorities with jurisdiction over 

6 areas within or adjacent to the Sanctuaries to deal 

7 with issues affecting the Sanctuaries, including sur8 face water run-off, stream and river drainages, and 

9 navigation; 

10 (7) in the case of revisions to the plan for the 

11 Farallones NMS, promote cooperation with farmers 

12 and ranchers operating in the watersheds adjacent 

13 to the Farallones NMS and establish voluntary best 

14 management practices programs; 

15 (8) promote cooperative and educational pro16 grams with fishing vessel operators and crews oper17 ating in the waters of the Sanctuaries, and, when18 ever possible, include individuals who engage in fish19 ing and their vessels in cooperative research, assess20 ment, and monitoring programs and educational 

21 programs to promote sustainable fisheries, conserva22 tion of resources, and navigational safety; and 

23 (9) promote education and public awareness, 

24 among users of the Sanctuaries, about the need for 


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1 marine resource conservation and safe navigation 

2 and marine transportation. 

3 (f) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary shall 

4 provide for participation by the general public in the revi5 sion of the comprehensive management plans and relevant 

6 regulations under this section. 

7 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec9 retary— 

10 (1) $3,000,000 to carry out this Act for each 

11 of fiscal years 2009 through 2013, other than for 

12 construction and acquisition projects; and 

13 (2) $3,500,000 for fiscal year 2009 and such 

14 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

15 2010 through 2013 for construction and acquisition 

16 projects related to the Sanctuaries. 


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Passed the House of Representatives March 31, 

2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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