Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act

Bill: 117-hr-2750
Sponsor: Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1]
Introduced: 2021-04-22 in the House
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Air quality
Aquatic ecology
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Congressional oversight
Dams and canals
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal-Indian relations
Floods and storm protection
Forests, forestry, trees
Geography and mapping
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Historical and cultural resources
Horticulture and plants
Indian social and development programs
Intergovernmental relations
International scientific cooperation
Land use and conservation
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Poverty and welfare assistance
Racial and ethnic relations
Rural conditions and development
Scientific communication
State and local government operations
Water quality
Watersheds
Wetlands
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: 

Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act 

 
This bill addresses the protection and restoration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, which are vegetated coastal habitats and include mangroves, tidal marshes, and other tidal or salt water wetland that have the ability to sequester and store carbon. 
 
Specifically, the bill establishes the Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon to (1) develop and maintain a map of these ecosystems, (2) assess the impediments to the protection and restoration of these ecosystems, and (3) establish national protection and restoration priorities regarding these ecosystems.
 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must chair the group and establish a national goal for conserving ocean and coastal blue carbon ecosystems within the territory of the United States and set targets to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems as appropriate. 
 
NOAA must also (1) establish integrated pilot programs to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems, and (2) enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to assess the long-term effects of geologic stores of carbon dioxide in a deep seafloor environment.
 
Finally, the bill establishes requirements concerning the stewardship and standardization of blue carbon data in the Coastal Carbon Data Clearinghouse.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-06-22
text: Committee Hearings Held.
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Environment.
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H2060)
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: Introduced in House