National Oceans and Coastal Security Improvements Act of 2019

To improve the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the National Oceans and Coastal Security Improvements Act of 2019 2. Improvements to the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act (a) Definition of tidal shoreline refined Section 902 of the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act ( 16 U.S.C. 7501 (1) by amending paragraph (7) to read as follows: (7) Tidal shoreline The term tidal shoreline tidal shoreline Great Lake shoreline ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (8) Indian Tribe The term Indian Tribe 25 U.S.C. 5304 . (b) Improvements to National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund (1) Establishment of fund required Subsection (a) of section 904 of such Act ( 16 U.S.C. 7503 and jointly manage establish (2) Deposits Paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of section 904 is amended to read as follows: (1) In general There shall be deposited into the Fund, which shall constitute the assets of the Fund, amounts as follows: (A) Amounts transferred to the Fund under section 908. (B) Such other amounts as may be appropriated or otherwise made available to carry out this Act. . (3) Expenditures Strike subsection (d) of section 904 and insert the following: (d) Expenditure (1) Of the amounts deposited into the Fund for each fiscal year, if those funds are equal to or greater than $100,000,000— (A) not more than 80 percent may be used for the award of grants under subsection (b) of section 906; (B) not more than 20 percent may be used for the award of grants under subsection (c) of such section; and (C) no more than 4 percent may be used by the Administrator and the Foundation for administrative expenses to carry out this chapter, which amount shall be divided between the Administrator and the Foundation pursuant to an agreement reached and documented by both the Administrator and the Foundation. (2) Of the amounts deposited into the Fund for each fiscal year, if those funds are less than $100,000,000, all funds shall be used for the award of grants under subsection (c) of section 906 and no more than 4 percent may be used by the Administrator and the Foundation for administrative expenses to carry out this chapter, which amount shall be divided between the Administrator and the Foundation pursuant to an agreement reached and documented by both the Administrator and the Foundation. . (c) Eligible uses of the fund Section 905 of such Act ( 16 U.S.C. 7504 905. Eligible uses (a) In general Amounts in the Fund may be allocated by the Administrator and the Foundation to support programs and activities intended to protect, conserve, restore, better understand, and utilize ocean and coastal resources and coastal infrastructure, including scientific research, resiliency and spatial planning, data-sharing, and other programs and activities carried out in coordination with Federal and State departments or agencies, including the following: (1) Ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes restoration and protection, including efforts to address potential impacts of sea level change, sedimentation, erosion, changes in ocean chemistry, hurricanes and other extreme weather, flooding, and changes in ocean temperature to natural resources, communities, and coastal economies. (2) Restoration, protection, or maintenance of living ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and their habitats. (3) Planning for and managing coastal development to enhance ecosystem and community integrity, or to minimize impacts from sea level change, hurricanes and other extreme weather, flooding, and coastal erosion. (4) Projects to address management, planning, or resiliency and readiness issues which are regional or interstate in scope, such as regional ocean partnerships or similar bodies. (5) Efforts that contribute to the understanding of ecological, economic, societal, and national security threats driven by changes to the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes. (6) Efforts to preserve, protect, and collect data, including but not limited to public ocean and coastal data portals, that would support sustainable water-dependent commercial activities including commercial fishing, recreational fishing businesses, aquaculture, boat building, or other coastal-related businesses. (7) Efforts to assist coastal States in strengthening, stabilizing, hardening, elevating, modifying, repositioning, or otherwise enhancing the resiliency of critical coastal transportation, emergency response, water, electrical, and other infrastructure, that are already subject to or face increased future risks of hurricanes, coastal flooding, coastal erosion, or sea level change to ensure the economic security, safety, and ecological well-being of the coasts of the United States. (8) Acquiring property or interests in property if— (A) the area is located within a coastal county or adjacent county; (B) the funds made available under this subtitle are used to acquire land or interest in land by purchase, exchange, or donation from a willing seller; (C) the Governor of the State in which the property or interests in property are acquired approves of the acquisition; and (D) such property or interest is acquired in a manner that will ensure such property or interest will be administered to support the purposes of this Act. (9) Protection and modification of critical coastal public infrastructure affected by erosion, hurricanes or other extreme weather, flooding, or sea level change. (10) Assistance for small businesses and communities that are dependent on coastal tourism as eligible efforts that help coastal economies minimize impacts from sea level rise and disasters. (11) Projects that reinforce wastewater and stormwater infrastructure as eligible critical infrastructure projects (as compared to just general water infrastructure, which can also include drinking water systems). (12) Technical assistance to help develop comprehensive resilience and mitigation plans as an eligible funding effort. (b) Matching requirement The Administrator and the Foundation shall require a non-Federal match for all awards made under section 906(c) from the Fund. (c) Prohibition on use of funds for litigation No funds made available under this Act may be used to fund litigation against the Federal Government. . (d) Grants (1) Administration Subsection (a)(1) of section 906 of such Act ( 16 U.S.C. 7505 (A) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows: (B) Selection procedures and criteria for the awarding of grants under this section that require consultation with the Administrator and the Secretary of the Interior. ; (B) by amending subparagraph (C)(ii) to read as follows: (ii) under subsection (c) to entities including States, local governments, regional and interstate collaboratives, associations, nonprofit and for-profit private entities, public-private partnerships, academic institutions, and Indian Tribes. ; (C) in subparagraph (F), by striking year if grants have been awarded in that year five years (2) Grants to coastal States Subsection (b) of section 906 is amended to read as follows: (b) Grants to coastal States (1) In general Subject to section 904(d)(1) and paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection, the Administrator and the Foundation shall award grants to eligible coastal States based on the following formula: (A) Fifty percent of the funds are allocated equally among such coastal States. (B) Twenty-five percent of the funds are allocated on the basis of the ratio of tidal shoreline miles in a coastal State to the tidal shoreline miles of all coastal States. (C) Twenty-five percent of the funds are allocated on the basis of the ratio of population density of the coastal counties of a coastal State to the average population density of all coastal counties based on the most recent data available by the U.S. Census Bureau. (2) Eligible coastal States For purposes of this subsection, an eligible coastal State is any coastal State as defined in section 1453 of this title. (3) Maximum allocation to States Notwithstanding paragraph (1), not more than 5 percent of the total funds distributed under this subsection may be allocated to any single State. Any amount exceeding this limit shall be redistributed equally among the remaining eligible coastal States. (4) Requirement to submit plans (A) In general To be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, an eligible coastal State shall submit to the Administrator for review and approval, a 5-year plan, which shall include the following: (i) Criteria to determine eligibility for entities which may receive grants under this subsection. (ii) A description of the competitive process the coastal State will use in allocating funds received from the Fund, except in the case of allocating funds under paragraph (7), which shall include— (I) a description of the relative roles in the State competitive process of the State coastal zone management program approved under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 ( 16 U.S.C. 1451 (II) a demonstration that such competitive process is consistent with the application and review procedures established by the Administrator and Foundation under subsection (a)(1). (iii) A process to certify that the project or program and the awarding of a contract for the expenditure of amounts received under this paragraph are consistent with the standard procurement rules and regulations governing a comparable project or program in that State, including all applicable competitive bidding and audit requirements. (iv) Procedures to make publicly available on the internet a list of all projects supported by the Fund, that includes at a minimum the grant recipient, grant amount, project description, and project status. (B) Updates As a condition of receiving a grant under this subsection, a coastal State shall submit to the Administrator, not less frequently than once every 5 years, an update to the plan submitted by the coastal State under subparagraph (A) for the 5-year period immediately following the most recent submittal under this paragraph. (5) Opportunity for public comment In determining whether to approve a plan or an update to a plan described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (5), the Administrator or the Foundation shall provide the opportunity for, and take into consideration, public input and comment on the plan. (6) Indian Tribes As a condition on receipt of a grant under this subsection, a State that receives a grant under this subsection shall ensure that Indian Tribes in the State are eligible to participate in the competitive process described in the State’s plan under paragraph (5)(A)(ii). (7) Nonparticipation by a State In any year, if an eligible coastal State or geographic area described in paragraph (4)(B) does not submit the plan required by paragraph (5) or declines the funds distributed under this subsection, the funds that would have been allocated to the State or area shall be redistributed equally among the remaining eligible coastal States and geographic areas. . (3) National grants for oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes Subsection (c)(2) of such section is amended— (A) in subparagraph (B)— (i) in clause (ii), by striking ; and (ii) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (iv); and (iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: (iii) nongovernmental organizations; and ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (C) Cap on State funding The amount of a grant awarded under this subsection shall not count toward the cap on funding to States through grants awarded under subsection (b). . (e) Funding Section 908 of such Act ( 16 U.S.C. 7507 908. Funding There is authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for this title for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter. .

Summary: National Oceans and Coastal Security Improvements Act of 2019 This bill revises the National Ocean and Coastal Security Fund. (The fund supports programs and activities to protect, conserve, and restore ocean and coastal resources and coastal infrastructure.) Specifically, the bill revises the maximum amounts that may be used to provide grants from the fund; details new eligible uses for the fund's grant program, including for restoration, protection, or maintenance of living ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and their habitats; requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to award grants from the fund to eligible coastal states based on a specified formula; and specifies additional requirements for coastal states to be eligible to receive funding from the fund.