§ 1537. Needs assessment for data management, archival, and distribution

• (1) Not later than 12 months after October 29, 1992, and at least biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall complete an assessment of the adequacy of the environmental data and information systems of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In conducting such an assessment, the Secretary shall take into consideration the need to -
  • (A) provide adequate capacity to manage, archive, and disseminate environmental data and information collected and processed, or expected to be collected and processed, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other appropriate departments and agencies;
  • (B) establish, develop, and maintain information bases, including necessary management systems, which will promote consistent, efficient, and compatible transfer and use of data;
  • (C) develop effective interfaces among the environmental data and information systems of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other appropriate departments and agencies;
  • (D) develop and use nationally accepted formats and standards for data collected by various national and international sources; and
  • (E) integrate and interpret data from different sources to produce information that can be used by decisionmakers in developing policies that effectively respond to national and global environmental concerns.
• (2) Not later than 12 months after October 29, 1992, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall develop and submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a comprehensive plan, based on the assessment under paragraph (1), to modernize and improve the environmental data and information systems of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report shall -
  • (A) set forth modernization and improvement objectives for the 10-year period beginning with the year in which the plan is submitted, including facility requirements and critical new technological components that would be necessary to meet the objectives set forth;
  • (B) propose specific agency programs and activities for implementing the plan;
  • (C) identify the data and information management, archival, and distribution responsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with respect to other Federal departments and agencies and international organizations, including the role of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with respect to large data systems like the Earth Observing System Data and Information System; and
  • (D) provide an implementation schedule and estimate funding levels necessary to achieve modernization and improvement objectives.