[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8400 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8400
To amend title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation
Act of 2017 to research the impact of obstructions on radar detection
and prediction capabilities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 15, 2022
Mr. Feenstra introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation
Act of 2017 to research the impact of obstructions on radar detection
and prediction capabilities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Weather Innovation for the Next
Generation Act of 2022'' or the ``WING Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. RADAR OBSTRUCTION RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION
PROGRAM.
(a) Radar Obstruction Research.--Title IV of the Weather Research
and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8514 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 415. RADAR OBSTRUCTION RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND
EVALUATION PROGRAM.
``(a) Establishment.--The Director of the National Weather Service,
in coordination with the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research, shall establish a Research, Development, Test,
and Evaluation Program (in this section referred to as the `Program')
to ensure the continued performance of weather radar detection and
prediction capabilities with physical obstructions in the line of sight
of such radar.
``(b) Requirements.--In carrying out the Program, the Director, in
consultation with the Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological
Services, shall--
``(1) partner with industry, academia, Federal, State, and
local government entities, and any other entity that the
Director considers appropriate;
``(2) identify and test existing or near-commercial
technologies and solutions that mitigate the potential impact
of obstructions on a weather radar;
``(3) research additional solutions that could mitigate the
effects of an obstruction on weather radar, including--
``(A) signal processing algorithms;
``(B) short-term forecasting algorithms to replace
contaminated data; and
``(C) the use of dual polarization characteristics
in mitigating the effects of wind turbines on weather
radar; and
``(4) develop commercially viable technical mitigation
solutions for obstructions to weather radar capabilities.
``(c) Priority.--In carrying out the requirements described in
subsection (b), the Director shall prioritize consideration of--
``(1) multifunction phased array radar;
``(2) the replacement of contaminated data with commercial
radar data;
``(3) the utilization of data from private-sector-
associated meteorological towers;
``(4) providing wind farm boundaries and consolidated wind
farm areas to display on local forecasting equipment;
``(5) installing and providing access to rain gauges; and
``(6) any other technology-based mitigation solution that
the Director determines could overcome beam blockage or ghost
echoes.
``(d) Termination.--The authority of the Director to carry out the
Program shall terminate on the earlier of--
``(1) September 30, 2027; or
``(2) 1 year after date on which the final recommendation
required by subsection (e)(2) is submitted by the Director.
``(e) Report; Recommendation.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than two years after the date
of enactment of this section and annually thereafter until the
Program terminates pursuant to subsection (d), the Director
shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation of the
Program, including an evaluation of each technology-based
mitigation solution identified for priority consideration in
subsection (c), and a recommendation regarding additional
identification and testing of new technologies based on such
consideration.
``(2) Final recommendation.--Not later than five years
after the date of enactment of this section, the Director shall
provide to Congress a recommendation on whether additional
research, testing, and development through the Program
established by subsection (a) is needed, and a determination of
whether a cessation of field research, development, testing,
and evaluation is appropriate.
``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Beam blockage.--The term `beam blockage' means a
signal that is partially or fully blocked due to an
obstruction.
``(2) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of
the National Weather Service.
``(3) Ghost echo.--The term `ghost echo' means radar signal
reflectivity or velocity return errors in radar data due to the
close proximity of an obstruction.
``(4) Obstruction.--The term obstruction includes--
``(A) a wind turbine that could limit the
effectiveness of a weather radar system; and
``(B) any building that disrupts or limits the
effectiveness of a weather radar system.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for the Weather
Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amended by inserting
after the item relating to section 414 the following new item:
``415. Radar obstruction Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation
Program.''.
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