IC 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1586 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

AN ACT 

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. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Environ3 mental Sensitivity Index Act of 2017’’. 

4 SEC. 2. UPDATE TO ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX 

5 PRODUCTS OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT6 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION FOR GREAT 

7 LAKES. 

8 (a) UPDATE REQUIRED ENVIRONMENTAL SENSI9 TIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS FOR GREAT LAKES.—Not later 

10 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

11 the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere shall 

12 commence updating the environmental sensitivity index 

13 products of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin14 istration for each coastal area of the Great Lakes. 

15 (b) PERIODIC UPDATES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SEN16 SITIVITY INDEX PRODUCTS GENERALLY.—Subject to the 

17 availability of appropriations and the priorities set forth 

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

19 (1) periodically update the environmental sensi20 tivity index products of the Administration; and 

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

22 once every 7 years. 

23 (c) PRIORITIES.—When prioritizing geographic areas 

24 to update environmental sensitivity index products, the 

25 Under Secretary shall consider— 


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1 (1) the age of existing environmental sensitivity 

2 index products for the areas; 

3 (2) the occurrence of extreme events, be it nat4 ural or man-made, which have significantly altered 

5 the shoreline or ecosystem since the last update; 

6 (3) the natural variability of shoreline and 

7 coastal environment; and 

8 (4) the volume of vessel traffic and general vul9 nerability to spilled pollutants. 

10 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX PRODUCT

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

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

13 that is utilized to identify sensitive shoreline, coastal or 

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

15 set baseline priorities for protection and plan cleanup 

16 strategies, typically including information relating to 

17 shoreline type, biological resources, and human use re18 sources. 

19 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

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

22 carry out subsection (a). 

23 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated or 

24 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. 

Passed the Senate September 6, 2018. 

Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, 

Secretary. 


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