119-hr360

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 360 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 360

 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Oyster Reef 
 Restoration and Conservation Program.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 13, 2025

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez (for herself and Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
 Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish the Oyster Reef 
 Restoration and Conservation Program.

 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 ``Oyster Reef Recovery Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. OYSTER REEF RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Program.--

    (1) In general.--The Administrator shall establish a 
 program for the conservation of oyster reefs, to be known as 
 the ``Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Program''.

    (2) Program duties.--In carrying out the Program, the 
 Administrator shall provide technical and financial assistance 
 to covered entities to--
        (A) identify priorities for oyster reef 
 restoration, including existing oyster reef sites and 
 locations of historically significant oyster reefs with 
 the potential for restoration;
        (B) evaluate the health of and threats to oyster 
 reefs, including through mapping and water quality 
 monitoring, and identify conservation actions to 
 address such threats;
            (C) conduct voluntary planning, construction, 
 assessment, protection, monitoring, restoration, and 
 enhancement projects with respect to oyster reefs;
            (D) work to ensure the health and resilience of 
 existing and restored oyster reefs through adaptive 
 management procedures based on the best available 
 science;
        (E) build partnerships and capacity to carry out 
 environmental conservation and stewardship measures 
 with respect to oyster reefs;
        (F) develop and implement monitoring protocols to 
 ensure the success of conservation, restoration, and 
 enhancement measures with respect to oyster reefs;
        (G) collaborate and share information with other 
 covered entities and the public with respect to best 
 management practices for the conservation, restoration, 
 and enhancement of oyster reefs; and
        (H) support workforce training focused on coastal 
 resilience and restoration concepts, principles, 
 techniques, and implementation, especially to benefit 
 underserved communities.

    (3) Grant program.--
        (A) In general.--The Administrator shall establish 
 a competitive grant program to award amounts to persons 
 that submit an application under subparagraph
        (B) for 
 the purposes of conducting research, planning, 
 construction, assessments, management, building 
 capacity, monitoring, collaborating and sharing 
 information, or workforce training with respect to the 
 conservation, restoration, enhancement, or management 
 of oyster reefs.
        (B) Applications.--To be eligible for a grant under 
 this paragraph, a person shall submit to the 
 Administrator an application in such form, at such 
 time, and containing such information, including a 
 sufficient demonstration that the project will not 
 reasonably interfere with commercial or recreational 
 fishing or other water-related uses of the relevant 
 area, as the Administrator determines appropriate.

    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to preempt or limit the authority of a State or an Indian Tribe to 
manage oyster reefs or species of oysters.
            (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section $15,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
            (d) === 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) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means--
        (A) a unit of the Federal or a State, local, or 
 Tribal government;
        (B) a nongovernmental institution;
            (C) a nonprofit organization;
            (D) an institution of higher education;
        (E) the shellfish industry; and
        (F) a private individual or entity.

    (3) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit 
 organization'' means an organization--
        (A) described in 

section 501
            (c) (3) of the Internal 
 Revenue Code of 1986; and
        (B) exempt from tax under 

section 501

    (a) of such 
 Code.

    (4) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Oyster Reef 
 Restoration and Conservation Program established under 
 subsection

    (a)

    (1) .

    (5) Shellfish industry.--The term ``shellfish industry'' 
 means shellfish growers and shellfish harvesters.
 <all>