IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2489 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 28, 2009 

Received 

DECEMBER 24, 2009 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

AN ACT 

To authorize a national cooperative geospatial imagery program through the United States Geological Survey to 

promote use of remote sensing data. 

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 Land Remote 

3 Sensing Outreach Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

7 the National Land Remote Sensing Outreach Pro8 gram established in section 3. 

9 (2) EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.—The term 

10 ‘‘educational institution’’ means any public or pri11 vate elementary or secondary school, or any institu12 tion of vocational, professional, or higher education 

13 (including a junior college or teachers’ college). 

14 (3) GEOSPATIAL IMAGERY.—The term 

15 ‘‘geospatial imagery’’— 

16 (A) means satellite land remote sensing 

17 image data registered to map or other spatial 

18 coordinates derived from features on the 

19 ground; and 

20 (B) includes a wide range of graphical 

21 products that convey information about natural 

22 phenomena and human activities occurring on 

23 Earth’s surface. 

24 (4) IMAGE DATA.—The term ‘‘image data’’ 

25 means the raw, unprocessed form of data captured 

26 from a sensing instrument. 


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1 (5) LAND REMOTE SENSING.—The term ‘‘land 

2 remote sensing’’ means image data of land, coastal 

3 areas, or islands and reefs acquired from above the 

4 surface of the Earth by instruments on satellite plat5 forms. 

6 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

9 (A) each of the several States of the 

10 United States; 

11 (B) the District of Columbia; 

12 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

13 (D) Guam; 

14 (E) American Samoa; 

15 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

16 Mariana Islands; and 

17 (G) the United States Virgin Islands. 

18 (8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

19 has the same meaning given that term in section 

20 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

21 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)). 

22 SEC. 3. NATIONAL LAND REMOTE SENSING OUTREACH 

23 PROGRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish and 

25 maintain a national land remote sensing outreach program 


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1 within the U.S. Geological Survey to advance the avail2 ability, timely distribution, and widespread use of 

3 geospatial imagery for education, research, assessment, 

4 and monitoring purposes in each State and the lands of 

5 an Indian tribe. 

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program are— 

7 (1) to increase accessibility to, and expand the 

8 use of, remote sensing data in a standard, easy-to9 use format by Federal, State, local, and tribal gov10 ernments, communities, educational institutions, and 

11 the commercial sector; and 

12 (2) to assist each participating State and In13 dian tribe in establishing the cooperative infrastruc14 ture necessary to increase access to geospatial im15 agery for research and educational purposes. 

16 (c) ACTIVITIES.— 

17 (1) NATIONAL LAND REMOTE SENSING OUT18 REACH PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall— 

19 (A) support geospatial imagery sharing, 

20 applied research, and educational programs of 

21 each participating State and Indian tribe; 

22 (B) identify new geospatial imagery needs 

23 and infrastructure; 

24 (C) share and cooperate in the develop25 ment of geospatial imagery applications, eduVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:36 Dec 29, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2489.RFS H2489

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1 cation, and training infrastructure in each par2 ticipating State and the lands of an Indian 

3 tribe; 

4 (D) cooperate with participating States 

5 and Indian tribes to encourage the expansion of 

6 geospatial imagery mapping courses taught at 

7 appropriate educational institutions; 

8 (E) encourage expansion of geospatial im9 agery research at appropriate educational insti10 tutions; 

11 (F) encourage expansion of the knowledge 

12 and use of geospatial imagery products in the 

13 workforce through outreach programs, work14 shops, and other training opportunities; 

15 (G) encourage participating States and In16 dian tribes to build partnerships with local gov17 ernments to identify unique research and devel18 opment needs and geospatial imagery applica19 tion pilot programs; 

20 (H) promote cooperation and sharing of 

21 expertise regarding geospatial imagery applica22 tions among participating States and Indian 

23 tribes; and 

24 (I) provide a mechanism to enable the 

25 States and Indian tribes to transfer geospatial 


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1 imagery and applications to the U.S. Geological 

2 Survey as appropriate. 

3 (2) GRANTS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is au5 thorized to provide grants to qualified edu6 cational institutions, or to State, local, and trib7 al governments, or to consortia of these entities, 

8 on a competitive basis to— 

9 (i) advance the interest of the Federal 

10 Government in promoting the use of im11 agery by educational institutions, States, 

12 localities, and Indian tribes; and 

13 (ii) achieve the purposes of the Pro14 gram described in section 3(b). 

15 (B) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share 

17 of the cost of each program for which a 

18 grant is made under this Act may not ex19 ceed 75 percent of the total cost of the 

20 program. 

21 (ii) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.— 

22 In providing the non-Federal contribution 

23 required under this paragraph, a grantee— 

24 (I) shall provide for such share 

25 through a payment in cash or in kind, 


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1 fairly evaluated, including facilities, 

2 equipment, technology, or services; 

3 and 

4 (II) may provide for such share 

5 through State sources or local 

6 sources, including private funds or do7 nated services. 

8 (iii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 

9 waive the requirements of subparagraph 

10 (B), in whole or in part, with respect to 

11 any program if the Secretary determines 

12 that the grantee has made a good faith ef13 fort to obtain the non-Federal contribution 

14 at the local level but is unable to do so. 

15 (3) FEDERAL PARTNER ADVISORY COM16 MITTEE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es18 tablish and maintain a committee to advise the 

19 Director of the U.S. Geological Survey regard20 ing the Program. 

21 (B) MEMBERSHIP AND APPOINTMENT.— 

22 The advisory committee under subparagraph 

23 (A) shall be chaired by the U.S. Geological Sur24 vey and composed of such representatives of 

25 Federal and State agencies, tribal governments, 


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1 and educational institutions as the Secretary 

2 may designate. 

3 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec5 retary $10,000,000 to carry out this Act for each of fiscal 

6 years 2010 through 2019. 

7 SEC. 5. SUNSET DATE. 

8 This Act is repealed on the date that is 10 years after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 27, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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