I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1438 

To establish a national integrated flood information system within the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2021 

Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Ms. ROSS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. 

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. CRIST, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. SIRES, and Ms. 

MOORE of Wisconsin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the 

Committees on Natural Resources, and 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 concerned 

A BILL 

To establish a national integrated flood information system 

within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Flood Level Observation, Operations, and Decision Sup6 port Act’’ or the ‘‘FLOODS Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 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. Improving precipitation frequency estimates. 

Sec. 13. Interagency Coordinating Committee on Water Management. 

Sec. 14. 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. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 

6 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

7 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 

8 Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

9 Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United 

10 States, and any other territory or possession of the 

11 United States. 

12 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis13 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 


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1 SEC. 3. NATIONAL INTEGRATED FLOOD INFORMATION SYS2 TEM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall establish 

4 a system, to be known as the ‘‘National Integrated Flood 

5 Information System’’, to better inform and provide for 

6 more timely decision making to reduce flood-related effects 

7 and costs. 

8 (b) SYSTEM FUNCTIONS.—The Administrator, 

9 through the National Integrated Flood Information Sys10 tem, shall— 

11 (1) provide an effective flood early warning sys12 tem that— 

13 (A) collects and integrates information on 

14 the key indicators of floods and flood impacts, 

15 including streamflow, reservoir release and di16 version, precipitation, soil moisture, snow water 

17 equivalent, land cover, and evaporative demand; 

18 (B) makes usable, reliable, and timely fore19 casts of floods; 

20 (C) assesses the severity of flood conditions 

21 and effects; 

22 (D) issues flood watches and warnings 

23 when necessary; 

24 (E) provides information described in sub25 paragraph (A), forecasts described in subpara26 graph (B), and assessments described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1438.IH H1438

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1 paragraph (C) at the national, regional, and 

2 local levels, as appropriate; and 

3 (F) communicates flood forecasts, flood 

4 conditions, and flood impacts to public and pri5 vate entities engaged in flood planning, pre6 paredness, response, and post-event flood extent 

7 including— 

8 (i) decision makers at the Federal, 

9 State, local, and Tribal levels of govern10 ment; 

11 (ii) the private sector; and 

12 (iii) the public; 

13 (2) provide timely data, information, and prod14 ucts that reflect differences in flood conditions 

15 among localities, regions, watersheds, and States; 

16 (3) coordinate and integrate, through inter17 agency agreements as practicable, Federal research 

18 and monitoring in support of the flood early warning 

19 information system provided under paragraph (1); 

20 (4) use existing forecasting and assessment pro21 grams and partnerships; 

22 (5) make improvements in seasonal precipita23 tion and temperature, subseasonal precipitation and 

24 temperature, and flood water prediction; and 


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1 (6) continue ongoing research and monitoring 

2 activities relating to floods, including research activi3 ties relating to— 

4 (A) the prediction, length, severity, and 

5 impacts of floods and improvement of the accu6 racy, timing, and specificity of flash flood warn7 ings; 

8 (B) the role of extreme weather events and 

9 climate variability in floods; and 

10 (C) how water travels over and through 

11 surfaces. 

12 (c) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Administrator, through the 

13 National Integrated Flood Information System, may— 

14 (1) engage with the private sector to improve 

15 flood monitoring, forecasts, land and topography 

16 data, and communication, if the Administrator de17 termines that such engagement is appropriate, cost 

18 effective, and beneficial to the public and decision 

19 makers described in subsection (b)(1)(F)(i); 

20 (2) facilitate the development of 1 or more aca21 demic cooperative partnerships to assist in carrying 

22 out the functions of the National Integrated Flood 

23 Information System described in subsection (b); 

24 (3) use and support monitoring by citizen sci25 entists, including by developing best practices to faVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1438.IH H1438

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1 cilitate maximum data integration, as the Adminis2 trator considers appropriate; 

3 (4) engage with, and leverage the resources of, 

4 entities within the National Oceanic and Atmos5 pheric Administration in existence as of the date of 

6 the enactment of this Act, such as the National 

7 Weather Service with respect to forecast and warn8 ing functions, the National Integrated Drought In9 formation System, the Regional Climate Center, and 

10 the National Mesonet Program, to improve coordina11 tion of water monitoring, forecasting, and manage12 ment; and 

13 (5) engage with and support water monitoring 

14 by the United States Geological Survey— 

15 (A) to improve the availability and con16 tinuity of streamflow data at critical locations 

17 through the deployment of Rapid Deployment 

18 Gages and the flood-hardening of at-risk 

19 streamflow gages; and 

20 (B) to increase storm surge monitoring 

21 data through the deployment of additional 

22 storm surge sensors. 

23 (d) CONSULTATION.—In developing and maintaining 

24 the National Integrated Flood Information System, the 

25 Administrator shall consult with relevant Federal, State, 


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1 local, and Tribal government agencies, research institu2 tions, and the private sector. 

3 (e) COOPERATION FROM OTHER FEDERAL AGEN4 CIES.—Each Federal agency shall cooperate as appro5 priate with the Administrator in carrying out this section. 

6 SEC. 4. OBSERVATIONS AND MODELING FOR TOTAL WATER 

7 PREDICTION. 

8 (a) PARTNERSHIPS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es10 tablish partnerships with 1 or more institutions of 

11 higher education (as defined in section 101 of the 

12 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) to 

13 evaluate observations that would improve total water 

14 prediction. 

15 (2) PRIORITY OBSERVATIONS.—In establishing 

16 partnerships under paragraph (1), the Administrator 

17 shall prioritize partnerships to evaluate observations 

18 from uncrewed aerial systems. 

19 (b) MAINTAINED OBSERVATIONS.—If the Adminis20 trator determines that incorporating additional observa21 tions improves total water prediction, the Administrator 

22 shall, to the extent practicable, continue incorporating 

23 those observations. 

24 (c) MODELING IMPROVEMENTS.—The Administrator 

25 shall advance geographic coverage, resolution, skill, and 


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1 efficiency of coastal oceanographic modeling, including ef2 forts that improve the coupling of and interoperability be3 tween hydrological models and coastal ocean models. 

4 (d) GEOSPATIAL DATA.—The Administrator shall ad5 vance the development of models to vertically transform 

6 geospatial data into a common system for use as the Fed7 eral standard for surveys and mapping, and engage with 

8 the United States Geological Survey to collaborate and im9 plement the National Hydrography Datasets as the 

10 geospatial underpinning of the system, and to collaborate 

11 and implement the National Hydrography Infrastructure 

12 to improve discovery and access to flood and other water13 related information. 

14 SEC. 5. SERVICE COORDINATION HYDROLOGISTS AT RIVER 

15 FORECAST CENTERS OF THE NATIONAL 

16 WEATHER SERVICE. 

17 (a) DESIGNATION OF SERVICE COORDINATION HY18 DROLOGISTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

20 Weather Service (in this section referred to as the 

21 ‘‘Director’’) shall designate at least 1 service coordi22 nation hydrologist at each River Forecast Center of 

23 the National Weather Service. 

24 (2) PERFORMANCE BY OTHER EMPLOYEES.— 

25 Performance of the responsibilities outlined in this 


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1 section is not limited to the service coordination hy2 drologist position. 

3 (b) PRIMARY ROLE OF SERVICE COORDINATION HY4 DROLOGISTS.—The primary role of the service coordina5 tion hydrologist shall be to carry out the responsibilities 

6 required by this section. 

7 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

9 consistent with the analysis described in section 409 

10 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 

11 Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–25; 131 Stat. 112), 

12 and in order to increase impact-based decision sup13 port services, each service coordination hydrologist 

14 designated under subsection (a) shall, with respect 

15 to hydrology— 

16 (A) be responsible for providing service to 

17 the geographic area of responsibility covered by 

18 the River Forecast Center at which the service 

19 coordination hydrologist is employed to help en20 sure that users of products and services of the 

21 National Weather Service can respond effec22 tively to improve outcomes from flood events; 

23 (B) liaise with users of products and serv24 ices of the National Weather Service, such as 

25 the public, academia, media outlets, users in the 


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1 hydropower, transportation, recreation, and ag2 ricultural communities, and forestry, land, fish3 eries, and water management interests, to 

4 evaluate the adequacy and usefulness of the 

5 products and services of the National Weather 

6 Service; 

7 (C) collaborate with such River Forecast 

8 Centers and Weather Forecast Offices and Fed9 eral, State, local, and Tribal government agen10 cies as the Director considers appropriate in de11 veloping, proposing, and implementing plans to 

12 develop, modify, or tailor products and services 

13 of the National Weather Service to improve the 

14 usefulness of such products and services; 

15 (D) engage in interagency partnerships 

16 with Federal, State, local, and Tribal govern17 ment agencies to explore the use of forecast-in18 formed reservoir operations to reduce flood risk; 

19 (E) ensure the maintenance and accuracy 

20 of flooding call lists, appropriate office flooding 

21 policy or procedures, and other flooding infor22 mation or dissemination methodologies or strat23 egies; and 

24 (F) work closely with Federal, State, local, 

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1 ment agencies, and other agencies relating to 

2 disaster management, to ensure a planned, co3 ordinated, and effective preparedness and re4 sponse effort. 

5 (2) OTHER STAFF.—The Director may assign a 

6 responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such 

7 other staff as the Director considers appropriate to 

8 carry out such responsibility. 

9 (d) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

11 service coordination hydrologist designated under 

12 subsection (a) may, with respect to hydrology— 

13 (A) work with a State agency to develop 

14 plans for promoting more effective use of prod15 ucts and services of the National Weather Serv16 ice throughout the State; 

17 (B) identify priority community prepared18 ness objectives; 

19 (C) develop plans to meet the objectives 

20 identified under subparagraph (B); and 

21 (D) conduct flooding event preparedness 

22 planning and citizen education efforts with and 

23 through various State, local, and Tribal govern24 ment agencies and other disaster management25 related organizations. 


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1 (2) OTHER STAFF.—The Director may assign a 

2 responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such 

3 other staff as the Director considers appropriate to 

4 carry out such responsibility. 

5 (e) PLACEMENT WITH STATE AND LOCAL EMER6 GENCY AND FLOODPLAIN MANAGERS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 

8 the Director may place a service coordination hy9 drologist designated under subsection (a) with a 

10 State or local emergency or floodplain manager, if 

11 the Director determines that such placement is nec12 essary or convenient to carry out this section. 

13 (2) TREATMENT.—If the Director determines 

14 that the placement of a service coordination hydrolo15 gist with a State or local emergency or floodplain 

16 manager under paragraph (1) is near a River Fore17 cast Center of the National Weather Service, such 

18 placement shall be treated as designation of the 

19 service coordination hydrologist at such River Fore20 cast Center for purposes of subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 6. IMPROVING NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS2 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMUNICATION 

3 OF FUTURE FLOOD RISKS AND HAZARDOUS 

4 FLASH FLOOD EVENTS. 

5 (a) ASSESSMENT OF FLASH FLOOD WATCHES AND

6 WARNINGS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis9 trator shall— 

10 (A) conduct an assessment of— 

11 (i) the flash flood watches and warn12 ings of the National Weather Service; and 

13 (ii) the information delivery to sup14 port preparation and responses to floods; 

15 and 

16 (B) submit to Congress a report on the 

17 findings of the Administrator with respect to 

18 the assessment required by subparagraph (A). 

19 (2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by 

20 paragraph (1)(A) shall include the following: 

21 (A) An evaluation of whether the watches, 

22 warnings, and information described in para23 graph (1)(A)— 

24 (i) effectively communicate risk to the 

25 general public; 


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1 (ii) inform action to prevent loss of 

2 life and property; 

3 (iii) inform action to support flood 

4 preparation and response; and 

5 (iv) deliver information in a manner 

6 designed to lead to appropriate action. 

7 (B) Subject to subsection (b)(2), such rec8 ommendations as the Administrator may have 

9 for— 

10 (i) legislative and administrative ac11 tion to improve the watches and warnings 

12 described in paragraph (1)(A)(i); and 

13 (ii) such research as the Adminis14 trator considers necessary to address the 

15 focus areas described in paragraph (3). 

16 (3) FOCUS AREAS.—The assessment required 

17 by paragraph (1)(A) shall focus on the following 

18 areas: 

19 (A) Ways to communicate the risks posed 

20 by hazardous flash flood events to the public 

21 that are most likely to result in informed deci22 sion making regarding the mitigation of those 

23 risks. 

24 (B) Ways to provide actionable geographic 

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1 ing for a flash flood, including partnering with 

2 emergency response agencies, as appropriate. 

3 (C) Evaluation of information delivery to 

4 support the preparation for and response to 

5 floods. 

6 (4) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the assess7 ment required by paragraph (1)(A), the Adminis8 trator shall consult with— 

9 (A) individuals in the academic sector, in10 cluding individuals in the field of social and be11 havioral sciences; 

12 (B) other weather services; 

13 (C) media outlets and other entities that 

14 distribute the watches and warnings described 

15 in paragraph (1)(A)(i); 

16 (D) floodplain managers and emergency 

17 planners and responders, including State, local, 

18 and Tribal emergency management agencies; 

19 (E) other government users of the watches 

20 and warnings described in paragraph (1)(A)(i), 

21 including the Federal Highway Administration; 

22 and 

23 (F) such other Federal agencies as the Ad24 ministrator determines rely on watches and 


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1 warnings regarding flash floods for operational 

2 decisions. 

3 (5) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.—The 

4 Administrator shall engage with the National Acad5 emy of Sciences, as the Administrator considers nec6 essary and practicable, including by contracting with 

7 the National Research Council to review the sci8 entific and technical soundness of the assessment re9 quired by paragraph (1)(A), including the rec10 ommendations under paragraph (2)(B). 

11 (6) METHODOLOGIES.—In conducting the as12 sessment required by paragraph (1)(A), the Admin13 istrator shall use such methodologies as the Admin14 istrator considers are generally accepted by the 

15 weather enterprise, including social and behavioral 

16 sciences. 

17 (b) IMPROVEMENTS TO FLASH FLOOD WATCHES

18 AND WARNINGS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the assessment re20 quired by subsection (a)(1)(A), the Administrator 

21 shall make such improvements to the watches and 

22 warnings described in that subsection as the Admin23 istrator considers necessary— 

24 (A) to improve the communication of the 

25 risks posed by hazardous flash flood events; and 


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1 (B) to provide actionable geographic infor2 mation to the recipient of a watch or warning 

3 for a flash flood. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING RECOMMENDA5 TIONS.—In conducting the assessment required by 

6 subsection (a)(1)(A), the Administrator shall ensure 

7 that any recommendation under subsection (a)(2)(B) 

8 that the Administrator considers a major change— 

9 (A) is validated by social and behavioral 

10 science using a generalizable sample; 

11 (B) accounts for the needs of various de12 mographics, vulnerable populations, and geo13 graphic regions; 

14 (C) responds to the needs of Federal, 

15 State, local, and Tribal government partners 

16 and media partners; and 

17 (D) accounts for necessary changes to fed18 erally operated watch and warning propagation 

19 and dissemination infrastructure and protocols. 

20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) WATCH; WARNING.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

23 subparagraph (B), the terms ‘‘watch’’ and 

24 ‘‘warning’’, with respect to a hazardous flash 

25 flood event, mean products issued by the NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1438.IH H1438

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1 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

2 intended for use by the general public— 

3 (i) to alert the general public to the 

4 potential for or presence of the event; and 

5 (ii) to inform action to prevent loss of 

6 life and property. 

7 (B) EXCLUSION.—The terms ‘‘watch’’ and 

8 ‘‘warning’’ do not include technical or special9 ized meteorological and hydrological forecasts, 

10 outlooks, or model guidance products. 

11 (2) WEATHER ENTERPRISE.—The term 

12 ‘‘weather enterprise’’ has the meaning given that 

13 term in section 2 of the Weather Research and 

14 Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 

15 8501). 

16 SEC. 7. FRESHWATER MONITORING ALONG THE COAST. 

17 (a) DATA AVAILABILITY ASSESSMENT.—The Admin18 istrator shall assess the availability of short- and long19 term data on large-scale freshwater flooding into oceans, 

20 bays, and estuaries, including data on— 

21 (1) flow rate, including discharge; 

22 (2) conductivity; 

23 (3) oxygen concentration; 

24 (4) nutrient load; 

25 (5) water temperature; and 


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1 (6) sediment load. 

2 (b) DATA NEEDS ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator 

3 shall assess the need for additional data to assess and pre4 dict the effect of the flooding and freshwater discharge 

5 described in subsection (a). 

6 (c) INVENTORY OF DATA NEEDS.—Based on the as7 sessments required by subsections (a) and (b), the Admin8 istrator shall create an inventory of data needs with re9 spect to the flooding and freshwater discharge described 

10 in subsections (a) and (b). 

11 (d) PLANNING.—In planning for the collection of ad12 ditional data necessary for ecosystem-based modeling of 

13 the effect of the flooding and freshwater discharge de14 scribed in subsections (a) and (b), the Administrator shall 

15 use the inventory created under subsection (c). 

16 SEC. 8. TORNADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT. 

17 Section 103 of the Weather Research and Fore18 casting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8513) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

21 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(c) INNOVATIVE OBSERVATIONS.—The Adminis25 trator shall ensure that the program periodically examines 


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1 the value of incorporating innovative observations, such as 

2 acoustic or infrasonic measurements, observations from 

3 phased array radars, and observations from mesonets, 

4 with respect to the improvement of tornado forecasts, pre5 dictions, and warnings.’’. 

6 SEC. 9. HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

7 Section 104(b) of the Weather Research and Fore8 casting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8514(b)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

11 inserting a semicolon; 

12 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

13 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(4) evaluating and incorporating, as appro16 priate, innovative observations, including acoustic or 

17 infrasonic measurements.’’. 

18 SEC. 10. WEATHER AND WATER RESEARCH AND DEVELOP19 MENT PLANNING. 

20 Section 105(2) of the Weather Research and Fore21 casting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8515(2)) is 

22 amended by inserting ‘‘and flood-event’’ after ‘‘operational 

23 weather’’. 


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1 SEC. 11. FORECAST COMMUNICATION COORDINATORS. 

2 Section 1762(f)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

3 (15 U.S.C. 8521(f)(1)) is amended, in the second sen4 tence, by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’. 

5 SEC. 12. IMPROVING PRECIPITATION FREQUENCY ESTI6 MATES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

8 (1) not later than 5 years after the date of en9 actment of this title and not less than every 5 years 

10 thereafter, update precipitation frequency estimates 

11 for the United States, such that each update in12 cludes at least one precipitation frequency atlas that 

13 incorporates assumptions of non-stationarity; 

14 (2) develop products targeted at users of this 

15 data in support of the mission of the National Oce16 anic and Atmospheric Administration; 

17 (3) make publicly available, in a searchable, 

18 interoperable format, all precipitation frequency esti19 mate studies developed by the National Oceanic and 

20 Atmospheric Administration that the Administrator 

21 has the legal right to redistribute and that are 

22 deemed to be at an appropriate stage of development 

23 on an internet website of the National Oceanic and 

24 Atmospheric Administration; and 

25 (4) ensure all precipitation frequency estimate 

26 data, products, and supporting documentation and 


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1 metadata are preserved, curated, and served by the 

2 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

3 as appropriate. 

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the National Oceanic 

6 and Atmospheric Administration to carry out this section 

7 $3,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2030. 

8 SEC. 13. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 

9 WATER MANAGEMENT. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com11 mittee, to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Coordinating 

12 Committee on Water Management’’ (in this section re13 ferred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be com15 posed of the following members: 

16 (1) The Administrator. 

17 (2) The Assistant Secretary for Water and 

18 Science of the Department of the Interior. 

19 (3) The head of each of the following: 

20 (A) The Federal Emergency Management 

21 Agency. 

22 (B) The Army Corps of Engineers. 

23 (C) The National Science Foundation. 

24 (D) The Office of Science and Technology 

25 Policy. 


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1 (E) The Council on Environmental Qual2 ity. 

3 (F) The Department of Energy. 

4 (G) The Department of Agriculture. 

5 (H) Any other Federal agency, as the co6 chairs consider appropriate. 

7 (c) CO-CHAIRS.—The Committee shall be co-chaired 

8 by the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of 

9 the Environmental Protection Agency. 

10 (d) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet not less 

11 frequently than once each year at the call of the co-chairs. 

12 (e) GENERAL PURPOSE AND DUTIES.—The Com13 mittee shall ensure that agencies across the Federal Gov14 ernment that engage in water-related matters, including 

15 water storage and supplies, water quality and restoration 

16 activities, water infrastructure, transportation on United 

17 States rivers and inland waterways, and water forecasting, 

18 work together where such agencies have joint or overlap19 ping responsibilities to— 

20 (1) improve interagency coordination by Fed21 eral agencies on water resource management and 

22 water-related infrastructure issues; 

23 (2) coordinate existing water-related Federal 

24 task forces, working groups, and other formal cross25 agency initiatives, as appropriate; 


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1 (3) designate and consolidate repositories re2 sponsible for archiving and managing water-related 

3 matters; 

4 (4) improve interagency coordination of data 

5 management, access, modeling, and visualization 

6 with respect to water-related matters; 

7 (5) conduct integrated planning for Federal in8 vestments in water-related infrastructure; and 

9 (6) support workforce development and efforts 

10 to recruit, train, and retain professionals to operate 

11 and maintain essential water facilities in the United 

12 States. 

13 (f) CROSS-AGENCY PRIORITY RESEARCH NEEDS.— 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act, the Committee shall develop and submit to Con16 gress a list of research needs that includes needs for cross17 agency research and coordination. 

18 SEC. 14. HYDROLOGIC RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) DECISION SUPPORT SERVICES.—The term 

21 ‘‘decision support services’’ means information, in22 cluding data and refined products, that supports 

23 water resources-related decision-making processes. 

24 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

25 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 


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1 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High2 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

3 (b) HYDROLOGIC RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PRO4 GRAM.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall 

6 establish a hydrologic research fellowship program 

7 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘program’’) for 

8 qualified individuals. 

9 (2) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of 

10 this section, a qualified individual is an individual 

11 who is— 

12 (A) a citizen of the United States; and 

13 (B) enrolled in a research-based graduate 

14 program, at an institution of higher education, 

15 in a field that advances the research priorities 

16 developed by the Administrator under para17 graph (7), such as— 

18 (i) hydrology; 

19 (ii) earth sciences; 

20 (iii) atmospheric sciences; 

21 (iv) computer sciences; 

22 (v) engineering; 

23 (vi) environmental sciences; 

24 (vii) geosciences; 

25 (viii) urban planning; or 


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1 (ix) related social sciences. 

2 (3) AWARD GUIDELINES.—Fellowships under 

3 the program shall be awarded pursuant to guidelines 

4 established by the Administrator. 

5 (4) SELECTION PREFERENCE.—In selecting 

6 qualified individuals for participation in the pro7 gram, the Administrator, acting through the Direc8 tor, shall give preference to applicants from Histori9 cally Black Colleges and Universities and Minority10 Serving Institutions. 

11 (5) PLACEMENT.—The program shall support 

12 the placement of qualified individuals in positions 

13 within the executive branch of the Federal Govern14 ment where such individuals can address and ad15 vance the research priorities developed by the Ad16 ministrator under paragraph (7). 

17 (6) FELLOWSHIP TERM.—A fellowship under 

18 the program shall be for a period of up to 2 years. 

19 (7) FELLOWSHIP RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—The 

20 Administrator in consultation with representatives 

21 from the United States Geological Survey, the Fed22 eral Emergency Management Agency, and the Army 

23 Corps of Engineers, as appropriate, shall develop 

24 and publish priorities for the conduct of research by 

25 fellows, which may include the following: 


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1 (A) Advance the collaborative development 

2 of a flexible community-based water resources 

3 modeling system. 

4 (B) Apply artificial intelligence and ma5 chine learning capabilities to advance existing 

6 hydrologic modeling capabilities. 

7 (C) Support the evolution and integration 

8 of hydrologic modeling within an Earth Systems 

9 Modeling Framework. 

10 (D) Improve visualizations of hydrologic 

11 model outputs. 

12 (E) Advance the state of coupled fresh13 water and saltwater modeling and forecasting 

14 capabilities. 

15 (F) Advance understanding and process 

16 representation of water quality parameters. 

17 (G) Advance the assimilation of in-situ and 

18 remotely sensed observations and data. 

19 (H) Support the integration of social 

20 science to advance decision support services. 

21 (I) Develop methods to study groundwater 

22 sustainability and estimate the efficiency of re23 charge management. 

24 (c) DIRECT HIRING.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORITY.—During fiscal year 2021 and 

2 any fiscal year thereafter, the head of any Federal 

3 agency may appoint, without regard to the provi4 sions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 

5 States Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of 

6 that title, to a position with the Federal agency a re7 cipient of a fellowship under the program who— 

8 (A) earned a degree from a program de9 scribed in subsection (b)(2)(B); 

10 (B) successfully fulfilled the requirements 

11 of the fellowship within the executive branch of 

12 the Federal Government; and 

13 (C) meets qualification standards estab14 lished by the Office of Personnel Management. 

15 (2) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY.—The direct hire 

16 authority provided by this subsection shall be exer17 cised with respect to an individual described in para18 graph (1) not later than 2 years after the date on 

19 which the individual completed the fellowship under 

20 the program. 

21 SEC. 15. IDENTIFICATION AND SUPPORT OF CONSISTENT, 

22 FEDERAL SET OF FORWARD-LOOKING, LONG23 TERM METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) EXTREME WEATHER.—The term ‘‘extreme 

2 weather’’ includes observed or anticipated severe and 

3 unseasonable atmospheric conditions, including 

4 drought, heavy precipitation, hurricanes, tornadoes 

5 and other windstorms (including derechos), large 

6 hail, extreme heat, extreme cold, flooding, sustained 

7 temperatures or precipitation that deviate substan8 tially from historical averages, and any other weath9 er event that the Administrator determines qualifies 

10 as extreme weather. 

11 (2) LONG-TERM.—The term ‘‘long-term’’ shall 

12 have such meaning as the Administrator, in con13 sultation with the Director of the National Institute 

14 of Standards and Technology, considers appropriate 

15 for purposes of this section. 

16 (3) OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL TRENDS.—The 

17 term ‘‘other environmental trends’’ means wildfires, 

18 coastal flooding, inland flooding, land subsidence, 

19 rising sea levels, and any other challenges relating to 

20 changes in environmental systems over time that the 

21 Administrator determines qualify as environmental 

22 challenges other than extreme weather. 

23 (b) IDENTIFICATION AND SUPPORT OF CONSISTENT, 

24 FEDERAL SET OF FORWARD-LOOKING, LONG-TERM ME25 TEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION.—The Administrator shall 


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1 identify, and support research that enables, a consistent, 

2 Federal set of forward-looking, long-term meteorological 

3 information that models future extreme weather events, 

4 other environmental trends, projections, and up-to-date 

5 observations, including mesoscale information as deter6 mined appropriate by the Administrator. 

7 SEC. 16. GAP ANALYSIS ON AVAILABILITY OF SNOW-RE8 LATED DATA TO ASSESS AND PREDICT 

9 FLOOD AND FLOOD IMPACTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in consulta11 tion with the Department of Agriculture, the Department 

12 of the Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers, shall 

13 conduct an analysis of gaps in the availability of snow14 related data to assess and predict floods and flood im15 pacts, including data on the following: 

16 (1) Snow water equivalent. 

17 (2) Snow depth. 

18 (3) Snowpack temperature. 

19 (4) Snow and mixed-phase precipitation. 

20 (5) Snow melt. 

21 (6) Rain-snow line. 

22 (7) Soil moisture. 

23 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

24 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub25 mit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Apr 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1438.IH H1438

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1 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, 

2 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

3 a report on— 

4 (1) the findings of the gap analysis required by 

5 subsection (a); and 

6 (2) opportunities for additional collaboration 

7 among Federal agencies to collect snow-related data 

8 to better assess and predict floods and flood im9 pacts. 

10 SEC. 17. AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC OF FLOOD-RE11 LATED DATA. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall make 

13 flood-related data available to the public on the website 

14 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

15 (b) COST.—The Administrator may make the data 

16 under subsection (a) freely accessible or available at a cost 

17 that does not exceed the cost of preparing the data. 

Æ 


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