Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6127) to provide for the standardization, consolidation, and publication of data relating to public outdoor recreational use of Federal waterways among Federal land and water management agencies, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 6127
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 ``Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters Act'' or the ``MAPWaters Act''. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Federal fishing restriction.--The term ``Federal fishing restriction'' means a defined area in which all or certain fishing activities are temporarily or permanently prohibited or restricted by a Federal land or water management agency.
(2) Federal land or water management agency.--The term ``Federal land or water management agency'' means--
(A) the Bureau of Reclamation;
(B) the National Park Service;
(C) the Bureau of Land Management;
(D) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and
(E) the Forest Service.
(3) Federal waterway.--The term ``Federal waterway'' means any portion of a body of water managed partially or wholly by 1 or more of the relevant Secretaries.
(4) Federal waterway restriction.--The term ``Federal waterway restriction'' means a restriction on the access or use of a Federal waterway applied under applicable law by 1 or more of the Secretaries.
(5) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service; and
(B) the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY DATA STANDARDIZATION.
Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination with the Federal Geographic Data Committee established by section 753(a) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (43 U.S.C. 2802(a)), shall jointly develop and adopt interagency standards to ensure compatibility and interoperability among applicable Federal databases with respect to the collection and dissemination of geospatial data relating to public outdoor recreational access of Federal waterways and Federal fishing restrictions. SEC. 4. DATA CONSOLIDATION AND PUBLICATION.
(a) Federal Waterway Restrictions.--Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each of the Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, shall digitize and make publicly available online, as applicable, geographic information system data that includes, with respect to Federal waterway restrictions--
(1) status information with respect to the conditions under which Federal waterways are open or closed to entry or watercraft, including watercraft inspection, decontamination requirements, low- elevation aircraft, or diving;
(2) the dates on which Federal waterways are seasonally closed to entry or watercraft;
(3) the areas of Federal waterways with restrictions on motorized propulsion, horsepower, or fuel type;
(4) the areas of Federal waterways with anchoring restrictions, no wake zones, exclusion zones, danger areas, or vessel speed restrictions;
(5) Federal waterway restrictions on the direction of travel, including upstream or downstream travel; and
(6) the types of watercraft that are restricted on each area of a Federal waterway, including the permissibility of--
(A) canoes;
(B) rafts and driftboats;
(C) motorboats;
(D) personal watercraft;
(E) airboats;
(F) amphibious aircraft;
(G) hovercraft;
(H) oversnow vehicles and other motorized vehicles on frozen bodies of water; and
(I) oceangoing ships; and
(7) citations documenting the source of the restrictions.
(b) Federal Waterway Access and Navigation Information.-- Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each of the Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, shall digitize and make publicly available online, as applicable, geographic information system data that includes, with respect to Federal waterway access and navigation information--
(1)(A) the location of boat ramps, portages, and fishing access sites under the authority of the Federal land or water management agency; and
(B) the identification of the dates on which the facilities and sites identified under subparagraph (A) are open or closed, as applicable; and
(2) bathymetric information and depth charts, as feasible.
(c) Federal Fishing Restrictions.--Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each of the Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, shall digitize and make publicly available online geographic information system data that describes, with respect to Federal fishing restrictions--
(1) the location and geographic boundaries of Federal fishing restrictions on recreational and commercial fishing, including--
(A) full or partial closures;
(B) no-take zones; and
(C) Federal fishing restrictions within or surrounding marine protected areas;
(2) Federal fishing restrictions enacted pursuant to section 302(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1732(b)); and
(3) Federal requirements with respect to catch and release.
(d) Public Comment.--The Secretaries shall develop a process to allow members of the public to submit questions or comments regarding the information described in subsections (a) and (b).
(e) Updates.--The Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, shall update--
(1) the data described in subsections (a) and (b) not less frequently than 2 times per year; and
(2) the data described in subsection (c) in real time as changes go into effect.
(f) Exclusion.--This section shall not apply to irrigation canals and flowage easements.
(g) Disclosure.--Any geographic information system data made publicly available under this section shall not disclose information regarding the nature, location, character, or ownership of historic, paleontological, or archaeological resources, consistent with applicable law. SEC. 5. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION.
(a) Community Partners and Third-party Providers.--For purposes of carrying out this Act, the Secretaries may--
(1) coordinate and partner with non-Federal agencies and private sector and nonprofit partners, including--
(A) State, territorial, and District of Columbia natural resource agencies;
(B) Tribal natural resource agencies;
(C) technology companies;
(D) geospatial data companies; and
(E) experts in data science, analytics, and operations research; and
(2) enter into an agreement with a third party to carry out any provision of this Act.
(b) United States Geological Survey.--The Secretaries may work with the Director of the United States Geological Survey to collect, aggregate, digitize, standardize, and publish data on behalf of the Secretaries to meet the requirements of this Act.
(c) Requirement.--With respect to data developed and distributed under this Act, the Secretaries shall include a notice that any geospatial data are subject to applicable Federal, State, and Tribal regulations. SEC. 6. REPORTS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter through March 30, 2033, the Secretaries shall submit a report that describes the progress made by the Secretaries with respect to meeting the requirements of this Act to--
(1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives;
(4) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and
(5) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives. SEC. 7. EFFECT.
Nothing in this Act--
(1) modifies or alters the definition of the term ``navigable waters'' under Federal law;
(2) affects the jurisdiction or authority of State or Federal agencies to regulate navigable waters;
(3) modifies or alters the authority or jurisdiction of Federal or State agencies to manage fisheries; or
(4) authorizes or is intended to result in the closing of or restriction of access to waters open to hunting, fishing, or other forms of outdoor recreation as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. WESTERMAN. 6127, the bill now under consideration.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6127, the Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters Act, or MAPWaters Act, sponsored by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore).
This bill seeks to improve recreational access for our country's boaters and anglers by requiring agencies to digitize maps of Federal waterways and information related to the regulations and restrictions to accessing those waterways. The bill then calls upon Federal land management agencies to publish this information online and work with the private sector to make this information easily available to the public.
This bill is necessary because access to information related to regulations and restrictions to Federal waterways can often be hard to come by. The Natural Resources Committee heard testimony about a specific example of an unfortunate situation that happened at Yellowstone National Park. A group of backpackers was hiking to a remote lake in the park where the group planned to fish. Upon arriving at the lake, they discovered that half the lake was off-limits to fishing because of nesting swans. It just so happens that the half of the lake that was closed to fishing was the part of the lake they were permitted to fish.
This is unacceptable. Passing this bill would prevent incidents like this by ensuring this information is easily available to the public.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Moore) for his work on this bill and his work as a Member of this body to increase recreational access to our public lands.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source