I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2551 
To require the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere to update periodi-
cally the environmental sensitivity index products of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration for each coastal area of the Great 
Lakes, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2019 
Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr. 
HUIZENGA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To require the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere 
to update periodically the environmental sensitivity index 
products of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration for each coastal area of the Great Lakes, 
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 ‘‘Great Lakes Environ-
mental Sensitivity Index Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. UPDATE TO ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX 
PRODUCTS OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT-
MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FOR GREAT 
LAKES. 
(a) UPDATE REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL SENSI-
TIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS FOR GREAT LAKES.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall 
commence updating the environmental sensitivity index 
products of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration for each coastal area of the Great Lakes. 
(b) PERIODIC UPDATES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SEN-
SITIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS GENERALLY.—Subject to the 
availability of appropriations and the priorities set forth 
in subsection (c), the Under Secretary shall— 
(1) periodically update the environmental sensi-
tivity index products of the Administration; and 
(2) endeavor to do so not less frequently than 
once every 7 years. 
(c) PRIORITIES.—When prioritizing geographic areas 
to update environmental sensitivity index products, the 
Under Secretary shall consider— 
(1) the age of existing environmental sensitivity 
index products for the areas; 
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(2) the occurrence of extreme events, be it nat-
ural or man-made, which have significantly altered 
the shoreline or ecosystem since the last update; 
(3) the natural variability of shoreline and 
coastal environment; and 
(4) the volume of vessel traffic and general vul-
nerability to spilled pollutants. 
(d) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX PRODUCT 
DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘environmental 
sensitivity index product’’ means a map or similar tool 
that is utilized to identify sensitive shoreline, coastal or 
offshore, resources prior to an oil spill event in order to 
set baseline priorities for protection and plan cleanup 
strategies, typically including information relating to 
shoreline type, biological resources, and human use re-
sources. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Under Secretary $7,500,000 to 
carry out subsection (a). 
(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated or 
otherwise made available pursuant to paragraph (1) 
shall be available to the Under Secretary for the 
purposes set forth in such paragraph until expended. 
Æ 
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