PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 117-301.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 29, 2021
Open Access Evapotranspiration Data Act
This bill directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish an Open Access Evapotranspiration (OpenET) Data Program under which the USGS shall provide for delivering satellite-based evapotranspiration data to advance the quantification of evaporation and consumptive water use. The bill defines Evapotranspiration as the process by which water is transferred from the land to the atmosphere by evaporation from soil and other surfaces and transpiration from plants.
As part of the program, the USGS shall
provide data users with field-scale estimates of evapotranspiration data across large landscapes over certain periods of time,
enter into cooperative agreements with program partners (e.g., institutions of higher education, states, private sector entities, or nongovernmental organizations) to provide for the efficient and cost-effective administration of the program, and
provide nonreimbursable matching funding for programmatic and operational activities.
People & committees
Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] · D–NV
Legislative record
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Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 117-301.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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