II 

Calendar No. 355 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1118 

[Report No. 118–164] 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mr. HICKENLOOPER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

APRIL 9, 2024 

Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 

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

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) EVAPOTRANSPIRATION.—The term 

4 ‘‘evapotranspiration’’ or ‘‘ET’’ means the process by 

5 which water is transferred from the land to the at6 mosphere by— 

7 (A) evaporation from soil and other sur8 faces; and 

9 (B) transpiration from plants. 

10 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

11 the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data 

12 Program established under section 4(a). 

13 (3) PROGRAM PARTNER.—The term ‘‘Program 

14 partner’’ means— 

15 (A) an institution of higher education; 

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

17 (C) an Indian Tribe as defined in section 

18 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu19 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); 

20 (D) a private sector entity; 

21 (E) a nongovernmental organization; or 

22 (F) any other entity determined to be ap23 propriate by the Secretary. 

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

25 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di26 rector of the United States Geological Survey. 


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1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) evapotranspiration is the second largest 

4 component of the water budget, which is an account5 ing of the allocation of water resources to various 

6 water uses; 

7 (2) evapotranspiration is a measure of the 

8 water that is consumed and lost from a water sys9 tem, removed from available supplies, and unavail10 able for other uses within a watershed; 

11 (3) accurate information on evapotranspiration 

12 is required to balance water supply and water de13 mand in a watershed and ensure that adequate 

14 water supplies for beneficial uses are available over 

15 time; 

16 (4) water users and managers are impeded in 

17 more efficient decision making by— 

18 (A) the lack of consistent and comprehen19 sive water use data; and 

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

21 often limited and cost-prohibitive; and 

22 (5) evapotranspiration data may be applied for 

23 the purposes of— 

24 (A) assisting users and decisionmakers to 

25 better manage resources and protect financial 

26 viability of farm operations during drought; 


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1 (B) developing more accurate water budg2 ets and innovative management programs to 

3 better promote conservation and sustainability 

4 efforts; and 

5 (C) employing greater groundwater man6 agement practices and understanding impacts 

7 of consumptive water use. 

8 SEC. 4. OPEN ACCESS EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (OPENET) 

9 DATA PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

11 a program to be known as the ‘‘Open Access 

12 Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program’’ under 

13 which the Secretary shall provide for the delivery of sat14 ellite-based evapotranspiration data, as available, sup15 ported by other ET methods— 

16 (1) to advance the quantification of evaporation 

17 and consumptive water use; and 

18 (2) to provide data users with estimates of 

19 evapotranspiration data across large landscapes over 

20 certain periods of time, with a priority for Landsat 

21 scale (30–100m) when available. 

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program is to 

23 support the operational distribution of satellite-based 

24 evapotranspiration data generated under the Program to 

25 sustain and enhance water resources in the United States. 


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1 (c) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Program, the Sec2 retary shall— 

3 (1) evaluate, use, and modify sources of sat4 ellite-based evapotranspiration data, supported by 

5 other ET methods, based on best available science 

6 and technologies; and 

7 (2) coordinate and consult with— 

8 (A) the heads of other relevant Federal 

9 agencies, including— 

10 (i) the Commissioner of Reclamation; 

11 (ii) the Administrator of the National 

12 Aeronautics and Space Administration; 

13 (iii) the Administrator of the National 

14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

15 (iv) the Administrator of the Agricul16 tural Research Service; and 

17 (v) the Chief of the Natural Resources 

18 Conservation Service; and 

19 (B) Program partners. 

20 (d) COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the Program, the 

21 Secretary shall, in coordination with other relevant agen22 cies, carry out activities to develop, maintain, establish, 

23 expand, or advance delivery of satellite-based 

24 evapotranspiration data, supported by other ET methods, 

25 to advance the quantification of evaporation and consumpVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118

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1 tive water use, with an emphasis on carrying out activities 

2 that— 

3 (1) support the development and maintenance 

4 of evapotranspiration data and software systems and 

5 associated research and development in a manner 

6 that ensures that Program data are reflective of the 

7 best available science, including by providing support 

8 to Program partners, or coordinating activities with 

9 other programs within the Department of the Inte10 rior, that have developed and are maintaining 

11 evapotranspiration software systems and datasets; 

12 (2) demonstrate or test new and existing 

13 evapotranspiration measurement technology; 

14 (3) improve evapotranspiration measurement 

15 science and technology; and 

16 (4) develop or refine the application of satellite17 based evapotranspiration data available to Federal 

18 agencies, States, and Indian Tribes, including pro19 grams within both the Water Resources and Core 

20 Science Systems divisions of the United States Geo21 logical Survey. These may include— 

22 (A) the Water Availability and Use Science 

23 Program, the National Water Census, and Inte24 grated Water Availability Assessments; and 


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1 (B) the National Land Imaging Program, 

2 the Land Change Science Program, and the 

3 Science Analytics and Synthesis Program. 

4 (e) WATER USE AND AVAILABILITY OF PROGRAM

5 DATA.—The Secretary— 

6 (1) shall incorporate, to the maximum extent 

7 practicable, program information and data for pur8 poses of determining consumptive water use on irri9 gated or other vegetated landscapes for use by water 

10 resource management agencies; 

11 (2) may continue to coordinate data analyses, 

12 use, and collection efforts with other Federal agen13 cies, States, and Tribal governments through exist14 ing coordinating organizations, such as— 

15 (A) the Western States Water Council; and 

16 (B) the Western States Federal Agency 

17 Support Team; and 

18 (3) may provide information collected and ana19 lyzed under the Program to Program partners 

20 through appropriate mechanisms, including through 

21 agreements with Federal agencies, States (including 

22 State agencies), or Indian Tribes, leases, contracts, 

23 cooperative agreements, grants, loans, and memo24 randa of understanding. 


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1 (f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 (1) enter into cooperative agreements with Pro4 gram partners to provide for the efficient and cost5 effective administration of the Program, including 

6 through cost sharing or by providing additional in7 kind resources necessary to carry out the Program; 

8 and 

9 (2) provide nonreimbursable matching funding, 

10 as permissible, for programmatic and operational ac11 tivities under this section, in consultation with Pro12 gram partners. 

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

14 modifies any obligation of the Secretary to comply with 

15 applicable Federal and State environmental laws in car16 rying out this Act. 

17 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

18 Not later than 5 years after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com20 mittees on Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture, 

21 Nutrition, and Forestry, and Appropriations of the Senate 

22 and the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, 

23 and Appropriations of the House of Representatives a re24 port that includes— 


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1 (1) a status update on the operational incorpo2 ration of Program data into modeling, water plan3 ning, and reporting efforts of relevant Federal agen4 cies; and 

5 (2) a list of Federal agencies and Program 

6 partners that are applying Program data to bene7 ficial use, including a description of examples of ben8 eficial uses. 

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec11 retary to carry out this Act $23,000,000 for each of fiscal 

12 years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until ex13 pended. 

14 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

15 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Evapotranspiration 

16 Data Act’’. 

17 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) EVAPOTRANSPIRATION; ET.—The terms 

20 ‘‘evapotranspiration’’ and ‘‘ET’’ mean the process by 

21 which water is transferred from the land to the at22 mosphere by— 

23 (A) evaporation from soil and other sur24 faces; and 

25 (B) transpiration from plants. 


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1 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

2 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the In3 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

4 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

5 (3) NON-FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘non-Fed6 eral entity’’ means— 

7 (A) an institution of higher education; 

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

9 (C) an Indian Tribe; 

10 (D) a private sector entity; 

11 (E) a nongovernmental organization; or 

12 (F) an irrigation district, water district, 

13 groundwater sustainability agency, or other or14 ganization with water or power delivery author15 ity. 

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

17 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di18 rector of the United States Geological Survey. 

19 SEC. 3. EVAPOTRANSPIRATION DATA. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 

21 (1) evaluate, analyze, test, refine, and improve 

22 ET data and models, based on the best available 

23 science and technology, including satellite-based ET 

24 data with Landsat scale (30–100m) and ground-based 

25 ET measurement technologies, across public land (inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118

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1 cluding State forests and units of the National Forest 

2 System), rangeland, agricultural land, and large 

3 urban and other vegetated landscapes; 

4 (2) provide and maintain estimates of ET data 

5 across large landscapes over certain periods of time; 

6 (3) use ET data to advance the quantification of 

7 evaporation and consumptive water use on public 

8 land (including State forests and units of the Na9 tional Forest System), rangeland, agricultural land, 

10 and large urban and other vegetated landscapes; and 

11 (4) support the development and maintenance of 

12 ET data, models, software systems, and associated re13 search and development, in consultation with other 

14 programs within the Department of the Interior that 

15 have developed and are maintaining ET software sys16 tems and datasets. 

17 (b) REQUIREMENTS AND COORDINATION.—In carrying 

18 out subsection (a), the Secretary— 

19 (1) shall incorporate scientific peer review, as 

20 appropriate and to the maximum extent practicable; 

21 (2) shall collaborate and consult with scientists 

22 and experts, including individuals working for com23 mercial enterprises, on using models or an ensemble 

24 of models, based on the best available science and 

25 technology, to provide ET data; 


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1 (3) may develop and carry out public education 

2 programs aimed at helping non-Federal entities, 

3 water managers, media outlets, agricultural pro4 ducers, and other relevant stakeholders understand 

5 appropriate interpretations and uses of ET data; 

6 (4) shall coordinate and consult with— 

7 (A) the heads of other relevant Federal 

8 agencies, including— 

9 (i) the Commissioner of Reclamation; 

10 (ii) the Administrator of the National 

11 Aeronautics and Space Administration; 

12 (iii) the Administrator of the National 

13 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

14 (iv) the Administrator of the Agricul15 tural Research Service; and 

16 (v) the Chief of the Natural Resources 

17 Conservation Service; 

18 (B) non-Federal entities; and 

19 (C) relevant stakeholders; 

20 (5) may coordinate ET data analyses, use, and 

21 collection efforts with other Federal agencies, States, 

22 Indian Tribes, non-Federal entities, and other rel23 evant stakeholders through existing coordinating orga24 nizations, such as— 

25 (A) the Western States Water Council; and 


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1 (B) the Western States Federal Agency Sup2 port Team; 

3 (6) shall provide a disclaimer relating to the 

4 publication of ET data, in consultation with the ap5 plicable State from which the data is being published; 

6 and 

7 (7) shall adhere to scientific integrity policies re8 lating to the publication of ET data. 

9 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out 

10 subsection (a), the Secretary may enter into cooperative 

11 agreements with non-Federal entities to provide for im12 proved technical approaches to carry out activities under 

13 that subsection or additional in-kind resources. 

14 (d) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

16 (a), the Secretary shall establish an advisory com17 mittee, to be known as the ‘‘Advisory Committee on 

18 ET Data’’ (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Advi19 sory Committee’’). 

20 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee 

21 shall be composed of not fewer than 11 members, to 

22 be appointed by the Secretary, who shall be represent23 atives of— 

24 (A) States, including State agencies; 

25 (B) Indian Tribes; 


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1 (C) irrigation districts, water districts, 

2 groundwater sustainability agencies, or other or3 ganizations with water or power delivery author4 ity; 

5 (D) farmers or ranchers; 

6 (E) nongovernmental organizations; 

7 (F) research institutions and institutions of 

8 higher education that are qualified to provide 

9 advice regarding ET measurement and science; 

10 and 

11 (G) private sector entities that are qualified 

12 to provide advice regarding ET measurement 

13 and science. 

14 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

16 shall provide recommendations to the Secretary 

17 for the implementation of the activities author18 ized under subsection (a), including rec19 ommendations regarding— 

20 (i) ET research; 

21 (ii) scientific progress of ET measure22 ment and science; 

23 (iii) ET data use and application, in24 cluding restrictions and qualifications on 

25 use of data; 


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1 (iv) public education programs aimed 

2 at helping relevant stakeholders understand 

3 the appropriate interpretations and uses of 

4 ET data; 

5 (v) scientific overviews of ET data 

6 used or published by Federal agencies for 

7 regulation or water resources planning and 

8 management; 

9 (vi) data privacy measures and proce10 dures beyond the minimum required by this 

11 Act; 

12 (vii) reducing the competitiveness of 

13 commercial services offering ET data, anal14 yses, or other products or impacts to the vi15 ability of the commercial services; and 

16 (viii) such other topics as the Advisory 

17 Committee determines appropriate. 

18 (B) CONSIDERATION.—The Secretary shall 

19 take into consideration any recommendation of 

20 the Advisory Committee provided under subpara21 graph (A). 

22 (e) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—Nothing in this Act 

23 modifies any obligation of the Secretary to comply with ap24 plicable Federal and State environmental laws in carrying 

25 out this Act. 


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1 (f) APPLICATION; EFFECT OF ACT; PRIVACY.— 

2 (1) APPLICATION.—ET data may be applied for 

3 the purposes of— 

4 (A) assisting users and decisionmakers to 

5 better manage resources and protect financial vi6 ability of farm operations during drought; and 

7 (B) developing more accurate water budgets 

8 and innovative management programs to better 

9 promote conservation and sustainability efforts. 

10 (2) FEDERAL OR STATE WATER RIGHTS.—Noth11 ing in this Act creates, impairs, alters, or supersedes 

12 a Federal or State water right. 

13 (3) PRIVACY.—In carrying out subsection (a),the 

14 Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

15 aggregate or de-identify ET data under this Act in a 

16 manner sufficient to ensure that information on enti17 ties or personally identifiable information is not dis18 closed. 

19 (4) AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act provides 

20 new, or expands any existing, authority to provide 

21 ET data, in accordance with the matter under the 

22 heading ‘‘GEOLOGICAL SURVEY’’ of the first sec23 tion of the Act of March 3, 1879 (20 Stat. 394, chap24 ter 182; 43 U.S.C. 31(a)). 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 

4 Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

5 Forestry, and Appropriations of the Senate and the Com6 mittees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Appropria7 tions of the House of Representatives a report that in8 cludes— 

9 (1) an evaluation and analysis of the accuracy, 

10 limitations, and trade-offs of new and existing ET 

11 measurement science and technology and ET data; 

12 (2) a summary of the uses or anticipated uses of 

13 ET data by relevant Federal agencies and non-Fed14 eral entities; 

15 (3) a status update on the operational incorpora16 tion of ET data into modeling, water planning, and 

17 reporting efforts of relevant Federal agencies; 

18 (4) an evaluation of potential governance struc19 tures and privacy protections that could be used to 

20 ensure the intended and proper use of ET data; 

21 (5) recommendations for using ET data for an 

22 improved, larger-scale approach and application; and 

23 (6) a description of— 

24 (A) any non-Federal entities that provide 

25 ET data or analysis; and 


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1 (B) any potential adverse impacts to the en2 tities described under subparagraph (A) relating 

3 to the publication of ET data. 

4 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec6 retary to carry out this Act, to remain available until ex7 pended— 

8 (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

9 (2) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

10 (3) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

11 (4) $14,500,000 for fiscal year 2027; and 

12 (5) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2028. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to require the 

Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain activities relating to evapotranspiration data.’’. 


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Calendar No. 355 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1118 

[Report No. 118–164] 

A BILL 

To establish the Open Access Evapotranspiration 

(OpenET) Data Program. 

APRIL 9, 2024 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 


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