[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 565 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 565
To require the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and
Hypoxia to develop a plan for reducing, mitigating, and controlling
harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 28, 2021
Mr. Mast (for himself, Mr. Soto, and Mr. Posey) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space,
and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and
Hypoxia to develop a plan for reducing, mitigating, and controlling
harmful algal blooms and hypoxia in South Florida, 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 ``South Florida Clean Coastal Waters
Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. SOUTH FLORIDA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA ASSESSMENT AND
ACTION PLAN.
(a) In General.--The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and
Control Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-383; 33 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating sections 605 through 609 as sections
606 through 610, respectively; and
(2) by inserting after section 604 the following:
``SEC. 605. SOUTH FLORIDA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA.
``(a) South Florida.--In this section, the term `South Florida'
means--
``(1) all lands and waters within the administrative
boundaries of the South Florida Water Management District;
``(2) regional coastal waters, including Biscayne Bay, the
Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida Bay, Indian River Lagoon, and
St. Lucie River Estuary; and
``(3) the Florida Reef Tract.
``(b) Integrated Assessment.--
``(1) Interim integrated assessment.--Not later than 540
days after the date of enactment of the South Florida Clean
Coastal Waters Act of 2021, the Task Force, in accordance with
the authority under section 603, shall complete and submit to
Congress and the President an interim integrated assessment.
``(2) Finalized integrated assessment.--Not later than 3
years after the date of enactment of the South Florida Clean
Coastal Waters Act of 2021, the Task Force shall finalize, and
submit to Congress and the President, the interim integrated
assessment required by paragraph (1).
``(3) Contents of integrated assessment.--The integrated
assessment required by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall examine 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--
``(A) Federal agencies;
``(B) State agencies;
``(C) regional research consortia;
``(D) academia;
``(E) private industry;
``(F) nongovernmental organizations; and
``(G) Indian tribes (as defined in section 4 of the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
(25 U.S.C. 5304)).
``(c) Action Plan.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years and 180 days
after the date of the enactment of the South Florida Clean
Coastal Waters Act of 2021, 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) 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.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment and Correction.--The table of contents in
section 2 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-
383) is amended by striking the items relating to title VI and
inserting the following new items:
``TITLE VI--HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA
``Sec. 601. Short title.
``Sec. 602. Findings.
``Sec. 603. Assessments.
``Sec. 603A. National Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Program.
``Sec. 603B. Comprehensive research plan and action strategy.
``Sec. 604. Northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxia.
``Sec. 605. South Florida harmful algal blooms and hypoxia.
``Sec. 606. Great Lakes hypoxia and harmful algal blooms.
``Sec. 607. Protection of States' rights.
``Sec. 608. Effect on other Federal authority.
``Sec. 609. Definitions.
``Sec. 610. Authorization of appropriations.''.
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