[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1215 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1215

To authorize the acquisition of interests in undeveloped coastal areas 
      in order better to ensure their protection from development.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 9, 2005

  Mr. Gregg (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Biden, Mr. 
 Corzine, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Reed, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Cochran, 
  Mr. Kerry, Mr. Inouye, and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the acquisition of interests in undeveloped coastal areas 
      in order better to ensure their protection from development.

    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 and Estuarine Land 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Coastal and estuarine areas provide important nursery 
        habitat for two-thirds of the nation's commercial fish and 
        shellfish, provide nesting and foraging habitat for coastal 
        birds, harbor significant natural plant communities, and serve 
        to facilitate coastal flood control and pollutant filtration.
            (2) The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 
        et seq.) recognizes the national importance of these areas and 
        their ecological vulnerability to anthropogenic activities by 
        establishing a comprehensive Federal-State partnership for 
        protecting natural reserves and managing growth in these areas.
            (3) The National Estuarine Research Reserve system 
        established under that Act relies on the protection of pristine 
        designated areas for long-term protection and for the conduct 
        of education and research critical to the protection and 
        conservation of coastal and estuarine resources.
            (4) Intense development pressures within the coastal zone 
        are driving the need to provide coastal managers with a wider 
        range of tools to protect and conserve important coastal and 
        estuarine areas.
            (5) Protection of undeveloped coastal lands through the 
        acquisition of interests in property from a willing seller are 
        a cost-effective means of providing these areas with permanent 
        protection from development.
            (6) Permanent protection of lands in the coastal zone is a 
        necessary component of any program to maintain and enhance 
        coastal and estuarine areas for the benefit of the Nation, 
        including protection of water quality, access to public 
        beachfront, conserving wildlife habitat, and sustaining sport 
        and commercial fisheries.
            (7) Federal-State-nongovernmental organization pilot land 
        acquisition projects have already substantially contributed to 
        the long-term health and viability of coastal and estuarine 
        systems.
            (8) Enhanced protection of estuarine and coastal areas can 
        be attained through watershed-based acquisition strategies 
        coordinated through Federal, State, regional, and local 
        efforts.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COASTAL AND ESTUARINE LAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce shall establish a 
Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Program, in cooperation with 
appropriate State, regional, and other units of government for the 
purposes of protecting the environmental integrity of important coastal 
and estuarine areas, including wetlands and forests, that have 
significant conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or 
aesthetic values, and that are threatened by conversion from their 
natural, undeveloped, or recreational state to other uses. The program 
shall be administered by the National Ocean Service of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Office of Ocean and 
Coastal Resource Management.
    (b) Property Acquisition Grants.--The Secretary shall make grants 
under the program to coastal States, except coastal States that have 
lost less than 1 percent of their wetlands to development or conversion 
to other land uses by the date of enactment of this Act, with approved 
coastal zone management plans or National Estuarine Research Reserve 
units for the purpose of acquiring property or interests in property 
described in subsection (a) that will further the goals of--
            (1) a Coastal Zone Management Plan or Program approved 
        under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 
        et seq.); or
            (2) a National Estuarine Research Reserve management plan; 
        or
            (3) a regional or State watershed protection plan involving 
        coastal States with approved coastal zone management plans.
    (c) Grant Process.--The Secretary shall allocate funds to coastal 
States or National Estuarine Research Reserves under this section 
through a competitive grant process in accordance with guidelines that 
meet the following requirements:
            (1) The Secretary shall consult with the State's coastal 
        zone management program, any National Estuarine Research 
        Reserve in that State, and the lead agency designated by the 
        Governor for coordinating the establishment and implementation 
        of this Act (if different from the coastal zone management 
        program).
            (2) Each participating State shall identify priority 
        conservation needs within the State, the values to be protected 
        by inclusion of lands of the program, and the threats to those 
        values that should be avoided.
            (3) Each participating State shall evaluate how the 
        acquisition of property or easements might impact working 
        waterfront needs.
            (4) The applicant shall identify the values to be protected 
        by inclusion of the lands in the program, management activities 
        that are planned and the manner in which they may affect the 
        values identified, and any other information from the landowner 
        relevant to administration and management of the land.
            (5) Awards shall be based on demonstrated need for 
        protection and ability to successfully leverage funds among 
        participating entities, including Federal programs, regional 
        organizations, State and other governmental units, landowners, 
        corporations, or private organizations.
            (6) Applications must be determined to be consistent with 
        the State's or territory's approved coastal zone plan, program 
        and policies prior to submittal to the Secretary.
            (7) Priority shall be given to lands described in 
        subsection (a) that can be effectively managed and protected 
        and that have significant ecological or watershed protection 
        value.
            (8) In developing guidelines under this section, the 
        Secretary shall consult with other Federal agencies and non-
        governmental entities expert in land acquisition and 
        conservation procedures.
            (9) Eligible States or National Estuarine Research Reserves 
        may allocate grants to local governments or agencies eligible 
        for assistance under section 306A(e) of the Coastal Zone 
        Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455a) and may acquire lands 
        in cooperation with nongovernmental entities and Federal 
        agencies.
            (10) The Secretary shall develop performance measures that 
        will allow periodic evaluation of the program's effectiveness 
        in meeting the purposes of this section and such evaluation 
        shall be reported to Congress.
    (d) Matching Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may not make a grant under 
        the program unless the Federal funds are matched by non-Federal 
        funds in accordance with this subsection.
            (2) Maximum federal share.--
                    (A) 75 percent federal funds.--No more than 75 
                percent of the funding for any grant under this section 
                shall be derived from Federal sources, unless such 
                requirement is specifically waived by the Secretary.
                    (B) Waiver of requirement.--The Secretary may grant 
                a waiver of the limitation in subparagraph (A) for 
                underserved communities, communities that have an 
                inability to draw on other sources of funding because 
                of the small population or low income of the community, 
                or for other reasons the Secretary deems appropriate.
            (3) Other federal funds.--Where financial assistance 
        awarded under this section represents only a portion of the 
        total cost of a project, funding from other Federal sources may 
        be applied to the cost of the project. Each portion shall be 
        subject to match requirements under the applicable provision of 
        law.
            (4) Source of matching cost share.--For purposes of 
        paragraph (2)(A), the non-Federal cost share for a project may 
        be determined by taking into account the following:
                    (A) Land value may be used as non-Federal match if 
                the lands are identified in project plans and acquired 
                within three years prior to the submission of the 
                project application or after the submission of a 
                project application until the project grant is closed 
                (not to exceed 3 years). The appraised value of the 
                land at the time of project closing will be considered 
                the non-Federal cost share.
                    (B) Costs associated with land acquisition, land 
                management planning, remediation, restoration, and 
                enhancement may be used as non-Federal match if the 
                activities are identified in the plan and expenses are 
                incurred within the period of the grant award. These 
                costs may include either case or in-kind contributions.
    (e) Regional Watershed Demonstration Project.--The Secretary may 
provide up to $5,000,000 for a regional watershed protection 
demonstration project that will meet the requirements of this section, 
and--
            (1) leverages land acquisition funding from other Federal 
        land conservation or acquisition programs such that other 
        Federal contributions, at a minimum, equal the amounts provided 
        by the Secretary;
            (2) involves partnerships from a broad spectrum of Federal, 
        State, and non-governmental entities;
            (3) provides for the creation of conservation corridors and 
        preservation of unique coastal habitat;
            (4) protects largely unfragmented habitat under imminent 
        threat of development or conversion;
            (5) provides water quality protection for areas set aside 
        for research under the National Estuarine Research Reserve 
        program; and
            (6) provides a model for future regional watershed 
        protection projects.
    (f) Reservation of Funds for National Estuarine Research Reserve 
Sites.--No less than 15 percent of funds made available under this 
section shall be available for acquisitions benefiting National 
Estuarine Research Reserve acquisitions.
    (g) Limit on Administrative Costs.--No more than 5 percent of the 
funds made available to the Secretary under this section shall be used 
by the Secretary for planning or administration of the program. The 
Secretary shall provide a report to Congress with an account of all 
expenditures under this section for fiscal year 2006, fiscal year 2007, 
and triennially thereafter.
    (h) Title and Management of Acquired Property.--
            (1) In general.--If any property is acquired in whole or in 
        part with funds made available through a grant under this 
        section, the grant recipient shall provide such assurances as 
        the Secretary may require that--
                    (A) the title to the property will be held by the 
                grant recipient or other appropriate public agency 
                designated by the recipient in perpetuity;
                    (B) the property will be managed in a manner that 
                is consistent with the purposes for which the land 
                entered into the program and shall not convert such 
                property to other uses; and
                    (C) if the property or interest in land is sold, 
                exchanged, or divested, funds equal to the correct 
                value will be returned to the Secretary, for re-
                distribution in the grant process.
            (2) Conservation easement.--In this subsection, the term 
        ``conservation easement'' includes an easement, recorded deed, 
        or interest deed where the grantee acquires all rights, title, 
        and interest in a property, that do not conflict with the goals 
        of this Act except those rights, title, and interests that may 
        run with the land that are expressly reserved by a grantor and 
        are agreed to at the time of purchase.
    (i) Definitions.--In this section, the term ``coastal State'' has 
the meaning given that term by section 304(4) of the Coastal Zone 
Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(4)), and any other term used in 
this section that is defined in section 304 of that Act has the meaning 
given that term in that section.
    (j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary--
            (1) such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
        2006 through 2009 to carry out this section (other than 
        subsection (e)); and
            (2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 to carry out subsection 
        (e), such sum to remain available without fiscal year 
        limitation.

SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER AGENCIES.

    Section 310(a) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 
U.S.C. 1456c(a)) is amended by striking ``any qualified person for the 
purposes of carrying out this subsection.'' and inserting ``any other 
Federal agencies (including interagency financing of Coastal America 
activities) and any other qualified person for the purposes of carrying 
out this section.''.
                                 <all>