I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1205 
To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2007 
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA (for himself, Ms. BORDALLO, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, and 
Mr. ABERCROMBIE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee 
on Science and Technology, 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 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coral Reef Conserva-
tion Amendments Act of 2007’’. 
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SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) PROJECT DIVERSITY.—Section 204(d) of the 
Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6403(d)) 
is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘GEOGRAPHIC
AND BIOLOGI-
CAL’’ in the heading and inserting ‘‘PROJECT’’; and 
(2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(3) Remaining funds shall be awarded for— 
‘‘(A) projects (with priority given to com-
munity-based local action strategies) that ad-
dress emerging priorities or threats, including 
international 
and 
territorial 
priorities, 
or 
threats identified by the Administrator in con-
sultation with the Coral Reef Task Force; and 
‘‘(B) other appropriate projects, as deter-
mined by the Administrator, including moni-
toring and assessment, research, pollution re-
duction, education, and technical support.’’. 
(b) APPROVAL CRITERIA.—Section 204(g) of that 
Act (16 U.S.C. 6403(g)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in 
paragraph (9); 
(2) by striking paragraph (10); and 
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(3) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(10) promoting activities designed to minimize 
the likelihood of vessel impacts on coral reefs, par-
ticularly those activities described in section 210(b), 
including the promotion of ecologically sound naviga-
tion and anchorages near coral reefs; or 
‘‘(11) promoting and assisting entities to work 
with local communities, and all appropriate govern-
mental and nongovernmental organizations, to sup-
port community-based planning and management 
initiatives for the protection of coral reef systems.’’. 
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY RESPONSE. 
Section 206 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 
2000 (16 U.S.C. 6405) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 206. EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may under-
take or authorize action necessary to prevent or minimize 
the destruction or loss of, or injury to, coral reefs or coral 
reef ecosystems from vessel impacts, derelict fishing gear, 
vessel anchors and anchor chains, or damage from unfore-
seen or disaster-related circumstances. 
‘‘(b) ACTIONS AUTHORIZED.—Action authorized by 
subsection (a) includes vessel removal and emergency re-
stabilization of the vessel and any impacted coral reef. 
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‘‘(c) PARTNERING WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGEN-
CIES.—When possible, action by the Administrator under 
this section should— 
‘‘(1) be conducted in partnership with other 
Federal agencies, including the United States Coast 
Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the De-
partment of the Interior; and 
‘‘(2) leverage resources of other agencies.’’. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL PROGRAM. 
Section 207(b) of the Coral Reef Conservation Act 
of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6406) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon in 
paragraph (3); 
(2) by striking ‘‘partners.’’ in paragraph (4) 
and inserting ‘‘partners; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) activities designed to minimize the likeli-
hood of vessel impacts or other physical damage to 
coral reefs, including those activities identified in 
section 210(b).’’. 
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 208 of the Coral Reef 
Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6407) is amended 
to read as follows: 
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‘‘SEC. 208. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
‘‘Not later than March 1, 2009, and every 3 years 
thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives a report describing all activities 
undertaken to implement the strategy, including— 
‘‘(1) a description of the funds obligated by 
each participating Federal agency to advance coral 
reef conservation during each of the 3 fiscal years 
next preceding the fiscal year in which the report is 
submitted; 
‘‘(2) a description of Federal interagency and 
cooperative efforts with States and United States 
territories to prevent or address overharvesting, 
coastal runoff, or other anthropogenic impacts on 
coral reefs, including projects undertaken with the 
Department of the Interior, the Department of Agri-
culture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and 
the United States Army Corps of Engineers; 
‘‘(3) a summary of the information contained in 
the vessel grounding inventory established under sec-
tion 210, including additional authorization or fund-
ing, needed for response and removal of such vessels; 
‘‘(4) a description of Federal disaster response 
actions taken pursuant to the National Response 
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Plan to address damage to coral reefs and coral reef 
ecosystems; and 
‘‘(5) an assessment of the condition of United 
States coral reefs, accomplishments under this Act, 
and the effectiveness of management actions to ad-
dress threats to coral reefs.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 
6401 et seq.) is amended by striking the item relating to 
section 208 and inserting the following: 
‘‘Sec. 208. Report to Congress.’’. 
SEC. 6. FUND; GRANTS; GROUNDING INVENTORY; COORDI-
NATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Coral Reef Conservation Act 
of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘organization solely’’ and all 
that follows in section 205(a) (16 U.S.C. 6404(a)) 
and inserting ‘‘organization— 
‘‘(1) to support partnerships between the public 
and private sectors that further the purposes of this 
Act and are consistent with the national coral reef 
strategy under section 203; and 
‘‘(2) to address emergency response actions 
under section 206.’’; 
(2) by adding at the end of section 205(b) 16 
U.S.C. 6404(b)) ‘‘The organization is encouraged to 
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solicit funding and in-kind services from the private 
sector, including nongovernmental organizations, for 
emergency response actions under section 206 and 
for activities to prevent damage to coral reefs, in-
cluding activities described in section 210(b)(2).’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘the grant program’’ in section 
205(c) (16 U.S.C. 6404(c)) and inserting ‘‘any 
grant program or emergency response action’’; 
(4) by redesignating sections 209 and 210 as 
sections 213 and 214, respectively; and 
(5) by inserting after section 208 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 209. COMMUNITY-BASED PLANNING GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may make 
grants to entities who have received grants under section 
204(c) to provide additional funds to such entities to work 
with local communities and through appropriate Federal 
and State entities to prepare and implement plans for the 
increased protection of coral reef areas identified by the 
community and scientific experts as high priorities for fo-
cused attention. The plans shall— 
‘‘(1) support attainment of 1 or more of the cri-
teria described in section 204(g); 
‘‘(2) be developed at the community level; 
‘‘(3) utilize watershed-based approaches; 
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‘‘(4) provide for coordination with Federal and 
State experts and managers; and 
‘‘(5) build upon local approaches or models, in-
cluding traditional or island-based resource manage-
ment concepts. 
‘‘(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The provisions of 
subsections (b), (d), (f), and (h) of section 204 apply to 
grants under subsection (a), except that, for the purpose 
of applying section 204(b)(1) to grants under this section, 
‘75 percent’ shall be substituted for ‘50 percent’. 
‘‘SEC. 210. VESSEL GROUNDING INVENTORY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may main-
tain an inventory of all vessel grounding incidents involv-
ing coral reef resources, including a description of— 
‘‘(1) the impacts to such resources; 
‘‘(2) vessel and ownership information, if avail-
able; 
‘‘(3) the estimated cost of removal, mitigation, 
or restoration; 
‘‘(4) the response action taken by the owner, 
the Administrator, the Commandant of the Coast 
Guard, or other Federal or State agency representa-
tives; 
‘‘(5) the status of the response action, including 
the dates of vessel removal and mitigation or res-
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toration and any actions taken to prevent future 
grounding incidents; and 
‘‘(6) recommendations for additional naviga-
tional aids or other mechanisms for preventing fu-
ture grounding incidents. 
‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF AT-RISK REEFS.—The Ad-
ministrator may— 
‘‘(1) use information from any inventory main-
tained under subsection (a) or any other available 
information source to identify coral reef areas out-
side designated National Marine Sanctuaries that 
have a high incidence of vessel impacts, including 
groundings and anchor damage; and 
‘‘(2) identify appropriate measures, including 
action by other agencies, to reduce the likelihood of 
such impacts. 
‘‘SEC. 211. REGIONAL COORDINATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall work in 
coordination and collaboration with other Federal agen-
cies, States, and United States territorial governments to 
implement the national coral reef action strategy devel-
oped under section 203, including regional and local strat-
egies, to address multiple threats to coral reefs and coral 
reef ecosystems such as coastal runoff, vessel impacts, and 
overharvesting. 
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