[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2731 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2731

  To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration to conduct high-resolution surveying and mapping of the 
          lakebeds of the Great Lakes, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 8, 2025

 Mrs. McClain (for herself, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Davidson, Mr. Pocan, Mr. 
    Bergman, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Huizenga, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Barrett, Mr. 
 Schneider, Mr. Stauber, Ms. Scholten, Mr. Lawler, Ms. Kaptur, and Ms. 
    Craig) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration to conduct high-resolution surveying and mapping of the 
          lakebeds of the Great Lakes, 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 ``Great Lakes Mapping Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. SURVEYING AND MAPPING OF LAKEBEDS OF THE GREAT LAKES IN HIGH 
              RESOLUTION.

    (a) High-Resolution Lakebed Mapping.--Not later than December 31, 
2030, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (referred to in this section as the ``Administrator'') 
shall carry out a collaborative effort (referred to in this section as 
the ``mapping effort'') to survey and map, in high resolution, the 
lakebeds of the Great Lakes.
    (b) Elements.--The mapping effort shall include--
            (1) completing a high-resolution map of the lakebeds of the 
        Great Lakes;
            (2) collecting and processing high-resolution bathymetric 
        data about the lakebeds of the Great Lakes;
            (3) using existing systems to catalog bathymetric data and 
        other information regarding the lakebeds of the Great Lakes 
        that the Administrator possesses or has access to independent 
        of the mapping effort or as a result of the mapping effort; and
            (4) collecting, cataloging, and storing metadata created 
        during the mapping effort.
    (c) Coordination.--In carrying out the mapping effort, the 
Administrator shall coordinate with--
            (1) the Governor of any State that borders any of the Great 
        Lakes;
            (2) the head of an agency of such a State that is 
        responsible for carrying out policy related to the Great Lakes 
        or the lakebeds of the Great Lakes;
            (3) the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and 
        Characterization Council;
            (4) the Lakebed 2030 Regional Initiative of the Great Lakes 
        Observing System;
            (5) other regional ocean observing systems; and
            (6) any other entity the Administrator determines relevant.
    (d) Data Management; Product Sharing.--The Administrator, in 
consultation with regional entities, shall--
            (1) during the mapping effort and within a reasonable time 
        (as determined by the Administrator) after the relevant data is 
        collected pursuant to the mapping effort, make publicly 
        available the parts of the high-resolution map of the lakebeds 
        of the Great Lakes that are completed; and
            (2) not later than, to the extent practicable, 180 days 
        after completing the mapping effort--
                    (A) make publicly available--
                            (i) the complete high-resolution map of the 
                        lakebeds of the Great Lakes; and
                            (ii) any additional information, including 
                        metadata, collected under subsection (a) that 
                        is required to be released to the public under 
                        any other provision of law; and
                    (B) incorporate the data from the map into 
                additional products, including nautical charts and 
                other products determined appropriate by the 
                Administrator, such products used for resource mapping 
                and habitat characterization.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to change any process or procedure used by the Administrator 
in carrying out the requirements of section 4 of the Digital Coast Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1467) or the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act (33 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Administrator $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 
        through 2029 to carry out this section.
            (2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
        authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) shall 
        remain available through fiscal year 2030.
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