H.R. 6893

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6893 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6893

To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 18, 2025

Mr. Scott of Virginia (for himself, Mr. Wittman, Mrs. Kiggans of 
Virginia, and Ms. Elfreth) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, 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 ``Chesapeake Bay Watershed Advancement 
for Training, Education, Restoration, and Science (WATERS) Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration's Chesapeake Bay Office should be the 
primary representative of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 
ADMINISTRATION CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE.

Section 307 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ``(in this 
section'' and all that follows and inserting a period;
(B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
``(2) The Office shall be headed by a Director, who--
``(A) shall have knowledge and experience in research or 
resource management efforts in the Chesapeake Bay; and
``(B) shall be responsible for the administration and 
operation of the office and the implementation of this 
section.''; and
(C) by striking paragraph (3);
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Secretary of 
Commerce'' and inserting ``Administrator'';
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) by inserting ``with and represent'' 
after ``coordinate'';
(ii) by striking ``, the Chesapeake Bay 
Regional Sea Grant Programs, and the Chesapeake 
Bay units of the National Estuarine Research 
Reserve System,'' and inserting ``for the 
Chesapeake Bay Program and that relate to the 
Chesapeake Bay watershed in furtherance of such 
Administration's coastal resource stewardship 
mission,'';
(iii) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) in clauses (vi) and (vii), by 
striking ``and'' at the end; and
(II) by adding at the end the 
following:
``(viii) coastal hazards and climate 
change; and
``(ix) education; and''; and
(iv) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) in clause (iii), by striking 
``and'' at the end;
(II) in clause (iv), by inserting 
``and'' after the semicolon; and
(III) by adding at the end the 
following:
``(v) integrated ecosystem assessments;'';
(C) in paragraph (4)--
(i) by striking ``Environmental Protection 
Agency'' and inserting ``Chesapeake Executive 
Council''; and
(ii) by inserting before the semicolon at 
the end the following: ``as appropriate to 
further the purposes of this section'';
(D) by striking paragraphs (5) and (7);
(E) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph 
(5); and
(F) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) perform any functions necessary to support the 
programs referred to in paragraph (3).'';
(3) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e); and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Program Activities.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator, through the Director, 
shall implement the program activities authorized by this 
section to support the activity of the Chesapeake Executive 
Council and to further the purposes of this section.
``(2) Ensuring scientific and technical merit.--The 
Director shall--
``(A) establish and use an effective and 
transparent mechanism to ensure that projects funded 
under this section have undergone appropriate peer 
review; and
``(B) provide other appropriate means to determine 
that such projects have acceptable scientific and 
technical merit for the purpose of achieving maximum 
use of available funds and resources to benefit the 
Chesapeake Bay area.
``(3) Consultation with chesapeake executive council.--The 
Director shall, in the implementation of the program activities 
authorized under this section, consult with the Chesapeake 
Executive Council, to ensure that the activities of the Office 
are consistent with the purposes and priorities of the 
Chesapeake Bay Agreement and plans developed pursuant to such 
agreement.
``(4) Integrated coastal observations.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator, through the 
Director, may collaborate with scientific and academic 
institutions, State and Federal agencies, non-
governmental organizations, and other constituents in 
the Chesapeake Bay watershed, to support an integrated 
observations system for the Chesapeake Bay consistent 
with the purposes of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 
Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601 et 
seq.).
``(B) Specific requirements.--To support the system 
referred to in subparagraph (A) and provide a complete 
set of environmental information for the Chesapeake 
Bay, the Director shall--
``(i) coordinate monitoring with Federal 
and State agencies in the tidal portions of the 
Chesapeake Bay to understand impacts of water 
quality on living marine resources;
``(ii) identify new data collection needs 
and deploy new technologies, as appropriate;
``(iii) collect and analyze the scientific 
information necessary for the management of 
living marine resources and the marine habitat 
associated with such resources; and
``(iv) organize the information described 
in clause (iii) into products that are useful 
to policy makers, resource managers, 
scientists, and the public.
``(C) Chesapeake bay interpretive buoy system.--To 
further the development and implementation of the 
Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System and associated 
monitoring assets to improve weather and ecological 
forecasts, monitor habitat conditions for living marine 
resources, the Director may--
``(i) support the establishment and 
implementation of the Captain John Smith 
Chesapeake National Historic Trail;
``(ii) delineate key waypoints along the 
trail and provide appropriate real-time data 
and information for trail users;
``(iii) interpret data and information for 
use by educators and students to inspire 
stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay; and
``(iv) incorporate the observational data 
from the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy 
System into the Integrated Ocean Observing 
System regional observing system network.
``(5) Chesapeake bay watershed education and training 
program.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator, through the 
Director, may establish a Chesapeake Bay watershed 
education and training program. The program shall--
``(i) continue and expand the Chesapeake 
Bay watershed education programs offered by the 
Office immediately before the enactment of the 
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Advancement for 
Training, Education, Restoration, and Science 
(WATERS) Act;
``(ii) improve the understanding of 
elementary and secondary school students and 
teachers of the living resources of the 
ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay;
``(iii) provide education and career 
pathway internships; and
``(iv) meet the educational goals of the 
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.
``(B) Grant program.--The Director may award grants 
for the purposes of this paragraph. Grants awarded 
under this subparagraph may be used to support 
education and training projects that enhance 
understanding and assessment of a specific 
environmental problem in the Chesapeake Bay watershed 
or a goal of the Chesapeake Bay Program, or protect or 
restore living resources of the Chesapeake Bay 
watershed, including projects that--
``(i) provide classroom education, 
including the development and use of distance 
learning and other innovative technologies, 
related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
``(ii) provide meaningful watershed 
educational experiences in the Chesapeake Bay 
watershed;
``(iii) provide professional development 
for teachers related to the Chesapeake Bay 
watershed and the dissemination of pertinent 
education materials oriented to varying grade 
levels;
``(iv) demonstrate or disseminate 
environmental educational tools and materials 
related to the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
``(v) demonstrate field methods, practices, 
and techniques including assessment of 
environmental and ecological conditions and 
analysis of environmental problems; and
``(vi) build the capacity of school 
districts and their partners to deliver high 
quality environmental education programs.
``(C) Coordination.--The Director shall implement 
the education and training program in coordination with 
the heads of other Federal agencies, as the Director 
determines appropriate.
``(6) Coastal and living resources management and habitat 
program.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator, through the 
Director, may establish a Chesapeake Bay Coastal Living 
Resources Management and Habitat Program to support 
coordinated management, protection, characterization, 
and restoration of priority Chesapeake Bay habitats and 
living resources, including oysters, blue crabs, 
submerged aquatic vegetation, and economically and 
ecologically important fish species such as striped 
bass and menhaden.
``(B) Activities.--Under the Chesapeake Bay Coastal 
Living Resources Management and Habitat Program, the 
Director may carry out or enter into grants, contracts, 
and cooperative agreements and provide technical 
assistance to support--
``(i) native oyster research and 
restoration;
``(ii) fish and shellfish aquaculture that 
is carried out in accordance with a valid 
Federal or State permit;
``(iii) establishment of submerged aquatic 
vegetation restoration programs;
``(iv) the development of programs that 
restore, protect, and build the resilience of 
critical coastal habitats and communities;
``(v) habitat mapping, characterization, 
and assessment techniques necessary to 
identify, assess, and monitor Chesapeake Bay 
conditions and restoration actions;
``(vi) application and transfer of applied 
scientific research and ecosystem management 
tools to fisheries and habitat managers;
``(vii) collection, synthesis, and sharing 
of information to inform and influence coastal 
and living resource management issues;
``(viii) ecologically and economically 
important fish and shellfish research; and
``(ix) other activities that the director 
determines are appropriate to carry out the 
purposes of such program.
``(d) Delegation.--
``(1) Authority.--The Administrator shall delegate to the 
Director such authority as may be necessary to carry out this 
section.
``(2) Staff.--The Administrator shall delegate to the 
Director appropriate staff representing expertise that covers 
the breadth of the duties of the Office.
``(e) Reports.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator, through the Director, 
shall submit a biennial report to the Congress and the 
Secretary of Commerce on the activities of the Office and on 
progress made in protecting and restoring the living resources 
and habitat of the Chesapeake Bay.
``(2) Action plan.--Each such report shall include an 
action plan for the 2-year period following submission of the 
report, consisting of--
``(A) a list of recommended research, monitoring, 
and data collection activities necessary to continue 
implementation of the strategy under subsection (b)(2); 
and
``(B) recommendations to integrate National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration activities with the 
activities of the partners in the Chesapeake Bay 
Program to meet the commitments of the Chesapeake Bay 
Agreement and subsequent agreements.
``(f) Agreements.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator, through the Director, 
may enter into and perform such contracts, leases, grants, or 
cooperative agreements as may be necessary to carry out the 
purposes of this Act.
``(2) Use of other resources.--For purposes related to the 
understanding, protection, and restoration of Chesapeake Bay, 
the Director may use, with consent and with or without 
reimbursement, the land, services, equipment, personnel, and 
facilities of any Department, agency, or instrumentality of the 
United States, or of any State, local government, Indian Tribe, 
or of any political subdivision thereof.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions 
apply:
``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the 
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration.
``(2) Chesapeake bay agreement; chesapeake bay ecosystem; 
chesapeake bay program; chesapeake executive council.--The 
terms `Chesapeake Bay Agreement', `Chesapeake Bay ecosystem', 
`Chesapeake Bay Program', and `Chesapeake Executive Council' 
have the meanings given those terms in section 117(a) of the 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1267(a)).
``(3) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
the Office.
``(4) Office.--The term `Office' means the Chesapeake Bay 
Office established under this section.''.
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