S. 3910 — 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 and in consultation with an interagency working group, to advance the science of marine carbon dioxide removal—including research, development, field trials, and integration of traditional ecological knowledge—through objectives such as evaluating efficacy (i.e., measurability, durability, magnitude, additionality), environmental and ecosystem responses, and social-cultural-economic impacts on coastal communities, as well as developing best practices for measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification; establishing environmental impact thresholds; recommending scalable approaches; assessing sustainability and commercialization pathways; and supporting this Act's implementation. The program prioritizes focal areas including ocean alkalinity enhancement, electrochemical engineering, macroalgae cultivation, nutrient fertilization, artificial upwelling and downwelling, coastal and estuarine ecosystems, and other approaches deemed appropriate by the Secretary of Commerce. In carrying out the program, NOAA must (1) award competitive grants for research aligned with the program's objectives and a federal research plan, requiring grantees to follow a code of conduct and allocating at least $10,000 per grant for engagement with Indian Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and affected coastal communities; (2) enter contracts, public-private partnerships, or other agreements as needed; (3) develop data management strategies ensuring non-proprietary data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, managed per specified evidence and records laws, with Tribal data protected from mandatory sharing or disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. §552(b)(3)(B)) absent Tribal consent; and (4) coordinate internationally with the Secretary of State and relevant entities.

This section requires the Secretary, for field activities conducted as part of the Program, to provide or develop instrumentation, infrastructure, and personnel for monitoring to understand and minimize negative ecosystem, community, cultural, and economic impacts of marine carbon dioxide removal—including impacts 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) support science-based research, development, and trialing of marine carbon dioxide removal technologies; (4) incorporate traditional ecological knowledge; (5) develop and improve monitoring, modeling, analysis, remediation, and mitigation technologies; (6) study ecosystem responses; and (7) collect data to inform uniform standards and protocols, including on carbon dioxide removal amounts, sequestration duration and reversal risks, energetic requirements, and other metrics developed in consultation with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. The section further directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Treasury and Energy, to provide technical assistance for reliable voluntary carbon markets and best practices, including on calculations, sampling, accounting, measurement/reporting/verification systems, additionality, durability, leakage, and avoidance of double counting. It authorizes the Secretary to develop public-private-academic partnership models for monitoring (e.g., data sharing, cost sharing); enter necessary contracts; and make monitoring data and protocols publicly available at no cost with no use restrictions—subject to protections for proprietary data, cooperative research agreements for section 103 research areas, and express permission requirements for data from Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, or Native Hawaiian organizations.

This section authorizes the Secretary, in carrying out the marine carbon dioxide removal program, to designate federally administered, funded, or supported 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 (i.e., technologies to capture and store carbon dioxide in marine environments). The research areas are to support basic and applied science (including bench-scale experiments, field trials, and demonstrations), coordinated permitting, tribal and Native Hawaiian consultation, sensing networks, communities of practice, business incubation, and long-term community engagement. This section further directs the Secretary, not later than 180 days after enactment, to inventory suitable existing federal facilities and areas, submit the inventory to the interagency working group, publish it in the Federal Register for public comment, and use comments to inform 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 or Native Hawaiian organizations, and certain consortia (with grant awards seeking to leverage private investment); the Secretary must assess area suitability using scientific, social, traditional ecological, and economic data and specified oceanographic, ecological, human use, and other factors. For each area, the Secretary must develop terms and conditions for users, including minimum elements related to environmental protection, monitoring, and stakeholder engagement (as specified in statute).

This section establishes an interagency working group for marine carbon dioxide removal under the National Science and Technology Council's subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology, composed of representatives from 20 specified federal entities (e.g., NOAA, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Navy). The group is co-chaired by NOAA and Department of Energy representatives; meets at least annually; and carries out duties including (1) establishing a federal research coordination plan within 90 days of enactment, (2) establishing and standardizing a code of conduct within one year of enactment, (3) coordinating agency compliance with existing law and funding to avoid duplication, (4) supporting research and development, (5) recommending transitions to operations and integration into voluntary carbon markets, (6) publishing a biennial report, (7) reviewing an inventory of research areas, (8) ensuring public access to research results, (9) consulting with Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, and (10) other coordination actions. The research plan may adopt existing plans, requires updates every five years, and must prioritize public engagement, tribal and Native Hawaiian consultation, ecosystem impacts, and objectives from section 101(b). The code of conduct—developed after Federal Register notice and public comment, adopted by member agencies, and applicable to grantees and research area users—requires at minimum open access to data and publications; prior laboratory, mesocosm, and modeling research before open-water testing; funding disclosure; stakeholder input and education; incorporation of traditional knowledge; deconfliction with other uses; experiment-specific mitigation plans; and compliance with applicable laws.

This section directs the interagency working group to publish a biennial report on marine carbon dioxide removal—beginning not later than two years after enactment—and submit it to relevant congressional committees. The report must cover, for the relevant period, (1) progress toward objectives in sec. 101(b)(1); (2) activities at research areas under sec. 103, including entities and personnel using them and approaches studied; (3) key monitoring findings, such as life-cycle carbon dioxide removal amounts, net atmospheric greenhouse gas removals and sequestration duration, energy consumption, and other metrics; (4) research findings, knowledge gaps, and priorities; (5) permitting regime assessment with efficiency recommendations; (6) barriers in resources, capacity, technology, infrastructure, or expertise; (7) strategic updates to sec. 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 in section 104, including research on (1) the efficacy of marine carbon dioxide removal (i.e., measurability, magnitude of greenhouse gas removal, durability, and additionality); (2) ecosystem responses to and social and cultural dimensions of marine carbon dioxide removal; (3) tools and technologies to measure efficacy and environmental impacts, including traditional ecological knowledge; and (4) other relevant areas. The section also requires coordination with other federal agencies, including the Secretary, and leveraging of existing NSF programs to develop the scientific workforce for marine carbon dioxide removal.

This section directs the NASA Administrator 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. It requires coordination with other federal agencies, including NOAA, and authorizes appropriations of such sums as necessary for FY2027 through FY2031.

This section establishes a marine carbon dioxide removal initiative to be carried out by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology. The initiative develops and standardizes benchmark materials, measurements, data, and models to accelerate innovation in and validate performance of materials and technologies for marine carbon dioxide removal. It 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 the standards; and authorizes appropriations of such sums as necessary for FY2027 through FY2031.