S 179
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 179
To expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones National
Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and
for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 25 (legislative day, January 5), 2011
Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To expand the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones National
Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, 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 `Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank
National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Gulf of the Farallones extends approximately 100 miles along
the coast of Marin and Sonoma Counties of northern California. It
includes approximately one-half of California's nesting seabirds,
rich benthic marine life on hard-rock substrate, prolific fisheries,
and substantial concentrations of resident and seasonally migratory
marine mammals.
(2) Cordell Bank is adjacent to the Gulf of the Farallones and is
a submerged island with spectacular, unique, and nationally significant
marine environments.
(3) These marine environments have national and international significance,
exceed the biological productivity of tropical rain forests, and support
high levels of biological diversity.
(4) These biological communities are easily susceptible to damage
from human activities, and must be properly conserved for themselves
and to protect the economic viability of their contribution to national
and regional economies.
(5) The Gulf of Farallones and the Cordell Bank include some of the
United States richest fishing grounds and support important commercial
and recreational fisheries. These fisheries are regulated by State
and Federal fishery agencies and are supported and fostered through
protection of the waters and habitats of Gulf of the Farallones National
Marine Sanctuary and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
(6) The report of the Commission on Ocean Policy established by section
3 of the Oceans Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-256; 33 U.S.C. 857-19)
calls for comprehensive protection for the most productive ocean environments
and recommends that they be managed as ecosystems.
(7) New scientific discoveries by the National Marine Sanctuary Program
support comprehensive protection for these marine environments by
broadening the geographic scope of the existing Gulf of the Farallones
National Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
(8) Cordell Bank is at the nexus of an ocean upwelling system, which
produces the highest biomass concentrations on the west coast of the
United States.
SEC. 3. POLICY AND PURPOSE.
(a) Policy- It is the policy of the United States to protect and preserve
living and other resources of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell
Bank marine environments.
(b) Purpose- The purposes of this Act are the following:
(1) To extend the boundaries of the Gulf of the Farallones National
Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary as
described in section 5.
(2) To strengthen the protections that apply in the Sanctuaries.
(3) To provide for the education and interpretation for the public
of the ecological value and national importance of the Sanctuaries.
(4) To manage human uses of the Sanctuaries under this Act and the
National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.).
(c) Effect on Fishing Activities- Nothing in this Act is intended to
alter any existing authorities regarding the conduct and location of
fishing activities in the Sanctuaries.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
(1) CORDELL BANK NMS- The term `Cordell Bank NMS' means the Cordell
Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
(2) FARALLONES NMS- The term `Farallones NMS' means the Gulf of the
Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
(3) SANCTUARIES- The term `Sanctuaries' means the Farallones NMS and
the Cordell Bank NMS.
(4) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Commerce.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS.
(a) Gulf of the Farallones-
(1) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT- The areas described in paragraph (2) are
added to the Farallones NMS described in part 922.80 of title 15,
Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(A) IN GENERAL- The areas referred to in paragraph (1) are the following:
(i) All submerged lands and waters, including living marine and
other resources within and on those lands and waters, from the
mean high water line to the boundary described in subparagraph
(B).
(ii) The submerged lands and waters, including living marine and
other resources within those waters, within the approximately
two-square-nautical-mile portion of the Cordell Bank NMS (as in
effect immediately before the enactment of this Act) that is located
south of the area that is added to Cordell Bank NMS by subsection
(b)(2), which are transferred to the Farallones NMS from the Cordell
Bank NMS.
(B) BOUNDARY DESCRIBED- The boundary referred to in subparagraph
(A)(i) commences from the mean high water line (referred to in this
subparagraph as the `MHWL') at 39.00000 degrees north in a westward
direction approximately 29 nautical miles (referred to in this subparagraph
as `nm') to 39.00000 north, 124.33333 west. The boundary then extends
in a southeasterly direction to 38.30000 degrees north, 124.00000
degrees west, approximately 44 nm westward of Bodega Head. The boundary
then extends eastward to the most northeastern corner of the expanded
Cordell Bank NMS at 38.30000 north, 123.20000 degrees west, approximately
6 nm miles westward of Bodega Head. The boundary then extends in
a southeasterly direction to 38.26390 degrees north, 123.18138 degrees
west at the northwestern most point of the current Gulf of the Farallones
Boundary. The boundary then follows the current northern Gulf of
the Farallones NMS boundary in a northeasterly direction to the
MHWL near Bodega Head. The boundary then follows the MHWL in a northeasterly
direction to the commencement point at the intersection of the MHWL
and 39.00000 north. Coordinates listed in this subparagraph are
based on the North American Datum 1983 and the geographic projection.
(1) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT- The area described in paragraph (2) is added
to the existing Cordell Bank NMS described in part 922.111 of title
15, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(A) IN GENERAL- The area referred to in paragraph (1) consists of
all submerged lands and waters, including living marine and other
resources within those waters, within the boundary described in
subparagraph (B).
(B) BOUNDARY- The boundary referred to in subparagraph (A) commences
at the most northeastern point of the Cordell Bank NMS boundary
(as in effect immediately before the enactment of this Act) at 38.26390
degrees north, 123.18138 degrees west and extends northwestward
to 38.30000 degrees north, 123.20000 degrees west, approximately
6 nautical miles (referred to in this subparagraph as `nm') west
of Bodega Head. The boundary then extends westward to 38.30000 degrees
north, 124.00000 degrees west, approximately 44 nautical miles west
of Bodega Head. The boundary then turns southeastward and continues
approximately 34 nautical miles to 37.76687 degrees north, 123.75142
degrees west, and then approximately 15 nm eastward to 37.76687
north, 123.42694 west at an intersection with the current Cordell
Bank NMS boundary. The boundary then follows the current Cordell
Bank NMS, which is coterminous with the current Gulf of the Farallones
boundary, in a northeasterly and the northwesterly direction to
its commencement point at 38.26390 degrees north, 123.18138 degrees
west. Coordinates listed in this subparagraph are based on NAD83
Datum and the geographic projection.
(c) Inclusion in the System- The areas included in the Sanctuaries under
subsections (a) and (b) shall be managed as part of the National Marine
Sanctuary System, established by section 301(c) of the National Marine
Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431(c)), in accordance with that Act.
(d) Updated NOAA Charts- The Secretary shall--
(1) produce updated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
nautical charts for the areas in which the Sanctuaries are located,
as modified by subsections (a) and (b); and
(2) include on those nautical charts the boundaries of the Sanctuaries,
as so modified.
(e) Boundary Adjustments- In producing revised nautical charts required
by subsection (d) and in describing the boundaries in regulations issued
by the Secretary, the Secretary may make technical modifications to
the boundaries described in this section for clarity and ease of identification,
as appropriate.
SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF OIL AND GAS LEASING AND PERMITTING.
No lease or permit may be issued that authorizes exploration, development,
production, or transporting by pipeline of minerals or hydrocarbons
within the boundaries of the Sanctuaries, as modified by subsections
(a) and (b) of section 5.
SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLANS AND REGULATIONS.
(a) Draft Plans- Not later than 24 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a draft supplemental management
plan for each of the Sanctuaries, as modified by subsections (a) and
(b) of section 5, that--
(1) focuses on management of the areas of the Sanctuaries described
in such subsections (a) and (b); and
(2) does not weaken the resource protections in effect on the date
of the enactment of this Act for the Sanctuaries.
(1) REQUIREMENT TO REVISE- The Secretary shall issue a revised management
plan for each of the Sanctuaries at the conclusion of the first management
review for the Sanctuaries initiated after the date of the enactment
of this Act under section 304(e) of the National Marine Sanctuaries
Act (16 U.S.C. 1434(e)) and issue such final regulations as may be
necessary to implement such plans.
(2) CONTENTS OF PLANS- Revisions to the management plan for each of
the Sanctuaries under this section shall, in addition to matters required
under section 304(a)(2) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16
U.S.C. 1434(a)(2))--
(A) facilitate all appropriate public and private uses of the national
marine sanctuary to which each respective plan applies consistent
with the primary objective of sanctuary resource protection;
(B) establish temporal and geographical zoning if necessary to ensure
protection of the resources of each of the Sanctuaries;
(C) identify priority needs for research--
(i) to improve management of the Sanctuaries; or
(ii) to diminish threats to the health of the ecosystems in the
Sanctuaries;
(D) establish a long-term ecological monitoring program and database,
including the development and implementation of a resource information
system to disseminate information on the ecosystem, history, culture,
and management of the Sanctuaries;
(E) identify alternative sources of funding needed to fully implement
the provisions of each such plan to supplement appropriations made
to carry out the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431
et seq.);
(F) ensure coordination and cooperation between the superintendents
of each of the Sanctuaries and other Federal, State, and local authorities
with jurisdiction over areas within or adjacent to one of the Sanctuaries
to manage issues affecting the Sanctuaries, including surface water
runoff, stream and river drainages, and navigation;
(G) in the case of revisions to such plan for the Farallones NMS,
promote cooperation with farmers and ranchers operating in the watersheds
adjacent to the Farallones NMS and establish voluntary best management
practices programs;
(H) promote cooperative and educational programs with fishing vessel
operators and crews operating in the waters of the Sanctuaries,
and, whenever possible, include individuals who engage in fishing
and their vessels in cooperative research, assessment, and monitoring
programs and educational programs to promote sustainable fisheries,
conservation of resources, and navigational safety; and
(I) promote education and public awareness, among users of the Sanctuaries,
about the need for marine resource conservation and safe navigation
and marine transportation.
(c) Application of Existing Regulations- The regulations for Farallones
NMS in subpart H of part 922 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations
(or any corresponding similar regulation) or of the Cordell Bank NMS
in subpart K of such part 922 (or any corresponding similar regulation),
including any regulations issued as a result of a joint management plan
review for the Sanctuaries conducted pursuant to section 304(e) of the
National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1434(e)), shall apply to
the areas added to each Sanctuary, respectively, under subsection (a)
or (b) of section 5 until the Secretary modifies such regulations in
accordance with subsection (d) of this section.
(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 24 months after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall--
(A) carry out an assessment of necessary revisions to the regulations
for the Sanctuaries to ensure the protection of the resources of
the Sanctuaries in a manner that is consistent with the purposes
and policies of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431
et seq.) and the goals and objectives for the areas added to either
of the Sanctuaries under subsection (a) or (b) of section 5; and
(B) issue final regulations for the Sanctuaries that include any
revisions identified in the assessment carried out under subparagraph
(A).
(2) REGULATION OF SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES- In carrying out the assessment
required by paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall consider appropriate
regulations for--
(A) the deposit or release of introduced species into the Sanctuaries;
and
(B) the alteration of stream and river drainage into the Sanctuaries.
(3) CONSIDERATIONS- In carrying out the assessment required by paragraph
(1)(A), the Secretary shall consider exempting from further regulation
under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act or this Act discharges that
are permitted under a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
permit that is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, or
under a new or renewed National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
permit if such permit--
(A) does not increase pollution in the Sanctuaries; and
(i) in the Russian River Watershed outside the boundaries of the
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary; or
(ii) from the Bodega Marine Laboratory.
(e) Public Participation- The Secretary shall provide for the participation
of the general public in the review and revision of the management plans
for the Sanctuaries and relevant regulations under this section.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out
this Act--
(1) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016, for activities
other than construction and acquisition activities; and
(2) $3,500,000 for fiscal year 2012 and such sums as may be necessary
for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2016, for construction and acquisition
activities.
END
