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116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 2551
To require the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere to update periodi-
cally the environmental sensitivity index products of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration for each coastal area of the Great
Lakes, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 7, 2019
Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Mrs. DINGELL, and Mr.
HUIZENGA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources
A BILL
To require the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere
to update periodically the environmental sensitivity index
products of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration for each coastal area of the Great Lakes,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Environ-
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mental Sensitivity Index Act of 2019’’.
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•HR 2551 IH
SEC. 2. UPDATE TO ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX
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PRODUCTS OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT-
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MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FOR GREAT
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LAKES.
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(a) UPDATE REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL SENSI-
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TIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS FOR GREAT LAKES.—Not later
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than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
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the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall
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commence updating the environmental sensitivity index
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products of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
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istration for each coastal area of the Great Lakes.
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(b) PERIODIC UPDATES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SEN-
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SITIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS GENERALLY.—Subject to the
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availability of appropriations and the priorities set forth
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in subsection (c), the Under Secretary shall—
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(1) periodically update the environmental sensi-
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tivity index products of the Administration; and
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(2) endeavor to do so not less frequently than
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once every 7 years.
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(c) PRIORITIES.—When prioritizing geographic areas
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to update environmental sensitivity index products, the
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Under Secretary shall consider—
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(1) the age of existing environmental sensitivity
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index products for the areas;
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•HR 2551 IH
(2) the occurrence of extreme events, be it nat-
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ural or man-made, which have significantly altered
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the shoreline or ecosystem since the last update;
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(3) the natural variability of shoreline and
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coastal environment; and
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(4) the volume of vessel traffic and general vul-
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nerability to spilled pollutants.
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(d) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX PRODUCT
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DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘environmental
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sensitivity index product’’ means a map or similar tool
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that is utilized to identify sensitive shoreline, coastal or
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offshore, resources prior to an oil spill event in order to
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set baseline priorities for protection and plan cleanup
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strategies, typically including information relating to
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shoreline type, biological resources, and human use re-
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sources.
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(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be
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appropriated to the Under Secretary $7,500,000 to
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carry out subsection (a).
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(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated or
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otherwise made available pursuant to paragraph (1)
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shall be available to the Under Secretary for the
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purposes set forth in such paragraph until expended.
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Æ
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