I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8632 To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to provide for ocean-based climate solutions to reduce carbon emissions and global warming; to make coastal communities more resilient; and to provide for the conservation and restoration of ocean and coastal habitats, bio- diversity, and marine mammal and fish populations; and for other pur- poses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 20, 2020 Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. CASE, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, and Ms. JOHNSON of Texas) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, House Administration, Ways and Means, Transportation and Infrastruc- ture, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to provide for ocean-based climate solu- tions to reduce carbon emissions and global warming; to make coastal communities more resilient; and to pro- vide for the conservation and restoration of ocean and VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H8632.IH H8632 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8632 IH coastal habitats, biodiversity, and marine mammal and fish populations; 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act of 2020’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is the following: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—MARINE AND COASTAL BLUE CARBON Sec. 101. Blue Carbon Program. Sec. 102. National map of coastal and marine blue carbon ecosystems. Sec. 103. Report on blue carbon in the United States. Sec. 104. Blue Carbon Partnership Grant Program. Sec. 105. Integrated pilot programs to protect and restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems. Sec. 106. Interagency working group. Sec. 107. Coastal carbon areas of significance. Sec. 108. Authorization of Smithsonian Institution blue carbon activities. Sec. 109. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 110. Definitions. TITLE II—MARINE PROTECTED AREAS Sec. 201. Policy. Sec. 202. Interagency Task Force. Sec. 203. Initiate designation process for successful sanctuary nominations and technical corrections to the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. Sec. 204. Increased protection for deep sea corals. Sec. 205. Marine biodiversity gap analysis. TITLE III—OFFSHORE ENERGY Subtitle A—Oil and Gas Leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf Sec. 301. Prohibition of oil and gas leasing in all areas of the Outer Conti- nental Shelf. Subtitle B—Offshore Renewable Energy Sec. 311. Sense of Congress on the importance of offshore wind energy. Sec. 312. National offshore wind goals. Sec. 313. Removing roadblocks for data sharing. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Nov 25, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8632.IH H8632 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8632 IH Sec. 314. Increasing funding for scientific research. Sec. 315. Extending collaboration with industry. Sec. 316. Developing strategies to protect wildlife. Sec. 317. Offshore wind for the Territories. Sec. 318. Marine energy research. Sec. 319. Increasing funding for coastal conservation and resilience. TITLE IV—CLIMATE-READY FISHERIES, EFFICIENT FISHERY VESSELS, AND BUY AMERICAN SEAFOOD Sec. 401. Sense of Congress. Sec. 402. Caught in the USA. Sec. 403. Eliminate fish subsidies in trade agreements. Sec. 404. Fuel efficient fishing vessels. Sec. 405. Climate and fisheries research and management program. Sec. 406. Climate-ready fisheries innovation program. Sec. 407. Shifting Stocks Task Force. Sec. 408. Essential fish habitat consultation. Sec. 409. Ocean Aquaculture Research and Policy Program. TITLE V—COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCE ACT AMENDMENTS Sec. 501. Undeveloped coastal barrier. Sec. 502. Coastal hazard pilot project. Sec. 503. Report on expanding Coastal Barrier Resources Act to the Pacific Coast, including Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States. Sec. 504. Require disclosure to prospective buyers that property is in the Coast- al Barrier Resources System. Sec. 505. Improve Federal agency compliance with Coastal Barrier Resources Act. Sec. 506. Excess Federal property. Sec. 507. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE VI—COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT ACT AMENDMENTS Sec. 601. Grants to further achievement of Tribal coastal zone objectives. Sec. 602. Eligibility of District of Columbia for Federal funding under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. Sec. 603. Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program. Sec. 604. Coastal Zone Management Fund. Sec. 605. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 606. Amendments to National Estuarine Research Reserve System pro- gram. TITLE VII—INSULAR AFFAIRS Sec. 701. Definitions. Sec. 702. Coastal management technical assistance and report. Sec. 703. Climate Change Insular Research Grant Program. Sec. 704. Extreme weather and climate outreach to insular areas. Sec. 705. Coral reefs. Sec. 706. Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act. Sec. 707. Office of Insular Affairs Technical Assistance Program. Sec. 708. Disaster relief Federal cost-share waiver. TITLE VIII—STRENGTHENING MARINE MAMMAL CONSERVATION VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8632.IH H8632 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8632 IH Sec. 801. Conservation of marine mammals adversely affected by climate change. Sec. 802. Vessel speed restrictions in marine mammal habitat. Sec. 803. Monitoring ocean noise for marine mammal health. Sec. 804. Grants for seaports to establish programs to reduce the impacts of vessel traffic and port operations on marine mammals. TITLE IX—INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS, EFFORTS IN THE ARCTIC, AND BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS TRIBAL RESIL- IENCE PROGRAM Subtitle A—International Agreements Sec. 901. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Subtitle B—Efforts in the Arctic Sec. 911. Reinstatement of Executive Order 13754; Northern Bering Sea Cli- mate Resilience Area. Sec. 912. Plan for the United States to cut black carbon emissions to 33 per- cent below 2013 levels by 2025. Subtitle C—Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Resilience Program Sec. 921. Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Resilience Program. TITLE X—COASTAL RESILIENCY AND ADAPTATION Sec. 1001. Living Shoreline Grant Program. Sec. 1002. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Research Pro- grams. Sec. 1003. Grants for recovering oysters. Sec. 1004. Improvements to the National Oceans and Coastal Security Act. Sec. 1005. Shovel-ready restoration grants for coastlines and fisheries. Sec. 1006. Strategic Climate Change Relocation Initiative and Program. TITLE XI—OCEAN HEALTH: OCEAN ACIDIFICATION AND HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS Subtitle A—Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act Sec. 1101. State and United States defined. Sec. 1102. Coastal community vulnerability assessment. Subtitle B—Ocean Acidification Act Sec. 1111. Prize competitions. Subtitle C—COAST Research Act Sec. 1121. Purposes. Sec. 1122. Definitions. Sec. 1123. Interagency working group. Sec. 1124. Strategic research plan. Sec. 1125. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ocean acidifica- tion activities. Sec. 1126. National Science Foundation ocean acidification activities. Sec. 1127. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ocean acidification activities. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8632.IH H8632 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8632 IH Sec. 1128. Authorization of appropriations. Subtitle D—South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Sec. 1131. South Florida harmful algal blooms and hypoxia assessment and ac- tion plan. Subtitle E—Protecting Local Communities From Harmful Algal Blooms Sec. 1141. Algal blooms. Subtitle F—Harmful Algal Bloom Essential Forecasting Sec. 1151. Designating certain harmful algal bloom services as excepted serv- ices under the Anti-Deficiency Act. Sec. 1152. Centers of Excellence in Harmful Algal Bloom Research, Preven- tion, Response, and Mitigation. TITLE XII—NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY, DATA, AND COORDINATED WEBSITE FOR GRANT PROGRAMS Subtitle A—Regional Ocean Partnerships Sec. 1201. Findings; sense of Congress; purposes. Sec. 1202. Regional Ocean Partnerships. Subtitle B—Data and Scientific Coordination Sec. 1211. Increased coordination among agencies with respect to data and monitoring. Sec. 1212. Interagency Ocean Exploration Committee. Sec. 1213. Committee on Ocean Policy. Sec. 1214. Building data sources. Sec. 1215. National sea level rise risk analysis. Subtitle C—Digital Coast Sec. 1221. Definitions. Sec. 1222. Establishment of the Digital Coast. Subtitle D—Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Sec. 1241. Staggered terms for National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Obser- vation System Advisory Committee. Sec. 1242. Integrated coastal and ocean observation system cooperative agree- ments. Sec. 1243. Reauthorization of Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation Sys- tem Act of 2009. Sec. 1244. Advanced Research Projects Agency–Oceans. Subtitle E—Centralized Website for Resiliency Grants Sec. 1251. Centralized website for resiliency grants. TITLE XIII—WETLANDS Subtitle A—Coastal Wetlands Sec. 1301. Definitions. Sec. 1302. Coastal and Estuary Resilience Grant Program. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8632.IH H8632 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8632 IH Sec. 1303. Data collection. Sec. 1304. Outreach and technical assistance. Sec. 1305. Annual restoration and funding. Sec. 1306. Prevailing wage requirement. Sec. 1307. Department of the Interior coastal wetland restoration; funding. TITLE XIV—MEASURES TO ADDRESS GREENHOUSE GAS POLLUTION FROM SHIPPING VESSELS Sec. 1401. Greenhouse gas emissions from shipping. Sec. 1402. Quiet Seas and Clear Skies Vessel Speed Reduction Award Pro- gram. TITLE XV—STUDIES AND REPORTS Sec. 1501. Deep sea mining. Sec. 1502. National Academies assessment of oceanic blue carbon. Sec. 1503. Ocean climate impacts and action report. Sec. 1504. Report on the ecological and economic effects of high seas fishing in the ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction (‘‘ABNJ’’). Sec. 1505. National Academies assessment of public access to the coasts. Sec. 1506. Study examining the impact of ocean acidification and other envi- ronmental stressors on estuarine environments. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 3 trator’’ means the Secretary of Commerce acting 4 through the Administrator of the National Oceanic 5 and Atmospheric Administration. 6 (2) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 7 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means the zone estab- 8 lished by Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated 9 March 10, 1983. 10 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 11 has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 12 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 13 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Nov 25, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8632.IH H8632 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8632 IH (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 1 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 2 meaning given such term in section 101(a) of the 3 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 4 (5) NATIONAL ACADEMIES.—The term ‘‘Na- 5 tional Academies’’ means the National Academies of 6 Science, Engineering, and Medicine. 7 (6) RESTORATIVE OCEAN AQUACULTURE.—The 8 term ‘‘restorative ocean aquaculture’’ means ocean 9 and coastal propagation of seaweed or shellfish 10 farming that generates positive ecological and social 11 impact. 12 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 13 the several States, the District of Columbia, and the 14 United States Territories of American Samoa, the 15 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 16 Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin 17 Islands. 18 (8) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 19 States’’ means the several States, the District of Co- 20 lumbia, and the United States Territories of Amer- 21 ican Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern 22 Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the 23 United States Virgin Islands. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:26 Nov 17, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8632.IH H8632 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8632 IH TITLE I—MARINE AND COASTAL 1 BLUE CARBON 2 SEC. 101. BLUE CARBON PROGRAM. 3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es- 4 tablish and maintain a Blue Carbon Program within the 5 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the 6 purposes of furthering conservation objectives for fish and 7 wildlife habitat conservation and restoration and coastal 8 resilience including the development of ways to incorporate 9 ecosystem services from carbon storage into existing do- 10 mestic and international policies, programs, and activities. 11 (b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—In conducting the 12 Program, the Administrator may enter into and perform 13 such contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agreements 14 as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this sub- 15 title on such terms as Administrator considers appro- 16 priate. 17 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator shall coordi- 18 nate activities carried out under this section with the As- 19 sistant Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries 20 Service and the Assistant Administrator of the National 21 Ocean Service. 22 (d) ACTIVITIES.—The Administrator shall lead the 23 development and coordination of the strategic plan de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Nov 25, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8632.IH H8632 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8632 IH scribed in section 106(e) and conduct the following activi- 1 ties: 2 (1) Collaborate with Federal agencies, the inter- 3 agency working group, State agencies, Tribes, and 4 non-governmental organizations on research, restora- 5 tion, and protection e [Text truncated for display. 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