II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1118 

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 

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’’ or ‘‘ET’’ means the process by 


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1 which water is transferred from the land to the at2 mosphere by— 

3 (A) evaporation from soil and other sur4 faces; and 

5 (B) transpiration from plants. 

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

7 the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data 

8 Program established under section 4(a). 

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

10 partner’’ means— 

11 (A) an institution of higher education; 

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

13 (C) an Indian Tribe as defined in section 

14 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu15 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); 

16 (D) a private sector entity; 

17 (E) a nongovernmental organization; or 

18 (F) any other entity determined to be ap19 propriate by the Secretary. 

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

21 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di22 rector of the United States Geological Survey. 

23 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

24 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) evapotranspiration is the second largest 

2 component of the water budget, which is an account3 ing of the allocation of water resources to various 

4 water uses; 

5 (2) evapotranspiration is a measure of the 

6 water that is consumed and lost from a water sys7 tem, removed from available supplies, and unavail8 able for other uses within a watershed; 

9 (3) accurate information on evapotranspiration 

10 is required to balance water supply and water de11 mand in a watershed and ensure that adequate 

12 water supplies for beneficial uses are available over 

13 time; 

14 (4) water users and managers are impeded in 

15 more efficient decision making by— 

16 (A) the lack of consistent and comprehen17 sive water use data; and 

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

19 often limited and cost-prohibitive; and 

20 (5) evapotranspiration data may be applied for 

21 the purposes of— 

22 (A) assisting users and decisionmakers to 

23 better manage resources and protect financial 

24 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 06:10 Apr 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1118.IS 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. 

Æ 


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