[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4069 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4069
To increase observations, understanding, and forecasting of coastal
flooding and storm surge events, to address weather observation gaps in
highly vulnerable areas, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 13, 2023
Mr. Kean of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase observations, understanding, and forecasting of coastal
flooding and storm surge events, to address weather observation gaps in
highly vulnerable areas, 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 ``Protecting Coasts and Cities from
Severe Weather Act''.
SEC. 2. COASTAL FLOODING AND STORM SURGE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Under Secretary, in collaboration with the
Integrated Ocean Observing System, the National Integrated Flood
Information System, the United States weather industry, and academic
partners, shall establish a coastal flooding and storm surge forecast
improvement program (in this section refer to as the ``program'').
(b) Goal.--The goal of the program shall be to reduce through the
development and extension of accurate, effective, and actionable
forecasts and warnings the loss of life and economic losses from
coastal flooding and storm surge events.
(c) Priority.--In implementing the program, the Under Secretary
shall prioritize activities that carry out the following:
(1) Improve understanding and capacity for real-time
prediction of the ocean's role in coastal flooding and storm
surge events.
(2) Improve the capacity to mitigate or prevent the impacts
of coastal flooding and storm surge events.
(3) Utilize distributed sensors to easily incorporate data
into models.
(d) Innovative Observations.--The Under Secretary shall ensure the
program periodically examines, tests, and evaluates the value of
incorporating innovative observations, such as acoustic or infrasonic
measurements, observations from crewed or uncrewed vehicles, and
observations from coastal, ocean, and inland water observation
networks, or other emerging technologies, with respect to the
improvement of coastal flooding and storm surge forecasts, predictions,
and warnings.
(e) Program Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research, in coordination with the Director of the National
Weather Service, shall develop a plan that details the specific
research, development, data acquisition, and technology transfer
activities, as well as corresponding resources and timelines, necessary
to achieve the goal of the program under subsection (b).
(f) Annual Budget for Plan Submittal.--After the development of the
plan pursuant to subsection (e), the Under Secretary, acting through
the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and
in coordination with the Director of the National Weather Service,
shall, not less frequently than annually, submit to Congress a proposed
budget corresponding with the activities identified in such plan.
(g) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Under Secretary'' has
the meaning given such term in section 2 of the Weather Research and
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501).
SEC. 3. DATA GAPS IN HIGHLY VULNERABLE AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--The Under Secretary, in coordination with the
Director of the National Weather Service and Administrator of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, and in consultation with academic
partners, shall carry out activities to ensure equal and complete
weather observation coverage and emergency information sharing in the
United States, including relating to the following:
(1) Reviewing areas in the continental United States and
the territories that are considered under-observed for weather
phenomenon, and identifying associated challenges.
(2) Increasing observations and developing new
observational capabilities with respect to under-observed
regions, including urban regions.
(3) Establishing or supporting testbeds to develop and
integrate within the urban canopy new observation or
information sharing tools, such as next generational compact
radars for observations.
(4) To the maximum extent practicable, advancing weather
forecasting and climate modeling capabilities for urban scales.
(5) Undertaking workforce development efforts for emergency
management officials and meteorologists in highly vulnerable
and under-observed areas of the United States.
(b) Pilot Program.--In carrying out this section, the Under
Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Weather Service
and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall
establish an interagency partnership to support pilot projects that
accelerate coordination and use of localized weather data in
infrastructure and emergency management decisions by Federal, State,
and local officials.
(c) Priority.--At least one pilot project under subsection (b)
shall address key science challenges to using mesonet data in local
decision making and development of new tools and training for operators
of infrastructure, such as dams, energy generation and distribution
facilities, nuclear power plants, and transportation networks.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Under Secretary'' has
the meaning given such term in section 2 of the Weather Research and
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501).
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