II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1582 

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, Mr. STEVENS, Ms. CANTWELL, and Ms. SNOWE) 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. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 The Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 

8 (33 U.S.C. 892 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating sections 302 through 306 

10 as sections 303 through 307, respectively; and 


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1 (2) by inserting after section 301 the following: 

2 ‘‘SEC. 302. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

3 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) In 2007, the Nation celebrates the 200th 

5 anniversary of its oldest scientific agency, the Survey 

6 of the Coast, which was authorized by Congress and 

7 created by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 to 

8 conduct surveys of the coast and provide nautical 

9 charts for safe passage through the Nation’s ports 

10 and along its extensive coastline. 

11 ‘‘(2) These mission requirements and capabili12 ties, which today are located in the National Oceanic 

13 and Atmospheric Administration, evolved over time 

14 to include— 

15 ‘‘(A) research, development, operations, 

16 products, and services associated with hydro17 graphic, geodetic, shoreline, and baseline sur18 veying; 

19 ‘‘(B) cartography, mapping, and charting; 

20 ‘‘(C) tides, currents, and water level obser21 vations; 

22 ‘‘(D) maintenance of a national spatial ref23 erence system; and 

24 ‘‘(E) associated products and services. 


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1 ‘‘(3) There is a need to maintain Federal exper2 tise and capability in hydrographic data and services 

3 to support a safe and efficient marine transportation 

4 system for the enhancement and promotion of inter5 national trade and interstate commerce vital to the 

6 Nation’s economic prosperity and for myriad other 

7 commercial and recreational activities. 

8 ‘‘(4) The Nation’s marine transportation sys9 tem is becoming increasingly congested, the volume 

10 of international maritime commerce is expected to 

11 double within the next 20 years, and nearly half of 

12 the cargo transiting United States waters is oil, re13 fined petroleum products, or other hazardous sub14 stances. 

15 ‘‘(5) In addition to commerce, hydrographic 

16 data and services support other national needs for 

17 the Great Lakes and coastal waters, the territorial 

18 sea, the Exclusive Economic Zone, and the conti19 nental shelf of the United States, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) emergency response; 

21 ‘‘(B) homeland security; 

22 ‘‘(C) marine resource conservation; 

23 ‘‘(D) coastal resiliency to sea-level rise, 

24 coastal inundation, and other hazards; 


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1 ‘‘(E) ocean and coastal science advance2 ment; and 

3 ‘‘(F) improved and integrated ocean and 

4 coastal mapping and observations for an inte5 grated ocean observing system. 

6 ‘‘(6) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

7 Administration, in cooperation with other agencies 

8 and the States, serves as the Nation’s leading civil 

9 authority for establishing and maintaining national 

10 standards and datums for hydrographic data and 

11 services. 

12 ‘‘(7) The Director of the National Oceanic and 

13 Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Coast Survey 

14 serves as the National Hydrographer and the pri15 mary United States representative to the inter16 national hydrographic community, including the 

17 International Hydrographic Organization. 

18 ‘‘(8) The hydrographic expertise, data, and 

19 services of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

20 Administration provide the underlying and authori21 tative basis for baseline and boundary demarcation, 

22 including the establishment of marine and coastal 

23 territorial limits and jurisdiction, such as the Exclu24 sive Economic Zone. 


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1 ‘‘(9) Research, development and application of 

2 new technologies will further increase efficiency, pro3 mote the Nation’s competitiveness, provide social 

4 and economic benefits, enhance safety and environ5 mental protection, and reduce risks. 

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

7 ‘‘(1) to augment the ability of the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fulfill its 

9 responsibilities under this and other authorities; 

10 ‘‘(2) to provide more accurate and up-to-date 

11 hydrographic data and services in support of safe 

12 and efficient international trade and interstate com13 merce, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) hydrographic surveys; 

15 ‘‘(B) electronic navigational charts; 

16 ‘‘(C) real-time tide, water level, and cur17 rent information and forecasting; 

18 ‘‘(D) shoreline surveys; and 

19 ‘‘(E) geodesy and 3-dimensional posi20 tioning data; 

21 ‘‘(3) to support homeland security, emergency 

22 response, ecosystem approaches to marine manage23 ment, and coastal resiliency by providing hydro24 graphic data and services with many other useful 


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1 operational, scientific, engineering, and management 

2 applications, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) storm surge, tsunami, coastal flood4 ing, erosion, and pollution trajectory moni5 toring, predictions, and warnings; 

6 ‘‘(B) marine and coastal geographic infor7 mation systems; 

8 ‘‘(C) habitat restoration; 

9 ‘‘(D) long-term sea-level trends; and 

10 ‘‘(E) more accurate environmental assess11 ments and monitoring; 

12 ‘‘(4) to promote improved integrated ocean and 

13 coastal mapping and observations through increased 

14 coordination and cooperation; 

15 ‘‘(5) to provide for and support research and 

16 development in hydrographic data, services and re17 lated technologies to enhance the efficiency, accuracy 

18 and availability of hydrographic data and services 

19 and thereby promote the Nation’s scientific and 

20 technological competitiveness; and 

21 ‘‘(6) to provide national and international lead22 ership for hydrographic and related services, 

23 sciences, and technologies.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 303 of the Hydrographic Services Improve3 ment Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892), as redesignated by 

4 section 2, is amended— 

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

7 ‘‘(3) HYDROGRAPHIC DATA.—The term ‘‘hydro8 graphic data’’ means information acquired through 

9 hydrographic, bathymetric, or shoreline surveying; 

10 geodetic, geospatial, or geomagnetic measurements; 

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

12 methods, that is used in providing hydrographic 

13 services.’’; 

14 (2) by striking paragraph (4)(A) and inserting 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) the management, maintenance, inter17 pretation, certification, and dissemination of 

18 bathymetric, hydrographic, shoreline, geodetic, 

19 geospatial, geomagnetic, and tide, water level, 

20 and current information, including the produc21 tion of nautical charts, nautical information 

22 databases, and other products derived from hy23 drographic data;’’; and 

24 (3) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the 

25 following: 


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

2 The term ‘Coast and Geodetic Survey Act’ means 

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

4 duties of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and for 

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

6 U.S.C. 883a et seq.).’’. 

7 SEC. 4. FUNCTIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR. 

8 Section 304 of the Hydrographic Services Improve9 ment Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892a), as redesignated by 

10 section 2, is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘the Act of 1947,’’ in subsection 

12 (a) and inserting ‘‘the Coast and Geodetic Survey 

13 Act, promote safe, efficient, and environmentally 

14 sound marine transportation, and otherwise fulfill 

15 the purposes of this Act,’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘data;’’ in subsection (a)1) and 

17 inserting ‘‘data and provide hydrographic services;’’; 

18 and 

19 (3) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

20 following: 

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

22 and dissemination duties of the Administration under the 

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

24 and environmentally sound marine transportation, and 


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

2 availability of appropriations— 

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

4 evaluate, test, develop, and operate vessels, equip5 ment, and technologies necessary to ensure safe 

6 navigation and maintain operational expertise in hy7 drographic data acquisition and hydrographic serv8 ices; 

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

10 maintain, and operate real-time hydrographic moni11 toring systems to enhance navigation safety and effi12 ciency; 

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

14 it does not detract from the promotion of safe and 

15 efficient navigation, the Administrator may acquire 

16 hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services 

17 to support the conservation and management of 

18 coastal and ocean resources; 

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

20 acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic 

21 services to save and protect life and property and 

22 support the resumption of commerce in response to 

23 emergencies, natural and man-made disasters, and 

24 homeland security and maritime domain awareness 

25 needs, including obtaining Mission Assignments as 


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1 defined in section 641 of the Post-Katrina Emer2 gency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 

3 741); 

4 ‘‘(5) the Administrator may create, support, 

5 and maintain such joint centers, and enter into and 

6 perform such contracts, leases, grants, or coopera7 tive agreements as may be necessary to carry out 

8 the purposes of this Act; and 

9 ‘‘(6) notwithstanding paragraph (5), the Ad10 ministrator shall award contracts for the acquisition 

11 of hydrographic data in accordance with title IX of 

12 the Federal Property and Administrative Services 

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

14 SEC. 5. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM. 

15 Subsection (b) of section 305 of the Hydrographic 

16 Services Improvement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892b), as 

17 redesignated by section 2, is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘303(a)(3)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

19 ‘‘304(a)(3)’’. 

20 SEC. 6. HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES REVIEW PANEL. 

21 Section 306 of the Hydrographic Services Improve22 ment Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892c), as redesignated by 

23 section 2, is amended— 

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

25 inserting ‘‘304’’; 


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1 (2) by striking subsection (c)(1)(A) and insert2 ing ‘‘(A) The panel shall consist of 15 voting mem3 bers who shall be appointed by the Administrator. 

4 The Co-directors of the Joint Hydrographic Institute 

5 and no more than 2 employees of the National Oce6 anic and Atmospheric Administration appointed by 

7 the Administrator shall serve as nonvoting members 

8 of the panel. The voting members of the panel shall 

9 be individuals who, by reason of knowledge, experi10 ence, or training, are especially qualified in 1 or 

11 more of the disciplines and fields relating to hydro12 graphic data and hydrographic services, and other 

13 disciplines as determined appropriate by the Admin14 istrator.’’; 

15 (3) by striking ‘‘Secretary’’ in subsections 

16 (c)(1)(C), (c)(3), and (e) and inserting ‘‘Adminis17 trator’’; and 

18 (4) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

19 following: 

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

21 shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable expenses, 

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

23 of such duties.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 307 of the Hydrographic Services Improve3 ment Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892d), as redesignated by 

4 section 2, is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 307. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad7 ministrator sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

8 years 2008 through 2012 for the purposes of carrying out 

9 this Act.’’. 

Æ 


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