I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8882 

To establish a national integrated flood information system within the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 4, 2020 

Ms. SHERRILL (for herself and Mr. WEBER of Texas) 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’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 


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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. Estimates of precipitation frequency in the United States. 

Sec. 13. Interagency Coordinating Committee on Water Management. 

Sec. 14. National Weather Service 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. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

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

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

5 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 

6 Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

7 Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United 

8 States, and any other territory or possession of the 

9 United States. 

10 (2) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 

11 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 

12 for Oceans and Atmosphere. 


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

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall estab4 lish a system, to be known as the ‘‘National Integrated 

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

6 for more timely decision making to reduce flood-related 

7 effects and costs. 

8 (b) SYSTEM FUNCTIONS.—The Under Secretary, 

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 22:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8882.IH H8882

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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, and response, including— 

7 (i) decision makers at the Federal, 

8 State, local, and Tribal levels of govern9 ment; 

10 (ii) the private sector; and 

11 (iii) the public; 

12 (2) provide timely data, information, and prod13 ucts that reflect differences in flood conditions 

14 among localities, regions, watersheds, and States; 

15 (3) coordinate and integrate, through inter16 agency agreements as practicable, Federal research 

17 and monitoring in support of the flood early warning 

18 information system provided under paragraph (1); 

19 (4) use existing forecasting and assessment pro20 grams and partnerships; 

21 (5) make improvements in seasonal precipita22 tion and temperature, subseasonal precipitation and 

23 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 Under Secretary, through 

13 the 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 Under Secretary 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 22:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8882.IH H8882

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1 cilitate maximum data integration, as the Under 

2 Secretary considers appropriate; and 

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 In7 tegrated Drought Information System, the Regional 

8 Climate Center, and the National Mesonet Program, 

9 to improve coordination of water monitoring, fore10 casting, and management. 

11 (d) CONSULTATION.—In developing and maintaining 

12 the National Integrated Flood Information System, the 

13 Under Secretary shall consult with relevant Federal, 

14 State, local, and Tribal government agencies, research in15 stitutions, and the private sector. 

16 (e) COOPERATION FROM OTHER FEDERAL AGEN17 CIES.—Each Federal agency shall cooperate as appro18 priate with the Under Secretary in carrying out this sec19 tion. 

20 SEC. 4. OBSERVATIONS AND MODELING FOR TOTAL WATER 

21 PREDICTION. 

22 (a) PARTNERSHIPS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

24 establish partnerships with 1 or more institutions of 

25 higher education (as defined in section 101 of the 


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

2 evaluate observations that would improve total water 

3 prediction. 

4 (2) PRIORITY OBSERVATIONS.—In establishing 

5 partnerships under paragraph (1), the Under Sec6 retary shall prioritize partnerships to evaluate obser7 vations from unmanned aerial systems. 

8 (b) MAINTAINED OBSERVATIONS.—If the Under Sec9 retary determines that incorporating additional observa10 tions improves total water prediction, the Under Secretary 

11 shall, to the extent practicable, continue incorporating 

12 those observations. 

13 (c) MODELING IMPROVEMENTS.—The Under Sec14 retary shall advance geographic coverage, resolution, skill, 

15 and efficiency of coastal oceanographic modeling, includ16 ing efforts that improve the coupling of and interoper17 ability between hydrological models and coastal ocean 

18 models. 

19 (d) GEOSPATIAL DATA.—The Under Secretary shall 

20 advance the development of models to vertically transform 

21 geospatial data into a common system for use as the Fed22 eral standard for surveys and mapping. 


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1 SEC. 5. SERVICE COORDINATION HYDROLOGISTS AT RIVER 

2 FORECAST CENTERS OF THE NATIONAL 

3 WEATHER SERVICE. 

4 (a) DESIGNATION OF SERVICE COORDINATION HY5 DROLOGISTS.— 

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

7 Weather Service (in this section referred to as the 

8 ‘‘Director’’) shall designate at least 1 service coordi9 nation hydrologist at each River Forecast Center of 

10 the National Weather Service. 

11 (2) PERFORMANCE BY OTHER EMPLOYEES.— 

12 Performance of the responsibilities outlined in this 

13 section is not limited to the service coordination hy14 drologist position. 

15 (b) PRIMARY ROLE OF SERVICE COORDINATION HY16 DROLOGISTS.—The primary role of the service coordina17 tion hydrologist shall be to carry out the responsibilities 

18 required by this section. 

19 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

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

21 consistent with the analysis described in section 409 

22 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 

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

24 and in order to increase impact-based decision sup25 port services, each service coordination hydrologist 


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1 designated under subsection (a) shall, with respect 

2 to hydrology— 

3 (A) be responsible for providing service to 

4 the geographic area of responsibility covered by 

5 the River Forecast Center at which the service 

6 coordination hydrologist is employed to help en7 sure that users of products and services of the 

8 National Weather Service can respond effec9 tively to improve outcomes from flood events; 

10 (B) liaise with users of products and serv11 ices of the National Weather Service, such as 

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

13 hydropower, transportation, recreation, and ag14 ricultural communities, and forestry, land, fish15 eries, and water management interests, to 

16 evaluate the adequacy and usefulness of the 

17 products and services of the National Weather 

18 Service; 

19 (C) collaborate with such River Forecast 

20 Centers and Weather Forecast Offices and Fed21 eral, State, local, and Tribal government agen22 cies as the Director considers appropriate in de23 veloping, proposing, and implementing plans to 

24 develop, modify, or tailor products and services 


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1 of the National Weather Service to improve the 

2 usefulness of such products and services; 

3 (D) engage in interagency partnerships 

4 with Federal, State, local, and Tribal govern5 ment agencies to explore the use of forecast-in6 formed reservoir operations to reduce flood risk; 

7 (E) ensure the maintenance and accuracy 

8 of flooding call lists, appropriate office flooding 

9 policy or procedures, and other flooding infor10 mation or dissemination methodologies or strat11 egies; and 

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

13 and Tribal emergency and floodplain manage14 ment agencies, and other agencies relating to 

15 disaster management, to ensure a planned, co16 ordinated, and effective preparedness and re17 sponse effort. 

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

19 responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such 

20 other staff as the Director considers appropriate to 

21 carry out such responsibility. 

22 (d) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

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

24 service coordination hydrologist designated under 

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


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1 (A) work with a State agency to develop 

2 plans for promoting more effective use of prod3 ucts and services of the National Weather Serv4 ice throughout the State; 

5 (B) identify priority community prepared6 ness objectives; 

7 (C) develop plans to meet the objectives 

8 identified under subparagraph (B); and 

9 (D) conduct flooding event preparedness 

10 planning and citizen education efforts with and 

11 through various State, local, and Tribal govern12 ment agencies and other disaster management13 related organizations. 

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

15 responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such 

16 other staff as the Director considers appropriate to 

17 carry out such responsibility. 

18 (e) PLACEMENT WITH STATE AND LOCAL EMER19 GENCY AND FLOODPLAIN MANAGERS.— 

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

21 the Director may place a service coordination hy22 drologist designated under subsection (a) with a 

23 State or local emergency or floodplain manager, if 

24 the Director determines that such placement is nec25 essary or convenient to carry out this section. 


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1 (2) TREATMENT.—If the Director determines 

2 that the placement of a service coordination hydrolo3 gist with a State or local emergency or floodplain 

4 manager under paragraph (1) is near a River Fore5 cast Center of the National Weather Service, such 

6 placement shall be treated as designation of the 

7 service coordination hydrologist at such River Fore8 cast Center for purposes of subsection (a). 

9 SEC. 6. IMPROVING NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS10 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMUNICATION 

11 OF FUTURE FLOOD RISKS AND HAZARDOUS 

12 FLASH FLOOD EVENTS. 

13 (a) ASSESSMENT OF FLASH FLOOD WATCHES AND

14 WARNINGS.— 

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

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

17 Secretary shall— 

18 (A) conduct an assessment of— 

19 (i) the flash flood watches and warn20 ings of the National Weather Service; and 

21 (ii) the information delivery to sup22 port preparation and responses to floods; 

23 and 


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1 (B) submit to Congress a report on the 

2 findings of the Under Secretary with respect to 

3 the assessment required by subparagraph (A). 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by 

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

6 (A) An evaluation of whether the watches, 

7 warnings, and information described in para8 graph (1)(A)— 

9 (i) communicate risk to the general 

10 public; 

11 (ii) inform action to prevent loss of 

12 life and property; 

13 (iii) inform action to support flood 

14 preparation and response; and 

15 (iv) deliver information in a manner 

16 designed to lead to appropriate action. 

17 (B) Subject to subsection (b)(2), such rec18 ommendations as the Under Secretary may 

19 have for— 

20 (i) legislative and administrative ac21 tion to improve the watches and warnings 

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

23 (ii) such research as the Under Sec24 retary considers necessary to address the 

25 focus areas described in paragraph (3). 


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1 (3) FOCUS AREAS.—The assessment required 

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

3 areas: 

4 (A) Ways to communicate the risks posed 

5 by hazardous flash flood events to the public 

6 that are most likely to result in informed deci7 sion making regarding the mitigation of those 

8 risks. 

9 (B) Ways to provide actionable geographic 

10 information to the recipient of a watch or warn11 ing for a flash flood, including partnering with 

12 emergency response agencies, as appropriate. 

13 (C) Evaluation of information delivery to 

14 support the preparation for and response to 

15 floods. 

16 (4) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the assess17 ment required by paragraph (1)(A), the Under Sec18 retary shall consult with— 

19 (A) such line offices of the National Oce20 anic and Atmospheric Administration as the 

21 Under Secretary considers relevant, including— 

22 (i) the National Ocean Service; 

23 (ii) the National Weather Service; and 

24 (iii) the Office of Oceanic and Atmos25 pheric Research; 


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1 (B) individuals in the academic sector, in2 cluding individuals in the field of social and be3 havioral sciences; 

4 (C) other weather services; 

5 (D) media outlets and other entities that 

6 distribute the watches and warnings described 

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

8 (E) floodplain managers and emergency 

9 planners and responders, including State, local, 

10 and Tribal emergency management agencies; 

11 (F) other government users of the watches 

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

13 including the Federal Highway Administration; 

14 and 

15 (G) such other Federal agencies as the 

16 Under Secretary determines rely on watches 

17 and warnings regarding flash floods for oper18 ational decisions. 

19 (5) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.—The 

20 Under Secretary shall engage with the National 

21 Academy of Sciences, as the Under Secretary con22 siders necessary and practicable, including by con23 tracting with the National Research Council to re24 view the scientific and technical soundness of the asVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8882.IH H8882

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1 sessment required by paragraph (1)(A), including 

2 the recommendations under paragraph (2)(B). 

3 (6) METHODOLOGIES.—In conducting the as4 sessment required by paragraph (1)(A), the Under 

5 Secretary shall use such methodologies as the Under 

6 Secretary considers are generally accepted by the 

7 weather enterprise, including social and behavioral 

8 sciences. 

9 (b) IMPROVEMENTS TO FLASH FLOOD WATCHES

10 AND WARNINGS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the assessment re12 quired by subsection (a)(1)(A), the Under Secretary 

13 shall make such improvements to the watches and 

14 warnings described in that subsection as the Under 

15 Secretary considers necessary— 

16 (A) to improve the communication of the 

17 risks posed by hazardous flash flood events; and 

18 (B) to provide actionable geographic infor19 mation to the recipient of a watch or warning 

20 for a flash flood. 

21 (2) REQUIREMENTS REGARDING RECOMMENDA22 TIONS.—In conducting the assessment required by 

23 subsection (a)(1)(A), the Under Secretary shall en24 sure that any recommendation under subsection 


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1 (a)(2)(B) that the Under Secretary considers a 

2 major change— 

3 (A) is validated by social and behavioral 

4 science using a generalizable sample; 

5 (B) accounts for the needs of various de6 mographics, vulnerable populations, and geo7 graphic regions; 

8 (C) responds to the needs of Federal, 

9 State, local, and Tribal government partners 

10 and media partners; and 

11 (D) accounts for necessary changes to fed12 erally operated watch and warning propagation 

13 and dissemination infrastructure and protocols. 

14 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) WATCH; WARNING.— 

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

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

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

19 flood event, mean products issued by the Na20 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

21 intended for use by the general public— 

22 (i) to alert the general public to the 

23 potential for or presence of the event; and 

24 (ii) to inform action to prevent loss of 

25 life and property. 


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

2 ‘‘warning’’ do not include technical or special3 ized meteorological and hydrological forecasts, 

4 outlooks, or model guidance products. 

5 (2) WEATHER ENTERPRISE.—The term 

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

7 term in section 2 of the Weather Research and 

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

9 8501). 

10 SEC. 7. FRESHWATER MONITORING ALONG THE COAST. 

11 (a) DATA AVAILABILITY ASSESSMENT.—The Under 

12 Secretary shall assess the availability of short- and long13 term data on large-scale freshwater flooding into oceans, 

14 bays, and estuaries, including data on— 

15 (1) flow rate, including discharge; 

16 (2) conductivity; 

17 (3) oxygen concentration; 

18 (4) nutrient load; 

19 (5) water temperature; and 

20 (6) sediment load. 

21 (b) DATA NEEDS ASSESSMENT.—The Under Sec22 retary shall assess the need for additional data to assess 

23 and predict the effect of the flooding and freshwater dis24 charge described in subsection (a). 


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1 (c) INVENTORY OF DATA NEEDS.—Based on the as2 sessments required by subsections (a) and (b), the Under 

3 Secretary shall create an inventory of data needs with re4 spect to the flooding and freshwater discharge described 

5 in subsections (a) and (b). 

6 (d) PLANNING.—In planning for the collection of ad7 ditional data necessary for ecosystem-based modeling of 

8 the effect of the flooding and freshwater discharge de9 scribed in subsections (a) and (b), the Under Secretary 

10 shall use the inventory created under subsection (c). 

11 SEC. 8. TORNADO WARNING IMPROVEMENT. 

12 Section 103 of the Weather Research and Fore13 casting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8513) is 

14 amended— 

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

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

17 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(c) INNOVATIVE OBSERVATIONS.—The Under Sec20 retary shall ensure that the program periodically examines 

21 the value of incorporating innovative observations, such as 

22 acoustic or infrasonic measurements, observations from 

23 phased array radars, and observations from mesonets, 

24 with respect to the improvement of tornado forecasts, pre25 dictions, and warnings.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

2 Section 104(b) of the Weather Research and Fore3 casting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8514(b)) is 

4 amended— 

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

6 inserting a semicolon; 

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

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(4) evaluating and incorporating, as appro11 priate, innovative observations, including acoustic or 

12 infrasonic measurements.’’. 

13 SEC. 10. WEATHER AND WATER RESEARCH AND DEVELOP14 MENT PLANNING. 

15 Section 105(2) of the Weather Research and Fore16 casting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8515(2)) is 

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

18 weather’’. 

19 SEC. 11. FORECAST COMMUNICATION COORDINATORS. 

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

21 (15 U.S.C. 8521(f)(1)) is amended, in the second sen22 tence, by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting ‘‘shall’’. 

23 SEC. 12. ESTIMATES OF PRECIPITATION FREQUENCY IN 

24 THE UNITED STATES. 

25 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES.—The term 

2 ‘‘Freely Associated States’’ means the Republic of 

3 Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the 

4 Federated States of Micronesia, which have each en5 tered into a Compact of Free Association with the 

6 United States. 

7 (2) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

8 States’’ means the 50 States of the United States, 

9 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

10 Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

11 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

12 Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely Associ13 ated States. 

14 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na15 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall es16 tablish a program, to be known as the ‘‘NOAA Precipita17 tion Frequency Atlas of the United States’’, to compile, 

18 estimate, analyze, and communicate the frequency of pre19 cipitation in the United States. 

20 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The NOAA Precipitation Fre21 quency Atlas of the United States— 

22 (1) shall better inform the public and provide 

23 information on— 

24 (A) temporal and spatial distribution of 

25 heavy precipitation; 


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1 (B) analyses of seasonality in precipitation; 

2 and 

3 (C) trends in annual maximum series data; 

4 and 

5 (2) may serve as the official source of the Fed6 eral Government on estimates of precipitation fre7 quency and associated information with respect to 

8 the United States. 

9 (d) REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 (1) COVERAGE.—The NOAA Precipitation Fre11 quency Atlas of the United States shall include such 

12 estimates of the frequency of precipitation in the 

13 United States as the Administrator determines ap14 propriate. 

15 (2) FREQUENCY.—Such estimates— 

16 (A) shall be conducted not less frequently 

17 than once every 10 years; and 

18 (B) may be conducted more frequently if 

19 determined appropriate by the Administrator. 

20 (3) PUBLICATION.—Such estimates and meth21 odologies used to conduct such estimates shall be— 

22 (A) subject to an appropriate, scientific 

23 process, as determined by the Administrator; 

24 and 


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1 (B) published on a publicly accessible 

2 website of the National Oceanic and Atmos3 pheric Administration. 

4 (e) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Administrator may partner 

5 with other Federal agencies, members of the private sec6 tor, academic cooperative partnerships, or nongovernment 

7 associations to assist in carrying out the functions de8 scribed in subsection (c). 

9 (f) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

10 Administrator may consult with relevant Federal, State, 

11 local, Tribal, and Territorial government agencies, re12 search institutions, and the private sector, as the Adminis13 trator determines necessary. 

14 (g) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

15 Administrator may coordinate with other Federal agen16 cies. 

17 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

19 from amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated to 

20 the Administrator to carry out this Act, $3,500,000 for 

21 each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030. 

22 SEC. 13. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 

23 WATER MANAGEMENT. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com25 mittee, to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Coordinating 


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1 Committee on Water Management’’ (in this section re2 ferred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be com4 posed of the following members: 

5 (1) The Under Secretary. 

6 (2) The Assistant Secretary for Water and 

7 Science of the Department of the Interior. 

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

9 (A) The Federal Emergency Management 

10 Agency. 

11 (B) The Army Corps of Engineers. 

12 (C) The National Science Foundation. 

13 (D) The Office of Science and Technology 

14 Policy. 

15 (E) The Council on Environmental Qual16 ity. 

17 (F) The Department of Energy. 

18 (G) The Department of Agriculture. 

19 (H) Any other Federal agency, as the co20 chairs consider appropriate. 

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

22 by the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of 

23 the Environmental Protection Agency. 

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

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


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1 (e) GENERAL PURPOSE AND DUTIES.—The Com2 mittee shall ensure that agencies across the Federal Gov3 ernment that engage in water-related matters, including 

4 water storage and supplies, water quality and restoration 

5 activities, water infrastructure, transportation on United 

6 States rivers and inland waterways, and water forecasting, 

7 work together where such agencies have joint or overlap8 ping responsibilities to— 

9 (1) improve interagency coordination by Fed10 eral agencies on water resource management and 

11 water-related infrastructure issues; 

12 (2) coordinate existing water-related Federal 

13 task forces, working groups, and other formal cross14 agency initiatives, as appropriate; 

15 (3) designate and consolidate repositories re16 sponsible for archiving and managing water-related 

17 matters; 

18 (4) improve interagency coordination of data 

19 management, access, modeling, and visualization 

20 with respect to water-related matters; 

21 (5) conduct integrated planning for Federal in22 vestments in water-related infrastructure; and 

23 (6) support workforce development and efforts 

24 to recruit, train, and retain professionals to operate 


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1 and maintain essential water facilities in the United 

2 States. 

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

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

5 this Act, the Committee shall develop and submit to Con6 gress a list of research needs that includes needs for cross7 agency research and coordination. 

8 SEC. 14. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HYDROLOGIC RE9 SEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) DECISION SUPPORT SERVICES.—The term 

12 ‘‘decision support services’’ means information, in13 cluding data and refined products, that supports 

14 water resources-related decision-making processes. 

15 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

17 meaning given that term in section 101 of the High18 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

19 (b) HYDROLOGIC RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PRO20 GRAM.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Under Secretary, 

22 acting through the Director of the National Weather 

23 Service (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Direc24 tor’’) shall establish a hydrologic research fellowship 


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1 program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘pro2 gram’’) for qualified individuals. 

3 (2) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of 

4 this section, a qualified individual is an individual 

5 who is— 

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

7 (B) enrolled in a research-based graduate 

8 program, at an institution of higher education, 

9 in a field that advances the research priorities 

10 developed by the Under Secretary under para11 graph (7), such as— 

12 (i) hydrology; 

13 (ii) earth sciences; 

14 (iii) atmospheric sciences; 

15 (iv) computer sciences; 

16 (v) engineering; 

17 (vi) environmental sciences; 

18 (vii) geosciences; 

19 (viii) urban planning; or 

20 (ix) related social sciences. 

21 (3) AWARD GUIDELINES.—Fellowships under 

22 the program shall be awarded pursuant to guidelines 

23 established by the Under Secretary. 

24 (4) SELECTION PREFERENCE.—In selecting 

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1 gram, the Under Secretary, acting through the Di2 rector, shall give preference to applicants from his3 torically Black colleges and universities and minor4 ity-serving institutions. 

5 (5) PLACEMENT.—The program shall support 

6 the placement of qualified individuals in positions 

7 within the executive branch of the Federal Govern8 ment where such individuals can address and ad9 vance the research priorities developed by the Under 

10 Secretary under paragraph (7). 

11 (6) FELLOWSHIP TERM.—A fellowship under 

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

13 (7) FELLOWSHIP RESEARCH PRIORITIES.—The 

14 Under Secretary, acting through the Director, and 

15 in consultation with representatives from the United 

16 States Geological Survey, the Federal Emergency 

17 Management Agency, and the Army Corps of Engi18 neers, as appropriate, shall develop and publish pri19 orities for the conduct of research by fellows, which 

20 may include the following: 

21 (A) Advance the collaborative development 

22 of a flexible community-based water resources 

23 modeling system. 


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1 (B) Apply artificial intelligence and ma2 chine learning capabilities to advance existing 

3 hydrologic modeling capabilities. 

4 (C) Support the evolution and integration 

5 of hydrologic modeling within an Earth Systems 

6 Modeling Framework. 

7 (D) Improve visualizations of hydrologic 

8 model outputs. 

9 (E) Advance the state of coupled fresh10 water and salt water modeling and forecasting 

11 capabilities. 

12 (F) Advance understanding and process 

13 representation of water quality parameters. 

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

15 remotely sensed observations and data. 

16 (H) Support the integration of social 

17 science to advance decision support services. 

18 (I) Develop methods to study groundwater 

19 sustainability and estimate the efficiency of re20 charge management. 

21 (c) DIRECT HIRING.— 

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

23 any fiscal year thereafter, the head of any Federal 

24 agency may appoint, without regard to the provi25 sions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 


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1 States Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of 

2 that title, to a position with the Federal agency a re3 cipient of a fellowship under the program who— 

4 (A) earned a degree from a program de5 scribed in subsection (b)(2)(B); 

6 (B) successfully fulfilled the requirements 

7 of the fellowship within the executive branch of 

8 the Federal Government; and 

9 (C) meets qualification standards estab10 lished by the Office of Personnel Management. 

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

12 authority provided by this subsection shall be exer13 cised with respect to an individual described in para14 graph (1) not later than 2 years after the date on 

15 which the individual completed the fellowship under 

16 the program. 

17 SEC. 15. IDENTIFICATION AND SUPPORT OF CONSISTENT, 

18 FEDERAL SET OF FORWARD-LOOKING, LONG19 TERM METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

22 weather’’ includes observed or anticipated severe and 

23 unseasonable atmospheric conditions, including 

24 drought, heavy precipitation, hurricanes, tornadoes 

25 and other windstorms (including derechos), extreme 


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1 heat, extreme cold, flooding, sustained temperatures 

2 or precipitation that deviate substantially from his3 torical averages, and any other weather event that 

4 the Under Secretary determines qualifies as extreme 

5 weather. 

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

7 have such meaning as the Director of the National 

8 Institute of Standards and Technology, in consulta9 tion with the Under Secretary, considers appropriate 

10 for purposes of this section. 

11 (3) OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL TRENDS.—The 

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

13 coastal flooding, inland flooding, land subsidence, 

14 rising sea levels, and any other challenges relating to 

15 changes in environmental systems over time that the 

16 Under Secretary determines qualify as environ17 mental challenges other than extreme weather. 

18 (b) IDENTIFICATION AND SUPPORT OF CONSISTENT, 

19 FEDERAL SET OF FORWARD-LOOKING, LONG-TERM ME20 TEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION.—The Under Secretary 

21 shall identify, and support research that enables, a con22 sistent, Federal set of forward-looking, long-term meteoro23 logical information that models future extreme weather 

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1 to-date observations, including mesoscale information as 

2 determined appropriate by the Under Secretary. 

3 SEC. 16. GAP ANALYSIS ON AVAILABILITY OF SNOW-RE4 LATED DATA TO ASSESS AND PREDICT 

5 FLOOD AND FLOOD IMPACTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary, in consulta7 tion with the Department of Agriculture, the Department 

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

9 conduct an analysis of gaps in the availability of snow10 related data to assess and predict floods and flood im11 pacts, including data on the following: 

12 (1) Snow water equivalent. 

13 (2) Snow depth. 

14 (3) Snowpack temperature. 

15 (4) Snow precipitation. 

16 (5) Snow melt. 

17 (6) Rain-snow line. 

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

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary shall 

20 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

21 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

22 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep23 resentatives a report on— 

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

25 subsection (a); and 


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1 (2) opportunities for additional collaboration 

2 among Federal agencies to collect snow-related data 

3 to better assess and predict floods and flood im4 pacts. 

5 SEC. 17. AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC OF FLOOD-RE6 LATED DATA. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall make 

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

9 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

10 (b) COST.—The Under Secretary may make the data 

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

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

Æ 


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