I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4008

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration for fiscal years 1995 and

1996, 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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Oceanic and

5 Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 For the purposes of this Act, the term—
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1 (1) ‘‘Act of 1890’’ means the Act entitled ‘‘An

2 Act to increase the efficiency and reduce the ex3 penses of the Signal Corps of the Army, and to

4 transfer the Weather Bureau to the Department of

5 Agriculture’’, approved October 1, 1890 (26 Stat.

6 653);

7 (2) ‘‘Act of 1947’’ means the Act entitled ‘‘An

8 Act to define the functions and duties of the Coast

9 and Geodetic Survey, and for other purposes’’, ap10 proved August 6, 1947 (33 U.S.C. 883a et seq.);

11 and

12 (3) ‘‘Act of 1970’’ means the Act entitled ‘‘An

13 Act to clarify the status and benefits of commis14 sioned officers of the National Oceanic and Atmos15 pheric Administration, and for other purposes’’, ap16 proved December 31, 1970 (33 U.S.C. 857–1 et

17 seq.).

18 TITLE I—NOAA OCEAN AND

19 COASTAL PROGRAMS

20 SEC. 101. NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE.

21 (a) MAPPING AND CHARTING.—

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

23 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to en24 able the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis25 tration to carry out mapping and charting activities
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1 under the Act of 1947 and any other law involving

2 those activities, $29,005,000 for fiscal year 1995

3 and $30,049,000 for fiscal year 1996.

4 (2) AUTOMATED NAUTICAL CHARTING.—In ad5 dition to amounts authorized under paragraph (1),

6 there are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec7 retary of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic

8 and Atmospheric Administration to develop and im9 plement an automated nautical charting system,

10 $1,300,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $1,347,000 for

11 fiscal year 1996.

12 (b) GEODESY.—There are authorized to be appro13 priated to the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the Na14 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry

15 out geodesy activities under the Act of 1947 and any other

16 law involving those activities, $19,332,000 for fiscal year

17 1995 and $20,028,000 for fiscal year 1996.

18 (c) OBSERVATION AND PREDICTION.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

20 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to en21 able the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis22 tration to carry out observation and prediction ac23 tivities under the Act of 1947 and any other law in24 volving those activities, $12,429,000 for fiscal year

25 1995 and $12,876,000 for fiscal year 1996.
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1 (2) CIRCULATORY SURVEY PROGRAM.—In addi2 tion to amounts authorized under paragraph (1),

3 there are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec4 retary of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic

5 and Atmospheric Administration to carry out the

6 Circulatory Survey Program, $700,000 for fiscal

7 year 1995 and $725,000 for fiscal year 1996.

8 (3) OCEAN AND EARTH SCIENCES.—In addition

9 to amounts authorized under paragraph (1), there

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary

11 of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic and

12 Atmospheric Administration to carry out ocean and

13 earth science activities, $4,442,000 for fiscal year

14 1995 and $4,602,000 for fiscal year 1996.

15 (4) CENTER FOR OCEAN ANALYSIS AND PRE16 DICTION.—In addition to amounts authorized under

17 paragraph (1), there are authorized to be appro18 priated to the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the

19 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

20 to continue the activities of the Center for Ocean

21 Analysis and Prediction, $400,000 for fiscal year

22 1995 and $414,000 for fiscal year 1996.

23 (5) OBSERVATION BUOYS.—In addition to

24 amounts authorized under paragraph (1), there are

25 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of
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1 Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration to operate and maintain

3 observation buoys in the Chesapeake Bay, $400,000

4 for fiscal year 1995 and $414,000 for fiscal year

5 1996.

6 (d) ESTUARINE AND COASTAL ASSESSMENT.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

8 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to en9 able the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis10 tration to support estuarine and coastal assessment

11 activities under the Act of 1947 and any other law

12 involving those activities, $2,420,000 for fiscal year

13 1995 and $2,507,000 for fiscal year 1996.

14 (2) OCEAN ASSESSMENT.—In addition to

15 amounts authorized under paragraph (1), there are

16 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

17 Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic and At18 mospheric Administration to carry out the National

19 Status and Trends Program, the Strategic Environ20 mental Assessment Program, and the Hazardous

21 Materials Response Program, $18,945,000 for fiscal

22 year 1995 and $19,627,000 for fiscal year 1996.

23 (3) DAMAGE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.—In addi24 tion to amounts authorized under paragraph (1),

25 there are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
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1 retary of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic

2 and Atmospheric Administration to carry out the

3 Damage Assessment Program, $1,500,000 for fiscal

4 year 1995 and $1,554,000 for fiscal year 1996.

5 (4) COASTAL OCEAN PROGRAM.—In addition to

6 amounts authorized under paragraph (1), there are

7 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

8 Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic and At9 mospheric Administration to carry out the Coastal

10 Ocean Program, $11,433,000 for fiscal year 1995

11 and $11,845,000 for fiscal year 1996. Of the

12 amounts authorized under this paragraph for fiscal

13 years 1995 and 1996, a total of $120,000 is avail14 able until expended to study the use of oceano15 graphic data obtained from satellite imagery and

16 other sources to determine and predict the presence

17 of endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.

18 (e) OCEAN MANAGEMENT.—There are authorized to

19 be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to enable

20 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to

21 carry out deep ocean mineral and ocean energy activities,

22 $500,000 for each of fiscal years 1995 and 1996.

23 SEC. 102. OCEAN AND GREAT LAKES RESEARCH.

24 (a) MARINE PREDICTION RESEARCH.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

2 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to en3 able the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis4 tration to carry out marine prediction research ac5 tivities under the Act of 1947, the Act of 1890, and

6 any other law involving those activities, $10,000,000

7 for fiscal year 1995 and $10,360,000 for fiscal year

8 1996.

9 (2) GREAT LAKES ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH

10 LABORATORY.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to

12 be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce,

13 for the operation and maintenance of the Great

14 Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory,

15 $4,558,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $4,722,000

16 for fiscal year 1996.

17 (B) GREAT LAKES NEARSHORE RE18 SEARCH.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated to the Secretary of Commerce, to enable

20 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin21 istration to carry out nearshore research activi22 ties of the Great Lakes Environmental Re23 search Laboratory, $500,000 for each of fiscal

24 years 1995 and 1996.
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1 (C) ZEBRA MUSSEL RESEARCH.—In addi2 tion to amounts authorized under subparagraph

3 (A), there are authorized to be appropriated to

4 the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the Na5 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

6 to carry out zebra mussel research activities of

7 the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab8 oratory under the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nui9 sance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (16

10 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.), $911,000 for fiscal year

11 1995 and $1,125,000 for fiscal year 1996.

12 (3) SOUTHEAST FLORIDA AND CARIBBEAN RE13 CRUITMENT PROGRAM.—In addition to amounts au14 thorized under paragraph (1), there are authorized

15 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce a

16 total of $2,000,000 for fiscal years 1995 and 1996

17 to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad18 ministration to carry out, through the Cooperative

19 Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, col20 laborative investigations to examine the physical and

21 biological processes which—

22 (A) occur in tropical marine environments

23 in coastal waters of the United States, Florida,

24 and the Caribbean; and
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1 (B) impact variability and development of

2 fisheries resources.

3 (b) CLIMATE AND GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

5 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to en6 able the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis7 tration to carry out climate and global change re8 search activities, $71,000,000 for fiscal year 1995

9 and $84,012,000 for fiscal year 1996. Of sums ap10 propriated under this subsection, sufficient funds

11 should be made available by the Secretary of Com12 merce to initiate and support research on the effects

13 of climate and global change on the Nation’s major

14 freshwater systems, including the Great Lakes and

15 the Mississippi River.

16 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATIONS.—In addi17 tion to the amounts authorized to be appropriated

18 under paragraph (1), there is authorized to be ap19 propriated to the Secretary of Commerce $7,000,000

20 for each of fiscal years 1995 and 1996 for a pro21 gram to increase scientific understanding of the

22 earth by using a network of schools to collect envi23 ronmental observations. Beginning in fiscal year

24 1996, amounts appropriated for such program may

25 be obligated only to the extent that an equal or
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1 greater amount of non-Federal funding is provided

2 for such program.

3 (3) IMPLEMENTATION OF LANDSAT AGREE4 MENT.—Section 103 of the Land Remote Sensing

5 Policy Act of 1992 is amended by adding at the end

6 the following new subsection:

7 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION OF AGREEMENT.—If negotia8 tions under subsection (a) result in an agreement that the

9 Landsat Program Management determines generally

10 achieves the goals stated in subsection (a) (1) through (8),

11 the Landsat Program Management shall award an exten12 sion, until the practical demise of Landsat 4 or Landsat

13 5, whichever occurs later, of the existing contract with the

14 Landsat 6 contractor incorporating the terms of such

15 agreement.’’.

16 TITLE II—NOAA MARINE

17 FISHERY PROGRAMS

18 SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra20 tion Marine Fisheries Program Authorization Act (Public

21 Law 98–210; 97 Stat. 1409) is amended—

22 (1) in section 2(a) by—

23 (A) striking ‘‘1992 and’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘1992,’’; and
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1 (B) inserting after ‘‘1993’’ the following:

2 ‘‘, $51,092,000 for fiscal year 1995, and

3 $52,931,000 for fiscal year 1996’’;

4 (2) in section 3(a) by—

5 (A) striking ‘‘1992 and’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘1992,’’; and

7 (B) inserting after ‘‘1993’’ the following:

8 ‘‘, $14,198,000 for fiscal year 1995, and

9 $14,709,000 for fiscal year 1996’’; and

10 (3) in section 4(a) by—

11 (A) striking ‘‘1992 and’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘1992,’’; and

13 (B) inserting after ‘‘1993’’ the following:

14 ‘‘, $17,089,000 for fiscal year 1995, and

15 $17,704,000 for fiscal year 1996’’.

16 SEC. 202. AMENDMENTS TO THE MERCHANT MARINE ACT,

17 1936.

18 Section 1104A(b)(2) of the Merchant Marine Act,

19 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1274(b)(2)), is amended in the

20 third proviso by striking ‘‘, except that no debt may be

21 placed under this proviso through the Federal Financing

22 Bank’’.

23 SEC. 203. SCALLOP RESTORATION PROGRAM.

24 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec25 retary of Commerce $200,000 for each of fiscal years
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1 1995 and 1996, for the establishment and maintenance

2 of a scallop restoration program for Long Island Sound.

3 SEC. 204. SALTONSTALL-KENNEDY PROGRAM AMEND4 MENTS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the Act of August

6 11, 1939 (15 U.S.C. 713c–3), popularly known as the

7 ‘‘Saltonstall-Kennedy Act’’, is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 2.’’ the second place it

9 appears;

10 (2) in subsection (b)(1) by—

11 (A) striking subparagraph (B);

12 (B) striking ‘‘only for—’’ and all that fol13 lows through ‘‘the Secretary—’’ and inserting

14 ‘‘only for use by the Secretary—’’;

15 (C) redesignating clauses (i), (ii), and (iii)

16 in order as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C);

17 and

18 (D) moving subparagraphs (A), (B), and

19 (C), as redesignated by subparagraph (C) of

20 this paragraph, 2 ems to the left so that the

21 left margin of those subparagraphs is aligned

22 with the left margin of section 2(a)(5) of that

23 Act (15 U.S.C. 713c–3(a)(5)); and

24 (3) by striking the designation and heading for

25 subsection (c) and all that follows through para-
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1 graph (4) of that subsection, and inserting the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(c) FISHERIES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

4 PROJECTS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make

6 grants from the fund established under subsection

7 (b) for the purpose of assisting persons in carrying

8 out research and development projects to promote

9 the sustainable use and development of United

10 States fisheries, including harvesting, processing,

11 aquaculture, marketing, and associated infrastruc12 tures.

13 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY’S DUTIES.—The Secretary

14 shall each fiscal year—

15 ‘‘(A) receive at least once, during a 60-day

16 period specified by the Secretary, applications

17 for grants under this subsection pursuant to a

18 Request for Proposals published in the Federal

19 Register;

20 ‘‘(B) prescribe in that Request for Propos21 als the form and manner in which applications

22 for grants under this subsection must be made,

23 including the specification of the information

24 which must accompany applications to ensure

25 that the proposed projects comply with Federal
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1 law and can be properly evaluated under para2 graph (3);

3 ‘‘(C) include in that Request for Proposals

4 a list of priorities for grants under this sub5 section that is based on the priorities rec6 ommended for the fiscal year under paragraph

7 (3)(F); and

8 ‘‘(D) approve or disapprove each such

9 application—

10 ‘‘(i) based primarily on the rec11 ommendations of the grants review panel

12 established under paragraph (3) for the

13 fiscal year; and

14 ‘‘(ii) before the end of the 90-day pe15 riod beginning on the day after the last

16 day of the application period specified in

17 the Request for Proposals under subpara18 graph (A); and

19 ‘‘(E) to the extent amounts are available,

20 obligate funds for grants for approved applica21 tions before the end of the fiscal year for which

22 the funds are available, except that up to 10

23 percent of funds available for a fiscal year may

24 be obligated in the next fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND APPROVAL OF PROPOS2 ALS.—

3 ‘‘(A) SUITABILITY FOR EVALUATION.—For

4 each application received under paragraph (2)

5 in a fiscal year, the Secretary shall—

6 ‘‘(i) make a determination whether

7 the project proposed in the application

8 meets the requirements of this subsection

9 and is consistent with the priorities rec10 ommended for the fiscal year under sub11 paragraph (F); and

12 ‘‘(ii) if so, forward the proposal to the

13 grants review panel established for the fis14 cal year under subparagraph (B).

15 ‘‘(B) GRANTS REVIEW PANEL.—Each fis16 cal year, the Secretary shall establish a grants

17 review panel that consists of individuals with

18 expertise in fisheries research, development, or

19 management, that represents a balance among

20 those disciplines, that is balanced in the rep21 resentation of those disciplines, and that is bal22 anced in the representation of the geographic

23 regions of the United States. Each grants re24 view panel shall review each proposal forwarded

25 by the Secretary under subparagraph (A)(ii)
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1 and make recommendations to the Secretary for

2 awarding grants under this subsection among

3 those proposals for the fiscal year, subject to

4 the criteria described in subparagraph (C) and

5 consistent with the funding available for the

6 fiscal year.

7 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF PRO8 POSALS.—Each grants review panel shall evalu9 ate each proposal as to—

10 ‘‘(i) the value of the proposal in pro11 moting the purpose described in paragraph

12 (1) in general and in fulfilling the applica13 ble regional priorities recommended under

14 subparagraph (F);

15 ‘‘(ii) the soundness of its design (in16 cluding the likelihood of securing useful re17 sults, and the organization and manage18 ment of the proposal);

19 ‘‘(iii) the minimization of duplication

20 within fisheries research and development

21 activities; and

22 ‘‘(iv) based on the criteria in clauses

23 (i), (ii) and (iii), the overall quality and

24 rank of the proposal relative to the other

25 proposals under review.
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1 ‘‘(D) INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS.—In evaluat2 ing and ranking proposals under this subsection

3 that are of equivalent overall quality and rank

4 based on the criteria set forth in subparagraph

5 (C), a grants review panel and the Secretary

6 shall give preference to proposals in which at

7 least 1 of the persons that would be a principal

8 grantee under the proposal receives a substan9 tial portion of income from seafood harvesting,

10 processing, marketing, or propagation.

11 ‘‘(E) NOTICE OF DECISION BY THE SEC12 RETARY.—If the Secretary approves or dis13 approves an application for a proposal contrary

14 to the recommendations of a grants review

15 panel, the Secretary shall notify the panel, the

16 Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

17 of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor19 tation of the Senate in writing of that decision,

20 including the reasons for that decision.

21 ‘‘(F) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE

22 FUNDING PRIORITIES.—Each grants review

23 panel shall, after evaluating proposals and mak24 ing grants recommendations, and after consult25 ing with interested parties, recommend to the
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1 Secretary for the next fiscal year national and

2 regional priorities for grants under this sub3 section.

4 ‘‘(4) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Each grant

5 made under this subsection shall be subject to such

6 terms and conditions as the Secretary may require

7 to protect the interests of the United States, includ8 ing the following:

9 ‘‘(A) RECORDS.—The recipient of the

10 grant—

11 ‘‘(i) must keep such records as the

12 Secretary shall require as being necessary

13 and appropriate for disclosing the use

14 made of grant funds; and

15 ‘‘(ii) shall allow the Secretary and the

16 Comptroller General of the United States,

17 or any of their authorized representatives,

18 access to such records for purposes of

19 audit and examination.

20 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of

21 a grant may not be less than 50 percent of the

22 estimated cost of the project.

23 ‘‘(C) PERIOD OF GRANT.—A grant may

24 not provide funding for more than 2 years from
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1 the date of the release of the funds to the

2 grantee.

3 ‘‘(D) STATUS REPORT.—The recipient of a

4 grant shall submit annually to the Secretary a

5 project status report. The Secretary may not

6 release funds to the recipient for any subse7 quent period of funding for that grant or for

8 any other grant to that recipient made by the

9 Secretary under this subsection until the Sec10 retary receives that report.’’.

11 (b) APPLICATION.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2), the amendments made by this section

14 apply to fiscal years beginning after the date of the

15 enactment of this Act.

16 (2) LIST OF REGIONAL PRIORITIES.—Notwith17 standing section 2(c)(2)(C) of the Act of August 11,

18 1939, as amended by subsection (a)(2) of this sec19 tion, the list of priorities referred to in that section

20 for the first fiscal year beginning after the date of

21 the enactment of this Act is not required to be based

22 on priorities recommended under paragraph (3)(F)

23 of that section.
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1 TITLE III—ADMINISTRATION

2 AND OTHER ACCOUNTS

3 SEC. 301. PROGRAM SUPPORT.

4 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE

5 ACTIVITIES.—There are authorized to be appropriated to

6 the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the National Oce7 anic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out execu8 tive direction and administrative activities under the Act

9 of 1970 and any other law involving those activities,

10 $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $25,900,000 for

11 fiscal year 1996.

12 (b) SYSTEMS ACQUISITION OFFICE.—There are au13 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce,

14 to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis15 tration to operate and maintain the Systems Acquisition

16 Office under the Act of 1970, $1,100,000 for fiscal year

17 1995 and $1,140,000 for fiscal year 1996.

18 (c) CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—There

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com20 merce, to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

21 Administration to carry out central administrative support

22 activities under the Act of 1970 and any other law involv23 ing those activities, $38,000,000 for fiscal year 1995 and

24 $39,368,000 for fiscal year 1996.
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1 (d) RETIRED PAY.—There are authorized to be ap2 propriated to the Secretary of Commerce, for retired pay

3 for retired commissioned officers of the National Oceanic

4 and Atmospheric Administration under the Act of 1970,

5 $7,706,000 for fiscal year 1995 and $7,983,000 for fiscal

6 year 1996.

7 (e) MARINE SERVICES.—There are authorized to be

8 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the

9 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to

10 carry out marine services activities (including ship oper11 ations, maintenance, and support) under the Act of 1947

12 and any other law involving those activities, $63,508,000

13 for fiscal year 1995 and $65,794,000 for fiscal year 1996.

14 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

15 NOAA PROGRAMS

16 SEC. 401. NAUTICAL PRODUCTS.

17 (a) DEPOSIT AND USE OF RECEIPTS FROM NAU18 TICAL PRODUCTS.—Notwithstanding section 1307(b) of

19 title 44, United States Code, one-sixth of the fees collected

20 each fiscal year from the sale of nautical products by the

21 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and

22 from any licensing of those products by the National Oce23 anic and Atmospheric Administration which is authorized

24 by law—
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1 (1) shall be deposited into the Operations, Re2 search, and Facilities account of the National Oce3 anic and Atmospheric Administration; and

4 (2) shall be available to the Secretary of Com5 merce, in the manner provided for under section

6 312(d) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, only

7 for the acquisition and installation of Physical Ocean

8 Real-Time Systems, the acquisition and maintenance

9 of upgraded hydrographic survey equipment, and

10 other National Ocean Service activities directly relat11 ed to the modernization and improvement of mari12 time safety.

13 (b) BUDGETARY TREATMENT OF RECEIPTS FROM

14 NAUTICAL PRODUCTS.—Amounts deposited and available

15 to the Secretary of Commerce under subsection (a)(1) and

16 (2)—

17 (1) shall not be considered to be offsetting re18 ceipts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad19 ministration or the Department of Commerce; and

20 (2) shall not be available for administrative

21 costs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad22 ministration or the Department of Commerce.

23 (c) DEPLOYMENT OF PHYSICAL OCEAN REAL TIME

24 SYSTEM.—No later than 270 days after the date of enact25 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall deploy,
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1 in Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel a Phys2 ical Ocean Real Time System consisting, at a minimum,

3 of current, wind, tide, salinity, and water level measuring

4 devices and necessary computer links.

5 SEC. 402. USE OF OCEAN RESEARCH RESOURCES OF OTHER

6 FEDERAL AGENCIES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) Changes in the defense needs of the United

9 States have redefined the status of many defense10 related assets.

11 (2) Observing, monitoring, and predicting the

12 ocean environment has been a high priority for the

13 defense community to support ocean operations.

14 (3) Many advances in ocean research have been

15 made by the defense community which could be

16 shared with civilian researchers.

17 (4) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad18 ministration’s missions to describe and predict the

19 ocean environment, manage the Nation’s ocean and

20 coastal resources, and promote stewardship of the

21 world’s oceans would benefit from increased coopera22 tion with defense agencies.

23 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

24 Congress that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad25 ministration should expand its efforts to develop inter-
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1 agency agreements to further the use of defense-related

2 technologies, data, and other resources to support its oce3 anic missions.

4 (c) REPORT.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee

8 on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House of

9 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report

11 on the feasibility of expanding the use of defense-re12 lated technologies, data, and other resources to sup13 port and enhance the oceanic missions of the Na14 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

15 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required under

16 paragraph (1) shall include—

17 (A) a detailed listing of defense-related re18 sources currently available to the National Oce19 anic and Atmospheric Administration and the

20 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra21 tion missions which utilize those resources;

22 (B) detailed findings and recommenda23 tions, including funding requirements, on the

24 potential for expanding the use of available de25 fense-related resources;
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1 (C) a detailed listing and funding history

2 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad3 ministration resources, including data and tech4 nology, which could be supplemented by de5 fense-related resources;

6 (D) a listing of currently unavailable de7 fense-related resources, including data and

8 technology, which if made available would en9 hance the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

10 Administration mission performance;

11 (E) recommendations on the regulatory

12 and legislative structures needed to maximize

13 the use of defense-related resources;

14 (F) an assessment of the respective roles

15 in the use of defense-related resources of the

16 Corps, data centers, operational centers, and re17 search facilities of the National Oceanic and At18 mospheric Administration; and

19 (G) recommendations on how to provide

20 access to relevant defense-related data for non21 Federal scientific users.

22 SEC. 403. NAUTICAL CHARTING MODERNIZATION AND IM23 PROVEMENT.

24 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 270 days after the date

25 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce
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1 shall submit to the Committee on Merchant Marine and

2 Fisheries of the House of Representatives and the Com3 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

4 Senate a report on the status of National Oceanic and At5 mospheric Administration programs related to marine

6 navigation safety.

7 (b) CONTENTS.—The study under subsection (a)

8 shall include the funding history of navigation-related pro9 grams of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis10 tration, adjusted for inflation, over at least the last 10

11 fiscal years, and detailed findings and recommendations

12 on the following:

13 (1) The missions and objectives of National

14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s naviga15 tion-related programs, including regarding the statu16 tory or other authorities that enable or require the

17 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

18 to conduct those programs.

19 (2) The technological, financial, or other factors

20 that limit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

21 Administration’s ability to modernize its navigation22 related programs.

23 (3) Near-term actions, without regard to finan24 cial constraints, that are required to enable National

25 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to address
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1 critical deficiencies in its navigation-related pro2 grams.

3 (4) Actions that need to be taken to allow the

4 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

5 to fulfill its navigation-related responsibilities into

6 the 21st century.

7 (5) A comparison of the resources and activities

8 of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra9 tion’s navigation-related programs with those of

10 other Federal agencies supporting the United States

11 maritime infrastructure.

12 (6) Past organizational changes within the Na13 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and

14 foreseeable future organizational changes that have

15 affected, or would affect, the ability of the National

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide

17 navigation-related services.

18 SEC. 404. WEST COAST GROUNDFISH LABORATORY.

19 (a) SITE SELECTION FACTORS.—In selecting a site

20 for placement of a replacement for the National Marine

21 Fisheries Service Lab at Tiburon, California, the Sec22 retary of Commerce shall take into account the following

23 factors:

24 (1) The proximity of sites considered to—
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1 (A) groundfish fisheries, salmon fisheries,

2 and other unique marine study areas;

3 (B) academic and private research institu4 tions which conduct relevant marine habitat

5 and environmental research;

6 (C) other National Oceanic and Atmos7 pheric Administration research and manage8 ment elements; and

9 (D) other Federal, State, and private ma10 rine related research facilities.

11 (2) The ability of the National Oceanic and At12 mospheric Administration to retain current staff.

13 (3) The relative construction and operation

14 costs, including the potential for collocation with

15 other Federal facilities.

16 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ARCHITECTURE AND ENGI17 NEERING STUDIES.—In addition to amounts otherwise au18 thorized by this Act, there are authorized to be appro19 priated to the Secretary of Commerce, for architecture and

20 engineering studies regarding the replacement for the Na21 tional Marine Fisheries Service Lab at Tiburon, Califor22 nia, $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1995.

23 SEC. 405. MARINE SANCTUARIES FACILITIES.

24 Not later than 120 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall report
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1 to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of

2 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com3 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on needs

4 of the Department of Commerce for facilities (including

5 real property for facilities) for the National Marine Sanc6 tuary Program established under the National Marine

7 Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.).

8 SEC. 406. SAN FRANCISCO BAY PORT SYSTEM.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce

10 (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’)

11 shall establish for San Francisco Bay in accordance with

12 this section the safe navigation system known as the Phys13 ical Ocean Real Time System (known, and hereinafter in

14 this section referred to, as the ‘‘PORT System’’), after

15 completion of implementation of section 401(c).

16 (b) STUDY.—After completion of implementation of

17 section 401(c), and not later than 1 year after the date

18 of that completion, the Secretary shall conduct a

19 hydrodynamics modeling study of San Francisco Bay to

20 determine the appropriate technology and equipment and

21 the effective placement of instruments for the establish22 ment of the PORT System for San Francisco Bay.

23 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after

25 the completion of the study under subsection (b), the
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1 Secretary, in consultation with the State of Califor2 nia Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response and

3 subject to paragraph (2), shall acquire, install, and

4 activate appropriate equipment to establish an oper5 ational PORT System for the San Francisco Bay.

6 (2) CONDITION.—The Secretary may not take

7 any action under paragraph (1) unless the State of

8 California Office has provided to the Secretary ade9 quate assurances that the State will fund the oper10 ation and maintenance of the PORT System for San

11 Francisco Bay after its installation.

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

13 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry

14 out this section $4,200,000 for fiscal years 1995 and

15 1996.

16 SEC. 407. CONVEYANCE OF NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES

17 SERVICE LABORATORY AT GLOUCESTER,

18 MASSACHUSETTS.

19 (a) CONVEYANCE REQUIRED.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce

21 shall convey to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,

22 all right, title, and interest of the United States in

23 and to the property comprising the National Marine

24 Fisheries Service laboratory located on Emerson Av25 enue in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
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1 (2) TERMS.—A conveyance of property under

2 paragraph (1) shall be made—

3 (A) without payment of consideration; and

4 (B) subject to the terms and conditions

5 specified under subsections (b) and (c).

6 (b) CONDITIONS FOR TRANSFER.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of any con8 veyance of property under this section, the Common9 wealth of Massachusetts shall assume full respon10 sibility for maintenance of the property for as long

11 as the Commonwealth retains the right and title to

12 that property.

13 (2) CONTINUED USE OF PROPERTY BY NMFS.—

14 The Secretary may enter into a memorandum of un15 derstanding with the Commonwealth of Massachu16 setts under which the National Marine Fisheries

17 Service is authorized to occupy existing laboratory

18 space on the property conveyed under this section,

19 if—

20 (A) the term of the memorandum of un21 derstanding is for a period of not longer than

22 5 years beginning on the date of enactment of

23 this Act; and

24 (B) the square footage of the space to be

25 occupied by the National Marine Fisheries
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1 Service does not conflict with the needs of, and

2 is agreeable to, the Commonwealth of Massa3 chusetts.

4 (c) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—All right, title, and

5 interest in and to all property conveyed under this section

6 shall revert to the United States on the date on which

7 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts uses any of the prop8 erty for any purpose other than the Commonwealth of

9 Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries resource man10 agement program.

11 SEC. 408. REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 3302 (b)

13 and (c) of title 31, United States Code, and subject to

14 subsection (b) of this section, all amounts received by the

15 United States in settlement of, or judgment for, damage

16 claims arising from the October 9, 1992, allision of the

17 vessel ZACHERY into the National Oceanic and Atmos18 pheric Administration research vessel DISCOVERER—

19 (1) shall be retained as an offsetting collection

20 in the Fleet Modernization, Shipbuilding, and Con21 version account of the National Oceanic and Atmos22 pheric Administration;

23 (2) shall be deposited in that account upon re24 ceipt by the United States Government; and
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1 (3) shall be available only for obligation for Na2 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ves3 sel repairs.

4 (b) LIMITATION.—Not more than $518,757.09 of the

5 amounts referred to in subsection (a) may be deposited

6 into the Fleet Modernization, Shipbuilding, and Conver7 sion account pursuant to subsection (a).

8 SEC. 409. NOAA FLEET MODERNIZATION.

9 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter

11 into only the following contracts in fiscal years 1995

12 and 1996 to implement the Plan:

13 (A) Repairs to extend the service life of the

14 R/V DISCOVERER.

15 (B) Construction of a medium endurance

16 oceanographic research vessel.

17 (C) A service life extension of the R/V

18 DELAWARE II.

19 (D) Conversion of a T–AGOS vessel for

20 oceanographic research.

21 (E) Construction of a coastal/low endur22 ance vessel for living marine research.

23 (F) Leasing to fulfill any NOAA mission

24 requirements.
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1 (G) Necessary repairs to and maintenance

2 of any vessel in the NOAA fleet, subject to sub3 section (b).

4 (H) Necessary requirements, designs, and

5 specifications for future vessel repair, conver6 sion, construction, or lease.

7 (2) CONTRACT DEFINED.—Section 602 of the

8 NOAA Fleet Modernization Act (33 U.S.C. 891) is

9 amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(6) ‘contract’ means any contract or other

11 agreement for the construction, conversion, lease,

12 chartering, service life extension, or repair or main13 tenance of any vessel of the NOAA fleet, and provi14 sion of related equipment, including the development

15 of any necessary requirement, design, or specifica16 tion. The term includes contracts entered into on be17 half of the Secretary by another Federal depart18 ment, agency, or instrumentality, if the vessel which

19 is the subject of the contract will be operated by or

20 for the benefit of the Department of Commerce.’’.

21 (b) LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES FOR REPAIRS

22 AND MAINTENANCE.—Notwithstanding any other law, of

23 the total amount appropriated for fiscal years 1991

24 through 1996 to the Fleet Modernization, Shipbuilding,

25 and Conversion account of the National Oceanic and At-
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1 mospheric Administration, not more than 20 percent may

2 be expended by the Secretary for repairs and maintenance

3 of vessels in the NOAA fleet.

4 (c) LEASING AND CONTRACTS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall for each

6 of fiscal years 1995 and 1996, enter into contracts

7 or service contracts under the NOAA Fleet Mod8 ernization Act (33 U.S.C. 891 et seq.) to use Uni9 versity-National Oceanographic Laboratory System

10 or non-Federal vessels.

11 (2) AMOUNT SUBJECT TO OBLIGATION.—

12 Amounts subject to obligation under paragraph (1)

13 shall be, for each fiscal year, the greater of

14 $6,000,000 or 10 percent of the amounts appro15 priated to the Fleet Modernization, Shipbuilding,

16 and Conversion account for fiscal years 1995 and

17 1996.

18 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section each of the terms

19 ‘‘contract’’, ‘‘NOAA’’, ‘‘NOAA fleet’’, ‘‘Plan’’, and ‘‘Sec20 retary’’ has the meaning given to that term in section 602

21 of the NOAA Fleet Modernization Act (33 U.S.C. 891),

22 as amended by this section.

23 SEC. 410. STUDY OF NOAA CORPS.

24 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Commerce shall, sub25 ject to the availability of appropriations, contract with the
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1 Marine Board of the National Research Council to exam2 ine and report to the Secretary on the appropriate role

3 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

4 Corps in supporting NOAA missions. In particular, the

5 Marine Board shall—

6 (1) examine whether there is a continued need

7 for a uniformed service to operate the NOAA fleet,

8 fly weather observations, conduct hydrographic sur9 veys, manage national marine sanctuaries, conduct

10 NOAA research, and participate in other NOAA

11 activities;

12 (2) examine the role of the NOAA Corps in

13 modernizing the NOAA fleet and the involvement of

14 the NOAA Corps in obtaining efficient, effective,

15 low-cost ship support of NOAA missions;

16 (3) compare the full costs of utilizing the serv17 ices of the NOAA Corps compared to civilian em18 ployees in similar positions; and

19 (4) determine whether adequately trained civil20 ian employees are available to fill NOAA Corps posi21 tions.

22 (b) DEADLINE.—No later than 1 year after the date

23 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall

24 submit the report of the Marine Board under subsection

25 (a) to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries
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1 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the definitions in

4 section 409(d) apply.

5 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com7 merce to carry out this section a total of $100,000 for

8 fiscal years 1995 and 1996, to remain available until

9 expended.

10 SEC. 411. REPORT ON RESEARCH AND EFFECTS OF CLI11 MATE AND GLOBAL CHANGE ON FRESH12 WATER SYSTEMS.

13 Within 60 days after the date of submission of the

14 President’s budget request for each of fiscal years 1996

15 and 1997, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit a re16 port to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

17 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

18 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate,

19 on—

20 (1) the amount of funds allocated and the ac21 tivities supported for research on the effects of cli22 mate and global change on the Nation’s major fresh23 water systems, including international commitments;

24 (2) the criteria used in determining those allo25 cations and in selecting those activities; and
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1 (3) specific proposed agency plans for imple2 menting research programs and activities to evaluate

3 the effects of climate and global change on the Na4 tion’s major freshwater systems.

5 SEC. 412. PROMOTION AND COORDINATION OF NATIONAL

6 ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVES.

7 The Secretary of Commerce shall take such action as

8 is necessary and reasonable to promote and coordinate the

9 use of National Estuarine Research Reserves for research,

10 monitoring, and education purposes. Such action may in11 clude consulting with Federal agencies, States, local gov12 ernments, regional agencies, interstate agencies, or other

13 persons to promote use of one or more such reserves for

14 research, monitoring, and education, including coordina15 tion with the National Marine Sanctuaries Program.

16 SEC. 413. STUDY ON EFFECTS OF DOLPHIN FEEDING.

17 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Commerce shall con18 duct a study on the effects of feeding noncaptive dolphins

19 in the Gulf of Mexico and Southern Atlantic Ocean. The

20 study shall consider the potential impacts on the behavior

21 or general health of wild populations of dolphins resulting

22 from this feeding.

23 (b) USE OF THE STUDY.—The Secretary of Com24 merce shall use the results of the study required under
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1 subsection (a) in determining whether and under what

2 conditions feeding noncaptive dolphins may be authorized.

3 (c) REPORT.—Within 1 year after the date of enact4 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com5 mittee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House

6 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the

8 results of the study.

9 SEC. 414. FLOWER GARDEN BANKS BOUNDARY MODIFICA10 TION.

11 (a) MODIFICATION.—Notwithstanding section 304 of

12 the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1434),

13 the boundaries of the Flower Garden Banks National Ma14 rine Sanctuary, as designated by Public Law 102–251, are

15 amended to include the area described in subsection (d),

16 popularly known as Stetson Bank. This area shall be part

17 of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

18 and shall be managed and regulated as though it had been

19 designated by the Secretary of Commerce under the

20 National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

21 (b) DEPICTION OF SANCTUARY BOUNDARIES.—The

22 Secretary of Commerce shall—

23 (1) prepare a chart depicting the boundaries of

24 the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanc25 tuary, as modified by this section; and
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1 (2) submit copies of this chart to the Commit2 tee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House

3 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,

4 Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

5 (c) APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS.—Regulations is6 sued by the Secretary of Commerce to implement the des7 ignation of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine

8 Sanctuary shall apply to the area described in subsection

9 (d), unless modified by the Secretary. This subsection

10 shall take effect 45 days after the date of enactment of

11 this Act.

12 (d) AREA DESCRIBED.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the area referred to in subsections (a),

15 (b), and (c) is the area that is—

16 (A) generally depicted on the Department

17 of the Interior, Minerals Management Service

18 map titled ‘‘Western Gulf of Mexico, Lease Sale

19 143, September 1993, Biologically Sensitive

20 Areas, Map 3 of 3, Final’’;

21 (B) labeled ‘‘Stetson’’ on the High Island

22 Area South Addition diagram on that map; and

23 (C) within the 52 meter isobath.

24 (2) MINOR BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS.—The

25 Secretary of Commerce may make minor adjust-
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1 ments to the boundaries of the area described in

2 paragraph (1) as necessary to protect the living

3 coral resources of Stetson Bank or to simplify ad4 ministration of the Flower Garden Banks National

5 Marine Sanctuary.

6 (e) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce

8 shall, as soon as practicable after the date of the en9 actment of this Act, publish in the Federal Register

10 a notice describing—

11 (A) the boundaries of the Flower Garden

12 Banks National Marine Sanctuary, as modified

13 by this section, and

14 (B) any modification of regulations appli15 cable to that Sanctuary that are necessary to

16 implement that modification of the boundaries

17 of the Sanctuary.

18 (2) TREATMENT AS NOTICE REQUIRED UNDER

19 NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES ACT.—A notice

20 published under paragraph (1) shall be considered to

21 be the notice required to be published under section

22 304(b)(1) of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act

23 (16 U.S.C. 1434).
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1 SEC. 415. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO NATIONAL COASTAL

2 RESOURCES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

3 INSTITUTE.

4 (a) ADMINISTRATION OF INSTITUTE.—Section

5 201(a) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize appropria6 tions to carry out the Marine Mammal Protection Act of

7 1972, for fiscal years 1985 through 1988, and for other

8 purposes’’ (16 U.S.C. 1463b(a)) is amended by striking

9 ‘‘by the Oregon State Marine Science Center’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘by the Oregon State System of Higher Education’’.

11 (b) FUNCTIONS OF INSTITUTE.—Section 201(b) of

12 such Act (16 U.S.C. 1463b(b)) is amended to read as

13 follows:

14 ‘‘(b) The Institute shall promote the economic growth

15 and prosperity of the United States by transferring re16 search and technology into applications to improve the

17 economic, environmental, and social well-being of the

18 Nation’s coastal communities and the competitiveness of

19 coastal businesses.’’.

20 (c) MEMBERSHIP OF BOARD OF GOVERNORS.—Sec21 tion 201(c)(1) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1463b(c)(1)) is

22 amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(c)(1) The policies of the Institute shall be deter24 mined by a Board of Governors composed of—
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1 ‘‘(A) 1 representative appointed by the Chan2 cellor of the Oregon State System of Higher Edu3 cation; and

4 ‘‘(B) 1 representative of each of the following

5 regions, appointed jointly by Governors of the States

6 comprising that region:

7 ‘‘(i) The Alaska region, consisting of

8 Alaska.

9 ‘‘(ii) The Northwest Pacific Coast region,

10 consisting of Oregon and Washington.

11 ‘‘(iii) The Southwest Pacific Coast region,

12 consisting of California.

13 ‘‘(iv) The Pacific Islands region, consisting

14 of Hawaii, American Samoa, and Guam.

15 ‘‘(v) The Great Lakes region, consisting of

16 Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois,

17 Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

18 ‘‘(vi) The Gulf Coast region, consisting of

19 Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

20 ‘‘(vii) The South Atlantic and Caribbean

21 region, consisting of South Carolina, Georgia,

22 Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Is23 lands.
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1 ‘‘(viii) The Mid-Atlantic region, consisting

2 of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North

3 Carolina.

4 ‘‘(ix) The North Atlantic region, consisting

5 of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode

6 Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and

7 Maine.’’.

8 (d) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—Section 201(d)(1) of such

9 Act (16 U.S.C. 1463b(d)(1)) is amended by inserting

10 ‘‘and leaders in coastal communities and businesses’’ after

11 ‘‘community’’.

12 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 201(e) of

13 such Act (16 U.S.C. 1463b(e)) is amended by striking

14 ‘‘Oregon Board of Higher Education’’ and inserting ‘‘Or15 egon State System of Higher Education’’.

16 (f) REPORTS.—Section 201(g) of such Act (16

17 U.S.C. 1463b(g)) is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘(g) The Institute shall report to the Congress on

19 its activities annually, and shall report to the Secretary

20 of Commerce in a like manner biennially.’’.

21 SEC. 416. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING PROMOTION

22 OF MINORITIES AND WOMEN IN COASTAL

23 AND OCEAN PROGRAMS.

24 It is the sense of the Congress that the National Oce25 anic and Atmospheric Administration should develop and
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1 promote programs that reach out to and recruit minorities

2 and women for education in the sciences and take actions

3 to increase the direct involvement of underrepresented mi4 norities in coastal and ocean resource stewardship pro5 grams carried out directly by the National Oceanic and

6 Atmospheric Administration and in partnership with State

7 and local governments, universities, and other entities. To

8 this end, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis9 tration should create minority internship programs to de10 velop a pool of professionals in coastal and ocean science

11 and management, and to make these programs an eligible

12 use of grant and program funds distributed by the Na13 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to States,

14 universities, and other entities.

15 SEC. 417. CHESAPEAKE BAY.

16 (a) REPEAL.—If by December 1, 1994, the Secretary

17 of Commerce fails to obligate all funds appropriated to

18 the Secretary of Commerce by Public Law 103–121 for

19 oyster disease research, section 307 of the National Oce20 anic and Atmospheric Administration Act of 1992 (15

21 U.S.C. 1511d), requiring the establishment of a National

22 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chesapeake Bay

23 Estuarine Resources Office, is repealed.

24 (b) ASSIGNMENT OF FUNCTIONS.—If section 307 of

25 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Act
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1 of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 1511d) is repealed by subsection (a),

2 the Secretary of Commerce shall immediately—

3 (1) enter into a cooperative agreement with the

4 directors of the Maryland and Virginia Sea Grant

5 colleges to administer all funds appropriated to the

6 Secretary of Commerce under any law for oyster dis7 ease research and Chesapeake Bay studies; and

8 (2) transfer the functions of the former Na9 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

10 Chesapeake Bay Estuarine Resources Office to the

11 Director of the Coastal Ocean Program.

12 The Director may delegate any of the functions trans13 ferred under paragraph (2) to the directors of the Mary14 land and Virginia Sea Grant colleges under the coopera15 tive agreement required under paragraph (1).

16 (c) REPEAL AND AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA17 TIONS.—

18 (1) REPEAL.—Section 2(e) of the National Oce19 anic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Fish20 eries Program Authorization Act (Public Law 98–

21 210, 97 Stat. 1409) is repealed.

22 (2) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to

23 be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce to im24 plement section 307 of the National Oceanic and At25 mospheric Administration Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C.
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1 1511d) and this section, $2,500,000 for each of fis2 cal years 1995 and 1996, to remain available until

3 expended.

4 SEC. 418. WEATHER REPORTING STATIONS FOR PRINCE

5 WILLIAM SOUND.

6 (a) INSTALLATION.—To provide more comprehensive

7 weather information to ensure the safety of fishermen and

8 tank vessels and to protect the resources of Prince William

9 Sound from potential oil spills, the Secretary of Commerce

10 may expend $340,000 to acquire, construct, and install

11 weather reporting stations in Prince William Sound, Alas12 ka, as follows:

13 (1) In the vicinity of Seal Rocks, to acquire and

14 install a weather buoy capable of measuring and re15 porting wind speed and direction, barometric pres16 sure, wave height and period, and air temperature.

17 (2) On the existing tower at Bligh Reef, to ac18 quire and install a weather instrument capable of

19 measuring and reporting wind speed and direction.

20 (3) At Potato Point, to relocate the existing an21 emometer to a more exposed location in order to

22 provide more accurate information.

23 (4) At the Hinchinbrook Lighthouse site, to ac24 quire and install an anemometer.
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1 (b) MAINTENANCE.—The Secretary of Commerce

2 may expend $160,000 in each of fiscal years 1995 and

3 1996 to maintain the equipment identified in subsection

4 (a).

5 SEC. 419. PURCHASE OF REMOTELY SENSED SCIENCE

6 DATA.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum extent possible,

8 the Secretary of Commerce shall purchase from the pri9 vate sector remotely sensed science data. Examples of such

10 data include scientific data concerning the impact of

11 oceans worldwide on global climate change and concerning

12 the condition of the oceans.

13 (b) COMPETITIVE BIDDING.—(1) Contracts for the

14 purchase of remotely sensed data under this section shall

15 be awarded in a process of full, fair, and open competitive

16 bidding.

17 (2) Submission of cost data, either for the purposes

18 of supporting the bid or fulfillment of the contract, shall

19 not be required of bidders.

20 (3) Conformance with military specifications

21 (Milspec) or Department of Commerce specifications sys22 tems with respect to the design, construction, or operation

23 of equipment used in obtaining remotely sensed data

24 under contracts entered into under this section shall not
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1 be a requirement for a commercial provider bidding to pro2 vide such services.

3 (4) Contracts under this section shall not provide for

4 the Federal Government to obtain ownership of data not

5 specifically sought by the Federal Government.

6 SEC. 420. PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIPMENT AND

7 PRODUCTS.

8 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equip10 ment and products purchased with funds made available

11 in this Act should be American-made.

12 (b) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—In providing financial

13 assistance to, or entering into any contract with, any en14 tity using funds made available in this Act, the head of

15 each Federal agency, to the greatest extent practicable,

16 shall provide to such entity a notice describing the state17 ment made in subsection (a) by the Congress.

18 SEC. 421. AUTHORIZATION FOR ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES

19 IN MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANC20 TUARY.

21 Of amounts provided hereafter in appropriations Acts

22 for the National Marine Sanctuaries Programs, up to

23 $150,000 may be expended in each of fiscal years 1995

24 and 1996, on a 1-to-1 matching basis with non-federal
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1 funds, for operation and maintenance of an enforcement

2 vessel for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

3 TITLE V—GREAT LAKES

4 IMPROVEMENTS

5 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Oceanic and

7 Atmospheric Administration Great Lakes Improvements

8 Act’’.

9 SEC. 502. GREAT LAKES OFFICE.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Secretary may es11 tablish and maintain within the Administration a Great

12 Lakes Office in the Washington, District of Columbia

13 area.

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Great Lakes Of15 fice shall be to promote and coordinate Administration re16 search, monitoring, and assessment work in the Great

17 Lakes region consistent with the goals of the Great Lakes

18 Water Quality Agreement.

19 (c) DIRECTOR.—The Director of the Great Lakes Of20 fice shall be an individual with extensive knowledge and

21 expertise in the Great Lakes ecosystem, and with appro22 priate administrative experience.

23 SEC. 503. GREAT LAKES REPORT.

24 (a) CONTENTS.—Subject to the availability of appro25 priations under section 505, the Under Secretary, in con-
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1 sultation with the Director of the Great Lakes Office if

2 established, shall prepare and submit to Congress an an3 nual Great Lakes Report in accordance with this section.

4 The Report shall provide information relating to Great

5 Lakes ecosystem research, monitoring, and assessment,

6 including—

7 (1) the individual activities, projects, or propos8 als conducted by the Administration in the previous

9 fiscal year, including a summary of funds expended

10 in support of these activities, projects, or proposals;

11 (2) the amount of funds received from the Ad12 ministration by each State or local government unit

13 bordering the Great Lakes;

14 (3) the amount of funds received by individuals

15 or institutions residing or located within a State bor16 dering the Great Lakes;

17 (4) an inventory of Administration facilities and

18 personnel located in a State bordering the Great

19 Lakes or in the Great Lakes used to conduct or sup20 port Administration-funded activities, projects, or

21 proposals in the Great Lakes, including vessels;

22 (5) the proposed Administration activities,

23 projects, and proposals to benefit the Great Lakes

24 ecosystem for the current fiscal year, including re25 quested funds; and
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1 (6) a proposal for increasing the presence of the

2 Administration in the Great Lakes, and improving

3 the coordination of research within the Administra4 tion and with other entities, including the Govern5 ment of Canada.

6 (b) DEADLINE.—Subject to the availability of appro7 priations under section 505, the Under Secretary shall

8 submit the Great Lakes Report to the Congress by Octo9 ber 1 of 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

10 SEC. 504. DEFINITIONS.

11 In this title—

12 (1) the term ‘‘Administration’’ means the Na13 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;

14 (2) the term ‘‘Great Lakes’’ means—

15 (A) Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michi16 gan, Lake Ontario, and Lake Superior;

17 (B) their connecting waters, including the

18 St. Marys River, the St. Clair River, Lake St.

19 Clair, the Detroit River, and the Niagara River;

20 and

21 (C) the St. Lawrence River;

22 (3) the term ‘‘Great Lakes Water Quality

23 Agreement’’ means the bilateral agreement between

24 the United States and Canada which was signed in

25 1978 and amended by the Protocol of 1987; and
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1 (4) the term ‘‘Under Secretary’’ means the

2 Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and At3 mosphere.

4 SEC. 505. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Under

6 Secretary to carry out this title $100,000 for each of fiscal

7 years 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

8 TITLE VI—NATIONAL UNDERSEA

9 RESEARCH PROGRAM

10 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

11 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Undersea

12 Research Program Act of 1994’’.

13 SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

14 For the purposes of this title, the term—

15 (1) ‘‘Administration’’ means the National Oce16 anic and Atmospheric Administration;

17 (2) ‘‘Center’’ means any National Undersea Re18 search Center in existence on the day before the

19 date of enactment of this Act or established under

20 section 605;

21 (3) ‘‘Center Director’’ means the Director of

22 any National Undersea Research Center;

23 (4) ‘‘Committee’’ means the National Undersea

24 Research Advisory Committee established under sec25 tion 604;
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1 (5) ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of Undersea Re2 search established by section 603(d)(1);

3 (6) ‘‘priority research area’’ means any of the

4 priority research areas set forth in section 603(f)(1),

5 as those areas may be revised by the Under Sec6 retary under section 603(f)(2);

7 (7) ‘‘Program’’ means the National Undersea

8 Research Program established under section 603;

9 (8) ‘‘Program Director’’ means the Director of

10 the National Undersea Research Program appointed

11 pursuant to section 603(d)(2);

12 (9) ‘‘undersea region’’ means each of—

13 (A) the United States Northern Atlantic

14 region, comprised of the coastal and oceanic

15 waters and seabed north of Montauk, New

16 York, and off Maine, New Hampshire, Massa17 chusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut;

18 (B) the Mid-Atlantic Bight region, com19 prised of the coastal and oceanic waters and

20 seabed south of Montauk, New York, and off

21 New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela22 ware, Maryland, and Virginia;

23 (C) the United States Southern Atlantic

24 region, comprised of the coastal and oceanic

25 waters and seabed off North Carolina, South
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1 Carolina, Georgia, and the Atlantic coast of

2 Florida (including the Florida Keys);

3 (D) the Gulf of Mexico region, comprised

4 of the coastal and oceanic waters and seabed of

5 the Gulf of Mexico off Florida, Alabama, Mis6 sissippi, Louisiana, and Texas;

7 (E) the Great Lakes region, comprised of

8 the waters and lake beds of the Great Lakes;

9 (F) the California region, comprised of the

10 coastal and oceanic waters and seabed off

11 California;

12 (G) the United States Northeast Pacific

13 region, comprised of the coastal and oceanic

14 waters and seabed off Oregon, Washington, and

15 Alaska;

16 (H) the Western Pacific region, comprised

17 of the coastal and oceanic waters and seabed off

18 Hawaii, Johnston Island, Guam, American

19 Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and

20 other Western Pacific waters and seabed rel21 evant to the purpose of the Program;

22 (I) the Caribbean region, comprised of the

23 coastal and oceanic waters and seabed off Puer24 to Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and

25 other tropical and subtropical waters and sea-
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1 bed relevant to the purposes of the Program;

2 and

3 (J) any other undersea region resulting

4 from a modification under section 603(e)(5);

5 (10) ‘‘undersea research’’ means scientific re6 search carried out in the oceans or large lakes of the

7 world, using advanced underwater technology includ8 ing diving, underwater observatories and labora9 tories, research submersibles, remotely operated ve10 hicles, autonomous vehicles, and any other research

11 techniques necessary to carry out the provisions of

12 this title; and

13 (11) ‘‘Under Secretary’’ means the Under Sec14 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.

15 SEC. 603. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF NA16 TIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH PROGRAM.

17 (a) PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTE18 NANCE.—The Under Secretary shall establish and main19 tain in the Administration a program to be known as the

20 ‘‘National Undersea Research Program’’.

21 (b) PROGRAM PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Pro22 gram shall be to enhance scientific understanding of proc23 esses in the oceans and large lakes of the world, by—

24 (1) developing, maintaining, and carrying out

25 undersea research programs;
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1 (2) investigating, developing, and applying tech2 nology for undersea research; and

3 (3) developing new approaches to undersea

4 technology transfer and marine science education.

5 (c) NATIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH CENTERS.—

6 The Program shall be conducted by the National Undersea

7 Research Centers established pursuant to section 605(a).

8 (d) OFFICE OF UNDERSEA RESEARCH.—

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

10 the Administration the Office of Undersea Research.

11 (2) PROGRAM DIRECTOR.—The head of the Of12 fice and Program Officer of the National Undersea

13 Research Program is the Director of the National

14 Undersea Research Program, who shall be appointed

15 by the Under Secretary from among individuals with

16 extensive knowledge and expertise in undersea re17 search and having appropriate administrative experi18 ence.

19 (e) DUTIES OF PROGRAM DIRECTOR.—Subject to the

20 supervision of the Under Secretary, the Program Director

21 shall carry out the following duties:

22 (1) Facilitate and support the activities of

23 Centers.

24 (2) Establish guidelines for the submission and

25 review of proposals from the Centers and proposals
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1 from individual researchers that are submitted to

2 the Centers for research under the Program.

3 (3) Make grants and enter into contracts and

4 cooperative agreements under section 608 to ad5 vance knowledge in the priority research areas

6 through the Centers.

7 (4) Support the Memorandum of Agreement

8 Concerning Support of a National Academic Deep

9 Submergence Facility for Scientific Use.

10 (5) Modify undersea regions as necessary and

11 appropriate.

12 (6) Carry out any other duty assigned to the

13 Program Director by this title.

14 (f) PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may

16 use amounts appropriated for the Program to fund

17 research, including long-term studies, within the fol18 lowing priority research areas:

19 (A) Oceanic, coastal, estuarine, and

20 limnological processes.

21 (B) Pathways and fates of materials in the

22 oceans and large lakes.

23 (C) Diversity, distribution, productivity,

24 and recruitment of organisms, including com25 mercially valuable species, with respect to habi-
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1 tat characteristics in the oceans and large

2 lakes.

3 (D) Global change processes.

4 (E) Ocean lithosphere processes and min5 eral resources.

6 (F) Undersea research platform and in7 strument technology.

8 (G) Diving safety, physiology, and tech9 nology.

10 (H) Studies under section 21(e) of the

11 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.

12 1347(e)).

13 (2) REVISION OF PRIORITY AREAS.—Upon the

14 recommendation of the Committee, the Under Sec15 retary may, after public comment, revise the priority

16 research areas under paragraph (1).

17 SEC. 604. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—The Under

19 Secretary shall establish an independent advisory commit20 tee to be known as the ‘‘National Undersea Research

21 Advisory Committee’’.

22 (b) COMPOSITION.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall consist

24 of 9 members appointed by the Under Secretary

25 from individuals who are eminent professional sci-
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1 entists or engineers and active in at least one prior2 ity research area, of whom 2 members shall be ap3 pointed from individuals nominated by Center Direc4 tors. The Under Secretary shall complete appoint5 ments under this paragraph by not later than 6

6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.

7 (2) BALANCE.—In appointing members of the

8 Committee, the Under Secretary shall seek to ensure

9 balanced representation of—

10 (A) priority research areas,

11 (B) disciplines related to priority research

12 areas, and

13 (C) geographic regions of the United

14 States.

15 (3) PROHIBITION ON APPOINTMENTS.—Except

16 as provided in paragraph (4), no member of the

17 Committee may be an employee of a Center or of the

18 Administration.

19 (4) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS OF THE COMMIT20 TEE.—The Chief Scientist of the Administration

21 shall be a nonvoting ex officio member of the Com22 mittee.

23 (c) DUTIES.—The Committee shall—

24 (1) advise the Under Secretary and the Pro25 gram Director concerning—
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1 (A) the quality of research performed with

2 grants awarded under this title, the applicabil3 ity of such research to the priority research

4 areas;

5 (B) the designation, establishment, and op6 eration of Centers;

7 (C) the modification of undersea regions;

8 (D) the need to revise the priority research

9 areas; and

10 (E) any other matters that the Under Sec11 retary refers to the Committee for review and

12 advice, or that the Committee considers appro13 priate; and

14 (2) carry out any other duty specifically as15 signed to the Committee by this title.

16 (d) TERM OF MEMBERSHIP.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

18 the term of membership on the Committee shall be

19 3 years.

20 (2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members

21 first appointed to the Committee—

22 (A) 3 members shall serve a term of 1

23 year;

24 (B) 3 members shall serve a term of 2

25 years; and
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1 (C) 3 members shall serve a term of 3

2 years;

3 as specified by the Under Secretary at the time of

4 appointment.

5 (3) TERM LIMITATION.—No individual may

6 serve consecutive terms as a member of the Commit7 tee.

8 (e) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Committee,

9 while performing official duties as members of the Com10 mittee, are entitled to receive compensation for travel and

11 transportation expenses under section 5703 of title 5,

12 United States Code.

13 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the Committee

14 shall select annually from among the voting members of

15 the Committee an individual who shall serve as Chair16 person of the Committee. No member of the Committee

17 may serve more than 2 annual terms as Chairperson.

18 (g) CONDUCT OF BUSINESS.—The Committee shall

19 conduct its business according to the majority vote of

20 those members present at a meeting of the Committee.

21 (h) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The following guide22 lines apply to the conduct of business by the Committee:

23 (1) Each meeting shall be open to the public,

24 and interested persons shall be permitted an oppor-
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1 tunity to present oral or written statements on items

2 on the agenda.

3 (2) Timely notice of each meeting, including the

4 time, place, and agenda, shall be published in the

5 Federal Register and copies sent to all Center Direc6 tors.

7 (i) EXEMPTION.—The Federal Advisory Committee

8 Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Committee.

9 SEC. 605. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL UNDERSEA RE10 SEARCH CENTERS.

11 (a) ASSIGNMENT OF EXISTING REGIONS AND ESTAB12 LISHMENT OF NEW CENTERS.—

13 (1) ASSIGNMENT OF REGIONS TO EXISTING

14 CENTERS.—There are assigned to the Centers in ex15 istence on the day before the date of the enactment

16 of this Act undersea regions, as follows:

17 (A) The Western Pacific region is assigned

18 to the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory.

19 (B) The United States Northeast Pacific

20 and Californian regions are assigned to the

21 West Coast National Undersea Research Center

22 at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

23 (C) The United States Northern Atlantic

24 and Great Lakes regions are assigned to the
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1 National Undersea Research Center at the Uni2 versity of Connecticut at Avery Point.

3 (D) The Mid-Atlantic Bight region is as4 signed to the New York Bight National Under5 sea Research Center.

6 (E) The United States Southern Atlantic

7 region is assigned to the National Undersea Re8 search Center at the University of North Caro9 lina at Wilmington.

10 (F) The Caribbean region is assigned to

11 the National Undersea Research Center at the

12 Caribbean Marine Research Center.

13 (G) The Gulf of Mexico region is assigned

14 to a new center to be established pursuant to

15 subsection (f).

16 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW CENTERS.—The

17 Under Secretary may establish a new Center to im18 plement the Program for any undersea region at an

19 institution of higher education or oceanographic re20 search located in a State bordering the region—

21 (A) if there is a clearly demonstrated, sci22 entific need for such a Center;

23 (B) if there are adequate funds available

24 for the establishment of the Center;
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1 (C) after reviewing each proposal submit2 ted under subsection (b) with respect to that re3 gion; and

4 (D) if the Committee concurs in the selec5 tion of that institution.

6 (3) LIMITATION.—The Under Secretary may

7 not establish a new Center for an undersea region

8 if the expenditure of amounts for that Center would

9 result in any reduction of amounts available for ex10 penditure for any other Center.

11 (b) SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS FOR NEW CEN12 TERS.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary may

14 solicit proposals for the establishment of a new Cen15 ter under subsection (a)(2) from institutions of high16 er education or oceanographic research.

17 (2) PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS.—A proposal

18 under this subsection shall consist of—

19 (A) a proposed science program;

20 (B) a program management plan;

21 (C) a description of the facilities of the in22 stitution at which the new Center is proposed to

23 be established;

24 (D) a description of relevant capabilities of

25 that institution;
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1 (E) an operational safety plan;

2 (F) mechanisms for information transfer;

3 (G) a budget for the proposed Center; and

4 (H) any other information the Under Sec5 retary considers necessary.

6 (c) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.—The Under Secretary

7 and the Committee shall review each proposal submitted

8 under subsection (b) on the basis of—

9 (1) relevance of the proposal to priority re10 search areas; and

11 (2) the capability of the applicant institution to

12 administer and direct research in those areas.

13 (d) CENTER DIRECTOR.—Each institution at which

14 a Center is established under this section may select, in

15 consultation with the Office, an individual who shall be

16 the Center Director of that Center.

17 (e) 6-YEAR REVIEW OF CENTERS AND REGIONS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Every 6 years the Under

19 Secretary and the Committee shall jointly review—

20 (A) the operation of each Center, except

21 that in the case of a Center in existence on the

22 day before the date of the enactment of this

23 Act, the first review of the Center shall be com24 pleted by not later than the date which is 5

25 years after that date of enactment; and
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1 (B) the configuration of undersea regions

2 to determine whether those regions meet sci3 entific needs for research in priority research

4 areas.

5 (2) CONTENT OF REVIEW.—A review under this

6 subsection shall consist of—

7 (A) an evaluation of the quality of the re8 search conducted at the Center under the Pro9 gram and the applicability of the research to

10 the priority research areas, including consider11 ation of the reviews conducted under section

12 606(c);

13 (B) recommendations for changes in the

14 scientific research program and the operation of

15 the Center, that are considered beneficial by the

16 Committee and the Under Secretary;

17 (C) a determination of whether the contin18 ued operation of the Center will increase knowl19 edge in the priority research areas; and

20 (D) recommendations for the modification

21 of the undersea regions of the Center.

22 (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW CENTER AT DIF23 FERENT INSTITUTION.—If the Under Secretary and

24 the Committee determine as a result of a review
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1 under this subsection that continued operation of a

2 Center is not warranted, the Under Secretary—

3 (A) shall provide notification of that deter4 mination to the Center, including a description

5 of any changes in the operations of the Center

6 the Under Secretary considers necessary for

7 continued operation of the Center;

8 (B) shall after 18 months after providing

9 that notice, and not later than 2 years after

10 providing that notice, review the implementa11 tion of those changes by the Center; and

12 (C) may establish, at a different institution

13 of higher education or oceanographic research,

14 a new Center for the same undersea region in

15 accordance with this section, if the Under Sec16 retary determines as a result of the review

17 under subparagraph (B) that those changes are

18 not implemented.

19 (f) NEW CENTER.—

20 (1) GULF OF MEXICO.—

21 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Notwithstanding

22 subsection (a)(2) and (a)(3), the Under Sec23 retary shall establish at a qualified public insti24 tution a Center to conduct the Program for the

25 Gulf of Mexico undersea region, which shall be
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1 known as the ‘‘Gulf of Mexico National Under2 sea Research Center’’. The Under Secretary

3 shall establish that Center no later than 60

4 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

5 (B) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of

6 this paragraph, the term ‘‘qualified public insti7 tution’’ means a public institution or consor8 tium of public institutions of higher edu9 cation—

10 (i) located directly on the coastline of,

11 or having direct access to, the Gulf of

12 Mexico;

13 (ii) with strong undergraduate and

14 graduate programs in engineering, science,

15 and technology as they may apply to un16 dersea research;

17 (iii) with nationally recognized pro18 grams in marine science and maritime

19 studies, with strong consideration given to

20 any institution with a degree granting

21 maritime academy;

22 (iv) with facilities for maintaining and

23 operating research and other vessels appro24 priate for deployment of equipment nec25 essary to conduct undersea research;
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1 (v) with faculty and other personnel

2 with expertise in undersea research;

3 (vi) capable of fully utilizing and

4 working closely with the National Marine

5 Sanctuary System in the Gulf of Mexico;

6 and

7 (vii) capable of developing and main8 taining cooperative undersea research pro9 grams with Mexico.

10 (2) LIMITATION.—In carrying out this sub11 section, the Under Secretary shall not reduce

12 amounts available for carrying out the Memorandum

13 of Agreement Concerning Support of a National

14 Academic Deep Submergence Facility for Scientific

15 Use.

16 SEC. 606. NATIONAL UNDERSEA RESEARCH CENTER RE17 SEARCH PROGRAMS.

18 (a) INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROPOSALS.—

19 (1) SOLICITATION.—Each Center Director shall

20 annually solicit individual proposals from the sci21 entific community for research to advance the prior22 ity research areas of the Program. Research under

23 each proposal shall be primarily conducted within

24 the undersea region of the Center, but may be con25 ducted in another undersea region in cooperation
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1 with the Center for that region, or other geographic

2 areas with the approval of the Program Director. In3 dividual proposals shall adhere to guidelines estab4 lished by the Program Director pursuant to section

5 603(e)(2). Proposals under this paragraph may be

6 for multiyear research.

7 (2) INDIVIDUAL PROPOSAL REVIEW PROCESS.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each individual pro9 posal shall be reviewed by an independent re10 view panel and by not less than 3 anonymous

11 mail reviewers. Each independent review panel

12 shall be composed of not less than 4 individuals

13 with experience in undersea research appointed

14 by the Program Director, at least one of whom

15 shall be a member of the Committee.

16 (B) PANEL REVIEW.—Each review by an

17 independent review panel shall—

18 (i) assess the scientific merit of the

19 individual research proposal;

20 (ii) assess the ability of the Center to

21 carry out the proposed research; and

22 (iii) the applicability of the proposal

23 to the priority research areas.

24 (C) MAIL REVIEWS.—Each mail review

25 shall consider—
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1 (i) the scientific merit of the proposal;

2 and

3 (ii) the capability of the principal in4 vestigator to carry out or support the pro5 posed research.

6 (3) ALLOWANCE FOR RESPONSE.—

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any regula8 tion that is issued by the Program Director, a

9 Center Director shall—

10 (i) provide to each person who sub11 mits to the Center a proposal under this

12 section blinded copies of all mail reviews of

13 the proposal conducted under paragraph

14 (2), and

15 (ii) give the person not more than 14

16 days to respond to those reviews before

17 rendering any final decision regarding

18 funding for the proposal.

19 (B) REVIEW OF PROCESS BY COMMIT20 TEE.—Not later than 3 years after the date of

21 the enactment of this Act, the Committee

22 shall—

23 (i) whether all Centers are implement24 ing subparagraph (A);
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1 (ii) determine whether the opportunity

2 of persons who submit proposals to re3 spond to reviews pursuant to subparagraph

4 (A) has been utilized by those persons;

5 (iii) determine whether those re6 sponses have been effective in ensuring full

7 and fair consideration of those proposals;

8 and

9 (iv) recommend to the Program Direc10 tor that the procedures established by sub11 paragraph (A) be continued, terminated, or

12 modified (including the specific modifica13 tions which should be made).

14 (C) REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING REC15 OMMENDATIONS.—The Program Director may

16 issue regulations implementing any rec17 ommendation made by the Committee under

18 subparagraph (B)(iv).

19 (b) PROPOSED CENTER PROGRAM.—Each fiscal year

20 each Center Director shall submit to the Program Direc21 tor—

22 (1) a proposed program for the Center for the

23 upcoming fiscal year, which shall adhere to guide24 lines established by the Program Director pursuant

25 to section 603(e)(2) and shall include—
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1 (A) a description of the activities per2 formed and research funded by the Center in

3 the previous fiscal year;

4 (B) those individual research proposals

5 submitted under subsection (a) that the Center

6 Director determines to be meritorious based on

7 reviews conducted under that subsection;

8 (C) a proposed budget for the operation of

9 the Center for the current fiscal year;

10 (D) any other materials requested by the

11 Program Director to clarify the proposed pro12 gram; and

13 (E) an annually revised long-range re14 search and operations plan; and

15 (2) reviews, and responses thereto, of all indi16 vidual research proposals submitted to the Center

17 Director for the upcoming fiscal year.

18 (c) REVIEW OF PROPOSED CENTER PROGRAMS.—

19 The Program Director shall review the proposed programs

20 submitted by each Center Director under subsection (b)

21 and make recommendations to the Under Secretary for

22 funding allocations under section 608(b).

23 (d) GIFTS, DEVISES, AND BEQUESTS.—Each Center

24 may accept, solicit, and use the services of volunteers, and

25 may accept, receive, hold, administer, and use gifts, de-
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1 vises, and bequests, to carry out the research program of

2 the Center.

3 SEC. 607. PROCEDURES FOR JOINT REVIEW OF RESEARCH

4 PROPOSALS.

5 The Under Secretary, in consultation with the Pro6 gram Director and the Committee and jointly with the Di7 rector of the National Science Foundation and the Sec8 retary of the Navy, shall—

9 (1) develop procedures for the submittal and

10 joint review of proposals for research in priority re11 search areas to be carried out with assistance from

12 2 or more agencies within the Department of Com13 merce, the National Science Foundation, or the De14 partment of Defense; and

15 (2) issue final rules establishing those proce16 dures by not later than 1 year after the date of the

17 enactment of this Act.

18 SEC. 608. GRANTS AND CONTRACTS FOR NATIONAL UNDER19 SEA RESEARCH CENTERS.

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Under Secretary may

21 make grants and enter into contracts and cooperative

22 agreements under this section to fund any Center program

23 if the Under Secretary finds that the program will advance

24 knowledge in the priority research areas.

25 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the reviews under

2 section 606(c) of proposed Center programs, the

3 Under Secretary shall—

4 (A) allocate among the Centers, in such

5 manner as will best advance knowledge in the

6 priority research areas, all amounts available

7 for the current fiscal year for research to be

8 conducted by the Centers and administration of

9 the Centers, consistent with each Center’s long10 term responsibilities to conduct priority re11 search; and

12 (B) notify each Center Director of the

13 amount allocated to that Center under subpara14 graph (A).

15 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any grant made or contract

17 entered into under this section shall be subject to

18 paragraphs (2) and (3) and to any other terms, con19 ditions, and requirements the Under Secretary con20 siders necessary.

21 (2) LIMITATIONS ON USE FOR LAND AND

22 BUILDINGS.—Amounts provided under any grant or

23 contract under this section may not be used for—

24 (A) the purchase of any land; or
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1 (B) the purchase or construction of any

2 building.

3 (3) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.—Any person

4 who receives or utilizes any proceeds of any grant of

5 contract under this section shall keep any records

6 the Under Secretary prescribes as necessary to fa7 cilitate effective audit and evaluation, including re8 ports which full disclose the amount and disposition

9 of funds received under this title, the total cost of

10 activities for which those funds were used, and the

11 amount, if any, of costs which were provided

12 through other sources. The records shall be main13 tained for 6 years after the completion of the activ14 ity. The Under Secretary and the Comptroller Gen15 eral of the United States, or any of their duly au16 thorized representatives, shall have access, for the

17 purpose of audit and evaluation, to any books, docu18 ments, papers, and records of receipts, which in the

19 opinion of the Under Secretary or of the Comptroller

20 General may be related or pertinent to the grants

21 and contracts.

22 SEC. 609. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE REVIEW BOARD.

23 After the date of the enactment of this Act, grants

24 and contracts under the Program shall not be subject to
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1 review by the board in the Department of Commerce

2 known as the Financial Assistance Review Board.

3 SEC. 610. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 (a) CENTER PROGRAM FUNDING.—There is author5 ized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary for use

6 for grants and contracts under section 608, to remain

7 available until expended, $18,000,000 for fiscal year 1995,

8 $18,540,000 for fiscal year 1996, $19,100,000 for fiscal

9 year 1997, $19,670,000 for fiscal year 1998, and

10 $20,260,000 for fiscal year 1999.

11 (b) OFFICE OF UNDERSEA RESEARCH.—There is au12 thorized to be appropriated to the Under Secretary for the

13 administration of the Office of Undersea Research and

14 support of the Memorandum of Agreement Concerning

15 Support of a National Academic Deep Submergence Facil16 ity for Scientific Use, to remain available until expended,

17 $2,100,000 for fiscal year 1995, $2,200,000 for fiscal year

18 1996, $2,300,000 for fiscal year 1997, $2,400,000 for fis19 cal year 1998, and $2,500,000 for fiscal year 1999.

20 (c) REVERSION OF UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS.—The

21 amount of any grant, contract, or portion of a grant or

22 contract, made under section 603 or 608 that is not obli23 gated before the end of the third fiscal year in which it

24 is authorized to be obligated—

25 (1) shall revert to the Under Secretary; and
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1 (2) shall remain available for grants or con2 tracts under that section.

3 (d) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—Amounts appropriated

4 under the authority of subsection (a) shall not be available

5 for administration of this title by the Office, or for pro6 gram or administrative expenses of the Administration or

7 the Department of Commerce.

8 SEC. 506. HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYING AND MAPPING SERV9 ICES.

10 The Secretary of Commerce may award contracts for

11 hydrographic surveying and mapping services in accord12 ance with title IX of the Federal Property and Adminis13 trative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 541 et seq.).

14 SEC. 507. FEASIBILITY STUDY.

15 No later than 180 days after the date of enactment

16 of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to

17 the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and the

18 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep19 resentatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science,

20 and Transportation of the Senate, a study on the feasibil21 ity and desirability of converting the offshore gas produc22 tion platform known as High Island A389A, owned by

23 Mobil Exploration and Production U.S., Inc., to a marine

24 research station for the purpose of supporting investiga25 tions of the northern Gulf of Mexico and for use as a field
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1 laboratory for training students and marine science pro2 fessionals in technologies related to the exploration and

3 study of the Gulf of Mexico. The study shall include—

4 (1) an assessment of the need for such a re5 search platform, including consultations with Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration line

7 and program offices, other relevant Federal and

8 State agencies with research and management re9 sponsibilities in the Gulf of Mexico, and academic in10 stitutions involved in the study of the Gulf of Mexico

11 ecosystem;

12 (2) an assessment of the financial feasibility of

13 converting the platform, including the cost of con14 version from a gas production facility to a marine

15 science research station, the cost of operation of the

16 platform as a marine science field station, the cost

17 of removal of the platform at the end of its func18 tional life span, and the potential costs to users of

19 the platform; and

20 (3) a description of potential users of the plat21 form, potential funding strategies, permit require22 ments, and time schedules and constraints.
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1 SEC. 508. COORDINATED EFFORTS TO CONSERVE, PRO2 TECT, AND REBUILD PACIFIC SALMON

3 STOCKS.

4 (a) The Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with

5 other federal agencies, the states of Washington, Oregon,

6 and California and tribal and local fisheries and natural

7 resource management agencies, shall develop and imple8 ment an inter-agency and intergovernmental cooperative

9 plan to protect, restore and enhance Pacific salmon and

10 their habitats in those states. The plan shall be based on

11 existing Pacific salmon restoration efforts and shall in12 clude, but not be limited to—

13 (1) developing and implementing watershed

14 plans to rebuild targeted stocks of Pacific salmon in

15 those states; and

16 (2) other actions needed to restore and conserve

17 stocks of Pacific salmon and their habitats in those

18 states.

19 (b) Not later than January 1, 1996, and annually

20 thereafter until the Secretary of Commerce determines

21 that Pacific salmon stocks have recovered, the Secretary

22 shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Merchant

23 Marine and Fisheries in the House of Representatives and

24 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

25 of the Senate a report on progress made under this section

26 to conserve, protect, and rebuild Pacific salmon stocks.
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1 SEC. 509. EDUCATION PROGRAM TO REDUCE THE RISK AS2 SOCIATED WITH CONSUMING RAW

3 MOLLUSCAN SHELLFISH.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Of amounts available under sec5 tion 713c–3(d) of the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act of 1954,

6 as amended, (15 U.S.C. Sec. 713c–3), the Secretary of

7 Commerce is authorized to use $500,000 for a comprehen8 sive education program to reduce and prevent illnesses and

9 deaths associated with the consumption of raw molluscan

10 shellfish.

11 (b) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Com12 merce is authorized to transfer up to $500,000 of amounts

13 authorized to be expended under subsection (a) to another

14 federal agency to carry out the purposes of this section.

15 (c) LIMITATION.—The Secretary of Commerce, or the

16 head of a federal agency to which the Secretary transfers

17 funds under this section, may not use more than 5 percent

18 of amounts authorized to be expended under this section

19 for administrative expenses.

Passed the House of Representatives September 26,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4008

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the National Oceyears 1995 and 1996, and for other purposes. anic and Atmospheric Administration for fiscal