§3104 3D elevation program

Summary

Create a program called the 3D Elevation Program to collect, share, and publish 3D ground-elevation data for the United States. The program must coordinate data collection and use across federal and nonfederal groups, make standard public 3D elevation products, and encourage use by federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, colleges, and the private sector through agreements, quality-control systems, common data standards, and new technologies. The Secretary must run the program so it works efficiently and meets user needs, and federal agencies that work with elevation data must help plan priorities, follow the program’s standards, share results, and make any grant-funded data meet the standards and be added to the national data holdings. Set up a federal coordinating committee chaired by the Secretary and including leaders such as the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and Homeland Security; the Directors of NSF, OSTP, and OMB; and other agency heads as needed. The committee must oversee the program and, not later than 1 year after January 5, 2021, produce a strategic plan and a detailed management plan and update them periodically. Create a nonfederal subcommittee inside the National Geospatial Advisory Committee with at least 11 members from research, standards groups, state and local government, and the private sector to assess trends, program effectiveness, and management, and to report findings not later than 1 year after January 5, 2021 and every 2 years after that. The Secretary may award grants and cooperative agreements to governments, schools, nonprofits, and others to improve nationwide coverage, with terms that include making the data public and interoperable. For fiscal years 2021 through 2024, up to $40,000,000 is authorized each year to carry out the program, and the money must come from amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary that are enacted after January 5, 2021.