Great Lakes Mapping Act

Bill: 118-hr-7020
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. McClain, Lisa C. [R-MI-9]
Introduced: 2024-01-17
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Earth sciences

Geography and mapping

Great Lakes

Hydrology and hydrography

Intergovernmental relations

Lakes and rivers
Latest action: action_date: 2024-03-21
text: Subcommittee Hearings Held

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7020 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 referred 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Great Lakes Mapping Act . 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 (referred 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 Policy Committee possess or have access to independent 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 available 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 consultation with the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observing System and the regional coastal observing systems, shall— (1) during the mapping effort and within a reasonable 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 (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 section shall be construed to change any process or procedure used by the Administrator in carrying out the requirements 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 Governor 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.