I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2484 

To reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control 

Act of 1998 to include a comprehensive and integrated strategy to 

address harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, to provide for the development 

and implementation of a comprehensive research plan and action strategy 

to reduce harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 11, 2011 

Mr. HARRIS (for himself, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. GRIJALVA, 

Ms. PINGREE of Maine, and Mr. MACK) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 

and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 to include a comprehensive and integrated strategy to address harmful algal 

blooms and hypoxia, to provide for the development and 

implementation of a comprehensive research plan and 

action strategy to reduce harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, 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 ‘‘Harmful Algal Blooms 

3 and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 

4 2011’’. 

5 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HY6 POXIA RESEARCH AND CONTROL ACT OF 

7 1998. 

8 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

9 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

10 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi11 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

12 section or other provision of the Harmful Algal Bloom and 

13 Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 

14 1451 note). 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 Section 602 is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

18 ‘‘In this title: 

19 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis20 trator’ means the Administrator of the Environ21 mental Protection Agency. 

22 ‘‘(2) NOAA.—The term ‘NOAA’ means the Na23 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

24 ‘‘(3) PLAN.—The term ‘Plan’ means the com25 prehensive research plan and action strategy under 

26 section 605. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 

2 the National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 

3 Program established under section 604(a). 

4 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

5 the several States of the United States, the District 

6 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

7 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com8 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, any 

9 other territory or possession of the United States, 

10 and any Indian tribe. 

11 ‘‘(6) TASK FORCE.—The term ‘Task Force’ 

12 means the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful 

13 Algal Blooms and Hypoxia established under section 

14 603(a)(1). 

15 ‘‘(7) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘Under 

16 Secretary’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

17 for Oceans and Atmosphere.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE. 

19 Section 603(a) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(a) INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, 

22 through the Committee on Environment and Natural 

23 Resources of the National Science and Technology 

24 Council, shall establish an Inter-Agency Task Force 

25 on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REPRESENTATION.—The Task Force shall 

2 consist of representatives from the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) The Department of Commerce. 

4 ‘‘(B) The Environmental Protection Agen5 cy. 

6 ‘‘(C) The Department of Agriculture. 

7 ‘‘(D) The Department of the Interior. 

8 ‘‘(E) The Department of the Navy. 

9 ‘‘(F) The Department of Health and 

10 Human Services. 

11 ‘‘(G) The National Science Foundation. 

12 ‘‘(H) The National Aeronautics and Space 

13 Administration. 

14 ‘‘(I) The Food and Drug Administration. 

15 ‘‘(J) The Office of Science and Technology 

16 Policy. 

17 ‘‘(K) The Council on Environmental Qual18 ity. 

19 ‘‘(L) Such other Federal agencies as the 

20 President considers appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Under Secretary 

22 from the Department of Commerce shall serve as the 

23 Chairperson of the Task Force. 

24 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED MEETINGS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall 

2 meet, or otherwise communicate, to coordinate 

3 activities within each agency represented on the 

4 Task Force in order to fulfill the program re5 quirements in section 604(b). 

6 ‘‘(B) FREQUENCY.—The Task Force shall 

7 meet at least once per year. 

8 ‘‘(5) BUDGET COORDINATION.—The Task 

9 Force shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) coordinate in the development of indi11 vidual agency budgets for the activities de12 scribed in section 604 that will ensure an ap13 propriate balance among the research and ac14 tion priorities; and 

15 ‘‘(B) submit such budgets to the Director 

16 of the Office of Management and Budget at the 

17 time designated by the Director for agencies to 

18 submit annual budgets.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. NATIONAL HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HYPOXIA 

20 PROGRAM. 

21 The Act is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating sections 605 and 606 as 

23 sections 608 and 609, respectively; 

24 (2) by redesignating section 604 as section 606; 

25 and 


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1 (3) by inserting after section 603 the following: 

2 ‘‘SEC. 604. NATIONAL HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HY3 POXIA PROGRAM. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

5 (d), the Under Secretary, through the Task Force, shall 

6 maintain a National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 

7 Program in accordance with authorities under section 603 

8 pursuant to this section. 

9 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Under Secretary, through the 

10 Program, shall coordinate the efforts of the Task Force 

11 to— 

12 ‘‘(1) develop and promote a national strategy to 

13 understand, detect, monitor, predict, control, miti14 gate, and respond to marine and freshwater harmful 

15 algal bloom and hypoxia events; 

16 ‘‘(2) integrate the research of all Federal pro17 grams, including ocean and Great Lakes science and 

18 management programs and centers, that address the 

19 chemical, biological, and physical components of ma20 rine and freshwater harmful algal blooms and hy21 poxia; 

22 ‘‘(3) assist and coordinate, where appropriate, 

23 with State, tribal, and local government agencies, 

24 programs, and regional efforts that address marine 

25 and freshwater harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, 


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1 including the development and implementation of ap2 propriate response plans, strategies, and tools; 

3 ‘‘(4) identify additional research, development, 

4 and demonstration needs and priorities relating to 

5 understanding, detection, monitoring, prediction, 

6 prevention, control, mitigation, and response to ma7 rine and freshwater harmful algal blooms and hy8 poxia; 

9 ‘‘(5) ensure the development and use of meth10 ods and technologies to protect the ecosystems af11 fected by marine and freshwater harmful algal 

12 blooms and hypoxia; 

13 ‘‘(6) coordinate existing education programs to 

14 improve public understanding and awareness of the 

15 causes, impacts, and mitigation efforts for marine 

16 and freshwater harmful algal blooms and hypoxia; 

17 ‘‘(7) provide resources to assist in the training 

18 of State, tribal, and local water and coastal resource 

19 managers in the methods and technologies for de20 tecting, monitoring, controlling, mitigating, and re21 sponding to the effects of marine and freshwater 

22 harmful algal blooms and hypoxia events; 

23 ‘‘(8) oversee the development, review, and peri24 odic updating of the Plan; and 


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1 ‘‘(9) administer peer-reviewed, merit-based com2 petitive grant funding to support— 

3 ‘‘(A) the projects maintained and estab4 lished by the Program; and 

5 ‘‘(B) the research and management needs 

6 and priorities identified in the Plan. 

7 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE EFFORTS.—The Under Secretary 

8 shall work cooperatively and avoid duplication of efforts 

9 with other offices, centers, and programs within NOAA 

10 and other agencies represented on the Task Force, States, 

11 tribes, and nongovernmental organizations concerned with 

12 marine and freshwater aquatic issues related to harmful 

13 algal blooms and hypoxia. 

14 ‘‘(d) FRESHWATER PROGRAM.—With respect to the 

15 freshwater aspects of the Program, the Administrator and 

16 the Under Secretary, through the Task Force, shall carry 

17 out the duties otherwise assigned to the Under Secretary 

18 under this section, excluding the activities described in 

19 subsection (e). The Administrator’s participation under 

20 this subsection shall include— 

21 ‘‘(1) research on the ecology of freshwater 

22 harmful algal blooms; 

23 ‘‘(2) monitoring of and event response to fresh24 water harmful algal blooms in lakes, rivers, estu25 aries, and reservoirs; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) mitigation and control of freshwater harm2 ful algal blooms. 

3 ‘‘(e) NOAA ACTIVITIES.—As part of the program 

4 under this section, the Under Secretary shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) maintain existing peer-reviewed competi6 tive grant programs at NOAA relating to marine 

7 and freshwater harmful algal blooms and hypoxia; 

8 ‘‘(2) conduct marine and freshwater harmful 

9 algal bloom and hypoxia event response activities; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(3) ensure communication and coordination 

12 among Federal agencies carrying out marine and 

13 freshwater harmful algal bloom and hypoxia activi14 ties and increase the availability to appropriate pub15 lic and private entities of— 

16 ‘‘(A) analytical facilities and technologies; 

17 ‘‘(B) operational forecasts; and 

18 ‘‘(C) reference and research materials. 

19 ‘‘(f) INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVA20 TION SYSTEM.—All monitoring and observation data col21 lected under this Act shall be collected in compliance with 

22 all data standards and protocols developed pursuant to the 

23 National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation Sys24 tem Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), and such data 


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1 shall be made available through the system established 

2 under that Act. 

3 ‘‘(g) TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND

4 DEMONSTRATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the duties de6 scribed in subsection (b), the Under Secretary and 

7 the Administrator, through the Task Force, shall 

8 maintain a focus on technology research and devel9 opment for each of the categories of marine harmful 

10 algal blooms, freshwater harmful algal blooms, and 

11 hypoxia in the following areas: 

12 ‘‘(A) Monitoring. 

13 ‘‘(B) Prediction. 

14 ‘‘(C) Prevention. 

15 ‘‘(D) Control. 

16 ‘‘(E) Mitigation. 

17 ‘‘(F) Response to events, including remedi18 ation. 

19 ‘‘(2) ENUMERATION.—As part of the report re20 quired under subsection (i), the Under Secretary, in 

21 coordination with the Administrator, shall enu22 merate the technology research and development 

23 conducted for each of the areas identified in para24 graph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) PROTOCOL.—The Under Secretary, in co2 ordination with the Administrator, shall develop a 

3 protocol for— 

4 ‘‘(A) assessing the stage of technology de5 velopment that is ready to move from lab test6 ing to field testing; 

7 ‘‘(B) coordinating local, State, and Federal 

8 authorities to facilitate measures necessary to 

9 conduct field tests in a timely manner; and 

10 ‘‘(C) working with local and State entities, 

11 programs, and interested stakeholders to con12 duct outreach and education on technology field 

13 testing projects. 

14 ‘‘(h) INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ELECTRONIC INFORMATION.—Using the 

16 authority under section 603(i)(2)(B), the Under Sec17 retary, in coordination with the Administrator, shall 

18 expand the existing electronic clearinghouse to pro19 vide information about marine and freshwater harm20 ful algal blooms and hypoxia, including— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Federal agencies involved in re22 search and development on understanding, de23 tection, monitoring, prediction, prevention, con24 trol, mitigation, and response activities; 


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1 ‘‘(B) tools available to predict and model 

2 events; and 

3 ‘‘(C) current or developing technologies for 

4 detection, monitoring, prediction, prevention, 

5 control, mitigation, and response, including re6 mediation. 

7 ‘‘(2) TOXIN STANDARDS.—The Under Sec8 retary, in coordination with the Administrator, 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) develop a mechanism to provide a re11 liable and cost-effective supply of toxin stand12 ards for comparative research; and 

13 ‘‘(B) notify the Congress of such mecha14 nism as part of the report required under sub15 section (i). 

16 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the sub17 mission of the Plan, the Under Secretary, in coordination 

18 with the Administrator, shall prepare and transmit to the 

19 Congress a report that describes— 

20 ‘‘(1) the activities carried out under the Pro21 gram and the Plan and the budget related to such 

22 activities; 

23 ‘‘(2) the progress made on implementing the ac24 tion strategy; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the need to revise or terminate activities or 

2 projects under the Program.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PLAN AND ACTION 

4 STRATEGY. 

5 The Act is amended by inserting after section 604, 

6 as added by section 5(3) of this Act, the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 605. COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH PLAN AND ACTION 

8 STRATEGY. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

10 date of enactment of the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hy11 poxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2011, the 

12 Under Secretary, through the Task Force, shall transmit 

13 to the Congress a comprehensive research plan and action 

14 strategy to address marine and freshwater harmful algal 

15 blooms and hypoxia that identifies— 

16 ‘‘(1) the specific activities to be carried out by 

17 the Program and the timeline for carrying out such 

18 activities; 

19 ‘‘(2) the roles and responsibilities of each Fed20 eral agency in the Task Force in carrying out Pro21 gram activities; and 

22 ‘‘(3) appropriate regions and subregions requir23 ing specific research and activities to address local, 

24 State, and regional harmful algal blooms and hy25 poxia. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REGIONAL FOCUS.—The regional and sub2 regional parts of the Plan shall identify— 

3 ‘‘(1) regional priorities for ecological, economic, 

4 and social research on issues related to the impacts 

5 of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia; 

6 ‘‘(2) research, development, and demonstration 

7 activities needed to develop and advance technologies 

8 and techniques for minimizing the occurrence of 

9 harmful algal blooms and hypoxia and improving ca10 pabilities to detect, predict, monitor, control, miti11 gate, respond to, and remediate harmful algal 

12 blooms and hypoxia; 

13 ‘‘(3) ways to reduce the duration and intensity 

14 of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, including de15 ployment of response technologies in a timely man16 ner; 

17 ‘‘(4) research and methods to address human 

18 health dimensions of harmful algal blooms and hy19 poxia; 

20 ‘‘(5) mechanisms, including the potential costs 

21 and benefits of those mechanisms, to protect eco22 systems that may be or have been affected by harm23 ful algal blooms and hypoxia events; 

24 ‘‘(6) mechanisms by which data, information, 

25 and products may be transferred between the ProVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:33 Jul 12, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2484.IH H2484

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1 gram and State, tribal, and local governments and 

2 relevant research entities; 

3 ‘‘(7) communication and information dissemina4 tion methods that State, tribal, and local govern5 ments may undertake to educate and inform the 

6 public concerning harmful algal blooms and hypoxia; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(8) the roles that Federal agencies may have 

9 to assist in the implementation of the Plan. 

10 ‘‘(c) UTILIZING AVAILABLE STUDIES AND INFORMA11 TION.—In developing the Plan, the Under Secretary shall 

12 utilize existing research, assessments, reports, and pro13 gram activities, including— 

14 ‘‘(1) those carried out pursuant to existing law; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(2) other relevant peer-reviewed and published 

17 sources. 

18 ‘‘(d) DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLAN.—In developing 

19 the Plan, the Under Secretary shall, as appropriate— 

20 ‘‘(1) coordinate with— 

21 ‘‘(A) State coastal management and plan22 ning officials; 

23 ‘‘(B) tribal resource management officials; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) water management and watershed of2 ficials from both coastal States and noncoastal 

3 States with water sources that drain into water 

4 bodies affected by harmful algal blooms and hy5 poxia; and 

6 ‘‘(2) consult with— 

7 ‘‘(A) public health officials; 

8 ‘‘(B) emergency management officials; 

9 ‘‘(C) science and technology development 

10 institutions; 

11 ‘‘(D) economists; 

12 ‘‘(E) industries and businesses affected by 

13 marine and freshwater harmful algal blooms 

14 and hypoxia; 

15 ‘‘(F) scientists with expertise concerning 

16 harmful algal blooms or hypoxia from academic 

17 or research institutions; and 

18 ‘‘(G) other stakeholders. 

19 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL REGISTER.—The Under Secretary 

20 shall publish the Plan in the Federal Register. 

21 ‘‘(f) PERIODIC REVISION.—The Under Secretary, in 

22 coordination and consultation with the individuals and en23 tities identified in subsection (d), shall periodically review 

24 and revise the Plan prepared under this section, as nec25 essary.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO HYPOXIA. 

2 Section 606, as redesignated by section 5(2) of this 

3 Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(c) REQUIRED UPDATE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the implementa6 tion of any plan developed under this section, includ7 ing the Gulf Hypoxia Action Plan 2008, the Admin8 istrator, through the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mex9 ico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, shall complete 

10 and submit to the Congress and the President an 

11 updated assessment and a revised action plan based 

12 on the updated assessment. 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The updated assess14 ment shall take into account the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) The role of nutrient influx in the con16 text of water column stratification, seasonal 

17 flows and conditions, and wind and current dy18 namics in the Gulf of Mexico. 

19 ‘‘(B) The contribution of the topography of 

20 the Gulf of Mexico in the effects of the charac21 teristics described in subparagraph (A) on the 

22 hypoxic zone. 

23 ‘‘(C) The frequency and availability of 

24 monitoring to measure the size of the hypoxic 

25 zone. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The potential of hypoxia hot-spot for2 mation within the Gulf of Mexico and possible 

3 causes of such hot-spots. 

4 ‘‘(E) The contribution of wetland loss to 

5 hypoxia events in the Gulf of Mexico. 

6 ‘‘(F) The actual effect of hypoxia on the 

7 ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico and the bene8 fits resulting from a reduced hypoxic zone size. 

9 ‘‘(G) A scientifically generated, peer-re10 viewed goal for the size of the hypoxic zone in 

11 the Gulf of Mexico. 

12 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH STRATEGY.—The updated plan 

13 shall include a research strategy— 

14 ‘‘(A) to enhance understanding of the con15 tribution of topography, water column strati16 fication, seasonal flows and conditions, and 

17 wind and current dynamics on the size of the 

18 hypoxic zone; 

19 ‘‘(B) to develop models able to— 

20 ‘‘(i) simulate different shelf regions 

21 and the fundamental processes that act in 

22 each shelf region; 

23 ‘‘(ii) differentiate between the sepa24 rate effects of stratification and nutrient 

25 loading in the formation of hypoxia; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) be informed by realistic three-di2 mensional hydrodynamic and biogeo3 chemical models; 

4 ‘‘(C) that determines the appropriate 

5 amount of monitoring and measuring necessary 

6 to get a scientifically robust accounting on the 

7 size of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone; and 

8 ‘‘(D) that examines several potential solu9 tions based on information provided by the up10 dated assessment in paragraph (1).’’. 

11 SEC. 8. CHESAPEAKE BAY DEAD ZONE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Act is amended by inserting 

13 after section 606, as redesignated by section 5(2) of this 

14 Act, the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 607. CHESAPEAKE BAY DEAD ZONE. 

16 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT PLAN.—Not later than 12 months 

17 after the date of enactment of the Harmful Algal Blooms 

18 and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 

19 2011, the Task Force, in accordance with the authority 

20 under section 603, shall complete and submit to the Con21 gress and the President an integrated assessment of hy22 poxia in the Chesapeake Bay that examines the status of 

23 and gaps within current research, monitoring, prevention, 

24 response, and control activities by— 

25 ‘‘(1) Federal agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(2) state agencies; 

2 ‘‘(3) regional research consortia; 

3 ‘‘(4) academia; 

4 ‘‘(5) private industry; and 

5 ‘‘(6) nongovernmental organizations. 

6 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH PLAN.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

8 after the date of enactment of the Harmful Algal 

9 Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amend10 ments Act of 2011, the Task Force shall develop 

11 and submit to the Congress a plan, based on the in12 tegrated assessment submitted under subsection (a), 

13 for reducing, mitigating, and controlling hypoxia in 

14 the Chesapeake Bay. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing such 

16 plan, the Task Force shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) consult with State and local govern18 ments and representatives from academic, agri19 cultural, industry, and other stakeholder 

20 groups; 

21 ‘‘(B) include incentive-based partnership 

22 approaches; 

23 ‘‘(C) include an economic cost-benefit anal24 ysis of the measures for reducing, mitigating, 

25 and controlling hypoxia events; 


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1 ‘‘(D) utilize existing research, assessments, 

2 reports, and program activities; 

3 ‘‘(E) publish a summary of the proposed 

4 plan in the Federal Register 90 days prior to 

5 the submission to the Congress of the com6 pleted plan; and 

7 ‘‘(F) provide progress reports every 2 

8 years after the submission to the Congress of 

9 the completed plan on the activities leading to10 ward attainment of the goals set forth in the 

11 plan. 

12 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—The plan shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) address the monitoring needs identi14 fied in the integrated assessment submitted 

15 under subsection (a) and develop a timeline and 

16 budgetary requirements for deployment of fu17 ture assets; 

18 ‘‘(B) detail procedures for the development 

19 and verification of Chesapeake Bay hypoxia 

20 models, including making available to the pub21 lic— 

22 ‘‘(i) all assumptions built into the 

23 models; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) data quality methods used to en25 sure the best available data is utilized; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) describe efforts to improve the assess2 ment of the impacts of hypoxia by— 

3 ‘‘(i) characterizing current and past 

4 biological conditions in ecosystems affected 

5 by hypoxia; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) quantifying effects, including 

7 economic effects, at the population and 

8 community level.’’. 

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 608, as redesignated 

11 by section 5(1) of this Act, is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 608. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap14 propriated to the Under Secretary to carry out this Act 

15 $18,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015, 

16 of which, for each fiscal year— 

17 ‘‘(1) $1,000,000 may be used for the develop18 ment of the comprehensive research plan and action 

19 strategy under section 605 and the assessment and 

20 reports required by sections 606 and 607; 

21 ‘‘(2) $4,000,000 may be used for the research 

22 and assessment activities related to marine and 

23 freshwater harmful algal blooms at research labora24 tories of NOAA; 


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1 ‘‘(3) $4,000,000 may be used to carry out the 

2 Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms Program 

3 (ECOHAB); 

4 ‘‘(4) $1,500,000 may be used to carry out the 

5 Monitoring and Event Response for Harmful Algal 

6 Blooms Program (MERHAB); 

7 ‘‘(5) $2,000,000 may be used to carry out re8 search and assessment for the Northern Gulf of 

9 Mexico ecosystem and hypoxia activities; 

10 ‘‘(6) $1,500,000 may be used to carry out 

11 coastal hypoxia research activities; 

12 ‘‘(7) $1,500,000 may be used to carry out pre13 vention, control, and mitigation activities; 

14 ‘‘(8) $500,000 may be used to carry out event 

15 response activities; and 

16 ‘‘(9) $500,000 may be used to carry out infra17 structure activities. 

18 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—From funds made available 

19 under section 2(a)(2) of the Environmental Research, De20 velopment, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1981 

21 (Public Law 96–569; 94 Stat. 3335), the Administrator 

22 may utilize up to $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

23 2012 through 2015 to carry out the authorized activities 

24 under this Act.’’. 


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1 (b) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—The 

2 Under Secretary shall ensure that a substantial portion 

3 of funds appropriated pursuant to section 608 of the 

4 Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control 

5 Act of 1998 that are used for research purposes are allo6 cated to extramural research activities. 

7 SEC. 10. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 

8 (a) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

9 of contents in section 2 of the Coast Guard Authorization 

10 Act of 1998 is amended by striking the items relating to 

11 sections 602 through 606 and inserting the following: 

‘‘602. Definitions. 

‘‘603. Assessments. 

‘‘604. National harmful algal bloom and hypoxia program. 

‘‘605. Comprehensive research plan and action strategy. 

‘‘606. Northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. 

‘‘607. Chesapeake Bay dead zone. 

‘‘608. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘609. Protection of States’ rights.’’. 

12 (b) REFERENCES.—Section 609, as redesignated by 

13 section 5(1) of this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘Clean 

14 Water Act or’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Fed15 eral Water Pollution Control Act or the’’. 

Æ 


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