I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4692 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to conduct coastal 
community vulnerability assessments related to ocean acidification, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 20, 2014 
Ms. PINGREE of Maine introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, to conduct coastal community vulner-
ability assessments related to ocean acidification, 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 ‘‘Coastal Communities 
Ocean Acidification Act of 2014’’. 
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SEC. 2. COASTAL COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESS-
MENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12406 of the Federal 
Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 
(33 U.S.C. 3705) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; 
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) includes an ongoing mechanism that allows 
affected industry members, coastal stakeholders, 
non-federal resource managers, and outside scientific 
experts to provide input on research, data, and mon-
itoring needs that are necessary to support on-the- 
ground management, decisionmaking, and adapta-
tion related to ocean acidification and its impacts.’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (c); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(b) COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 
program established under subsection (a), shall con-
duct an ocean acidification coastal community vul-
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nerability assessment, and issue a corresponding 
public report, that shall be updated at least once 
every 5 years. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The assessment con-
ducted under paragraph (1) shall— 
‘‘(A) identify the United States coastal 
communities, including island communities, low- 
population rural communities, and subsistence 
communities, that are most dependent on coast-
al and ocean resources that may be impacted by 
ocean acidification; 
‘‘(B) assess the nature of those commu-
nities’ social and economic vulnerabilities; 
‘‘(C) identify the ocean acidification im-
pacts that might harm those communities, in-
cluding impacts from changes in ocean and 
coastal marine resources that are not managed 
by the Federal Government; 
‘‘(D) identify key knowledge gaps where 
research could be devoted to better understand 
the possible impacts of ocean acidification on 
these vulnerable communities, the risks and 
threats facing these communities, and possible 
adaptation strategies for these communities; 
and 
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‘‘(E) be conducted in collaboration with ex-
perts who are familiar with the unique eco-
nomic, social, ecological, geographic, and re-
source concerns of the Nation’s coastal commu-
nities, including representatives from the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion’s National Marine Fisheries Service, and 
Coastal Services Center.’’. 
(b) STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN.—Section 12405(b) 
of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Moni-
toring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
the semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(10) make recommendations for research that 
should be conducted, including in the social sciences 
and economics, to address the key knowledge gaps 
identified in the community vulnerability assessment 
report conducted under subsection (b) of section 
12406.’’. 
Æ 
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