I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1183
To promote the Sensible Development of Renewable Energy in the Waters 
of the Coastal Zone, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 11, 2003
Mr. DELAHUNT (for himself and Mr. SAXTON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To promote the Sensible Development of Renewable Energy 
in the Waters of the Coastal Zone, 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 Zone Renew-
able Energy Promotion Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) There is an increasing need for the produc-
tion of electricity from energy facilities that use re-
newable resources and some of these facilities may
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(b) PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES.—The purposes and 
objectives of this Act are to—
(1) promote the sensible development of energy 
facilities that use renewable energy resources in the 
marine environment by authorizing the Secretary of 
Commerce to establish a licensing regime and per-
mitting process to ensure due consideration of the 
public trust issues involved in resource allocation, 
multiple use, and impacts on the marine environ-
ment; 
(2) direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting 
through the Administrator of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to use 
NOAA’s expertise about the marine environment 
and coastal zone to develop new Federal rules and 
regulations to authorize and govern the sensible de-
velopment of renewable energy resources in a man-
ner that provides for public safety, safe navigation, 
protection of the marine environment, prevention of 
waste, conservation of natural resources, access to 
important commercial and recreational fishing areas, 
the protection of correlative rights, protection of na-
tional security interests, and payments to the Fed-
eral Government for constructing and operating re-
newable energy facilities in waters under the juris-
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diction of the United States seaward of the coastal 
zone; and 
(3) encourage coastal States to amend their 
coastal zone management plans to include policies 
and procedures that address—
(A) issues arising from the location in the 
marine environment of energy facilities that uti-
lize renewable energy sources; 
(B) conflicting and competing resource al-
location and multiple use issues; and 
(C) any adverse impacts from such facili-
ties on the marine environment, commercial and 
recreational fishing and other activities, the 
boating community and aesthetic, cultural and 
historic values. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—
(1) Except where provided otherwise, any term 
used in this Act that is defined in the Coastal Zone 
Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453 et seq.) 
shall have the same meaning as provided in that Act 
(as amended by this Act). 
(2) Section 304 of the Coastal Zone Manage-
ment Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453) is amended 
by—
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(A) renumbering paragraphs (16) through 
(18) as paragraphs (18) through (20), respec-
tively;
(B) inserting after paragraph (15) the fol-
lowing new paragraphs—
‘‘(16) The term ‘renewable energy facility’ 
means any equipment or facility which is or will be 
used primarily—
‘‘(A) in the development, production, con-
version, storage, transfer, processing, or trans-
portation of any renewable energy resource; or 
‘‘(B) for the manufacture, production, or 
assembly of equipment, machinery, products, or 
devices which are involved in any activity de-
scribed in subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(17) The term ‘renewable energy resource’ 
means a source of energy that is regenerative and is 
produced without depleting or otherwise diminishing 
the resource from which such energy is derived. 
Such term includes, but is not limited to, solar, ther-
mal, and wind energy sources.’’; and 
(C) inserting after paragraph (20) (as re-
numbered by subparagraph (A)) the following 
new paragraph:
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‘‘(21) The term ‘wind energy facility’ means a 
facility or equipment that converts the kinetic energy 
of wind into electricity. Such term includes all nec-
essary components for the generation and trans-
mission of such wind energy.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made to 
the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1451 et seq.) by this Act shall be effective on the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
TITLE I—COASTAL STATE 
MANAGEMENT 
SEC. 101. COASTAL ZONE ENHANCEMENT OBJECTIVES. 
Section 309 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 
1972 (16 U.S.C. 1456b) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a) by inserting at the end the 
following new paragraph—
‘‘(8) The procedures and enforceable policies 
adopted to facilitate the location of renewable energy 
facilities in the marine environment, including any 
wind energy facility, shall, among other things—
‘‘(A) identify priority locations for renew-
able energy facilities in the coastal zone; 
‘‘(B) ensure continued access to commer-
cial and recreational fishing areas, including 
shellfish beds;
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‘‘(C) include an environmental review of 
the potential impacts on—
‘‘(i) marine mammals and endangered 
species and their designated critical habi-
tat; 
‘‘(ii) birds; 
‘‘(iii) the marine environment includ-
ing the seabed; 
‘‘(iv) aesthetic, cultural and historical 
resource values; and 
‘‘(v) the cumulative impacts of mul-
tiple renewable energy facilities; 
‘‘(D) evaluate navigational and public safe-
ty concerns, including but not limited to avia-
tion safety, and ensure continued access to im-
portant traditional recreational boating areas; 
‘‘(E) include obligations for the payment of 
funds necessary to pay for the decommissioning 
and removal of renewable energy facilities; 
‘‘(F) include an assessment of the need for 
the energy produced by renewable energy facili-
ties; and 
‘‘(G) take into account national security 
interests.’’;
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(2) in subsection (c) by inserting at the end the 
following new sentence: ‘‘In making funding deci-
sions, the Secretary shall give special consideration 
to those proposals for management program changes 
related to the implementation of the objectives iden-
tified in paragraph (a)(8) in States with pending re-
newable energy facility proposals.’’. 
TITLE II—FEDERAL MARINE 
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAM 
SEC. 201. LICENSE FOR THE OPERATION OF RENEWABLE 
ENERGY FACILITIES IN WATERS UNDER THE 
JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES SEA-
WARD OF THE COASTAL ZONE. 
The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section—
‘‘SEC. 314. RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITIES. 
‘‘(a) LICENSE REQUIREMENT.—No person may con-
struct or operate a renewable energy facility in waters 
under the jurisdiction of the United States seaward of the 
coastal zone except in accordance with a license issued 
pursuant to this section. 
‘‘(b) LETTER OF INTENT, PUBLIC NOTICE AND RE-
QUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—
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‘‘(1) Any person who seeks to apply for a li-
cense under this section shall notify the Secretary in 
writing of their intent to apply for a license under 
this section. A letter of intent shall include, at a 
minimum, a description of the proposed renewable 
energy facility, the specific location where the appli-
cant proposes to construct the facility, the proposed 
timeframe for construction and operation of the fa-
cility and the names of the applicant, owners and 
operators of the proposed facility.
‘‘(2) Within 30 days of receipt of a letter of in-
tent, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg-
ister notice containing the requirements for a license 
application in the area identified in the notice issued 
under paragraph (2), and a request for proposals 
from all persons who seek a license to construct and 
operate a renewable energy facility in the same loca-
tion. The Secretary shall determine the time within 
which proposals must be submitted, but shall not set 
the submission date less than 60 days from the date 
notice is published in the Federal Register. 
‘‘(c) PUBLIC INTEREST EVALUATION.—In evaluating 
applications received under this section, the Secretary 
shall consider the amount of energy the proposed project 
will produce, the economic impact to the region where the
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facility will be located, the environmental impacts of the 
proposed facility, the displacement of competing uses of 
the proposed site and other relevant factors to determine 
which proposed project best serves the public interest. 
‘‘(d) LICENSE ISSUANCE PREREQUISITES.—The Sec-
retary may only issue a license under this section after 
the Secretary determines that—
‘‘(1) based on recommendations from the Sec-
retary of Defense, the facility will be consistent with 
national security needs; 
‘‘(2) based on recommendations from the Corps 
of Engineers and the Coast Guard, the facility will 
not create an obstruction to navigation; 
‘‘(3) the application is consistent with the ap-
proved management programs of affected states; 
‘‘(4) construction or operation of the facility 
will not unduly restrict access to commercial and 
recreational fishing areas, including shellfish beds, 
and recreational boating areas; 
‘‘(5) the facility will not adversely affect marine 
mammals, threatened or endangered species, migra-
tory birds, or designated critical habitat; 
‘‘(6) construction or operation of the facility 
will not adversely affect aesthetic, cultural, or histor-
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ical resources recognized or protected under Federal 
law or the laws of the affected coastal States; 
‘‘(7) after consultation with the Secretary of 
Transportation, that the renewable energy facility 
does not pose a threat to aviation safety; 
‘‘(8) as a result of the Environmental Impact 
Statement, the facility can be constructed or oper-
ated in a manner that minimizes any adverse impact 
on the marine environment, including the seabed 
and any other natural resources; 
‘‘(9) after consultation with the Secretary of 
Energy, that the electricity that will be produced by 
the facility is needed; 
‘‘(10) the location of the facility is not within 
the boundaries of a National Marine Sanctuary or 
Marine Protected Area; 
‘‘(11) the applicant will pay the fees required in 
the application; and 
‘‘(12) the application was determined by the 
Secretary under subsection (c) to best serve the pub-
lic interest. 
‘‘(e) LICENSE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—
‘‘(1) In issuing a license for the construction 
and operation of a renewable energy facility the Sec-
retary shall prescribe the conditions necessary to
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carry out the provisions of this Act and any other 
law, and such license shall only be issued if the ap-
plicant agrees to comply with the conditions the Sec-
retary may prescribe in accordance with the provi-
sions of this Act. 
‘‘(2) No license issued under this section may 
be sold, transferred, or materially changed in any 
other manner without the prior written approval of 
the Secretary. The Secretary shall ensure that any 
such sale, transfer or change is consistent with the 
management plans of affected coastal States before 
issuing an approval.
‘‘(3) The Secretary shall establish such bonding 
requirements or other assurances as may be nec-
essary to assure that, upon revocation, termination, 
relinquishment, abandonment, transfer, sale, or sur-
render of the license, the licensee will dispose of or 
remove all components of the renewable energy facil-
ity as directed by the Secretary. The Secretary may 
waive the disposal or removal requirements for any 
submerged component of the renewable energy facil-
ity on or below the seabed if he finds that such re-
moval is not otherwise necessary and that such com-
ponent does not constitute a threat to the environ-
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ment, or impede navigation, fishing, or use of the 
seabed. 
‘‘(f) HEARING AND PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Sec-
retary may issue a license under this section only after 
public notice and opportunity for comment, and after con-
ducting during the comment period at least one public 
hearing in the coastal area affected by the facility for 
which a license is proposed to be issued. 
‘‘(g) FEES AND ROYALTIES.—The Secretary shall re-
quire the payment of an application fee when a completed 
license application is accepted in an amount sufficient to 
cover the administrative expenses of processing the appli-
cation. The Secretary shall also, after notice and public 
comment, establish an annual royalty fee to be paid by 
the holder of a license issued pursuant to this section dur-
ing any year in which electricity is produced under such 
license. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall set 
the royalty fee to recoup the market value of the site for 
use as a renewable energy facility, taking into account the 
size of the facility, any impacts on the marine environment 
and other natural resources, the amount of electricity pro-
duced, the value of the site to competing uses, whether 
or not the renewable energy facility is located in a priority 
area and any other relevant factors; provided, however, 
that the Secretary may set a royalty fee at less than mar-
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ket value if he determines that it is necessary and appro-
priate to encourage (a) small-scale developers; (b) reduced 
environmental impacts, or (c) the siting of renewable en-
ergy facilities in designated priority areas. Royalty fees 
and impact fees assessed under subsection (b) shall be de-
posited in the Coastal Zone Management Fund established 
under section 309. 
‘‘(h) NO RIGHT OR TITLE.—No provision of this Act 
or any other law shall be construed to limit the authority 
of the Secretary to terminate or limit, without compensa-
tion to the holder, any license issued pursuant to this sec-
tion if the Secretary determines that such termination or 
limitation is necessary to further the purposes of this Act 
or to implement or enforce this Act or any other law.’’. 
SEC. 202. PRIORITY SITE IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUA-
TION. 
(a) PRIORITY SITE IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUA-
TION.—To accelerate the sensible development of renew-
able energy facilities in the marine environment, the Sec-
retary shall immediately begin to identify, list, and evalu-
ate those locations within the marine waters under the ju-
risdiction of the United States seaward of the coastal zone 
that have the greatest potential, consistent with this Act 
and section 309(a)(8) of the Coastal Zone Management 
Act of 1972, as added by section 101 of this Act, for pro-