II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2568 

To establish the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2021 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) 

Data Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open Access 

5 Evapotranspiration Data Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) EVAPOTRANSPIRATION.—The term 

9 ‘‘evapotranspiration’’ means the process by which 

10 water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere 

11 by— 


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1 (A) evaporation from soil and other sur2 faces; and 

3 (B) transpiration from plants. 

4 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

5 the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data 

6 Program established under section 4(a). 

7 (3) PROGRAM PARTNER.—The term ‘‘program 

8 partner’’ means— 

9 (A) an institution of higher education; 

10 (B) a State (including a State agency); 

11 (C) a private sector entity; 

12 (D) a nongovernmental organization; or 

13 (E) any other entity determined to be ap14 propriate by the Secretary. 

15 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di17 rector of the United States Geological Survey. 

18 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

19 Congress finds that— 

20 (1) evapotranspiration is the second largest 

21 component of the water budget, which is an account22 ing of the allocation of water resources to various 

23 water uses; 

24 (2) evapotranspiration is a measure of the 

25 water that is consumed and lost from a water sysVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Aug 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2568.IS S2568

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1 tem, removed from available supplies, and unavail2 able for other uses within a watershed; 

3 (3) accurate information on evapotranspiration 

4 is required to balance water supply and water de5 mand in a watershed and ensure that adequate 

6 water supplies for beneficial uses are available over 

7 time; 

8 (4) water users and managers are impeded in 

9 more efficient decisionmaking by— 

10 (A) the lack of consistent and comprehen11 sive water use data; and 

12 (B) the fact that access to existing data is 

13 often limited and cost-prohibitive; and 

14 (5) evapotranspiration data may be applied for 

15 the purposes of— 

16 (A) assisting users and decisionmakers to 

17 better manage resources and protect financial 

18 viability of farm operations during drought; 

19 (B) developing more accurate water budg20 ets and innovative management programs to 

21 better promote conservation and sustainability 

22 efforts; and 

23 (C) employing greater groundwater man24 agement practices and understanding impacts 

25 of consumptive water use. 


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1 SEC. 4. OPEN ACCESS EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (OPENET) 

2 DATA PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

4 an Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Pro5 gram under which the Secretary shall provide for the deliv6 ery of satellite-based evapotranspiration data— 

7 (1) to advance the quantification of evaporation 

8 and consumptive water use; and 

9 (2) to provide data users with field-scale esti10 mates of evapotranspiration data across large land11 scapes over certain periods of time. 

12 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is to 

13 support the operational distribution of satellite-based 

14 evapotranspiration data generated under the program to 

15 sustain and enhance water resources in the United States. 

16 (c) DUTIES.—In carrying out the program, the Sec17 retary shall— 

18 (1) evaluate, use, and modify sources of sat19 ellite-based evapotranspiration data based on best 

20 available science and technologies; and 

21 (2) coordinate and consult with— 

22 (A) the heads of other relevant Federal 

23 agencies, including— 

24 (i) the Commissioner of Reclamation; 

25 (ii) the Administrator of the National 

26 Aeronautics and Space Administration; 


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1 (iii) the Administrator of the National 

2 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

3 (iv) the Administrator of the Agricul4 tural Research Service; and 

5 (v) the Chief of the Natural Resources 

6 Conservation Service; and 

7 (B) program partners. 

8 (d) COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the program, the 

9 Secretary shall carry out activities that would develop, 

10 maintain, establish, expand, or advance delivery of sat11 ellite-based evapotranspiration data to advance the quan12 tification of evaporation and consumptive water use, with 

13 an emphasis on carrying out activities that would— 

14 (1) support the development and maintenance 

15 of evapotranspiration data and software systems and 

16 associated research and development in a manner 

17 that ensures that program data are reflective of the 

18 best available science, including by providing support 

19 to program partners, or coordinating activities with 

20 other programs within the Department of the Inte21 rior, that have developed and are maintaining 

22 evapotranspiration software systems and datasets; 

23 (2) demonstrate or test new and existing 

24 evapotranspiration measurement technology; 


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1 (3) improve evapotranspiration measurement 

2 science and technology; and 

3 (4) develop or refine the application of satellite4 based evapotranspiration data available to Federal 

5 agencies, States, and Indian Tribes, including the 

6 integration of program data into— 

7 (A) the Water Availability and Use Science 

8 Program, the National Water Census, and Inte9 grated Water Availability Assessments by the 

10 United States Geological Survey; and 

11 (B) activities under the WaterSMART pro12 gram authorized by subtitle F of title IX of the 

13 Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 

14 (42 U.S.C. 10361 et seq.). 

15 (e) USE AND AVAILABILITY OF PROGRAM DATA.— 

16 The Secretary— 

17 (1) shall incorporate, to the maximum extent 

18 practicable, program information and data for pur19 poses of determining consumptive water use on irri20 gated or other vegetated landscapes for use in water 

21 allocation decisions, water budget accounting, and 

22 water use reporting; 

23 (2) shall coordinate data analyses, use, and col24 lection efforts with other Federal agencies, States, 


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1 and Tribal governments through existing coordi2 nating organizations, such as— 

3 (A) the Western States Water Council; and 

4 (B) the Western States Federal Agency 

5 Support Team; and 

6 (3) may provide information collected and ana7 lyzed under the program to program partners 

8 through appropriate mechanisms, including through 

9 interagency agreements with Federal agencies, 

10 States (including State agencies), or Indian Tribes, 

11 leases, contracts, cooperative agreements, grants, 

12 loans, and memoranda of understanding. 

13 (f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

14 shall— 

15 (1) enter into cooperative agreements with pro16 gram partners to provide for the efficient and cost17 effective administration of the program, including 

18 through cost-sharing or by providing additional in19 kind resources necessary to carry out the program; 

20 and 

21 (2) provide nonreimbursable matching funding 

22 for programmatic and operational activities under 

23 this section, in consultation with program partners. 

24 (g) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—Nothing in this Act 

25 modifies any obligation of the Secretary to comply with 


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1 applicable Federal and State environmental laws in car2 rying out this Act. 

3 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

4 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 

6 on Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture, Nutrition, 

7 and Forestry, and Appropriations of the Senate and the 

8 Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Ap9 propriations of the House of Representatives a report that 

10 includes— 

11 (1) a status update on the operational incorpo12 ration of program data into modeling, water plan13 ning, and reporting efforts of relevant Federal agen14 cies, including the Water Availability and Use 

15 Science Program of the United States Geological 

16 Survey and the WaterSMART program authorized 

17 by subtitle F of title IX of the Omnibus Public Land 

18 Management Act of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10361 et seq.); 

19 and 

20 (2) a list of Federal agencies and program part21 ners that are applying program data to beneficial 

22 use, including a description of examples of beneficial 

23 uses. 


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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary to carry out this Act $14,000,000 for each of fiscal 

4 years 2022 through 2026, to remain available until ex5 pended. 

Æ 


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