Title: Living Shorelines Act of 2018
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Living Shorelines Act of 2018
This bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to award grants to state or local governments and nonprofit organizations to (1) implement climate-resilient living shoreline projects; and (2) encourage innovation in the use of natural materials to protect coastal communities, habitats, and natural system functions.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3087 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3087

  To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
   Administration to make grants to State and local governments and 
    nonprofit organizations for purposes of carrying out shoreline 
stabilization projects utilizing natural materials that support natural 
       habitats and ecosystem functions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 19, 2018

  Ms. Harris (for herself, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Wyden, Mr. 
  Carper, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. Merkley) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
   Administration to make grants to State and local governments and 
    nonprofit organizations for purposes of carrying out shoreline 
stabilization projects utilizing natural materials that support natural 
       habitats and ecosystem functions, 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 ``Living Shorelines Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. LIVING SHORELINE GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator shall make grants to eligible 
entities for purposes of--
            (1) implementing large- and small-scale, climate-resilient 
        living shoreline projects; and
            (2) encouraging innovation in the use of natural materials 
        to protect coastal communities, habitats, and natural system 
        functions.
    (b) Project Proposals.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, an eligible entity shall--
            (1) submit to the Administrator a proposal for a living 
        shoreline project, including monitoring, data collection, and 
        measurable performance criteria with respect to the project; 
        and
            (2) demonstrate to the Administrator that the entity has or 
        will be able to obtain any local, State, or Federal permits or 
        other authorizations necessary to carry out the project.
    (c) Project Selection.--
            (1) Development of criteria.--The Administrator shall 
        select eligible entities to receive grants under this section 
        based on criteria developed by the Administrator, in 
        consultation with the heads of relevant offices of the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, such as the Office of 
        Habitat Conservation, the Office for Coastal Management, and 
        the Restoration Center.
            (2) Considerations.--In developing criteria under paragraph 
        (1) to evaluate a proposed living shoreline project, the 
        Administrator shall take into account--
                    (A) the potential of the project to protect the 
                community and maintain the viability of the 
                environment, such as through protection of ecosystem 
                functions, environmental benefits, or habitat types, in 
                the area where the project is to be carried out;
                    (B) the historic and future environmental 
                conditions of the project site, particularly those 
                environmental conditions affected by climate change;
                    (C) the ecological benefits of the project; and
                    (D) the ability of the entity proposing the project 
                to demonstrate and quantify the potential of the 
                project for the protection of the coastal community 
                where the project is to be carried out, including 
                through--
                            (i) mitigating the effects of erosion;
                            (ii) absorbing the impact of coastal 
                        storms;
                            (iii) mitigating shoreline flooding;
                            (iv) mitigating the effects of sea level 
                        rise;
                            (v) sustaining coastal ecosystems; and
                            (vi) such other forms of coastal protection 
                        as the Administrator considers appropriate.
            (3) Priority.--In selecting living shoreline projects to 
        receive grants under this section, the Administrator shall give 
        priority consideration to a proposed project to be conducted in 
        an area--
                    (A) for which the President has declared, during 
                the 10-year period preceding the submission of the 
                proposal for the project under subsection (b), that a 
                major disaster exists pursuant to section 401 of the 
                Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) because of a hurricane, 
                tropical storm, coastal storm, or flooding; or
                    (B) that has a documented history of frequent 
                coastal inundation or coastal erosion during that 10-
                year period.
            (4) Minimum standards.--
                    (A) In general.--The Administrator shall develop 
                minimum standards to be used in selecting eligible 
                entities to receive grants under this section, taking 
                into account--
                            (i) the considerations described in 
                        paragraph (2); and
                            (ii) the need for such standards to be 
                        general enough to accommodate concerns relating 
                        to specific project sites.
                    (B) Consultations.--In developing standards under 
                subparagraph (A), the Administrator--
                            (i) shall consult with the Chief of 
                        Engineers and the heads of relevant offices of 
                        the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                        Administration, such as the Office of Habitat 
                        Conservation, the Office for Coastal 
                        Management, and the Restoration Center; and
                            (ii) may consult with relevant interagency 
                        councils, such as the Estuary Habitat 
                        Restoration Council, and State coastal 
                        management agencies.
    (d) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded under this section to an 
eligible entity to carry out a living shoreline project may be used by 
the eligible entity only--
            (1) to carry out the project; and
            (2) to monitor and collect data on the successes and 
        deficiencies of the project, in accordance with standards 
        issued by the Administrator under subsection (f)(2).
    (e) Cost-Sharing.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section to carry out a living shoreline project shall provide, 
from non-Federal sources, not less than 50 percent of the funds toward 
the total cost, including administrative costs, of the project.
    (f) Monitoring and Reporting.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall require each 
        eligible entity receiving a grant under this section (or a 
        representative of the entity) to carry out a living shoreline 
        project--
                    (A) to transmit to the Administrator data collected 
                under the project;
                    (B) to monitor the project and to collect data on--
                            (i) the protection provided by the project 
                        for the coastal community where the project is 
                        carried out; and
                            (ii) the successes and deficiencies of the 
                        project in providing such protection;
                    (C) to make data collected under the project 
                available on a publicly accessible internet website of 
                the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 
                and
                    (D) to, not later than December 31, 2022, submit to 
                the Administrator a report on the effectiveness of the 
                project in increasing protection of the coastal 
                community where the project is carried out through 
                living shorelines techniques, including--
                            (i) a description of--
                                    (I) the project;
                                    (II) the activities carried out 
                                under the project; and
                                    (III) the techniques and materials 
                                used in carrying out the project; and
                            (ii) data on the performance of the project 
                        in providing protection to that coastal 
                        community.
            (2) Standards.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
                shall, in consultation with the heads of relevant 
                offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration and nongovernmental organizations, issue 
                standards for the collection under paragraph (1) and 
                subsection (d) of data regarding the successes and 
                deficiencies of living shoreline projects for which 
                grants are awarded under this section.
                    (B) Reporting.--The standards issued under 
                subparagraph (A) shall require an eligible entity 
                receiving a grant under this section to report the data 
                described in that subparagraph to the Administrator on 
                a regular basis.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated $20,000,000 to the Administrator for each of fiscal years 
2018 through 2023 for purposes of carrying out this section.
    (h) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means 
        any of the following:
                    (A) A unit of a State or local government.
                    (B) An organization described in section 501(c)(3) 
                of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt 
                from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
            (3) Living shoreline project.--The term ``living shoreline 
        project''--
                    (A) means a project to mitigate the effects of 
                erosion caused by shoreline flooding or inundation, 
                currents, or wave energy, through project design that 
                stabilizes a shoreline by using natural materials to 
                create buffers to absorb the impact of coastal storms, 
                flooding, and wave energy and to prevent or minimize 
                shoreline erosion, that--
                            (i) incorporates as many natural elements 
                        as possible, such as native wetlands, submerged 
                        aquatic plants, native grasses, shrubs, or 
                        trees;
                            (ii) utilizes techniques that incorporate 
                        ecological and coastal engineering principles 
                        in shoreline stabilization; and
                            (iii) to the extent possible, maintains or 
                        restores existing natural slopes and 
                        connections between uplands and adjacent 
                        wetlands or surface waters; and
                    (B) may include the use of--
                            (i) natural elements, such as sand, wetland 
                        plants, logs, oysters or other shellfish, 
                        submerged aquatic vegetation, native grasses, 
                        shrubs, trees, or coir fiber logs;
                            (ii) project elements that provide benefits 
                        to coastal ecosystems in addition to shoreline 
                        protection; and
                            (iii) structural materials, such as stone, 
                        concrete, wood, vinyl, oyster domes, or other 
                        approved engineered structures.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 
        the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and each 
        federally recognized Indian Tribe.
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