[House Report 108-648] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] 108th Congress Report HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 108-648 ====================================================================== NATIONAL GEOLOGIC MAPPING REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2004 _______ September 7, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed _______ Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following R E P O R T [To accompany H.R. 4010] [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 4010) to reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. Purpose of the Bill The purpose of H.R. 4010 is to reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992. Background and Need for Legislation The National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 established the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. This program was designed to foster cooperation and coordination between the United States Geological Survey and the State Geological Surveys in generating modern detailed digitized geologic maps in a cost effective and efficient manner. Geologic maps provide important information needed for identifying energy, mineral and water resources, and geologic and environmental hazards such as active faults and seismic areas, unstable ground subject to landslides, swelling soils, floodplains and abandoned mined lands. Understanding the subsurface geology and soil profiles can facilitate better planning for septic systems in rural areas, water treatment facilities, road construction and maintenance, home construction and other infrastructure. More than 7,500 new geologic maps have been produced through this cooperative program. To date 49 States and Puerto Rico have participated in this program producing high-quality digital maps that cover approximately 25% of the U.S. Monies expended in this program reap significant benefits. An economic analysis of the impact of Kentucky's geologic mapping program showed the economic return to the State was at a minimum 25 times the cost of the program. Kentucky is the only State that has been completely mapped. H.R. 4010 will reauthorize appropriations for the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 at the existing fiscal year 2005 level of $64 million for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010. It also extends current deadlines for various plans, reports and other requirements under that Act. Committee Action H.R. 4010 was introduced on March 23, 2004, by Congresswoman Barbara Cubin (R-WY). The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. The Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill on June 24, 2004. On July 14, 2004, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the bill was then ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. Constitutional Authority Statement Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill. Compliance With House Rule XIII 1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. 3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective of this bill is to reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992. 4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office: H.R. 4010--National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 2004 Summary: H.R. 4010 would reauthorize the national geologic mapping program and extend current deadlines for plans, reports, and other requirements established by the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992. Under current law, authorizations of appropriations for the program will expire at the end of fiscal year 2005. The bill would authorize appropriations for the program at the existing 2005 level of $64 million for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010. The geologic mapping program is carried out jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and state geological authorities. Under this program, federal and state geologists are developing a comprehensive geological map of the United States and a related database of environmental and scientific information. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that carrying out the 1992 act, as amended by H.R. 4010, would cost $21 million in fiscal year 2006 and $191 million over the 2006-2009 period. (We estimate that an additional $129 million would be spent after 2009, including $64 million that would be authorized for 2010.) Enacting this bill would have no effect on revenues or direct spending. H.R. 4010 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 4010 is shown in the following table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources and environment). For this estimate, CBO assumes that the entire amounts authorized for the mapping program will be appropriated for each fiscal year, including the $64 million authorized for 2005 under existing law. Estimated outlays are based on historical spending patterns for this program. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By fiscal year, in millions of dollars-- ----------------------------------------- 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION Spending under current law for the National Geologic Mapping Program: Authorization level \1\... 26 64 0 0 0 0 Estimated outlays......... 26 29 21 22 0 0 Proposed changes: Authorization level....... 0 0 64 64 64 64 Estimated outlays......... 0 0 21 42 64 64 Spending under H.R. 4010 for the National Geologic Mapping Program: Authorization level \1\... 26 64 64 64 64 64 Estimated outlays......... 26 29 42 64 64 64 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ \1\ The 2004 level is the amount appropriated to the USGS for that year under the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992. The 2005 level is the amount authorized to be appropriated under that act. Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 4010 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Deborah Reis; Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller; Impact on the Private Sector: Amina Masood. Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. Compliance With Public Law 104-4 This bill contains no unfunded mandates. Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): NATIONAL GEOLOGIC MAPPING ACT OF 1992 * * * * * * * SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) Findings.--The Congress finds and declares that-- [(1) during the past 2 decades, the production of geologic maps has been drastically curtailed;] (1) although significant progress has been made in the production of geologic maps since the establishment of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program in 1992, no modern, digital, geologic map exists for approximately 75 percent of the Nation; (2) geologic maps are the primary data base for virtually all applied and basic earth-science investigations, including-- (A) * * * * * * * * * * (C) land use evaluation and planning for homeland and environmental protection; * * * * * * * (E) [predicting] identifying volcanic hazards; * * * * * * * (I) siting of critical facilities; [and] (J) recreation and public awareness; and [(J)] (K) basic earth-science research; * * * * * * * (9) advances in digital technology and geographical information system science have made geologic map databases increasingly [important] available as decision support tools for land and resource management; and * * * * * * * (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to expedite the production of a geologic-map data base for the Nation, to be located within the United States Geological Survey, which can be applied to land-use management, assessment, and utilization, conservation of natural resources, groundwater management, and environmental [protection] management. * * * * * * * SEC. 4. GEOLOGIC MAPPING PROGRAM. (a) * * * (b) Responsibilities of the Survey.-- (1) Lead agency.--The Survey shall be the lead Federal agency responsible for planning, developing national priorities and standards for, coordinating, and managing the geologic mapping program. In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary, acting through the Director, shall-- (A) develop a 5-year strategic plan for the geologic mapping program in accordance with section 6, which plan shall be submitted to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate [not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1999;] not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 2004; (B) appoint, with the advice and consultation of the Association, the advisory committee [not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1999 in accordance] not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 2004 in accordance with section 5; and (C) [not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of the National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1999, and biennially thereafter, submit] submit biennially a report to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives identifying-- (i) * * * * * * * * * * (c) Program Objectives.--The objectives of the geologic mapping program shall include-- (1) * * * (2) development of a complementary national [geophysical-map data base, geochemical-map data base, and a] geochronologic and paleontologic data base that [provide] provides value-added descriptive and interpretative information to the geologic-map data base; * * * * * * * (d) Program Components.-- (1) Federal component.-- (A) * * * (B) Mapping priorities.--For the Federal component, mapping priorities-- (i) * * * (ii) shall be based on-- (I) national requirements for geologic map information in areas of multiple-issue need or areas of compelling single- issue need; [and] (II) national requirements for geologic map information in areas where mapping is required to solve critical earth science problems[.]; and (III) the needs of Department of the Interior land management agencies. * * * * * * * SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) Establishment.-- (1) * * * (2) Members ex officio.--Federal agency members shall include the [Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or a designee] Secretary of the Interior or a designee from a land management agency of the Department of the Interior, the Secretary of Energy or a designee, and the Secretary of Agriculture or a designee[, and the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology or a designee]. (3) Appointed members.--[Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1999, in consultation] In consultation with the Association, the Secretary shall appoint to the advisory committee two representatives from the Survey (including the [Chief Geologist, as Chairman] Associate Director for Geology, as Chair), two representatives from the State geological surveys, one representative from academia, and [one representative] two representatives from the private sector. * * * * * * * SEC. 7. NATIONAL GEOLOGIC MAP DATABASE. (a) Establishment.-- (1) In general.--The Survey shall establish a national [geologic map] geologic-map database. (2) Function.--The database shall serve as a national catalog and archive, distributed through links to Federal and State geologic map holdings, that includes information on how to obtain-- (A) all maps developed [under the Federal component and the education component] with funding provided under the national cooperative geologic mapping program authorized by section 4(a); * * * * * * * SEC. 8. BIENNIAL REPORT. [Not later 3 years after the date of the enactment of the National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1999 and biennially] Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of the National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 2004 and biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that-- (1) * * * * * * * * * * SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. [(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act-- [(1) $28,000,000 for fiscal year 1999; [(2) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; [(3) $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2001; [(4) $43,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; [(5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; [(6) $57,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and [(7) $64,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.] (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $64,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010. (b) Allocation of Appropriations.--Of any amounts appropriated for any fiscal year in excess of the amount appropriated for fiscal year [2000] 2005-- (1) [48] 50 percent shall be available for the State component; and (2) [2] 4 percent shall be available for the education component. * * * * * * *