[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 153 (Tuesday, October 28, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13420-S13422]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HYPOXIA AMENDMENTS ACT OF 2003

  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to 
immediate consideration of Calendar No. 249, S. 247.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 247) to reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and 
     Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998, and for other 
     purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill, 
which was reported with an amendment, as follows:
  [Strike the part shown in black brackets and insert the part printed 
in italic]

                                 S. 247

       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 ``Harmful Algal Bloom and 
     Hypoxia Amendments Act of 2003''.

     [SEC. 2. RETENTION OF TASK FORCE.

       [Section 603 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 
     Research and Control Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 1451 nt) is 
     amended by striking subsection (e).

     [SEC. 3. PREDICTION AND RESPONSE PLAN.

       [Section 603 of such Act, as amended by section 2, is 
     further amended by adding at the end the following:
       [``(e) Prediction and Response Plan.--
       [``(1) Development of plan.--Not later then 12 months after 
     the date of enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 
     Amendments Act of 2003, the President, in conjunction with 
     the chief executive officers of the States, shall develop and 
     submit to the Congress a plan to protect environmental and 
     public health from impacts of harmful algal blooms. In 
     developing the plan, the President shall consult with the 
     Task Force, the coastal States, Indian tribes, local 
     governments, industry, academic institutions, and non-
     governmental organizations with expertise in coastal zone 
     management.
       [``(2) Plan requirements.--The plan shall--
       [``(A) review techniques for prediction of the onset, 
     course, and impacts of harmful algal blooms including 
     evaluation of their accuracy and utility in protecting 
     environmental and public health and provisions for 
     implementation;
       [``(B) identify innovative response measures for the 
     prevention, control, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms 
     and provisions for their development and implementation; and
       [``(C) include incentive-based partnership approaches where 
     practicable.
       [``(3) Publication and opportunity for comment.--At least 
     90 days before submitting the plan to the Congress, the 
     President shall cause a summary of the proposed plan to be 
     published in the Federal Register for a public comment period 
     of not less than 60 days.
       [``(4) Federal assistance.--The Secretary of Commerce, in 
     coordination with the Task Force and to the extent of funds 
     available, shall provide for Federal cooperation with and 
     assistance to the coastal States, Indian tribes, and local 
     governments in implementing measures in paragraph (2), as 
     requested.''.

     [SEC. 4. LOCAL AND REGIONAL ASSESSMENTS.

       [Section 603 of such Act, as amended by section 3, is 
     further amended by adding at the end the following:
       [``(f) Local and Regional Assessments.--
       [``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce, in 
     coordination with the Task Force and to the extent of funds 
     available, shall provide for local and regional assessments 
     of hypoxia and harmful algal blooms, as requested by coastal 
     States, Indian tribes, and local governments.
       [``(2) Purpose.--Local and regional assessments may 
     examine--
       [``(A) the causes of hypoxia or harmful algal blooms in 
     that area;
       [``(B) the ecological and economic impacts of hypoxia or 
     harmful algal blooms;
       [``(C) alternatives to reduce, mitigate, and control 
     hypoxia and harmful algal blooms; and
       [``(D) the social and economic benefits of such 
     alternatives.''.

     [SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       [Section 605 of such Act is amended--
       [(1) by striking ``and'' after ``2000,'' in the first 
     sentence and in the paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (5);
       [(2) by inserting ``$26,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, 
     $26,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $27,000,000 for fiscal 
     year 2007'' after ``2001,'' in the first sentence;
       [(3) by inserting ``and $2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 
     2004, 2005, and 2006'' after ``2001'' in paragraph (1);
       [(4) by inserting ``and $5,500,000 for each of fiscal years 
     2004, 2005, and 2006'' after ``2001'' in paragraph (2);
       [(5) by striking ``2001'' in paragraph (3) and inserting 
     ``2001, $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $3,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2005, and $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2006'';
       [(6) by striking ``blooms;'' in paragraph (3) and inserting 
     ``blooms and to implement section 603(e);'';
       [(7) by striking ``2001'' in paragraph (4) and inserting 
     ``2001, and $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, 
     and 2006,'';
       [(8) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon in paragraph 
     (4);
       [(9) by striking ``2001'' in paragraph (5) and inserting 
     ``2001, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004,

[[Page S13421]]

     $5,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $6,600,000 for fiscal 
     year 2006'';
       [(10) by striking ``Administration.'' in paragraph (5) and 
     inserting ``Administration; and''; and
       [(11) by adding at the end the following:
       [``(6) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 
     2006 to carry out section 603(f).''.]

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Harmful Algal Bloom and 
     Hypoxia Amendments Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. RETENTION OF TASK FORCE.

       Section 603 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research 
     and Control Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 1451 nt) is amended by 
     striking subsection (e).

     SEC. 3. PREDICTION AND RESPONSE PLAN.

       Section 603 of such Act, as amended by section 2, is 
     further amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Prediction and Response Plan.--
       ``(1) Development of plan.--Not later then 12 months after 
     the date of enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 
     Amendments Act of 2003, the President, in consultation with 
     the chief executive officers of the States, shall develop and 
     submit to the Congress a plan to protect environmental and 
     public health from impacts of harmful algal blooms. In 
     developing the plan, the President shall consult with the 
     Task Force, the coastal States, Indian tribes, local 
     governments, industry, academic institutions, and non-
     governmental organizations with expertise in coastal zone 
     science and management.
       ``(2) Plan requirements.--The plan shall--
       ``(A) review techniques for prediction of the onset, 
     course, and impacts of harmful algal blooms including 
     evaluation of their accuracy and utility in protecting 
     environmental and public health and provisions for 
     implementation;
       ``(B) identify innovative response measures for the 
     prevention, control, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms 
     and provisions for their development and implementation; and
       ``(C) include incentive-based partnership approaches where 
     practicable.
       ``(3) Publication and opportunity for comment.--At least 90 
     days before submitting the plan to the Congress, the 
     President shall cause a summary of the proposed plan to be 
     published in the Federal Register for a public comment period 
     of not less than 60 days.
       ``(4) Federal assistance.--The Secretary of Commerce, in 
     coordination with the Task Force and to the extent of funds 
     available, shall provide for Federal cooperation with and 
     assistance to the coastal States, Indian tribes, and local 
     governments in implementing measures in paragraph (2), as 
     requested.''.

     SEC. 4. LOCAL AND REGIONAL ASSESSMENTS.

       Section 603 of such Act, as amended by section 3, is 
     further amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f) Local and Regional Assessments.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce, in 
     coordination with the Task Force and to the extent of funds 
     available, shall provide for local and regional assessments 
     of hypoxia and harmful algal blooms, as requested by coastal 
     States, Indian tribes, and local governments.
       ``(2) Purpose.--Local and regional assessments may 
     examine--
       ``(A) the causes of hypoxia or harmful algal blooms in that 
     area;
       ``(B) the ecological and economic impacts of hypoxia or 
     harmful algal blooms;
       ``(C) alternatives to reduce, mitigate, and control hypoxia 
     and harmful algal blooms; and
       ``(D) the social and economic costs and benefits of such 
     alternatives.'.
       ``(g) Scientific Assessment of Great Lakes Harmful Algal 
     Blooms.--
       ``(1) Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment 
     of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research Amendments 
     Act of 2003 the Task Force shall complete and submit to 
     Congress a scientific assessment of current knowledge about 
     harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes, including a research 
     plan for coordinating Federal efforts to better understand 
     Great Lakes harmful algal blooms.
       ``(2) The Great Lakes harmful algal bloom scientific 
     assessment shall--
       ``(A) examine the causes and ecological consequences, and 
     the economic costs, of harmful algal blooms with significant 
     effects on Great Lakes locations, including estimations of 
     the frequency and occurrence of significant events;
       ``(B) establish priorities and guidelines for a 
     competitive, peer-reviewed, merit-based interagency research 
     program, as part of the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful 
     Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) project, to better understand the 
     causes, characteristics, and impacts of harmful algal blooms 
     in Great Lakes locations; and
       ``(C) identify ways to improve coordination and to prevent 
     unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and 
     departments with respect to research on harmful algal blooms 
     in Great Lakes locations.
       ``(h) Scientific Assessments of Hypoxia.--
       ``(1) Not less than once every 5 years the Task Force shall 
     complete and submit to the Congress a scientific assessment 
     of hypoxia in United States coastal waters including the 
     Great Lakes. The first such assessment shall be completed not 
     less than 24 months after the date of enactment of the 
     Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research Amendments Act of 
     2003.
       ``(2) The assessments under this subsection shall--
       ``(A) examine the causes and ecological consequences, and 
     the economic costs, of hypoxia;
       ``(B) describe the potential ecological and economic costs 
     and benefits of possible policy and management actions for 
     preventing, controlling, and mitigating hypoxia;
       ``(C) evaluate progress made by, and the needs of, Federal 
     research programs on the causes, characteristics, and impacts 
     of hypoxia, including recommendations of how to eliminate 
     significant gaps in hypoxia modeling and monitoring data; and
       ``(D) identify ways to improve coordination and to prevent 
     unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and 
     departments with respect to research on hypoxia.''.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 605 of such Act is amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' after ``2000,'' in the first 
     sentence and in the paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (5);
       (2) by inserting ``$26,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, 
     $26,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, $27,000,000 for fiscal year 
     2006, $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2007, and $28,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2008'' after ``2001,'' in the first sentence;
       (3) by inserting ``and $2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 
     2004 through 2008'' after ``2001'' in paragraph (1);
       (4) by inserting ``and $8,200,000, of which $2,000,000 
     shall be used for the research program described in section 
     603(g)(2)(B), for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008'' 
     after ``2001'' in paragraph (2);
       (5) by striking ``2001'' in paragraph (3) and inserting 
     ``2001, $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $3,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2005, $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, $3,000,000 
     for fiscal year 2007, and $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2008'';
       (6) by striking ``blooms;'' in paragraph (3) and inserting 
     ``blooms and to implement section 603(e);'';
       (7) by striking ``2001'' in paragraph (4) and inserting 
     ``2001, and $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 
     2008'';
       (8) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon in paragraph 
     (4);
       (9) by striking ``2001'' in paragraph (5) and inserting 
     ``2001, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $5,500,000 for 
     fiscal year 2005, $6,600,000 for fiscal year 2006, $7,100,000 
     for fiscal year 2007, and $7,600,000 for fiscal year 2008'';
       (10) by striking ``Administration.'' in paragraph (5) and 
     inserting ``Administration; and''; and
       (11) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008 
     to carry out section 603(f).''.

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I am pleased that today the Senate is 
considering passage of S. 247, the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 
Amendments Act of 2003.
  I must first thank my friend and original cosponsor, Senator Breaux, 
for his commitment to taking action with me on these important issues. 
He and I represent coastal States that are directly affected by harmful 
algal blooms and hypoxia, and we see first-hand how these outbreaks 
have harmful impacts on marine ecology, resource economics, and human 
health in our States.
  For instance, during the past several weeks Maine has endured the 
most toxic red tide to hit our coastline in decades. When humans, fish, 
and marine mammals eat clams, mussels, oysters, snails, and other 
shellfish that have fed on the algae that produced this red tide, they 
are exposed to accumulated toxins, which can cause harmful--even 
fatal--neurological problems. This phenomenon occurs along thousands of 
miles of U.S. coastline, but it has increased dramatically in the Gulf 
of Maine in the last 20 years. In Maine this month, the most recent 
outbreak caused public health alerts and closed the entire coastline to 
shellfishing, and it may even be linked to the deaths of 21 large 
whales, including humpbacks. As you can see, due to these events 
passage of this bill is extremely timely.
  I must also thank Senators Voinovich, DeWine, and Levin for 
cosponsoring this bill and helping to expand its scope to include the 
Great Lakes. Harmful algal blooms and hypoxia have increased in Lake 
Erie and other regional waters in recent years, and Great Lakes-
bordering States are struggling to identify the causes of these events. 
Like other coastal States, they need to be able to better predict, 
monitor, and mitigate these events in order to protect their 
environment, economy, and human health.
  This bill continues and builds upon the research efforts we 
established in 1998 through the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia 
Research and Control Act. This original bill authorized a cross-section 
of research and monitoring activities on harmful algal blooms and 
hypoxia. However, algal blooms are still prevalent around the country, 
the hypoxia ``dead zone'' still occurs each summer in the Gulf of 
Mexico, and the management and mitigation measures set forth in our 
1998 bill still need to be realized. The amendments in S. 247 would 
authorize the funding that will reignite these scientific activities 
and provide important new authorities.
  This reauthorization continues to seek and utilize the valuable 
contributions of the once-temporary Inter-

[[Page S13422]]

Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia by making it 
permanent. The bill would direct this Task Force to develop a response 
and prediction action plan to protect environmental and public health 
from the harmful impacts of harmful algal blooms. Through this plan, 
task force members would review prediction techniques, develop 
innovative response measures, and include incentive-based partnership 
approaches.

  The bill would also authorize the task force and the Department of 
Commerce to develop local and regional assessments at the request of 
coastal States, Indian tribes, and local governments, so they could 
obtain technical assistance in addressing their local hypoxia and 
harmful algal bloom outbreaks. The regional plans will help avoid a 
one-size-fits-all approach to prediction and response, since local and 
regional variations in the types of land use, landscape geology, and 
community input should be taken into account. By tailoring mitigation 
and management measures to each location, the overall approach can be 
made more effective.
  As for the Great Lakes, S. 247 would direct this task force to 
conduct a scientific assessment of Great Lakes harmful algal blooms, 
and it would direct them to conduct a scientific assessment of hypoxia 
in U.S. coastal waters, including the Great Lakes, not less than once 
every 5 years. This amendment would authorize funding levels for these 
assessments at $2 million for fiscal years 2004 through 2006.
  Overall, this bill would authorize $26 million in fiscal year 2004, 
and $26.5 million in fiscal year 2005, and $27 million in fiscal year 
2006. These funding levels reflect modest increases in some of the 
research and monitoring programs authorized in the 1998 bill and 
provide funding for the new assessments and implementation of their 
recommendations.
  This reauthorization facilitates the continuation and expansion of 
collaborative, science-based research efforts that can help us better 
understand how to predict and mitigate harmful algal blooms and hypoxia 
events. The nation is well-served by legislation that seeks to protect 
coastal ecosystems, resource-dependent economies, and human health, and 
I thank my colleagues for supporting this important bill. I look 
forward to sending this bill to the House of Representatives so that 
they may undertake the next step in passing it.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent the committee amendment be 
agreed to, the bill be read a third time and passed, the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements related to 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute was agreed to.
  The bill (S. 247), as amended, was read the third time and passed.

                          ____________________