II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1886 

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 and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 Section 12302 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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

9 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 12302. PURPOSES. 

2 ‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are— 

3 ‘‘(1) to establish and sustain a national inte4 grated System of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes 

5 observing systems, comprised of Federal and non6 Federal components coordinated at the national level 

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

8 of Regional Coastal Observing Systems, and that in9 cludes in situ, remote, and other coastal and ocean 

10 observation and modeling capabilities, technologies, 

11 data management systems, communication systems, 

12 and product development systems, and is designed to 

13 address regional and national needs for ocean and 

14 coastal information, to gather specific data on key 

15 coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes variables, and to en16 sure timely and sustained dissemination and avail17 ability of these data— 

18 ‘‘(A) to the public; 

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

20 and rescue operations, marine commerce, navi21 gation safety, weather, climate, and marine 

22 forecasting, energy siting and production, eco23 nomic development, ecosystem-based marine, 

24 coastal, and Great Lakes resource management, 

25 public safety, and public outreach and edu26 cation; 


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1 ‘‘(C) to promote greater public awareness 

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

3 and Great Lakes resources and the general 

4 public welfare; 

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

6 coastal, and Great Lakes data and promote 

7 data sharing between Federal and non-Federal 

8 sources and promote public data sharing; 

9 ‘‘(E) to enable advances in scientific un10 derstanding to support the sustainable use, con11 servation, management, and understanding of 

12 healthy ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes re13 sources; and 

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

15 ocean chemistry; 

16 ‘‘(2) to improve the Nation’s capability to meas17 ure, track, observe, understand, and predict events 

18 related directly and indirectly to weather and climate 

19 change, natural climate variability, and interactions 

20 between the oceanic and atmospheric environments, 

21 including the Great Lakes; and 

22 ‘‘(3) to authorize activities— 

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

24 to develop, test, and deploy innovations and im25 provements in coastal and ocean observation 


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1 technologies, including advanced observing tech2 nologies needed to address critical data gaps, 

3 modeling systems, other scientific and techno4 logical capabilities to improve the under5 standing of weather and climate, ocean-atmos6 phere dynamics, global climate change, and the 

7 physical, chemical, and biological dynamics of 

8 the ocean, coastal and Great Lakes environ9 ments; and 

10 ‘‘(B) to conserve healthy and restore de11 graded coastal ecosystems.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 Section 12303 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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

15 amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘States, re17 gional organizations, universities, nongovernmental 

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

19 ‘‘the regional coastal observing systems, the Na20 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or 

21 the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee.’’; 

22 (2) by amending paragraph (6) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(6) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYS25 TEM.—The term ‘regional coastal observing system’ 


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1 means an organizational body that is certified or es2 tablished by contract or memorandum by the lead 

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

4 and coordinates State, Federal, local, tribal, and pri5 vate interests at a regional level with the responsi6 bility of engaging the private and public sectors in 

7 designing, operating, and improving regional coastal 

8 and ocean observing systems in order to ensure the 

9 provision of data and information that meet the 

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

11 and 

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

13 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.’’ and in14 serting ‘‘Administrator.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. INTEGRATED COASTAL AND OCEAN OBSERVATION 

16 SYSTEM. 

17 (a) SYSTEM ELEMENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12304(b) of the In19 tegrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 

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

21 paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to fulfill the pur23 poses of this subtitle, the System shall be national 

24 in scope and consist of— 


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

2 international observation missions and prior3 ities; 

4 ‘‘(B) non-Federal assets, including a net5 work of regional coastal observing systems iden6 tified under subsection (c)(4), to fulfill regional 

7 and national observation missions and prior8 ities; 

9 ‘‘(C) data management, communication, 

10 and modeling systems for the timely integration 

11 and dissemination of data and information 

12 products from the System; 

13 ‘‘(D) a product development system to 

14 transform observations into products in a for15 mat that may be readily used and understood; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(E) a research and development program 

18 conducted under the guidance of the Council, 

19 consisting of— 

20 ‘‘(i) basic and applied research and 

21 technology development— 

22 ‘‘(I) to improve understanding of 

23 coastal and ocean systems and their 

24 relationships to human activities; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) to ensure improvement of 

2 operational assets and products, in3 cluding related infrastructure, observ4 ing technologies, and information and 

5 data processing and management 

6 technologies; 

7 ‘‘(ii) an advanced observing tech8 nology development program to fill gaps in 

9 technology; 

10 ‘‘(iii) large scale computing resources 

11 and research to advance modeling of coast12 al and ocean processes; 

13 ‘‘(iv) models to improve regional 

14 weather forecasting capabilities and re15 gional weather forecasting products; and 

16 ‘‘(v) reviews of data collection proce17 dures across regions and programs to 

18 make recommendations for data collection 

19 standards across the System to meet na20 tional ocean observation, applied research, 

21 and weather forecasting needs.’’. 

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

23 section 12304(b) of the Integrated Coastal and 

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

25 3603(b)) is amended by striking the period at the 


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

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

3 (3) COORDINATION OF NON-FEDERAL AS4 SETS.—Paragraph (4) of section 12304(b) of the In5 tegrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act 

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

7 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

8 ‘‘NON-FEDERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘COORDINA9 TION OF NON-FEDERAL’’; and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘, the regional coastal ob11 serving system,’’ after ‘‘Interagency Ocean Ob12 serving Committee’’. 

13 (b) POLICY OVERSIGHT, ADMINISTRATION, AND RE14 GIONAL COORDINATION.—Section 12304(c) of the Inte15 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

16 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(c)) is amended by striking para17 graphs (2), (3), and (4), and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY OCEAN OBSERVATION COM19 MITTEE.— 

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

21 establish or designate a committee which shall 

22 be known as the Interagency Ocean Observation 

23 Committee. 

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

25 Observation Committee shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) prepare annual and long-term 

2 plans for consideration and approval by the 

3 Council for the integrated design, oper4 ation, maintenance, enhancement, and ex5 pansion of the System to meet the objec6 tives of this chapter and the System Plan; 

7 ‘‘(ii) develop and transmit to Con8 gress, along with the budget submitted by 

9 the President to Congress pursuant to sec10 tion 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

11 Code, an annual coordinated, comprehen12 sive budget— 

13 ‘‘(I) to operate all elements of 

14 the System identified in subsection 

15 (b); and 

16 ‘‘(II) to ensure continuity of data 

17 streams from Federal and non-Fed18 eral assets; 

19 ‘‘(iii) establish requirements for obser20 vation data variables to be gathered by 

21 both Federal and non-Federal assets and 

22 identify, in consultation with regional in23 formation coordination entities, priorities 

24 for System observations; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) establish and define protocols 

2 and standards for System data processing, 

3 management, collection, configuration 

4 standards, formats, and communication for 

5 new and existing assets throughout the In6 tegrated Ocean Observing System network; 

7 ‘‘(v) develop contract requirements for 

8 each Regional Coastal Observing System— 

9 ‘‘(I) to establish eligibility for in10 tegration into the System; 

11 ‘‘(II) to ensure compliance with 

12 all applicable standards and protocols 

13 established by the Council; and 

14 ‘‘(III) to ensure that regional ob15 servations are integrated into the Sys16 tem on a sustained basis; 

17 ‘‘(vi) identify gaps in observation cov18 erage or needs for capital improvements of 

19 both Federal assets and non-Federal as20 sets; 

21 ‘‘(vii) subject to the availability of ap22 propriations, establish through one or more 

23 participating Federal agencies, in consulta24 tion with the System advisory committee 

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1 petitive matching grant or other pro2 grams— 

3 ‘‘(I) to promote intramural and 

4 extramural research and development 

5 of new, innovative, and emerging ob6 servation technologies including test7 ing and field trials; and 

8 ‘‘(II) to facilitate the migration 

9 of new, innovative, and emerging sci10 entific and technological advances 

11 from research and development to 

12 operational deployment; 

13 ‘‘(viii) periodically— 

14 ‘‘(I) review the System Plan; and 

15 ‘‘(II) submit to the Council such 

16 recommendations as the Interagency 

17 Ocean Observation Committee may 

18 have for improvements to the System 

19 Plan; 

20 ‘‘(ix) ensure collaboration among Fed21 eral agencies participating in the activities 

22 of the Interagency Ocean Observation 

23 Committee; and 

24 ‘‘(x) perform such additional duties as 

25 the Council may delegate. 


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1 ‘‘(3) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY.— 

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

3 and Atmospheric Administration shall function 

4 as the lead Federal agency for the implementa5 tion and administration of the System. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In car7 rying out this paragraph, the Administrator 

8 shall consult with the Council, the Interagency 

9 Ocean Observation Committee, other Federal 

10 agencies that maintain portions of the System, 

11 and the Regional Coastal Observing Systems. 

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

13 this paragraph, the Administrator shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) establish and operate an Inte15 grated Ocean Observing System Program 

16 Office within the National Oceanic and At17 mospheric Administration— 

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

19 necessary, personnel from member 

20 agencies participating on the Inter21 agency Ocean Observation Committee; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(II) oversees daily operations 

24 and coordination of the System; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) implement policies, protocols, 

2 and standards approved by the Council 

3 and delegated by the Interagency Ocean 

4 Observation Committee; 

5 ‘‘(iii) promulgate program guide6 lines— 

7 ‘‘(I) to certify and integrate re8 gional associations into the System; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(II) to provide regional coastal 

11 and ocean observation data that meet 

12 the needs of user groups from the re13 spective regions; 

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

15 and oversee contracts, leases, grants or co16 operative agreements with non-Federal as17 sets, including regional information coordi18 nation entities, to support the purposes of 

19 this chapter on such terms as the Adminis20 trator deems appropriate; 

21 ‘‘(v) implement and maintain a merit22 based, competitive funding process to sup23 port non-Federal assets, including the de24 velopment and maintenance of a network 

25 of Regional Coastal Observing Systems, 


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1 and develop and implement a process for 

2 the periodic review and evaluation of the 

3 regional associations; 

4 ‘‘(vi) provide opportunities for com5 petitive contracts and grants for dem6 onstration projects to design, develop, inte7 grate, deploy, maintain, and support com8 ponents of the System; 

9 ‘‘(vii) establish and maintain efficient 

10 and effective administrative procedures for 

11 allocation of funds among contractors, 

12 grantees, and non-Federal assets, including 

13 regional associations in a timely manner; 

14 ‘‘(viii) develop and implement a proc15 ess for the periodic review and evaluation 

16 of the Regional Coastal Observing Sys17 tems; 

18 ‘‘(ix) formulate an annual process by 

19 which gaps in observation coverage or 

20 needs for capital improvements of Federal 

21 assets and non-Federal assets of the Sys22 tem are— 

23 ‘‘(I) identified by the regional as24 sociations described in the System 


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1 Plan, the Administrator, or other 

2 members of the System; and 

3 ‘‘(II) submitted to the Inter4 agency Ocean Observing Committee; 

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

6 data management and communication sys7 tem, in accordance with standards and 

8 protocols established by the Interagency 

9 Ocean Observing Committee, by which all 

10 data collected by the System regarding 

11 ocean and coastal waters of the United 

12 States including the Great Lakes, are proc13 essed, stored, integrated, and made avail14 able to all end-user communities; 

15 ‘‘(xi) not less frequently than once 

16 each year, submit to the Interagency 

17 Ocean Observing Observation Committee a 

18 report on the accomplishments, operational 

19 needs, and performance of the System to 

20 contribute to the annual and long-term 

21 plans prepared pursuant to paragraph 

22 (2)(B)(i); 

23 ‘‘(xii) develop and periodically update 

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1 nologies that have been demonstrated to be 

2 useful to the System and which will fulfill 

3 the purposes of this chapter and the Sys4 tem Plan; and 

5 ‘‘(xiii) work with users and Regional 

6 Associations to develop products to enable 

7 real-time data sharing for decisionmakers, 

8 including with respect to weather fore9 casting and modeling, search and rescue 

10 operations, corrosive seawater forecasts, 

11 water quality monitoring and communica12 tion, and harmful algal bloom forecasting. 

13 ‘‘(4) REGIONAL COASTAL OBSERVING SYS14 TEMS.— 

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

16 Observing System operated by a Regional Asso17 ciation described in the System Plan may not 

18 be certified or established under this subtitle 

19 unless it— 

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

21 established by contract or agreement by 

22 the Administrator; 

23 ‘‘(ii) meets— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the certification standards 

2 and compliance procedure guidelines 

3 issued by the Administrator; and 

4 ‘‘(II) the information needs of 

5 user groups in the region while adher6 ing to national standards; 

7 ‘‘(iii) demonstrates an organizational 

8 structure, that under funding limitations is 

9 capable of— 

10 ‘‘(I) gathering required System 

11 observation data; 

12 ‘‘(II) supporting and integrating 

13 all aspects of coastal and ocean ob14 serving and information programs 

15 within a region; and 

16 ‘‘(III) reflecting the needs of 

17 State, local, and tribal governments, 

18 commercial interests, and other users 

19 and beneficiaries of the System and 

20 other requirements specified under 

21 this subtitle and the System Plan; 

22 ‘‘(iv) identifies— 

23 ‘‘(I) gaps in observation coverage 

24 needs for capital improvements of 


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1 Federal assets and non-Federal assets 

2 of the System; and 

3 ‘‘(II) other recommendations to 

4 assist in the development of the an5 nual and long-term plans prepared 

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

7 transmit such information to the 

8 Interagency Ocean Observation Com9 mittee via the Program Office estab10 lished under paragraph (3)(C)(i); 

11 ‘‘(v) develops and operates under a 

12 strategic operational plan that will ensure 

13 the efficient and effective administration of 

14 programs and assets to support daily data 

15 observations for integration into the Sys16 tem, pursuant to the standards approved 

17 by the Council; 

18 ‘‘(vi) works cooperatively with govern19 mental and nongovernmental entities at all 

20 levels to identify and provide information 

21 products of the System for multiple users 

22 within the service area of the regional 

23 coastal observing system; and 

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1 ministrator, including requirements relat2 ing to audits. 

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

4 of this title, employees of Federal agencies are 

5 permitted to be members of the governing body 

6 for the Regional Coastal Observing Systems 

7 and may participate in the functions of the re8 gional information coordination entities.’’. 

9 (c) SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Section 

10 12304(d) of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observa11 tion System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(d)) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or the Inter14 agency Ocean Observing Observation Committee.’’ 

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

16 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

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

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

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

20 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

21 (C) by striking subparagraph (D) and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(D) additional priorities, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) a national surface current map25 ping network designed to improve fine 


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1 scale sea surface mapping using high fre2 quency radar technology and other emerg3 ing technologies to address national prior4 ities, including Coast Guard search and 

5 rescue operation planning and harmful 

6 algal bloom forecasting and detection 

7 that— 

8 ‘‘(I) is comprised of existing 

9 high-frequency radar and other sea 

10 surface current mapping infrastruc11 ture operated by regional associations; 

12 ‘‘(II) incorporates new high-fre13 quency radar assets or other fine scale 

14 sea surface mapping technology as15 sets, and other assets needed to fill 

16 gaps in coverage on United States 

17 coastlines; and 

18 ‘‘(III) follows a deployment plan 

19 that prioritizes closing gaps in high 

20 frequency radar infrastructure in the 

21 United States, starting with areas 

22 demonstrating significant sea surface 

23 current data needs, especially in areas 

24 where additional data will improve 


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1 Coast Guard search and rescue mod2 els; 

3 ‘‘(ii) fleet acquisition for autonomous 

4 underwater and surface vehicles for deploy5 ment and data integration to fulfill the 

6 purposes of the Act; 

7 ‘‘(iii) an integrative survey program 

8 for application of manned and unmanned 

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

10 collection and transmission of seafloor, 

11 water column, and sea surface data on bi12 ology, chemistry, geology, physics and hy13 drography; 

14 ‘‘(iv) remote sensing and data assimi15 lation to develop new analytical methodolo16 gies to assimilate data from the Integrated 

17 Ocean Observing System into hydro18 dynamic models; 

19 ‘‘(v) integrated, multi-State moni20 toring to assess sources, movement and 

21 fate of sediments in coastal regions; and 

22 ‘‘(vi) a multi-region marine sound 

23 monitoring system to be— 

24 ‘‘(I) planned in consultation with 

25 the International Ocean Observing 


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1 Committee, the National Oceanic and 

2 Atmospheric Administration, and aca3 demic research institutions; and 

4 ‘‘(II) developed, installed, and op5 erated in coordination with the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad7 ministration and academic research 

8 institutions; and 

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

10 Administrator or the Council.’’; 

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

12 ‘‘The Secretary has the ability to stagger the 

13 terms of the System advisory committee mem14 bers.’’ before ‘‘Members’’; and 

15 (E) in paragraph (4)— 

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

17 ‘‘and the Interagency Ocean Observing 

18 Committee’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘Observing’’ and inserting ‘‘Observation’’. 

21 (d) CIVIL LIABILITY.—Section 12304(e) of the Inte22 grated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 

23 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3603(e)) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘information coordination enti25 ty’’ and inserting ‘‘coastal observation system’’; and 


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

2 information coordination entity’’ and inserting ‘‘Re3 gional Coastal Observing System,’’. 

4 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY FINANCING AND AGREEMENTS. 

5 Section 12305(a) of the Integrated Coastal and 

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

7 3604(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To carry out interagency activi9 ties under this subtitle, the Secretary of Commerce may 

10 execute an agreement, on a reimbursable or nonreimburs11 able basis, with any State or subdivision thereof, any Fed12 eral agency, or any public or private organization, or indi13 vidual to carry out interagency activities under this sub14 title.’’. 

15 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

16 Section 12307 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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

18 amended to read as follows: 

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

20 March 30, 2009, and every 3 years thereafter, the Admin21 istrator shall prepare and the President acting through the 

22 Council shall approve and transmit to the Congress a re23 port on progress made in implementing this subtitle. 

24 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—Each report required by sub25 section (a) shall include— 


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

2 this subtitle and the System Plan; 

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

4 System, including an evaluation of progress made by 

5 the Council to achieve the goals identified under the 

6 System Plan; 

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

8 assets as determined by the Council that have been 

9 integrated into the System, including assets essential 

10 to the gathering of required observation data vari11 ables necessary to meet the respective missions of 

12 Council agencies; 

13 ‘‘(4) a review of procurements, planned or initi14 ated, by each Council agency to enhance, expand, or 

15 modernize the observation capabilities and data 

16 products provided by the System, including data 

17 management and communication subsystems; 

18 ‘‘(5) a summary of the existing gaps in observa19 tion infrastructure and monitoring data collection, 

20 including— 

21 ‘‘(A) priorities considered by the System 

22 advisory committee; 

23 ‘‘(B) the national sea surface current map24 ping network; 

25 ‘‘(C) coastal buoys; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) ocean chemistry monitoring; 

2 ‘‘(6) an assessment regarding activities to inte3 grate Federal and non-Federal assets, nationally and 

4 on the regional level, and discussion of the perform5 ance and effectiveness of regional information co6 ordination entities to coordinate regional observation 

7 operations; 

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

9 users of data products resulting from the System 

10 (including the general public, industries, scientists, 

11 resource managers, emergency responders, policy 

12 makers, and educators); 

13 ‘‘(8) recommendations concerning— 

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

15 ‘‘(B) funding levels for the System in sub16 sequent fiscal years; and 

17 ‘‘(9) the results of a periodic external inde18 pendent programmatic audit of the System.’’. 

19 SEC. 7. PUBLIC-PRIVATE USE POLICY. 

20 Section 12308 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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

22 amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘The Council shall maintain a policy that defines 

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1 nation entities, the academic community, and the private 

2 sector in providing to end-user communities environmental 

3 information, products, technologies, and services related to 

4 the System. The Administrator shall ensure that National 

5 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration adheres to the 

6 decisionmaking process developed by the Council regard7 ing the roles of the Federal Government, the States, the 

8 Regional Coastal Observing Systems, the academic com9 munities, and the private sector in providing the end-user 

10 communities environmental information, data products, 

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

12 SEC. 8. INDEPENDENT COST ESTIMATE. 

13 The Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation Sys14 tem Act of 2009 is amended by striking section 12309 

15 (33 U.S.C. 3608). 

16 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 Section 12311 of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean 

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

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

20 ‘‘2019’’. 

21 SEC. 10. REPORTS AND RESEARCH PLANS. 

22 Section 12404(c) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

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

24 3703(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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

2 later than 1 year after the enactment of the Coordi3 nated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act, and 

4 every 5 years thereafter, the Subcommittee shall 

5 transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

6 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com7 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology and the 

8 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

9 Representatives a report that— 

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

11 Coastal Community Vulnerability Assessment’; 

12 ‘‘(B) identifies gaps in ocean acidification 

13 monitoring by public, academic, and private as14 sets in the network of regional coastal observing 

15 systems; 

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

17 ocean acidification research; 

18 ‘‘(D) identifies United States coastal com19 munities, including fishing communities, low20 population rural communities, tribal and sub21 sistence communities, and island communities, 

22 that may be impacted by ocean acidification; 

23 ‘‘(E) identifies impacts of changing ocean 

24 pH on the communities described in subpara25 graph (D), including impacts from changes in 


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1 ocean and coastal marine resources that are not 

2 managed by the Federal Government; 

3 ‘‘(F) identifies gaps in understanding of 

4 the impacts of ocean acidification on economi5 cally or commercially important species, par6 ticularly those which support United States 

7 commercial, recreational, and tribal fisheries 

8 and aquaculture; 

9 ‘‘(G) identifies habitats that are particu10 larly vulnerable to corrosive sea water, includ11 ing areas experiencing multiple stressors such 

12 as hypoxia, sedimentation and harmful algal 

13 blooms; 

14 ‘‘(H) identifies areas in which existing In15 tegrated Ocean Observing System assets, in16 cluding buoys and gliders, that may be lever17 aged as platforms for the deployment of new 

18 sensors; and 

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

20 agencies responsible for carrying out this Act. 

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

22 later than 180 days after the submission of the re23 port required by paragraph (4), the Subcommittee 

24 shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, 

25 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 


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1 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and 

2 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

3 of Representatives a report that develops a plan to 

4 deploy new sensors— 

5 ‘‘(A) based on the report required by para6 graph (4); 

7 ‘‘(B) prioritized by— 

8 ‘‘(i) the threat to coastal economies 

9 and ecosystems; 

10 ‘‘(ii) gaps in data; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) research needs; and 

12 ‘‘(C) that leverage existing platforms, 

13 where possible.’’. 

14 SEC. 11. STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN. 

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

16 Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 

17 (33 U.S.C. 3704(b)) is amended— 

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

19 end; 

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

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

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

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

24 conducted, including in the social sciences and eco25 nomics, to address the key knowledge gaps identified 


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1 in the economic vulnerability report conducted under 

2 section 12404(c).’’. 

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

4 Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act 

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

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(6) Research to understand combined effects 

8 of changes in ocean chemistry, sediment delivery, hy9 poxia and harmful algal blooms and the impact 

10 these processes have on one another, and how these 

11 multiple stressors impact living marine resources 

12 and coastal ecosystems. 

13 ‘‘(7) Applied research to identify adaptation 

14 strategies for species impacted by changes in ocean 

15 chemistry including vegetation-based systems, shell 

16 recycling, species and genetic diversity, applied tech17 nologies, aquaculture methodologies, and manage18 ment recommendations.’’. 

19 SEC. 12. STAKEHOLDER INPUT ON MONITORING. 

20 Section 12406(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

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

22 3705(a)) is amended— 

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

24 end; 


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

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

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

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

5 potentially affected industry members, coastal stake6 holders, fishery management councils and commis7 sions, non-Federal resource managers, and scientific 

8 experts to provide input on monitoring needs that 

9 are necessary to support on the ground manage10 ment, decisionmaking, and adaptation related to 

11 ocean acidification.’’. 

12 SEC. 13. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. 

13 Section 12407(a) of the Federal Ocean Acidification 

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

15 3706(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

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

17 National Science Foundation shall continue to carry out 

18 research activities on ocean acidification which shall sup19 port competitive, merit-based, peer-reviewed proposals for 

20 research, observatories and monitoring of ocean acidifica21 tion and its impacts, including— 

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

23 ecosystems; 

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

25 biogeochemistry; 


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1 ‘‘(3) the development of methodologies and 

2 technologies to evaluate ocean acidification and its 

3 impacts; and 

4 ‘‘(4) impacts of multiple stressors on eco5 systems exhibiting hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, or 

6 sediment delivery, combined with changes in ocean 

7 chemistry.’’. 

Æ 


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