United States Code
USC most recently checked for updates: Feb 18, 2025
The Secretary shall establish a program for the provision of an enabling platform that integrates geospatial data, decision-support tools, training, and best practices to address coastal management issues and needs. Under the program, the Secretary shall strive to enhance resilient communities, ecosystem values, and coastal economic growth and development by helping communities address their issues, needs, and challenges through cost-effective and participatory solutions.
The program established under paragraph (1) shall be known as the “Digital Coast” (in this section referred to as the “program”).
The Secretary may, to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, assess and collect fees for the conduct of any training, workshop, or conference that advances the purposes of the program.
The amount of a fee under this paragraph may not exceed the sum of costs incurred, or expected to be incurred, by the Secretary as a direct result of the conduct of the training, workshop, or conference, including for subsistence expenses incidental to the training, workshop, or conference, as applicable.
Contracts entered into under paragraph (1)(B) shall be considered “surveying and mapping” services as such term is used in and as such contracts are awarded by the Secretary in accordance with the selection procedures in chapter 11 of title 40.
The Secretary may establish publically available tools that track ocean and Great Lakes economy data for each coastal State.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $4,000,000 for each fiscal year 2021 through 2025 to carry out the program.