H. R. 5490 
One Hundred Eighteenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-four 
An Act 
To amend the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to expand the John H. Chafee Coastal 
Barrier Resources System, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bolstering Ecosystems Against 
Coastal Harm Act’’ or the ‘‘BEACH Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
TITLE I—COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES ACT AMENDMENTS 
Sec. 101. Definitions. 
Sec. 102. John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System. 
Sec. 103. Require disclosure to prospective buyers that property is in System. 
Sec. 104. Exceptions to limitations on expenditures. 
Sec. 105. Improve Federal agency compliance with Coastal Barrier Resources Act. 
Sec. 106. Evaluation of coastal ecosystem dynamics. 
Sec. 107. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE II—CHANGES TO JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES 
SYSTEM MAPS 
Sec. 201. Changes to John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System maps. 
TITLE I—COASTAL BARRIER 
RESOURCES ACT AMENDMENTS 
SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 3 of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3502) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act: 
‘‘(1) COASTAL BARRIER.—The term ‘coastal barrier’ means— 
‘‘(A) a depositional geologic feature (such as a bay 
barrier, tombolo, barrier spit, bluff, or barrier island) that— 
‘‘(i) is subject to wave, tidal, and wind energies; 
and 
‘‘(ii) protects landward aquatic habitats from direct 
wave attack; and 
‘‘(B) all associated aquatic habitats including the adja-
cent wetlands, marshes, estuaries, inlets, and nearshore 
waters.
H. R. 5490—2 
‘‘(2) COMMITTEES.—The term ‘Committees’ means the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 
Senate. 
‘‘(3) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘financial assistance’ 
means any form of loan, grant, guaranty, insurance, pay-
ment, rebate, subsidy, or any other form of direct or indirect 
Federal assistance other than— 
‘‘(i) deposit or account insurance for customers of 
banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, 
or similar institutions; 
‘‘(ii) the purchase of mortgages or loans by the 
Government National Mortgage Association, the Fed-
eral National Mortgage Association, or the Federal 
Home Loan Mortgage Corporation; 
‘‘(iii) assistance for environmental studies, plan-
ning, and assessments that are required incident to 
the issuance of permits or other authorizations under 
Federal law; and 
‘‘(iv) assistance pursuant to programs entirely 
unrelated to development, such as any Federal or feder-
ally assisted public assistance program or any Federal 
old-age survivors or disability insurance program. 
‘‘(B) FLOOD
INSURANCE.—The term ‘financial assist-
ance’ includes flood insurance described in section 1321 
of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended 
(42 U.S.C. 4028). 
‘‘(4) GREAT LAKES.—The term ‘Great Lakes’ means Lake 
Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Michigan, 
and Lake Superior, to the extent that those lakes are subject 
to the jurisdiction of the United States. 
‘‘(5) OTHERWISE PROTECTED AREA.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Otherwise Protected Area’ 
means any unit of the System that, at the time of designa-
tion, was predominantly composed of areas established 
under Federal, State, or local law, or held by a qualified 
organization, primarily for wildlife refuge, wildlife sanc-
tuary, recreational, or natural resource conservation pur-
poses. 
‘‘(B) 
QUALIFIED
ORGANIZATION.—For 
purposes 
of 
subparagraph (A), the term ‘qualified organization’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 170(h)(3) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986. 
‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary 
of the Interior. 
‘‘(7) SYSTEM.—The term ‘System’ means the John H. Chafee 
Coastal Barrier Resources System established under section 
4(a). 
‘‘(8) SYSTEM
UNIT.—The term ‘System unit’ means any 
undeveloped coastal barrier, or combination of closely-related 
undeveloped coastal barriers, included within the John H. 
Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System established under 
section 4(a). 
‘‘(9) UNDEVELOPED COASTAL BARRIER.—The term ‘undevel-
oped coastal barrier’ means a coastal barrier the features and 
associated habitats of which contain few manmade structures