H.R. 2620 — Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act

This section restructures the Marine Debris Act by inserting a heading ("A NOAA and Coast Guard Programs") before former section 3 and redesignating former sections 3 through 6 as sections 101 through 104, respectively. It further revises the program's authorities in redesignated section 101(d) for grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and other agreements by (1) updating the subsection heading and paragraph (1) to explicitly include "other agreements"; (2) making minor wording changes to paragraph (2)(B) and (C) regarding cost-sharing exceptions; and (3) adding paragraph (7) to authorize the NOAA Under Secretary to provide in-kind contributions toward the costs of projects under contracts or other agreements (excluding cooperative agreements and grants), limited to the value of benefits NOAA derives from the project. (The Marine Debris Program identifies, determines sources of, assesses, prevents, reduces, and removes marine debris; coordinates with states, tribes, and others; addresses lost fishing gear; conducts outreach; and plans responses to severe marine debris events.)

This section transfers subtitle B of title I of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, which establishes the Marine Debris Foundation, to appear after section 104 of the Marine Debris Act and makes further modifications to the foundation (a nonprofit corporation that partners with NOAA to support marine debris prevention, removal, and research). Specifically, it (1) designates the foundation as a corporation; (2) expands its purposes to explicitly include Indian Tribes and updates a cross-reference; (3) revises board of directors provisions to require recommendations and Commerce Department approval for appointments, sets director terms at 6 years, adds the USAID Administrator to those recommending removal, limits initial board powers over officers and employees, and authorizes the board to appoint, review, and remove a chief executive officer (who in turn manages other foundation personnel); (4) clarifies the foundation's powers by describing it as a nonprofit corporation formed for specified purposes; (5) requires the principal office to be located in the National Capital Region or a coastal shoreline community; (6) directs development of best practices for outreach to Indian Tribes and Tribal governments, including technical assistance and promotion of program grants, with a rule of construction preserving government-to-government consultation and Tribal rights; and (7) authorizes $2 million for FY2025 (in addition to prior amounts through FY2024) and expands eligible grant recipients to include regional organizations, Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and foreign governments. This section also reauthorizes amounts for Marine Debris Act programs for FY2018 through FY2029.

This section transfers Subtitle C of title I of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to the Marine Debris Act after section 119 (as transferred and redesignated by this Act). The section further amends the Marine Debris Act by (1) transferring sections 7, 8, 9 (as amended), and 10 to after section 127 (as transferred by this Act) and redesignating them as sections 131, 132, 133, and 134, respectively; and (2) inserting a new part heading "D Administration" before section 131.

This section revises the definitions in section 131 of the Marine Debris Act (P.L. 109-449, as transferred and redesignated by this Act) by (1) striking paragraph (1); (2) redesignating paragraphs (2) through (7) as paragraphs (5), (6), (7), (11), (12), and (13), respectively; (3) inserting new paragraphs (1) through (4) defining "circular economy," "coastal shoreline community," "EPA Administrator," and "Indian Tribe" (as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304); (4) inserting new paragraphs (9) and (10) defining "nonprofit organization" and "post-consumer materials management"; (5) inserting new paragraphs (14) through (16) defining "Tribal Government" (referencing the list of federally recognized tribes published most recently pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 5131), "Tribal organization" (as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304), and "Under Secretary"; and (6) in redesignated paragraph (13), adding "Indian Tribe" as subparagraph (B). The section further transfers paragraph (7) of section 2 of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (P.L. 116-224) to become new paragraph (8) of section 131 and strikes the parenthetical definition of Indian tribe in new subparagraph (8)(D).

This section makes conforming amendments to the Marine Debris Act (as redesignated and transferred by this Act) by (1) replacing references to the "Administrator" (of NOAA) with "Under Secretary" in sections 1, 2, 101, 102, 104, and 133, and in section 103; (2) replacing references to the "Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency" with "EPA Administrator" in sections 103 and 134; (3) updating cross-references in sections 103(e)(3), 123, 133, and 134 to reflect new section and subtitle numbering (i.e., "section 3" to "section 101"; "sections 3, 5, and 6" to "sections 101, 103, and 104"; and "title I" to "subtitle B"); and (4) capitalizing "tribal government" as "Tribal Government" throughout subtitle A.