Oyster Reef Recovery Act of 2025
Officially: “Oyster Reef Recovery Act of 2025” Read the full text
What it does
Read it in plain language
1Short title
This section gives the Act its short title, the Oyster Reef Recovery Act of 2025.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Oyster Reef Recovery Act of 2025 .
2Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Program
This section would require the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (called the Administrator), to establish the Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Program. Under the program, the Administrator would give technical and financial assistance to covered entities to identify priorities for oyster reef restoration, including existing reef sites and historically significant reef locations that could be restored; evaluate the health of and threats to oyster reefs, including through mapping and water quality monitoring, and identify conservation actions to address those threats; carry out voluntary planning, construction, assessment, protection, monitoring, restoration, and enhancement projects for oyster reefs; keep existing and restored reefs healthy and resilient through adaptive management based on the best available science; build partnerships and capacity for environmental conservation and stewardship of oyster reefs; develop and carry out monitoring protocols to check whether conservation, restoration, and enhancement measures are succeeding; collaborate and share information with other covered entities and the public about best management practices for conserving, restoring, and enhancing oyster reefs; and support workforce training in coastal resilience and restoration concepts, principles, techniques, and implementation, with special attention to benefiting underserved communities. The Administrator would also have to set up a competitive grant program that awards money to any person who submits an application for the purpose of conducting research, planning, construction, assessments, management, capacity-building, monitoring, information-sharing, or workforce training related to conserving, restoring, enhancing, or managing oyster reefs. To be eligible, an applicant would have to submit an application, in whatever form, at whatever time, and with whatever information the Administrator requires, and that application would have to sufficiently demonstrate that the project would not reasonably interfere with commercial or recreational fishing or other water-related uses of the area. Nothing in this section would preempt or limit the authority of a State or an Indian Tribe to manage oyster reefs or species of oysters. The section would authorize $15,000,000 to be appropriated to the Administrator for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out this section. The section defines several terms: Administrator means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; covered entity means a unit of the Federal government or a State, local, or Tribal government, a nongovernmental institution, a nonprofit organization, an institution of higher education, the shellfish industry, or a private individual or entity; nonprofit organization means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of that Code; Program means the Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Program established under this section; and shellfish industry means shellfish growers and shellfish harvesters.
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2. Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Program (a) Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Program (1) In general The Administrator shall establish a program for the conservation of oyster reefs, to be known as the Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Program . (2) Program duties In carrying out the Program, the Administrator shall provide technical and financial assistance to covered entities to— (A) identify priorities for oyster reef restoration, including existing oyster reef sites and locations of historically significant oyster reefs with the potential for restoration; (B) evaluate the health of and threats to oyster reefs, including through mapping and water quality monitoring, and identify conservation actions to address such threats; (C) conduct voluntary planning, construction, assessment, protection, monitoring, restoration, and enhancement projects with respect to oyster reefs; (D) work to ensure the health and resilience of existing and restored oyster reefs through adaptive management procedures based on the best available science; (E) build partnerships and capacity to carry out environmental conservation and stewardship measures with respect to oyster reefs; (F) develop and implement monitoring protocols to ensure the success of conservation, restoration, and enhancement measures with respect to oyster reefs; (G) collaborate and share information with other covered entities and the public with respect to best management practices for the conservation, restoration, and enhancement of oyster reefs; and (H) support workforce training focused on coastal resilience and restoration concepts, principles, techniques, and implementation, especially to benefit underserved communities. (3) Grant program (A) In general The Administrator shall establish a competitive grant program to award amounts to persons that submit an application under subparagraph (B) for the purposes of conducting research, planning, construction, assessments, management, building capacity, monitoring, collaborating and sharing information, or workforce training with respect to the conservation, restoration, enhancement, or management of oyster reefs. (B) Applications To be eligible for a grant under this paragraph, a person shall submit to the Administrator an application in such form, at such time, and containing such information, including a sufficient demonstration that the project will not reasonably interfere with commercial or recreational fishing or other water-related uses of the relevant area, as the Administrator determines appropriate. (b) Rule of construction Nothing in this section may be construed to preempt or limit the authority of a State or an Indian Tribe to manage oyster reefs or species of oysters. (c) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2) Covered entity The term covered entity means— (A) a unit of the Federal or a State, local, or Tribal government; (B) a nongovernmental institution; (C) a nonprofit organization; (D) an institution of higher education; (E) the shellfish industry; and (F) a private individual or entity. (3) Nonprofit organization The term nonprofit organization means an organization— (A) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and (B) exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code. (4) Program The term Program means the Oyster Reef Restoration and Conservation Program established under subsection (a)(1). (5) Shellfish industry The term shellfish industry means shellfish growers and shellfish harvesters.
Where it is
In the House.