Requires the Task Force to: (1) work with the appropriate State, Indian tribe, and local governments to ensure that the assessment and research plans fulfill the requirements of the Harmful Algal Act; and (2) complete and submit to specified congressional committees not less than once every five years scientific assessments of harmful algal blooms and of hypoxia. Specifies amended assessment requirements.
Requires the Task Force to: (1) make a specified scientific assessment of freshwater algal blooms; and (2) develop and submit to specified congressional committees a research plan providing for a comprehensive and coordinated national research program to develop prevention, control, and mitigation methods to reduce the impacts of harmful algal blooms on coastal ecosystems, public health, and the economy. Specifies research program requirements.
Requires the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Task Force and appropriate State, Indian tribe, and local governments, to provide for local and regional scientific assessments of hypoxia or harmful algal blooms, as requested by State, Indian tribe, and local governments. Specifies assessment requirements.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 937 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 937
To reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control
Act of 1998, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 29, 2003
Mr. Voinovich (for himself, Mr. DeWine, and Mr. Levin) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationYYYYYYYYYYYYY
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reauthorize the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control
Act of 1998, 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 ``Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia
Research Amendments Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. RETENTION OF TASK FORCE.
Section 603 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and
Control Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 1451 note) is amended by striking
subsection (e).
SEC. 3. SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS AND RESEARCH PLANS.
Such section 603 is further amended--
(1) in subsection (a) by adding at the end the following:
``In developing the assessments and research plans described in
subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f), the Task Force shall work with
appropriate State, Indian tribe, and local governments to ensure that
the assessments and research plans fulfill the requirements of
subsections (b)(2), (c)(2), (d)(2), (e)(2), and (f)(2). Additionally,
the Task Force shall consult with appropriate industry, academic
institutions, and non-governmental organizations throughout the
development of the assessments and research plans.''; and
(2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the
following:
``(b) Scientific Assessments of Harmful Algal Blooms.--(1) Not less
than once every 5 years the Task Force shall complete and submit to the
Committee on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a scientific
assessment of harmful algal blooms in United States coastal waters. The
first such assessment shall be completed not later than 24 months after
the date of enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research
Amendments Act of 2003 and should consider only marine harmful algal
blooms. All subsequent assessments shall examine both marine and
freshwater harmful algal blooms, including those in the Great Lakes and
upper reaches of estuaries.
``(2) The assessments under this subsection shall--
``(A) examine the causes and ecological consequences, and
economic costs, of harmful algal blooms;
``(B) describe the potential ecological and economic costs
and benefits of possible policy and management actions for
preventing, controlling, and mitigating harmful algal blooms;
``(C) evaluate progress made by, and the needs of, Federal
research programs on the causes, characteristics, and impacts
of harmful algal blooms; and
``(D) identify ways to improve coordination and to prevent
unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and
departments with respect to research on harmful algal blooms.
``(c) Scientific Assessment of Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms.--
(1) Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment of the Harmful
Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research Amendments Act of 2003 the Task Force
shall complete and submit to the Committee on Science of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate a scientific assessment of current
knowledge about harmful algal blooms in freshwater locations such as
the Great Lakes and upper reaches of estuaries, including a research
plan for coordinating Federal efforts to better understand freshwater
harmful algal blooms.
``(2) The freshwater harmful algal bloom scientific assessment
shall--
``(A) examine the causes and ecological consequences, and
the economic costs, of harmful algal blooms with significant
effects on freshwater locations, including estimations of the
frequency and occurrence of significant events;
``(B) establish priorities and guidelines for a
competitive, peer-reviewed, merit-based interagency research
program, as part of the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful
Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) project, to better understand the causes,
characteristics, and impacts of harmful algal blooms in
freshwater locations; and
``(C) identify ways to improve coordination and to prevent
unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and
departments with respect to research on harmful algal blooms in
freshwater locations.
``(d) National Scientific Research Plan Into Reducing Impacts From
Harmful Algal Blooms.--(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of
enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research Amendments
Act of 2003, the Task Force shall develop and submit to the Committee
on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a research plan
providing for a comprehensive and coordinated national research program
to develop prevention, control, and mitigation methods to reduce the
impacts of harmful algal blooms on coastal ecosystems (including the
Great Lakes), public health, and the economy.
``(2) The research plan shall--
``(A) establish priorities and guidelines for a
competitive, peer-reviewed, merit-based interagency research
program on methods for the prevention, control, and mitigation
of harmful algal blooms;
``(B) identify ways to improve coordination and to prevent
unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and
departments with respect to the actions described in paragraph
(1); and
``(C) ensure, through consultation with Sea Grant Programs,
that the results and findings of the research program are
communicated to State, Indian tribe, and local governments, and
to the general public.
``(e) Scientific Assessments of Hypoxia.--(1) Not less than once
every 5 years the Task Force shall complete and submit to the Committee
on Science of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a scientific
assessment of hypoxia in United States coastal waters including the
Great Lakes. The first such assessment shall be completed not less than
24 months after the date of enactment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and
Hypoxia Research Amendments Act of 2003.
``(2) The assessments under this subsection shall--
``(A) examine the causes and ecological consequences, and
the economic costs, of hypoxia;
``(B) describe the potential ecological and economic costs
and benefits of possible policy and management actions for
preventing, controlling, and mitigating hypoxia;
``(C) evaluate progress made by, and the needs of, Federal
research programs on the causes, characteristics, and impacts
of hypoxia, including recommendations of how to eliminate
significant gaps in hypoxia modeling and monitoring data; and
``(D) identify ways to improve coordination and to prevent
unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and
departments with respect to research on hypoxia.
``(f) Local and Regional Scientific Assessments.--(1) The Secretary
of Commerce, in coordination with the Task Force and appropriate State,
Indian tribe, and local governments, shall provide for local and
regional scientific assessments of hypoxia or harmful algal blooms, as
requested by State, Indian tribe, or local governments, or for affected
areas as identified by the Secretary. If the Secretary receives
multiple requests, the Secretary shall ensure, to the extent
practicable, that assessments under this subsection cover
geographically and ecologically diverse locations with significant
ecological and economic impacts from hypoxia or harmful algal blooms.
The Secretary shall establish a procedure for reviewing requests for
local and regional assessments. The Secretary shall ensure, through
consultation with Sea Grant Programs, that the findings of the
assessments are communicated to the appropriate State, Indian tribe,
and local governments, and to the general public.
``(2) The scientific assessments under this subsection shall
examine--
``(A) the causes and ecological consequences, and the
economic costs, of hypoxia or harmful algal blooms in that
area;
``(B) methods to prevent, control, and mitigate hypoxia or
harmful algal blooms in that area and the potential ecological
and economic costs and benefits of such methods; and
``(C) other topics the Task Force consider appropriate.''.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 605 of such Act is amended--
(1) by striking ``and $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2001''
and inserting ``$19,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $27,200,000
for fiscal year 2004, $28,700,000 for fiscal year 2005, and
$29,200,000 for fiscal year 2006'';
(2) in paragraph (1) by striking ``and'' after ``2000,''
and by inserting ``, and $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2004, 2005, and 2006'' after ``2001'';
(3) in paragraph (2) by striking ``and'' after ``2000,''
and by inserting ``, and $10,200,000, of which $2,000,000 shall
be used for the research program described in section
603(c)(2)(B), for each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006''
after ``2001'';
(4) in paragraph (3) by striking ``and'' after ``2000,''
and by inserting ``, $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2004,
$3,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $3,000,000 for fiscal year
2006'' after ``2001'';
(5) in paragraph (4) by striking ``2001'' and inserting
``2001, and $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, and
2006,'';
(6) in paragraph (4) by inserting ``the Monitoring and
Event Response for Harmful Algal Blooms (MERHAB) project
under'' after ``administered by'';
(7) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of
paragraph (4);
(8) in paragraph (5) by striking ``and'' after ``2000,''
and by inserting ``, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004,
$5,500,000 for fiscal year 2005, and $6,000,000 for fiscal year
2006'' after ``2001'';
(9) in paragraph (5) by striking ``Administration.'' and
inserting ``Administration; and''; and
(10) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, and
2006 to carry out the activities described in section
603(f).''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
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