Federal

Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act

Source: Congress.gov · 2,847 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill updates two laws that deal with ocean trash and debris cleanup. It reorganizes how the Marine Debris Program operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (a federal ocean agency). It also reorganizes the Marine Debris Foundation (a nonprofit group that funds debris cleanup projects) and changes how money flows to these programs. ##

Who It Affects

- Federal agencies involved in marine debris cleanup - State and local governments - Native American tribes and tribal organizations - Private organizations and nonprofits working on ocean debris - Foreign governments and international organizations - Coastal communities near oceans, major estuaries, or the Great Lakes ##

Key Provisions

- The program can now enter into grants, contracts, cooperative agreements (formal partnerships between groups), and other agreements—and can contribute resources in-kind (giving equipment or services instead of money) to projects that benefit the federal agency (Sec. 2(b)) - The program can receive and spend money from U.S. departments, state and local governments, Native American tribes, foreign governments, and private organizations or individuals—as long as Congress approves the spending in advance (Sec. 2(c)) - The Foundation's main office must be located either in the National Capital Region (Washington D.C. area) or in a coastal shoreline community (a city or county right next to the ocean, major estuaries, or Great Lakes) (Sec. 3(e)) - The Foundation must develop best practices for reaching out to and supporting Native American tribes through technical help and telling tribes about available programs and grants (Sec. 3(f)) - The Foundation can now fund projects involving nongovernmental organizations, regional groups, Native American tribes and tribal organizations, and foreign government entities—in addition to state and local agencies (Sec. 3(g)) ##

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, the Marine Debris Program gains more flexibility in how it partners with organizations and receives funding. The Marine Debris Foundation must establish its headquarters in either the D.C. area or a coastal community. The Foundation gains a requirement to develop outreach strategies specifically for Native American tribes. Both the program and Foundation can now work with a wider range of partners including international organizations and foreign governments. The bill reorganizes sections of the existing laws but does not add new money amounts. ##

Important Definitions

The bill defines the following terms: - **Circular economy**: Not specified in bill text (definition comes from another law) - **Coastal shoreline community**: A city or county directly next to the open ocean, major estuaries, or the Great Lakes - **Indian tribe**: Not specified in bill text (definition comes from the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act) - **Nonprofit organization**: Not specified in bill text (definition comes from the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act) - **Tribal organization**: Not specified in bill text (definition comes from the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act) ##

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

II Calendar No. 346 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 886 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 12, 2024 Received; read twice and placed on the calendar AN ACT To amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to improve the admin- istration of the Marine Debris Foundation, to amend the Marine Debris Act to improve the administration of the Marine Debris Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Save Our Seas 2.0 4 Amendments Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 HR 886 PCS SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM 1 OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS- 2 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Marine Debris Act (Public 4 Law 109–449) is amended by inserting before section 3 5 the following: 6 ‘‘Subtitle A—NOAA And Coast 7 Guard Programs’’. 8 (b) GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, CON- 9 TRACTS, AND OTHER AGREEMENTS.—Section 3(d) of the 10 Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1952(d)) is amended— 11 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘AND 12 CONTRACTS’’ and inserting ‘‘CONTRACTS, AND 13 OTHER AGREEMENTS’’; 14 (2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and con- 15 tracts’’ and inserting ‘‘, contracts, and other agree- 16 ments’’; 17 (3) in paragraph (2)— 18 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 19 (i) by striking ‘‘part of the’’ and in- 20 serting ‘‘part of a’’; and 21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or (C)’’ after ‘‘sub- 22 paragraph (A)’’; and 23 (B) in subparagraph (C) in the matter pre- 24 ceding clause (i) by inserting ‘‘and except as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 HR 886 PCS provided in subparagraph (B)’’ after ‘‘subpara- 1 graph (A)’’; and 2 (4) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(7) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—With respect 4 to any project carried out pursuant to a contract or 5 other agreement entered into under paragraph (1) 6 that is not a cooperative agreement or an agreement 7 to provide financial assistance in the form of a 8 grant, the Under Secretary may contribute on an in- 9 kind basis the portion of the costs of the project that 10 the Under Secretary determines represents the 11 amount of benefit the National Oceanic and Atmos- 12 pheric Administration derives from the project.’’. 13 (c) RECEIPT AND EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS; USE OF 14 RESOURCES.—Section 3 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1952) is 15 amended by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(e) RECEIPT AND EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.—In 17 order to accomplish the purpose set forth in section 2, the 18 Under Secretary, acting through the Program, may re- 19 ceive and, only to the extent provided in advance in appro- 20 priations Acts, expend funds made available by— 21 ‘‘(1) any department, agency, or instrumen- 22 tality of the United States; 23 ‘‘(2) any State or local government (or any po- 24 litical subdivision thereof); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 HR 886 PCS ‘‘(3) any Indian tribe; 1 ‘‘(4) any foreign government or international 2 organization; 3 ‘‘(5) any public or private organization; or 4 ‘‘(6) any individual. 5 ‘‘(f) USE OF RESOURCES.—In order to accomplish 6 the purpose set forth in section 2, the Under Secretary, 7 acting through the Program, may use, with consent, with 8 reimbursement, and subject to the availability of appro- 9 priations, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and fa- 10 cilities of— 11 ‘‘(1) any department, agency, or instrumen- 12 tality of the United States; 13 ‘‘(2) any State or local government (or any po- 14 litical subdivision thereof); 15 ‘‘(3) any Indian tribe; 16 ‘‘(4) any foreign government or international 17 organization; 18 ‘‘(5) any public or private organization; or 19 ‘‘(6) any individual.’’. 20 SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO THE MARINE DEBRIS FOUNDA- 21 TION. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title I of the Save 23 Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224) is transferred 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 HR 886 PCS to appear after section 6 of the Marine Debris Act (P.L. 1 109-449). 2 (b) STATUS OF FOUNDATION.—Section 111(a) of the 3 Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred 4 by this Act, is amended, in the second sentence, by strik- 5 ing ‘‘organization’’ and inserting ‘‘corporation’’. 6 (c) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 7 (1) APPOINTMENT, VACANCIES, AND RE- 8 MOVAL.—Section 112(b) of the Marine Debris Act 9 (Public Law 109–449), as transferred by this Act, 10 is amended— 11 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 12 through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (6) re- 13 spectively; 14 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 15 redesignated, the following: 16 ‘‘(1) RECOMMENDATIONS OF BOARD REGARD- 17 ING APPOINTMENTS.—For appointments made 18 under paragraph (2), the Board shall submit to the 19 Under Secretary recommendations on candidates for 20 appointment.’’; 21 (C) in paragraph (2), as redesignated, in 22 the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— 23 (i) by striking ‘‘and considering’’ and 24 inserting ‘‘considering’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 HR 886 PCS (ii) by inserting ‘‘and with the ap- 1 proval of the Secretary of Commerce,’’ 2 after ‘‘by the Board,’’; 3 (D) in paragraph (4)(A), as redesignated, 4 by inserting ‘‘with the approval of the Secretary 5 of Commerce’’ after ‘‘the Board’’; 6 (E) by amending paragraph (3), as redes- 7 ignated, to read as follows: 8 ‘‘(3) TERMS.—Any Director appointed under 9 paragraph (2) shall be appointed for a term of 6 10 years.’’; and 11 (F) in paragraph (6), as redesignated— 12 (i) by inserting ‘‘the Administrator of 13 the United States Agency for International 14 Development,’’ after ‘‘Service,’’; and 15 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and with the ap- 16 proval of the Secretary of Commerce’’ after 17 ‘‘EPA Administrator’’. 18 (2) GENERAL POWERS.—Section 112(g) of the 19 Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as trans- 20 ferred by this Act, is amended— 21 (A) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘‘offi- 22 cers and employees’’ and inserting ‘‘the initial 23 officers and employees’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 HR 886 PCS (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i) by striking ‘‘its 1 chief operating officer’’ and inserting ‘‘the chief 2 executive officer of the Foundation’’. 3 (3) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.—Section 112 4 of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as 5 transferred by this Act, is amended by adding at the 6 end the following: 7 ‘‘(h) CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.— 8 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT; REMOVAL; REVIEW.—The 9 Board may appoint, remove, and review the perform- 10 ance of the chief executive officer of the Foundation. 11 ‘‘(2) POWERS.—The chief executive officer of 12 the Foundation may appoint, remove, and review the 13 performance of any officer or employee of the Foun- 14 dation.’’. 15 (d) POWERS OF FOUNDATION.—Section 113(c)(1) of 16 the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as trans- 17 ferred by this Act, is amended in the matter preceding 18 subparagraph (A)— 19 (1) by inserting ‘‘nonprofit’’ before ‘‘corpora- 20 tion’’; and 21 (2) by striking ‘‘acting as a trustee’’ and insert- 22 ing ‘‘formed’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 HR 886 PCS (e) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—Section 113 of the Marine 1 Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred by this 2 Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(g) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The Board shall locate the 4 principal office of the Foundation in the National Capital 5 Region, as such term is defined in section 2674(f)(2) of 6 title 10, United States Code, or a coastal shoreline com- 7 munity.’’. 8 (f) BEST PRACTICES.—Section 113 of the Marine 9 Debris Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred by this 10 Act and amended by subsection (e), is further amended 11 by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(h) BEST PRACTICES.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation shall de- 14 velop and implement best practices for conducting 15 outreach to Indian Tribes. 16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The best practices de- 17 veloped under paragraph (1) shall— 18 ‘‘(A) include a process to support technical 19 assistance and capacity building to improve out- 20 comes; and 21 ‘‘(B) promote an awareness of programs 22 and grants available under this Act.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 HR 886 PCS (g) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 118 of the Marine De- 1 bris Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred by this Act, 2 is amended— 3 (1) in subsection (a)— 4 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘2024’’ 5 and inserting ‘‘2025’’ and 6 (B) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and 7 State and local government agencies’’ and in- 8 serting ‘‘, State and local government agencies, 9 United States and international nongovern- 10 mental organizations, regional organizations, 11 Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and foreign 12 government entities’’; and 13 (2) in subsection (b)(2) by striking ‘‘and State 14 and local government agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘, 15 State and local government agencies, United States 16 and international nongovernmental organizations, re- 17 gional organizations, Indian Tribes, Tribal organiza- 18 tions, and foreign government entities’’. 19 (i) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 9(a) of the Marine De- 20 bris Act (33 U.S.C. 1958) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal 21 year 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘each of fiscal years 2024 and 22 2025’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 HR 886 PCS SEC. 4. TRANSFERS. 1 (a) SAVE OUR SEAS 2.0 ACT.—Subtitle C of title I 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224) is 3 transferred to appear after section 119 of the Marine De- 4 bris Act (Public Law 109–449) as transferred and redes- 5 ignated by this Act. 6 (b) MARINE DEBRIS ACT.—The Marine Debris Act 7 (Public Law 109–449) is amended— 8 (1) by transferring sections 7, 8, and 9 to ap- 9 pear after section 127, as transferred by this Act, 10 and redesignated as sections 131, 132, and 133, re- 11 spectively; and 12 (2) by inserting before section 131, as so trans- 13 ferred and redesignated, the following: 14 ‘‘Subtitle D—Administration’’. 15 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 131 of the Marine Debris 17 Act (Public Law 109–449), as transferred and redesig- 18 nated by this Act, is amended— 19 (1) by striking paragraph (1); 20 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (4), 21 (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (5), (6), (7), (11), 22 (12), and (13), respectively; 23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol- 24 lowing: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 HR 886 PCS ‘‘(1) CIRCULAR ECONOMY.—The term ‘circular 1 economy’ has the meaning given such term in sec- 2 tion 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 3 116–224). 4 ‘‘(2) COASTAL SHORELINE COMMUNITY.—The 5 term ‘coastal shoreline community’ means a city or 6 county directly adjacent to the open ocean, major es- 7 tuaries, or the Great Lakes. 8 ‘‘(3) EPA ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘EPA 9 Administrator’ has the meaning given such term in 10 section 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 11 116–224). 12 ‘‘(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 13 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 14 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 15 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).’’; 16 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8), as so re- 17 designated, the following: 18 ‘‘(9) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 19 ‘nonprofit organization’ has the meaning given such 20 term in section 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act 21 (Public Law 116–224). 22 ‘‘(10) POST CONSUMER MATERIALS MANAGE- 23 MENT.—The term ‘post-consumer materials manage- 24 ment’ has the meaning given such term in section 2 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 HR 886 PCS of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116– 1 224).’’; 2 (5) by inserting after paragraph (13), as so re- 3 designated, the following: 4 ‘‘(14) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘Trib- 5 al organization’ has the meaning given the term in 6 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 7 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 8 ‘‘(15) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘Under 9 Secretary’ has the meaning given such term in sec- 10 tion 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 11 116–224).’’; and 12 (6) in paragraph (13), as so redesignated— 13 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), 14 (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and 15 (E); and 16 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 17 the following: 18 ‘‘(B) Indian Tribe;’’. 19 (b) TRANSFER.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2(7) of the Save Our 21 Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224) is transferred to 22 section 131 of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 23 109–449), inserted after paragraph (8) (as redesig- 24 nated), and redesignated as paragraph (8). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:19 Mar 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H886.PCS H886 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 HR 886 PCS (2) REDESIGNATION.—Section 2 of the Save 1 Our Seas 2.0 Act (Public Law 116–224) is amended 2 by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (11) as 3 paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively. 4 (c) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—Paragraph (8)(D) of 5 section 131 of the Marine Debris Act (Public Law 109– 6 449), as transferred and redesignated by this Act, is 7 amended by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 4 of the In- 8 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 9 (25 U.S.C. 5304))’’. 10 SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—In sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 of the 12 Marine Debris Act, and section 133 of the Marine Debris 13 Act as transferred and so redesignated by this Act, strike 14 ‘‘Administrator’’ and insert ‘‘Under Secr [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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