National Ocean Exploration Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 5024 To establish the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 16, 2020 Mr. WICKER (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 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 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 (1) The health and resilience of the ocean are 8 vital to the security and economy of the United 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 5024 IS States and to the lives of the people of the United 1 States. 2 (2) The United States depends on the ocean to 3 regulate weather and climate, to sustain and protect 4 the diversity of life, for maritime shipping, for na- 5 tional defense, and for food, energy, medicine, and 6 other services essential to the people of the United 7 States and all humankind. 8 (3) The prosperity, security, and well-being of 9 the United States depends on successful stewardship 10 of the ocean. 11 (4) Interdisciplinary cooperation and engage- 12 ment among government agencies, research institu- 13 tions, foundations, and the private sector are essen- 14 tial for successful stewardship of ocean and coastal 15 environments, for national economic growth, and for 16 development of agile strategies that promote and use 17 new technologies. 18 (5) Ocean exploration can help the people of the 19 United States understand how to be effective stew- 20 ards of the ocean and serve as catalysts and enablers 21 for other sectors of the economy. 22 (6) Mapping, exploration, and characterization 23 of the ocean provides basic, essential information to 24 protect and restore the marine environment, stimu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:17 Jan 04, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 5024 IS late economic activity, and provide security for the 1 United States. 2 (7) A robust national ocean exploration pro- 3 gram engaging multiple Federal agencies, the pri- 4 vate sector, and academia is— 5 (A) essential to the interests of the United 6 States and vital to its security and economy 7 and the health and well-being of all people of 8 the United States; and 9 (B) critical to reestablish the United 10 States at the forefront of global ocean explo- 11 ration and stewardship. 12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) CHARACTERIZATION.—The term ‘‘charac- 15 terization’’ refers to activities that provide com- 16 prehensive data and interpretations for a specific 17 area of interest of the seafloor, sub-bottom, water 18 column, or hydrologic features, such as water masses 19 and currents, in direct support of specific research, 20 environmental protection, resource management, pol- 21 icymaking, or applied mission objectives. 22 (2) EXPLORATION.—The term ‘‘exploration’’ re- 23 fers to activities that provide— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 5024 IS (A) a multidisciplinary view of an unknown 1 or poorly understood area of the seafloor, sub- 2 bottom, or water column; and 3 (B) an initial assessment of the physical, 4 chemical, geological, biological, archeological, or 5 other characteristics of such an area. 6 (3) MAPPING.—The term ‘‘mapping’’ refers to 7 activities that provide comprehensive data and infor- 8 mation needed to understand seafloor characteris- 9 tics, such as depth, topography, bottom type, sedi- 10 ment composition and distribution, underlying geo- 11 logic structure, and benthic flora and fauna. 12 SEC. 4. OCEAN POLICY COMMITTEE. 13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 14 Executive Office of the President a committee, to be 15 known as the ‘‘Ocean Policy Committee’’ (in this section 16 referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 17 (b) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Committee shall in- 18 clude— 19 (1) a subcommittee to be known as the ‘‘Ocean 20 Science and Technology Subcommittee’’; and 21 (2) a subcommittee to be known as the ‘‘Ocean 22 Resource Management Subcommittee’’. 23 (c) INCREASED ACCESS TO GEOSPATIAL DATA FOR 24 MORE EFFICIENT AND INFORMED DECISION MAKING.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 5024 IS (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF DOCUMENT SYSTEM.— 1 The Committee shall establish or designate one or 2 more systems for ocean-related documents prepared 3 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 4 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 5 (2) ELEMENTS.—The systems established or 6 designated under paragraph (1) shall include the fol- 7 lowing: 8 (A) A publicly accessible, centralized dig- 9 ital archive of documents described in para- 10 graph (1) that are finalized after the date of 11 enactment of this Act, including— 12 (i) environmental impact statements; 13 (ii) environmental assessments; 14 (iii) categorical exclusions; 15 (iv) records of decision; and 16 (v) other relevant documents as deter- 17 mined by the Committee. 18 (B) Geospatially referenced data, if any, 19 contained in the documents under subpara- 20 graph (A). 21 (C) A mechanism to retrieve information 22 through geo-information tools that can map and 23 integrate relevant geospatial information, such 24 as— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 5024 IS (i) Ocean Report Tools; 1 (ii) the Environmental Studies Pro- 2 gram Information System; 3 (iii) Regional Ocean Partnerships; and 4 (iv) the Integrated Ocean Observing 5 System. 6 SEC. 5. NATIONAL OCEAN MAPPING, EXPLORATION, AND 7 CHARACTERIZATION COUNCIL. 8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 9 a council, to be known as the ‘‘National Ocean Mapping, 10 Exploration, and Characterization Council’’ (in this sec- 11 tion referred to as the ‘‘Council’’). 12 (b) PURPOSE.—The Council shall— 13 (1) update national priorities for ocean map- 14 ping, exploration, and characterization; and 15 (2) coordinate and facilitate activities to ad- 16 vance those priorities. 17 (c) REPORTING.—The Council shall report to the 18 Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee of the 19 Ocean Policy Committee established under section 4(b)(1). 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 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 5024 IS (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 Council on Environmental Quality. 6 (7) The Office of Science and Technology Pol- 7 icy. 8 (8) The Department of State. 9 (9) The National Science Foundation. 10 (10) The National Aeronautics and Space Ad- 11 ministration. 12 (11) The Marine Mammal Commission. 13 (e) CO-CHAIRS.—The Council shall be co-chaired 14 by— 15 (1) two senior-level representatives from the 16 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 17 and 18 (2) one senior-level representative from the De- 19 partment of the Interior. 20 (f) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 21 (1) set national ocean mapping, exploration, 22 and characterization priorities and strategies; 23 (2) cultivate and facilitate partnerships among 24 Federal and State agencies, private industry, aca- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 5024 IS demia, and nongovernmental organizations to con- 1 duct ocean mapping, exploration, and characteriza- 2 tion activities and related technology development; 3 (3) coordinate improved processes for data 4 management, access, synthesis, and visualization 5 with respect to ocean mapping, exploration, and 6 characterization; 7 (4) encourage education, workforce training, 8 and public engagement activities that— 9 (A) advance interdisciplinary principles 10 that contribute to ocean mapping, exploration, 11 and characterization; and 12 (B) improve public engagement with ocean 13 science; 14 (5) coordinate activities as appropriate with 15 international ocean mapping, exploration, and char- 16 acterization initiatives; and 17 (6) establish and monitor metrics to track 18 progress in achieving the priorities set under para- 19 graph (1). 20 (g) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUPS.— 21 (1) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON OCEAN 22 EXPLORATION AND CHARACTERIZATION.— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 5024 IS (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President 1 shall establish a new interagency working group 2 on ocean exploration and characterization. 3 (B) FUNCTIONS.—The interagency work- 4 ing group established under subparagraph (A) 5 shall support the Council and the Ocean 6 Science and Technology Subcommittee of the 7 Ocean Policy Committee established under sec- 8 tion 4(b)(1) on ocean exploration and charac- 9 terization activities and associated technology 10 development across the Federal Government. 11 (2) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON OCEAN 12 AND COASTAL MAPPING.—The Interagency Working 13 Group on Ocean and Coastal Mapping under section 14 12203 of the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integra- 15 tion Act (33 U.S.C. 3502) shall support the Council 16 and the Ocean Science and Technology Sub- 17 committee of the Ocean Policy Committee estab- 18 lished under section 4(b)(1) on ocean mapping ac- 19 tivities and associated technology development across 20 the Federal Government. 21 (3) OVERSIGHT.—The Council shall oversee— 22 (A) the interagency working group on 23 ocean exploration and characterization estab- 24 lished under paragraph (1)(A); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 5024 IS (B) the Interagency Working Group on 1 Ocean and Coastal Mapping under section 2 12203 of the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Inte- 3 gration Act (33 U.S.C. 3502). 4 (h) PLAN.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Council 7 shall develop and submit to the appropriate commit- 8 tees of Congress a plan for an integrated ocean 9 mapping, exploration, and characterization initiative. 10 (2) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by para- 11 graph (1) shall— 12 (A) identify and describe national ocean 13 mapping, exploration, and characterization pri- 14 orities; 15 (B) identify and describe Federal and fed- 16 erally funded ocean mapping, exploration, and 17 characterization programs; 18 (C) facilitate non-Federal input into na- 19 tional ocean mapping, exploration, and charac- 20 terization priorities; 21 (D) ensure effective coordination of ocean 22 mapping, exploration, and characterization ac- 23 tivities among programs described in subpara- 24 graph (B); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 5024 IS (E) identify opportunities for combining 1 overlapping or complementary needs, activities, 2 and resources of Federal agencies relating to 3 ocean mapping, exploration, and characteriza- 4 tion while not reducing benefits from existing 5 mapping, explorations, and characterization ac- 6 tivities; 7 (F) promote new and existing partnerships 8 among Federal and State agencies, private in- 9 dustry, academia, and nongovernmental organi- 10 zations to conduct or support ocean mapping, 11 exploration, and characterization activities and 12 technology development needs, including 13 through coordination under section 3 of the 14 Commercial Engagement Through Ocean Tech- 15 nology Act of 2018 (33 U.S.C. 4102); 16 (G) establish standardized collection and 17 data management protocols for ocean mapping, 18 exploration, and characterization; 19 (H) encourage the development of innova- 20 tive ocean mapping, exploration, and character- 21 ization technologies and applications; 22 (I) promote protocols for accepting data, 23 equipment, or other resources that support na- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 5024 IS tional ocean mapping, exploration, and charac- 1 terization priorities; 2 (J) identify best practices for the protec- 3 tion of marine life during mapping, exploration, 4 and characterization activities; 5 (K) identify training, technology, and other 6 resource requirements for enabling the National 7 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 8 other appropriate Federal agencies to support a 9 coordinated national ocean mapping, explo- 10 ration, and characterization effort; 11 (L) identify a centralized mechanism or of- 12 fice for— 13 (i) coordinating data collection, proc- 14 essing, archiving, and dissemination activi- 15 ties relating to ocean mapping, exploration, 16 and characterization that meets Federal 17 mandates for data accuracy and accessi- 18 bility; and 19 (ii) coordinating partnerships that 20 support such activities; 21 (M) designate repositories responsible for 22 archiving and managing ocean mapping, explo- 23 ration, and characterization data; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Jan 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5024.IS S5024 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 5024 IS (N) set forth a timetable and estimated 1 costs for implementation and completion of the 2 plan. 3 (i) BRIEFINGS.—Not less frequently than every 2 4 years, the Council shall brief the appropriate committees 5 of Congress on— 6 (1) progress made toward meeting the national 7 priorities described in subsection (h)(2)(A); and 8 (2) recommendations for meeting such prior- 9 ities. 10 (j) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRE [Text truncated for display. 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