I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1856
To reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control 
Act of 1998, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 29, 2003
Mr. EHLERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Science, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 
Research and Control Act of 1998, 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 ‘‘Harmful Algal Bloom 
and Hypoxia Research Amendments Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 2. RETENTION OF TASK FORCE. 
Section 603 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hy-
poxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 1451 
note) is amended by striking subsection (e).
SEC. 3. SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS AND RESEARCH PLANS. 
Such section 603 is further amended—
(1) in subsection (a) by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘In developing the assessments and research plans de-
scribed in subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), the Task 
Force shall work with appropriate State, Indian tribe, and 
local governments to ensure that the assessments and re-
search plans fulfill the requirements of subsections (b)(2), 
(c)(2), (d)(2), (e)(2), and (f)(2). Additionally, the Task 
Force shall consult with appropriate industry, academic 
institutions, and non-governmental organizations through-
out the development of the assessments and research 
plans.’’; and 
(2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(b) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF HARMFUL ALGAL 
BLOOMS.—(1) Not less than once every 5 years the Task 
Force shall complete and submit to the Committee on 
Science of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate a scientific assessment of harmful algal blooms in 
United States coastal waters. The first such assessment 
shall be completed not later than 24 months after the date 
of enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 
Research Amendments Act of 2003 and should consider
only marine harmful algal blooms. All subsequent assess-
ments shall examine both marine and freshwater harmful 
algal blooms, including those in the Great Lakes and 
upper reaches of estuaries. 
‘‘(2) The assessments under this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) examine the causes and ecological con-
sequences, and economic costs, of harmful algal 
blooms; 
‘‘(B) describe the potential ecological and eco-
nomic costs and benefits of possible policy and man-
agement actions for preventing, controlling, and 
mitigating harmful algal blooms; 
‘‘(C) evaluate progress made by, and the needs 
of, Federal research programs on the causes, charac-
teristics, and impacts of harmful algal blooms; and 
‘‘(D) identify ways to improve coordination and 
to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among 
Federal agencies and departments with respect to 
research on harmful algal blooms. 
‘‘(c) SCIENTIFIC
ASSESSMENT
OF
FRESHWATER 
HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.—(1) Not later than 24 
months after the date of enactment of the Harmful Algal 
Bloom and Hypoxia Research Amendments Act of 2003 
the Task Force shall complete and submit to the Com-
mittee on Science of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate a scientific assessment of current knowledge 
about harmful algal blooms in freshwater locations such 
as the Great Lakes and upper reaches of estuaries, includ-
ing a research plan for coordinating Federal efforts to bet-
ter understand freshwater harmful algal blooms. 
‘‘(2) The freshwater harmful algal bloom scientific 
assessment shall—
‘‘(A) examine the causes and ecological con-
sequences, and the economic costs, of harmful algal 
blooms with significant effects on freshwater loca-
tions, including estimations of the frequency and oc-
currence of significant events; 
‘‘(B) establish priorities and guidelines for a 
competitive, peer-reviewed, merit-based interagency 
research program, as part of the Ecology and 
Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) 
project, to better understand the causes, characteris-
tics, and impacts of harmful algal blooms in fresh-
water locations; and 
‘‘(C) identify ways to improve coordination and 
to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among 
Federal agencies and departments with respect to 
research on harmful algal blooms in freshwater loca-
tions.
‘‘(d) NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PLAN INTO 
REDUCING IMPACTS FROM HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.—
(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 
of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research 
Amendments Act of 2003, the Task Force shall develop 
and submit to the Committee on Science of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate a research plan 
providing for a comprehensive and coordinated national 
research program to develop prevention, control, and miti-
gation methods to reduce the impacts of harmful algal 
blooms on coastal ecosystems (including the Great Lakes), 
public health, and the economy. 
‘‘(2) The research plan shall—
‘‘(A) establish priorities and guidelines for a 
competitive, peer-reviewed, merit-based interagency 
research program on methods for the prevention, 
control, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms; 
‘‘(B) identify ways to improve coordination and 
to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among
Federal agencies and departments with respect to 
the actions described in paragraph (1); and 
‘‘(C) ensure, through consultation with Sea 
Grant Programs, that the results and findings of the 
research program are communicated to State, Indian
tribe, and local governments, and to the general pub-
lic. 
‘‘(e) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF HYPOXIA.—(1) 
Not less than once every 5 years the Task Force shall 
complete and submit to the Committee on Science of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a sci-
entific assessment of hypoxia in United States coastal wa-
ters including the Great Lakes. The first such assessment 
shall be completed not less than 24 months after the date 
of enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 
Research Amendments Act of 2003. 
‘‘(2) The assessments under this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) examine the causes and ecological con-
sequences, and the economic costs, of hypoxia; 
‘‘(B) describe the potential ecological and eco-
nomic costs and benefits of possible policy and man-
agement actions for preventing, controlling, and 
mitigating hypoxia; 
‘‘(C) evaluate progress made by, and the needs 
of, Federal research programs on the causes, charac-
teristics, and impacts of hypoxia, including rec-
ommendations of how to eliminate significant gaps 
in hypoxia modeling and monitoring data; and
‘‘(D) identify ways to improve coordination and 
to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among 
Federal agencies and departments with respect to 
research on hypoxia. 
‘‘(f) LOCAL
AND REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC ASSESS-
MENTS.—(1) The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination 
with the Task Force and appropriate State, Indian tribe, 
and local governments, shall provide for local and regional 
scientific assessments of hypoxia or harmful algal blooms, 
as requested by State, Indian tribe, or local governments, 
or for affected areas as identified by the Secretary. If the 
Secretary receives multiple requests, the Secretary shall 
ensure, to the extent practicable, that assessments under 
this subsection cover geographically and ecologically di-
verse locations with significant ecological and economic 
impacts from hypoxia or harmful algal blooms. The Sec-
retary shall establish a procedure for reviewing requests 
for local and regional assessments. The Secretary shall en-
sure, through consultation with Sea Grant Programs, that 
the findings of the assessments are communicated to the 
appropriate State, Indian tribe, and local governments, 
and to the general public. 
‘‘(2) The scientific assessments under this subsection 
shall examine—
‘‘(A) the causes and ecological consequences, 
and the economic costs, of hypoxia or harmful algal 
blooms in that area; 
‘‘(B) methods to prevent, control, and mitigate 
hypoxia or harmful algal blooms in that area and 
the potential ecological and economic costs and bene-
fits of such methods; and 
‘‘(C) other topics the Task Force consider ap-
propriate.’’. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 605 of such Act is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and $19,000,000 for fiscal year 
2001’’ and inserting ‘‘$19,000,000 for fiscal year 
2001, 
$27,200,000 
for 
fiscal 
year 
2004, 
$28,700,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $29,200,000 
for fiscal year 2006’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
‘‘2000,’’ and by inserting ‘‘, and $3,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006’’ after 
‘‘2001’’; 
(3) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
‘‘2000,’’ and by inserting ‘‘, and $10,200,000, of 
which $2,000,000 shall be used for the research pro-
gram described in section 603(c)(2)(B), for each of 
fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006’’ after ‘‘2001’’;
(4) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
‘‘2000,’’ and by inserting ‘‘, $2,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2004, $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and 
$3,000,000 for fiscal year 2006’’ after ‘‘2001’’; 
(5) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘2001’’ and in-
serting ‘‘2001, and $6,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2004, 2005, and 2006,’’; 
(6) in paragraph (4) by inserting ‘‘the Moni-
toring and Event Response for Harmful Algal 
Blooms (MERHAB) project under’’ after ‘‘adminis-
tered by’’; 
(7) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 
end of paragraph (4); 
(8) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
‘‘2000,’’ and by inserting ‘‘, $5,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2004, $5,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, and 
$6,000,000 for fiscal year 2006’’ after ‘‘2001’’; 
(9) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘Administra-
tion.’’ and inserting ‘‘Administration; and’’; and 
(10) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004, 
2005, and 2006 to carry out the activities described 
in section 603(f).’’.
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