National Ocean and Coastal Security Improvements Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.3892 | Sponsor: Rep. Beyer, Donald S., Jr. (D-VA)
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
National Ocean and Coastal Security Improvements Act of 2021
This bill funds through FY2030 and expands the National Ocean and Coastal Security Fund. The fund must be used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to award grants for protecting, conserving, restoring, and using ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes resources, including coastal infrastructure.

To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator 
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to provide for 
  ocean-based climate solutions to reduce carbon emissions and global 
warming; to make coastal communities more resilient; and to provide for 
    the conservation and restoration of ocean and coastal habitats, 
  biodiversity, and marine mammal and fish populations; 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 ``National Ocean and Coastal Security 
Improvements Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE NATIONAL OCEANS AND COASTAL SECURITY ACT.

    (a) Definition of Tidal Shoreline Refined.--Section 902 of the 
National Oceans and Coastal Security Act (16 U.S.C. 7501) is amended--
            (1) by amending paragraph (7) to read as follows:
            ``(7) Tidal shoreline.--The term `tidal shoreline' means a 
        `tidal shoreline' or a `Great Lake shoreline' as such terms are 
        used in section 923.110(c)(2)(i) of title 15, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, or a similar successor regulation.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian Tribe' has the 
        meaning given such in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act.
            ``(9) Blue carbon.--The term `blue carbon' means the 
        ability of an ocean or coastal ecosystem, habitat, or other 
        natural resource to absorb, capture, and contain atmospheric 
        carbon dioxide.''.
    (b) Expenditures.--Section 904(d) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 7503(d)) 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Expenditure.--
            ``(1) Amounts to remain available.--Amounts in the Fund 
        shall remain available until extended to carry out the purposes 
        of the Fund.
            ``(2) Distribution.--Of the amounts in the Fund, in each 
        fiscal year--
                    ``(A) not less than $150,000,000 shall be used for 
                the award of grants under section 906(b);
                    ``(B) not less than $50,000,000 shall be used for 
                the award of grants under section 906(c);
                    ``(C) any amounts in excess of $200,000,000 shall 
                be distributed such that--
                            ``(i) 80 percent of such amounts shall be 
                        used for the award of grants under section 
                        906(b); and
                            ``(ii) 20 percent of such amounts shall be 
                        used for the award of grants under section 
                        906(c).
                    ``(D) Of amounts provided in this subsection, not 
                more than 4 percent may be used by the Administrator 
                and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for 
                direct costs to carry out this chapter.''.
    (c) Eligible Uses of the Fund.--Section 905 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 
7504) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 905. ELIGIBLE USES.

    ``(a) In General.--Amounts in the Fund may be allocated by the 
Administrator and the Foundation for grants under section 906(c) to 
support programs and activities intended to protect, conserve, restore, 
better understand, and use ocean and coastal resources and coastal 
infrastructure, including, if appropriate, scientific research, 
resiliency planning, implementation, and monitoring and spatial 
planning, data-sharing, and other programs and activities carried out 
in coordination with Federal and State departments or agencies, 
including the following:
            ``(1) Ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes restoration and 
        protection, including efforts to address potential impacts of 
        sea level change, sedimentation, erosion, changes in ocean 
        chemistry, hurricanes and other extreme weather, flooding, and 
        changes in ocean temperature to natural resources, communities, 
        and coastal economies.
            ``(2) Restoration, protection, or maintenance of living 
        ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and their habitats, 
        including habitats and ecosystems that provide blue carbon 
        benefits.
            ``(3) Planning for and managing coastal development to 
        enhance ecosystem and community integrity, or to minimize 
        impacts from sea level change, hurricanes and other extreme 
        weather, flooding, and coastal erosion.
            ``(4) Projects to address management, planning, or 
        resiliency and readiness issues which are regional or 
        interstate in scope, such as regional ocean partnerships or 
        similar bodies.
            ``(5) Efforts that contribute to the understanding of 
        ecological, economic, societal, and national security threats 
        driven by changes to the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes.
            ``(6) Efforts to preserve, protect, and collect data, 
        including public ocean and coastal data portals, that would 
        support sustainable water-dependent commercial activities 
        including commercial fishing, recreational fishing businesses, 
        aquaculture, boat building, or other coastal-related 
        businesses.
            ``(7) Efforts to assist coastal States in repositioning, 
        relocating or deploying natural or nature-based features to 
        enhance the resiliency of critical coastal transportation, 
        emergency response, water, electrical, and other 
        infrastructure, that are already subject to or face increased 
        future risks of hurricanes, coastal flooding, coastal erosion, 
        or sea level change to ensure the economic security, safety, 
        and ecological well-being of the coasts of the United States.
            ``(8) Acquiring property or interests in property if--
                    ``(A) the area is located within a coastal county 
                or adjacent county;
                    ``(B) the funds made available under this subtitle 
                are used to acquire land or interest in land by 
                purchase, exchange, or donation from a willing seller;
                    ``(C) the Governor of the State in which the 
                property or interests in property are acquired approves 
                of the acquisition; and
                    ``(D) such property or interest is acquired in a 
                manner that will ensure such property or interest will 
                be administered to support the purposes of this Act.
            ``(9) Protection and modification of critical coastal 
        public infrastructure affected by erosion, hurricanes or other 
        extreme weather, flooding, or sea level change.
            ``(10) Assistance for small businesses and communities that 
        are dependent on coastal tourism as eligible efforts that help 
        coastal economies minimize impacts from sea level rise and 
        disasters.
            ``(11) Projects that use natural and nature-based 
        approaches for enhancing the resiliency of wastewater and 
        stormwater infrastructure as eligible critical infrastructure 
        projects (as compared to just general water infrastructure, 
        which can also include drinking water systems).
            ``(12) Technical assistance to help develop comprehensive 
        resilience and mitigation plans as an eligible funding effort.
    ``(b) Prohibition on Use of Funds for Litigation.--No funds made 
available under this Act may be used to fund litigation against the 
Federal Government.''.
    (d) Grants.--
            (1) Administration.--Section 906(a)(1) of such Act (16 
        U.S.C. 7505(a)(1)) is amended--
                    (A) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(B) Selection procedures and criteria for the 
                awarding of grants under this section that require 
                consultation with the Administrator and the Secretary 
                of the Interior.'';
                    (B) by amending subparagraph (C)(ii) to read as 
                follows:
                            ``(ii) under subsection (c) to entities 
                        including States, local governments, regional 
                        and interstate collaboratives, associations, 
                        nonprofit and for-profit private entities, 
                        public-private partnerships, academic 
                        institutions, and Indian Tribes.'';
                    (C) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``year if 
                grants have been awarded in that year'' and inserting 
                ``5 years''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(I) A method to give special consideration in 
                reviewing proposals to projects with either direct or 
                indirect coastal or marine blue carbon benefits and an 
                accounting methodology to quantify these benefits for 
                the purposes of the annual report required under 
                section 907.''.
            (2) Grants to coastal states.--Section 906(b) of such Act 
        (16 U.S.C. 7505(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Grants to Coastal States.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the 
        Administrator shall award grants to eligible coastal States 
        based on the following formula:
                    ``(A) 50 of the funds are allocated equally among 
                eligible coastal States.
                    ``(B) 25 percent of the funds are allocated on the 
                basis of the ratio of tidal shoreline miles in a 
                coastal State to the tidal shoreline miles of all 
                coastal States.
                    ``(C) 25 percent of the funds are allocated on the 
                basis of the ratio of population density of the coastal 
                counties of a coastal State to the average population 
                density of all coastal counties based on the most 
                recent data available by the Census Bureau.
            ``(2) Maximum allocation to states.--Notwithstanding 
        paragraph (1), not more than 5 percent of the total funds 
        distributed under this subsection may be allocated to any 
        single State. Any amount exceeding this limit shall be 
        redistributed equally among the remaining eligible coastal 
        States.
            ``(3) Requirement to submit plans.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a 
                grant under this subsection, an eligible coastal State 
                shall submit to the Administrator for review and 
                approval, a 5-year plan, which shall include the 
                following:
                            ``(i) Criteria to determine eligibility for 
                        entities which may receive grants under this 
                        subsection.
                            ``(ii) A description of the competitive 
                        process the coastal State will use in 
                        allocating funds received from the Fund, except 
                        in the case of allocating funds under paragraph 
                        (6), which shall include--
                                    ``(I) a description of the relative 
                                roles of and consistency with the State 
                                coastal zone management program 
                                approved under the Coastal Zone 
                                Management Act of 1972, if the coastal 
                                State has such a plan, and any State 
                                Sea Grant Program, if the State has 
                                such program; and
                                    ``(II) a demonstration that such 
                                competitive process is consistent with 
                                the application and review procedures 
                                established by the Administrator and 
                                Foundation under subsection (a)(1).
                            ``(iii) A process to certify that the 
                        project or program and the awarding of a 
                        contract for the expenditure of amounts 
                        received under this paragraph are consistent 
                        with the standard procurement rules and 
                        regulations governing a comparable project or 
                        program in that State, including all applicable 
                        competitive bidding and audit requirements.
                            ``(iv) Procedures to make publicly 
                        available on the internet a list of all 
                        projects supported by the Fund, that includes 
                        at a minimum the grant recipient, grant amount, 
                        project description, and project status.
                    ``(B) Updates.--As a condition of receiving a grant 
                under this subsection, a coastal State shall submit to 
                the Administrator, not less frequently than once every 
                5 years, an update to the plan submitted by the coastal 
                State under subparagraph (A) for the 5-year period 
                immediately following the most recent submittal under 
                this paragraph.
            ``(4) Opportunity for public comment.--In determining 
        whether to approve a plan or an update to a plan described 
        paragraph (3), the Administrator or the Foundation shall 
        provide the opportunity for, and take into consideration, 
        public input and comment on the plan.
            ``(5) Indian tribes.--As a condition on receipt of a grant 
        under this subsection, a State that receives a grant under this 
        subsection shall ensure that Indian Tribes in the State are 
        eligible to participate in the competitive process described in 
        the State's plan under paragraph (3)(A)(ii).
            ``(6) Nonparticipation by a state.--In any fiscal year, if 
        an eligible coastal State does not submit the plan required by 
        paragraph (3) or declines the funds distributed under this 
        subsection, the funds allocable to such State or area shall be 
        allocated to the national grant program under subsection (c).
            ``(7) Eligible coastal state defined.--In this subsection, 
        the term `eligible coastal State' has the meaning given the 
        term `coastal state' in section 304 of the Coastal Zone 
        Management Act of 1972.''.
            (3) National grants for oceans, coasts, and great lakes.--
        Section 906(c)(2) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 7505(c)(2)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in clause (ii), by striking ``; and'' 
                        and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 
                        clause (iv); and
                            (iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 
                        following:
                            ``(iii) nongovernmental organizations; 
                        and''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Cap on state funding.--The amount of a grant 
                awarded under this subsection shall not count toward 
                the cap on funding to States through grants awarded 
                under subsection (b).''.
    (e) Annual Report.--Section 907 of the National Oceans and Coastal 
Security Act (16 U.S.C. 7506) is amended--
            (1) by amending subsection (b)(3) to read as follows:
            ``(3) a description of the expenditures made from the Fund 
        for the fiscal year, including the purpose of the expenditures; 
        and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) an estimate of blue carbon benefits, in tons of 
        carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, expected through grants 
        awarded to projects that received special consideration under 
        section 906 due to the blue carbon potential of such 
        projects.''.
    (f) Funding.--Section 908 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 7507) is amended 
to read as follows:

``SEC. 908. FUNDING.

    ``There is appropriated $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 
through 2030 to the Fund, to remain available until expended.''.

SEC. 3. INCREASING FUNDING FOR COASTAL CONSERVATION AND RESILIENCE.

    Section 8(p)(2) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1337(p)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) With respect to any lease under this 
                subsection for the production of wind energy, 30 
                percent of the revenue from such lease shall be 
                deposited in the National Oceans and Coastal Security 
                Fund established by section 904 of the National Oceans 
                and Coastal Security Act.''.
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