II 

Calendar No. 636 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1886 

[Report No. 114–354] 

To reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 

of 2009 and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2015 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. SULLIVAN, 

Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Monitoring and Research Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 Section 12302 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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

4 amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 12302. PURPOSES. 

6 ‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are— 

7 ‘‘(1) to establish and sustain a national inte8 grated System of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

9 observing systems, comprised of Federal and non10 Federal components coordinated at the national level 

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

12 of Regional Coastal Observing Systems, and that in13 cludes in situ, remote, and other coastal and ocean 

14 observation and modeling capabilities, technologies, 

15 data management systems, communication systems, 

16 and product development systems, and is designed to 

17 address regional and national needs for ocean and 

18 coastal information, to gather specific data on key 

19 coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes variables, and to en20 sure timely and sustained dissemination and avail21 ability of these data— 

22 ‘‘(A) to the public; 

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

24 and rescue operations, marine commerce, navi25 gation safety, weather, climate, and marine 

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1 nomic development, ecosystem-based marine, 

2 coastal, and Great Lakes resource management, 

3 public safety, and public outreach and edu4 cation; 

5 ‘‘(C) to promote greater public awareness 

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

7 and Great Lakes resources and the general 

8 public welfare; 

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

10 coastal, and Great Lakes data and promote 

11 data sharing between Federal and non-Federal 

12 sources and promote public data sharing; 

13 ‘‘(E) to enable advances in scientific un14 derstanding to support the sustainable use, con15 servation, management, and understanding of 

16 healthy ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes re17 sources; and 

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

19 ocean chemistry; 

20 ‘‘(2) to improve the Nation’s capability to meas21 ure, track, observe, understand, and predict events 

22 related directly and indirectly to weather and climate 

23 change, natural climate variability, and interactions 

24 between the oceanic and atmospheric environments, 

25 including the Great Lakes; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) to authorize activities— 

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

3 to develop, test, and deploy innovations and im4 provements in coastal and ocean observation 

5 technologies, including advanced observing tech6 nologies needed to address critical data gaps, 

7 modeling systems, other scientific and techno8 logical capabilities to improve the under9 standing of weather and climate, ocean-atmos10 phere dynamics, global climate change, and the 

11 physical, chemical, and biological dynamics of 

12 the ocean, coastal and Great Lakes environ13 ments; and 

14 ‘‘(B) to conserve healthy and restore de15 graded coastal ecosystems.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 Section 12303 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘States, re21 gional organizations, universities, nongovernmental 

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

23 ‘‘the regional coastal observing systems, the Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or 

25 the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee.’’; 


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1 (2) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(6) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYS4 TEM.—The term ‘regional coastal observing system’ 

5 means an organizational body that is certified or es6 tablished by contract or memorandum by the lead 

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

8 and coordinates State, Federal, local, tribal, and pri9 vate interests at a regional level with the responsi10 bility of engaging the private and public sectors in 

11 designing, operating, and improving regional coastal 

12 and ocean observing systems in order to ensure the 

13 provision of data and information that meet the 

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

15 and 

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

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.’’ and in18 serting ‘‘Administrator.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVATION 

20 SYSTEM. 

21 (a) SYSTEM ELEMENTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12304(b) of the In23 tegrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 

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

25 paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to fulfill the pur2 poses of this subtitle, the System shall be national 

3 in scope and consist of— 

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

5 international observation missions and prior6 ities; 

7 ‘‘(B) non-Federal assets, including a net8 work of regional coastal observing systems iden9 tified under subsection (c)(4), to fulfill regional 

10 and national observation missions and prior11 ities; 

12 ‘‘(C) data management, communication, 

13 and modeling systems for the timely integration 

14 and dissemination of data and information 

15 products from the System; 

16 ‘‘(D) a product development system to 

17 transform observations into products in a for18 mat that may be readily used and understood; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(E) a research and development program 

21 conducted under the guidance of the Council, 

22 consisting of— 

23 ‘‘(i) basic and applied research and 

24 technology development— 


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1 ‘‘(I) to improve understanding of 

2 coastal and ocean systems and their 

3 relationships to human activities; and 

4 ‘‘(II) to ensure improvement of 

5 operational assets and products, in6 cluding related infrastructure, observ7 ing technologies, and information and 

8 data processing and management 

9 technologies; 

10 ‘‘(ii) an advanced observing tech11 nology development program to fill gaps in 

12 technology; 

13 ‘‘(iii) large scale computing resources 

14 and research to advance modeling of coast15 al and ocean processes; 

16 ‘‘(iv) models to improve regional 

17 weather forecasting capabilities and re18 gional weather forecasting products; and 

19 ‘‘(v) reviews of data collection proce20 dures across regions and programs to 

21 make recommendations for data collection 

22 standards across the System to meet na23 tional ocean observation, applied research, 

24 and weather forecasting needs.’’. 


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

2 section 12304(b) of the Integrated Coastal and 

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

4 3603(b)) is amended by striking the period at the 

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

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

7 (3) COORDINATION OF NON-FEDERAL AS8 SETS.—Paragraph (4) of section 12304(b) of the In9 tegrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 

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

11 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

12 ‘‘NON-FEDERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘COORDINA13 TION OF NON-FEDERAL’’; and 

14 (B) by inserting ‘‘, the regional coastal ob15 serving system,’’ after ‘‘Interagency Ocean Ob16 serving Committee’’. 

17 (b) POLICY OVERSIGHT, ADMINISTRATION, AND RE18 GIONAL COORDINATION.—Section 12304(c) of the Inte19 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

20 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(c)) is amended by striking para21 graphs (2), (3), and (4), and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY OCEAN OBSERVATION COM23 MITTEE.— 

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

25 establish or designate a committee which shall 


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1 be known as the Interagency Ocean Observation 

2 Committee. 

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

4 Observation Committee shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) prepare annual and long-term 

6 plans for consideration and approval by the 

7 Council for the integrated design, oper8 ation, maintenance, enhancement, and ex9 pansion of the System to meet the objec10 tives of this chapter and the System Plan; 

11 ‘‘(ii) develop and transmit to Con12 gress, along with the budget submitted by 

13 the President to Congress pursuant to sec14 tion 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

15 Code, an annual coordinated, comprehen16 sive budget— 

17 ‘‘(I) to operate all elements of 

18 the System identified in subsection 

19 (b); and 

20 ‘‘(II) to ensure continuity of data 

21 streams from Federal and non-Fed22 eral assets; 

23 ‘‘(iii) establish requirements for obser24 vation data variables to be gathered by 

25 both Federal and non-Federal assets and 


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1 identify, in consultation with regional in2 formation coordination entities, priorities 

3 for System observations; 

4 ‘‘(iv) establish and define protocols 

5 and standards for System data processing, 

6 management, collection, configuration 

7 standards, formats, and communication for 

8 new and existing assets throughout the In9 tegrated Ocean Observing System network; 

10 ‘‘(v) develop contract requirements for 

11 each Regional Coastal Observing System— 

12 ‘‘(I) to establish eligibility for in13 tegration into the System; 

14 ‘‘(II) to ensure compliance with 

15 all applicable standards and protocols 

16 established by the Council; and 

17 ‘‘(III) to ensure that regional ob18 servations are integrated into the Sys19 tem on a sustained basis; 

20 ‘‘(vi) identify gaps in observation cov21 erage or needs for capital improvements of 

22 both Federal assets and non-Federal as23 sets; 

24 ‘‘(vii) subject to the availability of ap25 propriations, establish through one or more 


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1 participating Federal agencies, in consulta2 tion with the System advisory committee 

3 established under subsection (d), a com4 petitive matching grant or other pro5 grams— 

6 ‘‘(I) to promote intramural and 

7 extramural research and development 

8 of new, innovative, and emerging ob9 servation technologies including test10 ing and field trials; and 

11 ‘‘(II) to facilitate the migration 

12 of new, innovative, and emerging sci13 entific and technological advances 

14 from research and development to 

15 operational deployment; 

16 ‘‘(viii) periodically— 

17 ‘‘(I) review the System Plan; and 

18 ‘‘(II) submit to the Council such 

19 recommendations as the Interagency 

20 Ocean Observation Committee may 

21 have for improvements to the System 

22 Plan; 

23 ‘‘(ix) ensure collaboration among Fed24 eral agencies participating in the activities 


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1 of the Interagency Ocean Observation 

2 Committee; and 

3 ‘‘(x) perform such additional duties as 

4 the Council may delegate. 

5 ‘‘(3) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY.— 

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

7 and Atmospheric Administration shall function 

8 as the lead Federal agency for the implementa9 tion and administration of the System. 

10 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In car11 rying out this paragraph, the Administrator 

12 shall consult with the Council, the Interagency 

13 Ocean Observation Committee, other Federal 

14 agencies that maintain portions of the System, 

15 and the Regional Coastal Observing Systems. 

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

17 this paragraph, the Administrator shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) establish and operate an Inte19 grated Ocean Observing System Program 

20 Office within the National Oceanic and At21 mospheric Administration— 

22 ‘‘(I) that utilizes, to the extent 

23 necessary, personnel from member 

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1 agency Ocean Observation Committee; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) oversees daily operations 

4 and coordination of the System; 

5 ‘‘(ii) implement policies, protocols, 

6 and standards approved by the Council 

7 and delegated by the Interagency Ocean 

8 Observation Committee; 

9 ‘‘(iii) promulgate program guide10 lines— 

11 ‘‘(I) to certify and integrate re12 gional associations into the System; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(II) to provide regional coastal 

15 and ocean observation data that meet 

16 the needs of user groups from the re17 spective regions; 

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

19 and oversee contracts, leases, grants or co20 operative agreements with non-Federal as21 sets, including regional information coordi22 nation entities, to support the purposes of 

23 this chapter on such terms as the Adminis24 trator deems appropriate; 


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1 ‘‘(v) implement and maintain a merit2 based, competitive funding process to sup3 port non-Federal assets, including the de4 velopment and maintenance of a network 

5 of Regional Coastal Observing Systems, 

6 and develop and implement a process for 

7 the periodic review and evaluation of the 

8 regional associations; 

9 ‘‘(vi) provide opportunities for com10 petitive contracts and grants for dem11 onstration projects to design, develop, inte12 grate, deploy, maintain, and support com13 ponents of the System; 

14 ‘‘(vii) establish and maintain efficient 

15 and effective administrative procedures for 

16 allocation of funds among contractors, 

17 grantees, and non-Federal assets, including 

18 regional associations in a timely manner; 

19 ‘‘(viii) develop and implement a proc20 ess for the periodic review and evaluation 

21 of the Regional Coastal Observing Sys22 tems; 

23 ‘‘(ix) formulate an annual process by 

24 which gaps in observation coverage or 

25 needs for capital improvements of Federal 


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1 assets and non-Federal assets of the Sys2 tem are— 

3 ‘‘(I) identified by the regional as4 sociations described in the System 

5 Plan, the Administrator, or other 

6 members of the System; and 

7 ‘‘(II) submitted to the Inter8 agency Ocean Observing Committee; 

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

10 data management and communication sys11 tem, in accordance with standards and 

12 protocols established by the Interagency 

13 Ocean Observing Committee, by which all 

14 data collected by the System regarding 

15 ocean and coastal waters of the United 

16 States including the Great Lakes, are proc17 essed, stored, integrated, and made avail18 able to all end-user communities; 

19 ‘‘(xi) not less frequently than once 

20 each year, submit to the Interagency 

21 Ocean Observing Observation Committee a 

22 report on the accomplishments, operational 

23 needs, and performance of the System to 

24 contribute to the annual and long-term 


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1 plans prepared pursuant to paragraph 

2 (2)(B)(i); 

3 ‘‘(xii) develop and periodically update 

4 a plan to efficiently integrate into the Sys5 tem new, innovative, or emerging tech6 nologies that have been demonstrated to be 

7 useful to the System and which will fulfill 

8 the purposes of this chapter and the Sys9 tem Plan; and 

10 ‘‘(xiii) work with users and Regional 

11 Associations to develop products to enable 

12 real-time data sharing for decisionmakers, 

13 including with respect to weather fore14 casting and modeling, search and rescue 

15 operations, corrosive seawater forecasts, 

16 water quality monitoring and communica17 tion, and harmful algal bloom forecasting. 

18 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYS19 TEMS.— 

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

21 Observing System operated by a Regional Asso22 ciation described in the System Plan may not 

23 be certified or established under this subtitle 

24 unless it— 


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

2 established by contract or agreement by 

3 the Administrator; 

4 ‘‘(ii) meets— 

5 ‘‘(I) the certification standards 

6 and compliance procedure guidelines 

7 issued by the Administrator; and 

8 ‘‘(II) the information needs of 

9 user groups in the region while adher10 ing to national standards; 

11 ‘‘(iii) demonstrates an organizational 

12 structure, that under funding limitations is 

13 capable of— 

14 ‘‘(I) gathering required System 

15 observation data; 

16 ‘‘(II) supporting and integrating 

17 all aspects of coastal and ocean ob18 serving and information programs 

19 within a region; and 

20 ‘‘(III) reflecting the needs of 

21 State, local, and tribal governments, 

22 commercial interests, and other users 

23 and beneficiaries of the System and 

24 other requirements specified under 

25 this subtitle and the System Plan; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) identifies— 

2 ‘‘(I) gaps in observation coverage 

3 needs for capital improvements of 

4 Federal assets and non-Federal assets 

5 of the System; and 

6 ‘‘(II) other recommendations to 

7 assist in the development of the an8 nual and long-term plans prepared 

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

10 transmit such information to the 

11 Interagency Ocean Observation Com12 mittee via the Program Office estab13 lished under paragraph (3)(C)(i); 

14 ‘‘(v) develops and operates under a 

15 strategic operational plan that will ensure 

16 the efficient and effective administration of 

17 programs and assets to support daily data 

18 observations for integration into the Sys19 tem, pursuant to the standards approved 

20 by the Council; 

21 ‘‘(vi) works cooperatively with govern22 mental and nongovernmental entities at all 

23 levels to identify and provide information 

24 products of the System for multiple users 


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1 within the service area of the regional 

2 coastal observing system; and 

3 ‘‘(vii) complies with all financial over4 sight requirements established by the Ad5 ministrator, including requirements relat6 ing to audits. 

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

8 of this title, employees of Federal agencies are 

9 permitted to be members of the governing body 

10 for the Regional Coastal Observing Systems 

11 and may participate in the functions of the re12 gional information coordination entities.’’. 

13 (c) SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 

14 12304(d) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observa15 tion System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(d)) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or the Inter18 agency Ocean Observing Observation Committee.’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘the Council under this subtitle’’; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

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

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

24 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (C) by striking subparagraph (D) and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(D) additional priorities, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) a national surface current map5 ping network designed to improve fine 

6 scale sea surface mapping using high fre7 quency radar technology and other emerg8 ing technologies to address national prior9 ities, including Coast Guard search and 

10 rescue operation planning and harmful 

11 algal bloom forecasting and detection 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(I) is comprised of existing 

14 high-frequency radar and other sea 

15 surface current mapping infrastruc16 ture operated by regional associations; 

17 ‘‘(II) incorporates new high-fre18 quency radar assets or other fine scale 

19 sea surface mapping technology as20 sets, and other assets needed to fill 

21 gaps in coverage on United States 

22 coastlines; and 

23 ‘‘(III) follows a deployment plan 

24 that prioritizes closing gaps in high 

25 frequency radar infrastructure in the 


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1 United States, starting with areas 

2 demonstrating significant sea surface 

3 current data needs, especially in areas 

4 where additional data will improve 

5 Coast Guard search and rescue mod6 els; 

7 ‘‘(ii) fleet acquisition for autonomous 

8 underwater and surface vehicles for deploy9 ment and data integration to fulfill the 

10 purposes of the Act; 

11 ‘‘(iii) an integrative survey program 

12 for application of manned and unmanned 

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

14 collection and transmission of seafloor, 

15 water column, and sea surface data on bi16 ology, chemistry, geology, physics and hy17 drography; 

18 ‘‘(iv) remote sensing and data assimi19 lation to develop new analytical methodolo20 gies to assimilate data from the Integrated 

21 Ocean Observing System into hydro22 dynamic models; 

23 ‘‘(v) integrated, multi-State moni24 toring to assess sources, movement and 

25 fate of sediments in coastal regions; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) a multi-region marine sound 

2 monitoring system to be— 

3 ‘‘(I) planned in consultation with 

4 the International Ocean Observing 

5 Committee, the National Oceanic and 

6 Atmospheric Administration, and aca7 demic research institutions; and 

8 ‘‘(II) developed, installed, and op9 erated in coordination with the Na10 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad11 ministration and academic research 

12 institutions; and 

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

14 Administrator or the Council.’’; 

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

16 ‘‘The Secretary has the ability to stagger the 

17 terms of the System advisory committee mem18 bers.’’ before ‘‘Members’’; and 

19 (E) in paragraph (4)— 

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

21 ‘‘and the Interagency Ocean Observing 

22 Committee’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘Observing’’ and inserting ‘‘Observation’’. 


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1 (d) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Section 12304(e) of the Inte2 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

3 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(e)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘information coordination enti5 ty’’ and inserting ‘‘coastal observation system’’; and 

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

7 information coordination entity’’ and inserting ‘‘Re8 gional Coastal Observing System,’’. 

9 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY FINANCING AND AGREEMENTS. 

10 Section 12305(a) of the Integrated Coastal and 

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

12 3604(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out interagency activi14 ties under this subtitle, the Secretary of Commerce may 

15 execute an agreement, on a reimbursable or nonreimburs16 able basis, with any State or subdivision thereof, any Fed17 eral agency, or any public or private organization, or indi18 vidual to carry out interagency activities under this sub19 title.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

21 Section 12307 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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

23 amended to read as follows: 

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

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1 istrator shall prepare and the President acting through the 

2 Council shall approve and transmit to the Congress a re3 port on progress made in implementing this subtitle. 

4 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each report required by sub5 section (a) shall include— 

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

7 this subtitle and the System Plan; 

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

9 System, including an evaluation of progress made by 

10 the Council to achieve the goals identified under the 

11 System Plan; 

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

13 assets as determined by the Council that have been 

14 integrated into the System, including assets essential 

15 to the gathering of required observation data vari16 ables necessary to meet the respective missions of 

17 Council agencies; 

18 ‘‘(4) a review of procurements, planned or initi19 ated, by each Council agency to enhance, expand, or 

20 modernize the observation capabilities and data 

21 products provided by the System, including data 

22 management and communication subsystems; 

23 ‘‘(5) a summary of the existing gaps in observa24 tion infrastructure and monitoring data collection, 

25 including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) priorities considered by the System 

2 advisory committee; 

3 ‘‘(B) the national sea surface current map4 ping network; 

5 ‘‘(C) coastal buoys; and 

6 ‘‘(D) ocean chemistry monitoring; 

7 ‘‘(6) an assessment regarding activities to inte8 grate Federal and non-Federal assets, nationally and 

9 on the regional level, and discussion of the perform10 ance and effectiveness of regional information co11 ordination entities to coordinate regional observation 

12 operations; 

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

14 users of data products resulting from the System 

15 (including the general public, industries, scientists, 

16 resource managers, emergency responders, policy 

17 makers, and educators); 

18 ‘‘(8) recommendations concerning— 

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

20 ‘‘(B) funding levels for the System in sub21 sequent fiscal years; and 

22 ‘‘(9) the results of a periodic external inde23 pendent programmatic audit of the System.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. PUBLIC-PRIVATE USE POLICY. 

2 Section 12308 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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

4 amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘The Council shall maintain a policy that defines 

6 processes for making decisions about the roles of the Fed7 eral Government, the States, regional information coordi8 nation entities, the academic community, and the private 

9 sector in providing to end-user communities environmental 

10 information, products, technologies, and services related to 

11 the System. The Administrator shall ensure that National 

12 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration adheres to the 

13 decisionmaking process developed by the Council regard14 ing the roles of the Federal Government, the States, the 

15 Regional Coastal Observing Systems, the academic com16 munities, and the private sector in providing the end-user 

17 communities environmental information, data products, 

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

19 SEC. 8. INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE. 

20 The Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation Sys21 tem Act of 2009 is amended by striking section 12309 

22 (33 U.S.C. 3608). 

23 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 Section 12311 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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


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1 amended by striking section ‘‘2013’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘2019’’. 

3 SEC. 10. REPORTS AND RESEARCH PLANS. 

4 Section 12404(c) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

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

6 3703(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(4) ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY REPORT.—Not 

8 later than 1 year after the enactment of the Coordi9 nated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act, and 

10 every 5 years thereafter, the Subcommittee shall 

11 transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com13 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology and the 

14 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

15 Representatives a report that— 

16 ‘‘(A) is named ‘The Ocean Chemistry 

17 Coastal Community Vulnerability Assessment’; 

18 ‘‘(B) identifies gaps in ocean acidification 

19 monitoring by public, academic, and private as20 sets in the network of regional coastal observing 

21 systems; 

22 ‘‘(C) identifies areas which have gaps in 

23 ocean acidification research; 

24 ‘‘(D) identifies United States coastal com25 munities, including fishing communities, lowVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Sep 20, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1886.RS S1886

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1 population rural communities, tribal and sub2 sistence communities, and island communities, 

3 that may be impacted by ocean acidification; 

4 ‘‘(E) identifies impacts of changing ocean 

5 pH on the communities described in subpara6 graph (D), including impacts from changes in 

7 ocean and coastal marine resources that are not 

8 managed by the Federal Government; 

9 ‘‘(F) identifies gaps in understanding of 

10 the impacts of ocean acidification on economi11 cally or commercially important species, par12 ticularly those which support United States 

13 commercial, recreational, and tribal fisheries 

14 and aquaculture; 

15 ‘‘(G) identifies habitats that are particu16 larly vulnerable to corrosive sea water, includ17 ing areas experiencing multiple stressors such 

18 as hypoxia, sedimentation and harmful algal 

19 blooms; 

20 ‘‘(H) identifies areas in which existing In21 tegrated Ocean Observing System assets, in22 cluding buoys and gliders, that may be lever23 aged as platforms for the deployment of new 

24 sensors; and 


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1 ‘‘(I) is written in collaboration with the 

2 agencies responsible for carrying out this Act. 

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

4 later than 180 days after the submission of the re5 port required by paragraph (4), the Subcommittee 

6 shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

8 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and 

9 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

10 of Representatives a report that develops a plan to 

11 deploy new sensors— 

12 ‘‘(A) based on the report required by para13 graph (4); 

14 ‘‘(B) prioritized by— 

15 ‘‘(i) the threat to coastal economies 

16 and ecosystems; 

17 ‘‘(ii) gaps in data; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) research needs; and 

19 ‘‘(C) that leverage existing platforms, 

20 where possible.’’. 

21 SEC. 11. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN. 

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

23 Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 

24 (33 U.S.C. 3704(b)) is amended— 


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

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (9), 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 ‘‘(10) make recommendations for research to be 

7 conducted, including in the social sciences and eco8 nomics, to address the key knowledge gaps identified 

9 in the economic vulnerability report conducted under 

10 section 12404(c).’’. 

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

12 Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act 

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

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘(6) Research to understand combined effects 

16 of changes in ocean chemistry, sediment delivery, hy17 poxia and harmful algal blooms and the impact 

18 these processes have on one another, and how these 

19 multiple stressors impact living marine resources 

20 and coastal ecosystems. 

21 ‘‘(7) Applied research to identify adaptation 

22 strategies for species impacted by changes in ocean 

23 chemistry including vegetation-based systems, shell 

24 recycling, species and genetic diversity, applied techVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Sep 20, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1886.RS S1886

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1 nologies, aquaculture methodologies, and manage2 ment recommendations.’’. 

3 SEC. 12. STAKEHOLDER INPUT ON MONITORING. 

4 Section 12406(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

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

6 3705(a)) is amended— 

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

8 end; 

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

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

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

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

13 potentially affected industry members, coastal stake14 holders, fishery management councils and commis15 sions, non-Federal resource managers, and scientific 

16 experts to provide input on monitoring needs that 

17 are necessary to support on the ground manage18 ment, decisionmaking, and adaptation related to 

19 ocean acidification.’’. 

20 SEC. 13. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. 

21 Section 12407(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

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

23 3706(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

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

25 National Science Foundation shall continue to carry out 


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1 research activities on ocean acidification which shall sup2 port competitive, merit-based, peer-reviewed proposals for 

3 research, observatories and monitoring of ocean acidifica4 tion and its impacts, including— 

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

6 ecosystems; 

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

8 biogeochemistry; 

9 ‘‘(3) the development of methodologies and 

10 technologies to evaluate ocean acidification and its 

11 impacts; and 

12 ‘‘(4) impacts of multiple stressors on eco13 systems exhibiting hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, or 

14 sediment delivery, combined with changes in ocean 

15 chemistry.’’. 

16 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coordinated Ocean Mon18 itoring and Research Act’’. 

19 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

20 Section 12302 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Ob21 servation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3601) is amended 

22 to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 12302. PURPOSES. 

24 ‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are— 


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1 ‘‘(1) to establish and sustain a national inte2 grated System of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ob3 serving systems, comprised of Federal and non-Fed4 eral components coordinated at the national level by 

5 the Council and at the regional level by a network of 

6 Regional Coastal Observing Systems, and that in7 cludes in situ, remote, and other coastal and ocean 

8 observation and modeling capabilities, technologies, 

9 data management systems, communication systems, 

10 and product development systems, and is designed to 

11 address regional and national needs for ocean and 

12 coastal information, to gather specific data on key 

13 coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes variables, and to en14 sure timely and sustained dissemination and avail15 ability of these data— 

16 ‘‘(A) to the public; 

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

18 and rescue operations, marine commerce, navi19 gation safety, weather, climate, and marine fore20 casting, energy siting and production, economic 

21 development, ecosystem-based marine, coastal, 

22 and Great Lakes resource management, public 

23 safety, and public outreach and education; 

24 ‘‘(C) to promote greater public awareness 

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


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1 and Great Lakes resources and the general public 

2 welfare; 

3 ‘‘(D) to provide easy access to ocean, coast4 al, and Great Lakes data and promote data 

5 sharing between Federal and non-Federal sources 

6 and promote public data sharing; 

7 ‘‘(E) to enable advances in scientific under8 standing to support the sustainable use, con9 servation, management, and understanding of 

10 healthy ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes re11 sources; and 

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

13 ocean chemistry; 

14 ‘‘(2) to improve the Nation’s capability to meas15 ure, track, observe, understand, and predict events re16 lated directly and indirectly to weather and climate 

17 change, natural climate variability, and interactions 

18 between the oceanic and atmospheric environments, 

19 including the Great Lakes; and 

20 ‘‘(3) to authorize activities— 

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

22 to develop, test, and deploy innovations and im23 provements in coastal and ocean observation 

24 technologies, including advanced observing tech25 nologies needed to address critical data gaps, 


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1 modeling systems, other scientific and techno2 logical capabilities to improve the understanding 

3 of weather and climate, ocean-atmosphere dy4 namics, global climate change, and the physical, 

5 chemical, and biological dynamics of the ocean, 

6 coastal and Great Lakes environments; and 

7 ‘‘(B) to conserve healthy and restore de8 graded coastal ecosystems.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 Section 12303 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Ob11 servation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3602) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘States, re14 gional organizations, universities, nongovernmental 

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

16 ‘‘the regional coastal observing systems, the National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the 

18 Interagency Ocean Observation Committee.’’; 

19 (2) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(6) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYSTEM.— 

22 The term ‘regional coastal observing system’ means 

23 an organizational body that is certified or established 

24 by contract or memorandum by the lead Federal 

25 agency designated in section 12304(c)(3) and coordiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Sep 20, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1886.RS S1886

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1 nates State, Federal, local, tribal, and private inter2 ests at a regional level with the responsibility of en3 gaging the private and public sectors in designing, 

4 operating, and improving regional coastal and ocean 

5 observing systems in order to ensure the provision of 

6 data and information that meet the needs of user 

7 groups from the respective regions.’’; and 

8 (3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘National Oce9 anic and Atmospheric Administration.’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘Administrator.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVATION 

12 SYSTEM. 

13 (a) SYSTEM ELEMENTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12304(b) of the Inte15 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

16 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(b)) is amended by striking 

17 paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to fulfill the pur19 poses of this subtitle, the System shall be national in 

20 scope and consist of— 

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

22 international observation missions and prior23 ities; 

24 ‘‘(B) non-Federal assets, including a net25 work of regional coastal observing systems idenVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Sep 20, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1886.RS S1886

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1 tified under subsection (c)(4), to fulfill regional 

2 and national observation missions and prior3 ities; 

4 ‘‘(C) data management, communication, 

5 and modeling systems for the timely integration 

6 and dissemination of data and information 

7 products from the System; 

8 ‘‘(D) a product development system to 

9 transform observations into products in a format 

10 that may be readily used and understood; and 

11 ‘‘(E) a research and development program 

12 conducted under the guidance of the Council, 

13 consisting of— 

14 ‘‘(i) basic and applied research and 

15 technology development— 

16 ‘‘(I) to improve understanding of 

17 coastal and ocean systems and their re18 lationships to human activities; and 

19 ‘‘(II) to ensure improvement of 

20 operational assets and products, in21 cluding related infrastructure, observ22 ing technologies, and information and 

23 data processing and management tech24 nologies; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an advanced observing technology 

2 development program to fill gaps in tech3 nology; 

4 ‘‘(iii) large scale computing resources 

5 and research to advance modeling of coastal 

6 and ocean processes; 

7 ‘‘(iv) models to improve regional 

8 weather forecasting capabilities and re9 gional weather forecasting products; and 

10 ‘‘(v) reviews of data collection proce11 dures across regions and programs to make 

12 recommendations for data collection stand13 ards across the System to meet national 

14 ocean observation, applied research, and 

15 weather forecasting needs.’’. 

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

17 section 12304(b) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

18 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(b)) 

19 is amended by striking the period at the end and in20 serting ‘‘for research and for use in the development 

21 of products to address societal needs.’’. 

22 (3) COORDINATION OF NON-FEDERAL ASSETS.— 

23 Paragraph (4) of section 12304(b) of the Integrated 

24 Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 

25 (33 U.S.C. 3603(b)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘NON-FEDERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘COORDINATION

3 OF NON-FEDERAL’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘, the regional coastal ob5 serving system,’’ after ‘‘Interagency Ocean Ob6 serving Committee’’. 

7 (b) POLICY OVERSIGHT, ADMINISTRATION, AND RE8 GIONAL COORDINATION.—Section 12304(c) of the Integrated 

9 Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 (33 

10 U.S.C. 3603(c)) is amended by striking paragraphs (2), (3), 

11 and (4), and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY OCEAN OBSERVATION COM13 MITTEE.— 

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

15 establish or designate a committee which shall be 

16 known as the Interagency Ocean Observation 

17 Committee. 

18 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The Interagency Ocean Ob19 servation Committee shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) prepare annual and long-term 

21 plans for consideration and approval by the 

22 Council for the integrated design, operation, 

23 maintenance, enhancement, and expansion 

24 of the System to meet the objectives of this 

25 chapter and the System Plan; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) develop and transmit to Congress, 

2 along with the budget submitted by the 

3 President to Congress pursuant to section 

4 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, an 

5 annual coordinated, comprehensive budg6 et— 

7 ‘‘(I) to operate all elements of the 

8 System identified in subsection (b); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(II) to ensure continuity of data 

11 streams from Federal and non-Federal 

12 assets; 

13 ‘‘(iii) establish requirements for obser14 vation data variables to be gathered by both 

15 Federal and non-Federal assets and iden16 tify, in consultation with regional informa17 tion coordination entities, priorities for 

18 System observations; 

19 ‘‘(iv) establish and define protocols and 

20 standards for System data processing, man21 agement, collection, configuration stand22 ards, formats, and communication for new 

23 and existing assets throughout the Inte24 grated Ocean Observing System network; 


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1 ‘‘(v) develop contract requirements for 

2 each Regional Coastal Observing System— 

3 ‘‘(I) to establish eligibility for in4 tegration into the System; 

5 ‘‘(II) to ensure compliance with 

6 all applicable standards and protocols 

7 established by the Council; and 

8 ‘‘(III) to ensure that regional ob9 servations are integrated into the Sys10 tem on a sustained basis; 

11 ‘‘(vi) identify gaps in observation cov12 erage or needs for capital improvements of 

13 both Federal assets and non-Federal assets; 

14 ‘‘(vii) subject to the availability of ap15 propriations, establish through 1 or more 

16 participating Federal agencies, in consulta17 tion with the System advisory committee es18 tablished under subsection (d), a competi19 tive matching grant or other programs— 

20 ‘‘(I) to promote intramural and 

21 extramural research and development 

22 of new, innovative, and emerging ob23 servation technologies including testing 

24 and field trials; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) to facilitate the migration of 

2 new, innovative, and emerging sci3 entific and technological advances from 

4 research and development to oper5 ational deployment; 

6 ‘‘(viii) periodically— 

7 ‘‘(I) review the System Plan; and 

8 ‘‘(II) submit to the Council such 

9 recommendations as the Interagency 

10 Ocean Observation Committee may 

11 have for improvements to the System 

12 Plan; 

13 ‘‘(ix) ensure collaboration among Fed14 eral agencies participating in the activities 

15 of the Interagency Ocean Observation Com16 mittee; and 

17 ‘‘(x) perform such additional duties as 

18 the Council may delegate. 

19 ‘‘(3) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY.— 

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

21 and Atmospheric Administration shall function 

22 as the lead Federal agency for the implementa23 tion and administration of the System. 

24 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In car25 rying out this paragraph, the Administrator 


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1 shall consult with the Council, the Interagency 

2 Ocean Observation Committee, other Federal 

3 agencies that maintain portions of the System, 

4 and the Regional Coastal Observing Systems. 

5 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this 

6 paragraph, the Administrator shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) establish and operate an Inte8 grated Ocean Observing System Program 

9 Office within the National Oceanic and At10 mospheric Administration— 

11 ‘‘(I) that utilizes, to the extent 

12 necessary, personnel from member 

13 agencies participating on the Inter14 agency Ocean Observation Committee; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(II) oversees daily operations 

17 and coordination of the System; 

18 ‘‘(ii) implement policies, protocols, and 

19 standards approved by the Council and del20 egated by the Interagency Ocean Observa21 tion Committee; 

22 ‘‘(iii) promulgate program guide23 lines— 


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1 ‘‘(I) to certify and integrate re2 gional associations into the System; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(II) to provide regional coastal 

5 and ocean observation data that meet 

6 the needs of user groups from the re7 spective regions; 

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

9 and oversee contracts, leases, grants, or co10 operative agreements with non-Federal as11 sets, including regional information coordi12 nation entities, to support the purposes of 

13 this chapter on such terms as the Adminis14 trator deems appropriate; 

15 ‘‘(v) implement and maintain a merit16 based, competitive funding process to sup17 port non-Federal assets, including the devel18 opment and maintenance of a network of 

19 Regional Coastal Observing Systems, and 

20 develop and implement a process for the 

21 periodic review and evaluation of the re22 gional associations; 

23 ‘‘(vi) provide opportunities for com24 petitive contracts and grants for demonstra25 tion projects to design, develop, integrate, 


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1 deploy, maintain, and support components 

2 of the System; 

3 ‘‘(vii) establish and maintain efficient 

4 and effective administrative procedures for 

5 the timely allocation of funds among con6 tractors, grantees, and non-Federal assets, 

7 including regional associations; 

8 ‘‘(viii) develop and implement a proc9 ess for the periodic review and evaluation of 

10 the Regional Coastal Observing Systems; 

11 ‘‘(ix) formulate an annual process by 

12 which gaps in observation coverage or needs 

13 for capital improvements of Federal assets 

14 and non-Federal assets of the System are— 

15 ‘‘(I) identified by the regional as16 sociations described in the System 

17 Plan, the Administrator, or other 

18 members of the System; and 

19 ‘‘(II) submitted to the Interagency 

20 Ocean Observing Committee; 

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

22 data management and communication sys23 tem, in accordance with standards and pro24 tocols established by the Interagency Ocean 

25 Observing Committee, by which all data colVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Sep 20, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1886.RS S1886

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1 lected by the System regarding ocean and 

2 coastal waters of the United States includ3 ing the Great Lakes, are processed, stored, 

4 integrated, and made available to all end5 user communities; 

6 ‘‘(xi) not less frequently than once each 

7 year, submit to the Interagency Ocean Ob8 serving Observation Committee a report on 

9 the accomplishments, operational needs, and 

10 performance of the System to contribute to 

11 the annual and long-term plans prepared 

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

13 ‘‘(xii) develop and periodically update 

14 a plan to efficiently integrate into the Sys15 tem new, innovative, or emerging tech16 nologies that have been demonstrated to be 

17 useful to the System and which will fulfill 

18 the purposes of this chapter and the System 

19 Plan; and 

20 ‘‘(xiii) work with users and Regional 

21 Associations to develop products to enable 

22 real-time data sharing for decision makers, 

23 including with respect to weather fore24 casting and modeling, search and rescue op25 erations, corrosive seawater forecasts, water 


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1 quality monitoring and communication, 

2 and harmful algal bloom forecasting. 

3 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYSTEMS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Regional Coastal Ob5 serving System operated by a Regional Associa6 tion described in the System Plan may not be 

7 certified or established under this subtitle unless 

8 it— 

9 ‘‘(i) has been or shall be certified or es10 tablished by contract or agreement by the 

11 Administrator; 

12 ‘‘(ii) meets— 

13 ‘‘(I) the certification standards 

14 and compliance procedure guidelines 

15 issued by the Administrator; and 

16 ‘‘(II) the information needs of 

17 user groups in the region while adher18 ing to national standards; 

19 ‘‘(iii) demonstrates an organizational 

20 structure, that under funding limitations is 

21 capable of— 

22 ‘‘(I) gathering required System 

23 observation data; 

24 ‘‘(II) supporting and integrating 

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1 ing and information programs within 

2 a region; and 

3 ‘‘(III) reflecting the needs of State, 

4 local, and tribal governments, commer5 cial interests, and other users and 

6 beneficiaries of the System and other 

7 requirements specified under this sub8 title and the System Plan; 

9 ‘‘(iv) identifies— 

10 ‘‘(I) gaps in observation coverage 

11 needs for capital improvements of Fed12 eral assets and non-Federal assets of 

13 the System; and 

14 ‘‘(II) other recommendations to 

15 assist in the development of the annual 

16 and long-term plans prepared pursu17 ant to paragraph (2)(B)(i) and trans18 mits such information to the Inter19 agency Ocean Observation Committee 

20 via the Program Office established 

21 under paragraph (3)(C)(i); 

22 ‘‘(v) develops and operates under a 

23 strategic operational plan that will ensure 

24 the efficient and effective administration of 

25 programs and assets to support daily data 


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1 observations for integration into the Sys2 tem, pursuant to the standards approved by 

3 the Council; 

4 ‘‘(vi) works cooperatively with govern5 mental and nongovernmental entities at all 

6 levels to identify and provide information 

7 products of the System for multiple users 

8 within the service area of the regional coast9 al observing system; and 

10 ‘‘(vii) complies with all financial over11 sight requirements established by the Ad12 ministrator, including requirements relat13 ing to audits. 

14 ‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION.—For the purposes of 

15 this title, employees of Federal agencies are per16 mitted to be members of the governing body for 

17 the Regional Coastal Observing Systems and 

18 may participate in the functions of the regional 

19 information coordination entities.’’. 

20 (c) SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 12304(d) 

21 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System 

22 Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(d)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or the Inter24 agency Ocean Observing Observation Committee.’’ 


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

2 and 

3 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

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

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

6 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

7 at the end; and 

8 (C) by striking subparagraph (D) and in9 serting the following: 

10 ‘‘(D) additional priorities, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) a national surface current map12 ping network designed to improve fine scale 

13 sea surface mapping using high frequency 

14 radar technology and other emerging tech15 nologies to address national priorities, in16 cluding Coast Guard search and rescue op17 eration planning and harmful algal bloom 

18 forecasting and detection that— 

19 ‘‘(I) is comprised of existing high 

20 frequency radar and other sea surface 

21 current mapping infrastructure oper22 ated by regional associations; 

23 ‘‘(II) incorporates new high fre24 quency radar assets or other fine scale 

25 sea surface mapping technology assets, 


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1 and other assets needed to fill gaps in 

2 coverage on United States coastlines; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(III) follows a deployment plan 

5 that prioritizes closing gaps in high 

6 frequency radar infrastructure in the 

7 United States, starting with areas 

8 demonstrating significant sea surface 

9 current data needs, especially in areas 

10 where additional data will improve 

11 Coast Guard search and rescue models; 

12 ‘‘(ii) fleet acquisition for autonomous 

13 underwater and surface vehicles for deploy14 ment and data integration to fulfill the pur15 poses of the Act; 

16 ‘‘(iii) an integrative survey program 

17 for application of manned and unmanned 

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

19 collection and transmission of seafloor, 

20 water column, and sea surface data on biol21 ogy, chemistry, geology, physics, and hy22 drography; 

23 ‘‘(iv) remote sensing and data assimi24 lation to develop new analytical methodolo25 gies to assimilate data from the Integrated 


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1 Ocean Observing System into hydro2 dynamic models; 

3 ‘‘(v) integrated, multistate monitoring 

4 to assess sources, movement and fate of sedi5 ments in coastal regions; 

6 ‘‘(vi) a multiregion marine sound 

7 monitoring system to be— 

8 ‘‘(I) planned in consultation with 

9 the International Ocean Observing 

10 Committee, the National Oceanic and 

11 Atmospheric Administration, the De12 partment of the Navy, and academic 

13 research institutions; and 

14 ‘‘(II) developed, installed, and op15 erated in coordination with the Na16 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad17 ministration, the Department of the 

18 Navy, and academic research institu19 tions; and 

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

21 Administrator or the Council.’’; 

22 (D) in paragraph (3)(B), by inserting ‘‘The 

23 Administrator has the ability to stagger the 

24 terms of the System advisory committee mem25 bers.’’ before ‘‘Members’’; and 


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1 (E) in paragraph (4)— 

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

3 ‘‘and the Interagency Ocean Observing 

4 Committee’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘Observing’’ and inserting ‘‘Observation’’. 

7 (d) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Section 12304(e) of the Inte8 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 

9 (33 U.S.C. 3603(e)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘information coordination enti11 ty’’ and inserting ‘‘coastal observing system’’; and 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘non-Federal asset or regional in13 formation coordination entity,’’ and inserting ‘‘Re14 gional Coastal Observing System,’’. 

15 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY FINANCING AND AGREEMENTS. 

16 Section 12305(a) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

17 Observation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3604(a)) is 

18 amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out interagency activi20 ties under this subtitle, the Secretary of Commerce may exe21 cute an agreement, on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable 

22 basis, with any State or subdivision thereof, any Federal 

23 agency, or any public or private organization, or indi24 vidual to carry out interagency activities under this sub25 title.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

2 Section 12307 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Ob3 servation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3606) is amended 

4 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 Adminis8 trator shall prepare and the President acting through the 

9 Council shall approve and transmit to the Congress a report 

10 on progress made in implementing this subtitle. 

11 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each report required by subsection 

12 (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 Sys16 tem, including an evaluation of progress made by the 

17 Council to achieve the goals identified under the Sys18 tem Plan; 

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

20 assets as determined by the Council that have been in21 tegrated into the System, including assets essential to 

22 the gathering of required observation data variables 

23 necessary to meet the respective missions of Council 

24 agencies; 

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


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1 modernize the observation capabilities and data prod2 ucts provided by the System, including data manage3 ment 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 ad8 visory 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 coordi17 nation entities to coordinate regional observation op18 erations; 

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

20 users of data products resulting from the System (in21 cluding the general public, industries, scientists, re22 source managers, emergency responders, policy mak23 ers, and educators); 

24 ‘‘(8) recommendations concerning— 

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


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1 ‘‘(B) funding levels for the System in subse2 quent 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 Ob7 servation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3607) is amended 

8 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 Federal 

12 Government, the States, regional information coordination 

13 entities, the academic community, and the private sector 

14 in providing to end-user communities environmental infor15 mation, products, technologies, and services related to the 

16 System. The Administrator shall ensure that National Oce17 anic and Atmospheric Administration adheres to the deci18 sion making process developed by the Council regarding the 

19 roles of the Federal Government, the States, the Regional 

20 Coastal Observing Systems, the academic communities, and 

21 the private sector in providing the end-user communities 

22 environmental information, data products, technologies, 

23 and services related to the System.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. REPEAL OF INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE. 

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

3 Observation System Act of 2009 is amended by striking sec4 tion 12309 (33 U.S.C. 3608). 

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

6 contents in section 1(b) of the Omnibus Public Land Man7 agement Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 991) 

8 is amended by striking the item related to section 12309. 

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 Section 12311 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Ob11 servation System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3610) is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2019’’. 

13 SEC. 10. REPORTS AND RESEARCH PLANS. 

14 Section 12404(c) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

15 Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3703(c)) 

16 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY REPORT.— 

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

19 after the date of the enactment of the Coordi20 nated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act, and 

21 every 5 years thereafter, the Subcommittee shall 

22 transmit to appropriate committees of Congress 

23 a report that— 

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

25 Coastal Community Vulnerability Assess26 ment’; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) identifies gaps in ocean acidifica2 tion monitoring by public, academic, and 

3 private assets in the network of regional 

4 coastal observing systems; 

5 ‘‘(iii) identifies geographic areas which 

6 have gaps in ocean acidification research; 

7 ‘‘(iv) identifies United States coastal 

8 communities, including fishing commu9 nities, low-population rural communities, 

10 tribal and subsistence communities, and is11 land communities, that may be impacted by 

12 ocean acidification; 

13 ‘‘(v) identifies impacts of changing 

14 ocean carbonate chemistry on the commu15 nities described in clause (iv), including 

16 impacts from changes in ocean and coastal 

17 marine resources that are not managed by 

18 the Federal Government; 

19 ‘‘(vi) identifies gaps in understanding 

20 of the impacts of ocean acidification on eco21 nomically or commercially important spe22 cies, particularly those which support 

23 United States commercial, recreational, and 

24 tribal fisheries and aquaculture; 


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1 ‘‘(vii) identifies habitats that may be 

2 particularly vulnerable to corrosive sea 

3 water, including areas experiencing mul4 tiple stressors such as hypoxia, sedimenta5 tion, and harmful algal blooms; 

6 ‘‘(viii) identifies areas in which exist7 ing Integrated Ocean Observing System as8 sets, including buoys and gliders, may be le9 veraged as platforms for the deployment of 

10 new sensors or other applicable observing 

11 technologies; and 

12 ‘‘(ix) is written in collaboration with 

13 the agencies responsible for carrying out 

14 this Act. 

15 ‘‘(B) FORM OF REPORT.— 

16 ‘‘(i) INITIAL REPORT.—The initial re17 port required by subparagraph (A) shall in18 clude the information described in clauses 

19 (i) through (ix) on a national level. 

20 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Each 

21 report required by subparagraph (A) after 

22 the initial report— 

23 ‘‘(I) may describe the information 

24 described in clauses (i) through (ix) on 

25 a national level; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) may consist of separate re2 ports for each region of the National 

3 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(iii) REGIONAL REPORTS.—If the 

6 Subcommittee opts to prepare a report re7 quired by subparagraph (A) as separate re8 gional reports under clause (ii)(II), the 

9 Subcommittee shall submit a report for each 

10 region of the National Oceanic and Atmos11 pheric Administration not less often than 

12 once during each 5-year reporting period. 

13 ‘‘(C) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON14 GRESS DEFINED.—In this paragraph and in 

15 paragraph (5), the term ‘appropriate committees 

16 of Congress’ means the Committee on Commerce, 

17 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

18 the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech19 nology and the Committee on Natural Resources 

20 of the House of Representatives. 

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

22 later than 180 days after the date of the submission 

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

24 Subcommittee shall transmit to the appropriate com25 mittees of Congress a report that develops a plan to 


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1 deploy new sensors or other applicable observing tech2 nologies— 

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

4 ‘‘(B) prioritized by— 

5 ‘‘(i) the threat to coastal economies and 

6 ecosystems; 

7 ‘‘(ii) gaps in data; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) research needs; and 

9 ‘‘(C) that leverage existing platforms, where 

10 possible.’’. 

11 SEC. 11. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN. 

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

13 Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 

14 (33 U.S.C. 3704(b)) is amended— 

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

16 end; 

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

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

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

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

21 conducted, including in the social sciences and eco22 nomics, to address the key knowledge gaps identified 

23 in the economic vulnerability report conducted under 

24 section 12404(c).’’. 


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

2 Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act 

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

4 end the following: 

5 ‘‘(6) Research to understand combined effects of 

6 changes in ocean chemistry, sediment delivery, hy7 poxia, and harmful algal blooms and the impact these 

8 processes have on each other, and how these multiple 

9 stressors impact living marine resources and coastal 

10 ecosystems. 

11 ‘‘(7) Applied research to identify adaptation 

12 strategies for species impacted by changes in ocean 

13 chemistry including vegetation-based systems, shell re14 cycling, species and genetic diversity, applied tech15 nologies, aquaculture methodologies, and management 

16 recommendations.’’. 

17 SEC. 12. STAKEHOLDER INPUT ON MONITORING. 

18 Section 12406(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

19 Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3705(a)) 

20 is amended— 

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

22 end; 

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

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

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


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

2 potentially affected industry members, coastal stake3 holders, fishery management councils and commis4 sions, non-Federal resource managers, and scientific 

5 experts to provide input on monitoring needs that are 

6 necessary to support on the ground management, de7 cision making, and adaptation related to ocean acidi8 fication.’’. 

9 SEC. 13. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. 

10 Section 12407(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

11 Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3706(a)) 

12 is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(a) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—The Director of the Na14 tional Science Foundation shall continue to carry out re15 search activities on ocean acidification which shall support 

16 competitive, merit-based, peer-reviewed proposals for re17 search, observatories and monitoring of ocean acidification 

18 and its impacts, including— 

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

20 ecosystems; 

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

22 biogeochemistry; 

23 ‘‘(3) the development of methodologies and tech24 nologies to evaluate ocean acidification and its im25 pacts, and; 


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1 ‘‘(4) impacts of multiple stressors on ecosystems 

2 exhibiting hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, or sediment 

3 delivery, combined with changes in ocean chemistry.’’. 


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Calendar No. 636 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1886 

[Report No. 114–354] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

purposes. Observation System Act of 2009 and for other 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 

Reported with an amendment 


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