§ 1390 — Assistance To Ports To Reduce Impacts Of Vessel Traffic And Port Operations On Marine Mammals

(a) Not later than 180 days after December 23, 2022, the Under Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, and the Administrator of the Maritime Administration, shall establish a grant program to provide assistance to eligible entities to develop and implement mitigation measures that will lead to a quantifiable reduction in threats to marine mammals from vessel traffic, including shipping activities and port operations. (b) Assistance provided under subsection (a) may be used to develop, assess, and carry out activities that reduce threats to marine mammals by— (1) reducing underwater stressors related to marine traffic; (2) reducing mortality and serious injury from vessel strikes and other physical disturbances; (3) monitoring sound; (4) reducing vessel interactions with marine mammals; (5) conducting other types of monitoring that are consistent with reducing the threats to, and enhancing the habitats of, marine mammals; or (6) supporting State agencies and Tribal governments in developing the capacity to receive assistance under this section through education, training, information sharing, and collaboration to participate in the grant program under this section. (c) The Under Secretary shall prioritize providing assistance under subsection (a) for projects that— (1) are based on the best available science with respect to methods to reduce threats to marine mammals; (2) collect data on the effects of such methods and the reduction of such threats; (3) assist ports that pose a higher relative threat to marine mammals listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); (4) are in close proximity to areas in which threatened or endangered cetaceans are known to experience other stressors; or (5) allow eligible entities to conduct risk assessments and to track progress toward threat reduction. (d) The Under Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary, the Administrator of the Maritime Administration, and the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, as appropriate, shall conduct coordinated outreach to ports to provide information with respect to— (1) how to apply for assistance under subsection (a); (2) the benefits of such assistance; and (3) facilitation of best practices and lessons, including the best practices and lessons learned from activities carried out using such assistance. (e) Not less frequently than annually, the Under Secretary shall make available to the public on a publicly accessible website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a report that includes the following information: (1) The name and location of each entity to which assistance was awarded under subsection (a) during the year preceding submission of the report. (2) The amount of each such award. (3) A description of the activities carried out with each such award. (4) An estimate of the likely impact of such activities on the reduction of threats to marine mammals. (f) In this section, the term “eligible entity” means— (1) a port authority for a port; (2) a State, regional, local, or Tribal government, or an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian entity that has jurisdiction over a maritime port authority or a port; (3) an academic institution, research institution, or nonprofit organization working in partnership with a port; or (4) a consortium of entities described in paragraphs (1) through (3). (g) From funds otherwise appropriated to the Under Secretary, $10,000,000 is authorized to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028. (h) An activity may not be carried out under this section if the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Under Secretary, determines that the activity would negatively impact the defense readiness or the national security of the United States.