Protecting Coasts and Cities from Severe Weather Act

I 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 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 ‘‘Protecting Coasts and 4 Cities from Severe Weather Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:51 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4069.IH H4069 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 4069 IH SEC. 2. COASTAL FLOODING AND STORM SURGE FORECAST 1 IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in collabo- 3 ration with the Integrated Ocean Observing System, the 4 National Integrated Flood Information System, the 5 United States weather industry, and academic partners, 6 shall establish a coastal flooding and storm surge forecast 7 improvement program (in this section refer to as the ‘‘pro- 8 gram’’). 9 (b) GOAL.—The goal of the program shall be to re- 10 duce through the development and extension of accurate, 11 effective, and actionable forecasts and warnings the loss 12 of life and economic losses from coastal flooding and storm 13 surge events. 14 (c) PRIORITY.—In implementing the program, the 15 Under Secretary shall prioritize activities that carry out 16 the following: 17 (1) Improve understanding and capacity for 18 real-time prediction of the ocean’s role in coastal 19 flooding and storm surge events. 20 (2) Improve the capacity to mitigate or prevent 21 the impacts of coastal flooding and storm surge 22 events. 23 (3) Utilize distributed sensors to easily incor- 24 porate data into models. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:51 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4069.IH H4069 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 4069 IH (d) INNOVATIVE OBSERVATIONS.—The Under Sec- 1 retary shall ensure the program periodically examines, 2 tests, and evaluates the value of incorporating innovative 3 observations, such as acoustic or infrasonic measurements, 4 observations from crewed or uncrewed vehicles, and obser- 5 vations from coastal, ocean, and inland water observation 6 networks, or other emerging technologies, with respect to 7 the improvement of coastal flooding and storm surge fore- 8 casts, predictions, and warnings. 9 (e) PROGRAM PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after 10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Ad- 11 ministrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, in co- 12 ordination with the Director of the National Weather 13 Service, shall develop a plan that details the specific re- 14 search, development, data acquisition, and technology 15 transfer activities, as well as corresponding resources and 16 timelines, necessary to achieve the goal of the program 17 under subsection (b). 18 (f) ANNUAL BUDGET FOR PLAN SUBMITTAL.—After 19 the development of the plan pursuant to subsection (e), 20 the Under Secretary, acting through the Assistant Admin- 21 istrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and in co- 22 ordination with the Director of the National Weather 23 Service, shall, not less frequently than annually, submit 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:51 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4069.IH H4069 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 4069 IH to Congress a proposed budget corresponding with the ac- 1 tivities identified in such plan. 2 (g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Under 3 Secretary’’ has the meaning given such term in section 4 2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 5 Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501). 6 SEC. 3. DATA GAPS IN HIGHLY VULNERABLE AREAS OF THE 7 UNITED STATES. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in coordi- 9 nation with the Director of the National Weather Service 10 and Administrator of the Federal Emergency Manage- 11 ment Agency, and in consultation with academic partners, 12 shall carry out activities to ensure equal and complete 13 weather observation coverage and emergency information 14 sharing in the United States, including relating to the fol- 15 lowing: 16 (1) Reviewing areas in the continental United 17 States and the territories that are considered under- 18 observed for weather phenomenon, and identifying 19 associated challenges. 20 (2) Increasing observations and developing new 21 observational capabilities with respect to under-ob- 22 served regions, including urban regions. 23 (3) Establishing or supporting testbeds to de- 24 velop and integrate within the urban canopy new ob- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:51 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4069.IH H4069 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 4069 IH servation or information sharing tools, such as next 1 generational compact radars for observations. 2 (4) To the maximum extent practicable, ad- 3 vancing weather forecasting and climate modeling 4 capabilities for urban scales. 5 (5) Undertaking workforce development efforts 6 for emergency management officials and meteorolo- 7 gists in highly vulnerable and under-observed areas 8 of the United States. 9 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—In carrying out this section, 10 the Under Secretary, acting through the Director of the 11 National Weather Service and the Administrator of the 12 Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall establish 13 an interagency partnership to support pilot projects that 14 accelerate coordination and use of localized weather data 15 in infrastructure and emergency management decisions by 16 Federal, State, and local officials. 17 (c) PRIORITY.—At least one pilot project under sub- 18 section (b) shall address key science challenges to using 19 mesonet data in local decision making and development 20 of new tools and training for operators of infrastructure, 21 such as dams, energy generation and distribution facili- 22 ties, nuclear power plants, and transportation networks. 23 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘Under 24 Secretary’’ has the meaning given such term in section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:51 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4069.IH H4069 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 4069 IH 2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 1 Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501). 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:51 Jul 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4069.IH H4069 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB