Sponsors (6)
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Suzanne Bonamici · Last progress January 23, 2025
The bill strengthens federal monitoring, funding, and targeted assistance to detect, assess, and respond to harmful algal blooms and hypoxia—helping public health and vulnerable communities—but increases federal spending, administrative burdens, and carries risks of resource diversion and unintended environmental or implementation harms if not carefully managed.
State, local, Tribal, and island communities will receive regular (every 5 years) Action Strategies and scientific assessments to guide HAB and hypoxia preparedness and response.
Local, state, Tribal, rural, and coastal communities will benefit from expanded monitoring, observation, and operational freshwater/coastal HAB forecasting that improves early detection, public-health protections, and seafood safety.
NOAA and EPA will receive dedicated annual funding (specified amounts to NOAA and EPA for 2026–2030), providing predictable federal support for HAB/hypoxia monitoring, forecasting, and response activities.
The bill increases federal spending (including specified NOAA/EPA funding and an authorization for reimbursement funds), creating budget tradeoffs that could raise taxpayer costs or require offsets elsewhere.
New coordination, reporting, and expanded assessment requirements will raise administrative burden and compliance costs for federal, state, Tribal, and local agencies and for recipients conducting assessments.
Using 'amounts otherwise available' to fund the incubator or related initiatives could divert NOAA resources from other programs if appropriations do not increase.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Broaden and strengthen federal HAB/hypoxia research and coordination, require 5‑year Action Strategies and assessments, add DOE, expand studies and data, and authorize $2M/yr (2026–2030) for impact assessments.
Updates and expands the federal program that researches and responds to harmful algal blooms (HABs) and hypoxia by broadening the ecosystems covered, adding the Department of Energy to the federal Task Force, requiring regular Action Strategies and scientific assessments, and expanding the types of data and analyses the program must produce. It also modifies a drought-information provision to let a federal official waive non‑Federal cost shares in certain cases, authorize reimbursement agreements with States, Tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and local governments for assessing impacts of major HAB/hypoxia events, and provides $2 million per year for those activities for fiscal years 2026–2030. The bill focuses on strengthening science, monitoring, forecasting, and coordination across marine, estuarine, and freshwater systems; clarifying required study topics (causes, ecological and economic impacts, food safety and subsistence issues, and other stressors); and ensuring periodic, public Action Strategies and assessments to guide prevention, mitigation, and response efforts.