Legislation

OCEAN EXPLORATION & OBSERVING BILLS

Signed into Law by Congress

HR 14: Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act (FORAM) of 2009

• To provide for ocean acidification research and monitoring, and for other purposes.

HR 367: Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009

• To establish a national integrated system of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes observing systems, and for other purposes.

S 171: Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009

• A bill to develop and maintain an integrated system of coastal and ocean observations, for the Nation’s coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes.

S 172: NOAA Ocean Exploration and Undersea Research Program Act of 2009

• A bill to establish a coordinated national ocean exploration program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.

S 173: Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act (FORAM) of 2009

• A bill to establish an interagency committee to develop an ocean acidification research and monitoring plan and to establish an ocean acidification program within NOAA.

S 174: Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act

• A bill to establish a coordinated and comprehensive Federal ocean and coastal mapping program.

Pending Legislation

S 3584 Responsible Arctic Energy Development Act of 2010

• To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to institute research into the special circumstances associated with oil spill prevention and response in Arctic waters, including assessment of impacts on Arctic marine mammals and other wildlife, marine debris research and removal, and risk assessment, and for other purposes.

S 3597: Securing Health for Ocean Resources and Environment (SHORE) Act

• No Summary

HR 327/S 1485: National Hurricane Research Initiative Act of 2009

• To establish the National Hurricane Research Initiative to improve hurricane preparedness, and for other purposes.

HR 365/S 174: Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act

• To direct the President to establish a program to develop a coordinated and comprehensive Federal ocean and coastal mapping plan for the Great Lakes and coastal state waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone, and the continental shelf of the United States, and for other purposes.

HR 366/S 172: Ocean Research and Exploration Enhancement Act of 2009

• To establish the national ocean exploration program and the national undersea research program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish and maintain an undersea research program, and for other purposes.

HR 2685: Climate and Ocean Research Coordination Act of 2009

• To establish a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a National Climate Enterprise, and for other purposes.

HR 2864/S 1515: Hydrographic Services Improvement Act Amendment

• To amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 to authorize funds to acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic services specific to the Arctic for safe navigation, delineating the United States extended continental shelf, and the monitoring and description of coastal changes.

 

HR 4914/S 3528: Coastal Jobs Creation Act of 2010

• Coastal Jobs Creation Act of 2010 – Directs the Secretary of Commerce to implement a Coastal Jobs Creation Grant Program which shall include: (1) cooperative research to collect and compile economic and social data related to recreational and commercial fisheries management: (2) establishment and implementation of state recreational fishing registry programs; (3) training and deploying observers authorized or required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; (4) preservation or restoration of coastal resources identified for their conservation, recreational, ecological, historic, or aesthetic values; (5) redevelopment of deteriorating and underutilized working waterfronts and ports; (6) research to develop, test, and deploy innovations and improvements in coastal and ocean observation technologies; (7) cooperative research to collect data to improve, supplement, or enhance fishery and marine mammal stock assessments; and (8) other specified activities.