Title: Coastal State Climate Preparedness Act of 2019
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Coastal State Climate Preparedness Act of 2019
This bill directs the Department of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation preparedness and response program to (1) assist coastal states with voluntarily developing coastal climate change adaptation plans, and (2) provide financial and technical assistance and training for coastal states to implement the adaptation plans.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3541 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3541

    To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the 
Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation 
       preparedness and response program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2019

Mr. Carbajal (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Rooney of Florida) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the 
Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation 
       preparedness and response 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coastal State Climate Preparedness 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. CLIMATE CHANGE PREPAREDNESS IN THE COASTAL ZONE.

    (a) In General.--The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``climate change adaptation preparedness and response program

    ``Sec. 320.  (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish, 
consistent with the national policies set forth in section 303, a 
coastal climate change adaptation preparedness and response program 
to--
            ``(1) provide assistance to coastal States to voluntarily 
        develop coastal climate change adaptation plans, pursuant to 
        approved management programs approved under section 306, to 
        minimize contributions to climate change and to prepare for and 
        reduce the negative consequences that may result from climate 
        change in the coastal zone; and
            ``(2) provide financial and technical assistance and 
        training to enable coastal States to implement plans developed 
        pursuant to this section through coastal States' enforceable 
        policies.
    ``(b) Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Planning and Preparedness 
Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, subject to the 
        availability of appropriations, may make a grant to any coastal 
        State for the purpose of developing climate change adaptation 
        plans pursuant to guidelines issued by the Secretary under 
        paragraph (8).
            ``(2) Plan content.--A plan developed with a grant under 
        this subsection shall include the following:
                    ``(A) Identification of public facilities and 
                public services, working waterfronts, coastal resources 
                of national significance, coastal waters, energy 
                facilities, or other land and water uses located in the 
                coastal zone that are likely to be impacted by climate 
                change.
                    ``(B) Adaptive management strategies for land use 
                to respond or adapt to changing environmental 
                conditions, including strategies to protect 
                biodiversity, protect water quality, and establish 
                habitat buffer zones, migration corridors, and climate 
                refugia.
                    ``(C) Adaptive management strategies for ocean-
                based ecosystems and resources, including strategies to 
                plan for and respond to geographic or temporal shifts 
                in marine resources, to create protected areas that 
                will provide climate refugia, and to maintain and 
                restore ocean ecosystem function.
                    ``(D) Requirements to initiate and maintain long-
                term monitoring of environmental change to assess 
                coastal zone adaptation and to adjust when necessary 
                adaptive management strategies and new planning 
                guidelines to attain the policies under section 303.
                    ``(E) Other information considered necessary by the 
                Secretary to identify the full range of climate change 
                impacts affecting coastal communities.
            ``(3) State hazard mitigation plans.--Plans developed with 
        a grant under this subsection shall be consistent with State 
        hazard mitigation plans and natural disaster response and 
        recovery programs developed under State or Federal law.
            ``(4) Allocation.--Grants under this subsection shall be 
        available only to coastal States with management programs 
        approved by the Secretary under section 306 and shall be 
        allocated among such coastal States in a manner consistent with 
        regulations promulgated pursuant to section 306(c).
            ``(5) Priority.--In the awarding of grants under this 
        subsection, the Secretary may give priority to any coastal 
        State that has received grant funding to develop program 
        changes pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), 
        and (8) of section 309(a).
            ``(6) Technical assistance.--The Secretary may provide 
        technical assistance to a coastal State consistent with section 
        310 to ensure the timely development of plans supported by 
        grants awarded under this subsection.
            ``(7) Federal approval.--In order to be eligible for a 
        grant under subsection (c), a coastal State must have its plan 
        developed under this subsection approved by the Secretary.
            ``(8) Guidelines.--Within 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Secretary, in consultation with 
        the coastal States, shall issue guidelines for the 
        implementation of the grant program established under this 
        subsection.
    ``(c) Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Project Implementation 
Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, subject to the 
        availability of appropriations, may make grants to any coastal 
        State that has a climate change adaptation plan approved under 
        subsection (b)(7), in order to support projects that implement 
        strategies contained within such plans.
            ``(2) Program requirements.--The Secretary, within 90 days 
        after approval of the first plan approved under subsection 
        (b)(7), shall publish in the Federal Register requirements 
        regarding applications, allocations, eligible activities, and 
        all terms and conditions for grants awarded under this 
        subsection. No less than 30 percent, and no more than 50 
        percent, of the funds appropriated in any fiscal year for 
        grants under this subsection shall be awarded through a merit-
        based competitive process.
            ``(3) Eligible activities.--The Secretary may award grants 
        to coastal States to implement projects in the coastal zone to 
        address stress factors in order to improve coastal climate 
        change adaptation, including the following:
                    ``(A) Activities to address physical disturbances 
                within the coastal zone, especially activities related 
                to public facilities and public services, tourism, 
                sedimentation, ocean acidification, and other factors 
                negatively impacting coastal waters.
                    ``(B) Monitoring, control, or eradication of 
                disease organisms and invasive species.
                    ``(C) Activities to address the loss, degradation, 
                or fragmentation of wildlife habitat through projects 
                to establish or protect marine and terrestrial habitat 
                buffers, wildlife refugia, other wildlife refuges, or 
                networks thereof, preservation of migratory wildlife 
                corridors and other transition zones, and restoration 
                of fish and wildlife habitat.
                    ``(D) Projects to reduce, mitigate, or otherwise 
                address likely impacts caused by natural hazards in the 
                coastal zone, including sea level rise, coastal 
                inundation, storm water management, coastal erosion and 
                subsidence, severe weather events such as cyclonic 
                storms, tsunamis and other seismic threats, and 
                fluctuating Great Lakes water levels. The Secretary 
                shall give priority to projects that utilize green 
                infrastructure solutions.
                    ``(E) Projects to adapt existing infrastructure, 
                including enhancements to both built and natural 
                environments.
                    ``(F) Provision of technical training and 
                assistance to local coastal policy makers to increase 
                awareness of science, management, and technology 
                information related to climate change and adaptation 
                strategies.
            ``(4) Promotion and use of national estuarine research 
        reserves.--The Secretary shall promote and encourage the use of 
        National Estuarine Research Reserves as sites for pilot or 
        demonstration projects carried out with grants awarded under 
        this section.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 318(a) of the Coastal 
Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1464(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of 
        paragraph (1);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) for grants under section 320, such sums as are 
        necessary.''.
    (c) Intent of Congress.--Nothing in this section shall be construed 
to require any coastal State to amend or modify its approved management 
program pursuant to section 306(e) of the Coastal Zone Management Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455(e)) or to extend the enforceable policies of a 
coastal State beyond the coastal zone as identified in the coastal 
State's approved management program.
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