COASTS Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3919 To require research in coastal sustainability and resilience, to ensure that the Federal Government continues to implement and advance coastal resiliency efforts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 23, 2019 Mr. MOULTON (for himself and Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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 com- mittee concerned A BILL To require research in coastal sustainability and resilience, to ensure that the Federal Government continues to im- plement and advance coastal resiliency efforts, 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 ‘‘Creating Opportunity 4 And Sustainability Through Science Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘COASTS Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:26 Aug 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3919.IH H3919 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3919 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 The Congress finds that— 2 (1) coastal cities and communities are particu- 3 larly vulnerable to hazards and extreme weather 4 events, accelerating the degradation of natural and 5 built infrastructure that coastal economies and pop- 6 ulations depend upon; and 7 (2) such degradation harms community resil- 8 iency and exposes coastal cities and their inhabitants 9 to more frequent and more severe hazards, impact- 10 ing the ecosystems that provide livelihoods, food, and 11 energy, and other essential benefits. 12 SEC. 3. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS- 13 TRATION RESEARCH PROGRAMS. 14 (a) COASTAL SCIENCE AND ASSESSMENT: COMPETI- 15 TIVE EXTERNAL RESEARCH.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, 17 acting through applicable National Oceanic and At- 18 mospheric Administration programs within the Na- 19 tional Ocean Service, the Office of Oceanic and At- 20 mospheric Research, and the National Marine Fish- 21 eries Service, shall carry out an extramural competi- 22 tively awarded grants program focused on inter- 23 disciplinary coastal resilience and sustainability. 24 (2) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the program 25 shall be to develop scalable, best practices— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3919.IH H3919 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3919 IH (A) to prepare more resilient, sustainable 1 cities and resilient communities; and 2 (B) to reduce disaster recovery costs. 3 (3) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary shall con- 4 duct the program in collaboration with business and 5 industry, government agencies, academic institu- 6 tions, and coastal community stakeholders. 7 (4) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant 8 under this subsection, an applicant must be an insti- 9 tution of higher education, nonprofit organization, 10 State, local, or Tribal Government, for-profit organi- 11 zation, United States Territory, or Federal agency 12 that has statutory authority to receive transfers of 13 funds. 14 (b) COASTAL RESILIENCE RESEARCH COMPETITIVE 15 GRANTS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce, 17 acting through the National Oceanic and Atmos- 18 pheric Administration, shall annually award competi- 19 tive grants for— 20 (A) activities that strengthen coastal com- 21 munities; and 22 (B) restoration of coastal habitats to pro- 23 vide vital habitat for fish and strengthen the re- 24 silience of coastal ecosystems. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3919.IH H3919 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3919 IH (2) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under 1 this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to 2 funding projects for— 3 (A) protecting life and critical infrastruc- 4 ture that, if destroyed or damaged, would have 5 a debilitating impact on economic security, un- 6 dermine community resiliency and adaptation, 7 and threaten public health or safety; 8 (B) assessing the effects of local land-use 9 considerations on coastal and marine resources; 10 (C) developing decision-support tools useful 11 to coastal communities; 12 (D) determining societal, ecological, and 13 resiliency benefits of coastal restoration and 14 natural, nature-based, and man-made infra- 15 structure, and how these benefits affect the sus- 16 tainability of coastal ecosystems; 17 (E) citizen-science monitoring of coastal 18 and marine resources as part of efforts to pro- 19 tect coastal communities; 20 (F) evaluating potential outcomes associ- 21 ated with developing new commercial and rec- 22 reational fishery resources, including aqua- 23 culture and targeting invasive and range-ex- 24 panding species; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3919.IH H3919 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3919 IH (G) monitoring and developing ecosystem- 1 based approaches to managing coastal eco- 2 systems to promote sustainability; 3 (H) assessing the capacity of human com- 4 munities to adapt to coastal hazards; 5 (I) assessing coastal vulnerability and risk; 6 (J) evaluating adaptation and restoration 7 approaches to reduce risk, including through 8 the use of natural, nature-based, and man-made 9 features; and 10 (K) minimizing costs associated with dam- 11 ages incurred from natural disasters, flooding, 12 and sea level rise. 13 SEC. 4. DONATIONS. 14 The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Na- 15 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, may ac- 16 cept and use donations of funds to implement this Act. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Jul 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3919.IH H3919 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS