[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1224 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1224

 To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and 
          Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 10, 2009

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and 
          Atmospheric Administration, 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 ``Chesapeake Bay Science, Education, 
and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE OF NATIONAL OCEANIC 
              AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION.

    Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by striking ``(1) The Secretary'' and 
                        inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``(in this section'' and 
                        all that follows and inserting a period;
                    (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
            ``(2) Director.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Office shall be headed by a 
                Director who shall be selected by the Secretary of 
                Commerce from among individuals who have knowledge and 
                experience in research or resource management efforts 
                in the Chesapeake Bay.
                    ``(B) Duties.--The duties of the Director are as 
                follows:
                            ``(i) Administration and operation of the 
                        Office.
                            ``(ii) Carrying out the provisions of this 
                        section.''; and
                    (C) by striking paragraph (3);
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking the matter preceding paragraph (1) 
                and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to focus the 
relevant science, research, and resource management capabilities of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as they apply to the 
Chesapeake Bay and to utilize the Office to--'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Secretary of 
                Commerce'' and inserting ``Administrator'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking the matter preceding 
                        subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:
            ``(3) coordinate with the programs and activities of the 
        various organizations within the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration in furtherance of such 
        administration's coastal resource stewardship mission, 
        including--'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) in clause (vi), by striking ``; 
                                and'' and inserting a semicolon; and
                                    (II) by inserting after clause 
                                (vii) the following:
                            ``(viii) coastal hazards and climate 
                        change; and''; and
                            (iii) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) in clause (iii), by striking 
                                ``; and'' and inserting a semicolon;
                                    (II) in clause (iv), by adding 
                                ``and'' at the end; and
                                    (III) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                            ``(v) integrated ecosystem assessments;'';
                    (D) in paragraph (4), by inserting before the 
                semicolon at the end the following: ``as appropriate to 
                further the purposes of this section'';
                    (E) by striking paragraphs (5) and (7);
                    (F) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph 
                (5);
                    (G) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 
                subparagraph (F), by adding ``and'' at the end; and
                    (H) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) perform such functions as may be necessary to support 
        the programs referred to in paragraph (3)''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (c) and all that follows through 
        the end of the section and inserting the following:
    ``(c) Program Activities.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director shall implement the program 
        activities required by this subsection to support the activity 
        of the Chesapeake Executive Council and to further the purposes 
        of this section.
            ``(2) Ensuring scientific and technical merit.--The 
        Director shall--
                    ``(A) establish and utilize an effective and 
                transparent mechanism to ensure that projects funded 
                under this section have undergone appropriate peer 
                review, using, to the extent practicable, the 
                capabilities of the Maryland and Virginia Sea Grant 
                Program;
                    ``(B) provide other appropriate means to determine 
                that such projects have acceptable scientific and 
                technical merit for the purpose of achieving maximum 
                utilization of available funds and resources to benefit 
                the Chesapeake Bay area; and
                    ``(C) ensure that all data and other products 
                generated by any project funded under this section be 
                provided to the Director.
            ``(3) Consultation with chesapeake executive council.--The 
        Director shall, in the implementation of the program activities 
        authorized under this section, consult with the Chesapeake 
        Executive Council to ensure that the activities of the Office 
        are consistent with the purposes and priorities of the 
        Chesapeake Bay Agreement and plans developed pursuant to the 
        Agreement.
            ``(4) Integrated coastal observations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Director shall collaborate 
                with scientific and academic institutions, State and 
                Federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and 
                other constituents in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, to 
                support the development of an integrated observations 
                system for the Chesapeake Bay.
                    ``(B) Specific requirements.--To support the system 
                referred to in subparagraph (A) and provide a complete 
                set of environmental information for the Chesapeake 
                Bay, the Director shall--
                            ``(i) coordinate existing monitoring and 
                        observing activities in the Chesapeake Bay;
                            ``(ii) identify new data collection needs 
                        and deploy new technologies, as appropriate;
                            ``(iii) facilitate the collection and 
                        analysis of the scientific information 
                        necessary for the management of living marine 
                        resources and the marine habitat associated 
                        with such resources;
                            ``(iv) coordinate with regional partners to 
                        manage and interpret the information described 
                        in clause (iii); and
                            ``(v) support regional partners to ensure 
                        the information described in clause (iii) is 
                        organized into products that are useful to 
                        policy makers, resource managers, scientists, 
                        and the public.
                    ``(C) Chesapeake bay interpretive buoy system.--To 
                further the development and implementation of the 
                Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System, the Director 
                shall--
                            ``(i) support the establishment and 
                        implementation of the Captain John Smith 
                        Chesapeake National Historic Trail;
                            ``(ii) delineate key waypoints along the 
                        trail and provide appropriate real-time data 
                        and information for trail users;
                            ``(iii) interpret data and information for 
                        use by educators and students to inspire 
                        stewardship of Chesapeake Bay; and
                            ``(iv) incorporate the Chesapeake Bay 
                        Interpretive Buoy System into the Integrated 
                        Ocean Observing System regional network of 
                        observatories.
            ``(5) Chesapeake bay watershed education and training 
        program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Director shall establish a 
                Chesapeake Bay watershed education and training 
                program. The program shall--
                            ``(i) continue and expand the Chesapeake 
                        Bay watershed education programs offered by the 
                        Office on the day before the date of the 
                        enactment of the Chesapeake Bay Science, 
                        Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 
                        2009;
                            ``(ii) improve the understanding of 
                        elementary and secondary school students and 
                        teachers of the living resources of the 
                        ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay;
                            ``(iii) provide community education to 
                        improve watershed protection; and
                            ``(iv) meet the educational goals of the 
                        most recent Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
                    ``(B) Grant program.--The Director may award grants 
                to support education and training projects that enhance 
                understanding and assessment of a specific 
                environmental problem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed 
                or a goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program, or protect or 
                restore living resources of the Chesapeake Bay 
                watershed, including projects that--
                            ``(i) provide classroom education, 
                        including the development and use of distance 
                        learning and other innovative technologies, 
                        related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
                            ``(ii) provide watershed educational 
                        experiences in the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
                            ``(iii) provide professional development 
                        for teachers related to 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;
                            ``(vi) build the capacity of organizations 
                        to deliver high quality environmental education 
                        programs; and
                            ``(vii) educate local land use officials 
                        and decision makers on the relationship of land 
                        use to natural resource and watershed 
                        protection.
                    ``(C) Collaboration.--The Director shall provide 
                technical assistance to support the education and 
                training program established under subparagraph (A) in 
                collaboration with the heads of other relevant Federal 
                agencies.
            ``(6) Coastal and living resources management and habitat 
        program.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Director shall establish a 
                Chesapeake Bay coastal living resources management and 
                habitat program to support coordinated management, 
                protection, characterization, and restoration of 
                priority Chesapeake Bay habitats and living resources, 
                including oysters, blue crabs, and submerged aquatic 
                vegetation.
                    ``(B) Activities.--Under the program required by 
                subparagraph (A), the Director may, subject to the 
                availability of appropriations, carry out or enter into 
                grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements and 
                provide technical assistance to support--
                            ``(i) native oyster restoration;
                            ``(ii) fish and shellfish aquaculture;
                            ``(iii) establishment of submerged aquatic 
                        vegetation propagation programs;
                            ``(iv) the development of programs that 
                        protect and restore critical coastal habitats;
                            ``(v) habitat mapping, characterization, 
                        and assessment techniques necessary to 
                        identify, assess, and monitor restoration 
                        actions;
                            ``(vi) application and transfer of applied 
                        scientific research and ecosystem management 
                        tools to fisheries and habitat managers;
                            ``(vii) collection, synthesis, and sharing 
                        of information to inform and influence coastal 
                        and living resource management issues; and
                            ``(viii) such other activities as the 
                        Director considers appropriate to carry out the 
                        program established under subparagraph (A).
    ``(d) Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director shall, not less frequently 
        than once every 2 years, submit to Congress a report on--
                    ``(A) the activities of the Office; and
                    ``(B) progress made in protecting and restoring the 
                living resources and habitat of the Chesapeake Bay.
            ``(2) Action plan.--Each report submitted under paragraph 
        (1) shall include an action plan for the 2-year period 
        following submission of the report, consisting of--
                    ``(A) a list of recommended research, monitoring, 
                and data collection activities necessary to continue 
                implementation of the strategy under subsection (b)(2); 
                and
                    ``(B) recommendations to integrate the activities 
                of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
                with the activities of the partners in the Chesapeake 
                Bay Program in order to meet the commitments of the 
                Chesapeake Bay Agreement.
    ``(e) Agreements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director may, subject to the 
        availability of appropriations, enter into and perform such 
        contracts, leases, grants, or cooperative agreements as may be 
        necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
            ``(2) Use of other resources.--For purposes of 
        understanding, protecting, and restoring the Chesapeake Bay, 
        the Director may use, with or without reimbursement, the land, 
        services, equipment, personnel, and facilities of any 
        Department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States, or 
        of any State, local government, Indian tribal government, or of 
        any political subdivision thereof if the Director receives 
        consent from the Department, agency, instrumentality, State, 
        government, or political subdivision concerned for such use.
            ``(3) Donations.--The Director may accept donations of 
        funds, other property, and services for use in understanding, 
        protecting, and restoring the Chesapeake Bay. Donations 
        accepted under this section shall be considered as a gift or 
        bequest to or for the use of the United States.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the 
        Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.
            ``(2) Chesapeake bay agreement.--The term `Chesapeake Bay 
        Agreement' means the formal, voluntary agreements executed to 
        achieve the goal of restoring and protecting the Chesapeake Bay 
        ecosystem and the living resources of the Chesapeake Bay 
        ecosystem and are signed by the Chesapeake Executive Council.
            ``(3) Chesapeake bay program.--The term `Chesapeake Bay 
        Program' means the regional Chesapeake Bay restoration 
        partnership that includes Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the 
        District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, other appropriate Federal 
        agencies, and participating citizen and local elected official 
        advisory groups.
            ``(4) 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.
            ``(5) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
        the Chesapeake Bay Office.
            ``(6) Office.--The term `Office' means the Chesapeake Bay 
        Office established under subsection (a).
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section--
            ``(1) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2011;
            ``(2) $18,700,000 for fiscal year 2012;
            ``(3) $20,570,000 for fiscal year 2013; and
            ``(4) $22,627,000 for fiscal year 2014.''.
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