Sponsors (4)
Official title: Reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 26, 2026 by Mark R. Warner · Last progress February 26, 2026
The bill strengthens NOAA-led science, funding, and education for Chesapeake Bay restoration—boosting local restoration, resilience, and workforce pathways—while increasing federal costs, centralizing authority, and creating some legal and timing risks for partners.
Local coastal communities, fisheries stakeholders, and restoration practitioners will get increased NOAA funding and support for habitat restoration (oysters, SAV), aquaculture, and resilience projects that can boost local fisheries, jobs, and coastal resilience.
State and local managers, resource agencies, and partners will gain stronger monitoring, integrated ecosystem assessments, peer review, and biennial reporting/2-year action plans, improving the science base, transparency, and accountability of Chesapeake Bay restoration investments.
Students and teachers will get expanded Chesapeake Bay education programs and internships that increase watershed literacy and create clearer career pathways in marine and restoration sciences.
State and local partners and nonprofits may face reduced influence and legal/administrative uncertainty because the bill centralizes authority with the NOAA Administrator and removes or alters enumerated statutory provisions stakeholders previously relied on.
Taxpayers could see higher federal spending and administrative costs because the bill expands NOAA program authorities and grant activities.
Grant recipients and restoration implementers may experience longer approval timelines because expanded peer review and merit-assessment requirements can slow project selection and on-the-ground work.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Strengthens and clarifies the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office’s authorities, adds program areas (coastal hazards, climate change, education, integrated ecosystem assessments), and requires peer review and coordination with the Chesapeake Executive Council.
Updates and strengthens the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office by clarifying leadership duties, giving the NOAA Administrator and the Office broader authority to run programs, adding coastal hazards, climate change, education, and integrated ecosystem assessments to its work, and requiring stronger scientific peer review and consultation with the Chesapeake Executive Council. It directs the Office to coordinate with federal, state, academic, and nongovernmental partners to support regional monitoring, research, restoration, and education efforts across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The law revises organizational and personnel language, requires transparent quality-assurance for projects, explicitly assigns administrative responsibilities to the Office Director, and formalizes NOAA’s role as the agency’s primary representative in the Chesapeake Bay watershed through a non-binding Sense of Congress.