Sec. 704. Grants for seaports to establish programs to reduce the impacts of vessel traffic and port operations on marine mammals
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The Administrator and the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish a grant program to provide assistance to up to ten seaports to develop and implement mitigation measures that will lead to a quantifiable reduction in threats to marine mammals from shipping activities and port operations. Grants provided under this section may be used to develop, assess, and carry out activities that quantifiably reduce threats and enhance the habitats of marine mammals by— reducing underwater noise related to marine traffic; reducing vessel strike mortality and other physical disturbances; enhancing marine mammal habitat, including the habitat for prey of marine mammals; or monitoring underwater noise, vessel interactions with marine mammals, or other types of monitoring that are consistent with reducing the threats to and enhancing the habitats of marine mammals.
The Administrator and the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service shall prioritize assistance under this section for projects that— assist ports with higher relative threat levels to vulnerable marine mammals from vessel traffic; project higher levels of— reduction of noise from vessels; and reduction of disturbance or vessel strike mortality risk; and reduction of noise influence National Marine Sanctuaries, Marine National Monuments, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, and other Federal, State, and local marine protected areas; or allow eligible entities to conduct risk assessments, and track progress toward threat reduction and habitat enhancement; including protecting coral reefs from encroachment by commerce and shipping lanes.
The Administrator and the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service shall conduct outreach to seaports to provide information on how to apply for assistance under this section, the benefits of the program under this section, and facilitation of best practices and lessons learned. A person shall be eligible for assistance under this section if the person is— a port authority for a seaport; a State, regional, local, or Tribal agency that has jurisdiction over a maritime port authority or a seaport; or a private or government entity, applying for a grant awarded under this section in collaboration with another entity described in paragraph
(1)or (2), that owns or operates a maritime terminal. The Administrator and the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service shall submit annually to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, a report that includes the following: The name and location of each entity receiving a grant. Amount of each grant. The name and location of the seaport in which the activities took place. A description of the activities carried out with the grant funds. An estimate of the impact of the project to reduce threats or enhance habitat of marine mammals. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator for carrying out this section, $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, to remain available until expended.