110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1907 
AN ACT 
To authorize the acquisition of land and interests in land 
from willing sellers to improve the conservation of, and 
to enhance the ecological values and functions of, coastal 
and estuarine areas to benefit both the environment and 
the economies of coastal communities, and for other pur-
poses.
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 ‘‘Coastal and Estuarine 
Land Conservation Program Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF COASTAL AND ESTUARINE 
LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 
The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 
307 the following new section: 
‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF THE COASTAL AND ESTUARINE 
LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM 
‘‘SEC. 307A. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
conduct a Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Pro-
gram, in cooperation with appropriate State, regional, and 
other units of government, for the purposes of protecting 
important coastal and estuarine areas that have signifi-
cant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aes-
thetic values, or that are threatened by conversion from 
their natural, undeveloped, or recreational state to other 
uses or could be managed or restored to effectively con-
serve, enhance, or restore ecological function. The pro-
gram shall be administered by the National Ocean Service 
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
through the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Man-
agement.
‘‘(b) PROPERTY ACQUISITION GRANTS.—The Sec-
retary shall make grants under the program to coastal 
states with approved coastal zone management plans or 
National Estuarine Research Reserve units for the pur-
pose of acquiring property or interests in property de-
scribed in subsection (a) that will further the goals of— 
‘‘(1) a Coastal Zone Management Plan or Pro-
gram approved under this title; 
‘‘(2) a National Estuarine Research Reserve 
management plan; 
‘‘(3) a regional or State watershed protection or 
management plan involving coastal states with ap-
proved coastal zone management programs; or 
‘‘(4) a State coastal land acquisition plan that 
is consistent with an approved coastal zone manage-
ment program. 
‘‘(c) GRANT PROCESS.—The Secretary shall allocate 
funds to coastal states or National Estuarine Research 
Reserves under this section through a competitive grant 
process in accordance with guidelines that meet the fol-
lowing requirements: 
‘‘(1) The Secretary shall consult with the coast-
al state’s coastal zone management program, any 
National Estuarine Research Reserve in that State, 
and the lead agency designated by the Governor for
coordinating the implementation of this section (if 
different from the coastal zone management pro-
gram). 
‘‘(2) Each participating coastal state, after con-
sultation with local governmental entities and other 
interested stakeholders, shall identify priority con-
servation needs within the State, the values to be 
protected by inclusion of lands in the program, and 
the threats to those values that should be avoided. 
‘‘(3) Each participating coastal state shall to 
the extent practicable ensure that the acquisition of 
property or easements shall complement working wa-
terfront needs. 
‘‘(4) The applicant shall identify the values to 
be protected by inclusion of the lands in the pro-
gram, management activities that are planned and 
the manner in which they may affect the values 
identified, and any other information from the land-
owner relevant to administration and management of 
the land. 
‘‘(5) Awards shall be based on demonstrated 
need for protection and ability to successfully lever-
age funds among participating entities, including 
Federal programs, regional organizations, State and
other governmental units, landowners, corporations, 
or private organizations. 
‘‘(6) The governor, or the lead agency des-
ignated by the governor for coordinating the imple-
mentation of this section, where appropriate in con-
sultation with the appropriate local government, 
shall determine that the application is consistent 
with the State’s or territory’s approved coastal zone 
plan, program, and policies prior to submittal to the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(7)(A) Priority shall be given to lands de-
scribed in subsection (a) that can be effectively man-
aged and protected and that have significant ecologi-
cal value. 
‘‘(B) Of the projects that meet the standard in 
subparagraph (A), priority shall be given to lands 
that— 
‘‘(i) are under an imminent threat of con-
version to a use that will degrade or otherwise 
diminish their natural, undeveloped, or rec-
reational state; and 
‘‘(ii) serve to mitigate the adverse impacts 
caused by coastal population growth in the 
coastal environment.
‘‘(8) In developing guidelines under this section, 
the Secretary shall consult with coastal states, other 
Federal agencies, and other interested stakeholders 
with expertise in land acquisition and conservation 
procedures. 
‘‘(9) Eligible coastal states or National Estua-
rine Research Reserves may allocate grants to local 
governments or agencies eligible for assistance under 
section 306A(e). 
‘‘(10) The Secretary shall develop performance 
measures that the Secretary shall use to evaluate 
and report on the program’s effectiveness in accom-
plishing its purposes, and shall submit such evalua-
tions to Congress triennially. 
‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS AND PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTEC-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(1) A grant awarded under this section may 
be used to purchase land or an interest in land, in-
cluding an easement, only from a willing seller. Any 
such purchase shall not be the result of a forced tak-
ing under this section. Nothing in this section re-
quires a private property owner to participate in the 
program under this section. 
‘‘(2) Any interest in land, including any ease-
ment, acquired with a grant under this section shall
not be considered to create any new liability, or have 
any effect on liability under any other law, of any 
private property owner with respect to any person 
injured on the private property. 
‘‘(3) Nothing in this section requires a private 
property owner to provide access (including Federal, 
State, or local government access) to or use of pri-
vate property unless such property or an interest in 
such property (including a conservation easement) 
has been purchased with funds made available under 
this section. 
‘‘(e) RECOGNITION
OF AUTHORITY
TO CONTROL 
LAND USE.—Nothing in this title modifies the authority 
of Federal, State, or local governments to regulate land 
use. 
‘‘(f) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 
make a grant under the program unless the Federal 
funds are matched by non-Federal funds in accord-
ance with this subsection. 
‘‘(2) COST SHARE REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Grant funds under 
the program shall require a 100 percent match 
from other non-Federal sources.
‘‘(B) WAIVER
OF
REQUIREMENT.—The 
Secretary may grant a waiver of subparagraph 
(A) for underserved communities, communities 
that have an inability to draw on other sources 
of funding because of the small population or 
low income of the community, or for other rea-
sons the Secretary deems appropriate and con-
sistent with the purposes of the program. 
‘‘(3) OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—Where finan-
cial assistance awarded under this section represents 
only a portion of the total cost of a project, funding 
from other Federal sources may be applied to the 
cost of the project. Each portion shall be subject to 
match requirements under the applicable provision 
of law. 
‘‘(4) SOURCE OF MATCHING COST SHARE.—For 
purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the non-Federal cost 
share for a project may be determined by taking into 
account the following: 
‘‘(A) The value of land or a conservation 
easement may be used by a project applicant as 
non-Federal match, if the Secretary determines 
that— 
‘‘(i) the land meets the criteria set 
forth in section 2(b) and is acquired in the
period beginning 3 years before the date of 
the submission of the grant application 
and ending 3 years after the date of the 
award of the grant; 
‘‘(ii) the value of the land or easement 
is held by a non-governmental organization 
included in the grant application in per-
petuity for conservation purposes of the 
program; and 
‘‘(iii) the land or easement is con-
nected either physically or through a con-
servation planning process to the land or 
easement that would be acquired. 
‘‘(B) The appraised value of the land or 
conservation easement at the time of the grant 
closing will be considered and applied as the 
non-Federal cost share. 
‘‘(C) Costs associated with land acquisi-
tion, land management planning, remediation, 
restoration, and enhancement may be used as 
non- Federal match if the activities are identi-
fied in the plan and expenses are incurred with-
in the period of the grant award, or, for lands 
described in (A), within the same time limits
described therein. These costs may include ei-
ther cash or in-kind contributions. 
‘‘(g) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR NATIONAL ESTU-
ARINE RESEARCH RESERVE SITES.—No less than 15 per-
cent of funds made available under this section shall be 
available for acquisitions benefitting National Estuarine 
Research Reserves. 
‘‘(h) LIMIT ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 
than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Sec-
retary under this section shall be used by the Secretary 
for planning or administration of the program. The Sec-
retary shall provide a report to Congress with an account 
of all expenditures under this section for fiscal year 2009 
and triennially thereafter. 
‘‘(i) TITLE AND MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED PROP-
ERTY.—If any property is acquired in whole or in part 
with funds made available through a grant under this sec-
tion, the grant recipient shall provide— 
‘‘(1) such assurances as the Secretary may re-
quire that— 
‘‘(A) the title to the property will be held 
by the grant recipient or another appropriate 
public agency designated by the recipient in 
perpetuity;
‘‘(B) the property will be managed in a 
manner that is consistent with the purposes for 
which the land entered into the program and 
shall not convert such property to other uses; 
and 
‘‘(C) if the property or interest in land is 
sold, exchanged, or divested, funds equal to the 
current value will be returned to the Secretary 
in accordance with applicable Federal law for 
redistribution in the grant process; and 
‘‘(2) certification that the property (including 
any interest in land) will be acquired from a willing 
seller. 
‘‘(j) REQUIREMENT FOR PROPERTY USED FOR NON- 
FEDERAL MATCH.—If the grant recipient elects to use 
any land or interest in land held by a non-governmental 
organization as a non-Federal match under subsection (g), 
the grant recipient must to the Secretary’s satisfaction 
demonstrate in the grant application that such land or in-
terest will satisfy the same requirements as the lands or 
interests in lands acquired under the program. 
‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CONSERVATION
EASEMENT.—The term 
‘conservation easement’ includes an easement or re-
striction, recorded deed, or a reserve interest deed
where the grantee acquires all rights, title, and in-
terest in a property, that do not conflict with the 
goals of this section except those rights, title, and 
interests that may run with the land that are ex-
pressly reserved by a grantor and are agreed to at 
the time of purchase. 
‘‘(2) INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The term ‘in-
terest in property’ includes a conservation easement. 
‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this section $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 
through 2013.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 22, 
2008. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1907 
AN ACT 
To authorize the acquisition of land and interests 
in land from willing sellers to improve the con-
servation of, and to enhance the ecological values 
and functions of, coastal and estuarine areas to 
benefit both the environment and the economies 
of coastal communities, and for other purposes.