which water is transferred from the land to the at-
mosphere by— 
(A) evaporation from soil and other sur-
faces; and 
(B) transpiration from plants. 
(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 
the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data 
Program established under section 4(a). 
(3) PROGRAM PARTNER.—The term ‘‘Program 
partner’’ means— 
(A) an institution of higher education; 
(B) a State (including a State agency); 
(C) an Indian Tribe as defined in section 
4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); 
(D) a private sector entity; 
(E) a nongovernmental organization; or 
(F) any other entity determined to be ap-
propriate by the Secretary. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di-
rector of the United States Geological Survey. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
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(1) evapotranspiration is the second largest 
component of the water budget, which is an account-
ing of the allocation of water resources to various 
water uses; 
(2) evapotranspiration is a measure of the 
water that is consumed and lost from a water sys-
tem, removed from available supplies, and unavail-
able for other uses within a watershed; 
(3) accurate information on evapotranspiration 
is required to balance water supply and water de-
mand in a watershed and ensure that adequate 
water supplies for beneficial uses are available over 
time; 
(4) water users and managers are impeded in 
more efficient decision making by— 
(A) the lack of consistent and comprehen-
sive water use data; and 
(B) the fact that access to existing data is 
often limited and cost-prohibitive; and 
(5) evapotranspiration data may be applied for 
the purposes of— 
(A) assisting users and decisionmakers to 
better manage resources and protect financial 
viability of farm operations during drought; 
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(B) developing more accurate water budg-
ets and innovative management programs to 
better promote conservation and sustainability 
efforts; and 
(C) employing greater groundwater man-
agement practices and understanding impacts 
of consumptive water use. 
SEC. 4. OPEN ACCESS EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (OPENET) 
DATA PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 
a program to be known as the ‘‘Open Access 
Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program’’ under 
which the Secretary shall provide for the delivery of sat-
ellite-based evapotranspiration data, as available, sup-
ported by other ET methods— 
(1) to advance the quantification of evaporation 
and consumptive water use; and 
(2) to provide data users with estimates of 
evapotranspiration data across large landscapes over 
certain periods of time, with a priority for Landsat 
scale (30–100m) when available. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program is to 
support the operational distribution of satellite-based 
evapotranspiration data generated under the Program to 
sustain and enhance water resources in the United States. 
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(c) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Program, the Sec-
retary shall— 
(1) evaluate, use, and modify sources of sat-
ellite-based evapotranspiration data, supported by 
other ET methods, based on best available science 
and technologies; and 
(2) coordinate and consult with— 
(A) the heads of other relevant Federal 
agencies, including— 
(i) the Commissioner of Reclamation; 
(ii) the Administrator of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration; 
(iii) the Administrator of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 
(iv) the Administrator of the Agricul-
tural Research Service; and 
(v) the Chief of the Natural Resources 
Conservation Service; and 
(B) Program partners. 
(d) COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the Program, the 
Secretary shall, in coordination with other relevant agen-
cies, carry out activities to develop, maintain, establish, 
expand, 
or 
advance 
delivery 
of 
satellite-based 
evapotranspiration data, supported by other ET methods, 
to advance the quantification of evaporation and consump-
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tive water use, with an emphasis on carrying out activities 
that— 
(1) support the development and maintenance 
of evapotranspiration data and software systems and 
associated research and development in a manner 
that ensures that Program data are reflective of the 
best available science, including by providing support 
to Program partners, or coordinating activities with 
other programs within the Department of the Inte-
rior, that have developed and are maintaining 
evapotranspiration software systems and datasets; 
(2) demonstrate or test new and existing 
evapotranspiration measurement technology; 
(3) improve evapotranspiration measurement 
science and technology; and 
(4) develop or refine the application of satellite- 
based evapotranspiration data available to Federal 
agencies, States, and Indian Tribes, including pro-
grams within both the Water Resources and Core 
Science Systems divisions of the United States Geo-
logical Survey. These may include— 
(A) the Water Availability and Use Science 
Program, the National Water Census, and Inte-
grated Water Availability Assessments; and 
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(B) the National Land Imaging Program, 
the Land Change Science Program, and the 
Science Analytics and Synthesis Program. 
(e) WATER USE AND AVAILABILITY OF PROGRAM 
DATA.—The Secretary— 
(1) shall incorporate, to the maximum extent 
practicable, program information and data for pur-
poses of determining consumptive water use on irri-
gated or other vegetated landscapes for use by water 
resource management agencies; 
(2) may continue to coordinate data analyses, 
use, and collection efforts with other Federal agen-
cies, States, and Tribal governments through exist-
ing coordinating organizations, such as— 
(A) the Western States Water Council; and 
(B) the Western States Federal Agency 
Support Team; and 
(3) may provide information collected and ana-
lyzed under the Program to Program partners 
through appropriate mechanisms, including through 
agreements with Federal agencies, States (including 
State agencies), or Indian Tribes, leases, contracts, 
cooperative agreements, grants, loans, and memo-
randa of understanding. 
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(f) COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 
shall— 
(1) enter into cooperative agreements with Pro-
gram partners to provide for the efficient and cost- 
effective administration of the Program, including 
through cost sharing or by providing additional in- 
kind resources necessary to carry out the Program; 
and 
(2) provide nonreimbursable matching funding, 
as permissible, for programmatic and operational ac-
tivities under this section, in consultation with Pro-
gram partners. 
(g) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—Nothing in this Act 
modifies any obligation of the Secretary to comply with 
applicable Federal and State environmental laws in car-
rying out this Act. 
SEC. 5. REPORT. 
Not later than 5 years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com-
mittees on Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry, and Appropriations of the Senate 
and the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, 
and Appropriations of the House of Representatives a re-
port that includes— 
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(1) a status update on the operational incorpo-
ration of Program data into modeling, water plan-
ning, and reporting efforts of relevant Federal agen-
cies; and 
(2) a list of Federal agencies and Program 
partners that are applying Program data to bene-
ficial use, including a description of examples of ben-
eficial uses. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary to carry out this Act $23,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until ex-
pended. 
Æ 
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