117th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To require the Secretary of the Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to provide grants supporting research on the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters in estuarine ecosystems, and for other purposes.
June 14, 2021
Mr. Brown introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
To require the Secretary of the Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to provide grants supporting research on the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters in estuarine ecosystems, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act maybe cited as the “Oyster Conservation Act”.
SEC. 2. Grants for recovering oysters.
(a) Establishment.—The Administrator shall establish a grant program (in this section referred to as the “Program”) under which the Administrator shall award grants to eligible entities for the purpose of conducting research on the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters in estuarine ecosystems.
(b) Application.—To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Administrator an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Administrator may require.
(c) Allocation of grant funds.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall award a grant under the Program to eligible entities that submit an application under subsection (b).
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the total amount of Federal funding received under the Program by an eligible entity may not exceed 85 percent of the total cost of the research project for which the funding was awarded. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the non-Federal share of project costs may be provided by in-kind contributions and other noncash support.
(B) WAIVER.—The Administrator may waive all or part of the requirement in subparagraph (A) if the Administrator determines that no reasonable means are available through which an eligible entity applying for a grant under this section can meet such requirement and the probable benefit of such research project outweighs the public interest in such requirement.
(3) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—The Administrator shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that grant funding under this section is apportioned according to the historic baseline oyster population of each estuary of the United States.
(d) Definitions.—In this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) ACADEMIC COMMUNITY.—The term “academic community” means faculty, researchers, professors, and representatives of State-accredited colleges and universities.
(2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term “Administrator” means the Secretary of Commerce acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term “eligible entity” means a member of the academic community, the seafood industry, a relevant nonprofit organization, or a relevant State agency, that is proposing or conducting a research project on the conservation, restoration, or management of oysters in an estuarine ecosystem developed through consultation with a member of the academic community, a member of the seafood industry, a relevant nonprofit organization, or a relevant State agency.
(4) HISTORIC BASELINE.—The term “historic baseline” means the estimated population of oysters in an estuary in 1850.
(5) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term “nonprofit organization” means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code.
(6) SEAFOOD INDUSTRY.—The term “seafood industry” means shellfish growers, shellfish harvesters, commercial fishermen, and recreational fishermen.
(e) Authorization of appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out this section.