Sponsors (7)
The bill speeds planning to create engineered warm-water refuges that protect manatees and coastal ecosystems as industrial warm-water sources close, at the cost of federal spending and potential local permitting and construction impacts.
Manatees and coastal ecosystems in Florida gain engineered warm-water refugia, reducing winter mortality risk as industrial warm-water discharges are phased out.
Florida and federal agencies will receive engineering studies and construction plans within 180 days, enabling faster, coordinated conservation action when plants close.
Nearby landowners and coastal operators could face permitting requirements, construction activity, or land-use changes if artificial refugia are built, causing local disruption and potential costs.
Federal taxpayers and agency budgets must cover the study and plan development, using resources and staff time that could be spent on other priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Directs USFWS to identify natural and artificial warm-water habitat options and develop construction concepts to replace manatee habitat lost when Florida coastal industrial warm-water sites are decommissioned.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on alternative habitat for certain manatees, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 2, 2026 by Daniel A. Webster · Last progress July 2, 2026
Requires the Interior Secretary, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to study and map potential warm-water habitat for West Indian manatees that currently rely on Florida coastal industrial sites slated for decommissioning. The study must identify natural warm-water sites not currently used by manatees, locations where artificial warm-water refugia could be built, and propose methods and construction plans in consultation with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The Department must publish a report with findings and proposed construction methods within 180 days of the law taking effect. No specific funding is provided in the text; the work is an agency study and planning requirement rather than a direct appropriation or construction authorization.