National Flood Research and Education Center Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3091 To establish a National Flood Research and Education Center to provide research, data, and recommendations on physical science, social science, economic analysis, policy analysis, risk analysis, monitoring, predicting, and planning as they relate to flooding and flood-related issues. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2019 Mr. LOEBSACK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Com- mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a National Flood Research and Education Cen- ter to provide research, data, and recommendations on physical science, social science, economic analysis, policy analysis, risk analysis, monitoring, predicting, and plan- ning as they relate to flooding and flood-related issues. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Flood Re- 4 search and Education Center Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3091 IH SEC. 2. NATIONAL FLOOD RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 1 CENTER ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 3 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a 4 National Flood Research and Education Center (in this 5 Act referred to as ‘‘NFREC’’) which shall consist of— 6 (1) an office within the National Oceanic and 7 Atmospheric Administration; 8 (2) one public university or college selected by 9 the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At- 10 mospheric Administration (in this Act referred to as 11 the ‘‘Administrator’’), which shall serve as the lead 12 partner institution with the National Oceanic and 13 Atmospheric Administration; and 14 (3) a consortium of other public universities or 15 colleges selected by the Administrator and the lead 16 partner institution based on their ability to fulfill 17 specific purposes of NFREC. 18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of NFREC are as fol- 19 lows: 20 (1) To plan, conduct, and arrange for com- 21 petent public research, data, education, and rec- 22 ommendations within the following categories as 23 they relate to flooding issues nationwide, regionally, 24 and locally: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3091 IH (A) Physical sciences, including engineer- 1 ing, hydrology, environmental, and atmospheric 2 sciences, of flooding and flood-related events. 3 (B) Social science of flooding and flood-re- 4 lated events focused on increasing community 5 resilience. 6 (C) Economic analysis of flooding and 7 flood-related events in addition to analysis of a 8 variety of existing and new strategies and tech- 9 niques to reduce, manage, and prevent flooding 10 and flood-related events. 11 (D) Policy analysis and recommendations 12 on flooding-related policy on a Federal, State, 13 and local governmental basis. 14 (E) Risk analysis and risk management of 15 flooding and flood-related events. 16 (F) Improvement of existing, and testing 17 of new, risk assessment tools, methods, and 18 models for flooding and flood risks used by 19 Federal, State, and local governments and other 20 interested organizations. 21 (G) Improvement of existing, and testing 22 of new, monitoring and predicting strategies 23 and techniques of flooding and flood-related 24 events. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3091 IH (H) Improvement of existing, and testing 1 of new, flood management and prevention strat- 2 egies and techniques. 3 (2) To carry out this Act within a variety of re- 4 gions in the United States which are identified and 5 categorized by NFREC based on their specific flood- 6 ing and flood-related issues, hydrology, weather, and 7 related issues so that diverse flood situations are 8 represented and examined through NFREC’s work. 9 (3) To identify opportunities for increased effi- 10 ciency in allocation of resources, coordination, co- 11 operation, and consolidation of efforts as they relate 12 to local, statewide, regional, and Federal flood-re- 13 lated efforts with respect to NFREC’s purposes. 14 (4) To develop or improve undergraduate and 15 graduate degree programs and other programs at 16 the consortium-member public universities and col- 17 leges to advance the entry of new talent into flood- 18 ing-related fields. 19 (5) To collaborate with other colleges and uni- 20 versities in the region that have demonstrated capa- 21 bility for research, information dissemination, and 22 graduate training in order to develop regional net- 23 works that are knowledgeable on regional flooding 24 issues. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3091 IH SEC. 3. CONSORTIUM SELECTION AND COLLABORATION. 1 (a) SELECTION OF THE LEAD PARTNER INSTITU- 2 TION.—The Administrator, within 180 days after the date 3 of enactment of this Act, shall select the lead partner insti- 4 tution described in section 2(a)(2). The Administrator 5 shall select a public university or college which— 6 (1) has demonstrated and proven expertise in 7 physical and environmental science, flooding, hy- 8 draulic research, hydroscience, engineering, and me- 9 teorological issues; 10 (2) is located in a State which frequently expe- 11 riences inland flooding; 12 (3) has previously partnered with, or received 13 funds from, Federal and international agencies for 14 flooding, hydrology, and watershed issues, including 15 the Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Ge- 16 ological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmos- 17 pheric Administration, the Department of Agri- 18 culture, the Federal Emergency Management Agen- 19 cy, the National Science Foundation, the Depart- 20 ment of Housing and Urban Development, and the 21 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural 22 Organization; 23 (4) has the capacity to develop and submit a 24 plan on how it will operate as the lead partner insti- 25 tution, the type of research, activities, and collabora- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3091 IH tion it would undertake, and how it would incor- 1 porate its previous work on issues related to the pur- 2 poses of NFREC into its new mission as the lead 3 partner institution; 4 (5) can demonstrate an ability to take the lead- 5 ing role of coordinating and fulfilling the purposes of 6 NFREC; 7 (6) can demonstrate an ability to provide tech- 8 nical assistance and demonstration project manage- 9 ment and oversight both of grantees demonstration 10 projects and of demonstration projects initiated 11 through consortium members; 12 (7) can demonstrate an ability to incorporate 13 NFREC work into undergraduate and graduate edu- 14 cational programs within the public university or col- 15 lege; and 16 (8) can demonstrate an ability to contribute the 17 required non-Federal matching funding to maintain 18 a lead partner institution center. 19 (b) SELECTION OF CONSORTIUM MEMBERS.—The 20 Administrator, in partnership with the lead partner insti- 21 tution, shall select, within 90 days after the selection of 22 the lead partner institution, additional universities and 23 colleges to participate in a consortium through criteria as 24 determined by the Administrator and the lead partner in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3091 IH stitution which shall, among other criteria determined by 1 the Administrator and lead partner institution, prioritize 2 institutions that— 3 (1) have a focus or expertise in at least one of 4 the categories described in section 2(b)(1); 5 (2) have the ability to plan, conduct, and ar- 6 range for competent public research, data, edu- 7 cation, and recommendations as they relate to flood- 8 ing in diverse regions of the United States identified 9 and in the categories described in section 2(b)(1) 10 and meet the purposes of NFREC; 11 (3) can demonstrate an ability to provide tech- 12 nical assistance and demonstration project manage- 13 ment and oversight; 14 (4) can demonstrate an ability to incorporate 15 NFREC work into undergraduate and graduate edu- 16 cational programs within the university or college; 17 and 18 (5) can demonstrate an ability to contribute the 19 required non-Federal matching funding to maintain 20 a consortium member center. 21 (c) CONSORTIUM PARTNERSHIPS.—The member in- 22 stitutions of NFREC shall partner for the purposes of this 23 Act in the following ways: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3091 IH (1) NOAA PARTNERSHIP.—The National Oce- 1 anic and Atmospheric Administration shall partner 2 directly with the lead partner institution for the pur- 3 poses of NFREC. 4 (2) LEAD PARTNER INSTITUTION PARTNER- 5 SHIP.—The lead partner institution shall partner di- 6 rectly with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 7 Administration and the consortium members for the 8 purposes of NFREC. 9 (3) CONSORTIUM MEMBER PARTNERSHIP.—The 10 consortium members shall partner with the lead 11 partner institution for the purposes of NFREC. 12 SEC. 4. PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION WITH FED- 13 ERAL, REGIONAL, STATE, AND LOCAL GOV- 14 ERNMENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS. 15 (a) PARTNERSHIPS.—NFREC shall partner with the 16 United States Geological Survey and the Army Corps of 17 Engineers for the purposes of this Act. 18 (b) COLLABORATION.—NFREC shall— 19 (1) collaborate on Federal flood-related issues 20 with Federal agencies such as the Federal Emer- 21 gency Management Agency, the Environmental Pro- 22 tection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space 23 Administration, the National Science Foundation, 24 and the Department of Agriculture; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3091 IH (2) collaborate and share best practices on re- 1 gional, State, and locally specific flooding and flood- 2 related issues with— 3 (A) State, county, and local governments; 4 (B) local councils of governments or re- 5 gional planning organizations; 6 (C) State agriculture, natural resource, en- 7 vironment, economic development, and water 8 agencies; 9 (D) floodplain managers; 10 (E) State Homeland Security personnel, 11 county disaster recovery coordinators, emer- 12 gency management personnel, and first re- 13 sponders; 14 (F) resource conservation and development 15 councils; 16 (G) watershed organizations and boards; 17 (H) agriculture and commodity organiza- 18 tions and farmers; 19 (I) environmental organizations; and 20 (J) business and development organiza- 21 tions; and 22 (3) explore opportunities to collaborate, when 23 appropriate, on Federal flood-related issues with 24 other Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Rec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3091 IH lamation, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Bu- 1 reau of Land Management, the National Park Serv- 2 ice, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Public Health 3 Administration, the National Science Foundation, 4 the Department of Defense, the Department of the 5 Interior, the Department of Housing and Urban De- 6 velopment, and various national laboratories. 7 SEC. 5. INFORMATION COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION. 8 (a) NOAA.— 9 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall 10 publish annually a report containing the activities, 11 partnerships and collaborations, Federal policy rec- 12 ommendations, previous and continuing budgets, 13 findings, and any other applicable information from 14 the consortium members, and shall provide each re- 15 port to Congress and the President and make it 16 available to the public in an easily accessible elec- 17 tronic format on the National Oceanic and Atmos- 18 pheric Administration’s website. 19 (2) REVIEW OF REPORTS FROM CONSORTIUM 20 MEMBERS.—The Administrator shall review the re- 21 ports from the consortium members to ensure that 22 funds are being spent properly according to the pur- 23 poses of this Act and that the consortium members 24 are producing competent public research, data, edu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3091 IH cation, and recommendations in regard to flooding 1 and flood-related issues. 2 (3) REVIEW OF CONSORTIUM OPERATIONS.— 3 The Administrator shall periodically review the oper- 4 ation of consortium members to ensure that funds 5 are being spent properly according to the purposes 6 of this Act and that the consortium members are 7 producing competent public research, data, edu- 8 cation, and recommendations in regard to flooding 9 and flood-related issues. 10 (b) LEAD PARTNER INSTITUTION.— 11 (1) COMPILATION OF ANNUAL CONSORTIUM 12 MEMBER REPORTS.—The lead partner institution 13 shall compile annually reports from consortium 14 members, along with its own report, containing the 15 activities, partnerships and collaborations, Federal 16 policy recommendations, previous and continuing 17 budgets, findings, and any other applicable informa- 18 tion from consortium members, and shall provide 19 this information to the Administrator annually by a 20 date determined by the Administrator. 21 (2) ANNUAL LEAD PARTNER INSTITUTION RE- 22 PORT.—In addition, the lead partner institution 23 shall publish annually a report specific to its activi- 24 ties, partnerships and collaborations, State and local 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:14 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3091.IH H3091 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3091 IH policy recommendations, previous and continuing 1 budgets, findings, and other applicable information 2 by a date determined by the Administrator which 3 shall also be made available t [Text truncated for display. 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