[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2807 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2807

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a grant 
 program to conserve, restore, and manage kelp forest ecosystems, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 14, 2023

 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. King, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Heinrich) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a grant 
 program to conserve, restore, and manage kelp forest ecosystems, 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 ``Help Our Kelp Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO CONSERVE, RESTORE, AND MANAGE KELP FOREST ECOSYSTEMS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish, not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and carry 
out a grant program under which the Administrator shall award grants to 
eligible entities described in subsection (b) to carry out eligible 
projects described in subsection (c) relating to the conservation, 
restoration, or management of kelp forest ecosystems.
    (b) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible for a grant under this 
section, an entity shall--
            (1) be--
                    (A) a member of the fishing industry;
                    (B) an institution of higher education;
                    (C) a nonprofit organization;
                    (D) an Indian Tribe;
                    (E) a State agency; or
                    (F) a local government;
            (2) consult or collaborate with any other entity described 
        in paragraph (1) throughout the development or implementation 
        of a project relating to the conservation, restoration, or 
        management of kelp forest ecosystems; and
            (3) submit to the Administrator an application describing 
        that project at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
        information as the Administrator may require, including 
        information regarding--
                    (A) what criteria will be used to monitor and 
                evaluate the effectiveness of the project; and
                    (B) the qualifications of the applicant to conduct, 
                monitor, and evaluate the project.
    (c) Eligible Projects.--The Administrator shall award grants to 
eligible entities for projects that--
            (1) address the greatest relative regional declines in kelp 
        forest ecosystems;
            (2) focus on elements such as--
                    (A) the long-term resilience of kelp forest 
                ecosystems;
                    (B) long-term socioeconomic resilience related to 
                kelp forest ecosystems;
                    (C) kelp forest seeding and connectivity;
                    (D) reestablishing or recovering natural trophic 
                relationships and structure to support the resilience 
                of kelp forest ecosystems through actions such as 
                predator control through targeted urchin removal and 
                the recovery of sunflower sea stars;
                    (E) monitoring and assessment of kelp forest 
                ecosystems;
                    (F) integration of Indigenous knowledge and 
                cultural practices into restoration and monitoring of 
                kelp forest ecosystems through consultation with Indian 
                Tribes or promotion of Federal or State co-management 
                with Indian Tribes; or
                    (G) other efforts to restore kelp forest ecosystems 
                and prevent large scale losses of kelp forests; or
            (3) are identified by Indian Tribes or Federal or State 
        restoration or management plans as focal areas for recovery of 
        kelp forests and associated species.
    (d) Matching Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        amount of Federal funding received as a grant under this 
        section by an eligible entity may not exceed 85 percent of the 
        total cost of the project for which the grant is awarded. For 
        the purposes of this paragraph, the non-Federal share of the 
        costs of a project may be provided by in-kind contributions and 
        other noncash support.
            (2) Waiver.--The Administrator may waive all or part of the 
        requirement in paragraph (1) if the Administrator determines 
        that--
                    (A) no reasonable means are available through which 
                an eligible entity applying for a grant under this 
                section can meet that requirement;
                    (B) the probable benefit of the project outweighs 
                the public interest in such requirement; and
                    (C) the project undertaken is established on lands 
                owned by or held in trust for an Indian Tribe.
    (e) Guidelines and Criteria.--The Administrator shall--
            (1) issue guidelines for implementation of the grant 
        program established under subsection (a); and
            (2) establish criteria for evaluating eligible projects 
        based on best practices, best available science, and community 
        engagement to rank eligible projects under subsection (c).
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Administrator $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 
        through 2028 to carry out this section.
            (2) Availability to indian tribes.--
                    (A) In general.--Of the amount authorized to be 
                appropriated by paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, not 
                less than $750,000 shall be available to award grants 
                under this section to eligible entities that are Indian 
                Tribes.
                    (B) Contingency; outreach.--If no Indian tribe is 
                awarded a grant under this section in a fiscal year--
                            (i) for that fiscal year, the amount 
                        described in subparagraph (A) shall be made 
                        available to award grants under this section to 
                        other eligible entities; and
                            (ii) the Administrator shall conduct 
                        outreach to inform Indian Tribes and 
                        organizations that work with Indian Tribes of 
                        the grant program established under subsection 
                        (a).
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
            (2) Fishing industry.--The term ``fishing industry'' 
        means--
                    (A) processors;
                    (B) commercial fishermen; and
                    (C) recreational fishermen.
            (3) Indian tribe.--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. 5304).
            (4) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001(a)).
            (5) Kelp forest ecosystem.--The term ``kelp forest 
        ecosystem'' means a naturally occurring, biotic system 
        dominated by canopy-forming, stipitate, or prostrate benthic 
        macroalgae and associated taxa.
            (6) Local government.--The term ``local government'' means 
        a unit of general local government, a school district, or other 
        special district established under State law.
            (7) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
        organization'' means an organization--
                    (A) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986; and
                    (B) exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such 
                Code.
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