H. R. 5946—75
provisions of that Act were incorporated into and made a part 
of this title. 
(d) PENALTIES.—This title shall be enforced by the Secretary 
as if a violation of this title or of any regulation promulgated 
by the Secretary under this title were a violation of section 307 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1857). 
SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 
sums as may be necessary to carry out the obligations of the 
United States under the Agreement and this title. 
TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 
SEC. 701. STUDY OF THE ACIDIFICATION OF THE OCEANS AND EFFECT 
ON FISHERIES. 
The Secretary of Commerce shall request the National Research 
Council to conduct a study of the acidification of the oceans and 
how this process affects the United States. 
SEC. 702. PUGET SOUND REGIONAL SHELLFISH SETTLEMENT. 
(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.—
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(A) the Tribes have established treaty rights to take 
shellfish from public and private tidelands in Washington 
State, including from some lands owned, leased, or other-
wise subject to harvest by commercial shellfish growers; 
(B) the district court that adjudicated the Tribes’ treaty 
rights to take shellfish found that the growers are innocent 
purchasers who had no notice of the Tribes’ fishing right 
when they acquired their properties; 
(C) numerous unresolved issues remain outstanding 
regarding implementation of the Tribes’ treaty right to 
take shellfish from lands owned, leased, or otherwise sub-
ject to harvest by the growers; 
(D) the Tribes, the growers, the State of Washington, 
and the United States Department of the Interior have 
resolved by a settlement agreement many of the disputes 
between and among them regarding implementation of the 
Tribes’ treaty right to take shellfish from covered tidelands 
owned or leased by the growers; 
(E) the settlement agreement does not provide for reso-
lution of any claims to take shellfish from lands owned 
or leased by the growers that potentially may be brought 
in the future by other Tribes; 
(F) in the absence of congressional actions, the prospect 
of other Tribes claims to take shellfish from lands owned 
or leased by the growers could be pursued through the 
courts, a process which in all likelihood could consume 
many years and thereby promote uncertainty in the State 
of Washington and the growers and to the ultimate det-
riment of both the Tribes and other Tribes and their mem-
bers; 
(G) in order to avoid this uncertainty, it is the intent 
of Congress that other Tribes have the option of resolving 
their claims, if any, to a treaty right to take shellfish
H. R. 5946—76
from covered tidelands owned or leased by the growers; 
and 
(H) this Act represents a good faith effort on the part 
of Congress to extend to other Tribes the same fair and 
just option of resolving their claims to take shellfish from 
covered tidelands owned or leased by the growers that 
the Tribes have agreed to in the settlement agreement. 
(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—
(A) to approve, ratify, and confirm the settlement 
agreement entered into by and among the Tribes, commer-
cial shellfish growers, the State of Washington, and the 
United States; 
(B) to provide other Tribes with a fair and just resolu-
tion of any claims to take shellfish from covered tidelands, 
as that term is defined in the settlement agreement, that 
potentially could be brought in the future by other Tribes; 
and 
(C) to authorize the Secretary to implement the terms 
and conditions of the settlement agreement and this sec-
tion. 
(b) APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The settlement agreement is hereby 
approved, ratified, and confirmed, and section 6 of the settle-
ment agreement, Release of Claims, is specifically adopted and 
incorporated into this section as if fully set forth herein. 
(2) AUTHORIZATION FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary 
is hereby authorized to implement the terms and conditions 
of the settlement agreement in accordance with the settlement 
agreement and this section. 
(c) FUND, SPECIAL HOLDING ACCOUNT, AND CONDITIONS.—
(1) PUGET SOUND REGIONAL SHELLFISH SETTLEMENT TRUST 
FUND.—
(A) There is hereby established in the Treasury of 
the United States an account to be designated as the ‘‘Puget 
Sound Regional Shellfish Settlement Trust Fund’’. The Sec-
retary shall deposit funds in the amount of $22,000,000 
at such time as appropriated pursuant to this section into 
the Fund. 
(B) The Fund shall be maintained and invested by 
the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Act of June 
24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a) until such time as all monies 
are transferred from the Fund. 
(C) The Secretary shall transfer monies held in the 
Fund to each Tribe of the Tribes in the amounts and 
manner specified by and in accordance with the payment 
agreement established pursuant to the settlement agree-
ment and this section. 
(2) PUGET SOUND REGIONAL SHELLFISH SETTLEMENT SPECIAL 
HOLDING ACCOUNT.—
(A) There is hereby established in the Treasury of 
the United States a fund to be designated as the ‘‘Puget 
Sound Regional Shellfish Settlement Special Holding 
Account’’. The Secretary shall deposit funds in the amount 
of $1,500,000 into the Special Holding Account in fiscal 
year 2011 at such time as such funds are appropriated 
pursuant to this section.
H. R. 5946—77
(B) The Special Holding Account shall be maintained 
and invested by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant 
to the Act of June 24, 1938, (25 U.S.C. 162a) until such 
time as all monies are transferred from the Special Holding 
Account. 
(C) If a court of competent jurisdiction renders a final 
decision declaring that any of the other Tribes has an 
established treaty right to take or harvest shellfish in 
covered tidelands, as that term is defined in the settlement 
agreement, and such tribe opts to accept a share of the 
Special Holding Account, rather than litigate this claim 
against the growers, the Secretary shall transfer the appro-
priate share of the monies held in the Special Holding 
Account to each such tribe of the other Tribes in the 
amounts appropriate to compensate the other Tribes in 
the same manner and for the same purposes as the Tribes 
who are signatory to the settlement agreement. Such a 
transfer to a tribe shall constitute full and complete satis-
faction of that tribe’s claims to shellfish on the covered 
tidelands. 
(D) The Secretary may retain such amounts of the 
Special Holding Account as necessary to provide for addi-
tional tribes that may judicially establish their rights to 
take shellfish in the covered tidelands within the term 
of that Account, provided that the Secretary pays the 
remaining balance to the other Tribes prior to the expira-
tion of the term of the Special Holding Account. 
(E) The Tribes shall have no interest, possessory or 
otherwise, in the Special Holding Account. 
(F) Twenty years after the deposit of funds into the 
Special Holding Account, the Secretary shall close the 
Account and transfer the balance of any funds held in 
the Special Holding Account at that time to the Treasury. 
However, the Secretary may continue to maintain the Spe-
cial Holding Account in order to resolve the claim of an 
other Tribe that has notified the Secretary in writing within 
the 20-year term of that Tribe’s interest in resolving its 
claim in the manner provided for in this section. 
(G) It is the intent of Congress that the other Tribes, 
if any, shall have the option of agreeing to similar rights 
and responsibilities as the Tribes that are signatories to 
the settlement agreement, if they opt not to litigate against 
the growers. 
(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each tribe of the Tribes, or any of 
the other Tribes accepting a settlement of its claims to shellfish 
on covered lands pursuant to paragraph (2)(C), shall submit 
to the Secretary an annual report that describes all expendi-
tures made with monies withdrawn from the Fund or Special 
Holding Account during the year covered by the report. 
(4) JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION.—The Secretary 
may take judicial or administrative action to ensure that any 
monies withdrawn from the Fund or Special Holding Account 
are used in accordance with the purposes described in the 
settlement agreement and this section. 
(5) CLARIFICATION
OF
TRUST
RESPONSIBILITY.—Beginning 
on the date that monies are transferred to a tribe of the 
Tribes or a tribe of the other Tribes pursuant to this section,
H. R. 5946—78
any trust responsibility or liability of the United States with 
respect to the expenditure or investment of the monies with-
drawn shall cease. 
(d) STATE OF WASHINGTON PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall not 
be accountable for nor incur any liability for the collection, deposit, 
management or nonpayment of the State of Washington payment 
of $11,000,000 to the Tribes pursuant to the settlement agreement. 
(e) RELEASE OF OTHER TRIBES CLAIMS.—
(1) RIGHT TO BRING ACTIONS.—As of the date of enactment 
of this section, all right of any other Tribes to bring an action 
to enforce or exercise its treaty rights to take shellfish from 
public and private tidelands in Washington State, including 
from some lands owned, leased, or otherwise subject to harvest 
by any and all growers shall be determined in accordance 
with the decisions of the Courts of the United States in United 
States v. Washington, Civ. No. 9213 (Western District of Wash-
ington). 
(2) CERTAIN RIGHTS GOVERNED BY THIS SECTION.—If a tribe 
falling within the other Tribes category opts to resolve its 
claims to take shellfish from covered tidelands owned or leased 
by the growers pursuant to subsection (c)(2)(C) of this section, 
that tribe’s rights shall be governed by this section, as well 
as by the decisions of the Courts in United States v. Wash-
ington, Civ. No. 9213. 
(3) NO BREACH OF TRUST.—Notwithstanding whether the 
United States has a duty to initiate such an action, the failure 
or declination by the United States to initiate any action to 
enforce any other Tribe’s or other Tribes’ treaty rights to take 
shellfish from public and private tidelands in Washington State, 
including from covered tidelands owned, leased, or otherwise 
subject to harvest by any and all growers shall not constitute 
a breach of trust by the United States or be compensable 
to other Tribes. 
(f) CAUSE OF ACTION.—If any payment by the United States 
is not paid in the amount or manner specified by this section, 
or is not paid within 6 months after the date specified by the 
settlement agreement, such failure shall give rise to a cause of 
action by the Tribes either individually or collectively against the 
United States for money damages for the amount authorized but 
not paid to the Tribes, and the Tribes, either individually or collec-
tively, are authorized to bring an action against the United States 
in the United States Court of Federal Claims for such funds plus 
interest. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Puget Sound Shell-
fish Settlement Trust Fund Account established by this section. 
(2) GROWERS.—The term ‘‘growers’’ means Taylor United, 
Inc.; Olympia Oyster Company; G.R. Clam & Oyster Farm; 
Cedric E. Lindsay; Minterbrook Oyster Company; Charles and 
Willa Murray; Skookum Bay Oyster Company; J & G Gunstone 
Clams, Inc.; and all persons who qualify as ‘‘growers’’ in accord-
ance with and pursuant to the settlement agreement. 
(3) OTHER TRIBES.—The term ‘‘other Tribes’’ means any 
federally recognized Indian nation or tribe other than the Tribes 
described in paragraph (6) that, within 20 years after the 
deposit of funds in the Special Holding Account, establishes 
a legally enforceable treaty right to take shellfish from covered
H. R. 5946—79
tidelands described in the settlement agreement, owned, leased 
or otherwise subject to harvest by those persons or entities 
that qualify as growers. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of the Interior. 
(5) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘settlement agree-
ment’’ means the settlement agreement entered into by and 
between the Tribes, commercial shellfish growers, the State 
of Washington and the United States, to resolve certain dis-
putes between and among them regarding implementation of 
the Tribes’ treaty right to take shellfish from certain covered 
tidelands owned, leased or otherwise subject to harvest by 
the growers. 
(6) TRIBES.—The term ‘‘Tribes’’ means the following feder-
ally recognized Tribes that executed the settlement agreement: 
Tulalip, Stillaguamish, Sauk Suiattle, Puyallup, Squaxin 
Island, 
Makah, 
Muckleshoot, 
Upper 
Skagit, 
Nooksack, 
Nisqually, Skokomish, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Lower Elwha 
Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, and Suquamish Tribes, the 
Lummi Nation, and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. 
(7) SPECIAL HOLDING ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘Special Holding 
Account’’ means the Puget Sound Shellfish Settlement Special 
Holding Account established by this section. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 
to be appropriated $23,500,000 to carry out this section—
(A) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 
(B) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 
2010; and 
(C) $6,500,000 for fiscal year 2011. 
TITLE VIII—TSUNAMI WARNING AND 
EDUCATION 
SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Tsunami Warning and Education 
Act’’. 
SEC. 802. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) The term ‘‘Administration’’ means the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration. 
(2) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
SEC. 803. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this title are—
(1) to improve tsunami detection, forecasting, warnings, 
notification, outreach, and mitigation to protect life and prop-
erty in the United States; 
(2) to enhance and modernize the existing Pacific Tsunami 
Warning System to increase coverage, reduce false alarms, 
and increase the accuracy of forecasts and warnings, and to 
expand detection and warning systems to include other vulner-
able States and United States territories, including the Atlantic 
Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico areas;
H. R. 5946—80
(3) to improve mapping, modeling, research, and assess-
ment efforts to improve tsunami detection, forecasting, 
warnings, notification, outreach, mitigation, response, and 
recovery; 
(4) to improve and increase education and outreach activi-
ties and ensure that those receiving tsunami warnings and 
the at-risk public know what to do when a tsunami is 
approaching; 
(5) to provide technical and other assistance to speed inter-
national efforts to establish regional tsunami warning systems 
in vulnerable areas worldwide, including the Indian Ocean; 
and 
(6) to improve Federal, State, and international coordina-
tion for detection, warnings, and outreach for tsunami and 
other coastal impacts. 
SEC. 804. TSUNAMI FORECASTING AND WARNING PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National 
Weather Service and in consultation with other relevant Adminis-
tration offices, shall operate a program to provide tsunami detection, 
forecasting, and warnings for the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions 
and for the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico 
region. 
(b) COMPONENTS.—The program under this section shall—
(1) include the tsunami warning centers established under 
subsection (d); 
(2) utilize and maintain an array of robust tsunami detec-
tion technologies; 
(3) maintain detection equipment in operational condition 
to fulfill the detection, forecasting, and warning requirements 
of this title; 
(4) provide tsunami forecasting capability based on models 
and measurements, including tsunami inundation models and 
maps for use in increasing the preparedness of communities, 
including through the TsunamiReady program; 
(5) maintain data quality and management systems to 
support the requirements of the program; 
(6) include a cooperative effort among the Administration, 
the United States Geological Survey, and the National Science 
Foundation under which the Geological Survey and the 
National Science Foundation shall provide rapid and reliable 
seismic information to the Administration from international 
and domestic seismic networks; 
(7) provide a capability for the dissemination of warnings 
to at-risk States and tsunami communities through rapid and 
reliable notification to government officials and the public, 
including utilization of and coordination with existing Federal 
warning 
systems, 
including 
the 
National 
Oceanic 
and 
Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards Pro-
gram; 
(8) allow, as practicable, for integration of tsunami detec-
tion technologies with other environmental observing tech-
nologies; and 
(9) include any technology the Administrator considers 
appropriate to fulfill the objectives of the program under this 
section.
H. R. 5946—81
(c) SYSTEM AREAS.—The program under this section shall 
operate—
(1) a Pacific tsunami warning system capable of forecasting 
tsunami anywhere in the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions 
and providing adequate warnings; and 
(2) an Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico 
tsunami warning system capable of forecasting tsunami and 
providing adequate warnings in areas of the Atlantic Ocean, 
Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico that are determined—
(A) to be geologically active, or to have significant 
potential for geological activity; and 
(B) to pose significant risks of tsunami for States along 
the coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, 
or Gulf of Mexico. 
(d) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National 
Weather Service, shall maintain or establish—
(A) a Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii; 
(B) a West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center 
in Alaska; and 
(C) any additional forecast and warning centers deter-
mined by the National Weather Service to be necessary. 
(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of each tsunami 
warning center shall include—
(A) continuously monitoring data from seismological, 
deep ocean, and tidal monitoring stations; 
(B) evaluating earthquakes that have the potential 
to generate tsunami; 
(C) evaluating deep ocean buoy data and tidal moni-
toring stations for indications of tsunami resulting from 
earthquakes and other sources; 
(D) disseminating forecasts and tsunami warning bul-
letins to Federal, State, and local government officials and 
the public; 
(E) coordinating with the tsunami hazard mitigation 
program described in section 805 to ensure ongoing sharing 
of information between forecasters and emergency manage-
ment officials; and 
(F) making data gathered under this title and post-
warning analyses conducted by the National Weather 
Service or other relevant Administration offices available 
to researchers. 
(e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, the National 
Weather Service, in consultation with other relevant Adminis-
tration offices, shall—
(A) develop requirements for the equipment used to 
forecast tsunami, which shall include provisions for multi-
purpose detection platforms, reliability and performance 
metrics, and to the maximum extent practicable how the 
equipment will be integrated with other United States 
and global ocean and coastal observation systems, the 
global earth observing system of systems, global seismic 
networks, and the Advanced National Seismic System; 
(B) develop and execute a plan for the transfer of 
technology from ongoing research described in section 806 
into the program under this section; and
H. R. 5946—82
(C) ensure that maintaining operational tsunami detec-
tion equipment is the highest priority within the program 
carried out under this title. 
(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—
(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the National Weather Service, in consultation 
with other relevant Administration offices, shall transmit 
to Congress a report on how the tsunami forecast system 
under this section will be integrated with other United 
States and global ocean and coastal observation systems, 
the global earth observing system of systems, global seismic 
networks, and the Advanced National Seismic System. 
(B) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the National Weather Service, in consultation 
with other relevant Administration offices, shall transmit 
a report to Congress on how technology developed under 
section 806 is being transferred into the program under 
this section. 
(f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—When deploying and maintaining 
tsunami detection technologies, the Administrator shall seek the 
assistance and assets of other appropriate Federal agencies. 
(g) ANNUAL EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATION.—At the same time Con-
gress receives the budget justification documents in support of 
the President’s annual budget request for each fiscal year, the 
Administrator shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
Science of the House of Representatives a certification that—
(1) identifies the tsunami detection equipment deployed 
pursuant to this title, as of December 31 of the preceding 
calendar year; 
(2) certifies which equipment is operational as of December 
31 of the preceding calendar year; 
(3) in the case of any piece of such equipment that is 
not operational as of such date, identifies that equipment and 
describes the mitigation strategy that is in place—
(A) to repair or replace that piece of equipment within 
a reasonable period of time; or 
(B) to otherwise ensure adequate tsunami detection 
coverage; 
(4) identifies any equipment that is being developed or 
constructed to carry out this title but which has not yet been 
deployed, if the Administration has entered into a contract 
for that equipment prior to December 31 of the preceding 
calendar year, and provides a schedule for the deployment 
of that equipment; and 
(5) certifies that the Administrator expects the equipment 
described in paragraph (4) to meet the requirements, cost, 
and schedule provided in that contract. 
(h) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—The Administrator shall 
notify the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Science of the House of Rep-
resentatives within 30 days of—
(1) impaired regional forecasting capabilities due to equip-
ment or system failures; and 
(2) significant contractor failures or delays in completing 
work associated with the tsunami forecasting and warning 
system.
H. R. 5946—83
(i) REPORT.—Not later than January 31, 2010, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall transmit a report to the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
and the Committee on Science of the House of Representatives 
that—
(1) evaluates the current status of the tsunami detection, 
forecasting, and warning system and the tsunami hazard miti-
gation program established under this title, including progress 
toward tsunami inundation mapping of all coastal areas vulner-
able to tsunami and whether there has been any degradation 
of services as a result of the expansion of the program; 
(2) evaluates the National Weather Service’s ability to 
achieve continued improvements in the delivery of tsunami 
detection, forecasting, and warning services by assessing poli-
cies and plans for the evolution of modernization systems, 
models, and computational abilities (including the adoption of 
new technologies); and 
(3) lists the contributions of funding or other resources 
to the program by other Federal agencies, particularly agencies 
participating in the program. 
(j) EXTERNAL REVIEW.—The Administrator shall enter into an 
arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to review 
the tsunami detection, forecast, and warning program established 
under this title to assess further modernization and coverage needs, 
as well as long-term operational reliability issues, taking into 
account measures implemented under this title. The review shall 
also include an assessment of how well the forecast equipment 
has been integrated into other United States and global ocean 
and coastal observation systems and the global earth observing 
system of systems. Not later than 2 years after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit a report con-
taining the National Academy of Sciences’ recommendations, the 
Administrator’s responses to the recommendations, including those 
where the Administrator disagrees with the Academy, a timetable 
to implement the accepted recommendations, and the cost of imple-
menting all the Academy’s recommendations, to the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Science of the House of Representatives. 
(k) REPORT.—Not later than 3 months after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a process for 
monitoring and certifying contractor performance in carrying out 
the requirements of any contract to construct or deploy tsunami 
detection equipment, including procedures and penalties to be 
imposed in cases of significant contractor failure or negligence. 
SEC. 805. NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the National 
Weather Service and in consultation with other relevant Adminis-
tration offices, shall conduct a community-based tsunami hazard 
mitigation program to improve tsunami preparedness of at-risk 
areas in the United States and its territories. 
(b) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—In conducting the program 
under this section, the Administrator shall establish a coordinating 
committee comprising representatives of Federal, State, local, and 
tribal government officials. The Administrator may establish sub-
committees to address region-specific issues. The committee shall—