National Ocean Exploration Act

II Calendar No. 195 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 381 To establish the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 23, 2021 Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. SCHATZ, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mrs. HYDE-SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation DECEMBER 16, 2021 Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To establish the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Ocean Explo- 4 ration Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 381 RS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) The health and resilience of the ocean are 3 vital to the security and economy of the United 4 States and to the lives of the people of the United 5 States. 6 (2) The United States depends on the ocean to 7 regulate weather and climate, to sustain and protect 8 the diversity of life, for maritime shipping, for na- 9 tional defense, and for food, energy, medicine, recre- 10 ation, and other services essential to the people of 11 the United States and all humankind. 12 (3) The prosperity, security, and well-being of 13 the United States depend on successful under- 14 standing and stewardship of the ocean. 15 (4) Interdisciplinary cooperation and engage- 16 ment among government agencies, research institu- 17 tions, nongovernmental organizations, States, and 18 the private sector are essential for successful stew- 19 ardship of ocean and coastal environments, national 20 economic growth, national security, and development 21 of agile strategies that develop, promote, and use 22 new technologies. 23 (5) Ocean exploration can help the people of the 24 United States understand how to be effective stew- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 381 RS ards of the ocean and serve as catalysts and enablers 1 for other sectors of the economy. 2 (6) Mapping, exploration, and characterization 3 of the ocean provides basic, essential information to 4 protect and restore the marine environment, stimu- 5 late economic activity, and provide security for the 6 United States. 7 (7) A robust national ocean exploration pro- 8 gram engaging multiple Federal agencies, the pri- 9 vate sector, nongovernmental organizations, and aca- 10 demia is— 11 (A) essential to the interests of the United 12 States and vital to its security and economy 13 and the health and well-being of all people of 14 the United States; and 15 (B) critical to reestablish the United 16 States at the forefront of global ocean explo- 17 ration and stewardship. 18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) CHARACTERIZATION.—The term ‘‘charac- 21 terization’’ refers to activities that provide com- 22 prehensive data and interpretations for a specific 23 area of interest of the seafloor, sub-bottom, water 24 column, or hydrologic features, such as water masses 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 381 RS and currents, in direct support of specific research, 1 environmental protection, resource management, pol- 2 icymaking, or applied mission objectives. 3 (2) EXPLORATION.—The term ‘‘exploration’’ re- 4 fers to activities that provide— 5 (A) a multidisciplinary view of an unknown 6 or poorly understood area of the seafloor, sub- 7 bottom, or water column; and 8 (B) an initial assessment of the physical, 9 chemical, geological, biological, archeological, or 10 other characteristics of such an area. 11 (3) MAPPING.—The term ‘‘mapping’’ refers to 12 activities that provide comprehensive data and infor- 13 mation needed to understand seafloor characteris- 14 tics, such as depth, topography, bottom type, sedi- 15 ment composition and distribution, underlying geo- 16 logic structure, and benthic flora and fauna. 17 SEC. 4. OCEAN POLICY COMMITTEE. 18 (a) SUBCOMMITTEES.—Section 8932(c) of title 10, 19 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 20 ‘‘(c) SUBCOMMITTEES.—(1) The Committee shall in- 21 clude— 22 ‘‘(A) a subcommittee to be known as the ‘Ocean 23 Science and Technology Subcommittee’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 381 RS ‘‘(B) a subcommittee to be known as the ‘Ocean 1 Resource Management Subcommittee’. 2 ‘‘(2) In discharging its responsibilities in support of 3 agreed-upon scientific needs, and to assist in the execution 4 of the responsibilities described in subsection (b), the 5 Committee may delegate responsibilities to the Ocean 6 Science and Technology Subcommittee, the Ocean Re- 7 source Management Subcommittee, or another sub- 8 committee of the Committee, as the Committee determines 9 appropriate.’’. 10 (b) INCREASED ACCESS TO GEOSPATIAL DATA FOR 11 MORE EFFICIENT AND INFORMED DECISION MAKING.— 12 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF DOCUMENT SYSTEM.— 13 Section 8932(b) of title 10, United States Code, is 14 amended— 15 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 16 the end; 17 (B) in paragraph (4)(F), by striking the 18 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 19 (C) by adding at the end the following new 20 paragraph: 21 ‘‘(5) establish or designate one or more systems 22 for ocean-related documents prepared under the Na- 23 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 24 4321 et seq.), in accordance with subsection (h).’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 381 RS (2) ELEMENTS.—Section 8932 of such title is 1 amended— 2 (A) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub- 3 section (i); and 4 (B) by inserting after subsection (g) the 5 following new subsection (h): 6 ‘‘(h) ELEMENTS OF DOCUMENT SYSTEM.—The sys- 7 tems established or designated under subsection (b)(5) 8 shall include the following: 9 ‘‘(1) A publicly accessible, centralized digital ar- 10 chive of documents described in subsection (b)(5) 11 that are finalized after the date of the enactment of 12 the National Ocean Exploration Act, including— 13 ‘‘(A) environmental impact statements; 14 ‘‘(B) environmental assessments; 15 ‘‘(C) categorical exclusions; 16 ‘‘(D) records of decision; and 17 ‘‘(E) other relevant documents as deter- 18 mined by the Committee. 19 ‘‘(2) Geospatially referenced data, if any, con- 20 tained in the documents under paragraph (1). 21 ‘‘(3) A mechanism to retrieve information 22 through geo-information tools that can map and in- 23 tegrate relevant geospatial information, such as— 24 ‘‘(A) Ocean Report Tools; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 381 RS ‘‘(B) the Environmental Studies Program 1 Information System; 2 ‘‘(C) Regional Ocean Partnerships; and 3 ‘‘(D) the Integrated Ocean Observing Sys- 4 tem.’’. 5 SEC. 5. NATIONAL OCEAN MAPPING, EXPLORATION, AND 6 CHARACTERIZATION COUNCIL. 7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 8 a council, to be known as the ‘‘National Ocean Mapping, 9 Exploration, and Characterization Council’’ (in this sec- 10 tion referred to as the ‘‘Council’’). 11 (b) PURPOSE.—The Council shall— 12 (1) update national priorities for ocean map- 13 ping, exploration, and characterization; and 14 (2) coordinate and facilitate activities to ad- 15 vance those priorities. 16 (c) REPORTING.—The Council shall report to the 17 Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee of the 18 Ocean Policy Committee established under section 8932(c) 19 of title 10, United States Code. 20 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—The Council shall be composed of 21 not fewer than one senior-level representative from each 22 of the following: 23 (1) The Department of the Navy. 24 (2) The Department of the Interior. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 381 RS (3) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 1 ministration. 2 (4) The department in which the Coast Guard 3 is operating. 4 (5) The Office of Management and Budget. 5 (6) The Office of Science and Technology Pol- 6 icy. 7 (7) The National Science Foundation. 8 (8) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad- 9 ministration. 10 (9) The Marine Mammal Commission. 11 (10) The Department of Transportation. 12 (11) The Department of Energy. 13 (12) The Office of the Director of National In- 14 telligence. 15 (e) CO-CHAIRS.—The Council shall be co-chaired 16 by— 17 (1) two senior-level representatives from the 18 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 19 and 20 (2) one senior-level representative from the De- 21 partment of the Interior. 22 (f) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 23 (1) set national ocean mapping, exploration, 24 and characterization priorities and strategies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 381 RS (2) cultivate and facilitate transparent and sus- 1 tained partnerships among Federal and State agen- 2 cies, private industry, academia, and nongovern- 3 mental organizations to conduct ocean mapping, ex- 4 ploration, and characterization activities and related 5 technology development; 6 (3) coordinate improved processes for data com- 7 pilation, management, access, synthesis, and visual- 8 ization with respect to ocean mapping, exploration, 9 and characterization, with a focus on building on ex- 10 isting ocean data management systems, as appro- 11 priate; 12 (4) encourage education, workforce training, 13 and public engagement activities that— 14 (A) advance interdisciplinary principles 15 that contribute to ocean mapping, exploration, 16 research, and characterization; 17 (B) improve public engagement with and 18 understanding of ocean science; and 19 (C) provide opportunities for underserved 20 populations; 21 (5) coordinate activities as appropriate with do- 22 mestic and international ocean mapping, exploration, 23 and characterization initiatives or programs; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 381 RS (6) establish and monitor metrics to track 1 progress in achieving the priorities set under para- 2 graph (1). 3 (g) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON OCEAN EX- 4 PLORATION AND CHARACTERIZATION.— 5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall es- 6 tablish a new interagency working group to be 7 known as the ‘‘Interagency Working Group on 8 Ocean Exploration and Characterization’’. 9 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Working 10 Group on Ocean Exploration and Characterization 11 shall be comprised of senior representatives from 12 Federal agencies with ocean exploration and charac- 13 terization responsibilities. 14 (3) FUNCTIONS.—The Interagency Working 15 Group on Ocean Exploration and Characterization 16 shall support the Council and the Ocean Science and 17 Technology Subcommittee of the Ocean Policy Com- 18 mittee established under section 8932(c) of title 10, 19 United States Code, on ocean exploration and char- 20 acterization activities and associated technology de- 21 velopment across the Federal Government, State 22 governments, private industry, nongovernmental or- 23 ganizations, and academia. 24 (h) OVERSIGHT.—The Council shall oversee— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 381 RS (1) the Interagency Working Group on Ocean 1 Exploration and Characterization established under 2 subsection (g)(1); and 3 (2) the Interagency Working Group on Ocean 4 and Coastal Mapping under section 12203 of the 5 Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act (33 6 U.S.C. 3502). 7 (i) PLAN.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Council 10 shall develop or update and submit to the appro- 11 priate committees of Congress a plan for an inte- 12 grated cross-sectoral ocean mapping, exploration, 13 and characterization initiative. 14 (2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by para- 15 graph (1) shall— 16 (A) discuss the utility and benefits of 17 ocean exploration and characterization; 18 (B) identify and describe national ocean 19 mapping, exploration, and characterization pri- 20 orities; 21 (C) identify and describe Federal and fed- 22 erally funded ocean mapping, exploration, and 23 characterization programs; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 381 RS (D) facilitate and incorporate non-Federal 1 input into national ocean mapping, exploration, 2 and characterization priorities; 3 (E) ensure effective coordination of ocean 4 mapping, exploration, and characterization ac- 5 tivities among programs described in subpara- 6 graph (C); 7 (F) identify opportunities for combining 8 overlapping or complementary needs, activities, 9 and resources of Federal agencies and non-Fed- 10 eral organizations relating to ocean mapping, 11 exploration, and characterization while not re- 12 ducing benefits from existing mapping, explo- 13 rations, and characterization activities; 14 (G) promote new and existing partnerships 15 among Federal and State agencies, private in- 16 dustry, academia, and nongovernmental organi- 17 zations to conduct or support ocean mapping, 18 exploration, and characterization activities and 19 technology development needs, including 20 through coordination under section 3 of the 21 Commercial Engagement Through Ocean Tech- 22 nology Act of 2018 (33 U.S.C. 4102); 23 (H) develop a transparent and sustained 24 mechanism for non-Federal partnerships and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:45 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S381.RS S381 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 381 RS stakeholder engagement in strategic planning 1 and mission execution to be im [Text truncated for display. 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