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[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 558 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.558

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two

                                 An Act

 
 To establish a national integrated flood information system within the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Flood Level 
Observation, Operations, and Decision Support Act'' or the ``FLOODS 
Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. National Integrated Flood Information System.
Sec. 4. Observations and modeling for total water prediction.
Sec. 5. Service coordination hydrologists at River Forecast Centers of 
          the National Weather Service.
Sec. 6. Improving National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
          communication of future flood risks and hazardous flash flood 
          events.
Sec. 7. Freshwater monitoring along the coast.
Sec. 8. Tornado warning improvement.
Sec. 9. Hurricane forecast improvement program.
Sec. 10. Weather and water research and development planning.
Sec. 11. Forecast communication coordinators.
Sec. 12. Estimates of precipitation frequency in the United States.
Sec. 13. Interagency Committee on Water Management and Infrastructure.
Sec. 14. National Weather Service hydrologic research fellowship 
          program.
Sec. 15. Identification and support of consistent, Federal set of 
          forward-looking, long-term meteorological information.
Sec. 16. Gap analysis on availability of snow-related data to assess and 
          predict flood and flood impacts.
Sec. 17. Availability to the public of flood-related data.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act:
        (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
    Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
    Administration.
        (2) State.--The term ``State'' means each State of the United 
    States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
    American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
    Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and any other 
    territory or possession of the United States.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL INTEGRATED FLOOD INFORMATION SYSTEM.
    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish a system, to be 
known as the ``National Integrated Flood Information System'', to 
better inform and provide for more timely decision making to reduce 
flood-related effects and costs.
    (b) System Functions.--The Administrator, through the National 
Integrated Flood Information System, shall--
        (1) provide an effective flood early warning system that--
            (A) collects and integrates information on the key 
        indicators of floods and flood impacts, including streamflow, 
        reservoir release and diversion, precipitation, soil moisture, 
        snow water equivalent, land cover, and evaporative demand;
            (B) makes usable, reliable, and timely forecasts of floods;
            (C) assesses the severity of flood conditions and effects;
            (D) provides information described in subparagraph (A), 
        forecasts described in subparagraph (B), and assessments 
        described in subparagraph (C) at the national, regional, and 
        local levels, as appropriate; and
            (E) communicates flood forecasts, flood conditions, and 
        flood impacts to appropriate entities engaged in flood 
        planning, preparedness, and response and post-event flood 
        extent, including--
                (i) decision makers at the Federal, State, local, and 
            Tribal levels of government; and
                (ii) the public;
        (2) provide timely data, information, and products that reflect 
    differences in flood conditions among localities, regions, 
    watersheds, and States;
        (3) coordinate and integrate, through interagency agreements as 
    practicable, Federal research and monitoring in support of the 
    flood early warning information system provided under paragraph 
    (1);
        (4) use existing forecasting and assessment programs and 
    partnerships;
        (5) make improvements in seasonal precipitation and 
    temperature, subseasonal precipitation and temperature, and flood 
    water prediction; and
        (6) continue ongoing research and monitoring activities 
    relating to floods, including research activities relating to--
            (A) the prediction, length, severity, and impacts of floods 
        and improvement of the accuracy, timing, and specificity of 
        flash flood warnings;
            (B) the role of extreme weather events and climate 
        variability in floods; and
            (C) how water travels over and through surfaces.
    (c) Partnerships.--The Administrator, through the National 
Integrated Flood Information System, may--
        (1) engage with the private sector to improve flood monitoring, 
    forecasts, land and topography data, and communication, if the 
    Administrator determines that such engagement is appropriate, cost 
    effective, and beneficial to the public and decision makers 
    described in subsection (b)(1)(E)(i);
        (2) facilitate the development of 1 or more academic 
    cooperative partnerships to assist in carrying out the functions of 
    the National Integrated Flood Information System described in 
    subsection (b);
        (3) use and support monitoring by citizen scientists, including 
    by developing best practices to facilitate maximum data 
    integration, as the Administrator considers appropriate;
        (4) engage with, and leverage the resources of, entities within 
    the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in existence as 
    of the date of the enactment of this Act, such as the National 
    Weather Service with respect to forecast and warning functions, the 
    National Integrated Drought Information System, the Regional 
    Climate Center, and the National Mesonet Program, to improve 
    coordination of water monitoring, forecasting, and management; and
        (5) engage with and support water monitoring by the United 
    States Geological Survey--
            (A) to improve the availability and continuity of 
        streamflow data at critical locations through the deployment of 
        rapid deployment gages and the flood-hardening of at-risk 
        streamflow gauges; and
            (B) to increase storm surge monitoring data through the 
        deployment of additional storm surge sensors.
    (d) Consultation.--In developing and maintaining the National 
Integrated Flood Information System, the Administrator shall consult 
with relevant Federal, State, local, and Tribal government agencies, 
research institutions, and the private sector.
    (e) Cooperation From Other Federal Agencies.--Each Federal agency 
shall cooperate as appropriate with the Administrator in carrying out 
this section.
SEC. 4. OBSERVATIONS AND MODELING FOR TOTAL WATER PREDICTION.
    (a) Partnerships.--
        (1) In general.--The Administrator shall establish partnerships 
    with 1 or more institutions of higher education (as defined in 
    section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) 
    to evaluate observations that would improve total water prediction.
        (2) Priority observations.--In establishing partnerships under 
    paragraph (1), the Administrator shall prioritize partnerships to 
    evaluate observations from uncrewed aerial systems.
    (b) Maintained Observations.--If the Administrator determines that 
incorporating additional observations improves total water prediction, 
the Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, continue 
incorporating those observations.
    (c) Modeling Improvements.--The Administrator shall advance 
geographic coverage, resolution, skill, and efficiency of coastal 
oceanographic modeling, including efforts that improve the coupling of 
and interoperability between hydrological models and coastal ocean 
models.
SEC. 5. SERVICE COORDINATION HYDROLOGISTS AT RIVER FORECAST CENTERS OF 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
    (a) Designation of Service Coordination Hydrologists.--
        (1) In general.--The Director of the National Weather Service 
    (in this section referred to as the ``Director'') shall designate 
    at least 1 service coordination hydrologist at each River Forecast 
    Center of the National Weather Service.
        (2) Performance by other employees.--Performance of the 
    responsibilities outlined in this section is not limited to the 
    service coordination hydrologist position.
    (b) Primary Role of Service Coordination Hydrologists.--The primary 
role of the service coordination hydrologist shall be to carry out the 
responsibilities required by this section.
    (c) Responsibilities.--
        (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), consistent with the 
    analysis described in section 409 of the Weather Research and 
    Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-25; 131 Stat. 
    112), and in order to increase impact-based decision support 
    services, each service coordination hydrologist designated under 
    subsection (a) shall, with respect to hydrology--
            (A) be responsible for providing service to the geographic 
        area of responsibility covered by the River Forecast Center at 
        which the service coordination hydrologist is employed to help 
        ensure that users of products and services of the National 
        Weather Service can respond effectively to improve outcomes 
        from flood events;
            (B) liaise with users of products and services of the 
        National Weather Service, such as the public, academia, media 
        outlets, users in the hydropower, transportation, recreation, 
        and agricultural communities, and forestry, land, fisheries, 
        and water management interests, to evaluate the adequacy and 
        usefulness of the products and services of the National Weather 
        Service;
            (C) collaborate with such River Forecast Centers and 
        Weather Forecast Offices and Federal, State, local, and Tribal 
        government agencies as the Director considers appropriate in 
        developing, proposing, and implementing plans to develop, 
        modify, or tailor products and services of the National Weather 
        Service to improve the usefulness of such products and 
        services;
            (D) engage in interagency partnerships with Federal, State, 
        local, and Tribal government agencies to explore the use of 
        forecast-informed reservoir operations to reduce flood risk;
            (E) ensure the maintenance and accuracy of flooding call 
        lists, appropriate office flooding policy or procedures, and 
        other flooding information or dissemination methodologies or 
        strategies; and
            (F) work closely with Federal, State, local, and Tribal 
        emergency and floodplain management agencies, and other 
        agencies relating to disaster management, to ensure a planned, 
        coordinated, and effective preparedness and response effort.
        (2) Other staff.--The Director may assign a responsibility set 
    forth in paragraph (1) to such other staff as the Director 
    considers appropriate to carry out such responsibility.
    (d) Additional Responsibilities.--
        (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), a service 
    coordination hydrologist designated under subsection (a) may, with 
    respect to hydrology--
            (A) work with a State agency to develop plans for promoting 
        more effective use of products and services of the National 
        Weather Service throughout the State;
            (B) identify priority community preparedness objectives;
            (C) develop plans to meet the objectives identified under 
        subparagraph (B); and
            (D) conduct flooding event preparedness planning and 
        citizen education efforts with and through various State, 
        local, and Tribal government agencies and other disaster 
        management-related organizations.
        (2) Other staff.--The Director may assign a responsibility set 
    forth in paragraph (1) to such other staff as the Director 
    considers appropriate to carry out such responsibility.
SEC. 6. IMPROVING NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION 
COMMUNICATION OF FUTURE FLOOD RISKS AND HAZARDOUS FLASH FLOOD EVENTS.
    (a) Assessment of Flash Flood Watches and Warnings.--
        (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
    enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall--
            (A) conduct an assessment of--
                (i) the flash flood watches and warnings of the 
            National Weather Service; and
                (ii) the information delivery to support preparation 
            and responses to floods; and
            (B) submit to Congress a report on the findings of the 
        Administrator with respect to the assessment required by 
        subparagraph (A).
        (2) Elements.--The assessment required by paragraph (1)(A) 
    shall include the following:
            (A) An evaluation of whether the watches, warnings, and 
        information described in paragraph (1)(A) effectively--
                (i) communicate risk to the general public;
                (ii) inform action to prevent loss of life and 
            property;
                (iii) inform action to support flood preparation and 
            response; and
                (iv) deliver information in a manner designed to lead 
            to appropriate action.
            (B) Subject to subsection (b)(2), such recommendations as 
        the Administrator may have for--
                (i) legislative and administrative action to improve 
            the watches and warnings described in paragraph (1)(A)(i); 
            and
                (ii) such research as the Administrator considers 
            necessary to address the focus areas described in paragraph 
            (3).
        (3) Focus areas.--The assessment required by paragraph (1)(A) 
    shall focus on the following areas:
            (A) Ways to communicate the risks posed by hazardous flash 
        flood events to the public that are most likely to result in 
        informed decision making regarding the mitigation of those 
        risks.
            (B) Ways to provide actionable geographic information to 
        the recipient of a watch or warning for a flash flood, 
        including partnering with emergency response agencies, as 
        appropriate.
            (C) Evaluation of information delivery to support the 
        preparation for and response to floods.
        (4) Consultation.--In conducting the assessment required by 
    paragraph (1)(A), the Administrator shall consult with--
            (A) individuals in the academic sector, including 
        individuals in the field of social and behavioral sciences;
            (B) other weather services;
            (C) media outlets and other entities that distribute the 
        watches and warnings described in paragraph (1)(A)(i);
            (D) floodplain managers and emergency planners and 
        responders, including State, local, and Tribal emergency 
        management agencies;
            (E) other government users of the watches and warnings 
        described in paragraph (1)(A)(i), including the Federal Highway 
        Administration; and
            (F) such other Federal agencies as the Administrator 
        determines rely on watches and warnings regarding flash floods 
        for operational decisions.
        (5) National academy of sciences.--The Administrator shall 
    engage with the National Academy of Sciences, as the Administrator 
    considers necessary and practicable, including by contracting with 
    the National Research Council to review the scientific and 
    technical soundness of the assessment required by paragraph (1)(A), 
    including the recommendations under paragraph (2)(B).
        (6) Methodologies.--In conducting the assessment required by 
    paragraph (1)(A), the Administrator shall use such methodologies as 
    the Administrator considers are generally accepted by the weather 
    enterprise, including social and behavioral sciences.
    (b) Improvements to Flash Flood Watches and Warnings.--
        (1) In general.--Based on the assessment required by subsection 
    (a)(1)(A), the Administrator shall make such improvements to the 
    watches and warnings described in that subsection as the 
    Administrator considers necessary--
            (A) to improve the communication of the risks posed by 
        hazardous flash flood events; and
            (B) to provide actionable geographic information to the 
        recipient of a watch or warning for a flash flood.
        (2) Requirements regarding recommendations.--In conducting the 
    assessment required by subsection (a)(1)(A), the Administrator 
    shall ensure that any recommendation under subsection (a)(2)(B) 
    that the Administrator considers a major change--
            (A) is validated by social and behavioral science using a 
        generalizable sample;
            (B) accounts for the needs of various demographics, 
        vulnerable populations, and geographic regions;
            (C) responds to the needs of Federal, State, local, and 
        Tribal government partners and media partners; and
            (D) accounts for necessary changes to federally operated 
        watch and warning propagation and dissemination infrastructure 
        and protocols.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) Watch; warning.--
            (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
        the terms ``watch'' and ``warning'', with respect to a 
        hazardous flash flood event, mean products issued by the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, intended for 
        use by the general public--
                (i) to alert the general public to the potential for or 
            presence of the event; and
                (ii) to inform action to prevent loss of life and 
            property.
            (B) Exclusion.--The terms ``watch'' and ``warning'' do not 
        include technical or specialized meteorological and 
        hydrological forecasts, outlooks, or model guidance products.
        (2) Weather enterprise.--The term ``weather enterprise'' has 
    the meaning given that term in section 2 of the Weather Research 
    and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501).
SEC. 7. FRESHWATER MONITORING ALONG THE COAST.
    (a) Data Availability Assessment.--The Administrator shall assess 
the availability of short- and long-term data on large-scale freshwater 
flooding into oceans, bays, and estuaries, including data on--
        (1) flow rate, including discharge;
        (2) conductivity;
        (3) oxygen concentration;
        (4) nutrient load;
        (5) water temperature; and
        (6) sediment load.
    (b) Data Needs Assessment.--The Administrator shall assess the need 
for additional data to assess and predict the effect of the flooding 
and freshwater discharge described in subsection (a).
    (c) Inventory of Data Needs.--Based on the assessments required by 
subsections (a) and (b), the Administrator shall create an inventory of 
data needs with respect to the flooding and freshwater discharge 
described in subsections (a) and (b).
    (d) Planning.--In planning for the collection of additional data 
necessary for ecosystem-based modeling of the effect of the flooding 
and freshwater discharge described in subsections (a) and (b), the 
Administrator shall use the inventory created under subsection (c).
SEC. 8. TORNADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT.
    Section 103 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act 
of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8513) is amended--
        (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (d) 
    and (e), respectively; and
        (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Innovative Observations.--The Under Secretary shall ensure 
that the program periodically examines the value of incorporating 
innovative observations, such as acoustic or infrasonic measurements, 
observations from phased array radars, and observations from mesonets, 
with respect to the improvement of tornado forecasts, predictions, and 
warnings.''.
SEC. 9. HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
    Section 104(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 
Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8514(b)) is amended--
        (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
    semicolon;
        (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
    inserting ``; and''; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following:
        ``(4) evaluating and incorporating, as appropriate, innovative 
    observations, including acoustic or infrasonic measurements.''.
  SEC. 10. WEATHER AND WATER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING.
    Section 105(2) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 
Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8515(2)) is amended by inserting ``and flood-
event'' after ``operational weather''.
  SEC. 11. FORECAST COMMUNICATION COORDINATORS.
    Section 1762(f)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (15 U.S.C. 
8521(f)(1)) is amended, in the second sentence, by striking ``may'' and 
inserting ``shall''.
  SEC. 12. ESTIMATES OF PRECIPITATION FREQUENCY IN THE UNITED STATES.
    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) Freely associated states.--The term ``Freely Associated 
    States'' means the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall 
    Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia, which have each 
    entered into a Compact of Free Association with the United States.
        (2) United states.--The term ``United States'' means the 50 
    States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
    Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 
    Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
    Islands, and the Freely Associated States.
    (b) In General.--The Administrator shall establish a program, to be 
known as the ``NOAA Precipitation Frequency Atlas of the United 
States'', to compile, estimate, analyze, and communicate the frequency 
of precipitation in the United States.
    (c) Functions.--The NOAA Precipitation Frequency Atlas of the 
United States--
        (1) shall better inform the public and provide information on--
            (A) temporal and spatial distribution of heavy 
        precipitation;
            (B) analyses of seasonality in precipitation; and
            (C) trends in annual maximum series data; and
        (2) may serve as the official source of the Federal Government 
    on estimates of precipitation frequency and associated information 
    with respect to the United States.
    (d) Requirements.--
        (1) Coverage.--The NOAA Precipitation Frequency Atlas of the 
    United States shall include such estimates of the frequency of 
    precipitation in the United States as the Administrator determines 
    appropriate.
        (2) Frequency.--Such estimates--
            (A) shall be conducted not less frequently than once every 
        10 years; and
            (B) may be conducted more frequently if determined 
        appropriate by the Administrator.
        (3) Publication.--Such estimates and methodologies used to 
    conduct such estimates shall be--
            (A) subject to an appropriate, scientific process, as 
        determined by the Administrator; and
            (B) published on a publicly accessible website of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
    (e) Partnerships.--The Administrator may partner with other Federal 
agencies, members of the private sector, academic cooperative 
partnerships, or nongovernment associations to assist in carrying out 
the functions described in subsection (c).
    (f) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the Administrator 
may consult with relevant Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
Territorial government agencies, research institutions, and the private 
sector, as the Administrator determines necessary.
    (g) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the Administrator 
may coordinate with other Federal agencies.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, from amounts otherwise 
authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this 
Act, $3,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2030.
  SEC. 13. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON WATER MANAGEMENT AND 
      INFRASTRUCTURE.
    (a) Establishment.--There is established a committee, to be known 
as the ``Interagency Committee on Water Management and Infrastructure'' 
(in this section referred to as the ``Water Policy Committee'').
    (b) Membership.--The Water Policy Committee shall be composed of 
the following members:
        (1) The Administrator.
        (2) The Secretary of the Interior.
        (3) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
        (4) The Secretary of Agriculture.
        (5) The Secretary of Commerce.
        (6) The Secretary of Energy.
        (7) The Secretary of the Army.
        (8) The heads of such other agencies as the co-chairs consider 
    appropriate.
    (c) Co-Chairs.--The Water Policy Committee shall be co-chaired by 
the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency.
    (d) Meetings.--The Water Policy Committee shall meet not less 
frequently than 6 times each year, at the call of the co-chairs.
    (e) General Purpose and Duties.--The Water Policy Committee shall 
ensure that agencies and departments across the Federal Government that 
engage in water-related matters, including water storage and supplies, 
water quality and restoration activities, water infrastructure, 
transportation on United States rivers and inland waterways, and water 
forecasting, work together where such agencies and departments have 
joint or overlapping responsibilities to--
        (1) improve interagency coordination among Federal agencies and 
    departments on water resource management and water infrastructure 
    issues;
        (2) coordinate existing water-related Federal task forces, 
    working groups, and other formal cross-agency initiatives, as 
    appropriate;
        (3) prioritize managing the water resources of the United 
    States and promoting resilience of the water-related infrastructure 
    of the United States, including--
            (A) increasing water storage, water supply reliability, and 
        drought resiliency;
            (B) improving water quality, source water protection, and 
        nutrient management;
            (C) promoting restoration activities;
            (D) improving water systems, including with respect to 
        drinking water, desalination, water reuse, wastewater, and 
        flood control; and
            (E) improving water data management, research, modeling, 
        and forecasting;
        (4) improve interagency coordination of data management, 
    access, modeling, and visualization with respect to water-related 
    matters;
        (5) promote integrated planning for Federal investments in 
    water-related infrastructure to enhance coordination and protect 
    taxpayer investment; and
        (6) support workforce development and efforts to recruit, 
    train, and retain professionals to operate and maintain essential 
    drinking water, wastewater, flood control, hydropower, water 
    delivery, and water storage facilities in the United States.
    (f) Cross-Agency Priority Research Needs.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Water Policy Committee 
shall develop and submit to Congress a list of research needs that 
includes needs for cross-agency research and coordination.
  SEC. 14. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HYDROLOGIC RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP 
      PROGRAM.
    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) Assistant administrator.--The term ``Assistant 
    Administrator'' means the Assistant Administrator for Weather 
    Services of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
        (2) Decision support services.--The term ``decision support 
    services'' means information, including data and refined products, 
    that supports water resources-related decision-making processes.
        (3) Institution of higher education.--The term ``institution of 
    higher education'' has the meaning given that term in section 101 
    of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).
        (4) NOAA line offices.--The term ``NOAA line offices'' means 
    the following offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
    Administration:
            (A) The National Ocean Service.
            (B) The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and 
        Information Service.
            (C) The National Marine Fisheries Service.
            (D) The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
            (E) The Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.
    (b) Hydrologic Research Fellowship Program.--
        (1) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish a 
    hydrologic research fellowship program (in this section referred to 
    as the ``program'') for qualified individuals.
        (2) Qualified individual.--For purposes of this section, a 
    qualified individual is an individual who is--
            (A) a citizen of the United States; and
            (B) enrolled in a research-based graduate program, at an 
        institution of higher education, in a field that advances the 
        research priorities developed by the Assistant Administrator 
        under paragraph (7), such as--
                (i) hydrology;
                (ii) earth sciences;
                (iii) atmospheric sciences;
                (iv) computer sciences;
                (v) engineering;
                (vi) environmental sciences;
                (vii) geosciences;
                (viii) urban planning; or
                (ix) related social sciences.
        (3) Award guidelines.--Fellowships under the program shall be 
    awarded pursuant to guidelines established by the Assistant 
    Administrator.
        (4) Selection preference.--In selecting qualified individuals 
    for participation in the program, the Assistant Administrator shall 
    give preference to applicants from historically Black colleges and 
    universities and minority-serving institutions.
        (5) Placement.--The program shall support the placement of 
    qualified individuals in positions within the executive branch of 
    the Federal Government where such individuals can address and 
    advance the research priorities developed by the Assistant 
    Administrator under paragraph (7).
        (6) Fellowship term.--A fellowship under the program shall be 
    for a period of up to 2 years.
        (7) Fellowship research priorities.--The Assistant 
    Administrator, in consultation with representatives from the NOAA 
    line offices, the United States Geological Survey, the Federal 
    Emergency Management Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers, as 
    appropriate, shall develop and publish priorities for the conduct 
    of research by fellows, which may include the following:
            (A) Advance the collaborative development of a flexible 
        community-based water resources modeling system.
            (B) Apply artificial intelligence and machine learning 
        capabilities to advance existing hydrologic modeling 
        capabilities.
            (C) Support the evolution and integration of hydrologic 
        modeling within an Earth Systems Modeling Framework.
            (D) Improve visualizations of hydrologic model outputs.
            (E) Advance the state of coupled freshwater and salt water 
        modeling and forecasting capabilities.
            (F) Advance understanding and process representation of 
        water quality parameters.
            (G) Advance the assimilation of in-situ and remotely sensed 
        observations and data.
            (H) Support the integration of social science to advance 
        decision support services.
            (I) Develop methods to study groundwater sustainability and 
        estimate the efficiency of recharge management.
    (c) Direct Hiring.--
        (1) Authority.--During fiscal year 2022 and any fiscal year 
    thereafter, the head of any Federal agency may appoint, without 
    regard to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, 
    United States Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of that 
    title, to a position with the Federal agency a recipient of a 
    fellowship under the program who--
            (A) earned a degree from a program described in subsection 
        (b)(2)(B);
            (B) successfully fulfilled the requirements of the 
        fellowship within the executive branch of the Federal 
        Government; and
            (C) meets qualification standards established by the Office 
        of Personnel Management.
        (2) Exercise of authority.--The direct hire authority provided 
    by this subsection shall be exercised with respect to an individual 
    described in paragraph (1) not later than 2 years after the date on 
    which the individual completed the fellowship under the program.
  SEC. 15. IDENTIFICATION AND SUPPORT OF CONSISTENT, FEDERAL SET OF 
      FORWARD-LOOKING, LONG-TERM METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION.
    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
        (1) Extreme weather.--The term ``extreme weather'' includes 
    observed or anticipated severe and unseasonable atmospheric 
    conditions, including drought, heavy precipitation, hurricanes, 
    tornadoes and other windstorms (including derechos), large hail, 
    extreme heat, extreme cold, flooding, sustained temperatures or 
    precipitation that deviate substantially from historical averages, 
    and any other weather event that the Administrator determines 
    qualifies as extreme weather.
        (2) Long-term.--The term ``long-term'' shall have such meaning 
    as the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
    Technology, in consultation with the Administrator, considers 
    appropriate for purposes of this section.
        (3) Other environmental trends.--The term ``other environmental 
    trends'' means wildfires, coastal flooding, inland flooding, land 
    subsidence, rising sea levels, and any other challenges relating to 
    changes in environmental systems over time that the Administrator 
    determines qualify as environmental challenges other than extreme 
    weather.
    (b) Identification and Support of Consistent, Federal Set of 
Forward-looking, Long-term Meteorological Information.--The 
Administrator shall identify, and support research that enables, a 
consistent, Federal set of forward-looking, long-term meteorological 
information that models future extreme weather events, other 
environmental trends, projections, and up-to-date observations, 
including mesoscale information as determined appropriate by the 
Administrator.
  SEC. 16. GAP ANALYSIS ON AVAILABILITY OF SNOW-RELATED DATA TO ASSESS 
      AND PREDICT FLOOD AND FLOOD IMPACTS.
    (a) In General.--The Administrator, in consultation with the 
Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior, and the Army 
Corps of Engineers, shall conduct an analysis of gaps in the 
availability of snow-related data to assess and predict floods and 
flood impacts, including data on the following:
        (1) Snow water equivalent.
        (2) Snow depth.
        (3) Snowpack temperature.
        (4) Snow and mixed-phase precipitation.
        (5) Snow melt.
        (6) Rain-snow line.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 
Representatives a report on--
        (1) the findings of the gap analysis required by subsection 
    (a); and
        (2) opportunities for additional collaboration among Federal 
    agencies to collect snow-related data to better assess and predict 
    floods and flood impacts.
  SEC. 17. AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC OF FLOOD-RELATED DATA.
    (a) In General.--The Administrator shall make flood-related data 
available to the public on the website of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration.
    (b) Cost.--The Administrator may make the data under subsection (a) 
freely accessible or available at a cost that does not exceed the cost 
of preparing the data.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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