197 
(ii) data on the performance of the 
project in providing protection to that 
coastal community. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 
$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 for 
purposes of carrying out this section. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means any of the following: 
(A) A unit of a State or local government. 
(B) An organization described in section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
that is exempt from taxation under section 
501(a) of such Code. 
(C) An Indian Tribe (as defined in section 
4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). 
(D) An institution of higher education. 
(2) LIVING
SHORELINE
PROJECT.—The term 
‘‘living shoreline project’’ means a project that re-
stores or stabilizes a shoreline using natural materials 
such as plants, sand, or rock that provides ecological 
benefits to coastal ecosystems and habitats in addition 
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to shoreline protection; and incorporates as many 
natural elements as possible, such as native wetlands, 
kelp forests, submerged aquatic plants, corals, oyster 
shells, native grasses, shrubs, or trees. 
(3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means all coastal 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 
Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands. 
SEC. 902. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS-
TRATION RESEARCH PROGRAMS. 
(a) LIVING SHORELINE AND NATURE-BASED INFRA-
STRUCTURE RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 
(1) DEFINITION OF NATURE-BASED INFRASTRUC-
TURE.—In this section, the term ‘‘nature-based infra-
structure’’ means a feature that is created by human 
design, engineering, and construction to provide risk 
reduction in coastal areas by acting in concert with 
natural processes. 
(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall 
make competitive research grants available focused on 
developing and assessing the effectiveness of innova-
tive approaches to living shorelines and nature-based 
infrastructure and features for the purposes of— 
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(A) preparing more resilient, sustainable 
cities and resilient communities; 
(B) reducing the costs associated with cli-
mate-related disasters, built infrastructure deg-
radation, and human relocation; and 
(C) accomplishing improved resilience while 
maintaining ecosystem functions and habitats to 
the greatest extent possible. 
(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant 
under this subsection, an applicant must be an insti-
tution of higher education, nonprofit organization, 
State, local, or Tribal Government, for-profit organi-
zation, United States Territory, or Federal agency 
that has statutory authority to receive transfers of 
funds. 
(4) RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—The Administrator 
shall award grants for projects which focus on the fol-
lowing: 
(A) Assessments of installed living shoreline 
and nature-based infrastructure, as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act, for their effectiveness 
in addressing, if applicable— 
(i) coastal resilience; 
(ii) shoreline erosion; 
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(iii) storm damage including wind-
storms; 
(iv) inland flooding; 
(v) water quality; 
(vi) impact on local ecosystems; and 
(vii) other criteria as determined by 
the Administrator. 
(B) Novel approaches to nature-based infra-
structure and living shorelines aimed at opti-
mizing resilience to climate change, extreme 
weather, and ecosystem sustainability. 
(C) Interdisciplinary research including en-
gineering, environmental and ecosystem sciences, 
biology, social science, and Tribal or indigenous 
traditional knowledge systems. 
(D) Regional, community, and industry 
partnerships to create locally informed solutions. 
(5) REPORTS FOR INFORMING LIVING SHORELINE 
AND
NATURE-BASED
INFRASTRUCTURE
PROJECT 
GRANTS.—Funded projects shall submit a summa-
rized report of their findings at the conclusion of the 
grant to the Administrator to help inform the selec-
tion and prioritization of living shoreline and other 
nature-based infrastructure projects as described in 
section 1001 of this Act. 
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(6) ADDITIONAL
AUTHORITIES.—The Adminis-
trator may use— 
(A) the National Oceanographic Partner-
ship Program established by section 8931 of title 
10, United States Code, as a venue for collabora-
tion and coordination to leverage partnerships 
between public institutions of higher education 
and Federal agencies; 
(B) the Coastlines and People initiative 
under the National Science Foundation as a tool 
to use ongoing interdisciplinary research; 
(C) the National Sea Grant College Pro-
gram as a resource to implement research and 
other projects and help foster collaboration be-
tween institutions of higher education and Fed-
eral agencies; and 
(D) the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) Community Resilience Cen-
ter of Excellence. 
(7) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Admin-
istrator $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 
through 2026 for purposes of carrying out this sub-
section. 
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(F) assessing and enhancing the capacity of 
human communities to adapt to coastal natural 
disasters; 
(G) assessing coastal vulnerability and risk; 
(H) evaluating adaptation, protection, and 
restoration approaches to reduce risk, including 
through the use of natural, nature-based, and 
manmade features; 
(I) minimizing costs associated with dam-
ages incurred from natural disasters, flooding, 
and sea level rise; 
(J) developing and updating curriculum 
and other educational and development opportu-
nities for programs in coastal conservation at 
public community colleges and within National 
Sea Grant college programs and universities to 
train the new coastal conservation workforce; 
(K) evaluating potential outcomes associ-
ated with developing new commercial and rec-
reational fishery opportunities, including aqua-
culture and targeting invasive and range-ex-
panding species; and 
(L) engaging in outreach, training, and 
education to connect actionable research to local 
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communities, policymakers, planners, practi-
tioners, and students. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant 
under the Program, an applicant must be an institu-
tion of higher education, nonprofit organization, 
State, local, or Tribal government, for-profit organi-
zation, United States Territory, or Federal agency 
that has statutory authority to receive transfers of 
funds. 
(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol-
lowing definitions apply: 
(A) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 
‘‘critical infrastructure’’ means infrastructure, 
including natural or nature-based infrastructure, 
the destruction or damaging of which would have 
a debilitating impact on national security or 
economic security, undermine community resil-
iency and adaptation, or threaten public health 
or safety. 
(B) NATURAL
AND
NATURE-BASED
FEA-
TURES.—The term ‘‘natural features’’ or ‘‘na-
ture-based features’’ means coastal vegetation, 
living reefs, beaches, dunes, marshes, oyster reefs, 
coastal forests, municipal green infrastructure, 
and living shorelines. 
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(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Admin-
istrator $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 
through 2026 for purposes of carrying out this sec-
tion. 
(c) GRANTS FOR RECOVERING OYSTERS.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall 
establish a grant program (in this subsection referred 
to as the ‘‘Program’’) under which the Administrator 
shall award grants to eligible entities for the purpose 
of conducting research on the conservation, restora-
tion, or management of oysters in estuarine eco-
systems. 
(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this subsection, an eligible entity shall 
submit to the Administrator an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such informa-
tion as the Administrator may require. 
(3) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 
award a grant under the Program to eligible en-
tities that submit an application under para-
graph (2). 
(B) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
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(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clause (ii), the total amount of Federal 
funding received under the Program by an 
eligible entity may not exceed 85 percent of 
the total cost of the research project for 
which the funding was awarded. For the 
purposes of this clause, the non-Federal 
share of project costs may be provided by 
in-kind contributions and other noncash 
support. 
(ii) WAIVER.—The Administrator may 
waive all or part of the requirement in 
clause (i) if the Administrator determines 
that no reasonable means are available 
through which an eligible entity applying 
for a grant under this subsection can meet 
such requirement and the probable benefit of 
such research project outweighs the public 
interest in such requirement. 
(C) EQUITABLE
DISTRIBUTION.—The Ad-
ministrator shall ensure, to the maximum extent 
practicable, that grant funding under this sub-
section is apportioned according to the historic 
baseline oyster population of each estuary of the 
United States. 
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(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol-
lowing definitions apply: 
(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 
entity’’ means a member of an institution of 
higher education, the seafood industry, a relevant 
nonprofit organization, or a relevant State agen-
cy, that is proposing or conducting a research 
project on the conservation, restoration, or man-
agement of oysters in an estuarine ecosystem. 
(B) HISTORIC BASELINE.—The term ‘‘his-
toric baseline’’ means the estimated population 
of oysters in an estuary in 1850. 
(C) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 
‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization 
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax 
under section 501(a) of such Code. 
(D) SEAFOOD INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘sea-
food industry’’ means shellfish growers, shellfish 
harvesters, commercial fishermen, and rec-
reational fishermen. 
(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Admin-
istrator $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 
through 2026 to carry out this subsection. 
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SEC. 903. 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) is amended— 
(1) by amending paragraph (7) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(7) TIDAL SHORELINE.—The term ‘tidal shore-
line’ means a ‘tidal shoreline’ or a ‘Great Lake shore-
line’ 
as 
such 
terms 
are 
used 
in 
section 
923.110(c)(2)(i) of title 15, Code of Federal Regula-
tions, or a similar successor regulation.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 
has the meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ in sec-
tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
‘‘(9) BLUE
CARBON.—The term ‘blue carbon’ 
means the carbon that marine or coastal vegetation 
sequester from the atmosphere in a manner that re-
sults in its storage for a period of not less than 100 
years.’’. 
(b) IMPROVEMENTS TO NATIONAL OCEANS AND COAST-
AL SECURITY FUND.— 
(1) DEPOSITS.—Section 904(b)(1) of such Act 
(16 U.S.C. 7503(b)(1)) is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be deposited into 
the Fund, which shall constitute the assets of the 
Fund— 
‘‘(A) amounts transferred to the Fund 
under section 908; and 
‘‘(B) such other amounts as may be appro-
priated or otherwise made available to carry out 
this Act.’’. 
(2) EXPENDITURES.—Section 904 of such Act 
(16 U.S.C. 7503) is amended by striking subsection 
(d) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(d) EXPENDITURE.—Of the amounts deposited into 
the Fund for each fiscal year— 
‘‘(1) not less than $150,000,000 shall be used for 
the award of grants under subsection (b) of section 
906; 
‘‘(2) not less than $50,000,000 shall be used for 
the award of grants under subsection (c) of such sec-
tion; 
‘‘(3) if amounts deposited into the Fund for each 
fiscal year are greater than $200,000,000, any 
amounts in excess of $200,000,000 shall be distributed 
such that— 
‘‘(A) 80 percent shall be used for the award 
of grants under subsection (b) of section 906; and 
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‘‘(B) 20 percent shall be used for the award 
of grants under subsection (c) of section 906; and 
‘‘(4) of amounts provided in this subsection, not 
more than 4 percent may be used by the Adminis-
trator and the National Fish and Wildlife Founda-
tion (Foundation) for direct costs to carry out this 
chapter.’’. 
(c) ELIGIBLE USES OF THE FUND.—Section 905 of 
such Act (16 U.S.C. 7504) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 905. ELIGIBLE USES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund may be allo-
cated by the Administrator for grants under section 906(b) 
and the Foundation for grants under section 906(c) to sup-
port programs and activities intended to protect, conserve, 
restore, better understand, and utilize ocean and coastal re-
sources and coastal infrastructure, including, where appro-
priate, scientific research, resiliency planning, implementa-
tion, and monitoring and spatial planning, data-sharing, 
and other programs and activities carried out in coordina-
tion with Federal and State departments or agencies, in-
cluding 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 ex-
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treme weather, flooding, and changes in ocean tem-
perature to natural resources, communities, and 
coastal economies. 
‘‘(2) Restoration, protection, or maintenance of 
living ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and 
their habitats, including habitats and ecosystems that 
provide blue carbon benefits. 
‘‘(3) Planning for and managing coastal develop-
ment to enhance ecosystem and community integrity, 
or to minimize impacts from sea level change, hurri-
canes and other extreme weather, flooding, and coast-
al erosion. 
‘‘(4) Projects to address management, planning, 
or resiliency and readiness issues which are regional 
or interstate in scope, such as regional ocean partner-
ships 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, 
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boat building, or other coastal-related businesses other 
marine-based recreational businesses and sustainable 
tourism. 
‘‘(7) Efforts to assist coastal States in repo-
sitioning, relocating or deploying natural or nature- 
based features to enhance 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) Acquisition of property or interests in prop-
erty 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 
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receive designation as a regional ocean partnership if 
the partnership— 
(A) meets the requirements under para-
graph (3); and 
(B) submits an application for such des-
ignation in such manner, in such form, and con-
taining such information as the Administrator 
may require. 
(3) REQUIREMENTS.—A partnership is eligible 
for designation as a regional ocean partnership by the 
Administrator under paragraph (2) if the partner-
ship— 
(A) is established to coordinate the inter-
state management of coastal resources; 
(B) focuses on the environmental issues af-
fecting the ocean and coastal areas of the mem-
bers participating in the partnership; 
(C) complements existing State and Tribal 
coastal and ocean management efforts on an 
interstate scale, focusing on shared regional pri-
orities; 
(D) does not have a regulatory function; 
and 
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ocean partnerships designated under subsection (b), other 
than— 
(1) the authority of the Administrator to provide 
amounts to the partnerships; and 
(2) the authority of the partnerships to provide 
grants and enter into contracts under subsection (e). 
(j) FUNDING.— 
(1) REGIONAL
OCEAN
PARTNERSHIPS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration the fol-
lowing amounts for regional ocean partnerships des-
ignated under subsection (b) or designated fiscal man-
agement entities of such partnerships to carry out ac-
tivities of the partnerships under this Act: 
(A) $10,100,000 for fiscal year 2022. 
(B) $10,202,000 for fiscal year 2023. 
(C) $10,306,040 for fiscal year 2024. 
(D) $10,412,160 for fiscal year 2025. 
(E) $10,520,404 for fiscal year 2026. 
(2) 
DISTRIBUTION
OF
AMOUNTS.—Amounts 
made available under paragraph (1) shall be divided 
evenly among the regional ocean partnerships des-
ignated under subsection (b). 
(3) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.—There are author-
ized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each fiscal 
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