II 

Calendar No. 329 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 646 

[Report No. 112–150] 

To reauthorize Federal natural hazards reduction programs, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2011 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. ROCKEFELLER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

FEBRUARY 27, 2012 

Reported by Mr. ROCKEFELLER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize Federal natural hazards reduction programs, 

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 ‘‘Natural Hazards Risk 

5 Reduction Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The United States faces significant risks 

4 from many types of natural hazards, including 

5 earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and 

6 floods. Increasing numbers of Americans are living 

7 in areas prone to these hazards. 

8 (2) Earthquakes occur without warning and can 

9 have devastating effects. According to the U.S. Geo10 logical Survey, two recent earthquakes, the 

11 Northridge Earthquake in 1994, and the Loma 

12 Prieta Earthquake in 1989, killed nearly 100 people, 

13 injured 12,757, and caused $33 billion in damages. 

14 Nearly all States face some level of seismic risk. 

15 Twenty-six urban areas in 14 States have a signifi16 cant seismic risk. 

17 (3) Severe weather is the most costly natural 

18 hazard, measured on a per year basis. According to 

19 data from the National Weather Service over the 

20 last 10 years, tornadoes, thunderstorms, and hurri21 canes have caused an average of 226 fatalities and 

22 $16 billion of property damage per year. The 2005 

23 hurricane season was one of the most destructive in 

24 United States history, killing 1,836 people, and 

25 causing $80 billion in damage. 


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1 (4) The United States Fire Administration re2 ports that 38 percent of new home construction in 

3 2002 was in areas adjacent to, or intermixed with, 

4 wildlands. Fires in the wildland-urban interface are 

5 costly. For example, the 2007 California Witch fire 

6 alone caused $1.3 billion in insured property losses, 

7 according to the Insurance Services Office (ISO). In 

8 addition, Government Accountability Office reported 

9 in 2007 that the Federal spending for wildfire sup10 pression between 2001 and 2005 was, on average, 

11 $2.9 billion per year. 

12 (5) Developing better knowledge about natural 

13 hazard phenomena and their effects is crucial to as14 sessing the risks these hazards pose to communities. 

15 Instrumentation, monitoring, and data gathering to 

16 characterize earthquakes and wind events are impor17 tant activities to increase this knowledge. 

18 (6) Current building codes and standards can 

19 mitigate the damages caused by natural hazards. 

20 The Institute for Business and Home Safety esti21 mated that the $19 billion in damage caused by 

22 Hurricane Andrew in 1994 could have been reduced 

23 by half if such codes and standards were in effect. 

24 Research for the continuous improvement of building 

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1 veloping methods to retrofit existing structures—is 

2 crucial to mitigating losses from natural hazards. 

3 (7) Since its creation in 1977, the National 

4 Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) 

5 has supported research to develop seismic codes, 

6 standards, and building practices that have been 

7 widely adopted. The NEHRP Recommended Provi8 sions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and 

9 Other Structures and the Guidance for Seismic Per10 formance Assessment of Buildings are two examples. 

11 (8) Research to understand the institutional, 

12 social, behavioral, and economic factors that influ13 ence how households, businesses, and communities 

14 perceive risk and prepare for natural hazards, and 

15 how well they recover after a disaster, can increase 

16 the implementation of risk mitigation measures. 

17 (9) A major goal of the Federal natural haz18 ards-related research and development effort should 

19 be to reduce the loss of life and damage to commu20 nities and infrastructure through increasing the 

21 adoption of hazard mitigation measures. 

22 (10) Research, development, and technology 

23 transfer to secure infrastructure is vitally important. 

24 Infrastructure that supports electricity, transpor25 tation, drinking water, and other services is vital imVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 mediately after a disaster, and their quick return to 

2 function speeds the economic recovery of a disaster3 impacted community. 

4 TITLE I—EARTHQUAKES 

5 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Earthquake 

7 Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 

8 2011’’. 

9 SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 

10 Section 2 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

11 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701) is repealed. 

12 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

13 Section 4 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

14 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7703) is amended by striking para15 graphs (8) and (9). 

16 SEC. 104. NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION 

17 PROGRAM. 

18 Section 5 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

19 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7704) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of 

24 the Program shall be designed to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) research and develop effective meth2 ods, tools, and technologies to reduce the risk 

3 posed by earthquakes to the built environment, 

4 especially to lessen the risk to existing struc5 tures and lifelines; 

6 ‘‘(B) improve the understanding of earth7 quakes and their effects on households, busi8 nesses, communities, buildings, structures, and 

9 lifelines, through interdisciplinary and multi10 disciplinary research that involves engineering, 

11 natural sciences, and social sciences; and 

12 ‘‘(C) facilitate the adoption of earthquake 

13 risk reduction measures by households, busi14 nesses, communities, local, State, and Federal 

15 governments, national standards and model 

16 building code organizations, architects and engi17 neers, building owners, and others with a role 

18 in planning for disasters and planning, con19 structing, retrofitting, and insuring buildings, 

20 structures, and lifelines through— 

21 ‘‘(i) grants, contracts, cooperative 

22 agreements, and technical assistance; 

23 ‘‘(ii) development of standards, guide24 lines, voluntary consensus standards, and 

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1 ards risk reduction for buildings, struc2 tures, and lifelines; 

3 ‘‘(iii) outreach and information dis4 semination to communities on location-spe5 cific earthquake hazards and methods to 

6 reduce the risks from those hazards; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) development and maintenance of 

8 a repository of information, including tech9 nical data, on seismic risk and hazards re10 duction.’’; and 

11 (B) by striking paragraphs (3) through 

12 (5); 

13 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROGRAM AGENCIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) LEAD AGENCY.—The National Institute of 

17 Standards and Technology (in this section referred 

18 to as the ‘Institute’) shall be responsible for plan19 ning and coordinating the Program. In carrying out 

20 this paragraph, the Director of the Institute shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) ensure that the Program includes the 

22 necessary components to promote the imple23 mentation of earthquake hazards risk reduction 

24 measures by households, businesses, commu25 nities, local, State, and Federal governments, 


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1 national standards and model building code or2 ganizations, architects and engineers, building 

3 owners, and others with a role in preparing for 

4 disasters, or the planning, constructing, retro5 fitting, and insuring of buildings, structures, 

6 and lifelines; 

7 ‘‘(B) support the development of perform8 ance-based seismic engineering tools, and work 

9 with the appropriate groups to promote the 

10 commercial application of such tools, through 

11 earthquake-related building codes, standards, 

12 and construction practices; 

13 ‘‘(C) ensure the use of social science re14 search and findings in informing research and 

15 technology development priorities, commu16 nicating earthquake risks to the public, devel17 oping earthquake risk mitigation strategies, and 

18 preparing for earthquake disasters; 

19 ‘‘(D) coordinate all Federal post-earth20 quake investigations; and 

21 ‘‘(E) when warranted by research or inves22 tigative findings, issue recommendations for 

23 changes in model codes to the relevant code de24 velopment organizations, and report back to 


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1 Congress on whether such recommendations 

2 were adopted. 

3 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

4 TECHNOLOGY.—In addition to the lead agency re5 sponsibilities described under paragraph (1), the In6 stitute shall be responsible for carrying out research 

7 and development to improve building codes and 

8 standards and practices for buildings, structures, 

9 and lifelines. In carrying out this paragraph, the Di10 rector of the Institute shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) work, in conjunction with other ap12 propriate Federal agencies, to support the de13 velopment of improved seismic standards and 

14 model codes; 

15 ‘‘(B) in coordination with other appro16 priate Federal agencies, work closely with 

17 standards and model code development organi18 zations, professional societies, and practicing 

19 engineers, architects, and others involved in the 

20 construction of buildings, structures, and life21 lines, to promote better building practices, in22 cluding by— 

23 ‘‘(i) developing technical resources for 

24 practitioners on new knowledge and stand25 ards of practice; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) developing methods and tools to 

2 facilitate the incorporation of earthquake 

3 engineering principles into design and con4 struction practices; 

5 ‘‘(C) develop tools, technologies, methods, 

6 and practitioner guidance to feasibly and cost7 effectively retrofit existing buildings and struc8 tures to increase their earthquake resiliency; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(D) work closely with national standards 

11 organizations, and other interested parties, to 

12 develop seismic safety standards and practices 

13 for new and existing lifelines. 

14 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

15 AGENCY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Emer17 gency Management Agency (in this paragraph 

18 referred to as the ‘Agency’), consistent with the 

19 Agency’s all hazards approach, shall be respon20 sible for facilitating the development and adop21 tion of standards, model building codes, and 

22 better seismic building practices, developing 

23 tools to assess earthquake hazards, promoting 

24 the adoption of hazard mitigation measures, 

25 and carrying out a program of direct assistance 


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1 to States and localities to mitigate earthquake 

2 risks to buildings, structures, lifelines, and com3 munities. 

4 ‘‘(B) DIRECTOR’S DUTIES.—The Director 

5 of the Agency shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) work closely with other relevant 

7 Federal agencies, standards and model 

8 building code development organizations, 

9 architects, engineers, and other profes10 sionals, to facilitate the development and 

11 adoption of standards, model codes, and 

12 design and construction practices to in13 crease the earthquake resiliency of new 

14 and existing buildings, structures, and life15 lines in the— 

16 ‘‘(I) preparation, maintenance, 

17 and wide dissemination of design 

18 guidance, model building codes and 

19 standards, and practices to increase 

20 the earthquake resiliency of new and 

21 existing buildings, structures, and life22 lines; 

23 ‘‘(II) development of perform24 ance-based design guidelines and 

25 methodologies supporting model codes 


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1 for buildings, structures, and lifelines; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) development of methods 

4 and tools to facilitate the incorpora5 tion of earthquake engineering prin6 ciples into design and construction 

7 practices; 

8 ‘‘(ii) develop tools, technologies, and 

9 methods to assist local planners, and oth10 ers, to model and predict the potential im11 pact of earthquake damage in seismically 

12 hazardous areas; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) support the implementation of a 

14 comprehensive earthquake education and 

15 public awareness program, including the 

16 development of materials and their wide 

17 dissemination to all appropriate audiences, 

18 and support public access to locality-spe19 cific information that may assist the public 

20 in preparing for, mitigating against, re21 sponding to, and recovering from earth22 quakes and related disasters. 

23 ‘‘(C) STATE ASSISTANCE GRANT PRO24 GRAM.—The Director of the Agency shall oper25 ate a program of grants and assistance to enVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 able States to develop mitigation, preparedness, 

2 and response plans, compare inventories and 

3 conduct seismic safety inspections of critical 

4 structures and lifelines, update building and 

5 zoning codes and ordinances to enhance seismic 

6 safety, increase earthquake awareness and edu7 cation, and encourage the development of 

8 multistate groups for such purposes. The Direc9 tor shall operate such programs in coordination 

10 with the all hazards mitigation and prepared11 ness programs authorized by the Robert T. 

12 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist13 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), in order to 

14 ensure that such programs are as consistent as 

15 possible. In order to qualify for assistance 

16 under this subparagraph, a State must— 

17 ‘‘(i) demonstrate that the assistance 

18 will result in enhanced seismic safety in 

19 the State; 

20 ‘‘(ii) provide 50 percent of the costs of 

21 the activities for which assistance is being 

22 given, except that the Director may lower 

23 or waive the cost-share requirement for 

24 these activities in exceptional cases of eco25 nomic hardship; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) meet such other requirements as 

2 the Director of the Agency shall prescribe. 

3 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

4 AGENCY ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY.—Nothing 

5 in this Act shall be construed to diminish the 

6 role and responsibility of the Federal Emer7 gency Management Agency with regard to all 

8 hazards preparedness, response, recovery, and 

9 mitigation. 

10 ‘‘(4) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.— 

11 The United States Geological Survey (in this para12 graph referred to as the ‘Survey’) shall conduct re13 search and other activities necessary to characterize 

14 and identify earthquake hazards, assess earthquake 

15 risks, monitor seismic activity, and provide real-time 

16 earthquake information. In carrying out this para17 graph, the Director of the Survey shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) conduct a systematic assessment of 

19 the seismic risks in each region of the Nation 

20 prone to earthquakes, including, where appro21 priate, the establishment and operation of in22 tensive monitoring projects on hazardous faults, 

23 detailed seismic hazard and risk studies in 

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1 quake risk is determined to be significant, and 

2 engineering seismology studies; 

3 ‘‘(B) work with officials of State and local 

4 governments to ensure that they are knowledge5 able about the specific seismic risks in their 

6 areas; 

7 ‘‘(C) develop standard procedures, in con8 sultation with the Director of the Federal 

9 Emergency Management Agency, for issuing 

10 earthquake alerts, including aftershock 

11 advisories, and, to the extent possible, ensure 

12 that such alerts are compatible with the Inte13 grated Public Alerts and Warning System pro14 gram authorized by section 202 of the Robert 

15 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As16 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5132); 

17 ‘‘(D) issue when justified, and notify the 

18 Director of the Federal Emergency Manage19 ment Agency of, an earthquake prediction or 

20 other earthquake advisory, which may be evalu21 ated by the National Earthquake Prediction 

22 Evaluation Council; 

23 ‘‘(E) operate, as integral parts of the Ad24 vanced National Seismic Research and Moni25 toring System, a National Earthquake InformaVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 tion Center and a national seismic network, to2 gether providing timely and accurate informa3 tion on earthquakes world-wide; 

4 ‘‘(F) support the operation of regional seis5 mic networks in areas of higher seismic risk; 

6 ‘‘(G) develop and support seismic instru7 mentation of buildings and other structures to 

8 obtain data on their response to earthquakes 

9 for use in engineering studies and assessment 

10 of damage; 

11 ‘‘(H) monitor and assess Earth surface de12 formation as it pertains to the evaluation of 

13 earthquake hazards and impacts; 

14 ‘‘(I) work with other Program agencies to 

15 maintain awareness of, and where appropriate 

16 cooperate with, earthquake risk reduction ef17 forts in other countries, to ensure that the Pro18 gram benefits from relevant information and 

19 advances in those countries; 

20 ‘‘(J) maintain suitable seismic hazard 

21 maps in support of building codes for structures 

22 and lifelines, including additional maps needed 

23 for performance-based design approaches, and, 

24 to the extent possible, ensure that such maps 

25 are developed consistent with the multihazard 


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1 advisory maps authorized by section 203(k) of 

2 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

3 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(k)); 

4 ‘‘(K) conduct a competitive, peer-reviewed 

5 process which awards grants and cooperative 

6 agreements to complement and extend related 

7 internal Survey research and monitoring activi8 ties; and 

9 ‘‘(L) operate, in cooperation with the Na10 tional Science Foundation, a Global Seis11 mographic Network for detection of earth12 quakes around the world and research into fun13 damental earth processes. 

14 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—The 

15 National Science Foundation shall be responsible for 

16 funding basic research that furthers the under17 standing of earthquakes, earthquake engineering, 

18 and community preparation and response to earth19 quakes. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director 

20 of the National Science Foundation shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) support multidisciplinary and inter22 disciplinary research that will improve the resil23 iency of communities to earthquakes, includ24 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(i) research that improves the safety 

2 and performance of buildings, structures, 

3 and lifelines, including the use of the large4 scale experimental and computational fa5 cilities of the George E. Brown, Jr. Net6 work for Engineering Earthquake Simula7 tion; 

8 ‘‘(ii) research to support more effec9 tive earthquake mitigation and response 

10 measures, such as developing better knowl11 edge of the specific types of vulnerabilities 

12 faced by segments of the community vul13 nerable to earthquakes, addressing the bar14 riers they face in adopting mitigation and 

15 preparation measures, and developing 

16 methods to better communicate the risks of 

17 earthquakes and to promote mitigation; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iii) research on the response of com20 munities, households, businesses, and 

21 emergency responders to earthquakes; 

22 ‘‘(B) support research to understand 

23 earthquake processes, earthquake patterns, and 

24 earthquake frequencies; 


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1 ‘‘(C) encourage prompt dissemination of 

2 significant findings, sharing of data, samples, 

3 physical collections, and other supporting mate4 rials, and development of intellectual property 

5 so research results can be used by appropriate 

6 organizations to mitigate earthquake damage; 

7 ‘‘(D) work with other Program agencies to 

8 maintain awareness of, and where appropriate 

9 cooperate with, earthquake risk reduction re10 search efforts in other countries, to ensure that 

11 the Program benefits from relevant information 

12 and advances in those countries; and 

13 ‘‘(E) include to the maximum extent prac14 ticable diverse institutions, including Histori15 cally Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic16 serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Univer17 sities, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and 

18 Native Hawaiian-serving institutions.’’; and 

19 (3) in subsection (c)(1) by inserting ‘‘on Nat20 ural Hazards Risk Reduction established under sec21 tion 301 of the Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act 

22 of 2011’’ after ‘‘Interagency Coordinating Com23 mittee’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. POST-EARTHQUAKE INVESTIGATIONS PROGRAM. 

2 Section 11 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

3 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7705e) is amended by striking ‘‘There 

4 is established’’ and all that follows through ‘‘conduct of 

5 such earthquake investigations.’’ and inserting ‘‘The Pro6 gram shall include a post-earthquake investigations pro7 gram, the purpose of which is to investigate major earth8 quakes so as to learn lessons which can be applied to re9 duce the loss of lives and property in future earthquakes. 

10 The lead Program agency, in consultation with each Pro11 gram agency, shall organize investigations to study the im12 plications of the earthquakes in the areas of responsibility 

13 of each Program agency. The investigations shall begin 

14 as rapidly as possible and may be conducted by grantees 

15 and contractors. The Program agencies shall ensure that 

16 the results of the investigations are disseminated widely.’’. 

17 SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12 of the Earthquake 

19 Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7706) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(9) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

24 Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out 

25 this Act— 

26 ‘‘(A) $10,238,000 for fiscal year 2011; 


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1 ‘‘(B) $10,545,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

2 ‘‘(C) $10,861,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

3 ‘‘(D) $11,187,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

4 ‘‘(E) $11,523,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’; 

5 (2) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

8 United States Geological Survey for carrying out this 

9 Act— 

10 ‘‘(A) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, of which 

11 $36,000,000 shall be made available for completion 

12 of the Advanced National Seismic Research and 

13 Monitoring System; 

14 ‘‘(B) $92,100,000 for fiscal year 2012, of which 

15 $37,000,000 shall be made available for completion 

16 of the Advanced National Seismic Research and 

17 Monitoring System; 

18 ‘‘(C) $94,263,000 for fiscal year 2013, of which 

19 $38,000,000 shall be made available for completion 

20 of the Advanced National Seismic Research and 

21 Monitoring System; 

22 ‘‘(D) $96,491,000 for fiscal year 2014, of which 

23 $39,000,000 shall be made available for completion 

24 of the Advanced National Seismic Research and 

25 Monitoring System; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) $98,786,000 for fiscal year 2015, of which 

2 $40,000,000 shall be made available for completion 

3 of the Advanced National Seismic Research and 

4 Monitoring System.’’; 

5 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

8 National Science Foundation for carrying out this Act— 

9 ‘‘(A) $64,125,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

10 ‘‘(B) $66,049,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

11 ‘‘(C) $68,030,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

12 ‘‘(D) $70,071,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

13 ‘‘(E) $72,173,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’; and 

14 (4) by adding at the end of subsection (d) the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

17 National Institute of Standards and Technology for car18 rying out this Act— 

19 ‘‘(A) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

20 ‘‘(B) $7,700,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

21 ‘‘(C) $7,931,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

22 ‘‘(D) $8,169,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

23 ‘‘(E) $8,414,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 14 of the 

2 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 

3 U.S.C. 7708) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—’’; and 

5 (2) by striking subsection (b). 

6 TITLE II—WIND 

7 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Windstorm 

9 Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 2011’’. 

10 SEC. 202. PURPOSE. 

11 Section 202 of the National Windstorm Impact Re12 duction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15701) is amended to 

13 read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 202. PURPOSE. 

15 ‘‘It is the purpose of the Congress in this title to 

16 achieve a major measurable reduction in losses of life and 

17 property from windstorms through the establishment and 

18 maintenance of an effective Windstorm Impact Reduction 

19 Program. The objectives of such Program shall include— 

20 ‘‘(1) the education of households, businesses, 

21 and communities about the risks posed by wind22 storms, and the identification of locations, struc23 tures, lifelines, and segments of the community 

24 which are especially vulnerable to windstorm damage 


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1 and disruption, and the dissemination of information 

2 on methods to reduce those risks; 

3 ‘‘(2) the development of technologically and eco4 nomically feasible design and construction methods 

5 and procedures to make new and existing structures, 

6 in areas of windstorm risk, windstorm resilient, giv7 ing high priority to the development of such methods 

8 and procedures for lifelines, structures associated 

9 with a potential high loss of life, and structures that 

10 are especially needed in times of disasters, such as 

11 hospitals and public safety and shelter facilities; 

12 ‘‘(3) the implementation, in areas of major 

13 windstorm risk, of instrumentation to record and 

14 gather data on windstorms and the characteristics of 

15 the wind during those events, and continued re16 search to increase the understanding of windstorm 

17 phenomena; 

18 ‘‘(4) the development, publication, and pro19 motion, in conjunction with State and local officials 

20 and professional organizations, of model building 

21 codes and standards and other means to encourage 

22 consideration of information about windstorm risk in 

23 making decisions about land use policy and construc24 tion activity; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) the facilitation of the adoption of wind2 storm risk mitigation measures in areas of wind3 storm risk by households, businesses, and commu4 nities through outreach, incentive programs, and 

5 other means.’’. 

6 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 203(1) of the National Windstorm Impact 

8 Reduction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15702(1)) is amended 

9 by striking ‘‘Director of the Office of Science and Tech10 nology Policy’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of the National In11 stitute of Standards and Technology’’. 

12 SEC. 204. NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION PRO13 GRAM. 

14 Section 204 of the National Windstorm Impact Re15 duction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15703) is amended to 

16 read as follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 204. NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION 

18 PROGRAM. 

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Na20 tional Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. 

21 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the 

22 Program shall be designed to— 

23 ‘‘(1) research and develop cost-effective, feasible 

24 methods, tools, and technologies to reduce the risks 

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1 cially to lessen the risk to existing structures and 

2 lifelines; 

3 ‘‘(2) improve the understanding of windstorms 

4 and their impacts on households, businesses, com5 munities, buildings, structures, and lifelines, through 

6 interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research that 

7 involves engineering, natural sciences, and social 

8 sciences; and 

9 ‘‘(3) facilitate the adoption of windstorm risk 

10 reduction measures by households, businesses, com11 munities, local, State and Federal governments, na12 tional standards and model building code organiza13 tions, architects and engineers, building owners, and 

14 others with a role in planning for disasters and plan15 ning, constructing, retrofitting, and insuring build16 ings, structures, and lifelines through— 

17 ‘‘(A) grants, contracts, cooperative agree18 ments, and technical assistance; 

19 ‘‘(B) development of hazard maps, stand20 ards, guidelines, voluntary consensus standards, 

21 and other design guidance for windstorm risk 

22 reduction for buildings, structures, and lifelines; 

23 ‘‘(C) outreach and information dissemina24 tion to communities on site specific windstorm 


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1 hazards and ways to reduce the risks from 

2 those hazards; and 

3 ‘‘(D) development and maintenance of a 

4 repository of information, including technical 

5 data, on windstorm hazards and risk reduction; 

6 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROGRAM AGENCIES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) LEAD AGENCY.—The National Institute of 

8 Standards and Technology (in this section referred 

9 to as the ‘Institute’) shall be responsible for plan10 ning and coordinating the Program. In carrying out 

11 this paragraph, the Director of the Institute shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) ensure that the Program includes the 

13 necessary components to promote the imple14 mentation of windstorm risk reduction meas15 ures by households, businesses, communities, 

16 local, State, and Federal governments, national 

17 standards and model building code organiza18 tions, architects and engineers, building owners, 

19 and others with a role in planning and pre20 paring for disasters, and planning constructing, 

21 and retrofitting, and insuring buildings, struc22 tures, and lifelines; 

23 ‘‘(B) support the development of perform24 ance-based engineering tools, and work with the 

25 appropriate groups to promote the commercial 


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1 application of such tools, through wind-related 

2 building codes, standards, and construction 

3 practices; 

4 ‘‘(C) ensure the use of social science re5 search and findings in informing the develop6 ment of technology and research priorities, in 

7 communicating windstorm risks to the public, 

8 in developing windstorm risk mitigation strate9 gies, and in preparing for windstorm disasters; 

10 ‘‘(D) coordinate all Federal post-windstorm 

11 investigations; and 

12 ‘‘(E) when warranted by research or inves13 tigative findings, issue recommendations for 

14 changes in model codes to the relevant code de15 velopment organizations, and report back to 

16 Congress on whether such recommendations 

17 were adopted. 

18 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

19 TECHNOLOGY.—In addition to the lead agency re20 sponsibilities described under paragraph (1), the In21 stitute shall be responsible for carrying out research 

22 and development to improve model codes, standards, 

23 design guidance and practices for the construction 

24 and retrofit of buildings, structures, and lifelines. In 


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1 carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the In2 stitute shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) support the development of instru4 mentation, data processing, and archival capa5 bilities, and standards for the instrumentation 

6 and its deployment, to measure wind, wind 

7 loading, and other properties of severe wind and 

8 structure response; 

9 ‘‘(B) coordinate with other appropriate 

10 Federal agencies to make the data described in 

11 subparagraph (A) available to researchers, 

12 standards and code developers, and local plan13 ners; 

14 ‘‘(C) support the development of tools and 

15 methods for the collection of data on the loss of 

16 and damage to structures, and data on sur17 viving structures after severe windstorm events; 

18 ‘‘(D) improve the knowledge of the impact 

19 of severe wind on buildings, structures, lifelines, 

20 and communities; 

21 ‘‘(E) develop cost-effective windstorm im22 pact reduction tools, methods, and technologies; 

23 ‘‘(F) work, in conjunction with other ap24 propriate Federal agencies, to support the deVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 velopment of wind standards and model codes; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(G) in conjunction with other appropriate 

4 Federal agencies, work closely with standards 

5 and model code development organizations, pro6 fessional societies, and practicing engineers, ar7 chitects, and others involved in the construction 

8 of buildings, structures, and lifelines, to pro9 mote better building practices, including by— 

10 ‘‘(i) supporting the development of 

11 technical resources for practitioners to im12 plement new knowledge; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) supporting the development of 

14 methods and tools to incorporate wind en15 gineering principles into design and con16 struction practices. 

17 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

18 AGENCY.—The Federal Emergency Management 

19 Agency, consistent with the Agency’s all hazards ap20 proach, shall support the development of risk assess21 ment tools and effective mitigation techniques, assist 

22 with windstorm-related data collection and analysis, 

23 and support outreach, information dissemination, 

24 and implementation of windstorm preparedness and 


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1 mitigation measures by households, businesses, and 

2 communities, including by— 

3 ‘‘(A) working to develop or improve risk4 assessment tools, methods, and models; 

5 ‘‘(B) work closely with other appropriate 

6 Federal agencies to develop and facilitate the 

7 adoption of windstorm impact reduction meas8 ures, including by— 

9 ‘‘(i) developing cost-effective retrofit 

10 measures for existing buildings, structures, 

11 and lifelines to improve windstorm per12 formance; 

13 ‘‘(ii) developing methods, tools, and 

14 technologies to improve the planning, de15 sign, and construction of new buildings, 

16 structures, and lifelines; 

17 ‘‘(iii) supporting the development of 

18 model wind codes and standards for build19 ings, structures, and lifelines; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) developing technical resources 

21 for practitioners that reflect new knowl22 edge and standards of practice; and 

23 ‘‘(C) develop and disseminate guidelines 

24 for the construction of windstorm shelters. 


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1 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish 

2 the role and responsibility of the Federal Emergency 

3 Management Agency with regard to all hazards pre4 paredness, response, recovery, and mitigation. 

5 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC

6 ADMINISTRATION.—The National Oceanic and At7 mospheric Administration shall support atmospheric 

8 sciences research and data collection to improve the 

9 understanding of the behavior of windstorms and 

10 their impact on buildings, structures, and lifelines, 

11 including by— 

12 ‘‘(A) working with other appropriate Fed13 eral agencies to develop and deploy instrumen14 tation to measure speed and other characteris15 tics of wind, and to collect, analyze, and make 

16 available such data; 

17 ‘‘(B) working with officials of State and 

18 local governments to ensure that they are 

19 knowledgeable about, and prepared for, the spe20 cific windstorm risks in their area; 

21 ‘‘(C) supporting the development of suit22 able wind speed maps and other derivative 

23 products that support building codes and other 

24 hazard mitigation approaches for buildings, 

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1 sible, ensure that such maps and other deriva2 tive products are developed consistent with the 

3 multihazard advisory maps authorized by sec4 tion 203(k) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

5 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 5133(k)); 

7 ‘‘(D) conducting a competitive, peer-re8 viewed process which awards grants and cooper9 ative agreements to complement the National 

10 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 

11 wind-related and storm surge-related research 

12 and data collection activities; 

13 ‘‘(E) working with other appropriate Fed14 eral agencies and State and local governments 

15 to develop or improve risk-assessment tools, 

16 methods, and models; and 

17 ‘‘(F) working with other appropriate Fed18 eral agencies to develop storm surge models to 

19 better understand the interaction between wind20 storms and bodies of water. 

21 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—The 

22 National Science Foundation shall be responsible for 

23 funding basic research that furthers the under24 standing of windstorms, wind engineering, and com25 munity preparation and response to windstorms. In 


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1 carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the Na2 tional Science Foundation shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) support multidisciplinary and inter4 disciplinary research that will improve the resil5 iency of communities to windstorms, includ6 ing— 

7 ‘‘(i) research that improves the safety 

8 and performance of buildings, structures, 

9 and lifelines; 

10 ‘‘(ii) research to support more effec11 tive windstorm mitigation and response 

12 measures, such as developing better knowl13 edge of the specific types of vulnerabilities 

14 faced by segments of the community vul15 nerable to windstorms, addressing the bar16 riers they face in adopting mitigation and 

17 preparation measures, and developing 

18 methods to better communicate the risks of 

19 windstorms and to promote mitigation; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) research on the response of com21 munities to windstorms, including on the 

22 effectiveness of the emergency response, 

23 and the recovery process of communities, 

24 households, and businesses; 


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1 ‘‘(B) support research to understand wind2 storm processes, windstorm patterns, and wind3 storm frequencies; 

4 ‘‘(C) encourage prompt dissemination of 

5 significant findings, sharing of data, samples, 

6 physical collections, and other supporting mate7 rials, and development of intellectual property 

8 so research results can be used by appropriate 

9 organizations to mitigate windstorm damage; 

10 ‘‘(D) work with other Program agencies to 

11 maintain awareness of, and where appropriate 

12 cooperate with, windstorm risk reduction re13 search efforts in other countries, to ensure that 

14 the Program benefits from relevant information 

15 and advances in those countries; and 

16 ‘‘(E) include to the maximum extent prac17 ticable diverse institutions, including Histori18 cally Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic19 serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Univer20 sities, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and 

21 Native Hawaiian-serving institutions.’’. 

22 SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 Section 207 of the National Windstorm Impact Re24 duction Program of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15706) is amended 

25 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGEN3 CY.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fed4 eral Emergency Management Agency for carrying out this 

5 title— 

6 ‘‘(1) $9,682,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

7 ‘‘(2) $9,972,500 for fiscal year 2012; 

8 ‘‘(3) $10,271,600 for fiscal year 2013; 

9 ‘‘(4) $10,579,800 for fiscal year 2014; and 

10 ‘‘(5) $10,897,200 for fiscal year 2015. 

11 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—There are 

12 authorized to be appropriated to the National Science 

13 Foundation for carrying out this title— 

14 ‘‘(1) $9,682,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

15 ‘‘(2) $9,972,500 for fiscal year 2012; 

16 ‘‘(3) $10,271,600 for fiscal year 2013; 

17 ‘‘(4) $10,579,800 for fiscal year 2014; and 

18 ‘‘(5) $10,897,200 for fiscal year 2015. 

19 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

20 TECHNOLOGY.—There are authorized to be appropriated 

21 to the National Institute of Standards and Technology for 

22 carrying out this title— 

23 ‘‘(1) $4,120,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

24 ‘‘(2) $4,243,600 for fiscal year 2012; 

25 ‘‘(3) $4,370,900 for fiscal year 2013; 

26 ‘‘(4) $4,502,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) $4,637,100 for fiscal year 2015. 

2 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN3 ISTRATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated to 

4 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for 

5 carrying out this title— 

6 ‘‘(1) $2,266,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

7 ‘‘(2) $2,334,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

8 ‘‘(3) $2,404,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

9 ‘‘(4) $2,476,100 for fiscal year 2014; and 

10 ‘‘(5) $2,550,400 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

11 TITLE III—INTERAGENCY CO12 ORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 

13 NATURAL HAZARDS RISK RE14 DUCTION 

15 SEC. 301. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 

16 NATURAL HAZARDS RISK REDUCTION. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established an Inter18 agency Coordinating Committee on Natural Hazards Risk 

19 Reduction, chaired by the Director of the National Insti20 tute of Standards and Technology. 

21 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—In addition to the chair, 

22 the Committee shall be composed of— 

23 (A) the directors of— 

24 (i) the Federal Emergency Manage25 ment Agency; 


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1 (ii) the United States Geological Sur2 vey; 

3 (iii) the National Oceanic and Atmos4 pheric Administration; 

5 (iv) the National Science Foundation; 

6 (v) the Office of Science and Tech7 nology Policy; and 

8 (vi) the Office of Management and 

9 Budget; and 

10 (B) the head of any other Federal agency 

11 the Committee considers appropriate. 

12 (2) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall not meet 

13 less than 2 times a year at the call of the Director 

14 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech15 nology. 

16 (3) GENERAL PURPOSE AND DUTIES.—The 

17 Committee shall oversee the planning and coordina18 tion of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction 

19 Program and the National Windstorm Impact Re20 duction Program, and shall make proposals for plan21 ning and coordination of any other Federal research 

22 for natural hazard mitigation that the Committee 

23 considers appropriate. 


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1 (4) STRATEGIC PLANS.—The Committee shall 

2 develop and submit to Congress, not later than one 

3 year after the date of enactment of this Act— 

4 (A) a Strategic Plan for the National 

5 Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program that 

6 includes— 

7 (i) prioritized goals for such Program 

8 that will mitigate against the loss of life 

9 and property from future earthquakes; 

10 (ii) short-term, mid-term, and long11 term research objectives to achieve those 

12 goals; 

13 (iii) a description of the role of each 

14 Program agency in achieving the 

15 prioritized goals; 

16 (iv) the methods by which progress to17 wards the goals will be assessed; 

18 (v) an explanation of how the Pro19 gram will foster the transfer of research 

20 results onto outcomes, such as improved 

21 building codes; 

22 (vi) a description of the role of social 

23 science in informing the development of 

24 the prioritized goals and research objec25 tives; and 


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1 (vii) a description of how the George 

2 E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake 

3 Engineering Simulation and the Advanced 

4 National Seismic Research and Monitoring 

5 System will be used in achieving the 

6 prioritized goals and research objectives; 

7 and 

8 (B) a Strategic Plan for the National 

9 Windstorm Impact Reduction Program that in10 cludes— 

11 (i) prioritized goals for such Program 

12 that will mitigate against the loss of life 

13 and property from future windstorms; 

14 (ii) short-term, mid-term, and long15 term research objectives to achieve those 

16 goals; 

17 (iii) a description of the role of each 

18 Program agency in achieving the 

19 prioritized goals; 

20 (iv) the methods by which progress to21 wards the goals will be assessed; 

22 (v) an explanation of how the Pro23 gram will foster the transfer of research 

24 results onto outcomes, such as improved 

25 building codes; and 


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1 (vi) a description of the role of social 

2 science in informing the development of 

3 the prioritized goals and research objec4 tives. 

5 (5) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than one 

6 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and at 

7 least once every two years thereafter, the Committee 

8 shall submit to the Congress— 

9 (A) a report on the progress of the Na10 tional Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program 

11 that includes— 

12 (i) a description of the activities fund13 ed for the previous two years of the Pro14 gram, a description of how these activities 

15 align with the prioritized goals and re16 search objectives established in the Stra17 tegic Plan, and the budgets, per agency, 

18 for these activities; 

19 (ii) the outcomes achieved by the Pro20 gram for each of the goals identified in the 

21 Strategic Plan; 

22 (iii) a description of any recommenda23 tions made to change existing building 

24 codes that were the result of Program ac25 tivities; and 


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1 (iv) a description of the extent to 

2 which the Program has incorporated rec3 ommendations from the Advisory Com4 mittee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction; 

5 and 

6 (B) a report on the progress of the Na7 tional Windstorm Impact Reduction Program 

8 that includes— 

9 (i) a description of the activities fund10 ed for the previous two years of the Pro11 gram, a description of how these activities 

12 align with the prioritized goals and re13 search objectives established in the Stra14 tegic Plan, and the budgets, per agency, 

15 for these activities; 

16 (ii) the outcomes achieved by the Pro17 gram for each of the goals identified in the 

18 Strategic Plan; 

19 (iii) a description of any recommenda20 tions made to change existing building 

21 codes that were the result of Program ac22 tivities; and 

23 (iv) a description of the extent to 

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1 ommendations from the Advisory Com2 mittee on Windstorm Impact Reduction. 

3 (6) COORDINATED BUDGET.—The Committee 

4 shall develop a coordinated budget for the National 

5 Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program and a co6 ordinated budget for the National Windstorm Im7 pact Reduction Program. These budgets shall be 

8 submitted to the Congress at the time of the Presi9 dent’s budget submission for each fiscal year. 

10 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEES ON NATURAL HAZARDS

11 REDUCTION.— 

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

13 Institute of Standards and Technology shall estab14 lish an Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards 

15 Reduction, an Advisory Committee on Windstorm 

16 Impact Reduction, and other such advisory commit17 tees as the Director considers necessary to advise 

18 the Institute on research, development, and tech19 nology transfer activities to mitigate the impact of 

20 natural disasters. 

21 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON EARTHQUAKE

22 HAZARDS REDUCTION.—The Advisory Committee on 

23 Earthquake Hazards Reduction shall be composed of 

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1 atives of research and academic institutions, indus2 try standards development organizations, emergency 

3 management agencies, State and local government, 

4 and business communities who are qualified to pro5 vide advice on earthquake hazards reduction and 

6 represent all related scientific, architectural, and en7 gineering disciplines. The recommendations of the 

8 Advisory Committee shall be considered by Federal 

9 agencies in implementing the National Earthquake 

10 Hazards Reduction Program. 

11 (3) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WINDSTORM IM12 PACT REDUCTION.—The Advisory Committee on 

13 Windstorm Impact Reduction shall be composed of 

14 at least 7 members, none of whom may be employees 

15 of the Federal Government, including representa16 tives of research and academic institutions, industry 

17 standards development organizations, emergency 

18 management agencies, State and local government, 

19 and business communities who are qualified to pro20 vide advice on windstorm impact reduction and rep21 resent all related scientific, architectural, and engi22 neering disciplines. The recommendations of the Ad23 visory Committee shall be considered by Federal 

24 agencies in implementing the National Windstorm 

25 Impact Reduction Program. 


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1 (4) ASSESSMENTS.—The Advisory Committee 

2 on Earthquake Hazards Reduction and the Advisory 

3 Committee on Windstorm Impact Reduction shall 

4 offer assessments on— 

5 (A) trends and developments in the nat6 ural, social, and engineering sciences and prac7 tices of earthquake hazards or windstorm im8 pact mitigation; 

9 (B) the priorities of the Programs’ Stra10 tegic Plans; 

11 (C) the coordination of the Programs; and 

12 (D) and any revisions to the Programs 

13 which may be necessary. 

14 (5) REPORTS.—At least every two years, the 

15 Advisory Committees shall report to the Director of 

16 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

17 on the assessments carried out under paragraph (4) 

18 and their recommendations for ways to improve the 

19 Programs. In developing recommendations for the 

20 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, 

21 the Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Re22 duction shall consider the recommendations of the 

23 United States Geological Survey Scientific Earth24 quake Studies Advisory Committee. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL DISASTER RE2 SEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY TRANS3 FER.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction of 

5 the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of 

6 the National Science and Technology Council shall submit 

7 a report to the Congress identifying— 

8 (1) current Federal research, development, and 

9 technology transfer activities that address hazard 

10 mitigation for natural disasters, including earth11 quakes, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, floods, and 

12 the current budgets for these activities; 

13 (2) areas of research that are common to two 

14 or more of the hazards identified in paragraph (1); 

15 and 

16 (3) opportunities to create synergies between 

17 the research activities for the hazards identified in 

18 paragraph (1). 

19 TITLE IV—NATIONAL CON20 STRUCTION SAFETY TEAM 

21 ACT AMENDMENTS 

22 SEC. 401. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAM ACT 

23 AMENDMENTS. 

24 The National Construction Safety Team Act (15 

25 U.S.C. 7301 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 2(a)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘a building or buildings’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘a building, buildings, or infra4 structure’’; and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘To the maximum extent 

6 practicable, the Director shall establish and de7 ploy a Team within 48 hours after such an 

8 event.’’ and inserting ‘‘The Director shall make 

9 a decision whether to deploy a Team within 72 

10 hours after such an event.’’; 

11 (2) in section 2(b)(1), by striking ‘‘buildings’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘buildings or infrastructure’’; 

13 (3) in section 2(b)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘building’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

15 (4) in section 2(b)(2)(D), by striking ‘‘build16 ings’’ and inserting ‘‘buildings or infrastructure’’; 

17 (5) in section 2(c)(1), by striking ‘‘the United 

18 States Fire Administration and’’; 

19 (6) in section 2(c)(1)(G), by striking ‘‘building’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

21 (7) in section 2(c)(1)(J)— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘building’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘and the National Wind2 storm Impact Reduction Act of 2004’’ after 

3 ‘‘Act of 1977’’; 

4 (8) in section 4(a), by striking ‘‘investigating a 

5 building’’ and inserting ‘‘investigating building and 

6 infrastructure’’; 

7 (9) in section 4(a)(1)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘a building’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘a building or infrastructure’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘building’’ both of the 

11 other places it appears and inserting ‘‘building 

12 or infrastructure’’; 

13 (10) in section 4(a)(3), by striking ‘‘building’’ 

14 both places it appears and inserting ‘‘building or in15 frastructure’’; 

16 (11) in section 4(b), by striking ‘‘building’’ both 

17 places it appears and inserting ‘‘building or infra18 structure’’; 

19 (12) in section 4(c) (1) and (2), by striking 

20 ‘‘building’’ both places it appears and inserting 

21 ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

22 (13) by amending section 4(d)(1) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro25 vided in this subsection, a Team investigation shall 


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1 have priority over any other investigation which is 

2 related to the purpose and duties set forth in section 

3 2(b) and undertaken by any other Federal agency.’’; 

4 (14) in section 4(d) (3) and (4), by striking 

5 ‘‘building’’ both places it appears and inserting 

6 ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

7 (15) in section 4, by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(5) INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTIGATIONS.—With 

10 respect to an investigation relating to an infrastruc11 ture failure, a Federal agency with primary jurisdic12 tion over the failed infrastructure which is con13 ducting an investigation and asserts priority over the 

14 Team investigation shall have such priority. Such 

15 priority shall not otherwise affect the authority of 

16 the Team to continue its investigation under this 

17 Act.’’; 

18 (16) in section 7(a), by striking ‘‘on request 

19 and at reasonable cost’’; 

20 (17) in section 7(c), by striking ‘‘building’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

22 (18) in section 8 (1) and (4), by striking 

23 ‘‘building’’ both places it appears and inserting 

24 ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 


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1 (19) in section 9, by striking ‘‘the United 

2 States Fire Administration and’’; 

3 (20) in section 9(2)(C), by striking ‘‘building’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

5 (21) in section 10(3), by striking ‘‘building’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘building and infrastructure’’; 

7 (22) in section 11(a), by striking ‘‘the United 

8 States Fire Administration and’’; and 

9 (23) by striking section 12. 

10 TITLE V—FIRE RESEARCH 

11 PROGRAM 

12 SEC. 501. FIRE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

13 Section 16(a)(1) of the National Institute of Stand14 ards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278f(a)(1)) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘fires at 

17 the wildland-urban interface,’’ after ‘‘but not limited 

18 to,’’; and 

19 (2) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘fires at 

20 the wildland-urban interface,’’ after ‘‘types of fires, 

21 including’’. 

22 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

23 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Natural Hazards Risk 

24 Reduction Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The United States faces significant risks 

4 from many types of natural hazards, including earth5 quakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and floods. 

6 Increasing numbers of Americans are living in areas 

7 prone to these hazards. 

8 (2) Earthquakes occur without warning and can 

9 have devastating effects. According to the U.S. Geo10 logical Survey, two recent earthquakes, the Northridge 

11 Earthquake in 1994, and the Loma Prieta Earth12 quake in 1989, killed nearly 100 people, injured 

13 12,757, and caused $33 billion in damages. Nearly all 

14 States face some level of seismic risk. Twenty-six 

15 urban areas in 14 States have a significant seismic 

16 risk. 

17 (3) Severe weather is the most costly natural 

18 hazard, measured on a per year basis. According to 

19 data from the National Weather Service over the last 

20 10 years, tornadoes, thunderstorms, and hurricanes 

21 have caused an average of 226 fatalities and $16 bil22 lion of property damage per year. The 2005 hurricane 

23 season was one of the most destructive in United 

24 States history, killing 1,836 people, and causing $80 

25 billion in damage. 


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1 (4) The United States Fire Administration re2 ports that 38 percent of new home construction in 

3 2002 was in areas adjacent to, or intermixed with, 

4 wildlands. Fires in the wildland-urban interface are 

5 costly. For example, the 2007 California Witch fire 

6 alone caused $1.3 billion in insured property losses, 

7 according to the Insurance Services Office (ISO). In 

8 addition, Government Accountability Office reported 

9 in 2007 that the Federal spending for wildfire sup10 pression between 2001 and 2005 was, on average, $2.9 

11 billion per year. 

12 (5) Developing better knowledge about natural 

13 hazard phenomena and their effects is crucial to as14 sessing the risks these hazards pose to communities. 

15 Instrumentation, monitoring, and data gathering to 

16 characterize earthquakes and wind events are impor17 tant activities to increase this knowledge. 

18 (6) Current building codes and standards can 

19 mitigate the damages caused by natural hazards. The 

20 Institute for Business and Home Safety estimated 

21 that the $19 billion in damage caused by Hurricane 

22 Andrew in 1994 could have been reduced by half if 

23 such codes and standards were in effect. Research for 

24 the continuous improvement of building codes, stand25 ards, and design practices—and for developing methVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 ods to retrofit existing structures—is crucial to miti2 gating losses from natural hazards. 

3 (7) Since its creation in 1977, the National 

4 Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) 

5 has supported research to develop seismic codes, 

6 standards, and building practices that have been 

7 widely adopted. The NEHRP Recommended Provi8 sions for Seismic Regulations for New Buildings and 

9 Other Structures and the Guidance for Seismic Per10 formance Assessment of Buildings are two examples. 

11 (8) Research to understand the institutional, so12 cial, behavioral, and economic factors that influence 

13 how households, businesses, and communities perceive 

14 risk and prepare for natural hazards, and how well 

15 they recover after a disaster, can increase the imple16 mentation of risk mitigation measures. 

17 (9) A major goal of the Federal natural hazards18 related research and development effort should be to 

19 reduce the loss of life and damage to communities and 

20 infrastructure through increasing the adoption of haz21 ard mitigation measures. 

22 (10) Research, development, and technology 

23 transfer to secure infrastructure is vitally important. 

24 Infrastructure that supports electricity, transpor25 tation, drinking water, and other services is vital imVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 mediately after a disaster, and their quick return to 

2 function speeds the economic recovery of a disaster3 impacted community. 

4 TITLE I—EARTHQUAKES 

5 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Earthquake 

7 Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2011’’. 

8 SEC. 102. FINDINGS. 

9 Section 2 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

10 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7701) is repealed. 

11 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

12 Section 4 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

13 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7703) is amended by striking para14 graphs (8) and (9). 

15 SEC. 104. NATIONAL EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS REDUCTION 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 Section 5 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

18 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7704) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the 

23 Program shall be designed to— 

24 ‘‘(A) research and develop effective methods, 

25 tools, and technologies to reduce the risk posed by 


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1 earthquakes to the built environment, especially 

2 to lessen the risk to existing structures and life3 lines; 

4 ‘‘(B) improve the understanding of earth5 quakes and their effects on households, businesses, 

6 communities, buildings, structures, and lifelines, 

7 through interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary 

8 research that involves engineering, natural 

9 sciences, and social sciences; and 

10 ‘‘(C) facilitate the adoption of earthquake 

11 risk reduction measures by households, busi12 nesses, communities, local, State, and Federal 

13 governments, national standards and model 

14 building code organizations, architects and engi15 neers, building owners, and others with a role in 

16 planning for disasters and planning, con17 structing, retrofitting, and insuring buildings, 

18 structures, and lifelines through— 

19 ‘‘(i) grants, contracts, cooperative 

20 agreements, and technical assistance; 

21 ‘‘(ii) development of standards, guide22 lines, voluntary consensus standards, and 

23 other design guidance for earthquake haz24 ards risk reduction for buildings, structures, 

25 and lifelines; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) outreach and information dis2 semination to communities on location-spe3 cific earthquake hazards and methods to re4 duce the risks from those hazards; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) development and maintenance of 

6 a repository of information, including tech7 nical data, on seismic risk and hazards re8 duction.’’; and 

9 (B) by striking paragraphs (3) through (5); 

10 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROGRAM AGENCIES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) LEAD AGENCY.—The National Institute of 

14 Standards and Technology (in this section referred to 

15 as the ‘Institute’) shall be responsible for planning 

16 and coordinating the Program. In carrying out this 

17 paragraph, the Director of the Institute shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) ensure that the Program includes the 

19 necessary components to promote the implemen20 tation of earthquake hazards risk reduction 

21 measures by households, businesses, communities, 

22 local, State, and Federal governments, national 

23 standards and model building code organiza24 tions, architects and engineers, building owners, 

25 and others with a role in preparing for disasters, 


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1 or the planning, constructing, retrofitting, and 

2 insuring of buildings, structures, and lifelines; 

3 ‘‘(B) support the development of perform4 ance-based seismic engineering tools, and work 

5 with the appropriate groups to promote the com6 mercial application of such tools, through earth7 quake-related building codes, standards, and con8 struction practices; 

9 ‘‘(C) ensure the use of social science research 

10 and findings in informing research and tech11 nology development priorities, communicating 

12 earthquake risks to the public, developing earth13 quake risk mitigation strategies, and preparing 

14 for earthquake disasters; 

15 ‘‘(D) coordinate all Federal post-earthquake 

16 investigations; and 

17 ‘‘(E) when warranted by research or inves18 tigative findings, issue recommendations for 

19 changes in model codes to the relevant code devel20 opment organizations, and report back to Con21 gress on whether such recommendations were 

22 adopted. 

23 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

24 TECHNOLOGY.—In addition to the lead agency re25 sponsibilities described under paragraph (1), the InVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 stitute shall be responsible for carrying out research 

2 and development to improve building codes and 

3 standards and practices for buildings, structures, and 

4 lifelines. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director 

5 of the Institute shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) work, in conjunction with other appro7 priate Federal agencies, to support the develop8 ment of improved seismic standards and model 

9 codes; 

10 ‘‘(B) in coordination with other appro11 priate Federal agencies, work closely with stand12 ards and model code development organizations, 

13 professional societies, and practicing engineers, 

14 architects, and others involved in the construc15 tion of buildings, structures, and lifelines, to pro16 mote better building practices, including by— 

17 ‘‘(i) developing technical resources for 

18 practitioners on new knowledge and stand19 ards of practice; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) developing methods and tools to 

21 facilitate the incorporation of earthquake 

22 engineering principles into design and con23 struction practices; 

24 ‘‘(C) develop tools, technologies, methods, 

25 and practitioner guidance to feasibly and cost-efVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 fectively retrofit existing buildings and structures 

2 to increase their earthquake resiliency; and 

3 ‘‘(D) work closely with national standards 

4 organizations, and other interested parties, to de5 velop seismic safety standards and practices for 

6 new and existing lifelines. 

7 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGEN8 CY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Emergency 

10 Management Agency (in this paragraph referred 

11 to as the ‘Agency’), consistent with the Agency’s 

12 all hazards approach, shall be responsible for fa13 cilitating the development and adoption of 

14 standards, model building codes, and better seis15 mic building practices, developing tools to assess 

16 earthquake hazards, promoting the adoption of 

17 hazard mitigation measures, and carrying out a 

18 program of direct assistance to States and local19 ities to mitigate earthquake risks to buildings, 

20 structures, lifelines, and communities. 

21 ‘‘(B) DIRECTOR’S DUTIES.—The Director of 

22 the Agency shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) work closely with other relevant 

24 Federal agencies, standards and model 

25 building code development organizations, 


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1 architects, engineers, and other profes2 sionals, to facilitate the development and 

3 adoption of standards, model codes, and de4 sign and construction practices to increase 

5 the earthquake resiliency of new and exist6 ing buildings, structures, and lifelines in 

7 the— 

8 ‘‘(I) preparation, maintenance, 

9 and wide dissemination of design guid10 ance, model building codes and stand11 ards, and practices to increase the 

12 earthquake resiliency of new and exist13 ing buildings, structures, and lifelines; 

14 ‘‘(II) development of performance15 based design guidelines and methodolo16 gies supporting model codes for build17 ings, structures, and lifelines; and 

18 ‘‘(III) development of methods and 

19 tools to facilitate the incorporation of 

20 earthquake engineering principles into 

21 design and construction practices; 

22 ‘‘(ii) develop tools, technologies, and 

23 methods to assist local planners, and others, 

24 to model and predict the potential impact of 


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1 earthquake damage in seismically haz2 ardous areas; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) support the implementation of a 

4 comprehensive earthquake education and 

5 public awareness program, including the 

6 development of materials and their wide 

7 dissemination to all appropriate audiences, 

8 and support public access to locality-spe9 cific information that may assist the public 

10 in preparing for, mitigating against, re11 sponding to, and recovering from earth12 quakes and related disasters. 

13 ‘‘(C) STATE ASSISTANCE GRANT PRO14 GRAM.—The Director of the Agency shall operate 

15 a program of grants and assistance to enable 

16 States to develop mitigation, preparedness, and 

17 response plans, compare inventories and conduct 

18 seismic safety inspections of critical structures 

19 and lifelines, update building and zoning codes 

20 and ordinances to enhance seismic safety, in21 crease earthquake awareness and education, and 

22 encourage the development of multistate groups 

23 for such purposes. The Director shall operate 

24 such programs in coordination with the all haz25 ards mitigation and preparedness programs auVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 thorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

2 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 

3 et seq.), in order to ensure that such programs 

4 are as consistent as possible. In order to qualify 

5 for assistance under this subparagraph, a State 

6 must— 

7 ‘‘(i) demonstrate that the assistance 

8 will result in enhanced seismic safety in the 

9 State; 

10 ‘‘(ii) provide 50 percent of the costs of 

11 the activities for which assistance is being 

12 given, except that the Director may lower or 

13 waive the cost-share requirement for these 

14 activities in exceptional cases of economic 

15 hardship; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) meet such other requirements as 

17 the Director of the Agency shall prescribe. 

18 ‘‘(D) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

19 AGENCY ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY.—Nothing in 

20 this Act shall be construed to diminish the role 

21 and responsibility of the Federal Emergency 

22 Management Agency with regard to all hazards 

23 preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. 

24 ‘‘(4) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.—The 

25 United States Geological Survey (in this paragraph 


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1 referred to as the ‘Survey’) shall conduct research and 

2 other activities necessary to characterize and identify 

3 earthquake hazards, assess earthquake risks, monitor 

4 seismic activity, and provide real-time earthquake in5 formation. In carrying out this paragraph, the Direc6 tor of the Survey shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) conduct a systematic assessment of the 

8 seismic risks in each region of the Nation prone 

9 to earthquakes, including, where appropriate, the 

10 establishment and operation of intensive moni11 toring projects on hazardous faults, detailed seis12 mic hazard and risk studies in urban and other 

13 developed areas where earthquake risk is deter14 mined to be significant, and engineering seis15 mology studies; 

16 ‘‘(B) work with officials of State and local 

17 governments to ensure that they are knowledge18 able about the specific seismic risks in their 

19 areas; 

20 ‘‘(C) develop standard procedures, in con21 sultation with the Director of the Federal Emer22 gency Management Agency, for issuing earth23 quake alerts, including aftershock advisories, 

24 and, to the extent possible, ensure that such 

25 alerts are compatible with the Integrated Public 


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1 Alerts and Warning System program authorized 

2 by section 202 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

3 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 5132); 

5 ‘‘(D) issue when justified, and notify the 

6 Director of the Federal Emergency Management 

7 Agency of, an earthquake prediction or other 

8 earthquake advisory, which may be evaluated by 

9 the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation 

10 Council; 

11 ‘‘(E) operate, as integral parts of the Ad12 vanced National Seismic Research and Moni13 toring System, a National Earthquake Informa14 tion Center and a national seismic network, to15 gether providing timely and accurate informa16 tion on earthquakes world-wide; 

17 ‘‘(F) support the operation of regional seis18 mic networks in areas of higher seismic risk; 

19 ‘‘(G) develop and support seismic instru20 mentation of buildings and other structures to 

21 obtain data on their response to earthquakes for 

22 use in engineering studies and assessment of 

23 damage; 


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1 ‘‘(H) monitor and assess Earth surface de2 formation as it pertains to the evaluation of 

3 earthquake hazards and impacts; 

4 ‘‘(I) work with other Program agencies to 

5 maintain awareness of, and where appropriate 

6 cooperate with, earthquake risk reduction efforts 

7 in other countries, to ensure that the Program 

8 benefits from relevant information and advances 

9 in those countries; 

10 ‘‘(J) maintain suitable seismic hazard maps 

11 in support of building codes for structures and 

12 lifelines, including additional maps needed for 

13 performance-based design approaches, and, to the 

14 extent possible, ensure that such maps are devel15 oped consistent with the multihazard advisory 

16 maps authorized by section 203(k) of the Robert 

17 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As18 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(k)); 

19 ‘‘(K) conduct a competitive, peer-reviewed 

20 process which awards grants and cooperative 

21 agreements to complement and extend related in22 ternal Survey research and monitoring activi23 ties; and 

24 ‘‘(L) operate, in cooperation with the Na25 tional Science Foundation, a Global SeisVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 mographic Network for detection of earthquakes 

2 around the world and research into fundamental 

3 earth processes. 

4 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—The Na5 tional Science Foundation shall be responsible for 

6 funding basic research that furthers the under7 standing of earthquakes, earthquake engineering, and 

8 community preparation and response to earthquakes. 

9 In carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the 

10 National Science Foundation shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) support multidisciplinary and inter12 disciplinary research that will improve the resil13 iency of communities to earthquakes, includ14 ing— 

15 ‘‘(i) research that improves the safety 

16 and performance of buildings, structures, 

17 and lifelines, including the use of the large18 scale experimental and computational fa19 cilities of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network 

20 for Engineering Earthquake Simulation; 

21 ‘‘(ii) research to support more effective 

22 earthquake mitigation and response meas23 ures, such as developing better knowledge of 

24 the specific types of vulnerabilities faced by 

25 segments of the community vulnerable to 


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1 earthquakes, addressing the barriers they 

2 face in adopting mitigation and prepara3 tion measures, and developing methods to 

4 better communicate the risks of earthquakes 

5 and to promote mitigation; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) research on the response of com7 munities, households, businesses, and emer8 gency responders to earthquakes; 

9 ‘‘(B) support research to understand earth10 quake processes, earthquake patterns, and earth11 quake frequencies; 

12 ‘‘(C) encourage prompt dissemination of 

13 significant findings, sharing of data, samples, 

14 physical collections, and other supporting mate15 rials, and development of intellectual property so 

16 research results can be used by appropriate orga17 nizations to mitigate earthquake damage; 

18 ‘‘(D) work with other Program agencies to 

19 maintain awareness of, and where appropriate 

20 cooperate with, earthquake risk reduction re21 search efforts in other countries, to ensure that 

22 the Program benefits from relevant information 

23 and advances in those countries; and 

24 ‘‘(E) include to the maximum extent prac25 ticable diverse institutions, including HistoriVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 cally Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic2 serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Univer3 sities, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and 

4 Native Hawaiian-serving institutions.’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (c)(1) by inserting ‘‘on Natural 

6 Hazards Risk Reduction established under section 301 

7 of the Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Act of 2011’’ 

8 after ‘‘Interagency Coordinating Committee’’. 

9 SEC. 105. POST-EARTHQUAKE INVESTIGATIONS PROGRAM. 

10 Section 11 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act 

11 of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7705e) is amended by striking ‘‘There 

12 is established’’ and all that follows through ‘‘conduct of such 

13 earthquake investigations.’’ and inserting ‘‘The Program 

14 shall include a post-earthquake investigations program, the 

15 purpose of which is to investigate major earthquakes so as 

16 to learn lessons which can be applied to reduce the loss of 

17 lives and property in future earthquakes. The lead Program 

18 agency, in consultation with each Program agency, shall 

19 organize investigations to study the implications of the 

20 earthquakes in the areas of responsibility of each Program 

21 agency. The investigations shall begin as rapidly as possible 

22 and may be conducted by grantees and contractors. The 

23 Program agencies shall ensure that the results of the inves24 tigations are disseminated widely.’’. 


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1 SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12 of the Earthquake Haz3 ards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7706) is amended— 

4 (1) by adding at the end of subsection (a) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(9) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

7 Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out 

8 this Act— 

9 ‘‘(A) $10,238,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

10 ‘‘(B) $10,545,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

11 ‘‘(C) $10,861,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

12 ‘‘(D) $11,187,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

13 ‘‘(E) $11,523,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’; 

14 (2) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

17 United States Geological Survey for carrying out this Act— 

18 ‘‘(A) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, of which 

19 $36,000,000 shall be made available for completion of 

20 the Advanced National Seismic Research and Moni21 toring System; 

22 ‘‘(B) $92,100,000 for fiscal year 2012, of which 

23 $37,000,000 shall be made available for completion of 

24 the Advanced National Seismic Research and Moni25 toring System; 


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1 ‘‘(C) $94,263,000 for fiscal year 2013, of which 

2 $38,000,000 shall be made available for completion of 

3 the Advanced National Seismic Research and Moni4 toring System; 

5 ‘‘(D) $96,491,000 for fiscal year 2014, of which 

6 $39,000,000 shall be made available for completion of 

7 the Advanced National Seismic Research and Moni8 toring System; and 

9 ‘‘(E) $98,786,000 for fiscal year 2015, of which 

10 $40,000,000 shall be made available for completion of 

11 the Advanced National Seismic Research and Moni12 toring System.’’; 

13 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

16 National Science Foundation for carrying out this Act— 

17 ‘‘(A) $64,125,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

18 ‘‘(B) $66,049,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

19 ‘‘(C) $68,030,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

20 ‘‘(D) $70,071,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

21 ‘‘(E) $72,173,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’; and 

22 (4) by adding at the end of subsection (d) the fol23 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(3) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

2 National Institute of Standards and Technology for car3 rying out this Act— 

4 ‘‘(A) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

5 ‘‘(B) $7,700,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

6 ‘‘(C) $7,931,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

7 ‘‘(D) $8,169,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

8 ‘‘(E) $8,414,000 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 14 of the Na10 tional Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 

11 U.S.C. 7708) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—’’; and 

13 (2) by striking subsection (b). 

14 TITLE II—WIND 

15 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Windstorm 

17 Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization of 2011’’. 

18 SEC. 202. PURPOSE. 

19 Section 202 of the National Windstorm Impact Reduc20 tion Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15701) is amended to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 202. PURPOSE. 

23 ‘‘It is the purpose of the Congress in this title to 

24 achieve a major measurable reduction in losses of life and 

25 property from windstorms through the establishment and 


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1 maintenance of an effective Windstorm Impact Reduction 

2 Program. The objectives of such Program shall include— 

3 ‘‘(1) the education of households, businesses, and 

4 communities about the risks posed by windstorms, 

5 and the identification of locations, structures, life6 lines, and segments of the community which are espe7 cially vulnerable to windstorm damage and disrup8 tion, and the dissemination of information on meth9 ods to reduce those risks; 

10 ‘‘(2) the development of technologically and eco11 nomically feasible design and construction methods 

12 and procedures to make new and existing structures, 

13 in areas of windstorm risk, windstorm resilient, giv14 ing high priority to the development of such methods 

15 and procedures for lifelines, structures associated with 

16 a potential high loss of life, and structures that are 

17 especially needed in times of disasters, such as hos18 pitals and public safety and shelter facilities; 

19 ‘‘(3) the implementation, in areas of major 

20 windstorm risk, of instrumentation to record and 

21 gather data on windstorms and the characteristics of 

22 the wind during those events, and continued research 

23 to increase the understanding of windstorm phe24 nomena; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the development, publication, and pro2 motion, in conjunction with State and local officials 

3 and professional organizations, of model building 

4 codes and standards and other means to encourage 

5 consideration of information about windstorm risk in 

6 making decisions about land use policy and construc7 tion activity; and 

8 ‘‘(5) the facilitation of the adoption of wind9 storm risk mitigation measures in areas of windstorm 

10 risk by households, businesses, and communities 

11 through outreach, incentive programs, and other 

12 means.’’. 

13 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS. 

14 Section 203(1) of the National Windstorm Impact Re15 duction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15702(1)) is amended by 

16 striking ‘‘Director of the Office of Science and Technology 

17 Policy’’ and inserting ‘‘Director of the National Institute 

18 of Standards and Technology’’. 

19 SEC. 204. NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION PRO20 GRAM. 

21 Section 204 of the National Windstorm Impact Reduc22 tion Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15703) is amended to read as 

23 follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 204. NATIONAL WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Na4 tional Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. 

5 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Pro6 gram shall be designed to— 

7 ‘‘(1) research and develop cost-effective, feasible 

8 methods, tools, and technologies to reduce the risks 

9 posed by windstorms to the built environment, espe10 cially to lessen the risk to existing structures and life11 lines; 

12 ‘‘(2) improve the understanding of windstorms 

13 and their impacts on households, businesses, commu14 nities, buildings, structures, and lifelines, through 

15 interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research that 

16 involves engineering, natural sciences, and social 

17 sciences; and 

18 ‘‘(3) facilitate the adoption of windstorm risk re19 duction measures by households, businesses, commu20 nities, local, State and Federal governments, national 

21 standards and model building code organizations, ar22 chitects and engineers, building owners, and others 

23 with a role in planning for disasters and planning, 

24 constructing, retrofitting, and insuring buildings, 

25 structures, and lifelines through— 


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1 ‘‘(A) grants, contracts, cooperative agree2 ments, and technical assistance; 

3 ‘‘(B) development of hazard maps, stand4 ards, guidelines, voluntary consensus standards, 

5 and other design guidance for windstorm risk re6 duction for buildings, structures, and lifelines; 

7 ‘‘(C) outreach and information dissemina8 tion to communities on site specific windstorm 

9 hazards and ways to reduce the risks from those 

10 hazards; and 

11 ‘‘(D) development and maintenance of a re12 pository of information, including technical 

13 data, on windstorm hazards and risk reduction; 

14 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROGRAM AGENCIES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) LEAD AGENCY.—The National Institute of 

16 Standards and Technology (in this section referred to 

17 as the ‘Institute’) shall be responsible for planning 

18 and coordinating the Program. In carrying out this 

19 paragraph, the Director of the Institute shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) ensure that the Program includes the 

21 necessary components to promote the implemen22 tation of windstorm risk reduction measures by 

23 households, businesses, communities, local, State, 

24 and Federal governments, national standards 

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1 tects and engineers, building owners, and others 

2 with a role in planning and preparing for disas3 ters, and planning constructing, and retrofitting, 

4 and insuring buildings, structures, and lifelines; 

5 ‘‘(B) support the development of perform6 ance-based engineering tools, and work with the 

7 appropriate groups to promote the commercial 

8 application of such tools, through wind-related 

9 building codes, standards, and construction prac10 tices; 

11 ‘‘(C) ensure the use of social science research 

12 and findings in informing the development of 

13 technology and research priorities, in commu14 nicating windstorm risks to the public, in devel15 oping windstorm risk mitigation strategies, and 

16 in preparing for windstorm disasters; 

17 ‘‘(D) coordinate all Federal post-windstorm 

18 investigations; and 

19 ‘‘(E) when warranted by research or inves20 tigative findings, issue recommendations for 

21 changes in model codes to the relevant code devel22 opment organizations, and report back to Con23 gress on whether such recommendations were 

24 adopted. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

2 TECHNOLOGY.—In addition to the lead agency re3 sponsibilities described under paragraph (1), the In4 stitute shall be responsible for carrying out research 

5 and development to improve model codes, standards, 

6 design guidance and practices for the construction 

7 and retrofit of buildings, structures, and lifelines. In 

8 carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the Insti9 tute shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) support the development of instrumen11 tation, data processing, and archival capabili12 ties, and standards for the instrumentation and 

13 its deployment, to measure wind, wind loading, 

14 and other properties of severe wind and structure 

15 response; 

16 ‘‘(B) coordinate with other appropriate 

17 Federal agencies to make the data described in 

18 subparagraph (A) available to researchers, stand19 ards and code developers, and local planners; 

20 ‘‘(C) support the development of tools and 

21 methods for the collection of data on the loss of 

22 and damage to structures, and data on surviving 

23 structures after severe windstorm events; 


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1 ‘‘(D) improve the knowledge of the impact 

2 of severe wind on buildings, structures, lifelines, 

3 and communities; 

4 ‘‘(E) develop cost-effective windstorm im5 pact reduction tools, methods, and technologies; 

6 ‘‘(F) work, in conjunction with other appro7 priate Federal agencies, to support the develop8 ment of wind standards and model codes; and 

9 ‘‘(G) in conjunction with other appropriate 

10 Federal agencies, work closely with standards 

11 and model code development organizations, pro12 fessional societies, and practicing engineers, ar13 chitects, and others involved in the construction 

14 of buildings, structures, and lifelines, to promote 

15 better building practices, including by— 

16 ‘‘(i) supporting the development of 

17 technical resources for practitioners to im18 plement new knowledge; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) supporting the development of 

20 methods and tools to incorporate wind engi21 neering principles into design and construc22 tion practices. 

23 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGEN24 CY.—The Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

25 consistent with the Agency’s all hazards approach, 


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1 shall support the development of risk assessment tools 

2 and effective mitigation techniques, assist with wind3 storm-related data collection and analysis, and sup4 port outreach, information dissemination, and imple5 mentation of windstorm preparedness and mitigation 

6 measures by households, businesses, and communities, 

7 including by— 

8 ‘‘(A) working to develop or improve risk-as9 sessment tools, methods, and models; 

10 ‘‘(B) working closely with other appropriate 

11 Federal agencies to develop and facilitate the 

12 adoption of windstorm impact reduction meas13 ures, including by— 

14 ‘‘(i) developing cost-effective retrofit 

15 measures for existing buildings, structures, 

16 and lifelines to improve windstorm per17 formance; 

18 ‘‘(ii) developing methods, tools, and 

19 technologies to improve the planning, de20 sign, and construction of new buildings, 

21 structures, and lifelines; 

22 ‘‘(iii) supporting the development of 

23 model wind codes and standards for build24 ings, structures, and lifelines; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) developing technical resources for 

2 practitioners that reflect new knowledge and 

3 standards of practice; and 

4 ‘‘(C) developing and disseminating guide5 lines for the construction of windstorm shelters. 

6 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish the 

7 role and responsibility of the Federal Emergency 

8 Management Agency with regard to all hazards pre9 paredness, response, recovery, and mitigation. 

10 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC AD11 MINISTRATION.—The National Oceanic and Atmos12 pheric Administration shall support atmospheric 

13 sciences research and data collection to improve the 

14 understanding of the behavior of windstorms and 

15 their impact on buildings, structures, and lifelines, 

16 including by— 

17 ‘‘(A) working with other appropriate Fed18 eral agencies to develop and deploy instrumenta19 tion to measure speed and other characteristics 

20 of wind, and to collect, analyze, and make avail21 able such data; 

22 ‘‘(B) working with officials of State and 

23 local governments to ensure that they are knowl24 edgeable about, and prepared for, the specific 

25 windstorm risks in their area; 


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1 ‘‘(C) supporting the development of suitable 

2 wind speed maps and other derivative products 

3 that support building codes and other hazard 

4 mitigation approaches for buildings, structures, 

5 and lifelines, and, to the extent possible, ensure 

6 that such maps and other derivative products are 

7 developed consistent with the multihazard advi8 sory maps authorized by section 203(k) of the 

9 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer10 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(k)); 

11 ‘‘(D) conducting a competitive, peer-re12 viewed process which awards grants and cooper13 ative agreements to complement the National 

14 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 

15 wind-related and storm surge-related research 

16 and data collection activities; 

17 ‘‘(E) working with other appropriate Fed18 eral agencies and State and local governments to 

19 develop or improve risk-assessment tools, meth20 ods, and models; and 

21 ‘‘(F) working with other appropriate Fed22 eral agencies to develop storm surge models to 

23 better understand the interaction between wind24 storms and bodies of water. 


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1 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—The Na2 tional Science Foundation shall be responsible for 

3 funding basic research that furthers the under4 standing of windstorms, wind engineering, and com5 munity preparation and response to windstorms. In 

6 carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the Na7 tional Science Foundation shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) support multidisciplinary and inter9 disciplinary research that will improve the resil10 iency of communities to windstorms, including— 

11 ‘‘(i) research that improves the safety 

12 and performance of buildings, structures, 

13 and lifelines; 

14 ‘‘(ii) research to support more effective 

15 windstorm mitigation and response meas16 ures, such as developing better knowledge of 

17 the specific types of vulnerabilities faced by 

18 segments of the community vulnerable to 

19 windstorms, addressing the barriers they 

20 face in adopting mitigation and prepara21 tion measures, and developing methods to 

22 better communicate the risks of windstorms 

23 and to promote mitigation; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) research on the response of com25 munities to windstorms, including on the 


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1 effectiveness of the emergency response, and 

2 the recovery process of communities, house3 holds, and businesses; 

4 ‘‘(B) support research to understand wind5 storm processes, windstorm patterns, and wind6 storm frequencies; 

7 ‘‘(C) encourage prompt dissemination of 

8 significant findings, sharing of data, samples, 

9 physical collections, and other supporting mate10 rials, and development of intellectual property so 

11 research results can be used by appropriate orga12 nizations to mitigate windstorm damage; 

13 ‘‘(D) work with other Program agencies to 

14 maintain awareness of, and where appropriate 

15 cooperate with, windstorm risk reduction re16 search efforts in other countries, to ensure that 

17 the Program benefits from relevant information 

18 and advances in those countries; and 

19 ‘‘(E) include to the maximum extent prac20 ticable diverse institutions, including Histori21 cally Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic22 serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Univer23 sities, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and 

24 Native Hawaiian-serving institutions.’’. 


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1 SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 207 of the National Windstorm Impact Reduc3 tion Program of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15706) is amended to read 

4 as follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal 

8 Emergency Management Agency for carrying out this 

9 title— 

10 ‘‘(1) $9,682,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

11 ‘‘(2) $9,972,500 for fiscal year 2012; 

12 ‘‘(3) $10,271,600 for fiscal year 2013; 

13 ‘‘(4) $10,579,800 for fiscal year 2014; and 

14 ‘‘(5) $10,897,200 for fiscal year 2015. 

15 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.—There are au16 thorized to be appropriated to the National Science Foun17 dation for carrying out this title— 

18 ‘‘(1) $9,682,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

19 ‘‘(2) $9,972,500 for fiscal year 2012; 

20 ‘‘(3) $10,271,600 for fiscal year 2013; 

21 ‘‘(4) $10,579,800 for fiscal year 2014; and 

22 ‘‘(5) $10,897,200 for fiscal year 2015. 

23 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH24 NOLOGY.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

25 National Institute of Standards and Technology for car26 rying out this title— 


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1 ‘‘(1) $4,120,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

2 ‘‘(2) $4,243,600 for fiscal year 2012; 

3 ‘‘(3) $4,370,900 for fiscal year 2013; 

4 ‘‘(4) $4,502,000 for fiscal year 2014; and 

5 ‘‘(5) $4,637,100 for fiscal year 2015. 

6 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINIS7 TRATION.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

8 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for car9 rying out this title— 

10 ‘‘(1) $2,266,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

11 ‘‘(2) $2,334,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

12 ‘‘(3) $2,404,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

13 ‘‘(4) $2,476,100 for fiscal year 2014; and 

14 ‘‘(5) $2,550,400 for fiscal year 2015.’’. 

15 TITLE III—INTERAGENCY CO16 ORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 

17 NATURAL HAZARDS RISK RE18 DUCTION 

19 SEC. 301. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 

20 NATURAL HAZARDS RISK REDUCTION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established an Interagency 

22 Coordinating Committee on Natural Hazards Risk Reduc23 tion, chaired by the Director of the National Institute of 

24 Standards and Technology. 


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1 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—In addition to the chair, the 

2 Committee shall be composed of— 

3 (A) the directors of— 

4 (i) the Federal Emergency Manage5 ment Agency; 

6 (ii) the United States Geological Sur7 vey; 

8 (iii) the National Oceanic and Atmos9 pheric Administration; 

10 (iv) the National Science Foundation; 

11 (v) the Office of Science and Tech12 nology Policy; and 

13 (vi) the Office of Management and 

14 Budget; and 

15 (B) the head of any other Federal agency 

16 the Committee considers appropriate. 

17 (2) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall not meet 

18 less than 2 times a year at the call of the Director 

19 of the National Institute of Standards and Tech20 nology. 

21 (3) GENERAL PURPOSE AND DUTIES.—The Com22 mittee shall oversee the planning and coordination of 

23 the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Pro24 gram and the National Windstorm Impact Reduction 

25 Program, and shall make proposals for planning and 


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1 coordination of any other Federal research for natural 

2 hazard mitigation that the Committee considers ap3 propriate. 

4 (4) STRATEGIC PLANS.—The Committee shall de5 velop and submit to Congress, not later than one year 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act— 

7 (A) a Strategic Plan for the National 

8 Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program that 

9 includes— 

10 (i) prioritized goals for such Program 

11 that will mitigate against the loss of life 

12 and property from future earthquakes; 

13 (ii) short-term, mid-term, and long14 term research objectives to achieve those 

15 goals; 

16 (iii) a description of the role of each 

17 Program agency in achieving the 

18 prioritized goals; 

19 (iv) the methods by which progress to20 wards the goals will be assessed; 

21 (v) an explanation of how the Program 

22 will foster the transfer of research results 

23 onto outcomes, such as improved building 

24 codes; 


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1 (vi) a description of the role of social 

2 science in informing the development of the 

3 prioritized goals and research objectives; 

4 and 

5 (vii) a description of how the George 

6 E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake En7 gineering Simulation and the Advanced Na8 tional Seismic Research and Monitoring 

9 System will be used in achieving the 

10 prioritized goals and research objectives; 

11 and 

12 (B) a Strategic Plan for the National 

13 Windstorm Impact Reduction Program that in14 cludes— 

15 (i) prioritized goals for such Program 

16 that will mitigate against the loss of life 

17 and property from future windstorms; 

18 (ii) short-term, mid-term, and long19 term research objectives to achieve those 

20 goals; 

21 (iii) a description of the role of each 

22 Program agency in achieving the 

23 prioritized goals; 

24 (iv) the methods by which progress to25 wards the goals will be assessed; 


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1 (v) an explanation of how the Program 

2 will foster the transfer of research results 

3 onto outcomes, such as improved building 

4 codes; and 

5 (vi) a description of the role of social 

6 science in informing the development of the 

7 prioritized goals and research objectives. 

8 (5) PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than one 

9 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and at 

10 least once every two years thereafter, the Committee 

11 shall submit to the Congress— 

12 (A) a report on the progress of the National 

13 Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program that 

14 includes— 

15 (i) a description of the activities fund16 ed for the previous two years of the Pro17 gram, a description of how these activities 

18 align with the prioritized goals and re19 search objectives established in the Strategic 

20 Plan, and the budgets, per agency, for these 

21 activities; 

22 (ii) the outcomes achieved by the Pro23 gram for each of the goals identified in the 

24 Strategic Plan; 


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1 (iii) a description of any recommenda2 tions made to change existing building codes 

3 that were the result of Program activities; 

4 and 

5 (iv) a description of the extent to 

6 which the Program has incorporated rec7 ommendations from the Advisory Committee 

8 on Earthquake Hazards Reduction; and 

9 (B) a report on the progress of the National 

10 Windstorm Impact Reduction Program that in11 cludes— 

12 (i) a description of the activities fund13 ed for the previous two years of the Pro14 gram, a description of how these activities 

15 align with the prioritized goals and re16 search objectives established in the Strategic 

17 Plan, and the budgets, per agency, for these 

18 activities; 

19 (ii) the outcomes achieved by the Pro20 gram for each of the goals identified in the 

21 Strategic Plan; 

22 (iii) a description of any recommenda23 tions made to change existing building codes 

24 that were the result of Program activities; 

25 and 


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1 (iv) a description of the extent to 

2 which the Program has incorporated rec3 ommendations from the Advisory Committee 

4 on Windstorm Impact Reduction. 

5 (6) COORDINATED BUDGET.—The Committee 

6 shall develop a coordinated budget for the National 

7 Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program and a co8 ordinated budget for the National Windstorm Impact 

9 Reduction Program. These budgets shall be submitted 

10 to the Congress at the time of the President’s budget 

11 submission for each fiscal year. 

12 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEES ON NATURAL HAZARDS

13 REDUCTION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the National 

15 Advisory Committee on Windstorm Impact Reduction 

16 established under section 205 of the National Wind17 storm Impact Reduction Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 

18 15704), the Director of the National Institute of 

19 Standards and Technology shall establish an Advisory 

20 Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction and 

21 such other advisory committees as the Director con22 siders necessary to advise the Institute on research, 

23 development, and technology transfer activities to 

24 mitigate the impact of natural disasters. 


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1 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON EARTHQUAKE

2 HAZARDS REDUCTION.—The Advisory Committee on 

3 Earthquake Hazards Reduction shall be composed of 

4 at least 11 members, none of whom may be employees 

5 of the Federal Government, including representatives 

6 of research and academic institutions, industry stand7 ards development organizations, emergency manage8 ment agencies, State and local government, and busi9 ness communities who are qualified to provide advice 

10 on earthquake hazards reduction and represent all re11 lated scientific, architectural, and engineering dis12 ciplines. The recommendations of the Advisory Com13 mittee shall be considered by Federal agencies in im14 plementing the National Earthquake Hazards Reduc15 tion Program. 

16 (3) MODIFICATION OF NATIONAL ADVISORY COM17 MITTEE ON WINDSTORM IMPACT REDUCTION.—Section 

18 205 of the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act 

19 of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 15704) is amended by striking 

20 subsections (a) through (c) and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall establish a 

23 commission to be known as the ‘National Advisory Com24 mittee on Windstorm Impact Reduction’ (hereafter in this 

25 section referred to as the ‘Advisory Committee’). 


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1 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Advisory Committee 

3 shall be composed of not fewer than 7 members se4 lected by the Director— 

5 ‘‘(A) from research and academic institu6 tions, industry standards development organiza7 tions, emergency management agencies, State 

8 and local government, and business communities; 

9 ‘‘(B) who represent all related scientific, ar10 chitectural, and engineering disciplines; and 

11 ‘‘(C) who are qualified to provide advice on 

12 windstorm impact reduction. 

13 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—A member of the Advisory 

14 Committee may not be an employee of the Federal 

15 Government. 

16 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee shall develop 

17 recommendations for Federal agencies on implementation 

18 of the Program.’’. 

19 (4) ASSESSMENTS.—The Advisory Committee on 

20 Earthquake Hazards Reduction and the National Ad21 visory Committee on Windstorm Impact Reduction 

22 shall offer assessments on— 

23 (A) trends and developments in the natural, 

24 social, and engineering sciences and practices of 


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1 earthquake hazards or windstorm impact mitiga2 tion; 

3 (B) the priorities of the Programs’ Strategic 

4 Plans; 

5 (C) the coordination of the Programs; and 

6 (D) and any revisions to the Programs 

7 which may be necessary. 

8 (5) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Not less frequently 

9 than once every two years, the Advisory Committees 

10 shall report to the Director of the National Institute 

11 of Standards and Technology on the assessments car12 ried out under paragraph (4) and their recommenda13 tions for ways to improve the Programs. In devel14 oping recommendations for the National Earthquake 

15 Hazards Reduction Program, the Advisory Committee 

16 on Earthquake Hazards Reduction shall consider the 

17 recommendations of the United States Geological Sur18 vey Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Com19 mittee. 

20 (c) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL DISASTER RE21 SEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.— 

22 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

23 Act, the Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction of the Com24 mittee on Environment and Natural Resources of the NaVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:54 Feb 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S646.RS S646

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1 tional Science and Technology Council shall submit a re2 port to the Congress identifying— 

3 (1) current Federal research, development, and 

4 technology transfer activities that address hazard 

5 mitigation for natural disasters, including earth6 quakes, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, floods, and the 

7 current budgets for these activities; 

8 (2) areas of research that are common to two or 

9 more of the hazards identified in paragraph (1); and 

10 (3) opportunities to create synergies between the 

11 research activities for the hazards identified in para12 graph (1). 

13 TITLE IV—NATIONAL CONSTRUC14 TION SAFETY TEAM ACT 

15 AMENDMENTS 

16 SEC. 401. NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION SAFETY TEAM ACT 

17 AMENDMENTS. 

18 The National Construction Safety Team Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 7301 et seq.) is amended— 

20 (1) in section 2(a)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘a building or buildings’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘a building, buildings, or infra23 structure’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘To the maximum extent 

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1 ploy a Team within 48 hours after such an 

2 event.’’ and inserting ‘‘The Director shall make 

3 a decision whether to deploy a Team within 72 

4 hours after such an event.’’; 

5 (2) in section 2(b)(1), by striking ‘‘buildings’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘buildings or infrastructure’’; 

7 (3) in section 2(b)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘building’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

9 (4) in section 2(b)(2)(D), by striking ‘‘buildings’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘buildings or infrastructure’’; 

11 (5) in section 2(c)(1), by striking ‘‘the United 

12 States Fire Administration and’’; 

13 (6) in section 2(c)(1)(G), by striking ‘‘building’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

15 (7) in section 2(c)(1)(J)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘building’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘and the National Wind19 storm Impact Reduction Act of 2004’’ after ‘‘Act 

20 of 1977’’; 

21 (8) in section 4(a), by striking ‘‘investigating a 

22 building’’ and inserting ‘‘investigating building and 

23 infrastructure’’; 

24 (9) in section 4(a)(1)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘a building’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘a building or infrastructure’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘building’’ both of the other 

4 places it appears and inserting ‘‘building or in5 frastructure’’; 

6 (10) in section 4(a)(3), by striking ‘‘building’’ 

7 both places it appears and inserting ‘‘building or in8 frastructure’’; 

9 (11) in section 4(b), by striking ‘‘building’’ both 

10 places it appears and inserting ‘‘building or infra11 structure’’; 

12 (12) in section 4(c) (1) and (2), by striking 

13 ‘‘building’’ both places it appears and inserting 

14 ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

15 (13) by amending section 4(d)(1) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 

18 in this subsection, a Team investigation shall have 

19 priority over any other investigation which is related 

20 to the purpose and duties set forth in section 2(b) and 

21 undertaken by any other Federal agency.’’; 

22 (14) in section 4(d) (3) and (4), by striking 

23 ‘‘building’’ both places it appears and inserting 

24 ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 


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1 (15) in section 4, by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(5) INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTIGATIONS.—With 

4 respect to an investigation relating to an infrastruc5 ture failure, a Federal agency with primary jurisdic6 tion over the failed infrastructure which is conducting 

7 an investigation and asserts priority over the Team 

8 investigation shall have such priority. Such priority 

9 shall not otherwise affect the authority of the Team to 

10 continue its investigation under this Act.’’; 

11 (16) in section 7(a), by striking ‘‘on request and 

12 at reasonable cost’’; 

13 (17) in section 7(c), by striking ‘‘building’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

15 (18) in section 8 (1) and (4), by striking ‘‘build16 ing’’ both places it appears and inserting ‘‘building 

17 or infrastructure’’; 

18 (19) in section 9, by striking ‘‘the United States 

19 Fire Administration and’’; 

20 (20) in section 9(2)(C), by striking ‘‘building’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘building or infrastructure’’; 

22 (21) in section 10(3), by striking ‘‘building’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘building and infrastructure’’; 

24 (22) in section 11(a), by striking ‘‘the United 

25 States Fire Administration and’’; and 


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1 (23) by striking section 12. 

2 TITLE V—FIRE RESEARCH 

3 PROGRAM 

4 SEC. 501. FIRE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

5 Section 16(a)(1) of the National Institute of Standards 

6 and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278f(a)(1)) is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘fires at 

8 the wildland-urban interface,’’ after ‘‘but not limited 

9 to,’’; and 

10 (2) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘fires at 

11 the wildland-urban interface,’’ after ‘‘types of fires, 

12 including’’. 


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Calendar No. 329 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 646 

[Report No. 112–150] 

A BILL 

To reauthorize Federal natural hazards reduction 

programs, and for other purposes. 

FEBRUARY 27, 2012 

Reported with an amendment 


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