Coastal Habitat Conservation Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4092 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Coastal Program of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to work with willing partners and provide support to efforts to assess, protect, restore, and enhance important coastal areas that provide fish and wildlife habitat on which Federal trust species depend, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 23, 2021 Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself and Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, through the Coastal Program of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to work with willing partners and provide sup- port to efforts to assess, protect, restore, and enhance important coastal areas that provide fish and wildlife habitat on which Federal trust species depend, 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 ‘‘Coastal Habitat Con- 4 servation Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4092 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 2 (1) an effective means of conserving and recov- 3 ering Federal trust species and promoting self-sus- 4 taining populations of those species is to protect, 5 conserve, restore, and enhance the habitats of the 6 species; 7 (2) coastal ecosystems are highly dynamic areas 8 that provide valuable breeding, nursery, staging, and 9 resting areas for a rich diversity of fish, shellfish, 10 migratory birds, and mammals; 11 (3) coastal areas support— 12 (A) 40 percent of the refuges within the 13 National Wildlife Refuge System; 14 (B) 40 percent of the threatened species or 15 endangered species, including 75 percent of the 16 listed mammals and birds, under the Endan- 17 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 18 seq.); and 19 (C) 50 percent of the fisheries conservation 20 activities of the Service; 21 (4) although coastal counties make up only 10 22 percent of total contiguous United States land area, 23 coastal areas are home to more than 40 percent of 24 the human population of the United States, which is 25 placing enormous pressure on coastal ecosystems; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4092 IH (5) because coastal deterioration can cause 1 fragmentation and landward migration of coastal 2 ecosystems, as well as create new habitats along 3 shorelines, it has become necessary to incorporate 4 adaptation assistance into coastal ecosystem man- 5 agement strategies; 6 (6) in addition to serving as fish and wildlife 7 habitat, coastal ecosystems— 8 (A) serve as an important source of food; 9 (B) protect coastal communities, including 10 infrastructure in those communities, against 11 floods; 12 (C) filter polluted runoff; and 13 (D) provide valuable commercial and rec- 14 reational benefits to coastal communities and 15 the United States; 16 (7)(A) fish and wildlife conservation is a re- 17 sponsibility shared by citizens and government; and 18 (B) public-private partnerships should be sup- 19 ported through technical assistance and financial as- 20 sistance to conduct coastal habitat assessment, pro- 21 tection, planning, restoration, and enhancement 22 projects in coastal ecosystems; 23 (8) successful fish and wildlife conservation in- 24 creasingly relies on interdependent partnerships in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4092 IH which priority setting, planning, and conservation 1 delivery are collaborative endeavors; 2 (9) since 1985, the Service has administered 3 the Coastal Program through which the Service 4 works with willing partners to assess, protect, plan, 5 restore, and enhance coastal ecosystems, including 6 coastal wetlands and watersheds, uplands, and ripar- 7 ian and in-stream habitats, that provide significant 8 benefits to Federal trust species; 9 (10) through the Coastal Program, the Service 10 provides strategic conservation planning and design 11 at the regional and landscape scales, and integrates 12 the resources of the Service to address priorities 13 identified by partners; and 14 (11) the Coastal Program of the Service com- 15 plements and enhances the National Coastal Wet- 16 lands Conservation Grant Program under section 17 305 of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection 18 and Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 3954), which pro- 19 vides matching grants to coastal States to support 20 long-term conservation of coastal wetlands and asso- 21 ciated habitats. 22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to legisla- 23 tively authorize the Coastal Program of the Service in ef- 24 fect as of the date of enactment of this Act to conduct 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4092 IH collaborative landscape-level planning and on-the-ground 1 coastal habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement 2 projects in priority coastal areas to conserve and recover 3 Federal trust species. 4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) COASTAL AREA.—The term ‘‘coastal area’’ 7 means a marine or freshwater area within or adja- 8 cent to a coastal State, including— 9 (A) a coastal wetland or watershed; 10 (B) coastal water; 11 (C) a coastal bay; 12 (D) a coastline; and 13 (E) an estuary and associated upland. 14 (2) COASTAL ECOSYSTEM.—The term ‘‘coastal 15 ecosystem’’ means an ecological community that pro- 16 vides fish and wildlife habitat in coastal areas. 17 (3) COASTAL HABITAT ASSESSMENT.—The 18 term ‘‘coastal habitat assessment’’ means the proc- 19 ess of evaluating the physical, chemical, and biologi- 20 cal function of a coastal site to determine the value 21 of the site to fish and wildlife. 22 (4) COASTAL HABITAT ENHANCEMENT.—The 23 term ‘‘coastal habitat enhancement’’ means the ma- 24 nipulation of the physical, chemical, or biological 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4092 IH characteristics of a coastal ecosystem to increase or 1 decrease specific biological functions that make the 2 ecosystem valuable to fish and wildlife. 3 (5) COASTAL HABITAT PLANNING.—The term 4 ‘‘coastal habitat planning’’ means the process of de- 5 veloping a comprehensive plan that— 6 (A) characterizes a coastal ecosystem; 7 (B) sets protection, restoration, or en- 8 hancement goals, and identifies the priorities of 9 those goals; 10 (C) describes conservation strategies and 11 methodologies; 12 (D) establishes a timetable for implementa- 13 tion of the plan; and 14 (E) identifies roles of participants and 15 stakeholders. 16 (6) COASTAL HABITAT PROTECTION.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘coastal 18 habitat protection’’ means a long-term action to 19 safeguard habitats of importance to fish and 20 wildlife species in a coastal ecosystem. 21 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘coastal habi- 22 tat protection’’ includes activities to support es- 23 tablishment of conservation easements or fee- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4092 IH title acquisition by Federal and non-Federal 1 partners. 2 (7) COASTAL HABITAT RESTORATION.—The 3 term ‘‘coastal habitat restoration’’ means the manip- 4 ulation of the physical, chemical, or biological char- 5 acteristics of a coastal ecosystem with the goal of re- 6 turning, to the maximum extent practicable, the full 7 natural biological functions to lost or degraded na- 8 tive habitat. 9 (8) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal 10 State’’ means— 11 (A) a State in, or bordering on, the Atlan- 12 tic, Pacific, or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mex- 13 ico, the Long Island Sound, or 1 or more of the 14 Great Lakes; 15 (B) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 16 (C) Guam; 17 (D) American Samoa; 18 (E) the Commonwealth of the Northern 19 Mariana Islands; 20 (F) the Federated States of Micronesia; 21 (G) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 22 (H) the Republic of Palau; and 23 (I) the United States Virgin Islands. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4092 IH (9) FEDERAL TRUST SPECIES.—The term 1 ‘‘Federal trust species’’ means— 2 (A) a species listed as a threatened species 3 or an endangered species under the Endangered 4 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 5 (B) a species of migratory bird; 6 (C) a species of interjurisdictional fish; 7 (D) any species of marine mammal, as 8 identified by the Secretary; and 9 (E) any other species of concern, as deter- 10 mined by the Secretary. 11 (10) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘fi- 12 nancial assistance’’ means Federal funding support 13 provided to eligible recipients through a grant or co- 14 operative agreement. 15 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 16 means the Secretary of the Interior. 17 (12) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the 18 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 19 (13) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The term 20 ‘‘technical assistance’’ means a collaboration, facili- 21 tation, or consulting action relating to a habitat pro- 22 tection, planning, restoration, or enhancement 23 project or initiative in which the Service contributes 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4092 IH scientific knowledge, skills, and expertise to a project 1 or program. 2 SEC. 4. COASTAL PROGRAM. 3 The Secretary shall carry out the Coastal Program 4 within the Service— 5 (1) to identify the most important natural re- 6 source problems and solutions in priority coastal eco- 7 systems in partnership with— 8 (A) Federal, State, local, and Tribal gov- 9 ernments; 10 (B) nongovernmental institutions; 11 (C) nonprofit organizations; 12 (D) private individuals; and 13 (E) corporations; 14 (2) to provide technical assistance and financial 15 assistance through partnerships with Federal, State, 16 local, and Tribal governments, nongovernmental in- 17 stitutions, nonprofit organizations, private individ- 18 uals, and corporations to conduct voluntary coastal 19 habitat assessment, protection, planning, restoration, 20 and enhancement projects on public land or private 21 land; 22 (3) to ensure the health and resilience of coast- 23 al ecosystems through adaptive management proce- 24 dures based on the best available science; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4092 IH (4) to build the capacity of Federal, State, 1 local, and Tribal governments, nongovernmental in- 2 stitutions, nonprofit organizations, private individ- 3 uals, and corporations to carry out environmental 4 conservation and stewardship measures; 5 (5) to assist in the development and implemen- 6 tation of monitoring protocols to ensure the success 7 of coastal ecosystem restoration and enhancement 8 measures; and 9 (6) to collaborate and share information with 10 partners and the public relating to best management 11 practices for the conservation, restoration, and en- 12 hancement of coastal ecosystems. 13 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 15 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 16 the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Service, 17 shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations and En- 18 vironment and Public Works of the Senate and the Com- 19 mittees on Appropriations and Natural Resources of the 20 House of Representatives, and make available to the pub- 21 lic on the website of the Service, a report on the Coastal 22 Program carried out under this Act. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4092 IH (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Each report submitted under 1 subsection (a) shall assess on regional and nationwide 2 bases— 3 (1) Coastal Program work on coastal eco- 4 systems; 5 (2) progress made by the Coastal Program to- 6 ward identifying the most important natural re- 7 source problems and solutions in priority ecosystems; 8 and 9 (3) prospects for, and success of, protecting, re- 10 storing, and enhancing coastal ecosystems. 11 (c) INCLUSIONS.—Each report submitted under sub- 12 section (a) shall include— 13 (1) quantitative information on coastal areas 14 protected, restored, or enhanced; 15 (2) funds appropriated to the Coastal Program 16 that have been expended or leveraged; 17 (3) a description of adaptive management prac- 18 tices implemented; and 19 (4) recommendations, if any, for additional re- 20 search, management, or legislation needed to fully— 21 (A) address problems and implement solu- 22 tions in coastal ecosystems; and 23 (B) achieve the objectives of this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 4092 IH SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 1 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 2 this Act— 3 (1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 4 (2) $21,250,000 for fiscal year 2023; 5 (3) $22,500,000 for fiscal year 2024; 6 (4) $23,750,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 7 (5) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Jul 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4092.IH H4092 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS