1.This Act may be cited as the
Gulf Coast Conservation Corps Act of
2010
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)On April 20, 2010, the mobile offshore
drilling unit Deepwater Horizon, operated by BP, P.L.C. (in this Act referred
to as BP
), exploded and sank, triggering the oil spill that is
the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States.
(2)Since then, BP has been unsuccessful in
stemming the discharge of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, currently estimated at a
rate of up to 60,000 barrels of oil per day.
(3)Many who live in
the area of the Gulf of Mexico are dependent on the Gulf for their
livelihoods.
(4)The fishing
industry, including seafood processing and related wholesale and retail
businesses, supports over 200,000 jobs with related economic activity of
$5,500,000,000.
(5)As of May 25,
2010, commercial and recreational fishing were prohibited within a 54,096
square-mile area, approximately 22 percent of Federal waters of the Gulf
Exclusive Economic Zone.
(6)The tourist
industry contributed 620,000 jobs and over $9,000,000,000 in wages to the Gulf
region.
(7)The oil spill will
require a dedicated and trained workforce working over an extended period of
time to clean up and restore the damage.
(8)Contracts and
cooperative agreements between Federal agencies and State and local governments
and other entities empower communities and are cost-effective tools that
provide positive social and environmental benefits. The use of such contracts
and agreements should be encouraged as a means to rehabilitate public land
affected or altered by the BP oil spill, and enhance and maintain
environmentally important land and water.
(9)Joint
collaborations between the Federal agencies, private businesses, and local,
State, and Federal service and conservation corps are particularly beneficial,
as the collaborations provide the opportunity to prepare for productive lives
while engaged in meaningful and educational public service opportunities, and
the public with cost-saving human resources to assist in conserving,
maintaining, and protecting public land.
3.The purposes of this Act are—
(1)to create a Gulf Coast Conservation Corps
to perform rehabilitation and enhancement projects in any area of the Gulf of
Mexico affected by the oil discharged as a result of the explosion on and
sinking of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon by creating a
workforce to collect the oil discharged, and restore affected wildlife and
damaged ecosystems, in such areas;
(2)to create jobs in the Gulf of Mexico region
that offer unemployed individuals a chance to obtain skills and experience so
that they are better equipped to gain productive employment related to
environmental restoration; and
(3)to provide such
individuals the opportunity to serve their communities and the Country.
4.Gulf Coast
Conservation Corps
(a)There is established the Gulf Coast
Conservation Corps (in this Act referred to as the Corps
), which
shall be administered by the President and shall carry out rehabilitation and
enhancement projects described in subsection (b).
(b)Rehabilitation
and enhancement projectsThe
President, through the Corps, shall hire individuals that meet the requirements
described in subsection (c) to carry out rehabilitation and enhancement
projects involving the construction, maintenance, cleaning, and restoration
(including the restoration of wildlife and plantlife) in any area of the Gulf
of Mexico affected by the oil discharged as a result of the explosion on and
sinking of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon.
(c)
(1)To be selected as a participant in the Corps, an
individual—
(A)shall be otherwise
unemployed;
(B)shall be a citizen
or legal permanent resident of the United States;
(C)shall be
physically capable of performing the work required by the specific project,
subject to any reasonable accommodations that may be made for such individual
in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and
(D)shall not be
enrolled as a full-time student in any institution of higher education,
vocational or job training school or program and may not prematurely terminate
such enrollment to obtain employment under this Act.
(2)No displacement
of existing employees or positions of permanent
employmentIndividuals participating in the Corps whose positions
are funded under this Act may not displace other employees whose positions are
not funded under this Act.
(3)Individuals participating in the Corps
shall be compensated at the same rates, including periodic increases, as
employees who are similarly situated in similar occupations and who have
similar training, experience, and skills, and such rates shall be in accordance
with applicable law, but in no event less than the higher of the rate specified
in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
206(a)(1)) or the applicable State or local minimum wage law.
(4)Individuals participating in the Corps shall not be
considered employees of the Federal Government.
(d)In administering the
Corps, the President may carry out the following:
(1)Enter into a
contract or cooperative agreement with—
(A)any local, State,
or Federal service or conservation corps, including a service or conservation
corps carried out by the Corporation for National and Community Service under
the national service laws;
(B)a department of
natural resources, agriculture, or marine (or an equivalent department) of any
State; or
(C)a nongovernmental
or private organization; or
(D)any other agency
or organization that may assist the President in administering the
Corps.
(2)Provide the Corps with technical
assistance, administrative support, and assistance in training
participants.
(3)Monitor and
evaluate the Corps to ensure that the Corps is in compliance with the
requirements of this Act.
(4)Consult with
international authorities on the best methods and practices for carrying out
the projects described in subsection (b).
(5)Carry out research and development
activities to determine the best methods and practices for carrying out the
projects described in subsection (b).
5.Funding from Oil
Spill Liability Trust FundThe
cost of carrying out this Act shall be treated as removal costs for purposes of
the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), including section 1012
of that Act (33 U.S.C. 2712; relating to the use of amounts in the Oil Spill
Liability Trust Fund).
6.In this Act:
(1)The terms discharge
; oil
;
and removal
have the meanings given the terms in section 1001 of
the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701).
(2)Institution of
higher educationThe term institution of higher
education has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
(3)The term national service laws
has the
meaning given the term in section 101 of the National and Community Service Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511).
(4)The
term State means each of the several States of the United States,
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
7.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $15,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2011 and 2012.