II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 364

To establish a program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration to integrate Federal coastal and ocean mapping activities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2005

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. LOTT, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. 

SNOWE, Mr. KERRY, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL

To establish a program within the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration to integrate Federal coastal 

and ocean mapping activities.

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 ‘‘Ocean and Coastal 

5 Mapping Integration Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INTEGRATED OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na9 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall es-
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1 tablish a program to develop, in coordination with the 

2 Interagency Committee on Ocean and Coastal Mapping, 

3 a coordinated and comprehensive Federal ocean and coast4 al mapping plan for the Great Lakes and Coastal State 

5 waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone, 

6 and the continental shelf of the United States that en7 hances ecosystem approaches in decision-making for con8 servation and management of marine resources and habi9 tats, establishes research priorities, supports the siting of 

10 research and other platforms, and advances ocean and 

11 coastal science. 

12 (b) PROGRAM PARAMETERS.—In developing such a 

13 program, the Administrator shall work with the Com14 mittee to—

15 (1) identify all Federal and federally-funded 

16 programs conducting shoreline delineation and ocean 

17 or coastal mapping, noting geographic coverage, fre18 quency, spatial coverage, resolution, and subject 

19 matter focus of the data and location of data ar20 chives; 

21 (2) promote cost-effective, cooperative mapping 

22 efforts among all Federal agencies conducting ocean 

23 and coastal mapping agencies by increasing data 

24 sharing, developing data acquisition and metadata 

25 standards, and facilitating the interoperability of in 
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1 situ data collection systems, data processing, 

2 archiving, and distribution of data products; 

3 (3) facilitate the adaptation of existing tech4 nologies as well as foster expertise in new ocean and 

5 coastal mapping technologies, including through re6 search, development, and training conducted in co7 operation with the private sector, academia, and 

8 other non-Federal entities; 

9 (4) develop standards and protocols for testing 

10 innovative experimental mapping technologies and 

11 transferring new technologies between the Federal 

12 Government and the private sector or academia; 

13 (5) centrally archive, manage, and distribute 

14 data sets as well as provide mapping products and 

15 services to the general public in service of statutory 

16 requirements; 

17 (6) develop specific data presentation standards 

18 for use by Federal, State, and other entities that 

19 document locations of federally-permitted activities, 

20 living and nonliving resources, marine ecosystems, 

21 sensitive habitats, submerged cultural resources, un22 dersea cables, offshore aquaculture projects, and any 

23 areas designated for the purposes of environmental 

24 protection or conservation and management of living 

25 marine resources; and 
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1 (7) identify the procedures to be used for co2 ordinating Federal data with State and local govern3 ment programs. 

4 SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON OCEAN AND COAST5 AL MAPPING. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

7 an Interagency Committee on Ocean and Coastal Map8 ping. 

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be com10 prised of senior representatives from Federal agencies 

11 with ocean and coastal mapping and surveying responsibil12 ities. The representatives shall be high-ranking officials of 

13 their respective agencies or departments and, whenever 

14 possible, the head of the portion of the agency or depart15 ment that is most relevant to the purposes of this Act. 

16 Membership shall include senior representatives from the 

17 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 

18 Chief of Naval Operations, the United States Geological 

19 Survey, Minerals Management Service, National Science 

20 Foundation, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, 

21 United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States 

22 Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal 

23 Emergency Management Agency and National Aero24 nautics and Space Administration, and other appropriate 

25 Federal agencies involved in ocean and coastal mapping. 
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1 (c) CHAIRMAN.—The Committee shall be chaired by 

2 the representative from the National Oceanic and Atmos3 pheric Administration. The chairman may create sub4 committees chaired by any member agency of the com5 mittee. Working groups may be formed by the full Com6 mittee to address issues of short duration. 

7 (d) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet on a 

8 quarterly basis, but subcommittee or working group meet9 ings shall meet on an as-needed basis. 

10 (e) COORDINATION.—The committee should coordi11 nate activities, when appropriate, with—

12 (1) other Federal efforts, including the Digital 

13 Coast, Geospatial One-Stop, and the Federal Geo14 graphic Data Committee; 

15 (2) international mapping activities; and 

16 (3) States and user groups through workshops 

17 and other appropriate mechanisms. 

18 SEC. 4. NOAA INTEGRATED MAPPING INITIATIVE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in con21 sultation with the Committee, shall develop and submit to 

22 the Congress a plan for an integrated ocean and coastal

23 mapping initiative within the National Oceanic and At24 mospheric Administration. 

25 (b) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The plan shall—
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1 (1) identify and describe all ocean and coastal 

2 mapping programs within the agency, including 

3 those that conduct mapping or related activities in 

4 the course of existing missions, such as hydrographic 

5 surveys, ocean exploration projects, living marine re6 source conservation and management programs, 

7 coastal zone management projects, and ocean and 

8 coastal science projects; 

9 (2) establish priority mapping programs and es10 tablish and periodically update priorities for geo11 graphic areas in surveying and mapping, as well as 

12 minimum data acquisition and metadata standards 

13 for those programs; 

14 (3) encourage the development of innovative 

15 ocean and coastal mapping technologies and applica16 tions through research and development through co17 operative or other agreements at joint centers of ex18 cellence and with the private sector; 

19 (4) document available and developing tech20 nologies, best practices in data processing and dis21 tribution, and leveraging opportunities with other 

22 Federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, 

23 and the private sector; 

24 (5) identify training, technology, and other re25 source requirements for enabling the National Oce-
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1 anic and Atmospheric Administration’s programs, 

2 ships, and aircraft to support a coordinated ocean 

3 and coastal mapping program; 

4 (6) identify a centralized mechanism or office 

5 for coordinating data collection, processing, 

6 archiving, and dissemination activities of all such 

7 mapping programs within the National Oceanic and 

8 Atmospheric Administration, including—

9 (A) designating primary data processing 

10 centers to maximize efficiency in information 

11 technology investment, develop consistency in 

12 data processing, and meet Federal mandates 

13 for data accessibility; and 

14 (B) designating a repository that is re15 sponsible for archiving and managing the dis16 tribution of all ocean and coastal mapping data 

17 to simplify the provision of services to benefit 

18 Federal and State programs; and 

19 (6) set forth a timetable for implementation 

20 and completion of the plan, including a schedule for 

21 periodic Congressional progress reports, and rec22 ommendations for integrating approaches developed 

23 under the initiative into the interagency program. 

24 (c) NOAA JOINT OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING

25 CENTERS.—The Administrator is authorized to maintain 
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1 and operate up to 3 joint ocean and coastal mapping cen2 ters, including a joint hydrographic center, which shall be 

3 co-located with an institution of higher education. The 

4 centers shall serve as hydrographic centers of excellence 

5 and are authorized to conduct activities necessary to carry 

6 out the purposes of this Act, including—

7 (1) research and development of innovative 

8 ocean and coastal mapping technologies, equipment, 

9 and data products; 

10 (2) mapping of the United States outer conti11 nental shelf; 

12 (3) data processing for non-traditional data and 

13 uses; 

14 (4) advancing the use of remote sensing tech15 nologies, for related issues, including mapping and 

16 assessment of essential fish habitat and of coral re17 sources, ocean observations and ocean exploration; 

18 and 

19 (5) providing graduate education in ocean and 

20 coastal mapping sciences for National Oceanic and 

21 Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer 

22 Corps, personnel of other agencies with ocean and 

23 coastal mapping programs, and civilian personnel. 
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1 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY PROGRAM REPORTING. 

2 No later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, and bi-annually thereafter, the Chairman of 

4 the Committee shall transmit to the Senate Committee on 

5 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 

6 Representatives Committee on Resources a report detail7 ing progress made in implementing the provisions of this 

8 Act, including—

9 (1) an inventory of ocean and coastal mapping 

10 data, noting the metadata, within the territorial seas 

11 and the exclusive economic zone and throughout the 

12 continental shelf of the United States, noting the 

13 age and source of the survey and the spatial resolu14 tion (metadata) of the data; 

15 (2) identification of priority areas in need of 

16 survey coverage using present technologies; 

17 (3) a resource plan that identifies when priority 

18 areas in need of modern ocean and coastal mapping 

19 surveys can be accomplished; 

20 (4) the status of efforts to produce integrated 

21 digital maps of ocean and coastal areas; 

22 (5) a description of any products resulting from 

23 coordinated mapping efforts under this Act that im24 prove public understanding of the coasts, oceans, or 

25 regulatory decision-making; 
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1 (6) documentation of minimum and desired 

2 standards for data acquisition and integrated 

3 metadata; 

4 (7) a statement of the status of Federal efforts 

5 to leverage mapping technologies, coordinate map6 ping activities, share expertise, and exchange data; 

7 (8) a statement of resource requirements for or8 ganizations to meet the goals of the program, includ9 ing technology needs for data acquisition, processing 

10 and distribution systems; 

11 (9) a statement of the status of efforts to de12 classify data gathered by the Navy, the National 

13 Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and other agencies to 

14 the extent possible without jeopardizing national se15 curity, and make it available to partner agencies and 

16 the public; and 

17 (10) a resource plan for a digital coast inte18 grated mapping pilot project for the northern Gulf 

19 of Mexico that will—

20 (A) cover the area from the authorized 

21 coastal counties through the territorial sea; 

22 (B) identify how such a pilot project will 

23 leverage public and private mapping data and

24 resources, such as the United States Geological 

25 Survey National Map, to result in an oper-
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1 ational coastal change assessment program for 

2 the subregion; and 

3 (11) the status of efforts to coordinate Federal 

4 programs with State and local government programs 

5 and leverage those programs. 

6 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the amounts au8 thorized by section 306 of the Hydrographic Services Im9 provement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892d), there are au10 thorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry 

11 out this Act—

12 (1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

13 (2) $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

14 (3) $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

15 (4) $38,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; and 

16 (5) $45,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 

17 through 2013. 

18 (b) JOINT OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING CEN19 TERS.—Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to sub20 section (a), the following amounts shall be used to carry 

21 out section 4(c) of this Act: 

22 (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006. 

23 (2) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

24 (3) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

25 (4) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 
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1 (5) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 

2 through 2013. 

3 (c) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of law, from amounts authorized to 

5 be appropriated for fiscal years 2006 through 2013 to the 

6 Department of Defense, the Department of the Interior, 

7 the Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental 

8 Protection Agency, and the National Aeronautics and 

9 Space Administration, the head of each such department 

10 or agency may make available not more than $10,000,000 

11 per fiscal year to carry out interagency activities under 

12 section 3 of this Act. 

13 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis16 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

18 (2) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal state’’ 

19 has the meaning given that term by section 304(4) 

20 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 

21 U.S.C. 1453(4). 

22 (3) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

23 means the Interagency Ocean Mapping Committee 

24 established by section 3. 
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1 (4) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

2 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means the exclusive eco3 nomic zone of the United States established by Pres4 idential Proclamation No. 5030, of March 10, 1983. 

5 (5) OCEAN AND COASTAL MAPPING.—The term 

6 ‘‘ocean and coastal mapping’’ means the acquisition, 

7 processing, and management of physical, biological, 

8 geological, chemical, and archaeological characteris9 tics and boundaries of ocean and coastal areas, re10 sources, and sea beds through the use of acoustics, 

11 satellites, aerial photogrammetry, light and imaging, 

12 direct sampling, and other mapping technologies. 

13 (6) TERRITORIAL SEA.—The term ‘‘territorial 

14 sea’’ means the belt of sea measured from the base15 line of the United States determined in accordance 

16 with international law, as set forth in Presidential 

17 Proclamation Number 5928, dated December 27, 

18 1988.

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