Issues and Challenges for Federal Geospatial
Information

Peter Folger
Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy
May 18, 2011
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R41826
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress

Issues and Challenges for Federal Geospatial Information

Summary
Congress has recognized the challenge of coordinating and sharing geospatial data from the local,
county, and state level to the national level, and vice versa. The cost to the federal government of
gathering and coordinating geospatial information has also been an ongoing concern. As much as
80% of government information has a geospatial component, according to various sources. The
federal government’s role has changed from being a primary provider of authoritative geospatial
information to coordinating and managing geospatial data and facilitating partnerships. Congress
explored issues of cost, duplication of effort, and coordination of geospatial information in
hearings during the 108th Congress. However, challenges to coordinating how geospatial data are
acquired and used—collecting duplicative data sets, for example—at the local, state, and federal
levels, in collaboration with the private sector, are not yet resolved.
The federal government has recognized the need to organize and coordinate the collection and
management of geospatial data since at least 1990, when the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) revised Circular A-16 to establish the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and
to promote the coordinated use, sharing, and dissemination of geospatial data nationwide. OMB
Circular A-16 also called for development of a national digital spatial information resource to
enable the sharing and transfer of spatial data between users and producers, linked by criteria and
standards. Executive Order 12906, issued in 1994, strengthened and enhanced Circular A-16, and
specified that FGDC shall coordinate development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure
(NSDI). On November 10, 2010, OMB issued supplemental guidance to Circular A-16 that labels
geospatial data as a “capital asset,” and refers to its acquisition and management in terms
analogous to financial assets to be managed as a National Geospatial Data Asset Portfolio. It will
likely take some time, and several budget cycles, to track whether agencies are adhering to the
“portfolio-centric model” of geospatial data management outlined in the supplemental guidance.
The 112th Congress may examine its oversight role in the implementation of OMB Circular A-16,
particularly in how federal agencies are coordinating their programs that have geospatial assets.
The high-level leadership and broad membership of the FGDC—10 cabinet-level departments
and 9 other federal agencies—highlights the importance of geospatial information to the federal
government. Questions remain, however, about how effectively the FGDC is fulfilling its
mission. Has this organizational structure worked? Can the federal government account for the
costs of acquiring, coordinating, and managing geospatial information? How well is the federal
government coordinating with the state and local entities that have an increasing stake in
geospatial information? What is the role of the private sector?
State-level geospatial entities, through the National State Geographic Information Council, also
embrace the need for better coordination. However, the states are sensitive to possible federal
encroachment on their prerogatives to customize NSDI to meet the needs of the states.
In early 2009, several proposals were released calling for efforts to create a national Geospatial
Information System (GIS). Language in the proposals attempted to make the case for considering
such efforts part of the national investment in critical infrastructure. Congress may consider how
a national GIS or geospatial infrastructure would be conceived, perhaps drawing on proposals for
these national efforts and how they would be similar to or differ from current efforts.

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Issues and Challenges for Federal Geospatial Information

Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
Issues with Organization and Management, Data Sharing, and Coordination ............................... 2
Organization and Management of Geospatial Data ................................................................ 3
Supplemental Guidance to OMB Circular A-16, November 10, 2010............................... 4
Data Sharing Between Local, State, and National Levels ....................................................... 6
Challenges to Coordinating ................................................................................................... 6
Recent Legislation ...................................................................................................................... 8
The Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform Act of 2011 ......................................................... 9
The Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act ................................................................... 9
Non-Federal Stakeholders ......................................................................................................... 10
National Geospatial Advisory Committee............................................................................ 10
NGAC Recommendations to the Obama Administration................................................ 11
National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) .................................................. 12
Imagery for the Nation—A Priority for NSGIC ............................................................. 13
Advancing the National Spatial Data Infrastructure: The NSGIC Perspective ................ 13
Some Privacy Issues: Census, Farm Bill, Internet ................................................................ 14
The Census and the Farm Bill ....................................................................................... 14
Internet Privacy............................................................................................................. 15
A National GIS?........................................................................................................................ 15
Conclusion................................................................................................................................ 16

Appendixes
Appendix. History and Background of Circular A-16 ................................................................ 18

Contacts
Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 19
Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................... 19

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Introduction
Historically, the federal government has been a primary provider of authoritative geospatial
information, but some argue that consumer demand for spatial information has triggered a major
shift toward local government and commercial providers.1 The federal government has shifted,
with some important exceptions, to consuming rather than providing geospatial information from
a variety of sources. As a result, the federal government’s role has shifted as well toward
coordinating and managing geospatial data and facilitating partnerships among the producers and
consumers of geospatial information in government, the private sector, and academia. The
challenges to coordinating how geospatial data are acquired and used—collecting duplicative data
sets, for example—at the local, state, and federal levels, in collaboration with the private sector,
are long-standing and not yet resolved.
In 2003 and 2004 the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental
Relations, and the Census, part of the House Committee on Government Reform, held two
hearings on the nation’s geospatial information infrastructure. A common theme to both hearings
was the challenge of coordinating and sharing geospatial data between the local, county, state,
and national levels. Quantifying the cost of geospatial information to the federal government has
also been an ongoing concern for Congress. At the hearing in 2003, Representative Adam Putnam
stated:
We need to understand what programs exist across the government, how much we’re spending on
those programs, where we’re spending that money, how efficiently, or perhaps inefficiently, we
share data across Federal agency boundaries, how we separate security-sensitive geospatial data
from those open for public use, and how we efficiently, or perhaps inefficiently, coordinate with
State and local governments and tribes.2
The explosion of geospatial data acquired at the local and state levels, for their own purposes and
in conjunction with the private sector, underscores the long-recognized need for better
coordination between the federal government and local and state authorities. At the same time,
coordinating, managing, and facilitating the production and use of geospatial information from
different sources, of different quality, and which was collected with specific objectives in mind
has been a challenge. The federal government has recognized this challenge since at least 1990,
when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) revised Circular A-16 to establish the
Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and to promote the coordinated use, sharing, and
dissemination of geospatial data nationwide.3

1 The National Geospatial Advisory Committee, The Changing Geospatial Landscape, January 2009, p. 9,
http://www.fgdc.gov/ngac/NGAC%20Report%20-%20The%20Changing%20Geospatial%20Landscape.pdf. Hereafter
referred to as NGAC, The Changing Geospatial Landscape, January 2009.
2 Prepared statement of Rep. Adam Putnam, Chair, U.S. Congress, House Committee on Government Reform,
Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and the Census, Geospatial
Information: A Progress Report on Improving our Nation’s Map-related Data Infrastructure
, 108th Cong., 1st sess.,
June 10, 2003, H. Hrg. 108-99 (Washington: GPO, 2004).
3 OMB Circular A-16 was originally issued in 1953; however, its lineage stretches back to the early part of the 20th
century, and its focus on coordination and avoiding duplication began in an Executive Order dated August 10, 1906. A
1990 revision expanded the Circular beyond surveying and mapping, its original focus, to include digital data, such as
the geospatial data discussed in this report. Appendix of this report reproduces Appendix C of Circular A-16, which
describes its history and background.
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Executive Order 12906, issued in 1994, was intended to “strengthen and enhance” the general
policies in Circular A-16. 4 Executive Order 12906 specified that the FGDC shall coordinate the
federal government’s development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).5 Further,
EO12906 called for the establishment of a National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse to address
data standardization, make geospatial data publically available, and address redundancy and
incompatibility of geospatial information. Circular A-16 was itself revised in 2002, adding the
Deputy Director of Management at OMB as the vice-chair of the FGDC to serve with the
Secretary of the Interior, who chairs the committee.
The high-level leadership and broad membership of the FGDC—10 cabinet-level departments
and 9 other federal agencies—highlights the importance of geospatial information to the federal
government.6 In fact, supplemental guidance to Circular A-16, issued by Federal Chief
Information Officer Vivek Kundra on November 10, 2010, referred to federal geospatial data as a
capital asset.7 Questions remain, however, about how effectively the FGDC is fulfilling its
mission. Has this organizational structure worked? Can the federal government account for the
costs of acquiring, coordinating, and managing geospatial information? How well is the federal
government coordinating with state and local entities that increasingly rely on geospatial
information? What is the role of the private sector? In its oversight capacity, the 112th Congress
may consider these questions from the viewpoint of reducing duplication and costs to the federal
government.
The report discusses issues that may be of interest to Congress—managing, sharing, and
coordinating geospatial information—and includes examples of legislation. The report also
summarizes a diverse set of recommendations and proposals from different non-governmental
organizations for how to improve the coordination and management of geospatial information at
the federal and state levels. A separate report, CRS Report R41825, Geospatial Information and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): An Overview for Congress
, discusses geospatial
information and GIS, provides several examples of their use, and describes the FGDC, NSDI, and
their various activities and programs. This report is limited to discussions of non-classified
geospatial information.
Issues with Organization and Management,
Data Sharing, and Coordination

Producing floodplain maps, conducting the Census, planning ecosystem restoration, and assessing
vulnerability and responding to natural hazards such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis are
examples of how federal agencies use GIS and geospatial information to meet national needs.

4 Executive Order 12906, “Coordinating Geographic Data Acquisition and Access: The National Spatial Data
Infrastructure,” 59 Federal Register, April 13, 1994.
5 The NSDI in its original definition under EO12906 means “a distributed network of geospatial data producers,
managers, and users linked electronically.”
6 The FGDC is an interagency committee charged with coordinating development, use, sharing, and dissemination of
geospatial data on a national basis. Members include representatives from the Executive Office of the President, and
Cabinet-level and independent federal agency representatives. See http://www.fgdc.gov/.
7 Vivek Kundra, Federal Chief Information Officer, Geospatial Line of Business OMB Circular A-16 Supplemental
Guidance
, Office of Management and Budget, November 10, 2010, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/
memoranda/2011/m11-03.pdf.
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Some view federal government data as inherently geospatial. According to the Department of the
Interior, the amount of government information that has a geospatial component—such as address
or other reference to a physical location—is as much as 80%.8 Given the ubiquity of geospatial
information throughout the federal government, and despite the long history of efforts to manage
and coordinate such data articulated in OMB Circular A-16 and its antecedents (See Appendix
for a history of Circular A-16 and its federal policy lineage), ongoing challenges to handling
federal geospatial information can generally be divided into three overarching questions:
• What is the best way to organize and manage the vast array of geospatial
information that is acquired at many levels and that has a variety of potential
uses?
• What is the best way to share data, particularly among local, state, and federal
stakeholders, each of whom may have a need for the same or similar data?
• What is the best way to coordinate among federal agencies, such as the
administration and management by different agencies of all the federal lands in
the United States?
Organization and Management of Geospatial Data
It could be argued that some level of duplication of effort, and of inefficiency in the management
and sharing of geospatial information, will always exist across a vast federal bureaucracy in
which a majority of government information has some geospatial component. It could also be
argued that the size of the federal bureaucracy is only one contributing factor. Surveying and
mapping activities themselves are prone to duplication of effort among the different missions and
goals of the executive branch.9
The need to organize and manage geospatial data among federal agencies and among the federal
government, local and state authorities, the private sector, and academia is a recurring theme. It
recurs, in part, because it is widely recognized that collecting data multiple times for the same
purpose is wasteful and inefficient, yet it continues to occur. Alternatively, geospatial data could
be collected once to meet the requirements of several users. For example, geospatial data gathered
by a local government could be made useful to the state or federal government if the data meet a
set of basic and consistent guidelines and protocols. Organizational structures exist at the federal
and state levels to identify and promulgate the efficient sharing, transfer, and use of geospatial
information, but arguably they have not fully achieved the goal of seamlessly coordinating
disparate types of geospatial data. Ideally, these efforts would produce a national spatial data
infrastructure, or NSDI, and that appears to have been the intent of EO12906 and the subsequent
revisions to Circular A-16 in 2002.

8 Cited in U.S. General Accounting Office, Geographic Information Systems: Challenges to Effective Data Sharing,
GAO-03-874T, June 10, 2003, p. 5. Hereafter referred to as GAO (2003). The 2006 Annual Report from the Federal
Geographic Data Committee claims that 80%-90% of government information has a spatial component. (GAO became
the Government Accountability Office effective July 7, 2004.)
9 Recognition of the inherent propensity for duplication of effort arguably was first addressed by an Executive Order
issued on August 10, 1906. That order allowed the United States Geographic Board (created by the Executive Order) to
review mapping projects to avoid duplication and to facilitate standardized mapping. OMB Circular A-16, Appendix C.
(See Appendix of this report for the text of Circular A-16, Appendix C.)
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In one sense, the FGDC exists to foster development and implementation of the NSDI.10 The
NSDI includes the processes and relationships that facilitate data sharing across all levels of
government, academia, and the private sector. Ultimately, it is intended to be the base resource
and structure among geospatial data providers and users at the national, state, and local level. Yet,
some members of the geospatial community have indicated that the past efforts to create a
national spatial data infrastructure have not met expectations, and have called for a new effort to
build a “national GIS” or a “NSDI 2.0.” (See section below: “A National GIS?”) In addition to
promoting the efficiency and interoperability of such a national system, some promote NSDI as
“digital infrastructure” on par with other parts of the nation’s critical infrastructure—such as
roads, pipelines, telecommunications—and underscore its role in the national economy and in
national security.
When Circular A-16 was issued in 1953, it aimed to avoid duplication of effort, and included
details about coordinating federal mapping activities.11 As digital geospatial data became more
widespread, revisions to Circular A-16 in 1990 and 2002 extended coordination of federal efforts
to include digital data, and broadened the mandate to coordinate federal geospatial activities.
These efforts to improve management and coordination continue: On March 3, 2006, OMB
issued a memorandum asking selected departments and agencies to each designate a senior
agency official to take authority and responsibility for geospatial information issues. The
memorandum emphasized that “… through further coordination, we will maximize our buying
and maintaining of geospatial investments instead of independently investing in potentially
duplicative and costly data and capabilities.”12 The March 3, 2006, memorandum identified 15
departments and 12 independent agencies that should designate an official at the Assistant
Secretary or equivalent level. Most recently, OMB issued supplementary guidance to Circular A-
16 on November 10, 2010 (discussed in the next section).
Supplemental Guidance to OMB Circular A-16, November 10, 2010
Geospatial Data as a Capital Asset
On November 10, 2010, the Obama Administration issued a memorandum providing
supplemental guidance to the implementation of OMB Circular A-16.13 The supplemental
guidance labels geospatial data as a capital asset, and refers to its acquisition and management in
terms analogous to financial assets. Specifically, it refers to geospatial information as part of a
National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) Portfolio.

10 Per Executive Order 12906.
11 Milo Robinson, A History of Spatial Data Coordination, Federal Geographic Data Committee, A white paper
available via the National Geospatial Advisory Committee, May 2008, http://www.fgdc.gov/ngac/a-history-of-spatial-
data-coordination.pdf.
12 Clay Johnson III, OMB Deputy Director for Management, Designation of a Senior Agency Official for Geospatial
Information
, OMB Memorandum for Heads of Selected Executive Departments and Agencies, March 3, 2006,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/omb/memoranda/fy2006/m06-07.pdf.
13 Vivek Kundra, Federal Chief Information Officer, Geospatial Line of Business OMB Circular A-16 Supplemental
Guidance
, Office of Management and Budget, November 10, 2010, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/
memoranda/2011/m11-03.pdf.

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The supplemental guidance states that federal investments in geospatial data “…were largely
uncoordinated and often lacked transparency, and sometimes resulted in data deficiencies, lack of
standardization, inefficient use of resources, lack of interoperability, or inability to share data.”14
To address those issues, the supplemental guidance sets forth its goal of a portfolio-centric model
that “…cures the single agency, stovepipe model by applying consistent policy, improved
organization, better governance, and understanding of the electorate to deliver outstanding
results.”15 The supplemental guidance appears to echo the same concerns regarding management,
coordination, and sharing previously identified. However, it casts the solution to these challenges
in terms of managing a portfolio of investments, described as “…the process of tracking,
maintaining, expanding, and aligning assets to address and solve the business needs of an
enterprise.”16
The document notes that a key goal of the portfolio management approach is to enable the FGDC,
through its Steering Committee, to make “informed decisions” about short- and long-term
priorities for NGDA themes and datasets as well as for “collaboration targets” across agencies for
dataset development and funding. The approach to NGDA portfolio management would consist
of “[t]he inventory, selection, organization, management, evaluation, monitoring, and setting of
Federal geospatial dataset priorities to ensure that NGDA Datasets are available to support the
mission needs of the Federal Government and its partners, as determined by Federal agencies and
their partners and as recommended to OMB.”17
It is not clear yet whether this “new” approach to organizing and managing federal geospatial
information is significantly different from the current approach. Perhaps a financial asset
portfolio management approach could provide a more internally consistent way of identifying,
classifying, and managing diverse geospatial assets across multiple departments and agencies.
Whether this approach will be put into practice by each individual department and agency, and
how consistently the “capital asset” approach will be applied across the federal government,
remains to be seen. In the executive branch, OMB is the most likely entity capable of assessing
the government-wide implementation of the geospatial-information-as-financial-assets approach.
Congress in its oversight capacity could choose to ask whether the approach has been
implemented and, if so, whether it produced the desired results.
Managing Geospatial Assets Within the Annual Budget Cycle
The supplemental guidance also lays out a process for managing geospatial assets within the
annual budget cycle, calling it an annual investment review process. This process could give the
agencies with geospatial assets a potentially more visible role in obtaining funding to acquire and
manage geospatial data. The supplemental guidance notes that this process could increase the
geospatial community’s effectiveness by addressing a “disconnect” between agency Chief
Financial Officers and managers responsible for an agency’s geospatial assets:
The players traditionally active in the Federal agency budget formation process, most notably the
agency CFO community, rarely have expertise in geospatial management or issues. At the same
time, those with significant geospatial expertise rarely have a distinct role in the budget process.

14 OMB Circular A-16, Supplemental Guidance, p. 5.
15 OMB Circular A-16, Supplemental Guidance, pp. 3-4.
16 OMB Circular A-16, Supplemental Guidance, p.4.
17 OMB Circular A-16, Supplemental Guidance, p. 12.
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The fact that so much Federal geospatial spending is subsumed unidentifiably within other
program budgets, and therefore opaque to the CFO community, is one reason for the disconnect.18
Whether and how the new guidance will affect FGDC management will likely be borne out in the
budget priorities for agencies in the annual budget requests, the level of funding for those
priorities through the annual appropriations cycle, and in program implementation. The 112th
Congress might compare and contrast the broad portfolio management approach outlined in the
supplemental guidance against funding requests by agencies that invest in and manage geospatial
information.
Data Sharing Between Local, State, and National Levels
The National Research Council (NRC) has reported that the value of geospatial data is better
understood at the county level than it was in the past, especially land parcel, or cadastral, data.19
The benefits of sharing geospatial data so that what is produced locally can be used for national
needs, however, are not as widely acknowledged.20 In the case of land parcel data specifically,
many local governments create data for their own use and do not see how a national effort would
bring local benefits. The NRC notes, however, that the need for complete national land parcel
data has become urgent particularly for at least one application—emergency response. During the
Hurricane Katrina disaster, some critical land parcel data that was needed by emergency
responders, public officials, and even insurance companies was not readily available or did not
exist.21 Further, the NRC report asserts that many of the property fraud cases associated with the
hurricanes of 2005 were the direct result of poor or nonexistent geospatial data, specifically land
parcel data.22
Challenges to Coordinating
Several efforts to coordinate geospatial data among federal agencies have proven difficult to
achieve. The National Map is an example of a work-in-progress attempting to integrate data from
a variety of sources and produce a product that is widely available and useful to many users.23 In
an example cited by the GAO in its 2003 testimony, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) tried to
create a national-level GIS for the forest ecosystem, but had to reconcile data from a variety of
incompatible locally developed systems, which used a variety of standards for each forest and
district. Most of the USFS effort went into reconciling the different data sets. Ultimately the
USFS had to adopt the lowest-resolution format to maintain full coverage of all the forests, and
could not use the higher-resolution local data.24

18 Ibid., p. 28.
19 For more information about land parcel data, see CRS Report R40717, Issues Regarding a National Land Parcel
Database
, by Peter Folger.
20 National Research Council, National Land Parcel Data: A Vision for the Future, Washington, DC, 2007, p. 2.
Hereafter referred to as NRC, National Land Parcel Data.
21 NRC, National Land Parcel Data.
22 NRC, National Land Parcel Data, p. 7.
23 The National Map would be the next generation of topographic maps—online and interactive—that would supplant
the paper versions that the USGS has produced for decades. The National Map is envisioned as a consistent framework
for geographic knowledge nationwide. For more information, see CRS Report R41825, Geospatial Information and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): An Overview for Congress.

24 GAO (2003), p. 6.
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Floodplain Mapping: An Example of Data Sharing
In one sense, floodplain mapping represents an archetypical example of how GIS and geospatial data can be shared to
fulfill national and local needs. In this case, the shared need is for accurate floodplain maps. Floodplain mapping also
exemplifies the challenge of collecting and sharing geospatial data of sufficient accuracy to meet the needs of local,
state, and federal data users and authorities.
A 2009 report issued by the National Research Council (NRC) observed that high-quality, digital mapping of
floodplains using the most accurate elevation data is essential to communicate flood hazards, set flood insurance
rates, and regulate development in flood-prone areas. Between 2003 and 2008, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) invested approximately $1 billion in the Map Modernization Program, a large-scale effort to collect
new elevation data, update existing data, and digitize older paper flood maps. State governments and local partners
also contributed considerable funding to the effort. The FEMA effort produced digital flood maps covering 92% of the
nation’s population; however, according to the NRC report only 21% of the population has flood maps that ful y meet
FEMA’s own data quality standards. As a result, insurance companies, lenders, realtors, and property owners who
depend on the flood maps to determine flood insurance needs, plan for development, and prepare for floods still have
to deal with uncertainties inherent in the less accurate flood maps.
A fundamental requirement for accurate flood maps is accurate elevation data, which are used to draw the
boundaries for the 1-in-100 chance annual flood hazard (sometimes referred to as the 100-year flood). Part of the
chal enge of producing high quality digital floodplain maps is that there is no single nationwide set of elevation data of
sufficient resolution and accuracy to make floodplain maps that meet FEMA requirements. The USGS National
Elevation Dataset is a primary data source that FEMA uses to produce flood maps, but it has a level of uncertainty
about 10 times larger than FEMA defines as acceptable for floodplain mapping, according to NRC. The USGS National
Elevation Dataset does include some high-resolution, more accurate elevation data, but most of the USGS dataset is
of poorer resolution.
Alternate sources of more accurate elevation data exist, but are not available nationwide. One of these sources is
provided using LIDAR (an acronym for Light Detection and Ranging), which can be used to collect high-resolution
elevation data. For example, North Carolina instigated a state-wide LIDAR program, in part, to improve the accuracy
of floodplain maps in the wake of hurricane Floyd in 1999. As a result, the state has nearly complete LIDAR coverage.
And, floodplain maps for nearly all the counties in North Carolina meet or exceed national flood hazard data quality
thresholds. Because of this data gap at the national level, the 2009 NRC report recommends that FEMA should
increase its collaboration with federal, state, and local government agencies to acquire high-resolution and accurate
elevation data across the nation.
Sources: National Research Council, Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy, Washington, DC, 2009,
Summary; Recommendations; p. 38; and CRS Report R41056, Mandatory Flood Insurance Purchase in Remapped Residual
Risk Areas Behind Levees, by Rawle O. King.

The National Integrated Land System (NILS) is another example of an ongoing effort to
coordinate and integrate disparate federal land data among several agencies. The federal
government owns approximately 650 million acres, about 29% of all land in the United States.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the designated custodian for federal land parcel
information and ownership status.25 Three federal agencies in addition to the BLM administer
most federal lands: the USFS, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service.26 In an
effort to develop a single representation of federal lands, the BLM and USFS launched NILS,
billed as a partnership among the federal agencies and states, counties, and private industry, to
provide a single solution to managing federal land parcel information in a GIS environment. A
limited amount of federal land data is available through NILS, which is currently in a project or

25 Circular A-16, at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a016/a016_rev.html.
26 The Department of Defense also administers a significant amount of land.
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prototype phase, and the project makes current information and tools available through its
GeoCommunicator component.27
Both The National Map and NILS represent federal efforts to foster interagency sharing of data
into a single product providing national coverage of topography and federal land holdings
respectively. The utility of both efforts is limited by the quality, accuracy, and completeness of the
underlying geospatial data. The National Map, as currently envisioned, will provide topographic
information at the 1:24,000 scale, meaning that roughly one inch on the map equals 2,000 feet.
That scale will likely limit The National Map’s usefulness for depicting, for example, floodplain
boundaries to meet the requirements for FEMA floodplain maps.28 Also, at some point in the
future NILS presumably could provide one-stop shopping for an accurate assessment of the
amount of federal land currently administered by each land management agency in the
Department of the Interior and for the USFS. Currently, however, the best method for obtaining
an accurate tally of federal lands is to contact each land management agency directly for their
most up-to-date data.29 (Even then, data from individual agencies do not always sum to totals
reported by the General Services Administration.)30
Both NILS and The National Map are test cases for whether and how the agencies implement the
OMB-issued supplemental guidance (discussed above) for managing geospatial assets as a
portfolio of investments. For example, under the new guidance presumably both projects would
receive some indication of where they stand in comparison to other geospatial dataset priorities.
Further, it would be expected that under the new OMB guidance those priorities would be
reflected in annual budget requests from the relevant agencies, which OMB would review and
approve prior to their submission to Congress.
Recent Legislation
One bill introduced in the 112th Congress attempts to address some of the challenges to data
coordination discussed above. The Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform Act of 2011 (H.R. 1620)
would establish a national cadastre.31 The legislation has been referred to the Subcommittee on
Energy and Mineral Resources, House Natural Resources Committee, but has not been acted
upon.
In the 111th Congress, the Ocean and Coastal Mapping and Integration Act established a federal
program to develop a mapping plan for coastal waters, and was enacted as Subtitle B of Title XII
of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11).

27 See http://www.geocommunicator.gov/GeoComm/index.shtm.
28 One report notes that the USGS National Elevation Dataset (NED) is commonly used in flood map production, even
though the uncertainties inherent in the elevation data are about 10 times greater than those defined by FEMA as
acceptable for flood plain mapping. See National Research Council, Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map
Accuracy
, Washington, DC, 2009, p. 3.
29 E-mail from John P. Donnelly, National Atlas of the United States, USGS, Reston, VA, February 4, 2009.
30 General Services Administration, FY 2009 Federal Real Property Statistics, Published by the GSA Office of
Governmentwide Policy, 2009, http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/ogp/FY2009_FRPR_Statistics.pdf.
31 A map of ownership and boundaries of land parcels.
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The Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform Act of 2011
The Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform Act of 2011 (H.R. 1620) would require the Secretary
of the Interior to develop a multipurpose cadastre of federal “real property.” The legislation
defines cadastre as an inventory, and defines federal “real property” as land, buildings, crops,
forests, or other resources still attached to or within the land or improvements or fixtures
permanently attached to the land or structures on it. The bill would require the Secretary to
coordinate with the FGDC pursuant to OMB Circular A-16, to integrate the activities under the
legislation with similar cadastral activities of state and local governments, and to participate in
establishing standards and protocols that are necessary to ensure interoperability of the geospatial
information of the cadastre for all users.32
Supporters of the legislation claim that a national cadastre would improve federal land
management, resource conservation, environmental protection, and the use of federal real
property. As noted above, the BLM currently has responsibility for maintaining federal land
parcel information and ownership status, and it is not clear if H.R. 1620 would expand the current
geospatial activities at BLM, shift the custodial responsibilities to another agency, or result in a
different approach or program. Some supporters of bills introduced in the 110th Congress
indicated that existing inventories of federal real property are old, outdated, and inaccurate, and
updates to these inventories could improve management of the federal lands.33 Observers also
noted that the federal government lacks one central inventory that coordinates all the inventories
into one usable database.34
The Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act
The Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act, introduced as S. 174 and H.R. 365 in the 111th
Congress, was enacted into law as Subtitle B of Title XII of the Omnibus Public Land
Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11). The act established a federal program to develop a
coordinated and comprehensive mapping plan for the coastal waters including the exclusive
economic zone and continental shelf, and the Great Lakes. Programs established by the act are
intended to address issues of data sharing and cost-effectiveness by fostering cooperative
mapping efforts, developing appropriate data standards, and facilitating the interoperability of
data systems. Further, the program established under the act would develop these standards to be
consistent with the requirements of the FGDC, so that the data collected in support of mapping
are useful not only to the federal government, but also to coastal states and other entities. The
theme of coordinating activities is underscored in several places in the act, specifically with other
federal efforts such as the Digital Coast,35 Geospatial One-Stop,36 and the FGDC, as well as
international mapping activities, coastal state activities, user groups, and nongovernmental
entities.

32 Similar legislation (H.R. 1520) was introduced in the 111th Congress but was not enacted. In the 110th Congress,
H.R. 5532 and S. 3043 were introduced but neither version of the bill saw action.
33 “Legislators return with FLAIR,” GEO World, May 2008, p. 15.
34 Ibid.
35 The Digital Coast is a NOAA-led effort envisioned as a an information delivery system for coastal data, as well as
the training, tools, and examples needed to turn data into useful information. See http://www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/
index.html.
36 Geospatial One-Stop is the means of accessing metadata resources published through the National Spatial Data
Clearinghouse and managed in NSDI.
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Subtitle B of Title XII of P.L. 111-11 called for a plan for an integrated ocean and coastal
mapping initiative within NOAA. The agency submitted the plan to Congress on May 24, 2010.37
A biennial progress report on implementing the subtitle, also called for in P.L. 111-11, from the
Interagency Committee on Ocean and Coastal Mapping is undergoing interagency review and is
not available.38
The challenge to collect and manage the geospatial data needed to meet the requirements of the
act is daunting, given the array of federal agencies, affected states, local communities, businesses,
and other stakeholders who have an interest in coastal mapping. Moreover, the stakeholders
require wide and disparate types of data—such as living and nonliving coastal and marine
resources, coastal ecosystems, sensitive habitats, submerged cultural resources, undersea cables,
aquaculture projects, offshore energy projects, and others. Congress could view the development
of the ocean and coastal mapping plan and its implementation as a test case: how to manage a
large data collection effort—cost-effectively and cooperatively—that reaches across all levels of
government and includes interest groups, businesses, NGOs, and even international partners.
Non-Federal Stakeholders
Non-federal organizations and institutions have increasingly participated with federal agencies in
communicating their concerns regarding geospatial information management, data sharing, and
coordination. The National Geospatial Advisory Committee directly advises the FGDC. The
National States Geographic Information Council and private sector geospatial organizations, such
as the Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors, provide views of state
geospatial organizations and the private sector respectively.
National Geospatial Advisory Committee
The National Geospatial Advisory Committee (NGAC) was formed in early 2008 to provide
advice and recommendations to the FGDC on management of federal geospatial programs,
development of the NSDI, and implementation of the OMB Circular A-16. The committee
members represent the private sector, nonprofits, academia, and governmental agencies.39 As part
of its charter, NGAC provides a forum to convey views representative of non-federal stakeholders
in the geospatial community.
In its January 2009 report, The Changing Geospatial Landscape, NGAC noted that as geospatial
data production has shifted from the federal government to the private sector and state and local
governments, new partnerships for data sharing and coordination are needed. Specifically:
the hodgepodge of existing data sharing agreements are stifling productivity and are a serious
impediment to use even in times of emergency.... When the federal government was the primary
data provider, regulations required data to be placed in the public domain. This policy jump-
started a new marketplace and led to the adoptions of GIS capabilities across public and

37 E-mail from Michael Jarvis, Congressional Affairs Specialist, NOAA, May 17, 2011. The report is available at
http://www.iocm.noaa.gov/reports/2010_NOAA_OCMIA_Report_to_Congress.pdf.
38 E-mail from Michael Jarvis, May 17, 2011.
39 National Geospatial Advisory Committee membership, http://www.fgdc.gov/ngac/membership. The committee is
sponsored by the Department of the Interior under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
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commercial sectors. However, these arrangements are very different when data assets are
controlled by private companies or local governments.40
NGAC observed further that the federal government’s need for land parcel (cadastral) data, which
is also emphasized by the National Research Council, is missing an arrangement for acquiring the
detailed property-related data necessary to make decisions during times of emergency. The report
suggests that detailed land parcel data—its use, value, and ownership—is needed by FEMA, the
USFS, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for emergency
preparedness, response to hurricanes and wildfires, or to monitor the current foreclosure
problems.41
NGAC Recommendations to the Obama Administration
In October 2008, NGAC sent recommendations to the 2008-2009 Presidential Transition Team
for improving the federal role in coordinating geospatial activities, for making changes to the U.S.
Code
pertaining to non-sensitive address data, and for enhancing geospatial workforce
education.42 Most recommendations pertained to how the federal government could better
coordinate geospatial partnerships with state, local, and tribal governments, the private sector, and
the academic community. Recommendations included:
• establish a geospatial leadership and coordination function immediately within
the Executive Office of the President; the geospatial coordination function should
be included in the reauthorization of the E-Government Act;
• require OMB and FGDC to strengthen their enforcement of OMB Circular A-16
and EO 12906;
• establish/designate Geographic Information Officers with each department or
agency with responsibilities stipulated within OMB Circular A-16;
• establish and oversee an Urgent Path43 forward for implementation of geospatial
programs necessary to support current national priorities and essential
government services underpinning the NSDI; and
• continue NGAC.
Arguably, the supplemental guidance to OMB Circular A-16, issued on November 10, 2010, and
the appointment of Vivek Kundra as the Federal Chief Information Officer at OMB address
aspects of the first two bullets. OMB’s memorandum issued on March 3, 2006, arguably should
have addressed the third bullet; however, NGAC apparently felt that OMB’s guidance had not
been implemented. Of the final two bullets, NGAC has continued to exist, and it is not clear what
progress has been made in implementing NGAC’s Urgent Path forward (one aspect of the Urgent
Path, Imagery for the Nation, is discussed below).

40 NGAC, The Changing Geospatial Landscape, January 2009, p. 12.
41 Ibid.
42 See http://www.fgdc.gov/ngac/ngac-transition-recommendations-10-16-08.pdf.
43 The NGAC recommendations further specify that an “Urgent Path” forward should include (1) Imagery for the
Nation; (2) National Land Imaging Program; and (3) National Land Parcel data.
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National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC)
At the national level, the FGDC exists to promote the coordinated development, use, sharing, and
dissemination of geospatial data. At the state level, NSGIC44 exists to promote the coordination of
statewide geospatial activities in all states, and to advocate for the states in national geospatial
policy initiatives to help enable the NSDI.45 NSGIC ties its activities to the NSDI by promoting
the development of Statewide Spatial Data Infrastructures (SSDI), under a partnership called the
50-States Initiative, which is intended to lead to the creation of an SSDI for each state. In this
vision, each state’s SSDI would enable coordination between geospatial data producers and
consumers at all levels within the state, and allow the state to share geospatial data with the
national geospatial structure envisioned as the NSDI. The emphasis on organization and
coordination of geospatial data and activities is seen as critical to reducing costs to states and the
federal government by eliminating data redundancy—collecting the data once, using it many
times—and by setting standards that allow different users to share geospatial data regardless of
who collects it.
NSGIC identified 10 criteria that define a “model” state program necessary to develop effectively
coordinated statewide GIS activities, and thus reduce inefficiency and waste. These include:
1. strategic and business plans
2. a full-time, paid, GIS coordinator and staff
3. clearly defined authority and responsibility for coordination
4. a relationship with the state chief information officer
5. a political or executive champion for coordinating GIS
6. a tie to the national spatial data infrastructure and clearinghouse programs
7. the ability to work with local governments, academia, and the private sector
8. sustainable funding, especially for producing geospatial data
9. the authority for the GIS coordinator to enter into contracts, and
10. the federal government working through the statewide coordinating body
Not all states have fully embraced the need for statewide coordination of GIS activities, and states
differ in their structure and organization of geospatial data among and between state, county, and
local entities. For example, some states such as Arkansas share geospatial data across agencies in
a very open manner; other states such as New York require more formal agreements or have
restrictions to sharing data that include critical infrastructure. Nonetheless, some level of data
sharing does occur, even in the more restrictive states.46

44 Members of NSGIC include senior state GIS managers and coordinators, although other members include
representatives from federal agencies, local government, the private sector, academia, and other professional
organizations. See http://www.nsgic.org/about/index.cfm.
45 National States Geographic Information Council Strategic Plan 2009-2011, at http://www.nsgic.org/resources/
strategicplan.pdf.
46 E-mail from Learon Dalby, NSGIC President 2008-2009, March 11, 2009.
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Imagery for the Nation—A Priority for NSGIC
A priority for NSGIC is a program under development, called Imagery for the Nation (IFTN), that
would collect and disseminate aerial and satellite imagery in the form of digital orthoimagery.47 In
its description of the program, NISGIC notes that digital orthoimagery is the foundation for most
public and private GIS endeavors. Further, NSGIC states that as many as 1,300 different
government entities across the nation are developing digital orthoimagery products, “ …leading
to higher costs, varying quality, duplication of effort, and a patchwork of products.”48 IFTN
represents an effort to establish one coherent set of geospatial data—arguably one of the most
important layers in a GIS, orthoimagery—that is organized for the benefit of many stakeholders
at the federal, tribal, regional, state, and local levels.
As proposed, IFTN would involve two federal programs: (1) the existing National Agricultural
Imagery Program (NAIP) administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and (2) a
companion program administered by the USGS. The NAIP imagery would be enhanced to
provide annually updated one-meter resolution orthoimagery over all states except Hawaii and
Alaska.49 The USGS program would also collect one-foot resolution imagery every three years
for 50% of the U.S. land mass (except Alaska, which would get one-foot resolution imagery only
over densely populated areas). The program would include an option for states to “buy up,” or
enhance, any or all of the remaining 50%. The program would also provide 50% matching funds
for partnerships to acquire six-inch resolution imagery over urban areas with at least 1,000 people
per square mile as identified by the U.S. Census Bureau.
NSGIC states that statewide GIS coordination councils would specify their requirements through
business plans, and that all the data would remain in the public domain, which would address
many of the data sharing issues discussed above. In addition, the program calls for appropriate
national standards for all data, which is a goal of the FGDC, a partner to NSGIC in the
development of IFTN. NSGIC estimates that the program would cost $1.38 billion during the first
10 years, and argues that this would save $120 million over the 10-year period by reducing the
number of contracts, contracting for larger areas, reducing overhead, and reducing other costs
associated with current efforts.50
Advancing the National Spatial Data Infrastructure: The NSGIC Perspective
NSGIC considers the 50-States Initiative as one of the crucial components needed to build the
NSDI and to bring consistency of geospatial information and parity to each of the states.51 NSGIC
also considers that IFTN is the first of several initiatives creating “core data layers,” or baseline
data programs, required to meet federal, state, and local needs.52 NSGIC suggests that the NGAC

47 Orthoimagery is an aerial or satellite image or photograph from which distortions resulting from camera tilt and
ground relief have been removed. An orthophoto or orthoimage has a uniform scale and can be used as a map.
48 See NISGIC, Imagery for the Nation, at http://www.nsgic.org/hottopics/iftn_brochure_0308.pdf.
49 Imagery would be updated once every three years in Hawaii. The USGS program would produce one-meter imagery
for Alaska once every five years.
50 CRS did not review the basis for NSGIC’s cost analysis, nor examine the cost benefit analysis completed for the
IFTN in July 2007.
51 NSGIC, A Strategic Framework for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, http://www.nsgic.org/resources/
strategic_framework_NSDI_NSGIC.pdf.
52 Ibid; for example, NSGIC suggests that Imagery for the Nation should probably be followed by Elevation for the
(continued...)
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be an interim step in the governance structure for NSDI, and indicates that the national effort to
govern and coordinate the geospatial enterprise should not stifle the states from customizing
aspects of the NSDI to suit their own needs:
the federal government must not dictate the actions of state and local governments, nor should
state governments dictate those of local government. However, each level of government can
exert a strong influence on subordinate levels by making funding contingent on compliance with
the policies and standards it establishes.53
NSGIC further argues that federal funding for the NSDI could be modeled on the federal highway
program, similarly contingent upon compliance with collaboratively established criteria and
requirements.54
Some Privacy Issues: Census, Farm Bill, Internet
The Census and the Farm Bill
The Census Bureau is forbidden to publish any private information—such as names, addresses,
telephone numbers.55 This type of geospatial information is available in the public domain for
some localities56 in the United States; however, it is not provided by the Census Bureau. In its
recommendations, NGAC calls for revising “restrictive statutory language as it pertains to non-
sensitive address data in Title 13 U.S. Code and to ‘geospatial’ data in Section 1619 of the 2008
farm bill.”57 Title 13 contains provisions for not disclosing or publishing private information that
identifies an individual or business (Sections 9 and 214). A proposal to amend portions of Title 13
and make geospatial data collected by the Census Bureau more accessible will likely raise issues
about the privacy of personal data collected by the federal government; the value of such data for
emergency management; disaster preparation; other local, regional, and national needs; and the
various tradeoffs between privacy concerns and the accessibility to geospatial data.
Section 1619 of the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246) prohibits disclosure of geospatial information
about agricultural land or operations, when the information is provided by an agricultural
producer or owner of agricultural land and maintained by the Secretary of Agriculture. Certain
exceptions, contained in Section 1619 of the 2008 farm bill, apply to the prohibition. NGAC has
taken the position that the statutory language could be revised to enhance the value of the
geospatial data while not compromising privacy.58

(...continued)
Nation, Transportation for the Nation, Cadastral for the Nation, and so on.
53 NSGIC, The States’ Perspective on Advancing the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, October 10, 2008.
54 NSGIC, A Strategic Framework for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure, p. 19.
55 13 U.S.C. § 9 and §214. See also U.S. Census Bureau, at http://www.census.gov/privacy/data_protection/
federal_law.html.
56 For example, the website for the City of Greeley, CO, property information map, identifies names and addresses, the
underlying street map and orthoimagery, together with other information such as school districts and even the nearest
fire hydrant. See http://gis.greeleygov.com/origin/propinfo.html.
57 In Title 13 Congress delegates responsibility for conducting the Census to the Secretary of Commerce.
58 Telephone conversation with Anne Miglarese, Chair, National Geospatial Advisory Committee, May 26, 2009.
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Internet Privacy
Concerns about access to geospatial information have arisen recently following the release of a
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report on internet privacy.59 The report focuses on “behavioral
advertising” whereby advertisements are tailored to web users based on data collected about them
across the web. The report proposes that internet companies create a “do-not-track” mechanism
that allows internet users to opt out of on-line data collection.60 Although the thrust of the report
is not focused on geospatial information, some private sector interests have raised concerns about
how access to geospatial information may be affected under a “do-not-track” mechanism. The
Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS), an association of
private geospatial firms,61 has expressed its concern with the term “precise geolocation data” that
MAPPS notes is undefined in the FTC report. In a letter to the FTC, MAPPS wrote: “The use of
the term ‘geolocation’ or other geospatial relevant terminology, as it is used in this or possible
future FTC regulation, could thwart legitimate and desirable business activities; deny
consumers the products, technologies and services they are demanding in the marketplace;
and impose a significant new liability on our members.”62 In its letter, MAPPS requests that the
FTC either remove any reference to the term “precise geolocation data,” define the term, or
exempt firms from having to obtain consent from consumers before collecting the geospatial data.
MAPPS added that “ … it would be impractical, if not impossible, for our member firms to
obtain prior approval or consent from individual citizens prior to acquiring or applying data
such as satellite imagery, aerial photography, or parcel, address, or transportation data.”63 In
response to requests from private firms, the FTC extended its deadline for receiving public
comments on the report from January 31, 2011, to February 18, 2011.64 The FTC is
presumably evaluating the comments before issuing a final report.
A National GIS?
In early 2009, several proposals were released calling for efforts to create a national GIS,65 or for
renewed investment in the national spatial data infrastructure, or even to create a “NSDI 2.0.”66

59 Federal Trade Commission, Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: A Proposed Framework for
Businesses and Policy Makers
, Preliminary FTC Staff Report, Washington, DC, December 2010, http://www.ftc.gov/
os/2010/12/101201privacyreport.pdf.
60 See Wendy Davis, “FTC Criticizes Self-Regulatory Efforts, Proposes Blanket Do-Not-Track,” MediaPostNews,
Online Media Daily
, December 1, 2010, http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=
140435.
61 The Executive Director for MAPPS, John M. Palatiello, has served on NGAC.
62 Letter to the Honorable Jonathan D. “Jon” Liebowitz, Chairman, Federal Trade Commission, from John M.
Palatiello, Executive Director, The Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors, January 4, 2011,
http://www.mapps.org/issues/MAPPS_Letter_to_FTC_1-4-11.pdf. The FGDC Secretariat also commented on the
preliminary report, echoing MAPPS’ concerns about the term “precise geolocation data.” See http://www.ftc.gov/os/
comments/privacyreportframework/00354-57961.pdf.
63 MAPPS letter to the FTC.
64 See http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/01/privacyreport.shtm.
65 These proposals are broader than what is currently envisioned as The National Map, under the USGS.
66 See, for example, the following: A Proposal for National Economic Recovery: An Investment in Geospatial
Information Infrastructure Building a National GIS
, at http://www.gis.com/gisnation/pdfs/
national_economic_recovery.pdf; A Proposal for Reinvigorating the National Economy Through Investment in the US
National Spatial Data Infrastructure
, at http://www.cast.uark.edu/nsdi/nsdiplan.pdf; and A Concept for American
(continued...)
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The language in the proposals attempted to make the case for considering such investments part
of the national investment in critical infrastructure, both by directly supporting these national GIS
and geospatial efforts, but also via secondary effects. For example, one proposal indicated that
organizations rebuilding roads, bridges, and schools need updated online information networks
“to rebuild in a smart, efficient, environmentally conscious and sustainable way.”67 Another
proposal touted a national GIS as a tool to speed economic recovery, which could also “leave the
country with a public utility, a modern geospatial information system, that itself can become a
foundation for new generations of industries and technologies in the future.”68
Their call for efforts to build a “national” GIS, or a new version of the NSDI, or for an investment
in a national spatial data infrastructure, raises questions about the current efforts to build the
NSDI. Efforts to construct the NSDI began in 1994 with Executive Order 12906, or even earlier
when OMB revised Circular A-16 in 1990 to establish the Federal Geographic Data Committee.
The recent proposals imply that efforts which began 20 years ago and continue today are not
sufficiently national in scope, planning, coordination, sharing, or implementation, despite the
existence of the FGDC, NSGIC, or other entities such as the Coalition of Geospatial
Organizations or MAPPS that are forums for organizations concerned with national geospatial
issues.
Conclusion
Congress may consider how a national GIS or geospatial infrastructure would be conceived,
perhaps drawing on proposals for these national efforts as described above, and how they would
be similar to or differ from current efforts. Congress may also examine its oversight role in the
implementation of OMB Circular A-16, particularly in how federal agencies are coordinating
their programs that have geospatial components. In 2004, GAO acknowledged that the federal
government, through the FGDC and Geospatial One-Stop project, had taken actions to coordinate
the government’s geospatial investments, but that those efforts had not been fully successful in
eliminating redundancies among agencies. As a result, federal agencies were acquiring and
maintaining potentially duplicative data sets and systems.69 Since then, it is not clear whether
federal agencies are successfully coordinating among themselves and measurably eliminating
unnecessary duplication of effort.
Were Congress to take a more active oversight role overseeing the federal geospatial enterprise, it
could evaluate whether specific recommendations from non-federal stakeholders have been
addressed. For example, the National Geospatial Advisory Committee recommended that OMB
and FGDC strengthen their enforcement of Circular A-16 and Executive Order 12906. However,
enforcement alone may not be sufficient to meet the current challenges of management,
coordination, and data sharing. The issuance of supplemental guidance to Circular A-16 by OMB

(...continued)
Recovery and Reinvestment, NSDI 2.0: Powering our National Economy, Renewing our Infrastructure, and Protecting
our Environment
, at http://www.nsdi2.net/NSDI2ProposalForAmericanRecoveryAndReinvestment_V1_4.pdf.
67 A Concept for American Recovery and Reinvestment, NSDI 2.0: Powering our National Economy, Renewing our
Infrastructure, and Protecting our Environment, p. 2.
68 A Proposal for National Economic Recovery: An Investment in Geospatial Information Infrastructure Building a
National GIS
.
69 GAO (2004), p. 19.
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in November 2010 may instigate new activity among and between agencies, which could spill
over into better coordination with the state and local governments and the private sector. It will
likely take some time, and several budget cycles, to track whether agencies are adhering to the
“portfolio-centric model” of geospatial data management outlined in the supplemental guidance.
It may also take time to evaluate whether the “portfolio-centric model” is the best available model
for managing the federal geospatial assets.
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Appendix. History and Background of Circular
A-1670

This Circular was originally issued in 1953, revised in 1967, and revised again in 1990. The
Bureau of the Budget (now the OMB) issued Circular No. A-16 on January 16, 1953.
Appended to this Circular were Exhibits, occasionally revised, that dealt with procedures for
programming and coordinating of federal Topographic Mapping Activities, National Atlas,
Geodetic Control Surveys and International Boundaries.
The purpose of the 1953 Circular was “to insure (sic) that surveying and mapping activities
may be directed toward meeting the needs of federal and state agencies and the general
public, and will be performed expeditiously, without duplication of effort.” The original
Circular references Executive Order No. 9094, dated March 10, 1942. This Executive Order
directs the Director of the Bureau of the Budget to coordinate and promote the improvement
of surveying and mapping activities of the Government. Furthermore, it passes on functions
carried out by the Federal Board of Surveys and Maps, established by Executive Order No.
3206, dated December 30, 1919. Thus, the OMB is directed to make recommendations to
agencies and to the President regarding the coordination of all governmental map making
and surveying. Executive Order No. 3206 superseded an Executive Order, dated August 10,
1906, that granted advisory power to the United States Geographic Board to review mapping
projects to avoid duplication and to facilitate standardized mapping.
A revised Circular A-16 was issued on May 6, 1967. The most significant change in this
revision is the addition of a new section on Responsibility for Coordination. This section
outlines the responsibilities of three federal departments (Department of the Interior (DOI),
Department of Commerce (DOC) and Department of State (DOS)). Both the original and the
1967 revision of the Circular focus on providing a guide for the development of annual
programs of the individual agencies and, through the Exhibits, established extensive
reporting requirements.
A second revised Circular A-16 was issued on October 19, 1990. This revision expanded the
Circular to include not only surveying and mapping, but also the related spatial data
activities. Specifically, it included geographically referenced computer-readable (digital)
data. In addition, the Exhibits are no longer referenced and a short reporting requirements
section is added.
The 2002 updated Circular calls for continued improvements in spatial data coordination and
the use of geographical data. Objectives for this revision are to reflect the changes that have
taken place in geographic information management and technology, and to clearly define
agency and FGDC responsibilities. The proposed revision displays an integrated
infrastructure system approach to support multiple government services and electronic
government.


70 Circular A-16 Revised, White House Office of Management and Budget, Appendix C. Reproduced here in its
entirety.
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Author Contact Information

Peter Folger

Specialist in Energy and Natural Resources Policy
pfolger@crs.loc.gov, 7-1517

Acknowledgments
Paul Schirle, Geographic/Geospatial Systems (GIS) Analyst, and Jan Johansson, Data Librarian, both of the
CRS Knowledge Services Group, made significant contributions to this report.

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