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

IB Union Calendar No. 414 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3540 [Report No. 117–573] To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. CON- NOLLY, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. HOYER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MFUME, and Mr. TRONE) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Natural Resources NOVEMBER 16, 2022 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 25, 2021] VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3540 RH A BILL To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3540 RH 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 Science, 4 Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that the National Oceanic 7 and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office 8 should be the primary representative of the National Oce- 9 anic and Atmospheric Administration in the Chesapeake 10 Bay watershed. 11 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC 12 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION CHESA- 13 PEAKE BAY OFFICE. 14 Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 15 Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 16 1511d) is amended— 17 (1) in subsection (a)— 18 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(in this 19 section’’ and all that follows and inserting a pe- 20 riod; 21 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 22 follows: 23 ‘‘(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director, who— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3540 RH ‘‘(A) shall have knowledge and experience in re- 1 search or resource management efforts in the Chesa- 2 peake Bay; and 3 ‘‘(B) shall be responsible for the administration 4 and operation of the office and the implementation of 5 this section.’’; and 6 (C) by striking paragraph (3); 7 (2) in subsection (b)— 8 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Sec- 9 retary of Commerce’’ and inserting ‘‘Adminis- 10 trator’’; 11 (B) in paragraph (3)— 12 (i) by inserting ‘‘with and represent’’ 13 after ‘‘coordinate’’; 14 (ii) by striking ‘‘, the Chesapeake Bay 15 Regional Sea Grant Programs, and the 16 Chesapeake Bay units of the National Estu- 17 arine Research Reserve System,’’ and in- 18 serting ‘‘for the Chesapeake Bay Program 19 and that relate to the Chesapeake Bay wa- 20 tershed in furtherance of such Administra- 21 tion’s coastal resource stewardship mis- 22 sion,’’; 23 (iii) in subparagraph (A)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3540 RH (I) in clauses (vi) and (vii), by 1 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 2 (II) by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(viii) coastal hazards and climate 5 change; and 6 ‘‘(ix) education; and’’; and 7 (iv) in subparagraph (B)— 8 (I) in clause (iii), by striking 9 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 10 (II) in clause (iv), by inserting 11 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 12 (III) by adding at the end the fol- 13 lowing: 14 ‘‘(v) integrated ecosystem assess- 15 ments;’’; 16 (C) in paragraph (4)— 17 (i) by striking ‘‘Environmental Protec- 18 tion Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chesapeake 19 Executive Council’’; and 20 (ii) by inserting before the semicolon at 21 the end the following: ‘‘as appropriate to 22 further the purposes of this section’’; 23 (D) by striking paragraphs (5) and (7); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3540 RH (E) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 1 paragraph (5); and 2 (F) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(6) perform any functions necessary to support 4 the programs referred to in paragraph (3).’’; 5 (3) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e); and 6 (4) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through 9 the Director, shall implement the program activities 10 authorized by this section to support the activity of 11 the Chesapeake Executive Council and to further the 12 purposes of this section. 13 ‘‘(2) ENSURING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL 14 MERIT.—The Director shall— 15 ‘‘(A) establish and use an effective and 16 transparent mechanism to ensure that projects 17 funded under this section have undergone appro- 18 priate peer review; and 19 ‘‘(B) provide other appropriate means to 20 determine that such projects have acceptable sci- 21 entific and technical merit for the purpose of 22 achieving maximum use of available funds and 23 resources to benefit the Chesapeake Bay area. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3540 RH ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION WITH CHESAPEAKE EXECU- 1 TIVE COUNCIL.—The Director shall, in the implemen- 2 tation of the program activities authorized under this 3 section, consult with the Chesapeake Executive Coun- 4 cil, to ensure that the activities of the Office are con- 5 sistent with the purposes and priorities of the Chesa- 6 peake Bay Agreement and plans developed pursuant 7 to the such agreement. 8 ‘‘(4) INTEGRATED COASTAL OBSERVATIONS.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 10 through the Director, may collaborate with sci- 11 entific and academic institutions, State and 12 Federal agencies, non-governmental organiza- 13 tions, and other constituents in the Chesapeake 14 Bay watershed, to support an integrated observa- 15 tions system for the Chesapeake Bay consistent 16 with the purposes of the Integrated Coastal and 17 Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 18 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). 19 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—To sup- 20 port the system referred to in subparagraph (A) 21 and provide a complete set of environmental in- 22 formation for the Chesapeake Bay, the Director 23 shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3540 RH ‘‘(i) coordinate monitoring with Fed- 1 eral and State agencies in the tidal portions 2 of the Chesapeake Bay to understand im- 3 pacts of water quality on living marine re- 4 sources; 5 ‘‘(ii) identify new data collection needs 6 and deploy new technologies, as appro- 7 priate; 8 ‘‘(iii) collect and analyze the scientific 9 information necessary for the management 10 of living marine resources and the marine 11 habitat associated with such resources; and 12 ‘‘(iv) organize the information de- 13 scribed in clause (iii) into products that are 14 useful to policy makers, resource managers, 15 scientists, and the public. 16 ‘‘(C) CHESAPEAKE BAY INTERPRETIVE BUOY 17 SYSTEM.—To further the development and imple- 18 mentation of the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive 19 Buoy System and associated monitoring assets to 20 improve weather and ecological forecasts, mon- 21 itor habitat conditions for living marine re- 22 sources, the Director may— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3540 RH ‘‘(i) support the establishment and im- 1 plementation of the Captain John Smith 2 Chesapeake National Historic Trail; 3 ‘‘(ii) delineate key waypoints along the 4 trail and provide appropriate real-time 5 data and information for trail users; 6 ‘‘(iii) interpret data and information 7 for use by educators and students to inspire 8 stewardship of Chesapeake Bay; and 9 ‘‘(iv) incorporate the observational 10 data from the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive 11 Buoy System into the Integrated Ocean Ob- 12 serving System regional network of observ- 13 atories. 14 ‘‘(5) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED EDUCATION 15 AND TRAINING PROGRAM.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 17 through the Director, may establish a Chesapeake 18 Bay watershed education and training program. 19 The program shall— 20 ‘‘(i) continue and expand the Chesa- 21 peake Bay watershed education programs 22 offered by the Office immediately before the 23 enactment of the Chesapeake Bay Science, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3540 RH Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement 1 Act of 2021; 2 ‘‘(ii) improve the understanding of ele- 3 mentary and secondary school students and 4 teachers of the living resources of the eco- 5 system of the Chesapeake Bay; 6 ‘‘(iii) provide education and career 7 pathway internships; and 8 ‘‘(iv) meet the educational goals of the 9 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. 10 ‘‘(B) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Director may 11 award grants for the purposes of this paragraph. 12 Grants awarded under this subparagraph may 13 be used to support education and training 14 projects that enhance understanding and assess- 15 ment of a specific environmental problem in the 16 Chesapeake Bay watershed or a goal of the 17 Chesapeake Bay Program, or protect or restore 18 living resources of the Chesapeake Bay water- 19 shed, including projects that— 20 ‘‘(i) provide classroom education, in- 21 cluding the development and use of distance 22 learning and other innovative technologies, 23 related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3540 RH ‘‘(ii) provide meaningful watershed 1 educational experiences in the Chesapeake 2 Bay watershed; 3 ‘‘(iii) provide professional development 4 for teachers related to the Chesapeake Bay 5 watershed and the dissemination of perti- 6 nent education materials oriented to vary- 7 ing grade levels; 8 ‘‘(iv) demonstrate or disseminate envi- 9 ronmental educational tools and materials 10 related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed; 11 ‘‘(v) demonstrate field methods, prac- 12 tices, and techniques including assessment 13 of environmental and ecological conditions 14 and analysis of environmental problems; 15 and 16 ‘‘(vi) build the capacity of school dis- 17 tricts and their partners to deliver high 18 quality environmental education programs. 19 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION.—The Director shall 20 implement the education and training program 21 in coordination with the heads of other Federal 22 agencies, as the Director determines appropriate. 23 ‘‘(6) COASTAL AND LIVING RESOURCES MANAGE- 24 MENT AND HABITAT PROGRAM.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3540 RH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 1 through the Director, may establish a Chesapeake 2 Bay Coastal Living Resources Management and 3 Habitat Program to support coordinated man- 4 agement, protection, characterization, and res- 5 toration of priority Chesapeake Bay habitats 6 and living resources, including oysters, blue 7 crabs, submerged aquatic vegetation, and eco- 8 nomically and ecologically important fish species 9 such as striped bass and menhaden. 10 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Under the Chesapeake 11 Bay Coastal Living Resources Management and 12 Habitat Program, the Director may carry out or 13 enter into grants, contracts, and cooperative 14 agreements and provide technical assistance to 15 support— 16 ‘‘(i) native oyster research and restora- 17 tion; 18 ‘‘(ii) fish and shellfish aquaculture that 19 is carried out in accordance with a valid 20 Federal or State permit; 21 ‘‘(iii) establishment of submerged 22 aquatic vegetation restoration programs; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 3540 RH ‘‘(iv) the development of programs that 1 restore, protect, and build the resilience of 2 critical coastal habitats and communities; 3 ‘‘(v) habitat mapping, characteriza- 4 tion, and assessment techniques necessary to 5 identify, assess, and monitor Chesapeake 6 Bay conditions and restoration actions; 7 ‘‘(vi) application and transfer of ap- 8 plied scientific research and ecosystem man- 9 agement tools to fisheries and habitat man- 10 agers; 11 ‘‘(vii) collection, synthesis, and sharing 12 of information to inform and influence 13 coastal and living resource management 14 issues; 15 ‘‘(viii) ecologically and economically 16 important fish and shellfish research; and 17 ‘‘(ix) other activities that the director 18 determines are appropriate to carry out the 19 purposes of such program. 20 ‘‘(d) DELEGATION.— 21 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator shall dele- 22 gate to the Director such authority as may be nec- 23 essary to carry out this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Nov 17, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3540.RH H3540 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 14 •HR 3540 RH ‘‘(2) STAFF.—The Administrator shall delegate 1 to the Director appropriate staff representing exper- 2 tise that covers the breadth of the duties of the Office. 3 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through 5 the Director, shall submit a biennial report to the 6 Congress and the Secretary of Commerce on the ac- 7 tivities of the Office and on progress made in pro- 8 tecting and restoring the living resources and habitat 9 of the Chesapeake Bay. 10 ‘‘(2) ACTION PLAN.—Each such report shall in- 11 clude an action plan for the 2-year period following 12 submission of the report, consisting of— 13 ‘‘(A) a list of recommended research, moni- 14 toring, and data collection activities necessary to 15 continue implementation of the strategy under 16 subsection (b)(2); and 17 ‘‘(B) recommendatio [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]