To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to allow the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Coastal and Estuarine Resilience and Restoration Program, and for other purposes.
Bill: H.R.7801 | Sponsor: Rep. Levin, Mike (D-CA)
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
This bill reauthorizes through FY2026 and revises the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program.
For example, the bill modifies the name of the program to the Coastal Estuarine Resilience and Restoration Program. It also revises goals of the program to include (1) climate change mitigation; and (2) restoring developed property in vulnerable coastal and estuarine areas to a natural state to restore ecological function, allow for shoreline migration, and protect coastal communities.
Additionally, the bill requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to designate at least five new national estuarine reserves.

To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to allow the Secretary 
    of Commerce to establish a Coastal and Estuarine Resilience and 
              Restoration Program, 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. COASTAL AND ESTUARINE RESILIENCE AND RESTORATION PROGRAM.

    Section 307A of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1456-1) is amended--
            (1) by striking the heading and inserting ``coastal and 
        estuarine resilience and restoration program'';
            (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may conduct a Coastal and 
Estuarine Resilience and Restoration Program, in cooperation with 
State, regional, and other units of government and the National 
Estuarine Research Reserves, for the purposes of--
            ``(1) protecting important coastal and estuarine areas 
        that--
                    ``(A) have significant conservation, recreation, 
                coastal access, ecological, historical, or aesthetic 
                value;
                    ``(B) are threatened by conversion from their 
                natural, undeveloped, or recreational state to other 
                uses; or
                    ``(C) could be managed or restored to effectively 
                conserve, enhance, or restore ecological function or 
                mitigate climate change; or
            ``(2) restoring developed property in vulnerable coastal 
        and estuarine areas to a natural state to restore ecological 
        function, allow for shoreline migration, and protect coastal 
        communities.'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (7) to read as follows:
            ``(7) Priority shall be given to lands that--
                    ``(A) can be effectively managed and protected and 
                that have significant recreation, ecological, 
                historical, cultural, aesthetic, or community 
                protection value;
                    ``(B) to the maximum extent practicable, benefit 
                communities that may not have adequate resources to 
                prepare for or respond to coastal hazards or to access 
                coastline, including low-income communities; and
                    ``(C)(i) are under an imminent threat of conversion 
                to a use that will degrade or otherwise diminish their 
                natural, undeveloped, or recreational state;
                    ``(ii) serve to mitigate the adverse impacts caused 
                by coastal population growth in the coastal 
                environment;
                    ``(iii) are within or adjacent to a national 
                estuarine research reserve designated under section 
                315, a national wildlife refuge, or a national estuary 
                program, or are proposed for designation as such a 
                reserve or other such protected area; or
                    ``(iv) are under threat due to climate change or 
                may serve to mitigate the adverse effects of climate 
                change, including through the storage of blue carbon, 
                and to facilitate inland migration of coastal 
                ecosystems in response to sea level rise.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (10), by striking ``triennially'' 
                and inserting ``every 5 years'';
            (4) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ``for any 
                territory of the United States that is unable to 
                provide such match,'' after ``community,''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 
                        ``meets the criteria set forth in section 
                        2(b)'' and inserting ``the goals set forth in 
                        subsection (b)'';
                            (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 
                        redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph 
                        (B);
                            (iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so 
                        redesignated), by striking ``described in (A)'' 
                        and inserting ``described in subparagraph 
                        (A)''; and
                            (iv) by inserting at the end the following 
                        new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) The value of ecosystem services that the 
                acquired land provides, including as a buffer for storm 
                surge, habitat for economically valuable species, and 
                as blue carbon sink.'';
            (5) in subsection (g), by striking ``15'' and inserting 
        ``20'';
            (6) in subsection (h), by striking the second sentence; and
            (7) in subsection (l), by striking ``fiscal years 2009 
        through 2013'' and inserting ``fiscal years 2022 through 
        2026''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE SYSTEM 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Designation of Additional Reserves.--Not later than 5 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
designate not less than 5 new national estuarine reserves under section 
315 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1461). In 
making such designations, the Administrator shall prioritize 
designations to achieve the following with respect to the National 
Estuarine Research Reserve System:
            (1) Full representation of biogeographic regions, States, 
        and Territories.
            (2) The presence of a national estuarine reserve in each 
        coastal State or Territory (as that term is defined in that 
        Act).
    (b) Guidelines for Tracking and Modeling the Impacts of Climate 
Change.--Section 315(c) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1461(c)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as 
        paragraphs (4) through (6); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) the establishment of coordinated long-term data 
        monitoring and methods throughout the System for tracking and 
        modeling the impacts of climate change on estuarine systems, 
        including impacts on lake levels and sea levels;''.
    (c) Land Acquisition and Construction.--Section 315 of the Coastal 
Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1461) is amended by striking (g) 
and adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Land Acquisition and Construction.--The Secretary may use 
funds authorized under section 318 for land acquisition and the 
construction and renovations of facilities required to meet delivery of 
System programs and services, or to meet changing needs of program 
under this title.
    ``(h) Requirements for Use of Funds.--In using funds under 
subsection (g), the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) provide science-based information and technical 
        assistance to coastal stakeholders and decisionmakers;
            ``(2) leverage the capabilities of nationwide protected 
        area networks to address challenging coastal management issues 
        such as climate change and vulnerability of coastal ecosystems 
        and communities to coastal hazards;
            ``(3) serve as living laboratories and preferred places for 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research and 
        fellowships on coastal and estuarine systems;
            ``(4) serve as critical sentinel sites for detecting 
        environmental change and developing and demonstrating 
        adaptation and mitigation strategies;
            ``(5) identify priority places for land acquisition, 
        especially those lands required to enhance resilience to 
        environmental change; and
            ``(6) engage coastal communities, stakeholders, and the 
        public in education programs to increase scientific literacy of 
        coastal environments, and to develop and train capable 
        environmental stewards.
    ``(i) Systemwide Elements of the National Estuarine Research 
Reserve System.--The Secretary shall coordinate systemwide programs and 
activities in the System including--
            ``(1) the centralized management and dissemination of data 
        from System observation and monitoring networks;
            ``(2) a competitive grant program employing the 
        collaborative research model on coastal research and management 
        priorities to be conducted at research reserve sites focused on 
        the priorities determined by the Secretary; and
            ``(3) establish the Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Research 
        Fellowship Program to address key coastal management questions 
        and the coastal research and management priorities of the 
        Reserve System and its place-based sites to help scientists and 
        communities understand the coastal challenges that may 
        influence future policy and management strategies.
    ``(j) Place-Based Program Elements of the National Estuarine 
Research Reserve System.--Each National Estuarine Research Reserve 
shall establish and maintain place-based program elements that 
include--
            ``(1) a research, monitoring, and observation network that 
        detects environmental change and informs suitable adaptation 
        and mitigation strategies where appropriate, and that supports 
        systemwide activities stated in subsection (e);
            ``(2) education, outreach, and interpretive programs that 
        communicate the value and changing dynamics of coastal systems;
            ``(3) stewardship programs that provide science-based 
        tools, habitat management, and restoration and that provide 
        resources and information to inform coastal management;
            ``(4) coastal training programs that provide technical 
        assistance to coastal communities, resource managers, and 
        coastal decisionmakers; and
            ``(5) the lands and facilities that support such accessible 
        research, monitoring, stewardship, education, and coastal 
        training activities.
    ``(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are hereby authorized 
to be appropriated to the Secretary $47,000,000 for each of fiscal year 
2022 through 2026 to provide financial assistance under this section.
    ``(l) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions 
apply:
            ``(1) Collaborative research.--The term `collaborative 
        research' means the engagement of local decisionmakers and 
        stakeholders directly in the research process so that their 
        knowledge and needs will inform research questions, data 
        analysis, and use of the products generated by the research.
            ``(2) Sentinel site.--The term `sentinel site' means a site 
        with long-term research and monitoring capability to detect, 
        document, and respond to emerging environmental changes that 
        impact natural and human systems.''.
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