[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 156 (Wednesday, August 13, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43342-43344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-21409]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Geological Survey


Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC); Public Comment on the 
Proposal to Develop the ``National Shoreline Data Standard'' as a 
Federal Geographic Data Committee Standard

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) is charged 
through Executive Order 12906 with developing standards for geospatial 
data. Geospatial data include geographic information and related 
products that are used for a variety of mapping and resource assessment 
purposes by many segments of society. The Executive Order states that 
standards shall be developed ``. . . in consultation and cooperation 
with State, local, and tribal government, the private and academic 
sector, and to the extent feasible the international community . . .'' 
The FGDC has identified that there is an important national need to 
develop a standard for shoreline data.

    The FGDC Bathymetric and Geodetic Subcommittees, along with the 
Coastal States Organization is sponsoring an upcoming Shoreline Data 
Content Workshop. The purpose of the meeting and this announcement is 
to gather information on the need for a national shoreline data content 
standard, as outlined in the draft proposal included in this 
announcement.
    In addition to comments on the need for a national shoreline 
standard, the FGDC is seeking the identification of existing standards 
on shoreline data on the identification of individuals or organizations 
that are interested in being part of the standards development team or 
would otherwise like to be involved in the review and evaluation of the 
national standard as it is developed.


[[Page 43343]]


DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 1, 1997. The 
Shoreline Data Content Workshop will be held November 3-5, 1997 at the 
NOAA Coastal Services Center, Charleston, SC.

CONTACT AND ADDRESSES: To submit comments and for more information on 
the November workshop contact: November workshop contact: Millington 
Lockwood, Executive Secretary, FGDC Bathymetric Subcommittee, 1315 
East-West Highway, Room 6222, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, Phone: 
301:713-2777x171, Fax: 301-713-4019, Internet: 
[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposal for a National Shoreline Data Standard

    Submitting Organization: National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, (NOAA) National Ocean Service, National Geodetic 
Survey, Division of Remote Sensing.
    Objectives: This Standard is intended to serve the community of 
users who are involved with geospatial data ``activities'' that 
intersect the U.S. Shoreline. The purpose is to clarify (standardize) 
the complexities of shoreline data by developing a data model 
representing the various aspects of shoreline, relationship to other 
data standards, and its expected usage. The standard will also define 
the content accuracy, datum requirements, spatial (X,Y,Z) accuracy, and 
metadata requirements.
    This standard is based on the approach utilized by NOAA's National 
Geodetic Survey (formerly a part of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey) 
for mapping the shoreline of the United States and determining 
boundaries referenced to various tidal datums. It will also establish a 
consistent standard for all national mapping requirements.
    It is our intention that this standard will become the official 
FGDC/NSDI standard for the shoreline layer of the NSDI framework and an 
integral component of the national hydrographic data layer.
    Scope: The scope of this standard project involves a determination 
of the content of the national shoreline (both tidal and non-tidal) for 
the purposes of establishing legal boundaries, the baseline of the 
United States, and to have a consistently reliable (known) and properly 
documented shoreline for water/land interface. It is primarily oriented 
toward reaching a common understanding of the shoreline for national 
mapping purposes and other geospatial (GIS) applications.
    Justification: Users of shoreline data make up a much more diverse 
group than previously thought. Shoreline data are also important for 
coastal zone management, environmental monitoring, resource 
developments, legal land jurisdictional issues, ocean and 
meteorological modelling, engineering, construction, planning, and many 
other uses. A published standard will provide the affected community 
with a basis to assess the quality and utility of their shoreline data. 
Shoreline is an integral component of the FGDC NSDI geospatial 
framework.
    Benefits: The principal objective is to specify minimum standards 
for shoreline data in order that shoreline data collected according to 
these standards are sufficiently accurate and that spatial uncertainty 
of data is quantified. This will provide a standardized methodology for 
evaluating shoreline data (regardless of survey methodology or 
technology) and reporting resultant data quality through a 
statistically sound approach. This will permit much wider use and 
acceptability (sharing) of shoreline data between parties. This will 
also establish a means (rules) for establishing a national shoreline 
certification program.
    Development Approach: The approach that is being used to develop 
this standard is to:

A. Identify, review, document, and distribute existing standard 
reference documents (see section on existing standards)
B. Conduct a needs and requirements survey of the potential user 
community (Federal, state, local government agencies, and private 
surveyors)
C. Conduct public workshop to draft standard
D. Test and evaluate standard
E. Release draft standard for public review
F. Conduct a public workshop based upon comments from the public review 
in order to refine the draft standard.

    We intend to hold at least two open forum/workshop type meetings to 
explain the standard to the affected community. The first meeting is 
scheduled for November 3-5, 1997, at the NOAA Coastal Services Center 
in Charleston, SC. A second meeting will be held in the spring of 1998 
in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Society of 
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing in Tampa, Florida, March 30-April 4, 
1998.
    Development and Completion Schedule: It is anticipated that an 
outline of the draft shoreline standard will be completed by December 
1997. The draft standard will be completed by April 1998. At that time 
the standard will be available for preliminary review and will be the 
subject of the second workshop. Following this workshop there will be a 
3-month period of formal public review. It is anticipated that the 
draft standard will receive a thorough review and comments will 
primarily be of a clarifying nature relating to the implementation of 
the standard or definitions.
    Resources: Resources needed to complete this standard are available 
within the NOAA Office of the Coast Survey, the National Geodetic 
Survey, and the NOAA Coastal Services Center. Funding requests of state 
and local participants at the workshops has been requested from FGDC.
    Potential Participants: The primary organizations who will be 
involved in the development of this standard are the shoreline 
engineering, coastal zone management, flood insurance, and resource 
management community. These include the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals Management 
Service, Bureau of Land Management, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of State, 
Department of Justice, U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Coast Guard, 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency. 
There is also interest in this standard from private surveying 
contractors, real estate, insurance industry, various agencies within 
state and local governments, and private land owners.
    Anticipated User Community: Agencies that conduct surveys of 
shorelines, including coastal and estuarine, inland lakes and rivers 
are the most likely groups to use this standard. By and large this is 
embodied in the civil engineering, surveying, and photogrammetry 
community This standard will greatly increase the potential for 
exchange of data between and among various federal, state, local 
governmental agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. 
The standard will provide a common understanding of data accuracy 
requirements based on a variety of applicant profiles and accuracies. 
It will also provide a common framework for independent evaluation and 
assessment of shoreline data for a range of applications, independent 
of technology.
    Related Standards: A crosscutting standards review and data model 
conducted by FGDC in 1995 indicated that most of the FGDC thematic

[[Page 43344]]

subcommittees and work groups have a relationship to shoreline data. 
Two data standards that have been published that include reference to 
the shoreline are the Cadastral Standard and the Wetlands Standard. The 
Tri Service Spatial Data Standard and feature reference model contain a 
relationship to shoreline. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency has 
recently published a geospatial systems data model for shoreline data. 
There are several FGDC standards in either draft or proposal stage that 
relate to shoreline, these include: digital elevation, data accuracy, 
hydrographic, and facilities.

Reference Documents and Existing Standards

    Existing standards that relate to shoreline are contained within 
the following publications and reports.

Swainson, O.W., 1928. Topographic Manual, Special Publication No. 144, 
DOC, U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Swanson, R.L., 1949. Topographic Manual, Part II, U.S. Coast and 
Geodetic Survey Special Publication 249.DOC U.S. Coast and Geodetic 
Survey.
Shalowitz, A.L., 1964. Shore and Sea Boundaries--with special reference 
to the interpretation and use of Coast and Geodetic Survey Data. U.S. 
Department of Commerce Publication 10-1, Two Volumes, U.S. GPO, 
Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1976. Hydrographic Manual, Fourth Edition, 
NOAA/NOS Washington, D.C. Chapter 3.2, Shoreline Surveys.
Ellis, M.Y., 1978. Coastal Mapping Handbook, Department of the 
Interior, U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, 
National Ocean Service and Office of Coastal Zone Management, U.S. GPO, 
Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of the Interior, 1979. Classification of Wetlands and 
Deepwater Habitats of the United States, FGDC Standards for Wetlands, 
Approved by FGDC December 1996.
Hicks, Stacey D., 1980. The National Tidal Datum Convention of 1980. 
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Ocean Survey.
Hicks, Stacy D., 1984. Tide and Current Glossary, NOAA/National Ocean 
Service. Rockville, MD.
Hicks, Stacy D., 1988. Fantastic Tidal Datums NOAA/NOS. Rockville, MD.
NOAA/DMA, 1990. Chart No. 1, Nautical Chart Symbols Abbreviations and 
terms, 9th Edition January 1990. Joint NOAA/DMA publication.
Harrington, Charles, E., 1993. Maritime Boundaries on National Ocean 
Service Nautical Charts. Cartographic Perspectives, Bulletin of the 
North American Cartographic Information Society. No. 14, Winter 1993.
Fritz, L.W., 1994. Shoreline Layer of the Master Seafloor Digital Data 
Base. Concept and Tutorial. NIMA HYSAS Program Office, Bethesda, MD.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1994. Civil Works Engineering Manual EM-
1110-2-1003--Hydrographic Surveying.
Tri-Service CADD/GIS, 1996. GIS Spatial Data Standards. Department of 
Defense Tri-Service Technology Center, Vicksburg, MS.
FGDC, 1996. Cadastral Data Content Standard for the National Spatial 
Data Infrastructure, FGDC, Washington, D.C.
International Hydrographic Office, 1996. International Transfer 
Standard for Digital Hydrographic Data. Edition 3.9, IHO Special 
Publication No. 57 International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco.
National Imagery and Mapping Agency, 1997. The United States Imagery 
and Geospatial System Data Model, Volume 4--Nautical--NIMA: Standards 
and Interoperability Division Bethesda, MD.
Completion Date: Approximately December 1998.
Target Authorization Body: The Federal Geographic Data Committee will 
be the authorization body for this standard.
Maintenance Agency: Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, National Geodetic 
Survey--Under the leadership of the FGDC Bathymetric and Nautical 
Charting Data Subcommittee.

    Dated: August 1, 1997.
Richard E. Witmer,
Chief, National Mapping Division.
[FR Doc. 97-21409 Filed 8-12-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-31-M