109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 361

AN ACT

To develop and maintain an integrated system of ocean and

coastal observations for the Nation’s coasts, oceans and

Great Lakes, improve warnings of tsunamis and other

natural hazards, 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 ‘‘Ocean and Coastal

5 Observation System Act of 2005’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Ocean and coastal observations provide vital

4 information for protecting human lives and property

5 from marine hazards, predicting weather, improving

6 ocean health and providing for the protection and

7 enjoyment of the resources of the Nation’s coasts,

8 oceans, and Great Lakes.

9 (2) The continuing and potentially devastating

10 threat posed by tsunamis, hurricanes, storm surges,

11 and other marine hazards requires immediate imple12 mentation of strengthened observation and data

13 management systems to provide timely detection, as14 sessment, and warnings to the millions of people liv15 ing in coastal regions of the United States and

16 throughout the world.

17 (3) The 95,000-mile coastline of the United

18 States, including the Great Lakes, is vital to the Na19 tion’s prosperity, contributing over $117 billion to

20 the national economy in 2000, supporting jobs for

21 more than 200 million Americans, and supporting

22 commercial and sport fisheries valued at more than

23 $50 billion annually.

24 (4) Responding to coastal hazards and man25 aging fisheries and other coastal activities require

26 improved monitoring of the Nation’s waters and
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1 coastline, including the ability to provide rapid re2 sponse teams with real-time environmental condi3 tions necessary for their work.

4 (5) While knowledge of the ocean and coastal

5 environment and processes is far from complete, ad6 vances in sensing technologies and scientific under7 standing have made possible long-term and contin8 uous observation from shore, from space, and in situ

9 of ocean and coastal characteristics and conditions.

10 (6) Many elements of an ocean and coastal ob11 serving system are in place, but require national in12 vestment, consolidation, completion, and integration

13 at Federal, regional, State, and local levels.

14 (7) The Commission on Ocean Policy rec15 ommends a national commitment to a sustained and

16 integrated ocean and coastal observing system and

17 to coordinated research programs in order to assist

18 the Nation and the world in understanding the

19 oceans, improving weather forecasts, strengthening

20 management of ocean and coastal resources, and

21 mitigating marine hazards.

22 (8) In 2003, the United States led more than

23 50 nations in affirming the vital importance of time24 ly, quality, long-term global observations as a basis

25 for sound decision-making, recognizing the contribu-
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1 tion of observation systems to meet national, re2 gional, and global needs, and calling for strength3 ened cooperation and coordination in establishing a

4 Global Earth Observation System of Systems, of

5 which an integrated ocean and coastal observing sys6 tem is an essential part.

7 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to pro8 vide for—

9 (1) the planning, development, and maintenance

10 of an integrated ocean and coastal observing system

11 that provides the data and information to sustain

12 and restore healthy marine and Great Lakes eco13 systems and the resources they support, enable ad14 vances in scientific understanding of the oceans and

15 the Great Lakes, and strengthen science education

16 and communication;

17 (2) implementation of research, development,

18 education, and outreach programs to improve under19 standing of the oceans and Great Lakes and achieve

20 the full national benefits of an integrated ocean and

21 coastal observing system;

22 (3) implementation of a data and information

23 management system required by all components of

24 an integrated ocean and coastal observing system

25 and related research to develop early warning sys-
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1 tems and insure usefulness of data and information

2 for users; and

3 (4) establishment of a system of regional ocean,

4 coastal, and Great Lakes observing systems to ad5 dress local needs for ocean information.

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

7 In this Act:

8 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the

9 National Ocean Research Leadership Council.

10 (2) OBSERVING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘observing

11 system’’ means the integrated coastal, ocean and

12 Great Lakes observing system to be established by

13 the Committee under section 4(a).

14 (3) INTERAGENCY PROGRAM OFFICE.—The

15 term ‘‘interagency program office’’ means the office

16 established under section 4(d).

17 SEC. 4. INTEGRATED OCEAN AND COASTAL OBSERVING

18 SYSTEM.

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President, acting

20 through the Council, shall establish and maintain an inte21 grated system of ocean and coastal observations, data

22 communication and management, analysis, modeling, re23 search, education, and outreach designed to provide data

24 and information for the timely detection and prediction

25 of changes occurring in the ocean, coastal and Great
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1 Lakes environment that impact the Nation’s social, eco2 nomic, and ecological systems. The observing system shall

3 provide for long-term, continuous and quality-controlled

4 observations of the coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes for

5 the following purposes:

6 (1) Improving the health of the Nation’s coasts,

7 oceans, and Great Lakes.

8 (2) Protecting human lives and livelihoods from

9 hazards such as tsunamis, hurricanes, coastal ero10 sion, and fluctuating Great Lakes water levels.

11 (3) Understanding the effects of human activi12 ties and natural variability on the state of the

13 coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes and the Nation’s

14 socioeconomic well-being.

15 (4) Providing for the sustainable use, protec16 tion, and enjoyment of ocean, coastal, and Great

17 Lakes resources.

18 (5) Providing information that can support the

19 eventual implementation and refinement of eco20 system-based management.

21 (6) Supplying critical information to marine-re22 lated businesses such as aquaculture and fisheries.

23 (7) Supporting research and development to en24 sure continuous improvement to ocean, coastal, and

25 Great Lakes observation measurements and to en-
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1 hance understanding of the Nation’s ocean, coastal,

2 and Great Lakes resources.

3 (b) SYSTEM ELEMENTS.—In order to fulfill the pur4 poses of this Act, the observing system shall consist of the

5 following program elements:

6 (1) A national program to fulfill national obser7 vation priorities, including the Nation’s ocean con8 tribution to the Global Earth Observation System of

9 Systems and the Global Ocean Observing System.

10 (2) A network of regional associations to man11 age the regional ocean and coastal observing and in12 formation programs that collect, measure, and dis13 seminate data and information products to meet re14 gional needs.

15 (3) A data management and dissemination sys16 tem for the timely integration and dissemination of

17 data and information products from the national

18 and regional systems.

19 (4) A research and development program con20 ducted under the guidance of the Council.

21 (5) An outreach, education, and training pro22 gram that augments existing programs, such as the

23 National Sea Grant College Program, the Centers

24 for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence program,

25 and the National Estuarine Research Reserve Sys-
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1 tem, to ensure the use of the data and information

2 for improving public education and awareness of the

3 Nation’s oceans and building the technical expertise

4 required to operate and improve the observing sys5 tem.

6 (c) COUNCIL FUNCTIONS.—In carrying out respon7 sibilities under this section, the Council shall—

8 (1) serve as the oversight body for the design

9 and implementation of all aspects of the observing

10 system;

11 (2) adopt plans, budgets, and standards that

12 are developed and maintained by the interagency

13 program office in consultation with the regional as14 sociations;

15 (3) coordinate the observing system with other

16 earth observing activities including the Global Ocean

17 Observing System and the Global Earth Observing

18 System of Systems;

19 (4) coordinate and administer programs of re20 search, development, education, and outreach to sup21 port improvements to and the operation of an inte22 grated ocean and coastal observing system and to

23 advance the understanding of the oceans;
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1 (5) establish pilot projects to develop technology

2 and methods for advancing the development of the

3 observing system;

4 (6) provide, as appropriate, support for and

5 representation on United States delegations to inter6 national meetings on ocean and coastal observing

7 programs; and

8 (7) in consultation with the Secretary of State,

9 coordinate relevant Federal activities with those of

10 other nations.

11 (d) INTERAGENCY PROGRAM OFFICE.—The Council

12 shall establish an interagency program office to be known

13 as ‘‘OceanUS’’. The interagency program office shall be

14 responsible for program planning and coordination of the

15 observing system. The interagency program office shall—

16 (1) prepare annual and long-term plans for con17 sideration by the Council for the design and imple18 mentation of the observing system that promote col19 laboration among Federal agencies and regional as20 sociations in developing the global and national ob21 serving systems, including identification and refine22 ment of a core set of variables to be measured by

23 all systems;

24 (2) coordinate the development of agency prior25 ities and budgets for implementation of the observ-
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1 ing system, including budgets for the regional asso2 ciations;

3 (3) establish and refine standards and protocols

4 for data management and communications, including

5 quality standards, in consultation with participating

6 Federal agencies and regional associations;

7 (4) develop a process for the certification of the

8 regional associations and their periodic review and

9 recertification;

10 (5) establish an external technical committee to

11 provide biennial review of the observing system; and

12 (6) provide for opportunities to partner or con13 tract with private sector companies in deploying

14 ocean observation system elements.

15 (e) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY.—The National Oceanic

16 and Atmospheric Administration shall be the lead Federal

17 agency for implementation and operation of the observing

18 system. Based on the plans prepared by the interagency

19 program office and adopted by the Council, the Adminis20 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis21 tration shall—

22 (1) coordinate implementation, operation and

23 improvement of the observing system;

24 (2) establish efficient and effective administra25 tive procedures for allocation of funds among Fed-
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1 eral agencies and regional associations in a timely

2 manner and according to the budget adopted by the

3 Council;

4 (3) implement and maintain appropriate ele5 ments of the observing system;

6 (4) provide for the migration of scientific and

7 technological advances from research and develop8 ment to operational deployment;

9 (5) integrate and extend existing programs and

10 pilot projects into the operational observation sys11 tem;

12 (6) certify regional associations that meet the

13 requirements of subsection (f); and

14 (7) integrate the capabilities of the National

15 Coastal Data Development Center and the Coastal

16 Services Center of the National Oceanic and Atmos17 pheric Administration, and other appropriate cen18 ters, into the observing system for the purpose of as19 similating, managing, disseminating, and archiving

20 data from regional observation systems and other

21 observation systems.

22 (f) REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF OCEAN AND COAST23 AL OBSERVING SYSTEMS.—The Administrator of the Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may cer25 tify one or more regional associations to be responsible
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1 for the development and operation of regional ocean and

2 coastal observing systems to meet the information needs

3 of user groups in the region while adhering to national

4 standards. To be certifiable by the Administrator, a re5 gional association shall—

6 (1) demonstrate an organizational structure ca7 pable of supporting and integrating all aspects of

8 ocean and coastal observing and information pro9 grams within a region;

10 (2) operate under a strategic operations and

11 business plan that details the operation and support

12 of regional ocean and coastal observing systems pur13 suant to the standards established by the Council;

14 (3) provide information products for multiple

15 users in the region;

16 (4) work with governmental entities and pro17 grams at all levels within the region to provide time18 ly warnings and outreach to protect the public; and

19 (5) meet certification standards developed by

20 the interagency program office in conjunction with

21 the regional associations and approved by the Coun22 cil.

23 Nothing in this Act authorizes a regional association to

24 engage in lobbying activities (as defined in section 3(7)
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1 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.

2 1602(7)).

3 (g) CIVIL LIABILITY.—For purposes of section

4 1346(b)(1) and chapter 171 of title 28, United States

5 Code, the Suits in Admiralty Act (46 U.S.C. App. 741

6 et seq.), and the Public Vessels Act (46 U.S.C. App. 781

7 et seq.), any regional ocean and coastal observing system

8 that is a designated part of a regional association certified

9 under this section shall, in carrying out the purposes of

10 this Act, be deemed to be part of the National Oceanic

11 and Atmospheric Administration, and any employee of

12 such system, while acting within the scope of his or her

13 employment in carrying out such purposes, shall be

14 deemed to be an employee of the Government.

15 SEC. 5. RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND EDUCATION.

16 The Council shall establish programs for research,

17 development, education, and outreach for the ocean and

18 coastal observing system, including projects under the Na19 tional Oceanographic Partnership Program, consisting of

20 the following:

21 (1) Basic research to advance knowledge of

22 ocean and coastal systems and ensure continued im23 provement of operational products, including related

24 infrastructure and observing technology.
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1 (2) Focused research projects to improve under2 standing of the relationship between the coasts and

3 oceans and human activities.

4 (3) Large scale computing resources and re5 search to advance modeling of ocean and coastal

6 processes.

7 (4) A coordinated effort to build public edu8 cation and awareness of the ocean and coastal envi9 ronment and functions that integrates ongoing ac10 tivities such as the National Sea Grant College Pro11 gram, the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Ex12 cellence, and the National Estuarine Research Re13 serve System.

14 SEC. 6. INTERAGENCY FINANCING.

15 The departments and agencies represented on the

16 Council are authorized to participate in interagency fi17 nancing and share, transfer, receive, obligate, and expend

18 funds appropriated to any member of the Council for the

19 purposes of carrying out any administrative or pro20 grammatic project or activity under this Act or under the

21 National Oceanographic Partnership Program, including

22 support for the interagency program office, a common in23 frastructure, and system integration for a ocean and

24 coastal observing system. Funds may be transferred

25 among such departments and agencies through an appro-
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1 priate instrument that specifies the goods, services, or

2 space being acquired from another Council member and

3 the costs of the same.

4 SEC. 7. APPLICATION WITH OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF

5 LANDS ACT.

6 Nothing in this Act supersedes, or limits the author7 ity of the Secretary of the Interior under the Outer Conti8 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).

9 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na11 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the

12 implementation of an integrated ocean and coastal observ13 ing system under section 4, and the research and develop14 ment program under section 5, including financial assist15 ance to the interagency program office, the regional asso16 ciations for the implementation of regional ocean and

17 coastal observing systems, and the departments and agen18 cies represented on the Council, $150,000,000 for each of

19 fiscal years 2006 through 2010. At least 50 percent of

20 the sums appropriated for the implementation of the inte21 grated ocean and coastal observing system under section

22 4 shall be allocated to the regional associations certified

23 under section 4(f) for implementation of regional ocean

24 and coastal observing systems. Sums appropriated pursu25 ant to this section shall remain available until expended.
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1 SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

2 Not later than March 31, 2010, the President, acting

3 through the Council, shall transmit to Congress a report

4 on the programs established under sections 4 and 5. The

5 report shall include a description of activities carried out

6 under the programs, an evaluation of the effectiveness of

7 the programs, and recommendations concerning reauthor8 ization of the programs and funding levels for the pro9 grams in succeeding fiscal years.

Passed the Senate July 1, 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 361

AN ACT

To develop and maintain an integrated system of

for other purposes.ings of tsunamis and other natural hazards, andcoasts, oceans and Great Lakes, improve warnocean and coastal observations for the Nation’s