I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3540 

To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2021 

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. BROWN, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. HOYER, 

Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. 

MCEACHIN, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MFUME, 

and Mr. TRONE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay 

5 Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 

6 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that the National Oceanic 

3 and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office 

4 should be the primary representative of the National Oce5 anic and Atmospheric Administration in the Chesapeake 

6 Bay watershed. 

7 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC 

8 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION 

9 CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE. 

10 Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

11 Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 

12 1511d) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(in this 

15 section’’ and all that follows and inserting a pe16 riod; 

17 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director, 

20 who— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall have knowledge and experience 

22 in research or resource management efforts in 

23 the Chesapeake Bay; and 

24 ‘‘(B) shall be responsible for the adminis25 tration and operation of the office and the im26 plementation of this Act.’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking paragraph (3); 

2 (2) in subsection (b)— 

3 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Sec4 retary of Commerce’’ and inserting ‘‘Adminis5 trator’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

7 (i) by inserting ‘‘with and represent’’ 

8 after ‘‘coordinate,’’; 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘, the Chesapeake Bay 

10 Regional Sea Grant Programs, and the 

11 Chesapeake Bay units of the National Es12 tuarine Research Reserve System,’’ and in13 serting ‘‘for the Chesapeake Bay Program 

14 and that relate to the Chesapeake Bay wa15 tershed in furtherance of such Administra16 tion’s coastal resource stewardship mis17 sion,’’; 

18 (iii) in subparagraph (A)— 

19 (I) in clause (vi), by striking 

20 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

21 (II) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(viii) coastal hazards and climate 

24 change; 

25 ‘‘(ix) education; and’’; and 


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1 (iv) in subparagraph (B)— 

2 (I) in clause (iii), by striking 

3 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

4 (II) in clause (iv), by inserting 

5 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

6 (III) by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(v) integrated ecosystem assess9 ments;’’; 

10 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘Environmental Pro12 tection Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chesapeake 

13 Executive Council’’; and 

14 (ii) by inserting before the semicolon 

15 at the end the following: ‘‘as appropriate to 

16 further the purposes of this section’’; 

17 (D) by striking paragraphs (5) and (7); 

18 (E) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

19 paragraph (5); and 

20 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(6) perform any functions necessary to sup22 port the programs referred to in paragraph (3).’’; 

23 (3) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e); and 

24 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

2 through the Director, shall implement the program 

3 activities authorized by this section to support the 

4 activity of the Chesapeake Executive Council and to 

5 further the purposes of this section. 

6 ‘‘(2) ENSURING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL

7 MERIT.—The Director shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) establish and use an effective and 

9 transparent mechanism to ensure that projects 

10 funded under this section have undergone ap11 propriate peer review; and 

12 ‘‘(B) provide other appropriate means to 

13 determine that such projects have acceptable 

14 scientific and technical merit for the purpose of 

15 achieving maximum use of available funds and 

16 resources to benefit the Chesapeake Bay area. 

17 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION WITH CHESAPEAKE EXEC18 UTIVE COUNCIL.—The Director shall, in the imple19 mentation of the program activities authorized under 

20 this section, consult with the Chesapeake Executive 

21 Council, to ensure that the activities of the Office 

22 are consistent with the purposes and priorities of the 

23 Chesapeake Bay Agreement and plans developed 

24 pursuant to the such agreement. 

25 ‘‘(4) INTEGRATED COASTAL OBSERVATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

2 through the Director, may collaborate with sci3 entific and academic institutions, State and 

4 Federal agencies, non-governmental organiza5 tions, and other constituents in the Chesapeake 

6 Bay watershed, to support an integrated obser7 vations system for the Chesapeake Bay con8 sistent with the purposes of the Integrated 

9 Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

10 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). 

11 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—To sup12 port the system referred to in subparagraph (A) 

13 and provide a complete set of environmental in14 formation for the Chesapeake Bay, the Director 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) coordinate monitoring with Fed17 eral and State agencies in the tidal por18 tions of the Chesapeake Bay to understand 

19 impacts of water quality on living marine 

20 resources; 

21 ‘‘(ii) identify new data collection needs 

22 and deploy new technologies, as appro23 priate; 

24 ‘‘(iii) collect and analyze the scientific 

25 information necessary for the management 


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1 of living marine resources and the marine 

2 habitat associated with such resources; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) organize the information de4 scribed in clause (iii) into products that 

5 are useful to policy makers, resource man6 agers, scientists, and the public. 

7 ‘‘(C) CHESAPEAKE BAY INTERPRETIVE

8 BUOY SYSTEM.—To further the development 

9 and implementation of the Chesapeake Bay In10 terpretive Buoy System and associated moni11 toring assets to improve weather and ecological 

12 forecasts, monitor habitat conditions for living 

13 marine resources, the Director may— 

14 ‘‘(i) support the establishment and 

15 implementation of the Captain John Smith 

16 Chesapeake National Historic Trail; 

17 ‘‘(ii) delineate key waypoints along the 

18 trail and provide appropriate real-time 

19 data and information for trail users; 

20 ‘‘(iii) interpret data and information 

21 for use by educators and students to in22 spire stewardship of Chesapeake Bay; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) incorporate the Chesapeake Bay 

24 Interpretive Buoy System into the InteVerDate Sep 11 2014 08:10 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540

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1 grated Ocean Observing System regional 

2 network of observatories. 

3 ‘‘(5) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED EDU4 CATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

6 through the Director, may establish a Chesa7 peake Bay watershed education and training 

8 program. The program shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) continue and expand the Chesa10 peake Bay watershed education programs 

11 offered by the Office immediately before 

12 the enactment of the Chesapeake Bay 

13 Science, Education, and Ecosystem En14 hancement Act of 2021; 

15 ‘‘(ii) improve the understanding of el16 ementary and secondary school students 

17 and teachers of the living resources of the 

18 ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay; 

19 ‘‘(iii) provide education and career 

20 pathway internships; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) meet the educational goals of the 

22 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. 

23 ‘‘(B) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Director 

24 may award grants for the purposes of this para25 graph. Grants awarded under this subparaVerDate Sep 11 2014 08:10 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540

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1 graph may be used to support education and 

2 training projects that enhance understanding 

3 and assessment of a specific environmental 

4 problem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed or a 

5 goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program, or pro6 tect or restore living resources of the Chesa7 peake Bay watershed, including projects that— 

8 ‘‘(i) provide classroom education, in9 cluding the development and use of dis10 tance learning and other innovative tech11 nologies, related to the Chesapeake Bay 

12 watershed; 

13 ‘‘(ii) provide meaningful watershed 

14 educational experiences in the Chesapeake 

15 Bay watershed; 

16 ‘‘(iii) provide professional development 

17 for teachers related to the Chesapeake Bay 

18 watershed and the dissemination of perti19 nent education materials oriented to vary20 ing grade levels; 

21 ‘‘(iv) demonstrate or disseminate envi22 ronmental educational tools and materials 

23 related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed; 

24 ‘‘(v) demonstrate field methods, prac25 tices, and techniques including assessment 


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1 of environmental and ecological conditions 

2 and analysis of environmental problems; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(vi) build the capacity of school dis5 tricts and their partners to deliver high 

6 quality environmental education programs. 

7 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION.—The Director shall 

8 implement the education and training program 

9 in coordination with the heads of other Federal 

10 agencies, as the Director determines appro11 priate. 

12 ‘‘(6) COASTAL AND LIVING RESOURCES MAN13 AGEMENT AND HABITAT PROGRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

15 through the Director, may establish a Chesa16 peake Bay Coastal Living Resources Manage17 ment and Habitat Program to support coordi18 nated management, protection, characterization, 

19 and restoration of priority Chesapeake Bay 

20 habitats and living resources, including oysters, 

21 blue crabs, submerged aquatic vegetation, and 

22 economically and ecologically important fish 

23 species such as striped bass and menhaden. 

24 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Under the Chesapeake 

25 Bay Coastal Living Resources Management and 


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1 Habitat Program, the Director may carry out 

2 or enter into grants, contracts, and cooperative 

3 agreements and provide technical assistance to 

4 support— 

5 ‘‘(i) native oyster research and res6 toration; 

7 ‘‘(ii) fish and shellfish aquaculture 

8 that is carried out in accordance with a 

9 valid Federal or State permit; 

10 ‘‘(iii) establishment of submerged 

11 aquatic vegetation restoration programs; 

12 ‘‘(iv) the development of programs 

13 that restore, protect, and build the resil14 ience of critical coastal habitats and com15 munities; 

16 ‘‘(v) habitat mapping, characteriza17 tion, and assessment techniques necessary 

18 to identify, assess, and monitor Chesa19 peake Bay conditions and restoration ac20 tions; 

21 ‘‘(vi) application and transfer of ap22 plied scientific research and ecosystem 

23 management tools to fisheries and habitat 

24 managers; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) collection, synthesis, and shar2 ing of information to inform and influence 

3 coastal and living resource management 

4 issues; 

5 ‘‘(viii) ecologically and economically 

6 important fish and shellfish research; and 

7 ‘‘(ix) other activities that the director 

8 determines are appropriate to carry out 

9 the purposes of such program. 

10 ‘‘(d) DELEGATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator shall del12 egate to the Director such authority as may be nec13 essary to carry out this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) STAFF.—The Administrator shall delegate 

15 to the Director appropriate staff representing exper16 tise that covers the breadth of the duties of the Of17 fice. 

18 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

20 through the Director, shall submit a biennial report 

21 to the Congress and the Secretary of Commerce on 

22 the activities of the Office and on progress made in 

23 protecting and restoring the living resources and 

24 habitat of the Chesapeake Bay. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ACTION PLAN.—Each such report shall in2 clude an action plan for the 2-year period following 

3 submission of the report, consisting of— 

4 ‘‘(A) a list of recommended research, moni5 toring, and data collection activities necessary 

6 to continue implementation of the strategy 

7 under subsection (b)(2); and 

8 ‘‘(B) recommendations to integrate Na9 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

10 activities with the activities of the partners in 

11 the Chesapeake Bay Program to meet the com12 mitments of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement 

13 and subsequent agreements. 

14 ‘‘(f) AGREEMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 

16 through the Director, may enter into and perform 

17 such contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agree18 ments as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 

19 of this Act. 

20 ‘‘(2) USE OF OTHER RESOURCES.—For pur21 poses related to the understanding, protection, and 

22 restoration of Chesapeake Bay, the Director may 

23 use, with consent and with or without reimburse24 ment, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and 

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1 tality of the United States, or of any State, local 

2 government, Indian Tribe, or of any political sub3 division thereof. 

4 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 

5 definitions apply: 

6 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis7 trator’ means the Administrator of the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

9 ‘‘(2) CHESAPEAKE BAY AGREEMENT; CHESA10 PEAKE BAY ECOSYSTEM; CHESAPEAKE BAY PRO11 GRAM; CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.—The 

12 terms ‘Chesapeake Bay Agreement’, ‘Chesapeake 

13 Bay ecosystem’, ‘Chesapeake Bay Program’, and 

14 ‘Chesapeake Executive Council’ have the meanings 

15 given those terms in section 117(a) of the Federal 

16 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(a)). 

17 ‘‘(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

18 the Director of the Office. 

19 ‘‘(4) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the 

20 Chesapeake Bay Office established under this sec21 tion. 

22 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

24 out this section— 

25 ‘‘(1) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 


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1 ‘‘(2) $18,700,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

2 ‘‘(3) $20,570,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

3 ‘‘(4) $22,627,000 for fiscal year 2025.’’. 

Æ 


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