I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3109 

To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require establishment 

of a Working Waterfront Grant Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 5, 2011 

Ms. PINGREE of Maine (for herself, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 

BORDALLO, Mrs. CAPPS, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia, 

Mr. FARR, Mr. FILNER, Mr. KEATING, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. MORAN, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. 

TONKO, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to 

require establishment of a Working Waterfront Grant 

Program, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keep America’s Water5 fronts Working Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. WORKING WATERFRONT PROGRAM. 

2 The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

3 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘WORKING WATERFRONT GRANT PROGRAM

6 ‘‘SEC. 320. (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) The Congress finds the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) Water-dependent commercial activi9 ties are the economic and cultural heart of 

10 many coastal communities. These activities in11 clude commercial fishing, recreational fishing 

12 businesses, tourism, aquaculture, boatbuilding, 

13 transportation, and many other water-depend14 ent businesses. 

15 ‘‘(B) Water-dependent commercial activi16 ties depend on coastal access in the form of 

17 docks, wharfs, lifts, wet and dry marinas, boat 

18 ramps, boat hauling, repair, and construction 

19 facilities, commercial fishing facilities, and 

20 other support structures on, over, or adjacent 

21 to navigable bodies of water. 

22 ‘‘(C) The coastal zone across the United 

23 States is experiencing rising property values 

24 and taxes, and related development pressure, as 

25 more people move to the coastal zone, and as 


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1 coastal areas experience a demographic shift fa2 voring wealthier citizens. 

3 ‘‘(D) Privately owned access areas for 

4 water-dependent commercial activity in many 

5 States are under increasing threat from private 

6 residential development and other conversion. 

7 ‘‘(E) Loss of access for water-dependent 

8 commercial activity would have economically 

9 and culturally devastating consequences for 

10 many coastal communities. 

11 ‘‘(2) The purpose of this section is to preserve, 

12 protect, and expand coastal access for persons en13 gaged in water-dependent commercial activities in14 cluding commercial fishing, recreational fishing busi15 nesses, aquaculture, boatbuilding, or other water-de16 pendent coastal-related businesses. 

17 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM.— 

18 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall establish a Working 

19 Waterfront Grant Program, in cooperation with ap20 propriate State, regional, and other units of govern21 ment, under which the Secretary may make a grant 

22 to any coastal state for the purpose of implementing 

23 a working waterfront plan approved by the Secretary 

24 under subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to the availability of appropria2 tions, the Secretary shall award matching grants 

3 under the program to coastal states with approved 

4 working waterfront plans through a regionally equi5 table, competitive funding process in accordance 

6 with the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) The Governor, or the lead agency des8 ignated by the Governor for coordinating the 

9 implementation of this section, where appro10 priate in consultation with the appropriate local 

11 government, shall determine that the applica12 tion is consistent with the State’s or territory’s 

13 approved coastal zone plan, program, and poli14 cies prior to submittal to the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(ii) In developing guidelines under this 

16 section, the Secretary shall consult with coastal 

17 states, other Federal agencies, and other inter18 ested stakeholders with expertise in working 

19 waterfront planning. 

20 ‘‘(iii) Coastal states may allocate grants to 

21 local governments, agencies, or nongovernment 

22 organizations eligible for assistance under this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(3) In awarding a grant to a coastal state, the 

25 Secretary shall consider— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the economic and cultural significance 

2 of working waterfront to the coastal state; 

3 ‘‘(B) the demonstrated working waterfront 

4 needs of the coastal state as outlined by a 

5 working waterfront plan approved for the coast6 al state under subsection (c), and the value of 

7 the proposed project for the implementation of 

8 such Plan; 

9 ‘‘(C) the ability to successfully leverage 

10 funds among participating entities, including 

11 Federal programs, regional organizations, State 

12 and other government units, landowners, cor13 porations, or private organizations; 

14 ‘‘(D) the potential for rapid turnover in 

15 the ownership of working waterfront in the 

16 coastal state, and where applicable the need for 

17 coastal states to respond quickly when prop18 erties in existing or potential working water19 front areas or public access areas as identified 

20 in the working waterfront plan submitted by 

21 the coastal state come under threat or become 

22 available; 

23 ‘‘(E) the impact of the working waterfront 

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1 section (c) on the coastal ecosystem and the 

2 users of the coastal ecosystem; and 

3 ‘‘(F) the extent of the historic connection 

4 between working waterfronts and the local com5 munities within the coastal state. 

6 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall approve or reject an 

7 application for such a grant within 60 days after re8 ceiving an application for the grant. 

9 ‘‘(c) WORKING WATERFRONT PLANS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) To be eligible for a grant under subsection 

11 (b), a coastal state must submit and have approved 

12 by the Secretary a comprehensive working water13 front plan in accordance with this subsection or be 

14 in the process of developing such a plan and have an 

15 established working waterfront program at the State 

16 or local level. 

17 ‘‘(2) Such plan— 

18 ‘‘(A) must provide for preservation and ex19 pansion of access to coastal waters to persons 

20 engaged in commercial fishing, recreational 

21 fishing businesses, aquaculture, boatbuilding, or 

22 other water-dependent, coastal-related business; 

23 ‘‘(B) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an assessment of the economic, 

2 social, cultural, and historic value of work3 ing waterfront to the coastal state; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a description of relevant State 

5 and local laws and regulations affecting 

6 working waterfront in the geographic areas 

7 identified in the working waterfront plan; 

8 ‘‘(iii) identification of geographic 

9 areas where working waterfronts are cur10 rently under threat of conversion to uses 

11 incompatible with commercial fishing, rec12 reational fishing businesses, aquaculture, 

13 boatbuilding, or other water-dependent, 

14 coastal-related business, and the level of 

15 that threat; 

16 ‘‘(iv) identification of geographic areas 

17 with a historic connection to working wa18 terfronts where working waterfronts are 

19 not currently available, and, where appro20 priate, an assessment of the environmental 

21 impacts of any expansion or new develop22 ment of working waterfronts on the coastal 

23 ecosystem; 

24 ‘‘(v) identification of other working 

25 waterfront needs including improvements 


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1 to existing working waterfronts and work2 ing waterfront areas; 

3 ‘‘(vi) a strategic and prioritized plan 

4 for the preservation, expansion, and im5 provement of working waterfronts in the 

6 coastal state; 

7 ‘‘(vii) for areas identified under 

8 clauses (iii), (iv), (v), and (vi), identifica9 tion of current availability and potential 

10 for expansion of public access to coastal 

11 waters; 

12 ‘‘(viii) a description of the degree of 

13 community support for such strategic plan; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ix) a contingency plan for properties 

16 that revert to the coastal state pursuant to 

17 determinations made by the coastal state 

18 under subsection (g)(4)(C); 

19 ‘‘(C) may be part of the management pro20 gram approved under section 306; 

21 ‘‘(D) shall utilize to the maximum extent 

22 practicable existing information contained in 

23 relevant surveys, plans, or other strategies to 

24 fulfill the information requirements under this 

25 paragraph; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) shall incorporate the policies and reg2 ulations adopted by communities under local 

3 working waterfront plans or strategies in exist4 ence prior to the date of enactment of this sec5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(3) A working waterfront plan— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall be effective for purposes of this 

8 section for the 5-year period beginning on the 

9 date it is approved by the Secretary; 

10 ‘‘(B) must be updated and re-approved by 

11 the Secretary before the end of such period; and 

12 ‘‘(C) shall be complimentary to and incor13 porate the policies and objectives of regional or 

14 local working waterfront plans as in effect be15 fore the date of enactment of this section or as 

16 subsequently revised. 

17 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may— 

18 ‘‘(A) award planning grants to coastal 

19 states for the purpose of developing or revising 

20 comprehensive working waterfront plans; and 

21 ‘‘(B) award grants consistent with the pur22 poses of this section to States undertaking the 

23 working waterfront planning process under this 

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1 tecting working waterfronts during such proc2 ess. 

3 ‘‘(5) Any coastal state applying for a working 

4 waterfront grant under this title shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) develop a working waterfront plan, 

6 using a process that involves the public and 

7 those with an interest in the coastal zone; 

8 ‘‘(B) coordinate development and imple9 mentation of such a plan with other coastal 

10 management programs, regulations, and activi11 ties of the coastal state; and 

12 ‘‘(C) if the coastal state allows qualified 

13 holders (other than the coastal state) to enter 

14 into working waterfront covenants, provide as 

15 part of the working waterfront plan under this 

16 subsection a mechanism or procedure to ensure 

17 that the qualified holders are complying their 

18 duties to enforce the working waterfront cov19 enant. 

20 ‘‘(d) USES, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) Each grant made by the Secretary under 

22 this section shall be subject to such terms and condi23 tions as may be appropriate to ensure that the grant 

24 is used for purposes consistent with this section. 

25 ‘‘(2) A grant under this section may be used— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to acquire a working waterfront, or 

2 an interest in a working waterfront; or 

3 ‘‘(B) to make improvements to a working 

4 waterfront, including the construction or repair 

5 of wharfs, boat ramps, or related facilities. 

6 ‘‘(e) PUBLIC ACCESS REQUIREMENT.—A working 

7 waterfront project funded by grants made under this sec8 tion must provide for expansion or improvement of reason9 able and appropriate public access to coastal waters at or 

10 in the vicinity of a working waterfront, except for commer11 cial fishing or other industrial access points where the 

12 coastal state determines that public access would be un13 safe. 

14 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 

16 grant awarded under this section may be used to 

17 purchase working waterfront or an interest in work18 ing waterfront, including an easement, only from a 

19 willing seller and at fair market value. 

20 ‘‘(2) A grant awarded under this section may 

21 be used to acquire working waterfront or an interest 

22 in working waterfront at less than fair market value 

23 only if the owner certifies to the Secretary that the 

24 sale is being entered into willingly and without coer25 cion. 


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1 ‘‘(3) No Federal, State, or local entity may ex2 ercise the power of eminent domain to secure title to 

3 any property or facilities in connection with a 

4 project carried out under this section. 

5 ‘‘(g) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS TO LOCAL GOVERN6 MENTS AND OTHER ENTITIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall encourage coastal 

8 states to broadly allocate amounts received as grants 

9 under this section among working waterfronts iden10 tified in working waterfront plans approved under 

11 subsection (c). 

12 ‘‘(2) Subject to the approval of the Secretary, 

13 a coastal state may, as part of an approved working 

14 waterfront plan, designate as a qualified holder any 

15 unit of State or local government or nongovernment 

16 organization, if the coastal state is ultimately re17 sponsible for ensuring that the property will be man18 aged in a manner that is consistent with the pur19 poses for which the land entered into the program. 

20 ‘‘(3) A coastal state or a qualified holder des21 ignated by a coastal state may allocate to a unit of 

22 local government, nongovernmental organization, 

23 fishing cooperative, or other entity, a portion of any 

24 grant made under this section for the purpose of 

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1 tion shall not relieve the coastal state of the respon2 sibility for ensuring that any funds so allocated are 

3 applied in furtherance of the coastal state’s approved 

4 working waterfront plan. 

5 ‘‘(4) A qualified holder may hold title to or in6 terest in property acquired under this section, except 

7 that— 

8 ‘‘(A) all persons holding title to or interest 

9 in working waterfront affected by a grant under 

10 this section, including a qualified holder, private 

11 citizen, private business, nonprofit organization, 

12 fishing cooperative, or other entity, shall enter 

13 into a working waterfront covenant; 

14 ‘‘(B) such covenant shall be held by the 

15 coastal state or a qualified holder designated 

16 under paragraph (2); 

17 ‘‘(C) if the coastal state determines, on the 

18 record after an opportunity for a hearing, that 

19 the working waterfront covenant has been vio20 lated— 

21 ‘‘(i) all right, title, and interest in and 

22 to the working waterfront covered by such 

23 covenant shall, except as provided in sub24 paragraph (D), revert to the coastal state; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the coastal state shall have the 

2 right of immediate entry onto the working 

3 waterfront. 

4 ‘‘(D) If a coastal state makes a determina5 tion under subparagraph (C), the coastal state 

6 may convey or authorize the qualified holder to 

7 convey the working waterfront or interest in 

8 working waterfront to another qualified holder. 

9 ‘‘(E) Nothing in this subsection waives any 

10 legal requirement under any Federal or State 

11 law. 

12 ‘‘(h) MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

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

14 Secretary shall require that each coastal state that 

15 receives a grant under this section, or a qualified 

16 holder designated by that coastal state under sub17 section (g), shall provide matching funds in an 

18 amount equal to at least 25 percent of the total cost 

19 of the project carried out with the grant. 

20 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may waive the application 

21 of paragraph (1) for any qualified holder that is an 

22 underserved community, a community that has an 

23 inability to draw on other sources of funding because 

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1 nity, or for other reasons the Secretary considers ap2 propriate. 

3 ‘‘(3) A local community designated as a quali4 fied holder under subsection (g) may utilize funds or 

5 other in-kind contributions donated by a nongovern6 mental partner to satisfy the matching funds re7 quirement under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(4) As a condition of receipt of a grant under 

9 this section, the Secretary shall require that a coast10 al state provide to the Secretary such assurances as 

11 the Secretary determines are sufficient to dem12 onstrate that the share of the cost of each eligible 

13 project that is not funded by the grant awarded 

14 under this section has been secured. 

15 ‘‘(5) If financial assistance under this section 

16 represents only a portion of the total cost of a 

17 project, funding from other Federal sources may be 

18 applied to the cost of the project. Each portion shall 

19 be subject to match requirements under the applica20 ble provision of law. 

21 ‘‘(6) The Secretary shall treat as non-Federal 

22 match the value of a working waterfront or interest 

23 in a working waterfront, including conservation and 

24 other easements, that is held in perpetuity by a 

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1 est is identified in the application for the grant and 

2 acquired by the qualified holder within 3 years of 

3 the grant award date, or within 3 years after the 

4 submission of the application and before the end of 

5 the grant award period. Such value shall be deter6 mined by an appraisal performed at such time before 

7 the award of the grant as the Secretary considers 

8 appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(7) The Secretary shall treat as non-Federal 

10 match the costs associated with acquisition of a 

11 working waterfront or an interest in a working wa12 terfront, and the costs of restoration, enhancement, 

13 or other improvement to a working waterfront, if the 

14 activities are identified in the project application and 

15 the costs are incurred within the period of the grant 

16 award, or, for working waterfront described in para17 graph (6), within the same time limits described in 

18 that paragraph. These costs may include either cash 

19 or in-kind contributions. 

20 ‘‘(i) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

21 than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec22 retary under this section may be used by the Secretary 

23 for planning or administration of the program under this 

24 section. 


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1 ‘‘(j) OTHER TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSIST2 ANCE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) Up to 5 percent of the funds appropriated 

4 under this section may be used by the Secretary for 

5 purposes of providing technical assistance as de6 scribed in this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) provide technical assistance to coastal 

9 states and local governments in identifying and 

10 obtaining other sources of available Federal 

11 technical and financial assistance for the devel12 opment and revision of a working waterfront 

13 plan and the implementation of an approved 

14 working waterfront plan; 

15 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to States 

16 and local governments for the development, im17 plementation, and revision of comprehensive 

18 working waterfront plans, which may include, 

19 subject to the availability of appropriations, 

20 planning grants and assistance, pilot projects, 

21 feasibility studies, and other projects necessary 

22 to further the purposes of this section; 

23 ‘‘(C) assist States in developing other tools 

24 to protect working waterfronts; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) collect and disseminate to States 

2 guidance for best storm water management 

3 practices in regards to working waterfronts. 

4 ‘‘(k) REPORTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) The Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) develop performance measures to 

7 evaluate and report on the effectiveness of the 

8 program under this section in accomplishing the 

9 purpose of this section; and 

10 ‘‘(B) submit to Congress a biennial report 

11 that includes such evaluations, an account of all 

12 expenditures, and descriptions of all projects 

13 carried out using grants awarded under this 

14 section. 

15 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may submit the biennial re16 port under paragraph (1)(B) by including it in the 

17 biennial report required under section 316. 

18 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

20 out this section $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2012, 

21 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2013, and $75,000,000 for 

22 each of fiscal years 2014 and 2015. 

23 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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1 ment or a non-State organization designated by a 

2 coastal state under subsection (g). 

3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary, 

4 acting through the National Oceanic and Atmos5 pheric Administration. 

6 ‘‘(3) The term ‘working waterfront’ means real 

7 property (including support structures over water 

8 and other facilities) that provides access to coastal 

9 waters to persons engaged in commercial fishing, 

10 recreational fishing businesses, boatbuilding, aqua11 culture, or other water-dependent, coastal-related 

12 business and is used for, or that supports, commer13 cial fishing, recreational fishing businesses, 

14 boatbuilding, aquaculture, or other water-dependent, 

15 coastal-related business. 

16 ‘‘(4) The term ‘working waterfront covenant’ 

17 means an agreement in recordable form between the 

18 owner of working waterfront and one or more quali19 fied holders, that provides such assurances as the 

20 Secretary may require that— 

21 ‘‘(A) the title to or interest in the working 

22 waterfront will be held by a grant recipient or 

23 qualified holder in perpetuity, except as pro24 vided in subparagraph (C); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the working waterfront will be man2 aged in a manner that is consistent with the 

3 purposes for which the property is acquired 

4 pursuant to this section, and the property will 

5 not be converted to any use that is inconsistent 

6 with the purpose of this section; 

7 ‘‘(C) if the title to or interest in the work8 ing waterfront is sold or otherwise exchanged— 

9 ‘‘(i) all working waterfront owners 

10 and qualified holders involved in such sale 

11 or exchange shall accede to such agree12 ment; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) funds equal to the fair market 

14 value of the working waterfront or interest 

15 in working waterfront shall be paid to the 

16 Secretary by parties to the sale or ex17 change, and such funds shall, at the dis18 cretion of the Secretary, be paid to the 

19 coastal state in which the working water20 front is located for use in the implementa21 tion of the working waterfront plan of the 

22 State approved by the Secretary under this 

23 section; and 

24 ‘‘(D) such covenant is subject to enforce25 ment and oversight by the coastal state or by 


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1 another person as determined appropriate by 

2 the Secretary.’’. 

Æ 


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