I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 958
To authorize certain hydrographic services programs, to name a cove in 
Alaska in honor of the late Able Bodied Seaman Eric Steiner Koss, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2003
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To authorize certain hydrographic services programs, to 
name a cove in Alaska in honor of the late Able Bodied 
Seaman Eric Steiner Koss, 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 ‘‘Hydrographic Services 
Amendments of 2003’’.
TITLE I—NOAA HYDROGRAPHIC 
SERVICES IMPROVEMENT 
SEC. 101. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 
this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi-
sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 
section or other provision of the Hydrographic Services 
Improvement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892 et seq.). 
SEC. 102. FUNCTIONS OF ADMINISTRATOR. 
(a) REGIONAL NAVIGATION RESPONSE TEAMS.—
Section 303(a) (33 U.S.C. 892a(a)) is amended by strik-
ing paragraphs (7) and (8) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(7) establish, equip, and maintain up to 10 
Regional Navigation Response teams in priority 
coastal areas identified by the Secretary, in con-
sultation with the Commandant of the Coast Guard, 
to conduct activities related to navigational safety 
and the validation of hydrographic data; 
‘‘(8) to the greatest extent practicable and cost-
effective, fulfill the requirements of paragraphs (1) 
and (7) through contracts or other agreements with 
private sector entities; and 
‘‘(9) participate in the development of, and im-
plement for the United States in cooperation with
other appropriate Federal agencies, international 
standards for hydrographic data and hydrographic 
services.’’.
(b) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT VOLUNTEER SERV-
ICES.—Section 303 (33 U.S.C. 892a) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT VOLUNTEER SERV-
ICES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To help fulfill the duties of 
the Administrator, including authorities under the 
Act of 1947 (33 U.S.C. 883a et seq.), this Act, or 
in response to a maritime emergency, the Adminis-
trator may—
‘‘(A) establish a volunteer program; and 
‘‘(B) enter into special agreements with 
qualified organizations to assist in the imple-
mentation of a volunteer program.
‘‘(2) LEGAL STATUS OF VOLUNTEERS.—
‘‘(A) Paragraphs (1) through (5) of section 
7(c) of the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 
U.S.C. 742f(c)) shall apply to volunteers who 
provide services to the Administrator under a 
volunteer program established under paragraph 
(1).
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), 
any reference in section 7(c) of the Fish and 
Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742f(c)) to the 
Secretary of Interior or the Secretary of Com-
merce is deemed to refer to the Administrator. 
‘‘(3) QUALIFIED ORGANIZATION.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘qualified organization’ means a 
nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization, deter-
mined by the Administrator to have demonstrated 
expertise in boating safety and a commitment to im-
proving the quality of hydrographic services and re-
lated oceanographic and meteorological information 
that is made available to mariners. 
‘‘(e) PARTICIPATION IN JOINT INSTITUTE.—The Sec-
retary may participate in a joint institute that develops 
new hydrographic technology and conducts academic, edu-
cational, and outreach activities that assist the Adminis-
trator in fulfilling the functions of the Administrator 
under this section.’’.
SEC. 103. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) ACCEPTANCE AND RECOGNITION OF CERTIFI-
CATIONS.—Section 304(b) (33 U.S.C. 892b(b)) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) ACCEPTANCE AND RECOGNITION OF CER-
TIFICATIONS.—The Administrator shall, to the max-
imum extent practicable, assure that any inter-
national organizations and agreements to which the 
United States is a party that affect hydrographic 
products and nautical charts accept or recognize, re-
spectively, hydrographic products certified by the 
Administrator under this subsection.’’. 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER AND 
OMB CIRCULAR.—Section 304 (33 U.S.C. 892b) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) ANNUAL STUDY AND REPORT REGARDING IM-
PLEMENTATION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER AND OMB CIR-
CULAR.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 
annually conduct a study of, and report to the panel 
established under section 305 regarding, steps taken 
to comply with section 3(d) of Executive Order 
12906 and Office of Management and Budget Cir-
cular A–16 with respect to the collection and pro-
duction of new hydrographic data and products by 
the Administration. 
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the 
study and report, the Administrator shall consult 
with the Federal Geographic Data Committee.’’.
SEC. 104. PLAN REGARDING PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND RE-
MOTE SENSING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 
submit to the Congress a plan for increasing, consistent 
with this title, contracting with the private sector for pho-
togrammetric, remote sensing, and other geospatial ref-
erence services related to hydrographic data acquisition or 
hydrographic services activities performed by the National 
Ocean Service. In preparing the plan, the Administrator 
shall consult with private sector entities knowledgeable in 
photogrammetry and remote sensing. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The plan shall include the following: 
(1) An assessment of which of the photo-
grammetric, remote sensing, and other geospatial 
reference services related to hydrographic data ac-
quisition or hydrographic services activities per-
formed by the National Ocean Service can be per-
formed adequately by private-sector entities. 
(2) An evaluation of the relative cost-effective-
ness of the Federal Government and private-sector 
entities in performing those activities. 
(3) A strategy for enhancing and improving the 
acquisition and contract management capabilities of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion to assist in the utilization of private sector enti-
ties for photogrammetric, remote sensing, and other 
geospatial reference services related to hydrographic 
data acquisition or hydrographic services activities 
performed by the National Ocean Service, includ-
ing—
(A) the transfer and retraining of per-
sonnel to become contracting officer technical 
representatives; 
(B) education in the use of contracting 
procedures in accordance with section 303(b)(3) 
of the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act 
of 1998, as amended by this Act; and 
(C) the utilization of training, education, 
and acquisition and contract management capa-
bilities of other Federal agencies that are expert 
and experienced in contracting for such serv-
ices. 
SEC. 105. ACQUISITION OF HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY VES-
SEL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce may, 
in accordance with this section, acquire, by purchase, 
lease, lease-purchase, or charter, and equip one hydro-
graphic survey vessel.
(b) VESSEL REQUIREMENTS.—Any vessel acquired 
and equipped under this section must be capable of—
(1) staying at sea continuously for at least 30 
days; 
(2) carrying at least 4 hydrographic survey 
launches; 
(3) conducting hydrographic surveys; and 
(4) conducting other work necessary to provide 
mariners with the accurate and timely data needed 
to conduct safe and efficient maritime commerce. 
(c) PLAN.—No later than 6 months after the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit 
to the Committee on Resources of the House of Represent-
atives and the Committee on Commerce, Science and 
Transportation of the Senate a detailed plan for imple-
menting this section, including—
(1) a timetable and cost estimates for the ac-
quisition and equipping of the vessel under sub-
section (a); 
(2) an explanation of what vessel or vessels 
would be retired when the vessel described in sub-
section (a) becomes operational; and 
(3) a comparison of the 10-year estimated costs 
of operation and maintenance of a new vessel versus 
the 2 vessels proposed for retirement.
(d) AUTHORIZATION.—To prepare the plan required 
under subsection (b), there is authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary of Commerce $1,000,000 for fis-
cal year 2004. 
SEC. 106. KOSS COVE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law or existing policy, the cove described in sub-
section (b) shall be known and designated as ‘‘Koss Cove’’, 
in honor of the late Able Bodied Seaman Eric Steiner 
Koss of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration vessel RAINER who died in the performance of 
a nautical charting mission off the Alaskan coast. 
(b) COVE DESCRIBED.—The cove referred to in sub-
section (a) is—
(1) adjacent to and southeast of Point 
Elrington, Alaska, and forms a portion of the south-
ern coast of Elrington Island; 
(2) 3⁄4 mile across the mouth; 
(3) centered at 59 degrees 56.1 minutes North, 
148 degrees 14 minutes West; and 
(4) 45 miles of Seaward, Alaska. 
(c) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula-
tion, document, record, map, or other paper of the United 
States to the cove described in subsection (b) is deemed 
to be a reference to Koss Cove.
SEC. 107. DEPICTION OF SAME SHORELINES ON CHARTS 
AND MAPPING PRODUCTS. 
Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 
of the Act, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary 
of the Interior, in consultation with the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency, shall provide to the Com-
mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate a plan to depict the same shorelines on Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration nautical 
charts and United States Geological Survey mapping 
products. 
TITLE II—FISHERY SURVEY 
VESSELS 
SEC. 201. FISHERY SURVEY VESSELS. 
Section 302(c) of the Fisheries Survey Vessel Author-
ization Act of 2000 (33 U.S.C. 891b note) is amended 
by striking ‘‘2002 and 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2004, 2005, 
and 2006’’.
Æ