HR 192
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 192
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 5, 2011
Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
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 922.80 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
