FY25 3DHP Data Collaboration Announcement (DCA)

3DHP Important Information | 3DHP Project Evaluation Considerations | 3DHP Application Instructions | 3DHP Application Materials 

3DHP Important Information

• Data Acquisition Options  
  • Applicants can apply to use the USGS Geospatial Products and Services Contracts (GPSC) to acquire data or apply for a cooperative agreement and manage data acquisition through a contract the partner directly oversees.  
  • The USGS is responsible for the final inspection/validation of all data acquired through the DCA.   
  • Joint 3DEP-3DHP applications or applications for simultaneous data acquisition of 3DEP and 3DHP will not be accepted.  
  • Applications for urban and/or stormwater projects will not be accepted until rules to incorporate these data types into 3DHP have been finalized.  
• 3DHP Data Acquisition in Alaska  
  • Hydrographic features and watershed boundaries are being derived from the 3DEP 5-meter Alaska IfSAR elevation data through existing federal partnerships, supported by USGS. Because of this ongoing work, no submissions for 3DHP data acquisition in Alaska will be accepted in FY25.  
• Publication of 3DHP Data for Federally Recognized Tribal Lands  
  • 3DHP data will be derived from previously available, lower resolution 1/3 arc-second 3DEP elevation data or from data already present in the National Hydrography Dataset over areas where tribes have objected to public release of high resolution 3DEP lidar data products for their lands.   
• 3DHP Specifications, READ Rules, and Project Deliverables  
  • DCA project deliverables must conform to the USGS Elevation-Derived Hydrography (EDH) Specification and Representation, Extraction, Attribution, and Delineation (READ) Rules in effect at the time of GPSC task order or financial assistance award. The current version of the USGS EDH Specifications and READ Rules can be found at the Hydrography Standards and Specifications page. EDH is the raw data input to 3DHP.  
  • Unless agreed to in advance, EDH data produced from DCA projects will not be delivered to project partners but will be available from the national 3DHP dataset. See 3DHP-H Difference between EDH and 3DHP? for more information. 
• Additional Products   
  • No additional 3DHP products will be available through the GPSC data acquisition process.  
• Project Boundary  
  • A Defined Project Area (DPA) must be developed from Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) hydrologic units (HU) for all 3DHP projects. WBD boundaries have changed over time so the DPA must be based on WBD data downloaded from the National Hydrography Products page no more than one month before creating the DPA.  
  • DPAs made up of full 8-digit HU are preferred but both 8- or 10-digit HU or combinations will be considered, particularly where full 8-digit HU cross political boundaries such as state or county lines.   
  • Projects entirely based on or including stand-alone 12-digit HU will not be allowed except where required to fill data gaps or with advance agreement from the USGS Hydrography Data Acquisition Lead.   
  • Project boundaries that include partial hydrologic units such as those clipped by a political boundary will not be accepted except where HU cross the international boundary with Canada or Mexico or to remove areas of open water where a HU extends to the NOAA 3 Nautical Mile Line or in bays, estuaries, and sounds.  
  • Instructions for creating a 3DHP DPA are included in 3DHP-B - Instructions for Creating 3DHP Project Boundaries. A properly formatted vector GIS file representing the DPA must be used for project cost estimates and submitted as a part of the application.  
• Project Coordinate Reference System  
  • Data acquired for CONUS through the DCA for input to 3DHP must be produced in the Albers NAD83(2011) (EPSG 6350) coordinate reference system (CRS) to maintain national consistency. The vertical CRS will be NAVD88 (EPSG 5703).  
• National DCA Statistics  
  • Understanding needs for high-resolution elevation and hydrography data allows the USGS and 3DNTM collaborators to define a program that best meets the needs of the nation. Project submissions to the DCA provide insights to geographic priorities, the level of funding needed to support these priorities, and the resources partners can contribute to data acquisition for 3DEP and 3DHP. Collective statistics including total funds requested, total square miles requested, and areas of interest (in graphic and/or GIS file format) may be made publicly available by USGS. Individual applicant information will not be associated with these collective statistics.  
• Eligible Applicants  
  • Single entities or groups of federal agencies, state and local governments, tribes, academic institutions, and the private sector are eligible to submit projects.  Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Minority Institutions (MI), Small Business concerns, Small Disadvantaged Business concerns, Women-Owned Small Business concerns, Veteran-Owned Small Business concerns, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business concerns, and HUBZone Small Business concerns are encouraged to submit applications either singularly or as part of a group application.  
  • Important note: Federal agencies, tribes, and the private sector are not eligible to apply for, or receive, a cooperative agreement, but they may participate as a funding partner in cooperative agreement submissions.    
  • GPSC contractors and subcontractors are excluded from applying to the 3DNTM DCA.    
• Cost Share and Project Scope  
  • The 3DHP is a community effort based on multi-agency partnership funding for data acquisition. Applicants must commit to funding a portion of the project (cost share) to be considered for a DCA project selection. Project cost share is one factor used to evaluate project submissions.  
• Cost Share Guidelines:  
  • Applicable statutes dictate that the USGS may not pay more than one-half the cost of topographic mapping (which includes lidar and derived elevation products, including hydrography mapping) carried on in cooperation with States and municipalities (43 USC 50). This law limits the USGS contribution to the project but does not limit the total contribution by the federal government. Multiple federal agencies may contribute to a project and collectively contribute greater than 50%. The evaluation team will review the submitted project funding package to ensure that the USGS contribution does not exceed 50%. Citation of this law should not be construed as an offer from the USGS to fund 50% of a project submission.   
  • There are certain post-employment restrictions on former federal officers and employees, including special government employees (18 USC 207). If a prospective applicant believes a conflict of interest may exist, the situation should be emailed to 3dhp_dca@usgs.gov, prior to preparing a project submission.   

• Project Location   
  • Consideration will be given for project areas:  
    • With published 3DEP data, as shown on the USGS Lidar Explorer Map, and with no existing or in-progress 3DHP data as defined on 3DHP-E 3DHP Status 
    • Project submissions may be considered on a limited basis over areas where 3DEP data have been acquired but are not yet published.  
• Geographic Overlap with Federal Areas of Interest   
  • 3DHP has the goal of nation-wide coverage so welcomes project submissions from across the Nation except for in Alaska where hydrographic features and watershed boundaries are being derived from the Alaska IfSAR 3DEP elevation data through existing partnerships.  
  • Federal agencies have provided priorities in accordance with their current goals and objectives for hydrography data. Consideration is given to projects that overlap high priority areas identified in 3DHP-F Consolidated High Priority Data Acquisition Areas.
• Project Cost, Cost Realism, and Cost Share (Funds Contributed by Applicant)  
  • The cost of hydrography data acquisition varies based on geographic extent of the project, terrain, land cover, and land use characteristics. Applicants must include an ESTIMATED cost of their project using any of the following methods:  
    • A Project Planning Estimate received from the USGS Geospatial Products and Services Contracts (GPSC) Commercial Partnership Team (CPT). Applicants should follow the instructions and submit 3DHP-C - Request for Planning Project Estimate as soon as possible and no later than by 5:00 PM ET on Friday August 23, 2024 to receive the estimate in time to meet the September 13, 2024 project submission deadline.  
    • An estimate received from a hydrography data acquisition contractor.   
    • An estimate from another source along with an explanation of how the cost estimate was derived.   
    • For estimates not based on a USGS project planning estimate, the USGS will complete an independent review during the evaluation period to determine if the estimates reflect valid industry cost for the specific geographic area and reflect a good value to the government.  
  • Consideration is given to applicants that offer larger contributions (cost share) to the total cost of their project.  
  • USGS cost share for eligible projects is subject to availability of funds.  
• Maturity of Applicant’s Project Submission and Maturity of Funding Sources  
  • Applicants are required to provide validation of all proposed funding partners listed in their project submission via 3DHP-D -Validation of Proposed Funding Partners.  A “mature” project submission will have a large proportion of guaranteed funding.  
  • Consideration will be given to applicants who engage in multi-state or federal funding coalitions where project areas cross state boundaries.  
• Technical Approach  
  • A solid technical approach that will produce 3DHP-compliant data for all partners and the public is essential.  
  • Applicants who intend to manage their own data acquisition contract will be evaluated on their approach to data acquisition and delivery of required data products. All products must meet the minimum 3DHP standards and specifications as described in the 3DHP Important Information.  
• Past Performance  
  • Past performance is evaluated based on the applicant’s history of financial management of projects of similar financial scope, where available.  
  • For applicants who submit to manage their own data acquisition contract, past performance may also apply to the project’s data acquisition contractor.