Coastal State Climate Preparedness Act of 2023

Subjects: Environmental Protection

Summary:  <p><b>Coastal State Climate Preparedness Act of 2023</b></p> <p>This bill directs the Department of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation preparedness and response program. Under the program, Commerce must (1) assist coastal states with voluntarily developing coastal climate change adaptation plans, and (2) provide financial and technical assistance as well as training for coastal states to implement the adaptation plans.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2735 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2735

    To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the 
Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation 
       preparedness and response program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 20, 2023

 Mr. Carbajal (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Lieu) 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 the 
Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation 
       preparedness and response program, 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 ``Coastal State Climate Preparedness 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. CLIMATE CHANGE PREPAREDNESS IN THE COASTAL ZONE.

    (a) In General.--The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 320. CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE 
              PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish, consistent with 
the national policies set forth in section 303, a coastal climate 
change adaptation preparedness and response program to--
            ``(1) provide assistance to coastal States to voluntarily 
        develop coastal climate change adaptation plans, pursuant to 
        approved management programs approved under section 306, to 
        minimize contributions to climate change and to prepare for and 
        reduce the negative consequences that may result from climate 
        change in the coastal zone; and
            ``(2) provide financial and technical assistance and 
        training to enable coastal States to implement plans developed 
        pursuant to this section through coastal States' enforceable 
        policies.
    ``(b) Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Planning and Preparedness 
Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may make a grant to any 
        coastal State for the purpose of developing climate change 
        adaptation plans pursuant to guidelines issued by the Secretary 
        under paragraph (8).
            ``(2) Plan content.--A plan developed with a grant under 
        this subsection shall include the following:
                    ``(A) Identification of public facilities and 
                public services, working waterfronts, coastal resources 
                of national significance, coastal waters, energy 
                facilities, or other land and water uses located in the 
                coastal zone that are likely to be impacted by climate 
                change.
                    ``(B) Adaptive management strategies for land use 
                to respond or adapt to changing environmental 
                conditions, including strategies to protect 
                biodiversity, protect water quality, and establish 
                habitat buffer zones, migration corridors, and climate 
                refugia.
                    ``(C) Adaptive management strategies for ocean-
                based ecosystems and resources, including strategies to 
                plan for and respond to geographic or temporal shifts 
                in marine resources, to create protected areas that 
                will provide climate refugia, and to maintain and 
                restore ocean ecosystem function.
                    ``(D) Requirements to initiate and maintain long-
                term monitoring of environmental change to assess 
                coastal zone adaptation and to adjust when necessary 
                adaptive management strategies and new planning 
                guidelines to attain the policies under section 303.
                    ``(E) Other information considered necessary by the 
                Secretary to identify the full range of climate change 
                impacts affecting coastal communities.
            ``(3) State hazard mitigation plans.--Plans developed with 
        a grant under this subsection shall be consistent with State 
        hazard mitigation plans and natural disaster response and 
        recovery programs developed under State or Federal law.
            ``(4) Allocation.--Grants under this subsection shall be 
        available only to coastal States with management programs 
        approved by the Secretary under section 306 and shall be 
        allocated among such coastal States in a manner consistent with 
        regulations promulgated pursuant to section 306(c).
            ``(5) Priority.--In the awarding of grants under this 
        subsection, the Secretary may give priority to any coastal 
        State that has received grant funding to develop program 
        changes pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), 
        and (8) of section 309(a).
            ``(6) Technical assistance.--The Secretary may provide 
        technical assistance to a coastal State consistent with section 
        310 to ensure the timely development of plans supported by 
        grants awarded under this subsection.
            ``(7) Federal approval.--In order to be eligible for a 
        grant under subsection (c), a coastal State must have its plan 
        developed under this subsection approved by the Secretary.
            ``(8) Guidelines.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation 
        with the coastal States, shall issue guidelines for the 
        implementation of the grant program established under this 
        subsection.
    ``(c) Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Project Implementation 
Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may make grants to any 
        coastal State that has a climate change adaptation plan 
        approved under subsection (b)(7), in order to support projects 
        that implement strategies contained within such plans.
            ``(2) Program requirements.--The Secretary, not later than 
        90 days after approval of the first plan approved under 
        subsection (b)(7), shall publish in the Federal Register 
        requirements regarding applications, allocations, eligible 
        activities, and all terms and conditions for grants awarded 
        under this subsection. No less than 30 percent, and no more 
        than 50 percent, of the funds appropriated in any fiscal year 
        for grants under this subsection shall be awarded through a 
        merit-based competitive process.
            ``(3) Eligible activities.--The Secretary may award grants 
        to coastal States to implement projects in the coastal zone to 
        address stress factors in order to improve coastal climate 
        change adaptation, including the following:
                    ``(A) Activities to address physical disturbances 
                within the coastal zone, especially activities related 
                to public facilities and public services, tourism, 
                sedimentation, ocean acidification, and other factors 
                negatively impacting coastal waters.
                    ``(B) Monitoring, control, or eradication of 
                disease organisms and invasive species.
                    ``(C) Activities to address the loss, degradation, 
                or fragmentation of wildlife habitat through projects 
                to establish or protect marine and terrestrial habitat 
                buffers, wildlife refugia, other wildlife refuges, or 
                networks thereof, preservation of migratory wildlife 
                corridors and other transition zones, and restoration 
                of fish and wildlife habitat.
                    ``(D) Projects, with priority given to such 
                projects that use green infrastructure solutions, to 
                reduce, mitigate, or otherwise address likely impacts 
                caused by natural hazards in the coastal zone, 
                including sea level rise, coastal inundation, storm 
                water management, coastal erosion and subsidence, 
                severe weather events such as cyclonic storms, tsunamis 
                and other seismic threats, and fluctuating Great Lakes 
                water levels.
                    ``(E) Projects to adapt existing infrastructure, 
                including enhancements to both built and natural 
                environments.
                    ``(F) Provision of technical training and 
                assistance to local coastal policy makers to increase 
                awareness of science, management, and technology 
                information related to climate change and adaptation 
                strategies.
            ``(4) Promotion and use of national estuarine research 
        reserves.--The Secretary shall promote and encourage the use of 
        National Estuarine Research Reserves as sites for pilot or 
        demonstration projects carried out with grants awarded under 
        this section.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 318(a) of the Coastal 
Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1464(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of 
        paragraph (1);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) for grants under section 320, such sums as are 
        necessary.''.
    (c) Intent of Congress.--None of the amendments made by this 
section shall be construed to require any coastal State to amend or 
modify its approved management program pursuant to section 306(e) of 
the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455(e)) or to 
extend the enforceable policies of a coastal State beyond the coastal 
zone as identified in the coastal State's approved management program.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
</pre></body></html>