II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1584 

To reauthorize and amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2007 

Mr. INOUYE (for himself and Mr. STEVENS) (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To reauthorize and amend the Hydrographic Services 

Improvement Act, 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 ‘‘Hydrographic Services 

5 Improvement Act Amendments of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REDESIGNATIONS. 

7 The Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 

8 is amended by redesignating sections 302 through 306 (33 

9 U.S.C. 892d) as sections 303 through 307, respectively. 


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1 SEC. 3. ADDITION OF FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 The Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 

3 (33 U.S.C. 892 et seq.) is amended by inserting a new 

4 section 302 as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 302. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES 

6 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

7 ‘‘(1) in 2007, the Nation celebrates the 200th 

8 anniversary of its oldest scientific agency, the Survey 

9 of the Coast, which was authorized by Congress and 

10 created by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 to 

11 conduct surveys of the coast and provide nautical 

12 charts for safe passage through the Nation’s ports 

13 and along its extensive coastline; 

14 ‘‘(2) these mission requirements and capabili15 ties, which today are located in the National Oceanic 

16 and Atmospheric Administration, evolved over time 

17 to include research, development, operations, prod18 ucts, and services associated with hydrographic, geo19 detic, shoreline and baseline surveying; cartography, 

20 mapping, and charting; tides, currents, and water 

21 level observations; maintenance of a national spatial 

22 reference system, and associated products and serv23 ices; 

24 ‘‘(3) there is a need to maintain federal exper25 tise and capability in hydrographic data and services 

26 to support a safe and efficient marine transportation 


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1 system for the enhancement and promotion of inter2 national trade and interstate commerce vital to the 

3 Nation’s economic prosperity and for myriad other 

4 commercial and recreational activities; 

5 ‘‘(4) the Nation’s marine transportation system 

6 is becoming increasingly congested, the volume of 

7 international maritime commerce is expected to dou8 ble within the next 20 years, and nearly half of the 

9 cargo transiting U.S. waters is oil, refined petroleum 

10 products, or other hazardous substances; 

11 ‘‘(5) in addition to commerce, hydrographic 

12 data and services support other national needs for 

13 the Great Lakes and coastal waters, the territorial 

14 sea, the Exclusive Economic Zone, and the conti15 nental shelf of the United States, including emer16 gency response; homeland security; marine resource 

17 conservation; coastal resiliency to sea-level rise, 

18 coastal inundation, and other hazards; ocean and 

19 coastal science advancement; and improved and inte20 grated ocean and coastal mapping and observations 

21 for an integrated ocean observing system; 

22 ‘‘(6) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad23 ministration, in cooperation with other agencies and 

24 the States, serves as the Nation’s leading civil au25 thority for establishing and maintaining national 


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1 standards and datums for hydrographic data and 

2 services; 

3 ‘‘(7) the Director of the National Oceanic and 

4 Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Coast Survey 

5 serves as the U.S. National Hydrographer and the 

6 primary U.S. representative to the international hy7 drographic community, including the International 

8 Hydrographic Organization; 

9 ‘‘(8) the hydrographic expertise, data, and serv10 ices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad11 ministration provide the underlying and authori12 tative basis for baseline and boundary demarcation, 

13 including the establishment of marine and coastal 

14 territorial limits and jurisdiction, such as the Exclu15 sive Economic Zone; and 

16 ‘‘(9) research, development and application of 

17 new technologies will further increase efficiency, pro18 mote the Nation’s competitiveness, provide social 

19 and economic benefits, enhance safety and environ20 mental protection, and reduce risks. 

21 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to— 

22 ‘‘(1) augment the ability of the National Oce23 anic and Atmospheric Administration to fulfill its re24 sponsibilities under this and other authorities; 


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1 ‘‘(2) provide more accurate and up-to-date hy2 drographic data and services in support of safe and 

3 efficient international trade and interstate com4 merce, including hydrographic surveys; electronic 

5 navigational charts; real-time tide, water level, and 

6 current information and forecasting; shoreline sur7 veys; and geodesy and three-dimensional positioning 

8 data; 

9 ‘‘(3) support homeland security, emergency re10 sponse, ecosystem approaches to marine manage11 ment, and coastal resiliency by providing hydro12 graphic data and services with many other useful 

13 operational, scientific, engineering, and management 

14 applications, including storm surge, tsunami, coastal 

15 flooding, erosion, and pollution trajectory moni16 toring, predictions, and warnings; marine and coast17 al geographic information systems; habitat restora18 tion; long-term sea-level trends; and more accurate 

19 environmental assessments and monitoring; 

20 ‘‘(4) promote improved integrated ocean and 

21 coastal mapping and observations through increased 

22 coordination and cooperation; 

23 ‘‘(5) provide for and support research and de24 velopment in hydrographic data, services and related 

25 technologies to enhance the efficiency, accuracy and 


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1 availability of hydrographic data and services and 

2 thereby promote the Nation’s scientific and techno3 logical competitiveness; and 

4 ‘‘(6) provide national and international leader5 ship for hydrographic and related services, sciences, 

6 and technologies.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. CHANGES IN DEFINITIONS. 

8 Section 303 of the Hydrographic Services Improve9 ment Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892), as redesignated by 

10 section 2, is amended— 

11 (1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(3) HYDROGRAPHIC DATA.—The term ‘hydro14 graphic data’ means information acquired through 

15 hydrographic, bathymetric, or shoreline surveying; 

16 geodetic, geospatial, or geomagnetic measurements; 

17 tide, water level, and current observations, or other 

18 methods, that is used in providing hydrographic 

19 services.’’; 

20 (2) by amending paragraph (4)(A) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(A) the management, maintenance, inter23 pretation, certification, and dissemination of 

24 bathymetric, hydrographic, shoreline, geodetic, 

25 geospatial, geomagnetic, and tide, water level, 


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1 and current information, including the produc2 tion of nautical charts, nautical information 

3 databases, and other products derived from hy4 drographic data;’’; and 

5 ‘‘(3) by amending paragraph (5) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(5) COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY ACT.— 

8 The term ‘Coast and Geodetic Survey Act’ means 

9 the Act entitled ‘An Act to define the functions and 

10 duties of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and for 

11 other purposes’, approved August 6, 1947 (33 

12 U.S.C. 883a et seq.).’’. 

13 SEC. 5. CHANGES IN FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR. 

14 Section 304 of the Hydrographic Services Improve15 ment Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892a), as redesignated by 

16 section 2, is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) in the stem by striking ‘‘To fulfill the 

19 data gathering and dissemination duties of the 

20 Administration under the Act of 1947,’’ and in21 serting ‘‘To fulfill the data gathering and dis22 semination duties of the Administration under 

23 the Coast and Geodetic Survey Act, promote 

24 safe, efficient, and environmentally sound maVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:52 Jun 09, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1584.IS S1584

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1 rine transportation, and otherwise fulfill the 

2 purposes of this Act,’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘data;’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘data and provide hydrographic 

5 services;’’; 

6 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITIES.—To fulfill the data gathering 

9 and dissemination duties of the Administration under the 

10 Coast and Geodetic Survey Act, promote safe, efficient, 

11 and environmentally sound marine transportation, and 

12 otherwise fulfill the purposes of this Act, subject to the 

13 availability of appropriations— 

14 ‘‘(1) the Administrator may procure, lease, 

15 evaluate, test, develop, and operate vessels, equip16 ment, and technologies necessary to ensure safe 

17 navigation and maintain operational expertise in hy18 drographic data acquisition and hydrographic serv19 ices; 

20 ‘‘(2) the Administrator shall design, install, 

21 maintain, and operate real-time hydrographic moni22 toring systems to enhance navigation safety and effi23 ciency; 

24 ‘‘(3) where appropriate and to the extent that 

25 it does not detract from the promotion of safe and 


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1 efficient navigation, the Administrator may acquire 

2 hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services 

3 to support the conservation and management of 

4 coastal and ocean resources; 

5 ‘‘(4) where appropriate, the Administrator may 

6 acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic 

7 services to save and protect life and property and 

8 support the resumption of commerce in response to 

9 emergencies, natural and man-made disasters, and 

10 homeland security and maritime domain awareness 

11 needs, including obtaining Mission Assignments as 

12 defined in section 741 of title 6, United States Code; 

13 ‘‘(5) the Administrator shall have the authority 

14 to create, support and maintain such joint centers, 

15 and to enter into and perform such contracts, leases, 

16 grants, or cooperative agreements as may be nec17 essary to carry out the purposes of this Act; and 

18 ‘‘(6) notwithstanding paragraph (5), the Ad19 ministrator may award contracts for the acquisition 

20 of hydrographic data in accordance with title IX of 

21 the Federal Property and Administrative Services 

22 Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).’’. 

23 SEC. 6. CHANGES TO QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM. 

24 Section 305 of the Hydrographic Services Improve25 ment Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892b), as redesignated by 


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1 section 2, is amended in subsections (b)(1)(A) and (b)(2) 

2 by striking ‘‘303(a)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘304(a)(3)’’. 

3 SEC. 7. CHANGES IN HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES REVIEW 

4 PANEL. 

5 Section 306 of the Hydrographic Services Improve6 ment Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892c), as redesignated by 

7 section 2, is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘303’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘304’’; 

10 (2) by amending subsection (c)(1)(A) to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) The panel shall consist of 15 voting 

13 members who shall be appointed by the Admin14 istrator. The Co-directors of the Joint Hydro15 graphic Institute and no more than two employ16 ees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

17 Administration appointed by the Administrator 

18 shall serve as nonvoting members of the panel. 

19 The voting members of the panel shall be indi20 viduals who, by reason of knowledge, experi21 ence, or training, are especially qualified in one 

22 or more of the disciplines and fields relating to 

23 hydrographic data and hydrographic services, as 

24 defined in this Act, and other disciplines as de25 termined appropriate by the Administrator.’’; 


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1 (3) in subsections (c)(1)(C), (c)(3), and (e) by 

2 striking ‘‘Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Administrator’’; 

3 and 

4 (4) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(d) COMPENSATION.—Voting members of the panel 

7 shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable expenses, 

8 such as travel and per diem, incurred in the performance 

9 of such duties.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. CHANGES TO AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA11 TIONS. 

12 Section 307 of the Hydrographic Services Improve13 ment Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892d), as redesignated by 

14 section 2, is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad16 ministrator $168,771,000 in fiscal year 2008 and there17 after such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

18 years 2009 through 2012 for the purposes of carrying out 

19 this Act.’’. 

Æ 


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