S. 93 — Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025

This section amends 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 research, monitoring, management, and control of harmful algal blooms (HABs; i.e., rapid growth of potentially toxic algae) and hypoxia (i.e., low-oxygen conditions harmful to aquatic 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) revises assessment elements to address causes, ecological and economic costs (including food safety and security), other environmental stressors, mitigation alternatives, modeling, forecasting, and monitoring data; (4) requires the task force to submit to Congress, not less frequently than every five years, an Action Strategy for HABs that includes scientific assessments of HABs across marine, estuarine, freshwater, Great Lakes, and migratory systems; causes and impacts (ecological, economic, cultural, subsistence); prevention, control, and mitigation methods and costs/benefits; research priorities to address forecasting and monitoring gaps; progress evaluations; interagency coordination improvements; and regional chapters; and (5) directs consultation with states, Indian tribes, local governments, industries (e.g., fisheries, agriculture, fertilizer), academia, and nongovernmental organizations. It 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 the HABHRCA (33 U.S.C. 4002), which establishes the National HAB and Hypoxia Program to improve prediction, detection, and mitigation: (1) incorporates HAB and hypoxia Action Strategies and scientific assessments into program purposes; (2) expands eligible cooperative activities to programs and centers for marine, estuarine, and freshwater science and management; (3) clarifies interagency participation under respective missions and authorities; (4) revises research elements to examine HAB and hypoxia causes, consequences, and costs; and (5) enhances monitoring activities, including the annual Gulf of Mexico hypoxia zone mapping cruise and opportunities to improve monitoring.

This section amends federal authorities for responding to harmful algal bloom and hypoxia events of national significance (i.e., large-scale events eligible for coordinated federal assistance under NOAA programs). Specifically, it (1) authorizes the waiver of nonfederal matching share requirements when no reasonable means exist to meet them and expands contracting, grant, and cooperative agreement authority to States, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations, local governments, and other entities to assess such events' environmental, economic, subsistence use, and public health effects; (2) expands eligibility to request a declaration of national significance to include affected tribal leaders, the District of Columbia executive, and executives of affected U.S. territories or possessions and revises the 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), event magnitude relative to past occurrences, and geographic scope; (3) adds definitions of Indian tribe and tribal organization (cross-referencing the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act), Native Hawaiian organization (cross-referencing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [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 fish, wildlife, and marine resources for economic, nutritional, or cultural needs); and (4) authorizes $2 million annually for FY2026 through FY2030.