I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2400 

To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish an integrated Federal ocean and coastal mapping 

plan for the Great Lakes and coastal state waters, the territorial sea, 

the exclusive economic zone, and the Continental Shelf of the United 

States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2007 

Ms. BORDALLO (for herself, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. SAXTON, and 

Mr. PALLONE) 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 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration to establish an integrated 

Federal ocean and coastal mapping plan for the Great 

Lakes and coastal state waters, the territorial sea, the 

exclusive economic zone, and the Continental Shelf of 

the United States, 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 ‘‘Ocean and Coastal 

3 Mapping Integration Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. INTEGRATED OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na7 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall es8 tablish a program to develop, in coordination with the 

9 Interagency Committee on Ocean and Coastal Mapping, 

10 a coordinated and comprehensive Federal ocean and coast11 al mapping plan for the Great Lakes and coastal state 

12 waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone, 

13 and the Continental Shelf of the United States that en14 hances ecosystem approaches in decisionmaking for con15 servation and management of marine resources and habi16 tats, establishes research priorities, supports the siting of 

17 research and other platforms, enhances safety of naviga18 tion, and advances ocean and coastal science. 

19 (b) PROGRAM PARAMETERS.—In developing such a 

20 program, the Administrator shall work with the Com21 mittee to— 

22 (1) identify all Federal and federally funded 

23 programs conducting shoreline delineation and ocean 

24 or coastal mapping, noting geographic coverage, fre25 quency, spatial coverage, resolution, and subject 


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1 matter focus of the data and location of data ar2 chives; 

3 (2) facilitate cost-effective, cooperative mapping 

4 efforts that incorporate policies for contracting with 

5 non-Federal entities among all Federal agencies con6 ducting ocean and coastal mapping, by increasing 

7 data sharing, developing appropriate data acquisi8 tion and metadata standards, and facilitating the 

9 interoperability of in situ data collection systems, 

10 data processing, archiving, and distribution of data 

11 products; 

12 (3) facilitate the adaptation of existing tech13 nologies as well as foster expertise in new ocean and 

14 coastal mapping technologies, including through re15 search, development, and training conducted among 

16 Federal agencies and in cooperation with non-Fed17 eral entities; 

18 (4) develop standards and protocols for testing 

19 innovative experimental mapping technologies and 

20 transferring new technologies between the Federal 

21 Government and non-Federal entities; 

22 (5) provide for the archiving, management, and 

23 distribution of data sets as well as provide mapping 

24 products and services to the general public in service 

25 of statutory requirements; 


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1 (6) develop data standards and protocols for 

2 use by Federal, State, and other entities in mapping 

3 and otherwise documenting locations of federally 

4 permitted activities, living and nonliving coastal and 

5 marine resources, marine ecosystems, sensitive habi6 tats, submerged cultural resources, undersea cables, 

7 offshore aquaculture projects, offshore energy 

8 projects, and any areas designated for purposes of 

9 environmental protection or conservation and man10 agement of living and nonliving coastal and marine 

11 resources; 

12 (7) identify the procedures to be used for co13 ordinating the collection and integration of Federal 

14 ocean and coastal mapping data with State and local 

15 government programs; and 

16 (8) set forth a timetable for completion and im17 plementation of the plan referred to in subsection 

18 (a). 

19 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON OCEAN AND COAST20 AL MAPPING. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

22 an Interagency Committee on Ocean and Coastal Map23 ping. 

24 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be com25 prised of senior representatives from Federal agencies 


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1 with ocean and coastal mapping and surveying responsibil2 ities. The representatives shall be high-ranking officials of 

3 their respective agencies or departments and, whenever 

4 possible, the head of the portion of the agency or depart5 ment that is most relevant to the purposes of this Act. 

6 Membership shall include senior representatives from the 

7 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 

8 Chief of Naval Operations, the United States Geological 

9 Survey, the Minerals Management Service, the National 

10 Science Foundation, the National Geospatial-Intelligence 

11 Agency, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the 

12 Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 

13 Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National 

14 Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other appro15 priate Federal agencies involved in ocean and coastal map16 ping. 

17 (c) CHAIRMAN.—The Committee shall have as its 

18 chairman the representative from the National Oceanic 

19 and Atmospheric Administration. The chairman may cre20 ate subcommittees chaired by any member agency of the 

21 committee. The full Committee may form working groups 

22 to address issues of short duration. 

23 (d) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet on a 

24 quarterly basis, but each subcommittee and each working 

25 group shall meet on an as-needed basis. 


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1 (e) COORDINATION.—The Committee shall coordinate 

2 activities, when appropriate, with— 

3 (1) other Federal efforts, including the Digital 

4 Coast, Geospatial One-Stop, and the Federal Geo5 graphic Data Committee; 

6 (2) international mapping activities; 

7 (3) States and user groups through workshops 

8 and other appropriate mechanisms; and 

9 (4) representatives of non-Federal entities. 

10 SEC. 4. NOAA INTEGRATED MAPPING INITIATIVE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con13 sultation with the Committee, shall develop and submit to 

14 the Congress a plan for an integrated ocean and coastal 

15 mapping initiative within the National Oceanic and At16 mospheric Administration. 

17 (b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall— 

18 (1) identify and describe all ocean and coastal 

19 mapping programs within the agency, including 

20 those that conduct mapping or related activities in 

21 the course of existing missions, such as hydrographic 

22 surveys, ocean exploration projects, living marine re23 source conservation and management programs, 

24 coastal zone management projects, and ocean and 

25 coastal science projects; 


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1 (2) establish priority mapping programs and es2 tablish and periodically update priorities for geo3 graphic areas in surveying and mapping across all 

4 missions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

5 Administration, as well as minimum data acquisition 

6 and metadata standards for those programs; 

7 (3) encourage the development of innovative 

8 ocean and coastal mapping technologies and applica9 tions through research and development through co10 operative or other agreements with joint or coopera11 tive research institutes and with other non-Federal 

12 entities; 

13 (4) document available and developing tech14 nologies, best practices in data processing and dis15 tribution, and leveraging opportunities with other 

16 Federal agencies, and non-Federal entities; 

17 (5) identify training, technology, and other re18 source requirements for enabling the National Oce19 anic and Atmospheric Administration’s programs, 

20 vessels, and aircraft to support a coordinated ocean 

21 and coastal mapping program; 

22 (6) identify a centralized mechanism or office 

23 for coordinating data collection, processing, 

24 archiving, and dissemination activities of all such 


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1 mapping programs within the National Oceanic and 

2 Atmospheric Administration, including— 

3 (A) designating primary data processing 

4 centers to maximize efficiency in information 

5 technology investment, develop consistency in 

6 data processing, and meet Federal mandates 

7 for data accessibility; and 

8 (B) designating a repository that is re9 sponsible for archiving and managing the dis10 tribution of all ocean and coastal mapping data 

11 to simplify the provision of services to benefit 

12 Federal and State programs; and 

13 (7) set forth a timetable for implementation 

14 and completion of the plan, including a schedule for 

15 submission to the Congress of periodic progress re16 ports and recommendations for integrating ap17 proaches developed under the initiative into the 

18 interagency program. 

19 (c) NOAA JOINT OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING

20 CENTERS.—The Administrator may maintain and operate 

21 up to 3 joint ocean and coastal mapping centers, including 

22 a joint hydrographic center, which shall each be co-located 

23 with an institution of higher education. The centers shall 

24 serve as hydrographic centers of excellence and may conVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:06 May 23, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2400.IH H2400

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1 duct activities necessary to carry out the purposes of this 

2 Act, including— 

3 (1) research and development of innovative 

4 ocean and coastal mapping technologies, equipment, 

5 and data products; 

6 (2) mapping of the United States Outer Conti7 nental Shelf and other regions; 

8 (3) data processing for nontraditional data and 

9 uses; 

10 (4) advancing the use of remote sensing tech11 nologies, for related issues, including mapping and 

12 assessment of essential fish habitat and of coral re13 sources, ocean observations, and ocean exploration; 

14 and 

15 (5) providing graduate education and training 

16 in ocean and coastal mapping sciences for members 

17 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis18 tration Commissioned Officer Corps, personnel of 

19 other agencies with ocean and coastal mapping pro20 grams, and civilian personnel. 

21 (d) ENHANCED OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIVATE SEC22 TOR CONTRACTING.—The Administrator shall continue 

23 developing a strategy for expanding contracting with non24 Federal entities to minimize duplication and take max25 imum advantage of non-Federal capabilities in fulfilling 


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1 the Administration’s mapping and charting responsibil2 ities. Within 120 days after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, the Administrator shall transmit a report describing 

4 the strategy developed under this subsection to the Com5 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

6 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

7 House of Representatives. 

8 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY PROGRAM REPORTING. 

9 No later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, and biannually thereafter, the Chairman of 

11 the Committee shall transmit to the Committee on Com12 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

13 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep14 resentatives a report detailing progress made in imple15 menting this Act, including— 

16 (1) an inventory of ocean and coastal mapping 

17 data within the territorial sea and the exclusive eco18 nomic zone and throughout the Continental Shelf of 

19 the United States, noting the age and source of the 

20 survey and the spatial resolution (metadata) of the 

21 data; 

22 (2) an inventory and description of any new 

23 Federal or federally funded programs conducting 

24 shoreline delineation and ocean or coastal mapping 

25 since the previous reporting cycle; 


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1 (3) identification of priority areas in need of 

2 survey coverage using present technologies; 

3 (4) a resource plan that identifies when priority 

4 areas in need of modern ocean and coastal mapping 

5 surveys can be accomplished; 

6 (5) the status of efforts to produce integrated 

7 digital maps of ocean and coastal areas; 

8 (6) a description of any products resulting from 

9 coordinated mapping efforts under this Act that im10 prove public understanding of the coasts and oceans, 

11 or regulatory decisionmaking; 

12 (7) documentation of minimum and desired 

13 standards for data acquisition and integrated 

14 metadata; 

15 (8) a statement of the status of Federal efforts 

16 to leverage mapping technologies, coordinate map17 ping activities, share expertise, and exchange data; 

18 (9) a statement of resource requirements for or19 ganizations to meet the goals of the program, includ20 ing technology needs for data acquisition, proc21 essing, and distribution systems; 

22 (10) a statement of the status of efforts to de23 classify data gathered by the Navy, the National 

24 Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and other agencies 

25 to the extent possible without jeopardizing national 


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1 security, and make it available to partner agencies 

2 and the public; 

3 (11) the status of efforts to coordinate Federal 

4 programs with State and local government programs 

5 and leverage those programs; and 

6 (12) a description of efforts of Federal agencies 

7 to increase contracting with non-Federal entities. 

8 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the amounts au10 thorized by section 306 of the Hydrographic Services Im11 provement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892d), there are au12 thorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry 

13 out this Act— 

14 (1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

15 (2) $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

16 (3) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

17 (4) $38,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

18 (5) $45,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

19 through 2015. 

20 (b) JOINT OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING CEN21 TERS.—Of the amounts appropriated under subsection 

22 (a), the following amounts shall be used to carry out sec23 tion 4(c): 

24 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

25 (2) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 


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1 (3) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

2 (4) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

3 (5) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

4 through 2015. 

5 (c) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—Notwithstanding 

6 any other provision of law, from amounts authorized to 

7 be appropriated for fiscal years 2008 through 2015 to the 

8 departments of the agencies, and the independent agen9 cies, specified in section 3(b), the head of each such de10 partment or agency may make available not more than 

11 $10,000,000 per fiscal year to carry out interagency ac12 tivities under section 3. 

13 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis16 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

18 (2) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal state’’ 

19 has the meaning given that term by section 304(4) 

20 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

21 U.S.C. 1453(4). 

22 (3) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

23 means the Interagency Committee on Ocean and 

24 Coastal Mapping established by section 3. 


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1 (4) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

2 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means the exclusive eco3 nomic zone of the United States established by Pres4 idential Proclamation No. 5030, of March 10, 1983. 

5 (5) NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES.—The term ‘‘non6 Federal entities’’ includes State governmental orga7 nizations, non-governmental organizations, members 

8 of the academic community, and private sector orga9 nizations. 

10 (6) OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING.—The term 

11 ‘‘ocean and coastal mapping’’ means the acquisition, 

12 processing, and management of physical, biological, 

13 geological, chemical, and archaeological characteris14 tics and boundaries of ocean and coastal areas, re15 sources, and sea beds through the use of acoustics, 

16 satellites, aerial photogrammetry, light and imaging, 

17 direct sampling, and other mapping technologies. 

18 (7) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.—The term 

19 ‘‘Outer Continental Shelf’’ means all submerged 

20 lands lying seaward and outside of lands beneath 

21 navigable waters (as that term is defined in section 

22 2 of the Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301)), 

23 and of which the subsoil and seabed appertain to the 

24 United States and are subject to its jurisdiction and 

25 control. 


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1 (8) TERRITORIAL SEA.—The term ‘‘territorial 

2 sea’’ means the belt of sea measured from the base3 line of the United States determined in accordance 

4 with international law, as set forth in Presidential 

5 Proclamation Number 5928, dated December 27, 

6 1988. 

Æ 


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