[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8684 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8684

   To provide for the establishment of the Alabama Underwater Forest 
           National Marine Sanctuary, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 27, 2020

  Mr. Byrne introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for the establishment of the Alabama Underwater Forest 
           National Marine Sanctuary, 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 ``Alabama Underwater Forest National 
Marine Sanctuary and Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds and declares the following:
            (1) An ancient cypress forest dating back 50,000 to 70,000 
        years B.C. has been exposed in the Gulf of Mexico off the 
        Alabama coastline. The trees, which were uncovered by massive 
        waves associated with Hurricane Ivan, are still rooted in the 
        mud they were growing in at least 50,000 years ago.
            (2) The Underwater Forest site is unique on a global scale, 
        the only known site where trees between 50,000 and 70,000 years 
        old have been preserved intact with the ecosystem they were 
        growing in.
            (3) Exploration of the site continues to yield invaluable 
        scientific insight in a variety of fields, though scientists 
        have just begun to study the ancient forest.
            (4) Commercial interests are seeking to mine the ancient 
        trees for the purpose of making consumer goods, which would 
        result in an irreplaceable loss to the scientific community.
            (5) Protection of the forest from commercial harvest also 
        protects the site as a globally significant destination for 
        scuba diving and associated tourism. Millions of people from 
        around the world have seen news stories and documentaries about 
        the forest, inundating dive tourism operators with requests to 
        visit the site.

SEC. 3. POLICY AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to protect and 
preserve the ancient cypress trees located off the coast of Alabama, 
known as the Alabama Underwater Forest.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to protect the resources 
of the area described in section 5(b), to educate and interpret for the 
public regarding the ancient Cypress Forest environment, and to manage 
such human uses of the Sanctuary consistent with this Act.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the term ``adverse effect'' means any factor, force, 
or action that would independently or cumulatively damage, diminish, 
degrade, impair, destroy, or otherwise harm--
            (1) any Sanctuary resource, as defined in section 302(8) of 
        the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 
        (16 U.S.C. 1432(8)); or
            (2) any of those qualities, values, or purposes for which 
        the Sanctuary is designated.

SEC. 5. SANCTUARY DESIGNATION.

    (a) Designation.--The area described in subsection (b) is 
designated as the Alabama Underwater Forest National Marine Sanctuary 
(in this Act referred to as the ``Sanctuary'') under title III of the 
Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1431 et seq.). The Sanctuary shall be managed, and regulations enforced 
under all applicable provisions of title III as if the Sanctuary had 
been designated under such title.
    (b) Area Included.--
            (1) Subject to subsections (c) and (d), the area referred 
        to in subsection (a) consists of all submerged objects and 
        lands within the Sanctuary boundary. The Sanctuary shall be 
        generally identified and depicted on National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration charts which shall be maintained on 
        file and kept available for public examination during regular 
        business hours at the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource 
        Management of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration and in online format and which shall be updated 
        to reflect boundary modifications under this section.
            (2) The boundary referred to in paragraph (1) shall 
        encompass the area within the following coordinates:
                    (A) 30 degrees, 7 minutes, 20.2116 seconds north 
                latitude; 87 degrees, 49 minutes, 15.7404 seconds west 
                longitude.
                    (B) 30 degrees, 7 minutes, 20.2116 seconds north 
                latitude; 87 degrees, 43 minutes, 44.8536 seconds west 
                longitude.
                    (C) 30 degrees, 5 minutes, 42.6552 seconds north 
                latitude; 87 degrees, 49 minutes, 15.7404 seconds west 
                longitude.
                    (D) 30 degrees, 5 minutes, 42.6552 seconds north 
                latitude; 87 degrees, 43 minutes, 44.8536 seconds west 
                longitude.

SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN USES.

    (a) Prohibited Activities.--The following activities are prohibited 
and thus are unlawful for any person to conduct or to cause to be 
conducted within the Sanctuary:
            (1) Harvesting the trees or other resources of the 
        sanctuary.
            (2) Any type of subsurface salvage or recovery operation.
            (3) Lowering below the surface of the water any grappling, 
        suction, conveyor, dredging, or wrecking device.
            (4) Detonating below the surface of the water any explosive 
        or explosive mechanism.
            (5) Drilling or coring the seabed.
            (6) Lowering, laying, positioning, or raising any type of 
        seabed cable or cable-laying device.
            (7) Discharging waste material into the water in violation 
        of any Federal statute or regulation.
    (b) Rules of Construction.--The prohibitions contained in 
subsection (a) shall not be construed as to:
            (1) Restrict fishing, diving, anchoring, or any other 
        recreational or commercial sea activities that do not cause an 
        adverse effect to the resources or property of the Sanctuary or 
        that do not pose harm to users of the Sanctuary.
            (2) Apply to necessary operations of public vessels. For 
        the purposes of this paragraph, necessary operations of public 
        vessels shall include operations essential for national 
        defense, law enforcement, and responses to emergencies that 
        threaten life, property, or the environment.
    (c) Effective Date.--This subsection shall be effective upon 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN.

    (a) Preparation of Plan.--The Secretary of Commerce, in 
consultation with appropriate Federal, State, and local government 
authorities and with the Advisory Council established under section 8, 
shall develop a comprehensive management plan and implementing 
regulations to achieve the policy and purpose of this Act. The 
Secretary of Commerce shall complete such comprehensive management plan 
and final regulations for the Sanctuary not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act. In developing the plan and 
regulations, the Secretary of Commerce shall follow the procedures 
specified in sections 303 and 304 of the Marine Protection, Research, 
and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1433 and 1434), except those 
procedures requiring the delineation of Sanctuary boundaries and 
development of a resource assessment report. Such comprehensive 
management plan shall--
            (1) facilitate all public and private uses of the Sanctuary 
        consistent with the primary objective of Sanctuary resource 
        protection;
            (2) consider temporal and geographical zoning, to ensure 
        protection of Sanctuary resources;
            (3) identify needs for research and establish a long-term 
        ecological monitoring program;
            (4) identify alternative sources of funding needed to fully 
        implement the plan's provisions and supplement appropriations 
        under section 9 of this Act and section 313 of the Marine 
        Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
        1444); and
            (5) ensure coordination and cooperation between Sanctuary 
        managers and other Federal, State, and local authorities with 
        jurisdiction within or adjacent to the Sanctuary.
    (b) Public Participation.--The Secretary of Commerce shall provide 
for participation by the general public in development of the 
comprehensive management plan.

SEC. 8. ADVISORY COUNCIL.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with 
the Governor of the State of Alabama shall establish an Advisory 
Council to assist the Secretary in the development and implementation 
of the comprehensive management plan for the Sanctuary.
    (b) Membership.--Members of the Advisory Council may be appointed 
from among Sanctuary managers, members of other government agencies 
with overlapping management responsibilities for the Gulf Coast 
environment, and representatives of local conservation groups, the 
marine scientific and educational community, recreational user groups, 
or the general public. Provided, membership in the council shall 
include representation from the local commercial and recreational 
fishing and boating community.
    (c) Expenses.--Members of the Advisory Council shall not be paid 
compensation for their service as members but may be reimbursed for 
actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred by 
them in the performance of their duties as such members.
    (d) Administration.--The Advisory Council shall elect a chairperson 
and may establish subcommittees, and adopt by-laws, rules, and such 
other administrative requirements and procedures as are necessary for 
the administration of its functions.
    (e) Staffing and Other Assistance.--The Secretary of Commerce shall 
make available to the Advisory Council such staff, information, and 
administrative services and assistance as the Secretary of Commerce 
determines are reasonably required to enable the Advisory Council to 
carry out its functions.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $7,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to carry out the provisions of this Act.
                                 <all>