I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8400 
To amend title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 
Act of 2017 to research the impact of obstructions on radar detection 
and prediction capabilities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 15, 2022 
Mr. FEENSTRA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To amend title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting 
Innovation Act of 2017 to research the impact of ob-
structions on radar detection and prediction capabilities, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Weather Innovation 
for the Next Generation Act of 2022’’ or the ‘‘WING Act 
of 2022’’. 
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SEC. 2. RADAR OBSTRUCTION RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, 
TEST, AND EVALUATION PROGRAM. 
(a) RADAR OBSTRUCTION RESEARCH.—Title IV of 
the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 
2017 (15 U.S.C. 8514 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 415. RADAR OBSTRUCTION RESEARCH, DEVELOP-
MENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Na-
tional Weather Service, in coordination with the Assistant 
Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
shall establish a Research, Development, Test, and Eval-
uation Program (in this section referred to as the ‘Pro-
gram’) to ensure the continued performance of weather 
radar detection and prediction capabilities with physical 
obstructions in the line of sight of such radar. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the Program, 
the Director, in consultation with the Interagency Council 
for Advancing Meteorological Services, shall— 
‘‘(1) partner with industry, academia, Federal, 
State, and local government entities, and any other 
entity that the Director considers appropriate; 
‘‘(2) identify and test existing or near-commer-
cial technologies and solutions that mitigate the po-
tential impact of obstructions on a weather radar; 
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‘‘(3) research additional solutions that could 
mitigate the effects of an obstruction on weather 
radar, including— 
‘‘(A) signal processing algorithms; 
‘‘(B) short-term forecasting algorithms to 
replace contaminated data; and 
‘‘(C) the use of dual polarization charac-
teristics in mitigating the effects of wind tur-
bines on weather radar; and 
‘‘(4) develop commercially viable technical miti-
gation solutions for obstructions to weather radar 
capabilities. 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In carrying out the requirements 
described in subsection (b), the Director shall prioritize 
consideration of— 
‘‘(1) multifunction phased array radar; 
‘‘(2) the replacement of contaminated data with 
commercial radar data; 
‘‘(3) the utilization of data from private-sector- 
associated meteorological towers; 
‘‘(4) providing wind farm boundaries and con-
solidated wind farm areas to display on local fore-
casting equipment; 
‘‘(5) installing and providing access to rain 
gauges; and 
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‘‘(6) any other technology-based mitigation so-
lution that the Director determines could overcome 
beam blockage or ghost echoes. 
‘‘(d) TERMINATION.—The authority of the Director 
to carry out the Program shall terminate on the earlier 
of— 
‘‘(1) September 30, 2027; or 
‘‘(2) 1 year after date on which the final rec-
ommendation required by subsection (e)(2) is sub-
mitted by the Director. 
‘‘(e) REPORT; RECOMMENDATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years 
after the date of enactment of this section and annu-
ally thereafter until the Program terminates pursu-
ant to subsection (d), the Director shall submit to 
Congress a report on the implementation of the Pro-
gram, including an evaluation of each technology- 
based mitigation solution identified for priority con-
sideration in subsection (c), and a recommendation 
regarding additional identification and testing of 
new technologies based on such consideration. 
‘‘(2) FINAL
RECOMMENDATION.—Not later 
than five years after the date of enactment of this 
section, the Director shall provide to Congress a rec-
ommendation on whether additional research, test-
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ing, and development through the Program estab-
lished by subsection (a) is needed, and a determina-
tion of whether a cessation of field research, develop-
ment, testing, and evaluation is appropriate. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) BEAM BLOCKAGE.—The term ‘beam block-
age’ means a signal that is partially or fully blocked 
due to an obstruction. 
‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 
the Director of the National Weather Service. 
‘‘(3) GHOST
ECHO.—The term ‘ghost echo’ 
means radar signal reflectivity or velocity return er-
rors in radar data due to the close proximity of an 
obstruction. 
‘‘(4) OBSTRUCTION.—The term obstruction in-
cludes— 
‘‘(A) a wind turbine that could limit the ef-
fectiveness of a weather radar system; and 
‘‘(B) any building that disrupts or limits 
the effectiveness of a weather radar system.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act 
of 2017 is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 414 the following new item: 
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‘‘415. Radar obstruction Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Pro-
gram.’’. 
Æ 
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