§3101 — Title 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters | U.S. Code

Summary

The President must run and support a national research program, through the National Science and Technology Council, to learn how oceans affect human health. Within 1 year after December 8, 2004, the Council, through the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, must send Congress a plan for coordinating Federal work under the program. The Council must consult with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia and avoid duplicating that Task Force. The plan must set goals and priorities for 10 years, say what actions are needed (such as competitive grants, ocean and coastal observations, scientist training, and international work), list relevant Federal programs, find ways to prevent duplicate efforts, use existing expert reports, recommend coordination with other organizations, and estimate Federal research funding. The program can support research and activities on topics like water- and vector-borne diseases, harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, marine-derived medicines, marine organisms used in biomedical study, marine microbiology, chemical contaminants, and predictive models. It must coordinate observing systems to provide health-related ocean data. It may fund technology partnerships (for example, genomics and proteomics, biomaterials, sensors, ways to supply marine resources, and adapting human-health technologies) and support scholars and training. Starting with the first year more than 24 months after December 8, 2004, the Council, through the OSTP Director, must send the President and Congress by January 31st each year an annual report on the prior fiscal year. The report must summarize achievements, analyze progress toward plan goals and trends, include the plan or its changes, show agency budgets for oceans and human health for that preceding fiscal year, and recommend any needed actions or legislation.

Title 33, §3101

Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The President, through the National Science and Technology Council, shall coordinate and support a national research program to improve understanding of the role of the oceans in human health.

(b)Within 1 year after December 8, 2004, the National Science and Technology Council, through the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall develop and submit to the Congress a plan for coordinated Federal activities under the program. Nothing in this subsection is intended to duplicate or supersede the activities of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia established under section 4001 11 See References in Text note below. of this title. In developing the plan, the Committee will consult with the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia. Such plan will build on and complement the ongoing activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and other departments and agencies and shall—

(1)establish, for the 10-year period beginning in the year it is submitted, the goals and priorities for Federal research which most effectively advance scientific understanding of the connections between the oceans and human health, provide usable information for the prediction of marine-related public health problems and use the biological potential of the oceans for development of new treatments of human diseases and a greater understanding of human biology;

(2)describe specific activities required to achieve such goals and priorities, including the funding of competitive research grants, ocean and coastal observations, training and support for scientists, and participation in international research efforts;

(3)identify and address, as appropriate, relevant programs and activities of the Federal agencies and departments that would contribute to the program;

(4)identify alternatives for preventive unnecessary duplication of effort among Federal agencies and departments with respect to the program;

(5)consider and use, as appropriate, reports and studies conducted by Federal agencies and departments, the National Research Council, the Ocean Research Advisory Panel, the Commission on Ocean Policy and other expert scientific bodies;

(6)make recommendations for the coordination of program activities with ocean and human health-related activities of other national and international organizations; and

(7)estimate Federal funding for research activities to be conducted under the program.

(c)The program may include the following activities related to the role of oceans in human health:

(1)Interdisciplinary research among the ocean and medical sciences, and coordinated research and activities to improve understanding of processes within the ocean that may affect human health and to explore the potential contribution of marine organisms to medicine and research, including—

(A)vector- and water-borne diseases of humans and marine organisms, including marine mammals and fish;

(B)harmful algal blooms and hypoxia (through the Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia);

(C)marine-derived pharmaceuticals;

(D)marine organisms as models for biomedical research and as indicators of marine environmental health;

(E)marine environmental microbiology;

(F)bioaccumulative and endocrine-disrupting chemical contaminants; and

(G)predictive models based on indicators of marine environmental health or public health threats.

(2)Coordination with the National Ocean Research Leadership Council (10 U.S.C. 8932(a)) 1 to ensure that any integrated ocean and coastal observing system provides information necessary to monitor and reduce marine public health problems including health-related data on biological populations and detection of contaminants in marine waters and seafood.

(3)Development through partnerships among Federal agencies, States, academic institutions, or non-profit research organizations of new technologies and approaches for detecting and reducing hazards to human health from ocean sources and to strengthen understanding of the value of marine biodiversity to biomedicine, including—

(A)genomics and proteomics to develop genetic and immunological detection approaches and predictive tools and to discover new biomedical resources;

(B)biomaterials and bioengineering;

(C)in situ and remote sensors used to detect, quantify, and predict the presence and spread of contaminants in marine waters and organisms and to identify new genetic resources for biomedical purposes;

(D)techniques for supplying marine resources, including chemical synthesis, culturing and aquaculturing marine organisms, new fermentation methods and recombinant techniques; and

(E)adaptation of equipment and technologies from human health fields.

(4)Support for scholars, trainees and education opportunities that encourage an interdisciplinary and international approach to exploring the diversity of life in the oceans.

(d)Beginning with the first year occurring more than 24 months after December 8, 2004, the National Science and Technology Council, through the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy shall prepare and submit to the President and the Congress not later than January 31st of each year an annual report on the activities conducted pursuant to this title during the preceding fiscal year, including—

(1)a summary of the achievements of Federal oceans and human health research, including Federally supported external research, during the preceding fiscal year;

(2)an analysis of the progress made toward achieving the goals and objectives of the plan developed under subsection (b), including identification of trends and emerging trends;

(3)a copy or summary of the plan and any changes made in the plan;

(4)a summary of agency budgets for oceans and human health activities for that preceding fiscal year; and

(5)any recommendations regarding additional action or legislation that may be required to assist in achieving the purposes of this chapter.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 4001 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “section 603 of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 1451 note)”, meaning section 603 of Pub. L. 105–383, which was set out in a note under section 1451 of Title 16, Conservation, prior to transfer to section 4001 of this title. The reference to the National Ocean Research Leadership Council (10 U.S.C. 8932(a)), referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is no longer accurate insofar as section 8932 of title 10 was amended by Pub. L. 116–283 so as to instead refer to the Ocean Policy Committee.

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted “(10 U.S.C. 8932(a))” for “(10 U.S.C. 7902(a))”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of

Amendments

and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of Title 10, Armed Forces.

Short Title

Pub. L. 108–447, div. B, title IX, § 901, Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 2930, provided that: “This title [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Oceans and Human Health Act’.”

§3101 Interagency Oceans and Human Health Research Program

Summary

Title 33, §3101

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Amendments

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Amendments

Short Title

Citations & Metadata