South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 2017

“605. Greater everglades harmful algal blooms and hypoxia

“(a) Integrated assessment—Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 2017, 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 the Greater Everglades region, and the status of, and gaps within, current harmful algal bloom and hypoxia research, monitoring, management, prevention, response, and control activities that directly impact the region by—

“(1) Federal agencies;

“(2) State agencies;

“(3) regional research consortia;

“(4) academia;

“(5) private industry; and

“(6) nongovernmental organizations.

“(b) Plan

“(1) In general—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 2017, the Task Force shall develop and submit to Congress a plan, based on the integrated assessment under subsection (a), for reducing, mitigating, and controlling harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in the Greater Everglades region.

“(2) Contents—The plan shall—

“(A) address the monitoring needs identified in the integrated assessment under subsection (a);

“(B) develop a timeline and budgetary requirements for deployment of future assets;

“(C) comprehensively analyze how South Florida Ecosystem Restoration efforts may affect the distribution, magnitude, duration, and frequency of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia events within the region;

“(D) assess the effect of the Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule and the Army Corps of Engineers’ management of lake levels, including release timing, duration, and flow rates, on the distribution, magnitude, duration, and frequency of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia events within the region;

“(E) identify requirements for the development and verification of Greater Everglades 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

“(F) 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 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;

“(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.

“(c) Greater everglades—In this section, the term Greater Everglades means—

“(1) all lands and waters within the administrative boundaries of the South Florida Water Management District;

“(2) regional coastal waters including, but not limited to, Biscayne Bay, the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida Bay, and the Indian River Lagoon; and

“(3) the Florida Reef Tract.”