SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF NOAA CHESAPEAKE BAY OF-
FICE. 
Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 
1511d) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(in this 
section’’ and all that follows and inserting a pe-
riod; 
(B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director, 
who— 
‘‘(A) shall have knowledge and experience 
in research or resource management efforts in 
the Chesapeake Bay; and 
‘‘(B) shall be responsible for the adminis-
tration and operation of the office and the im-
plementation of this Act’’; and 
(C) by striking paragraph (3); 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking so much as precedes para-
graph (1) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 
focus the relevant science, research, and resource manage-
ment capabilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
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Administration as they apply to the Chesapeake Bay and 
to utilize the Office to—’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Sec-
retary of Commerce’’ and inserting ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’; 
(C) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by striking the matter preceding 
subparagraph (A) and inserting the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) coordinate the programs and activities of 
the various organizations within the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration in furtherance 
of such administrations’ coastal resource steward-
ship mission, including—’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of 
clause (vi), and by inserting after clause 
(vii) the following: 
‘‘(i) coastal hazards and climate 
change; and’’; and 
(iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of 
clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the 
semicolon at the end of clause (iv), and by 
adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(v) 
integrated 
ecosystem 
assess-
ments;’’; 
(D) in paragraph (4)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Environmental Pro-
tection Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chesapeake 
Executive Council’’; and 
(ii) by inserting before the semicolon 
at the end the following: ‘‘as appropriate to 
further purposes of this section’’; 
(E) by striking paragraph (5) and (7); 
(F) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 
paragraph (5); and 
(G) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) perform any functions necessary to sup-
port the programs referred to in paragraph (3)’’; 
and 
(3) by striking subsection (c) and all that fol-
lows through the end of the section and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(c) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Administrator, 
through the Director, shall implement the program 
activities authorized by this subsection to support 
the activity of the Chesapeake Executive Council and 
to further the purposes of this section. 
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‘‘(2) ENSURING
SCIENTIFIC
AND
TECHNICAL 
MERIT.—The director shall— 
‘‘(A) establish and utilize an effective and 
transparent mechanism to ensure that projects 
funded under this section have undergone ap-
propriate peer review; and 
‘‘(B) provide other appropriate means to 
determine that such projects have acceptable 
scientific and technical merit for the purpose of 
achieving maximum utilization of available 
funds and resources to benefit the Chesapeake 
Bay area. 
‘‘(3) CONSULTATION WITH CHESAPEAKE EXEC-
UTIVE COUNCIL.—The Director shall, in the imple-
mentation of the program activities authorized under 
this section, consult with the Chesapeake Executive 
Council, to ensure that the activities of the Office 
are consistent with the purposes and priorities of the 
Chesapeake Bay Agreement and plans developed 
pursuant to the Agreement. 
‘‘(4) INTEGRATED COASTAL OBSERVATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator, 
through the Director, may collaborate with sci-
entific and academic institutions, State and 
Federal agencies, non-governmental organiza-
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tions, and other constituents in the Chesapeake 
Bay watershed, to support an integrated obser-
vations system for the Chesapeake Bay con-
sistent with the purposes of subtitle C of title 
XII of Public Law 111–11 (33 U.S.C. 3601 et 
seq.). 
‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—To sup-
port the system referred to in subparagraph (A) 
and provide a complete set of environmental in-
formation for the Chesapeake Bay, the Director 
shall— 
‘‘(i) coordinate existing monitoring 
and observing activities in the Chesapeake 
Bay; 
‘‘(ii) identify new data collection needs 
and deploy new technologies, as appro-
priate; 
‘‘(iii) collect and analyze the scientific 
information necessary for the management 
of living marine resources and the marine 
habitat associated with such resources; 
‘‘(iv) manage and interpret the infor-
mation described in clause (iii); and 
‘‘(v) organize the information de-
scribed in clause (iii) into products that 
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are useful to policy makers, resource man-
agers, scientists, and the public. 
‘‘(C) CHESAPEAKE
BAY
INTERPRETIVE 
BUOY
SYSTEM.—To further the development 
and implementation of the Chesapeake Bay In-
terpretive Buoy System, the Director may— 
‘‘(i) support the establishment and 
implementation of the Captain John Smith 
Chesapeake National Historic Trail; 
‘‘(ii) delineate key waypoints along the 
trail and provide appropriate real-time 
data and information for trail users; 
‘‘(iii) interpret data and information 
for use by educators and students to in-
spire stewardship of Chesapeake Bay; and 
‘‘(iv) incorporate the Chesapeake Bay 
Interpretive Buoy System into the Inte-
grated Ocean Observing System regional 
network of observatories. 
‘‘(5) CHESAPEAKE
BAY
WATERSHED
EDU-
CATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator, 
through the Director, may establish a Chesa-
peake Bay watershed education and training 
program. The program shall— 
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land use to natural resource and watershed 
protection. 
‘‘(C) COLLABORATION.—The Director shall 
implement the education and training program 
in collaboration with the heads of other relevant 
Federal agencies. 
‘‘(6) COASTAL AND LIVING RESOURCES MAN-
AGEMENT AND HABITAT PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator, 
through the Director, may establish a Chesa-
peake Bay coastal living resources management 
and habitat program to support coordinated 
management, protection, characterization, and 
restoration of priority Chesapeake Bay habitats 
and living resources, including oysters, blue 
crabs, and submerged aquatic vegetation. 
‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Under the program, 
the Director may, subject to the availability of 
appropriations, carry out or enter into grants, 
contracts, and cooperative agreements and pro-
vide technical assistance to support— 
‘‘(i) native oyster restoration; 
‘‘(ii) fish and shellfish aquaculture 
that is carried out in accordance with a 
valid Federal or State permit; 
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‘‘(iii) establishment of submerged 
aquatic vegetation propogation programs; 
‘‘(iv) the development of programs 
that protect and restore critical coastal 
habitats; 
‘‘(v) habitat mapping, characteriza-
tion, and assessment techniques necessary 
to identify, assess, and monitor restoration 
actions; 
‘‘(vi) application and transfer of ap-
plied scientific research and ecosystem 
management tools to fisheries and habitat 
managers; 
‘‘(vii) collection, synthesis, and shar-
ing of information to inform and influence 
coastal and living resource management 
issues; and 
‘‘(viii) other activities that the director 
determines are appropriate to carry out 
the purposes of such program. 
‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Administrator, 
through the Director, shall submit a biennial report 
to the Congress and the Secretary of Commerce on 
the activities of the Office and on progress made in 
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protecting and restoring the living resources and 
habitat of the Chesapeake Bay. 
‘‘(2) ACTION PLAN.—Each such report shall in-
clude an action plan for the 2-year period following 
submission of the report, consisting of— 
‘‘(A) a list of recommended research, moni-
toring, and data collection activities necessary 
to continue implementation of the strategy 
under subsection (b)(2); and 
‘‘(B) recommendations to integrate Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
activities with the activities of the partners in 
the Chesapeake Bay Program to meet the com-
mitments of the Chesapeake 2000 agreement 
and subsequent agreements. 
‘‘(e) AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Administrator, 
through the Director, may, subject to the availability 
of appropriations, enter into and perform such con-
tracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agreements as 
may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
Act. 
‘‘(2) USE
OF
OTHER
RESOURCES.—For pur-
poses related to the understanding, protection, and 
restoration of Chesapeake Bay, the Director may 
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use, with their consent and with or without reim-
bursement, the land, services, equipment, personnel, 
and facilities of any Department, agency, or instru-
mentality of the United States, or of any State, local 
government, Indian tribal government, or of any po-
litical subdivision thereof. 
‘‘(3) DONATIONS.—The Director may accept 
donations of funds, other property, and services for 
use in understanding, protecting, and restoring the 
Chesapeake Bay. Donations accepted under this sec-
tion shall be considered as a gift or bequest to or for 
the use of the United States. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis-
trator’ means the Administrator of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
‘‘(2) CHESAPEAKE
BAY
AGREEMENT.—The 
term ‘Chesapeake Bay Agreement’ means the for-
mal, voluntary agreements executed to achieve the 
goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay 
ecosystem and the living resources of the Chesa-
peake Bay ecosystem and are signed by the Chesa-
peake Executive Council. 
‘‘(3) CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.—The 
term ‘Chesapeake Executive Council’ means the rep-
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resentatives from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the 
State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-
vania, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
District of Columbia, and the Chesapeake Bay Com-
mission, who are signatories to the Chesapeake Bay 
Agreement, and any future signatories to that agree-
ment. 
‘‘(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 
the Director of the Office. 
‘‘(5) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the 
Chesapeake Bay Office established under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this section— 
‘‘(1) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 
‘‘(2) $18,700,000 for fiscal year 2013; 
‘‘(3) $20,570,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 
‘‘(4) $22,627,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 
Æ 
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