II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 174 

To establish a coordinated and comprehensive Federal ocean and coastal 

mapping program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 8, 2009 

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the 

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

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a coordinated and comprehensive Federal ocean 

and coastal mapping program. 

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 ‘‘Ocean and Coastal 

5 Mapping Integration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, in coordination 

8 with the Interagency Committee on Ocean and Coastal 

9 Mapping and affected coastal states, shall establish a pro10 gram to develop a coordinated and comprehensive Federal 


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1 ocean and coastal mapping plan for the Great Lakes and 

2 coastal state waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive eco3 nomic zone, and the continental shelf of the United States 

4 that enhances ecosystem approaches in decision-making 

5 for conservation and management of marine resources and 

6 habitats, establishes research and mapping priorities, sup7 ports the siting of research and other platforms, and ad8 vances ocean and coastal science. 

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be com10 prised of high-level representatives of the Department of 

11 Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmos12 pheric Administration, the Department of the Interior, the 

13 National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, 

14 the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of 

15 Homeland Security, the National Aeronautics and Space 

16 Administration, and other appropriate Federal agencies 

17 involved in ocean and coastal mapping. 

18 (c) PROGRAM PARAMETERS.—In developing such a 

19 program, the President, through the Committee, shall— 

20 (1) identify all Federal and federally funded 

21 programs conducting shoreline delineation and ocean 

22 or coastal mapping, noting geographic coverage, fre23 quency, spatial coverage, resolution, and subject 

24 matter focus of the data and location of data ar25 chives; 


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1 (2) facilitate cost-effective, cooperative mapping 

2 efforts that incorporate policies for contracting with 

3 non-governmental entities among all Federal agen4 cies conducting ocean and coastal mapping, by in5 creasing data sharing, developing appropriate data 

6 acquisition and metadata standards, and facilitating 

7 the interoperability of in situ data collection systems, 

8 data processing, archiving, and distribution of data 

9 products; 

10 (3) facilitate the adaptation of existing tech11 nologies as well as foster expertise in new ocean and 

12 coastal mapping technologies, including through re13 search, development, and training conducted among 

14 Federal agencies and in cooperation with non-gov15 ernmental entities; 

16 (4) develop standards and protocols for testing 

17 innovative experimental mapping technologies and 

18 transferring new technologies between the Federal 

19 Government, coastal state, and non-governmental 

20 entities; 

21 (5) provide for the archiving, management, and 

22 distribution of data sets through a national registry 

23 as well as provide mapping products and services to 

24 the general public in service of statutory require25 ments; 


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1 (6) develop data standards and protocols con2 sistent with standards developed by the Federal Geo3 graphic Data Committee for use by Federal, coastal 

4 state, and other entities in mapping and otherwise 

5 documenting locations of federally permitted activi6 ties, living and nonliving coastal and marine re7 sources, marine ecosystems, sensitive habitats, sub8 merged cultural resources, undersea cables, offshore 

9 aquaculture projects, offshore energy projects, and 

10 any areas designated for purposes of environmental 

11 protection or conservation and management of living 

12 and nonliving coastal and marine resources; 

13 (7) identify the procedures to be used for co14 ordinating the collection and integration of Federal 

15 ocean and coastal mapping data with coastal state 

16 and local government programs; 

17 (8) facilitate, to the extent practicable, the col18 lection of real-time tide data and the development of 

19 hydrodynamic models for coastal areas to allow for 

20 the application of V-datum tools that will facilitate 

21 the seamless integration of onshore and offshore 

22 maps and charts; 

23 (9) establish a plan for the acquisition and col24 lection of ocean and coastal mapping data; and 


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1 (10) set forth a timetable for completion and 

2 implementation of the plan. 

3 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON OCEAN AND COAST4 AL MAPPING. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, within 30 

7 days after the date of enactment of this Act, shall convene 

8 or utilize an existing interagency committee on ocean and 

9 coastal mapping to implement section 2. 

10 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee shall be com11 prised of senior representatives from Federal agencies 

12 with ocean and coastal mapping and surveying responsibil13 ities. The representatives shall be high-ranking officials of 

14 their respective agencies or departments and, whenever 

15 possible, the head of the portion of the agency or depart16 ment that is most relevant to the purposes of this Act. 

17 Membership shall include senior representatives from the 

18 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 

19 Chief of Naval Operations, the United States Geological 

20 Survey, the Minerals Management Service, the National 

21 Science Foundation, the National Geospatial-Intelligence 

22 Agency, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the 

23 Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 

24 Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National 

25 Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other approVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:22 Jan 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S174.IS S174

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1 priate Federal agencies involved in ocean and coastal map2 ping. 

3 (c) CO-CHAIRMEN.—The Committee shall be co4 chaired by a representative of the Department of Com5 merce and a representative of the Department of the Inte6 rior. 

7 (d) SUBCOMMITTEE.—The co-chairmen shall estab8 lish a subcommittee to carry out the day-to-day work of 

9 the Committee, comprised of senior representatives of any 

10 member agency of the committee. Working groups may 

11 be formed by the full Committee to address issues of short 

12 duration. The subcommittee shall be chaired by the rep13 resentative from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

14 Administration. The chairmen of the Committee may cre15 ate such additional subcommittees and working groups as 

16 may be needed to carry out the work of Committee. 

17 (e) MEETINGS.—The committee shall meet on a 

18 quarterly basis, but each subcommittee and each working 

19 group shall meet on an as-needed basis. 

20 (f) COORDINATION.—The committee shall coordinate 

21 activities when appropriate, with— 

22 (1) other Federal efforts, including the Digital 

23 Coast, Geospatial One-Stop, and the Federal Geo24 graphic Data Committee; 

25 (2) international mapping activities; 


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1 (3) coastal states; 

2 (4) user groups through workshops and other 

3 appropriate mechanisms; and 

4 (5) representatives of nongovernmental entities. 

5 (g) ADVISORY PANEL.—The Administrator may con6 vene an ocean and coastal mapping advisory panel con7 sisting of representatives from nongovernmental entities 

8 to provide input regarding activities of the committee in 

9 consultation with the interagency committee. 

10 SEC. 4. BIENNIAL REPORTS. 

11 No later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, and biennially thereafter, the co-chairmen of 

13 the Committee shall transmit to the Senate Committee on 

14 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Senate Com15 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the House 

16 of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources a re17 port detailing progress made in implementing this Act, in18 cluding— 

19 (1) an inventory of ocean and coastal mapping 

20 data within the territorial sea and the exclusive eco21 nomic zone and throughout the Continental Shelf of 

22 the United States, noting the age and source of the 

23 survey and the spatial resolution (metadata) of the 

24 data; 


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1 (2) identification of priority areas in need of 

2 survey coverage using present technologies; 

3 (3) a resource plan that identifies when priority 

4 areas in need of modern ocean and coastal mapping 

5 surveys can be accomplished; 

6 (4) the status of efforts to produce integrated 

7 digital maps of ocean and coastal areas; 

8 (5) a description of any products resulting from 

9 coordinated mapping efforts under this Act that im10 prove public understanding of the coasts and oceans, 

11 or regulatory decision-making; 

12 (6) documentation of minimum and desired 

13 standards for data acquisition and integrated 

14 metadata; 

15 (7) a statement of the status of Federal efforts 

16 to leverage mapping technologies, coordinate map17 ping activities, share expertise, and exchange data; 

18 (8) a statement of resource requirements for or19 ganizations to meet the goals of the program, includ20 ing technology needs for data acquisition, proc21 essing, and distribution systems; 

22 (9) a statement of the status of efforts to de23 classify data gathered by the Navy, the National 

24 Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and other agencies 

25 to the extent possible without jeopardizing national 


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1 security, and make it available to partner agencies 

2 and the public; 

3 (10) a resource plan for a digital coast inte4 grated mapping pilot project for the northern Gulf 

5 of Mexico that will— 

6 (A) cover the area from the authorized 

7 coastal counties through the territorial sea; 

8 (B) identify how such a pilot project will 

9 leverage public and private mapping data and 

10 resources, such as the United States Geological 

11 Survey National Map, to result in an oper12 ational coastal change assessment program for 

13 the subregion; 

14 (11) the status of efforts to coordinate Federal 

15 programs with coastal state and local government 

16 programs and leverage those programs; 

17 (12) a description of efforts of Federal agencies 

18 to increase contracting with nongovernmental enti19 ties; and 

20 (13) an inventory and description of any new 

21 Federal or federally funded programs conducting 

22 shoreline delineation and ocean or coastal mapping 

23 since the previous reporting cycle. 


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1 SEC. 5. PLAN. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con4 sultation with the Committee, shall develop and submit to 

5 the Congress a plan for an integrated ocean and coastal 

6 mapping initiative within the National Oceanic and At7 mospheric Administration. 

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

9 (1) identify and describe all ocean and coastal 

10 mapping programs within the agency, including 

11 those that conduct mapping or related activities in 

12 the course of existing missions, such as hydrographic 

13 surveys, ocean exploration projects, living marine re14 source conservation and management programs, 

15 coastal zone management projects, and ocean and 

16 coastal observations and science projects; 

17 (2) establish priority mapping programs and es18 tablish and periodically update priorities for geo19 graphic areas in surveying and mapping across all 

20 missions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

21 Administration, as well as minimum data acquisition 

22 and metadata standards for those programs; 

23 (3) encourage the development of innovative 

24 ocean and coastal mapping technologies and applica25 tions, through research and development through co26 operative or other agreements with joint or cooperaVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:22 Jan 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S174.IS S174

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1 tive research institutes or centers and with other 

2 nongovernmental entities; 

3 (4) document available and developing tech4 nologies, best practices in data processing and dis5 tribution, and leveraging opportunities with other 

6 Federal agencies, coastal states, and nongovern7 mental entities; 

8 (5) identify training, technology, and other re9 source requirements for enabling the National Oce10 anic and Atmospheric Administration’s programs, 

11 vessels, and aircraft to support a coordinated ocean 

12 and coastal mapping program; 

13 (6) identify a centralized mechanism or office 

14 for coordinating data collection, processing, 

15 archiving, and dissemination activities of all such 

16 mapping programs within the National Oceanic and 

17 Atmospheric Administration that meets Federal 

18 mandates for data accuracy and accessibility and 

19 designate a repository that is responsible for 

20 archiving and managing the distribution of all ocean 

21 and coastal mapping data to simplify the provision 

22 of services to benefit Federal and coastal state pro23 grams; and 

24 (7) set forth a timetable for implementation 

25 and completion of the plan, including a schedule for 


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1 submission to the Congress of periodic progress re2 ports and recommendations for integrating ap3 proaches developed under the initiative into the 

4 interagency program. 

5 (c) NOAA JOINT OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING

6 CENTERS.—The Administrator may maintain and operate 

7 up to 3 joint ocean and coastal mapping centers, including 

8 a joint hydrographic center, which shall each be co-located 

9 with an institution of higher education. The centers shall 

10 serve as hydrographic centers of excellence and may con11 duct activities necessary to carry out the purposes of this 

12 Act, including— 

13 (1) research and development of innovative 

14 ocean and coastal mapping technologies, equipment, 

15 and data products; 

16 (2) mapping of the United States Outer Conti17 nental Shelf and other regions; 

18 (3) data processing for nontraditional data and 

19 uses; 

20 (4) advancing the use of remote sensing tech21 nologies, for related issues, including mapping and 

22 assessment of essential fish habitat and of coral re23 sources, ocean observations, and ocean exploration; 

24 and 


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1 (5) providing graduate education and training 

2 in ocean and coastal mapping sciences for members 

3 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis4 tration Commissioned Officer Corps, personnel of 

5 other agencies with ocean and coastal mapping pro6 grams, and civilian personnel. 

7 (d) NOAA REPORT.—The Administrator shall con8 tinue developing a strategy for expanding contracting with 

9 nongovernmental entities to minimize duplication and take 

10 maximum advantage of nongovernmental capabilities in 

11 fulfilling the Administration’s mapping and charting re12 sponsibilities. Within 120 days after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the Administrator shall transmit a report de14 scribing the strategy developed under this subsection to 

15 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans16 portation, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 

17 Resources, and the House of Representatives Committee 

18 on Natural Resources. 

19 SEC. 6. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

20 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to supersede 

21 or alter the existing authorities of any Federal agency with 

22 respect to ocean and coastal mapping. 

23 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the amounts au25 thorized by section 306 of the Hydrographic Services ImVerDate Nov 24 2008 20:22 Jan 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S174.IS S174

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1 provement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892d), there are au2 thorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry 

3 out this Act— 

4 (1) $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

5 (2) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

6 (3) $38,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

7 (4) $45,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

8 through 2015. 

9 (b) JOINT OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING CEN10 TERS.—Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to sub11 section (a), the following amounts shall be used to carry 

12 out section 5(c) of this Act: 

13 (1) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

14 (2) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

15 (3) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

16 (4) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

17 through 2015. 

18 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—To carry out 

19 interagency activities under section 3 of this Act, the head 

20 of any department or agency may execute a cooperative 

21 agreement with the Administrator, including those author22 ized by section 5 of the Act of August 6, 1947 (33 U.S.C. 

23 883e). 

24 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

3 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

4 (2) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal state’’ 

5 has the meaning given that term by section 304(4) 

6 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

7 U.S.C. 1453(4). 

8 (3) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

9 means the Interagency Ocean and Coastal Mapping 

10 Committee described in section 3. 

11 (4) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

12 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means the exclusive eco13 nomic zone of the United States established by Pres14 idential Proclamation No. 5030, of March 10, 1983. 

15 (5) OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING.—The term 

16 ‘‘ocean and coastal mapping’’ means the acquisition, 

17 processing, and management of physical, biological, 

18 geological, chemical, and archaeological characteris19 tics and boundaries of ocean and coastal areas, re20 sources, and sea beds through the use of acoustics, 

21 satellites, aerial photogrammetry, light and imaging, 

22 direct sampling, and other mapping technologies. 

23 (6) TERRITORIAL SEA.—The term ‘‘territorial 

24 sea’’ means the belt of sea measured from the base25 line of the United States determined in accordance 


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1 with international law, as set forth in Presidential 

2 Proclamation Number 5928, dated December 27, 

3 1988. 

4 (7) NONGOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.—The term 

5 ‘‘nongovernmental entities’’ includes nongovern6 mental organizations, members of the academic com7 munity, and private sector organizations that pro8 vide products and services associated with meas9 uring, locating, and preparing maps, charts, surveys, 

10 aerial photographs, satellite images, or other graph11 ical or digital presentations depicting natural or 

12 manmade physical features, phenomena, and legal 

13 boundaries of the Earth. 

14 (8) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.—The term 

15 ‘‘Outer Continental Shelf’’ means all submerged 

16 lands lying seaward and outside of lands beneath 

17 navigable waters (as that term is defined in section 

18 2 of the Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1301)), 

19 and of which the subsoil and seabed appertain to the 

20 United States and are subject to its jurisdiction and 

21 control. 

Æ 


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