1.This Act may be cited as
the AmericaView Geospatial Imagery
Mapping Program Act
.
2.Congress finds that—
(1)when Federal
geospatial imagery is available in a cost-effective and timely manner, State
and local governments and educational institutions are able to develop new
scientific, educational, and practical applications for the data and to adopt
new tools for applied research, education, and training, as evidenced
by—
(A)the success of
the United States Geological Survey (referred to in this Act as the
USGS) cooperative pilot projects OhioView and Gateway to the
Earth; and
(B)the 35 member
StateView programs cooperating in the AmericaView program;
(2)increased access
to geospatial imagery for research and educational purposes, made available
through the USGS and from State-level archives linked to StateView program
support, benefits user communities that have traditionally struggled to afford
the data because it enables—
(A)educators to
train—
(i)students at
institutions of higher education for technology careers in remote sensing;
and
(ii)teachers for use
of remote sensing data to enhance student learning in elementary and secondary
education;
(B)historically
black colleges and universities to partner with StateView program universities
to enhance learning and training opportunities for students; and
(C)Native Americans
to provide training and education regarding—
(i)the
use and application of remote sensing data for Native American students;
and
(ii)developing
satellite-based applications for managing reservation resources;
(3)institutions of
higher education and State and local government agencies use geospatial imagery
to support practical mapping and monitoring purposes, including—
(A)monitoring the
health of Federal and State land and forests;
(B)understanding
ecosystems and predicting ecosystem change;
(C)mapping
hydrologic systems and assessing water quality;
(D)monitoring crop
productivity, assessing damage, and predicting crop yield;
(E)assisting with
transportation and land-use planning in the urban areas of the United
States;
(F)predicting and
assisting with the management of human and wildlife disease outbreaks;
and
(G)mapping natural
hazards and assessing risk; and
(4)the AmericaView
program is uniquely positioned to help each State develop applications and
skills necessary—
(A)to effectively
apply geospatial imagery for multiple State-focused mapping purposes;
and
(B)to expand the use
and benefits of geospatial imagery for research and operational purposes within
each State.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term AmericaView means the national nonprofit collaboration of
StateView program participants cooperating with the USGS to achieve the
purposes of the AmericaView program.
(2)The term AmericaView program means the
national remote sensing education, outreach, and research program of the USGS
established under section 4(a), comprised of—
(A)the AmericaView
project; and
(B)AmericaView.
(3)The term AmericaView project means the USGS
data archive, development, maintenance, and product distribution program
conducted at the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Data
Center.
(4)The term educational institution
means—
(A)any public or
private elementary or secondary school, vocational school, correspondence
school, business school, institution of higher education (including a junior
college or teachers' college), normal school, professional school, or
scientific or technical institution; and
(B)any other
institution that provides an educational program.
(5)The term geospatial imagery means all
information acquired from above the surface of the Earth by satellite or
airplane.
(6)National
spatial data infrastructureThe term national spatial data
infrastructure means the technology, policies, standards, and human
resources necessary to acquire, process, store, distribute, and improve use of
geospatial data for the United States established by Executive Order 12906 (59
Fed. Reg. 17671 (April 13, 1994)).
(7)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through
the Director of the USGS.
(8)The
term State means—
(A)each of the
several States of the United States;
(B)the District of
Columbia;
(C)the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico;
(D)Guam;
(E)American
Samoa;
(F)the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands; and
(G)the United States
Virgin Islands.
(9)The term StateView program means the
AmericaView program of an individual State, comprised of educational
institutions and State and local governments.
4.
(a)The Secretary shall establish and maintain a national
remote sensing education, outreach, and research program within the USGS to
advance the availability, timely distribution, and widespread use of geospatial
imagery for education, research, assessment, and monitoring purposes in each
State.
(b)The
purposes of the AmericaView program are—
(1)to increase
accessibility to, and expand the use of, remote sensing data in a standard,
easy-to-use format by Federal, State, local, and tribal governments,
communities, educational institutions, and the commercial sector; and
(2)to assist each
StateView program in establishing the cooperative infrastructure necessary to
increase access to geospatial imagery for research and educational
purposes.
(c)
(1)The Secretary, acting through the AmericaView project,
shall support the geospatial imagery mapping research and educational programs
of each State by cooperating with States—
(A)to identify new
geospatial imagery mapping needs and infrastructure and to define, consolidate;
and
(B)to maintain the
data requirements of the AmericaView project.
(2)The Secretary, acting through the AmericaView program,
shall maintain AmericaView in each State—
(A)to share and
cooperate in the development of geospatial imagery mapping applications,
education, and training infrastructure in each State;
(B)to cooperate with
the AmericaView project to develop nationally consistent standards for
geospatial imagery mapping in each State;
(C)to expand the
number of geospatial imagery mapping courses taught at educational institutions
and provide training, remote sensing data, and teaching tools to
educators;
(D)to expand
geospatial imagery mapping research at research educational
institutions;
(E)to expand the
knowledge and use of geospatial imagery and map products in the current
workforce through outreach programs, workshops, and other training
opportunities;
(F)to build
partnerships with local governments to identify unique research and development
needs and geospatial imagery mapping pilot projects;
(G)to promote
cooperation and sharing of expertise regarding geospatial imagery among
participating States and within each participating State; and
(H)to enable the
States to provide geospatial imagery to the USGS.
(3)The
Secretary annually shall provide grants to sustain and develop StateView
programs.
(4)Federal partner
advisory committee
(A)The Secretary shall maintain an advisory committee to
advise the Director of the USGS regarding the AmericaView program.
(B)Membership and
appointmentThe advisory committee under subparagraph (A) shall
be composed of—
(i)at
least 1 representative of each of—
(I)AmericaView;
(II)the USGS;
and
(III)the Department
of Agriculture; and
(ii)representatives
of such other agencies as the Secretary may designate.
5.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to
carry out this Act for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.