I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5133
To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authoriza-
tion Act of 1992 to revise and enhance authorities, and to authorize
appropriations, for the Chesapeake Bay Office, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000
Mr. GILCHREST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration Authorization Act of 1992 to revise and enhance
authorities, and to authorize appropriations, for the
Chesapeake Bay Office, 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 ‘‘NOAA Chesapeake
Bay Office Improvement Act’’.
SEC. 2. CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 307(a) of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Author-
ization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d(a)) is amended in
paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Estuarine Resources’’.
(b) FUNCTIONS.—Section 307(b) of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization
Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(3) coordinate the programs and activities of
the various organizations within the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration, the Chesa-
peake Bay Regional Sea Grant Programs, and the
Chesapeake Bay units of the National Estuarine Re-
search Reserve System, including—
‘‘(A) programs and activities in—
‘‘(i) coastal and estuarine research,
monitoring, and assessment;
‘‘(ii) fisheries research and stock as-
sessments;
‘‘(iii) data management;
‘‘(iv) remote sensing;
‘‘(v) coastal management;
‘‘(vi) habitat conservation and restora-
tion; and
‘‘(vii) atmospheric deposition; and
‘‘(B) programs and activities of the Coop-
erative Oxford Laboratory of the National
Ocean Service with respect to—
‘‘(i) nonindigenous species;
‘‘(ii) marine species pathology;
‘‘(iii) human pathogens in marine en-
vironments; and
‘‘(iv) ecosystems health;’’; and
(2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at
the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, which report
shall include an action plan consisting of—
‘‘(A) a list of recommended research, moni-
toring, and data collection activities necessary
to continue implementation of the strategy de-
scribed in paragraph (2); and
‘‘(B) proposals for—
‘‘(i) continuing and new National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration ac-
tivities in the Chesapeake Bay; and
‘‘(ii) the integration of those activities
with the activities of the partners in the
Chesapeake Bay Program to meet the
commitments of the Chesapeake 2000
agreement and subsequent agreements.’’.
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 307 of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Au-
thorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) is amended
by striking the section heading and inserting the following:
‘‘SEC. 307. CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.’’.
SEC. 3. MULTIPLE SPECIES MANAGEMENT STRATEGY;
CHESAPEAKE BAY FISHERY AND HABITAT
RESTORATION SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion Authorization Act of 1992 is amended by inserting
after section 307 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) the following:
‘‘SEC. 307A. MULTIPLE SPECIES MANAGEMENT STRATEGY.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this section, the Director of the
Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration shall commence a 5-year study,
in cooperation with the scientific community of the Chesa-
peake Bay, appropriate interstate resource management
entities, and appropriate Federal agencies—
‘‘(1) to determine and expand the under-
standing of the role and response of living resources
in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem; and
‘‘(2) to develop a multiple species management
strategy for the Chesapeake Bay.
‘‘(b) REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF STUDY.—In order to
improve the understanding necessary for the development
of the strategy under subsection (a), the study shall—
‘‘(1) determine the current status and trends of
fish and shellfish that live in the Chesapeake Bay es-
tuaries and are selected for study;
‘‘(2) evaluate and assess interactions among the
fish and shellfish described in paragraph (1) and
other living resources, with particular attention to
the impact of changes within and among trophic lev-
els; and
‘‘(3) recommend management actions to opti-
mize the return of a healthy and balanced ecosystem
for the Chesapeake Bay.
‘‘SEC. 307B. CHESAPEAKE BAY FISHERY AND HABITAT RES-
TORATION SMALL WATERSHED GRANTS PRO-
GRAM.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Chesapeake
Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration (referred to in this section as the ‘Director’),
in cooperation with the Chesapeake Executive Council (as
defined in section 307(e)), shall carry out a community-
based fishery and habitat restoration small grants and
technical assistance program in the Chesapeake Bay wa-
tershed.
‘‘(b) PROJECTS.—
‘‘(1) SUPPORT.—The Director shall make
grants under the program under subsection (a) to
pay the Federal share of the cost of projects that
are carried out by eligible entities described in sub-
section (c) for the restoration of fisheries and habi-
tats in the Chesapeake Bay.
‘‘(2) FEDERAL
SHARE.—The Federal share
under paragraph (1) shall not exceed 75 percent.
‘‘(3) TYPES OF PROJECTS.—Projects for which
grants may be made under the program include—
‘‘(A) the improvement of fish passageways;
‘‘(B) the creation of natural or artificial
reefs or substrata for habitats;
‘‘(C) the restoration of wetland or sea
grass; and
‘‘(D) the production of oysters for restora-
tion projects.
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The following entities are
eligible to receive grants under the program under this
section:
‘‘(1) The government of a political subdivision
of a State in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the
government of the District of Columbia.