I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5499

To reduce the impacts of hurricanes, tornadoes, and other windstorms through

a program of research and development and technology transfer, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 19, 2000

Mr. MOORE (for himself, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr.

ETHERIDGE, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. LAFALCE, and Mr. SNYDER) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, and

in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerend

A BILL

To reduce the impacts of hurricanes, tornadoes, and other

windstorms through a program of research and development and technology transfer, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Windstorm Hazard

5 Reduction Research and Technology Transfer Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) Coastal States and many island States and

2 territories are vulnerable to the hazards of wind3 storms. All Midwest, Southern, and Mid-Atlantic

4 States are vulnerable to the hazards of tornadoes

5 and thunderstorms and increased building activity is

6 occurring in high-risk areas such as the seashore

7 and ‘‘tornado alley’’.

8 (2) Hurricanes cause enormous loss of life, in9 jury, destruction of property, and economic and so10 cial disruption, as evidenced by the 56 deaths and

11 $6,000,000,000 in property damage in 1999 from

12 Hurricane Floyd. From 1990 to 1999 hurricanes

13 caused an average of 14 deaths and $4,970,000,000

14 in property losses annually while tornadoes and

15 other windstorms caused over 58 deaths and

16 $871,000,000 in property losses annually.

17 (3) Improved windstorm hazard reduction

18 measures, including—

19 (A) cost-effective and affordable design

20 and construction methods and practices;

21 (B) informed land use decisions;

22 (C) impact prediction methodologies and

23 early warning systems; and

24 (D) public education and involvement pro25 grams,
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1 have the potential over the next 10 years to reduce

2 these losses. Losses will increase if steps are not

3 taken to help communities reduce their vulnerability.

4 (4) Wind engineering research needs to address

5 both improving new structures and retrofitting exist6 ing ones.

7 (5) There is an appropriate role for the Federal

8 Government in the collection, preparation, coordina9 tion, and dissemination of windstorm hazards reduc10 tion information in order to protect public health

11 and safety and in increasing public awareness of the

12 dangers of windstorms and of affordable steps home13 owners can take to preserve life and property. Im14 proved mechanisms are needed to translate existing

15 information and research findings into usable, state16 of-the-art specifications, criteria, and cost-effective

17 practices.

18 (6) An effective Federal program in windstorm

19 hazard reduction will require interagency coordina20 tion, input from individuals and institutions outside

21 the Federal Government who are expert in the

22 sciences of natural hazards reduction and in the

23 practical application of mitigation measures, and im24 proved mechanisms for the transfer of new knowl25 edge to State and local officials, to homeowners, and
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1 to the design and construction industry. Tax credits

2 are an appropriate means of helping homeowners

3 apply mitigation measures.

4 (7) Windstorms are a worldwide problem, and

5 international cooperation is desirable for mutual

6 learning and mitigation.

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

8 In this Act:

9 (1) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of

10 the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

11 (2) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the States

12 of the United States, the District of Columbia, the

13 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States

14 Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Com15 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and

16 any other territory or possession of the United

17 States.

18 (3) The term ‘‘windstorm’’ means any storm

19 with a damaging or destructive wind component,

20 such as a hurricane, tropical storm, tornado, or

21 thunderstorm.

22 SEC. 4. NATIONAL WINDSTORM HAZARD REDUCTION PRO23 GRAM.

24 (a) INTERAGENCY GROUP.—Not later than 30 days

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director
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1 shall establish an Interagency Group, to be cochaired by

2 the Director or the Director’s designee and the Director

3 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency or that

4 Director’s designee, consisting of representatives of appro5 priate Federal agencies, including the National Science

6 Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad7 ministration, the National Institute of Standards and

8 Technology, the Department of Energy, and other agen9 cies with jurisdiction over housing, construction, and nat10 ural disaster mitigation and relief, to be responsible for

11 the development and implementation of a coordinated

12 Federal windstorm hazard reduction research, develop13 ment, and technology transfer program. In establishing

14 the Interagency Group, the Director is encouraged where

15 appropriate to designate lead agencies and to preserve ex16 isting programs and functions of Federal agencies and or17 ganizations, and shall ensure regular agency coordination

18 and information sharing and where appropriate coordina19 tion with other agencies.

20 (b) OBJECTIVE.—The objective of the windstorm

21 hazard reduction program is the achievement, within 10

22 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, of major

23 measurable reductions in losses that would otherwise have

24 occurred to life and property from windstorms. The objec25 tive is to be achieved through the creation of a program
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1 involving cooperation among governments at all levels and

2 the private sector featuring—

3 (1) pertinent basic and applied research which

4 takes into account locality-specific weather, suscepti5 bility to other hazards, and design and construction

6 practices;

7 (2) better understanding of impediments and

8 disincentives to wind hazard reduction;

9 (3) inventorying of existing buildings and re10 lated data for use in developing and deploying wind

11 hazard mitigation measures;

12 (4) dissemination of information on cost-effec13 tive and affordable wind hazard reduction research

14 results, technology, and techniques to industry,

15 State and local governments, homeowners, and the

16 general public;

17 (5) improved technology for prediction, storm

18 warnings, advanced planning, and disaster response;

19 (6) increased public awareness of the dangers

20 of windstorms and of ways to preserve affected prop21 erty and life; and

22 (7) priority attention to critical lifelines, includ23 ing infrastructure and utilities, that are especially

24 needed in time of disaster.
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1 (c) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ELEMENTS.—

2 The research and development elements of the program

3 may include—

4 (1) basic wind characterization and micro-cli5 mate research;

6 (2) development of methods to increase accu7 racy and reliability in the prediction of the track and

8 magnitude of windstorms;

9 (3) peer-reviewed research and development on

10 and demonstration of wind-resistant systems and

11 materials for new construction and retrofit, includ12 ing composite materials; building envelope compo13 nents, including windows, doors, and roofs; struc14 tural design; and design and construction tech15 niques, through physical testing and through com16 puter simulation when appropriate, taking into con17 sideration cost-effectiveness, affordability, and re18 gional differences including susceptibility to other

19 hazards;

20 (4) development of mechanisms for collecting

21 information on building systems and materials per22 formance in windstorms, information on mitigation

23 priorities, and other pertinent information from

24 sources such as the construction industry, insurance

25 companies, and building officials;
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1 (5) development of updatable, cost-effective,

2 and affordable systems, both for new construction

3 and for retrofitting, and for inventorying informa4 tion on components and materials and their inter5 action;

6 (6) development of cost-effective and affordable

7 planning, design, construction, rehabilitation, and

8 retrofit methods and procedures, including utiliza9 tion of mitigation measures, for critical lifelines and

10 facilities such as hospitals, schools, public utilities,

11 and other structures that are especially needed in

12 time of disaster;

13 (7) research and development on techniques,

14 methodologies, and new technologies for the map15 ping in finer detail of windstorm hazard risks, to be

16 coordinated with the mapping of other natural and

17 manmade hazards;

18 (8) development of improved systems for pre19 dicting damaging windstorm impact and for identi20 fying, evaluating, and reliably characterizing wind21 storm hazards;

22 (9) development of improved approaches for

23 providing emergency services, reconstruction, and re24 development after a windstorm;
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1 (10) development of quantitative assessment

2 techniques for the delineation and evaluation of the

3 socioeconomic effects of windstorms and their appli4 cation on a regional basis, including exploration of

5 adjustments that could be made to reduce windstorm

6 vulnerability and to effectively exploit existing and

7 developing mitigation techniques; and

8 (11) studies of impediments and disincentives

9 to effective wind hazard mitigation, preparedness,

10 and response policies and innovations.

11 (d) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—The technology

12 transfer elements of the program shall include—

13 (1) the collection, classification, presentation,

14 and dissemination in a usable form to Federal,

15 State, and local officials, community leaders, the de16 sign and construction industry, contractors, home

17 owners, and the general public, of research results

18 and other pertinent information regarding wind19 storm phenomena, the identification of locations and

20 features which are especially susceptible to wind21 storm damage, ways to reduce the adverse con22 sequences of windstorms, and related matters;

23 (2) in coordination with the private sector, aca24 demia, and the States, curriculum development and

25 related measures to facilitate the training of employ-
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1 ees of the design and construction industry, the in2 surance industry, and State and local governments,

3 and other interested persons; and

4 (3) efforts to increase public awareness and in5 formation related to windstorm hazard mitigation.

6 (e) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The Interagency

7 Group established under subsection (a) shall refine, in

8 conjunction with appropriate representatives of State and

9 local units of government and private sector organizations,

10 the objective stated in subsection (b), develop measure11 ments related to the objective, including emphasis on cost12 effectiveness and affordability, and develop a 10-year im13 plementation plan for achieving the objective, deferring to

14 the private sector and State and local government for im15 plementation in all appropriate instances. Not later than

16 210 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

17 Interagency Group shall submit to the Congress the imple18 mentation plan. The plan shall include—

19 (1) a statement of research and development

20 goals and priorities;

21 (2) plans for the development of improved fore22 casting techniques for windstorms, early warning

23 systems, and systems for comprehensive response;
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1 (3) plans for the development of an inventory of

2 buildings, building components, and damage to

3 buildings from windstorms;

4 (4) plans for transfer of technology and infor5 mation to State, county, local, and regional govern6 mental units and the private sector for appropriate

7 application of research and development results;

8 (5) provisions for dissemination, on a timely

9 basis, of—

10 (A) delivery of information and technology

11 in a form that is of use to the design profes12 sions, the construction industry, and other in13 terested parties; and

14 (B) other information and knowledge of in15 terest to the public to reduce vulnerability to

16 windstorm hazards;

17 (6) a description of how Federal disaster relief

18 and emergency assistance programs will incorporate

19 research and development results;

20 (7) establishment, consistent with this Act, of

21 goals, priorities, and target dates for implementation

22 of the program;

23 (8) assignment of responsibilities with respect

24 to each element of the program that does not al25 ready have a Federal lead agency;
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1 (9) a description of plans for cooperation and

2 coordination in all phases of the program with inter3 ested governmental entities in all States, particularly

4 those containing areas of high or moderate wind5 storm risk; and

6 (10) staffing plans for the program and its

7 components.

8 (f) PARTICIPATION.—The implementation plan shall

9 avoid duplication whenever possible and assign responsibil10 ities to Federal agencies with existing expertise.

11 (g) MANUFACTURED HOUSING STANDARDS.—No de12 sign, construction method, practice, technology, material,

13 mitigation methodology, or hazard reduction measure of

14 any kind developed under this Act shall be required for

15 a home certified under section 616 of the National Manu16 factured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act

17 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5415), pursuant to standards issued

18 under such Act, without being subject to the consensus

19 development process and rulemaking procedures of that

20 Act.

21 SEC. 5. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR WINDSTORM

22 HAZARD REDUCTION.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—A National Advisory Com24 mittee shall be established to review progress made under

25 the program established under section 4, advise on any
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1 improvements that should be made to that program, and

2 report to the Congress on actions that have been taken

3 to advance the Nation’s capability to reduce the impacts

4 of windstorm hazards.

5 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee shall be

6 composed of 21 members to be appointed by the President

7 (one of whom shall be designated by the President as

8 chair). The members shall include representatives of a

9 broad cross-section of interests such as the research, tech10 nology transfer, architectural, engineering, and financial

11 communities; materials and systems suppliers; State,

12 county, and local governments concerned with the reduc13 tion of windstorm hazards; the residential, multifamily,

14 and commercial sectors of the construction industry; and

15 the insurance industry, and other representatives (not in16 cluding members of Federal agencies) from areas im17 pacted by windstorm hazards.

18 (c) COORDINATION.—The Advisory Committee shall

19 coordinate with existing advisory committees of the Fed20 eral Government and of the National Academies of Science

21 and Engineering. As appropriate, the work and reports of

22 the Advisory Committee may be done in conjunction with

23 or replace the work of other advisory committees.

24 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Advisory Committee

25 shall provide a summary report to Congress each year.
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1 (e) EXEMPTION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory

2 Committee Act shall not apply to the Advisory Committee

3 established under this section.

4 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT.

5 (a) REPORT.—The Interagency Group established

6 under section 4(a) shall, within 90 days after the end of

7 each fiscal year, submit a report to the Congress describ8 ing the status of the windstorm hazard reduction program,

9 describing progress achieved during the preceding fiscal

10 year, by government at all levels and by the private sector,

11 toward achieving the objective stated in section 4(b) and

12 implementing the plan developed under section 4(e), and

13 including any amendments to the implementation plan.

14 Each such report shall include any recommendations for

15 legislative and other action the Interagency Group con16 siders necessary and appropriate.

17 (b) CONFERENCE.—In order to disseminate the re18 search findings of the windstorm hazard reduction pro19 gram established under section 4(a), the Interagency

20 Group is encouraged to arrange for an annual conference

21 where research findings and mitigation efforts can be pre22 sented. Those invited to the conference shall include rep23 resentatives of a broad cross-section of interests such as

24 the research, technology transfer, architectural, engineer25 ing, and financial communities; materials and systems
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1 suppliers; State, county, and local governments concerned

2 with the reduction of windstorm hazards; the residential,

3 multifamily, and commercial sectors of the construction

4 industry; and the insurance industry, and other represent5 atives from areas impacted by windstorm hazards.

6 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

8 activities under this Act $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2001,

9 $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and $150,000,000 for

10 fiscal year 2003.

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