IC 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1886 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 

Referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition 

to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

AN ACT 

To reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation 

System Act of 2009 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, 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

S 1886 RFH 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coordinated Ocean 

3 Monitoring and Research Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

5 Section 12302 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

6 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601) is 

7 amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 12302. PURPOSES. 

9 ‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are— 

10 ‘‘(1) to establish and sustain a national inte11 grated System of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

12 observing systems, comprised of Federal and non13 Federal components coordinated at the national level 

14 by the Council and at the regional level by a network 

15 of Regional Coastal Observing Systems, and that in16 cludes in situ, remote, and other coastal and ocean 

17 observation and modeling capabilities, technologies, 

18 data management systems, communication systems, 

19 and product development systems, and is designed to 

20 address regional and national needs for ocean and 

21 coastal information, to gather specific data on key 

22 coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes variables, and to en23 sure timely and sustained dissemination and avail24 ability of these data— 

25 ‘‘(A) to the public; 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(B) to support national defense, search 

2 and rescue operations, marine commerce, navi3 gation safety, weather, climate, and marine 

4 forecasting, energy siting and production, eco5 nomic development, ecosystem-based marine, 

6 coastal, and Great Lakes resource management, 

7 public safety, and public outreach and edu8 cation; 

9 ‘‘(C) to promote greater public awareness 

10 and stewardship of the Nation’s ocean, coastal, 

11 and Great Lakes resources and the general 

12 public welfare; 

13 ‘‘(D) to provide easy access to ocean, 

14 coastal, and Great Lakes data and promote 

15 data sharing between Federal and non-Federal 

16 sources and promote public data sharing; 

17 ‘‘(E) to enable advances in scientific un18 derstanding to support the sustainable use, con19 servation, management, and understanding of 

20 healthy ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes re21 sources; and 

22 ‘‘(F) to monitor and model changes in 

23 ocean chemistry; 

24 ‘‘(2) to improve the Nation’s capability to meas25 ure, track, observe, understand, and predict events 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

S 1886 RFH 

1 related directly and indirectly to weather and climate 

2 change, natural climate variability, and interactions 

3 between the oceanic and atmospheric environments, 

4 including the Great Lakes; and 

5 ‘‘(3) to authorize activities— 

6 ‘‘(A) to promote basic and applied research 

7 to develop, test, and deploy innovations and im8 provements in coastal and ocean observation 

9 technologies, including advanced observing tech10 nologies needed to address critical data gaps, 

11 modeling systems, other scientific and techno12 logical capabilities to improve the under13 standing of weather and climate, ocean-atmos14 phere dynamics, global climate change, and the 

15 physical, chemical, and biological dynamics of 

16 the ocean, coastal and Great Lakes environ17 ments; and 

18 ‘‘(B) to conserve healthy and restore de19 graded coastal ecosystems.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 Section 12303 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

22 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3602) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘States, re25 gional organizations, universities, nongovernmental 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
5 

S 1886 RFH 

1 organizations, or the private sector.’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘the regional coastal observing systems, the Na3 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or 

4 the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee.’’; 

5 (2) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(6) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYS8 TEM.—The term ‘regional coastal observing system’ 

9 means an organizational body that is certified or es10 tablished by contract or memorandum by the lead 

11 Federal agency designated in section 12304(c)(3) 

12 and coordinates State, Federal, local, tribal, and pri13 vate interests at a regional level with the responsi14 bility of engaging the private and public sectors in 

15 designing, operating, and improving regional coastal 

16 and ocean observing systems in order to ensure the 

17 provision of data and information that meet the 

18 needs of user groups from the respective regions.’’; 

19 and 

20 (3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘National 

21 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.’’ and in22 serting ‘‘Administrator.’’. 

23 SEC. 4. INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVATION 

24 SYSTEM. 

25 (a) SYSTEM ELEMENTS.— 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
6 

S 1886 RFH 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12304(b) of the In2 tegrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 

3 of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(b)) is amended by striking 

4 paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to fulfill the pur6 poses of this subtitle, the System shall be national 

7 in scope and consist of— 

8 ‘‘(A) Federal assets to fulfill national and 

9 international observation missions and prior10 ities; 

11 ‘‘(B) non-Federal assets, including a net12 work of regional coastal observing systems iden13 tified under subsection (c)(4), to fulfill regional 

14 and national observation missions and prior15 ities; 

16 ‘‘(C) data management, communication, 

17 and modeling systems for the timely integration 

18 and dissemination of data and information 

19 products from the System; 

20 ‘‘(D) a product development system to 

21 transform observations into products in a for22 mat that may be readily used and understood; 

23 and 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
7 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(E) a research and development program 

2 conducted under the guidance of the Council, 

3 consisting of— 

4 ‘‘(i) basic and applied research and 

5 technology development— 

6 ‘‘(I) to improve understanding of 

7 coastal and ocean systems and their 

8 relationships to human activities; and 

9 ‘‘(II) to ensure improvement of 

10 operational assets and products, in11 cluding related infrastructure, observ12 ing technologies, and information and 

13 data processing and management 

14 technologies; 

15 ‘‘(ii) an advanced observing tech16 nology development program to fill gaps in 

17 technology; 

18 ‘‘(iii) large scale computing resources 

19 and research to advance modeling of coast20 al and ocean processes; 

21 ‘‘(iv) models to improve regional 

22 weather forecasting capabilities and re23 gional weather forecasting products; and 

24 ‘‘(v) reviews of data collection proce25 dures across regions and programs to 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
8 

S 1886 RFH 

1 make recommendations for data collection 

2 standards across the System to meet na3 tional ocean observation, applied research, 

4 and weather forecasting needs.’’. 

5 (2) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—Paragraph (3) of 

6 section 12304(b) of the Integrated Coastal and 

7 Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

8 3603(b)) is amended by striking the period at the 

9 end and inserting ‘‘for research and for use in the 

10 development of products to address societal needs.’’. 

11 (3) COORDINATION OF NON-FEDERAL AS12 SETS.—Paragraph (4) of section 12304(b) of the In13 tegrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 

14 of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(b)) is amended— 

15 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

16 ‘‘NON-FEDERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘COORDINA17 TION OF NON-FEDERAL’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘, the regional coastal ob19 serving system,’’ after ‘‘Interagency Ocean Ob20 serving Committee’’. 

21 (b) POLICY OVERSIGHT, ADMINISTRATION, AND RE22 GIONAL COORDINATION.—Section 12304(c) of the Inte23 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

24 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(c)) is amended by striking para25 graphs (2), (3), and (4), and inserting the following: 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
9 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY OCEAN OBSERVATION COM2 MITTEE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Council shall 

4 establish or designate a committee which shall 

5 be known as the Interagency Ocean Observation 

6 Committee. 

7 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The Interagency Ocean 

8 Observation Committee shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) prepare annual and long-term 

10 plans for consideration and approval by the 

11 Council for the integrated design, oper12 ation, maintenance, enhancement, and ex13 pansion of the System to meet the objec14 tives of this chapter and the System Plan; 

15 ‘‘(ii) develop and transmit to Con16 gress, along with the budget submitted by 

17 the President to Congress pursuant to sec18 tion 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

19 Code, an annual coordinated, comprehen20 sive budget— 

21 ‘‘(I) to operate all elements of 

22 the System identified in subsection 

23 (b); and 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
10 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(II) to ensure continuity of data 

2 streams from Federal and non-Fed3 eral assets; 

4 ‘‘(iii) establish requirements for obser5 vation data variables to be gathered by 

6 both Federal and non-Federal assets and 

7 identify, in consultation with regional in8 formation coordination entities, priorities 

9 for System observations; 

10 ‘‘(iv) establish and define protocols 

11 and standards for System data processing, 

12 management, collection, configuration 

13 standards, formats, and communication for 

14 new and existing assets throughout the In15 tegrated Ocean Observing System network; 

16 ‘‘(v) develop contract requirements for 

17 each Regional Coastal Observing System— 

18 ‘‘(I) to establish eligibility for in19 tegration into the System; 

20 ‘‘(II) to ensure compliance with 

21 all applicable standards and protocols 

22 established by the Council; and 

23 ‘‘(III) to ensure that regional ob24 servations are integrated into the Sys25 tem on a sustained basis; 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
11 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(vi) identify gaps in observation cov2 erage or needs for capital improvements of 

3 both Federal assets and non-Federal as4 sets; 

5 ‘‘(vii) subject to the availability of ap6 propriations, establish through 1 or more 

7 participating Federal agencies, in consulta8 tion with the System advisory committee 

9 established under subsection (d), a com10 petitive matching grant or other pro11 grams— 

12 ‘‘(I) to promote intramural and 

13 extramural research and development 

14 of new, innovative, and emerging ob15 servation technologies including test16 ing and field trials; and 

17 ‘‘(II) to facilitate the migration 

18 of new, innovative, and emerging sci19 entific and technological advances 

20 from research and development to 

21 operational deployment; 

22 ‘‘(viii) periodically— 

23 ‘‘(I) review the System Plan; and 

24 ‘‘(II) submit to the Council such 

25 recommendations as the Interagency 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
12 

S 1886 RFH 

1 Ocean Observation Committee may 

2 have for improvements to the System 

3 Plan; 

4 ‘‘(ix) ensure collaboration among Fed5 eral agencies participating in the activities 

6 of the Interagency Ocean Observation 

7 Committee; and 

8 ‘‘(x) perform such additional duties as 

9 the Council may delegate. 

10 ‘‘(3) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The National Oceanic 

12 and Atmospheric Administration shall function 

13 as the lead Federal agency for the implementa14 tion and administration of the System. 

15 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In car16 rying out this paragraph, the Administrator 

17 shall consult with the Council, the Interagency 

18 Ocean Observation Committee, other Federal 

19 agencies that maintain portions of the System, 

20 and the Regional Coastal Observing Systems. 

21 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out 

22 this paragraph, the Administrator shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) establish and operate an Inte24 grated Ocean Observing System Program 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
13 

S 1886 RFH 

1 Office within the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration— 

3 ‘‘(I) that utilizes, to the extent 

4 necessary, personnel from member 

5 agencies participating on the Inter6 agency Ocean Observation Committee; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(II) oversees daily operations 

9 and coordination of the System; 

10 ‘‘(ii) implement policies, protocols, 

11 and standards approved by the Council 

12 and delegated by the Interagency Ocean 

13 Observation Committee; 

14 ‘‘(iii) promulgate program guide15 lines— 

16 ‘‘(I) to certify and integrate re17 gional associations into the System; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(II) to provide regional coastal 

20 and ocean observation data that meet 

21 the needs of user groups from the re22 spective regions; 

23 ‘‘(iv) have the authority to enter into 

24 and oversee contracts, leases, grants, or co25 operative agreements with non-Federal asVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Sep 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1886.RFH S1886

smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
14 

S 1886 RFH 

1 sets, including regional information coordi2 nation entities, to support the purposes of 

3 this chapter on such terms as the Adminis4 trator deems appropriate; 

5 ‘‘(v) implement and maintain a merit6 based, competitive funding process to sup7 port non-Federal assets, including the de8 velopment and maintenance of a network 

9 of Regional Coastal Observing Systems, 

10 and develop and implement a process for 

11 the periodic review and evaluation of the 

12 regional associations; 

13 ‘‘(vi) provide opportunities for com14 petitive contracts and grants for dem15 onstration projects to design, develop, inte16 grate, deploy, maintain, and support com17 ponents of the System; 

18 ‘‘(vii) establish and maintain efficient 

19 and effective administrative procedures for 

20 the timely allocation of funds among con21 tractors, grantees, and non-Federal assets, 

22 including regional associations; 

23 ‘‘(viii) develop and implement a proc24 ess for the periodic review and evaluation 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
15 

S 1886 RFH 

1 of the Regional Coastal Observing Sys2 tems; 

3 ‘‘(ix) formulate an annual process by 

4 which gaps in observation coverage or 

5 needs for capital improvements of Federal 

6 assets and non-Federal assets of the Sys7 tem are— 

8 ‘‘(I) identified by the regional as9 sociations described in the System 

10 Plan, the Administrator, or other 

11 members of the System; and 

12 ‘‘(II) submitted to the Inter13 agency Ocean Observing Committee; 

14 ‘‘(x) develop and be responsible for a 

15 data management and communication sys16 tem, in accordance with standards and 

17 protocols established by the Interagency 

18 Ocean Observing Committee, by which all 

19 data collected by the System regarding 

20 ocean and coastal waters of the United 

21 States including the Great Lakes, are proc22 essed, stored, integrated, and made avail23 able to all end-user communities; 

24 ‘‘(xi) not less frequently than once 

25 each year, submit to the Interagency 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
16 

S 1886 RFH 

1 Ocean Observing Observation Committee a 

2 report on the accomplishments, operational 

3 needs, and performance of the System to 

4 contribute to the annual and long-term 

5 plans prepared pursuant to paragraph 

6 (2)(B)(i); 

7 ‘‘(xii) develop and periodically update 

8 a plan to efficiently integrate into the Sys9 tem new, innovative, or emerging tech10 nologies that have been demonstrated to be 

11 useful to the System and which will fulfill 

12 the purposes of this chapter and the Sys13 tem Plan; and 

14 ‘‘(xiii) work with users and Regional 

15 Associations to develop products to enable 

16 real-time data sharing for decision makers, 

17 including with respect to weather fore18 casting and modeling, search and rescue 

19 operations, corrosive seawater forecasts, 

20 water quality monitoring and communica21 tion, and harmful algal bloom forecasting. 

22 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYS23 TEMS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Regional Coastal 

25 Observing System operated by a Regional AssoVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Sep 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1886.RFH S1886

smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
17 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ciation described in the System Plan may not 

2 be certified or established under this subtitle 

3 unless it— 

4 ‘‘(i) has been or shall be certified or 

5 established by contract or agreement by 

6 the Administrator; 

7 ‘‘(ii) meets— 

8 ‘‘(I) the certification standards 

9 and compliance procedure guidelines 

10 issued by the Administrator; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the information needs of 

12 user groups in the region while adher13 ing to national standards; 

14 ‘‘(iii) demonstrates an organizational 

15 structure, that under funding limitations is 

16 capable of— 

17 ‘‘(I) gathering required System 

18 observation data; 

19 ‘‘(II) supporting and integrating 

20 all aspects of coastal and ocean ob21 serving and information programs 

22 within a region; and 

23 ‘‘(III) reflecting the needs of 

24 State, local, and tribal governments, 

25 commercial interests, and other users 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
18 

S 1886 RFH 

1 and beneficiaries of the System and 

2 other requirements specified under 

3 this subtitle and the System Plan; 

4 ‘‘(iv) identifies— 

5 ‘‘(I) gaps in observation coverage 

6 needs for capital improvements of 

7 Federal assets and non-Federal assets 

8 of the System; and 

9 ‘‘(II) other recommendations to 

10 assist in the development of the an11 nual and long-term plans prepared 

12 pursuant to paragraph (2)(B)(i) and 

13 transmits such information to the 

14 Interagency Ocean Observation Com15 mittee via the Program Office estab16 lished under paragraph (3)(C)(i); 

17 ‘‘(v) develops and operates under a 

18 strategic operational plan that will ensure 

19 the efficient and effective administration of 

20 programs and assets to support daily data 

21 observations for integration into the Sys22 tem, pursuant to the standards approved 

23 by the Council; 

24 ‘‘(vi) works cooperatively with govern25 mental and nongovernmental entities at all 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
19 

S 1886 RFH 

1 levels to identify and provide information 

2 products of the System for multiple users 

3 within the service area of the regional 

4 coastal observing system; and 

5 ‘‘(vii) complies with all financial over6 sight requirements established by the Ad7 ministrator, including requirements relat8 ing to audits. 

9 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION.—For the purposes 

10 of this title, employees of Federal agencies are 

11 permitted to be members of the governing body 

12 for the Regional Coastal Observing Systems 

13 and may participate in the functions of the re14 gional information coordination entities.’’. 

15 (c) SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 

16 12304(d) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observa17 tion System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(d)) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or the Inter20 agency Ocean Observing Observation Committee.’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘or the Council under this subtitle’’; 

22 and 

23 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, 

25 data sharing,’’ after ‘‘data management’’; 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
20 

S 1886 RFH 

1 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

3 (C) by striking subparagraph (D) and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(D) additional priorities, including— 

6 ‘‘(i) a national surface current map7 ping network designed to improve fine 

8 scale sea surface mapping using high fre9 quency radar technology and other emerg10 ing technologies to address national prior11 ities, including Coast Guard search and 

12 rescue operation planning and harmful 

13 algal bloom forecasting and detection 

14 that— 

15 ‘‘(I) is comprised of existing high 

16 frequency radar and other sea surface 

17 current mapping infrastructure oper18 ated by regional associations; 

19 ‘‘(II) incorporates new high fre20 quency radar assets or other fine scale 

21 sea surface mapping technology as22 sets, and other assets needed to fill 

23 gaps in coverage on United States 

24 coastlines; and 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
21 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(III) follows a deployment plan 

2 that prioritizes closing gaps in high 

3 frequency radar infrastructure in the 

4 United States, starting with areas 

5 demonstrating significant sea surface 

6 current data needs, especially in areas 

7 where additional data will improve 

8 Coast Guard search and rescue mod9 els; 

10 ‘‘(ii) fleet acquisition for autonomous 

11 underwater and surface vehicles for deploy12 ment and data integration to fulfill the 

13 purposes of the Act; 

14 ‘‘(iii) an integrative survey program 

15 for application of manned and unmanned 

16 vehicles to the real-time or near real-time 

17 collection and transmission of seafloor, 

18 water column, and sea surface data on bi19 ology, chemistry, geology, physics, and hy20 drography; 

21 ‘‘(iv) remote sensing and data assimi22 lation to develop new analytical methodolo23 gies to assimilate data from the Integrated 

24 Ocean Observing System into hydro25 dynamic models; 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
22 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(v) integrated, multistate monitoring 

2 to assess sources, movement and fate of 

3 sediments in coastal regions; 

4 ‘‘(vi) a multiregion marine sound 

5 monitoring system to be— 

6 ‘‘(I) planned in consultation with 

7 the International Ocean Observing 

8 Committee, the National Oceanic and 

9 Atmospheric Administration, the De10 partment of the Navy, and academic 

11 research institutions; and 

12 ‘‘(II) developed, installed, and op13 erated in coordination with the Na14 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad15 ministration, the Department of the 

16 Navy, and academic research institu17 tions; and 

18 ‘‘(E) any other purpose identified by the 

19 Administrator or the Council.’’; 

20 (D) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting 

21 ‘‘The Administrator has the ability to stagger 

22 the terms of the System advisory committee 

23 members.’’ before ‘‘Members’’; and 

24 (E) in paragraph (4)— 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
23 

S 1886 RFH 

1 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘and the Interagency Ocean Observing 

3 Committee’’; and 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

5 ‘‘Observing’’ and inserting ‘‘Observation’’. 

6 (d) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Section 12304(e) of the Inte7 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

8 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(e)) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘information coordination enti10 ty’’ and inserting ‘‘coastal observing system’’; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘non-Federal asset or regional 

12 information coordination entity,’’ and inserting ‘‘Re13 gional Coastal Observing System,’’. 

14 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY FINANCING AND AGREEMENTS. 

15 Section 12305(a) of the Integrated Coastal and 

16 Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

17 3604(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out interagency activi19 ties under this subtitle, the Secretary of Commerce may 

20 execute an agreement, on a reimbursable or nonreimburs21 able basis, with any State or subdivision thereof, any Fed22 eral agency, or any public or private organization, or indi23 vidual to carry out interagency activities under this sub24 title.’’. 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
24 

S 1886 RFH 

1 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

2 Section 12307 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

3 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3606) is 

4 amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 12307. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

6 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 2 years after 

7 March 30, 2009, and every 3 years thereafter, the Admin8 istrator shall prepare and the President acting through the 

9 Council shall approve and transmit to the Congress a re10 port on progress made in implementing this subtitle. 

11 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each report required by sub12 section (a) shall include— 

13 ‘‘(1) a description of activities carried out under 

14 this subtitle and the System Plan; 

15 ‘‘(2) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

16 System, including an evaluation of progress made by 

17 the Council to achieve the goals identified under the 

18 System Plan; 

19 ‘‘(3) identification of Federal and non-Federal 

20 assets as determined by the Council that have been 

21 integrated into the System, including assets essential 

22 to the gathering of required observation data vari23 ables necessary to meet the respective missions of 

24 Council agencies; 

25 ‘‘(4) a review of procurements, planned or initi26 ated, by each Council agency to enhance, expand, or 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
25 

S 1886 RFH 

1 modernize the observation capabilities and data 

2 products provided by the System, including data 

3 management and communication subsystems; 

4 ‘‘(5) a summary of the existing gaps in observa5 tion infrastructure and monitoring data collection, 

6 including— 

7 ‘‘(A) priorities considered by the System 

8 advisory committee; 

9 ‘‘(B) the national sea surface current map10 ping network; 

11 ‘‘(C) coastal buoys, and; 

12 ‘‘(D) ocean chemistry monitoring; 

13 ‘‘(6) an assessment regarding activities to inte14 grate Federal and non-Federal assets, nationally and 

15 on the regional level, and discussion of the perform16 ance and effectiveness of regional information co17 ordination entities to coordinate regional observation 

18 operations; 

19 ‘‘(7) a description of benefits of the program to 

20 users of data products resulting from the System 

21 (including the general public, industries, scientists, 

22 resource managers, emergency responders, policy 

23 makers, and educators); 

24 ‘‘(8) recommendations concerning— 

25 ‘‘(A) modifications to the System; and 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
26 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(B) funding levels for the System in sub2 sequent fiscal years; and 

3 ‘‘(9) the results of a periodic external inde4 pendent programmatic audit of the System.’’. 

5 SEC. 7. PUBLIC-PRIVATE USE POLICY. 

6 Section 12308 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

7 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3607) is 

8 amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 12308. PUBLIC-PRIVATE USE POLICY. 

10 ‘‘The Council shall maintain a policy that defines 

11 processes for making decisions about the roles of the Fed12 eral Government, the States, regional information coordi13 nation entities, the academic community, and the private 

14 sector in providing to end-user communities environmental 

15 information, products, technologies, and services related to 

16 the System. The Administrator shall ensure that National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration adheres to the 

18 decision making process developed by the Council regard19 ing the roles of the Federal Government, the States, the 

20 Regional Coastal Observing Systems, the academic com21 munities, and the private sector in providing the end-user 

22 communities environmental information, data products, 

23 technologies, and services related to the System.’’. 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
27 

S 1886 RFH 

1 SEC. 8. REPEAL OF INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Integrated Coastal and 

3 Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 is amended by 

4 striking section 12309 (33 U.S.C. 3608). 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

6 of contents in section 1(b) of the Omnibus Public Land 

7 Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 

8 991) is amended by striking the item related to section 

9 12309. 

10 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 Section 12311 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

12 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3610) is 

13 amended by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2019’’. 

14 SEC. 10. REPORTS AND RESEARCH PLANS. 

15 Section 12404(c) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

16 Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

17 3703(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY REPORT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

20 after the date of the enactment of the Coordi21 nated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act, and 

22 every 5 years thereafter, the Subcommittee 

23 shall transmit to appropriate committees of 

24 Congress a report that— 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
28 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(i) is named ‘The Ocean Chemistry 

2 Coastal Community Vulnerability Assess3 ment’; 

4 ‘‘(ii) identifies gaps in ocean acidifica5 tion monitoring by public, academic, and 

6 private assets in the network of regional 

7 coastal observing systems; 

8 ‘‘(iii) identifies geographic areas which 

9 have gaps in ocean acidification research; 

10 ‘‘(iv) identifies United States coastal 

11 communities, including fishing commu12 nities, low-population rural communities, 

13 tribal and subsistence communities, and is14 land communities, that may be impacted 

15 by ocean acidification; 

16 ‘‘(v) identifies impacts of changing 

17 ocean carbonate chemistry on the commu18 nities described in clause (iv), including 

19 impacts from changes in ocean and coastal 

20 marine resources that are not managed by 

21 the Federal Government; 

22 ‘‘(vi) identifies gaps in understanding 

23 of the impacts of ocean acidification on 

24 economically or commercially important 

25 species, particularly those which support 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
29 

S 1886 RFH 

1 United States commercial, recreational, 

2 and tribal fisheries and aquaculture; 

3 ‘‘(vii) identifies habitats that may be 

4 particularly vulnerable to corrosive sea 

5 water, including areas experiencing mul6 tiple stressors such as hypoxia, sedimenta7 tion, and harmful algal blooms; 

8 ‘‘(viii) identifies areas in which exist9 ing Integrated Ocean Observing System 

10 assets, including buoys and gliders, may be 

11 leveraged as platforms for the deployment 

12 of new sensors or other applicable observ13 ing technologies; and 

14 ‘‘(ix) is written in collaboration with 

15 the agencies responsible for carrying out 

16 this Act. 

17 ‘‘(B) FORM OF REPORT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) INITIAL REPORT.—The initial re19 port required by subparagraph (A) shall 

20 include the information described in 

21 clauses (i) through (ix) on a national level. 

22 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Each 

23 report required by subparagraph (A) after 

24 the initial report— 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
30 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(I) may describe the informa2 tion described in clauses (i) through 

3 (ix) on a national level; or 

4 ‘‘(II) may consist of separate re5 ports for each region of the National 

6 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(iii) REGIONAL REPORTS.—If the 

9 Subcommittee opts to prepare a report re10 quired by subparagraph (A) as separate re11 gional reports under clause (ii)(II), the 

12 Subcommittee shall submit a report for 

13 each region of the National Oceanic and 

14 Atmospheric Administration not less often 

15 than once during each 5-year reporting pe16 riod. 

17 ‘‘(C) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON18 GRESS DEFINED.—In this paragraph and in 

19 paragraph (5), the term ‘appropriate commit20 tees of Congress’ means the Committee on 

21 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

22 Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, 

23 and Technology and the Committee on Natural 

24 Resources of the House of Representatives. 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
31 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(5) MONITORING PRIORITIZATION PLAN.—Not 

2 later than 180 days after the date of the submission 

3 of the initial report required by paragraph (4)(A), 

4 the Subcommittee shall transmit to the appropriate 

5 committees of Congress a report that develops a 

6 plan to deploy new sensors or other applicable ob7 serving technologies— 

8 ‘‘(A) based on such initial report; 

9 ‘‘(B) prioritized by— 

10 ‘‘(i) the threat to coastal economies 

11 and ecosystems; 

12 ‘‘(ii) gaps in data; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) research needs; and 

14 ‘‘(C) that leverage existing platforms, 

15 where possible.’’. 

16 SEC. 11. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN. 

17 (a) CONTENTS.—Section 12405(b) of the Federal 

18 Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 

19 (33 U.S.C. 3704(b)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

21 end; 

22 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at 

23 the end and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘and’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
32 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(10) make recommendations for research to be 

2 conducted, including in the social sciences and eco3 nomics, to address the key knowledge gaps identified 

4 in the economic vulnerability report conducted under 

5 section 12404(c).’’. 

6 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Section 12405(c) of the 

7 Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act 

8 of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704(c)) is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘(6) Research to understand combined effects 

11 of changes in ocean chemistry, sediment delivery, hy12 poxia, and harmful algal blooms and the impact 

13 these processes have on each other, and how these 

14 multiple stressors impact living marine resources 

15 and coastal ecosystems. 

16 ‘‘(7) Applied research to identify adaptation 

17 strategies for species impacted by changes in ocean 

18 chemistry including vegetation-based systems, shell 

19 recycling, species and genetic diversity, applied tech20 nologies, aquaculture methodologies, and manage21 ment recommendations.’’. 

22 SEC. 12. STAKEHOLDER INPUT ON MONITORING. 

23 Section 12406(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

24 Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

25 3705(a)) is amended— 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
33 

S 1886 RFH 

1 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(4) includes an ongoing mechanism that allows 

7 potentially affected industry members, coastal stake8 holders, fishery management councils and commis9 sions, non-Federal resource managers, and scientific 

10 experts to provide input on monitoring needs that 

11 are necessary to support on the ground manage12 ment, decision making, and adaptation related to 

13 ocean acidification.’’. 

14 SEC. 13. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. 

15 Section 12407(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

16 Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 

17 3706(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(a) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—The Director of the 

19 National Science Foundation shall continue to carry out 

20 research activities on ocean acidification which shall sup21 port competitive, merit-based, peer-reviewed proposals for 

22 research, observatories and monitoring of ocean acidifica23 tion and its impacts, including— 

24 ‘‘(1) impacts on marine organisms and marine 

25 ecosystems; 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
34 

S 1886 RFH 

1 ‘‘(2) impacts on ocean, coastal, and estuarine 

2 biogeochemistry; 

3 ‘‘(3) the development of methodologies and 

4 technologies to evaluate ocean acidification and its 

5 impacts, and; 

6 ‘‘(4) impacts of multiple stressors on eco7 systems exhibiting hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, or 

8 sediment delivery, combined with changes in ocean 

9 chemistry.’’. 

Passed the Senate September 26, 2016. 

Attest: JULIE E. ADAMS, 

Secretary. 


smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS