§1981 Definitions

Summary

Defines key words used later in the chapter. Some terms are given elsewhere in federal law, so this chapter says those words keep the meanings already set by other parts of the law (for example circular economy, EPA Administrator, nonprofit organization, post-consumer materials management, Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, and Under Secretary). The Interagency Committee is the named federal marine debris committee, and the Program is the Marine Debris Program created by law. A coastal shoreline community is a city or county next to the open ocean, big estuaries, or the Great Lakes. Marine debris means long-lasting man-made solid material thrown or left in the ocean or Great Lakes. A severe marine debris event is a very large amount of debris caused by a natural disaster like a tsunami, flood, landslide, or hurricane. Non‑Federal funds include money from eight sources: a State, an Indian Tribe, a U.S. territory, local governments or Tribal organizations, a foreign government, a for‑profit business, a nonprofit, or a private individual. State also covers a U.S. State affected within its seaward or Great Lakes borders, an Indian Tribe, the District of Columbia, the territories American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and any other U.S. territory or separate sovereign in free association with the United States affected within its seaward boundaries. Tribal Government means the recognized governing body of an Indian or Alaska Native entity listed on the federal list most recently published as of December 26, 2025.