119-hr187

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 187 Referred in Senate

    (RFS) ]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 187

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 22, 2025

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
 Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 AN ACT

 To provide for the standardization, consolidation, and publication of 
 data relating to public outdoor recreational use of Federal waterways 
 among Federal land and water management agencies, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Modernizing Access to our Public 
Waters Act of 2025'' or the ``MAPWaters Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Federal fishing restriction.--The term ``Federal 
 fishing restriction'' means a defined area in which all or 
 certain fishing activities are temporarily or permanently 
 prohibited or restricted by a Federal land or water management 
 agency.

    (2) Federal land or water management agency.--The term 
 ``Federal land or water management agency'' means--
        (A) the Bureau of Reclamation;
        (B) the National Park Service;
            (C) the Bureau of Land Management;
            (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 
 and
        (E) the Forest Service.

    (3) Federal waterway.--The term ``Federal waterway'' means 
 waters managed by 1 or more of the relevant Secretaries.

    (4) Federal waterway restriction.--The term ``Federal 
 waterway restriction'' means a restriction on the access or use 
 of a Federal waterway applied under applicable law by 1 or more 
 of the Secretaries.

    (5) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means--
        (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 
 the Chief of the Forest Service; and
        (B) the Secretary of the Interior.

    (6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
 States, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the 
 United States.

SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY DATA STANDARDIZATION.

 Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretaries, in coordination with the Federal Geographic Data 
Committee established by 

section 753

    (a) of the FAA Reauthorization Act 
of 2018 (43 U.S.C. 2802

    (a) ), shall jointly develop and adopt 
interagency standards to ensure compatibility and interoperability 
among applicable Federal databases with respect to the collection and 
dissemination of geospatial data relating to public outdoor 
recreational access of Federal waterways and Federal fishing 
restrictions.

SEC. 4. DATA CONSOLIDATION AND PUBLICATION.

    (a) Federal Waterway Restrictions.--Not later than 5 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, each of the Secretaries, to the 
maximum extent practicable, shall digitize and make publicly available 
online, as applicable, geographic information system data that 
includes, with respect to Federal waterway restrictions--

    (1) status information with respect to the conditions under 
 which Federal waterways are open or closed to entry or 
 watercraft, including watercraft inspection, decontamination 
 requirements, low-elevation aircraft, or diving;

    (2) the dates on which Federal waterways are seasonally 
 closed to entry or watercraft;

    (3) the areas of Federal waterways with restrictions on 
 motorized propulsion, horsepower, or fuel type;

    (4) the areas of Federal waterways with anchoring 
 restrictions, no wake zones, exclusion zones, danger areas, or 
 vessel speed restrictions;

    (5) Federal waterway restrictions on the direction of 
 travel, including upstream or downstream travel; and

    (6) the uses, including by watercraft, that are restricted 
 on each area of a Federal waterway, including the 
 permissibility of--
        (A) canoes and other paddlecraft;
        (B) rafts and driftboats;
            (C) motorboats;
            (D) personal watercraft;
        (E) airboats;
        (F) amphibious aircraft;
        (G) hovercraft;
        (H) oversnow vehicles and other motorized vehicles 
 on frozen bodies of water;
            (I) oceangoing ships;
        (J) swimming; and
        (K) other applicable recreational activities, as 
 determined to be appropriate by the Secretaries.

    (b) Federal Waterway Access and Navigation Information.--Not later 
than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each of the 
Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, shall digitize and make 
publicly available online, as applicable, geographic information system 
data that includes, with respect to Federal waterway access and 
navigation information--

    (1)
        (A) the location of boat ramps, portages, and fishing 
 access sites under the authority of the Federal land or water 
 management agency; and
        (B) the identification of the dates on which the 
 facilities and sites identified under subparagraph
        (A) are open or closed, as applicable; and

    (2) bathymetric information and depth charts, as feasible.
            (c) Federal Fishing Restrictions.--Not later than 5 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, each of the Secretaries, to the maximum 
extent practicable, shall digitize and make publicly available online 
geographic information system data that describes, with respect to 
Federal fishing restrictions--

    (1) the location and geographic boundaries of Federal 
 fishing restrictions on recreational and commercial fishing, 
 including--
        (A) full or partial closures;
        (B) no-take zones; and
            (C) Federal fishing restrictions within or 
 surrounding marine protected areas;

    (2) Federal fishing restrictions on the use of specific 
 types of equipment or bait; and

    (3) Federal requirements with respect to catch and release.
            (d) Public Comment.--The Secretaries shall develop a process to 
allow members of the public to submit questions or comments regarding 
the information described in subsections

    (a) and

    (b) .

    (e) Updates.--The Secretaries, to the maximum extent practicable, 
shall update--

    (1) the data described in subsections

    (a) and

    (b) not less 
 frequently than 2 times per year; and

    (2) the data described in subsection
            (c) in real time as 
 changes go into effect.

    (f) Exclusion.--This section shall not apply to irrigation canals 
and flowage easements.

    (g) Disclosure.--Any geographic information system data made 
publicly available under this section shall not disclose information 
regarding the nature, location, character, or ownership of historic, 
paleontological, or archaeological resources, consistent with 
applicable law.

SEC. 5. COOPERATION AND COORDINATION.

    (a) Community Partners and Third-party Providers.--For purposes of 
carrying out this Act, the Secretaries may--

    (1) coordinate and partner with non-Federal agencies and 
 private sector and nonprofit partners, including--
        (A) State natural resource agencies;
        (B) Tribal natural resource agencies;
            (C) technology companies;
            (D) geospatial data companies; and
        (E) experts in data science, analytics, and 
 operations research; and

    (2) enter into an agreement with a third party to carry out 
 any provision of this Act.

    (b) United States Geological Survey.--The Secretaries may work with 
the Director of the United States Geological Survey to collect, 
aggregate, digitize, standardize, and publish data on behalf of the 
Secretaries to meet the requirements of this Act.
            (c) Requirement.--With respect to data developed and distributed 
under this Act, the Secretaries shall--

    (1) develop the data in accordance with applicable Federal, 
 State, and Tribal laws (including regulations); and

    (2) include a notice that any geospatial data are subject 
 to applicable Federal, State, and Tribal laws (including 
 regulations).
            (d) Existing Efforts.--To the extent practicable, the Secretary 
concerned shall use or incorporate existing applicable data, maps, and 
resources in carrying out this Act, including data, maps, and resources 
developed and published under--

    (1) the Modernizing Access to Our Public Land Act (16 
 U.S.C. 6851 et seq.);

    (2) section 103 of division DD of the Consolidated 
 Appropriations Act, 2023 (43 U.S.C. 776); or

    (3) other applicable law.

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and 
annually thereafter through March 30, 2034, the Secretaries shall 
submit a report that describes the progress made by the Secretaries 
with respect to meeting the requirements of this Act to--

    (1) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
 Representatives;

    (2) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
 Representatives;

    (3) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
 Representatives;

    (4) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
 Senate; and

    (5) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
 of the Senate.

SEC. 7. EFFECT.

 Nothing in this Act--

    (1) modifies or alters the definition of the term 
 ``navigable waters'' under Federal law;

    (2) affects the jurisdiction or authority of State or 
 Federal agencies to regulate navigable waters;

    (3) modifies or alters the authority or jurisdiction of 
 Federal or State agencies to manage fisheries; or

    (4) authorizes or is intended to result in a change in the 
 accessibility of waters open to hunting, fishing, or other 
 forms of outdoor recreation as of the date of the enactment of 
 this Act.

 Passed the House of Representatives January 21, 2025.

 Attest:

 KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

 Clerk.