IIB
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 642
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
APRIL 5, 2001
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation
AN ACT
To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 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. CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.
(a) REAUTHORIZATION OF OFFICE.—Section 307 of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Au-
thorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 307. CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) The Secretary of Com-
merce shall establish, within the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration, an office to be known as the
Chesapeake Bay Office (in this section referred to as the
‘Office’).
‘‘(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director who
shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, in con-
sultation with the Chesapeake Executive Council. Any in-
dividual appointed as Director shall have knowledge and
experience in research or resource management efforts in
the Chesapeake Bay.
‘‘(3) The Director may appoint such additional per-
sonnel for the Office as the Director determines necessary
to carry out this section.
‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS.—The Office, in consultation with
the Chesapeake Executive Council, shall—
‘‘(1) provide technical assistance to the Admin-
istrator, to other Federal departments and agencies,
and to State and local government agencies in—
‘‘(A) assessing the processes that shape
the Chesapeake Bay system and affect its living
resources;
‘‘(B) identifying technical and management
alternatives for the restoration and protection
of living resources and the habitats they depend
upon; and
‘‘(C) monitoring the implementation and
effectiveness of management plans;
‘‘(2) develop and implement a strategy for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
that integrates the science, research, monitoring,
data collection, regulatory, and management respon-
sibilities of the Secretary of Commerce in such a
manner as to assist the cooperative, intergovern-
mental Chesapeake Bay Program to meet the com-
mitments of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement;
‘‘(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) estuarine and marine species pa-
thology;
‘‘(iii) human pathogens in estuarine
and marine environments; and
‘‘(iv) ecosystem health;
‘‘(4) coordinate the activities of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with the
activities of the Environmental Protection Agency
and other Federal, State, and local agencies;
‘‘(5) establish an effective mechanism which
shall ensure that projects have undergone appro-
priate peer review and provide other appropriate
means to determine that 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;
‘‘(6) remain cognizant of ongoing research,
monitoring, and management projects and assist in
the dissemination of the results and findings of
those projects; and
‘‘(7) submit a biennial report to the Congress
and the Secretary of Commerce with respect to the
activities of the Office and on the progress made in
protecting and restoring the living resources and
habitat of the Chesapeake Bay, 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 any 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) CHESAPEAKE BAY FISHERY AND HABITAT RES-
TORATION SMALL WATERSHED GRANTS PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Chesa-
peake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration (in this section referred to
as the ‘Director’), in cooperation with the Chesa-
peake Executive Council, shall carry out a commu-
nity-based fishery and habitat restoration small
grants and technical assistance program in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed.
‘‘(2) PROJECTS.—
‘‘(A) SUPPORT.—The Director shall make
grants under this subsection to pay the Federal
share of the cost of projects that are carried
out by entities eligible under paragraph (3) for
the restoration of fisheries and habitats in the
Chesapeake Bay.
‘‘(B) 
FEDERAL
SHARE.—The 
Federal
share under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed
75 percent.
‘‘(C) TYPES OF PROJECTS.—Projects for
which grants may be made under this sub-
section include—
‘‘(i) the improvement of fish passage-
ways;
‘‘(ii) the creation of natural or artifi-
cial reefs or substrata for habitats;
‘‘(iii) the restoration of wetland or sea
grass;
‘‘(iv) the production of oysters for res-
toration projects; and
‘‘(v) the prevention, identification, and
control of nonindigenous species.
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The following enti-
ties are eligible to receive grants under this sub-
section:
‘‘(A) The government of a political subdivi-
sion of a State in the Chesapeake Bay water-
shed, and the government of the District of Co-
lumbia.
‘‘(B) An organization in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed (such as an educational institu-
tion or a community organization)—
‘‘(i) that is described in section 501(c)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and
is exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of that Code; and
‘‘(ii) that will administer such grants
in coordination with a government referred
to in subparagraph (A).
‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Direc-
tor may prescribe any additional requirements, in-
cluding procedures, that the Director considers nec-
essary to carry out the program under this sub-
section.
‘‘(d) BUDGET LINE ITEM.—The Secretary of Com-
merce shall identify, in the President’s annual budget to
the Congress, the funding request for the Office.
‘‘(e) CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.—For pur-
poses of this section, ‘Chesapeake Executive Council’
means the representatives from the Commonwealth of Vir-
ginia, the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Penn-
sylvania, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, and the Chesapeake Bay Commission,
who are signatories to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement,
and any future signatories to that Agreement.
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of
Commerce for the Chesapeake Bay Office $6,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2 of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine
Fisheries Program Authorization Act (Public Law 98–
210; 97 Stat. 1409) is amended by striking subsection (e).
(c) MULTIPLE SPECIES MANAGEMENT STRATEGY.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director
of the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration shall begin a
5-year study, in cooperation with the scientific com-
munity of the Chesapeake Bay, appropriate State
and interstate resource management entities, and
appropriate Federal agencies—
(A) to determine and expand the under-
standing of the role and response of living re-
sources in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem; and
(B) to develop a multiple species manage-
ment strategy for the Chesapeake Bay.
(2) REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF STUDY.—In order
to improve the understanding necessary for the de-
velopment of the strategy under paragraph (1)(B),
the study shall—
(A) determine the current status and
trends of fish and shellfish that live in the
Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and are se-
lected for study;
(B) evaluate and assess interactions among
the fish and shellfish referred to in subpara-
graph (A) and other living resources, with par-
ticular attention to the impact of changes with-
in and among trophic levels; and
(C) recommend management actions to op-
timize the return of a healthy and balanced eco-
system for the Chesapeake Bay.
Passed the House of Representatives April 4, 2001.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.