Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2020

116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2429 AN ACT To reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and to establish the United States Coral Reef Task Force, 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 2 † S 2429 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2020’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVATION ACT OF 2000 Sec. 101. Reauthorization of Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. Sec. 102. Modification to section 204 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6403). TITLE II—UNITED STATES CORAL REEF TASK FORCE Sec. 201. Establishment. Sec. 202. Duties. Sec. 203. Membership. Sec. 204. Responsibilities of Federal agency members. Sec. 205. Working groups. Sec. 206. Definitions. TITLE III—DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CORAL REEF AUTHORITIES Sec. 301. Coral reef conservation and restoration assistance. TITLE IV—SUSAN L. WILLIAMS NATIONAL CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP Sec. 401. Short title. Sec. 402. Definitions. Sec. 403. Establishment of fellowship program. Sec. 404. Fellowship awards. Sec. 405. Matching requirement. TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION OF 6 CORAL REEF CONSERVATION 7 ACT OF 2000 8 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF CORAL REEF CONSERVA- 9 TION ACT OF 2000. 10 (a) PURPOSES; FEDERAL CORAL REEF MANAGE- 11 MENT AND RESTORATION ACTIVITIES.—The Coral Reef 12 3 † S 2429 ES Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is 1 amended by striking sections 202 and 203 and inserting 2 the following: 3 ‘‘SEC. 202. PURPOSES. 4 ‘‘The purposes of this title are— 5 ‘‘(1) to preserve, sustain, and restore the condi- 6 tion of United States coral reef ecosystems chal- 7 lenged by natural and human-accelerated changes, 8 including increasing ocean temperatures, ocean 9 acidification, coral bleaching, coral diseases, water 10 quality degradation, invasive species, and illegal, un- 11 reported, and unregulated fishing; 12 ‘‘(2) to promote the science-based management 13 and sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems to ben- 14 efit local communities and the Nation, including 15 through improved integration and cooperation 16 among Federal, State, and locally managed jurisdic- 17 tions with coral reef equities; 18 ‘‘(3) to develop sound scientific information on 19 the condition of coral reef ecosystems, continuing 20 and emerging threats to such ecosystems, and the 21 efficacy of innovative tools, technologies, and strate- 22 gies to mitigate stressors and restore such eco- 23 systems, including evaluation criteria to determine 24 4 † S 2429 ES the effectiveness of management interventions, and 1 accurate mapping for coral reef restoration; 2 ‘‘(4) to assist in the preservation of coral reefs 3 by supporting science-based, consensus-driven State, 4 Tribal, and community-based coral reef manage- 5 ment, including conservation and restoration 6 projects that empower local communities, small busi- 7 nesses, and nongovernmental organizations; 8 ‘‘(5) to provide financial resources, technical as- 9 sistance, and scientific expertise to supplement and 10 strengthen State and community-based management 11 programs and conservation and restoration projects; 12 ‘‘(6) to establish a formal mechanism for col- 13 lecting and allocating monetary donations from the 14 private sector to be used for coral reef conservation 15 and restoration projects; 16 ‘‘(7) to support the rapid and effective, science- 17 based assessment and response to emergencies that 18 imminently threaten coral reefs, such as coral dis- 19 ease outbreaks, invasive species, hurricanes, marine 20 heat waves, coral bleaching, and other natural disas- 21 ters, vessel groundings or chemical spills, and other 22 exigent circumstances; and 23 ‘‘(8) to serve as a model for advancing similar 24 international efforts to preserve, sustain, and restore 25 5 † S 2429 ES coral reef ecosystems in the jurisdictions of United 1 States allies and trading partners. 2 ‘‘SEC. 203. FEDERAL CORAL REEF MANAGEMENT AND RES- 3 TORATION ACTIVITIES. 4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator or the Sec- 5 retary of the Interior may conduct activities described in 6 subsection (b) to conserve and restore coral reefs and coral 7 reef ecosystems that are consistent with— 8 ‘‘(1) all applicable laws governing resource 9 management in Federal and State waters, including 10 this Act; 11 ‘‘(2) the national coral reef resilience strategy 12 in effect under section 204A; 13 ‘‘(3) coral reef action plans in effect under sec- 14 tion 205, as applicable; and 15 ‘‘(4) coral reef emergency plans in effect under 16 section 209, as applicable. 17 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—Activities described 18 in this subsection are activities to conserve, research, mon- 19 itor, assess, and restore coral reefs and coral reef eco- 20 systems in waters managed under the jurisdiction of a 21 Federal agency specified in subsection (c) or in coordina- 22 tion with a State in waters managed under the jurisdiction 23 of such State, including— 24 6 † S 2429 ES ‘‘(1) developing, including through the collection 1 of requisite data, high-quality and digitized maps re- 2 flecting— 3 ‘‘(A) current and historical live coral cover 4 data; 5 ‘‘(B) coral reef habitat quality data; 6 ‘‘(C) priority areas for coral reef conserva- 7 tion to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem 8 structure and function that benefit coastal com- 9 munities and living marine resources; 10 ‘‘(D) priority areas for coral reef restora- 11 tion to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem 12 structure and function to benefit coastal com- 13 munities and living marine resources; and 14 ‘‘(E) areas of concern that may require en- 15 hanced monitoring of coral health and cover. 16 ‘‘(2) enhancing compliance with Federal laws 17 that prohibit or regulate— 18 ‘‘(A) the taking of coral products or spe- 19 cies associated with coral reefs; or 20 ‘‘(B) the use and management of coral reef 21 ecosystems; 22 ‘‘(3) long-term ecological monitoring of coral 23 reef ecosystems; 24 7 † S 2429 ES ‘‘(4) implementing species-specific recovery 1 plans for listed coral species consistent with the En- 2 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 3 seq.); 4 ‘‘(5) restoring degraded coral reef ecosystems; 5 ‘‘(6) promoting ecologically sound navigation 6 and anchorages, including mooring buoy systems to 7 promote enhanced recreational access, near coral 8 reefs; 9 ‘‘(7) monitoring and responding to severe 10 bleaching or mortality events, disease outbreaks, 11 invasive species outbreaks, and significant maritime 12 accidents, including chemical spill cleanup and the 13 removal of grounded vessels; 14 ‘‘(8) conducting scientific research that contrib- 15 utes to the understanding, sustainable use, and long- 16 term conservation of coral reefs; 17 ‘‘(9) enhancing public awareness, under- 18 standing, and appreciation of coral reefs and coral 19 reef ecosystems; 20 ‘‘(10) preventing or minimizing the likelihood of 21 vessel impacts or other physical damage to coral 22 reefs through navigational aids and expansion of 23 reef-safe anchorages; and 24 8 † S 2429 ES ‘‘(11) centrally archiving, managing, and dis- 1 tributing data sets and coral reef ecosystem assess- 2 ments and publishing such information on publicly 3 available internet websites of— 4 ‘‘(A) the Coral Reef Conservation Program 5 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 6 ministration; and 7 ‘‘(B) the Task Force. 8 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL AGENCIES SPECIFIED.—A Federal 9 agency specified in this subsection is one of the following: 10 ‘‘(1) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 11 Administration. 12 ‘‘(2) The National Park Service. 13 ‘‘(3) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv- 14 ice. 15 ‘‘(4) The Office of Insular Affairs. 16 ‘‘(d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability 18 of appropriations and at the discretion of the Sec- 19 retary of Commerce, the Administrator may enter 20 into cooperative agreements with States to fund 21 coral reef conservation and restoration activities in 22 waters managed under the jurisdiction of such 23 States that are consistent with the national coral 24 reef resilience strategy in effect under section 204A. 25 9 † S 2429 ES ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Administrator may not 1 provide more than $500,000 in total funding under 2 paragraph (1) to any one State in any fiscal year.’’. 3 (b) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—The Coral Reef Con- 4 servation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) is amended 5 by striking sections 205 through 210 and inserting the 6 following: 7 ‘‘SEC. 204A. NATIONAL CORAL REEF RESILIENCE STRAT- 8 EGY. 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 10 ‘‘(1) develop a national coral reef resilience 11 strategy; and 12 ‘‘(2) periodically, but not less frequently than 13 every 15 years, review and revise the strategy. 14 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by sub- 15 section (a) shall include the following: 16 ‘‘(1) A discussion addressing— 17 ‘‘(A) continuing and emerging threats to 18 the resilience of United States coral reef eco- 19 systems; 20 ‘‘(B) remaining gaps in coral reef eco- 21 system research, monitoring, and assessment; 22 ‘‘(C) the status of management coopera- 23 tion and integration among Federal, State, 24 10 † S 2429 ES Tribal, and locally managed jurisdictions with 1 coral reef equities; 2 ‘‘(D) the status of efforts to manage and 3 disseminate critical information, and enhance 4 interjurisdictional data sharing, related to re- 5 search, reports, datasets, and maps; 6 ‘‘(E) areas of special focus, which may in- 7 clude— 8 ‘‘(i) improving natural coral recruit- 9 ment; 10 ‘‘(ii) preventing avoidable losses of 11 corals and their habitat; 12 ‘‘(iii) enhancing the resilience of coral 13 populations; 14 ‘‘(iv) supporting a resilience-based 15 management approach; 16 ‘‘(v) developing, coordinating, and im- 17 plementing watershed management plans; 18 ‘‘(vi) building and sustaining water- 19 shed management capacity at the local 20 level; 21 ‘‘(vii) providing data essential for 22 coral reef fisheries management; 23 ‘‘(viii) building capacity for coral reef 24 fisheries management; 25 11 † S 2429 ES ‘‘(ix) increasing understanding of 1 coral reef ecosystem services; 2 ‘‘(x) educating the public on the im- 3 portance of coral reefs, threats and solu- 4 tions; and 5 ‘‘(xi) evaluating intervention efficacy; 6 ‘‘(F) the status of conservation efforts, in- 7 cluding the use of marine protected areas to 8 serve as replenishment zones developed con- 9 sistent with local practices and traditions and 10 in cooperation with, and with respect for the 11 scientific, technical, and management expertise 12 and responsibilities of, State fish and wildlife 13 management agencies; and 14 ‘‘(G) science-based adaptive management 15 and restoration efforts. 16 ‘‘(2) A statement of national goals and objec- 17 tives designed to guide— 18 ‘‘(A) future Federal coral reef management 19 and restoration activities authorized under sec- 20 tion 203; 21 ‘‘(B) conservation and restoration prior- 22 ities for grants awarded under section 213; and 23 ‘‘(C) research priorities for the cooperative 24 institutes established under section 215(c). 25 12 † S 2429 ES ‘‘(3) General templates for use by covered reef 1 managers to guide the development of— 2 ‘‘(A) coral reef action plans under section 3 205; and 4 ‘‘(B) coral reef emergency plans under sec- 5 tion 209. 6 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATIONS.—In developing all elements of 7 the strategy required by subsection (a), the Administrator 8 shall— 9 ‘‘(1) consult with the Secretary of the Interior, 10 the Task Force, covered States, and Tribal organiza- 11 tions; 12 ‘‘(2) engage stakeholders, including coral reef 13 stewardship partnerships, coral reef institutes and 14 research centers described in section 215(c), and 15 coral reef conservation grant awardees; and 16 ‘‘(3) solicit public review and comment regard- 17 ing scoping and the draft strategy. 18 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS; PUBLICATION.— 19 The Administrator shall— 20 ‘‘(1) submit the strategy required by subsection 21 (a) and any revisions to the strategy to the appro- 22 priate congressional committees; and 23 ‘‘(2) publish the strategy and any such revisions 24 on publicly available internet websites of— 25 13 † S 2429 ES ‘‘(A) the Coral Reef Conservation Program 1 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 2 ministration; and 3 ‘‘(B) the Task Force. 4 ‘‘(e) TRANSITION RULE.—On and after the date of 5 the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 6 2020, the 2018 Coral Reef Conservation Program Stra- 7 tegic Plan of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 8 ministration shall be considered to be the national coral 9 reef resilience strategy in effect under this section until 10 the earlier of— 11 ‘‘(1) September 30, 2033; or 12 ‘‘(2) the date on which the Administrator devel- 13 ops a national coral reef resilience strategy under 14 this section. 15 ‘‘SEC. 205. CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS. 16 ‘‘(a) CORAL REEF ACTION PLANS.—Except as pro- 17 vided in subsection (h), not later than 3 years after the 18 date of the enactment of the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act 19 of 2020, and not later than 2 years after the publication 20 of a revised national coral reef resilience strategy under 21 section 204A, each covered reef manager shall prepare and 22 submit to the Task Force a coral reef action plan to guide 23 management and restoration activities to be undertaken 24 within the responsibilities and jurisdiction of the manager. 25 14 † S 2429 ES ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—A covered reef manager pre- 1 paring a coral reef action plan under subsection (a) 2 shall— 3 ‘‘(1) ensure that the plan is consistent with all 4 elements of the national coral reef resilience strategy 5 in effect; and 6 ‘‘(2) revise the plan not less frequently than 7 once every 5 years. 8 ‘‘(c) PLAN ELEMENTS.—A coral reef action plan 9 under subsection (a) shall include a discussion of the fol- 10 lowing elements: 11 ‘‘(1) Short- and mid-term coral reef conserva- 12 tion and restoration objectives within the applicable 13 jurisdiction. 14 ‘‘(2) An updated adaptive management frame- 15 work to inform research, monitoring, and assessment 16 needs. 17 ‘‘(3) The status of any coral reef emergency 18 plans in effect under section 209 covering coral reef 19 ecosystems within the applicable jurisdiction. 20 ‘‘(4) Tools, strategies, and partnerships nec- 21 essary to identify, monitor, and redress pollution 22 and water quality impacts to coral re [Text truncated for display. 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