Title 33 — Navigation and Navigable WatersRelease 119-73not60
§3402 Program Established
Title 33 › Chapter 47— OCEAN EXPLORATION › Subchapter I— EXPLORATION › § 3402
Summary
NOAA's Administrator must create a national ocean exploration program at NOAA, working with the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies. The program must encourage cooperation with other ocean programs and, when useful, coordinate data systems, public outreach and education to help people understand oceans and coasts, and develop and share technology for ocean research and mapping.
Full Legal Text
Title 33, §3402
Navigation and Navigable Waters — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall, in consultation with the National Science Foundation and other appropriate Federal agencies, establish a coordinated national ocean exploration program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that promotes collaboration with other Federal ocean research and exploration programs. To the extent appropriate, the Administrator shall seek to facilitate coordination of data and information management 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.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2022—Pub. L. 117–263 struck out “and undersea” after “Federal ocean” in first sentence and substituted “research and ocean exploration and characterization efforts” for “and undersea research and exploration” in second sentence.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
33 U.S.C. § 3402
Title 33 — Navigation and Navigable Waters
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60