Bill > HR988

This bill, the National Estuaries and Acidification Research Act of 2019 (NEAR Act of 2019), directs the Department of Commerce to arrange for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study that examines the existing science of ocean acidification in estuarine (coastal) environments, the challenges to studying ocean acidification and its interactions with other environmental stressors in these environments, provides recommendations for improving future research on ocean acidification in estuarine environments, and identifies pathways for applying science in management and mitigation decisions related to ocean acidification in estuarine environments. The study aims to better understand the impacts of ocean acidification and other factors, such as salinity, pH, temperature, sea level rise, and nutrient input, on estuarine ecosystems and how to address these issues.