§1421f–1 Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program and Rapid Response Fund

Summary

The government must run a grant program called the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue and Response Grant Program to give money to people and groups that rescue, care for, study, or respond to stranded or entangled marine mammals. Emergency assistance is money for certain stranding or entanglement events that raise costs or are declared emergencies (it does not cover unusual mortality events). "Secretary" means the Department official named in the law. A "stranding region" is a geographic area set by that Secretary. Grants can pay for rescue, care, treatment, emergency responses, collecting data or samples, facility costs tied to those activities, and building response capacity or training. The Secretary can use contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements and can change awards or waive some application rules during emergencies. The Secretary must try to spread funds fairly among stranding regions and may consider recent events, average annual events, population size, importance to Indigenous communities, and species conservation; priority goes to strandings. Applicants must apply as the Secretary requires and follow reporting rules under section 1421a(d) and any Fish and Wildlife Service rules when relevant. Grant rules will be made with advice from the Marine Mammal Commission and regional representatives. A single grant cannot exceed $150,000 in any 12‑month period. The Secretary’s admin costs for the program each year cannot be more than the greater of 6% of program funds or $80,000. The Secretary must publish upcoming proposals, funded grants, and emergency flexibility requests. There is also an interest‑bearing Treasury account called the Joseph R. Geraci Marine Mammal Rescue and Rapid Response Fund to supply emergency assistance. Congress authorized $7,000,000 each fiscal year for 2023–2028 for the grant program (with $6,000,000 to the Secretary of Commerce and $1,000,000 to the Secretary of the Interior) from amounts enacted after December 23, 2022, and $500,000 each fiscal year 2023–2028 for the Rapid Response Fund. The Secretary may accept gifts and money for the program, which will be handled under regular appropriations rules. Grants must include at least a 25% non‑Federal share, which can include cash or the fair market value of donated goods and services.