104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3198

AN ACT

To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic

Mapping Act of 1992, and for other purposes.
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3198

AN ACT

To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping

Act of 1992, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Geologic

3 Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1996’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) in enacting the National Geologic Mapping

7 Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31a et seq.), Congress

8 found, among other things, that—

9 (A) during the 2 decades preceding enact10 ment of that Act, the production of geologic

11 maps had been drastically curtailed;

12 (B) geologic maps are the primary data

13 base for virtually all applied and basic earth14 science investigations;

15 (C) Federal agencies, State and local gov16 ernments, private industry, and the general

17 public depend on the information provided by

18 geologic maps to determine the extent of poten19 tial environmental damage before embarking on

20 projects that could lead to preventable, costly

21 environmental problems or litigation;

22 (D) the lack of proper geologic maps has

23 led to the poor design of such structures as

24 dams and waste-disposal facilities;
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1 (E) geologic maps have proven indispen2 sable in the search for needed fossil fuel and

3 mineral resources; and

4 (F) a comprehensive nationwide program

5 of geologic mapping is required in order to sys6 tematically build the Nation’s geologic-map

7 data base at a pace that responds to increasing

8 demand;

9 (2) the geologic mapping program called for by

10 that Act has not been fully implemented; and

11 (3) it is time for this important program to be

12 fully implemented.

13 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION AND AMENDMENT.

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the National Geo15 logic Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31b) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘As used in this Act:’’ and in17 serting ‘‘In this Act:’’;

18 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (4),

19 and (5) as paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6), respec20 tively;

21 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow22 ing:

23 ‘‘(2) ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘Association’

24 means the Association of American State Geolo25 gists.’’; and
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1 (4) in each paragraph that does not have a

2 heading, by inserting a heading, in the same style as

3 the heading in paragraph (2), as added by para4 graph (3), the text of which is comprised of the term

5 defined in the paragraph.

6 (b) GEOLOGIC MAPPING PROGRAM.—Section 4 of the

7 National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31c)

8 is amended—

9 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the

10 following:

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a na13 tional cooperative geologic mapping program be14 tween the United States Geological Survey and the

15 State geological surveys, acting through the Associa16 tion.

17 ‘‘(2) DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, AND ADMINIS18 TRATION.—The cooperative geologic mapping pro19 gram shall be—

20 ‘‘(A) designed and administered to achieve

21 the objectives set forth in subsection (c);

22 ‘‘(B) developed in consultation with the ad23 visory committee; and

24 ‘‘(C) administered through the Survey.’’;

25 (2) in subsection (b)—
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1 (A) in the subsection heading by striking

2 ‘‘USGS’’ and inserting ‘‘THE SURVEY’’;

3 (B) in paragraph (1)—

4 (i) by single-indenting the paragraphs,

5 double-indenting the subparagraphs, and

6 triple indenting the clauses;

7 (ii) by inserting ‘‘LEAD AGENCY.—’’

8 before ‘‘The Survey’’;

9 (iii) in subparagraph (A)—

10 (I) by striking ‘‘Committee on

11 Natural Resources’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘Committee on Resources’’; and

13 (II) by striking ‘‘date of enact14 ment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘date

15 of enactment of the National Geologic

16 Mapping Reauthorization Act of

17 1996’’;

18 (iv) in subparagraph (B)—

19 (I) by striking ‘‘State geological

20 surveys’’ and inserting ‘‘Association’’;

21 and

22 (II) by striking ‘‘date of enact23 ment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘date

24 of enactment of the National Geologic
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1 Mapping Reauthorization Act of

2 1996’’; and

3 (v) in subparagraph (C)—

4 (I) by striking ‘‘date of enact5 ment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘date

6 of enactment of the National Geologic

7 Mapping Reauthorization Act of

8 1996’’;

9 (II) by striking ‘‘Committee on

10 Natural Resources’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘Committee on Resources’’;

12 (III) in clauses (i) and (ii) by in13 serting ‘‘and the Association’’ after

14 ‘‘the Survey’’;

15 (IV) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end

16 of clause (ii); and

17 (V) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the

18 end of clause (iii) and all that follows

19 through the end of the subparagraph

20 and inserting a period; and

21 (C) in paragraph (2)—

22 (i) by inserting ‘‘RESPONSIBILITIES

23 OF THE SECRETARY.—’’ before ‘‘In addi24 tion to’’; and
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1 (ii) in subparagraph (A) by striking

2 ‘‘State geological surveys’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘Association’’;

4 (3) in subsection (c)—

5 (A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘interpre6 tive’’ and inserting ‘‘interpretative’’; and

7 (B) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘aware8 ness for’’ and inserting ‘‘awareness of’’; and

9 (4) in subsection (d)—

10 (A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘FED11 ERAL COMPONENT.—’’ before ‘‘A Federal’’;

12 (B) in paragraph (2)—

13 (i) by inserting ‘‘SUPPORT COMPO14 NENT.—’’ before ‘‘A geologic’’; and

15 (ii) by striking subparagraph (D) and

16 inserting the following:

17 ‘‘(D) geochronologic and isotopic investiga18 tions that—

19 ‘‘(i) provide radiometric age dates for

20 geologic-map units; and

21 ‘‘(ii) fingerprint the geothermometry,

22 geobarometry, and alteration history of

23 geologic-map units,

24 which investigations shall be contributed to a

25 national geochronologic data base;’’;
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1 (C) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘STATE

2 COMPONENT.—’’ before ‘‘A State’’; and

3 (D) by striking paragraph (4) and insert4 ing the following:

5 ‘‘(4) EDUCATION COMPONENT.—A geologic

6 mapping education component—

7 ‘‘(A) the objectives of which shall be—

8 ‘‘(i) to develop the academic programs

9 that teach earth-science students the fun10 damental principles of geologic mapping

11 and field analysis; and

12 ‘‘(ii) to provide for broad education in

13 geologic mapping and field analysis

14 through support of field studies;

15 ‘‘(B) investigations under which shall be

16 integrated with the other mapping components

17 of the geologic mapping program and shall re18 spond to priorities identified for those compo19 nents; and

20 ‘‘(C) Federal funding for which shall be

21 matched by non-Federal sources on a 1-to-1

22 basis.’’.

23 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 5 of the Na24 tional Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31d) is

25 amended—
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1 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be established

5 a 10-member geologic mapping advisory committee

6 to advise the Director on planning and implementa7 tion of the geologic mapping program.

8 ‘‘(2) MEMBERS EX OFFICIO.—Federal agency

9 members shall include the Administrator of the En10 vironmental Protection Agency or a designee, the

11 Secretary of Energy or a designee, the Secretary of

12 Agriculture or a designee, and the Assistant to the

13 President for Science and Technology or a designee.

14 ‘‘(3) APPOINTED MEMBERS.—Not later than 90

15 days after the date of enactment of the National

16 Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1996, in

17 consultation with the Association, the Secretary shall

18 appoint to the advisory committee 2 representatives

19 from the Survey (including the Chief Geologist, as

20 Chairman), 2 representatives from the State geologi21 cal surveys, 1 representative from academia, and 1

22 representative from the private sector.’’; and

23 (2) in subsection (b)(3) by striking ‘‘and State’’

24 and inserting ‘‘, State, and university’’.
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1 (d) GEOLOGIC MAPPING PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

2 PLAN.—Section 6 of the National Geologic Mapping Act

3 of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31e) is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘cooperative’’

5 after ‘‘national’’;

6 (2) by striking paragraph (3)(C) and inserting

7 the following:

8 ‘‘(C) for the State geologic mapping com9 ponent, a priority-setting mechanism that re10 sponds to—

11 ‘‘(i) specific intrastate needs for geo12 logic-map information; and

13 ‘‘(ii) interstate needs shared by adja14 cent entities that have common require15 ments; and’’;

16 (3) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and in17 serting the following:

18 ‘‘(4) a mechanism for adopting scientific and

19 technical mapping standards for preparing and pub20 lishing general-purpose and special-purpose geologic

21 maps to—

22 ‘‘(A) ensure uniformity of cartographic and

23 scientific conventions; and
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1 ‘‘(B) provide a basis for judgment as to

2 the comparability and quality of map products;

3 and’’; and

4 (4) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para5 graph (5).

6 (e) NATIONAL GEOLOGIC-MAP DATA BASE.—Section

7 7 of the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (43

8 U.S.C. 31f) is amended by striking subsection (b) and in9 serting the following:

10 ‘‘(b) STANDARDIZATION.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Geologic maps contributed

12 to the national archives shall have format, symbols,

13 and technical attributes that adhere to standards so

14 that archival information can be accessed, ex15 changed, and compared efficiently and accurately, as

16 required by Executive Order 12906 (59 Fed. Reg.

17 17,671 (1994)), which established the National Spa18 tial Data Infrastructure.

19 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS.—Entities

20 that contribute geologic maps to the national ar21 chives shall develop the standards described in para22 graph (1) in cooperation with the Federal Geo23 graphic Data Committee, which is charged with

24 standards development and other data coordination
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1 activities as described in Office of Management and

2 Budget revised Circular A–16.’’.

3 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 8 of the National

4 Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31g) is amend5 ed in the first sentence—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘Committee on Natural Re7 sources’’ and inserting ‘‘Committee on Resources’’;

8 and

9 (2) by striking ‘‘program, and describing and

10 evaluating progress’’ and inserting ‘‘program and

11 describing and evaluating the progress’’.

12 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

13 9 of the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (43

14 U.S.C. 31h) is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap17 propriated to carry out the national cooperative geologic

18 mapping program under this Act—

19 ‘‘(1) $24,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

20 ‘‘(2) $26,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

21 ‘‘(3) $28,000,000 for fiscal year 1999; and

22 ‘‘(4) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.

23 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount of funds

25 that are appropriated under subsection (a) for any
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1 fiscal year up to the amount that is equal to the

2 amount appropriated to carry out the national coop3 erative geologic mapping program for fiscal year

4 1996—

5 ‘‘(A) not less than 20 percent shall be allo6 cated to State mapping activities; and

7 ‘‘(B) not less than 2 percent shall be allo8 cated to educational mapping activities.

9 ‘‘(2) INCREASED APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the

10 amount of funds that are appropriated under sub11 section (a) for any fiscal year up to the amount that

12 exceeds the amount appropriated to carry out the

13 national cooperative geologic mapping program for

14 fiscal year 1996—

15 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 1997—

16 ‘‘(i) 76 percent shall be allocated for

17 Federal mapping and support mapping ac18 tivities;

19 ‘‘(ii) 22 percent shall be allocated for

20 State mapping activities; and

21 ‘‘(iii) 2 percent shall be allocated for

22 educational mapping activities;

23 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 1998—
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1 ‘‘(i) 75 percent shall be allocated for

2 Federal mapping and support mapping ac3 tivities;

4 ‘‘(ii) 23 percent shall be allocated for

5 State mapping activities; and

6 ‘‘(iii) 2 percent shall be allocated for

7 educational mapping activities;

8 ‘‘(C) for fiscal year 1999—

9 ‘‘(i) 74 percent shall be allocated for

10 Federal mapping and support mapping ac11 tivities;

12 ‘‘(ii) 24 percent shall be allocated for

13 State mapping activities; and

14 ‘‘(iii) 2 percent shall be allocated for

15 educational mapping activities; and

16 ‘‘(D) for fiscal year 2000—

17 ‘‘(i) 73 percent shall be allocated for

18 Federal mapping and support mapping ac19 tivities;

20 ‘‘(ii) 25 percent shall be allocated for

21 State mapping activities; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) 2 percent shall be allocated for

2 educational mapping activities.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives July 30, 1996.

Attest:

Clerk.