[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 99 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3574-S3575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 555. Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. Scott of Florida) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 1790, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. 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' has the same meaning given the term `South Florida
ecosystem' in section 601(a)(5) of the Water Resources
Development Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-541).
``(b) Integrated Assessment.--Not later than 540 days after
the date of enactment of the South Florida Clean Coastal
Waters Act of 2019, the Task Force, in accordance with the
authority under section 603, shall complete and submit to
Congress and the President an integrated assessment that
examines 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--
``(1) Federal agencies;
``(2) State agencies;
``(3) regional research consortia;
``(4) academia;
``(5) private industry; and
``(6) nongovernmental organizations.
``(c) Action Plan.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act
of 2019, 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) coordinate and 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;
[[Page S3575]]
``(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. Effect on other Federal authority.
``Sec. 608. Definitions.
``Sec. 609. Authorization of appropriations.''.
______