Chesapeake Bay Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1816 To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authoriza- tion Act of 1992 to reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other pur- poses. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. WARNER (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- portation A BILL To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration Authorization Act of 1992 to reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and At- mospheric 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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay 4 Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 5 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1816 IS SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 It is the sense of Congress that the Chesapeake Bay 2 Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- 3 tration should be the primary representative of the Na- 4 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the 5 Chesapeake Bay watershed. 6 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY OF- 7 FICE OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT- 8 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 307(a) of the Na- 10 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Author- 11 ization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d(a)) is amended— 12 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(in this sec- 13 tion’’ and all that follows and inserting a period; 14 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol- 15 lows: 16 ‘‘(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director, 17 who shall— 18 ‘‘(A) have knowledge and experience in re- 19 search or resource management efforts in the 20 Chesapeake Bay; and 21 ‘‘(B) be responsible for— 22 ‘‘(i) the administration and operation 23 of the Office; and 24 ‘‘(ii) the implementation of this sec- 25 tion.’’; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1816 IS (3) by striking paragraph (3). 1 (b) FUNCTIONS.—Section 307(b) of such Act (15 2 U.S.C. 1511d(b)) is amended— 3 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Secretary of 4 Commerce’’ and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’; 5 (2) in paragraph (3)— 6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 7 (A)— 8 (i) by inserting ‘‘with and represent’’ 9 after ‘‘coordinate’’; and 10 (ii) by striking ‘‘, the Chesapeake Bay 11 Regional Sea Grant Programs, and the 12 Chesapeake Bay units of the National Es- 13 tuarine Research Reserve System,’’ and in- 14 serting ‘‘for the Chesapeake Bay Program 15 and that relate to the Chesapeake Bay wa- 16 tershed, in furtherance of the coastal re- 17 source stewardship mission of the Adminis- 18 tration,’’; 19 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 20 (i) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 21 the end; 22 (ii) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘and’’ 23 at the end; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1816 IS (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 1 lowing: 2 ‘‘(viii) coastal hazards and climate 3 change; and 4 ‘‘(ix) education; and’’; and 5 (C) in subparagraph (B)— 6 (i) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 7 the end; 8 (ii) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 9 after the semicolon; and 10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(v) integrated ecosystem assess- 13 ments;’’; 14 (3) in paragraph (4)— 15 (A) by striking ‘‘Environmental Protection 16 Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chesapeake Executive 17 Council’’; and 18 (B) by inserting before the semicolon at 19 the end the following: ‘‘as appropriate to fur- 20 ther the purposes of this section’’; 21 (4) by striking paragraphs (5) and (7); 22 (5) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para- 23 graph (5); and 24 (6) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1816 IS ‘‘(6) perform any functions necessary to sup- 1 port the programs and activities described in para- 2 graph (3).’’. 3 (c) ACTIVITIES.—Such Act (15 U.S.C. 1511d et seq.) 4 is amended— 5 (1) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e); and 6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 9 through the Director, shall implement the activities 10 authorized under this section— 11 ‘‘(A) to support the activities of the Chesa- 12 peake Executive Council; and 13 ‘‘(B) to further the purposes of this sec- 14 tion. 15 ‘‘(2) ENSURING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL 16 MERIT.—The Director shall— 17 ‘‘(A) establish and use an effective and 18 transparent mechanism to ensure that projects 19 funded under this section have undergone ap- 20 propriate peer review; and 21 ‘‘(B) provide other appropriate means to 22 determine that such projects have acceptable 23 scientific and technical merit for the purpose of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1816 IS achieving maximum use of available funds and 1 resources to benefit the Chesapeake Bay area. 2 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION WITH CHESAPEAKE EXEC- 3 UTIVE COUNCIL.—In implementing the activities au- 4 thorized under this section, the Director shall con- 5 sult with the Chesapeake Executive Council to en- 6 sure that the activities of the Office are consistent 7 with the purposes and priorities of the Chesapeake 8 Bay Agreement and plans developed pursuant to 9 that agreement. 10 ‘‘(4) INTEGRATED COASTAL OBSERVATIONS.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 12 through the Director, may collaborate with sci- 13 entific and academic institutions, State and 14 Federal agencies, nongovernmental organiza- 15 tions, and other constituents in the Chesapeake 16 Bay watershed to support an integrated obser- 17 vations system for the Chesapeake Bay con- 18 sistent with the purposes of the Integrated 19 Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 20 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). 21 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—To sup- 22 port the system described in subparagraph (A) 23 and provide a complete set of environmental in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1816 IS formation for the Chesapeake Bay, the Director 1 shall— 2 ‘‘(i) coordinate monitoring with Fed- 3 eral and State agencies in the tidal por- 4 tions of the Chesapeake Bay to understand 5 effects of water quality on living marine re- 6 sources; 7 ‘‘(ii) identify new data collection needs 8 and deploy new technologies, as appro- 9 priate; 10 ‘‘(iii) collect and analyze the scientific 11 information necessary for the management 12 of living marine resources and the marine 13 habitat associated with such resources; and 14 ‘‘(iv) organize the information de- 15 scribed in clause (iii) into products that 16 are useful to policy makers, resource man- 17 agers, scientists, and the public. 18 ‘‘(C) CHESAPEAKE BAY INTERPRETIVE 19 BUOY SYSTEM.—To further the development 20 and implementation of the Chesapeake Bay In- 21 terpretive Buoy System and associated moni- 22 toring assets to improve weather and ecological 23 forecasts and monitor habitat conditions for liv- 24 ing marine resources, the Director may— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1816 IS ‘‘(i) support the establishment and 1 implementation of the Captain John Smith 2 Chesapeake National Historic Trail des- 3 ignated by section 5(a)(25) of the National 4 Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 5 1244(a)(25)); 6 ‘‘(ii) delineate key waypoints along the 7 trail and provide appropriate real-time 8 data and information for trail users; 9 ‘‘(iii) interpret data and information 10 for use by educators and students to in- 11 spire stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay; 12 and 13 ‘‘(iv) incorporate the Chesapeake Bay 14 Interpretive Buoy System into the Inte- 15 grated Ocean Observing System regional 16 network of observatories. 17 ‘‘(5) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED EDU- 18 CATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 20 through the Director, may establish a program, 21 to be known as the ‘Chesapeake Bay Watershed 22 Education and Training Program’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1816 IS ‘‘(B) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES.—The Chesa- 1 peake Bay Watershed Education and Training 2 Program shall— 3 ‘‘(i) continue and expand the Chesa- 4 peake Bay watershed education programs 5 offered by the Office immediately before 6 the date of the enactment of the Chesa- 7 peake Bay Science, Education, and Eco- 8 system Enhancement Act of 2021; 9 ‘‘(ii) improve the understanding of el- 10 ementary and secondary school students 11 and teachers of the living resources of the 12 ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay; 13 ‘‘(iii) provide education and career 14 pathway internships; and 15 ‘‘(iv) meet the educational goals of the 16 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. 17 ‘‘(C) GRANT PROGRAM.— 18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Director may 19 award grants to carry out the Chesapeake 20 Bay Watershed Education and Training 21 Program. 22 ‘‘(ii) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants award- 23 ed under clause (i) may be used to support 24 education and training projects that en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1816 IS hance understanding and assessment of a 1 specific environmental problem in the 2 Chesapeake Bay watershed or a goal of the 3 Chesapeake Bay Program, or to protect or 4 restore living resources of the Chesapeake 5 Bay watershed, including projects that— 6 ‘‘(I) provide classroom education, 7 including the development and use of 8 distance learning and other innovative 9 technologies, related to the Chesa- 10 peake Bay watershed; 11 ‘‘(II) provide meaningful water- 12 shed educational experiences in the 13 Chesapeake Bay watershed; 14 ‘‘(III) provide professional devel- 15 opment for teachers related to the 16 Chesapeake Bay watershed and dis- 17 seminate pertinent education mate- 18 rials oriented to varying grade levels; 19 ‘‘(IV) demonstrate or disseminate 20 environmental educational tools and 21 materials related to the Chesapeake 22 Bay watershed; 23 ‘‘(V) demonstrate field methods, 24 practices, and techniques, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1816 IS assessment of environmental and eco- 1 logical conditions and analysis of envi- 2 ronmental problems; and 3 ‘‘(VI) build the capacity of school 4 districts and partners of school dis- 5 tricts to deliver high quality environ- 6 mental education programs. 7 ‘‘(D) COORDINATION.—The Director shall 8 implement the Chesapeake Bay Watershed 9 Education and Training Program in coordina- 10 tion with the heads of other Federal agencies, 11 as the Director determines appropriate. 12 ‘‘(6) COASTAL AND LIVING RESOURCES MAN- 13 AGEMENT AND HABITAT PROGRAM.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 15 through the Director, may establish a program, 16 to be known as the ‘Chesapeake Bay Coastal 17 Living Resources Management and Habitat 18 Program’, to support coordinated management, 19 protection, characterization, and restoration of 20 priority Chesapeake Bay habitats and living re- 21 sources, including oysters, blue crabs, sub- 22 merged aquatic vegetation, and economically 23 and ecologically important fish species such as 24 striped bass and menhaden. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1816 IS ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Under the Chesapeake 1 Bay Coastal Living Resources Management and 2 Habitat Program, the Director may carry out 3 or enter into grants, contracts, and cooperative 4 agreements and provide technical assistance to 5 support— 6 ‘‘(i) native oyster research and res- 7 toration; 8 ‘‘(ii) fish and shellfish aquaculture 9 that is carried out in accordance with a 10 valid Federal or State permit; 11 ‘‘(iii) the establishment of submerged 12 aquatic vegetation restoration programs; 13 ‘‘(iv) the development of programs 14 that restore, protect, and build the resil- 15 ience of critical coastal habitats and com- 16 munities; 17 ‘‘(v) habitat mapping, characteriza- 18 tion, and assessment techniques necessary 19 to identify, assess, and monitor Chesa- 20 peake Bay conditions and restoration ac- 21 tions; 22 ‘‘(vi) application and transfer of ap- 23 plied scientific research and ecosystem 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1816 IS management tools to fisheries and habitat 1 managers; 2 ‘‘(vii) collection, synthesis, and shar- 3 ing of information to inform and influence 4 coastal and living resource management 5 issues; 6 ‘‘(viii) ecologically and economically 7 important fish and shellfish research; and 8 ‘‘(ix) such other activities as the Di- 9 rector determines appropriate to carry out 10 the purposes of the Chesapeake Bay Coast- 11 al Living Resources Management and 12 Habitat Program.’’. 13 (d) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY; STAFF; REPORTS; 14 AGREEMENTS.—Such Act (15 U.S.C. 1511d et seq.), as 15 amended by subsection (c), is further amended by adding 16 the end the following: 17 ‘‘(d) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY; STAFF.— 18 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator shall del- 19 egate to the Director such authority as may be nec- 20 essary to carry out this section. 21 ‘‘(2) STAFF.—The Administrator shall provide 22 to the Director appropriate staff representing exper- 23 tise that covers the breadth of the duties of the Of- 24 fice. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:56 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1816.IS S1816 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •S 1816 IS ‘‘(e) REPORTS.— 1 ‘‘(1) IN [Text truncated for display. 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