[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 553 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 553

 To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
 to improve implementation of the western Alaska community development 
                 quota program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2001

 Mr. Young of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                     to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
 to improve implementation of the western Alaska community development 
                 quota program, 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 ``Western Alaska Community Development 
Quota Program Implementation Improvement Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF WESTERN ALASKA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT QUOTA 
              PROGRAM.

    Section 305 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1855) is amended--
            (1) by amending the subsection heading for subsection (i) 
        to read as follows:
    ``(i) Western Pacific Community Development Program.--'';
            (2) by striking paragraph (1) of subsection (i);
            (3) by redesignating paragraph (2) of subsection (i) as 
        paragraph (1);
            (4) by inserting before paragraph (3) of subsection (i) the 
        following:
    ``(k) General Provisions Relating to Community Development Quota 
Programs.--'';
            (5) in subsection (k) (as designated by paragraph (4) of 
        this section) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 
        paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (k), respectively; and
            (6) by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
    ``(j) Western Alaska Community Development Program.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--The North Pacific Council and the 
        Secretary shall establish a western Alaska community 
        development quota program--
                    ``(A) to afford eligible communities a fair and 
                equitable opportunity to participate in Bering Sea 
                fisheries; and
                    ``(B) to assist eligible communities to achieve 
                sustainable long-term diversified local economic 
                development.
            ``(2) Allocation of percentages of bering sea directed 
        fisheries.--(A) The Secretary shall allocate to the program, as 
        a directed fishing allowance, a percentage of the total 
        allowable catch or guideline harvest level, as applicable, of 
        each Bering Sea directed fishery.
            ``(B) The Secretary shall allocate under this paragraph 10 
        percent of the total allowable catch of the Bering Sea directed 
        pollock fishery.
            ``(C) The Secretary shall allocate under this paragraph a 
        percentage of the total allowable catch of each other Bering 
        Sea directed groundfish fishery, a percentage of the total 
        allowable catch of the Bering Sea directed halibut fishery, and 
        a percentage of the guideline harvest level of each Bering Sea 
        directed crab fishery, that--
                    ``(i) before October 1, 2001, shall be the most 
                recent percentage recommended to the Secretary for that 
                fishery by the North Pacific Council as of October 1, 
                1995; and
                    ``(ii) on and after October 1, 2001, shall be no 
                less than such recommended percentage.
            ``(D) Prior to October 1, 2001, the North Pacific Council 
        may not submit, and the Secretary may not approve, any plan, 
        amendment, or regulation that increases the applicable 
        percentage under subparagraph (C).''.
            ``(3) Eligibility to participate.--To be eligible to 
        participate in the western Alaska community development quota 
        program, a community must--
                    ``(A) be located--
                            ``(i) within 50 nautical miles from the 
                        baseline from which the breadth of the 
                        territorial sea is measured along the Bering 
                        Sea coast from the Bering Strait to the 
                        westernmost of the Aleutian Islands; or
                            ``(ii) on an island within the Bering Sea;
                    ``(B) not be located on the Gulf of Alaska coast of 
                the north Pacific Ocean;
                    ``(C) be certified by the Secretary of the Interior 
                pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
                U.S.C. 1610 et seq.) to be a Native village;
                    ``(D) consist of residents who conduct more than 
                one-half of their current commercial or subsistence 
                fishing effort in the waters of the Bering Sea or 
                waters surrounding the Aleutian Islands;
                    ``(E) not have previously developed harvesting or 
                processing capability sufficient to support substantial 
                participation in the groundfish fisheries of the Bering 
                Sea, unless the community demonstrates that its 
                participation in the western Alaska community 
                development program is the only way for the community 
                to realize a return from previous investments in 
                harvesting or processing capability; and
                    ``(F) be a member of a CDQ group.
            ``(4) Authority to harvest.--(A) The Secretary may 
        authorize a CDQ group to harvest a share of the percentage of 
        the total allowable catch or guideline harvest level of a 
        Bering Sea directed fishery allocated under paragraph (2) if 
        the CDQ group submits a community development plan to the 
        Secretary in accordance with this paragraph.
            ``(B) A community development plan shall--
                    ``(i) request a share of the percentage of the 
                total allowable catch or guideline harvest level of the 
                fishery that the CDQ group that submits the plan 
                desires to harvest annually during the effective period 
                of the plan; and
                    ``(ii) describe all CDQ projects that the CDQ group 
                that submits the plan intends to participate in during 
                the 36-month duration of the plan.
            ``(C)(i) The Secretary shall timely approve or disapprove 
        each community development plan submitted under this paragraph 
        that contains the information described in subparagraph (B). If 
        approved, a community development plan shall be effective for 
        36 months, except as provided in clause (ii).
            ``(ii) The community development plans that the Secretary 
        approved before the 2001 fishing year shall expire on December 
        31, 2003.
            ``(D) In approving a community development plan, the 
        Secretary shall specify the share of the total allowable catch 
        or guideline harvest level that the CDQ group is authorized to 
        harvest annually under the plan, in accordance with paragraph 
        (5).
            ``(5) Specification of harvest shares.--(A) If the total of 
        the harvest shares requested pursuant to paragraph (4)(B)(i) 
        for a fishery is greater than the percentage of the total 
        allowable catch or guideline harvest level for the fishery 
        allocated under paragraph (2) to the western Alaska community 
        development quota program, the Secretary shall authorize each 
        CDQ group requesting a harvest share to harvest annually such 
        share of the percentage of the total allowable catch or 
        guideline harvest level of the fishery allocated under 
        paragraph (2) as the Secretary determines is appropriate.
            ``(B) If the Secretary authorizes a CDQ group to harvest a 
        share of a fishery that is less than the harvest share 
        requested in the community development plan submitted by the 
        CDQ group, the Secretary shall give the CDQ group an 
        opportunity to amend the plan to reflect the reduction in 
        harvest share authorized by the Secretary.
            ``(C)(i) Within 24 months after the date of enactment of 
        the Western Alaska Community Development Program Implementation 
        Improvement Act of 2001, each CDQ group may submit criteria to 
        the Secretary for the Secretary to consider in determining 
        harvest shares under subparagraph (A).
            ``(ii) If, pursuant to clause (i), each CDQ group submits 
        the same criteria to the Secretary, the Secretary shall 
        consider only those criteria in determining harvest shares 
        under subparagraph (A).
            ``(iii) If, pursuant to clause (i), all CDQ groups do not 
        submit the same criteria to the Secretary, the Secretary shall, 
        by not later than 30 months after the date of enactment of the 
        Western Alaska Community Development Program Implementation 
        Improvement Act of 2001, promulgate regulations that establish 
        criteria that the Secretary shall consider in determining 
        harvest shares under subparagraph (A).
            ``(6) Participation by state of alaska.--(A) The Secretary 
        may allow the State of Alaska to participate in the 
        implementation of the western Alaska community development 
        quota program.
            ``(B) If the State of Alaska participates, the Secretary 
        may require CDQ groups to submit a copy of their community 
        development plans to the Governor of Alaska.
            ``(C) If the State of Alaska is participating in the 
        implementation of the western Alaska community development 
        quota program and the total of the harvest shares requested 
pursuant to paragraph (4)(B)(i) for a fishery is greater than the 
percentage of the total allowable catch or guideline harvest level for 
the fishery allocated under paragraph (2) to the western Alaska 
community development quota program, the Secretary may direct the 
Governor of Alaska--
                    ``(i) to consult with the CDQ groups;
                    ``(ii) to consult with the North Pacific Fishery 
                Management Council regarding the plans; and
                    ``(iii) to timely submit the Governor's 
                recommendations regarding the approval of the plans by 
                the Secretary.
            ``(D) The Governor shall indicate, in writing, to the 
        Secretary and to each CDQ group the rationale, and the factual 
        basis for the rationale, for any recommendation regarding the 
        Secretary's approval of a CDQ group's community development 
        plan.
            ``(7) Reports.--(A) On March 1 of each calendar year each 
        CDQ group shall submit a report regarding its approved 
        community development plans then in effect to the Secretary, 
        and to the Governor of Alaska if the State of Alaska is 
        participating under paragraph (6).
            ``(B) Each report shall describe the following:
                    ``(i) The CDQ group's implementation during the 
                previous calendar year of the CDQ projects described in 
                the group's community development plans, and any 
                modifications to a project that the group may have made 
                since the last report.
                    ``(ii) In summary form, the financial performance 
                during the previous calendar year of each subsidiary, 
                joint venture, partnership, or other entity in which 
                the CDQ group owns an equity interest, and all other 
                non-CDQ project-related activities in which the group 
                engaged.
                    ``(iii) The CDQ group's budget for the current 
                calendar year.
            ``(C) Financial and strategic business information 
        contained in reports submitted under this paragraph shall be 
        considered confidential. The Secretary, and the Governor of 
        Alaska if the State of Alaska is participating in the 
        Secretary's implementation of the western Alaska community 
        development quota program--
                    ``(i) shall not make such information available to 
                the public; and
                    ``(ii) may not use such information for any purpose 
                other than evaluating the financial status and 
                performance of the CDQ group that submitted the 
                information.
            ``(8) Definitions.--For the purposes of this subsection:
                    ``(A) The term `CDQ group' means a nonprofit or 
                for-profit corporation or other entity whose membership 
                is exclusively composed of one or more communities that 
                satisfy the criteria described in paragraph (3)(A) 
                through (E).
                    ``(B) The term `community development plan' means a 
                plan that describes--
                            ``(i) how a CDQ group intends to harvest 
                        its requested share of the percentage of the 
                        total allowable catch or guideline harvest 
                        level of a directed Bering Sea fishery that the 
                        Secretary has allocated to the western Alaska 
                        community development quota program; and
                            ``(ii) how the group intends to use the 
                        harvest opportunity and the revenue derived 
                        therefrom to assist communities that are 
                        members of the group to achieve sustainable 
                        long term local economic development.
                    ``(C)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the term `CDQ 
                project' means a program or activity that is 
                administered or initiated by a CDQ group and that is 
                funded by revenue the CDQ group derives or accrues 
                during the duration of a community development plan 
                approved by the Secretary from harvesting the fishery 
                covered by the plan.
                    ``(ii) Such term does not include a program or 
                activity administered or initiated by a subsidiary, 
                joint venture, partnership, or other entity in which a 
                CDQ group owns an equity interest, if the program or 
                activity is funded by the assets of the subsidiary, 
                joint venture, partnership, or other entity, rather 
                than by the assets of the CDQ group.
            ``(9) Regulations.--The Secretary may promulgate such 
        regulations as are reasonable and necessary to enable the 
        Secretary to implement this subsection.''.
                                 <all>