104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3198
AN ACT
To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic
Mapping Act of 1992, and for other purposes.
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3198
AN ACT
To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping
Act of 1992, 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 ‘‘National Geologic
Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) in enacting the National Geologic Mapping
Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31a et seq.), Congress
found, among other things, that—
(A) during the 2 decades preceding enact-
ment of that Act, the production of geologic
maps had been drastically curtailed;
(B) geologic maps are the primary data
base for virtually all applied and basic earth-
science investigations;
(C) Federal agencies, State and local gov-
ernments, private industry, and the general
public depend on the information provided by
geologic maps to determine the extent of poten-
tial environmental damage before embarking on
projects that could lead to preventable, costly
environmental problems or litigation;
(D) the lack of proper geologic maps has
led to the poor design of such structures as
dams and waste-disposal facilities;
(E) geologic maps have proven indispen-
sable in the search for needed fossil fuel and
mineral resources; and
(F) a comprehensive nationwide program
of geologic mapping is required in order to sys-
tematically build the Nation’s geologic-map
data base at a pace that responds to increasing
demand;
(2) the geologic mapping program called for by
that Act has not been fully implemented; and
(3) it is time for this important program to be
fully implemented.
SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION AND AMENDMENT.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the National Geo-
logic Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31b) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘As used in this Act:’’ and in-
serting ‘‘In this Act:’’;
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (4),
and (5) as paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6), respec-
tively;
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(2) ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘Association’
means the Association of American State Geolo-
gists.’’; and
(4) in each paragraph that does not have a
heading, by inserting a heading, in the same style as
the heading in paragraph (2), as added by para-
graph (3), the text of which is comprised of the term
defined in the paragraph.
(b) GEOLOGIC MAPPING PROGRAM.—Section 4 of the
National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31c)
is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a na-
tional cooperative geologic mapping program be-
tween the United States Geological Survey and the
State geological surveys, acting through the Associa-
tion.
‘‘(2) DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, AND
ADMINIS-
TRATION.—The cooperative geologic mapping pro-
gram shall be—
‘‘(A) designed and administered to achieve
the objectives set forth in subsection (c);
‘‘(B) developed in consultation with the ad-
visory committee; and
‘‘(C) administered through the Survey.’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—