I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8365 

To study the effects of new construction of obstructions on accurate weather 

forecasting, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 

Mr. THORNBERRY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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 study the effects of new construction of obstructions 

on accurate weather forecasting, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accurate Weather for 

5 Public Safety Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STRUCTURES INTERFERING WITH AIR COMMERCE 

7 OR NATIONAL SECURITY. 

8 Section 44718(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and in2 serting a semicolon; 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para4 graph (4); and 

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(3) the ability of any Federal agency engaged 

8 in meteorological or atmospheric observations to ac9 curately forecast weather; or’’. 

10 SEC. 3. STUDY ON EFFECTS OF NEW CONSTRUCTION OF OB11 STRUCTIONS ON ACCURATE WEATHER OB12 SERVATIONS AND FORECASTING. 

13 (a) OBJECTIVE.—It shall be an objective of the De14 partment of Commerce to ensure that the robust develop15 ment of renewable energy sources and the increased resil16 iency of the commercial electrical grid may move forward 

17 in the United States, while minimizing or mitigating any 

18 adverse impacts on accurate weather forecasting and en19 suring public safety. 

20 (b) DESIGNATION OF SENIOR OFFICIAL AND LEAD

21 ORGANIZATION.— 

22 (1) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 30 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec24 retary of Commerce shall designate a senior official 


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1 of the National Weather Service, and a lead organi2 zation of the National Weather Service, to— 

3 (A) serve as the executive agent to carry 

4 out the review required by subsection (d); 

5 (B) serve as a clearinghouse to coordinate 

6 Department of Commerce review of applications 

7 for projects filed with the Secretary of Trans8 portation on and after the date of enactment of 

9 this Act and pursuant to section 44718 of title 

10 49, United States Code, and received by the 

11 Department of Commerce from the Secretary of 

12 Transportation; and 

13 (C) accelerate the development of planning 

14 tools necessary to determine the acceptability to 

15 the National Weather Service of proposals in16 cluded in an application for a project submitted 

17 pursuant to such section. 

18 (2) RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall ensure 

19 that the senior official and lead organization des20 ignated under paragraph (1) are assigned such per21 sonnel and resources as the Secretary considers ap22 propriate to carry out this section. 

23 (c) INITIAL ACTIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 


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1 Commerce, acting through the senior official and lead or2 ganization designated pursuant to subsection (b), shall— 

3 (1) conduct a preliminary review of each appli4 cation for a project filed with the Secretary of 

5 Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 

6 49, United States Code, that may have an adverse 

7 impact on accurate weather observations or fore8 casting and public safety, unless such project has 

9 been granted a determination of no hazard, which 

10 shall, at a minimum include for each such project— 

11 (A) assess the likely scope of any adverse 

12 impact of such project on accurate weather ob13 servations or forecasting and public safety; and 

14 (B) identify any corrective action plan and 

15 feasible mitigation actions that could be taken 

16 in the immediate future by the National Weath17 er Service, the developer of such project, or oth18 ers to mitigate such adverse impact and to min19 imize risks to the ability of any Federal agency 

20 engaged in meteorological or atmospheric obser21 vations to accurately forecast weather and to 

22 ensure public safety, while allowing such project 

23 to proceed with development; 

24 (2) develop, in coordination with other depart25 ments and agencies of the Federal Government, an 


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1 integrated review process to ensure timely notifica2 tion and consideration of projects filed with the Sec3 retary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 

4 of title 49, United States Code, that may have an 

5 adverse impact on accurate weather observations or 

6 forecasting and public safety; 

7 (3) establish procedures for the National 

8 Weather Service for the coordinated consideration of 

9 and response to a request for a review received from 

10 State and local officials or the developer of a renew11 able energy development or other energy project, in12 cluding guidance to personnel at each local National 

13 Weather Services facility in the United States on 

14 how to initiate such procedures and ensure a coordi15 nated agency response while seeking to fulfil the ob16 jective under subsection (a); and 

17 (4) develop procedures for conducting early out18 reach to parties carrying out projects filed with the 

19 Secretary of Transportation pursuant to section 

20 44718 of title 49, United States Code, that could 

21 have an adverse impact on accurate weather obser22 vations and forecasting and public safety, and to the 

23 general public, to clearly communicate notice on ac24 tions being taken by the National Weather Service 


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1 under this section and to receive comments from 

2 such parties and the general public on such actions. 

3 (d) COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW.— 

4 (1) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than 270 

5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

6 Secretary of Commerce, acting through the senior 

7 official and lead organization designated pursuant to 

8 subsection (b), shall develop a comprehensive strat9 egy for addressing the weather forecasting and pub10 lic safety impacts of projects filed with the Secretary 

11 of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of title 

12 49, United States Code. 

13 (2) ELEMENTS.—In developing the strategy re14 quired by paragraph (1), the Secretary of Commerce 

15 shall— 

16 (A) assess of the magnitude of interference 

17 posed by projects filed with the Secretary of 

18 Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of 

19 title 49, United States Code; 

20 (B) identify geographic areas selected as 

21 proposed locations for projects filed, or which 

22 may be filed in the future, with the Secretary 

23 of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 of 

24 title 49, United States Code, where such 

25 projects could have an adverse impact on accuVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365

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1 rate weather forecasting and public safety, and 

2 categorize the risk of adverse impact in such 

3 areas as high, medium, or low for the purpose 

4 of informing early outreach efforts under sub5 section (c)(4) and preliminary assessments 

6 under subsection (e); and 

7 (C) specifically identify a corrective action 

8 plan and feasible mitigation longterm actions 

9 that may be taken to mitigate adverse impacts 

10 of projects filed, or which may be filed in the 

11 future, with the Secretary of Transportation 

12 pursuant to section 44718 of title 49, United 

13 States Code, on accurate weather observations 

14 and forecasting and public safety. 

15 (e) NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAZARD ASSESS16 MENT.— 

17 (1) PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT.—The proce18 dures established pursuant to subsection (c) shall 

19 ensure that not later than 60 days after receiving a 

20 proper application for a project filed with the Sec21 retary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 

22 of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary of 

23 Commerce shall review the project and provide a 

24 preliminary assessment of the level of risk of adverse 

25 impact on accurate weather observations or foreVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:42 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8365.IH H8365

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1 casting and public safety that would arise from the 

2 project and the extent of mitigation that may be 

3 needed to address such risk. 

4 (2) DETERMINATION OF UNACCEPTABLE

5 RISK.—The procedures established pursuant to sub6 section (c) shall ensure that the Secretary of Com7 merce does not object to a project filed with the Sec8 retary of Transportation pursuant to section 44718 

9 of title 49, United States Code, except in a case in 

10 which the Secretary of Commerce determines, after 

11 giving full consideration to mitigation actions identi12 fied pursuant to this section, that such project would 

13 result in an unacceptable risk to the ability of mete14 orological agencies to accurately observe and forecast 

15 weather and ensure public safety. 

16 (3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENT.— 

17 Not later than 30 days after making a determination 

18 of unacceptable risk under paragraph (2), the Sec19 retary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee 

20 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep21 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat22 ural Resources and the Committee on Commerce, 

23 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

24 on such determination and the basis for such deter25 mination. Such a report shall include an explanation 


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1 of the operational impact that led to the determina2 tion, a discussion of the mitigation options consid3 ered, and an explanation of why the mitigation op4 tions were not feasible or did not resolve the conflict. 

5 (f) REPORTS.— 

6 (1) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

7 March 15 each year following the year of the date 

8 of enactment of this Act through 2025, the Sec9 retary of Commerce shall submit to the Committee 

10 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep11 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat12 ural Resources and the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

14 on the actions taken by the Department of Com15 merce during the preceding year to implement this 

16 section and the comprehensive strategy developed 

17 pursuant to this section. 

18 (2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each report sub19 mitted under paragraph (1) shall include— 

20 (A) the results of a review carried out by 

21 the National Weather Service of any projects 

22 filed with the Secretary of Transportation pur23 suant to section 44718 of title 49, United 

24 States Code— 


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1 (i) that the Secretary of Commerce 

2 has determined would result in an unac3 ceptable risk to the ability of any Federal 

4 agency engaged in meteorological or at5 mospheric observations to accurately ob6 serve and forecast weather and ensure 

7 public safety; and 

8 (ii) for which the Secretary of Com9 merce has recommended to the Secretary 

10 of Transportation that a hazard deter11 mination be issued; 

12 (B) an assessment of the risk to accurate 

13 weather observations and forecasting and en14 sure public safety, and a quantification of such 

15 risk; and 

16 (C) mitigation options, which the National 

17 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and 

18 the National Weather Service have researched 

19 and analyzed, and the results of such research 

20 and analysis. 

21 (g) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT CONTRIBUTIONS OF

22 FUNDS.—The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to ac23 cept a voluntary contribution of funds from an applicant 

24 for a project filed with the Secretary of Transportation 

25 pursuant to section 44718 of title 49, United States Code. 


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1 Amounts so accepted shall be available for the purpose of 

2 offsetting the cost of measures undertaken by the Sec3 retary of Commerce to mitigate adverse impacts of such 

4 project on accurate weather observations and forecasting 

5 and public safety. 

6 (h) EFFECT OF DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE HAZ7 ARD ASSESSMENT.—An action taken pursuant to this sec8 tion shall not be considered to be a substitute for any as9 sessment or determination required of the Secretary of 

10 Transportation under section 44718 of title 49, United 

11 States Code. 

12 (i) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section 

13 shall be construed to affect or limit the application of, or 

14 any obligation to comply with, any environmental law, in15 cluding the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

16 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

17 (j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) ACCURATE WEATHER FORECASTING.—The 

19 term ‘‘accurate weather forecasting’’ means the abil20 ity of any person, piece of equipment, computer, 

21 building, or other asset of the National Weather 

22 Service that when utilized correctly and unimpeded 

23 is able to provide timely and accurate predictions of 

24 weather within the established range of that Na25 tional Weather Service asset. 


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1 (2) PUBLIC SAFETY.—The term ‘‘public safety’’ 

2 means the prevention and protection of the general 

3 public from dangers affecting safety, such as disas4 ters that are both man-made and those that are nat5 urally occurring. 

Æ 


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