Bill > HR9912

This bill, the Coastal Restoration Act of 2024, would require the establishment of an Interagency Working Group on Coastal Blue Carbon to coordinate federal efforts to research, monitor, identify, map, protect, and restore coastal blue carbon ecosystems. The bill directs the Interagency Working Group to produce and maintain a national map and inventory of coastal blue carbon ecosystems, establish a national strategy and priorities for protecting and restoring these ecosystems, and provide technical assistance to state, local, and tribal agencies. The bill also directs the NOAA Administrator to carry out pilot programs to protect intact and restore degraded coastal blue carbon ecosystems, and requires the establishment of a Coastal Carbon Data Clearinghouse and a Coastal Blue Carbon Inventory Program. Additionally, the bill requires an assessment by the National Academies on the long-term effects of storing carbon dioxide in deep seafloor environments, and a national assessment by NOAA to quantify the carbon sequestration potential of coastal blue carbon ecosystems.