[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1494 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1494

     To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
 Authorization Act of 1992 to establish programs to enhance protection 
             of the Chesapeake Bay, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 26, 2005

  Mr. Sarbanes (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Allen) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
 Authorization Act of 1992 to establish programs to enhance protection 
             of the Chesapeake Bay, 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 Watershed 
Monitoring, Education, Training, and Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE PROGRAMS.

    Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e), as 
        subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c), the following new 
        subsections:
    ``(d) Chesapeake Bay Integrated Observing System.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of enactment of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Watershed 
                Monitoring, Education, Training, and Restoration Act, 
                the Director shall collaborate with scientific and 
                academic institutions, Federal agencies, State and 
                nongovernmental organizations, and other constituents 
                located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to establish a 
                Chesapeake Bay Integrated Observing System (in this 
                section referred to as the `System').
                    ``(B) Purpose.--The purpose of the System is to 
                provide information needed to restore the health of the 
                Chesapeake Bay, on such topics as land use, 
                environmental quality of the Bay and its shoreline, 
                coastal erosion, ecosystem health and performance, 
                aquatic living resources and habitat conditions, and 
                weather, tides, currents, and circulation.
                    ``(C) Elements of system.--The System shall 
                coordinate existing monitoring and observing activities 
                in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, identify new data 
                collection needs, and deploy new technologies to 
                provide a complete set of environmental information for 
                the Chesapeake Bay, including the following activities:
                            ``(i) Collecting and analyzing the 
                        scientific information related to the 
                        Chesapeake Bay that is necessary for the 
                        management of living marine resources and the 
                        marine habitat associated with such resources.
                            ``(ii) Managing and interpreting the 
                        information described in clause (i).
                            ``(iii) Organizing the information 
                        described in clause (i) into products that are 
                        useful to policy makers, resource managers, 
                        scientists, and the public.
                            ``(iv) Developing or supporting the 
                        development of an Internet-based information 
                        system for integrating, interpreting, and 
                        disseminating coastal information, products, 
                        and forecasts concerning the Chesapeake Bay 
                        watershed related to--
                                    ``(I) climate;
                                    ``(II) land use;
                                    ``(III) coastal pollution and 
                                environmental quality;
                                    ``(IV) coastal hazards;
                                    ``(V) ecosystem health and 
                                performance;
                                    ``(VI) aquatic living resources and 
                                habitat conditions and management;
                                    ``(VII) economic and recreational 
                                uses; and
                                    ``(VIII) weather, tides, currents, 
                                and circulation that affect the 
                                distribution of sediments, nutrients, 
                                organisms, coastline erosion, and 
                                related physical and chemical events 
                                and processes.
                    ``(D) Agreements to provide data, information, and 
                support.--The Director may enter into agreements with 
                other entities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration, other Federal, State, or local 
                government agencies, academic institutions, or 
                organizations described in subsection (e)(2)(A)(i) to 
                provide and interpret data and information, and may 
                provide appropriate support to such agencies, 
                institutions, or organizations to fulfill the purposes 
                of the System.
                    ``(E) Agreements relating to information 
                products.--The Director may enter into grants, 
                contracts, and interagency agreements with eligible 
                entities for the collection, processing, analysis, and 
                interpretation of data and information and for 
                electronic publication of information products.
    ``(e) Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education and Training Program.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Director, in cooperation 
                with the Chesapeake Executive Council, shall establish 
                a Chesapeake Bay watershed education and training 
                program.
                    ``(B) Purposes.--The program established under 
                subparagraph (A) shall continue and expand the 
                Chesapeake Bay watershed education programs offered by 
                the Chesapeake Bay Office for the purposes of--
                            ``(i) improving the understanding of 
                        elementary and secondary school students and 
                        teachers of the living resources of the 
                        ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay;
                            ``(ii) providing community education to 
                        improve watershed protection; and
                            ``(iii) meeting the educational goals of 
                        the Chesapeake 2000 agreement.
            ``(2) Grant program.--
                    ``(A) Authorization.--The Director is authorized to 
                award grants to pay the Federal share of the cost of a 
                project described in subparagraph (C) to--
                            ``(i) a nongovernmental organization in the 
                        Chesapeake Bay watershed 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;
                            ``(ii) a consortium of institutions 
                        described in clause (i);
                            ``(iii) an elementary or secondary school 
                        located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
                            ``(iv) a teacher at a school described in 
                        clause (iii); or
                            ``(v) a department of education of a State 
                        if any part of such State is within the 
                        Chesapeake Bay watershed.
                    ``(B) Criteria.--The Director shall consider, in 
                awarding grants under this subsection, the experience 
                of the applicant in providing environmental education 
                and training projects regarding the Chesapeake Bay 
                watershed to a range of participants and in a range of 
                settings.
                    ``(C) Functions and activities.--Grants awarded 
                under this subsection may be used to support education 
                and training projects that--
                            ``(i) provide classroom education, 
                        including the use of distance learning 
                        technologies, on the issues, science, and 
                        problems of the living resources of the 
                        Chesapeake Bay watershed;
                            ``(ii) provide meaningful outdoor 
                        experience on the Chesapeake Bay, or on a 
                        stream or in a local watershed of the 
                        Chesapeake Bay, in the design and 
                        implementation of field studies, monitoring and 
                        assessments, or restoration techniques for 
                        living resources;
                            ``(iii) provide professional development 
                        for teachers related to the science of the 
                        Chesapeake Bay watershed and the dissemination 
                        of pertinent education materials oriented to 
                        varying grade levels;
                            ``(iv) demonstrate or disseminate 
                        environmental educational tools and materials 
                        related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
                            ``(v) demonstrate field methods, practices, 
                        and techniques including assessment of 
                        environmental and ecological conditions and 
                        analysis of environmental problems; and
                            ``(vi) develop or disseminate projects 
                        designed to--
                                    ``(I) enhance understanding and 
                                assessment of a specific environmental 
                                problem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed 
                                or of a goal of the Chesapeake Bay 
                                Program;
                                    ``(II) protect or restore living 
                                resources of the Chesapeake Bay 
                                watershed; or
                                    ``(III) educate local land use 
                                officials and decision makers on the 
                                relationship of land use to natural 
                                resource and watershed protection.
                    ``(D) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost 
                of a project funded with a grant awarded under this 
                subsection shall not exceed 75 percent of the total 
                cost of that project.
    ``(f) Stock Enhancement and Habitat Restoration Program.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the 
                date of enactment of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Watershed 
                Monitoring, Education, Training, and Restoration Act, 
                the Director, in cooperation with the Chesapeake 
                Executive Council, shall establish a Chesapeake Bay 
                watershed stock enhancement and habitat restoration 
                program.
                    ``(B) Purpose.--The purpose of the program 
                established in subparagraph (A) is to support the 
                restoration of oysters and submerged aquatic vegetation 
                in the Chesapeake Bay.
            ``(2) Activities.--To carry out the purpose of the program 
        established under paragraph (1)(A), the Director is authorized 
        to enter into grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements 
        with an eligible entity to support--
                    ``(A) the establishment of oyster hatcheries;
                    ``(B) the establishment of submerged aquatic 
                vegetation propagation programs; and
                    ``(C) other activities that the Director determines 
                are appropriate to carry out the purposes of such 
                program.
    ``(g) Chesapeake Bay Aquaculture Education.--The Director is 
authorized to make grants and enter into contracts with an institution 
of higher education, including a community college, for the purpose 
of--
            ``(1) supporting education in Chesapeake Bay aquaculture 
        sciences and technologies; and
            ``(2) developing aquaculture processes and technologies to 
        improve production, efficiency, and sustainability of disease-
        free oyster spat and submerged aquatic vegetation.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    Section 307(b)(7) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d(b)(7)), is 
amended to read as follows:
            ``(7) submit a biennial report to the Congress and the 
        Secretary of Commerce with respect to the activities of the 
        Office, including--
                    ``(A) a description of the progress made in 
                protecting and restoring the living resources and 
                habitat of the Chesapeake Bay;
                    ``(B) a description of each grant awarded under 
                this section since the submission of the most recent 
                biennial report, including the amount of such grant and 
                the activities funded with such grant; and
                    ``(C) an action plan consisting of--
                            ``(i) a list of recommended research, 
                        monitoring, and data collection activities 
                        necessary to continue implementation of the 
                        strategy described in paragraph (2); and
                            ``(ii) proposals for--
                                    ``(I) continuing any new National 
                                Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
                                activities in the Chesapeake Bay; and
                                    ``(II) 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.''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    Subsection (h) of section 307 of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d), 
as redesignated by section 2(1), is amended to read as follows:
    ``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Chesapeake executive council.--The term `Chesapeake 
        Executive Council' means the representatives from the 
        Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, the 
        Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Environmental Protection 
        Agency, the District of Columbia, and the Chesapeake Bay 
        Commission, who are signatories to the Chesapeake Bay 
        Agreement, and any future signatories to that Agreement.
            ``(2) Chesapeake 2000 agreement.--The term `Chesapeake 2000 
        agreement' means the agreement between the United States, 
        Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and 
        the Chesapeake Bay Commission entered into on June 28, 2000.
            ``(3) Eligible entity.--Except as provided in subsection 
        (c), the term `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) the government of a State in the Chesapeake 
                Bay watershed or the government of the District of 
                Columbia;
                    ``(B) the government of a political subdivision of 
                a State in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, or a political 
                subdivision of the government of the District of 
                Columbia;
                    ``(C) an institution of higher education, including 
                a community college;
                    ``(D) a nongovernmental organization in the 
                Chesapeake Bay watershed 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; 
                or
                    ``(E) a private entity that the Director determines 
                to be appropriate.''.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Subsection (i) of section 307 of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d), 
as redesignated by section 2(1), is amended to read as follows:
    ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) FY 2002 through 2005.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated to the Department of Commerce for the Chesapeake 
        Bay Office $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2002 through 
        2005.
            ``(2) FY 2006 through 2010.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated to the Department of Commerce for the Chesapeake 
        Bay Office $26,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 
        through 2010. Of the amount appropriated pursuant to such 
        authorization of appropriations--
                    ``(A) for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 
                2010, $1,000,000 is authorized to be made available to 
                carry out the provisions of subsection (d);
                    ``(B) for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 
                2010, $6,000,000 is authorized to be made available to 
                carry out the provisions of subsection (e);
                    ``(C) for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 
                2010, $10,000,000 is authorized to be made available to 
                carry out the provisions of subsection (f);
                    ``(D) for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 
                2010, $1,000,000 to carry out the provisions of 
                subsection (g).''.
                                 <all>