Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2014”.
Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2014
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to conduct coastal community vulnerability assessments related to ocean acidification, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Coastal community vulnerability assessment
In general— Section 12406 of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3705) is amended—
in subsection (a)—
in paragraph (2), by striking “and” after the semicolon;
in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(4) includes an ongoing mechanism that allows affected industry members, coastal stakeholders, non-federal resource managers, and outside scientific experts to provide input on research, data, and monitoring needs that are necessary to support on-the-ground management, decisionmaking, and adaptation related to ocean acidification and its impacts.”
by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
“(b) Community vulnerability assessment
“(1) In general—The Secretary, through the program established under subsection (a), shall conduct an ocean acidification coastal community vulnerability assessment, and issue a corresponding public report, that shall be updated at least once every 5 years.
“(2) Requirements—The assessment conducted under paragraph (1) shall—
“(A) identify the United States coastal communities, including island communities, low-population rural communities, and subsistence communities, that are most dependent on coastal and ocean resources that may be impacted by ocean acidification;
“(B) assess the nature of those communities’ social and economic vulnerabilities;
“(C) identify the ocean acidification impacts that might harm those communities, including impacts from changes in ocean and coastal marine resources that are not managed by the Federal Government;
“(D) identify key knowledge gaps where research could be devoted to better understand the possible impacts of ocean acidification on these vulnerable communities, the risks and threats facing these communities, and possible adaptation strategies for these communities; and
“(E) be conducted in collaboration with experts who are familiar with the unique economic, social, ecological, geographic, and resource concerns of the Nation’s coastal communities, including representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service, and Coastal Services Center.”
Strategic research plan— Section 12405(b) of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704(b)) is amended—
in paragraph (8), by striking “and” after the semicolon;
in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(10) make recommendations for research that should be conducted, including in the social sciences and economics, to address the key knowledge gaps identified in the community vulnerability assessment report conducted under subsection (b) of section 12406.”