SEA Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3424 To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce unnecessary permitting delays by clarifying associated procedures to increase economic development and support coastal restoration programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 21, 2019 Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. ABRAHAM, and Mr. ROUZER) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to reduce unnecessary permitting delays by clarifying asso- ciated procedures to increase economic development and support coastal restoration programs, and for other pur- poses. 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 ‘‘Streamlining Environ- 4 mental Approvals Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘SEA Act of 5 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3424 IH SEC. 2. ADDRESSING PERMITS FOR TAKING OF MARINE 1 MAMMALS. 2 Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protec- 3 tion Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(5)(D)) is amended 4 as follows: 5 (1) In clause (i)— 6 (A) by striking ‘‘citizens of the United 7 States’’ and inserting ‘‘persons’’; 8 (B) by striking ‘‘within a specific geo- 9 graphic region’’; 10 (C) by striking ‘‘of small numbers’’; 11 (D) by striking ‘‘such citizens’’ and insert- 12 ing ‘‘such persons’’; and 13 (E) by striking ‘‘within that region’’. 14 (2) In clause (ii)— 15 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘, and 16 other means of effecting the least practicable 17 impact on such species or stock and its habi- 18 tat’’; 19 (B) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘re- 20 quirements pertaining to the monitoring and re- 21 porting of such taking by harassment, includ- 22 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘efficient and practical re- 23 quirements pertaining to the monitoring of such 24 taking by harassment while the activity is being 25 conducted and the reporting of such taking, in- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3424 IH cluding, as the Secretary determines nec- 1 essary,’’; and 2 (C) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘Any condition imposed pursuant to subclause (I), (II), 4 or (III) may not result in more than a minor change to 5 the specified activity and may not alter the basic design, 6 location, scope, duration, or timing of the specified activ- 7 ity.’’. 8 (3) In clause (iii), by striking ‘‘receiving an ap- 9 plication under this subparagraph’’ and inserting 10 ‘‘an application is accepted or required to be consid- 11 ered complete under subclause (I)(aa), (II)(aa), or 12 (IV) of clause (viii), as applicable,’’. 13 (4) In clause (vi), by striking ‘‘a determination 14 of ‘least practicable adverse impact on such species 15 or stock’ under clause (i)(I)’’ and inserting ‘‘condi- 16 tions imposed under subclause (I), (II), or (III) of 17 clause (ii)’’. 18 (5) By adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(viii)(I) The Secretary shall— 20 ‘‘(aa) accept as complete a written request for 21 authorization under this subparagraph for incidental 22 taking described in clause (i), by not later than 45 23 days after the date of submission of the request; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3424 IH ‘‘(bb) provide to the requester, by not later than 1 15 days after the date of submission of the request, 2 a written notice describing any additional informa- 3 tion required to complete the request. 4 ‘‘(II) If the Secretary provides notice under subclause 5 (I)(bb), the Secretary shall, by not later than 30 days after 6 the date of submission of the additional information de- 7 scribed in the notice— 8 ‘‘(aa) accept the written request for authoriza- 9 tion under this subparagraph for incidental taking 10 described in clause (i); or 11 ‘‘(bb) deny the request and provide the re- 12 quester a written explanation of the reasons for the 13 denial. 14 ‘‘(III) The Secretary may not make a second request 15 for information, request that the requester withdraw and 16 resubmit the request, or otherwise delay a decision on the 17 request. 18 ‘‘(IV) If the Secretary fails to respond to a request 19 for authorization under this subparagraph in the manner 20 provided in subclause (I) or (II), the request shall be con- 21 sidered to be complete. 22 ‘‘(ix)(I) At least 90 days before the expiration of any 23 authorization issued under this subparagraph, the holder 24 of such authorization may apply for a one-year extension 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3424 IH of such authorization. The Secretary shall grant such ex- 1 tension within 14 days after the date of such request on 2 the same terms and without further review if there has 3 been no substantial change in the activity carried out 4 under such authorization nor in the status of the marine 5 mammal species or stock, as applicable, as reported in the 6 final annual stock assessment reports for such species or 7 stock. 8 ‘‘(II) In subclause (I) the term ‘substantial change’ 9 means a change that prevents the Secretary from making 10 the required findings to issue an authorization under 11 clause (i) with respect to such species or stock. 12 ‘‘(III) The Secretary shall notify the applicant of 13 such substantial changes with specificity and in writing 14 within 14 days after the applicant’s submittal of the exten- 15 sion request. 16 ‘‘(x) If the Secretary fails to make the required find- 17 ings and, as appropriate, issue the authorization within 18 120 days after the application is accepted or required to 19 be considered complete under subclause (I)(aa), (II)(aa), 20 or (III) of clause (viii), as applicable, the authorization 21 is deemed to have been issued on the terms stated in the 22 application and without further process or restrictions 23 under this Act.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3424 IH SEC. 3. REMOVING DUPLICATIONS. 1 Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Marine Mammal Protec- 2 tion Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(5)(D)), as amended 3 by section 2 of this Act, is further amended by adding 4 at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(xi) Any taking of a marine mammal in compliance 6 with an authorization under this subparagraph is exempt 7 from the prohibition on taking in section 9 of the Endan- 8 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1538). Any Federal 9 agency authorizing, funding, or carrying out an action 10 that results in such taking, and any agency action author- 11 izing such taking, is exempt from the requirement to con- 12 sult regarding potential impacts to marine mammal spe- 13 cies or designated critical habitat under section 7(a)(2) 14 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)).’’. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jun 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3424.IH H3424 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS