II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 533 

To authorize and strengthen the tsunami detection, forecast, warning, research, and mitigation program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2015 

Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To authorize and strengthen the tsunami detection, forecast, 

warning, research, and mitigation program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for 

other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tsunami Warning, 

5 Education, and Research Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO THE TSUNAMI WARNING AND EDU2 CATION ACT. 

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

4 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

5 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi6 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

7 section or other provision of the Tsunami Warning and 

8 Education Act (Public Law 109–424; 33 U.S.C. 3201 et 

9 seq.). 

10 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF PURPOSES OF TSUNAMI WARNING 

11 AND EDUCATION ACT. 

12 Section 3 (33 U.S.C. 3202) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘research,’’ 

14 after ‘‘warnings,’’; 

15 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(2) to enhance and modernize the existing 

18 United States Tsunami Warning System to increase 

19 the accuracy of forecasts and warnings, to ensure 

20 full coverage of tsunami threats to the United States 

21 with a network of detection assets, and to reduce 

22 false alarms;’’; 

23 (3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol24 lows: 

25 ‘‘(3) to improve and develop standards and 

26 guidelines for mapping, modeling, and assessment 


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1 efforts to improve tsunami detection, forecasting, 

2 warnings, notification, mitigation, resiliency, re3 sponse, outreach, and recovery;’’; 

4 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), and 

5 (6) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (8), respectively; 

6 (5) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(4) to improve research efforts related to im9 proving tsunami detection, forecasting, warnings, no10 tification, mitigation, resiliency, response, outreach, 

11 and recovery;’’; 

12 (6) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘and increase’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘, increase, and develop uniform standards 

15 and guidelines for’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘, including the warning 

17 signs of locally generated tsunami’’ after ‘‘ap18 proaching’’; 

19 (7) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 

20 striking ‘‘, including the Indian Ocean; and’’ and in21 serting a semicolon; and 

22 (8) by inserting after paragraph (6), as so re23 designated, the following: 

24 ‘‘(7) to foster resilient communities in the face 

25 of tsunami and other similar coastal hazards; and’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF TSUNAMI FORECASTING AND 

2 WARNING PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 4 (33 

4 U.S.C. 3203) is amended by striking ‘‘Atlantic Ocean, 

5 Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico region’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘Atlantic Ocean region, including the Caribbean Sea and 

7 the Gulf of Mexico’’. 

8 (b) COMPONENTS.—Subsection (b) of such section 4 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘established’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘supported or maintained’’; 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through 

13 (9) as paragraphs (10) through (12), respectively; 

14 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

15 (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; 

16 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(2) to the degree practicable, maintain not less 

19 than 80 percent of the Deep-Ocean Assessment and 

20 Reporting of Tsunamis buoy array at operational ca21 pacity to optimize data reliability;’’; 

22 (5) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by para23 graph (3), by inserting ‘‘and safeguarding port and 

24 harbor operations’’ after ‘‘communities’’; 

25 (6) by inserting after paragraph (7), as redesig26 nated by paragraph (3), the following: 


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1 ‘‘(8) include a cooperative effort among the Ad2 ministration, the United States Geological Survey, 

3 and the National Science Foundation under which 

4 the Director of the United States Geological Survey 

5 and the Director of the National Science Foundation 

6 shall provide rapid and reliable seismic information 

7 to the Administrator from international and domes8 tic seismic networks; 

9 ‘‘(9) support seismic stations installed before 

10 the date of the enactment of the Tsunami Warning, 

11 Education, and Research Act of 2015 to supplement 

12 coverage in areas of sparse instrumentation;’’; 

13 (7) in paragraph (10), as redesignated by para14 graph (2)— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including graphical 

16 warning products,’’ after ‘‘warnings’’; 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘, territories,’’ after 

18 ‘‘States’’; and 

19 (C) by inserting ‘‘and Wireless Emergency 

20 Alerts’’ after ‘‘Hazards Program’’; and 

21 (8) in paragraph (11), as redesignated by para22 graph (2)— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘provide and’’ before 

24 ‘‘allow’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘and commercial and 

2 Federal undersea communications cables’’ after 

3 ‘‘observing technologies’’. 

4 (c) TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—Subsection (c) of 

5 such section 4 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(c) TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—The program 

7 under this section shall operate a tsunami warning system 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(1) is capable of forecasting a tsunami, includ10 ing forecasting tsunami arrival time and inundation 

11 estimates, anywhere in the Pacific and Arctic Ocean 

12 regions and providing adequate warnings; 

13 ‘‘(2) is capable of forecasting and providing 

14 adequate warnings, including tsunami arrival time 

15 and inundation models where applicable, in areas of 

16 the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and 

17 Gulf of Mexico, that are determined— 

18 ‘‘(A) to be geologically active, or to have 

19 significant potential for geological activity; and 

20 ‘‘(B) to pose significant risks of tsunami 

21 for States along the coastal areas of the Atlan22 tic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of Mexico; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(3) supports other international tsunami fore25 casting and warning efforts.’’. 


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1 (d) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.—Subsection (d) 

2 of such section 4 is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(d) TSUNAMI WARNING CENTERS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

5 support or maintain centers to support the tsunami 

6 warning system required by subsection (c). The Cen7 ters shall include— 

8 ‘‘(A) the National Tsunami Warning Cen9 ter, located in Alaska, which is primarily re10 sponsible for Alaska and the continental United 

11 States; 

12 ‘‘(B) the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, 

13 located in Hawaii, which is primarily respon14 sible for Hawaii, the Caribbean, and other 

15 areas of the Pacific not covered by the National 

16 Center; and 

17 ‘‘(C) any additional forecast and warning 

18 centers determined by the National Weather 

19 Service to be necessary. 

20 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The responsibilities 

21 of the centers supported or maintained pursuant to 

22 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) Continuously monitoring data from 

24 seismological, deep ocean, coastal sea level, and 


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1 tidal monitoring stations and other data sources 

2 as may be developed and deployed. 

3 ‘‘(B) Evaluating earthquakes, landslides, 

4 and volcanic eruptions that have the potential 

5 to generate tsunami. 

6 ‘‘(C) Evaluating deep ocean buoy data and 

7 tidal monitoring stations for indications of a 

8 tsunami resulting from earthquakes and other 

9 sources. 

10 ‘‘(D) To the extent practicable, utilizing a 

11 range of models, including ensemble models, to 

12 predict tsunami, including arrival times, flood13 ing estimates, coastal and harbor currents, and 

14 duration. 

15 ‘‘(E) Using data from the Integrated 

16 Ocean Observing System of the Administration 

17 in coordination with regional associations to cal18 culate new inundation estimates and periodi19 cally update existing inundation estimates. 

20 ‘‘(F) Ensuring supercomputing resources 

21 of the National Centers for Environmental Pre22 diction are available to run, as rapidly as pos23 sible, such computer models as are needed for 

24 purposes of the tsunami warning system oper25 ated pursuant to subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(G) Disseminating forecasts and tsunami 

2 warning bulletins to Federal, State, tribal, and 

3 local government officials and the public. 

4 ‘‘(H) Coordinating with the tsunami haz5 ard mitigation program conducted under section 

6 5 to ensure ongoing sharing of information be7 tween forecasters and emergency management 

8 officials. 

9 ‘‘(I) Evaluating and recommending proce10 dures for ports and harbors at risk of tsunami 

11 inundation, including review of readiness, re12 sponse, and communication strategies to ensure 

13 coordination and data sharing with the Coast 

14 Guard. 

15 ‘‘(J) Making data gathered under this Act 

16 and post-warning analyses conducted by the 

17 National Weather Service or other relevant Ad18 ministration offices available to the public. 

19 ‘‘(K) Integrating and modernizing the pro20 gram operated under this section with advances 

21 in tsunami science to improve performance 

22 without compromising service. 

23 ‘‘(3) FAIL-SAFE WARNING CAPABILITY.—The 

24 tsunami warning centers supported or maintained 

25 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall maintain a fail-safe 


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1 warning capability and perform back-up duties for 

2 each other. 

3 ‘‘(4) COORDINATION WITH NATIONAL WEATHER

4 SERVICE.—The Administrator shall coordinate with 

5 the forecast offices of the National Weather Service, 

6 the centers supported or maintained pursuant to 

7 paragraph (1), and such program offices of the Ad8 ministration as the Administrator or the coordi9 nating committee consider appropriate to ensure 

10 that regional and local forecast offices— 

11 ‘‘(A) have the technical knowledge and ca12 pability to disseminate tsunami warnings for 

13 the communities they serve; 

14 ‘‘(B) leverage connections with local emer15 gency management officials for optimally dis16 seminating tsunami warnings and forecasts; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(C) implement mass communication tools 

19 in effect on the day before the date of the en20 actment of the Tsunami Warning, Education, 

21 and Research Act of 2015 used by the National 

22 Weather Service on such date and newer mass 

23 communication technologies as they are devel24 oped as a part of the Weather-Ready Nation 

25 program of the Administration, or otherwise, 


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1 for the purpose of timely and effective delivery 

2 of tsunami warnings. 

3 ‘‘(5) UNIFORM OPERATING PROCEDURES.—The 

4 Administrator shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) develop uniform operational proce6 dures for the centers supported or maintained 

7 pursuant to paragraph (1), including the use of 

8 software applications, checklists, decision sup9 port tools, and tsunami warning products that 

10 have been standardized across the program sup11 ported under this section; 

12 ‘‘(B) ensure that processes and products of 

13 the warning system operated pursuant to sub14 section (c)— 

15 ‘‘(i) reflect industry best practices 

16 when practicable; 

17 ‘‘(ii) conform to the maximum extent 

18 practicable with internationally recognized 

19 standards for information technology; and 

20 ‘‘(iii) conform to the maximum extent 

21 practicable with other warning products 

22 and practices of the National Weather 

23 Service; 


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1 ‘‘(C) ensure that future adjustments to 

2 operational protocols, processes, and warning 

3 products— 

4 ‘‘(i) are made consistently across the 

5 warning system operated pursuant to sub6 section (c); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) are applied in a uniform manner 

8 across such warning system; 

9 ‘‘(D) establish a systematic method for in10 formation technology product development to 

11 improve long-term technology planning efforts; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(E) disseminate guidelines and metrics 

14 for evaluating and improving tsunami forecast 

15 models. 

16 ‘‘(6) AVAILABLE RESOURCES.—The Adminis17 trator, through the National Weather Service, shall 

18 ensure that resources are available to fulfill the obli19 gations of this Act. This includes ensuring super20 computing resources are available to run such com21 puter models as are needed for purposes of the tsu22 nami warning system operated pursuant to sub23 section (c).’’. 


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1 (e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND

2 UPGRADES.—Subsection (e) of such section 4 is amended 

3 to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE

5 AND UPGRADES.—In carrying out this section, the Admin6 istrator shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) develop requirements for the equipment 

8 used to forecast a tsunami, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) provisions for multipurpose detection 

10 platforms; 

11 ‘‘(B) reliability and performance metrics; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(C) to the maximum extent practicable, 

14 requirements for the integration of equipment 

15 with other United States and global ocean and 

16 coastal observation systems, the global Earth 

17 observing system of systems, the global seismic 

18 networks, and the Advanced National Seismic 

19 System; 

20 ‘‘(2) develop and execute a plan for the transfer 

21 of technology from ongoing research conducted as 

22 part of the program supported or maintained under 

23 section 6 into the program under this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) ensure that the Administration’s oper2 ational tsunami detection equipment is properly 

3 maintained.’’. 

4 (f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—Subsection (f) of such 

5 section 4 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—When deploying and 

7 maintaining tsunami detection technologies under the pro8 gram under this section, the Administrator shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) identify which assets of other Federal 

10 agencies are necessary to support such program; and 

11 ‘‘(2) work with each agency identified under 

12 paragraph (1)— 

13 ‘‘(A) to acquire the agency’s assistance; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) to prioritize the necessary assets.’’. 

16 (g) UNNECESSARY PROVISIONS.—Such section 4 is 

17 further amended— 

18 (1) by striking subsections (g) and (i) through 

19 (k); and 

20 (2) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub21 section (g). 

22 (h) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—Subsection 

23 (g) of such section, as redesignated by subsection (g)(2), 

24 is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and mov3 ing such subparagraphs 2 ems to the right; 

4 (2) in the matter before subparagraph (A), as 

5 redesignated by paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The Ad6 ministrator’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’; 

8 (3) in paragraph (1), as redesignated by para9 graph (2)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (A), as redesignated 

11 by paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (B) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated 

13 by paragraph (1), by striking the period at the 

14 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) the occurrence of a significant tsu17 nami warning.’’; and 

18 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In a case in which notice is 

20 submitted under paragraph (1) within 90 days of a 

21 significant tsunami warning described in subpara22 graph (C) of such paragraph, such notice shall in23 clude brief information and analysis of— 

24 ‘‘(A) the accuracy of the tsunami model 

25 used; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the specific deep ocean or other moni2 toring equipment that detected the incident, as 

3 well as the deep ocean or other monitoring 

4 equipment that did not detect the incident due 

5 to malfunction or otherwise; 

6 ‘‘(C) the effectiveness of the warning com7 munication procedures including the integration 

8 of warnings with State, territory, local, and 

9 tribal partners in the affected area under the 

10 jurisdiction of the National Weather Service; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(D) such other findings as the Adminis13 trator considers appropriate.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. MODIFICATION OF NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD 

15 MITIGATION PROGRAM. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 (33 U.S.C. 3204) is 

17 amended by striking subsections (a) through (d) and in18 serting the following: 

19 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Administrator 

20 shall, in consultation with the Administrator of the Fed21 eral Emergency Management Agency and the heads of 

22 such other agencies as the Administrator considers rel23 evant, conduct a community-based tsunami hazard mitiga24 tion program to improve tsunami preparedness and resilVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Mar 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S533.IS S533

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1 iency of at-risk areas in the United States and the terri2 tories of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The Program con4 ducted pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(1) Technical and financial assistance to 

7 coastal States, territories, tribes, and local govern8 ments to develop and implement activities under this 

9 section. 

10 ‘‘(2) Integration of tsunami preparedness and 

11 mitigation programs into ongoing State-based haz12 ard warning, resilience planning, and risk manage13 ment activities, including predisaster planning, emer14 gency response, evacuation planning, disaster recov15 ery, hazard mitigation, and community development 

16 and redevelopment planning programs in affected 

17 areas. 

18 ‘‘(3) Activities to promote the adoption of tsu19 nami resilience, preparedness, warning, and mitiga20 tion measures by Federal, State, territorial, tribal, 

21 and local governments and nongovernmental entities, 

22 including educational and risk communication pro23 grams to discourage development in high-risk areas. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Activities to support the development of 

2 regional tsunami hazard and risk assessments. Such 

3 regional risk assessments may include the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) The sources, sizes, and other relevant 

5 historical data of tsunami in the region. 

6 ‘‘(B) Inundation models and maps of crit7 ical infrastructure and socioeconomic vulner8 ability in areas subject to tsunami inundation. 

9 ‘‘(C) Maps of evacuation areas and evacu10 ation routes, including, when appropriate, traf11 fic studies that evaluate the viability of evacu12 ation routes. 

13 ‘‘(D) Evaluations of the size of populations 

14 that will require evacuation, including popu15 lations with special evacuation needs. 

16 ‘‘(E) Evaluations and technical assistance 

17 for vertical evacuation structure planning for 

18 communities where models indicate limited or 

19 no ability for timely evacuation, especially in 

20 areas at risk of near shore generated tsunami. 

21 ‘‘(F) Evaluation of at-risk ports and har22 bors. 

23 ‘‘(5) Activities to promote preparedness in at24 risk ports and harbors, including the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Evaluation and recommendation of 

2 procedures for ports and harbors in the event of 

3 a distant or near-field tsunami. 

4 ‘‘(B) A review of readiness, response, and 

5 communication strategies to ensure coordina6 tion and data sharing with the Coast Guard. 

7 ‘‘(6) Activities to support the development of 

8 community-based outreach and education programs 

9 to ensure community readiness and resilience, in10 cluding the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) The development, implementation, 

12 and assessment of technical training and public 

13 education programs, including education pro14 grams that address unique characteristics of 

15 distant and near-field tsunami. 

16 ‘‘(B) The development of decision support 

17 tools. 

18 ‘‘(C) The incorporation of social science re19 search into community readiness and resilience 

20 efforts. 

21 ‘‘(D) The development of evidence-based 

22 education guidelines. 

23 ‘‘(7) Dissemination of guidelines and standards 

24 for community planning, education, and training 

25 products, programs, and tools, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) standards for— 

2 ‘‘(i) mapping products; 

3 ‘‘(ii) inundation models; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) effective emergency exercises; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(B) recommended guidance for at-risk 

7 port and harbor tsunami warning, evacuation, 

8 and response procedures in coordination with 

9 the Coast Guard. 

10 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In addition to activi11 ties conducted under subsection (b), the program con12 ducted pursuant to subsection (a) may include the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(1) Multidisciplinary vulnerability assessment 

15 research, education, and training to help integrate 

16 risk management and resilience objectives with com17 munity development planning and policies. 

18 ‘‘(2) Risk management training for local offi19 cials and community organizations to enhance un20 derstanding and preparedness. 

21 ‘‘(3) Interagency, Federal, State, tribal, and 

22 territorial intergovernmental tsunami response exer23 cise planning and implementation in high-risk areas. 

24 ‘‘(4) Development of practical applications for 

25 existing or emerging technologies, such as modeling, 


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1 remote sensing, geospatial technology, engineering, 

2 and observing systems. 

3 ‘‘(5) Risk management, risk assessment, and 

4 resilience data and information services, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) access to data and products derived 

6 from observing and detection systems; and 

7 ‘‘(B) development and maintenance of new 

8 integrated data products to support risk man9 agement, risk assessment, and resilience pro10 grams. 

11 ‘‘(6) Risk notification systems that coordinate 

12 with and build upon existing systems and actively 

13 engage decisionmakers, State, local, tribal, and terri14 torial governments and agencies, business commu15 nities, nongovernmental organizations, and the 

16 media. 

17 ‘‘(d) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

19 maintain a coordinating committee to assist the Ad20 ministrator in the conduct of the program required 

21 by subsection (a). 

22 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—The coordinating com23 mittee shall be composed of members as follows: 

24 ‘‘(A) Representatives of States and terri25 tories most at risk from tsunami, including 


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1 Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Ha2 waii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa. 

3 ‘‘(B) Such other members as the Adminis4 trator considers appropriate to represent Fed5 eral, State, tribal, territorial, and local govern6 ments. 

7 ‘‘(3) SUBCOMMITTEES.—The Administrator 

8 may approve the formation of subcommittees to ad9 dress specific program components or regional 

10 issues. 

11 ‘‘(4) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The coordinating 

12 committee shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) provide feedback on how funds should 

14 be prioritized to carry out the program required 

15 by subsection (a); 

16 ‘‘(B) ensure that areas described in section 

17 4(c) in the United States and its territories 

18 have the opportunity to participate in the pro19 gram; 

20 ‘‘(C) provide recommendations to the Ad21 ministrator on how to improve and continuously 

22 advance the TsunamiReady program of the Na23 tional Weather Service, particularly on ways to 

24 make communities more tsunami resilient 


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1 through the use of inundation maps and models 

2 and other hazard mitigation practices; 

3 ‘‘(D) ensure that all components of the 

4 program required by subsection (a) are inte5 grated with ongoing State based hazard warn6 ing, risk management, and resilience activities, 

7 including— 

8 ‘‘(i) integrating activities with emer9 gency response plans, disaster recovery, 

10 hazard mitigation, and community develop11 ment programs in affected areas; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) integrating information to assist 

13 in tsunami evacuation route planning. 

14 ‘‘(5) EXEMPTION FROM FACA TERMINATION RE15 QUIREMENT.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory 

16 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 14) shall not apply 

17 to the committee established and maintained pursu18 ant to paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(e) NO PREEMPTION WITH RESPECT TO DESIGNA20 TION OF AT-RISK AREAS.—The establishment of national 

21 standards for inundation models under this section shall 

22 not prevent States, territories, tribes, and local govern23 ments from designating additional areas as being at risk 

24 based on knowledge of local conditions. 


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1 ‘‘(f) NO NEW REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

2 in this Act may be construed as establishing new regu3 latory authority for any Federal agency.’’. 

4 (b) REPORT ON ACCREDITATION OF TSUNAMIREADY

5 PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after the date of en6 actment of this Act, the Administrator of the National 

7 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall submit to 

8 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

9 of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and 

10 Technology of the House of Representatives a report on 

11 which authorities and activities would be needed to have 

12 the TsunamiReady program of the National Weather 

13 Service accredited by the Emergency Management Accred14 itation Program. 

15 SEC. 6. MODIFICATION OF TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

16 Section 6 (33 U.S.C. 3205) is amended— 

17 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by 

18 striking ‘‘The Administrator shall’’ and all that fol19 lows through ‘‘establish or maintain’’ and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall, in con22 sultation with such other Federal agencies, State, tribal, 

23 and territorial governments, and academic institutions as 

24 the Administrator considers appropriate, the coordinating 


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1 committee under section 5(d), and the panel under section 

2 8(a), support or maintain’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (a), as designated by para4 graph (1), by striking ‘‘and assessment for tsunami 

5 tracking and numerical forecast modeling. Such re6 search program shall—’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘assessment for tsunami tracking and numerical 

8 forecast modeling, and standards development. 

9 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The research program 

10 supported or maintained pursuant to subsection (a) 

11 shall—’’; and 

12 (3) in subsection (b), as designated by para13 graph (2)— 

14 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

15 follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) consider other appropriate and cost effec17 tive research to mitigate the impact of a tsunami, 

18 including the improvement of near-field and distant 

19 tsunami detection and forecasting capabilities, which 

20 may include use of a new generation of the Deep21 Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis array 

22 and other real-time tsunami monitoring systems and 

23 supercomputer capacity of the Administration to de24 velop a rapid tsunami forecast for all United States 

25 coastlines;’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘include’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘conduct’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

6 paragraph (5); 

7 (D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(4) develop the technical basis for validation of 

10 tsunami maps, numerical tsunami models, digital 

11 elevation models, and forecasts; and’’; and 

12 (E) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 

13 subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘to the scientific 

14 community’’ and inserting ‘‘to the public’’. 

15 SEC. 7. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NET16 WORK. 

17 Section 7 (33 U.S.C. 3206) is amended— 

18 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(a) SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTER21 NATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—The Adminis22 trator shall, in coordination with the Secretary of State 

23 and in consultation with such other agencies as the Ad24 ministrator considers relevant, provide technical assistance 

25 and training to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic 


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1 Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, 

2 and Cultural Organization, the World Meteorological Or3 ganization of the United Nations, and such other inter4 national entities as the Administrator considers appro5 priate, as part of the international efforts to develop a 

6 fully functional global tsunami forecast and warning sys7 tem comprised of regional tsunami warning networks.’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘shall’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘may’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (c)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘estab12 lishing’’ and inserting ‘‘supporting’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘establish’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘support’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘establishing’’ and in17 serting ‘‘supporting’’. 

18 SEC. 8. TSUNAMI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 

19 PANEL. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Act is further amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating section 8 (33 U.S.C. 3207) 

22 as section 9; and 

23 (2) by inserting after section 7 (33 U.S.C. 

24 3206) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 8. TSUNAMI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY 

2 PANEL. 

3 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Administrator shall des4 ignate an existing working group within the Science Advi5 sory Board of the Administration to serve as the Tsunami 

6 Science and Technology Advisory Panel to provide advice 

7 to the Administrator on matters regarding tsunami 

8 science, technology, and regional preparedness. 

9 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

10 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The working group des11 ignated under subsection (a) shall be composed of no 

12 fewer than 7 members selected by the Administrator 

13 from among individuals from academia or State 

14 agencies who have academic or practical expertise in 

15 physical sciences, social sciences, information tech16 nology, coastal resilience, emergency management, 

17 or such other disciplines as the Administrator con18 siders appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.—No member of 

20 the working group designated pursuant to subsection 

21 (a) may be a Federal employee. 

22 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Not less frequently than 

23 once every 4 years, the working group designated under 

24 subsection (a) shall— 

25 ‘‘(1) review the activities of the Administration, 

26 and other Federal activities as appropriate, relating 


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1 to tsunami research, detection, forecasting, warning, 

2 mitigation, resiliency, and preparation; and 

3 ‘‘(2) submit to the Administrator and such oth4 ers as the Administrator considers appropriate— 

5 ‘‘(A) the findings of the working group 

6 with respect to the most recent review con7 ducted pursuant to paragraph (1); and 

8 ‘‘(B) such recommendations for legislative 

9 or administrative action as the working group 

10 considers appropriate to improve Federal tsu11 nami research, detection, forecasting, warning, 

12 mitigation, resiliency, and preparation. 

13 ‘‘(d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not less frequently 

14 than once every 4 years, the Administrator shall submit 

15 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor16 tation of the Senate, and the Committee on Science, 

17 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

18 a report on the findings and recommendations received by 

19 the Administrator under subsection (c)(2).’’. 

20 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

21 (a) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF TSUNAMI

22 WARNING AND EDUCATION ACT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis25 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Mar 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S533.IS S533

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1 ministration shall submit to Congress a report on 

2 the implementation of the Tsunami Warning and 

3 Education Act (33 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.). 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para5 graph (1) shall include the following: 

6 (A) A detailed description of the progress 

7 made in implementing sections 4(d)(6), 5(b)(6), 

8 and 6(b)(4) of the Tsunami Warning and Edu9 cation Act. 

10 (B) A description of the ways that tsunami 

11 warnings and warning products issued by the 

12 Tsunami Forecasting and Warning Program es13 tablished under section 4 of the Tsunami Warn14 ing and Education Act (33 U.S.C. 3203) can be 

15 standardized and streamlined with warnings 

16 and warning products for hurricanes, coastal 

17 storms, and other coastal flooding events. 

18 (b) REPORT ON NATIONAL EFFORTS THAT SUPPORT

19 RAPID RESPONSE FOLLOWING NEAR-SHORE TSUNAMI

20 EVENTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis23 trator and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

24 jointly, in coordination with the Director of the 

25 United States Geological Survey, Administrator of 


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1 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the 

2 Chief of the National Guard Bureau, and the heads 

3 of such other Federal agencies as the Administrator 

4 considers appropriate, submit to the appropriate 

5 committees of Congress a report on the national ef6 forts in effect on the day before the date of the en7 actment of this Act that support and facilitate rapid 

8 emergency response following a domestic near-shore 

9 tsunami event to better understand domestic effects 

10 of earthquake derived tsunami on people, infrastruc11 ture, and communities in the United States. 

12 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para13 graph (1) shall include the following: 

14 (A) A description of scientific or other 

15 measurements collected on the day before the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act to quickly 

17 identify and quantify lost or degraded infra18 structure or terrestrial formations. 

19 (B) A description of scientific or other 

20 measurements that would be necessary to col21 lect to quickly identify and quantify lost or de22 graded infrastructure or terrestrial formations. 

23 (C) Identification and evaluation of Fed24 eral, State, local, tribal, territorial, and military 

25 first responder and search and rescue operation 


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1 centers, bases, and other facilities as well as 

2 other critical response assets and infrastruc3 ture, including search and rescue aircraft, lo4 cated within near-shore and distant tsunami in5 undation areas on the day before the date of 

6 the enactment of this Act. 

7 (D) An evaluation of near-shore tsunami 

8 response plans in areas described in subpara9 graph (C) in effect on the day before the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act, and how those re11 sponse plans would be affected by the loss of 

12 search and rescue and first responder infra13 structure described in such subparagraph. 

14 (E) A description of redevelopment plans 

15 and reports in effect on the day before the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act for communities in 

17 areas that are at high-risk for near-shore tsu18 nami, as well as identification of States or com19 munities that do not have redevelopment plans. 

20 (F) Recommendations to enhance near21 shore tsunami preparedness and response plans, 

22 including recommended responder exercises, 

23 predisaster planning, and mitigation needs. 


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1 (G) Such other data and analysis informa2 tion as the Administrator and the Secretary of 

3 Homeland Security consider appropriate. 

4 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON5 GRESS.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

6 committees of Congress’’ means— 

7 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

8 and Transportation and the Committee on 

9 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

10 of the Senate; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

12 Technology and the Committee on Homeland 

13 Security of the House of Representatives. 

14 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 Section 9 of the Act, as redesignated by section 

16 8(a)(1) of this Act, is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; 

19 (2) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking the period 

20 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(6) $27,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 

23 through 2021, of which— 

24 ‘‘(A) not less than 27 percent of the 

25 amount appropriated for each fiscal year shall 


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1 be for activities conducted at the State level 

2 under the tsunami hazard mitigation program 

3 under section 5; and 

4 ‘‘(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount 

5 appropriated shall be for the tsunami research 

6 program under section 6.’’. 

7 SEC. 11. OUTREACH RESPONSIBILITIES. 

8 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At9 mospheric Administration, in coordination with State and 

10 local emergency managers, shall develop and carry out for11 mal outreach activities to improve tsunami education and 

12 awareness and foster the development of resilient commu13 nities. Outreach activities may include— 

14 (1) the development of outreach plans to ensure 

15 the close integration of tsunami warning centers 

16 supported or maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of 

17 the Tsunami Warning and Education Act (33 

18 U.S.C. 3203(d)) with local Weather Forecast Offices 

19 of the National Weather Service and emergency 

20 managers; 

21 (2) working with appropriate local Weather 

22 Forecast Offices to ensure they have the technical 

23 knowledge and capability to disseminate tsunami 

24 warnings to the communities they serve; and 


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1 (3) evaluating the effectiveness of warnings and 

2 of coordination with local Weather Forecast Offices 

3 after significant tsunami events. 

4 SEC. 12. REPEAL OF DUPLICATE PROVISIONS OF LAW. 

5 (a) REPEAL.—The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con6 servation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 

7 (Public Law 109–479) is amended by striking title VIII 

8 (relating to tsunami warning and education). 

9 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

10 construed to repeal, or affect in any way, Public Law 109– 

11 424. 

Æ 


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