Digital Coast Act

Digital Coast Act

This bill provides statutory authority for and revises the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Digital Coast program. (The program currently exists under NOAA to provide data, tools, and training that communities use to manage their coastal resources.)

NOAA must focus on filling data needs and gaps for critical coastal management issues and support continued improvement in existing efforts to coordinate the acquisition and integration of key data sets needed for coastal management.

NOAA may

• enter into financial agreements and collect fees to carry out the program;
• enter into contracts with private sector entities as necessary to collect, process, and provide remote sensing and other geospatial data and products; and
• establish public tools that are capable of tracking ocean and Great Lakes economy data for each coastal state.