Sec. 4. National map and inventory of coastal blue carbon ecosystems
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The Interagency Working Group shall produce, oversee, update not less than once every 5 years, and maintain a national map and inventory of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including, with respect to each coastal blue carbon ecosystem— the species and each type of habitat in the coastal blue carbon ecosystem; the condition of each such habitat, including whether the habitat is minimally disturbed, degraded, drained, eutrophic, or tidally restricted; the type of public or private ownership and any protected status; the size; the salinity class; the tidal range; an assessment of carbon sequestration potential, methane production, and net greenhouse gas reductions, including— consideration of— quantification; verifiability; and the permanence of such carbon sequestration potential, methane production, and net greenhouse gas reductions; and comparison to a historical baseline, as available; an assessment of the co-benefits associated with restoration and carbon sequestration; the potential for landward migration as a result of sea level rise; any upstream restrictions detrimental to the watershed process and conditions of aquatic infrastructure, such as dams, dikes, and levees; information regarding conversion to other land uses and the cause of such conversion; and a depiction of the effects of climate change, including sea level rise, and environmental and human stressors on the carbon sequestration rate, carbon storage, and greenhouse gas emissions.
In carrying out subsection (a), the Interagency Working Group shall— incorporate, to the extent possible, existing data collected— through federally funded research; or by a Federal, State, local, or Tribal agency, including data collected through— the Coastal Change Analysis Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the National Wetlands Inventory of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; the LandCarbon program of the United States Geological Survey; the LiDar information coordination and knowledge program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the Biological and Environmental Research program of the Department of Energy; and the National Coastal Blue Carbon Assessment of the Department of Agriculture; procure, as the chair of the Interagency Working Group determines necessary, new data related to coastal blue carbon ecosystem mapping and inventorying; engage regional technical experts to accurately account for regional differences in coastal blue carbon ecosystems; and leverage relevant resources and information through the Marine Cadastre Hub and the National Marine Ecosystem Status Website.
The Interagency Working Group shall use the national map and inventory produced under subsection (a)— to assess the carbon sequestration potential of different coastal blue carbon ecosystems, and account for any regional differences; to assess and quantify emissions from degraded and destroyed coastal blue carbon ecosystems; to develop— regional assessments of the number of degraded and destroyed coastal blue carbon ecosystems and contributing factors to the degradation and destruction of such coastal blue carbon ecosystems; and regionally specific recommendations for actions to support the restoration of such coastal blue carbon ecosystems; to provide to regional, State, local, and Tribal agencies and regional coastal observing system entities technical assistance, informed by the regional assessment developed under paragraph (3), to develop coastal blue carbon ecosystem restoration goals practices; to assess degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems and the potential restore such coastal blue carbon ecosystems, including developing scenario modeling to identify vulnerable areas where management, protection, and restoration efforts should be focused; to produce future predictions of coastal blue carbon ecosystems and carbon sequestration rates in the context of climate change, environmental stressors, and human stressors; to inform the creation by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency of the annual Inventory of U.S.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks; and to develop, or scope development, of a coastal blue carbon calculator that is capable of providing estimates of carbon sequestration potential resulting from different restoration actions in coastal blue carbon ecosystems.