The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall, with the advice and review of the advisory committee, prepare a 5-year plan for the geologic mapping program.
The 5-year plan shall identify-
(1) overall priorities for the geologic mapping program; and
(2) implementation of the overall management structure and operation of the geologic mapping program, including-
(A) the role of the Survey in the capacity of overall management lead, including the responsibility for developing the national geologic mapping program that meets Federal needs while fostering State needs;
(B) the responsibilities of the State geological surveys, with emphasis on mechanisms that incorporate the needs, missions, capabilities, and requirements of the State geological surveys, into the nationwide geologic mapping program;
(C) mechanisms for identifying short- and long-term priorities for each component of the geologic mapping program, including-
(i) for the Federal component, a priority-setting mechanism that responds to-
(I) Federal mission requirements for geologic map information;
(II) critical scientific problems that require geologic maps for their resolution; and
(III) shared Federal and State needs for geologic maps, in which joint Federal-State geologic mapping projects are in the national interest;
(ii) for the State component, a priority-setting mechanism that responds to-
(I) specific intrastate needs for geologic map information; and
(II) interstate needs shared by adjacent States that have common requirements; and
(iii) for the education component, a priority-setting mechanism that responds to requirements for geologic map information that are dictated by Federal and State mission requirements;
(D) a mechanism for adopting scientific and technical mapping standards for preparing and publishing general- and special-purpose geologic maps to-
(i) ensure uniformity of cartographic and scientific conventions; and
(ii) provide a basis for assessing the comparability and quality of map products; and
(E) a mechanism for monitoring the inventory of published and current mapping investigations nationwide to facilitate planning and information exchange and to avoid redundancy.
(
A prior section 31e,