II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1539 

To authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a comprehensive greenhouse gas observation and analysis system, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2009 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Mr. NELSON of Florida) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a comprehensive greenhouse gas observation and analysis system, 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 ‘‘Greenhouse Gas Obser5 vation and Analysis System Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

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1 (1) to establish a comprehensive national green2 house gas observation and analysis system to sup3 port verification of greenhouse gas emissions; 

4 (2) to establish a baseline characterizing the in5 fluence of current and past greenhouse gas emis6 sions on atmospheric composition; and 

7 (3) to provide a scientifically robust record of 

8 atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. 

9 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF GREENHOUSE GAS OBSERVA10 TION AND ANALYSIS SYSTEM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 

12 a greenhouse gas observation and analysis system that will 

13 offer the resolution and widespread coverage required to 

14 verify reduction and mitigation of greenhouse gases. In es15 tablishing the system, the Administrator shall coordinate 

16 with the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of 

17 Standards and Technology, the National Aeronautics and 

18 Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, 

19 the Department of Energy, the Department of Agri20 culture, and the United States Geological Survey. 

21 (b) SYSTEM COMPONENTS.—The system— 

22 (1) shall be an operational and scientifically ro23 bust greenhouse gas observation and analysis system 

24 that includes local and regional ground-based obser25 vations, space-based observations, carbon-cycle modmstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 eling, greenhouse gas inventories, meta-analysis, and 

2 extensive data integration and distribution to pro3 vide quantitative information about sources, sinks, 

4 and fluxes of greenhouse gases at relevant temporal 

5 and spatial scales; and 

6 (2) shall be capable of— 

7 (A) differentiating between source and sink 

8 exchanges; 

9 (B) identifying types of emissions (fossil10 fuel and non-fossil fuel sources); and 

11 (C) tracking agricultural and other sinks; 

12 and 

13 (3) shall include— 

14 (A) sustained ground, sea, and air-based 

15 measurements; 

16 (B) sustained space-based observations; 

17 (C) measurements of tracer, including iso18 topes and non-carbon dioxide gases; 

19 (D) carbon cycle monitoring; 

20 (E) carbon cycle modeling; 

21 (F) traceability to the International Sys22 tem of Units; and 

23 (G) data assimilation and analysis. 

24 (c) COORDINATION.—The Administrator shall, to the 

25 extent appropriate— 

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1 (1) facilitate coordination of— 

2 (A) observations and modeling; 

3 (B) data and information management sys4 tems, including archive and access; and 

5 (C) the development and transfer of tech6 nologies to facilitate the evaluation of green7 house gas emission reductions, offsets, and 

8 other mitigation strategies; 

9 (2) coordinate with the National Institute of 

10 Standards and Technology to make sure that the 

11 greenhouse gas observation and analysis system is 

12 based upon quantitative measurements traceable to 

13 international standards; and 

14 (3) coordinate with other Federal agencies and 

15 international organizations and agencies involved in 

16 international or domestic programs. 

17 SEC. 4. SYSTEM PLAN. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall, in 

20 coordination with the agencies described in section 3, de21 velop and submit a plan for an integrated and comprehen22 sive greenhouse gas observation and analysis system to the 

23 Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor24 tation and the House of Representatives Committee on 

25 Science and Technology. 

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1 (b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall— 

2 (1) identify and describe current national and 

3 international greenhouse gas observation networks, 

4 modeling, and data analysis efforts; 

5 (2) contain an inventory of agency data relevant 

6 to greenhouse gases; 

7 (3) assess gaps, conflicts, and opportunities 

8 with respect to the matters described in paragraphs 

9 (1) and (2); 

10 (4) establish priorities, define agency roles, and 

11 make recommendations on necessary capacity and 

12 capabilities for— 

13 (A) ground, sea, and air-based measure14 ments; 

15 (B) sustained space-based observations; 

16 (C) measurements of tracer, including iso17 topes and non-carbon dioxide gases; 

18 (D) carbon cycle monitoring; 

19 (E) carbon cycle modeling; 

20 (F) measurement traceability and com21 parability; 

22 (G) data assimilation and analysis; and 

23 (H) data archive management and data ac24 cess; and 

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1 (5) establish and define mechanisms for ensur2 ing continuity of domestic and international green3 house gas measurements, and contribute to inter4 national efforts to build and operate a global green5 house gas information system, in coordination with 

6 the World Meteorological Organization and other 

7 international organizations and agencies, as appro8 priate. 

9 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

10 The Administrator shall, not less than every 4 years 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act and in coordination 

12 with the agencies described in section 3, submit a report 

13 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

14 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com15 mittee on Science and Technology that includes— 

16 (1) an analysis of the progress made toward 

17 achieving the goals and objectives of the plan out18 lined in section 4; 

19 (2) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the sys20 tem; 

21 (3) recommendations concerning modifications 

22 to the system; 

23 (4) an analysis of the consistency of reported 

24 greenhouse gas emission reductions with indemstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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1 pendent observations of atmospheric and Earth-sys2 tem trends; and 

3 (5) an update on changes or trends in Earth4 system sources and sinks of greenhouse gases. 

5 SEC. 6. AGREEMENTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may enter into 

7 and perform such contracts, leases, grants, cooperative 

8 agreements, or other agreements as may be necessary to 

9 carry out the purposes of this Act. 

10 (b) SPECIFIC AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any 

11 other provision of law, the Administrator may— 

12 (1) enter into long-term leases of up to 20 

13 years for the use of unimproved land to site small 

14 shelter facilities, antennae, and equipment including 

15 weather, tide, tidal currents, river, and air sampling 

16 or measuring equipment; 

17 (2) enter into long-term licenses of up to 20 

18 years at no cost to site facilities and equipment in19 cluding weather, tide, tidal currents, river, and air 

20 sampling or measuring equipment; 

21 (3) acquire (by purchase, lease, or otherwise), 

22 lease, sell, and dispose of or convey services, money, 

23 securities, or property (whether real, personal, intel24 lectual, or of any other kind) or an interest therein; 

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1 (4) construct, improve, repair, operate, main2 tain, outgrant, and dispose of real or personal prop3 erty, including buildings, facilities, and land; and 

4 (5) waive capital lease scoring requirements for 

5 any lease of space on commercial antennas to sup6 port weather radio equipment, air sampling, or 

7 measuring equipment. 

8 (c) CERTAIN LEASED EQUIPMENT.—Notwith9 standing any other provision of law, rule, or regulation, 

10 leases of antenna or equipment on towers or other struc11 tures shall be considered operating leases for the purpose 

12 of capital lease scoring. 

13 SEC. 7. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

14 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to supersede 

15 or alter the existing authorities of any Federal agency with 

16 respect to Earth science research or greenhouse gas miti17 gation. 

18 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis21 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

22 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

23 (2) EARTH-SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘Earth-sys24 tem’’ means the Earth’s biosphere, including the 

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1 ocean, atmosphere, and soils that influence the 

2 amounts of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. 

3 (3) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘‘greenhouse 

4 gas’’ means a gas in the atmosphere that increases 

5 the radiative forcing of the Earth-atmosphere sys6 tem. 

7 (4) INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS.—The 

8 term ‘‘International System of Units’’ means the 

9 modern metric system of units established in 1960 

10 by the 11th General Conference on Weight and 

11 Measures. 

12 (5) RADIATIVE FORCING.—The term ‘‘radiative 

13 forcing’’ means the measure of the influence that a 

14 substance or process has in altering the balance of 

15 incoming and outgoing energy in the Earth-system. 

16 (6) SINK.—The term ‘‘sink’’ means the removal 

17 of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. 

18 (7) SOURCE.—The term ‘‘source’’ means the 

19 emission of a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. 

20 (8) SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘system’’ means the 

21 national greenhouse gas observation and analysis 

22 system established under section 3. 

23 (9) TRACER.—The term ‘‘tracer’’ means an at24 mospheric substance that can be used to assess or 

25 determine the origin of a greenhouse gas. 

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1 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary of Commerce such sums as appropriate to carry out 

4 this Act. 

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