Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act

IB Union Calendar No. 198 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1305 [Report No. 116–249, Part I] To implement the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 15, 2019 Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. KILMER, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. NORTON, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. POCAN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 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 con- cerned OCTOBER 22, 2019 Additional sponsors: Ms. ESHOO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. CASE, Mr. COHEN, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. MUCARSEL- POWELL, Mr. HARDER of California, Ms. WILD, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, and Mr. ROONEY of Florida OCTOBER 22, 2019 Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources OCTOBER 22, 2019 Committee on Foreign Affairs discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1305 RH A BILL To implement the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1305 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Albatross and Petrel Conservation Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—CONSERVATION MEASURES Sec. 101. Reestablishment of species. Sec. 102. Management of nonnative species. Sec. 103. Habitat conservation and restoration. Sec. 104. Management of human activities. Sec. 105. Education and public awareness. TITLE II—PROHIBITED ACTS, PERMITS, AND EXEMPTIONS Sec. 201. Prohibited acts. Sec. 202. Authorization of take. Sec. 203. Exemption. TITLE III—PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT Sec. 301. Enforcement. TITLE IV—AGREEMENT AUTHORITY Sec. 401. Agreement authority. Sec. 402. Reporting. Sec. 403. General coordination. TITLE V—INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE Sec. 501. Cooperation among nations. TITLE VI—BYCATCH AND EQUIVALENT CONSERVATION Sec. 601. Protected living marine resources. TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. 701. Regulatory authority. Sec. 702. Administration. Sec. 703. Effective date. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1305 RH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi- 3 sory Committee’’ means the Advisory Committee es- 4 tablished by Article IX of the Agreement. 5 (2) AGREEMENT.—Each of the terms ‘‘Agree- 6 ment on the Conservation of Albatrosses and 7 Petrels’’ and ‘‘Agreement’’ means the Agreement on 8 the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, done at 9 Cape Town, South Africa, on February 2, 2001. 10 (3) COVERED ALBATROSSES AND PETRELS.— 11 The terms ‘‘covered albatrosses and petrels’’ and 12 ‘‘covered albatross or petrel’’ mean any species, sub- 13 species, population, or individual within the taxo- 14 nomic order Procellariiformes that is listed under 15 Annex I of the Agreement, whether dead or alive, in- 16 cluding any part, egg, derivative nest, or product of 17 such a species, subspecies, population, or individual. 18 (4) ANTARCTICA.—The term ‘‘Antarctica’’ 19 means the area south of 60 degrees south latitude. 20 (5) BREEDING SITE.—The term ‘‘breeding site’’ 21 means— 22 (A) a location in the wild at which any cov- 23 ered albatross or petrel eggs, tended by the par- 24 ent birds, have successfully hatched at any time 25 in the previous 5 years; or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1305 RH (B) a location where reestablishment of 1 breeding covered albatrosses and petrels is un- 2 derway. 3 (6) CONSERVATION MEASURE.—The term ‘‘con- 4 servation measure’’ means any action taken for the 5 purpose of achieving or maintaining the favorable 6 conservation status of covered albatrosses and 7 petrels. 8 (7) DISTURB AND DISTURBANCE.—Each of the 9 terms ‘‘disturb’’ and ‘‘disturbance’’ means any act 10 that interferes with the natural behavioral patterns 11 of covered albatrosses and petrels, including migra- 12 tion, brooding, nesting, breeding, feeding, or shel- 13 tering, to a point at which such behavioral patterns 14 are abandoned or significantly altered. 15 (8) FAVORABLE CONSERVATION STATUS.—The 16 term ‘‘favorable conservation status’’ has the mean- 17 ing given the term in Article I of the Agreement. 18 (9) HABITAT.—The term ‘‘habitat’’ means any 19 area within the range, that contains suitable living 20 conditions for covered albatrosses and petrels, in- 21 cluding appropriate nesting and foraging areas. 22 (10) MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT.—The term 23 ‘‘Magnuson-Stevens Act’’ means the Magnuson-Ste- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1305 RH vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 1 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 2 (11) PARTY.—The term ‘‘Party’’ means any 3 country (including the United States) or regional 4 economic integration organization that has ratified 5 or acceded to the Agreement. 6 (12) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means— 7 (A) any individual (whether or not a cit- 8 izen or national of the United States); 9 (B) any corporation, partnership, associa- 10 tion, or other entity (whether or not existing 11 under the laws of any State); and 12 (C) any Federal, State, local, or foreign 13 government or any entity of such a government. 14 (13) RANGE.—The term ‘‘range’’ means— 15 (A) all land or water that any covered 16 albatrosses and petrels inhabit, stay in tempo- 17 rarily, cross, or over-fly, at any time during mi- 18 gration, breeding, feeding, or aggregating; and 19 (B) any other areas that the Secretary or 20 the Secretary of Commerce determines have 21 been used for any of those purposes. 22 (14) RANGE STATE.—The term ‘‘range state’’ 23 means any country— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1305 RH (A) that exercises jurisdiction over any 1 part of a range; or 2 (B) the flagged vessels of which are en- 3 gaged outside of the jurisdictional limits of the 4 country in take, or in an activity that has the 5 potential to take. 6 (15) REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUN- 7 CIL.—The term ‘‘Regional Fishery Management 8 Council’’ means any Regional Fishery Management 9 Council established by section 302(a)(1) of the Mag- 10 nuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1852(a)(1)). 11 (16) SECRETARIAT.—The term ‘‘Secretariat’’ 12 means the Secretariat established by the Parties to 13 the Agreement pursuant to paragraph 11 of Article 14 VIII. 15 (17) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 16 means the Secretary of the Interior. 17 (18) TAKE.—The term ‘‘take’’ means to harm- 18 fully interfere with, harass, pursue, hunt, shoot, 19 wound, kill, trap, capture, destroy, possess, or col- 20 lect. 21 (19) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 22 States’’ means— 23 (A) each of the several States; 24 (B) the District of Columbia; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1305 RH (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 1 (D) the United States Virgin Islands; 2 (E) American Samoa; 3 (F) Guam; 4 (G) the Commonwealth of the Northern 5 Mariana Islands; and 6 (H) any other commonwealth, territory, or 7 possession of the United States. 8 (20) WATERS SUBJECT TO THE JURISDICTION 9 OF THE UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘waters subject 10 to the jurisdiction of the United States’’ means— 11 (A) the waters of the United States terri- 12 torial sea under Presidential Proclamation 13 5928, dated December 27, 1988 (43 U.S.C. 14 1331 note); 15 (B) the exclusive economic zone (as defined 16 in section 107 of title 46, United States Code); 17 and 18 (C) the areas referred to as ‘‘eastern spe- 19 cial areas’’ in Article 3(1) of the Agreement be- 20 tween the United States of America and the 21 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Mar- 22 itime Boundary, signed at Washington, June 1, 23 1990 (T. Doc. 101–22), including those areas 24 east of the maritime boundary, as defined in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1305 RH that Agreement, that lie within 200 nautical 1 miles of the baselines from which the breadth of 2 the territorial sea of Russia is measured but be- 3 yond 200 nautical miles of the baselines from 4 which the breadth of the territorial sea of the 5 United States is measured. 6 TITLE I—CONSERVATION 7 MEASURES 8 SEC. 101. REESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIES. 9 The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 10 Commerce, as appropriate, may carry out activities, based 11 on the best available scientific information, to reestablish 12 covered albatrosses and petrels within the range. 13 SEC. 102. MANAGEMENT OF NONNATIVE SPECIES. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or the Secretary of 15 Commerce, as appropriate, in consultation with each other 16 and with the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, and 17 consistent with this Act and any other applicable law, may 18 carry out activities to prevent the introduction of, eradi- 19 cate, or control invasive and nonnative species that have 20 or may have an adverse effect on covered albatrosses and 21 petrels. 22 (b) INCLUDED ACTIVITIES.—The activities under 23 subsection (a) may include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1305 RH (1) implementation of management plans for 1 such invasive or nonnative species; 2 (2) research on and development of practical 3 and effective techniques to eradicate or control 4 invasive or nonnative species; 5 (3) development of regional assessments on es- 6 tablished and newly discovered populations of 7 invasive or nonnative species; 8 (4) development of decision-support tools to 9 prevent the introduction or establishment of invasive 10 or nonnative species; 11 (5) development of rapid response approaches 12 and techniques; 13 (6) documentation of— 14 (A) any invasive or nonnative species that 15 coexist with humans; and 16 (B) delineation of areas in which eradi- 17 cation or control of those species would be most 18 effective and cost efficient; 19 (7) eradication or control of established popu- 20 lations or individuals of invasive or nonnative spe- 21 cies; and 22 (8) outreach and education related to— 23 (A) the impacts of invasive or nonnative 24 species on covered albatrosses and petrels; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1305 RH (B) the techniques to eradicate or control 1 those species. 2 SEC. 103. HABITAT CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION. 3 (a) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.— 4 (1) USE OF OTHER AUTHORITIES.—The Sec- 5 retary may use authority available under any other 6 laws for the protection of wildlife to conserve, pro- 7 tect, and restore breeding sites of covered 8 albatrosses and petrels, including authority under— 9 (A) the Migratory Bird Conservation Act 10 (16 U.S.C. 715 et seq.); 11 (B) the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act 12 (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.); 13 (C) the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 14 U.S.C. 742a, et seq.); and 15 (D) any other cooperative or land-acquisi- 16 tion authority vested in the Secretary. 17 (2) MANAGEMENT PLANS AND CONSERVATION 18 MEASURES.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 19 Secretary of Commerce, may develop and implement 20 management plans and undertake measures for the 21 conservation and protection of covered albatross and 22 petrel habitat. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 1305 RH (b) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.— 1 The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Sec- 2 retary, may— 3 (1) develop and implement management plans 4 and undertake conservation measures in marine 5 habitats to ensure the sustainability of living marine 6 resources that provide food for such covered 7 albatrosses and petrels; and 8 (2) use authority under law to conserve and 9 protect marine habitat important to the conservation 10 of covered albatrosses and petrels, including such 11 authority under— 12 (A) the National Marine Sanctuaries Act 13 (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.); and 14 (B) the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 15 SEC. 104. MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES. 16 (a) POLLUTANTS AND MARINE DEBRIS.— 17 (1) RESEARCH.—The Secretary and the Sec- 18 retary of Commerce may undertake scientific re- 19 search to assess the effects of pollutants and marine 20 debris on covered albatrosses and petrels. 21 (2) MARINE DEBRIS.—The Secretary and the 22 Secretary of Commerce may each develop and imple- 23 ment conservation measures to minimize the effects 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Oct 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1305.RH H1305 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 1305 RH of, or threats posed by, marine debris on covered 1 albatrosses and petrels. 2 (b) PREVENTION, MINIMIZATION, OR MITIGATION OF 3 TAKE AND DISTURBANCE.—The Secretary and the Sec- 4 retary of Commerce— 5 (1) in consultation with each other and con- 6 sistent with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 7 U.S.C. 703 et seq.) and any other authority, may 8 develop and implement measures, including by 9 issuing regulations, to prevent, minimize, or miti- 10 gate— 11 (A) the take of covered albatrosses and 12 petrels— 13 (i) on lands or in waters subject to [Text truncated for display. 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