[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1489 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1489

  To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal ocean 
                          observation system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2005

 Mr. Gilchrest introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Science, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal ocean 
                          observation system.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coastal Ocean Observation System 
Integration and Implementation Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To gain a better understanding of the marine 
        environment and marine processes important to coastal and 
        fishery management, marine operations, environmental 
        prediction, and other appropriate activities.
            (2) To authorize the establishment of an observation system 
        to collect data on environmental variables in coastal ocean 
        waters of the United States to meet regional and national 
        information requirements and support an integrated national 
        ocean observing system.
            (3) To more effectively predict and mitigate impacts of 
        natural hazards such as tsunamis, hurricanes, coastal erosion, 
        and fluctuating water levels in the Great Lakes, and conserve 
        healthy and restore degraded coastal ecosystems.
            (4) To enable the sustainable use of ocean and coastal 
        resources.
            (5) To ensure that a broad-based multisector constituency 
        is included in the development of the System, including local, 
        State, tribal, and Federal agencies, private companies, 
        nongovernmental organizations, and academic institutions.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
            (2) Coastal waters of the united states.--The term 
        ``coastal waters of the United States'' means waters of coastal 
        and estuarine areas of United States, waters of the Great Lakes 
        and the exclusive economic zone of the United States, including 
        bays, lagoons, fjords, tidal wetlands, and other semienclosed 
        bodies of water that are connected to ocean waters.
            (3) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the National Ocean 
        Research Leadership Council.
            (4) Panel.--The term ``Panel'' means the Ocean and Research 
        Advisory Panel.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Commerce, acting through the Administration.
            (6) System.--The term ``System'' means the Coastal Ocean 
        Observation System established by the Secretary under section 
        4.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF COASTAL OCEAN OBSERVATION SYSTEM.

    (a) Requirement.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Council, 
shall establish within the Administration a Coastal Ocean Observation 
System to support coastal and fishery management activities and an 
integrated national ocean observation system.
    (b) Components and Functions.--The System shall--
            (1) consist of components of the Administration and other 
        Federal agencies and non-Federal entities designated as units 
        under section 5;
            (2) transmit such data to users including, as appropriate, 
        in real time or near real time;
            (3) produce forecasts and other appropriate products 
        representing ocean conditions and processes; and
            (4) manage the collected data in accordance with best 
        practices for archiving and future use.

SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF UNITS AND STANDARDS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may, in consultation with the 
Council, designate as a unit of the System to carry out the purposes of 
this Act any Federal agency or non-Federal entity that operates marine 
sensors and other devices that collect remotely sensed and in situ 
observation data in the ocean and coastal waters of the United States 
in a routine manner, including continuous observations.
    (b) Criteria for Designation.--The Secretary may not designate an 
agency or other entity as a unit of the System unless the Secretary 
certifies, in consultation with the Council, that the entity has 
adequate technical expertise to operate and sustain the technology in 
the unit, and collect and distribute data in accordance with standards 
and protocols established under subsection (c).
    (c) Data Standards, Protocols, and Systems.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) establish, in consultation with the Council and the 
        Panel, standards, and protocols for the collection, 
        availability, and distribution by units of the System of data 
        regarding coastal waters of the United States; and
            (2) establish management, quality control, and assessment 
        systems for such data collection, availability, and 
        distribution.

SEC. 6. COORDINATION AND ACTIVITIES OF THE SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall, in consultation with the 
Council, coordinate those observation activities of units of the System 
that are conducted with respect to the coastal waters of the United 
States, as necessary to collect data to carry out the purposes of this 
Act.
    (b) Included Activities.--The Secretary shall, in consultation with 
the Council, ensure that--
            (1) data collection activities of the System include all of 
        the relevant coastal ocean observations necessary to carry out 
        the purposes of this Act; and
            (2) data collected through the System is useful for 
        developing forecast models to support coastal and fishery 
        management, safe and efficient marine navigation, weather and 
        climate prediction, and other appropriate activities.
    (c) Prevention Competition With Private Sector and Duplication of 
Effort.--The Secretary shall ensure that data collection activities 
conducted through the System--
            (1) do not compete with private sector activities; and
            (2) minimize duplication of effort.

SEC. 7. CIVIL LIABILITY.

    For purposes of determining civil liability under section 2671 of 
title 28, United States Code, any unit of the System that is designated 
by the Secretary under section 5, and any employee thereof, shall be 
treated as an instrumentality of the United States with respect to any 
act or omission committed by any such unit or employee in fulfilling 
the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 8. DATA AVAILABILITY AND PRODUCTS.

    The Secretary shall--
            (1) work with the Panel and user groups to ensure the 
        development of viable end-use products of the System to support 
        coastal and fishery management activities and other appropriate 
        activities;
            (2) in consultation with the Council, develop a data 
        management and communication system by which all data collected 
        by the System regarding coastal waters of the United States are 
        integrated and available; and
            (3) in conjunction with Federal, State, and local agencies, 
        and academic institutions, use data collected by the System to 
        develop forecast models to support and improve coastal and 
        fishery management, safe and efficient marine navigation, 
        weather and climate prediction, and other appropriate 
        activities.

SEC. 9. PILOT PROJECTS.

    (a) Requirement.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Council, 
shall carry out pilot projects to determine the effectiveness of 
collecting and integrating coastal ocean observation data to support 
the Coastal Ocean Observation System established under this Act.
    (b) Included Projects.--The pilot projects shall--
            (1) test the integration of data among multiple Federal 
        agencies and non-Federal entities that operate marine sensors 
        and other devices to collect or use coastal ocean observation 
        data;
            (2) produce operational applications relevant to the 
        purposes of this Act;
            (3) demonstrate potential economic and societal benefits of 
        the System; and
            (4) advance research and development of useful technologies 
        and applications.

SEC. 10. PROCESS FOR TRANSITION FROM RESEARCH TO OPERATION.

    The Secretary, in consultation with the Council, shall formulate a 
process by which--
            (1) funding is made available for research on new 
        technologies for collecting data regarding coastal waters of 
        the United States;
            (2) such technologies are tested in pilot projects, 
        including--
                    (A) accelerated research into biological and 
                chemical sensing techniques and satellite sensors for 
                collecting such data; and
                    (B) developing technologies to improve all aspects 
                of the System, especially the timeliness and accuracy 
                of its predictive models and the usefulness of its 
                information products; and
            (3) technology that has been demonstrated to be useful for 
        the System is incorporated into use by the System.

SEC. 11. CONTRACTS AND GRANTS.

    The Secretary may enter into contracts or cooperative agreements 
with, or make grants to, units of the System to carry out observation 
activities with respect to coastal waters of the United States.

SEC. 12. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

    Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress and the Council a plan 
for implementation of this Act, including for--
            (1) coordinating activities of the Secretary under this Act 
        with other Federal agencies; and
            (2) distributing, to units of the System, funds available 
        to carry out this Act.

SEC. 13. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Requirement.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and every two years thereafter, the Secretary 
shall transmit to the Congress a report on progress made in 
implementing this Act.
    (b) Contents.--The report shall include the following:
            (1) A description of activities carried out under this Act.
            (2) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the System.
            (3) Benefits of the System to users of data products 
        resulting from the System (including the general public, 
        industry, scientists, resource managers, emergency responders, 
        policy makers, and educators).
            (4) Recommendations concerning--
                    (A) modifications to the System; and
                    (B) funding levels for the System in subsequent 
                fiscal years.

SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    To carry out this Act there are authorized to be appropriated to 
the Secretary--
            (1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
            (2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
            (3) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and
            (4) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.
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