Waterfront Community Revitalization and Resiliency Act of 2024

Part C of subtitle V of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding after chapter 543 the following:

In this chapter:

The term blue economy means industries related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts in the economy of the United States, including living resources, marine construction, marine transportation, offshore energy development and siting, including for renewable energy, offshore mineral production, ship- and boat-building, tourism, recreation, subsistence, commercial, recreational, and charter fishing, seafood processing, and other fishery-related businesses, aquaculture (such as kelp and shellfish), and other industries the Secretary of Commerce considers appropriate.

The term covered entity means the following:

(A) A State.

(B) A political subdivision of a State, or a local government.

(C) A public agency or publicly chartered authority established by 1 or more States.

(D) A special purpose district with a transportation function.

(E) An Indian Tribe or a Native Hawaiian organization.

(F) A multistate or multijurisdictional group of entities described in subparagraphs (A) through (E).

(G) A lead entity described in subparagraphs (A) through (F), jointly with an additional entity or group of entities that may include—

(i) a nonprofit organization with relevant expertise;

(ii) an institution of higher education (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)); or

(iii) a private entity.

The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

The term Native Hawaiian organization has the meaning given the term under section 6207 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7517).

The term port means—

(A) any port on the navigable waters of the United States; and

(B) any harbor, marine terminal, or other shore side facility used principally for the movement of goods on inland waters.

The term project means construction, reconstruction, environmental rehabilitation, acquisition of property, including land related to the project and improvements to the land, equipment acquisition, and operational improvements.

The term resilient means the ability to anticipate, prepare for, adapt to, withstand, respond to, and recover from operational disruptions including disruptions caused by natural or manmade hazards or extreme weather events.

The term resilient waterfront community means a resilient waterfront community designated under section 54403.

The term working waterfront means real property (including support structures over water and other facilities) that provides access to coastal and Great Lakes waters to persons engaged in commercial and recreational fishing, recreational fishing and boating businesses, boatbuilding, aquaculture, or other water-dependent, coastal-related business and is used for, or that supports, commercial and recreational fishing, recreational fishing and boating businesses, boatbuilding, aquaculture, or other water-dependent, coastal-related business and recreation.

The purpose of this chapter is to promote the recognition and support of resilient waterfront communities so that such communities may support working waterfronts, resilience, economic development, port infrastructure, natural infrastructure, coastal activities, public access, the associated blue economy, and related projects.

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the Secretary of Commerce (referred to in this section as the Secretary), in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, shall designate certain communities that submit a plan to the Secretary as resilient waterfront communities, based on the extent to which the community plan meets the criteria described in subsection (b).

A community shall be eligible to be designated under subparagraph (A) if it is a local government, an Indian Tribe, or a Native Hawaiian community that operates in an area with a working waterfront that is bound in part by—

(i) at least one of the Great Lakes; or

(ii) the ocean.

In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall work with the Secretary of Transportation and the heads of other Federal agencies, as the Secretary determines necessary.

In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall engage with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian communities.

In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance to communities seeking to be designated as a resilient waterfront community. Technical assistance shall include—

(A) providing information about relevant programs under sections 25010 and 21205 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (49 U.S.C. 102 note; 116 note; Public Law 117–58);

(B) providing information about relevant grants;

(C) providing information about best practices;

(D) providing copies of relevant studies and research; and

(E) other support, as determined by the Secretary.

A community seeking to be designated as a resilient waterfront community shall submit a resilient waterfront community plan to the Secretary. Such plan shall be a community-driven vision and plan that is developed—

(1) voluntarily at the discretion of the community—

(A) to respond to local needs; or

(B) to take advantage of new water-oriented opportunities;

(2) with the leadership of the relevant governmental entity, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian community, and with the active participation of—

(A) community residents;

(B) utilities; and

(C) interested business and nongovernmental stakeholders;

(3) as a new document or by amending or compiling community planning documents, as necessary, at the discretion of the Secretary;

(4) to address economic competitive strengths; and

(5) to complement and incorporate the objectives and recommendations of applicable regional economic plans.

A resilient waterfront community plan shall—

(1) consider all, or a portion of, the relevant waterfront area and adjacent land and water to which the waterfront is connected ecologically, economically, or through local governmental or Tribal boundaries; and

(2) describe a vision and plan for the community to be developed or preserved as a vital and resilient waterfront community, integrating consideration of—

(A) the economic opportunities resulting from water proximity and access, including—

(i) water-dependent industries;

(ii) water-oriented commerce; and

(iii) recreation and tourism;

(B) the community relationship to the water, including—

(i) quality of life;

(ii) public health;

(iii) community and economic heritage, such as maritime and waterfront industries; and

(iv) public access;

(C) the environment;

(D) ecosystem challenges and projections, including—

(i) unresolved and emerging impacts to the health and safety of the applicable waterfront;

(ii) the impact of natural disasters and weather events on the physical and financial security of residents, based on forward-looking, long-term meteorological data; and

(iii) projections for extreme weather and water conditions;

(E) infrastructure needs and opportunities, such as—

(i) docks, piers, and harbor facilities;

(ii) protection against storm surges, waves, and flooding; and

(iii) natural infrastructure; and

(F) other community facilities and private development.

After the designation of a community as a resilient waterfront community under subsection (a), a resilient waterfront community plan developed in accordance with this section shall have a duration effective for the 10-year period beginning on the date on which the Secretary approves the resilient waterfront community plan.

A covered entity that represents a community that is designated as a resilient waterfront community under subsection (a) may submit a request at any time to the Secretary that such designation be withdrawn.

A resilient waterfront community plan under this section may be updated by a covered entity, and submitted to the Secretary for approval, before the expiration of the 10-year period described in subsection (d).

The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a resilient waterfront community plan submitted under subsection (b), or an update to such plan submitted under subsection (f), by not later than 180 days after the date of receipt of the plan.

The Secretary shall develop and maintain a resilient waterfront communities network to facilitate the sharing of best practices among communities that have been designated as resilient waterfront communities under section 54403.

In consultation with designated resilient waterfront communities, the Secretary shall provide formal public recognition of the designated resilient waterfront communities to promote tourism, recreational activities, commercial investment, or other community benefits.

The Secretary of Commerce shall establish, and update periodically, a publicly accessible website to provide information for communities—

(1) to access best practices in establishing a designation under section 54403, including—

(A) the technological, economic, environmental, social, and cultural impacts of resiliency planning and investment;

(B) the barriers communities face to successfully planning, implementing, and achieving short, and long-term benefits from resiliency and revitalization activities, as well as solutions to diagnose, understand, and overcome those barriers; and

(C) changing environmental and economic conditions and information on incorporating forward-looking projections into strategic community decision making; and

(2) about funding opportunities throughout the Federal Government, including technical assistance opportunities that could support the implementation of resilient waterfront community plans.

The table of chapters at the beginning of subtitle V of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to part C the following new item:

Section 205(b) of the National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1124(b)) is amended—

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (3) as clauses (i) through (iii), respectively, moving such clauses to follow paragraph (2)(A) (as designated under paragraph (4) of this subsection), and adjusting the margins accordingly;

(2) by striking The Secretary and inserting the following:

The Secretary

(3) by inserting and activities under paragraph (3) after section 202(b);

(4) by striking No grant may be made under this subsection and inserting the following:

With respect to a grant under this subsection that is not a grant described in paragraph (3), no grant may be made

(5) by striking The total amount and inserting the following:; and

Except with respect to grants described under paragraph (3), the total amount

(6) by adding at the end the following:

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary may make special grants under this subsection to support covered entities (as defined in section 54401 of title 46, United States Code) for the purposes of—

(i) development of the plan described under section 54403(b) of title 46, United States Code, including by—

(I) conducting economic and community development marketing and outreach;

(II) updating zoning regulations;

(III) conducting environmental reviews;

(IV) completing engineering and landscape architecture design plans;

(V) collaborating across local agencies and regional, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to identify, understand, and develop responses to changing ecosystems and economic circumstances; and

(VI) conducting such other planning activities as the Secretary considers to be necessary for the development of a resilient waterfront community plan that responds to revitalization and resiliency issues faced by such covered entity;

(ii) carrying out projects that enable the execution of the plan described under section 54403(b) of title 46, United States Code, including—

(I) site preparation;

(II) acquiring easements or land for uses such as green infrastructure, public amenities, or assembling development sites;

(III) construction of—

(aa) public waterfront or boating amenities; and

(bb) public spaces;

(IV) infrastructure upgrades to improve coastal resiliency, including green infrastructure; and

(V) other activities, at the discretion of the Secretary; and

(iii) executing other projects that are consistent with the plan described under section 54403(b) of title 46, United States Code.

In this paragraph:

The terms covered entity, resilient, and working waterfront have the meanings given those terms in section 54401 of title 46, United States Code.

The term project has the meaning given that term in section 54401 of title 46, United States Code, except that such term shall only apply to activities—

(I) within the boundary of a working waterfront; or

(II) outside the boundary of a working waterfront, if the projects are directly related to the working waterfront or such plan.

The provisions of subsection (c) shall apply with respect to grants under this paragraph, except that only covered entities shall be eligible to receive a grant under this paragraph. Notwithstanding such subsection (c), the Secretary shall not be required to prescribe application requirements and procedures for grants under this paragraph by regulation.

Paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (d) shall not apply with respect to grants under this paragraph.

The Secretary may select a project described in this paragraph for funding under this subsection if the Secretary determines that—

(I) the project is consistent with the plan under section 54403(b) of title 46, United States Code;

(II) the covered entity has authority to carry out the project;

(III) the covered entity has sufficient funding to execute the project or phase of the project;

(IV) the project will be completed without unreasonable delay; and

(V) the project cannot be easily and efficiently completed without Federal funding or financial assistance available to the covered entity.

In selecting projects described in this paragraph for funding under this subsection, the Secretary shall give consideration to—

(I) the utilization of non-Federal contributions; and

(II) the net benefits of the funds awarded under this subsection.

The Secretary shall issue guidelines to establish appropriate accounting, reporting, and review procedures for grants made under this paragraph to ensure that—

(i) grant funds are used for the purposes for which those funds were made available;

(ii) each grantee properly accounts for all expenditures of grant funds; and

(iii) grant funds not used for such purposes and amounts not obligated or expended are returned.

Section 205 of the National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1124) is further amended—

(1) in subsection (c), by striking Any person and inserting Subject to subsection (b)(3), any person; and

(2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking Any grant and inserting Subject to subsection (b)(3), any grant.

(1) the participation in the program of designating resilient waterfront communities under chapter 544 of title 46, United States Code, the results of such program, and the Secretary's plans to improve outreach, implementation, and best practice guidance regarding such program; and

(2) the participation in the program of special grants for working waterfronts described in paragraph (3) of section 205(b) of the National Sea Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 1124(b)), the results of such program, and the Secretary's plans to improve outreach, implementation, and best practice guidance regarding such program.