[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1752 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1752

      To reauthorize and amend the Coastal Barrier Resources Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 20, 1999

 Mr. Chafee (for himself, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Moynihan, and Mr. Lieberman) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To reauthorize and amend the Coastal Barrier Resources Act.

    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 ``Coastal Barrier Resources 
Reauthorization Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3502) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``For purposes of'' and all that follows 
        through the end of paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
    ``In this Act:
            ``(1) Undeveloped coastal barrier.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `undeveloped coastal 
                barrier' means--
                            ``(i) a geologic feature (such as a bay 
                        barrier, tombolo, barrier spit, or barrier 
                        island) that--
                                    ``(I) is subject to wave, tidal, 
                                and wind energies; and
                                    ``(II) protects landward aquatic 
                                habitats from direct wave attack; and
                            ``(ii) all associated aquatic habitats, 
                        including the adjacent wetlands, marshes, 
                        estuaries, inlets, and nearshore waters.
                    ``(B) Exclusions.--The term `undeveloped coastal 
                barrier' excludes a feature or habitat described in 
                subparagraph (A) if, as of the date on which the 
                feature or habitat is added to the System--
                            ``(i) the density for the unit in which the 
                        feature or habitat is located is equal to or 
                        greater than 1 structure per 5 acres of land 
                        above the mean high tide, which structure--
                                    ``(I) is a walled and roofed 
                                building (other than a gas or liquid 
                                storage tank) that is principally above 
                                ground and affixed to a permanent site, 
                                including a manufactured home on a 
                                permanent foundation; and
                                    ``(II) covers at least 200 square 
                                feet; or
                            ``(ii) the feature or habitat contains 
                        infrastructure consisting of--
                                    ``(I) a road, to each lot or 
                                building site, that is under the 
                                jurisdiction of, and maintained by, a 
                                public authority and is open to the 
                                public;
                                    ``(II) a wastewater disposal system 
                                for each lot or building site;
                                    ``(III) electric service for each 
                                lot or building site; and
                                    ``(IV) availability of a fresh 
                                water supply for each lot or building 
                                site.'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``refers to the Committee 
        on Merchant Marine and Fisheries'' and inserting ``means the 
        Committee on Resources''; and
            (3) in paragraph (3), by striking the second sentence.

SEC. 3. VOLUNTARY ADDITIONS TO COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Section 4 of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 
U.S.C. 3503) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Additions to System.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may add a parcel of real 
        property to the System, if--
                    ``(A) the owner of the parcel requests, in writing, 
                that the Secretary add the parcel to the System; and
                    ``(B) the parcel is a feature or habitat covered by 
                section 3(1).
            ``(2) Maps.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) keep a map showing the location of each 
                parcel of real property added to the System under 
                paragraph (1) on file and available for public 
                inspection in the Office of the Director of the United 
                States Fish and Wildlife Service and in such other 
                offices of the Service as the Director considers 
                appropriate;
                    ``(B) provide a copy of the map to--
                            ``(i) the State in which the property is 
                        located;
                            ``(ii) the Committees; and
                            ``(iii) the Federal Emergency Management 
                        Agency; and
                    ``(C) revise the maps referred to in subsection (a) 
                to reflect each addition of real property to the System 
                under paragraph (1), after publishing in the Federal 
                Register a notice of any such proposed revision.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 4(a) of the Coastal Barrier 
Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)) is amended by striking ``which shall 
consist of'' and all that follows and inserting the following: ``which 
shall consist of those undeveloped coastal barriers and other areas 
located on the coasts of the United States that are identified and 
generally depicted on the maps on file with the Secretary entitled 
`Coastal Barrier Resources System', dated October 24, 1990, as those 
maps may be modified, revised, or corrected under--
            ``(1) subsection (c) or (d);
            ``(2) section 4 of the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 
        1990 (16 U.S.C. 3503 note; Public Law 101-591); or
            ``(3) any other provision of law enacted on or after 
        November 16, 1990, that specifically authorizes the 
        modification, revision, or correction.''.

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Sections 10 and 11 of the Coastal Barrier 
Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3509, 96 Stat. 1658) are repealed.
    (b) Effect on Prior Amendments.--Nothing in subsection (a) or the 
amendments made by subsection (a) affects the amendments made by 
section 11 of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (96 Stat. 1658), as in 
effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    The Coastal Barrier Resources Act is amended by striking section 12 
(16 U.S.C. 3510) and inserting the following:

``SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
out this Act $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2004 and 
$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2007.''.

SEC. 6. DIGITAL MAPPING PILOT PROJECT.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Project.--The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in 
        this section as the ``Secretary'') shall carry out a pilot 
        project to determine the feasibility and cost of creating 
        digital versions of the Coastal Barrier Resources System maps 
        referred to in section 4(a) of the Coastal Barrier Resources 
        Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)) (as amended by section 3(b)).
            (2) Minimum number of units.--The pilot project shall 
        consist of the creation of digital maps for at least 75 units 
        of the Coastal Barrier Resources System (referred to in this 
        section as the ``System''), 25 of which shall be otherwise 
        protected areas (as defined in section 12 of the Coastal 
        Barrier Improvement Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 3503 note; Public 
        Law 101-591)).
    (b) Data.--
            (1) Use of existing data.--To the maximum extent 
        practicable, in carrying out the pilot project under this 
        section, the Secretary shall use--
                    (A) digital spatial data (including digital 
                orthophotos) in existence at the time at which the 
                project is carried out;
                    (B) shoreline, elevation, and bathymetric data; and
                    (C) electronic navigational charts in the 
                possession of other Federal agencies, including the 
                United States Geological Survey and the National 
                Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
            (2) Provision of data by other agencies.--The head of a 
        Federal agency that possesses data or a chart referred to in 
        paragraph (1) shall, upon request of the Secretary, promptly 
        provide the data or chart to the Secretary at no cost.
            (3) Additional data.--If the Secretary determines that data 
        or a chart necessary to carry out the pilot project under this 
        section does not exist, the Secretary shall enter into an 
        agreement with the Director of the United States Geological 
        Survey under which the Director shall obtain, in cooperation 
        with other Federal agencies, as appropriate, and provide to the 
        Secretary the data or chart required to carry out this section.
            (4) Data standards.--All data and charts used or created to 
        carry out this section shall comply with--
                    (A) the National Spatial Data Infrastructure 
                established by Executive Order 12906 (59 Fed. Reg. 
                17671 (1994)); and
                    (B) any other standards established by the Federal 
                Geographic Data Committee established by the Office of 
                Management and Budget Circular A-16.
    (c) Digital Maps Not Controlling.--Any determination as to whether 
a location is inside or outside the System shall be made without regard 
to the digital maps created under this section.
    (d) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
        Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives a report 
        that describes the results of the pilot project and the 
        feasibility, data needs, and costs of completing digital maps 
        for the entire System.
            (2) Contents.--The report shall include a description of--
                    (A) the cooperative agreements that would be 
                necessary to complete digital mapping of the entire 
                System;
                    (B) the extent to which the data necessary to 
                complete digital mapping of the entire System are 
                available;
                    (C) the need for additional data to complete 
                digital mapping of the entire System;
                    (D) the extent to which the boundary lines on the 
                digital maps differ from the boundary lines of the 
                original maps; and
                    (E) the amount of funding necessary to complete 
                digital mapping of the entire System.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $500,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2001 through 2003.

SEC. 7. ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to 
the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the 
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives an economic 
assessment of the Coastal Barrier Resources System.
    (b) Required Elements.--The assessment shall consider the past and 
estimated future savings of Federal expenditures attributable to the 
Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), including the 
savings resulting from avoidance of Federal expenditures for--
            (1) disaster relief under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
        Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.);
            (2) the national flood insurance program established under 
        chapter 1 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 
        U.S.C. 4011 et seq.); and
            (3) development assistance for roads, potable water 
        supplies, and wastewater infrastructure.
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