Shovel-Ready Restoration Grants for Coastlines and Fisheries Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7387 To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to benefit coastal habitats, resiliency, and the economy, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 26, 2020 Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. CASE, Mr. HUFFMAN, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 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 committee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to benefit coastal habitats, resiliency, and the economy, 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 ‘‘Shovel-Ready Restora- 4 tion Grants for Coastlines and Fisheries Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jul 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7387.IH H7387 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7387 IH SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR COASTAL RESILIENCY. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 2 a grant program to provide funding and technical assist- 3 ance to eligible entities for purposes of carrying out a 4 project described in subsection (d) 5 (b) PROJECT PROPOSAL.—To be considered for a 6 grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit 7 a grant proposal to the Secretary in a time, place, and 8 manner determined by the Secretary. Such proposal shall 9 include monitoring, data collection, and measurable per- 10 formance criteria with respect to the project. 11 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA.—The Secretary 12 shall select eligible entities to receive grants under this 13 section based on criteria developed by the Secretary, in 14 consultation with relevant offices of the National Oceanic 15 and Atmospheric Administration, such as the Office of 16 Habitat Conservation and the Office for Coastal Manage- 17 ment. 18 (d) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A project is described by 19 this section if— 20 (1) the purpose of the project is to restore a 21 marine, estuarine, coastal, or Great Lake habitat, 22 including— 23 (A) restoration of habitat to protect or re- 24 cover a species that is threatened, endangered, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jul 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7387.IH H7387 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7387 IH or a species of concern under the Endangered 1 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 2 (B) through the removal or remediation of 3 marine debris, including derelict vessels and 4 fishing gear, in coastal and marine habitats; 5 (C) for the benefit of— 6 (i) shellfish; 7 (ii) fish, including diadromous fish; or 8 (iii) coral reef; or 9 (2) provides adaptation to climate change, in- 10 cluding by constructing or protecting ecological fea- 11 tures or green infrastructure that protects coastal 12 communities from sea level rise, coastal storms, or 13 flooding, and blue carbon projects. 14 (e) PRIORITY.—In determining which projects to 15 fund under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 16 to a proposed project— 17 (1) that would stimulate the economy; 18 (2) for which the applicant can demonstrate 19 that the grant will fund work that will begin not 20 more than 90 days after the date of the award; 21 (3) for which the applicant can demonstrate 22 that the grant will fund work that will employ fish- 23 ermen who have been negatively impacted by the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jul 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7387.IH H7387 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7387 IH COVID–19 pandemic or pay a fisherman for the use 1 of a fishing vessel; 2 (4) for which the applicant can demonstrate 3 that any preliminary study or permit required before 4 the project can begin has been completed or can be 5 completed shortly after an award is made; or 6 (5) which include communities that may not 7 have adequate resources including low income com- 8 munities, communities of color, Tribal communities, 9 and rural communities. 10 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 11 authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000,000 for fiscal 12 year 2020 to the Secretary of Commerce to carry out this 13 section to remain available until expended. 14 (g) DEFINITIONS.— 15 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this Act, ‘‘eligible 16 entity’’ means a nonprofit, a for-profit business, an 17 institution of higher education (as such term is de- 18 fined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act 19 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), or a State, local, 20 Tribal, or territorial government. 21 (2) FISHERMEN.—The term ‘‘fisherman’’ 22 means a commercial or for-hire fisherman or an oys- 23 ter farmer. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Jul 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7387.IH H7387 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7387 IH (3) SECRETARY.—In this section, the term 1 ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Commerce, act- 2 ing through the the Administrator of the National 3 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Jul 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7387.IH H7387 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS