Sec. 70306. Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program and Rapid Response Fund

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Section 408 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 ( 16 U.S.C. 1421f–1 ) is amended— by striking the section heading and inserting ; Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program and Rapid Response Fund by striking subsections

(a)through

(d)and subsections

(f)through (h); by redesignating subsection

(e)as subsection (f); and by inserting before subsection (f), as redesignated by paragraph (3), the following: In this section: The term emergency assistance means— financial assistance provided to respond to, or that results from, a stranding event or entanglement event that— causes an immediate increase in the cost of a response, recovery, or rehabilitation that is greater than the usual cost of a response, recovery, or rehabilitation; is cyclical or endemic; or involves a marine mammal that is out of the normal range for that marine mammal; or financial assistance provided to respond to, or that results from, a stranding event or an entanglement event that the appropriate Secretary or State or Tribal government considers to be an emergency. The term emergency assistance does not include financial assistance to respond to an unusual mortality event. The term Secretary has the meaning given that term in section 3(12)(A). The term stranding region means a geographic region designated by the applicable Secretary for purposes of administration of this title. Subject to the availability of appropriations or other funding, the applicable Secretary shall carry out a grant program, to be known as the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program (referred to in this section as the grant program ), to award grants to eligible stranding network participants or stranding network collaborators, as described in this subsection. The purposes of the grant program are to provide for— the recovery, care, or treatment of sick, injured, or entangled marine mammals; responses to marine mammal stranding events that require emergency assistance; the collection of data and samples from living or dead stranded marine mammals for scientific research or assessments regarding marine mammal health; facility operating costs that are directly related to activities described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C); and development of stranding network capacity, including training for emergency response, where facilities do not exist or are sparse. The applicable Secretary may enter into a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement with any eligible stranding network participant or stranding network collaborator, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, for the purposes described in paragraph (2). Following a request for emergency award flexibility and analysis of the merits of and necessity for such a request, the applicable Secretary may— amend any contract, grant, or cooperative agreement entered into under this paragraph, including provisions concerning the period of performance; or waive the requirements under subsection

(f)for grant applications submitted during the provision of emergency assistance. The Secretary shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that funds awarded under the grant program are distributed equitably among the stranding regions. In determining priorities among the stranding regions under this paragraph, the Secretary may consider— equitable distribution within the stranding regions, including the subregions (including the Gulf of Mexico); any episodic stranding, entanglement, or mortality events, except for unusual mortality events, that occurred in any stranding region in the preceding year; any data with respect to average annual stranding, entanglements, and mortality events per stranding region; the size of the marine mammal populations inhabiting a stranding region; the importance of the region’s marine mammal populations to the well-being of indigenous communities; and the conservation of protected, depleted, threatened, or endangered marine mammal species. For the purposes of the grant program, priority is to be given to applications focusing on marine mammal strandings. To be eligible for a grant under the grant program, a stranding network participant shall— submit an application in such form and manner as the applicable Secretary prescribes; and be in compliance with the data reporting requirements under section 402(d) and any applicable reporting requirements of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for species under its management jurisdiction. The Secretary shall, in consultation with the Marine Mammal Commission, a representative from each of the stranding regions, and other individuals who represent public and private organizations that are actively involved in rescue, rehabilitation, release, scientific research, marine conservation, and forensic science with respect to stranded marine mammals under that Department's jurisdiction, develop criteria for awarding grants under their respective grant programs. No grant made under the grant program for a single award may exceed $150,000 in any 12-month period. Any funds that have been awarded under the grant program but that are unexpended at the end of the 12-month period described in subparagraph

(A)shall remain available until expended. The Secretary's administrative costs and expenses related to reviewing and awarding grants under the grant program, in any fiscal year may not exceed the greater of— 6 percent of the amounts made available each fiscal year to carry out the grant program; or $80,000. The Secretary shall make publicly available a list of grant proposals for the upcoming fiscal year, funded grants, and requests for grant flexibility under this subsection. There is established in the Treasury of the United States an interest-bearing fund, to be known as the Joseph R. Geraci Marine Mammal Rescue and Rapid Response Fund (referred to in this section as the Rapid Response Fund ). Amounts in the Rapid Response Fund shall be available only for use by the Secretary to provide emergency assistance. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the grant program $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2026, to remain available until expended, of which for each fiscal year— $6,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce; and $1,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior. Funds to carry out the activities under this section shall be derived from amounts authorized to be appropriated pursuant to subparagraph

(A)that are enacted after the date of enactment of the America COMPETES Act of 2022 . There is authorized to be appropriated to the Rapid Response Fund $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. For the purposes of carrying out this section, the Secretary may solicit, accept, receive, hold, administer, and use gifts, devises, and bequests without any further approval or administrative action. . The table of contents in the first section of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 ( Public Law 92–522 ) is further amended by striking the item related to section 408 and inserting the following: Sec. 408. Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program and Rapid Response Fund. .

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16 USC 1421f–1
Pub. L. 92-522

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cites case law

Sec. 70306

Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program and Rapid Response Fund

Cite16 USC 1421f–1

Pub. L.Pub. L. 92-522

Cites 2Cited by 0 across 0 sources