H.R. 644 — Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025

This section revises section 603 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (HABHRCA; 33 U.S.C. 4001), which establishes an Interagency Task Force to coordinate federal efforts on harmful algal blooms (HABs, i.e., rapid growth of algae producing toxins that harm aquatic life, humans, and economies) and hypoxia (i.e., low-oxygen zones killing marine life), as follows: (1) adds the Department of Energy to the task force; (2) expands the scope of scientific assessments from coastal waters including the Great Lakes to marine, estuarine, and freshwater systems; (3) requires the task force to complete and submit to Congress an action strategy for HABs not less frequently than every five years that includes scientific assessments of HABs across diverse waters (e.g., Great Lakes, freshwater lakes and rivers, coastal waters), their causes and impacts (including on food safety, security, subsistence use, and under other environmental stressors), prevention and mitigation methods, research priorities (e.g., to address forecasting and monitoring gaps), progress evaluations, coordination improvements, and regional chapters; and (4) directs consultation with states, Indian tribes, local governments, industries (e.g., fisheries, agriculture), academia, and nongovernmental organizations. (Thus, the revisions integrate freshwater HABs previously outside the program's primary focus and establish a recurring federal action framework.) This section also makes conforming changes to the section heading, table of contents, and a related provision (33 U.S.C. 4001a). This section further amends section 603A of HABHRCA (33 U.S.C. 4002), which establishes the National HAB and Hypoxia Program to improve prediction, detection, and mitigation: (1) incorporates HABHRCA action strategies and scientific assessments into program purposes; (2) expands eligible cooperative activities to programs and centers for marine, estuarine, and freshwater systems; (3) eliminates a prior funding limitation; (4) requires program activities to examine HAB and hypoxia causes, consequences, and costs; and (5) directs enhanced monitoring efforts, including the annual Gulf of Mexico hypoxia zone mapping cruise and identification of monitoring improvements.

This section amends federal authorities for responding to harmful algal bloom and hypoxia events of national significance (33 U.S.C. 4010(g)) as follows: (1) authorizes waiver of non-federal cost-sharing requirements when no reasonable means exist to meet them and authorizes contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants to states, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations, local governments, or other entities to assess such events' environmental, economic, subsistence use, and public health effects; (2) expands entities eligible to request a declaration of national significance to include leadership officials of affected Indian tribes, the District of Columbia's executive official, and executive officials of affected U.S. territories or possessions, and revises declaration criteria to require consideration of specified public health risks (e.g., toxin levels, illnesses, beach closures), economic and subsistence impacts (e.g., fishery losses, cleanup costs), magnitude relative to past events, and geographic scope; (3) adds definitions of Indian tribe and tribal organization (as in 25 U.S.C. 5304), Native Hawaiian organization (as in 20 U.S.C. 7517, including the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Office of Hawaiian Affairs), and subsistence use (i.e., customary and traditional use of resources for economic, nutritional, or cultural needs); and (4) authorizes $2 million for each of FY2026 through FY2030, to remain available until expended.