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Title II — Department of the Interior Coral Reef Authorities

H.R. 6738 · 116th Congress · May 8, 2020 · Lineage

II Department of the Interior Coral Reef Authorities

Sec. 201 Coral reef conservation and assistance

(a)
In general— The Secretary of the Interior may conduct activities to conserve coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems within—
(1)
any unit of the National Park System;
(2)
any unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System;
(3)
any National Monument or Marine National Monument designated by an Act of Congress or under section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary; or
(4)
any other Federal land unit or any territorial waters under the administration of the Secretary.
(b)
Assistance— The Secretary may provide technical assistance, scientific expertise, and financial assistance grants for the conservation of coral reefs in proximity to the Federal land and waters described in paragraph (a) to—
(1)
entities eligible to receive a grant under section 204 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6403);
(2)
territories of the United States; and
(3)
federally recognized Indian Tribes.
(c)
Requirement— The Secretary shall ensure that any action taken by the Secretary under this title is consistent with the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401), as amended by this Act, including the national coral reef action strategy developed under section 203 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 6402).
(d)
Office of Insular Affairs Coral Reef Initiative— The Secretary shall establish within the Office of Insular Affairs a Coral Reef Initiative Program to—
(1)
provide grant funding to support local management, conservation, and protection of coral reef ecosystems in—
(A)
insular areas; and
(B)
freely associated states;
(2)
complement the other conservation and assistance activities conducted under this title; and
(3)
provide other technical, scientific, and financial assistance and conduct conservation activities that advance the purposes of this title.

Sec. 202 United States Geological Survey Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies Program

The Secretary shall establish within the United States Geological Survey a program to be known at the Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies Program to—
(1)
research, monitor, and map coral reef ecosystems to understand coral reef processes and assess coral reef health, including the effects of changes in ocean temperature and chemistry, ocean acidification, land-based sources of pollution including coastal runoff, sediment erosion and turbidity, and harmful algal blooms;
(2)
develop science and tools to assess and help address the consequences of changing coral reef structure on tourism, recreation, community vulnerability and resilience to storms, erosion, and inundation, and to inform the management of coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems;
(3)
complement the other conservation and assistance activities conducted under this title;
(4)
provide technical assistance, subject to the availability of appropriations, for research on coral reefs and coral reef ecosystems to—
(A)
entities eligible to receive a grant under section 204 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6403); and
(B)
territories of the United States;
(5)
coordinate United States Geological Survey activities relating to coral reefs, including the National Wildlife Health Center; and
(6)
carry out other scientific and conservation activities that advance the purposes of this title, as considered appropriate by the Secretary.

Sec. 203 Use of recovered amounts

All amounts available to the Secretary of the Interior that are attributable to fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property (or proceeds from the sale of such forfeited property) imposed for violations of any law for which the Secretary of the Interior is an enforcement agency, including the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.), and regulations implementing such law, for damages to corals, coral reefs, or coral reef ecosystems, shall be used by the Secretary of the Interior—
(1)
for the benefit of the coral reef ecosystem impacted by the applicable violation, to the extent practicable;
(2)
to carry out emergency response activities authorized under section 206 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6405), including to reimburse any Federal, State or local government agency for response costs incurred; or
(3)
to carry out the purposes of this title, including grants of financial assistance for coral reef conservation projects.

Sec. 204 Authorization of appropriations

(a)
In general— There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to carry out this title $12,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025, which may remain available until expended.
(b)
Office of Insular Affairs coral reef initiative program— From the amounts appropriated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year, there shall be made available to the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas, not less than $3,000,000 for the grant program under section 201(d).
(c)
United States Geological Survey coral reef ecosystem studies program— From the amounts appropriated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year, there shall be made available to the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Survey, not less than $4,000,000 for the Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies Program under section 203.

Sec. 205 Definitions

In this title:
(1)
Conservation— The term conservation has the meaning given such term in section 215 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as redesignated by this Act.
(2)
Coral reef— The term coral reef has the meaning given such term in section 215 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as redesignated by this Act.
(3)
Coral reef ecosystem— The term coral reef ecosystem has the meaning given such term in section 215 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6409), as redesignated by this Act.
(4)
Freely associated state— The term Freely Associated State means each of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau in an applicable Compact of Free Association with the United States.
(5)
Insular area— The term Insular Area means each of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.
(6)
Resilience— The term resilience has the same meaning given such term in section 215 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, as redesignated by this Act.