SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States faces major challenges, 
such as mitigating and adapting to the impacts of 
climate change, stewarding critical coastal and ma-
rine resources including fish and wildlife habitat 
while sustaining the commercial and recreational ac-
tivities that depend on these resources, and improv-
ing resilience to natural disasters, that collectively 
threaten human health, economic development, envi-
ronmental quality, and national security. 
(2) Communities in coastal watersheds are par-
ticularly vulnerable to these increasingly urgent, 
interconnected, and complex challenges and need 
support for teacher professional development and ex-
periential learning among students of all ages. 
(3) These challenges can be met with the help 
of comprehensive programs specifically targeted to 
engage coastal watershed communities, school-
children, and the general public to develop engaged 
and environmentally literate citizens who are better 
able to understand complex environmental issues, as-
sess risk, evaluate proposed plans, and understand 
how individual decisions affect the environment at 
local, regional, national, and global scales. 
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(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to advance 
environmental literacy, develop public awareness and ap-
preciation of the economic, social, and environmental ben-
efits of coastal watersheds, and emphasize stewardship of 
critical coastal and marine resources, including an under-
standing of how climate change is impacting those re-
sources, through the establishment of— 
(1) a National Environmental Literacy Grant 
Program; and 
(2) regional Bay-Watershed Education and 
Training (B-WET) programs. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
(2) ENVIRONMENTAL
EDUCATION.—The term 
‘‘environmental education’’ means interdisciplinary 
formal and informal learning about the relevant 
interrelationships between dynamic environmental 
and human systems, and which results in increasing 
the learner’s capacity for decisionmaking and stew-
ardship regarding natural and community resources. 
(3) ENVIRONMENTAL
LITERACY.—The term 
‘‘environmental literacy’’ means the capacity to per-
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ceive and interpret the relative health of environ-
mental systems and the interrelationships between 
natural and social systems and technology, and to 
assess options and take appropriate action to main-
tain, restore, or improve the health of those systems. 
(4) BAY-WATERSHED
EDUCATION.—The term 
‘‘bay-watershed education’’ means environmental 
education focused on watersheds, with an emphasis 
on stewardship of critical coastal and marine re-
sources, including an understanding of how climate 
change is impacting those resources. 
(5) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means a State agency, local agency, school dis-
trict, institution of higher education, or for-profit or 
non-profit nongovernmental organization, consor-
tium, or other entity that the Administrator finds 
has demonstrated expertise and experience in the de-
velopment of the institutional, intellectual, or policy 
resources to help environmental education become 
more effective and widely practiced. 
(6) HIGH
LEVERAGE
PROJECTS.—The term 
‘‘high leverage projects’’ means projects supported 
by grants authorized under this Act that use Fed-
eral, State and nongovernmental financial, technical, 
and other resources in such a manner that the po-
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tential beneficial outcomes are highly magnified or 
enhanced. 
(7) NATIONAL PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘National 
Program’’ means the National Environmental Lit-
eracy Grant Program established under section 4 of 
this Act. 
(8) REGIONAL PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Regional 
Program’’ means the regional Bay-Watershed Edu-
cation and Training (B-WET) program established 
under section 5 of this Act. 
(9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States of the United States, the District 
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com-
monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, any 
other territory or possession of the United States, 
and any Indian tribe. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY GRANT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 
a national competitive grant program under which the Ad-
ministrator shall provide, subject to the availability of ap-
propriations, financial assistance to— 
(1) expand the adoption of coastal, ocean, and 
watershed environmental education within main-
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stream formal and informal educational systems and 
other appropriate media; 
(2) build administrative and technical capacity 
with coastal, ocean, and watershed communities and 
stakeholder groups to enhance their effectiveness; 
(3) encourage water-dependent and outdoor 
recreation, experiential learning, and hands-on in-
volvement with coastal and watershed resources as a 
method of promoting stewardship of those resources; 
and 
(4) develop and implement new approaches to 
advance coastal, ocean, and watershed education and 
environmental literacy at national, regional, and 
local levels. 
(b) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Administrator shall give priority consideration to 
innovative, strategic, high-leverage projects that dem-
onstrate strong potential for being sustained in the future 
by a grant recipient beyond the time period in which ac-
tivities are carried out with the grant. 
(c) GUIDELINES.—No later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act and after consultation with 
appropriate stakeholders, the Administrator shall publish 
in the Federal Register guidelines regarding the imple-
mentation of this grant program, including publication of 
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criteria for eligible entities, identification of national prior-
ities, establishment of performance measures to evaluate 
program effectiveness, information regarding sources of 
non-Federal matching funds or in-kind contributions, and 
reporting requirements for grant award recipients. 
(d) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS BY ADMINIS-
TRATOR.—Of the amounts made available to implement 
this section— 
(1) no less than 80 percent shall be used for 
competitive grants or cooperative agreements; 
(2) no more than 10 percent may be used by 
the Administrator to implement the grant program; 
and 
(3) no less than 10 percent of the annual funds 
appropriated for the program authorized under this 
section shall be used to fund contracts or cooperative 
agreements to conduct strategic planning, promote 
communications among grant recipients and within 
communities, coordinate grant activities to foster an 
integrated program, and oversee national evaluation 
efforts. 
SEC. 5. BAY-WATERSHED EDUCATION AND TRAINING (B- 
WET) REGIONAL PROGRAMS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es-
tablish the Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B- 
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WET) Regional Program, which shall be operated and 
carried out through regional program offices, as follows: 
(1) The B-WET Mid-Atlantic Program Office, 
which shall include the States of Pennsylvania, Dela-
ware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, 
New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia. 
(2) The B-WET California Program Office, 
which shall include the State of California. 
(3) The B-WET Pacific Islands Program Of-
fice, which shall include the State of Hawaii, as well 
as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and the territory of 
Guam. 
(4) The B-WET New England Program Office, 
which shall include the States of Maine, New Hamp-
shire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and 
Rhode Island. 
(5) The B-WET Pacific Northwest Program 
Office, which shall include the States of Washington, 
Montana, Idaho, and Oregon. 
(6) The B-WET Gulf Coast Program Office, 
which shall include the States of Texas, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. 
(7) The B-WET Southeast Program Office, 
which shall include the States of Georgia, South 
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Carolina, and North Carolina, Florida, as well as 
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. 
(8) The B-WET Great Lakes Program Office, 
which shall include the States of Illinois, Indiana, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, and 
Ohio. 
(9) The B-WET Alaska Program Office, which 
shall include the State of Alaska. 
(10) The B-WET Colorado River and Upper 
Mississippi/Missouri Program Office, which shall in-
clude the States of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New 
Mexico, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, 
Nebraska, and Wyoming. 
(11) The B-WET Lower Mississippi River, 
which shall include the States of Kentucky, Kansas, 
Oklahoma, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas. 
(b) NEW AND MODIFIED REGIONAL PROGRAMS.— 
The Administrator may create and modify the Bay-Water-
shed Education Programs based on need, interest, and 
available resources. 
(c) REGIONAL PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—The Ad-
ministrator shall appoint and select a Regional Program 
Manager for each regional program office, who shall reside 
in the region, be responsible for managing and admin-
istering the regional program, and demonstrate com-
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petence and expertise in bay-watershed education and 
training. 
(d) FUNCTIONS.—Each regional program office 
shall— 
(1) administer the Bay-Watershed Education 
and Training Program in accordance with this Act; 
(2) determine the most appropriate commu-
nities within the region to be served by the Bay-Wa-
tershed Education and Training Program; 
(3) encourage water-dependent and outdoor 
recreation, experiential learning experiences for stu-
dents, and hands-on involvement with coastal and 
watershed resources as a method of promoting stew-
ardship of those resources and complementing core 
classroom curriculum; 
(4) support communication and collaboration 
among educators, natural resource planners and 
managers, and governmental and nongovernmental 
stakeholders; 
(5) share and distribute information regarding 
educational plans, strategies, learning activities, and 
curricula to all stakeholders within its region; 
(6) provide financial and technical assistance 
pursuant to the guidelines developed by the Adminis-
trator under this section; and 
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(7) perform any additional duties as necessary 
to carry out the functions of the program. 
(e) PROGRAM GUIDELINES.—No later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act and after consulta-
tion with appropriate stakeholders, the Administrator 
shall publish in the Federal Register guidelines regarding 
the implementation of this program, including: 
(1) CONTRACTS.—The Administrator shall cre-
ate guidelines through which each regional program 
may enter into contracts to support projects to de-
sign, demonstrate, evaluate, or disseminate prac-
tices, methods, or techniques related to Bay-water-
shed education and training. 
(2) GRANT MAKING AND COOPERATIVE AGREE-
MENTS.— 
(A) The Administrator shall create guide-
lines through which each regional program may 
provide financial assistance in the form of a 
grant or cooperative agreement to support 
projects which advance the goals and objectives 
of this bill, and which shall include criteria for 
eligible entities, identification of national prior-
ities, establishment of performance measures to 
evaluate program effectiveness, and reporting 
requirements for grant award recipients. 
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(B) In making grants pursuant to this sec-
tion, the regional programs shall give priority to 
those projects which will— 
(i) promote bay-watershed education 
throughout the region; 
(ii) advance strategic initiatives to in-
corporate bay-watershed education into 
formal and informal education systems; 
(iii) build capacity within bay-water-
shed education communities and stake-
holder groups for expanding and strength-
ening their work; 
(iv) build bay-watershed education 
into professional development or training 
activities for educators; and 
(v) broadly replicate existing, proven 
bay-watershed education programs. 
(f) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants under 
this section, the Administrator may give priority 
consideration to projects in which the Federal share 
does not exceed 75 percent of the aggregate cost of 
such project. 
(2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION.—The non-Federal 
share of the costs of any project supported by an 
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award of grant funding under this section may be 
cash or the fair market value of services, equipment, 
donations, or any other form of in-kind contribution. 
(3) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The Adminis-
trator may grant a waiver of paragraph (1) for any 
underserved community, for any community that has 
an inability to draw on other sources of funding be-
cause of the small population or low income of the 
community, or for any other person for any other 
reason the Administrator considers appropriate and 
consistent with the purposes of the program. 
(g) REGIONAL PROGRAM COORDINATION.—Within 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
the Office of Education shall work with Regional Program 
Managers on the following regional B-WET functions: 
(1) Strategic planning efforts. 
(2) Integration and coordination of programs. 
(3) Coordination of national evaluation efforts. 
(4) Promotion of network wide communications. 
(5) Selection of new Regional Program Man-
agers. 
(6) Management, tracking, and oversight of the 
B-WET program. 
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(h) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS BY ADMINIS-
TRATOR.—Of the amounts made available to implement 
this section— 
(1) no less than 80 percent shall be used for 
implementation of regional program activities, in-
cluding the award of grants; and 
(2) no more than 20 percent may be used by 
the Administrator to implement the regional pro-
grams and regional program coordination. 
SEC. 6. BIENNIAL REPORT. 
Not later than December 31, 2011, and biennially 
thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a 
report on the grant programs authorized under this Act. 
Each such report shall include a description of the eligible 
activities carried out with grants awarded under the Act 
during the previous two fiscal years, an assessment of the 
success and impact of such activities, and a description 
of the type of programs carried out with such grant, 
disaggregated by State. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to the Administrator to carry out this Act— 
(1) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 
(2) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 
(3) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 
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(4) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 
(5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2015. 
(b) ALLOCATION.—The amount authorized for each 
fiscal year under subsection (a) shall be divided equally 
to carry out sections 4 and section 5. 
Æ 
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