Okaloosa County BOCC — Sept 11, 2012 — SB1400 RESTORE Act — reading text

consortia in the 2 Gulf Coast region (including public and private 3 institutions of higher education) for the estab- 4 lishment of centers of excellence as cescribed in 5 paragraph (1). 6 (B) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to re- 7 ceive a grant under this paragraph, an entity or 8 consortium described in subparagraph (A) shall 9 submit to the Administrator an application at 10 such time, in such manner, and containing such 11 information as the Administrator determines to 12 be appropriate. 13 (C) PriorITy.—In awarding grants under 14 this paragraph, the Administrator shall give 15 priority to entities and consortia that dem- 16 onstrate the ability to establish the broadest 17 cross-section of participants with interest and 18 expertise in any discipline described in para- 19 graph (3) on which the proposed curriculum of 20 the center of excellence will be focused. 21 (3) DISCIPLINES.—Hach center of excellence 22 shall focus the curriculum of the center on science, 23 technology, and monitoring in at least 1 of the fol- 24 lowing disciplines: *S 1400 IS So eH SYD DN A FR WO YN Oo NO LN PO NO NO BR Rm mm me ee ee aA BP WO HO FK& DOD Oo Oo HIT DB nH FBP WHO YP KF CO 49 (A) Coastal and deltaic sustainability, res- toration and protection; including solutions and technology that allow citizens to live safely and sustainably in a coastal delta. (B) Coastal fisheries and wildlife eco- system research and monitoring. (C) Offshore energy development, including research and technology to improve the sustain- able and safe development of energy resources. (D) Sustainable and resilient growth, eco- nomic and commercial development in the Gulf Coast. (EZ) Comprehensive observation, moni- toring, and mapping of the Gulf of Mexico. (4) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS.— The Administrator shall develop a plan for the co- ordination of projects and activities between the Pro- gram and other existing Federal and State science and technology programs in the States of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, as well as between the centers of excellence. (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF FISHERIES AND ECOSYSTEM ENDOWMENT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Council *S 1400 IS oC Oo SY DWN rH FP WY YP eK DO bP PO WHO NO RR RR RR ROO Rl Rl Bh Wo NYO KFK& CO CO DW st DWBA FB WO HPO KF OS 50 shall establish a fishery and ecosystem endowment to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, the long-term sustainability of the ecosystem, fish stocks, fish habitat and the recreational, commercial, and charter fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico. (2) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.—For each fiscal year, amounts made available to carry out this sub- section may be expended for, with respect to the Gulf of Mexico— (A) marine and estuarine research; (B) marine and estuarine ecosystem moni- toring; (C) data collection and stock assessments; (D) pilot programs for— (i) fishery independent data; and (ii) reduction of exploitation of spawn- ing aggregations; and (E) cooperative research. (3) ADMINISTRATION AND IMPLEMENTATION.— The Fisheries and Ecosystem Endowment shall be administered by the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with guid- ance provided by the Regional Gulf of Mexico Fish- ery Management Council. °*S 1400 IS Oo ma NH A FP WHO HPO wo NO NO NO KF Fe FF HF PF FO S| Oi Sell lle oOo NYO -F§ COC Oo DBnAN BD a FP WO NO KF CO d1 (4) SPECIES INCLUDED.—The Fisheries and Ecosystem Endowment will include all marine, estu- arine, aquaculture, and fish and wildlife species in State and Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. (5) RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—In distributing funding under this subsection, priority shall be given to integrated, long-term projects that— (A) build on, or are coordinated with, re- lated research activities; and (B) address current or anticipated marine ecosystem, fishery, or wildlife management in- formation needs. (6) DUPLICATION.—In carrying out this sub- section, the Administrator shall seek to avoid dupli- cation of other research and monitoring activities. (e) FUNDING.—Except as provided in subsection (t)(4) of section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Con- trol Act (83 U.S.C. 1321), of the total amount made avail- able for each fiscal year for the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund established under section 3, 5 percent shall be allocated in equal portions to the Program and Fish- eries and Ecosystem Endowment established by this sec- tion. °*S 1400 IS 52 1 SEC. 6. EFFECT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act or any 3 amendment made by this Act— 4 (1) supersedes or otherwise affects any provi- 5 sion of Federal law, including, in particular, laws 6 providing recovery for injury to natural resources 7 under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (83 U.S.C. 8 2701 et seq.) and laws for the protection of public 9 health and the environment; or 10 (2) applies to any fine collected under section 11 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 12 U.S.C. 1821) for any incident other than the Deep- 13 water Horizon oil spill. 14 (b) USE oF FuNDs.—Funds made available under 15 this Act may be used only for eligible activities specifically 16 authorized by this Act. *S 1400 IS