[Senate Report 116-234]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 481
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-234
_______________________________________________________________________
DIGITAL COAST ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
on
S. 1069
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June 18, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
99-010 WASHINGTON : 2020
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred sixteenth congress
second session
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi, Chairman
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROY BLUNT, Missouri AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
TED CRUZ, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska TOM UDALL, New Mexico
CORY GARDNER, Colorado GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
MIKE LEE, Utah JON TESTER, Montana
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
RICK SCOTT, Florida
John Keast, Staff Director
David Strickland, Minority Staff Director
Calendar No. 481
116th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 116-234
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DIGITAL COAST ACT
_______
June 18, 2020.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Wicker, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1069]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 1069) to require the Secretary
of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to establish a
constituent-driven program to provide a digital information
platform capable of efficiently integrating coastal data with
decision-support tools, training, and best practices and to
support collection of priority coastal geospatial data to
inform and improve local, State, regional, and Federal
capacities to manage the coastal region, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
This bill would require the Secretary of Commerce, acting
through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to establish a constituent-
driven program that provides a digital information portal to
efficiently integrate coastal data with decision-support tools,
training, and best practices and to encourage the collection of
geospatial data to inform and improve local, State, and Federal
management of coastal regions.
Background and Needs
Over 40 percent of all Americans currently live in coastal
regions, and these regions account for nearly half of total
economic productivity in the United States.\1\ Recent extreme
weather events have highlighted the vulnerability of these
regions to the devastating and costly effects of natural
disasters, particularly coastal storms and flooding.\2\ In
order to ensure that these communities remain safe and
prosperous, local planners and emergency managers in coastal
regions need access to high-quality, accurate data and spatial
planning tools, like Geographic Information Services (GIS).\3\
While some coastal counties and cities have high-quality data
and multiple local planners and coastal managers, many areas do
not have the staff or resources to meet their coastal
management needs.\4\
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\1\NOAA Digital Coast, ``Socioeconomic Data Summary'' (https://
coast.noaa.gov/data/digitalcoast/pdf/socioeconomic-data-summary.pdf).
\2\NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information,
``Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters: Overview'' (https://
www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/).
\3\See American Planning Association, ``NOAA Digital Coast''
(https://www.planning.org/
research/digitalcoast/project/).
\4\Paul Barnes, prepared statement submitted to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for a June 5, 2018,
hearing entitled ``A Decade of the Digital Coast Partnership Program:
Successes and Opportunities'' (https://www.commerce.senate.gov/
services/files/29f9b5a9-8efe-4512-98fb-a6ca6c556048).
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The Digital Coast web-based information platform helps
coastal communities better prepare for storms, plan for
changing water levels, and strengthen coastal economic
development planning efforts.\5\ The Digital Coast program is a
web-based, flexible collection of data, tools, trainings, and
case studies designed to help coastal managers and technicians
across the United States. While the Digital Coast was developed
and is currently maintained by NOAA's Office for Coastal
Management, hundreds of organizations and Federal, State, and
local agencies have contributed valuable content. Currently
there are over 2,100 contributed datasets, including GIS layers
for topography, bathymetry, and land use cover, as well as
economic data, hazard exposure, and water quality data, to name
a few.\6\ The partnership also seeks to unify groups that might
not otherwise work together, and supports events for the
community like conferences, webinars, workshops, and meetings.
The partner organizations also meet regularly with their
stakeholders to provide feedback about tools, resources, and
trainings to NOAA. This resource is intended to be the
proverbial one-stop-shop for the Nation's coastal management
community, making it an important resource for both the public
and private sectors,\7\ and providing coordination between
organizations but also environmental and economic
understanding.
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\5\Tyson Fettes, prepared statement submitted to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for a June 5, 2018,
hearing entitled ``A Decade of the Digital Coast Partnership Program:
Successes and Opportunities'' (https://www.commerce.senate.gov/
services/files/e7590c43-e103-4689-98f2-625274e09ad1).
\6\NOAA Digital Coast, ``Data'' (https://coast.noaa.gov/
digitalcoast/data/).
\7\NOAA Digital Coast, ``Frequently Asked Questions'' (https://
coast.noaa.gov/data/digitalcoast/pdf/faq.pdf).
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The Digital Coast provides numerous tools for coastal
communities to decipher and use highly detailed mapping data to
make improved decisions and smart investments in their
coastlines. One tool that the program provides is a coastal
flood exposure mapper, which supports communities that are
assessing their coastal hazard risks and vulnerabilities
(Figure 1). This tool also provides guidance for using the maps
to engage community members and stakeholders, which can often
support communities' efforts to implement safer zoning and
development plans to mitigate coastal risks.
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Figure 1. Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper Screenshot, NOAA Digital
Coast.\8\
\8\NOAA Digital Coast, ``Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper'' (https://
coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/flood-exposure.html).
Another tool is the coastal county snapshots, which provide
local citizens, coastal managers, and elected officials with
easy-to-understand charts and graphs that describe complex
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coastal and economic data (Figures 2 and 3).
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Figure 2. Coastal County Snapshots Screenshot, NOAA Digital
Coast.\9\
\9\NOAA Digital Coast, ``Coastal County Snapshots'' (https://
coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/snapshots.html).
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Figure 3. Coastal County Snapshots Screenshot, NOAA Digital
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Coast.\10\
\10\NOAA Digital Coast, ``Coastal County Snapshots'' (https://
coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/snapshots.html).
For the snapshots, Digital Coast users can select a county
of interest and the website automatically produces the content,
creating a helpful education tool that includes clear graphics,
like the number of critical facilities within the floodplain.
Current snapshot topics include flood exposure, wetland
benefits, and ocean and Great Lakes jobs. This tool helps
planners, managers, and local citizens plan for development and
community expansion into the future, continue ocean-based
economic growth, and explore how to protect areas at risk,
including wetlands and ecosystem services.
The Digital Coast also includes over 25 training courses,
which help to build participants' technical skills for working
with the data and tools provided, and to build capacity for
integrating natural and social science into projects and
decision making.\11\ NOAA is continuing to incorporate more
data and is working with different constituent groups,
including the partner organizations, to understand additional
information needs and skill gaps, as well as share additional
examples of how existing information is being used across the
United States. NOAA is also working closely with many of the
private contractors who supply data to the Digital Coast in
order to identify deficiencies in the data and tools in order
to meet the needs of the partnership.
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\11\NOAA Digital Coast, ``Strategic Plan for the Digital Coast 2016
to 2021'' (https://coast.noaa.gov/data/digitalcoast/pdf/digitalcoast-
strategic-plan.pdf).
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Summary of Provision
This bill would establish a digital informational portal
through the Secretary of Commerce and the Administrator of NOAA
encouraging the integration of the collection of geospatial and
remote sensing data.
Legislative History
S. 1069, the Digital Coast Act, was introduced on April 9,
2019, by Senator Baldwin (for herself and Senators Cantwell,
Murkowski, and Sullivan) and was referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. On
November 13, 2019, the Committee met in open Executive Session
and, by voice vote, ordered S. 1069 reported favorably without
amendment.
Estimated Costs
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
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S. 1069 would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to continue implementing the agency's
Digital Coast Program. Under that program, NOAA makes
geospatial data, decision-support tools, and best practices
regarding the management of coastal areas available on a public
website. The bill also would direct NOAA to focus additional
data collection efforts on underserved coastal areas, such as
in the Arctic.
The bill would authorize the appropriation $4 million
annually over the 2020-2024 period for NOAA to implement the
program. In 2019, NOAA used $2 million of appropriated funds to
carry out the program. Because CBO scores continuing
resolutions on an annualized basis, in 2020, CBO assumes that
the NOAA will allocate the same amount from funds made
available under the current continuing resolution (Public Law
116-59). As a result, CBO estimates that S. 1069 would
authorize an increase in spending subject to appropriation in
2020 of $2 million, the difference between the authorized
amount and the annualized amount under the continuing
resolution. Based on historical spending patterns for the
affected grants, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would
cost $16 million over the 2020-2024 period and $2 million after
2024 (see Table 1).
S. 1069 also would authorize NOAA to collect and spend
fees, without further appropriation, for training, workshops
and conferences related to the Digital Coast program. Any such
collection and spending would be classified as direct spending.
CBO estimates that the net effect of such collections and
spending would be negligible because the spending would
probably occur soon after any receipt.
The costs of the legislation, detailed in Table 1, fall
within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).
TABLE 1.--ESTIMATED INCREASES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER S. 1069
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By fiscal year, millions of dollars--
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2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2020-2024
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Estimated Authorization............................ 2 4 4 4 4 18
Estimated Outlays.................................. 1 3 4 4 4 16
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aS. 1069 would authorize the appropriation of $4 million in 2020 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to implement the Digital Coast Program. However, using information from NOAA, CBO
estimates that $2 million has been allocated on an annualized basis from funds made available under the
current continuing resolution (Public Law 116-59), which provided appropriations through November 21, 2019
Thus, the estimated authorization for 2020 ($2 million) is equal to the specified amount ($4 million) minus
the annualized amount from the continuing resolution ($2 million).
On October 10, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 2189, the Digital Coast Act, as ordered reported by the
House Committee on Natural Resources on September 18, 2019. The
two pieces of legislation are similar. CBO's estimates of the
cost to implement those bills differ because of differences in
the authorization of appropriations in each bill.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Statement
Because S. 1069 does not create any new programs, the
legislation will have no additional regulatory impact, and will
result in no additional reporting requirements. The legislation
will have no further effect on the number or types of
individuals and businesses regulated, the economic impact of
such regulation, the personal privacy of affected individuals,
or the paperwork required from such individuals and businesses.
Congressionally Directed Spending
In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the
rule.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title.
This section would provide that the bill may be cited as
the ``Digital Coast Act''.
Section 2. Findings.
This section would provide congressional findings regarding
the following:
The Digital Coast is an effective means of Federal
partnerships with State, local, and nongovernmental
organizations.
Access to advanced geospatial information
surrounding coastal regions is critical for development
within the United States.
More than half of the U.S. population currently
lives on or near a coast and many more are expected to
move to these areas in the next 10 years.
U.S. coastal counties average triple the national
average of people per square mile.
Coastal counties issue more construction permits of
various types per day than similar non-coastal
counties.
More than half the U.S. economic productivity is
located in coastal areas.
Highly advanced geospatial and remote sensing data
play a large role in various areas of the decision
making and management in coastal zones.
Section 3. Definitions.
This section would define the terms ``coastal region'',
``coastal State'', ``Federal Geographic Data Committee'',
``remote sensing and other geospatial'', and ``Secretary''.
Section 4. Establishment of the Digital Coast.
This section would establish a program that utilizes
geospatial data, decision support, and best practices to
address coastal management issues. The Secretary would ensure
that the program provides data integration, development tools,
training, and documentation archived on the Digital Coast
website through NOAA and that this information is readily
available to and in compliance with Federal Geographic Data
Committees.
The Secretary shall coordinate with Federal, State, and
local coastal managers and decision makers, including various
Federal agencies and committees regarding various coastal
activities and issues. As the Secretary considers it necessary
to establish standards and protocols, the Secretary shall
assure the interoperability of remote sensing and geospatial
data to all users of the information within specified groups.
The Secretary shall also coordinate and provide assistance to
the Federal Geographic Data Committee and develop and maintain
best practices documents to be shared with the U.S. Geological
Survey, Corps of Engineers, and other various Federal agencies.
In order to maximize the use of remote sensing and
geospatial data, the Secretary shall prioritize mitigating the
gaps and needs in data filing for underserved coastal areas,
support the continued efforts to coordinate the acquisition and
integration of crucial data sets needed for coastal management
including specified areas, and integrate this data with other
data in order to benefit the broadest range of individuals
impacted.
The Secretary shall engage in specified financial
agreements for the operation and growth of the program and
assess and collect fees for designated activities that advance
the purpose of the program. The fees may not exceed the sum of
the total cost of the specified activity including designated
expenses and shall be used for only those explicit activities
and expenses.
The Secretary may establish publicly available tools for
specified tracking and data collection. There shall be
authorized $4 million per year for fiscal year 2020-2024.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.
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