[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2355 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                S. 2355

To amend the National Climate Program Act to enhance the ability of the 
   United States to develop and implement climate change adaptation 
             programs and policies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2007

 Ms. Cantwell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the National Climate Program Act to enhance the ability of the 
   United States to develop and implement climate change adaptation 
             programs and policies, 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 ``Climate Change Adaptation Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF NATIONAL CLIMATE PROGRAM ACT.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this title an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to a section or other provision of the National Climate Program 
Act (15 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.).

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Section 2 (15 U.S.C. 2601) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    ``The Congress finds that--
            ``(1) weather, climate change, and climate variability 
        affect public safety, environmental services and security, 
        human health, agriculture, energy use, water resources, and 
        other factors vital to national security and human welfare;
            ``(2) the present rate of advance of national efforts in 
        research and development and the application of such advances 
        is inadequate to meet the challenges posed by observed and 
        projected rates of climate change and climate variability and 
        the increasing demand for information to guide planning and 
        response across all sectors;
            ``(3) the United States lacks adequate research, 
        infrastructure, and coordinated outreach and communication 
        mechanisms to meet national climate monitoring, prediction, and 
        decision support needs for adapting to and mitigating the 
        impacts of climate change and climate variability;
            ``(4) information regarding climate change and climate 
        variability is not being fully disseminated or used, and 
        Federal efforts have given insufficient attention to assessing 
        and applying this information;
            ``(5) climate change and climate variability occur on a 
        global basis making international cooperation essential for the 
        purpose of sharing the benefits and costs of a global effort to 
        understand and communicate these changes;
            ``(6) recent scientific reports by the Intergovernmental 
        Panel on Climate Change conclusively found that climate change 
        is occurring, and that impacts from climate change can be 
        expected in even shorter time periods than had been previously 
        predicted;
            ``(7) the Panel found that the resilience of many 
        ecosystems is likely to be exceeded this century by an 
        unprecedented combination of climate change, associated 
        disturbances such as flooding and drought, and other global 
        change drivers such as land-use change;
            ``(8) according to the Panel, approximately 20 to 30 
        percent of plant and animal species assessed so far are likely 
        to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global 
        average temperature exceed 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius;
            ``(9) the Panel also found that the progressive 
        acidification of oceans due to increasing atmospheric carbon 
        dioxide is expected to have negative impacts on marine shell-
        forming organisms, such as corals, and their dependent species;
            ``(10) the Panel found that coasts will be exposed to 
        increasing risks, including coastal erosion, over coming 
        decades due to climate change and sea-level rise, and that 
        adaptation costs for vulnerable coasts are much less than the 
        costs of inaction;
            ``(11) in its September, 2007, study entitled Evaluating 
        Progress of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program: Methods 
        and Preliminary Results, the National Academy of Sciences 
        concluded that there is a tremendous need to improve the 
        delivery of information to decision makers at the Federal, 
        regional, and local levels on climate change impacts and to 
        take such impacts into account in planning and in managing 
        resources;
            ``(12) States and local communities may need Federal 
        assistance in developing and implementing strategies to address 
        the impacts of climate change;
            ``(13) in its August, 2007, report entitled Climate Change: 
        Agencies Should Develop Guidance for Addressing the Effects on 
        Federal Land and Water Resources, GAO-07-863, the Government 
        Accountability Office found that the Federal Government is not 
        providing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        and other Federal agencies that are responsible for managing 
        natural resources with the proper tools or policy mandates to 
        take the impacts of climate change into account in carrying out 
        their responsibilities to manage public resources;
            ``(14) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
        which plays a leading role in the Federal Government's Global 
        Change Research Program, has a key role to play both in 
        predicting impacts of climate change on natural resources and 
        in improving the delivery of information critical to adaptation 
        and management to end users; and
            ``(15) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        has a key role to play in addressing the impacts of climate 
        change on our Nation's coastal areas and ocean resources.''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 4 (15 U.S.C. 2903) is amended by striking paragraphs (1) 
and (2) and redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs (1) and 
(2).

SEC. 5. NATIONAL CLIMATE PROGRAM ELEMENTS.

    Section 5 (15 U.S.C. 2904) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``subsection (d)(9);'' in subsection (b)(1) 
        and inserting ``section 6;'';
            (2) by striking subsections (c), (e), (f), and (g); and
            (3) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
    ``(c) Program Elements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Program shall include--
            ``(1) a strategic plan to address the impacts of climate 
        change within the United States; and
            ``(2) a National Climate Service to be established within 
        the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.''.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL CLIMATE STRATEGY.

    The Act is amended by striking sections 6 through 9 (15 U.S.C. 2905 
et seq.) and inserting the following:

``SEC. 6. NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of the Climate Change Adaptation Act, the President shall 
provide to the Congress a 5-year national strategic plan to address the 
impacts of climate change within the United States, to implement such 
strategy for federally-managed resources and actions, and to provide 
information to and coordinate with State and local governments and 
nongovernmental entities to support similar efforts with respect to 
non-Federal natural resources. The President shall provide a mechanism 
for consulting with States and local governments, the private sector, 
universities, and other nongovernmental entities in developing the 
plan. The plan shall be updated at least every 5 years.
    ``(b) Contents of Plan.--The plan shall, at a minimum--
            ``(1) identify existing Federal requirements, protocols, 
        and capabilities for addressing climate change impacts on 
        federally managed resources and actions;
            ``(2) identify measures to improve such capabilities and 
        the utilization of such capabilities;
            ``(3) include protocols to integrate climate change impacts 
        into Federal agency actions and policies, consistent with 
        existing authorities;
            ``(4) address vulnerabilities and priorities identified 
        through the assessments carried out under the Global Change 
        Research Act of 1990 and this Act;
            ``(5) establish a mechanism for the exchange of information 
        related to addressing the impacts of climate change with, and 
        provide technical assistance to, State and local governments 
        and nongovernmental entities;
            ``(6) develop partnerships with State and local governments 
        and nongovernmental entities to support and coordinate 
        implementation of the plan;
            ``(7) include implementation and funding strategies for 
        short-term and long-term actions that may be taken at the 
        national, regional, State, and local level;
            ``(8) establish a process to develop more detailed agency 
        and department-specific plans;
            ``(9) identify opportunities to utilize remote sensing and 
        other geospatial technologies to improve planning for 
        adaptation to climate change impacts; and
            ``(10) identify existing legal authorities and additional 
        authorities necessary to implement the plan.
    ``(c) Agency-level Strategies.--
            ``(1) Agency plans.--Each department and agency of the 
        Executive Branch shall develop a detailed plan, based on the 
        national plan, for addressing climate change impacts with 
        respect to such department or agencies policies and actions, 
        within 1 year after the date that the plan is submitted under 
        subsection (b) and provide such plan to Congress.
            ``(2) Interim activities.--Nothing in this section shall be 
        understood to prevent any Federal agency or department to take 
        climate change impacts into account, consistent with its 
        existing authorities, until the plans are provided to Congress 
        and steps to implement such plans are taken.
    ``(d) Coordination.--The President shall ensure that the mechanism 
to provide information related to addressing the impacts of climate 
change to State and local governments and nongovernmental entities is 
appropriately coordinated or integrated with existing programs that 
provide similar information on climate change predictions.
    ``(e) Relationship to Other Authorities.--Nothing in this section 
shall supersede any Federal authority in effect on the date of 
enactment of the Climate Change Adaptation Act.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 $10,000,000 to 
carry out this section.

``SEC. 7. OCEAN AND COASTAL VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION.

    ``(a) Coastal and Ocean Vulnerability.--
            ``(1) In general.--Within 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of the Climate Change Adaptation Act, the Secretary 
        of Commerce shall, in consultation with the appropriate 
        Federal, State, and local governmental entities, conduct 
        regional assessments of the vulnerability of coastal and ocean 
        areas and resources to hazards associated with climate change, 
        climate variability, and ocean acidification including--
                    ``(A) sea level rise;
                    ``(B) fluctuation of Great Lakes water levels;
                    ``(C) increases in severe weather events;
                    ``(D) storm surge;
                    ``(E) rainfall;
                    ``(F) flooding and inundation;
                    ``(G) changes in sea ice;
                    ``(H) changes in ocean currents impacting global 
                heat transfer;
                    ``(I) increased siltation due to coastal erosion;
                    ``(J) shifts in the hydrological cycle;
                    ``(K) natural hazards, including tsunami, drought, 
                flood, and fire;
                    ``(L) coral reef bleaching; and
                    ``(M) alteration of ecological communities, 
                including at the ecosystem or watershed levels,
            ``(2) Updates.--The Secretary shall update such assessments 
        at least once every 5 years.
            ``(3) Regional coastal and ocean assessments.--In preparing 
        the regional coastal assessments, the Secretary shall take into 
        account the information and assessments being developed 
        pursuant to the Global Change Research Program. The regional 
        assessments shall include an evaluation of--
                    ``(A) physical, biological, and ecological impacts, 
                such as coastal erosion, flooding and loss of estuarine 
                habitat, saltwater intrusion of aquifers and saltwater 
                encroachment, impacts on food web distribution, species 
                migration, species abundance, and changes in marine 
                pathogens and diseases;
                    ``(B) social impacts associated with threats to and 
                potential losses of housing, communities, and 
                infrastructure; and
                    ``(C) economic impacts on local, State, and 
                regional economies, including the impact on abundance 
                or distribution of economically important living marine 
                resources.
    ``(b) Coastal and Ocean Adaptation Plan.--The Secretary shall, 
within 3 years after the date of enactment of the Climate Change 
Adaptation Act, submit to the Congress a national coastal and ocean 
adaptation plan, composed of individual regional adaptation plans that 
recommend targets and strategies to address coastal and ocean impacts 
associated with climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise, 
and climate variability. The plan shall be developed with the 
participation of other Federal, State, and local government agencies 
that will be critical in the implementation of the plan at the State 
and local levels and shall take into account recommendations of the 
National Science Board in its January 12, 2007, report entitled 
Hurricane Warning: The Critical Need for a National Hurricane Research 
Initiative and other relevant studies, and not duplicate existing 
Federal and State hazard planning requirements. The Plan shall 
recommend both short- and long-term adaptation strategies and shall 
include recommendations regarding--
            ``(1) Federal flood insurance program modifications;
            ``(2) areas that have been identified as high risk through 
        mapping and assessment;
            ``(3) mitigation incentives such as rolling easements, 
        strategic retreat, State or Federal acquisition in fee simple 
        or other interest in land, construction standards, and zoning;
            ``(4) land and property owner education;
            ``(5) economic planning for small communities dependent 
        upon affected coastal and ocean resources, including fisheries;
            ``(6) coastal hazards protocols to reduce the risk of 
        damage to lives and property, and a process for evaluating the 
        implementation of such protocols;
            ``(7) strategies to address impacts on the most vulnerable 
        living marine resources;
            ``(8) proposals to integrate measures into the actions and 
        policies of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration;
            ``(9) a plan for additional research and development of 
        technologies and capabilities to address such impacts;
            ``(10) plans to pursue bilateral and multilateral 
        agreements necessary to effectively address such impacts;
            ``(11) partnerships with States and nongovernmental 
        organizations;
            ``(12) methods to mitigate the impacts identified, 
        including habitat restoration measures; and
            ``(13) funding requirements and mechanisms.
    ``(c) D23/Technical Planning Assistance.--The Secretary, through 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall establish a 
coordinated program to provide technical planning assistance and 
products to coastal States and local governments as they develop and 
implement adaptation or mitigation strategies and plans. Products, 
information, tools and technical expertise generated from the 
development of the regional coastal and ocean assessments and the 
coastal and ocean adaptation plans will be made available to coastal 
States for the purposes of developing their own State and local plans.
    ``(d) Coastal and Ocean Adaptation Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide grants of 
        financial assistance to coastal States with federally approved 
        coastal zone management programs to develop and begin 
        implementing coastal and ocean adaptation programs.
            ``(2) Allocation of funds.--The Secretary shall distribute 
        grant funds under paragraph (1) among coastal States in 
        accordance with the formula established under section 306(c) of 
        the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455(c)), 
        adjusted in consultation with the States as necessary to 
        provide assistance to particularly vulnerable coastlines.
            ``(3) Matching requirement.--The Secretary shall make 
        grants under paragraph (1) on a matching basis under which the 
        ratio of Federal to State funds is--
                    ``(A) 4 to 1 in the first fiscal year;
                    ``(B) 2.3 to 1 in the second fiscal year;
                    ``(C) 2 to 1 in the third fiscal year; and
                    ``(D) 1 to 1 thereafter.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
Atmosphere $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to 
carry out the provisions of this section, of which $25,000,000 shall be 
available for grants under subsection (d) for each of such fiscal 
years. Not more than 75 percent of the amount available for grants 
under subsection (d) for any fiscal year may be used for grants 
relating to coastal impacts.''.
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