117 HR 3864 IH: Oyster Conservation Act U.S. House of Representatives 2021-06-14 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I117th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 3864IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJune 14, 2021Mr. Brown introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural ResourcesA BILLTo require the Secretary of the Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to provide grants supporting research on the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters in estuarine ecosystems, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act maybe cited as the Oyster Conservation Act.

2.

Grants for recovering oysters

(a)

Establishment

The Administrator shall establish a grant program (in this section referred to as the Program) under which the Administrator shall award grants to eligible entities for the purpose of conducting research on the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters in estuarine ecosystems.(b)

Application

To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Administrator an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Administrator may require.(c)

Allocation of grant funds

(1)

In general

The Administrator shall award a grant under the Program to eligible entities that submit an application under subsection (b).(2)

Matching requirement

(A)

In general

Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the total amount of Federal funding received under the Program by an eligible entity may not exceed 85 percent of the total cost of the research project for which the funding was awarded. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the non-Federal share of project costs may be provided by in-kind contributions and other noncash support.(B)

Waiver

The Administrator may waive all or part of the requirement in subparagraph (A) if the Administrator determines that no reasonable means are available through which an eligible entity applying for a grant under this section can meet such requirement and the probable benefit of such research project outweighs the public interest in such requirement.(3)

Equitable distribution

The Administrator shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that grant funding under this section is apportioned according to the historic baseline oyster population of each estuary of the United States.(d)

Definitions

In this section, the following definitions apply:(1)

Academic community

The term academic community means faculty, researchers, professors, and representatives of State-accredited colleges and universities.(2)

Administrator

The term Administrator means the Secretary of Commerce acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.(3)

Eligible entity

The term eligible entity means a member of the academic community, the seafood industry, a relevant nonprofit organization, or a relevant State agency, that is proposing or conducting a research project on the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters in an estuarine ecosystem developed through consultation with a member of the academic community, a member of the seafood industry, a relevant nonprofit organization, or a relevant State agency.(4)

Historic baseline

The term historic baseline means the estimated population of oysters in an estuary in 1850.(5)

Nonprofit organization

The term nonprofit organization means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code.(6)

Seafood industry

The term seafood industry means shellfish growers, shellfish harvesters, commercial fishermen, and recreational fishermen.(e)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out this section.