33 U.S.C. § 3501 — Establishment of program

**(a) In general** The President, in coordination with the Interagency Working Group on Ocean and Coastal Mapping under [section 3502 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title33-section3502&num=0&edition=prelim) and affected coastal states, shall establish and maintain a program to coordinate comprehensive Federal ocean and coastal mapping efforts for the Great Lakes and coastal state waters, the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone, and the continental shelf of the United States that— (1) enhances ecosystem approaches in decisionmaking for natural resource and habitat management restoration and conservation, emergency response, and coastal resilience and adaptation; (2) establishes research and mapping priorities; (3) supports the siting of research and other platforms; and (4) advances ocean and coastal science. **(b) Program parameters** In maintaining such a program, the President, through the Working Group, shall— (1) identify all Federal and federally-funded programs conducting shoreline delineation and ocean or coastal mapping, noting geographic coverage, frequency, spatial coverage, resolution, and subject matter focus of the data and location of data archives; (2) facilitate cost-effective, cooperative mapping efforts that incorporate policies for contracting with non-governmental entities among all Federal agencies conducting ocean and coastal mapping and for leveraging existing Federal geospatial services capacities and contract vehicles for efficiencies, by increasing data sharing, developing appropriate data acquisition and metadata standards, and facilitating the interoperability of in situ data collection systems, data processing, archiving, and distribution of data products; (3) facilitate the adaptation of existing technologies as well as foster expertise in new ocean and coastal mapping technologies, including through research, development, and training conducted among Federal agencies and in cooperation with non-governmental entities; (4) develop standards and protocols for testing innovative experimental mapping technologies and transferring new technologies between the Federal Government, coastal state, and non-governmental entities; (5) provide for the archiving, management, and distribution of data sets through a national registry as well as provide mapping products and services to the general public in service of statutory requirements; (6) develop data standards and protocols consistent with standards developed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee for use by Federal, coastal state, and other entities in mapping and otherwise documenting locations of federally permitted activities, living and nonliving coastal and marine resources, marine ecosystems, sensitive habitats, submerged cultural resources, undersea cables, offshore aquaculture projects, offshore energy projects, and any areas designated for purposes of environmental protection or conservation and management of living and nonliving coastal and marine resources; (7) identify the procedures to be used for coordinating the collection and integration of Federal ocean and coastal mapping data with mapping programs, in conjunction with Federal and State agencies, Tribal governments, private industry, academia, and nongovernmental organizations; (8) facilitate, to the extent practicable, the collection of tide data and water-level data and the development and dissemination of hydrodynamic models for coastal areas to allow for the application of V-datum tools that will facilitate the seamless integration of onshore and offshore maps and charts; (9) establish a plan for the acquisition and collection of ocean and coastal mapping data; (10) set forth a timetable for completion and implementation of the plan; and (11) support— (A) the Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee of the Ocean Policy Committee established under [section 8932(c) of title 10](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section8932/c&num=0&edition=prelim); and (B) the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council established under section 5405 of the National Ocean Exploration Act.11 See References in Text note below.