IB 
Union Calendar No. 256 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2189 
[Report No. 116–315] 
To require the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator 
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to establish 
a constituent-driven program to provide a digital information platform 
capable of efficiently integrating coastal data with decision-support tools, 
training, and best practices and to support collection of priority coastal 
geospatial data to inform and improve local, State, regional, and Federal 
capacities to manage the coastal region, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 9, 2019 
Mr. RUPPERSBERGER (for himself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
NOVEMBER 26, 2019 
Additional sponsors: Mr. CRIST, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, and 
Mr. VAN DREW 
NOVEMBER 26, 2019 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 9, 2019] 
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A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the 
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, to establish a constituent-driven program 
to provide a digital information platform capable of effi-
ciently integrating coastal data with decision-support 
tools, training, and best practices and to support collec-
tion of priority coastal geospatial data to inform and 
improve local, State, regional, and Federal capacities to 
manage the coastal region, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Digital Coast Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The Digital Coast is a model approach for ef-
fective Federal partnerships with State and local gov-
ernment, nongovernmental organizations, and the pri-
vate sector. 
(2) Access to current, accurate, uniform, and 
standards-based geospatial information, tools, and 
training to characterize the United States coastal re-
gion is critical for public safety and for the environ-
ment, infrastructure, and economy of the United 
States. 
(3) More than half of all people of the United 
States (153,000,000) currently live on or near a coast 
and an additional 12,000,000 are expected in the next 
decade. 
(4) Coastal counties in the United States average 
300 persons per square mile, compared with the na-
tional average of 98. 
(5) On a typical day, more than 1,540 permits 
for construction of single-family homes are issued in 
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coastal counties, combined with other commercial, re-
tail, and institutional construction to support this 
population. 
(6) Over half of the economic productivity of the 
United States is located within coastal regions. 
(7) Highly accurate, high-resolution remote sens-
ing and other geospatial data play an increasingly 
important role in decision making and management 
of the coastal zone and economy, including for— 
(A) flood and coastal storm surge pre-
diction; 
(B) hazard risk and vulnerability assess-
ment; 
(C) emergency response and recovery plan-
ning; 
(D) community resilience to longer range 
coastal change; 
(E) local planning and permitting; 
(F) habitat and ecosystem health assess-
ments; and 
(G) landscape change detection. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COASTAL
REGION.—The term ‘‘coastal re-
gion’’ means the area of United States waters extend-
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ing inland from the shoreline to include coastal wa-
tersheds and seaward to the territorial sea. 
(2) COASTAL STATE.—The term ‘‘coastal State’’ 
has the meaning given the term ‘‘coastal state’’ in sec-
tion 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 
(16 U.S.C. 1453). 
(3) FEDERAL GEOGRAPHIC DATA COMMITTEE.— 
The term ‘‘Federal Geographic Data Committee’’ 
means the interagency committee that promotes the 
coordinated development, use, sharing, and dissemi-
nation of geospatial data on a national basis. 
(4) 
REMOTE
SENSING
AND
OTHER 
GEOSPATIAL.—The term ‘‘remote sensing and other 
geospatial’’ means collecting, storing, retrieving, or 
disseminating graphical or digital data depicting 
natural or manmade physical features, phenomena, or 
boundaries of the Earth and any information related 
thereto, including surveys, maps, charts, satellite and 
airborne remote sensing data, images, LiDAR, and 
services performed by professionals such as surveyors, 
photogrammetrists, hydrographers, geodesists, cartog-
raphers, and other such services. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Ad-
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ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DIGITAL COAST. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
a program for the provision of an enabling platform 
that integrates geospatial data, decision-support tools, 
training, and best practices to address coastal man-
agement issues and needs. Under the program, the 
Secretary shall strive to enhance resilient commu-
nities, ecosystem values, and coastal economic growth 
and development by helping communities address 
their issues, needs, and challenges through cost-effec-
tive and participatory solutions. 
(2) DESIGNATION.—The program established 
under paragraph (1) shall be known as the ‘‘Digital 
Coast’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘program’’). 
(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the 
program, the Secretary shall ensure that the program pro-
vides data integration, tool development, training, docu-
mentation, dissemination, and archiving by— 
(1) making data and resulting integrated prod-
ucts developed under this section readily accessible via 
the Digital Coast Internet website of the National 
Oceanic 
and 
Atmospheric 
Administration, 
the 
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GeoPlatform.gov and data.gov Internet websites, and 
such other information distribution technologies as 
the Secretary considers appropriate; 
(2) developing decision-support tools that use 
and display resulting integrated data and provide 
training on use of such tools; 
(3) documenting such data to Federal Geo-
graphic Data Committee standards; and 
(4) archiving all raw data acquired under this 
Act at the appropriate National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration data center or such other Fed-
eral data center as the Secretary considers appro-
priate. 
(c) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate 
the activities carried out under the program to optimize 
data collection, sharing and integration, and to minimize 
duplication by— 
(1) consulting with coastal managers and deci-
sion makers concerning coastal issues, and sharing 
information and best practices, as the Secretary con-
siders appropriate, with— 
(A) coastal States; 
(B) local governments; and 
(C) representatives of academia, the private 
sector, and nongovernmental organizations; 
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(2) consulting with other Federal agencies, in-
cluding interagency committees, on relevant Federal 
activities, including activities carried out under the 
Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act (33 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Coastal Zone Management 
Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), the Integrated 
Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 
(33 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), and the Hydrographic Serv-
ices Improvement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892 et seq.); 
(3) participating, pursuant to section 216 of the 
E-Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–347; 44 
U.S.C. 3501 note), in the establishment of such stand-
ards and common protocols as the Secretary considers 
necessary to assure the interoperability of remote 
sensing and other geospatial data with all users of 
such information within— 
(A) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration; 
(B) other Federal agencies; 
(C) State and local government; and 
(D) the private sector; 
(4) coordinating with, seeking assistance and co-
operation of, and providing liaison to the Federal Ge-
ographic Data Committee pursuant to Office of Man-
agement and Budget Circular A–16 and Executive 
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Order 12906 of April 11, 1994 (59 Fed. Reg. 17671), 
as amended by Executive Order 13286 of February 
28, 2003 (68 Fed. Reg. 10619); and 
(5) developing and maintaining a best practices 
document that sets out the best practices used by the 
Secretary in carrying out the program and providing 
such document to the United States Geological Sur-
vey, the Corps of Engineers, and other relevant Fed-
eral agencies. 
(d) FILLING NEEDS AND GAPS.—In carrying out the 
program, the Secretary shall— 
(1) maximize the use of remote sensing and other 
geospatial data collection activities conducted for 
other purposes and under other authorities; 
(2) focus on filling data needs and gaps for 
coastal management issues, including with respect to 
areas that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, 
were underserved by coastal data and the areas of the 
Arctic that are under the jurisdiction of the United 
States; 
(3) pursuant to the Ocean and Coastal Mapping 
Integration Act (33 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), support con-
tinue improvement in existing efforts to coordinate 
the acquisition and integration of key data sets need-
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ed for coastal management and other purposes, in-
cluding— 
(A) coastal elevation data; 
(B) land use and land cover data; 
(C) socioeconomic and human use data; 
(D) critical infrastructure data; 
(E) structures data; 
(F) living resources and habitat data; 
(G) cadastral data; and 
(H) aerial imagery; and 
(4) integrate the priority supporting data set 
forth under paragraph (3) with other available data 
for the benefit of the broadest measure of coastal re-
source management constituents and applications. 
(e) FINANCIAL AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, 
the Secretary— 
(A) may enter into financial agreements to 
carry out the program, including— 
(i) support to non-Federal entities that 
participate in implementing the program; 
and 
(ii) grants, cooperative agreements, 
interagency agreements, contracts, or any 
other agreement on a reimbursable or non- 
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