[Pages H7266-H7268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              MODERNIZING ACCESS TO OUR PUBLIC WATERS ACT

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6127) 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, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6127

       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'' or the ``MAPWaters Act''.

     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 
     any portion of a body of water managed partially or wholly 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.

     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 4 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

[[Page H7267]]

     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 types of watercraft that are restricted on each 
     area of a Federal waterway, including the permissibility of--
       (A) canoes;
       (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; and
       (I) oceangoing ships; and
       (7) citations documenting the source of the restrictions.
       (b) Federal Waterway Access and Navigation Information.--
     Not later than 4 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 4 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 enacted pursuant to 
     section 302(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
     of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1732(b)); 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, territorial, and District of Columbia 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 include a 
     notice that any geospatial data are subject to applicable 
     Federal, State, and Tribal regulations.

     SEC. 6. REPORTS.

       Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
     Act and annually thereafter through March 30, 2033, 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 Energy and Natural Resources of the 
     Senate;
       (2) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
     of the Senate;
       (3) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
     Representatives;
       (4) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (5) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
     Representatives.

     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 the closing of 
     or restriction of access to waters open to hunting, fishing, 
     or other forms of outdoor recreation as of the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Kamlager-Dove) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 6127, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6127, the Modernizing Access 
to Our Public Waters Act, or MAPWaters Act, sponsored by the gentleman 
from Utah (Mr. Moore).
  This bill seeks to improve recreational access for our country's 
boaters and anglers by requiring agencies to digitize maps of Federal 
waterways and information related to the regulations and restrictions 
to accessing those waterways. The bill then calls upon Federal land 
management agencies to publish this information online and work with 
the private sector to make this information easily available to the 
public.
  This bill is necessary because access to information related to 
regulations and restrictions to Federal waterways can often be hard to 
come by. The Natural Resources Committee heard testimony about a 
specific example of an unfortunate situation that happened at 
Yellowstone National Park. A group of backpackers was hiking to a 
remote lake in the park where the group planned to fish. Upon arriving 
at the lake, they discovered that half the lake was off-limits to 
fishing because of nesting swans. It just so happens that the half of 
the lake that was closed to fishing was the part of the lake they were 
permitted to fish.
  This is unacceptable. Passing this bill would prevent incidents like 
this by ensuring this information is easily available to the public.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, the MAPWaters Act would improve the 
standardization and public access to information about Federal waterway 
restrictions, Federal waterway access and navigation, and Federal 
fishing restrictions.
  By standardizing and digitizing this information, this bill would 
give Americans the information and confidence to engage in recreation 
without searching for and deciphering information across numerous 
agency websites.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Moore), the lead sponsor of the bill.
  Mr. MOORE of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, 
the Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters Act, or MAPWaters Act, 
which passed the Natural Resources Committee unanimously last month.
  The legislation builds upon the success of my MAPLand Act, enacted in 
2022, and the MAP Army Corps language included in this year's Water 
Resources Development Act to ensure Americans can quickly see the 
public resources around them and spend more time recreating on the 
water that they love.

[[Page H7268]]

  The MAPWaters Act will improve the standardization, consolidation, 
and availability of information on the recreational opportunities for 
Federal waterways, allowing recreationists in Utah and around the 
country to have the most up-to-date information on what is available to 
them.
  In addition to providing chances for families to experience the 
outdoors and instill a love of nature in new generations, recreational 
boating and fishing are major drivers of Utah's economy, contributing 
over $536 million in 2023.
  As our love for the outdoors continues to grow, accessing these 
public treasures should be as easy as possible.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta), the 
gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Fulcher), and the gentlewoman from Michigan 
(Mrs. Dingell), as well as our Senate companions, Senators Barrasso and 
King, for partnering with me on this effort.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6127.
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentleman from Utah 
(Mr. Moore) for his work on this bill and his work as a Member of this 
body to increase recreational access to our public lands.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 6127, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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