Living Shorelines Act of 2020
This bill revises the National Sea Grant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and authorizes NOAA to provide grants to certain coastal states to assist with the design and implementation of climate-resilient living shoreline projects and the application of innovative uses of natural materials and systems to protect coastal communities, habitats, and natural system functions.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1730 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1730
To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration to make grants to State and local governments and
nongovernmental organizations for purposes of carrying out climate-
resilient living shoreline projects that protect coastal communities by
supporting ecosystem functions and habitats with the use of natural
materials and systems, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 5, 2019
Ms. Harris (for herself, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Menendez, Mr.
Wyden, Mr. Booker, Mr. Merkley, and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration to make grants to State and local governments and
nongovernmental organizations for purposes of carrying out climate-
resilient living shoreline projects that protect coastal communities by
supporting ecosystem functions and habitats with the use of natural
materials and systems, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Living Shorelines Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. LIVING SHORELINE GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Administrator shall make grants to eligible
entities for purposes of--
(1) designing and implementing large- and small-scale,
climate-resilient living shoreline projects; and
(2) applying innovative uses of natural materials and
systems to protect coastal communities, habitats, and natural
system functions.
(b) Project Proposals.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, an eligible entity shall--
(1) submit to the Administrator a proposal for a living
shoreline project, including monitoring, data collection, and
measurable performance criteria with respect to the project;
and
(2) demonstrate to the Administrator that the entity has
any permits or other authorizations from local, State, and
Federal government agencies necessary to carry out the living
shoreline project or provide evidence demonstrating general
support from such agencies.
(c) Project Selection.--
(1) Development of criteria.--The Administrator shall
select eligible entities to receive grants under this section
based on criteria developed by the Administrator, in
consultation with relevant offices of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, such as the Office of Habitat
Conservation, the Office for Coastal Management, and the
Restoration Center.
(2) Considerations.--In developing criteria under paragraph
(1) to evaluate a proposed living shoreline project, the
Administrator shall take into account--
(A) the potential of the project to protect the
community and maintain the viability of the
environment, such as through protection of ecosystem
functions, environmental benefits, or habitat types, in
the area where the project is to be carried out;
(B) the historic and future environmental
conditions of the project site, particularly those
environmental conditions affected by climate change;
(C) the ecological benefits of the project; and
(D) the ability of the entity proposing the project
to demonstrate the potential of the project to protect
the coastal community where the project is to be
carried out, including through--
(i) mitigating the effects of erosion;
(ii) attenuating the impact of coastal
storms and storm surge;
(iii) mitigating shoreline flooding;
(iv) mitigating the effects of sea level
rise and extreme tides;
(v) sustaining, protecting, or restoring
the functions and habitats of coastal
ecosystems; or
(vi) such other forms of coastal protection
as the Administrator considers appropriate.
(3) Priority.--In selecting living shoreline projects to
receive grants under this section, the Administrator shall give
priority consideration to a proposed project to be conducted in
an area--
(A) for which the President has declared, during
the 10-year period preceding the submission of the
proposal for the project under subsection (b), that a
major disaster exists pursuant to section 401 of the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) because of a hurricane,
tropical storm, coastal storm, or flooding; or
(B) that has a documented history of coastal
erosion or frequent coastal inundation during that 10-
year period.
(4) Minimum standards.--
(A) In general.--The Administrator shall develop
minimum standards to be used in selecting eligible
entities to receive grants under this section, taking
into account--
(i) the considerations described in
paragraph (2); and
(ii) the need for such standards to be
general enough to accommodate concerns relating
to specific project sites.
(B) Consultations.--in developing standards under
subparagraph (A), the Administrator--
(i) shall consult with relevant offices of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, such as the Office of Habitat
Conservation, the Office for Coastal
Management, and the Restoration Center; and
(ii) may consult with--
(I) relevant interagency councils,
such as the Estuary Habitat Restoration
Council;
(II) State coastal management
agencies; and
(III) relevant nongovernmental
organizations.
(d) Use of Funds.--A grant awarded under this section to an
eligible entity to carry out a living shoreline project may be used by
the eligible entity only--
(1) to carry out the project, including administration,
design, permitting, entry into negotiated indirect cost rate
agreements, and construction; and
(2) to monitor, collect, and report data on the performance
(including performance over time) of the project, in accordance
with standards issued by the Administrator under subsection
(f)(2).
(e) Cost-Sharing.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), an
eligible entity that receives a grant under this section to
carry out a living shoreline project shall provide, from non-
Federal sources, funds or other resources (such as land or
conservation easements or in-kind matching from private
entities) valued at not less than 50 percent of the total cost,
including administrative costs, of the project.
(2) Reduced matching requirement for certain communities.--
The Administrator may reduce or waive the matching requirement
under paragraph (1) for an eligible entity representing a
community or nonprofit organization if--
(A) the eligible entity submits to the
Administrator in writing--
(i) a request for such a reduction and the
amount of the reduction; and
(ii) a justification for why the entity
cannot meet the matching requirement; and
(B) the Administrator agrees with the
justification.
(f) Monitoring and Reporting.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall require each
eligible entity receiving a grant under this section (or a
representative of the entity) to carry out a living shoreline
project--
(A) to transmit to the Administrator data collected
under the project;
(B) to monitor the project and to collect data on--
(i) the ecological benefits of the project
and the protection provided by the project for
the coastal community where the project is
carried out, including through--
(I) mitigating the effects of
erosion;
(II) attenuating the impact of
coastal storms and storm surge;
(III) mitigating shoreline
flooding;
(IV) mitigating the effects of sea
level rise and extreme tides;
(V) sustaining, protecting, or
restoring the functions and habitats of
coastal ecosystems; or
(VI) such other forms of coastal
protection as the Administrator
considers appropriate; and
(ii) the performance of the project in
providing such protection;
(C) to make data collected under the project
available on a publicly accessible internet website of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
and
(D) not later than one year after the entity
receives the grant, and annually thereafter until the
completion of the project, to submit to the
Administrator a report on--
(i) the measures described in subparagraph
(B); and
(ii) the effectiveness of the project in
increasing protection of the coastal community
where the project is carried out through living
shorelines techniques, including--
(I) a description of--
(aa) the project;
(bb) the activities carried
out under the project; and
(cc) the techniques and
materials used in carrying out
the project; and
(II) data on the performance of the
project in providing protection to that
coastal community.
(2) Guidelines.--In developing guidelines relating to
paragraph (1)(C), the Administrator shall consider how
additional data could safely be collected before and after
major disasters or severe weather events to measure project
performance and project recovery.
(3) Standards.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator
shall, in consultation with relevant offices of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
relevant interagency councils, and relevant
nongovernmental organizations, issue standards for the
monitoring, collection, and reporting under subsection
(d)(2) of data regarding the performance of living
shoreline projects for which grants are awarded under
this section.
(B) Reporting.--The standards issued under
subparagraph (A) shall require an eligible entity
receiving a grant under this section to report the data
described in that subparagraph to the Administrator on
a regular basis.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $50,000,000 to the Administrator for each of fiscal years
2020 through 2025 for purposes of carrying out this section.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means
any of the following:
(A) A unit of a State or local government.
(B) An organization described in section 501(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt
from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
(C) An Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4 of the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(25 U.S.C. 5304)).
(3) Living shoreline project.--The term ``living shoreline
project''--
(A) means a project that--
(i) restores or stabilizes a shoreline,
including marshes, wetlands, and other
vegetated areas that are part of the shoreline
ecosystem, by using natural materials and
systems to create buffers to attenuate the
impact of coastal storms, currents, flooding,
and wave energy and to prevent or minimize
shoreline erosion while supporting coastal
ecosystems and habitats;
(ii) incorporates as many natural elements
as possible, such as native wetlands, submerged
aquatic plants, oyster shells, native grasses,
shrubs, or trees;
(iii) utilizes techniques that incorporate
ecological and coastal engineering principles
in shoreline stabilization; and
(iv) to the extent possible, maintains or
restores existing natural slopes and
connections between uplands and adjacent
wetlands or surface waters;
(B) may include the use of--
(i) natural elements, such as sand, wetland
plants, logs, oysters or other shellfish,
submerged aquatic vegetation, native grasses,
shrubs, trees, or coir fiber logs;
(ii) project elements that provide
ecological benefits to coastal ecosystems and
habitats in addition to shoreline protection;
and
(iii) structural materials, such as stone,
concrete, wood, vinyl, oyster domes, or other
approved engineered structures in combination
with natural materials; and
(C) may include a project that expands upon or
restores natural living shorelines or existing living
shoreline projects.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa,
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Wicker with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 116-327.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Wicker with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 116-327.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 631.
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