Assessments
Establishment of Inter-Agency Task Force
The President, through the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council, shall establish an Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia. The Task Force shall consist of a representative from—
the Department of Commerce (who shall serve as Chairman of the Task Force);
the Environmental Protection Agency;
the Department of Agriculture;
the Department of the Interior;
the Department of the Navy;
the Department of Health and Human Services;
the National Science Foundation;
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
the Food and Drug Administration;
the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
the Council on Environmental Quality;
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
the Army Corps of Engineers; and
other Federal agencies as the President considers appropriate.
Assessment of harmful algal blooms
Not later than 12 months after
The assessment shall—
identify alternatives for preventing unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and departments with respect to harmful algal blooms; and
provide for Federal cooperation and coordination with and assistance to the coastal States, Indian tribes, and local governments in the prevention, reduction, management, mitigation, and control of harmful algal blooms and their environmental and public health impacts.
Assessment of hypoxia
Not later than 12 months after
The assessment shall—
establish needs, priorities, and guidelines for a peer-reviewed, inter-agency research program on the causes, characteristics, and impacts of hypoxia;
identify alternatives for preventing unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and departments with respect to hypoxia; and
provide for Federal cooperation and coordination with and assistance to the States, Indian tribes, and local governments in the prevention, reduction, management, mitigation, and control of hypoxia and its environmental impacts.
Report to Congress on harmful algal bloom impacts
Development
Requirements
The report shall—
review techniques for prediction of the onset, course, and impacts of harmful algal blooms including evaluation of their accuracy and utility in protecting environmental and public health and provisions for their development;
identify innovative research and development methods for the prevention, control, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms and provisions for their development; and
include incentive-based partnership approaches regarding subparagraphs (A) and (B) where practicable.
Publication and opportunity for comment
Federal assistance
Local and regional scientific assessments
In general
Purpose
Local and regional assessments shall examine—
the causes and ecological consequences, and the economic cost, of hypoxia or harmful algal blooms in that area;
potential methods to prevent, control, and mitigate hypoxia or harmful algal blooms in that area and the potential ecological and economic costs and benefits of such methods; and
other topics the Task Force considers appropriate.
Scientific assessments of hypoxia
Not less than once every 5 years the Task Force shall complete and submit to the Congress a scientific assessment of hypoxia in United States coastal waters including the Great Lakes. The first such assessment shall be completed not less than 24 months after
The assessments under this subsection shall—
examine the causes and ecological consequences, and the economic costs, of hypoxia;
describe the potential ecological and economic costs and benefits of possible policy and management actions for preventing, controlling, and mitigating hypoxia;
evaluate progress made by, and the needs of, Federal research programs on the causes, characteristics, and impacts of hypoxia, including recommendations of how to eliminate significant gaps in hypoxia modeling and monitoring data; and
identify ways to improve coordination and to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and departments with respect to research on hypoxia.
Scientific assessments of marine and freshwater harmful algal blooms
National scientific research, development, demonstration, and technology transfer plan on reducing impacts from harmful algal blooms
Not later than 12 months after
The plan shall—
establish priorities and guidelines for a competitive, peer reviewed, merit based interagency research, development, demonstration, and technology transfer program on methods for the prevention, control, and mitigation of harmful algal blooms;
identify ways to improve coordination and to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and departments with respect to the actions described in paragraph (1); and
include to the maximum extent practicable diverse institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and those serving large proportions of Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, and other underrepresented populations.
The Secretary of Commerce, in conjunction with other appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish a research, development, demonstration, and technology transfer program that meets the priorities and guidelines established under paragraph (2)(A). The Secretary shall ensure, through consultation with Sea Grant Programs, that the results and findings of the program are communicated to State, Indian tribe, and local governments, and to the general public.
Report
Not later than 2 years after the date the Action Strategy is submitted under section 4003 of this title, the Under Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that describes—
the proceedings of the annual Task Force meetings;
the activities carried out under the Program, including the regional and subregional parts of the Action Strategy;
the budget related to the activities under paragraph (2);
the progress made on implementing the Action Strategy; and
any need to revise or terminate research and activities under the Program.
Source
(Pub. L. 105–383, title VI, § 603,Notes
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Codification
Amendments
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Short Title of 2022 Amendment
Short Title of 2019 Amendment
Short Title of 2014 Amendment
Short Title of 2004 Amendment
Short Title
Findings
the recent outbreak of the harmful microbe Pfiesteria piscicida in the coastal waters of the United States is one example of potentially harmful algal blooms composed of naturally occurring species that reproduce explosively and that are increasing in frequency and intensity in the Nation’s coastal waters;
other recent occurrences of harmful algal blooms include red tides in the Gulf of Mexico and the Southeast; brown tides in New York and Texas; ciguatera fish poisoning in Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands; and shellfish poisonings in the Gulf of Maine, the Pacific Northwest, and the Gulf of Alaska;
in certain cases, harmful algal blooms have resulted in fish kills, the deaths of numerous endangered West Indian manatees, beach and shellfish bed closures, threats to public health and safety, and concern among the public about the safety of seafood;
according to some scientists, the factors causing or contributing to harmful algal blooms may include excessive nutrients in coastal waters, other forms of pollution, the transfer of harmful species through ship ballast water, and ocean currents;
harmful algal blooms may have been responsible for an estimated $1,000,000,000 in economic losses during the past decade;
harmful algal blooms and blooms of non-toxic algal species may lead to other damaging marine conditions such as hypoxia (reduced oxygen concentrations), which are harmful or fatal to fish, shellfish, and benthic organisms;
according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Department of Commerce, 53 percent of United States estuaries experience hypoxia for at least part of the year and a 7,000 square mile area in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana and Texas suffers from hypoxia;
according to some scientists, a factor believed to cause hypoxia is excessive nutrient loading into coastal waters;
there is a need to identify more workable and effective actions to reduce nutrient loadings to coastal waters;
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, through its ongoing research, education, grant, and coastal resource management programs, possesses a full range of capabilities necessary to support a near and long-term comprehensive effort to prevent, reduce, and control harmful algal blooms and hypoxia;
funding for the research and related programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will aid in improving the Nation’s understanding and capabilities for addressing the human and environmental costs associated with harmful algal blooms and hypoxia; and
other Federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation, along with the States, Indian tribes, and local governments, conduct important work related to the prevention, reduction, and control of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia.”