S. 2200 

One Hundred Fifteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen 

An Act 

To reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information System, 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. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Integrated Drought 

Information System Reauthorization Act of 2018’’. 

SEC. 2. NATIONAL INTEGRATED DROUGHT INFORMATION SYSTEM 

PROGRAM. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the National Integrated Drought 

Information System Act of 2006 (15 U.S.C. 313d) is amended— 

(1) in subsection (b)— 

(A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘in order to make 

usable, reliable, and timely forecasts of drought, including’’ 

and inserting ‘‘, including precipitation, soil moisture, and 

evaporative demand, in order to make usable, reliable, 

and timely forecasts of drought and’’; 

(B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘watershed,’’ after 

‘‘regional,’’; 

(C) in paragraph (4)— 

(i) by inserting ‘‘, through interagency agreements’’ 

after ‘‘integrate’’; and 

(ii) by inserting ‘‘information’’ after ‘‘warning’’; 

(D) by amending paragraph (5) to read as follows: 

‘‘(5) utilize existing forecasting and assessment programs 

and partnerships, including forecast communication coordinators and cooperative institutes, and improvements in seasonal 

precipitation and temperature, subseasonal precipitation and 

temperature, and low flow water prediction; and’’; and 

(E) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘the prediction,’’ 

after ‘‘relating to’’; 

(2) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; 

(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following: 

‘‘(c) PARTNERSHIPS.—The National Integrated Drought Information System may— 

‘‘(1) engage with the private sector to improve drought 

monitoring, forecast, and communication if the Under Secretary 

determines the partnership is appropriate, cost-effective, and 

beneficial to the public and decisionmakers described in subsection (b)(2)(A); 
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‘‘(2) facilitate the development of 1 or more academic 

cooperative partnerships to assist with National Integrated 

Drought Information System functions; and 

‘‘(3) utilize and support, as appropriate, monitoring by citizen scientists, including by developing best practices to facilitate maximum data integration.’’; 

(4) in subsection (d), as redesignated, by inserting ‘‘and 

sustainment’’ after ‘‘development’’; and 

(5) by striking subsection (f), as redesignated, and inserting 

the following: 

‘‘(f) SOIL MOISTURE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

of enactment of the National Integrated Drought Information 

System Reauthorization Act of 2018, the Under Secretary, acting 

through the National Integrated Drought Information System, shall 

develop a strategy for a national coordinated soil moisture monitoring network.’’. 

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 4 of the 

National Integrated Drought Information System Act of 2006 (15 

U.S.C. 313d note) is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 

Act— 

‘‘(1) $13,500,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

‘‘(2) $13,750,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

‘‘(3) $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

‘‘(4) $14,250,000 for fiscal year 2022; and 

‘‘(5) $14,500,000 for fiscal year 2023.’’. 

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF TITLE II OF THE WEATHER RESEARCH 

AND FORECASTING INNOVATION ACT OF 2017. 

(a) REAUTHORIZATION OF TITLE II OF THE WEATHER RESEARCH

AND FORECASTING INNOVATION ACT OF 2017.—Section 1762 of the 

Food Security Act of 1985 (15 U.S.C. 8521) is amended— 

(1) by amending subsection (j) to read as follows: 

‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 

to be appropriated to carry out the activities under this section— 

‘‘(1) $26,500,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

‘‘(2) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 

‘‘(3) $27,500,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

‘‘(4) $28,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and 

‘‘(5) $28,500,000 for fiscal year 2023.’’; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(k) DERIVATION OF FUNDS.—Amounts made available to carry 

out this section shall be derived from amounts appropriated or 

otherwise made available to the National Weather Service.’’. 

(b) UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING

IMPROVEMENT.—Section 110 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8519) is amended to 

read as follows: 

‘‘SEC. 110. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated 

to the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research to carry out 

this title— 

‘‘(1) $136,516,000 for fiscal year 2019, of which— 

‘‘(A) $85,758,000 is authorized for weather laboratories 

and cooperative institutes; 
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‘‘(B) $30,758,000 is authorized for weather and air 

chemistry research programs; and 

‘‘(C) $20,000,000 is authorized for the joint technology 

transfer initiative described in section 102(b)(4); 

‘‘(2) $148,154,000 for fiscal year 2020, of which— 

‘‘(A) $87,258,000 is authorized for weather laboratories 

and cooperative institutes; 

‘‘(B) $40,896,000 is authorized for weather and air 

chemistry research programs; and 

‘‘(C) $20,000,000 is authorized for the joint technology 

transfer initiative described in section 102(b)(4); 

‘‘(3) $150,154,000 for fiscal year 2021, of which— 

‘‘(A) $88,758,000 is authorized for weather laboratories 

and cooperative institutes; 

‘‘(B) $41,396,000 is authorized for weather and air 

chemistry research programs; and 

‘‘(C) $20,000,000 is authorized for the joint technology 

transfer initiative described in section 102(b)(4); 

‘‘(4) $152,154,000 for fiscal year 2022, of which— 

‘‘(A) $90,258,000 is authorized for weather laboratories 

and cooperative institutes; 

‘‘(B) $41,896,000 is authorized for weather and air 

chemistry research programs; and 

‘‘(C) $20,000,000 is authorized for the joint technology 

transfer initiative described in section 102(b)(4); and 

‘‘(5) $154,154,000 for fiscal year 2023, of which— 

‘‘(A) $91,758,000 is authorized for weather laboratories 

and cooperative institutes; 

‘‘(B) $42,396,000 is authorized for weather and air 

chemistry research programs; and 

‘‘(C) $20,000,000 is authorized for the joint technology 

transfer initiative described in section 102(b)(4). 

‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—No additional funds are authorized to carry 

out this title and the amendments made by this title.’’. 

SEC. 4. EARTH PREDICTION INNOVATION CENTER. 

(a) WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVATION.—Section 102(b) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 

Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8512(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

the following: 

‘‘(4) Advancing weather modeling skill, reclaiming and 

maintaining international leadership in the area of numerical 

weather prediction, and improving the transition of research 

into operations by— 

‘‘(A) leveraging the weather enterprise to provide 

expertise on removing barriers to improving numerical 

weather prediction; 

‘‘(B) enabling scientists and engineers to effectively 

collaborate in areas important for improving operational 

global numerical weather prediction skill, including model 

development, data assimilation techniques, systems 

architecture integration, and computational efficiencies; 

‘‘(C) strengthening the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration’s ability to undertake research 

projects in pursuit of substantial advancements in weather 

forecast skill; 
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‘‘(D) utilizing and leverage existing resources across 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

enterprise; and 

‘‘(E) creating a community global weather research 

modeling system that— 

‘‘(i) is accessible by the public; 

‘‘(ii) meets basic end-user requirements for running 

on public computers and networks located outside of 

secure National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration information and technology systems; and 

‘‘(iii) utilizes, whenever appropriate and cost-effective, innovative strategies and methods, including 

cloud-based computing capabilities, for hosting and 

management of part or all of the system described 

in this subsection.’’. 

(b) UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH PROGRAM.—Section 

108(a) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

Authorization Act of 1992 (15 U.S.C. 8520(a)) is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

a semi-colon; 

(2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at the end 

and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(12) carry out the activities of the Earth Prediction Innovation Center as described in section 102(b)(2) of the Weather 

Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

8512(b)(2)).’’. 

SEC. 5. COMPUTING RESOURCES PRIORITIZATION. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 108 of the Weather Research and 

Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8518) is amended 

to read as follows: 

‘‘SEC. 108. COMPUTING RESOURCE EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT AND 

ANNUAL REPORT. 

‘‘(a) COMPUTING RESOURCES.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In acquiring computing capabilities, 

including high performance computing technologies and supercomputing technologies, that enable the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration to meet its mission requirements, 

the Under Secretary shall, when appropriate and cost-effective, 

assess and prioritize options for entering into multi-year lease 

agreements for computing capabilities over options for purchasing computing hardware outright. 

‘‘(2) ACQUISITION.—In carrying out the requirements of 

paragraph (1), the Under Secretary shall structure multi-year 

lease agreements in such a manner that the expiration of 

the lease is set for a date on or around— 

‘‘(A) the expected degradation point of the computing 

resources; or 

‘‘(B) the point at which significantly increased computing capabilities are expected to be available for lease. 

‘‘(3) PILOT PROGRAMS.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to more efficiently and 

effectively meet the mission requirements of the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Under Secretary may create 1 or more pilot programs for assessing 
S. 2200—5 

new or innovative information and technology capabilities 

and services. 

‘‘(B) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Any program created 

under paragraph (3) shall assess only those capabilities 

and services that— 

‘‘(i) meet or exceed the standards and requirements 

of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including for processing speed, cybersecurity, and 

overall reliability; or 

‘‘(ii) meet or exceed, or are expected to meet or 

exceed, the performance of similar, in-house information and technology capabilities and services that are 

owned and operated by the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration prior to the establishment 

of the pilot program. 

‘‘(C) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

authorized to be appropriated, out of funds appropriated 

to the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and 

Information Service, to carry out this paragraph $5,000,000 

for fiscal year 2019, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, and 

$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023, 

to remain available until expended. 

‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the National Integrated Drought Information System 

Reauthorization Act of 2018, and triennially thereafter until the 

date that is 6 years after the date on which the first report is 

submitted, the Under Secretary, acting through the Chief Information Officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and in coordination with the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the Director of the National 

Weather Service, shall produce and make publicly available a report 

that explains how the Under Secretary intends— 

‘‘(1) to continually support upgrades to pursue the fastest, 

most powerful, and cost-effective high performance computing 

technologies in support of its weather prediction mission; 

‘‘(2) to ensure a balance between the research to operations 

requirements to develop the next generation of regional and 

global models as well as highly reliable operational models; 

‘‘(3) to take advantage of advanced development concepts 

to, as appropriate, make next generation weather prediction 

models available in beta-test mode to operational forecasters, 

the United States weather industry, and partners in academic 

and Government research; 

‘‘(4) to use existing computing resources to improve 

advanced research and operational weather prediction; 

‘‘(5) to utilize non-Federal contracts to obtain the necessary 

expertise for advanced weather computing, if appropriate; 

‘‘(6) to utilize cloud computing; and 

‘‘(7) to create a long-term strategy to transition the 

programming language of weather model code to current and 

broadly-used coding language.’’. 

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—Section 1(b) of the Weather Research 

and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–25; 131 

Stat. 91) is amended by striking the item relating to section 108 

and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 108. Computing resource efficiency improvement and annual report.’’. 
S. 2200—6 

SEC. 6. SATELLITE ARCHITECTURE PLANNING. 

Section 301 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8531) is amended by adding at the 

end the following: 

‘‘(c) NEXT GENERATION SATELLITE ARCHITECTURE.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall analyze, test, 

and plan the procurement of future data sources and satellite 

architectures, including respective ground system elements, 

identified in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Satellite Observing System Architecture Study that— 

‘‘(A) lower the cost of observations used to meet the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s mission requirements; 

‘‘(B) disaggregate current satellite systems, where 

appropriate; 

‘‘(C) include new, value-adding technological advancements; and 

‘‘(D) improve weather forecasting and predictions. 

‘‘(2) QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENTS AND PARTNERSHIP

AUTHORITY.—In meeting the requirements described in paragraph (1), the Under Secretary— 

‘‘(A) may partner with the commercial and academic 

sectors, non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations, 

and other Federal agencies; and 

‘‘(B) shall, consistent with section 107 of this Act, 

undertake quantitative assessments for objective analyses, 

as the Under Secretary considers appropriate, to evaluate 

relative value and benefits of future data sources and satellite architectures described in paragraph (1). 

‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL FORMS OF TRANSACTION AUTHORIZED.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), in order to 

enhance the effectiveness of data and satellite systems used 

by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 

meet its missions, the Under Secretary may enter into and 

perform such transaction agreements on such terms as the 

Under Secretary considers appropriate to carry out basic, 

applied, and advanced research projects to meet the objectives 

described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) subsection (c)(1). 

‘‘(2) METHOD AND SCOPE.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A transaction agreement under 

paragraph (1) shall be limited to research and development 

activities. 

‘‘(B) PERMISSIBLE USES.—A transaction agreement 

under paragraph (1) may be used— 

‘‘(i) for the construction, use, operation, or procurement of new, improved, innovative, or value-adding 

satellites, instrumentation, ground stations, and data; 

‘‘(ii) to make determinations on how to best use 

existing or planned data, systems, and assets of the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and 

‘‘(iii) only when the objectives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cannot be met 

using a cooperative research and development agreement, grants procurement contract, or cooperative 

agreement. 
S. 2200—7 

‘‘(3) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The authority provided in this subsection terminates effective September 30, 

2023. 

‘‘(e) TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

that a transaction agreement is made under subsection (d), the 

Under Secretary shall make publicly available, in a searchable 

format, on the website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration all uses of the authority under subsection (d), 

including an estimate of committed National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration resources and the expected benefits 

to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration objectives for 

the transaction agreement, with appropriate redactions for proprietary, sensitive, or classified information. 

‘‘(f) REPORTS.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after September 

30 of each fiscal year through September 30, 2023, the Under 

Secretary 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 the use of additional transaction authority by the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the 

previous fiscal year. 

‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report shall include— 

‘‘(A) for each transaction agreement in effect during 

the fiscal year covered by the report— 

‘‘(i) an indication of whether the transaction agreement is a reimbursable, non-reimbursable, or funded 

agreement; 

‘‘(ii) a description of— 

‘‘(I) the subject and terms; 

‘‘(II) the parties; 

‘‘(III) the responsible National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration line office; 

‘‘(IV) the value; 

‘‘(V) the extent of the cost sharing among Federal Government and non-Federal sources; 

‘‘(VI) the duration or schedule; and 

‘‘(VII) all milestones; 

‘‘(iii) an indication of whether the transaction 

agreement was renewed during the previous fiscal 

year; 

‘‘(iv) the technology areas in which research 

projects were conducted under that agreement; 

‘‘(v) the extent to which the use of that agreement— 

‘‘(I) has contributed to a broadening of the 

technology and industrial base available for 

meeting National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration needs; and 

‘‘(II) has fostered within the technology and 

industrial base new relationships and practices 

that support the United States; and 

‘‘(vi) the total value received by the Federal 

Government under that agreement for that fiscal year; 

and 
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‘‘(B) a list of all anticipated reimbursable, nonreimbursable, and funded transaction agreements for the 

upcoming fiscal year. 

‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may 

be construed as limiting the authority of the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration to use cooperative research and 

development agreements, grants, procurement contracts, or cooperative agreements.’’. 

SEC. 7. INTEGRATION OF OCEAN AND COASTAL DATA FROM THE 

INTEGRATED OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEM. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Weather Research 

and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8531(a)(2)) is 

amended— 

(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

a semicolon; 

(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the 

end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(C) support increasing use of autonomous, mobile surface, sub-surface, and submarine vehicle ocean and fresh 

water sensor systems and the infrastructure necessary to 

share and analyze these data in real-time and feed them 

into predictive early warning systems.’’. 

(b) COMMERCIAL WEATHER DATA; AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO- PRIATIONS.—Section 302(c)(3) of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8532(c)(3)) is amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘2017 through 2020’’ and inserting ‘‘2019 

through 2023’’; and 

(2) by inserting ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘National’’. 

SEC. 8. IMPROVEMENTS TO COOPERATIVE OBSERVER PROGRAM OF 

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 

and Atmosphere, acting through the National Weather Service, 

shall improve the Cooperative Observer Program by— 

(1) providing support to— 

(A) State-coordinated programs relating to the Program; and 

(B) States and regions where observations provided 

through the Program are scarce; 

(2) working with State weather service headquarters to 

increase participation in the Program and to add stations in 

States and regions described in paragraph (1)(B); 

(3) where feasible, ensuring that data streams from stations 

that have been contributing data to the Program for more 

than 50 years are maintained and continually staffed by volunteers; 

(4) prioritizing the recruitment of new volunteers for the 

Program; 

(5) ensuring that opportunities exist for automated 

reporting to lessen the burden on volunteers to collect and 

report data by hand; and 

(6) ensuring that integrated reporting is available for qualitative observations that cannot be automated, such as drought 

conditions, snow observations, and hazardous weather events, 

to ensure that volunteers in the Program can report and upload 

observations quickly and easily. 
S. 2200—9 

(b) COORDINATION WITH STATES AND REGIONS.—Not less frequently than every 180 days, the National Weather Service shall 

coordinate with State and regional offices with respect to the status 

of Cooperative Observer Program stations. 

(c) COORDINATION WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The National 

Weather Service shall coordinate with other Federal agencies, 

including the Forest Service, the Department of Agriculture, and 

the United States Geological Survey, to leverage opportunities to 

grow the Cooperative Observer Program network and to more effectively use existing infrastructure, weather stations, and staff of 

the Program. 

SEC. 9. HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HYPOXIA RESEARCH AND CONTROL. 

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the ‘‘Harmful 

Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act 

of 2017’’. 

(b) REFERENCES TO THE HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HYPOXIA

RESEARCH AND CONTROL ACT OF 1998.—Except as otherwise 

expressly provided, wherever in this section an amendment or 

repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, 

a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 

be made to a section or other provision of the Harmful Algal 

Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 

4001 et seq.). 

(c) INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE.—Section 603(a) (33 U.S.C. 

4001(a)) is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

(2) by redesignating paragraph (13) as paragraph (14); 

and 

(3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the following: 

‘‘(13) the Army Corps of Engineers; and’’. 

(d) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF FRESHWATER HARMFUL ALGAL

BLOOMS.—Section 603 (33 U.S.C. 4001) is amended— 

(1) by striking subsection (f); 

(2) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), (i), and (j) as 

subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i), respectively; and 

(3) by amending subsection (g) to read as follows: 

‘‘(g) SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENTS OF MARINE AND FRESHWATER

HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.—Not less than once every 5 years the 

Task Force shall complete and submit to Congress a scientific 

assessment of harmful algal blooms in United States coastal waters 

and freshwater systems. Each assessment shall examine both 

marine and freshwater harmful algal blooms, including those in 

the Great Lakes and upper reaches of estuaries, those in freshwater 

lakes and rivers, and those that originate in freshwater lakes or 

rivers and migrate to coastal waters.’’. 

(e) NATIONAL HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM AND HYPOXIA PROGRAM.— 

(1) PROGRAM DUTIES.—Section 603A(e) (33 U.S.C. 4002(e)) 

is amended— 

(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, including to local 

and regional stakeholders through the establishment and 

maintenance of a publicly accessible Internet website that 

provides information as to Program activities completed 

under this section’’ after ‘‘Program’’; 

(B) in paragraph (3)— 
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(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

inserting a semicolon; 

(ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘and’’ after 

the semicolon at the end; and 

(iii) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(D) to accelerate the utilization of effective methods 

of intervention and mitigation to reduce the frequency, 

severity, and impacts of harmful algal bloom and hypoxia 

events;’’; 

(C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and work cooperatively with’’ and inserting ‘‘, and work cooperatively to 

provide technical assistance to,’’; and 

(D) in paragraph (7)— 

(i) by inserting ‘‘and extension’’ after ‘‘existing education’’; and 

(ii) by inserting ‘‘intervention,’’ after ‘‘awareness 

of the causes, impacts,’’. 

(2) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

ACTIVITIES.—Section 603A(f) (33 U.S.C. 4002(f)) is amended— 

(A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, which shall include 

unmanned systems,’’ after ‘‘infrastructure’’; 

(B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

(C) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking the period at the 

end and inserting a semicolon; and 

(D) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(7) use cost effective methods in carrying out this Act; 

and 

‘‘(8) develop contingency plans for the long-term monitoring 

of hypoxia.’’. 

(f) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—Section 102 of the Harmful Algal 

Bloom and Hypoxia Amendments Act of 2004 (33 U.S.C. 4001a) 

is amended by striking ‘‘the amendments made by this title’’ and 

inserting ‘‘the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and 

Control Act of 1998’’. 

(g) HYPOXIA OR HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.— 

(1) RELIEF.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon a determination under paragraph (2) that there is an event of national significance, 

the appropriate Federal official is authorized to make sums 

available to the affected State or local government for 

the purposes of assessing and mitigating the detrimental 

environmental, economic, subsistence use, and public 

health effects of the event of national significance. 

(B) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

of any activity carried out under this paragraph for the 

purposes described in subparagraph (A) may not exceed 

50 percent of the cost of that activity. 

(C) DONATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

of law, an appropriate Federal official may accept donations 

of funds, services, facilities, materials, or equipment that 

the appropriate Federal official considers necessary for the 

purposes described in subparagraph (A). Any funds donated 

to an appropriate Federal official under this paragraph 

may be expended without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation. 

(2) DETERMINATIONS.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of an appropriate 

Federal official, or at the request of the Governor of an 

affected State, an appropriate Federal official shall determine whether a hypoxia or harmful algal bloom event 

is an event of national significance. 

(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a determination 

under subparagraph (A), the appropriate Federal official 

shall consider the toxicity of the harmful algal bloom, the 

severity of the hypoxia, its potential to spread, the economic 

impact, the relative size in relation to the past 5 occurrences of harmful algal blooms or hypoxia events that 

occur on a recurrent or annual basis, and the geographic 

scope, including the potential to affect several municipalities, to affect more than 1 State, or to cross an international 

boundary. 

(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

(A) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘appropriate Federal official’’ means— 

(i) in the case of a marine or coastal hypoxia 

or harmful algal bloom event, the Under Secretary 

of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere; and 

(ii) in the case of a freshwater hypoxia or harmful 

algal bloom event, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

(B) EVENT OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.—The term 

‘‘event of national significance’’ means a hypoxia or harmful 

algal bloom event that has had or will likely have a significant detrimental environmental, economic, subsistence use, 

or public health impact on an affected State. 

(C) HYPOXIA OR HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM EVENT.—The 

term ‘‘hypoxia or harmful algal bloom event’’ means the 

occurrence of hypoxia or a harmful algal bloom as a result 

of a natural, anthropogenic, or undetermined cause. 

(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 609(a) (33 

U.S.C. 4009(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and $20,500,000 for 

each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ before the period at the 

end. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.