MEMORANDUM
TO: Members, Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans
FROM: Subcommittee Majority Staff
SUBJECT: Oversight Hearing on FY2000 Budget Request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Including the National Marine Fisheries Service
The Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans will hold a hearing at 2:30 P.M. on Wednesday, March 18, 1999, in Room 1334 Longworth House Office Building on the President's Fiscal Year 2000 (FY'00) budget request for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) programs within the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee. The honorable Dr. James Baker, Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, has been invited to testify.
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is housed in the Department of Commerce and consists of five line offices: National Ocean Service (NOS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National Weather Service (NWS), and National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS). The Resources Committee has jurisdiction over NOAA's fisheries and wildlife, marine affairs and oceanography programs, including those in NOS, NMFS, and OAR.
NOAA's budget is divided into the Operations, Research and Facilities (ORF), Procurement, Acquisition and Construction (PAC), and several smaller miscellaneous accounts. In FY'99, $1,652 million in new budget authority is provided for ORF and $585 million for PAC. For FY'00, the Administration requests budgetary authority of $1,822 million for ORF and $631 for PAC. Smaller miscellaneous accounts total $107.7 million for FY'00, up $32.5 million over the current FY'99 levels of $75.2 million.
These smaller accounts consist of fees, import duties and loan repayments. NOAA receives a portion of import duties imposed on seafood ($66.4 million in FY'99); administers three self-financing fisheries funds which spent less than $1.5 million in FY'99; administers the Coastal Zone Management Fund, which is expected to receive $4 million in loan repayments from States that participated in a Federal loan program in the 1970's. In past years, NOAA received reimbursements from the Damage Assessment Fund to carry out restoration work under the Oil Pollution Act, Superfund, and pay for Clean Water Act settlements. In FY'00, the Administration is proposing that this money be transferred directly to the NOS ORF account.
The Administration budget request includes increases in both NOAA's oceanic (wet) and atmospheric (dry) programs. On the wet side, the Administration is proposing increases to NOS and NMFS and decreases to OAR's wet programs. Overall, the Administration is proposing net increases of $210 million for NOAA's wet programs. OAR oceanic programs are scheduled for decreases totaling $23 million. The proposed increases to NOS and NMFS are due, in large part, to additional grant money proposed under the Coastal Zone Management and National Marine Sanctuary Acts, funding for a new fisheries research vessel, and a new Pacific Salmon Conservation Fund. The Administration also proposes $30 million in new fees for its fishery and navigation programs. The Administration requests increases in NOAA dry side programs (NWS, NESDIS, and Atmospheric Research) of $71.9 million, with no new dry side fees.
A table showing Fiscal Year 1999 appropriations, and Fiscal Year 2000 Administration requests, and recommended funding levels for NOAA's "wet" programs (NOS, NMFS and OAR) is attached.
NATIONAL OCEAN SERVICE (NOS)
The National Ocean Service includes: the Coast Survey, which produces charts and navigational information crucial to the conduct of safe marine navigation; the National Geodetic Survey, which maintains the Nation's vertical reference system; the Coastal Ocean Program (COP), which conducts research to improve the quality of scientific information available to coastal managers; the Office of Resources Conservation and Assessment (ORCA), which conducts environmental monitoring, hazardous materials planning, and environmental restoration; and the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, which oversees the Coastal Zone Management and Marine Sanctuaries Programs.
Coast Survey and the National Geodetic Survey: Nautical mapping and charting, geodesy, and tide and current observation and prediction are funded at $79.9 million in FY'99; the Administration requests $83.0 million in FY'99. Included in this proposal are efforts to digitized nautical charts, attack the survey backlog and obtain real-time tide and current data.
At the end of the 105th Congress, the President signed legislation which originated in this subcommittee, the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998, which was designed to modernize the U.S. navigation services program. This legislation prohibited the creation of any new fees to fund hydrographic services, and authorized Navigation Services programs $121.5 million significantly more than sought by the Administration.
Accurate nautical charts and other navigational information are fundamental to the strength of our national transportation infrastructure. Ninety-eight percent of U.S. foreign trade (by weight; 47 percent by value) travels by ship, and shipping cannot take place safely or efficiently without accurate and up-to-date charts and tide and current data. In addition, much of the cargo that travels through U.S. waters is oil or other hazardous material, and inaccurate charts or incorrect tide and current measurements can cause huge financial and environmental disasters. Many natural and artificial processes continually move sediment around on the seafloor, continual updates and improvements to charts are necessary to prevent such accidents.
Unfortunately, since the 1970's, support for U.S. navigation services programs have eroded significantly. Funding for navigation services dropped from $94.5 million in 1979 to $47.7 million in 1994 (in constant 1994 dollars), a decrease of 50 percent. In 1971, NOAA had 11 hydrographic survey ships, most of them less than ten years old. At present, NOAA has three ships, the youngest of which was built in 1968.
This erosion of support has significantly reduced the effectiveness of the program. NOS has a backlog of 34,000 square nautical miles of "critical areas" -- that is, areas with heavy large vessel traffic, shallow water, and inadequate or obsolete surveys -- which must be resurveyed in order to ensure safe navigation. Many of these critical areas are approaches to major ports, or heavily used inshore areas with unstable bottom topography. The rest are large regions, primarily in Alaska, which have never been surveyed with modern equipment but are currently seeing major increases in oil tanker, cargo carrier, and cruise ship traffic. Although current critical areas make up only 1.5 percent of the entire area of U.S. waters that NOAA is responsible for charting, NOAA estimates that it would require more than 30 years at 1997 funding levels to complete these critical surveys. That falls to 22 years at the levels requested in Fiscal Year 2000, and 17 years at the levels authorized by congress last year. This does not include the additional 200-300 reports of new wrecks and obstructions that NOAA must investigate every year.
This lack of updated chart data is particularly worrisome in light of recent advances in navigation technology. Using new GPS satellite navigation technology, ships can determine their position with an error of only a few meters. Older charts were drawn using older positioning systems, and shallows, rocks, wrecks or other obstructions can be plotted as much as several hundred meters away from their true position. If old, inaccurate data are incorporated into new navigation systems, therefore, this mismatch between different navigation techniques may actually increase the danger of accidents. New, more accurate navigation systems have the potential to greatly improve safety and efficiency, but this cannot be realized if charts remain based on old, inaccurate data.
The reduction in funding for NOAA navigation services programs over the last 20 years has also crippled tide and current measurement and prediction programs. In the past, pilots entering ports have relied on tide predictions, which are computed months in advance, to tell them how much water they are likely to have under their keel, and how strong the current is likely to be. Since actual water levels and currents can differ significantly from predicted values, this represents both a danger that water level will be less than predicted and possibly cause a grounding, as well as a missed opportunity to move vessels in and out when water level is higher than predicted. Many large international ports now have real-time systems that measure water level, current, wind, and other parameters throughout channels and maneuvering areas, and deliver this information continuously to pilots. These systems can yield huge improvements in port safety and efficiency.
Only four U.S. ports are now equipped with such systems. Furthermore, a lack of funding to collect tide and current data means that two-thirds of the data used for tidal predictions are more than 40 years old. Since natural and artificial changes in the shape of channels continuously affect tide and current patterns, tide predictions for some ports are now dangerously obsolete. NOAA has already withdrawn current predictions for New York Harbor and San Francisco Bay.
Office of Resources Conservation and Assessment: In FY'99, $82.8 million is provided for estuarine, coastal and ocean environmental assessments, hazardous materials planning and response, and environmental restoration. The Administration is requesting and additional $16.9 million for FY'00, for a total of $99.7 million. This includes $6.1 million for the operation of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, which is being transferred from OAR to NOS. The budget includes increases proposed under the Administration's Ocean 2000 Initiative to expedite dredging projects, restore coral reefs, investigate Gulf hypoxia, and study harmful algal blooms. Included in the Ocean 2000 Initiative are $10.0 million for the Response and Restoration Program for coral reef restoration and $1.0 million for the Coastal Ocean Science Program which supports research on harmful algal blooms and the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone. The Coastal Ocean Science Program is funded at $18.4 million for FY'99, and the Administration is requesting $19.4 million for FY'00.
Office of Ocean and Coastal Management: Congress enacted $76.9 million for the Office of Ocean and Coastal Management in FY'99 and the Administration is requesting $128.2 million for FY'00. Of this total, the Administration is requesting $83.7 million for Coastal Zone Management grants to States, up from the $53.7 million enacted for FY'99. The increase stems from Administration proposal to provide $2.0 million to address coastal nonpoint pollution plan implementation and $28.0 million under Section 310 to provide technical assistance to States. In FY'99, $14.4 million is provided for Marine Sanctuaries, and $26.0 million is requested in FY'00, much of it to improve management of the 12 existing sanctuaries, add a 13th site at Thunder Bay, MI, develop comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities and to develop new National Marine Sanctuaries. The Administration is requesting an additional $2.7 million for FY'00 for the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS). The increase is needed to provide funds for the operational needs of the program, as NOAA estimates that NERRS will grow from 22 to 27 sites by the end of FY'00.
In 1999, the Subcommittee will be working on legislation to reauthorize both the National Marine Sanctuaries and Coastal Zone Management Acts. Both Acts expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE (NMFS)
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for the conservation and management of marine and anadromous fisheries in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), including implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. NMFS is also responsible for the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the implementation of the Endangered Species Act for marine and anadromous fish species and certain marine mammals.
The NMFS base budget was appropriated at $382.55 million for FY '99. The proposed base funding from the President's FY '00 for NMFS is $420.432 million. This is an increase of approximately 10 percent for the base fisheries program funding. Included in this amount, is an Administration proposal of approximately $50.2 million in new funding for Fisheries Habitat Restoration and Endangered Species Act recovery plans. The President's budget proposal assumes an addition of 179 new FTEs for FY '00 for NMFS. In addition, a number of Congressional initiatives have been zero funded for FY '00 including: Steller sea lion research by the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Consortium, sea turtle recovery programs in the Gulf of Mexico, Pfiesteria and Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) rapid response and research at North Carolina State University (both of which were in the National Ocean Service's section of the NOAA budget), Atlantic herring and mackerel, bluefish and striped bass research, gear modification research for Right whale avoidance, and North Pacific observer training.
While the NOAA budget for FY '00 includes an increase of approximately 10 percent in base funding for fisheries programs, additional proposed funding has been included for several new initiatives including: the Lands Legacy Initiative (which includes $22.7 million for fishery habitat restoration), and the Resource Protection Initiative (which includes $100 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Account). It is unclear whether these programs will replace existing programs or if the Administration has identified offsets for these new initiatives. The budget also includes new funding requests of $51.6 million for the first of four new fishery research vessels and $1 million for the formal design and beginning of construction of a new NMFS research facility in Juneau, Alaska.
For the third year, the Administration's budget request includes new fisheries fees. This year's request is for $20.2 million in commercial fisheries fees. Statutory authority for assessment and collection of this fee does not exist. In fact the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act prohibits the Secretary from assessing any fishery fees on domestic fishermen other than to recover administrative costs for the issuance of permits, or up to 3 percent for the recovery of actual costs directly related to the management and enforcement of those fisheries managed under an individual fishing quota program or a community development quota program.
OFFICE OF OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH (OAR)
The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) conducts the scientific research, environmental studies and technology development critical to improve NOAA services. Research is conducted by NOAA and university scientists through a network of 11 Environmental Research Laboratories, 29 Sea Grant programs, 6 Undersea Research Centers, and 8 cooperative laboratories with universities.
For FY 2000, NOAA is requesting $292.6 million for OAR. This is an increase of $5.2 million over the FY'99 enacted level of $287.4 million. Climate research often involves both oceanographic and atmospheric components. The Resources Committee has jurisdiction over the "wet programs" of OAR, particularly Ocean and Great Lakes Programs. Funding for Atmospheric Program and Climate and Air Quality Research, which is under the jurisdiction of the Science Committee, is $168.9 million in FY'99. The administration is requesting $186.8 million for FY'00. In FY'99, $105.7 million is provided for Ocean and Great Lakes Programs, and $82.8 million is requested for FY'99. Cuts are proposed for the National Sea Grant College Program and the National Undersea Research Program (NURP). The National Sea Grant College Program was reauthorized for 5 years last year, at an authorization level of $65.8 million for FY'00. The Administration is only requesting $51.5 million for FY'00.
Additionally, $6.8 million is being cut as part of the transfer of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (GLERL) to NOS. Other research programs of interest include tsunami mitigation, VENTS and Arctic research programs. In FY'99, $1.65 and $2.1 million are enacted for Arctic research and VENTS, respectively. The Administration is requesting $1.3 for Arctic research and $2.1 for VENTS in FY'00. $2.3 million is enacted for tsunami mitigation research in FY'99, however the Administration is not requesting funding for tsunami mitigation research in FY'00.
The Administration is also requesting $10.0 million in the PAC account for high performance computers and to fund the GEOSTORMS program. No money was enacted under PAC for OAR in FY'99. Finally, the Administration is requesting $13 million for data acquisition, up from $12.9 million in FY'99.
ACQUISITION OF DATA
NOAA needs a certain number of days at sea on NOAA-owned or contracted vessels in order to acquire the data it needs to carry out its mission. In prior years, ship time was provided from a central Marine Services Account. In FY'97, the central account was replaced by "Acquisition of Data" line items in NOS, NMFS, and OAR. This change was made to provide line offices with the maximum amount of flexibility in determining the most cost-effective manner in which to acquire ship-based data. Congress enacted $52.5 million in FY'99, and the Administration is requesting $56.2 million for FY'00. This total is divided as follows: NOS - $17.7 million, OAR - $13.0 million, NMFS - $25.5 million.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
In FY'99, $662.5 million is provided for the National Weather Service (NWS), and $687.5 million is requested for FY'00. $69.6 million of the request is included in the PAC account. NWS is under the jurisdiction of the Science Committee.
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE, DATA AND INFORMATION SERVICE
In FY'99, $575.0 million is provided to the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) and $593.8 million is requested in FY'00. $490.7 million of the request is included in the PAC account. NESDIS is primarily under the jurisdiction of the Science Committee, though NOAA satellites do provide some environmental and oceanographic data.
PROGRAM SUPPORT
NOAA Program Support activities provide the programs with the administrative support and infrastructure necessary for the programs to meet their missions. This item funds NOAA's executive administration, administrative support, Commissioned Officer Corps retired pay, and aircraft services. In FY'99, $91.0 million is provided for Program Support, and $106.9 million is requested in FY'00. The Administration is requesting a total of $13.9 million for NOAA Corps retirement pay in FY'00.
FACILITIES & CONSTRUCTION
Congress enacted $47.5 million in FY'99 for facilities and construction. The Administration is requesting $42.7 million for FY'00, most of which ($33.0 million) comes from the PAC account. The request reflects the transfer of the Sandy Hook Lease and Columbia River Facilities to NMFS and NEXRAD maintenance to NWS.
FLEET MAINTENANCE & PLANNING
In FY'99, Congress enacted $11.6 million for Fleet Maintenance and Planning. The Administration is requesting $60.8 million for FY'00. In FY'98, $2.1 million was provided to design a new class of fishery research vessels. No funds were requested in FY'99 to build these new ships. The FY'00 request contains $51.6 million to build the first of four state-of-the-art fishery research vessels. This would be the first new class of vessels designed and built by NOAA in several decades, and the vessels are essential to conduct stock assessment surveys necessary to monitor species abundance, recruitment and fishing pressure.
ISSUES
1. How does NOAA intend to speed up data collection and chart revision, introduce new digital electronic products, provide real-time tide and current data, and take the other steps necessary to mechanize and bring up to date navigation services products? What is the time frame for making these improvements? What is the cost?
2. What NOAA research is necessary to maintain adequate information to allow fisheries managers to carry out their responsibilities. What NOAA research is crucial to coastal managers and those who live in the coastal zone? Are the current methods of conducting that research and delivering research results to users effective? What improvements can be made?
3. NOAA has requested funds necessary to build the first of 4 fishery research vessels. How will the new fisheries research vessel be used? Does NOAA plan to maintain current capacity while bring the new vessel on-line, or will operating funds be diverted from current vessels to pay for the operation of the new ship?
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