I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7020 
To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration to conduct high-resolution mapping of the lakebeds of the Great 
Lakes, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 17, 2024 
Mrs. MCCLAIN (for herself, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. HUIZENGA, Ms. SCHOLTEN, 
Mr. STAUBER, Mr. POCAN, Mr. BERGMAN, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. JAMES, 
Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LAWLER, Ms. STEVENS, Mr. LANGWORTHY, Ms. 
SLOTKIN, Mr. DAVIDSON, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. 
TLAIB, and Mr. SCHNEIDER) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to conduct high-resolution 
mapping of the lakebeds of the Great Lakes, and for 
other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Great Lakes Mapping 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. MAPPING THE LAKEBEDS OF THE GREAT LAKES IN 
HIGH RESOLUTION. 
(a) HIGH-RESOLUTION LAKEBED MAPPING.—Not 
later than December 31, 2029, the Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall, in 
consultation with relevant State entities, the Ocean Policy 
Committee, the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observing 
System, regional coastal observing systems, and any other 
relevant entity (as determined by the Administrator) carry 
out an effort (referred to in this section as the ‘‘mapping 
effort’’) to map, in high resolution, the lakebeds of the 
Great Lakes that includes— 
(1) completing a high-resolution map of the 
lakebeds of the Great Lakes; 
(2) collecting high-resolution bathymetric data 
about the lakebeds of the Great Lakes; 
(3) developing and implementing a method to 
process the bathymetric data and other information 
collected during the mapping effort; 
(4) creating a system— 
(A) to catalog bathymetric data and other 
information regarding the lakebeds of the Great 
Lakes that the Administrator or the Ocean Pol-
icy Committee possess or have access to inde-
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pendent of the mapping effort or as a result of 
the mapping effort; and 
(B) by using, to the extent practicable, any 
system, technology, or cyberinfrastructure avail-
able to the Administrator and the Ocean Policy 
Committee as of the date of the enactment of 
this Act before purchasing any new system, 
technology, or cyberinfrastructure to complete 
the system; and 
(5) collecting, cataloging, and storing metadata 
created during the mapping effort. 
(b) DATA SHARING.—The Administrator, in con-
sultation with the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observ-
ing System and the regional coastal observing systems, 
shall— 
(1) during the mapping effort and within a rea-
sonable time (as determined by the Administrator) 
after the relevant data is collected, make publicly 
available the parts of the high-resolution map of the 
lakebeds of the Great Lakes that are completed; and 
(2) not later than 180 days after completing 
the mapping effort, make publicly available— 
(A) the complete high-resolution map of 
the lakebeds of the Great Lakes; and 
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(B) any additional information, including 
metadata, collected under subsection (a) that is 
required to be released to the public under any 
other provision of law. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to change any process or procedure 
used by the Administrator in carrying out the require-
ments of the Digital Coast Act (16 U.S.C. 1467) or the 
Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act (33 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 
$200,000,000 to carry out this section. Such amount is 
authorized to remain available through fiscal year 2030. 
(e) RELEVANT STATE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘relevant State entity’’ means the Gov-
ernor of any State that borders any Great Lake or the 
head of an agency of such State who is responsible for 
carrying out policy related to the Great Lakes or the 
lakebeds of the Great Lakes. 
Æ 
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