Sec. 5. Restoration and protections for existing coastal blue carbon ecosystems
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The Undersecretary shall— coordinate monitoring and research efforts of coastal blue carbon ecosystems among Federal agencies in cooperation with State, local, and Tribal governments, international partners, and nongovernmental organizations; establish a national goal for conserving coastal blue carbon ecosystems within States and Tribal lands, and, as appropriate, setting targets for the protection and restoration of intact coastal blue carbon ecosystems and the restoration of degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems; and in coordination with the Interagency Working Group and as informed by the report required under section 3(e)(1)— identify national coastal blue carbon ecosystem protection and restoration priorities, including, as applicable, the national priorities established under section 3(d)(4), that would produce the highest rate of carbon sequestration and greatest ecosystem benefits, such as flood protection, soil and beach retention, erosion reduction, biodiversity, water purification, and nutrient cycling in the context of other environmental stressors and climate change; and identify ways to improve coordination and to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and departments with respect to research on coastal blue carbon ecosystems through existing and new coastal management networks.
The Undersecretary, in coordination with the Interagency Working Group, State, local, and Tribal governments, and coastal stakeholders and as informed by the report required under section 3(e)(1), shall carry out— a pilot program to protect intact coastal blue carbon ecosystems; and a pilot program to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems. In carrying out the pilot programs under paragraph (1), the Undersecretary shall— integrate the pilot programs to allow for the sharing of data, monitoring resources, and mapping information between the pilot programs; develop best management practices, including selection criteria for high-functioning coastal blue carbon ecosystems in need of protection, design criteria and performance functions for coastal blue carbon ecosystem restoration, nature-based adaptation, restoration areas that intersect with built environments as green-gray infrastructure projects, and management of landward progression or migration of coastal blue carbon ecosystems; identify any barriers to efforts to restore coastal blue carbon ecosystems; seek to increase long-term carbon sequestration and storage in coastal blue carbon ecosystems; ensure that the pilot programs cover geographically and ecologically diverse locations with significant ecological, economic, and social benefits, such as flood protection, soil and beach retention, erosion reduction, biodiversity, water purification, and nutrient cycling to reduce hypoxic conditions, and maximum potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction; ensure that the goals and metrics for the pilot programs are communicated to the appropriate State, Tribal, and local governments and to the general public; coordinate with relevant Federal agencies on the Interagency Working Group to prevent unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and departments with respect to coastal blue carbon ecosystem restoration and protection programs; establish a procedure to review applications to the pilot programs, taking into account— quantification of coastal blue carbon ecosystem protection or restoration activities and outcomes; verifiability of net carbon sequestration outcomes, including net climate effects; additionality of carbon sequestered or emissions that are avoided as a result of coastal blue carbon ecosystem protection or restoration activities as compared to a historical baseline, when feasible and appropriate; and permanence of the properties described in clauses
(i)through (iii); and give priority to applications that propose restoration activities that the Undersecretary determines would— result in long-term protection and sequestration of carbon stored in coastal and marine environments; protect key habitats for fish, wildlife, and maintenance of biodiversity; provide coastal protection from development, storms, flooding, and land-based pollution; protect coastal resources of national, historical, and cultural significance; and benefit communities of color, low-income communities, Tribal or Indigenous communities, or rural communities. The Undersecretary shall submit to the Interagency Working Group and the appropriate congressional committees a report regarding the pilot programs carried out under paragraph (1), including— the total number of acres of land or water protected or restored through the pilot programs; the status of each project to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems carried out under the pilot programs; and the change in the potential of coastal blue carbon ecosystems to sequester carbon associated with each project to restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems carried out under the pilot programs.