South Florida Clean Coastal Waters Act of 2019

“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;

“(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.”