[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4789 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4789

     To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
  Authorization Act of 1992 to revise and enhance authorities, and to 
authorize appropriations, for the Chesapeake Bay Office, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2000

    Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Wynn, Mr. 
 Ehrlich, and Mr. Gilchrest) introduced the following bill; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
  Authorization Act of 1992 to revise and enhance authorities, and to 
authorize appropriations, for the Chesapeake Bay Office, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office 
Reauthorization Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 307(a) of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 
1511d(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Estuarine Resources''; 
        and
            (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Administration.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Beginning not later than 60 days 
                after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the 
                Office shall be administered by the Office of the Under 
                Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
                    ``(B) Director.--The Secretary of Commerce shall 
                appoint as Director of the Office an individual who has 
                knowledge of and experience in research or resource 
                management efforts in the Chesapeake Bay.''.
    (b) Functions.--Section 307(b) of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 
1511d(b)) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
            ``(3) coordinate the programs and activities of the various 
        organizations within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration and the Chesapeake Bay Regional Sea Grant 
        Programs, including--
                    ``(A) programs and activities in--
                            ``(i) coastal and estuarine research, 
                        monitoring, and assessment;
                            ``(ii) fisheries research and stock 
                        assessments;
                            ``(iii) data management;
                            ``(iv) remote sensing;
                            ``(v) coastal management;
                            ``(vi) habitat conservation and 
                        restoration; and
                            ``(vii) atmospheric deposition; and
                    ``(B) programs and activities of the Cooperative 
                Oxford Laboratory of the National Ocean Service with 
                respect to--
                            ``(i) nonindigenous species;
                            ``(ii) marine species pathology;
                            ``(iii) human pathogens in marine 
                        environments; and
                            ``(iv) ecosystems health;''; and
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting the following: ``, which report shall include an 
        action plan consisting of--
                    ``(A) a list of recommended research, monitoring, 
                and data collection activities necessary to continue 
                implementation of the strategy described in paragraph 
                (2); and
                    ``(B) proposals for--
                            ``(i) continuing and new National Oceanic 
                        and Atmospheric Administration activities in 
                        the Chesapeake Bay; and
                            ``(ii) the integration of those activities 
                        with the activities of the partners in the 
                        Chesapeake Bay Program to meet the commitments 
                        of the Chesapeake 2000 agreement and subsequent 
                        agreements.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 307 of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) 
is amended by striking the section heading and inserting the following:

``SEC. 307. CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.''.

SEC. 3. MULTIPLE SPECIES MANAGEMENT STRATEGY; CHESAPEAKE BAY FISHERY 
              AND HABITAT RESTORATION SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM.

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization 
Act of 1992 is amended by inserting after section 307 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) 
the following:

``SEC. 307A. MULTIPLE SPECIES MANAGEMENT STRATEGY.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Director of the Chesapeake Bay Office of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall commence a 5-
year study, in cooperation with the scientific community of the 
Chesapeake Bay and appropriate Federal agencies--
            ``(1) to determine and expand the understanding of the role 
        and response of living resources in the Chesapeake Bay 
        ecosystem; and
            ``(2) to develop a multiple species management strategy for 
        the Chesapeake Bay.
    ``(b) Required Elements of Study.--In order to improve the 
understanding necessary for the development of the strategy under 
subsection (a), the study shall--
            ``(1) determine the current status and trends of fish and 
        shellfish that live in the Chesapeake Bay estuaries and are 
        selected for study;
            ``(2) evaluate and assess interactions among the fish and 
        shellfish described in paragraph (1) and other living 
        resources, with particular attention to the impact of changes 
        within and among trophic levels; and
            ``(3) recommend management actions to optimize the return 
        of a healthy and balanced ecosystem for the Chesapeake Bay.

``SEC. 307B. CHESAPEAKE BAY FISHERY AND HABITAT RESTORATION SMALL 
              GRANTS PROGRAM.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Chesapeake Bay Office of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (referred to in this 
section as the `Director'), in cooperation with the Chesapeake 
Executive Council (as defined in section 307(e)), shall carry out a 
community-based fishery and habitat restoration small grants and 
technical assistance program in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
    ``(b) Projects.--
            ``(1) Support.--The Director shall make grants under the 
        program under subsection (a) to pay the Federal share of the 
        cost of projects that are carried out by eligible entities 
        described in subsection (c) for the restoration of fisheries 
        and habitats in the Chesapeake Bay.
            ``(2) Federal share.--The Federal share under paragraph (1) 
        shall not exceed 75 percent.
            ``(3) Types of projects.--Projects for which grants may be 
        made under the program include--
                    ``(A) the improvement of fish passageways;
                    ``(B) the creation of natural or artificial reefs 
                or substrata for habitats;
                    ``(C) the restoration of wetland or sea grass;
                    ``(D) the production of oysters for restoration 
                projects; and
                    ``(E) the restoration of contaminated habitats in 
                the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
    ``(c) Eligible Entities.--The following entities are eligible to 
receive grants under the program under this section:
            ``(1) The government of a political subdivision of a State 
        in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the government of the 
        District of Columbia.
            ``(2) An organization in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (such 
        as an educational institution or a community organization) that 
        is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that 
        Code.
    ``(d) Additional Requirements.--The Director may prescribe any 
additional requirements, including procedures, that the Director 
considers necessary to carry out the program under this section.

``SEC. 307C. COASTAL PREDICTION CENTER.

    ``(a) Establishment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Director of the Chesapeake Bay 
        Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        (referred to in this section as the `Director'), in 
        collaboration with regional scientific institutions, shall 
        establish a coastal prediction center for the Chesapeake Bay 
        (referred to in this section as the `center').
            ``(2) Purpose of center.--The center shall serve as a 
        knowledge bank for--
                    ``(A) assembling, integrating, and modeling coastal 
                information and data from appropriate government 
                agencies and scientific institutions;
                    ``(B) interpreting the data; and
                    ``(C) organizing the data into predictive products 
                that are useful to policy makers, resource managers, 
                scientists, and the public.
    ``(b) Activities.--
            ``(1) Information and prediction system.--The center shall 
        develop an Internet-based information system for integrating, 
        interpreting, and disseminating coastal information and 
        predictions concerning--
                    ``(A) climate;
                    ``(B) land use;
                    ``(C) coastal pollution;
                    ``(D) coastal environmental quality;
                    ``(E) ecosystem health and performance;
                    ``(F) aquatic living resources and habitat 
                conditions; and
                    ``(G) weather, tides, currents, and circulation 
                that affect the distribution of sediments, nutrients, 
                and organisms, coastline erosion, and related physical 
                and chemical events within the Chesapeake Bay and the 
                tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay.
            ``(2) Agreements to provide data, information, and 
        support.--The Director may enter into agreements with other 
        entities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration, other appropriate Federal, State, and local 
        government agencies, and academic institutions, to provide and 
        interpret data and information, and provide appropriate 
        support, relating to the activities of the center.
            ``(3) Agreements relating to information products.--The 
        Director may enter into grants, contracts, and interagency 
        agreements with eligible entities for the collection, 
        processing, analysis, interpretation, and electronic 
        publication of information products for the center.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 307 of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) 
is amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        to the Department of Commerce for the Chesapeake Bay Office 
        $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2004.
            ``(2) Amounts for new programs.--Of the amount authorized 
        to be appropriated for each fiscal year under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) not more than $2,500,000 shall be available 
                to carry out section 307A;
                    ``(B) not more than $1,000,000 shall be available 
                to carry out section 307B; and
                    ``(C) not more than $500,000 shall be available to 
                carry out section 307C.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 2 of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Marine Fisheries Program Authorization Act 
(Public Law 98-210; 97 Stat. 1409) is amended by striking subsection 
(e) (106 Stat. 4285).

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

    Section 307(b) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d(b)) is 
amended by striking ``Chesapeake Bay Executive Council'' and inserting 
``Chesapeake Executive Council''.
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