Regional Ocean Partnership Act

Regional Ocean Partnership Act

This bill provides a mechanism for coastal states to participate in a Regional Ocean Partnership with one or more other coastal states that share a common ocean or coastal area.

Specifically, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may designate a partnership as a Regional Ocean Partnership if it (1) is established to coordinate the interstate management of coastal resources; (2) focuses on the environmental issues affecting the ocean and coastal areas of the coastal states participating in the partnership; (3) complements existing state coastal and ocean management efforts on an interstate scale, focusing on shared regional priorities; (4) does not have a regulatory function; and (5) is not duplicative of an existing Regional Ocean Partnership.

A Regional Ocean Partnership may use provided federal funds to award grants and enter into contracts for certain purposes, including to monitor the water quality and living resources of multistate ocean and coastal ecosystems.