[Senate Report 115-14]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 25
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-14
_______________________________________________________________________
DIGITAL COAST ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
on
S. 110
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
March 30, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
69-010 WASHINGTON : 2017
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred fifteenth congress
first session
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida
ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
TED CRUZ, Texas AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
JERRY MORAN, Kansas BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DEAN HELLER, Nevada CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
JIM INHOFE, Oklahoma TOM UDALL, New Mexico
MIKE LEE, Utah GARY PETERS, Michigan
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
Virginia
CORY GARDNER, Colorado MARGARETWOODHASSAN,NewHampshire
TODD C. YOUNG, Indiana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
Nick Rossi, Staff Director
Adrian Arnakis, Deputy Staff Director
Jason Van Beek, General Counsel
Kim Lipsky, Democratic Staff Director
Christopher Day, Democratic Deputy Staff Director
Calendar No. 25
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-14
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DIGITAL COAST ACT
_______
March 30, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Thune, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 110]
[Including the cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 110) 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
The purpose of S. 110 is to require the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary), acting through the Administrator of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 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
to support the collection of priority coastal geospatial data
to inform local, State, regional, and Federal capacities to
manage the coastal region, and for other purposes.
Background and Needs
Thirty-nine percent of the population lives in shoreline-
adjacent counties. These coastal cities account for $7.6
trillion, or 46 percent, of the total United States Gross
Domestic Product.\1\ The size of the population residing in
coastal communities is projected to continue rising, with an
additional 12 million individuals anticipated to move to
coastal communities in the next decade alone.\2\ Recent extreme
weather has highlighted the particular vulnerability of these
regions to the devastating effects of natural disasters. In
order to ensure these communities remain safe and continue to
prosper economically, planners in coastal regions need access
to high-quality, accurate data.
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\1\National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
``Coastal Economic Packet Guide 2016,'' 2016, at http://
www.ppi.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/Coastal-Economic-Packet-Guide-
2016.pdf.
\2\Ibid.
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The Digital Coast Program (Program) helps coastal
communities better prepare for storms, cope with varying water
levels, and strengthen coastal economic development planning
efforts. NOAA's Office for Coastal Management currently
assembles and hosts the web-based Program, a collaborative
online database of the most up-to-date coastal information
available to both the public and private sectors. The Program
provides tools for coastal communities to decipher and use
high-tech mapping data to make accurate decisions and smart
investments. Some tools the Program provides include a
historical hurricane tracker, which allows users to search
storms by name, latitude and longitude, or geographic region,
as well as a sea level rise viewer, which allows users to
examine how tidal flooding may impact a given region.
The Committee intends that this bill would support further
development of the current Program, including increasing access
to uniform up-to-date data to help communities get the coastal
data they need to respond to emergencies, plan for long-term
coastal resilience, and manage their water resources.
Additionally, the bill would provide for documentation,
dissemination, and archiving of data, and require NOAA to focus
on filling data needs and gaps and enter into financial
agreements to support the Program.
From its inception in fiscal year (FY) 2007 through the end
of FY 2012, costs associated with the Program totaled $5.4
million: $4.5 million from the NOAA Coastal Services Center and
nearly $1 million from Program partners. Appropriations for the
core Program were just over $1 million in FY 2010 and FY 2011.
Since then, costs have increased more modestly and are
projected to remain constant, at just over $1.4 million
annually, which was the FY 2012 level.\3\
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\3\NOAA Coastal Services Center. 2012. ``Benefits and Costs of the
Digital Coast.'' Charleston, SC: NOAA Coastal Services Center, accessed
April 18, 2016, at https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/_/pdf/
Benefits_and_Costs_of_the_Digital_Coast.pdf.
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The Program has a wide-range of Federal, State, and local
government, as well as non-governmental, private, and academic
partners. These include the American Planning Association,
Ayres Associates, Association of State Floodplain Managers,
Coastal States Organization, Continental Mapping Consultants,
Inc., The National Association of Counties, The Nature
Conservancy, Management Association for Private Photogrammetric
Surveyors, National Society of Professional Surveyors, National
States Geographic Information Council, 1000 Friends of
Wisconsin, and Ozaukee County Planning and Parks Department.
Summary of Provisions
If enacted, S. 110 would do the following:
Ensure that the Program provides data
integration, tool development, training, documentation,
and archiving via the Program website.
Ensure that activities carried out under the
Program are coordinated with coastal managers and
decision makers from coastal States and local
governments; representatives of academia, the private
sector, and non-governmental agencies; and that Federal
agencies are also consulted.
Maximize the use of remote sensing and other
geospatial data collection activities.
Allow the Secretary to enter into financial
agreements to carry out the Program.
Direct the Secretary to develop a best
practices document for carrying out the Program that
can be given to other Federal agencies, such as United
States Geological Survey and the United States Army
Corps of Engineers.
Allow the Secretary to establish publicly
available tools that track ocean and Great Lakes
economy data for each coastal State.
Authorize the Program through FY 2022.
Legislative History
S. 110 was introduced by Senator Baldwin on January 13,
2017, with Senators Murkowski, Sullivan, and Booker as
cosponsors. A similar bill, S. 2325, was reported out of
Committee and passed in the Senate in the 114th Congress.
On January 24, 2017, the Committee met in open Executive
Session and, by voice vote, ordered S. 110 to be 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:
S. 110--Digital Coast Act
S. 110 would authorize the appropriation of $4 million a
year over the 2018-2022 period to continue the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) 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. (In 2016, NOAA
used $4 million of appropriated funds to carry out the Digital
Coast program.) CBO estimates that implementing the bill would
cost $20 million over the 2018-2022 period, assuming
appropriation of the authorized amounts.
S. 110 also would authorize NOAA to collect and spend fees,
without further appropriation, for training, workshops and
conferences related to the Digital Coast program; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the
net effect of such collections and spending would not be
significant in any year and over the 2017-2027 period. Enacting
the bill would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 110 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 110 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would benefit state, local, and tribal governments by
authorizing federal financial and technical assistance for
coastal communities. Any costs incurred by those entities,
including matching contributions, would result from
participation in a voluntary federal program
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jacob Fabian
(for federal costs) and Jon Sperl (for state and local
effects). The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
number of persons covered
S. 110, as reported, does not create any new programs or
impose any new regulatory requirements, and therefore would not
subject any individuals or businesses to new regulations.
economic impact
The legislation is not expected to have a negative impact
on the Nation's economy.
privacy
The reported bill is not expected to impact the personal
privacy of individuals.
paperwork
S. 110 would require the Secretary to develop a best
practices document that sets out the best practices used in
carrying out the Program and provide such document to the
United States Geological Survey, the United States Army Corps
of Engineers, and other relevant Federal agencies.
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 the short title of the bill,
``Digital Coast Act.''
Section 2. Findings.
This section would list findings regarding the Program and
data on coastal population size, density, and the number of
coastal construction permits in the United States.
Specifically, more than half of the U.S. population,
153,000,000 people, lives on the coast; coastal counties in the
United States average 300 persons per square mile; and more
than 1,540 permits for construction of single-family homes are
issued in coastal counties per day.
Section 3. Definitions.
This section would define ``coastal region,'' ``Federal
geographic data committee,'' ``remote sensing and other
geospatial,'' and ``Secretary.'' It also would define ``coastal
State'' as it is defined in section 304 of the Coastal Zone
Management Act of 1992 (16 U.S.C. 1453), which means a State of
the United States in, or bordering on, the Atlantic, Pacific,
or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Long Island Sound, or one
or more of the Great Lakes, and includes certain territories.
Section 4. Establishment of the Digital Coast.
This section would establish and designate a constituent-
driven program. It also would provide program requirements and
designate the Secretary to coordinate the activities carried
out under the program. This section would require the Secretary
to fill certain needs and gaps, and would allow the Secretary
to enter into financial agreements to carry out the program. It
also would direct the Secretary to develop and maintain a best
practices document that would provide guidance to other Federal
agencies interested in establishing a similar program or
contributing data to the program. The Committee believes that
inland areas would benefit if the applicable Federal agencies
made certain data, such as flood plain maps, more accessible
and that the lessons learned under the program could provide
valuable insight.
This section also would allow the Secretary to establish
publicly available tools that track ocean and Great Lakes
economy data for each coastal State. This section would
authorize to be appropriated to the Secretary $4 million to
carry out the program in each of FYs 2018 through 2022.
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.
[all]