II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5024 

To establish the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization 

Council, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 16, 2020 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and 

Characterization Council, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Ocean Explo5 ration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The health and resilience of the ocean are 

9 vital to the security and economy of the United 


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1 States and to the lives of the people of the United 

2 States. 

3 (2) The United States depends on the ocean to 

4 regulate weather and climate, to sustain and protect 

5 the diversity of life, for maritime shipping, for na6 tional defense, and for food, energy, medicine, and 

7 other services essential to the people of the United 

8 States and all humankind. 

9 (3) The prosperity, security, and well-being of 

10 the United States depends on successful stewardship 

11 of the ocean. 

12 (4) Interdisciplinary cooperation and engage13 ment among government agencies, research institu14 tions, foundations, and the private sector are essen15 tial for successful stewardship of ocean and coastal 

16 environments, for national economic growth, and for 

17 development of agile strategies that promote and use 

18 new technologies. 

19 (5) Ocean exploration can help the people of the 

20 United States understand how to be effective stew21 ards of the ocean and serve as catalysts and enablers 

22 for other sectors of the economy. 

23 (6) Mapping, exploration, and characterization 

24 of the ocean provides basic, essential information to 

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1 late economic activity, and provide security for the 

2 United States. 

3 (7) A robust national ocean exploration pro4 gram engaging multiple Federal agencies, the pri5 vate sector, and academia is— 

6 (A) essential to the interests of the United 

7 States and vital to its security and economy 

8 and the health and well-being of all people of 

9 the United States; and 

10 (B) critical to reestablish the United 

11 States at the forefront of global ocean explo12 ration and stewardship. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) CHARACTERIZATION.—The term ‘‘charac16 terization’’ refers to activities that provide com17 prehensive data and interpretations for a specific 

18 area of interest of the seafloor, sub-bottom, water 

19 column, or hydrologic features, such as water masses 

20 and currents, in direct support of specific research, 

21 environmental protection, resource management, pol22 icymaking, or applied mission objectives. 

23 (2) EXPLORATION.—The term ‘‘exploration’’ re24 fers to activities that provide— 


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1 (A) a multidisciplinary view of an unknown 

2 or poorly understood area of the seafloor, sub3 bottom, or water column; and 

4 (B) an initial assessment of the physical, 

5 chemical, geological, biological, archeological, or 

6 other characteristics of such an area. 

7 (3) MAPPING.—The term ‘‘mapping’’ refers to 

8 activities that provide comprehensive data and infor9 mation needed to understand seafloor characteris10 tics, such as depth, topography, bottom type, sedi11 ment composition and distribution, underlying geo12 logic structure, and benthic flora and fauna. 

13 SEC. 4. OCEAN POLICY COMMITTEE. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

15 Executive Office of the President a committee, to be 

16 known as the ‘‘Ocean Policy Committee’’ (in this section 

17 referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

18 (b) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Committee shall in19 clude— 

20 (1) a subcommittee to be known as the ‘‘Ocean 

21 Science and Technology Subcommittee’’; and 

22 (2) a subcommittee to be known as the ‘‘Ocean 

23 Resource Management Subcommittee’’. 

24 (c) INCREASED ACCESS TO GEOSPATIAL DATA FOR

25 MORE EFFICIENT AND INFORMED DECISION MAKING.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF DOCUMENT SYSTEM.— 

2 The Committee shall establish or designate one or 

3 more systems for ocean-related documents prepared 

4 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

5 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

6 (2) ELEMENTS.—The systems established or 

7 designated under paragraph (1) shall include the fol8 lowing: 

9 (A) A publicly accessible, centralized dig10 ital archive of documents described in para11 graph (1) that are finalized after the date of 

12 enactment of this Act, including— 

13 (i) environmental impact statements; 

14 (ii) environmental assessments; 

15 (iii) categorical exclusions; 

16 (iv) records of decision; and 

17 (v) other relevant documents as deter18 mined by the Committee. 

19 (B) Geospatially referenced data, if any, 

20 contained in the documents under subpara21 graph (A). 

22 (C) A mechanism to retrieve information 

23 through geo-information tools that can map and 

24 integrate relevant geospatial information, such 

25 as— 


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1 (i) Ocean Report Tools; 

2 (ii) the Environmental Studies Pro3 gram Information System; 

4 (iii) Regional Ocean Partnerships; and 

5 (iv) the Integrated Ocean Observing 

6 System. 

7 SEC. 5. NATIONAL OCEAN MAPPING, EXPLORATION, AND 

8 CHARACTERIZATION COUNCIL. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

10 a council, to be known as the ‘‘National Ocean Mapping, 

11 Exploration, and Characterization Council’’ (in this sec12 tion referred to as the ‘‘Council’’). 

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The Council shall— 

14 (1) update national priorities for ocean map15 ping, exploration, and characterization; and 

16 (2) coordinate and facilitate activities to ad17 vance those priorities. 

18 (c) REPORTING.—The Council shall report to the 

19 Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee of the 

20 Ocean Policy Committee established under section 4(b)(1). 

21 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be composed of 

22 not fewer than one senior-level representative from each 

23 of the following: 

24 (1) The Department of the Navy. 

25 (2) The Department of the Interior. 


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1 (3) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad2 ministration. 

3 (4) The department in which the Coast Guard 

4 is operating. 

5 (5) The Office of Management and Budget. 

6 (6) The Council on Environmental Quality. 

7 (7) The Office of Science and Technology Pol8 icy. 

9 (8) The Department of State. 

10 (9) The National Science Foundation. 

11 (10) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad12 ministration. 

13 (11) The Marine Mammal Commission. 

14 (e) CO-CHAIRS.—The Council shall be co-chaired 

15 by— 

16 (1) two senior-level representatives from the 

17 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

18 and 

19 (2) one senior-level representative from the De20 partment of the Interior. 

21 (f) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 

22 (1) set national ocean mapping, exploration, 

23 and characterization priorities and strategies; 

24 (2) cultivate and facilitate partnerships among 

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1 demia, and nongovernmental organizations to con2 duct ocean mapping, exploration, and characteriza3 tion activities and related technology development; 

4 (3) coordinate improved processes for data 

5 management, access, synthesis, and visualization 

6 with respect to ocean mapping, exploration, and 

7 characterization; 

8 (4) encourage education, workforce training, 

9 and public engagement activities that— 

10 (A) advance interdisciplinary principles 

11 that contribute to ocean mapping, exploration, 

12 and characterization; and 

13 (B) improve public engagement with ocean 

14 science; 

15 (5) coordinate activities as appropriate with 

16 international ocean mapping, exploration, and char17 acterization initiatives; and 

18 (6) establish and monitor metrics to track 

19 progress in achieving the priorities set under para20 graph (1). 

21 (g) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUPS.— 

22 (1) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON OCEAN

23 EXPLORATION AND CHARACTERIZATION.— 


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1 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President 

2 shall establish a new interagency working group 

3 on ocean exploration and characterization. 

4 (B) FUNCTIONS.—The interagency work5 ing group established under subparagraph (A) 

6 shall support the Council and the Ocean 

7 Science and Technology Subcommittee of the 

8 Ocean Policy Committee established under sec9 tion 4(b)(1) on ocean exploration and charac10 terization activities and associated technology 

11 development across the Federal Government. 

12 (2) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON OCEAN

13 AND COASTAL MAPPING.—The Interagency Working 

14 Group on Ocean and Coastal Mapping under section 

15 12203 of the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integra16 tion Act (33 U.S.C. 3502) shall support the Council 

17 and the Ocean Science and Technology Sub18 committee of the Ocean Policy Committee estab19 lished under section 4(b)(1) on ocean mapping ac20 tivities and associated technology development across 

21 the Federal Government. 

22 (3) OVERSIGHT.—The Council shall oversee— 

23 (A) the interagency working group on 

24 ocean exploration and characterization estab25 lished under paragraph (1)(A); and 


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1 (B) the Interagency Working Group on 

2 Ocean and Coastal Mapping under section 

3 12203 of the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Inte4 gration Act (33 U.S.C. 3502). 

5 (h) PLAN.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Council 

8 shall develop and submit to the appropriate commit9 tees of Congress a plan for an integrated ocean 

10 mapping, exploration, and characterization initiative. 

11 (2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by para12 graph (1) shall— 

13 (A) identify and describe national ocean 

14 mapping, exploration, and characterization pri15 orities; 

16 (B) identify and describe Federal and fed17 erally funded ocean mapping, exploration, and 

18 characterization programs; 

19 (C) facilitate non-Federal input into na20 tional ocean mapping, exploration, and charac21 terization priorities; 

22 (D) ensure effective coordination of ocean 

23 mapping, exploration, and characterization ac24 tivities among programs described in subpara25 graph (B); 


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1 (E) identify opportunities for combining 

2 overlapping or complementary needs, activities, 

3 and resources of Federal agencies relating to 

4 ocean mapping, exploration, and characteriza5 tion while not reducing benefits from existing 

6 mapping, explorations, and characterization ac7 tivities; 

8 (F) promote new and existing partnerships 

9 among Federal and State agencies, private in10 dustry, academia, and nongovernmental organi11 zations to conduct or support ocean mapping, 

12 exploration, and characterization activities and 

13 technology development needs, including 

14 through coordination under section 3 of the 

15 Commercial Engagement Through Ocean Tech16 nology Act of 2018 (33 U.S.C. 4102); 

17 (G) establish standardized collection and 

18 data management protocols for ocean mapping, 

19 exploration, and characterization; 

20 (H) encourage the development of innova21 tive ocean mapping, exploration, and character22 ization technologies and applications; 

23 (I) promote protocols for accepting data, 

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1 tional ocean mapping, exploration, and charac2 terization priorities; 

3 (J) identify best practices for the protec4 tion of marine life during mapping, exploration, 

5 and characterization activities; 

6 (K) identify training, technology, and other 

7 resource requirements for enabling the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 

9 other appropriate Federal agencies to support a 

10 coordinated national ocean mapping, explo11 ration, and characterization effort; 

12 (L) identify a centralized mechanism or of13 fice for— 

14 (i) coordinating data collection, proc15 essing, archiving, and dissemination activi16 ties relating to ocean mapping, exploration, 

17 and characterization that meets Federal 

18 mandates for data accuracy and accessi19 bility; and 

20 (ii) coordinating partnerships that 

21 support such activities; 

22 (M) designate repositories responsible for 

23 archiving and managing ocean mapping, explo24 ration, and characterization data; and 


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1 (N) set forth a timetable and estimated 

2 costs for implementation and completion of the 

3 plan. 

4 (i) BRIEFINGS.—Not less frequently than every 2 

5 years, the Council shall brief the appropriate committees 

6 of Congress on— 

7 (1) progress made toward meeting the national 

8 priorities described in subsection (h)(2)(A); and 

9 (2) recommendations for meeting such prior10 ities. 

11 (j) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE12 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit13 tees of Congress’’ means— 

14 (1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

15 Transportation and the Committee on Armed Serv16 ices of the Senate; and 

17 (2) the Committee on Natural Resources, the 

18 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and 

19 the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 

20 Representatives. 

21 SEC. 6. MODIFICATIONS TO THE OCEAN EXPLORATION 

22 PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 

23 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 

24 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 12001 of the Omnibus Public 

25 Land Management Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3401) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘and the national undersea research 

2 program’’. 

3 (b) PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—Section 12002 of such 

4 Act (33 U.S.C. 3402) is amended— 

5 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘and un6 dersea’’; and 

7 (2) in the second sentence— 

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘ocean exploration and 

9 characterization efforts and’’ before ‘‘ocean and 

10 coastal resources’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘and undersea’’. 

12 (c) POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE ADMINIS13 TRATOR.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12003(a) of such 

15 Act (33 U.S.C. 3403(a)) is amended— 

16 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

17 by inserting ‘‘, in coordination with the Ocean 

18 Policy Committee established under section 4 of 

19 the National Ocean Exploration Act,’’ after 

20 ‘‘Administration’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘Federal agencies’’ and 

23 all that follows through ‘‘and survey’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘Federal and State agencies, 

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1 demia, and nongovernmental organizations, 

2 to map, explore, and characterize’’; and 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘characterize,’’ after 

4 ‘‘observe,’’; 

5 (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

6 and inserting a semicolon; 

7 (D) in paragraph (6)— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘, in collaboration 

9 with the National Ocean Mapping, Explo10 ration, and Characterization Council estab11 lished under section 5 of the National 

12 Ocean Exploration Act,’’ after ‘‘forum’’; 

13 and 

14 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

15 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(7) provide guidance to Federal and State 

18 agencies, Tribal governments, private industry, aca19 demia (including secondary schools, community col20 leges, and universities), and nongovernmental orga21 nizations on data standards, protocols for accepting 

22 data, and coordination of data collection, processing, 

23 archiving, and dissemination for data relating to 

24 ocean exploration and characterization.’’. 


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1 (2) DONATIONS.—Section 12003(b) of such Act 

2 (33 U.S.C. 3403(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(b) DONATIONS.—For the purpose of exploring the 

4 oceans or increasing the knowledge of the oceans, the Ad5 ministrator may— 

6 ‘‘(1) accept monetary donations and donations 

7 of property, data, and equipment; and 

8 ‘‘(2) pay all necessary expenses in connection 

9 with the conveyance or transfer of a gift, devise, or 

10 bequest.’’. 

11 (d) REPEAL OF OCEAN EXPLORATION AND UNDER12 SEA RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

13 TASK FORCE.—Section 12004 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

14 3404) is repealed. 

15 (e) EDUCATION, WORKFORCE TRAINING, AND OUT16 REACH.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Such Act is further amended 

18 by inserting after section 12003 the following new 

19 section 12004: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 12004. EDUCATION, WORKFORCE TRAINING, AND 

21 OUTREACH. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na23 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall con24 duct education and outreach efforts in order to broadly 


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1 disseminate information to the public on the discoveries 

2 made by the program under section 12002. 

3 ‘‘(b) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH EFFORTS.—Ef4 forts described in subsection (a) may include— 

5 ‘‘(1) education of the general public, teachers, 

6 students, and ocean and coastal resource managers; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(2) workforce training, reskilling, and opportu9 nities to encourage development of ocean related 

10 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 

11 (STEM) technical training programs involving sec12 ondary schools, community colleges, and universities. 

13 ‘‘(c) OUTREACH STRATEGY.—Not later than 120 

14 days after the date of the enactment of the National 

15 Ocean Exploration Act, the Administrator of the National 

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall develop an 

17 outreach strategy to broadly disseminate information on 

18 the discoveries made by the program under section 

19 12002.’’. 

20 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con21 tents in section 1(b) of the Omnibus Public Land 

22 Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 

23 Stat. 991) is amended by striking the item relating 

24 to section 12004 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 12004. Education, workforce training, and outreach.’’. 

25 (f) OCEAN EXPLORATION ADVISORY BOARD.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 12005(a)(1) of 

2 such Act (33 U.S.C. 3505(1)) is amended by insert3 ing ‘‘and the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, 

4 and Characterization Council established under sec5 tion 5 of the National Ocean Exploration Act’’ after 

6 ‘‘advise the Administrator’’. 

7 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 

8 12005(c) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 3505(c)) is amend9 ed by inserting ‘‘this’’ before ‘‘part’’. 

10 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

11 12006 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 3406) is amended by strik12 ing ‘‘this part’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘this 

13 part $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

14 2030’’. 

15 (h) DEFINITIONS.—Such Act is further amended by 

16 inserting after section 12006 the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 12007. DEFINITIONS. 

18 ‘‘In this part: 

19 ‘‘(1) CHARACTERIZATION.—The terms ‘charac20 terization’ and ‘characterize’ refer to activities that 

21 provide comprehensive data and interpretations for a 

22 specific area of interest of the seafloor, sub-bottom, 

23 water column, or hydrologic features, such as water 

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1 search, environmental protection, resource manage2 ment, policymaking, or applied mission objectives. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXPLORATION.—The term ‘exploration’ 

4 and ‘explore’ refer to activities that provide— 

5 ‘‘(A) a multidisciplinary view of an un6 known or poorly understood area of the 

7 seafloor, sub-bottom, or water column; and 

8 ‘‘(B) an initial assessment of the physical, 

9 chemical, geological, biological, archaeological, 

10 or other characteristics of such an area. 

11 ‘‘(3) MAPPING.—The terms ‘map’ and ‘map12 ping’ refer to activities that provide comprehensive 

13 data and information needed to understand seafloor 

14 characteristics, such as depth, topography, bottom 

15 type, sediment composition and distribution, under16 lying geologic structure, and benthic flora and 

17 fauna.’’. 

18 (i) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

19 in section 1(b) of the Omnibus Public Land Management 

20 Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 991) is 

21 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

22 12006 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 12007. Definitions.’’. 

23 SEC. 7. REPEAL. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The NOAA Undersea Research 

25 Program Act of 2009 (part II of subtitle A of title XII 


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1 of Public Law 111–11; 33 U.S.C. 3421 et seq.) is re2 pealed. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 in section 1(b) of the Omnibus Public Land Management 

5 Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 991) is 

6 amended by striking the items relating to part II of sub7 title A of title XII of such Act. 

8 SEC. 8. MODIFICATIONS TO OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING 

9 PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 

10 ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12202(a) of the 

13 Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act (33 

14 U.S.C. 3501(a)) is amended— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘establish a program to de16 velop a coordinated and’’ and inserting ‘‘estab17 lish and maintain a program to coordinate’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘plan’’ and inserting ‘‘ef19 forts’’; and 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘that enhances’’ and all 

21 that follows and inserting ‘‘that— 

22 ‘‘(1) enhances ecosystem approaches in deci23 sion-making for natural resource and habitat man24 agement restoration and conservation, emergency re25 sponse, and coastal resilience and adaptation; 


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1 ‘‘(2) establishes research and mapping prior2 ities; 

3 ‘‘(3) supports the siting of research and other 

4 platforms; and 

5 ‘‘(4) advances ocean and coastal science.’’. 

6 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—Section 12202 of such Act 

7 (33 U.S.C. 3501) is amended by striking subsection 

8 (b) and redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

9 (b). 

10 (3) PROGRAM PARAMETERS.—Subsection (b) of 

11 section 12202 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 3501), as re12 designated by paragraph (2), is amended— 

13 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

14 by striking ‘‘developing’’ and inserting ‘‘main15 taining’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and 

17 for leveraging existing Federal geospatial serv18 ices capacities and contract vehicles for effi19 ciencies’’ after ‘‘coastal mapping’’; 

20 (C) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘with 

21 coastal state and local government programs’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘with mapping programs, in con23 junction with Federal and State agencies, Trib24 al governments, private industry, academia, and 

25 nongovernmental organizations’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘of real2 time tide data and the development’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘of tide data and water-level data and the 

4 development and dissemination’’; 

5 (E) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

6 and inserting a semicolon; 

7 (F) in paragraph (10), by striking the pe8 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (G) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(11) support— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Ocean Science and Technology 

12 Subcommittee of the Ocean Policy Committee 

13 established under section 4(b)(1) of the Na14 tional Ocean Exploration Act; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the National Ocean Mapping, Explo16 ration, and Characterization Council established 

17 under section 5 of such Act.’’. 

18 (b) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON OCEAN AND

19 COASTAL MAPPING.— 

20 (1) NAME CHANGE.—The Ocean and Coastal 

21 Mapping Integration Act (33 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) is 

22 amended— 

23 (A) in section 12202 (33 U.S.C. 3501)— 

24 (i) in subsection (a), by striking 

25 ‘‘Interagency Committee on Ocean and 


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1 Coastal Mapping’’ and inserting ‘‘Inter2 agency Working Group on Ocean and 

3 Coastal Mapping under section 12203’’; 

4 and 

5 (ii) in subsection (b), as redesignated 

6 by subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘Com7 mittee’’ and inserting ‘‘Working Group’’; 

8 (B) in section 12203 (33 U.S.C. 3502)— 

9 (i) in the section heading, by striking 

10 ‘‘COMMITTEE’’ and inserting ‘‘WORKING

11 GROUP’’; 

12 (ii) in subsection (b), in the first sen13 tence, by striking ‘‘committee’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘Working Group’’; 

15 (iii) in subsection (e), by striking 

16 ‘‘committee’’ and inserting ‘‘Working 

17 Group’’; and 

18 (iv) in subsection (f), by striking 

19 ‘‘committee’’ and inserting ‘‘Working 

20 Group’’; and 

21 (C) in section 12208 (33 U.S.C. 3507), by 

22 amending paragraph (3) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(3) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘Working 

24 Group’ means the Interagency Working Group on 

25 Ocean and Coastal Mapping under section 12203.’’. 


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1 (2) IN GENERAL.—Section 12203(a) of such 

2 Act (33 U.S.C. 3502(a)) is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘within 30 days’’ and all that follows and inserting 

4 ‘‘not later than 30 days after the date of the enact5 ment of the National Ocean Exploration Act, shall 

6 use the Interagency Working Group on Ocean and 

7 Coastal Mapping in existence as of the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act to implement section 12202.’’. 

9 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—Section 12203(b) of such 

10 Act (33 U.S.C. 3502(b)) is amended— 

11 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘sen12 ior’’ both places it appears and inserting ‘‘sen13 ior-level’’; 

14 (B) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the 

15 Minerals Management Service’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management of 

17 the Department of the Interior, the Office of 

18 the Assistant Secretary, Fish and Wildlife and 

19 Parks of the Department of the Interior’’; and 

20 (C) by striking the second sentence. 

21 (4) CO-CHAIRS.—Section 12203(c) of such Act 

22 (33 U.S.C. 3502(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(c) CO-CHAIRS.—The Working Group shall be co24 chaired by one representative from each of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

2 Administration. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Department of the Interior. 

4 ‘‘(3) The United States Army Corps of Engi5 neers.’’. 

6 (5) SUBORDINATE GROUPS.—Section 12203(d) 

7 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 3502(d)) is amended to read 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘(d) SUBORDINATE GROUPS.—The co-chairs may es10 tablish such permanent or temporary subordinate groups 

11 as determined appropriate by the Working Group.’’. 

12 (6) MEETINGS.—Section 12203(e) of such Act 

13 (33 U.S.C. 3502(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘each 

14 subcommittee and each working group’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘each subordinate group’’. 

16 (7) COORDINATION.—Section 12203(f) of such 

17 Act (33 U.S.C. 3502(f)) is amended by striking 

18 paragraphs (1) through (5) and inserting the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(1) other Federal efforts, such as the Digital 

21 Coast, the Federal Geographic Data Committee, 

22 GeoPlatform, the Hydrographic Services Review 

23 Panel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad24 ministration, the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board 

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1 tration, and the Technical Mapping Advisory Council 

2 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; 

3 ‘‘(2) international mapping activities; 

4 ‘‘(3) coastal states; 

5 ‘‘(4) coastal Indian Tribes; 

6 ‘‘(5) user groups through workshops and other 

7 appropriate mechanisms; and 

8 ‘‘(6) representatives of nongovernmental enti9 ties.’’. 

10 (8) ADVISORY PANEL.—Section 12203 of such 

11 Act (33 U.S.C. 3502) is amended by striking sub12 section (g). 

13 (9) FUNCTIONS.—Section 12203 of such Act 

14 (33 U.S.C. 3502), as amended by paragraph (8), is 

15 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(g) FUNCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO NATIONAL

17 OCEAN MAPPING, EXPLORATION, AND CHARACTERIZA18 TION COUNCIL.—The Working Group shall support the 

19 National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characteriza20 tion Council established under section 5 of the National 

21 Ocean Exploration Act and the Ocean Science and Tech22 nology Subcommittee of the Ocean Policy Committee es23 tablished under section 4(b)(1) of such Act on ocean map24 ping activities.’’. 


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1 (10) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

2 contents in section 1(b) of the Omnibus Public Land 

3 Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 

4 Stat. 991) is amended by striking the item relating 

5 to section 12203 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 12203. Interagency working group on ocean and coastal mapping.’’. 

6 (c) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Section 12204 of such Act 

7 (33 U.S.C. 3503) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

9 striking ‘‘No later’’ and all that follows through 

10 ‘‘House of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later 

11 than 18 months after the date of the enactment of 

12 the National Ocean Exploration Act, and biennially 

13 thereafter until 2040, the co-chairs of the Working 

14 Group, in coordination with the National Ocean 

15 Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council 

16 established under section 5 of such Act, shall submit 

17 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans18 portation and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

19 Resources of the Senate, and the Committee on Nat20 ural Resources and the Committee on Science, 

21 Space, and Technology of the House of Representa22 tives,’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, including 

24 the data maintained by the National Centers for En25 vironmental Information of the National Oceanic 


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1 and Atmospheric Administration,’’ after ‘‘mapping 

2 data’’; 

3 (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, including 

4 a plan to map the coasts of the United States on a 

5 requirements-based cycle, with mapping agencies 

6 and partners coordinating on a unified approach 

7 that factors in recent related studies, meets multiple 

8 user requirements, and identifies gaps’’ after ‘‘ac9 complished’’; 

10 (4) by striking paragraph (10) and redesig11 nating paragraphs (11), (12), and (13) as para12 graphs (10), (11), and (12), respectively; 

13 (5) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated, by 

14 striking ‘‘with coastal state and local government 

15 programs’’ and inserting ‘‘with international, coastal 

16 state, and local government and nongovernmental 

17 mapping programs’’; 

18 (6) in paragraph (11), as redesignated by para19 graph (4)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘increase’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘streamline and expand’’; 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘for the purpose of ful23 filling Federal mapping and charting respon24 sibilities, plans, and strategies’’ after ‘‘entities’’; 

25 and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a 

2 semicolon; 

3 (7) in paragraph (12), as redesignated by para4 graph (4), by striking the period at the end and in5 serting a semicolon; and 

6 (8) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(13) a progress report on the development of 

8 new and innovative technologies and applications 

9 through research and development, including cooper10 ative or other agreements with joint or cooperative 

11 research institutes and centers and other nongovern12 mental entities; 

13 ‘‘(14) a description of best practices in data 

14 processing and distribution and leveraging opportu15 nities among agencies represented on the Working 

16 Group and with coastal states, coastal Indian Tribes, 

17 and nongovernmental entities; 

18 ‘‘(15) an identification of any training, tech19 nology, or other requirements for enabling Federal 

20 mapping programs, vessels, and aircraft to support 

21 a coordinated ocean and coastal mapping program; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(16) a timetable for implementation and com24 pletion of the plan described in paragraph (3), inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024

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1 cluding recommendations for integrating new ap2 proaches into the program.’’. 

3 (d) NOAA JOINT OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING

4 CENTERS.— 

5 (1) CENTERS.—Section 12205(c) of such Act 

6 (33 U.S.C. 3504(c)) is amended— 

7 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

8 by striking ‘‘3’’ and inserting ‘‘three’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and 

10 unmanned’’ after ‘‘sensing’’. 

11 (2) PLAN.—Section 12205 of such Act (33 

12 U.S.C. 3504) is amended— 

13 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

14 ‘‘PLAN’’ and inserting ‘‘NOAA JOINT OCEAN

15 AND COASTAL MAPPING CENTERS’’; 

16 (B) by striking subsections (a), (b), and 

17 (d); and 

18 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘(c) 

19 NOAA JOINT OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING

20 CENTERS.—’’. 

21 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con22 tents in section 1(b) of the Omnibus Public Land 

23 Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 

24 Stat. 991) is amended by striking the item relating 

25 to section 12205 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 12205. NOAA joint ocean and coastal mapping centers.’’. 


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1 (e) OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING FEDERAL FUND2 ING OPPORTUNITY.—Such Act (33 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating sections 12206, 12207, 

5 and 12208 as sections 12208, 12209, and 12210, 

6 respectively; and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 12205 the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 12206. OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING FEDERAL 

10 FUNDING OPPORTUNITY. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

12 date of the enactment of the National Ocean Exploration 

13 Act, the Administrator shall develop an integrated ocean 

14 and coastal mapping Federal funding match opportunity 

15 within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra16 tion with Federal, State, Tribal, local, nonprofit, or aca17 demic partners in order to increase the coordinated acqui18 sition, processing, stewardship, and archival of new ocean 

19 and coastal mapping data in United States waters. 

20 ‘‘(b) RULES.—The Administrator shall develop ad21 ministrative and procedural rules for the ocean and coastal 

22 mapping Federal funding match opportunity developed 

23 under subsection (a), to include— 

24 ‘‘(1) specific and detailed criteria that must be 

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1 lap with pre-established priorities, number and type 

2 of project partners, benefit to the applicant, coordi3 nation with other funding opportunities, and benefit 

4 to the public; 

5 ‘‘(2) determination of the appropriate funding 

6 match amounts and mechanisms to use, such as 

7 grants, agreements, or contracts; and 

8 ‘‘(3) other funding award criteria as are nec9 essary or appropriate to ensure that evaluations of 

10 proposals and decisions to award funding under this 

11 section are based on objective standards applied fair12 ly and equitably to those proposals. 

13 ‘‘(c) GEOSPATIAL SERVICES AND CONTRACT VEHI14 CLES.—The ocean and coastal mapping Federal funding 

15 match opportunity developed under subsection (a) shall le16 verage Federal expertise and capacities for geospatial 

17 services and Federal geospatial contract vehicles using the 

18 private sector for acquisition efficiencies. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 12207. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, CONTRACTS, 

20 AND GRANTS. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out interagency activi22 ties under this subtitle, the heads of agencies represented 

23 on the Working Group may enter into cooperative agree24 ments, or any other agreement with each other, and trans25 fer, receive, and expend funds made available by any FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024

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1 eral agency, any State or subdivision thereof, or any public 

2 or private organization or individual, for ocean and coastal 

3 mapping investigations, surveys, studies, and other 

4 geospatial collaborations authorized by this subtitle or 

5 agreements authorized by section 5 of the Act entitled ‘An 

6 Act to define the functions and duties of the Coast and 

7 Geodetic Survey, and for other purposes’, approved Au8 gust 6, 1947 (33 U.S.C. 883e). 

9 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Administrator may make grants 

10 to any State or subdivision thereof or any public or private 

11 organization or individual to carry out the purposes of this 

12 subtitle.’’. 

13 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

14 12209 of such Act, as redesignated by subsection (e)(1), 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘this subtitle’’ 

17 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘this subtitle 

18 $45,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

19 2030.’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘this subtitle’’ 

21 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘this subtitle 

22 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

23 2030.’’; 

24 (3) by striking subsection (c); and 


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1 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(c) OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING FEDERAL

4 FUNDING OPPORTUNITY.—Of amounts appropriated pur5 suant to subsection (a), $20,000,000 is authorized to 

6 carry out section 12206.’’. 

7 (g) DEFINITIONS.— 

8 (1) OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING.—Para9 graph (5) of section 12210 of such Act, as redesig10 nated by subsection (e)(1), is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘processing, and management’’ and inserting ‘‘proc12 essing, management, maintenance, interpretation, 

13 certification, and dissemination’’. 

14 (2) COASTAL INDIAN TRIBE.—Section 12210 of 

15 such Act, as redesignated by subsection (e)(1), is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(9) COASTAL INDIAN TRIBE.—The term 

18 ‘coastal Indian Tribe’ means an ‘Indian tribe’, as de19 fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

20 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304), the 

21 land of which is located in a coastal state.’’. 

22 (h) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

23 in section 1(b) of the Omnibus Public Land Management 

24 Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 991) is 


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1 amended by striking the items relating to sections 12206 

2 through 12208 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 12206. Ocean and coastal mapping Federal funding opportunity. 

‘‘Sec. 12207. Cooperative agreements, contracts, and grants. 

‘‘Sec. 12208. Effect on other laws. 

‘‘Sec. 12209. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘Sec. 12210. Definitions.’’. 

3 SEC. 9. MODIFICATIONS TO HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES IM4 PROVEMENT ACT OF 1998. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 302(4)(A) of the Hydro6 graphic Services Improvement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 

7 892(4)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘hydrodynamic fore8 cast and datum transformation models,’’ after ‘‘nautical 

9 information databases,’’. 

10 (b) FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—Section 

11 303(b) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 892a(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

13 inserting ‘‘precision navigation,’’ after ‘‘promote’’; 

14 and 

15 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘and hydrodynamic fore17 cast models’’ after ‘‘monitoring systems’’; 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘and provide foundational 

19 information and services required to support 

20 coastal resilience planning for coastal transpor21 tation and other infrastructure, coastal protec22 tion and restoration projects, and related activi23 ties’’ after ‘‘efficiency’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a 

2 semicolon. 

3 (c) QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM.—Section 304(a) 

4 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 892b(a)) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘product produced’’ and inserting ‘‘product or service pro6 duced or disseminated’’. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

8 306(a) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 892d(a)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘$70,814,000 

10 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ and in11 serting ‘‘$71,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

12 through 2030’’; 

13 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$25,000,000 

14 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ and in15 serting ‘‘$34,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

16 through 2030’’; 

17 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘$29,932,000 

18 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ and in19 serting ‘‘$38,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

20 through 2030’’; 

21 (4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘$26,800,000 

22 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ and in23 serting ‘‘$45,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

24 through 2030’’; and 


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1 (5) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘$30,564,000 

2 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ and in3 serting ‘‘$35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

4 through 2030’’. 

Æ 


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