Ocean Restoration Research and Development Act

The Congress finds the following:

(1) Rising greenhouse gas concentrations has been linked to a number of adverse environmental conditions and threatens the health of the global environment.

(2) Emissions reductions and natural carbon sequestration methods to stabilize and decrease global greenhouse gas concentrations should be pursued.

(3) The oceans have the capacity to hold 50 times more carbon than the terrestrial systems and atmosphere.

(4) The National Academies has recognized the potential benefits of methodologies that enhance ocean-based carbon dioxide removal (marine CDR) and called for more research to assess their potential to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

(5) Ocean iron fertilization and other marine CDR techniques hold great potential to efficiently accelerate carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere.

(6) Ocean iron fertilization and replenishment mimics natural processes such as the influx of aeolian dust and volcanic ash that provide iron supplements to iron-limited open oceans.

(7) Ocean iron fertilization also stimulates ocean productivity, phytoplankton growth, and fish populations.

(8) Several national and international climate strategies include specifications that methods to restore or enhance ocean photosynthesis are accepted as valid and will produce measurable and significant carbon capture and sequestration or storage referred to as a form of blue carbon.

It is the sense of the Congress that conducting pilot projects for research and development of ocean iron fertilization and other marine CDR techniques is urgent and in the Nation’s vital interest to better understand and advance climate restoration and should be a priority for the Secretary.

The Secretary of Energy shall establish a pilot program for the research and development of ocean iron fertilization and other marine CDR techniques that have the potential to achieve regional-to-global scale carbon dioxide removal, ocean restoration, enhancement of fisheries, or conservation of marine mammals.

The pilot program established under subsection (a) shall include—

(1) an applied research and development incentive program, including monitoring of effects on ecosystems;

(2) demonstration projects, including commercial scale by private industry;

(3) engineering, design, environmental and economic analysis;

(4) an assessment of the efficacy of ocean iron fertilization and other marine CDR replenishment techniques to—

(A) absorb and sequester greenhouse gasses and restore marine ecosystems;

(B) replicate those practices under varying conditions; and

(C) assess secondary environmental impacts and associated verification methodologies; and

(5) a data management plan to include access and archive functions to allow for interagency scientific discovery.

In carrying out the pilot program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult and collaborate with—

(1) the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, including—

(A) the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;

(B) the Secretary of the Treasury;

(C) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;

(D) the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; and

(E) the Director of the National Science Foundation;

(2) institutions of higher education;

(3) the National Oceanographic Partnership Program; and

(4) representatives from other relevant private and public sector organizations.

In consultation with the entities described in subsection (c), the Secretary shall within 1 year of enactment of this Act develop goals and objectives for the pilot program established under subsection (a), taking into consideration—

(1) the acceleration of the development of ocean iron fertilization technologies and other marine CDR practices that have transformational ocean restoration, carbon removal, and carbon storage characteristics;

(2) the utilization of, to the maximum extent practicable, environmental data collected by—

(A) the entities described in subsection (c);

(B) the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency through the Ocean of Things program;

(C) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission;

(D) NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, and data available from the National Centers for Environmental Information;

(E) the Integrated Ocean Observing System of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and

(F) the United States Navy, through the Marine Mammal Program;

(3) support for sites for safe testing and demonstration;

(4) the need to enter into cooperative agreements to carry out and expedite meso-scale demonstration projects;

(5) compliance with relevant international laws and treaties, if applicable;

(6) any benefits or barriers to the commercial deployment of any such technologies and practices; and

(7) the need for adequate data sharing and management protocols among all participants to ensure that the data and information collected from the pilot project is available to the science community and the public.

In carrying out the pilot program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall have the authority to contract with private or public entities provided that—

(1) the entity has demonstrated experience with ocean iron fertilization, other marine CDR techniques, or expertise in oceanography;

(2) at least 51 percent of project costs are to be provided by sources of funding other than Federal funds; and

(3) certain data collected from such projects is made available to the Secretary to demonstrate efficacy of ocean iron fertilization or other marine CDR techniques, subject to the protection of all proprietary data.

In consultation with the Secretary, States and Tribes may enter into contracts with private and public entities to advance ocean iron fertilization for carbon sequestration or fisheries restoration.

In carrying out the pilot program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, prioritize activities that—

(1) take place in pelagic waters;

(2) will not cause or accelerate harmful algal blooms in coastal waters; and

(3) restores ocean primary productivity.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing—

(1) the program goals and objectives adopted under subsection (d);

(2) improving and enhancing techniques for ocean iron fertilization and other marine CDR techniques;

(3) any results, successes, and related co-benefits to marine mammals and fisheries, and any direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts to the environment carrying out the pilot program established under subsection (a);

(4) the potential to undertake large-scale projects and utilize international waters for demonstration projects;

(5) applicability of Research and Development tax credits and other means to incentivize private investment;

(6) any policies or permitting recommendations for work conducted in United States and international waters; and

(7) any other information the Secretary considers relevant.

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall convene a symposium, bringing together experts from academia, industry and government to assess the status of deployment, best practices, innovation and technologies, and ongoing research and development related to iron fertilization and other marine CDR techniques for ocean restoration.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall have the authority to waive any other legal requirements the Secretary, in the Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious development and implementation of the pilot projects under this section. Any such decision by the Secretary shall be effective upon being published in the Federal Register.

The district courts of the United States shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear all causes or claims arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (j). A cause of action or claim may only be brought alleging a violation of the Constitution of the United States. The court shall not have jurisdiction to hear any claim not specified in this subsection.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $33,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030.

In this section:

The term coastal waters means the land and sea areas bordering the shoreline where hypoxic conditions exist or are likely to occur due to excess nutrients.

The term ocean restoration includes the research and development of technologies and techniques that support the addition of trace elements or nutrients to the upper layers of the ocean for the purpose of stimulating phytoplankton activity.

The term pelagic waters means the part of the open sea or ocean other than coastal waters.

The term ocean iron fertilization means introduction of low concentrations of iron to high nutrient, low chlorophyll regions of the ocean surface to stimulate phytoplankton production.

In addition to ocean iron fertilization, other marine CDR techniques include, but are not limited to, ocean alkalinity enhancement, electrochemical approaches, and kelp and seaweed cultivation.