U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

1 

69–010 

" ! SENATE 115TH CONGRESS

1st Session 

REPORT

2017

115–14 

Calendar No. 25 

DIGITAL COAST ACT 

R E P O R T 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND 

TRANSPORTATION 

ON

S. 110 

MARCH 30, 2017.—Ordered to be printed 


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(II) 

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida 

ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

TED CRUZ, Texas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii 

DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey 

JIM INHOFE, Oklahoma TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

MIKE LEE, Utah GARY PETERS, Michigan 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois 

CORY GARDNER, Colorado MARGARET WOOD HASSAN, New Hampshire 

TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada 

NICK ROSSI, Staff Director 

ADRIAN ARNAKIS, Deputy Staff Director 

JASON VAN BEEK, General Counsel 

KIM LIPSKY, Democratic Staff Director 

CHRISTOPHER DAY, Democratic Deputy Staff Director 


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Calendar No. 25 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 115–14 

DIGITAL COAST ACT 

MARCH 30, 2017.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. THUNE, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 110] 

[Including the cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 

which was referred the bill (S. 110) to require the Secretary of 

Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to establish a constituentdriven program to provide a digital information platform capable of 

efficiently integrating coastal data with decision-support tools, 

training, and best practices and to support collection of priority 

coastal geospatial data to inform and improve local, State, regional, 

and Federal capacities to manage the coastal region, and for other 

purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 

without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of S. 110 is to require the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary), acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to establish a constituent-driven program to provide a digital information platform 

capable of efficiently integrating coastal data with decision-support 

tools, training, and best practices to support the collection of priority coastal geospatial data to inform local, State, regional, and 

Federal capacities to manage the coastal region, and for other purposes. 


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1 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ‘‘Coastal Economic Packet Guide 

2016,’’ 2016, at http://www.ppi.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/Coastal-Economic-Packet-Guide2016.pdf. 2 Ibid. 

3 NOAA Coastal Services Center. 2012. ‘‘Benefits and Costs of the Digital Coast.’’ Charleston, 

SC: NOAA Coastal Services Center, accessed April 18, 2016, at https://coast.noaa.gov/ 

digitalcoast/l/pdf/BenefitslandlCostsloflthelDigitallCoast.pdf. 

BACKGROUND AND NEEDS

Thirty-nine percent of the population lives in shoreline-adjacent 

counties. These coastal cities account for $7.6 trillion, or 46 percent, of the total United States Gross Domestic Product.1 The size 

of the population residing in coastal communities is projected to 

continue rising, with an additional 12 million individuals anticipated to move to coastal communities in the next decade alone.2

Recent extreme weather has highlighted the particular vulnerability of these regions to the devastating effects of natural disasters. In order to ensure these communities remain safe and continue to prosper economically, planners in coastal regions need access to high-quality, accurate data. 

The Digital Coast Program (Program) helps coastal communities 

better prepare for storms, cope with varying water levels, and 

strengthen coastal economic development planning efforts. NOAA’s 

Office for Coastal Management currently assembles and hosts the 

web-based Program, a collaborative online database of the most upto-date coastal information available to both the public and private 

sectors. The Program provides tools for coastal communities to decipher and use high-tech mapping data to make accurate decisions 

and smart investments. Some tools the Program provides include 

a historical hurricane tracker, which allows users to search storms 

by name, latitude and longitude, or geographic region, as well as 

a sea level rise viewer, which allows users to examine how tidal 

flooding may impact a given region. 

The Committee intends that this bill would support further development of the current Program, including increasing access to 

uniform up-to-date data to help communities get the coastal data 

they need to respond to emergencies, plan for long-term coastal resilience, and manage their water resources. Additionally, the bill 

would provide for documentation, dissemination, and archiving of 

data, and require NOAA to focus on filling data needs and gaps 

and enter into financial agreements to support the Program. 

From its inception in fiscal year (FY) 2007 through the end of FY 

2012, costs associated with the Program totaled $5.4 million: $4.5 

million from the NOAA Coastal Services Center and nearly $1 million from Program partners. Appropriations for the core Program 

were just over $1 million in FY 2010 and FY 2011. Since then, 

costs have increased more modestly and are projected to remain 

constant, at just over $1.4 million annually, which was the FY 2012 

level.3

The Program has a wide-range of Federal, State, and local government, as well as non-governmental, private, and academic partners. These include the American Planning Association, Ayres Associates, Association of State Floodplain Managers, Coastal States 

Organization, Continental Mapping Consultants, Inc., The National 

Association of Counties, The Nature Conservancy, Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors, National Society 


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of Professional Surveyors, National States Geographic Information 

Council, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, and Ozaukee County Planning 

and Parks Department. 

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS

If enacted, S. 110 would do the following: 

• Ensure that the Program provides data integration, tool 

development, training, documentation, and archiving via the 

Program website. 

• Ensure that activities carried out under the Program are 

coordinated with coastal managers and decision makers from 

coastal States and local governments; representatives of academia, the private sector, and non-governmental agencies; and 

that Federal agencies are also consulted. 

• Maximize the use of remote sensing and other geospatial 

data collection activities. 

• Allow the Secretary to enter into financial agreements to 

carry out the Program. 

• Direct the Secretary to develop a best practices document 

for carrying out the Program that can be given to other Federal agencies, such as United States Geological Survey and the 

United States Army Corps of Engineers. 

• Allow the Secretary to establish publicly available tools 

that track ocean and Great Lakes economy data for each coastal State. 

• Authorize the Program through FY 2022. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 110 was introduced by Senator Baldwin on January 13, 2017, 

with Senators Murkowski, Sullivan, and Booker as cosponsors. A 

similar bill, S. 2325, was reported out of Committee and passed in 

the Senate in the 114th Congress. 

On January 24, 2017, the Committee met in open Executive Session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 110 to be reported favorably 

without amendment. 

ESTIMATED COSTS

In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the Congressional Budget 

Act of 1974, the Committee provides the following cost estimate, 

prepared by the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 110—Digital Coast Act 

S. 110 would authorize the appropriation of $4 million a year 

over the 2018–2022 period to continue the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Digital Coast program. 

Under that program, NOAA makes geospatial data, decision-support tools, and best practices regarding the management of coastal 

areas available on a public website. (In 2016, NOAA used $4 million of appropriated funds to carry out the Digital Coast program.) 

CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $20 million 

over the 2018–2022 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts. 


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S. 110 also would authorize NOAA to collect and spend fees, 

without further appropriation, for training, workshops and conferences related to the Digital Coast program; therefore, pay-asyou-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effect of such collections and spending would not be significant in 

any year and over the 2017–2027 period. Enacting the bill would 

not affect revenues. 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 110 would not increase net direct 

spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10- 

year periods beginning in 2028. 

S. 110 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would benefit state, local, and tribal governments by authorizing federal financial and technical assistance for coastal communities. Any costs 

incurred by those entities, including matching contributions, would 

result from participation in a voluntary federal program 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jacob Fabian (for 

federal costs) and Jon Sperl (for state and local effects). The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT

In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the legislation, as reported: 

NUMBER OF PERSONS COVERED

S. 110, as reported, does not create any new programs or impose 

any new regulatory requirements, and therefore would not subject 

any individuals or businesses to new regulations. 

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The legislation is not expected to have a negative impact on the 

Nation’s economy. 

PRIVACY

The reported bill is not expected to impact the personal privacy 

of individuals. 

PAPERWORK

S. 110 would require the Secretary to develop a best practices 

document that sets out the best practices used in carrying out the 

Program and provide such document to the United States Geological Survey, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and other 

relevant Federal agencies. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no provisions 

contained in the bill, as reported, meet the definition of congressionally directed spending items under the rule. 


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SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title. 

This section would provide the short title of the bill, ‘‘Digital 

Coast Act.’’ 

Section 2. Findings. 

This section would list findings regarding the Program and data 

on coastal population size, density, and the number of coastal construction permits in the United States. Specifically, more than half 

of the U.S. population, 153,000,000 people, lives on the coast; coastal counties in the United States average 300 persons per square 

mile; and more than 1,540 permits for construction of single-family 

homes are issued in coastal counties per day. 

Section 3. Definitions. 

This section would define ‘‘coastal region,’’ ‘‘Federal geographic 

data committee,’’ ‘‘remote sensing and other geospatial,’’ and ‘‘Secretary.’’ It also would define ‘‘coastal State’’ as it is defined in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1992 (16 U.S.C. 

1453), which means a State of the United States in, or bordering 

on, the Atlantic, Pacific, or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Long 

Island Sound, or one or more of the Great Lakes, and includes certain territories. 

Section 4. Establishment of the Digital Coast. 

This section would establish and designate a constituent-driven 

program. It also would provide program requirements and designate the Secretary to coordinate the activities carried out under 

the program. This section would require the Secretary to fill certain needs and gaps, and would allow the Secretary to enter into 

financial agreements to carry out the program. It also would direct 

the Secretary to develop and maintain a best practices document 

that would provide guidance to other Federal agencies interested in 

establishing a similar program or contributing data to the program. 

The Committee believes that inland areas would benefit if the applicable Federal agencies made certain data, such as flood plain 

maps, more accessible and that the lessons learned under the program could provide valuable insight. 

This section also would allow the Secretary to establish publicly 

available tools that track ocean and Great Lakes economy data for 

each coastal State. This section would authorize to be appropriated 

to the Secretary $4 million to carry out the program in each of FYs 

2018 through 2022. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the bill as reported 

would make no change to existing law. 

Æ 


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