H.R. 7656 — ReSCUE Oceans Act

This section establishes a program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to be implemented not later than 90 days after enactment of the Act and in consultation with an interagency working group, to advance the science of marine carbon dioxide removal through research, development, field trials, and integration of traditional ecological knowledge to the maximum extent practicable. The program targets objectives including evaluating mCDR efficacy (i.e., measurability, durability, magnitude, additionality), environmental and ecosystem responses, and social-cultural-economic impacts on coastal communities; and applying such knowledge to best practices for measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification; environmental impact thresholds; recommendations for safe, effective, scalable approaches; sustainability analyses; commercialization pathways; and Act implementation support. In pursuing these objectives, the program prioritizes focal areas such as ocean alkalinity enhancement, electrochemical engineering, macroalgae cultivation, nutrient fertilization, artificial upwelling and downwelling, carbon storage in coastal and estuarine ecosystems, and other approaches deemed appropriate by the Secretary. The Secretary must award competitive grants for research aligned with program objectives and a federal research plan (per sec. 104), require field-activity grantees to follow a code of conduct (per sec. 104), and allocate at least $10,000 per grant for engagement with Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and affected coastal communities; the Secretary may also enter contracts, public-private partnerships, or other agreements. The section directs NOAA to develop data management strategies ensuring non-proprietary data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable; managed per specified evidence and records laws; and preserved long-term. (Tribal data protections include no sharing mandates, required consent for publication, and exemption from disclosure under FOIA [5 U.S.C. §552(b)(3)(B)] absent Tribal waiver.) The Secretary must coordinate internationally with the Secretary of State and relevant entities.

This section requires the Secretary to provide, to the maximum extent practicable, instrumentation, infrastructure, and personnel for monitoring field activities under the Program to understand and minimize negative ecosystem, community, cultural, and economic impacts of marine carbon dioxide removal—including to Native American communities—and to maximize co-benefits for communities and ecosystems. In doing so, the Secretary must (1) use monitoring assets to achieve objectives described in section 101(b)(1); (2) support compliance with applicable environmental laws; (3) promote science-based research, development, and trialing of marine carbon dioxide removal technologies; (4) incorporate traditional ecological knowledge; (5) develop technologies for monitoring, modeling, analyzing, remediating, or mitigating impacts; (6) study ecosystem responses; and (7) collect data to inform uniform standards and protocols, including on amounts of carbon dioxide removed, sequestration duration and reversal risks, energetic requirements, and other metrics developed in consultation with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. The section further authorizes the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Energy, to provide technical assistance for voluntary carbon markets (e.g., on calculations, sampling, accounting, and verification); to develop public-private-academic partnership models (e.g., for data sharing and cost sharing); and to enter contracts as needed. Finally, the section requires public release at no cost and with no restrictions on use of monitoring data and protocols—subject to protections for proprietary data, intellectual property under cooperative agreements, and Tribal or Native Hawaiian data (which requires express permission to share).

This section authorizes the Secretary to designate Federally administered, funded, or supported oceanic, coastal, estuarine, riverine, or terrestrial areas—including Tribal lands with Tribal consent—or to award grants to eligible entities to establish such areas for research on marine carbon dioxide removal approaches. The purposes include conducting basic and applied science (e.g., bench-scale experiments, field trials), coordinated permitting, Tribal and Native Hawaiian consultation, sensing networks, stakeholder communities of practice, business incubation for related technologies, and long-term community engagement. This section further directs the Secretary, within 180 days of enactment, to inventory existing Federal facilities and suitable areas, submit the inventory to the interagency working group, publish it in the Federal Register for public comment, and use comments to inform research area selection. Eligible grant recipients include institutions of higher education (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1001), tribally controlled colleges or universities, State/local/Tribal governments, Tribes, Tribal/Native Hawaiian organizations, and certain consortia (e.g., including National Laboratories); grants must leverage private sector investment where possible. The Secretary must assess research area suitability using scientific, social, traditional ecological, and economic data—considering factors such as oceanographic/ecological characteristics (e.g., proximity to geologic storage, ecosystem impacts), human uses and communities (e.g., socioeconomic effects on Tribes and coastal communities), downstream impacts, and other matters in consultation with stakeholders—and develop terms and conditions for research area users.

This section establishes an interagency working group for marine carbon dioxide removal under the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology of the National Science and Technology Council, with one or more representatives from 20 federal entities including the Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Energy (DOE), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, and others. NOAA and DOE representatives serve as co-chairs, and the group meets at least annually at their call. The group must (1) within 90 days of enactment, establish a federal research plan (which may adopt existing plans, requires updates every five years thereafter, and prioritizes public engagement, consultation with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, ecosystem impacts research, and objectives in section 101(b)); (2) within one year of enactment, after Federal Register notice and public comment, establish and standardize a code of conduct for marine carbon dioxide removal research (which represented agencies must adopt; applies to grantees and research area users; and requires at minimum open access to data and publications, sequenced testing from labs to open water, funding disclosure, public education and input opportunities, incorporation of traditional knowledge, deconfliction with other uses, experiment-specific mitigation plans addressing ecosystem and social risks with remediation guidelines, and legal compliance); (3) coordinate agency efforts for legal compliance, safe and effective research and development, and non-duplicative funding; (4) provide recommendations on research-to-operations transitions, voluntary carbon market integration, and research areas based on section 103(c) inventory (within 90 days of receipt); (5) submit biennial reports per section 105; (6) ensure public access to research results; and (7) consult with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. (Thus, the group coordinates federal marine carbon dioxide removal activities—i.e., ocean-based methods to sequester atmospheric CO2 such as enhanced weathering or alkalinity addition—to advance research while minimizing environmental and social risks.)

This section directs the interagency working group to publish biennial reports on marine carbon dioxide removal—beginning not later than two years after enactment of this Act—and submit them to relevant congressional committees. Each report must cover (1) progress toward objectives in section 101(b)(1), including related findings and efforts; (2) activities at research areas designated under section 103, including the number of entities and personnel using each area and specific removal approaches studied; (3) key monitoring findings, such as life-cycle carbon dioxide removals, net greenhouse gas removals and sequestration duration, energy consumption, and other metrics; (4) research findings, knowledge gaps, and priorities; (5) an assessment of the permitting regime with efficiency recommendations; (6) barriers in resources, capacity, technology, infrastructure, or expertise; (7) strategic updates to section 101(b)(1) objectives; and (8) other relevant matters. The working group must publish each report on a public website at no cost and without restrictions on use.

This section directs the Director of the National Science Foundation to award grants supporting the federal research plan on marine carbon dioxide removal described in section 104, including research on (1) the efficacy of such removal (i.e., measurability, magnitude of greenhouse gas removal, durability, and additionality); (2) ecosystem responses to and social and cultural dimensions of such removal; (3) tools and technologies to support understanding and measurement of efficacy and environmental impacts, including traditional ecological knowledge; and (4) other relevant areas as determined by the Director. The section further requires the Director to coordinate with heads of appropriate federal agencies, including the Secretary, and to leverage existing NSF scientific training and workforce development programs to build capacity and expertise related to marine carbon dioxide removal.

This section directs the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to use agency capabilities and assets, to the extent practicable, to advance understanding of marine carbon dioxide removal efficacy and impacts and to support the Federal research plan under section 104, including by leveraging NASA's research portfolio, enhancing monitoring and modeling programs to incorporate relevant data, aligning Mission Directorates, and conducting other relevant activities, in coordination with other federal agencies such as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. It authorizes appropriations of such sums as necessary for FY2027 through FY2031.

This section establishes a marine carbon dioxide removal initiative under the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology to develop and standardize benchmark materials, measurements, data, and models that accelerate innovation in and validate performance of marine carbon dioxide removal technologies. The section requires coordination with appropriate federal agencies, including the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere; directs international engagement, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to promote global adoption of these standards; and authorizes appropriations of such sums as necessary for FY2027 through FY2031.