Advisory Committee on Water Information
Subcommittee on Spatial Water Data
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TERMS OF REFERENCE |
| I. OFFICIAL DESIGNATION: Subcommittee on
Spatial Water Data (hereafter called the Subcommittee). The Advisory
Committee on Water Information (ACWI) and the Federal Geographic Data
Committee (FGDC) jointly sponsor this Subcommittee. |
| II. PURPOSE: The purpose of the
Subcommittee is to coordinate spatial water data and information
activities among all levels of government and the private sector.
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| III. AUTHORITY: |
A. Office of Management and Budget Memorandum No. 92-01 (M-92-01).
dated December 10, 1991, defines the responsibilities of Federal
agencies for coordinating water resources information programs and
activities. The ACWI is a Federal advisory committee chartered by the
Secretary of the
Interior as the primary mechanism for carrying out the
Water Information
Coordination Program (WICP) at the national level.
The Department of the
Interior, through the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS), is the lead agency for
implementing the WICP. More
specifically, M-92-01 designates objectives
for the WICP that
include:
- To collaborate, as appropriate, with other groups that are
coordinating related categories of information such as spatial data
and meteorological information. Regarding spatial data, the
[Advisory] Committee should plan and implement actions to establish
water resources components of the national spatial data
infrastructure.
- To develop uniform standards, guidelines, and procedures for the
collection, analysis, management, and dissemination of water information in
order to improve quality, consistency, and accessibility nationwide.
- To establish a National Water Information Clearinghouse that should
index and disseminate information so as to improve the awareness of,
availability of and access to existing water information holdings of
Federal agencies and the non-Federal sector.
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| B. The Federal Advisory Committee Act is the authority for establishing
and operating the ACWI. The Charter of the ACWI authorizes the creation of
subordinate groups to assist the ACWI in fulfilling its functions. The
Subcommittee is such a group. |
| C. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-16 establishes the
Federal Geographic Data Committee and designates lead agency
responsibility for the (FGDC) program to the Department of the Interior,
through the USGS. In addition A-16 designates lead agencies for
specific categories of spatial data. Executive Order 12906,
Coordinating geographic data acquisition and access: The National
Spatial Data Infrastructure, strengthens and enhances the general
policies described in Circular A-16. |
| D. Circular A-16 does not include all categories
of spatial data that fall within Federal Government missions. In
particular, Circular A-16 does not include the range of coordination
responsibilities addressed by the WICP under M-92-01. However, some categories of spatial data that
are the responsibility of the FGDC member organizations support major
water information requirements for decision making. Further, the
nationwide water resources community needs data provided by other FGDC
organizations. Therefore, the ACWI and the FGDC collaborate on
activities of mutual interest to ensure that shared requirements are
met and that available resources are used effectively. The ACWI and
the FGDC jointly sponsor and support the Subcommittee to ensure proper
communication and collaboration. |
| IV. SCOPE |
| A. As defined in Executive Order 12906, "geospatial data" means
information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of
natural or constructed features and boundaries on the Earth. This
information may be derived from, among other things, remote sensing,
mapping, and surveying technologies. Statistical data may be included in
this definition at the discretion of the collecting agency. |
| B. Spatial water data includes information about streams, lakes,
reservoirs, ground water, estuaries, coastal areas, marine environments
precipitation and other hydrometeoro-logical information related to water
resources management, and other aquatic habitats such as wetlands. |
| V. SUBCOMMITTEE PURPOSE |
| The ACWI and FGDC created the Subcommittee to assist the ACWI and
FGDC to coordinate Federal and non-Federal interests in spatial water
data, including: (1) facilitating the exchange of information and
transfer of data; (2) establishing and implementing standards for
quality, content, and transferability; and (3) coordinating the
identification of requirements and the collection of spatial data to
minimize duplication of effort where practicable and
economical. |
| VI. RESPONSIBILITIES |
| Responsibilities of the Subcommittee include the following: |
| A. Facilitate the coordination of organizations' activities related
to spatial water data and the exchange of spatial water data, by formal
and informal means. |
| B. Facilitate the collection and compilation of information for
spatial water data activities. |
| C. Participate in consensus standards development and evaluation
efforts of the private sector in the United States, by United Nations
and by other international organizations, as appropriate. |
| D. Identify ways in which the National Spatial Data Infrastructure
can include scientifically sound and well documented spatial water data
from many sources. |
| E. Recommend any changes in the definition of spatial water data to
more accurately describe its scope. |
F. Assist the ACWI and FGDC in establishing and publishing consensus
standards and specifications for spatial water data, and recommend
priorities for producing data sets. |
| G. Assist in the development and adoption of common standards and
definitions for data elements, data content, format, and accuracy for
spatial water data for use by all Federal agencies and to encourage use
by non-Federal organizations. |
| H. Promote wide use of defined and published spatial data
transfer standards for spatial water data. |
| I. Facilitate technology transfer for the economic and efficient
application of spatial water data for decision making and scientific
understanding. |
| J. Support higher-order or crosscutting activities established or
recognized by the ACWI or FGDC. |
| K. Encourage organizations to provide for the permanent
preservation of historically valuable data. |
| VII. MEMBERSHIP AND PARTICIPANTS |
| A. The members of the Subcommittee will include Federal,
interstate, State, Tribal, and local government agencies and private
organizations. A representative of the U.S. Geological Survey, Water
Resources Division, will chair the Subcommittee. |
| B. An organization that pledges actively to support the functions of
the Subcommittee may become a member by informing the chair in writing
of it's desire to participate and by providing information needed to
communicate with it. |
|
. Active support includes attending meetings, drafting documents, reviewing and commenting on documents, making presentations, and other
contributions of staff time, funding or other resources. |
| D. The chair of the Subcommittee will announce membership
applications received up to two weeks before a meeting. Organizations
that apply will become members at the following meeting. |
| E. Each member organization of the Subcommittee will designate
its representative, an alternate if necessary, and changes thereto, to
the Subcommittee chair. |
| F. Other interested individuals may participate in the meetings and
activities of the Subcommittee, but may not vote. |
| G. At his/her discretion in consultation with the other member
organizations, the chair can remove as a voting member any organization
that fails to attend three consecutive meetings or to actively support the
Subcommittee. The chair will consult with the organization before taking
and such action and will announce such actions at the meeting of the
Subcommittee following the action. |
| VIII. PROCEDURES |
| A. The meetings of the Subcommittee will be open to the public, and
the chair will announce meetings on the Subcommittee homepage at least 10
working days in advance of the meeting. |
| B. All costs for attending meetings and participating in activities
of the Subcommittee shall be the responsibility of the member
organizations and the participants. |
| C. The chair will hold meetings at least quarterly at times and
places decided in consultation with the members. Normally, the chair
will notify members of meetings and distribute agendas to members of
the Subcommittee and to the Executive Secretaries of the ACWI and the
FGDC at least 10 Federal working days in advance of a
meeting. |
| D. The Subcommittee will conduct business in an open fashion by
fully discussing and attempting to resolve all issues through consensus
and by recognizing the legitimate interests and diverse views of the
Subcommittee members and participants. When agreement may not be
possible, the following procedures apply:
A consensus exists when the chair announces a decision by
agreement unless one or more member organizations requests a vote. The Subcommittee will decide issues by a vote among the member
organizations using Robert's Rules of Order. Each member organization will have one vote, and a majority will be
required to approve a motion. In cases of a tie, the chair will cast the
deciding vote. Two-thirds of the member organizations will constitute the quorum
necessary to decide an issue by voting.
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| E. Prior to implementing Subcommittee recommendations or decisions
that involve advice to the Federal Government, the Subcommittee chair
will submit the recommendations in writing to the ACWI, through the
Executive Secretary, for deliberation and approval. |
| F. The Subcommittee chair will coordinate the Subcommittee's
activities with other ACWI and FGDC subcommittees, working groups, and
other components by participating in the FGDC's Coordination Group and
consulting with the Executive Secretaries of the ACWI and
FGDC. |
| G.The Subcommittee may establish additional rules and procedures as
needed to conduct its business. |
| IX. SUBGROUPS |
| A. As needed to carry out its activities and meet its
responsibilities, the Subcommittee may create temporary work groups,
task groups, or other subgroups.
|
| B. The establishment of subgroups for more than a year or the
abolishment of such a subgroup requires the advance approval of the
ACWI.
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| C. The chair of the Subcommittee will designate members of
subgroups in consultation with the members. The chair may designate
participants in subgroups from Subcommittee member organizations and
from other organizations, as appropriate. |
| X COORDINATING MECHANISMS |
| The Subcommittee will employ subcommittee meetings, national user
forums, annual solicitations to define requirements, user surveys and
analyses, spatial data user workshops, study initiatives, cooperative
ventures, or other approaches that suit its responsibilities.
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| XI. REPORTS |
| A. The Subcommittee chair will report in writing to the ACWI and the
FGDC annually, by December 31, describing the requirements for,
production of, and availability of spatial water data. The chair will
submit this annual status report to the Executive Secretaries, and the
report will contain:
- Accomplishments of the past calendar year,
- An operating plan for activities during the upcoming year,
- Photographs, diagrams, and other materials that may be of value
for inclusion in FGDC reports,
- A brief discussion of problems encountered and other matters of
interest.
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| B. The Subcommittee chair will submit the operating plan for the upcoming
year for ACWI and FGDC review and concurrence.
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| C.During the reporting period the ACWI or the FGDC may request special
reports or technical papers that describe special projects, coordination
with other subcommittees, or the development of status graphics, catalogs,
or brochures on the use and availability of spatial water data.
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| D.The Subcommittee chair will provide a draft report of
Subcommittee meetings, including Subcommittee recommendations and action items, to all Subcommittee members for review prior to approval.
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| E. The Subcommittee chair will provide the final report of Subcommittee
meetings to all Subcommittee members, the ACWI and FGDC Executive
Secretaries, and the FGDC Standards Working Group chair.
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| XII. TERMINATION |
| The Subcommittee will exist until the ACWI, in consultation with the FGDC
and the member organizations of the Subcommittee, terminate it. The ACWI
must announce an intent to terminate 60 days in advance of termination.
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