1.Short title; table of contents
(a)This Act may be cited as the
National Endowment for the Oceans
Act
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Definitions.
Sec. 5. National Endowment for the Oceans.
Sec. 6. Eligible uses.
Sec. 7. Grant programs.
Sec. 8. National Endowment for the Oceans Council.
Sec. 9. Annual report.
2.The purposes of this Act are to protect,
conserve, restore, and understand the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes of the
United States, ensuring present and future generations will benefit from the
full range of ecological, economic, educational, social, cultural, nutritional,
and recreational opportunities and services these resources are capable of
providing.
3.Congress finds the following:
(1)Covering more than two-thirds of the
Earth’s surface, the oceans and Great Lakes sustain a large part of Earth’s
biodiversity, provide an important source of food and other natural products,
act as a frontier for scientific exploration, are critical to national security
and economic well-being, and are a vital means of transportation.
(2)The coastal regions of the United States
have high biological productivity and contribute approximately 50 percent of
the gross domestic product of the United States.
(3)The oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes are
susceptible to change as a direct and indirect result of human activities,
which can inhibit ecosystem integrity and productivity, biodiversity,
environmental quality, national security, economic competitiveness,
availability of energy, resistance to natural hazards, and transportation
safety and efficiency.
(4)Human pressure on ocean, coastal, and Great
Lakes resources is drastically increasing, with 50 percent of the population of
the United States living within 50 miles of the coast and, if population trends
continue as expected, coastal development and urbanization impacts will present
serious challenges and increase our vulnerability to natural hazards.
(5)The oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes, and
their resources are held in trust for the people of the United States by
Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, and their conservation benefits
present and future generations.
(6)A variety of human activities have caused
dramatic declines in the health and productivity of ocean, coastal, and Great
Lakes ecosystems of the United States, including—
(A)chemical, nutrient, thermal, and biological
pollution, including the introduction of invasive species, and the introduction
of marine debris;
(B)unwise land use and coastal
development;
(C)loss and degradation of habitat, including
upstream freshwater habitat for anadromous, diadromous, and migratory fish
species;
(D)overfishing and bycatch of nontarget marine
species; and
(E)global climate change and ocean
acidification.
(7)Activities harming ocean, coastal, and
Great Lakes ecosystems jeopardize the economies and social structure of
communities dependent on resources from such ecosystems.
(8)While there is an abundance of Federal,
State, local, and tribal laws, government agencies, and programs designed to
study, observe, protect, and manage ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources,
activities thereunder are poorly coordinated and do not constitute a unified
and comprehensive public policy to enhance understanding, protection,
conservation, and restoration of the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes.
(9)Improving and coordinating Federal
governance will require close partnership with States, taking into account
their public trust responsibilities, their economic and ecological interests in
ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources, and the role of State and local
governments in the implementation of policies governing their use.
(10)It is the continuing mission of the Federal
Government to create, foster, and maintain conditions, incentives, policies,
and programs that will facilitate the sustainable and effective conservation,
management, and protection of the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes, and
encourage greater scientific understanding of these areas, to fulfill the
responsibility of each generation as trustee in protecting the resources in
these areas and ensuring their availability for future generations.
(11)The oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes of the
United States, and their resources are dependent upon and connected to those of
other countries throughout the world, and collaboration with international
bodies and governments will help protect and manage our shared and linked
marine ecosystems and resources for the benefit of the world’s
population.
(12)Programs that facilitate greater
collaboration and coordination among stakeholders and strengthen the
relationship between governmental and nongovernmental partners will support our
understanding of complex ecosystems and more effectively leverage existing
resources and expertise.
(13)Supporting science, research, monitoring,
modeling, forecasting, exploration, and assessment will continually improve the
understanding of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems.
4.In this Act:
(1)The term coastal population
means the population of all political subdivisions, as determined by the most
recent official data of the Census Bureau, contained in whole or in part within
the designated coastal boundary of a State as defined in a State's coastal zone
management program under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.
1451 et seq.) as of the date of enactment of this Act.
(2)The term coastal State has the
meaning given the term coastal state
in section 304 of the
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453).
(3)The term Council means the
National Endowment for the Oceans Council established under section 8.
(4)The term Endowment means the
National Endowment for the Oceans established under section 5.
(5)The term Indian tribe has the
meaning given that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
(6)The term local government
means a political subdivision all or part of which is within a coastal zone (as
defined in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C.
1453)).
(7)The term outer Continental
Shelf
has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331).
(8)The term regional planning
body means a regional entity that includes representatives of Federal
and State agencies and, if applicable, Indian tribes and indigenous community
representatives, with jurisdictional responsibilities or other interests (such
as resource management, science, homeland and national security,
transportation, and public health) for the development and implementation of
regional coordination and planning to understand, protect, maintain, and
restore ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems.
(9)Except as otherwise specifically provided,
the term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce.
(10)The term tidal shoreline has
the meaning given that term pursuant to section 923.110(c)(2)(i) of title 15,
Code of Federal Regulations or a similar successor regulation.
5.National Endowment for the Oceans
(a)There is established in the Treasury of the
United States a National Endowment for the Oceans, to be administered by the
Secretary, solely for use in accordance with the requirements established under
this Act.
(b)Of the amounts deposited in the Endowment
for each fiscal year—
(1)at least 49 percent shall be used by the
Secretary to make grants to coastal States and affected Indian tribes under
section 7(b);
(2)at least 19 percent shall be used by the
Secretary to make grants to regional planning bodies under section 7(c);
(3)at least 29 percent shall be allocated by
the Secretary to the National Grant Program for Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes
established by section 7(d); and
(4)not more than 3 percent may be used for
administrative expenses to carry out the programs created under this
Act.
(c)
(1)Interest on OSLTF investments
(A)Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
amounts credited under section 9602(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund established under section 9509(a) of such
Code for any fiscal year beginning after fiscal year 2011 in which the average
daily balance of the Fund is $1,500,000,000 or more shall be transferred to the
Endowment.
(B)Amounts transferred to the Endowment under
subparagraph (A) shall be available—
(i)not later than 90 days after the last day
of a fiscal year for use during the next following fiscal year; and
(ii)as provided in appropriations Acts.
(2)Outer continental shelf lease
revenueSection 8 of the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
(q)Deposits in the National Endowment for the
Oceans
(1)Beginning with fiscal year 2011, the
Secretary shall deposit 12.5 percent of the revenue paid to the United States
under this section, excluding any such revenue from Arctic drilling that begins
after the date of the enactment of the National Endowment for the Oceans Act, in
the National Endowment for the Oceans established by section 5(a) of that
Act.
(2)Amounts deposited in the Endowment under
paragraph (1) shall be available as provided in appropriations
Acts.
.
(3)Fines collected for violations of Federal
law
(A)Beginning with fiscal year 2011, the
President shall ensure that 10 percent of the civil penalties paid to the
United States for a violation of a law set out under subparagraph (B) or for a
violation of any requirement or prohibition of any rule, order, or permit
promulgated, issued, or approved under such a law that occurs on the outer
Continental Shelf are deposited in the Endowment.
(B)The laws set out under this subparagraph
are the following:
(i)The Federal Water Pollution Control Act
(commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act
) (33 U.S.C. 1251 et
seq.) other than penalties provided for under section 311 of such Act (33
U.S.C. 1321).
(ii)The Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.).
(iii)The Marine Protection, Research, and
Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (commonly known as the Ocean Dumping
Act
) (33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.).
(iv)The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C.
2701 et seq.).
(v)Chapter 601 of title 49, United States
Code.
(vi)The Act of March 3, 1899 (30 Stat. 1151,
chapter 425; 33 U.S.C. 401 et seq.).
(C)Amounts deposited in the Endowment under
subparagraph (A) shall be available as provided in appropriations Acts.
(4)Split recovery from punitive damage
awards
(A)In all Federal civil actions arising from a
tort allegedly occurring on the outer Continental Shelf resulting in an award
of punitive damages, 25 percent of the amount of punitive damages awarded in
excess of $100,000 shall be remitted to the Endowment.
(B)Amounts remitted to the Endowment pursuant
to subparagraph (A) shall available without further appropriation or fiscal
year limitation.
(d)
(1)It shall be the duty of the Secretary of
the Treasury to invest such portion of the Endowment that is not, in the
Secretary's judgment, required to meet current withdrawals, in interest-bearing
obligations of the United States in accordance with section 9602 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(2)Interest on certain proceedsThe interest on, and the proceeds from the
sale or redemption of, any obligations invested under paragraph (1) shall be
credited to and form a part of the Endowment.
(e)Authorization of
appropriationsBeginning with
fiscal year 2015, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Endowment for
any fiscal year in which the sum of the amounts authorized to be transferred
to, and deposited in, the Endowment under this section is estimated to be less
than $100,000,000, an amount equal to the difference between $100,000,000 and
the estimated amount of such transfers and deposits for such fiscal
year.
(f)Nothing in this section shall decrease the
amount any State may receive pursuant to section 8(g) of the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(g)) or section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy
Security Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–432; 43 U.S.C. 1331 note).
6.
(a)Amounts in the Endowment may be allocated
by the Secretary only to fund grants for programs and activities intended to
restore, protect, maintain, or understand living marine resources and their
habitats and ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources, including baseline
scientific research, ocean observing, and other programs and activities carried
out in coordination with Federal and State departments or agencies, that are
consistent with Federal environmental laws and that avoid environmental
degradation, including—
(1)ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes restoration
and protection, including the protection of the environmental integrity of such
areas, and their related watersheds, including efforts to adapt to and
withstand the impacts of global climate change;
(2)restoration, protection, or maintenance of
living ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and their habitats, including
marine protected areas and riparian migratory habitat of coastal and marine
species;
(3)planning for and managing coastal
development to minimize the loss of life and property associated with global
climate change and the coastal hazards resulting from global climate
change;
(4)analyses of current and anticipated climate
change and ocean acidification and assessment of potential actions to minimize
harm to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems from climate change and
ocean acidification;
(5)analyses of, and planning for, current and
anticipated uses of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes areas and identification of
areas most suitable for various types of classes of activities and for
restoration, protection, and maintenance of ecosystem health and to reduce
conflicts among uses, reduce environmental impacts, facilitate compatible uses,
and preserve critical ecosystem services to meet economic, environmental,
security, and social objectives;
(6)regional, subregional, and site-specific
management efforts designed to manage, protect, or restore ocean, coastal, and
Great Lakes resources and ecosystems;
(7)research, assessment, monitoring,
observation, modeling, and sharing of information that contribute to the
understanding of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and support the
purposes of this Act;
(8)efforts to better understand the processes
that govern the fate and transport of petroleum hydrocarbons released into the
marine environment from natural and anthropogenic sources, including
spills;
(9)acquiring property or interests in property
in coastal and estuarine areas, if such property or interest is acquired in a
manner that will ensure such property or interest will be administered to
support the purposes of this Act; and
(10)protection and relocation of critical
coastal public infrastructure affected by erosion, sea level rise, or impacts
of global climate change.
(b)Requirement for State matching
fundsAny amount from the
Endowment provided to fund a project described in paragraph (9) or (10) of
subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent of the total project cost and may only
be provided if the State in which such project will be carried out provides the
remainder of the total project cost.
(c)Considerations for Great Lakes
StatesPrograms and
activities funded in Great Lakes States shall also seek to attain the goals
embodied in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Plan, the Great Lakes
Regional Collaboration Strategy, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, or
other collaborative planning efforts of the Great Lakes Region.
7.
(a)Authority of the SecretaryThe Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Interior, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, the Director of the
Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Director of the National
Science Foundation, shall establish and make available for public
comment—
(1)application and review procedures for the
grant programs described in subsections (b), (c), and (d), including
requirements ensuring that any amounts provided pursuant to such programs may
only be used for an eligible use described under section 6;
(2)performance accountability and monitoring
measures for programs and activities funded by a grant program described in
subsections (b), (c), or (d);
(3)procedures and methods to ensure accurate
accounting and appropriate administration for each of the grant programs
described in subsections (b), (c), or (d), including standards of record
keeping;
(4)procedures to carry out audits of the
Endowment as necessary, but not less frequently than once every 5 years;
and
(5)procedures to carry out audits of the
recipients of grants under subsection (b), (c), or (d), including
States.
(b)
(1)Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), and (4),
the Secretary shall make grants of amounts allocated under section 5(c)(1) to
coastal States or affected Indian tribes, based on the following
formula:
(A)Fifty percent of the funds are allocated
equally among coastal States that have a coastal management program approved
under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.).
(B)Twenty-five percent of the funds are
allocated on the basis of the ratio of tidal shoreline miles in a coastal State
to the tidal shoreline miles of all coastal States.
(C)Twenty-five percent of the funds are
allocated on the basis of the ratio of coastal population density of a coastal
State to the coastal population density of all coastal States.
(2)Allocation to Indian tribesAmounts allocated under paragraph (1)(A)
shall be allocated to affected Indian tribes based on, and directly
proportional to, any specific coastal and ocean management authority granted to
an affected tribe pursuant to affirmation of a Federal reserved right.
(3)Maximum allocation to StatesNotwithstanding paragraph (1), not more
than 10 percent of the total funds distributed under this subsection may be
allocated to any single State. Any amount exceeding this limit shall be
redistributed among the remaining States according to the formula established
under paragraph (1).
(4)Maximum allocation to certain geographic
areas
(A)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), each
geographic area described in subparagraph (B) may not receive more than 1
percent of the total funds distributed under this subsection. Any amount
exceeding this limit shall be redistributed among the remaining States
according to the formula established under paragraph (1).
(B)Geographic areas describedThe geographic areas described in this
subparagraph are the following:
(i)American Samoa.
(ii)The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands.
(iii)Guam.
(iv)Puerto Rico.
(v)The Virgin Islands.
(5)Requirement to submit plansTo be eligible to receive a grant under
this subsection, a coastal State or Indian tribe shall submit, and the
Secretary shall review—
(A)a 5-year plan, which shall include—
(i)a prioritized list of goals the coastal
State or Indian tribe intends to achieve during the time period covered by the
5-year plan;
(ii)identification and general descriptions of
existing State projects or activities that contribute to realization of such
goals, including a description of the entities conducting those projects or
activities;
(iii)general descriptions of projects or
activities, consistent with the eligible uses described in section 6 and
existing Federal ocean policy, that could contribute to realization of such
goals;
(iv)criteria to determine eligibility for
entities which may receive grants under this program; and
(v)a description of the competitive process
the coastal State or Indian tribe will use in allocating funds received from
the Endowment, which shall include—
(I)a description of the relative roles in the
State competitive process of the State coastal zone management program approved
under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) and any
State Sea Grant Program; and
(II)a demonstration that such competitive
process is consistent with the application and review procedures established by
the Secretary pursuant to the authority set forth in subsection (a)(1);
and
(B)an annual work plan which shall
include—
(i)a detailed, specific, prioritized list of
projects or activities to be funded by the Endowment, and desired outcomes of
those projects or activities;
(ii)for each project or activity, a description
of how such project or activity is consistent with the eligible uses of the
Endowment; and
(iii)for each project or activity, a schedule
for completion and a description of how such project or activity helps achieve
the goals established in the applicable 5-year plan.
(6)Opportunity for public
commentIn determining
whether to approve a plan described in paragraph (5)(A), the Secretary shall
provide the opportunity for, and take into consideration, public input and
comment on the plan.
(7)
(A)Not later than 90 days after receiving a
5-year plan or annual work plan from a coastal State or Indian tribe, the
Secretary shall notify such coastal State or Indian tribe that the
Secretary—
(i)approves the plan as submitted;
(ii)disapproves the plan as submitted;
or
(iii)needs up to an additional 30 days for
additional review of the plan.
(B)If the Secretary disapproves a proposed
5-year plan or annual work plan, the Secretary shall provide notice of such
disapproval to the submitting coastal State or Indian tribe in writing, and
include in such notice the rationale for the Secretary’s decision. The
submitting State shall resubmit the plan to the Secretary not later than 30
days after receiving the notice of disapproval.
(c)Grants to regional planning bodies
(1)The Secretary shall use amounts allocated
under section 5(c)(2) to award grants to regional planning bodies to create and
implement Regional Strategic Plans, as described in this subsection.
(2)In order to be eligible to receive a grant
under this subsection, a regional planning body being considered for such a
grant shall submit an application that demonstrates how activities to be
carried out with grant funds would facilitate the creation or implementation of
a Regional Strategic Plan, as described in this subsection.
(3)
(A)Not later than 5 years after receiving a
grant under this section, each regional planning body shall prepare and submit
to the Secretary for review, a Regional Strategic Plan.
(B)Each Regional Strategic Plan submitted
under this paragraph shall—
(i)be based on initial assessments of—
(I)the region’s ocean, coastal, and Great
Lakes ecosystem health determined through—
- (aa)science-based ecosystem assessments;
- (bb)monitoring; and
- (cc)forecasting physical, chemical, and
biological ocean parameters;
(II)the cultural and economic role of the
ocean, coasts, or Great Lakes in the region; and
(III)existing, emerging, and cumulative threats
to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystem health of the region;
(ii)specify essential areas within the ocean,
coastal, or Great Lakes region;
(iii)describe short-term and long-term—
(I)goals for improving ocean, coastal, and
Great Lakes ecosystem health in the region covered by the Plan; and
(II)indicators of improvements in economic
sustainability in the region resulting from improved ecosystem health and
enhanced collaboration and coordination among Federal and State
agencies;
(iv)include recommendations for long-term
observing and monitoring measures for the region covered by the Plan;
(v)identify Federal and State priority issues
within the region covered by the Plan;
(vi)describe potential management solutions and
policies to address the priority issues, consistent with existing Federal ocean
policy;
(vii)identify research, information, and data
needed to carry out the Plan;
(viii)identify performance measures and
benchmarks for purposes of clauses (ii) through (vi) to evaluate the Plan’s
effectiveness; and
(ix)define responsibilities and include an
analysis of the gaps in authority, coordination, and resources, including
funding, that must be filled in order to fully achieve those performance
measures and benchmarks.
(4)Each regional planning body shall provide
adequate opportunities for public input during the development of the Regional
Strategic Plan for the region and any revisions to such Plan.
(5)Each approved Regional Strategic Plan shall
be reviewed and revised by the appropriate regional planning body at least once
every 5 years. The revised Plan shall be submitted to the Secretary for review
and approval pursuant to paragraph (6).
(6)
(A)Not later than 90 days after receiving a
Regional Strategic Plan from a regional planning body, the Secretary shall
notify the regional planning body that the Secretary—
(i)approves the plan as submitted;
(ii)disapproves the plan as submitted;
or
(iii)needs up to an additional 30 days to
further review the plan.
(B)If the Secretary disapproves a proposed
Regional Strategic Plan, the Secretary shall provide notice of such disapproval
to the submitting regional planning body in writing, and include in such notice
the rationale for the Secretary’s decision. The regional planning body shall
resubmit the Plan not later than 30 days after receiving such notice and
rationale for initial disapproval.
(7)Opportunity for public
commentIn determining
whether to approve a Regional Strategic Plan under this subsection, the
Secretary shall provide opportunity for, and take into consideration, public
input and comment on such Plan from stakeholders and the general public.
(d)National grants for oceans, coasts, and
Great Lakes
(1)The Secretary may use amounts allocated
under section 5(c)(3) to make grants to support activities consistent with
section 6.
(2)The Secretary, in consultation with the
Council, shall establish criteria to determine the types of entities eligible
for grants under this subsection, including—
(A)coastal State, noncoastal State, local, and
affected Indian tribal governments and agencies;
(B)regional agencies, associations, or
organizations other than regional planning bodies;
(C)fishery or wildlife management
organizations;
(D)nonprofit organizations; and
(E)academic institutions.
(3)The Secretary shall—
(A)review the Council’s recommendations
submitted under section 8(h);
(B)subject to approval, allocate amounts
allocated under section 5(c)(3) on the basis of the Council’s recommendations;
and
(C)if the Secretary disapproves a grant
recommended by the Council, explain that disapproval in writing.
8.National Endowment for the Oceans
Council
(a)Except as provided in subsection (j), the
Secretary shall establish a National Endowment for the Oceans Council which
shall consist of 7 members with expertise in the conservation and management of
ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems and marine resources.
(b)The members of the Council shall be as
follows:
(1)Two representatives of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, appointed by the Administrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(2)One representative of the Office of Water
of the Environmental Protection Agency, appointed by the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency.
(3)One representative of the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service, appointed by the Director of the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service.
(4)One representative of the National Science
Foundation, appointed by the Director of the National Science
Foundation.
(5)One representative of the Council on
Environmental Quality, appointed by the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality.
(6)One representative of the United States
Geological Survey, appointed by the Director of the United States Geological
Survey.
(c)
(1)The term of office of a member of the
Council is 5 years, except that—
(A)of the members initially appointed under
paragraph (1) of subsection (b), 1 shall be appointed for a term of 4
years;
(B)the member initially appointed under
paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of such subsection shall be appointed for a term
of 3 years; and
(C)the member initially appointed under
paragraph (5) of such subsection (b) shall be appointed for a term of 4
years.
(2)Whenever a vacancy occurs among members of
the Council, the Secretary, or the head of the appropriate agency shall appoint
an individual to fill that vacancy for the remainder of the applicable
term.
(d)
(1)The Council shall elect a chair from among
its members.
(2)The chair shall serve for a 3-year term,
except that the first chair may be elected for a term of less than 3 years, as
determined by the Council.
(e)Five members of the Council shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(f)
(1)The Council shall meet at the call of the
chair, but in no case less frequently than twice each year.
(2)Meetings of the Council shall be open to
the public, and the chair shall take appropriate steps to provide adequate
notice to the public of the time and place of such meetings.
(3)If a Council member misses 3 consecutively
scheduled meetings, the Secretary may revoke that member's appointment to the
Council.
(g)
(1)The Secretary may employ and fix the
compensation of staff, as the Council determines necessary, to carry out such
duties as the Council may require and, with assistance from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, facilitate consideration of grant
applications and otherwise assist the Council in carrying out its
responsibilities.
(2)The pay and benefits of the staff shall be
derived from amounts available from the Endowment for administrative costs
subject to section 5(c)(4).
(3)Status as federal employees
(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
employees of the Council shall be considered Federal employees only for
purposes of—
(i)injury compensation as provided in chapter
81 of title 5, United States Code, and tort claims liability under chapter 171
of title 28, United States Code;
(ii)the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5
U.S.C. App.) and the provisions of chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code;
and
(iii)any other statute or regulation governing
the conduct of Federal employees.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), section
208(a) of title 18, United States Code, shall not apply to such an individual
if, after review of the financial disclosure report filed by the individual
pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), the
Secretary, or the Secretary’s designee, certifies in writing that the need for
the individual’s services outweighs the potential for a conflict of interest
created by the financial interest involved.
(h)The Council shall—
(1)receive and review, according to procedures
established under section 7(d)(1), applications for grants under subsections
(b) and (c) of section 7; and
(2)submit to the Secretary a list of
recommended applications for such grants, consistent with existing Federal
ocean policy and criteria established under this Act, and include—
(A)a recommended priority order for funding
such applications;
(B)the amount of the grant each such
application should receive; and
(C)any specific requirements, conditions, or
limitations for such an application recommended for funding under this
Act.
(i)In reviewing
applications for grants under subsections (b) and (c) of section 7, the Council
shall establish an external review process through working groups or by other
means, including consultation with persons representing—
(1)a balanced and diverse range of ocean,
coastal, and Great Lakes dependent industries;
(2)a balanced and diverse range of
regions;
(3)nonprofit conservation organizations with a
mission that includes the conservation and protection of living marine
resources and their habitats; and
(4)academic institutions with strong
scientific or technical credentials and experience in marine science or
policy.
(j)Reliance on existing Federal interagency
bodyRather than establish a
National Endowment for the Oceans Council, the Secretary may designate an
existing Federal interagency body created to implement Federal ocean policy to
perform the functions set forth in section 8(h).
9.
(a)Requirement for annual reportBeginning with fiscal year 2012, not later
than 60 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit a
report on the operation of the Endowment during the fiscal year to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.
(b)Each annual report submitted under
subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall include—
(1)a statement of the amounts deposited in the
Endowment and the balance remaining in the Endowment at the end of the fiscal
year;
(2)a description of the expenditures made from
the Endowment for the fiscal year, including the purpose of the expenditures;
and
(3)recommendations for additional authority
necessary to fulfill the purpose of the Endowment.