Evapotranspiration Data Act

II Calendar No. 355 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1118 [Report No. 118–164] To establish the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 30, 2023 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Mr. HICKENLOOPER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Natural Resources APRIL 9, 2024 Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, with an amendment and an amendment to the title [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To establish the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program. 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 ‘‘Open Access 4 Evapotranspiration Data Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1118 RS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) EVAPOTRANSPIRATION.—The term 3 ‘‘evapotranspiration’’ or ‘‘ET’’ means the process by 4 which water is transferred from the land to the at- 5 mosphere by— 6 (A) evaporation from soil and other sur- 7 faces; and 8 (B) transpiration from plants. 9 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 10 the Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data 11 Program established under section 4(a). 12 (3) PROGRAM PARTNER.—The term ‘‘Program 13 partner’’ means— 14 (A) an institution of higher education; 15 (B) a State (including a State agency); 16 (C) an Indian Tribe as defined in section 17 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 18 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); 19 (D) a private sector entity; 20 (E) a nongovernmental organization; or 21 (F) any other entity determined to be ap- 22 propriate by the Secretary. 23 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 24 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di- 25 rector of the United States Geological Survey. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1118 RS SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) evapotranspiration is the second largest 3 component of the water budget, which is an account- 4 ing of the allocation of water resources to various 5 water uses; 6 (2) evapotranspiration is a measure of the 7 water that is consumed and lost from a water sys- 8 tem, removed from available supplies, and unavail- 9 able for other uses within a watershed; 10 (3) accurate information on evapotranspiration 11 is required to balance water supply and water de- 12 mand in a watershed and ensure that adequate 13 water supplies for beneficial uses are available over 14 time; 15 (4) water users and managers are impeded in 16 more efficient decision making by— 17 (A) the lack of consistent and comprehen- 18 sive water use data; and 19 (B) the fact that access to existing data is 20 often limited and cost-prohibitive; and 21 (5) evapotranspiration data may be applied for 22 the purposes of— 23 (A) assisting users and decisionmakers to 24 better manage resources and protect financial 25 viability of farm operations during drought; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1118 RS (B) developing more accurate water budg- 1 ets and innovative management programs to 2 better promote conservation and sustainability 3 efforts; and 4 (C) employing greater groundwater man- 5 agement practices and understanding impacts 6 of consumptive water use. 7 SEC. 4. OPEN ACCESS EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (OPENET) 8 DATA PROGRAM. 9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 10 a program to be known as the ‘‘Open Access 11 Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program’’ under 12 which the Secretary shall provide for the delivery of sat- 13 ellite-based evapotranspiration data, as available, sup- 14 ported by other ET methods— 15 (1) to advance the quantification of evaporation 16 and consumptive water use; and 17 (2) to provide data users with estimates of 18 evapotranspiration data across large landscapes over 19 certain periods of time, with a priority for Landsat 20 scale (30–100m) when available. 21 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program is to 22 support the operational distribution of satellite-based 23 evapotranspiration data generated under the Program to 24 sustain and enhance water resources in the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1118 RS (c) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Program, the Sec- 1 retary shall— 2 (1) evaluate, use, and modify sources of sat- 3 ellite-based evapotranspiration data, supported by 4 other ET methods, based on best available science 5 and technologies; and 6 (2) coordinate and consult with— 7 (A) the heads of other relevant Federal 8 agencies, including— 9 (i) the Commissioner of Reclamation; 10 (ii) the Administrator of the National 11 Aeronautics and Space Administration; 12 (iii) the Administrator of the National 13 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 14 (iv) the Administrator of the Agricul- 15 tural Research Service; and 16 (v) the Chief of the Natural Resources 17 Conservation Service; and 18 (B) Program partners. 19 (d) COMPONENTS.—In carrying out the Program, the 20 Secretary shall, in coordination with other relevant agen- 21 cies, carry out activities to develop, maintain, establish, 22 expand, or advance delivery of satellite-based 23 evapotranspiration data, supported by other ET methods, 24 to advance the quantification of evaporation and consump- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1118 RS tive water use, with an emphasis on carrying out activities 1 that— 2 (1) support the development and maintenance 3 of evapotranspiration data and software systems and 4 associated research and development in a manner 5 that ensures that Program data are reflective of the 6 best available science, including by providing support 7 to Program partners, or coordinating activities with 8 other programs within the Department of the Inte- 9 rior, that have developed and are maintaining 10 evapotranspiration software systems and datasets; 11 (2) demonstrate or test new and existing 12 evapotranspiration measurement technology; 13 (3) improve evapotranspiration measurement 14 science and technology; and 15 (4) develop or refine the application of satellite- 16 based evapotranspiration data available to Federal 17 agencies, States, and Indian Tribes, including pro- 18 grams within both the Water Resources and Core 19 Science Systems divisions of the United States Geo- 20 logical Survey. These may include— 21 (A) the Water Availability and Use Science 22 Program, the National Water Census, and Inte- 23 grated Water Availability Assessments; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1118 RS (B) the National Land Imaging Program, 1 the Land Change Science Program, and the 2 Science Analytics and Synthesis Program. 3 (e) WATER USE AND AVAILABILITY OF PROGRAM 4 DATA.—The Secretary— 5 (1) shall incorporate, to the maximum extent 6 practicable, program information and data for pur- 7 poses of determining consumptive water use on irri- 8 gated or other vegetated landscapes for use by water 9 resource management agencies; 10 (2) may continue to coordinate data analyses, 11 use, and collection efforts with other Federal agen- 12 cies, States, and Tribal governments through exist- 13 ing coordinating organizations, such as— 14 (A) the Western States Water Council; and 15 (B) the Western States Federal Agency 16 Support Team; and 17 (3) may provide information collected and ana- 18 lyzed under the Program to Program partners 19 through appropriate mechanisms, including through 20 agreements with Federal agencies, States (including 21 State agencies), or Indian Tribes, leases, contracts, 22 cooperative agreements, grants, loans, and memo- 23 randa of understanding. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1118 RS (f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 1 shall— 2 (1) enter into cooperative agreements with Pro- 3 gram partners to provide for the efficient and cost- 4 effective administration of the Program, including 5 through cost sharing or by providing additional in- 6 kind resources necessary to carry out the Program; 7 and 8 (2) provide nonreimbursable matching funding, 9 as permissible, for programmatic and operational ac- 10 tivities under this section, in consultation with Pro- 11 gram partners. 12 (g) ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.—Nothing in this Act 13 modifies any obligation of the Secretary to comply with 14 applicable Federal and State environmental laws in car- 15 rying out this Act. 16 SEC. 5. REPORT. 17 Not later than 5 years after the date of the enact- 18 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com- 19 mittees on Energy and Natural Resources, Agriculture, 20 Nutrition, and Forestry, and Appropriations of the Senate 21 and the Committees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, 22 and Appropriations of the House of Representatives a re- 23 port that includes— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1118 RS (1) a status update on the operational incorpo- 1 ration of Program data into modeling, water plan- 2 ning, and reporting efforts of relevant Federal agen- 3 cies; and 4 (2) a list of Federal agencies and Program 5 partners that are applying Program data to bene- 6 ficial use, including a description of examples of ben- 7 eficial uses. 8 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 9 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 10 retary to carry out this Act $23,000,000 for each of fiscal 11 years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until ex- 12 pended. 13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Evapotranspiration 15 Data Act’’. 16 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 17 In this Act: 18 (1) EVAPOTRANSPIRATION; ET.—The terms 19 ‘‘evapotranspiration’’ and ‘‘ET’’ mean the process by 20 which water is transferred from the land to the at- 21 mosphere by— 22 (A) evaporation from soil and other sur- 23 faces; and 24 (B) transpiration from plants. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1118 RS (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 1 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the In- 2 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 3 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 4 (3) NON-FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘non-Fed- 5 eral entity’’ means— 6 (A) an institution of higher education; 7 (B) a State (including a State agency); 8 (C) an Indian Tribe; 9 (D) a private sector entity; 10 (E) a nongovernmental organization; or 11 (F) an irrigation district, water district, 12 groundwater sustainability agency, or other or- 13 ganization with water or power delivery author- 14 ity. 15 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 16 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di- 17 rector of the United States Geological Survey. 18 SEC. 3. EVAPOTRANSPIRATION DATA. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may— 20 (1) evaluate, analyze, test, refine, and improve 21 ET data and models, based on the best available 22 science and technology, including satellite-based ET 23 data with Landsat scale (30–100m) and ground-based 24 ET measurement technologies, across public land (in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1118 RS cluding State forests and units of the National Forest 1 System), rangeland, agricultural land, and large 2 urban and other vegetated landscapes; 3 (2) provide and maintain estimates of ET data 4 across large landscapes over certain periods of time; 5 (3) use ET data to advance the quantification of 6 evaporation and consumptive water use on public 7 land (including State forests and units of the Na- 8 tional Forest System), rangeland, agricultural land, 9 and large urban and other vegetated landscapes; and 10 (4) support the development and maintenance of 11 ET data, models, software systems, and associated re- 12 search and development, in consultation with other 13 programs within the Department of the Interior that 14 have developed and are maintaining ET software sys- 15 tems and datasets. 16 (b) REQUIREMENTS AND COORDINATION.—In carrying 17 out subsection (a), the Secretary— 18 (1) shall incorporate scientific peer review, as 19 appropriate and to the maximum extent practicable; 20 (2) shall collaborate and consult with scientists 21 and experts, including individuals working for com- 22 mercial enterprises, on using models or an ensemble 23 of models, based on the best available science and 24 technology, to provide ET data; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1118 RS (3) may develop and carry out public education 1 programs aimed at helping non-Federal entities, 2 water managers, media outlets, agricultural pro- 3 ducers, and other relevant stakeholders understand 4 appropriate interpretations and uses of ET data; 5 (4) shall coordinate and consult with— 6 (A) the heads of other relevant Federal 7 agencies, including— 8 (i) the Commissioner of Reclamation; 9 (ii) the Administrator of the National 10 Aeronautics and Space Administration; 11 (iii) the Administrator of the National 12 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 13 (iv) the Administrator of the Agricul- 14 tural Research Service; and 15 (v) the Chief of the Natural Resources 16 Conservation Service; 17 (B) non-Federal entities; and 18 (C) relevant stakeholders; 19 (5) may coordinate ET data analyses, use, and 20 collection efforts with other Federal agencies, States, 21 Indian Tribes, non-Federal entities, and other rel- 22 evant stakeholders through existing coordinating orga- 23 nizations, such as— 24 (A) the Western States Water Council; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Apr 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1118.RS S1118 ssavage o [Text truncated for display. 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