Chesapeake Bay Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5684 To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 27, 2020 Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. CON- NOLLY, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. HOYER, Mr. TRONE, Mr. BEYER, Mrs. LURIA, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. SPANBERGER, and Mr. RASKIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office 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 ‘‘Chesapeake Bay 4 Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 5 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5684 IH SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 It is the sense of Congress that the National Oceanic 2 and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office 3 should be the primary representative of the National Oce- 4 anic and Atmospheric Administration in the Chesapeake 5 Bay watershed. 6 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC 7 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION 8 CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE. 9 Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 10 Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 11 1511d) is amended— 12 (1) in subsection (a)— 13 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(in this 14 section’’ and all that follows and inserting a pe- 15 riod; 16 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 17 follows: 18 ‘‘(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director, 19 who— 20 ‘‘(A) shall have knowledge and experience 21 in research or resource management efforts in 22 the Chesapeake Bay; and 23 ‘‘(B) shall be responsible for the adminis- 24 tration and operation of the office and the im- 25 plementation of this Act.’’; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5684 IH (C) by striking paragraph (3); 1 (2) in subsection (b)— 2 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Sec- 3 retary of Commerce’’ and inserting ‘‘Adminis- 4 trator’’; 5 (B) in paragraph (3)— 6 (i) by striking ‘‘, the Chesapeake Bay 7 Regional Sea Grant Programs, and the 8 Chesapeake Bay units of the National Es- 9 tuarine Research Reserve System,’’ and in- 10 serting ‘‘that relate to the Chesapeake Bay 11 watershed in furtherance of such Adminis- 12 tration’s coastal resource stewardship mis- 13 sion,’’: 14 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 15 (I) in clause (vi), by striking 16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 17 (II) by adding at the end the fol- 18 lowing: 19 ‘‘(viii) coastal hazards and climate 20 change; and’’; and 21 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 22 (I) in clause (iii), by striking 23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5684 IH (II) in clause (iv), by inserting 1 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 2 (III) by adding at the end the 3 following: 4 ‘‘(v) integrated ecosystem assess- 5 ments;’’; 6 (C) in paragraph (4)— 7 (i) by striking ‘‘Environmental Pro- 8 tection Agency’’ and inserting ‘‘Chesapeake 9 Executive Council’’; and 10 (ii) by inserting before the semicolon 11 at the end the following: ‘‘as appropriate to 12 further the purposes of this section’’; 13 (D) by striking paragraphs (5) and (7); 14 (E) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 15 paragraph (5); and 16 (F) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(6) perform any functions necessary to sup- 18 port the programs referred to in paragraph (3).’’; 19 and 20 (3) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e); and 21 (4) by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 24 through the Director, shall implement the program 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5684 IH activities authorized by this section to support the 1 activity of the Chesapeake Executive Council and to 2 further the purposes of this section. 3 ‘‘(2) ENSURING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL 4 MERIT.—The Director shall— 5 ‘‘(A) establish and use an effective and 6 transparent mechanism to ensure that projects 7 funded under this section have undergone ap- 8 propriate peer review; and 9 ‘‘(B) provide other appropriate means to 10 determine that such projects have acceptable 11 scientific and technical merit for the purpose of 12 achieving maximum use of available funds and 13 resources to benefit the Chesapeake Bay area. 14 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION WITH CHESAPEAKE EXEC- 15 UTIVE COUNCIL.—The Director shall, in the imple- 16 mentation of the program activities authorized under 17 this section, consult with the Chesapeake Executive 18 Council, to ensure that the activities of the Office 19 are consistent with the purposes and priorities of the 20 Chesapeake Bay Agreement and plans developed 21 pursuant to the such agreement. 22 ‘‘(4) INTEGRATED COASTAL OBSERVATIONS.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 24 through the Director, may collaborate with sci- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5684 IH entific and academic institutions, State and 1 Federal agencies, non-governmental organiza- 2 tions, and other constituents in the Chesapeake 3 Bay watershed, to support an integrated obser- 4 vations system for the Chesapeake Bay con- 5 sistent with the purposes of the Integrated 6 Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 7 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). 8 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS.—To sup- 9 port the system referred to in subparagraph (A) 10 and provide a complete set of environmental in- 11 formation for the Chesapeake Bay, the Director 12 shall— 13 ‘‘(i) coordinate existing monitoring 14 and observation activities in the Chesa- 15 peake Bay; 16 ‘‘(ii) identify new data collection needs 17 and deploy new technologies, as appro- 18 priate; 19 ‘‘(iii) collect and analyze the scientific 20 information necessary for the management 21 of living marine resources and the marine 22 habitat associated with such resources; and 23 ‘‘(iv) organize the information de- 24 scribed in clause (iii) into products that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5684 IH are useful to policy makers, resource man- 1 agers, scientists, and the public. 2 ‘‘(C) CHESAPEAKE BAY INTERPRETIVE 3 BUOY SYSTEM.—To further the development 4 and implementation of the Chesapeake Bay In- 5 terpretive Buoy System, the Director may— 6 ‘‘(i) support the establishment and 7 implementation of the Captain John Smith 8 Chesapeake National Historic Trail; 9 ‘‘(ii) delineate key waypoints along the 10 trail and provide appropriate real-time 11 data and information for trail users; 12 ‘‘(iii) interpret data and information 13 for use by educators and students to in- 14 spire stewardship of Chesapeake Bay; and 15 ‘‘(iv) incorporate the Chesapeake Bay 16 Interpretive Buoy System into the Inte- 17 grated Ocean Observing System regional 18 network of observatories. 19 ‘‘(5) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED EDU- 20 CATION AND TRAINING PROGRAM.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 22 through the Director, may establish a Chesa- 23 peake Bay watershed education and training 24 program. The program shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5684 IH ‘‘(i) continue and expand the Chesa- 1 peake Bay watershed education programs 2 offered by the Office immediately before 3 the enactment of the Chesapeake Bay 4 Science, Education, and Ecosystem En- 5 hancement Act of 2019; 6 ‘‘(ii) improve the understanding of el- 7 ementary and secondary school students 8 and teachers of the living resources of the 9 ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay; 10 ‘‘(iii) provide community education to 11 improve watershed protection; and 12 ‘‘(iv) meet the educational goals of the 13 Chesapeake Bay Agreement. 14 ‘‘(B) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Director 15 may award grants for the purposes of this para- 16 graph. Grants awarded under this subpara- 17 graph may be used to support education and 18 training projects that enhance understanding 19 and assessment of a specific environmental 20 problem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed or a 21 goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program, or pro- 22 tect or restore living resources of the Chesa- 23 peake Bay watershed, including projects that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5684 IH ‘‘(i) provide classroom education, in- 1 cluding the development and use of dis- 2 tance learning and other innovative tech- 3 nologies, related to the Chesapeake Bay 4 watershed; 5 ‘‘(ii) provide watershed educational 6 experiences in the Chesapeake Bay water- 7 shed; 8 ‘‘(iii) provide professional development 9 for teachers related to the Chesapeake Bay 10 watershed and the dissemination of perti- 11 nent education materials oriented to vary- 12 ing grade levels; 13 ‘‘(iv) demonstrate or disseminate envi- 14 ronmental educational tools and materials 15 related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed; 16 ‘‘(v) demonstrate field methods, prac- 17 tices, and techniques including assessment 18 of environmental and ecological conditions 19 and analysis of environmental problems; 20 ‘‘(vi) build the capacity of organiza- 21 tions to deliver high quality environmental 22 education programs; and 23 ‘‘(vii) educate local land use officials 24 and decision makers on the relationship of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5684 IH land use to natural resource and watershed 1 protection. 2 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION.—The Director shall 3 implement the education and training program 4 in coordination with the heads of other Federal 5 agencies, as the Director determines appro- 6 priate. 7 ‘‘(6) COASTAL AND LIVING RESOURCES MAN- 8 AGEMENT AND HABITAT PROGRAM.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 10 through the Director, may establish a Chesa- 11 peake Bay Coastal Living Resources Manage- 12 ment and Habitat Program to support coordi- 13 nated management, protection, characterization, 14 and restoration of priority Chesapeake Bay 15 habitats and living resources, including oysters, 16 blue crabs, and submerged aquatic vegetation. 17 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Under the Chesapeake 18 Bay Coastal Living Resources Management and 19 Habitat Program, the Director may carry out 20 or enter into grants, contracts, and cooperative 21 agreements and provide technical assistance to 22 support— 23 ‘‘(i) native oyster research and res- 24 toration; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5684 IH ‘‘(ii) fish and shellfish aquaculture 1 that is carried out in accordance with a 2 valid Federal or State permit; 3 ‘‘(iii) establishment of submerged 4 aquatic vegetation propagation programs; 5 ‘‘(iv) the development of programs 6 that restore, protect, and build the resil- 7 ience of critical coastal habitats; 8 ‘‘(v) habitat mapping, characteriza- 9 tion, and assessment techniques necessary 10 to identify, assess, and monitor restoration 11 actions; 12 ‘‘(vi) application and transfer of ap- 13 plied scientific research and ecosystem 14 management tools to fisheries and habitat 15 managers; 16 ‘‘(vii) collection, synthesis, and shar- 17 ing of information to inform and influence 18 coastal and living resource management 19 issues; and 20 ‘‘(viii) other activities that the director 21 determines are appropriate to carry out 22 the purposes of such program. 23 ‘‘(d) DELEGATION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5684 IH ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Administrator shall del- 1 egate to the Director such authority as may be nec- 2 essary to carry out this section. 3 ‘‘(2) STAFF.—The Administrator shall delegate 4 to the Director appropriate staff representing exper- 5 tise that covers the breadth of the duties of the Of- 6 fice. 7 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 9 through the Director, shall submit a biennial report 10 to the Congress and the Secretary of Commerce on 11 the activities of the Office and on progress made in 12 protecting and restoring the living resources and 13 habitat of the Chesapeake Bay. 14 ‘‘(2) ACTION PLAN.—Each such report shall in- 15 clude an action plan for the 2-year period following 16 submission of the report, consisting of— 17 ‘‘(A) a list of recommended research, moni- 18 toring, and data collection activities necessary 19 to continue implementation of the strategy 20 under subsection (b)(2); and 21 ‘‘(B) recommendations to integrate Na- 22 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 23 activities with the activities of the partners in 24 the Chesapeake Bay Program to meet the com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Jan 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5684.IH H5684 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 5684 IH mitments of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement 1 and subsequent agreements. 2 ‘‘(f) AGREEMENTS.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, 4 through the Director, may enter into and perform 5 such contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agree- 6 ments as may be necessary to carry out the purposes 7 of this Act. 8 ‘‘(2) USE OF OTHER RESOURCES.—For pur- 9 poses related to the understanding, protection, and 10 restoration of Chesapeake Bay, the Director may 11 use, with consent and with or without reimburse- 12 ment, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and 13 facilities of any Department, agency, or instrumen- 14 tality of the United States, or of any State, local 15 government, Indian Tribe, or of any political sub- 16 division thereof. 17 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis- 19 trator’ means the Administrator of [Text truncated for display. 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