[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6987 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6987
To establish programs to reduce the impacts of vessel traffic and
underwater noise on marine mammals, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 8, 2022
Mr. Larsen of Washington (for himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Brownley,
Ms. Strickland, and Ms. DelBene) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to
the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Armed
Services, 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 establish programs to reduce the impacts of vessel traffic and
underwater noise on marine mammals, 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. MONITORING OCEAN SOUNDSCAPES.
(a) In General.--The Administrator shall maintain and expand an
ocean soundscape development program that includes the Ocean Noise
Reference Station Network of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and the National Park Service, using and coordinating
with the Integrated Ocean Observing System, and may coordinate as
appropriate with Regional Ocean Partnerships, the Fish and Wildlife
Service, and the Department of Defense to--
(1) provide grants to expand the deployment of Federal and
non-Federal observing and data management systems capable of
collecting measurements of underwater sound in high-priority
ocean and coastal locations for purposes of monitoring and
analyzing baselines and trends in the underwater soundscape to
protect and manage marine life;
(2) continue to develop and apply standardized forms of
measurements to assess sounds produced by marine animals,
physical processes, and anthropogenic activities; and
(3) after coordinating with the Department of Defense,
coordinate and make accessible to the public the datasets,
modeling and analysis, and user-driven products and tools,
resulting from observations of underwater sound funded through
grants authorized by this section.
(b) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Administrator shall consider the geographic diversity of the recipients
of such grants as much as practicable.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $1,500,000 for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2026.
(d) Administrator Defined.--In this section, the term
``Administrator'' means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR SEAPORTS TO ESTABLISH PROGRAMS TO REDUCE THE IMPACTS
OF VESSEL TRAFFIC AND PORT OPERATIONS ON MARINE MAMMALS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the
Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating,
shall establish a grant program to provide assistance to seaports to
develop and implement mitigation measures that will lead to a
quantifiable reduction in impacts to marine mammals from vessel
traffic, including shipping activities and port operations.
(b) Eligible Uses.--A grant under this section may be used to
develop, assess, and carry out activities that reduce threats and
enhance the habitats of marine mammals by--
(1) reducing underwater stressors related to vessel
traffic;
(2) reducing vessel strike mortality, serious injury, and
other physical disturbances;
(3) enhancing marine mammal habitat, including the habitat
for prey of marine mammals; or
(4) monitoring sound, vessel interactions with marine
mammals, or other types of monitoring that are consistent with
reducing the threats to and enhancing the habitats of marine
mammals.
(c) Priority.--The Administrator shall prioritize assistance under
this section for projects that--
(1) are based on the best available science on methods to
reduce threats and enhance habitats of marine mammals, and
collect data on the reduction of those threats and the impacts
of those activities to assess their effectiveness;
(2) assist ports with higher relative threat levels to
vulnerable marine mammals from vessel traffic;
(3) reduce disturbance from vessel presence, mortality
risk, or serious injury from vessel strikes;
(4) are in close proximity to Usual and Accustomed Fishing
Areas, National Marine Sanctuaries, Marine National Monuments,
National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, and other Federal,
State, Tribal, and local marine protected areas; and
(5) allow eligible entities to conduct risk assessments,
and track progress toward threat reduction and habitat
enhancement, including protecting coral reefs from encroachment
by commerce and shipping lanes.
(d) Outreach.--The Administrator shall conduct outreach to seaports
to provide information on how to apply for assistance under this
section, the benefits of the program under this section, and
facilitation of adoption of best practices and identification of
lessons learned.
(e) Eligible Entities.--An entity shall be eligible for assistance
under this section if the entity is--
(1) a port authority for a seaport;
(2) a State, regional, local, or Tribal government that has
jurisdiction over a maritime port authority or a seaport; or
(3) a private entity or government entity, applying for a
grant awarded under this section in collaboration with another
entity described in paragraph (1) or (2), that owns or operates
a maritime terminal.
(f) Briefing.--The Administrator shall provide to the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, an annual briefing
that includes the following:
(1) The name and location of each entity receiving a grant
under this section.
(2) Amount of each such grant.
(3) The name and location of the seaport in which
activities carried out with such grant took place.
(4) A description of the activities carried out with the
grant funds.
(5) An estimate of the impact of the project to reduce
threats or enhance habitat of marine mammals.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2026, to remain available until expended.
(h) Administrator Defined.--In this section, the term
``Administrator'' means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
SEC. 3. NEAR REAL-TIME MONITORING AND MITIGATION PROGRAM FOR LARGE
WHALES.
(a) Establishment.--The Administrator, in coordination with the
Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, the
Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other relevant Federal
departments and agencies, shall design and deploy a near real-time
large whale monitoring and mitigation program (in this section referred
to as the ``Program'').
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Program is to reduce the risk to
large whales of vessel collisions and to minimize other impacts to such
whales.
(c) Requirements.--The Program shall--
(1) prioritize species of large whales for which vessel
collision impacts are of particular concern;
(2) prioritize areas where vessel impacts are of particular
concern;
(3) be capable of detecting and alerting ocean users and
enforcement agencies of the probable location of large whales
on an actionable real-time basis, including real time data
whenever possible;
(4) inform sector-specific mitigation protocols to
effectively reduce takes of large whales;
(5) integrate technology improvements that will improve as
appropriate; and
(6) be informed by the technologies, monitoring methods,
and mitigation protocols developed pursuant to the pilot
program required in subsection (b).
(d) Pilot Project.--
(1) Establishment.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Administrator shall first establish a pilot monitoring and
mitigation project for North Atlantic right whales for the
purposes of informing a cost-effective, efficient, and results-
oriented near real-time monitoring and mitigation program for
large whales.
(2) Pilot project requirements.--In designing and deploying
the pilot project under paragraph (1), the Administrator and
the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is
operating, in coordination with the heads of other relevant
Federal departments and agencies, shall, using best available
scientific information, identify and ensure coverage of--
(A) core foraging habitats of North Atlantic right
whales, including--
(i) the South of the Islands core foraging
habitat;
(ii) the Cape Cod Bay Area core foraging
habitat;
(iii) the Great South Channel core foraging
habitat; and
(iv) the Gulf of Maine; and
(B) important feeding, breeding, calving, rearing,
or migratory habitats of North Atlantic right whales
that co-occur with areas of high risk of mortality,
serious injury or other impacts to such whales
including from vessels or vessel strikes.
(3) Pilot project components.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator,
in consultation with the Secretary of the department in
which the Coast Guard is operating and with relevant
Federal agencies, Tribal governments, and with input
from affected stakeholders, shall design and deploy a
near real-time monitoring system for North Atlantic
right whales that--
(i) comprises the best available detection
power, spatial coverage, and survey effort to
detect and localize North Atlantic right whales
within core foraging habitats;
(ii) is capable of detecting North Atlantic
right whales, including visually or
acoustically;
(iii) uses dynamic habitat suitability
models to inform the likelihood of North
Atlantic right whale occurrence in core
foraging habitat at any given time;
(iv) coordinates with the Integrated Ocean
Observing System and Coast Guard vessel traffic
service centers, and may coordinate with
Regional Ocean Partnerships to leverage
monitoring assets;
(v) integrates historical data;
(vi) integrates new near real-time
monitoring methods and technologies as they
become available;
(vii) accurately verifies and rapidly
communicates detection data;
(viii) creates standards for and allows
ocean users to contribute data to the
monitoring system using comparable near real-
time monitoring methods and technologies; and
(ix) communicates the risks of injury to
large whales to ocean users in a way that is
most likely to result in informed decision
making regarding the mitigation of those risks.
(B) National security considerations.--All
monitoring methods, technologies, and protocols under
this section shall be consistent with national security
considerations and interests.
(4) Mitigation protocols.--The Administrator shall, in
consultation with the Secretary of the department in which the
Coast Guard is operating, the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary of the Interior,
and with input from affected stakeholders, develop and deploy
mitigation protocols that make use of the near real-time
monitoring system to direct sector-specific mitigation measures
that avoid and significantly reduce risk of serious injury and
mortality to North Atlantic right whales.
(5) Access to data.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
(B), the Administrator shall provide access to data
generated by the monitoring system for purposes of
scientific research and evaluation, and public
awareness and education, including through the NOAA
Right Whale Sighting Advisory System and WhaleMap or
other successive public web portals.
(B) National security related information.--The
Administrator may not provide access to any data under
subparagraph (A) that the Secretary of Defense
determines should be withheld for national security
reasons.
(6) Pilot program reporting.--
(A) Preliminary report.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Administrator, in consultation with the secretary of
the department in which the Coast Guard is operating,
shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees, and make available to the public, a
preliminary report on the pilot project established
under paragraph (1), which shall include--
(i) a description of the monitoring methods
and technology in use or planned for
deployment;
(ii) analyses of the efficacy of the
methods and technology in use or planned for
deployment for detecting North Atlantic right
whales;
(iii) how the monitoring system is directly
informing and improving North American right
whale management, health, and survival;
(iv) a prioritized identification of
technology or research gaps;
(v) a plan to communicate the risks of
injury to large whales to ocean users in a way
that is most likely to result in informed
decision making regarding the mitigation of
those risks; and
(vi) additional information on the
potential benefits and efficacy of the program,
as appropriate.
(B) Final report.--Not later than 6 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator,
in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the
heads of other relevant Federal departments and
agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees, and make available to the public, a final
report on the pilot project established under paragraph
(1), that addresses the information described in
subparagraph (A) and includes the following:
(i) An assessment of the benefits and
efficacy of the near real-time monitoring and
mitigation program.
(ii) A strategic plan to expand the pilot
program to provide near real-time monitoring
and mitigation measures to--
(I) additional large whale species
of concern for which such measures
would reduce risk of serious injury or
death; and
(II) important feeding, breeding,
calving, rearing, or migratory habitats
of whales that co-occur with areas of
high risk of mortality or serious
injury of such whales from vessel
strikes or disturbance.
(iii) A prioritized plan for acquisition,
deployment, and maintenance of monitoring
technologies.
(iv) The locations or species for which
such plan would apply.
(v) A budget and description of funds
necessary to carry out the strategic plan.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committees
on Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
(3) Core foraging habitats.--The term ``core foraging
habitats'' means areas with biological and physical
oceanographic features that aggregate Calanus finmarchicus and
where North Atlantic right whales foraging aggregations have
been well documented.
(4) Large whale.--The term ``large whale'' means all
Mysticeti species and species within the genera Physeter and
Orcinus.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section $17,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY THAT REDUCES UNDERWATER NOISE FROM
VESSELS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Maritime Administration
shall establish a grant program, to be administered in consultation
with the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies,
to provide assistance for the development and implementation of new or
improved technologies that quantifiably reduce underwater noise from
marine vessels including noise produced incidental to the propulsion of
marine vessels.
(b) Eligible Uses.--Grants provided under this section may be used
to develop, assess, and implement new or improved technologies that
materially reduce underwater noise from marine vessels including noise
produced incidental to the propulsion of marine vessels.
(c) Outreach.--The Administrator shall conduct outreach to eligible
entities to provide information on how to apply for assistance under
this section, the benefits of the program established under this
section, and facilitation of best practices and lessons learned.
(d) Eligible Entities.--A person shall be eligible for assistance
under this section if the person is--
(1) an academic or research institution;
(2) an individual, partnership, association, organization
or any other combination of individuals, provided, however,
that each such individual shall be a citizen of the United
States, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, or a
protected individual (as such term is defined in section
274B(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1324b(a)(3)));
(3) a corporation established under the laws of the United
States; or
(4) a State or Tribal government.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2022 through 2026, to remain available until expended.
SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT FOR QUIETING UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
VESSELS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Maritime
Administration, in consultation with the Administrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Secretary of Defense, and the
Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating,
shall submit to the committees identified under subsection (b), and
make available to the public, a report--
(1) identifying existing, at the time of submission, non-
classified naval technologies that reduce underwater noise; and
(2) evaluating the effectiveness and feasibility of
incorporating such technologies in the design, procurement, and
construction of non-combatant vessels of the United States.
(b) Committees.--The report required under subsection (a) shall be
submitted to the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
and Armed Services of the Senate and the Committees on Armed Services,
Natural Resources, and Transportation and Infrastructure of the House
of Representatives.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $100,000 for fiscal year 2022,
to remain available until expended.
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