103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2811

AN ACT

To authorize certain atmospheric, weather, and satfor other purposes. Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and ellite programs and functions of the National
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2811

AN ACT

To authorize certain atmospheric, weather, and satellite programs and functions 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 ‘‘National Oceanic and

5 Atmospheric Administration Atmospheric and Satellite

6 Program Authorization Act of 1993’’.
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1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION OF

2 APPROPRIATIONS

3 SEC. 101. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

4 (a) OPERATIONS AND RESEARCH.—There are au5 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce

6 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) to enable the

7 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to

8 carry out the operations and research duties of the Na9 tional Weather Service, $473,256,000 for fiscal year 1994

10 and $492,185,000 for fiscal year 1995. Such duties in11 clude meteorological, hydrological, and oceanographic pub12 lic warnings and forecasts, as well as applied research in

13 support of such warnings and forecasts.

14 (b) SYSTEMS ACQUISITION.—There are authorized to

15 be appropriated to the Secretary to enable the National

16 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out the

17 public warning and forecast systems duties of the National

18 Weather Service, $76,299,000 for fiscal year 1994 and

19 $14,600,000 for fiscal year 1995. Such duties include the

20 development, acquisition, and implementation of major

21 public warning and forecast systems. None of the funds

22 authorized under this subsection shall be used for the pur23 poses for which funds are authorized under section 102(b)

24 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

25 Authorization Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–567). None
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1 of the funds authorized under this subsection for fiscal

2 year 1995 shall be used for the purposes for which funds

3 are authorized under subsections (c) and (d) of this sec4 tion. No funds may be expended for Next Generation

5 Doppler Weather Radar (NEXRAD) until the require6 ments of paragraph (2) (A) or (B) of such section 102(b)

7 have been fulfilled by the Secretary. None of the funds

8 authorized by such section 102(b) shall be expended for

9 a particular NEXRAD installation unless—

10 (1) it is identified as a National Weather Serv11 ice NEXRAD installation in the National Implemen12 tation Plan for modernization of the National

13 Weather Service for fiscal year 1994, required under

14 section 703 of the National Oceanic and Atmos15 pheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992

16 (Public Law 102–567);

17 (2) the Secretary, in consultation with the Mod18 ernization Transition Committee established under

19 section 707 of the National Oceanic and Atmos20 pheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992,

21 has made a determination of technical and pro22 grammatic necessity with respect to such installation

23 and a period of 60 legislative days after the trans24 mittal to the Congress of such determination, or the
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1 period between such transmittal and the next Octo2 ber 1, whichever period is longer, has passed; or

3 (3) it is to be used only for spare parts, not as

4 an installation at a particular site.

5 For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘legislative day’’

6 means any day on which either House of Congress is in

7 session.

8 (c) ASOS COMPLETE PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.—

9 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), there are author10 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary for all fiscal years

11 beginning after September 30, 1994, an aggregate of

12 $30,808,000, to remain available until expended, to com13 plete the acquisition and deployment of—

14 (A) the Automated Surface Observing System

15 and related systems, including multisensor and

16 backup arrays for National Weather Service sites at

17 airports; and

18 (B) Automated Meteorological Observing Sys19 tem and Remote Automated Meteorological Observ20 ing System replacement units,

21 and to cover all associated activities, including program

22 management and operations and maintenance through

23 September 30, 1996.

24 (2) No funds are authorized to be appropriated for

25 any fiscal year under paragraph (1) unless, within 60 days
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1 after the submission of the President’s budget request for

2 such fiscal year, the Secretary—

3 (A) certifies to the Congress that—

4 (i) the systems meet the technical perform5 ance specifications included in the system con6 tract as in effect on February 20, 1991;

7 (ii) the systems can be fully deployed,

8 sited, and operational without requiring further

9 appropriations beyond amounts authorized

10 under paragraph (1); and

11 (iii) the Secretary does not foresee any

12 delays in the systems deployment and oper13 ations schedule; or

14 (B) submits to the Congress a report which de15 scribes—

16 (i) the circumstances which prevent a cer17 tification under subparagraph (A);

18 (ii) remedial actions undertaken or to be

19 undertaken with respect to such circumstances;

20 (iii) the effects of such circumstances on

21 the systems deployment and operations schedule

22 and systems coverage; and

23 (iv) a justification for proceeding with the

24 program, if appropriate.
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1 (d) AWIPS COMPLETE PROGRAM AUTHORIZA2 TION.—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), there are

3 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for all fiscal

4 years beginning after September 30, 1994, an aggregate

5 of $315,887,000, to remain available until expended, to

6 complete the acquisition and deployment of the Advanced

7 Weather Interactive Processing System and NOAA Port

8 and to cover all associated activities, including program

9 management and operations and maintenance through

10 September 30, 1999.

11 (2) No funds are authorized to be appropriated for

12 any fiscal year under paragraph (1) unless, within 60 days

13 after the submission of the President’s budget request for

14 such fiscal year, the Secretary—

15 (A) certifies to the Congress that—

16 (i) the systems meet the technical perform17 ance specifications included in the system con18 tract as in effect on January 5, 1993;

19 (ii) the systems can be fully deployed,

20 sited, and operational without requiring further

21 appropriations beyond amounts authorized

22 under paragraph (1); and

23 (iii) the Secretary does not foresee any

24 delays in the systems deployment and oper25 ations schedule; or
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1 (B) submits to the Congress a report which de2 scribes—

3 (i) the circumstances which prevent a cer4 tification under subparagraph (A);

5 (ii) remedial actions undertaken or to be

6 undertaken with respect to such circumstances;

7 (iii) the effects of such circumstances on

8 the systems deployment and operations schedule

9 and systems coverage; and

10 (iv) a justification for proceeding with the

11 program, if appropriate.

12 (e) CONSTRUCTION OF WEATHER FORECAST OF13 FICES.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the

14 Secretary to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

15 Administration to carry out construction, repair, and

16 modification activities relating to new and existing weath17 er forecast offices, $62,784,000 for fiscal year 1994 and

18 $14,739,000 for fiscal year 1995. Such activities include

19 planning, design, and land acquisition related to such

20 offices.

21 SEC. 102. ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH.

22 (a) CLIMATE AND AIR QUALITY RESEARCH.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

24 appropriated to the Secretary to enable the National

25 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry
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1 out its climate and air quality research duties,

2 $105,922,000 for fiscal year 1994 and

3 $138,737,000 for fiscal year 1995. Such duties in4 clude interannual and seasonal climate research and

5 long-term climate and air quality research.

6 (2) CLIMATE AND GLOBAL CHANGE.—Of the

7 sums authorized under paragraph (1), $66,902,000

8 for fiscal year 1994 and $84,573,000 for fiscal year

9 1995 are authorized to be appropriated for the pur10 poses of studying climate and global change, includ11 ing global observations, monitoring, and data and in12 formation management relating to the study of

13 changes in the Earth’s climatic system, and fun14 damental research on oceanic and atmospheric proc15 esses critical to climate prediction and diagnostics.

16 (b) ATMOSPHERIC PROGRAMS.—There are author17 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary to enable the Na18 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry

19 out its atmospheric research duties, $42,103,000 for fiscal

20 year 1994 and $52,980,000 for fiscal year 1995. Such du21 ties include research for developing improved prediction

22 capabilities for atmospheric processes, as well as solar-ter23 restrial research and services.
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1 SEC. 103. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE, DATA,

2 AND INFORMATION SERVICE.

3 (a) SATELLITE OBSERVING SYSTEMS.—There are

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to enable

5 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to

6 carry out its satellite observing systems duties,

7 $206,383,000 for fiscal year 1994 and $217,710,000 for

8 fiscal year 1995, except that no funds may be expended

9 for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

10 until the requirements of section 105(d)(2) (A) or (B) of

11 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Au12 thorization Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–567) have been

13 fulfilled by the Secretary. Such duties include spacecraft

14 procurement, launch, and associated ground station sys15 tems involving polar orbiting and geostationary environ16 mental satellites, as well as the operation of such satellites.

17 None of the funds authorized under this subsection shall

18 be used for the purposes for which funds are authorized

19 under section 105(d) of the National Oceanic and Atmos20 pheric Administration Authorization Act of 1992 (Public

21 Law 102–567). None of the funds authorized under this

22 subsection for fiscal year 1995 shall be used for the pur23 poses for which funds are authorized under subsection (b)

24 of this section.

25 (b) POES COMPLETE PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.—

26 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), there are author-
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1 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary for all fiscal years

2 beginning after September 30, 1994, an aggregate of

3 $196,343,000, to remain available until expended, to com4 plete the procurement of Polar Orbiting Environmental

5 Satellites J, K, L, and M, and the procurement of the

6 launching and supporting ground systems of such sat7 ellites.

8 (2) No funds are authorized to be appropriated for

9 any fiscal year under paragraph (1) unless, within 60 days

10 after the submission of the President’s budget request for

11 such fiscal year, the Secretary—

12 (A) certifies to the Congress that—

13 (i) the satellite instruments meet the tech14 nical performance specifications included in the

15 satellite contracts as in effect on July 27, 1988;

16 (ii) the procurements can be completed

17 without requiring further appropriations beyond

18 amounts authorized under paragraph (1); and

19 (iii) the Secretary does not foresee any

20 gaps in two-satellite service operations resulting

21 from nonperformance of the satellite contract;

22 or

23 (B) submits to the Congress a report which de24 scribes—
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1 (i) the circumstances which prevent a cer2 tification under subparagraph (A);

3 (ii) remedial actions undertaken or to be

4 undertaken with respect to such circumstances;

5 (iii) the effects of such circumstances on

6 the launch schedule and satellite coverage; and

7 (iv) a justification for proceeding with the

8 program, if appropriate.

9 (3) No funds for Polar Orbiting Environmental Sat10 ellites, other than for Polar Orbiting Environmental Sat11 ellites J, K, L, and M, are authorized to be appropriated

12 under subsection (a) unless the Director of the Office of

13 Science and Technology Policy submits an implementation

14 plan for a single operational polar environmental and

15 weather satellite system and the policy for polar satellite

16 system convergence with the European Organization for

17 the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites

18 (EUMETSAT).

19 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AND INFORMATION

20 SERVICES.—There are authorized to be appropriated to

21 the Secretary to enable the National Oceanic and Atmos22 pheric Administration to carry out its environmental data

23 and information services duties, $34,068,000 for fiscal

24 year 1994 and $41,227,000 for fiscal year 1995. Such du25 ties include climate data services, geophysical data serv-
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1 ices, and environmental assessment and information serv2 ices.

3 SEC. 104. PROGRAM SUPPORT.

4 (a) ADMINISTRATION AND SERVICES.—There are au5 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for Adminis6 tration and Services, $73,319,000 for fiscal year 1994 and

7 $76,252,000 for fiscal year 1995.

8 (b) AIRCRAFT SERVICES.—There are authorized to

9 be appropriated to the Secretary for Aircraft Services and

10 Aircraft Critical Safety and Instrumentation, $9,495,000

11 for fiscal year 1994 and $9,875,000 for fiscal year 1995.

12 SEC. 105. LIMITATION ON APPROPRIATIONS.

13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except

14 as provided in section 101(c) and (d) and section 103(b),

15 no funds are authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal

16 year after fiscal year 1995 for carrying out the programs

17 for which funds are authorized by this Act. This section

18 shall not apply to the programs described in section

19 102(a)(2) or section 104(a).

20 TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS

21 PROVISIONS

22 SEC. 201. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RE23 SEARCH LABORATORIES.

24 (a) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall conduct an

25 assessment of the long-term role and mission of the Envi-
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1 ronmental Research Laboratories of the National Oceanic

2 and Atmospheric Administration and the relevance of the

3 research conducted therein to issues of global and national

4 importance. In conducting such assessment, the Secretary

5 shall take into consideration—

6 (1) the adequacy of resources provided to sup7 port the missions of the Environmental Research

8 Laboratories;

9 (2) the ability of the Environmental Research

10 Laboratories to provide research support for the

11 coastal and ocean management and regulatory re12 sponsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmos13 pheric Administration;

14 (3) the capacity of the Environmental Research

15 Laboratories to process and disseminate environ16 mental data and information collected and proc17 essed, or expected to be collected and processed, by

18 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra19 tion and other appropriate Federal departments and

20 agencies;

21 (4) the mission of the Environmental Research

22 Laboratories to provide solar-terrestrial services to

23 the Nation;
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1 (5) the ability of the Environmental Research

2 Laboratories to provide continued support for the

3 modernization of weather services;

4 (6) the responsibilities of the Environmental

5 Research Laboratories to monitor, assess, and pre6 dict changes in the Earth’s climate;

7 (7) the capability of the Environmental Re8 search Laboratories to integrate and interpret sci9 entific data in order to provide information useful to

10 policy makers for responding to national and global

11 environmental concerns;

12 (8) the operational efficiency and effectiveness

13 of the Environmental Research Laboratories;

14 (9) the interaction of the Environmental Re15 search Laboratories with the academic community,

16 including Joint and Cooperative Institutes, and the

17 ability of these interactions to improve the quality

18 and effectiveness of research;

19 (10) the number, location, and geographic dis20 tribution of the Environmental Research Labora21 tories; and

22 (11) any other issues that the Secretary may

23 identify.

24 (b) COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later

25 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
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1 Secretary shall develop and submit to the Committee on

2 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and

3 the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the

4 Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the

5 House of Representatives a comprehensive strategic plan,

6 based on the assessment conducted under subsection (a),

7 to modernize and improve the role and mission of the En8 vironmental Research Laboratories of the National Oce9 anic and Atmospheric Administration. The assessment

10 conducted under subsection (a) shall be submitted along

11 with such plan.

12 SEC. 202. HYDROLOGICAL RESEARCH AND FLOOD FORE13 CAST MODERNIZATION REPORT.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta16 tion with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies,

17 shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Commerce,

18 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com19 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House

20 of Representatives a report identifying the actions re21 quired to improve the hydrological research programs and

22 to modernize the Flood Forecasting System of the Na23 tional Weather Service.

24 (b) REPORT CONTENTS.—The report required under

25 subsection (a) shall include consideration of—
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1 (1) current, planned, and potential technological

2 improvements in the collection of observational

3 hydrological data;

4 (2) use of additional satellite remote-sensing

5 data and airborne surveys, including those systems

6 operated by other Federal agencies, for hydrological

7 data collection;

8 (3) improvements in data analysis and com9 puter modeling in support of flood forecasts and pre10 dictions; and

11 (4) full integration of the River Forecast Cen12 ters in the National Weather Service Modernization

13 Plan.

14 SEC. 203. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

15 It is the sense of Congress that any transfers of Na16 tional Weather Service employees from field offices neces17 sitated by the National Implementation Plan for Mod18 ernization of the National Weather Service be carried out

19 in a manner that will not result in the degradation of serv20 ices in the service area of such field office.

Passed the House of Representatives November 20,

1993.

Attest:

Clerk.
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