IC 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1425 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2018 

Referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition 

to the Committee on Natural Resources, 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 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation 

System Act of 2009, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Coordinated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System. 

Sec. 5. Financing and agreements. 

Sec. 6. Reports to Congress. 

Sec. 7. Public-private use policy. 

Sec. 8. Repeal of independent cost estimate. 

Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 10. Reports and research plans. 

Sec. 11. Strategic research plan. 

Sec. 12. Stakeholder input on monitoring. 

Sec. 13. Research activities. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 Section 12302 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

8 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601) is 

9 amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 12302. PURPOSES. 

11 ‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are— 

12 ‘‘(1) to establish and sustain a national inte13 grated System of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

14 observing systems, comprised of Federal and non15 Federal components coordinated at the national level 

16 by the Council and at the regional level by a network 

17 of regional coastal observing systems, and that in18 cludes in situ, remote, and other coastal and ocean 

19 observation and modeling capabilities, technologies, 


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1 data management systems, communication systems, 

2 and product development systems, and is designed to 

3 address regional and national needs for ocean and 

4 coastal information, to gather specific data on key 

5 coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes variables, and to en6 sure timely and sustained dissemination and avail7 ability of these data— 

8 ‘‘(A) to the public; 

9 ‘‘(B) to support national defense, search 

10 and rescue operations, marine commerce, navi11 gation safety, weather, climate, and marine 

12 forecasting, energy siting and production, eco13 nomic development, ecosystem-based marine, 

14 coastal, and Great Lakes resource management, 

15 public safety, and public outreach and edu16 cation; 

17 ‘‘(C) to promote greater public awareness 

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

19 and Great Lakes resources and the general 

20 public welfare; 

21 ‘‘(D) to provide easy access to ocean, 

22 coastal, and Great Lakes data and promote 

23 data sharing between Federal and non-Federal 

24 sources and promote public data sharing; 


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1 ‘‘(E) to enable advances in scientific un2 derstanding to support the sustainable use, con3 servation, management, and understanding of 

4 healthy ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes re5 sources; and 

6 ‘‘(F) to monitor and model changes in 

7 ocean chemistry; 

8 ‘‘(2) to improve the Nation’s capability to meas9 ure, track, observe, understand, and predict events 

10 related directly and indirectly to weather and climate 

11 change, natural climate variability, and interactions 

12 between the oceanic and atmospheric environments, 

13 including the Great Lakes; and 

14 ‘‘(3) to authorize activities— 

15 ‘‘(A) to promote basic and applied research 

16 to develop, test, and deploy innovations and im17 provements in coastal and ocean observation 

18 technologies, including advanced observing tech19 nologies needed to address critical data gaps, 

20 modeling systems, other scientific and techno21 logical capabilities to improve the under22 standing of weather and climate, ocean-atmos23 phere dynamics, global climate change, and the 

24 physical, chemical, and biological dynamics of 


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1 the ocean, coastal and Great Lakes environ2 ments; and 

3 ‘‘(B) to conserve healthy and restore de4 graded coastal ecosystems.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 Section 12303 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

7 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3602) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘integrated 

10 into the System and are managed through States, 

11 regional organizations, universities, nongovernmental 

12 organizations, or the private sector’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘managed through States, regional organizations, 

14 universities, nongovernmental organizations, or the 

15 private sector and integrated into the system by the 

16 regional coastal ocean observing system, the Na17 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or 

18 the agencies on the Interagency Ocean Observation 

19 Committee’’; 

20 (2) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(6) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYS23 TEM.—The term ‘regional coastal observing system’ 

24 means an organizational body that is certified or es25 tablished by contract or memorandum by the lead 


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1 Federal agency designated in section 12304(c)(3) 

2 and coordinates State, Federal, local, tribal, and pri3 vate interests at a regional level with the responsi4 bility of engaging the private and public sectors in 

5 designing, operating, and improving regional coastal 

6 and ocean observing systems in order to ensure the 

7 provision of data and information that meet the 

8 needs of user groups from the respective regions.’’; 

9 and 

10 (3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘National 

11 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’’ and in12 serting ‘‘Administrator’’. 

13 SEC. 4. INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVATION 

14 SYSTEM. 

15 (a) SYSTEM ELEMENTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12304(b) of the In17 tegrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 

18 of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(b)) is amended by striking 

19 paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to fulfill the pur21 poses of this subtitle, the System shall be national 

22 in scope and consist of— 

23 ‘‘(A) Federal assets to fulfill national and 

24 international observation missions and prior25 ities; 


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1 ‘‘(B) non-Federal assets, including a net2 work of regional coastal observing systems iden3 tified under subsection (c)(4), to fulfill regional 

4 and national observation missions and prior5 ities; 

6 ‘‘(C) data management, communication, 

7 and modeling systems for the timely integration 

8 and dissemination of data and information 

9 products from the System; 

10 ‘‘(D) a product development system to 

11 transform observations into products in a for12 mat that may be readily used and understood; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(E) a research and development program 

15 conducted under the guidance of the Council, 

16 consisting of— 

17 ‘‘(i) basic and applied research and 

18 technology development— 

19 ‘‘(I) to improve understanding of 

20 coastal and ocean systems and their 

21 relationships to human activities; and 

22 ‘‘(II) to ensure improvement of 

23 operational assets and products, in24 cluding related infrastructure, observ25 ing technologies, and information and 


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1 data processing and management 

2 technologies; 

3 ‘‘(ii) an advanced observing tech4 nology development program to fill gaps in 

5 technology; 

6 ‘‘(iii) large scale computing resources 

7 and research to advance modeling of coast8 al, ocean, and Great Lakes processes; 

9 ‘‘(iv) models to improve regional 

10 weather forecasting capabilities and re11 gional weather forecasting products; and 

12 ‘‘(v) reviews of data collection proce13 dures across regions and programs to 

14 make recommendations for data collection 

15 standards across the System to meet na16 tional ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ob17 servation, applied research, and weather 

18 forecasting needs.’’. 

19 (2) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—Section 

20 12304(b)(3) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 3603(b)(3)) is 

21 amended by inserting ‘‘for research and for use in 

22 the development of products to address societal 

23 needs’’ before the period at the end. 


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1 (3) COORDINATION OF NON-FEDERAL AS2 SETS.—Section 12304(b)(4) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

3 3603(b)) is amended— 

4 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

5 ‘‘NON-FEDERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘COORDINA6 TION OF NON-FEDERAL’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘or by’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

8 the regional coastal observing system, or’’. 

9 (b) POLICY OVERSIGHT, ADMINISTRATION, AND RE10 GIONAL COORDINATION.—Section 12304(c) of the Inte11 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

12 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(c)) is amended by striking para13 graphs (2), (3), and (4), and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY OCEAN OBSERVATION COM15 MITTEE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Council shall 

17 establish or designate a committee, which shall 

18 be known as the Interagency Ocean Observation 

19 Committee. 

20 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The Interagency Ocean 

21 Observation Committee shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) prepare annual and long-term 

23 plans for consideration and approval by the 

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1 pansion of the System to meet the objec2 tives of this chapter and the System Plan; 

3 ‘‘(ii) develop and transmit to Con4 gress, along with the budget submitted by 

5 the President to Congress pursuant to sec6 tion 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

7 Code, an annual coordinated, comprehen8 sive budget— 

9 ‘‘(I) to operate all elements of 

10 the System identified in subsection 

11 (b); and 

12 ‘‘(II) to ensure continuity of data 

13 streams from Federal and non-Fed14 eral assets; 

15 ‘‘(iii) establish requirements for obser16 vation data variables to be gathered by 

17 both Federal and non-Federal assets and 

18 identify, in consultation with regional in19 formation coordination entities, priorities 

20 for System observations; 

21 ‘‘(iv) establish and define protocols 

22 and standards for System data processing, 

23 management, collection, configuration 

24 standards, formats, and communication for 


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1 new and existing assets throughout the In2 tegrated Ocean Observing System network; 

3 ‘‘(v) develop contract requirements for 

4 each regional coastal observing system— 

5 ‘‘(I) to establish eligibility for in6 tegration into the System; 

7 ‘‘(II) to ensure compliance with 

8 all applicable standards and protocols 

9 established by the Council; and 

10 ‘‘(III) to ensure that regional ob11 servations are integrated into the Sys12 tem on a sustained basis; 

13 ‘‘(vi) identify gaps in observation cov14 erage or needs for capital improvements of 

15 both Federal assets and non-Federal as16 sets; 

17 ‘‘(vii) subject to the availability of ap18 propriations, establish through 1 or more 

19 participating Federal agencies, in consulta20 tion with the System advisory committee 

21 established under subsection (d), a com22 petitive matching grant or other pro23 grams— 

24 ‘‘(I) to promote intramural and 

25 extramural research and development 


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1 of new, innovative, and emerging ob2 servation technologies including test3 ing and field trials; and 

4 ‘‘(II) to facilitate the migration 

5 of new, innovative, and emerging sci6 entific and technological advances 

7 from research and development to 

8 operational deployment; 

9 ‘‘(viii) periodically— 

10 ‘‘(I) review the System Plan; and 

11 ‘‘(II) submit to the Council such 

12 recommendations as the Interagency 

13 Ocean Observation Committee may 

14 have for improvements to the System 

15 Plan; 

16 ‘‘(ix) ensure collaboration among Fed17 eral agencies participating in the activities 

18 of the Interagency Ocean Observation 

19 Committee; and 

20 ‘‘(x) perform such additional duties as 

21 the Council may delegate. 

22 ‘‘(3) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The National Oceanic 

24 and Atmospheric Administration shall function 


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1 as the lead Federal agency for the implementa2 tion and administration of the System. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In car4 rying out this paragraph, the Administrator 

5 shall consult with the Council, the Interagency 

6 Ocean Observation Committee, other Federal 

7 agencies that maintain portions of the System, 

8 and the regional coastal observing systems. 

9 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out 

10 this paragraph, the Administrator shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) establish and operate an Inte12 grated Ocean Observing System Program 

13 Office within the National Oceanic and At14 mospheric Administration— 

15 ‘‘(I) that utilizes, to the extent 

16 necessary, personnel from member 

17 agencies participating on the Inter18 agency Ocean Observation Committee; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(II) oversees daily operations 

21 and coordination of the System; 

22 ‘‘(ii) implement policies, protocols, 

23 and standards approved by the Council 

24 and delegated by the Interagency Ocean 

25 Observation Committee; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) promulgate program guide2 lines— 

3 ‘‘(I) to certify and integrate re4 gional associations into the System; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(II) to provide regional coastal 

7 and ocean observation data that meet 

8 the needs of user groups from the re9 spective regions; 

10 ‘‘(iv) have the authority to enter into 

11 and oversee contracts, leases, grants, or co12 operative agreements with non-Federal as13 sets, including regional information coordi14 nation entities, to support the purposes of 

15 this chapter on such terms as the Adminis16 trator deems appropriate; 

17 ‘‘(v) implement and maintain a merit18 based, competitive funding process to sup19 port non-Federal assets, including the de20 velopment and maintenance of a network 

21 of regional coastal observing systems, and 

22 develop and implement a process for the 

23 periodic review and evaluation of the re24 gional associations; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) provide opportunities for com2 petitive contracts and grants for dem3 onstration projects to design, develop, inte4 grate, deploy, maintain, and support com5 ponents of the System; 

6 ‘‘(vii) establish and maintain efficient 

7 and effective administrative procedures for 

8 the timely allocation of funds among con9 tractors, grantees, and non-Federal assets, 

10 including regional associations; 

11 ‘‘(viii) develop and implement a proc12 ess for the periodic review and evaluation 

13 of the regional coastal observing systems; 

14 ‘‘(ix) formulate an annual process by 

15 which gaps in observation coverage or 

16 needs for capital improvements of Federal 

17 assets and non-Federal assets of the Sys18 tem are— 

19 ‘‘(I) identified by the regional as20 sociations described in the System 

21 Plan, the Administrator, or other 

22 members of the System; and 

23 ‘‘(II) submitted to the Inter24 agency Ocean Observation Committee; 


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1 ‘‘(x) develop and be responsible for a 

2 data management and communication sys3 tem, in accordance with standards and 

4 protocols established by the Interagency 

5 Ocean Observation Committee, by which 

6 all data collected by the System regarding 

7 ocean and coastal waters of the United 

8 States including the Great Lakes, are proc9 essed, stored, integrated, and made avail10 able to all end-user communities; 

11 ‘‘(xi) not less frequently than once 

12 each year, submit to the Interagency 

13 Ocean Observation Committee a report on 

14 the accomplishments, operational needs, 

15 and performance of the System to con16 tribute to the annual and long-term plans 

17 prepared pursuant to paragraph (2)(B)(i); 

18 ‘‘(xii) develop and periodically update 

19 a plan to efficiently integrate into the Sys20 tem new, innovative, or emerging tech21 nologies that have been demonstrated to be 

22 useful to the System and which will fulfill 

23 the purposes of this chapter and the Sys24 tem Plan; and 


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1 ‘‘(xiii) work with users and Regional 

2 Associations to develop products to enable 

3 real-time data sharing for decision makers, 

4 including with respect to weather fore5 casting and modeling, search and rescue 

6 operations, corrosive seawater forecasts, 

7 water quality monitoring and communica8 tion, and harmful algal bloom forecasting. 

9 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYS10 TEMS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A regional coastal ob12 serving system operated by a Regional Associa13 tion described in the System Plan may not be 

14 certified or established under this subtitle un15 less it— 

16 ‘‘(i) has been or shall be certified or 

17 established by contract or agreement by 

18 the Administrator; 

19 ‘‘(ii) meets— 

20 ‘‘(I) the certification standards 

21 and compliance procedure guidelines 

22 issued by the Administrator; and 

23 ‘‘(II) the information needs of 

24 user groups in the region while adher25 ing to national standards; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) demonstrates an organizational 

2 structure, that under funding limitations is 

3 capable of— 

4 ‘‘(I) gathering required System 

5 observation data; 

6 ‘‘(II) supporting and integrating 

7 all aspects of coastal and ocean ob8 serving and information programs 

9 within a region; and 

10 ‘‘(III) reflecting the needs of 

11 State, local, and tribal governments, 

12 commercial interests, and other users 

13 and beneficiaries of the System and 

14 other requirements specified under 

15 this subtitle and the System Plan; 

16 ‘‘(iv) identifies— 

17 ‘‘(I) gaps in observation coverage 

18 needs for capital improvements of 

19 Federal assets and non-Federal assets 

20 of the System; and 

21 ‘‘(II) other recommendations to 

22 assist in the development of the an23 nual and long-term plans prepared 

24 pursuant to paragraph (2)(B)(i) and 

25 transmits such information to the 


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1 Interagency Ocean Observation Com2 mittee via the Program Office estab3 lished under paragraph (3)(C)(i); 

4 ‘‘(v) develops and operates under a 

5 strategic operational plan that will ensure 

6 the efficient and effective administration of 

7 programs and assets to support daily data 

8 observations for integration into the Sys9 tem, pursuant to the standards approved 

10 by the Council; 

11 ‘‘(vi) works cooperatively with govern12 mental and nongovernmental entities at all 

13 levels to identify and provide information 

14 products of the System for multiple users 

15 within the service area of the regional 

16 coastal observing system; and 

17 ‘‘(vii) complies with all financial over18 sight requirements established by the Ad19 ministrator, including requirements relat20 ing to audits. 

21 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION.—For the purposes 

22 of this title, employees of Federal agencies are 

23 permitted to be members of the governing body 

24 for the regional coastal observing systems and 


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1 may participate in the functions of the regional 

2 information coordination entities.’’. 

3 (c) SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 

4 12304(d) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observa5 tion System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(d)) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or the Inter8 agency Ocean Observing Committee.’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘or the Council under this subtitle’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, 

12 data sharing,’’ after ‘‘data management’’; 

13 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

15 (C) by striking subparagraph (D) and in16 serting the following: 

17 ‘‘(D) additional priorities, including— 

18 ‘‘(i) a national surface current map19 ping network designed to improve fine 

20 scale sea surface mapping using high fre21 quency radar technology and other emerg22 ing technologies to address national prior23 ities, including Coast Guard search and 

24 rescue operation planning and harmful 


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1 algal bloom forecasting and detection 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(I) is comprised of existing high 

4 frequency radar and other sea surface 

5 current mapping infrastructure oper6 ated by national programs and re7 gional associations; 

8 ‘‘(II) incorporates new high fre9 quency radar assets or other fine scale 

10 sea surface mapping technology as11 sets, and other assets needed to fill 

12 gaps in coverage on United States 

13 coastlines; and 

14 ‘‘(III) follows a deployment plan 

15 that prioritizes closing gaps in high 

16 frequency radar infrastructure in the 

17 United States, starting with areas 

18 demonstrating significant sea surface 

19 current data needs, especially in areas 

20 where additional data will improve 

21 Coast Guard search and rescue mod22 els; 

23 ‘‘(ii) fleet acquisition for autonomous 

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1 ment and data integration to fulfill the 

2 purposes of this Act; 

3 ‘‘(iii) an integrative survey program 

4 for application of manned and unmanned 

5 vehicles to the real-time or near real-time 

6 collection and transmission of sea floor, 

7 water column, and sea surface data on bi8 ology, chemistry, geology, physics, and hy9 drography; 

10 ‘‘(iv) remote sensing and data assimi11 lation to develop new analytical methodolo12 gies to assimilate data from the Integrated 

13 Ocean Observing System into hydro14 dynamic models; 

15 ‘‘(v) integrated, multi-State moni16 toring to assess sources, movement, and 

17 fate of sediments in coastal regions; 

18 ‘‘(vi) a multi-region marine sound 

19 monitoring system to be— 

20 ‘‘(I) planned in consultation with 

21 the Interagency Ocean Observation 

22 Committee, the National Oceanic and 

23 Atmospheric Administration, the De24 partment of the Navy, and academic 

25 research institutions; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) developed, installed, and op2 erated in coordination with the Na3 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad4 ministration, the Department of the 

5 Navy, and academic research institu6 tions; and 

7 ‘‘(E) any other purpose identified by the 

8 Administrator or the Council.’’; 

9 (D) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting 

10 ‘‘The Administrator may stagger the terms of 

11 the System advisory committee members.’’ be12 fore ‘‘Members’’; and 

13 (E) in paragraph (4)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

15 ‘‘and the Interagency Ocean Observing 

16 Committee’’; and 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

18 ‘‘Observing’’ and inserting ‘‘Observation’’. 

19 (d) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Section 12304(e) of the Inte20 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

21 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(e)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘information coordination enti23 ty’’ and inserting ‘‘coastal observing system’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘non-Federal asset or regional 

2 information coordination entity,’’ and inserting ‘‘re3 gional coastal observing system,’’. 

4 SEC. 5. FINANCING AND AGREEMENTS. 

5 Section 12305(a) of the Integrated Coastal and 

6 Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

7 3604(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out activities under this 

9 subtitle, the Secretary of Commerce may execute an agree10 ment, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis, with 

11 any State or subdivision thereof, any Federal agency, any 

12 public or private organization, or any individual to carry 

13 out activities under this subtitle.’’. 

14 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

15 Section 12307 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

16 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3606) is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 12307. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

19 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 2 years after 

20 March 30, 2009, and every 3 years thereafter, the Admin21 istrator shall prepare, and the President acting through 

22 the Council shall approve and transmit to the Congress, 

23 a report on progress made in implementing this subtitle. 

24 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each report required under sub25 section (a) shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a description of activities carried out under 

2 this subtitle and the System Plan; 

3 ‘‘(2) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

4 System, including an evaluation of progress made by 

5 the Council to achieve the goals identified under the 

6 System Plan; 

7 ‘‘(3) the identification of Federal and non-Fed8 eral assets as determined by the Council that have 

9 been integrated into the System, including assets es10 sential to the gathering of required observation data 

11 variables necessary to meet the respective missions 

12 of Council agencies; 

13 ‘‘(4) a review of procurements, planned or initi14 ated, by each Council agency to enhance, expand, or 

15 modernize the observation capabilities and data 

16 products provided by the System, including data 

17 management and communication subsystems; 

18 ‘‘(5) a summary of the existing gaps in observa19 tion infrastructure and monitoring data collection, 

20 including— 

21 ‘‘(A) priorities considered by the System 

22 advisory committee; 

23 ‘‘(B) the national sea surface current map24 ping network; 

25 ‘‘(C) coastal buoys; 


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1 ‘‘(D) ocean chemistry monitoring; 

2 ‘‘(E) marine sound monitoring; and 

3 ‘‘(F) autonomous underwater and surface 

4 vehicle technology gaps; 

5 ‘‘(6) an assessment regarding activities to inte6 grate Federal and non-Federal assets, nationally and 

7 on the regional level, and discussion of the perform8 ance and effectiveness of regional information co9 ordination entities to coordinate regional observation 

10 operations; 

11 ‘‘(7) a description of benefits of the program to 

12 users of data products resulting from the System 

13 (including the general public, industries, scientists, 

14 resource managers, emergency responders, policy 

15 makers, and educators); 

16 ‘‘(8) recommendations concerning— 

17 ‘‘(A) modifications to the System; and 

18 ‘‘(B) funding levels for the System in sub19 sequent fiscal years; and 

20 ‘‘(9) the results of a periodic external inde21 pendent programmatic audit of the System.’’. 

22 SEC. 7. PUBLIC-PRIVATE USE POLICY. 

23 Section 12308 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

24 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3607) is 

25 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 12308. PUBLIC-PRIVATE USE POLICY. 

2 ‘‘The Council shall maintain a policy that defines 

3 processes for making decisions about the roles of the Fed4 eral Government, the States, regional information coordi5 nation entities, the academic community, and the private 

6 sector in providing to end-user communities environmental 

7 information, products, technologies, and services related to 

8 the System. The Administrator shall ensure that National 

9 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration adheres to the 

10 decision making process developed by the Council regard11 ing the roles of the Federal Government, the States, the 

12 regional coastal observing systems, the academic commu13 nities, and the private sector in providing the end-user 

14 communities environmental information, data products, 

15 technologies, and services related to the System.’’. 

16 SEC. 8. REPEAL OF INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Integrated Coastal and 

18 Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601 

19 et seq.) is amended by striking section 12309 (33 U.S.C. 

20 3608). 

21 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

22 of contents in section 1(b) of the Omnibus Public Land 

23 Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 

24 991) is amended by striking the item related to section 

25 12309. 


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1 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary of Commerce $40,200,000, for each of the fiscal 

4 years 2018 through 2021, which shall be used— 

5 (1) to fulfill the purposes set forth in section 

6 12302 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observa7 tion System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601); and 

8 (2) to support activities identified in the annual 

9 coordinated National Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

10 Observation System budget developed by the Inter11 agency Ocean Observation Committee and submitted 

12 to Congress. 

13 SEC. 10. REPORTS AND RESEARCH PLANS. 

14 Section 12404(c) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

15 Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

16 3703(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY REPORT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

19 after the date of the enactment of the Coordi20 nated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act, and 

21 every 5 years thereafter, the Subcommittee 

22 shall transmit to appropriate committees of 

23 Congress a report that— 

24 ‘‘(i) is named ‘The Ocean Chemistry 

25 Coastal Community Vulnerability Assess26 ment’; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) identifies gaps in ocean acidifica2 tion monitoring by public, academic, and 

3 private assets in the network of regional 

4 coastal observing systems; 

5 ‘‘(iii) identifies geographic areas which 

6 have gaps in ocean acidification research; 

7 ‘‘(iv) identifies United States coastal 

8 communities, including fishing commu9 nities, low-population rural communities, 

10 tribal and subsistence communities, and is11 land communities, that may be impacted 

12 by ocean acidification; 

13 ‘‘(v) identifies impacts of changing 

14 ocean carbonate chemistry on the commu15 nities described in clause (iv), including 

16 impacts from changes in ocean and coastal 

17 marine resources that are not managed by 

18 the Federal Government; 

19 ‘‘(vi) identifies gaps in understanding 

20 of the impacts of ocean acidification on 

21 economically or commercially important 

22 species, particularly those which support 

23 United States commercial, recreational, 

24 and tribal fisheries and aquaculture; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) identifies habitats that may be 

2 particularly vulnerable to corrosive sea 

3 water, including areas experiencing mul4 tiple stressors such as hypoxia, sedimenta5 tion, and harmful algal blooms; 

6 ‘‘(viii) identifies areas in which exist7 ing Integrated Ocean Observing System 

8 assets, including buoys and gliders, may be 

9 leveraged as platforms for the deployment 

10 of new sensors or other applicable observ11 ing technologies; and 

12 ‘‘(ix) is written in collaboration with 

13 the agencies responsible for carrying out 

14 this Act. 

15 ‘‘(B) FORM OF REPORT.— 

16 ‘‘(i) INITIAL REPORT.—The initial re17 port required under subparagraph (A) 

18 shall include the information described in 

19 clauses (i) through (ix) on a national level. 

20 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Each 

21 report required under subparagraph (A) 

22 after the initial report— 

23 ‘‘(I) may describe the informa24 tion described in clauses (i) through 

25 (ix) on a national level; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) may consist of separate re2 ports for each region of the National 

3 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(iii) REGIONAL REPORTS.—If the 

6 Subcommittee opts to prepare a report re7 quired under subparagraph (A) as separate 

8 regional reports under clause (ii)(II), the 

9 Subcommittee shall submit a report for 

10 each region of the National Oceanic and 

11 Atmospheric Administration not less fre12 quently than once during each 5-year re13 porting period. 

14 ‘‘(C) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON15 GRESS DEFINED.—In this paragraph and in 

16 paragraph (5), the term ‘appropriate commit17 tees of Congress’ means the Committee on 

18 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

19 Senate, the Committee on Science, Space, and 

20 Technology of the House of Representatives, 

21 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

22 House of Representatives. 

23 ‘‘(5) MONITORING PRIORITIZATION PLAN.—Not 

24 later than 180 days after the date of the submission 

25 of the initial report under paragraph (4)(A), the 


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1 Subcommittee shall transmit to the appropriate com2 mittees of Congress a report that develops a plan to 

3 deploy new sensors or other applicable observing 

4 technologies— 

5 ‘‘(A) based on such initial report; 

6 ‘‘(B) prioritized by— 

7 ‘‘(i) the threat to coastal economies 

8 and ecosystems; 

9 ‘‘(ii) gaps in data; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) research needs; and 

11 ‘‘(C) that leverage existing platforms, 

12 where possible.’’. 

13 SEC. 11. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN. 

14 (a) CONTENTS.—Section 12405(b) of the Federal 

15 Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 

16 (33 U.S.C. 3704(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

18 end; 

19 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at 

20 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(10) make recommendations for research to be 

23 conducted, including in the social sciences and eco24 nomics, to address the key knowledge gaps identified 


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1 in the economic vulnerability report conducted under 

2 section 12404(c)(4).’’. 

3 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Section 12405(c) of the 

4 Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act 

5 of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704(c)) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(6) Research to understand combined effects 

8 of changes in ocean chemistry, sediment delivery, hy9 poxia, and harmful algal blooms and the impact 

10 these processes have on each other, and how these 

11 multiple stressors impact living marine resources 

12 and coastal ecosystems. 

13 ‘‘(7) Applied research to identify adaptation 

14 strategies for species impacted by changes in ocean 

15 chemistry including vegetation-based systems, shell 

16 recycling, species and genetic diversity, applied tech17 nologies, aquaculture methodologies, and manage18 ment recommendations.’’. 

19 SEC. 12. STAKEHOLDER INPUT ON MONITORING. 

20 Section 12406(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

21 Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

22 3705(a)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘and’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(4) includes an ongoing mechanism that allows 

5 potentially affected industry members, coastal stake6 holders, fishery management councils and commis7 sions, non-Federal resource managers, and scientific 

8 experts to provide input on monitoring needs that 

9 are necessary to support on the ground manage10 ment, decision making, and adaptation related to 

11 ocean acidification.’’. 

12 SEC. 13. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. 

13 Section 12407(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

14 Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

15 3706(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(a) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—The Director of the 

17 National Science Foundation shall continue to carry out 

18 research activities on ocean acidification which shall sup19 port competitive, merit-based, peer-reviewed proposals for 

20 research, observatories and monitoring of ocean acidifica21 tion and its impacts, including— 

22 ‘‘(1) impacts on marine organisms and marine 

23 ecosystems; 

24 ‘‘(2) impacts on ocean, coastal, and estuarine 

25 biogeochemistry; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the development of methodologies and 

2 technologies to evaluate ocean acidification and its 

3 impacts; and 

4 ‘‘(4) impacts of multiple stressors on eco5 systems exhibiting hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, or 

6 sediment delivery, combined with changes in ocean 

7 chemistry.’’. 

Passed the Senate January 8, 2018. 

Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, 

Secretary. 


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