109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 50

AN ACT

To authorize and strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s tsunami detection, forecast,

warning, and mitigation program, 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 ‘‘Tsunami Preparedness

5 Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Tsunami are a series of large waves of long

4 wavelength created by the displacement of water by

5 violent undersea disturbances such as earthquakes,

6 volcanic eruptions, landslides, explosions, and the

7 impact of cosmic bodies.

8 (2) Tsunami have caused, and can cause in the

9 future, enormous loss of human life, injury, destruc10 tion of property, and economic and social disruption

11 in coastal and island communities.

12 (3) While 85 percent of tsunami occur in the

13 Pacific Ocean, and coastal and island communities

14 in this region are the most vulnerable to the destruc15 tive results, tsunami can occur at any point in any

16 ocean or related body of water where there are

17 earthquakes, volcanoes, or any other activity that

18 displaces a large volume of water.

19 (4) A number of States and territories are sub20 ject to the threat of tsunamis, including Alaska,

21 California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, American

22 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

23 Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Is24 lands.

25 (5) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad26 ministration is responsible for maintaining a tsu-
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1 nami detection and warning system for the Nation,

2 issuing warnings to United States communities at

3 risk from tsunami, and preparing those communities

4 to respond appropriately, through—

5 (A) the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

6 in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, which serves as a warn7 ing center for Hawaii, all other United States

8 assets in the Pacific, and Puerto Rico;

9 (B) the Alaska/West Coast Tsunami Warn10 ing Center in Palmer, Alaska, which is respon11 sible for issuing warnings for Alaska, British

12 Columbia, California, Oregon, and Washington;

13 (C) the Federal-State national tsunami

14 hazard mitigation program;

15 (D) a tsunami research and assessment

16 program, including programs conducted by the

17 Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory;

18 (E) the TsunamiReady Program, which

19 educates and prepares communities for survival

20 before and during a tsunami;

21 (F) an archive of historical tsunami data,

22 held at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

23 Administration’s National Geophysical Data

24 Center; and
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1 (G) other related programs, including

2 those operated in coordination with academic

3 institutions.

4 (6) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad5 ministration also represents the United States as a

6 member of the International Coordination Group for

7 the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific, admin8 istered by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic

9 Commission of UNESCO, for which the Pacific Tsu10 nami Warning Center acts as the operational center

11 and shares seismic and water level information with

12 26 member states, and maintains UNESCO’s Inter13 national Tsunami Information Center, in Honolulu,

14 Hawaii, which provides technical and educational as15 sistance to member states.

16 (7) The Tsunami Warning Centers receive seis17 mographic information from the Global Seismic Net18 work, an international system of earthquake moni19 toring stations, from the United States Geological

20 Survey National Earthquake Information Center,

21 the Alaska Earthquake Information Center, and co22 operative regional seismic networks, and use these

23 data to issue tsunami warnings and integrate the in24 formation with data from their own tidal and deep

25 ocean monitoring stations, to cancel or verify the ex-
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1 istence of a damaging tsunami. Warnings are dis2 seminated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

3 Administration to State emergency operation cen4 ters.

5 (8) Current gaps in the International Tsunami

6 Warning System, such as the lack of regional warn7 ing systems in the Indian Ocean, the southwest Pa8 cific Ocean, Central and South America, the Medi9 terranean Sea, and Caribbean, pose risks for coastal

10 and island communities.

11 (9) The tragic and extreme loss of life experi12 enced by countries in the Indian Ocean following the

13 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami in

14 that region on December 26, 2004, illustrates the

15 destructive consequences which can occur in the ab16 sence of an effective tsunami warning and notifica17 tion system.

18 (10) An effective tsunami warning and notifica19 tion system is part of a multi-hazard disaster warn20 ing and preparedness program and requires real21 time seismic, sea level, and oceanographic data,

22 high-speed data analysis capabilities, a high-speed

23 tsunami warning and notification system, a sus24 tained program of education and risk assessment to

25 develop response strategies, and an established local
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1 infrastructure for timely and effective dissemination

2 of warnings to activate evacuation of tsunami hazard

3 zones.

4 (11) The Tsunami Warning System for the Pa5 cific is a model for other regions of the world to

6 adopt, and can be expanded and modernized to in7 crease detection, forecast, and warning capabilities

8 for vulnerable states and territories, reduce the inci9 dence of costly false alarms, improve reliability of

10 measurement and assessment technology, and in11 crease community preparedness.

12 (12) Tsunami warning and preparedness capa13 bility can be developed in other vulnerable areas of

14 the world, such as the Indian Ocean, by identifying

15 tsunami hazard zones, educating populations, devel16 oping alert and notification infrastructure, and by

17 deploying near real-time tsunami detection sensors

18 and gauges, establishing hazard notification and

19 warning networks, expanding global monitoring of

20 seismic activity, encouraging the increased exchange

21 of seismic and tidal data between nations, and im22 proving international coordination when a tsunami is

23 detected.

24 (13) UNESCO has recognized the need to es25 tablish tsunami warning systems for regions beyond
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1 the Pacific Basin that are vulnerable to tsunami, in2 cluding the Indian Ocean, and has convened a work3 ing group to lead an effort to expand the Inter4 national Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific to

5 such vulnerable regions.

6 (14) The international community and all vul7 nerable nations should take coordinated efforts to

8 establish and participate in regional tsunami warn9 ing systems and other hazard warnings systems de10 veloped to meet the goals of the United Nations

11 International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

12 (15) On February 16, 2005, the United States,

13 together with 53 other Nations participating in the

14 Third Earth Observation Summit in Brussels, Bel15 gium, adopted a 10-year implementation plan as the

16 basis for establishing the Global Earth Observation

17 System of Systems.

18 (16) The Global Earth Observation System of

19 Systems will consist of existing and future earth ob20 servation systems, including the United States tsu21 nami detection and warning system.

22 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

23 (1) to improve tsunami detection, forecast,

24 warnings, notification, preparedness, and mitigation
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1 in order to protect life and property both in the

2 United States and elsewhere in the world;

3 (2) to improve and modernize the existing Pa4 cific Tsunami Warning System to increase coverage,

5 reduce false alarms and increase accuracy of fore6 casts and warnings, and expand detection and warn7 ing systems to include other vulnerable States and

8 United States territories, including the Caribbean/

9 Atlantic/Gulf region;

10 (3) to increase and accelerate mapping, mod11 eling, research, assessment, education, and outreach

12 efforts in order to improve forecasting, prepared13 ness, mitigation, response, and recovery of tsunami

14 and related coastal hazards;

15 (4) to provide technical and other assistance to

16 speed international efforts to establish regional tsu17 nami warning systems in vulnerable areas worldwide,

18 including the Indian Ocean; and

19 (5) to improve Federal, State, and international

20 coordination for tsunami and other coastal hazard

21 warnings and preparedness.

22 SEC. 3. TSUNAMI DETECTION AND WARNING SYSTEM.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall oper25 ate regional tsunami detection and warning systems for
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1 the Pacific Ocean region and for the Atlantic Ocean, Car2 ibbean, and Gulf of Mexico region that will provide max3 imum detection capability for United States coastal tsu4 nami.

5 (b) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—

6 (1) PACIFIC SYSTEM.—The Pacific tsunami

7 warning system shall cover the entire Pacific Ocean

8 area, including the Western Pacific, the Central Pa9 cific, the North Pacific, the South Pacific, and the

10 East Pacific and Arctic areas.

11 (2) ATLANTIC, CARIBBEAN, AND GULF OF MEX12 ICO SYSTEM.—The Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf

13 system shall cover areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Car14 ibbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico that the Admin15 istrator determines—

16 (A) to be geologically active, or to have sig17 nificant potential for geological activity; and

18 (B) to pose measurable risks of tsunamis

19 for States along the coastal areas of the Atlan20 tic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico.

21 (3) COMPONENTS.—The systems shall—

22 (A) utilize an array of deep ocean detection

23 buoys, including redundant and spare buoys;

24 (B) include an associated tide gauge and

25 water level system designed for long-term con-
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1 tinuous operation tsunami transmission capa2 bility;

3 (C) allow for such additional sensors as

4 may be necessary for tsunami and weather

5 warnings and forecasts;

6 (D) provide for the establishment of a co7 operative effort between the National Oceanic

8 and Atmospheric Administration and the

9 United States Geological Survey under which

10 the Geological Survey and State earthquake in11 formation centers provide rapid and reliable

12 real-time seismic information to the Adminis13 tration from international and domestic seismic

14 networks;

15 (E) provide for information and data proc16 essing through the tsunami warning centers es17 tablished under subsection (c);

18 (F) be integrated into United States and

19 global ocean and earth observing systems, in20 cluding the Global Earth Observation System of

21 Systems;

22 (G) provide an infrastructure, building on

23 local systems, for at-risk tsunami communities

24 that supports rapid and reliable alert and noti25 fication to the public, such as the National Oce-
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1 anic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weath2 er, Alert, and Readiness Network, which in3 cludes the weather radio and the All Hazard

4 Alert Broadcasting Radio; and

5 (H) the integration of NOAA’s Advanced

6 Weather Interactive Processing System with

7 other technologies.

8 (4) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—In deploying and

9 maintaining detection buoys utilized in the tsunami

10 warning system, the Administrator should leverage

11 the assistance and assets of the United States Coast

12 Guard, the Navy, and other Federal agency assets in

13 the region. Within 180 days after the date of enact14 ment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide a

15 report to the Senate committee on Commerce,

16 Science, and Transportation, the House of Rep17 resentatives Committee on Science, and the House

18 of Representatives Committee on Resources that

19 summarizes the extent to which the United States

20 Coast Guard or any other Federal agency is assist21 ance in deploying and maintaining such buoys.

22 (c) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es24 tablish tsunami warning centers to provide a link be25 tween the detection and warning system and the tsu-
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1 nami hazard mitigation program established under

2 section 4 including—

3 (A) a Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in

4 Hawaii;

5 (B) a West Coast and Alaska Tsunami

6 Warning Center in Alaska; and

7 (C) any additional warning centers deter8 mined by the Administrator to be necessary.

9 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities of

10 each tsunami warning center shall include—

11 (A) continuously monitoring data from

12 seismological stations, deep ocean detection

13 buoys, and tidal monitoring stations and pro14 viding such data to the national tsunami ar15 chive;

16 (B) evaluating earthquakes that have the

17 potential to generate tsunami;

18 (C) evaluating deep ocean buoy data and

19 tidal monitoring stations for indications of tsu20 nami resulting from sources other than earth21 quakes; and

22 (D) disseminating information and warn23 ing bulletins appropriate for local and distant

24 tsunamis to government agencies and the public
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1 and alerting potentially impacted coastal areas

2 for evacuation.

3 (d) DATA MANAGEMENT.—The Administrator shall

4 maintain national and regionally-based data management

5 systems to support and establish data management re6 quirements for the tsunami detection and monitoring sys7 tem, including requirements for—

8 (1) quality control and quality assurance;

9 (2) archiving and maintaining data;

10 (3) supporting integration of observations from

11 the system with other national and international

12 water level measurements, such as the Global Sea

13 Level Monitoring System;

14 (4) integration of observations from the system

15 with other elements of the global and coastal compo16 nents of the integrated ocean and coastal observing

17 system and the Global Earth Observation System of

18 Systems; and

19 (5) the development of and access to data sets

20 and integrated data products designed to support

21 multi-hazard regional vulnerability assessment and

22 adaptation programs such as the program estab23 lished under section 8.
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1 SEC. 4. TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na3 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall, in

4 coordination with other agencies and academic institu5 tions, develop and conduct a community-based tsunami

6 hazard mitigation program to improve tsunami prepared7 ness of at-risk areas.

8 (b) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—In developing and

9 conducting the program, the Administrator shall establish

10 a coordinating committee comprising representatives of

11 Federal agencies and other governmental entities involved

12 in tsunami mitigation and response, including—

13 (1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad14 ministration;

15 (2) the United States Geological Survey;

16 (3) the National Science Foundation;

17 (4) the National Institute of Standards and

18 Technology; and

19 (5) affected coastal States and territories.

20 (c) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The program shall—

21 (1) improve the quality and extent of inunda22 tion mapping, including assessment of vulnerable

23 inner coastal areas;

24 (2) promote and improve community outreach

25 and education networks and programs to ensure

26 community awareness and readiness, including the
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1 development of multi-hazard risk and vulnerability

2 assessment training and decision support tools, im3 plementation of technical training and public edu4 cation programs, and provide for certification of pre5 pared communities;

6 (3) integrate tsunami awareness, preparedness,

7 and mitigation programs into ongoing hazard warn8 ing and risk management programs in affected areas

9 including the National Response Plan and State

10 coastal zone management plans;

11 (4) promote the adoption of tsunami warning

12 and mitigation measures by Federal, State, tribal,

13 and local governments and non-governmental entities

14 through a grant program for training, development

15 of guidelines, and other purposes;

16 (5) develop tsunami specific rescue and recovery

17 guidelines for the National Response Plan, including

18 long-term mitigation measures, educational pro19 grams regarding the consequences of development in

20 high-risk areas, and use of remote sensing and other

21 technology in rescue and recovery operations;

22 (6) require budget coordination, through the

23 Administration, to carry out the purposes of this Act

24 and to ensure that participating agencies provide
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1 necessary funds for matters within their respective

2 areas of authority and expertise; and

3 (7) provide for periodic external review of the

4 program and for inclusion of the results of such re5 views in the report required by section 6(e).

6 SEC. 5. TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Na8 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall, in

9 coordination with other agencies and academic institu10 tions, establish a tsunami research program to develop de11 tection, prediction, communication, and mitigation science

12 and technology that supports tsunami forecasts and warn13 ings, including advanced sensing techniques, information

14 and communication technology, data collection, analysis

15 and assessment for tsunami tracking and numerical fore16 cast modeling that will—

17 (1) help determine—

18 (A) whether an earthquake or other seis19 mic event will result in a tsunami; and

20 (B) the likely path, severity, duration, and

21 travel time of a tsunami;

22 (2) develop techniques and technologies that

23 may be used to communicate tsunami forecasts and

24 warnings as quickly and effectively as possible to af25 fected communities;
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1 (3) develop techniques and technologies to sup2 port evacuation products, including real-time notice

3 of the condition of critical infrastructure along tsu4 nami evacuation routes for public officials and first

5 responders; and

6 (4) develop techniques for utilizing remote sens7 ing technologies in rescue and recovery operations.

8 (b) TECHNOLOGY.—The Administrator, in consulta9 tion with other appropriate Federal agencies, shall inves10 tigate the potential for improved technology for tsunami

11 and other hazard warnings by incorporating into the exist12 ing system a full range of options for providing those

13 warnings to the public.

14 SEC. 6. TSUNAMI SYSTEM UPGRADE AND MODERNIZATION.

15 (a) SYSTEM UPGRADES.—The Administrator of the

16 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall—

17 (1) authorize and direct the immediate repair of

18 existing deep ocean detection buoys and related com19 ponents of the system;

20 (2) ensure the deployment of an array of deep

21 ocean detection buoys capable of carrying multi-ob22 servation technology in the regions described in sec23 tion 3(a) of this Act;
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1 (3) ensure expansion or upgrade of the seismic

2 monitoring and tide gauge networks in the regions

3 described in section 3(a); and

4 (4) complete the upgrades not later than De5 cember 31, 2007.

6 (b) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND

7 UPGRADES.—In carrying out this section, the Adminis8 trator shall—

9 (1) promulgate specifications and standards for

10 forecast, detection, and warning systems, including

11 detection equipment;

12 (2) develop and execute a plan for the transfer

13 of technology from ongoing research to long-term

14 operations;

15 (3) ensure that detection equipment is main16 tained in operational condition to fulfill the fore17 casting, detection and warning requirements of the

18 regional tsunami detection and warning systems;

19 (4) obtain, to the greatest extent practicable,

20 priority treatment in budgeting for, acquiring, trans21 porting, and maintaining weather sensors, tide

22 gauges, water level gauges, and tsunami buoys incor23 porated into the system including obtaining ship

24 time; and
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1 (5) ensure integration of the tsunami detection

2 system with other United States and global ocean

3 and coastal observation systems, the Global Earth

4 Observation System of Systems, global seismic net5 works, and the Advanced National Seismic System.

6 (c) CERTIFICATION.—Amounts appropriated for any

7 fiscal year pursuant to section 9 to carry out this section

8 may not be obligated or expended for the acquisition of

9 services for construction or deployment of tsunami detec10 tion equipment unless the Administrator certifies in writ11 ing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and

12 Transportation, the House of Representatives Committee

13 on Science, and the House of Representatives Committee

14 on Resources within 60 calendar days after the date on

15 which the President submits the Budget of the United

16 States for that fiscal year to the Congress that—

17 (1) each contractor for such services has met

18 the requirements of the contract for such construc19 tion or deployment;

20 (2) the equipment to be constructed or deployed

21 is capable of becoming fully operational without the

22 obligation or expenditure of additional appropriated

23 funds; and
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1 (3) the Administrator does not reasonably fore2 see unanticipated delays in the deployment and oper3 ational schedule specified in the contract.

4 (d) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—The Adminis5 trator shall notify the Senate Committee on Commerce,

6 Science, and Transportation, the House of Representa7 tives Committee on Science, and the House of Representa8 tives Committee on Resources of—

9 (1) impaired regional detection coverage due to

10 equipment or system failures; and

11 (2) significant contractor failures or delays in

12 completing work associated with the tsunami detec13 tion and warning system.

14 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall

15 transmit an annual report to the Senate Committee on

16 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of

17 Representatives Committee on Science the status of the

18 tsunami detection and warning system, including accu19 racy, false alarms, equipment failures, improvements over

20 the previous year, and goals for further improvement (or

21 plans for curing failures) of the system, as well as progress

22 and accomplishments of the national tsunami hazard miti23 gation program.

24 (f) EXTERNAL REVIEW.—The National Academy of

25 Science shall review the tsunami detection, forecast, and
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1 warning system operated by the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration under this Act to assess further

3 modernization and coverage needs, as well as long-term

4 operational reliability issues, taking into account measures

5 implemented under this Act, and transmit a report con6 taining its recommendations, including an estimate of the

7 costs of implementing those recommendations, to the Sen8 ate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

9 and the House of Representatives Committee on Science

10 within 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

11 SEC. 7. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NET12 WORK.

13 (a) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—

14 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos15 pheric Administration, in coordination with other mem16 bers of the United States Interagency Committee of the

17 National Tsunami Mitigation Program, shall provide tech18 nical assistance and advice to the Intergovernmental

19 Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the World Mete20 orological Organization, the Group on Earth Observations,

21 and other international entities, as part of international

22 efforts to develop a fully functional global tsunami warn23 ing system comprised of regional tsunami warning net24 works, modeled on the International Tsunami Warning

25 System of the Pacific, and consistent with the 10-year im-
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1 plementation plan for the Global Earth Observation Sys2 tem of Systems.

3 (b) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI INFORMATION CEN4 TER.—The Administrator shall operate an International

5 Tsunami Information Center to improve tsunami pre6 paredness for all Pacific Ocean nations participating in

7 the International Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific,

8 and which may also provide such assistance to other na9 tions participating in a global tsunami warning system es10 tablished through the International Oceanographic Com11 mittee of UNESCO. As part of its responsibilities in the

12 Pacific, the Center shall—

13 (1) monitor international tsunami warning ac14 tivities in the Pacific;

15 (2) assist member states in establishing na16 tional warning systems, and make information avail17 able on current technologies for tsunami warning

18 systems;

19 (3) maintain a library of materials to promul20 gate knowledge about tsunamis in general and for

21 use by the scientific community; and

22 (4) disseminate information, including edu23 cational materials and research reports.

24 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In carrying out this

25 section, the Administrator—
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1 (1) shall give priority to assisting nations in

2 identifying vulnerable coastal areas, creating inunda3 tion maps, obtaining or designing real-time detection

4 and reporting equipment, and establishing commu5 nication and warning networks and contact points in

6 each vulnerable nation;

7 (2) may establish a process for transfer of de8 tection and communication technology to affected

9 nations for the purposes of establishing the inter10 national tsunami warning system; and

11 (3) shall provide technical and other assistance

12 to support international tsunami education, re13 sponse, vulnerability, and adaptation programs.

14 (d) DATA-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The Adminis15 trator may not provide assistance under this section for

16 any region unless all affected nations in that region par17 ticipating in the tsunami warning network agree to share

18 relevant data associated with the development and oper19 ation of the network.

20 (e) FUNDING ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator, in

21 coordination with the Secretary of State, shall seek fund22 ing assistance from participating nations needed to ensure

23 establishment of a fully functional global tsunami warning

24 system.
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1 (f) RECEIPT OF INTERNATIONAL REIMBURSEMENT

2 AUTHORIZED.—The Administrator may accept payment

3 to, or reimbursement of, the National Oceanic and Atmos4 pheric Administration in cash or in kind from inter5 national organizations and foreign authorities, or payment

6 or reimbursement made on behalf of such an authority,

7 for expenses incurred by the Administrator in carrying out

8 any activity under this Act. Any such payments or reim9 bursements shall be considered a reimbursement to the ap10 propriated funds of the Administration.

11 SEC. 8. COASTAL COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY AND ADAP12 TATION PROGRAM.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Na14 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall es15 tablish an integrated coastal vulnerability and adaptation

16 program focused on improving the resilience of coastal

17 communities to natural hazards and disasters. The pro18 gram shall be regional in nature, build upon and integrate

19 existing Federal and State programs, and provide usable

20 products that will improve preparedness of communities,

21 businesses, and government entities. The program may in22 clude the following activities:

23 (1) Development of multi-hazard vulnerability

24 maps to characterize and assess risks of coastal
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1 communities to a range of natural hazards and pro2 vide a baseline for assessing future risks.

3 (2) Multi-disciplinary vulnerability assessment

4 research and education that will help integrate risk

5 management with community development planning

6 and policies.

7 (3) Risk management and leadership training

8 for the public, local officials, and institutions that

9 will enhance understanding and preparedness.

10 (4) Risk assessment technology development,

11 including research and development of emerging

12 technologies and practical application of existing or

13 emerging technologies, such as modeling, remote

14 sensing, geospatial technology, engineering, and ob15 serving systems.

16 (5) Risk management data and information

17 services, including access to data and products de18 rived from observing and detection systems, as well

19 as development and maintenance of new integrated

20 data products that would support risk assessment

21 and risk management programs.

22 (6) Risk notification systems that coordinate

23 with and build upon existing systems and actively

24 engage policy officials, government agencies, busi-
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1 nesses, communities, non-governmental organiza2 tions, and the media.

3 (b) REGIONAL PILOT PROJECTS.—

4 (1) In general.—Within 1 year after the date of

5 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall, in

6 consultation with the appropriate Federal, State,

7 tribal, and local governmental entities, establish 3

8 pilot projects to conduct regional assessments of the

9 vulnerability of coastal areas of the United States to

10 hazards associated with tsunami and other natural

11 hazards or coastal disasters. Priority shall be given

12 to collaborative partnership proposals from region13 ally-based multi-organizational coalitions. In pre14 paring the regional assessments, the Administrator

15 shall collect and compile current information on tsu16 nami and other natural hazards or coastal disasters.

17 (2) SCOPE.—Regional assessments under the

18 pilot program shall include an evaluation of—

19 (A) the social impacts associated with

20 threats to and potential losses of housing, com21 munities, and infrastructure;

22 (B) the physical impacts such as coastal

23 erosion, flooding and loss of estuarine habitat,

24 saltwater intrusion of aquifers and saltwater

25 encroachment, and species migration;
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1 (C) the economic impact on local, State,

2 tribal, and regional economies, including the im3 pact on coastal infrastructure and the abun4 dance or distribution of economically important

5 living marine resources; and

6 (D) opportunities to enhance the resilience

7 of at-risk communities, economic sectors, and

8 natural resources.

9 (c) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Administrator shall

10 rely on the following criteria in identifying appropriate re11 gional pilot projects:

12 (1) Vulnerability to tsunami and other natural

13 hazards or coastal disasters.

14 (2) Dependence on economic sectors and nat15 ural resources that are particularly sensitive to

16 coastal hazards.

17 (3) Opportunities to link and leverage related

18 regional risk observation, research, forecasting, as19 sessment, educational and risk management pro20 grams.

21 (4) Demonstration of strong, interagency col22 laboration in the area of risk management for tsu23 nami and other natural hazards or coastal disasters.

24 (5) Access to NOAA and other Federal agency

25 programs, facilities, and infrastructure related to
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1 tsunami and other coastal hazards monitoring,

2 warning, forecasting, research assessment, and data

3 management.

4 (d) REGIONAL ADAPTATION PLANS.—The Adminis5 trator shall, within 3 years after the commencement of

6 each project under subsection (b), submit to the Congress

7 regional adaptation plans—

8 (1) based on the information contained in the

9 regional assessments conducted under subsection

10 (b);

11 (2) developed with the participation of other

12 Federal agencies, State, tribal, and local government

13 agencies, and non-governmental entities (including

14 academia and the private sector) that will be critical

15 in the implementation of the plan at the State, trib16 al, and local levels;

17 (3) that recommend targets and strategies to

18 address impacts associated with tsunami and other

19 natural hazards or coastal disasters;

20 (4) that include recommendations for both

21 short- and long-term adaptation strategies; and

22 (5) that include recommendations on—

23 (A) Federal flood insurance program modi24 fications;
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1 (B) areas that have been identified as high

2 risk through mapping and assessment;

3 (C) enhancing the effectiveness of State

4 coastal zone management programs in miti5 gating or preventing coastal risks;

6 (D) mitigation incentives such as rolling

7 easements, strategic retreat, State or Federal

8 acquisition in fee simple or other interest in

9 land, construction standards, and zoning;

10 (E) land and property owner education;

11 (F) economic planning for small commu12 nities dependent upon affected coastal re13 sources, including fisheries; and

14 (G) funding requirements and mechanisms.

15 (e) TECHNICAL PLANNING AND FINANCIAL ASSIST16 ANCE.—The Administrator, through the National Ocean

17 Service, shall establish a coordinated program—

18 (1) to provide technical planning assistance and

19 financial assistance to coastal States, tribes, and

20 local governments as they develop and implement

21 adaptation or mitigation strategies and plans under

22 this section; and

23 (2) to make products, information, tools, and

24 technical expertise generated from the development

25 of the regional assessment and the regional adapta-
 †

30

S 50 ES

1 tion plan available to coastal States for the purposes

2 of developing their own State, tribal, and local plans.

3 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad5 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

6 Administration—

7 (1) $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006

8 through 2012 to carry out this Act (other than sec9 tion 8); and

10 (2) $5,000,000 for each of such fiscal years to

11 carry out section 8, of which at least $3,000,000 for

12 each fiscal year shall be used to carry out the pilot

13 projects authorized by section 8(b).

Passed the Senate July 1, 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 50

AN ACT

To authorize and strengthen the National Oceanic

and for other purposes.tion, forecast, warning, and mitigation program,and Atmospheric Administration’s tsunami detec-