Accurate Weather for Public Safety Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8365 To study the effects of new construction of obstructions on accurate weather forecasting, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 Mr. THORNBERRY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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 study the effects of new construction of obstructions on accurate weather forecasting, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Accurate Weather for 4 Public Safety Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STRUCTURES INTERFERING WITH AIR COMMERCE 6 OR NATIONAL SECURITY. 7 Section 44718(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 8 amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8365 IH (1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and in- 1 serting a semicolon; 2 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para- 3 graph (4); and 4 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(3) the ability of any Federal agency engaged 7 in meteorological or atmospheric observations to ac- 8 curately forecast weather; or’’. 9 SEC. 3. STUDY ON EFFECTS OF NEW CONSTRUCTION OF OB- 10 STRUCTIONS ON ACCURATE WEATHER OB- 11 SERVATIONS AND FORECASTING. 12 (a) OBJECTIVE.—It shall be an objective of the De- 13 partment of Commerce to ensure that the robust develop- 14 ment of renewable energy sources and the increased resil- 15 iency of the commercial electrical grid may move forward 16 in the United States, while minimizing or mitigating any 17 adverse impacts on accurate weather forecasting and en- 18 suring public safety. 19 (b) DESIGNATION OF SENIOR OFFICIAL AND LEAD 20 ORGANIZATION.— 21 (1) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 30 days 22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 23 retary of Commerce shall designate a senior official 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8365 IH of the National Weather Service, and a lead organi- 1 zation of the National Weather Service, to— 2 (A) serve as the executive agent to carry 3 out the review required by subsection (d); 4 (B) serve as a clearinghouse to coordinate 5 Department of Commerce review of applications 6 for projects filed with the Secretary of Trans- 7 portation on and after the date of enactment of 8 this Act and pursuant to section 44718 of title 9 49, United States Code, and received by the 10 Department of Commerce from the Secretary of 11 Transportation; and 12 (C) accelerate the development of planning 13 tools necessary to determine the acceptability to 14 the National Weather Service of proposals in- 15 cluded in an application for a project submitted 16 pursuant to such section. 17 (2) RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall ensure 18 that the senior official and lead organization des- 19 ignated under paragraph (1) are assigned such per- 20 sonnel and resources as the Secretary considers ap- 21 propriate to carry out this section. 22 (c) INITIAL ACTIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8365 IH Commerce, acting through the senior official and lead or- 1 ganization designated pursuant to subsection (b), shall— 2 (1) conduct a preliminary review of each appli- 3 cation for a project filed with the Secretary of 4 Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 5 49, United States Code, that may have an adverse 6 impact on accurate weather observations or fore- 7 casting and public safety, unless such project has 8 been granted a determination of no hazard, which 9 shall, at a minimum include for each such project— 10 (A) assess the likely scope of any adverse 11 impact of such project on accurate weather ob- 12 servations or forecasting and public safety; and 13 (B) identify any corrective action plan and 14 feasible mitigation actions that could be taken 15 in the immediate future by the National Weath- 16 er Service, the developer of such project, or oth- 17 ers to mitigate such adverse impact and to min- 18 imize risks to the ability of any Federal agency 19 engaged in meteorological or atmospheric obser- 20 vations to accurately forecast weather and to 21 ensure public safety, while allowing such project 22 to proceed with development; 23 (2) develop, in coordination with other depart- 24 ments and agencies of the Federal Government, an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8365 IH integrated review process to ensure timely notifica- 1 tion and consideration of projects filed with the Sec- 2 retary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 3 of title 49, United States Code, that may have an 4 adverse impact on accurate weather observations or 5 forecasting and public safety; 6 (3) establish procedures for the National 7 Weather Service for the coordinated consideration of 8 and response to a request for a review received from 9 State and local officials or the developer of a renew- 10 able energy development or other energy project, in- 11 cluding guidance to personnel at each local National 12 Weather Services facility in the United States on 13 how to initiate such procedures and ensure a coordi- 14 nated agency response while seeking to fulfil the ob- 15 jective under subsection (a); and 16 (4) develop procedures for conducting early out- 17 reach to parties carrying out projects filed with the 18 Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 19 44718 of title 49, United States Code, that could 20 have an adverse impact on accurate weather obser- 21 vations and forecasting and public safety, and to the 22 general public, to clearly communicate notice on ac- 23 tions being taken by the National Weather Service 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8365 IH under this section and to receive comments from 1 such parties and the general public on such actions. 2 (d) COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW.— 3 (1) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than 270 4 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 5 Secretary of Commerce, acting through the senior 6 official and lead organization designated pursuant to 7 subsection (b), shall develop a comprehensive strat- 8 egy for addressing the weather forecasting and pub- 9 lic safety impacts of projects filed with the Secretary 10 of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 11 49, United States Code. 12 (2) ELEMENTS.—In developing the strategy re- 13 quired by paragraph (1), the Secretary of Commerce 14 shall— 15 (A) assess of the magnitude of interference 16 posed by projects filed with the Secretary of 17 Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of 18 title 49, United States Code; 19 (B) identify geographic areas selected as 20 proposed locations for projects filed, or which 21 may be filed in the future, with the Secretary 22 of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of 23 title 49, United States Code, where such 24 projects could have an adverse impact on accu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8365 IH rate weather forecasting and public safety, and 1 categorize the risk of adverse impact in such 2 areas as high, medium, or low for the purpose 3 of informing early outreach efforts under sub- 4 section (c)(4) and preliminary assessments 5 under subsection (e); and 6 (C) specifically identify a corrective action 7 plan and feasible mitigation longterm actions 8 that may be taken to mitigate adverse impacts 9 of projects filed, or which may be filed in the 10 future, with the Secretary of Transportation 11 pursuant to section 44718 of title 49, United 12 States Code, on accurate weather observations 13 and forecasting and public safety. 14 (e) NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAZARD ASSESS- 15 MENT.— 16 (1) PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT.—The proce- 17 dures established pursuant to subsection (c) shall 18 ensure that not later than 60 days after receiving a 19 proper application for a project filed with the Sec- 20 retary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 21 of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary of 22 Commerce shall review the project and provide a 23 preliminary assessment of the level of risk of adverse 24 impact on accurate weather observations or fore- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8365 IH casting and public safety that would arise from the 1 project and the extent of mitigation that may be 2 needed to address such risk. 3 (2) DETERMINATION OF UNACCEPTABLE 4 RISK.—The procedures established pursuant to sub- 5 section (c) shall ensure that the Secretary of Com- 6 merce does not object to a project filed with the Sec- 7 retary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 8 of title 49, United States Code, except in a case in 9 which the Secretary of Commerce determines, after 10 giving full consideration to mitigation actions identi- 11 fied pursuant to this section, that such project would 12 result in an unacceptable risk to the ability of mete- 13 orological agencies to accurately observe and forecast 14 weather and ensure public safety. 15 (3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENT.— 16 Not later than 30 days after making a determination 17 of unacceptable risk under paragraph (2), the Sec- 18 retary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee 19 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- 20 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat- 21 ural Resources and the Committee on Commerce, 22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 23 on such determination and the basis for such deter- 24 mination. Such a report shall include an explanation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Oct 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8365 IH of the operational impact that led to the determina- 1 tion, a discussion of the mitigation options consid- 2 ered, and an explanation of why the mitigation op- 3 tions were not feasible or did not resolve the conflict. 4 (f) REPORTS.— 5 (1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 March 15 each year following the year of the date 7 of enactment of this Act through 2025, the Sec- 8 retary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee 9 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep- 10 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat- 11 ural Resources and the Committee on Commerce, 12 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 13 on the actions taken by the Department of Com- 14 merce during the preceding year to implement this 15 section and the comprehensive strategy developed 16 pursuant to this section. 17 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report sub- 18 mitted under paragraph (1) shall include— 19 (A) the results of a review carried out by 20 the National Weather Service of any projects 21 filed with the Secretary of Transportation pur- 22 suant to section 44718 of title 49, United 23 States Code— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:59 Oct 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8365 IH (i) that the Secretary of Commerce 1 has determined would result in an unac- 2 ceptable risk to the ability of any Federal 3 agency engaged in meteorological or at- 4 mospheric observations to accurately ob- 5 serve and forecast weather and ensure 6 public safety; and 7 (ii) for which the Secretary of Com- 8 merce has recommended to the Secretary 9 of Transportation that a hazard deter- 10 mination be issued; 11 (B) an assessment of the risk to accurate 12 weather observations and forecasting and en- 13 sure public safety, and a quantification of such 14 risk; and 15 (C) mitigation options, which the National 16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 17 the National Weather Service have researched 18 and analyzed, and the results of such research 19 and analysis. 20 (g) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT CONTRIBUTIONS OF 21 FUNDS.—The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to ac- 22 cept a voluntary contribution of funds from an applicant 23 for a project filed with the Secretary of Transportation 24 pursuant to section 44718 of title 49, United States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8365 IH Amounts so accepted shall be available for the purpose of 1 offsetting the cost of measures undertaken by the Sec- 2 retary of Commerce to mitigate adverse impacts of such 3 project on accurate weather observations and forecasting 4 and public safety. 5 (h) EFFECT OF DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE HAZ- 6 ARD ASSESSMENT.—An action taken pursuant to this sec- 7 tion shall not be considered to be a substitute for any as- 8 sessment or determination required of the Secretary of 9 Transportation under section 44718 of title 49, United 10 States Code. 11 (i) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 12 shall be construed to affect or limit the application of, or 13 any obligation to comply with, any environmental law, in- 14 cluding the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 15 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 16 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 17 (1) ACCURATE WEATHER FORECASTING.—The 18 term ‘‘accurate weather forecasting’’ means the abil- 19 ity of any person, piece of equipment, computer, 20 building, or other asset of the National Weather 21 Service that when utilized correctly and unimpeded 22 is able to provide timely and accurate predictions of 23 weather within the established range of that Na- 24 tional Weather Service asset. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8365 IH (2) PUBLIC SAFETY.—The term ‘‘public safety’’ 1 means the prevention and protection of the general 2 public from dangers affecting safety, s [Text truncated for display. 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