[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 ====================================================================== 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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]