33 U.S.C. § 3403 — Powers and duties of the Administrator

Page 970 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 3401 1 See References in Text note below. Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022, and also as part of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fis- cal Year 2023, and not as part of the National Levee Safety Act of 2007 which comprises this chapter. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries ‘‘SECRETARY’’ DEFINED Secretary means the Secretary of the Army, see sec- tion 8002 of Pub. L. 117–263, set out as a note under sec- tion 2201 of this title. CHAPTER 47—OCEAN EXPLORATION SUBCHAPTER I—EXPLORATION Sec. 3401. Purpose. 3402. Program established. 3403. Powers and duties of the Administrator. 3404. Education, workforce training, and outreach. 3405. Ocean Exploration Advisory Board. 3406. Authorization of appropriations. 3407. Definitions. 3408. National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council. SUBCHAPTER II—NOAA UNDERSEA RESEARCH PROGRAM 3421 to 3426. Repealed. SUBCHAPTER I—EXPLORATION § 3401. Purpose The purpose of this subchapter is to establish the national ocean exploration program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration. (Pub. L. 111–11, title XII, § 12001, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1417; Pub. L. 117–263, div. J, title CIII, § 10305(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3971.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2022—Pub. L. 117–263 struck out ‘‘and the national un- dersea research program’’ after ‘‘national ocean explo- ration program’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 111–11, title XII, § 12101, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1419, which provided that part II of subtitle A of title XII of Pub. L. 111–11, which enacted subchapter II of this chapter, could be cited as the ‘‘NOAA Undersea Re- search Program Act of 2009’’, was repealed by Pub. L. 117–263, div. J, title CIII, § 10306(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3974. § 3402. Program established The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall, in con- sultation with the National Science Foundation and other appropriate Federal agencies, estab- lish a coordinated national ocean exploration program within the National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administration that promotes col- laboration with other Federal ocean research and exploration programs. To the extent appro- priate, the Administrator shall seek to facilitate coordination of data and information manage- ment systems, outreach and education programs to improve public understanding of ocean and coastal resources, and development and transfer of technologies to facilitate ocean research and ocean exploration and characterization efforts. (Pub. L. 111–11, title XII, § 12002, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1417; Pub. L. 117–263, div. J, title CIII, § 10305(b), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3971.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2022—Pub. L. 117–263 struck out ‘‘and undersea’’ after ‘‘Federal ocean’’ in first sentence and substituted ‘‘re- search and ocean exploration and characterization ef- forts’’ for ‘‘and undersea research and exploration’’ in second sentence. § 3403. Powers and duties of the Administrator (a) In general In carrying out the program authorized by sec- tion 3402 of this title, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion, in consultation with the Ocean Policy Committee established under section 8932 of title 10, shall— (1) conduct interdisciplinary expeditions or other scientific activities in conjunction with other Federal and State agencies, Tribal Gov- ernments, private industry, academia (includ- ing secondary schools, community colleges, and universities), and nongovernmental orga- nizations, to map, explore, and characterize little known areas of the marine environment, inventory, observe, characterize, and assess living and nonliving marine resources, and re- port such findings; (2) give priority attention to deep ocean re- gions of the exclusive economic zone, with a focus on deep water marine systems that hold potential for important scientific discoveries, such as hydrothermal vent communities and seamounts; (3) conduct scientific expeditions to locate, define, and document historic shipwrecks, sub- merged sites, and other ocean exploration ac- tivities that combine archaeology and oceano- graphic sciences; (4) develop and implement a transparent, competitive process for merit-based peer-re- view and approval of proposals for activities to be conducted under this program, taking into consideration advice of the Board established under section 3405 of this title; (5) support technological innovation of the United States marine science community by promoting the development and use of new and emerging technologies for research, com- munication, navigation, and data collection, such as sensors and autonomous vehicles; (6) establish an ocean exploration forum, in consultation with the National Ocean Map- ping, Exploration, and Characterization Coun- cil established under section 5405 1 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authoriza- tion Act for Fiscal Year 2023, to encourage partnerships and promote communication Page 971 TITLE 33—NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS § 3404 2 So in original. The period probably should be a semicolon. among experts and other stakeholders in order to enhance the scientific and technical exper- tise and relevance of the national program.2 (7) provide guidance, in consultation with the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council, to Federal and State agencies, Tribal Governments, private industry, academia (including secondary schools, community colleges, and univer- sities), and nongovernmental organizations on data standards, protocols for accepting data, and coordination of data collection, compila- tion, processing, archiving, and dissemination for data relating to ocean exploration and characterization; and (8) coordinate with applicable ocean map- ping, ocean monitoring, and ocean observation programs to maximize coordination and col- laboration opportunities, prevent duplication of such activities and identify gaps in data. (b) Donations For the purpose of mapping, exploring, and characterizing the oceans or increasing the knowledge of the oceans, the Administrator may— (1) accept monetary donations, which shall be credited as discretionary offsetting collec- tions to the currently applicable appropria- tion, account, or fund of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and shall be made available for such purposes only to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts; (2) accept donations of property, data, and equipment; and (3) pay all necessary expenses in connection with the conveyance or transfer of a gift, de- vise, or bequest. (c) Definition of exclusive economic zone In this section, the term ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means the zone established by Presi- dential Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 10, 1983 (16 U.S.C. 1453 note). (Pub. L. 111–11, title XII, § 12003, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1417; Pub. L. 117–263, div. J, title CIII, § 10305(c), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3971.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 5405 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, referred to in subsec. (a)(6), probably means section 10304 of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, Pub. L. 117–263, which established the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Charac- terization Council, and is classified to section 3408 of this title. Pub. L. 117–263 does not contain a section 5405. AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(1)(A), in- serted ‘‘, in consultation with the Ocean Policy Com- mittee established under section 8932 of title 10,’’ after ‘‘Administration’’ in introductory provisions. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(1)(B), sub- stituted ‘‘expeditions’’ for ‘‘voyages’’ and ‘‘Federal and State agencies, Tribal Governments, private industry, academia (including secondary schools, community col- leges, and universities), and nongovernmental organi- zations, to map, explore, and characterize’’ for ‘‘Fed- eral agencies or academic or educational institutions, to explore and survey’’ and inserted ‘‘characterize,’’ after ‘‘observe,’’. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(1)(C), inserted ‘‘of the exclusive economic zone’’ after ‘‘deep ocean re- gions’’. Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(1)(D), sub- stituted ‘‘expeditions’’ for ‘‘voyages’’. Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(1)(E), struck out ‘‘, in consultation with the National Science Foun- dation,’’ after ‘‘implement’’. Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(1)(F), amend- ed par. (5) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (5) read as follows: ‘‘enhance the technical capability of the United States marine science community by promoting the development of improved oceanographic research, communication, navigation, and data collection sys- tems, as well as underwater platforms and sensor and autonomous vehicles; and’’. Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(1)(G), inserted ‘‘, in consultation with the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council established under section 5405 of the James M. Inhofe National De- fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023,’’ after ‘‘forum’’. Subsec. (a)(7), (8). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(1)(H), added pars. (7) and (8). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(2), amended sub- sec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘The Administrator may accept donations of property, data, and equipment to be applied for the pur- pose of exploring the oceans or increasing knowledge of the oceans.’’ Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–263, § 10305(c)(3), added subsec. (c). § 3404. Education, workforce training, and out- reach (a) In general The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall— (1) conduct education and outreach efforts in order to broadly disseminate information to the public on the discoveries made by the pro- gram under section 3402 of this title; (2) to the extent possible, coordinate the ef- forts described in paragraph (1) with the out- reach strategies of other domestic or inter- national ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization initiatives; and (3) establish a fellowship program at the Na- tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion to provide year-long fellowships to under- graduate students from institutions described in section 1067q(a) of title 20. (b) Education and outreach efforts Efforts described in subsection (a)(1) may in- clude— (1) education of the general public, teachers, students, and ocean and coastal resource man- agers; and (2) workforce training, reskilling, and oppor- tunities to encourage development of ocean- related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics technical training programs in- volving secondary schools, community col- leges, and universities, including institutions described in section 1067q(a) of title 20. (c) Outreach strategy Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the National Ocean Exploration