Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, House Administration, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
The Coastal Restoration Act of 2024 directs federal agencies to develop comprehensive strategies for protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems that store carbon, such as mangrove forests, salt marshes, seagrass beds, and kelp forests. The bill establishes an Interagency Working Group led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create a national map and inventory of these coastal blue carbon ecosystems, assess their carbon storage capacity, and develop restoration priorities. NOAA will carry out pilot programs to protect healthy ecosystems and restore degraded ones, while the Smithsonian Institution will establish a data clearinghouse to make coastal carbon information publicly available. The legislation also requires the government to conduct a national assessment measuring how much carbon these ecosystems can remove from the atmosphere and to examine greenhouse gas emissions from damaged coastal habitats. The bill authorizes $15 million annually through fiscal year 2029 to implement these requirements. The measure affects federal agencies, coastal states and tribes, research institutions, and coastal communities seeking to benefit from ecosystem restoration projects.
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