NOAA's Hydrographic Services Review Panel

A panel composed of a diverse field of experts in hydrographic surveying, vessel pilotage, port administration, tides and currents, coastal zone management, geodesy, recreational boating, marine transportation and education assists the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in its strategic planning. This Hydrographic Services Review Panel presents its recommendations about how NOAA should invest resources to support navigation safety, the marine transportation system and national security. This article describes this process that allows the public to participate actively in the decision-making process.<P>

Today in the USA, there are over 1,000 federal advisory committees with more than 40,000 members who advise the President and the Executive Branch on a multitude of topics, including hydrography. Federal committee members are drawn from nearly every occupational and industry group, and geographical section of the USA and its territories. With the expertise from advisory committee members, federal officials and the nation have access to information and advice on a broad range of issues affecting federal policies and programmes. The public, in return, is afforded an opportunity to participate actively in the federal government's decision-making process.

In October 2003, the US Secretary of Commerce established the Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP). The HSRP functions in accordancewith the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to ensure that advice rendered to the Executive Branch of the US Government, by the various advisory committees, task forces, boards and commissions formed over the years by Congress and the President, be both objective and access­ible to the public. Accordingly, Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., vice admiral, US Navy (Ret.), Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) administrator, appointed members to the 15-member HSRP.

HSRP Structure
The HSRP is composed of a diverse field of experts in hydrographic surveying, vessel pilotage, port administration, tides and currents, coastal zone management, geodesy, recre­ational boating, marine transportation and education. They assist NOAA’s strategic planning to improve the nation’s marine transportation system. The result will help ensure safe, efficient and environmentally sound marine transportation.




Issue Selection
The Panel provides advice and recommendations to the NOAA administrator on hydrographic surveying; nautical charting; water level and current measurements; geodetic measurements; shoreline mapping; and technologies relating to operations, research and development, and data dissemination. Issues are selected from several sources, including NOAA Program Offices, HSRP members' own knowledge and the public. Some issues on which the Panel has deliberated include:
-NOAA's Hydrographic Survey Priorities
-funding for NOAA's Electronic Navigational Charts, emergency response capabilities, and ship replacement
-hydrographic survey cost analysis
-mapping and charting contracting policy
-issues for consideration by the national Committee on the Marine Transportation System
-NOAA's role in the Integrated Ocean Observing System
-NOAA's vision for coastal management.
Current events have also been a focus for the HSRP. An example of this is the evaluation of the role of NOAA's Navigation Services in responding to natural and man-made events impacting the nation's marine transportation infrastructure such as the 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


Stakeholder Input
HSRP members serve in an independent capacity; their advice is obtained because of their individual expertise. They also serve in a representative capacity, acting as a spokesperson for their stakeholder group. In addition, in a public meeting in 2006, in Anchorage, Alaska, an Alaska Stakeholders Panel was set up and moderated by the director of the Alaska Ocean Observing System to provide further stakeholder input. Panel members included representatives from the Southwest Alaska Pilots Association; Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries; Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation; State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources; University of Alaska Anchorage, Department of Civil Engineering; and the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council. Region-specific issues and concerns were discussed in addition to the multiple uses of NOAA-collected data. This Stakeholder Panel was helpful to both NOAA and the HSRP in strategic planning and in formulating advice and recommendations to the NOAA administrator. Future HSRP meetings will attempt to include such regional Stakeholder Panels.

NOAA's Input and HSRP Analysis

There are requirements for informational-only briefs, but the Panel and NOAA have found that specific "taskings" are required for maximum results. The presenter must clearly state the issue, explain the tasking and desired deliverable(s), provide a timeline and due date, and itemise specific information needed from NOAA. HSRP members volunteer to work on issues that relate to their areas of expertise and which would benefit from their experience. VADM Lautenbacher started two Workgroups with the general missions of "observations, modelling and emerging technologies" and "NOAA's hydrographic services, roles and missions". Conference calls, administrative meetings, e-mail traffic and a "sharepoint' website for collaborative efforts are some of the methods used by the Panel for idea sharing and preparation for public meetings.

Public Meetings

The HSRP Executive Secretariat uses the FACA guidelines and ensures that meetings are advertised in the Federal Register Notices for public notification, inclusion and comments. The workgroups or individual members report on their findings and recommendations, and they are prepared to discuss alternatives that were considered but rejected in their final report. This facilitates meaningful deliberations during the public meetings. The Executive Secretariat types the final recommendation on which the HSRP chairman calls for an up or down vote, and the recommendation is passed to the FACA decision maker, currently the assistant administrator for NOAA's National Ocean Service.

Culmination of HSRP Recommendations
The HSRP recently presented NOAA with their Special Report 2007, with its recommendations about how NOAA should invest resources to support navigation safety, the marine transportation system and national security – and, by extension, the US economy and environment. The Report included the Panel’s five most-wanted hydrographic services improvements, and provided insight on how NOAA should:
-aggressively map the nation's shoreline and navigationally significant waters
-integrate coastal mapping efforts and insure that federally maintained channels, approaches and anchorages are surveyed to the highest standard
-modernise heights and implement real-time water level and current observing systems in all major commercial ports
-strengthen NOAA's navigation services emergency response and recovery capabilities
-disseminate NOAA's hydrographic data and products to achieve the greatest public benefit.

This report is publicly available (web reference 1).