Regional Ocean Partnership Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5390 To designate Regional Ocean Partnerships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 11, 2019 Mr. CRIST (for himself, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. LOWENTHAL, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources A BILL To designate Regional Ocean Partnerships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 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 ‘‘Regional Ocean Part- 4 nership Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS; PURPOSES. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 7 ings: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5390 IH (1) The ocean and coastal waters of the United 1 States are foundational to the economy, security, 2 global competitiveness, and well-being of the United 3 States and continuously serve the people of the 4 United States and other countries as an important 5 source of food, energy, economic productivity, recre- 6 ation, beauty, and enjoyment. 7 (2) Over many years, the resource productivity 8 and water quality of the ocean and coastal areas of 9 the United States have been diminished by pollution, 10 increasing population demands, economic develop- 11 ment, and natural and man-made hazard events, 12 both acute and chronic. 13 (3) Ocean and coastal areas of the United 14 States are managed by State and Federal resource 15 agencies and regulated on an interstate and regional 16 scale by various overlapping Federal authorities, 17 thereby creating a significant need for interstate co- 18 ordination to enhance regional priorities, including 19 the ecological and economic health of those areas. 20 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 21 gress that— 22 (1) the United States should seek to support 23 interstate coordination of shared regional priorities 24 relating to the management, conservation, resilience, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5390 IH and restoration of ocean and coastal areas to maxi- 1 mize efficiencies through collaborative regional ef- 2 forts by Regional Ocean Partnerships, in consulta- 3 tion with Federal and State agencies, Tribal govern- 4 ments, and local authorities; and 5 (2) such efforts would enhance existing and ef- 6 fective State coastal management efforts based on 7 shared regional priorities. 8 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol- 9 lows: 10 (1) To complement and expand cooperative vol- 11 untary efforts intended to manage and restore ocean 12 and coastal areas spanning across multiple State 13 boundaries. 14 (2) To expand Federal support for monitoring, 15 data management, and restoration activities in ocean 16 and coastal areas. 17 (3) To commit the United States to a com- 18 prehensive cooperative program to achieve improved 19 water quality in, and improvements in the produc- 20 tivity of living resources of, all coastal ecosystems. 21 (4) To authorize Regional Ocean Partnerships 22 as intergovernmental coordinators for shared inter- 23 state and regional priorities relating to the collabo- 24 rative management of the large marine ecosystems, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5390 IH thereby reducing duplication of efforts and maxi- 1 mizing opportunities to leverage support in the 2 ocean and coastal regions. 3 (5) To enable Regional Ocean Partnerships, or 4 designated fiscal management entities of such part- 5 nerships, to receive Federal funding to conduct the 6 scientific research, conservation and restoration ac- 7 tivities, and priority coordination on shared regional 8 priorities necessary to achieve the purposes described 9 in paragraphs (1) through (4). 10 SEC. 3. REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS. 11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 13 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 15 (2) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal state’’ 16 has the meaning given that term in section 304 of 17 the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 18 U.S.C. 1453). 19 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 20 means an Indian tribe, as defined in section 4 of the 21 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 22 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 23 (b) REGIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5390 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—A coastal state may partici- 1 pate in a Regional Ocean Partnership with one or 2 more other coastal states that share a common 3 ocean or coastal area with the coastal state, without 4 regard to whether the coastal states are contiguous. 5 (2) APPLICATION.—The Governor of a coastal 6 state or the Governors of a group of coastal states 7 may apply to the Secretary of Commerce, on behalf 8 of a partnership, for the partnership to receive des- 9 ignation as a Regional Ocean Partnership if the 10 partnership— 11 (A) meets the requirements under para- 12 graph (3); and 13 (B) submits an application for such des- 14 ignation in such manner, in such form, and 15 containing such information as the Secretary 16 may require. 17 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—A partnership is eligible 18 for designation as a Regional Ocean Partnership by 19 the Secretary under paragraph (2) if the partner- 20 ship— 21 (A) is established to coordinate the inter- 22 state management of coastal resources; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 5390 IH (B) focuses on the environmental issues af- 1 fecting the ocean and coastal areas of the mem- 2 bers participating in the partnership; 3 (C) complements existing State coastal and 4 ocean management efforts on an interstate 5 scale, focusing on shared regional priorities; 6 (D) does not have a regulatory function; 7 and 8 (E) is not duplicative of an existing Re- 9 gional Ocean Partnership designated under 10 paragraph (4), as determined by the Secretary. 11 (4) DESIGNATION OF CERTAIN ENTITIES AS RE- 12 GIONAL OCEAN PARTNERSHIPS.—Notwithstanding 13 paragraph (2) or (3), the following entities are des- 14 ignated as Regional Ocean Partnerships: 15 (A) The Gulf of Mexico Alliance, comprised 16 of the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, 17 Mississippi, and Texas. 18 (B) The Northeast Regional Ocean Coun- 19 cil, comprised of the States of Maine, Vermont, 20 New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, 21 and Rhode Island. 22 (C) The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on 23 the Ocean, comprised of the States of New 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 5390 IH York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and 1 Virginia. 2 (D) The West Coast Ocean Alliance, com- 3 prised of the States of California, Oregon, and 4 Washington and the coastal Indian Tribes 5 therein. 6 (c) GOVERNING BODIES OF REGIONAL OCEAN PART- 7 NERSHIPS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Regional Ocean Partner- 9 ship designated under subsection (b) shall be gov- 10 erned by a governing body. 11 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—A governing body described 12 in paragraph (1)— 13 (A) shall be comprised, at a minimum, of 14 voting members from each coastal state partici- 15 pating in the Regional Ocean Partnership, des- 16 ignated by the Governor of the coastal state; 17 and 18 (B) may include such other members as 19 the partnership considers appropriate. 20 (d) FUNCTIONS.—A Regional Ocean Partnership des- 21 ignated under subsection (b) may perform the following 22 functions: 23 (1) Promote coordination of the actions of the 24 agencies of coastal states participating in the part- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 5390 IH nership with the actions of the appropriate officials 1 of Federal agencies and State and Tribal govern- 2 ments in developing strategies— 3 (A) to conserve living resources, increase 4 valuable habitats, enhance coastal resilience, 5 and address such other issues related to the 6 shared ocean or coastal area as are determined 7 to be a shared, regional priority by those states; 8 and 9 (B) to manage regional data portals and 10 develop associated data products for purposes 11 that support the priorities of the partnership. 12 (2) In cooperation with appropriate Federal and 13 State agencies, Tribal governments, and local au- 14 thorities, develop and implement specific action 15 plans to carry out coordination goals. 16 (3) Coordinate and implement priority plans 17 and projects, and facilitate science, research, mod- 18 eling, monitoring, data collection, and other activi- 19 ties that support the goals of the partnership 20 through the provision of grants and contracts under 21 subsection (e). 22 (4) Engage, coordinate, and collaborate with 23 relevant governmental entities and stakeholders to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 5390 IH address ocean and coastal related matters that re- 1 quire interagency or intergovernmental solutions. 2 (5) Implement outreach programs for public in- 3 formation, education, and participation to foster 4 stewardship of the resources of the ocean and coast- 5 al areas, as relevant. 6 (6) Develop and make available, through publi- 7 cations, technical assistance, and other appropriate 8 means, information pertaining to cross-jurisdictional 9 issues being addressed through the coordinated ac- 10 tivities of the partnership. 11 (7) Serve as a liaison with, and provide infor- 12 mation to, international counterparts, as appropriate 13 on priority issues for the partnership. 14 (e) GRANTS AND CONTRACTS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Regional Ocean Partner- 16 ship designated under subsection (b) may, in coordi- 17 nation with existing Federal and State management 18 programs, from amounts made available to the part- 19 nership by the Administrator or the head of another 20 Federal agency— 21 (A) provide grants to eligible persons de- 22 scribed in paragraph (2) for the purposes de- 23 scribed in paragraph (3); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 5390 IH (B) enter into contracts with such persons 1 for such purposes. 2 (2) ELIGIBLE PERSONS.—The eligible persons 3 described in this paragraph are the following: 4 (A) Indian Tribes. 5 (B) State and local governments. 6 (C) Nongovernmental organizations. 7 (D) Institutions of higher education. 8 (E) Individuals. 9 (F) Private entities. 10 (3) PURPOSES.—The purposes described in this 11 paragraph include any of the following: 12 (A) Monitoring the water quality and living 13 resources of multi-State ocean and coastal eco- 14 systems and to coastal communities. 15 (B) Researching and addressing the effects 16 of natural and human-induced environmental 17 changes to— 18 (i) ocean and coastal ecosystems; and 19 (ii) coastal communities. 20 (C) Developing and executing cooperative 21 strategies that— 22 (i) address regional data issues identi- 23 fied by the partnership; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 5390 IH (ii) will result in more effective man- 1 agement of common ocean and coastal 2 areas. 3 (f) REPORTS AND ASSESSMENTS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 5 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 5 6 years thereafter until 2040, the Administrator, in 7 coordination with the Regional Ocean Partnerships 8 designated under subsection (b), shall— 9 (A) assess the effectiveness of the partner- 10 ships in supporting regional priorities relating 11 to the management of common ocean and coast- 12 al areas; and 13 (B) submit to Congress a report on that 14 assessment. 15 (2) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—The report re- 16 quired under paragraph (1)(B) shall include the fol- 17 lowing: 18 (A) An assessment of the overall status of 19 the work of the Regional Ocean Partnerships 20 designated under subsection (b). 21 (B) An assessment of the effectiveness of 22 the strategies that the Regional Ocean Partner- 23 ships are supporting or implementing and the 24 extent to which the priority needs of the regions 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 5390 IH covered by such partnerships are being met 1 through such strategies. 2 (C) Such recommendations as the Admin- 3 istrator may have for the improvement of ef- 4 forts of the Regional Ocean Partnerships to 5 support the purposes of this Act. 6 (D) An assessment of how the efforts of 7 the Regional Ocean Partnerships support or en- 8 hance Federal and State efforts in line with the 9 purposes of this Act. 10 (E) Recommendations for improvements to 11 the collective strategies that support the pur- 12 poses of this Act in coordination and consulta- 13 tion with all relevant Federal, State, and Tribal 14 entities. 15 (g) AVAILABILITY OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—In addition 16 to amounts made available to Regional Ocean Partner- 17 ships designated under subsection (b) by the Adminis- 18 trator under this section, the head of any other Federal 19 agency may provide grants to, enter into contracts with, 20 or otherwise provide funding to such partnerships. 21 (h) AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this section estab- 22 lishes any new legal or regulatory authority of the Na- 23 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Dec 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5390.IH H5390 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 5390 IH Regional Ocean Partnerships designated under subsection 1 (b), other than— 2 (1) the authority of the Administrator to pro- 3 vide amounts to the partnerships; and 4 (2) the authority of the partnerships to provide 5 grants and enter int [Text truncated for display. 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