IB
Union Calendar No. 157
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2233
[Report No. 105–277]
To assist in the conservation of coral reefs.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 23, 1997
Mr. SAXTON (for himself and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources
SEPTEMBER 29, 1997
Additional sponsors: Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. GOSS, Mr.
FARR of California, Mr. DEUTSCH, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MILLER of Cali-
fornia, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. BILBRAY, and Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA
SEPTEMBER 29, 1997
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 23, 1997]
A BILL
To assist in the conservation of coral reefs.
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 ‘‘Coral Reef Conservation
Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are the following:
(1) To preserve, sustain, and restore the health
of coral reef ecosystems.
(2) To assist in the conservation and protection
of coral reefs by supporting conservation programs.
(3) To provide financial resources for those pro-
grams.
(4) To establish a formal mechanism for collect-
ing and allocating monetary donations from the pri-
vate sector to be used for coral reef conservation
projects.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) CORAL.—The term ‘‘coral’’ means species of
the phylum Cnidaria, including—
(A) all species of the orders Antipatharia
(black 
corals), 
Scleractinia 
(stony 
corals),
Gorgonacea 
(horny 
corals), 
Stolonifera
(organpipe corals and others), and Coenothecalia
(blue coral), of the class Anthozoa; and
(B) all species of the order Hydrocorallina
(fire corals and hydrocorals), of the class
Hydrozoa.
(2) CORAL REEF.—The term ‘‘coral reef’’ means
any reef or shoal composed primarily of the skeletal
material of species of the order Scleractinia (class
Anthozoa).
(3) CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEM.—The term ‘‘coral
reef ecosystem’’ means the complex of species associ-
ated with coral reefs and their environment that—
(A) functions as an ecological unit in na-
ture; and
(B) is necessary for that function to con-
tinue.
(4) CORALS AND CORAL PRODUCTS.—The term
‘‘corals and coral products’’ means any living or dead
specimens, parts, or derivatives, or any product con-
taining specimens, parts, or derivatives, of any spe-
cies referred to in paragraph (1).
(5) CONSERVATION.—The term ‘‘conservation’’
means the use of methods and procedures necessary to
preserve or sustain corals and species associated with
coral reefs as diverse, viable, and self-perpetuating
coral reef ecosystems, including all activities associ-
ated with resource management, such as conservation,
protection, restoration, and management of habitat;
habitat monitoring; assistance in the development of
management strategies for marine protected areas
and marine resources consistent with the National
Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) and
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); law en-
forcement through community participation; conflict
resolution initiatives; and community outreach and
education.
(6) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Coral
Reef Conservation Fund established under section
5(a).
(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Commerce.
SEC. 4. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, subject to the avail-
ability of funds, shall use amounts in the Fund to provide
grants of financial assistance for projects for the conserva-
tion of coral reefs for which final project proposals are ap-
proved by the Secretary in accordance with this section.
(b) PROJECT PROPOSAL.—Any relevant natural re-
source management authority of a State or territory of the
United States or other government jurisdiction with coral
reefs whose activities directly or indirectly affect coral reefs,
or any nongovernmental organization or individual with
demonstrated expertise in the conservation of coral reefs,
may submit to the Secretary a project proposal under this
section. Each proposal shall include the following:
(1) The name of the individual responsible for
conducting the project.
(2) A succinct statement of the purposes of the
project.
(3) A description of the qualifications of the in-
dividuals who will conduct the project.
(4) An estimate of the funds and time required
to complete the project.
(5) Evidence of support of the project by appro-
priate representatives of States or territories of the
United States or other government jurisdictions in
which the project will be conducted, if the Secretary
determines that the support is required for the success
of the project.
(6) Information regarding the source and
amount of matching funding available to the appli-
cant.
(7) Any other information the Secretary consid-
ers to be necessary for evaluating the eligibility of the
project for funding under this Act.
(c) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review
each final project proposal to determine if it meets the
criteria set forth in subsection (d).
(2) 
CONSULTATION; 
APPROVAL
OR
DIS-
APPROVAL.—Not later than 6 months after receiving
a final project proposal, and subject to the availabil-
ity of funds, the Secretary shall—
(A) request written comments on the pro-
posal from each State or territory of the United
States or other government jurisdiction, includ-
ing the relevant regional fishery management
councils established under the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), within which the project is
to be conducted;
(B) provide for the merit-based peer review
of the proposal and require standardized docu-
mentation of that peer review;
(C) after reviewing any written comments
and recommendations based on merit review, ap-
prove or disapprove the proposal; and
(D) provide written notification of that ap-
proval or disapproval to the person who submit-
ted the proposal, and each of those States, terri-
tories, and other government jurisdictions.
(d) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may
approve a final project proposal under this section if the
project will enhance programs for conservation of coral reefs
by assisting efforts to—
(1) implement conservation programs;
(2) address the conflicts arising from the use of
environments near coral reefs or from the use of cor-
als, species associated with coral reefs, and coral
products;
(3) enhance compliance with laws that prohibit
or regulate the taking of corals, species associated
with coral reefs, and coral products or regulate the
use and management of coral reef ecosystems;
(4) develop sound scientific information on the
condition of coral reef ecosystems or the threats to
such ecosystems; or
(5) promote cooperative projects on coral reef
conservation that involve foreign governments, af-
fected local communities, nongovernmental organiza-
tions, or others in the private sector.
(e) 
PROJECT
SUSTAINABILITY.—In 
determining
whether to approve project proposals under this section, the
Secretary shall give priority to projects which promote sus-
tainable development and ensure effective, long-term con-
servation of coral reefs.
(f) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each grantee under this
section shall provide periodic reports, as the Secretary con-
siders necessary, to the Secretary. Each report shall include
all information required by the Secretary for evaluating the
progress and success of the project.
(g) MATCHING FUNDS.—In determining whether to
approve project proposals under this section, the Secretary
shall give priority to projects for which there exist matching
funds in the amount of at least 50 percent of the total cost
of each project.
SEC. 5. CORAL REEF CONSERVATION FUND.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the gen-
eral fund of the Treasury a separate account, to be known
as the ‘‘Coral Reef Conservation Fund’’, which shall consist
of amounts deposited into the Fund by the Secretary of the
Treasury under subsection (b).
(b) DEPOSITS INTO THE FUND.—The Secretary of the
Treasury shall deposit into the Fund—
(1) all amounts received by the Secretary in the
form of monetary donations under subsection (d); and
(2) other amounts appropriated to the Fund.
(c) USE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the
Secretary may use amounts in the Fund without fur-
ther appropriation to provide assistance under section
4.
(2) ADMINISTRATION.—Of amounts in the Fund
available for each fiscal year, the Secretary may use
not more than 3 percent to administer the Fund.
(d) ACCEPTANCE
AND USE
OF MONETARY DONA-
TIONS.—The Secretary may accept and use monetary dona-
tions to provide assistance under section 4. Amounts re-
ceived by the Secretary in the form of donations shall be
transferred to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into
the Fund.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund
$1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
and 2002 to carry out this Act, which may remain avail-
able until expended.