Federal Register #Docket No: 260223-0053

NOAA Final Rule: Updated Fee Schedule for Environmental Data Access and Fisheries Closure

NOAA's NESDIS and NMFS, under the Department of Commerce, have announced two regulatory actions affecting environmental data access and fisheries management:

• Government Buyer

  • Department of Commerce
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
    • National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS)
    • National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

• OEMs and Vendors

  • All products and services are provided directly by NOAA; no external OEMs or vendors are involved.

• Products/Services Requested

  • NESDIS: Updated fee schedule for special access to environmental data, information, and related products/services, including:
  • Certifications (Department of Commerce and General)
  • Paper copies and data posters
  • Shipping, rush, and super rush order fees
  • Foreign handling fees
  • NEXRAD Doppler radar color prints
  • Paper copies from electronic media
  • Offline in-situ digital data
  • Satellite image products
  • Conventional and specialized CDROM/DVDs (including offline and online store copies)
  • Order handling/quality check
  • Non-digital and digital order consultations
  • Single Orbit OLS & Subset (and additional orbits)
  • Global Nighttime Lights Monthly Composite (one satellite)
  • High Definition Geomagnetic Model (including Real Time)
  • Expedited shipping
  • NMFS: Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to federally permitted Limited Access General Category (LAGC) scallop vessels for the 2026 set-aside period.

• Unique or Notable Requirements

  • Several products discontinued due to lack of public interest (e.g., Offline Satellite, Radar, and Model Digital Data; Digital Order Consultation; Single Orbit OLS & Subset)
  • Fee schedule updates reflect actual costs of providing specialized data access
  • Fisheries closure is a regulatory action to prevent overharvest, not a procurement

• Locations

  • National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
  • Department of Commerce
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area
  • Maine and Massachusetts state waters

Description

This final rule by the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) of NOAA establishes an updated fee schedule for special access to NOAA environmental data, information, and related products and services. While most NOAA environmental data remains freely available to the public, this rule revises fees for special data products and services to better reflect the costs of providing access. The updated fees will take effect on May 14, 2026, and apply to services provided on or after that date, except for existing subscription agreements.

View original listing