In the Senate of the United States, 

October 6, 2015. 

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 34) entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize and strengthen 

the tsunami detection, forecast, warning, research, and mitigation program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following 

AMENDMENT: 

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted, add 

the following: 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tsunami Warning, Edu3 cation, and Research Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE TSUNAMI WARNING AND EDU5 CATION ACT. 

6 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

7 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 

8 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 

9 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
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1 other provision of the Tsunami Warning and Education 

2 Act (Public Law 109–424; 33 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.). 

3 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PURPOSES OF TSUNAMI WARNING 

4 AND EDUCATION ACT. 

5 Section 3 (33 U.S.C. 3202) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘research,’’ 

7 after ‘‘warnings,’’; 

8 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(2) to enhance and modernize the existing 

11 United States Tsunami Warning System to increase 

12 the accuracy of forecasts and warnings, to ensure full 

13 coverage of tsunami threats to the United States with 

14 a network of detection assets, and to reduce false 

15 alarms;’’; 

16 (3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(3) to improve and develop standards and 

19 guidelines for mapping, modeling, and assessment ef20 forts to improve tsunami detection, forecasting, warn21 ings, notification, mitigation, resiliency, response, 

22 outreach, and recovery;’’; 

23 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) 

24 as paragraphs (5), (6), and (8), respectively; 
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1 (5) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(4) to improve research efforts related to im4 proving tsunami detection, forecasting, warnings, no5 tification, mitigation, resiliency, response, outreach, 

6 and recovery;’’; 

7 (6) in paragraph (5), as redesignated— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘and increase’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘, increase, and develop uniform standards 

10 and guidelines for’’; and 

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘, including the warning 

12 signs of locally generated tsunami’’ after ‘‘ap13 proaching’’; 

14 (7) in paragraph (6), as redesignated, by strik15 ing ‘‘, including the Indian Ocean; and’’ and insert16 ing a semicolon; and 

17 (8) by inserting after paragraph (6), as redesig18 nated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(7) to foster resilient communities in the face of 

20 tsunami and other similar coastal hazards; and’’. 

21 SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF TSUNAMI FORECASTING AND 

22 WARNING PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 4 (33 

24 U.S.C. 3203(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Atlantic Ocean, 

25 Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico region’’ and inserting 
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1 ‘‘Atlantic Ocean region, including the Caribbean Sea and 

2 the Gulf of Mexico’’. 

3 (b) COMPONENTS.—Subsection (b) of section 4 (33 

4 U.S.C. 3203(b)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘established’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘supported or maintained’’; 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through (9) 

8 as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively; 

9 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (6) 

10 as paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; 

11 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2) to the degree practicable, maintain not less 

14 than 80 percent of the Deep-ocean Assessment and Re15 porting of Tsunamis buoy array at operational ca16 pacity to optimize data reliability;’’. 

17 (5) by amending paragraph (5), as redesignated 

18 by paragraph (3), to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(5) provide tsunami forecasting capability 

20 based on models and measurements, including tsu21 nami inundation models and maps for use in increas22 ing the preparedness of communities and safe23 guarding port and harbor operations, that incor24 porate inputs, including— 
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1 ‘‘(A) the United States and global ocean 

2 and coastal observing system; 

3 ‘‘(B) the global Earth observing system; 

4 ‘‘(C) the global seismic network; 

5 ‘‘(D) the Advanced National Seismic sys6 tem; 

7 ‘‘(E) tsunami model validation using his8 torical and paleotsunami data; 

9 ‘‘(F) digital elevation models and bathym10 etry; 

11 ‘‘(G) newly developing tsunami detection 

12 methodologies using satellites and airborne re13 mote sensing; and 

14 ‘‘(H) any other data the Administrator de15 termines is necessary;’’; 

16 (6) by amending paragraph (7), as redesignated 

17 by paragraph (3), to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(7) include a cooperative effort among the Ad19 ministration, the United States Geological Survey, 

20 and the National Science Foundation under which 

21 the Director of the United States Geological Survey 

22 and the Director of the National Science Foundation 

23 shall— 
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1 ‘‘(A) provide rapid and reliable seismic in2 formation to the Administrator from inter3 national and domestic seismic networks; and 

4 ‘‘(B) support seismic stations installed be5 fore the date of the enactment of the Tsunami 

6 Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2015 

7 to supplement coverage in areas of sparse instru8 mentation;’’; 

9 (7) in paragraph (8), as redesignated by para10 graph (2)— 

11 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including graphical 

12 warning products,’’ after ‘‘warnings’’; 

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘, territories,’’ after 

14 ‘‘States’’; and 

15 (C) by inserting ‘‘and Wireless Emergency 

16 Alerts’’ after ‘‘Hazards Program’’; and 

17 (8) in paragraph (9), as redesignated by para18 graph (2)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘provide and’’ before 

20 ‘‘allow’’; and 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘and commercial and Fed22 eral undersea communications cables’’ after ‘‘ob23 serving technologies’’. 

24 (c) TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—Subsection (c) of 

25 section 4 (33 U.S.C. 3203(c)) is amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(c) TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—The program 

2 under this section shall operate a tsunami warning system 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(1) is capable of forecasting tsunami, including 

5 forecasting tsunami arrival time and inundation esti6 mates, anywhere in the Pacific and Arctic Ocean re7 gions and providing adequate warnings; 

8 ‘‘(2) is capable of forecasting and providing ade9 quate warnings, including tsunami arrival time and 

10 inundation models where applicable, in areas of the 

11 Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and 

12 Gulf of Mexico, that are determined— 

13 ‘‘(A) to be geologically active, or to have sig14 nificant potential for geological activity; and 

15 ‘‘(B) to pose significant risks of tsunami for 

16 States along the coastal areas of the Atlantic 

17 Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of Mexico; and 

18 ‘‘(3) supports other international tsunami fore19 casting and warning efforts.’’. 

20 (d) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.—Subsection (d) of 

21 section 4 (33 U.S.C. 3203(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(d) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

24 support or maintain centers to support the tsunami 
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1 warning system required by subsection (c). The Cen2 ters shall include— 

3 ‘‘(A) the National Tsunami Warning Cen4 ter, located in Alaska, which is primarily re5 sponsible for Alaska and the continental United 

6 States; 

7 ‘‘(B) the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, 

8 located in Hawaii, which is primarily respon9 sible for Hawaii, the Caribbean, and other areas 

10 of the Pacific not covered by the National Center; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(C) any additional forecast and warning 

13 centers determined by the National Weather 

14 Service to be necessary. 

15 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of 

16 the centers supported or maintained under paragraph 

17 (1) shall include the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) Continuously monitoring data from 

19 seismological, deep ocean, coastal sea level, and 

20 tidal monitoring stations and other data sources 

21 as may be developed and deployed. 

22 ‘‘(B) Evaluating earthquakes, landslides, 

23 and volcanic eruptions that have the potential to 

24 generate tsunami. 
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1 ‘‘(C) Evaluating deep ocean buoy data and 

2 tidal monitoring stations for indications of tsu3 nami resulting from earthquakes and other 

4 sources. 

5 ‘‘(D) To the extent practicable, utilizing a 

6 range of models, including ensemble models, to 

7 predict tsunami, including arrival times, flood8 ing estimates, coastal and harbor currents, and 

9 duration. 

10 ‘‘(E) Using data from the Integrated Ocean 

11 Observing System of the Administration in co12 ordination with regional associations to calculate 

13 new inundation estimates and periodically up14 date existing inundation estimates. 

15 ‘‘(F) Disseminating forecasts and tsunami 

16 warning bulletins to Federal, State, tribal, and 

17 local government officials and the public. 

18 ‘‘(G) Coordinating with the tsunami hazard 

19 mitigation program conducted under section 5 to 

20 ensure ongoing sharing of information between 

21 forecasters and emergency management officials. 

22 ‘‘(H) In coordination with the Coast Guard, 

23 evaluating and recommending procedures for 

24 ports and harbors at risk of tsunami inundation, 
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1 including review of readiness, response, and com2 munication strategies, and data sharing policies. 

3 ‘‘(I) Making data gathered under this Act 

4 and post-warning analyses conducted by the Na5 tional Weather Service or other relevant Admin6 istration offices available to the public. 

7 ‘‘(J) Integrating and modernizing the pro8 gram operated under this section with advances 

9 in tsunami science to improve performance with10 out compromising service. 

11 ‘‘(3) FAIL-SAFE WARNING CAPABILITY.—The tsu12 nami warning centers supported or maintained under 

13 paragraph (1) shall maintain a fail-safe warning ca14 pability and perform back-up duties for each other. 

15 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION WITH NATIONAL WEATHER

16 SERVICE.—The Administrator shall coordinate with 

17 the forecast offices of the National Weather Service, 

18 the centers supported or maintained under paragraph 

19 (1), and such program offices of the Administration 

20 as the Administrator or the coordinating committee, 

21 as established in section 5(d), consider appropriate to 

22 ensure that regional and local forecast offices— 

23 ‘‘(A) have the technical knowledge and ca24 pability to disseminate tsunami warnings for the 

25 communities they serve; 
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1 ‘‘(B) leverage connections with local emer2 gency management officials for optimally dis3 seminating tsunami warnings and forecasts; and 

4 ‘‘(C) implement mass communication tools 

5 in effect on the day before the date of the enact6 ment of the Tsunami Warning, Education, and 

7 Research Act of 2015 used by the National 

8 Weather Service on such date and newer mass 

9 communication technologies as they are devel10 oped as a part of the Weather-Ready Nation pro11 gram of the Administration, or otherwise, for the 

12 purpose of timely and effective delivery of tsu13 nami warnings. 

14 ‘‘(5) UNIFORM OPERATING PROCEDURES.—The 

15 Administrator shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) develop uniform operational proce17 dures for the centers supported or maintained 

18 under paragraph (1), including the use of soft19 ware applications, checklists, decision support 

20 tools, and tsunami warning products that have 

21 been standardized across the program supported 

22 under this section; 

23 ‘‘(B) ensure that processes and products of 

24 the warning system operated under subsection 

25 (c)— 
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1 ‘‘(i) reflect industry best practices 

2 when practicable; 

3 ‘‘(ii) conform to the maximum extent 

4 practicable with internationally recognized 

5 standards for information technology; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) conform to the maximum extent 

7 practicable with other warning products 

8 and practices of the National Weather Serv9 ice; 

10 ‘‘(C) ensure that future adjustments to oper11 ational protocols, processes, and warning prod12 ucts— 

13 ‘‘(i) are made consistently across the 

14 warning system operated under subsection 

15 (c); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) are applied in a uniform manner 

17 across such warning system; 

18 ‘‘(D) establish a systematic method for in19 formation technology product development to im20 prove long-term technology planning efforts; and 

21 ‘‘(E) disseminate guidelines and metrics for 

22 evaluating and improving tsunami forecast mod23 els. 

24 ‘‘(6) AVAILABLE RESOURCES.—The Adminis25 trator, through the National Weather Service, shall 
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1 ensure that resources are available to fulfill the obli2 gations of this Act. This includes ensuring supercom3 puting resources are available to run, as rapidly as 

4 possible, such computer models as are needed for pur5 poses of the tsunami warning system operated under 

6 subsection (c).’’. 

7 (e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND

8 UPGRADES.—Subsection (e) of section 4 (33 U.S.C. 

9 3203(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND

11 UPGRADES.—In carrying out this section, the Adminis12 trator shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) develop requirements for the equipment used 

14 to forecast tsunami, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) provisions for multipurpose detection 

16 platforms; 

17 ‘‘(B) reliability and performance metrics; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(C) to the maximum extent practicable, re20 quirements for the integration of equipment with 

21 other United States and global ocean and coastal 

22 observation systems, the global Earth observing 

23 system of systems, the global seismic networks, 

24 and the Advanced National Seismic System; 
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1 ‘‘(2) develop and execute a plan for the transfer 

2 of technology from ongoing research conducted as part 

3 of the program supported or maintained under sec4 tion 6 into the program under this section; and 

5 ‘‘(3) ensure that the Administration’s oper6 ational tsunami detection equipment is properly 

7 maintained.’’. 

8 (f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—Subsection (f) of section 

9 4 (33 U.S.C. 3203(f)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—When deploying and 

11 maintaining tsunami detection technologies under the pro12 gram under this section, the Administrator shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) identify which assets of other Federal agen14 cies are necessary to support such program; and 

15 ‘‘(2) work with each agency identified under 

16 paragraph (1)— 

17 ‘‘(A) to acquire the agency’s assistance; and 

18 ‘‘(B) to prioritize the necessary assets in 

19 support of the tsunami forecast and warning 

20 program.’’. 

21 (g) UNNECESSARY PROVISIONS.—Section 4 (33 U.S.C. 

22 3203) is further amended— 

23 (1) by striking subsection (g); 

24 (2) by striking subsections (i) through (k); and 
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1 (3) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection 

2 (g). 

3 (h) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—Subsection (g) 

4 of section 4 (33 U.S.C. 3203(g)), as redesignated by sub5 section (g)(3), is amended— 

6 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by strik7 ing ‘‘30’’ and inserting ‘‘90’’; 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

9 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and moving 

10 such subparagraphs 2 ems to the right; 

11 (3) in the matter before subparagraph (A), as re12 designated by paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘The Ad13 ministrator’’ and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’; 

15 (4) in paragraph (1), as redesignated by para16 graph (3)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A), as redesignated 

18 by paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (B) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated 

20 by paragraph (2), by striking the period at the 

21 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(C) the occurrence of a significant tsunami 

24 warning.’’; and 

25 (5) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In a case in which notice is 

2 submitted under paragraph (1) within 90 days of a 

3 significant tsunami warning described in subpara4 graph (C) of such paragraph, such notice shall in5 clude, as appropriate, brief information and analysis 

6 of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the accuracy of the tsunami model 

8 used; 

9 ‘‘(B) the specific deep ocean or other moni10 toring equipment that detected the incident, as 

11 well as the deep ocean or other monitoring equip12 ment that did not detect the incident due to mal13 function or other reasons; 

14 ‘‘(C) the effectiveness of the warning com15 munication, including the dissemination of 

16 warnings with State, territory, local, and tribal 

17 partners in the affected area under the jurisdic18 tion of the National Weather Service; and 

19 ‘‘(D) such other findings as the Adminis20 trator considers appropriate.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. MODIFICATION OF NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD 

22 MITIGATION PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 (33 U.S.C. 3204) is 

24 amended by striking subsections (a) through (d) and insert25 ing the following: 
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1 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Administrator, in co2 ordination with the Administrator of the Federal Emer3 gency Management Agency and the heads of such other 

4 agencies as the Administrator considers relevant, shall con5 duct a community-based tsunami hazard mitigation pro6 gram to improve tsunami preparedness and resiliency of 

7 at-risk areas in the United States and the territories of the 

8 United States. 

9 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The Program con10 ducted under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) Technical and financial assistance to coast12 al States, territories, tribes, and local governments to 

13 develop and implement activities under this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) Integration of tsunami preparedness and 

15 mitigation programs into ongoing State-based hazard 

16 warning, resilience planning, and risk management 

17 activities, including predisaster planning, emergency 

18 response, evacuation planning, disaster recovery, haz19 ard mitigation, and community development and re20 development planning programs in affected areas. 

21 ‘‘(3) Activities to promote the adoption of tsu22 nami resilience, preparedness, warning, and mitiga23 tion measures by Federal, State, territorial, tribal, 

24 and local governments and nongovernmental entities, 
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1 including educational and risk communication pro2 grams to discourage development in high-risk areas. 

3 ‘‘(4) Activities to support the development of re4 gional tsunami hazard and risk assessments. Such re5 gional risk assessments may include the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) The sources, sizes, and other relevant 

7 historical data of tsunami in the region, includ8 ing paleotsunami data. 

9 ‘‘(B) Inundation models and maps of crit10 ical infrastructure and socioeconomic vulner11 ability in areas subject to tsunami inundation. 

12 ‘‘(C) Maps of evacuation areas and evacu13 ation routes, including, when appropriate, traffic 

14 studies that evaluate the viability of evacuation 

15 routes. 

16 ‘‘(D) Evaluations of the size of populations 

17 that will require evacuation, including popu18 lations with special evacuation needs. 

19 ‘‘(E) Evaluations and technical assistance 

20 for vertical evacuation structure planning for 

21 communities where models indicate limited or no 

22 ability for timely evacuation, especially in areas 

23 at risk of near shore generated tsunami. 

24 ‘‘(F) Evaluation of at-risk ports and har25 bors. 
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1 ‘‘(G) Evaluation of the effect of tsunami 

2 currents on the foundations of closely-spaced, 

3 coastal high-rise structures. 

4 ‘‘(5) Activities to promote preparedness in at5 risk ports and harbors, including the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) Evaluation and recommendation of 

7 procedures for ports and harbors in the event of 

8 a distant or near-field tsunami. 

9 ‘‘(B) A review of readiness, response, and 

10 communication strategies to ensure coordination 

11 and data sharing with the Coast Guard. 

12 ‘‘(6) Activities to support the development of 

13 community-based outreach and education programs to 

14 ensure community readiness and resilience, including 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) The development, implementation, and 

17 assessment of technical training and public edu18 cation programs, including education programs 

19 that address unique characteristics of distant 

20 and near-field tsunami. 

21 ‘‘(B) The development of decision support 

22 tools. 

23 ‘‘(C) The incorporation of social science re24 search into community readiness and resilience 

25 efforts. 
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1 ‘‘(D) The development of evidence-based 

2 education guidelines. 

3 ‘‘(7) Dissemination of guidelines and standards 

4 for community planning, education, and training 

5 products, programs, and tools, including— 

6 ‘‘(A) standards for— 

7 ‘‘(i) mapping products; 

8 ‘‘(ii) inundation models; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) effective emergency exercises; and 

10 ‘‘(B) recommended guidance for at-risk port 

11 and harbor tsunami warning, evacuation, and 

12 response procedures in coordination with the 

13 Coast Guard. 

14 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In addition to activi15 ties conducted under subsection (b), the program conducted 

16 under subsection (a) may include the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) Multidisciplinary vulnerability assessment 

18 research, education, and training to help integrate 

19 risk management and resilience objectives with com20 munity development planning and policies. 

21 ‘‘(2) Risk management training for local officials 

22 and community organizations to enhance under23 standing and preparedness. 
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1 ‘‘(3) Interagency, Federal, State, tribal, and ter2 ritorial intergovernmental tsunami response exercise 

3 planning and implementation in high risk areas. 

4 ‘‘(4) Development of practical applications for 

5 existing or emerging technologies, such as modeling, 

6 remote sensing, geospatial technology, engineering, 

7 and observing systems, including the integration of 

8 tsunami sensors into Federal and commercial sub9 marine telecommunication cables if practicable. 

10 ‘‘(5) Risk management, risk assessment, and re11 silience data and information services, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) access to data and products derived 

13 from observing and detection systems; and 

14 ‘‘(B) development and maintenance of new 

15 integrated data products to support risk manage16 ment, risk assessment, and resilience programs. 

17 ‘‘(6) Risk notification systems that coordinate 

18 with and build upon existing systems and actively en19 gage decisionmakers, State, local, tribal, and terri20 torial governments and agencies, business commu21 nities, nongovernmental organizations, and the 

22 media. 

23 ‘‘(d) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

25 maintain a coordinating committee to assist the Ad-
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1 ministrator in the conduct of the program required by 

2 subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The coordinating committee 

4 shall be composed of members as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) Representatives from each of the States 

6 and territories most at risk from tsunami, in7 cluding Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, 

8 Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, 

9 and the Northern Marianas Islands. 

10 ‘‘(B) Such other members as the Adminis11 trator considers appropriate to represent Fed12 eral, State, tribal, territorial, and local govern13 ments. 

14 ‘‘(3) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Administrator may 

15 approve the formation of subcommittees to address 

16 specific program components or regional issues. 

17 ‘‘(4) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The coordinating com18 mittee shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) provide feedback on how funds should 

20 be prioritized to carry out the program required 

21 by subsection (a); 

22 ‘‘(B) ensure that areas described in section 

23 4(c) in the United States and its territories have 

24 the opportunity to participate in the program; 
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1 ‘‘(C) provide recommendations to the Ad2 ministrator on how to improve and continuously 

3 advance the TsunamiReady program of the Na4 tional Weather Service, particularly on ways to 

5 make communities more tsunami resilient 

6 through the use of inundation maps and models 

7 and other hazard mitigation practices; 

8 ‘‘(D) ensure that all components of the pro9 gram required by subsection (a) are integrated 

10 with ongoing State based hazard warning, risk 

11 management, and resilience activities, includ12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(i) integrating activities with emer14 gency response plans, disaster recovery, haz15 ard mitigation, and community develop16 ment programs in affected areas; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) integrating information to assist 

18 in tsunami evacuation route planning. 

19 ‘‘(5) EXEMPTION FROM FACA.—The provisions of 

20 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 

21 shall not apply to the committee established and 

22 maintained under paragraph (1). 

23 ‘‘(e) NO PREEMPTION WITH RESPECT TO DESIGNA24 TION OF AT-RISK AREAS.—The establishment of national 

25 standards for inundation models under this section shall 
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1 not prevent States, territories, tribes, and local governments 

2 from designating additional areas as being at risk based 

3 on knowledge of local conditions. 

4 ‘‘(f) NO NEW REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

5 this Act may be construed as establishing new regulatory 

6 authority for any Federal agency.’’. 

7 (b) REPORT ON ACCREDITATION OF TSUNAMIREADY

8 PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact9 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

10 and Atmospheric Administration shall submit to the Com11 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

12 Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech13 nology of the House of Representatives a report on which 

14 authorities and activities would be needed to have the 

15 TsunamiReady program of the National Weather Service 

16 accredited by the Emergency Management Accreditation 

17 Program. 

18 SEC. 6. MODIFICATION OF TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

19 Section 6 (33 U.S.C. 3205) is amended— 

20 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by strik21 ing ‘‘The Administrator shall’’ and all that follows 

22 through ‘‘establish or maintain’’ and inserting the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in con25 sultation with such other Federal agencies, State, tribal, 
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1 and territorial governments, and academic institutions as 

2 the Administrator considers appropriate, the coordinating 

3 committee under section 5(d), and the panel under section 

4 8(a), support or maintain’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (a), as designated by para6 graph (1), by striking ‘‘and assessment for tsunami 

7 tracking and numerical forecast modeling. Such re8 search program shall—’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘assessment for tsunami tracking and numerical fore10 cast modeling, and standards development. 

11 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The research program sup12 ported or maintained under subsection (a) shall—’’; and 

13 (3) in subsection (b), as designated by paragraph 

14 (2)— 

15 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) consider other appropriate and cost effective 

18 solutions to mitigate the impact of tsunami, includ19 ing the improvement of near-field and distant tsu20 nami detection and forecasting capabilities, which 

21 may include use of a new generation of the Deep22 ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis array, 

23 integration of tsunami sensors into commercial and 

24 Federal telecommunications cables, and other real25 time tsunami monitoring systems and supercomputer 
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1 capacity of the Administration to develop a rapid 

2 tsunami forecast for all United States coastlines;’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘include’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘conduct’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

7 (C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

8 paragraph (5); 

9 (D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(4) develop the technical basis for validation of 

12 tsunami maps, numerical tsunami models, digital ele13 vation models, and forecasts; and’’; and 

14 (E) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 

15 subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘to the scientific 

16 community’’ and inserting ‘‘to the public and 

17 the scientific community’’. 

18 SEC. 7. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NET19 WORK. 

20 Section 7 (33 U.S.C. 3206) is amended— 

21 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(a) SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTER24 NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—The Adminis25 trator shall, in coordination with the Secretary of State and 
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1 in consultation with such other agencies as the Adminis2 trator considers relevant, provide technical assistance, oper3 ational support, and training to the Intergovernmental 

4 Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Edu5 cational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, the World 

6 Meteorological Organization of the United Nations, and 

7 such other international entities as the Administrator con8 siders appropriate, as part of the international efforts to 

9 develop a fully functional global tsunami forecast and 

10 warning system comprised of regional tsunami warning 

11 networks.’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘shall’’ each 

13 place it appears and inserting ‘‘may’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘estab16 lishing’’ and inserting ‘‘supporting’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘establish’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘support’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘establishing’’ and in21 serting ‘‘supporting’’. 

22 SEC. 8. TSUNAMI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 

23 PANEL. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Act is further amended— 
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1 (1) by redesignating section 8 (33 U.S.C. 3207) 

2 as section 9; and 

3 (2) by inserting after section 7 (33 U.S.C. 3206) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 8. TSUNAMI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 

6 PANEL. 

7 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator shall des8 ignate an existing working group within the Science Advi9 sory Board of the Administration to manage the Tsunami 

10 Science and Technology Advisory Panel to provide advice 

11 to the Administrator on matters regarding tsunami science, 

12 technology, and regional preparedness. 

13 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Panel shall be com15 posed of no fewer than 7 members selected by the Ad16 ministrator from among individuals from academia 

17 or State agencies who have academic or practical ex18 pertise in physical sciences, social sciences, informa19 tion technology, coastal resilience, emergency manage20 ment, or such other disciplines as the Administrator 

21 considers appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.—No member of the 

23 Panel may be a Federal employee. 

24 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Not less frequently than 

25 once every 4 years, the Panel shall— 
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1 ‘‘(1) review the activities of the Administration, 

2 and other Federal activities as appropriate, relating 

3 to tsunami research, detection, forecasting, warning, 

4 mitigation, resiliency, and preparation; and 

5 ‘‘(2) submit to the Administrator and such others 

6 as the Administrator considers appropriate— 

7 ‘‘(A) the findings of the working group with 

8 respect to the most recent review conducted under 

9 paragraph (1); and 

10 ‘‘(B) such recommendations for legislative 

11 or administrative action as the working group 

12 considers appropriate to improve Federal tsu13 nami research, detection, forecasting, warning, 

14 mitigation, resiliency, and preparation. 

15 ‘‘(d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not less frequently 

16 than once every 4 years, the Administrator shall submit to 

17 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

18 of the Senate, and the Committee on Science, Space, and 

19 Technology of the House of Representatives a report on the 

20 findings and recommendations received by the Adminis21 trator under subsection (c)(2).’’. 

22 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

23 (a) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF TSUNAMI WARN24 ING AND EDUCATION ACT.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis3 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad4 ministration shall submit to Congress a report on the 

5 implementation of the Tsunami Warning and Edu6 cation Act (33 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.). 

7 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para8 graph (1) shall include the following: 

9 (A) A detailed description of the progress 

10 made in implementing sections 4(d)(6), 5(b)(6), 

11 and 6(b)(4) of the Tsunami Warning and Edu12 cation Act. 

13 (B) A description of the ways that tsunami 

14 warnings and warning products issued by the 

15 Tsunami Forecasting and Warning Program es16 tablished under section 4 of the Tsunami Warn17 ing and Education Act (33 U.S.C. 3203) can be 

18 standardized and streamlined with warnings 

19 and warning products for hurricanes, coastal 

20 storms, and other coastal flooding events. 

21 (b) REPORT ON NATIONAL EFFORTS THAT SUPPORT

22 RAPID RESPONSE FOLLOWING NEAR-SHORE TSUNAMI

23 EVENTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
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1 trator and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

2 jointly, in coordination with the Director of the 

3 United States Geological Survey, Administrator of the 

4 Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Chief of 

5 the National Guard Bureau, and the heads of such 

6 other Federal agencies as the Administrator considers 

7 appropriate, submit to the appropriate committees of 

8 Congress a report on the national efforts in effect on 

9 the day before the date of the enactment of this Act 

10 that support and facilitate rapid emergency response 

11 following a domestic near-shore tsunami event to bet12 ter understand domestic effects of earthquake derived 

13 tsunami on people, infrastructure, and communities 

14 in the United States. 

15 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para16 graph (1) shall include the following: 

17 (A) A description of scientific or other 

18 measurements collected on the day before the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act to quickly identify 

20 and quantify lost or degraded infrastructure or 

21 terrestrial formations. 

22 (B) A description of scientific or other 

23 measurements that would be necessary to collect 

24 to quickly identify and quantify lost or degraded 

25 infrastructure or terrestrial formations. 
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1 (C) Identification and evaluation of Fed2 eral, State, local, tribal, territorial, and military 

3 first responder and search and rescue operation 

4 centers, bases, and other facilities as well as 

5 other critical response assets and infrastructure, 

6 including search and rescue aircraft, located 

7 within near-shore and distant tsunami inunda8 tion areas on the day before the date of the en9 actment of this Act. 

10 (D) An evaluation of near-shore tsunami re11 sponse plans in areas described in subparagraph 

12 (C) in effect on the day before the date of the en13 actment of this Act, and how those response 

14 plans would be affected by the loss of search and 

15 rescue and first responder infrastructure de16 scribed in such subparagraph. 

17 (E) A description of redevelopment plans 

18 and reports in effect on the day before the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act for communities in 

20 areas that are at high-risk for near-shore tsu21 nami, as well identification of States or commu22 nities that do not have redevelopment plans. 

23 (F) Recommendations to enhance near-shore 

24 tsunami preparedness and response plans, in-
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1 cluding recommended responder exercises, 

2 predisaster planning, and mitigation needs. 

3 (G) Such other data and analysis informa4 tion as the Administrator and the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security consider appropriate. 

6 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

7 In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate committees 

8 of Congress’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation and the Committee on 

11 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of 

12 the Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

14 Technology and the Committee on Homeland Se15 curity of the House of Representatives. 

16 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 Section 9 of the Act, as redesignated by section 8(a)(1) 

18 of this Act, is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

20 the end; 

21 (2) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking the period 

22 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(6) $27,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

25 through 2021, of which— 
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1 ‘‘(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount 

2 appropriated for each fiscal year shall be for ac3 tivities conducted at the State level under the 

4 tsunami hazard mitigation program under sec5 tion 5; and 

6 ‘‘(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount 

7 appropriated shall be for the tsunami research 

8 program under section 6.’’. 

9 SEC. 11. OUTREACH RESPONSIBILITIES. 

10 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At11 mospheric Administration, in coordination with State and 

12 local emergency managers, shall develop and carry out for13 mal outreach activities to improve tsunami education and 

14 awareness and foster the development of resilient commu15 nities. Outreach activities may include— 

16 (1) the development of outreach plans to ensure 

17 the close integration of tsunami warning centers sup18 ported or maintained under section 4(d) of the Tsu19 nami Warning and Education Act (33 U.S.C. 

20 3203(d)) with local Weather Forecast Offices of the 

21 National Weather Service and emergency managers; 

22 (2) working with appropriate local Weather 

23 Forecast Offices to ensure they have the technical 

24 knowledge and capability to disseminate tsunami 

25 warnings to the communities they serve; and 
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1 (3) evaluating the effectiveness of warnings and 

2 of coordination with local Weather Forecast Offices 

3 after significant tsunami events. 

4 SEC. 12. MODIFICATION OF COASTAL OCEAN PROGRAM. 

5 Section 201(c) of the National Oceanic and Atmos6 pheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (Public 

7 Law 102–567; 106 Stat. 4280) is amended— 

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘Of 

9 the sums’’ and indenting appropriately; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL COASTAL RISK MANAGEMENT

12 COALITIONS.—The Administrator of the National Oce13 anic and Atmospheric Administration may form re14 gional coastal risk management coalitions comprised 

15 of representatives of Federal, State, local, and tribal 

16 governments, community groups, academic institu17 tions, and nongovernmental groups to advance the 

18 goals of this section for communities facing common 

19 coastal hazards and risks. Such coalitions may enter 

20 into an agreement with an organization described in 

21 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

22 1986 to establish a nonprofit foundation in order to 

23 accept gifts and donations to support the goals of this 

24 subsection.’’. 
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1 SEC. 13. REPEAL OF DUPLICATE PROVISIONS OF LAW. 

2 (a) REPEAL.—The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con3 servation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 

4 (Public Law 109–479) is amended by striking title VIII 

5 (relating to tsunami warning and education). 

6 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

7 construed to repeal, or affect in any way, Public Law 109– 

8 424. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H.R. 34 

AMENDMENT