[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 66 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.66
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two
An Act
To require the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and
Hypoxia to develop a plan for reducing, mitigating, and controlling
harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, 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 ``South Florida Clean Coastal Waters
Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. SOUTH FLORIDA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA ASSESSMENT AND
ACTION PLAN.
(a) In General.--The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and
Control Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-383; 33 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating sections 605 through 609 as sections 606
through 610, respectively; and
(2) by inserting after section 604 the following:
``SEC. 605. SOUTH FLORIDA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA.
``(a) South Florida.--In this section, the term `South Florida'
means--
``(1) all lands and waters within the administrative boundaries
of the South Florida Water Management District;
``(2) regional coastal waters, including Biscayne Bay, the
Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida Bay, Indian River Lagoon, and St.
Lucie River Estuary; and
``(3) the Florida Reef Tract.
``(b) Integrated Assessment.--
``(1) Interim integrated assessment.--Not later than 540 days
after the date of enactment of the South Florida Clean Coastal
Waters Act of 2021, the Task Force, in accordance with the
authority under section 603, shall complete and submit to Congress
and the President an interim integrated assessment.
``(2) Finalized integrated assessment.--Not later than 3 years
after the date of enactment of the South Florida Clean Coastal
Waters Act of 2021, the Task Force shall finalize, and submit to
Congress and the President, the interim integrated assessment
required by paragraph (1).
``(3) Contents of integrated assessment.--The integrated
assessment required by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall examine the
causes, consequences, and potential approaches to reduce harmful
algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, and the status of, and
gaps within, current harmful algal bloom and hypoxia research,
monitoring, management, prevention, response, and control
activities that directly affect the region by--
``(A) Federal agencies;
``(B) State agencies;
``(C) regional research consortia;
``(D) academia;
``(E) private industry;
``(F) nongovernmental organizations; and
``(G) Indian tribes (as defined in section 4 of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
5304)).
``(c) Action Plan.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years and 180 days after
the date of the enactment of the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters
Act of 2021, the Task Force shall develop and submit to Congress a
plan, based on the integrated assessment under subsection (b), for
reducing, mitigating, and controlling harmful algal blooms and
hypoxia in South Florida.
``(2) Contents.--The plan submitted under paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) address the monitoring needs identified in the
integrated assessment under subsection (b);
``(B) develop a timeline and budgetary requirements for
deployment of future assets;
``(C) identify requirements for the development and
verification of South Florida harmful algal bloom and hypoxia
models, including--
``(i) all assumptions built into the models; and
``(ii) data quality methods used to ensure the best
available data are utilized; and
``(D) propose a plan to implement a remote monitoring
network and early warning system for alerting local communities
in the region to harmful algal bloom risks that may impact
human health.
``(3) Requirements.--In developing the action plan, the Task
Force shall--
``(A) consult with the State of Florida, and affected local
and tribal governments;
``(B) consult with representatives from regional academic,
agricultural, industry, and other stakeholder groups;
``(C) ensure that the plan complements and does not
duplicate activities conducted by other Federal or State
agencies, including the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration
Task Force;
``(D) identify critical research for reducing, mitigating,
and controlling harmful algal bloom events and their effects;
``(E) evaluate cost-effective, incentive-based partnership
approaches;
``(F) ensure that the plan is technically sound and cost-
effective;
``(G) utilize existing research, assessments, reports, and
program activities;
``(H) publish a summary of the proposed plan in the Federal
Register at least 180 days prior to submitting the completed
plan to Congress; and
``(I) after submitting the completed plan to Congress,
provide biennial progress reports on the activities toward
achieving the objectives of the plan.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment and Correction.--The table of contents in
section 2 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-
383) is amended by striking the items relating to title VI and
inserting the following new items:
``TITLE VI--HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA
``Sec. 601. Short title.
``Sec. 602. Findings.
``Sec. 603. Assessments.
``Sec. 603A. National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program.
``Sec. 603B. Comprehensive research plan and action strategy.
``Sec. 604. Northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxia.
``Sec. 605. South Florida harmful algal blooms and hypoxia.
``Sec. 606. Great Lakes hypoxia and harmful algal blooms.
``Sec. 607. Protection of States' rights.
``Sec. 608. Effect on other Federal authority.
``Sec. 609. Definitions.
``Sec. 610. Authorization of appropriations.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.