43 U.S.C. § 31a — Findings and purpose

(a) Findings: Congress made ten findings to explain why this law is needed. (1) Even though the national cooperative geologic mapping program has made real progress since it started in 1992, about 75 percent of the United States still has no modern, digital geologic map. (2) Geologic maps are the basic data behind almost all earth-science work. That includes finding and developing mineral, energy, and water resources; picking and studying sites for toxic and nuclear waste disposal; planning land use for homeland security and environmental protection; reducing earthquake hazards; identifying volcano hazards; designing and building infrastructure like utility lines, transportation routes, and reservoirs; reducing damage from landslides and other ground failures; lessening the effects of coastal and stream erosion; choosing sites for critical facilities; supporting recreation and public awareness; and basic earth-science research. (3) Federal agencies, state and local governments, private industry, and the public all rely on geologic maps to figure out potential environmental damage before starting projects — so they can avoid costly problems or lawsuits later. (4) State, federal, and academic groups together don't have enough mapping capacity to meet the nation's current and future needs for national security, environmental protection, and energy independence. (5) States are willing to pay half the cost of finishing the geologic mapping of their own land. (6) Without proper geologic maps, structures like dams and waste-disposal sites have sometimes been poorly designed. (7) Geologic maps have been essential tools for finding needed fossil-fuel and mineral resources. (8) Geologic map information is necessary for developing natural resources — energy, minerals, land, water, and biological resources — in a sustainable, balanced way. (9) New digital technology and geographic information systems have made geologic map databases more and more useful as tools for deciding how to manage land and resources. (10) The nation needs a comprehensive, nationwide program to map its surface and underground deposits, built at a pace that keeps up with growing demand. (b) Purpose: The purpose of sections 31a through 31h of this title is to speed up the creation of a national geologic-map database. This database will be housed at the United States Geological Survey. It's meant to be used for managing, assessing, and using land; conserving natural resources; managing groundwater; and protecting and managing the environment.