U.S. President Donald Trump has signed the Save Our Seas Act 2.0 Amendments Act into law, strengthening and reauthorizing a federal marine debris cleanup program for another five years.
“This bill ensures critical work continues to combat plastic pollution before it reaches our ocean and supports the Marine Debris Foundation, strengthening efforts to reduce marine debris and protect coastal communities and wildlife,” NGO Ocean Conservancy said in a social media post. “This is a major step forward to advance NOAA’s mission and a clear example of what’s possible when leaders come together to defend science-based solutions for our ocean. Ocean Conservancy is proud to have long championed the Marine Debris Program as part of our broader NOAA defense work.”
The Save Our Seas 2.0 Amendments Act of 2025 is a follow-up to the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, which expanded NOAA’s Marine Debris Program in 2020 and established the Marine Debris Foundation, a charitable organization that supports those efforts. This latest legislation reauthorizes the program and the foundation through fiscal year 2029 while giving administrators more flexibility in how they partner with other groups and fund projects, such as through the use of nontraditional agreements and in-kind contributions. The amendments also authorize the Marine Debris Foundation to establish a headquarters around Washington, D.C., or a coastal community.
The legislation, which was introduced at the beginning of 2025, was approved by the U.S. Senate in May. The U.S. House passed the legislation in December, and U.S. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law 26 December.
“This bill will improve the administration of NOAA’s Marine Debris Program and the Marine Debris Foundation so it can respond more effectively to the growing threats facing our coastal regions of which I represent one in Mobile, Alabama. Each year, more than 11 million tons of plastic debris enters the oceans, endangering the livelihood of communities, small businesses, fishermen, and our food chain that rely on healthy waterways,” U.S. Representative Shomari Figures (D-Alabama) said on the House floor ahead of passage. “This legislation takes practical steps to support the federal programs responsible for removing debris and protecting the safety and resilience of our coastal communities. The bill improves NOAA’s debris program by giving the agency clearer authority to use new and existing tools to address pollution more effectively and allowing NOAA to work faster and in closer partnership with state and local governments as well as Tribal nations, nonprofits, and regional organizations.”
The Senate recently passed similar legislation, the Save Our Seas 2.0 Marine Debris Infrastructure Programs Reauthorization Act, which reauthorizes marine debris programs overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
