Home > 105th Congressional Bills > H.R. 709 (enr) To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992, and for other purposes. ...H.R. 709 (enr) To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992, and for other purposes. ...
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 709
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992, and
for other purposes.
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 709
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Geologic Mapping
Reauthorization Act of 1997''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) in enacting the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992
(43 U.S.C. 31a et seq.), Congress found, among other things,
that--
(A) during the 2 decades preceding enactment of
that Act, the production of geologic maps had been
drastically curtailed;
(B) geologic maps are the primary data base for
virtually all applied and basic earth-science
investigations;
(C) Federal agencies, State and local governments,
private industry, and the general public depend on the
information provided by geologic maps to determine the
extent of potential environmental damage before
embarking on projects that could lead to preventable,
costly environmental problems or litigation;
(D) the lack of proper geologic maps has led to the
poor design of such structures as dams and waste-
disposal facilities;
(E) geologic maps have proven indispensable in the
search for needed fossil fuel and mineral resources;
and
(F) a comprehensive nationwide program of geologic
mapping is required in order to systematically build
the Nation's geologic-map data base at a pace that
responds to increasing demand;
(2) the geologic mapping program called for by that Act has
not been fully implemented; and
(3) it is time for this important program to be fully
implemented.
SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION AND AMENDMENT.
(a) Definitions.--Section 3 of the National Geologic Mapping Act of
1992 (43 U.S.C. 31b) is amended--
(1) by striking ``As used in this Act:'' and inserting ``In
this Act:'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) as
paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (7), respectively;
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) Association.--The term `Association' means the
Association of American State Geologists.'';
(4) by inserting after paragraph (5) (as redesignated by
paragraph (2) of this subsection) the following new paragraph:
``(6) State.--The term `State' includes the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the
Virgin Islands.''; and
(5) in each paragraph that does not have a heading, by
inserting a heading, in the same style as the heading in
paragraph (2), as added by paragraph (3), the text of which is
comprised of the term defined in the paragraph.
(b) Geologic Mapping Program.--Section 4 of the National Geologic
Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31c) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--There is established a national
cooperative geologic mapping program between the United States
Geological Survey and the State geological surveys, acting
through the Association.
``(2) Design, development, and administration.--The
cooperative geologic mapping program shall be--
``(A) designed and administered to achieve the
objectives set forth in subsection (c);
``(B) developed in consultation with the advisory
committee; and
``(C) administered through the Survey.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in the subsection heading by striking ``USGS''
and inserting ``the Survey'';
(B) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by single-indenting the paragraph,
double-indenting the subparagraphs, and triple
indenting the clauses;
(ii) by inserting ``Lead agency.--'' before
``The Survey'';
(iii) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``Committee on
Natural Resources'' and inserting
``Committee on Resources''; and
(II) by striking ``date of
enactment of this Act'' and inserting
``date of enactment of the National
Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of
1997'';
(iv) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) by striking ``State geological
surveys'' and inserting
``Association''; and
(II) by striking ``date of
enactment of this Act'' and inserting
``date of enactment of the National
Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of
1997''; and
(v) in subparagraph (C)--
(I) by striking ``date of enactment
of this Act'' and inserting ``date of
enactment of the National Geologic
Mapping Reauthorization Act of 1997'';
(II) by striking ``Committee on
Natural Resources'' and inserting
``Committee on Resources'';
(III) in clauses (i) and (ii) by
inserting ``and the Association'' after
``the Survey'';
(IV) by adding ``and'' at the end
of clause (ii); and
(V) by striking ``; and'' at the
end of clause (iii) and all that
follows through the end of the
subparagraph and inserting a period;
(C) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting ``Responsibilities of the
secretary.--'' before ``In addition to''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (A) by striking
``State geological surveys'' and inserting
``Association''; and
(D) by single-indenting the paragraph and double-
indenting the subparagraphs;
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (2) by striking ``interpretive''
and inserting ``interpretative''; and
(B) in paragraph (4) by striking ``awareness for''
and inserting ``awareness of''; and
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ``Federal
component.--'' before ``A Federal'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting ``Support component.--''
before ``A geologic''; and
(ii) by striking subparagraph (D) and
inserting the following:
``(D) geochronologic and isotopic investigations
that--
``(i) provide radiometric age dates for
geologic-map units; and
``(ii) fingerprint the geothermometry,
geobarometry, and alteration history of
geologic-map units,
which investigations shall be contributed to a national
geochronologic data base;'';
(C) in paragraph (3) by inserting ``State
component.--'' before ``A State''; and
(D) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the
following:
``(4) Education component.--A geologic mapping education
component--
``(A) the objectives of which shall be--
``(i) to develop the academic programs that
teach earth-science students the fundamental
principles of geologic mapping and field
analysis; and
``(ii) to provide for broad education in
geologic mapping and field analysis through
support of field studies;
``(B) investigations under which shall be
integrated with the other mapping components of the
geologic mapping program and shall respond to
priorities identified for those components; and
``(C) Federal funding for which shall be matched by
non-Federal sources on a 1-to-1 basis.''.
(c) Advisory Committee.--Section 5 of the National Geologic Mapping
Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31d) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``(a) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--There shall be established a 10-member
geologic mapping advisory committee to advise the Director on
planning and implementation of the geologic mapping program.
``(2) Members ex officio.--Federal agency members shall
include the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency or a designee, the Secretary of Energy or a designee,
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 90 days after the
date of enactment of the National Geologic Mapping
Reauthorization Act of 1997, in consultation with the
Association, the Secretary shall appoint to the advisory
committee 2 representatives from the Survey (including the
Chief Geologist, as Chairman), 2 representatives from the State
geological surveys, 1 representative from academia, and 1
representative from the private sector.''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(3) by striking ``and State'' and
inserting ``, State, and university''.
(d) Geologic Mapping Program Implementation Plan.--Section 6 of the
National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31e) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ``cooperative'' after
``national'';
(2) by striking paragraph (3)(C) and inserting the
following:
``(C) for the State geologic mapping component, a
priority-setting mechanism that responds to--
``(i) specific intrastate needs for
geologic-map information; and
``(ii) interstate needs shared by adjacent
entities that have common requirements; and'';
(3) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and inserting the
following:
``(4) a mechanism for adopting scientific and technical
mapping standards for preparing and publishing general-purpose
and special-purpose geologic maps to--
``(A) ensure uniformity of cartographic and
scientific conventions; and
``(B) provide a basis for judgment as to the
comparability and quality of map products; and''; and
(4) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (5).
(e) National Geologic-Map Data Base.--Section 7 of the National
Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31f) is amended by striking
subsection (b) and inserting the following:
``(b) Standardization.--
``(1) In general.--Geologic maps contributed to the
national archives shall have format, symbols, and technical
attributes that adhere to standards so that archival
information can be accessed, exchanged, and compared
efficiently and accurately, as required by Executive Order
12906 (59 Fed. Reg. 17,671 (1994)), which established the
National Spatial Data Infrastructure.
``(2) Development of standards.--Entities that contribute
geologic maps to the national archives shall develop the
standards described in paragraph (1) in cooperation with the
Federal Geographic Data Committee, which is charged with
standards development and other data coordination activities as
described in Office of Management and Budget revised Circular
A-16.''.
(f) Annual Report.--Section 8 of the National Geologic Mapping Act
of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31g) is amended in the first sentence--
(1) by striking ``Committee on Natural Resources'' and
inserting ``Committee on Resources''; and
(2) by striking ``program, and describing and evaluating
progress'' and inserting ``program and describing and
evaluating the progress''.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 9 of the National
Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 (43 U.S.C. 31h) is amended to read as
follows:
``SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
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