II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 950 

To develop and maintain an integrated system of coastal and ocean observations for the Nation’s coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes, to improve 

warnings of tsunami, hurricanes, El Nin ̃o events, and other natural 

hazards, to enhance homeland security, to support maritime operations, 

to improve management of coastal and marine resources, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2007 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. STEVENS, Mrs. 

BOXER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. KERRY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. 

LAUTENBERG, Mr. LOTT, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. NELSON of Florida, and 

Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To develop and maintain an integrated system of coastal 

and ocean observations for the Nation’s coasts, oceans, 

and Great Lakes, to improve warnings of tsunami, hurricanes, El Nin ̃o events, and other natural hazards, to 

enhance homeland security, to support maritime operations, to improve management of coastal and marine 

resources, 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, 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

2 

•S 950 IS 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coastal and Ocean 

3 Observation System Act of 2007’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) The United States Commission on Ocean 

7 Policy recommends a national commitment to a sus8 tained and integrated coastal and ocean observing 

9 system and to coordinated research programs which 

10 would provide vital information to assist the Nation 

11 and the world in understanding, monitoring, and 

12 predicting changes to the ocean and coastal re13 sources and the global climate system, enhancing 

14 homeland security, improving weather and climate 

15 forecasts, strengthening management and sustain16 able use of coastal and ocean resources, improving 

17 the safety and efficiency of maritime operations, and 

18 mitigating the impacts of marine hazards. 

19 (2) The continuing and potentially devastating 

20 threat posed by tsunami, hurricanes, storm surges, 

21 and other marine hazards requires immediate imple22 mentation of strengthened observation and commu23 nications, and data management systems to provide 

24 timely detection, assessment, and warnings and to 

25 support response strategies for the millions of people 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

3 

•S 950 IS 

1 living in coastal regions of the United States and 

2 throughout the world. 

3 (3) Safeguarding homeland security, conducting 

4 search and rescue operations, responding to natural 

5 and manmade coastal hazards (such as oil spills and 

6 harmful algal blooms), and managing fisheries and 

7 other coastal activities each require improved under8 standing and monitoring of the Nation’s waters, 

9 coastlines, ecosystems, and resources, including the 

10 ability to provide rapid response teams with real11 time environmental conditions necessary for their 

12 work. 

13 (4) The 95,000-mile coastline of the United 

14 States, including the Great Lakes, is vital to the Na15 tion’s prosperity, contributing over $117 billion to 

16 the national economy in 2000, supporting jobs for 

17 more than 200 million Americans, handling $700 

18 billion in waterborne commerce, and supporting com19 mercial and sport fisheries valued at more than $50 

20 billion annually. 

21 (5) Ensuring the effective implementation of 

22 National and State programs to protect unique 

23 coastal and ocean habitats, such as wetlands and 

24 coral reefs, and living marine resources requires a 

25 sustained program of research and monitoring to 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

4 

•S 950 IS 

1 understand these natural systems and detect 

2 changes that could jeopardize their long term viabil3 ity. 

4 (6) Many elements of a coastal and ocean ob5 serving system are in place, but require national in6 vestment, consolidation, completion, and integration 

7 among international, Federal, regional, State, and 

8 local elements. 

9 (7) In 2003, the United States led more than 

10 50 nations in affirming the vital importance of time11 ly, reliable, long-term global observations as a basis 

12 for sound decision-making, recognizing the contribu13 tion of observation systems to meet national, re14 gional, and global needs, and calling for strength15 ened cooperation and coordination in establishing a 

16 Global Earth Observation System of Systems, of 

17 which an integrated coastal and ocean observing sys18 tem is an essential part. 

19 (8) Protocols and reporting for observations, 

20 measurements, and other data collection for a coast21 al and ocean observing system should be standard22 ized to facilitate data use and dissemination. 

23 (9) Key variables, including temperature, salin24 ity, sea level, surface currents, and ocean color, 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

5 

•S 950 IS 

1 should be collected to address a variety of informa2 tional needs. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to es4 tablish an integrated national system of ocean, coastal, 

5 and Great Lakes observing systems to address regional 

6 and national needs for ocean information and to provide 

7 for— 

8 (1) the planning, development, implementation, 

9 and maintenance of an integrated coastal and ocean 

10 observing system that provides data and information 

11 to sustain and restore healthy marine, coastal, and 

12 Great Lakes ecosystems and manage the resources 

13 they support, aid marine navigation safety and na14 tional security, support economic development, en15 able advances in scientific understanding of the 

16 oceans and the Great Lakes, and strengthen science 

17 education and communication; 

18 (2) implementation of research, development, 

19 education, and outreach programs to improve under20 standing of the marine environment and achieve the 

21 full national benefits of an integrated coastal and 

22 ocean observing system; 

23 (3) implementation of a data, information man24 agement, and modeling system required by all com25 ponents of an integrated coastal and ocean observing 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

6 

•S 950 IS 

1 system and related research to develop early warning 

2 systems to more effectively predict and mitigate im3 pacts of natural hazards, improve weather and cli4 mate forecasts, conserve healthy and restore de5 graded coastal ecosystems, and ensure usefulness of 

6 data and information for users; and 

7 (4) establishment of a network of regional asso8 ciations to operate and maintain regional coastal 

9 and ocean observing systems to ensure fulfillment of 

10 national objectives at regional scales and to address 

11 state and local needs for ocean information and data 

12 products. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis16 trator’’ means Administrator of the National Oce17 anic and Atmospheric Administration. 

18 (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

19 National Ocean Research Leadership Council estab20 lished by section 7902 of title 10, United States 

21 Code. 

22 (3) INTEGRATED OCEAN OBSERVING PROGRAM

23 OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Integrated Ocean Observing 

24 Program Office’’ means a program office within the 

25 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

7 

•S 950 IS 

1 to integrate its ocean observing assets and imple2 ment the requirements under section 4(d). 

3 (4) INTERAGENCY PROGRAM OFFICE.—The 

4 term ‘‘Interagency Program Office’’ means the office 

5 established under section 4(e). 

6 (5) NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP

7 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘National Oceanographic 

8 Partnership Program’’ means the program estab9 lished under section 7901 of title 10, United States 

10 Code. 

11 (6) OBSERVING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘observing 

12 system’’ means the integrated coastal, ocean, and 

13 Great Lakes observing system to be established by 

14 the Council under section 4(a). 

15 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Na17 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

18 SEC. 4. INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVING 

19 SYSTEM. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, acting 

21 through the Council, shall establish and maintain an inte22 grated system of coastal and ocean observations, data 

23 communication and management, analysis, modeling, re24 search, education, and outreach designed to understand 

25 current conditions and provide data and information for 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

8 

•S 950 IS 

1 the timely detection and prediction of changes occurring 

2 in the ocean, coastal and Great Lakes environment that 

3 impact the Nation’s social, economic, and ecological sys4 tems. The observing system shall provide for long-term, 

5 continuous and quality-controlled observations of the Na6 tion’s coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes in order to— 

7 (1) understand the effects of human activities 

8 and natural variability on and improve the health of 

9 the Nation’s coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes; 

10 (2) measure, track, explain, and predict climatic 

11 and environmental changes and protect human lives 

12 and livelihoods from hazards such as tsunami, hurri13 canes, storm surges, coastal erosion, levy breaches, 

14 and fluctuating water levels; 

15 (3) supply critical information to marine-related 

16 businesses such as marine transportation, aqua17 culture, fisheries, and offshore energy production 

18 and aid marine navigation and safety; 

19 (4) support national defense and homeland se20 curity efforts; 

21 (5) support the sustainable use, conservation, 

22 management, and enjoyment of healthy ocean, coast23 al, and Great Lakes resources, better understand the 

24 interactions of ocean processes within the coastal 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

9 

•S 950 IS 

1 zone, and support implementation and refinement of 

2 ecosystem-based management and restoration; 

3 (6) support the protection of critical coastal 

4 habitats, such as coral reefs and wetlands, and 

5 unique ecosystems and resources; 

6 (7) educate the public about the role and im7 portance of the oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes in 

8 daily life; and 

9 (8) support research and development to ensure 

10 improvement to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ob11 servation measurements and to enhance under12 standing of the Nation’s ocean, coastal, and Great 

13 Lakes resources. 

14 (b) SYSTEM ELEMENTS.—In order to fulfill the pur15 poses of this Act, the observing system shall consist of the 

16 following program elements: 

17 (1) A national program to fulfill national and 

18 international observation priorities. 

19 (2) A network of regional associations to man20 age the regional coastal and ocean observing and in21 formation programs that collect, measure, and dis22 seminate data and information products. 

23 (3) Data management, communication, and 

24 modeling systems for the timely integration and dismstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

10 

•S 950 IS 

1 semination of data and information products from 

2 the national and regional systems. 

3 (4) A research and development program con4 ducted under the guidance of the Council; including 

5 projects under the National Oceanographic Partner6 ship Program, consisting of the following: 

7 (A) Basic research to advance knowledge 

8 of coastal and ocean systems and ensure im9 provement of operational products, including re10 lated infrastructure, observing technology, and 

11 information technology. 

12 (B) Focused research and technology de13 velopment projects to improve understanding of 

14 the relationship between the coasts and oceans 

15 and human activities. 

16 (C) Large scale computing resources and 

17 research to advance modeling of coastal and 

18 ocean processes. 

19 (5) A coordinated outreach, education, and 

20 training program that integrates and augments ex21 isting programs (such as the National Sea Grant 

22 College Program, the Centers for Ocean Sciences 

23 Education Excellence program, and the National Es24 tuarine Research Reserve System), to ensure the use 

25 of data and information for improving public edumstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

11 

•S 950 IS 

1 cation and awareness of the Nation’s coastal and 

2 ocean environment and building the technical exper3 tise required to operate and improve the observing 

4 system. 

5 (c) COUNCIL FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall serve 

6 as the oversight body for the design and implementation 

7 of all aspects of the observing system. In carrying out its 

8 responsibilities under this section, the Council shall— 

9 (1) adopt plans, budgets, and standards that 

10 are developed and maintained by the Interagency 

11 Program Office in consultation with the regional as12 sociations; 

13 (2) coordinate the observing system with other 

14 earth observing activities including the Global Ocean 

15 Observing System and the Global Earth Observing 

16 System of Systems; 

17 (3) coordinate and approve programs of intra18 mural and extramural research, technology develop19 ment, education, and outreach to support improve20 ments to and the operation of an integrated coastal 

21 and ocean observing system and to advance the un22 derstanding of the oceans; 

23 (4) promote development of technology and 

24 methods for improving the observing system; 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

12 

•S 950 IS 

1 (5) support the development of institutional 

2 mechanisms and financial instruments to further the 

3 goals of the program and provide for the capitaliza4 tion of the required infrastructure; 

5 (6) provide, as appropriate, support for and 

6 representation on United States delegations to inter7 national meetings on coastal and ocean observing 

8 programs, including those under the jurisdiction of 

9 the International Joint Commission involving Cana10 dian waters; and 

11 (7) in consultation with the Secretary of State, 

12 support coordination of relevant Federal activities 

13 with those of other nations. 

14 (d) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY.—The National Oceanic 

15 and Atmospheric Administration shall be the lead Federal 

16 agency for implementation and administration of the ob17 serving system and to carry out the responsibilities of this 

18 Act, in consultation with the Council, the Interagency Pro19 gram Office, other Federal Agencies that maintain por20 tions of the observing system and the Regional Associa21 tions, shall— 

22 (1) establish an Integrated Ocean Observing 

23 Program Office; 

24 (2) integrate, improve, and extend existing pro25 grams and research projects, and ensure that remstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

13 

•S 950 IS 

1 gional associations are integrated into the oper2 ational observation system on a sustained basis; 

3 (3) integrate the appropriate capabilities of the 

4 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

5 and other appropriate centers, into the observing 

6 system for the purpose of assimilating, managing, 

7 disseminating, and archiving data from regional ob8 servation systems and other observation systems; 

9 (4) provide for the migration of scientific and 

10 technological advances from research and develop11 ment to operational deployment; 

12 (5) provide for opportunities to contract with 

13 private sector companies in designing, developing, 

14 integrating, and deploying ocean observation system 

15 elements; 

16 (6) establish efficient and effective administra17 tive procedures for allocation of funds among Fed18 eral agencies, contractors, grantees, and regional as19 sociations in a timely manner, and contingent on ap20 propriations according to the budget adopted by the 

21 Council; 

22 (7) develop and implement a process for the 

23 certification and assimilation into the national ocean 

24 observations network of the regional associations 

25 and their periodic review and recertification and cermstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

14 

•S 950 IS 

1 tify regional associations that meet the requirements 

2 of subsection (f); and 

3 (8) develop a data management and commu4 nication system, in accordance with the established 

5 standards and protocols, by which all data collected 

6 by the observing system regarding coastal waters of 

7 the United States are integrated and available. 

8 (e) INTERAGENCY PROGRAM OFFICE.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Council shall estab10 lish an Interagency Program Office housed within 

11 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra12 tion. 

13 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Interagency Pro14 gram Office shall be responsible for program plan15 ning and coordination of the implementation of the 

16 observing system. 

17 (3) DUTIES.—The Interagency Program Office 

18 shall report to the Council via the Secretary and 

19 shall— 

20 (A) prepare annual and long-term plans 

21 for consideration and approval by the Council 

22 for the design and implementation of the ob23 serving system that promote collaboration 

24 among Federal agencies and regional associa25 tions in developing global, national, and remstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

15 

•S 950 IS 

1 gional observing systems, including identifica2 tion and refinement of a core set of variables to 

3 be measured by all systems; 

4 (B) coordinate the development of agency 

5 and regional associations priorities and budgets 

6 to implement, operate, and maintain the observ7 ing systems; 

8 (C) establish and refine standards and pro9 tocols for data collection, management and 

10 communications, including quality control 

11 standards, in consultation with participating 

12 Federal agencies and regional associations; and 

13 (D) establish a process for assuring com14 pliance for all participating entities with the 

15 standards and protocols for data management 

16 and communications, including quality control 

17 standards. 

18 (f) REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF COASTAL AND

19 OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEMS.— 

20 (1) The Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking 

21 proceeding to establish a process for the certification 

22 of regional associations to be responsible for the de23 velopment and operation of regional coastal and 

24 ocean observing systems to meet the information 

25 needs of user groups in the region while adhering to 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

16 

•S 950 IS 

1 national standards. To be certified a regional asso2 ciation shall meet the certification standards devel3 oped by the Interagency Program Office in conjunc4 tion with the regional associations and approved by 

5 the Council and shall— 

6 (A) demonstrate an organizational struc7 ture capable of supporting and integrating all 

8 aspects of coastal and ocean observing and in9 formation programs within a region and that 

10 reflects broad representation from state and 

11 local government, commercial interests, and 

12 other users and beneficiaries of marine informa13 tion; 

14 (B) operate under a strategic operations 

15 and business plan that details the operation and 

16 support of regional coastal and ocean observing 

17 systems pursuant to the standards approved by 

18 the Council; and 

19 (C) work with governmental entities and 

20 programs at all levels to identify and provide in21 formation products of the observing system for 

22 multiple users in the region to advance outreach 

23 and education, to improve coastal and fishery 

24 management, safe and efficient marine naviga25 tion, weather and climate prediction, to enhance 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

17 

•S 950 IS 

1 preparation for hurricanes, tsunami, and other 

2 natural hazards, and other appropriate activi3 ties. 

4 (2) For the purposes of this Act, employees of 

5 Federal agencies may participate in the functions of 

6 the Regional Associations. 

7 (g) CIVIL LIABILITY.—For purposes of section 

8 1346(b)(1) and chapter 171 of title 28, United States 

9 Code, and chapters 309 and 311 of title 46, United States 

10 Code, any regional coastal and ocean observing system 

11 that is a designated part of a regional association certified 

12 under this section shall, with respect to tort liability aris13 ing from the dissemination and use of the data, in car14 rying out the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be part 

15 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

16 and any employee of such system, while operating within 

17 the scope of his or her employment in carrying out such 

18 purposes, shall be deemed to be an employee of the Gov19 ernment. 

20 SEC. 5. PROCESS FOR TRANSITION FROM RESEARCH TO 

21 OPERATION. 

22 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra23 tion, in consultation with the Council, shall formulate a 

24 process by which— 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

18 

•S 950 IS 

1 (1) funding is made available for intramural 

2 and extramural research on new technologies for col3 lecting data regarding coastal and ocean waters of 

4 the United States; 

5 (2) such technologies are tested including— 

6 (A) accelerated research into biological and 

7 chemical sensing techniques and satellite sen8 sors for collecting such data; and 

9 (B) developing technologies to improve all 

10 aspects of the observing system, especially the 

11 timeliness and accuracy of its predictive models 

12 and the usefulness of its information products; 

13 and 

14 (3) funding is made available and a plan is de15 veloped and executed to transition technology that 

16 has been demonstrated to be useful for the observing 

17 system is incorporated into use by the observing sys18 tem. 

19 SEC. 6. INTERAGENCY FINANCING. 

20 The departments and agencies represented on the 

21 Council are authorized to participate in interagency fi22 nancing and share, transfer, receive, obligate, and expend 

23 funds appropriated to any member of the Council for the 

24 purposes of carrying out any administrative or pro25 grammatic project or activity under this Act or under the 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

19 

•S 950 IS 

1 National Oceanographic Partnership Program, including 

2 support for the Interagency Program Office, a common 

3 infrastructure, and system integration for a coastal and 

4 ocean observing system. Funds may be transferred among 

5 such departments and agencies through an appropriate in6 strument that specifies the goods, services, or space being 

7 acquired from another Council member and the costs of 

8 the same. 

9 SEC. 7. APPLICATION WITH OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

10 LANDS ACT. 

11 Nothing in this Act supersedes, or limits the author12 ity of the Secretary of the Interior under, the Outer Conti13 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

14 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na16 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the 

17 implementation of this Act, $150,000,000 for each of the 

18 fiscal years 2008 through 2012 and such additional sums 

19 as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2008 

20 through 2012. The Administrator shall provide such sums 

21 as are necessary to the regional associations certified 

22 under section 4(f) for implementation of regional coastal 

23 and ocean observing systems. Sums appropriated pursuant 

24 to this section shall remain available until expended. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

20 

•S 950 IS 

1 SEC. 9. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. 

2 Not later than 12 months after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Con4 gress and the Council a plan for implementation of this 

5 Act, including for— 

6 (1) coordinating activities of the Secretary 

7 under this Act with other Federal agencies; and 

8 (2) distributing, to regional associations, funds 

9 available to carry out this Act. 

10 SEC. 10. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

11 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act and every 2 years there13 after, the Administrator shall prepare and the President 

14 acting through the Council shall approve and transmit to 

15 the Congress a report on progress made in implementing 

16 this Act. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include the fol18 lowing: 

19 (1) A description of activities carried out under 

20 the implementation plan and this Act. 

21 (2) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the ob22 serving system. 

23 (3) Benefits of the program to users of data 

24 products resulting from the observing system (in25 cluding the general public, industry, scientists, remstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

21 

•S 950 IS 

1 source managers, emergency responders, policy mak2 ers, and educators). 

3 (4) Recommendations concerning— 

4 (A) modifications to the observing system; 

5 and 

6 (B) funding levels for the observing system 

7 in subsequent fiscal years. 

8 (5) The results of a periodic external inde9 pendent programmatic audit of the observing sys10 tem. 

Æ 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS