II 

Calendar No. 255 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1586 

[Report No. 115–180] 

To require the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere to update periodically the environmental sensitivity index products of the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration for each coastal area of the Great 

Lakes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2017 

Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. FRANKEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

OCTOBER 31, 2017 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To require the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere 

to update periodically the environmental sensitivity index 

products of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for each coastal area of the Great Lakes, 

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. UPDATE TO ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY 

2 INDEX PRODUCTS OF NATIONAL OCEANIC 

3 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FOR 

4 GREAT LAKES. 

5 (a) UPDATE REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act and not less 

7 frequently than once every 7 years thereafter, the Under 

8 Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall update the en9 vironmental sensitivity index products of the National 

10 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for each coastal 

11 area of the Great Lakes. 

12 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX PRODUCT

13 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘environmental 

14 sensitivity index product’’ means a map or similar tool 

15 that is utilized to identify sensitive shoreline, coastal or 

16 offshore, resources prior to an oil spill event in order to 

17 set baseline priorities for protection and plan cleanup 

18 strategies, typically including information relating to 

19 shoreline type, biological resources, and human use re20 sources. 

21 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

23 appropriated to the Under Secretary $7,500,000 to 

24 carry out this section. 

25 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated or 

26 otherwise made available pursuant to paragraph (1) 


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1 shall be available to the Under Secretary for the 

2 purposes set forth in such paragraph until expended. 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Environ5 mental Sensitivity Index Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. UPDATE TO ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX 

7 PRODUCTS OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT8 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FOR GREAT 

9 LAKES. 

10 (a) UPDATE REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY

11 INDEX PRODUCTS FOR GREAT LAKES.—Not later than 180 

12 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

13 Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall commence up14 dating the environmental sensitivity index products of the 

15 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for each 

16 coastal area of the Great Lakes. 

17 (b) PERIODIC UPDATES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SENSI18 TIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS GENERALLY.—Subject to the 

19 availability of appropriations and the priorities set forth 

20 in subsection (c), the Under Secretary shall— 

21 (1) periodically update the environmental sensi22 tivity index products of the Administration; and 

23 (2) endeavor to do so not less frequently than 

24 once every 7 years. 


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1 (c) PRIORITIES.—When prioritizing geographic areas 

2 to update environmental sensitivity index products, the 

3 Under Secretary shall consider— 

4 (1) the age of existing environmental sensitivity 

5 index products for the areas; 

6 (2) the occurrence of extreme events, be it natural 

7 or man-made, which have significantly altered the 

8 shoreline or ecosystem since the last update; 

9 (3) the natural variability of shoreline and 

10 coastal environment; and 

11 (4) the volume of vessel traffic and general vul12 nerability to spilled pollutants. 

13 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX PRODUCT

14 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘environmental 

15 sensitivity index product’’ means a map or similar tool that 

16 is utilized to identify sensitive shoreline, coastal or offshore, 

17 resources prior to an oil spill event in order to set baseline 

18 priorities for protection and plan cleanup strategies, typi19 cally including information relating to shoreline type, bio20 logical resources, and human use resources. 

21 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap23 propriated to the Under Secretary $7,500,000 to 

24 carry out subsection (a). 


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1 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated or 

2 otherwise made available pursuant to paragraph (1) 

3 shall be available to the Under Secretary for the pur4 poses set forth in such paragraph until expended. 


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Calendar No. 255 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1586 

[Report No. 115–180] 

A BILL 

To require the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atother purposes. each coastal area of the Great Lakes, and for Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for mental sensitivity index products of the National mosphere to update periodically the environOCTOBER 31, 2017 

Reported with an amendment 


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