IB 

Union Calendar No. 341 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2342 

[Report No. 110–558, Part I] 

To direct the President to establish a National Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

Observation System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 16, 2007 

Mr. ALLEN (for himself, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. YOUNG of Florida, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. FARR, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 

Science and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

MARCH 31, 2008 

Additional sponsors: Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. HONDA, Ms. 

HARMAN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. HOLT, and Ms. BORDALLO

MARCH 31, 2008 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

MARCH 31, 2008 

Committee on Science and Technology discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 

printed 


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[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 16, 2007] 

A BILL 

To direct the President to establish a National Integrated 

Coastal and Ocean Observation System, 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. ENHANCING CLIMATE CHANGE PREDICTIONS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘National Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation Act 

6 of 2008’’. 

7 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are the 

8 following: 

9 (1) Establish a National Integrated Coastal and 

10 Ocean Observation System comprised of Federal and 

11 non-Federal components, coordinated at the national 

12 level by the National Ocean Research Leadership 

13 Council and at the regional level by a network of Re14 gional Information Coordination Entities, that in15 cludes in situ, remote, and other coastal and ocean 

16 observations, technologies, and data management and 

17 communication systems, to gather specific coastal and 

18 ocean data variables and to ensure the timely disVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Apr 01, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2342.RH H2342

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1 semination and availability of usable observation 

2 data— 

3 (A) to support national defense, marine 

4 commerce, energy production, scientific research, 

5 ecosystem-based marine and coastal resource 

6 management, weather and marine forecasting, 

7 public safety and public outreach training and 

8 education; and 

9 (B) to promote greater public awareness 

10 and stewardship of the Nation’s ocean, coastal, 

11 and Great Lakes resources and the general public 

12 welfare. 

13 (2) Improve the Nation’s capability to measure, 

14 track, explain, and predict events related directly and 

15 indirectly to weather and climate change, natural cli16 mate variability, and interactions between the oceanic 

17 and atmospheric environments, including the Great 

18 Lakes. 

19 (3) Authorize activities to promote basic and ap20 plied research to develop, test, and deploy innovations 

21 and improvements in coastal and ocean observation 

22 technologies, modeling systems, and other scientific 

23 and technological capabilities to improve our concep24 tual understanding of weather and climate, ocean at25 mosphere dynamics, global climate change, and physVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Apr 01, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2342.RH H2342

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1 ical, chemical, and biological dynamics of the ocean 

2 and coastal and Great Lakes environments. 

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

5 National Ocean Research Leadership Council referred 

6 to in section 7902 of title 10, United States Code. 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National Oce9 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

10 (3) FEDERAL ASSETS.—The term ‘‘Federal as11 sets’’ means all relevant nonclassified civilian coastal 

12 and ocean observations, technologies, and related mod13 eling, research, data management, basic and applied 

14 technology research and development, and public edu15 cation and outreach programs, that are managed by 

16 member agencies of the Council. 

17 (4) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.—The term 

18 ‘‘Interagency Working Group’’ means the Interagency 

19 Working Group on Ocean Observations as established 

20 by the U.S. Ocean Policy Committee Subcommittee 

21 on Ocean Science and Technology pursuant to Execu22 tive Order 13366 signed December 17, 2004. 

23 (5) NON-FEDERAL ASSETS.—The term ‘‘non-Fed24 eral assets’’ means all relevant coastal and ocean ob25 servations, technologies, related basic and applied 


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1 technology research and development, and public edu2 cation and outreach programs that are integrated 

3 into the System and are managed through States, re4 gional organizations, universities, nongovernmental 

5 organizations, or the private sector. 

6 (6) REGIONAL INFORMATION COORDINATION EN7 TITIES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Regional In9 formation Coordination Entity’’, subject to sub10 paragraphs (B) and (C), means an organiza11 tional body that is certified or established by the 

12 lead Federal agency designated in subsection 

13 (d)(3)(C)(iii) and coordinating State, Federal, 

14 local, and private interests at a regional level 

15 with the responsibility of engaging the private 

16 and public sectors in designing, operating, and 

17 improving regional coastal and ocean observing 

18 systems in order to ensure the provision of data 

19 and information that meet the needs of user 

20 groups from the respective regions. 

21 (B) INCLUDED ASSOCIATIONS.—Such term 

22 includes Regional Associations as described by 

23 the System Plan. 

24 (C) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section 

25 shall be construed to invalidate existing certifiVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Apr 01, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2342.RH H2342

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1 cations, contracts, or agreements between Re2 gional Associations and other elements of the 

3 System. 

4 (7) SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘System’’ means the Na5 tional Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation Sys6 tem established under subsection (d). 

7 (8) SYSTEM PLAN.—The term ‘‘System Plan’’ 

8 means the plan contained in the document entitled 

9 ‘‘Ocean.US Publication No. 9, The First Integrated 

10 Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Development Plan’’. 

11 (d) NATIONAL INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OB12 SERVING SYSTEM.— 

13 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, acting 

14 through the Council, shall establish a National Inte15 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System to ful16 fill the purposes set forth in subsection (b) and the 

17 System plan and to fulfill the Nation’s international 

18 obligations to contribute to the global earth observa19 tion system of systems and the global ocean observing 

20 system. 

21 (2) SUPPORT OF PURPOSES.—The head of each 

22 agency that is a member of the Interagency Working 

23 Group shall support the purposes of this section. 

24 (3) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—The head of each 

25 Federal agency that has administrative jurisdiction 


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1 over a Federal asset shall make available data that 

2 are produced by that asset and that are not otherwise 

3 restricted for integration, management, and dissemi4 nation by the System. 

5 (4) ENHANCING ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGE6 MENT.—The head of each Federal agency that has ad7 ministrative jurisdiction over a Federal asset may 

8 take appropriate actions to enhance internal agency 

9 administration and management to better support, 

10 integrate, finance, and utilize observation data, prod11 ucts, and services developed under this section to fur12 ther its own agency mission and responsibilities. 

13 (5) PARTICIPATION IN REGIONAL INFORMATION

14 COORDINATION ENTITY.—The head of each Federal 

15 agency that has administrative jurisdiction over a 

16 Federal asset may participate in regional informa17 tion coordination entity activities. 

18 (6) NON-FEDERAL ASSETS.—Non-Federal assets 

19 shall be coordinated by the Interagency Working 

20 Group or by Regional Information Coordination En21 tities. 

22 (e) POLICY OVERSIGHT, ADMINISTRATION, AND RE23 GIONAL COORDINATION.— 

24 (1) NATIONAL OCEAN RESEARCH LEADERSHIP

25 COUNCIL.—The National Ocean Research Leadership 


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1 Council shall be responsible for establishing broad co2 ordination and long-term operations plans, policies, 

3 protocols, and standards for the System consistent 

4 with the policies, goals, and objectives contained in 

5 the System Plan, and coordination of the System 

6 with other earth observing activities. 

7 (2) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.—The Inter8 agency Working Group shall, with respect to the Sys9 tem, be responsible for— 

10 (A) implementation of operations plans and 

11 policies developed by the Council; 

12 (B) development of and transmittal to Con13 gress at the time of submission of the President’s 

14 annual budget request an annual coordinated, 

15 comprehensive System budget; 

16 (C) identification of gaps in observation 

17 coverage or needs for capital improvements of 

18 both Federal assets and non-Federal assets; 

19 (D) establishment of data management and 

20 communication protocols and standards; 

21 (E) establishment of required observation 

22 data variables; 

23 (F) development of certification standards 

24 for all non-Federal assets or Regional InformaVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Apr 01, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2342.RH H2342

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1 tion Coordination Entities to be eligible for inte2 gration into the System; 

3 (G) subject to the availability of appropria4 tions, establish through one or more partici5 pating Federal agencies, in consultation with the 

6 System Advisory Committee established under 

7 paragraph (5), a competitive matching grant or 

8 other program to promote research and develop9 ment of innovative observation technologies in10 cluding testing and field trials; and 

11 (H) periodically review and recommend to 

12 the Council revisions to the System Plan. 

13 (3) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY.—The Administrator 

14 shall function as the lead Federal agency for the Sys15 tem. The Administrator may establish an Interagency 

16 Program Coordinating Office to facilitate the Admin17 istrator’s responsibilities as the lead Federal agency 

18 for System oversight and management. The Adminis19 trator shall— 

20 (A) implement policies, protocols, and 

21 standards established by the Council and dele22 gated by the Interagency Working Group; 

23 (B) promulgate regulations to integrate the 

24 participation of non-Federal assets into the Sys25 tem and enter into and oversee contracts and 


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1 agreements with Regional Information Coordina2 tion Entities to effect this purpose; 

3 (C) implement a competitive funding proc4 ess for the purpose of assigning contracts and 

5 agreements to Regional Information Coordina6 tion Entities; 

7 (D) certify or establish Regional Informa8 tion Coordination Entities to coordinate State, 

9 Federal, local, and private interests at a regional 

10 level with the responsibility of engaging private 

11 and public sectors in designing, operating, and 

12 improving regional coastal and ocean observing 

13 systems in order to ensure the provision of data 

14 and information that meet the needs of user 

15 groups from the respective regions; 

16 (E) formulate a process by which gaps in 

17 observation coverage or needs for capital im18 provements of Federal assets and non-Federal as19 sets of the System can be identified by the Re20 gional Information Coordination Entities, the 

21 Administrator, or other members of the System 

22 and transmitted to the Interagency Working 

23 Group; 

24 (F) be responsible for the coordination, stor25 age, management, and dissemination of observaVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Apr 01, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2342.RH H2342

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1 tion data gathered through the System to all 

2 end-user communities; 

3 (G) implement a program of public edu4 cation and outreach to improve public awareness 

5 of global climate change and effects on the ocean, 

6 coastal, and Great Lakes environment; and 

7 (H) report annually to the Council through 

8 the Interagency Working Group on the accom9 plishments, operational needs, and performance 

10 of the System to achieve the purposes of this title 

11 and the System Plan. 

12 (4) REGIONAL INFORMATION COORDINATION EN13 TITY.—To be certified or established under paragraph 

14 (3)(D), a Regional Information Coordination Entity 

15 must be certified or established by contract or agree16 ment by the Administrator, and must agree to— 

17 (A) gather required System observation 

18 data and other requirements specified under this 

19 section and the System plan; 

20 (B) identify gaps in observation coverage or 

21 needs for capital improvements of Federal assets 

22 and non-Federal assets of the System, and trans23 mit such information to the Interagency Working 

24 Group via the Administrator; 


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1 (C) demonstrate an organizational structure 

2 and strategic operational plan to ensure the effi3 cient and effective administration of programs 

4 and assets to support daily data observations for 

5 integration into the System; 

6 (D) comply with all financial oversight re7 quirements established by the Administrator, in8 cluding requirements relating to audits; and 

9 (E) demonstrate a capability to work with 

10 other governmental and nongovernmental entities 

11 at all levels to identify and provide information 

12 products of the System for multiple users within 

13 the service area of the Regional Information Co14 ordination Entities and otherwise. 

15 (5) SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

17 establish a System Advisory Committee, which 

18 shall provide advice as may be requested by the 

19 Administrator or the Interagency Working 

20 Group. 

21 (B) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the System 

22 Advisory Committee is to advise the Adminis23 trator and the Interagency Working Group on— 

24 (i) administration, operation, manage25 ment, and maintenance of the System, inVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Apr 01, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2342.RH H2342

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1 cluding integration of Federal and non-Fed2 eral assets and data management and com3 munication aspects of the System, and ful4 fillment of the purposes specified under sub5 section (b); 

6 (ii) expansion and periodic moderniza7 tion and upgrade of technology components 

8 of the System; 

9 (iii) identification of end-user commu10 nities, their needs for information provided 

11 by the System, and the System’s effective12 ness in disseminating information to end13 user communities and the general public; 

14 and 

15 (iv) any other purpose identified by 

16 the Administrator or the Interagency Work17 ing Group. 

18 (C) MEMBERS.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—The System Advi20 sory Committee shall be composed of mem21 bers appointed by the Administrator. Mem22 bers shall be qualified by education, train23 ing, and experience to evaluate scientific 

24 and technical information related to the de25 sign, operation, maintenance, or use of the 


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1 System, or use of data products provided 

2 through the System. 

3 (ii) TERMS OF SERVICE.—Members 

4 shall be appointed for 3-year terms, renew5 able once. A vacancy appointment shall be 

6 for the remainder of the unexpired term of 

7 the vacancy, and an individual so ap8 pointed may subsequently be appointed for 

9 2 full 3-year terms if the remainder of the 

10 unexpired term is less than one year. 

11 (iii) CHAIRPERSON.—The Adminis12 trator shall designate a chairperson from 

13 among the members of the System Advisory 

14 Committee. 

15 (iv) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the 

16 System Advisory Committee shall be ap17 pointed as special Government employees 

18 for purposes of section 202(a) of title 18, 

19 United States Code. 

20 (D) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

21 (i) REPORTING.—The System Advisory 

22 Committee shall report to the Administrator 

23 and the Interagency Working Group, as ap24 propriate. 


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1 (ii) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The 

2 Administrator shall provide administrative 

3 support to the System Advisory Committee. 

4 (iii) MEETINGS.—The System Advi5 sory Committee shall meet at least once each 

6 year, and at other times at the call of the 

7 Administrator, the Interagency Working 

8 Group, or the chairperson. 

9 (iv) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.— 

10 Members of the System Advisory Committee 

11 shall not be compensated for service on that 

12 Committee, but may be allowed travel ex13 penses, including per diem in lieu of sub14 sistence, in accordance with subchapter I of 

15 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

16 (v) EXPIRATION.—Section 14 of the 

17 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

18 App.) shall not apply to the System Advi19 sory Committee. 

20 (6) CIVIL LIABILITY.—For purposes of deter21 mining liability arising from the dissemination and 

22 use of observation data gathered pursuant to this sec23 tion, any non-Federal asset or Regional Information 

24 Coordination Entity that is certified under para25 graph (3)(D) and that is participating in the System 


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1 shall be considered to be part of the National Oceanic 

2 and Atmospheric Administration. Any employee of 

3 such a non-Federal asset or Regional Information Co4 ordination Entity, while operating within the scope 

5 of his or her employment in carrying out the purposes 

6 of this section, with respect to tort liability, is deemed 

7 to be an employee of the Federal Government. 

8 (f) INTERAGENCY FINANCING, GRANTS, CONTRACTS, 

9 AND AGREEMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The member departments and 

11 agencies of the Council, subject to the availability of 

12 appropriations, may participate in interagency fi13 nancing and share, transfer, receive, obligate, and ex14 pend funds appropriated to any member agency for 

15 the purposes of carrying out any administrative or 

16 programmatic project or activity to further the pur17 poses of this section, including support for the Inter18 agency Working Group, the Interagency Coordinating 

19 Program Office, a common infrastructure, and inte20 gration to expand or otherwise enhance the System. 

21 (2) JOINT CENTERS AND AGREEMENTS.—Member 

22 Departments and agencies of the Council shall have 

23 the authority to create, support, and maintain joint 

24 centers, and to enter into and perform such contracts, 

25 leases, grants, and cooperative agreements as may be 


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1 necessary to carry out the purposes of this section and 

2 fulfillment of the System Plan. 

3 (g) APPLICATION WITH OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 

4 this section supersedes or limits the authority of any agency 

5 to carry out its responsibilities and missions under other 

6 laws. 

7 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after 

9 the date of enactment of this section, the Adminis10 trator through the Council shall submit to Congress a 

11 report that describes the status of the System and 

12 progress made to achieve the purposes of this section 

13 and the goals identified under the System Plan. 

14 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include discus15 sion of the following: 

16 (A) Identification of Federal and non-Fed17 eral assets as determined by the Council that 

18 have been integrated into the System, including 

19 assets essential to the gathering of required obser20 vation data variables necessary to meet the re21 spective missions of Council agencies. 

22 (B) A review of procurements, planned or 

23 initiated, by each Council agency to enhance, ex24 pand, or modernize the observation capabilities 

25 and data products provided by the System, inVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Apr 01, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2342.RH H2342

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1 cluding data management and communication 

2 subsystems. 

3 (C) An assessment regarding activities to 

4 integrate Federal and non-Federal assets, nation5 ally and on the regional level, and discussion of 

6 the performance and effectiveness of Regional In7 formation Coordination Entities to coordinate 

8 regional observation operations. 

9 (D) An evaluation of progress made by the 

10 Council to achieve the purposes of this section 

11 and the goals identified under the System Plan. 

12 (E) Recommendations for operational im13 provements to enhance the efficiency, accuracy, 

14 and overall capability of the System. 

15 (3) BIENNIAL UPDATE.—Two years after the 

16 transmittal of the initial report prepared pursuant to 

17 this subsection and biennially thereafter, the Adminis18 trator, through the Council, shall submit to Congress 

19 an update of the initial report. 

20 (i) PUBLIC-PRIVATE USE POLICY.—The Council shall 

21 develop a policy within 6 months after the date of the enact22 ment of this section that defines processes for making deci23 sions about the roles of the Federal Government, the States, 

24 Regional Information Coordination Entities, the academic 

25 community, and the private sector in providing to end-user 


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1 communities environmental information, products, tech2 nologies, and services related to the System. The Council 

3 shall publish the policy in the Federal Register for public 

4 comment for a period not less than 60 days. Nothing in 

5 this subsection shall be construed to require changes in pol6 icy in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (j) INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE.—The Interagency 

8 Working Group, through the Administrator and the Direc9 tor of the National Science Foundation, shall obtain within 

10 one year after the date of the enactment of this section an 

11 independent cost estimate for operations and maintenance 

12 of existing Federal assets of the System, and planned or 

13 anticipated acquisition, operation, and maintenance of new 

14 Federal assets for the System, including operation facilities, 

15 observation equipment, modeling and software, data man16 agement and communication, and other essential compo17 nents. The independent cost estimate shall be transmitted 

18 unabridged and without revision by the Administrator to 

19 Congress. 

20 (k) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Congress 

21 that funding provided to agencies of the Council to imple22 ment this section shall supplement, and not replace, existing 

23 sources of funding for other programs. It is the further in24 tent of Congress that agencies of the Council shall not enter 

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1 ment of new Federal assets for the System that are esti2 mated to be in excess of $250,000,000 in life-cycle costs 

3 without first providing adequate notice to Congress and op4 portunity for review and comment. 


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Union Calendar No. 341 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2342 

[Report No. 110

–558, Part I] 

A BILL 

To direct the President to establish a National Inand for other purposes. tegrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System, 

MARCH 31, 2008 

Committee on Science and Technology discharged; comState of the Union and ordered to be printed mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the 


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