IB 
Union Calendar No. 174 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4866 
[Report No. 118–214] 
To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-
istration to establish a program to improve fire weather and fire environ-
ment forecasting, detection, and local collaboration, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2023 
Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California (for himself, Ms. CARAVEO, and Mrs. KIM of 
California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Science, Space, and Technology 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 25, 2023] 
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A BILL 
To direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to establish a program to 
improve fire weather and fire environment forecasting, 
detection, and local collaboration, and for other purposes. 
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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 ‘‘Fire Weather Develop-
ment Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. FIRE WEATHER FORECASTING AND DETECTION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall es-
tablish a program (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Pro-
gram’’) to improve fire weather and fire environment fore-
casting, detection, and delivery of products or services 
through collaboration with Federal and State agencies or 
departments, local emergency mangers, and relevant enti-
ties. 
(b) GOALS.—The goals of the Program shall be to de-
velop and improve accurate fire weather and fire environ-
ment forecasts and warnings in order to reduce loss of life, 
reduce injuries, protect property, and reduce damage to the 
economy from wildfires. The Program shall seek to improve 
the assessment of fire weather and fire environments, the 
understanding and prediction of wildfires, and the commu-
nications regarding such assessments with State and local 
emergency officials in a timely and streamlined fashion, 
with a focus on improving the following: 
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(1) The prediction of ignition, intensification 
and spread of wildfires. 
(2) The observation and monitoring of fire 
weather and fire environments. 
(3) The forecast and communication of smoke 
dispersion from wildfires. 
(4) Information dissemination and risk commu-
nication to develop more effective watch and warning 
products relating to wildfires. 
(5) The early detection of wildfires, including 
pre-ignition analysis and ground condition character-
izations. 
(6) The development, testing, and deployment of 
novel tools and techniques related to understanding, 
monitoring, and predicting fire weather and fire en-
vironments. 
(7) The understanding and association of cli-
mate change and its impacts on fire weather and fire 
environments. 
(8) The unique characteristics, including obser-
vation or modeling requirements, related to fires at 
the wildland-urban interface. 
(9) The forecasting and understanding of the im-
pacts of prescribed burns (as such term is defined in 
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section 2 of the Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 
(16 U.S.C. 551c–1 note)). 
(c) COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—In de-
veloping the Program required under this section, the Ad-
ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration shall solicit and take into consideration input 
from the weather industry, such academic entities as the 
Administrator considers appropriate, and other relevant 
stakeholders. 
(d) ACTIVITIES.—To achieve the goals specified in sub-
section (b), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration may conduct research, devel-
opment, testing, demonstration, and operational transition 
activities related to fire weather and fire environments, in-
cluding regarding the following: 
(1) Tools and services to inform, support, and 
complement active land management, local emergency 
personnel, the United States Forest Service, and 
State, local, and Tribal entities during their response 
and mitigation efforts. 
(2) Sensing technologies, such as infrared, micro-
wave, and active sensors suitable for potential deploy-
ment on spacecraft, aircraft, and unmanned aircraft 
systems, to improve the monitoring and forecasting of 
fire fuel and active wildfires, wildfire behavior models 
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and forecasts, mapping efforts, and the prediction of 
wildfires and the impacts of such. 
(3) Grid-based assessments and outlooks of fuel 
moisture and danger levels. 
(4) Social and behavior sciences related to fire 
weather and fire environment warning products. 
(5) Advanced satellite detection products coupled 
with atmosphere and fire weather modeling systems. 
(6) Education and training to expand the num-
ber of students and researchers in areas of study and 
research related to wildfires, fire weather, and fire en-
vironments. 
(7) Modeling systems to link long-term climate 
predictions to localized or general land management 
decisions. 
(8) Communication and outreach to commu-
nities, energy utilities, owners and operators of crit-
ical infrastructure, and other relevant stakeholders re-
garding fire weather and fire environment risk. 
(9) Stewardship and dissemination, to the extent 
practicable, of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration scientific data and related products and 
services in formats meeting shared standards to en-
hance the interoperability, usability, and accessibility 
of such data in order to better meet the needs of the 
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
other Federal agencies, and relevant stakeholders. 
(10) Improvement of spatial and temporal reso-
lution observations. 
(11) Any other topic or activity the Adminis-
trator determines relevant. 
(e) NOVEL
TOOLS
FOR
MONITORING
AND
PRE-
DICTION.—The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with the 
heads of the agencies specified in section 3, or other appro-
priate stakeholders, including commercial partners, shall 
develop novel tools and technologies to support the activities 
of the Program and which may be applied to broader 
wildland fire research, monitoring, and mitigation activi-
ties, as practicable and appropriate. 
(f) EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH.—The Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
shall collaborate with and support the non-Federal wildland 
fire research community, which includes institutions of 
higher education, private sector entities, nongovernmental 
organizations, and other relevant stakeholders, by making 
funds available through competitive grants, contracts, and 
cooperative agreements. 
(g) COMMERCIAL DATA.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration, in consultation with the heads of other 
Federal agencies and relevant stakeholders, may enter 
into contracts with one or more private sector entities 
to obtain additional airborne and space-based data 
and observations that may enhance or supplement the 
understanding, monitoring, and prediction, of fire 
weather and fire environments, and the relevant Pro-
gram activities under this section. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out activities 
under paragraph (1), the Administrator of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall 
consult with private sector entities through the Na-
tional Advisory Committee on Wildfires under section 
4 to identify needed tools and data that can be best 
provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration satellites and are most beneficial to 
wildfire and smoke detection and monitoring. 
(h) NONDUPLICATION.—To the maximum extent prac-
ticable, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration shall consult with the National 
Interagency Fire Center, including the Joint Fire Science 
Program, to avoid duplication of activities under this sec-
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tion and ensure the Administration’s focus on unique re-
search activities best suited for transition to operations. 
(i) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
shall— 
(A) assess the role and potential benefits of 
unmanned aircraft systems to improve data col-
lection in support of fire weather and fire envi-
ronment modeling, meteorological observations, 
predictions, and forecasts; 
(B) identify objectives for testing such sys-
tems’ use for obtaining fire weather and fire en-
vironment observations, and other relevant ac-
tivities; and 
(C) transition unmanned aircraft systems 
technologies from research to operations as the 
Administrator considers appropriate. 
(2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 270 days after 
the date of enactment of the Act, the Administrator of 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion shall brief the appropriate committees of Con-
gress on the activities under paragraph (1). 
(3) PILOT
PROGRAMS.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
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Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration may conduct pilot programs of 
unmanned aircraft systems for fire weather and fire 
environment observations, including relating to the 
following: 
(A) Testing of unmanned aircraft systems 
in approximations of real-world scenarios. 
(B) Assessment of the utility of meteorolog-
ical data collected from fire response and assess-
ment aircraft. 
(C) Input into appropriate models of col-
lected data to predict fire behavior, including 
coupled atmosphere and fire models. 
(D) Collection of best management practices 
for deployment of unmanned aircraft systems for 
fire weather and fire environment observations. 
(4) PROHIBITION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Except as provided 
under subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Adminis-
trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration may not procure any unmanned 
aircraft system that is manufactured or assem-
bled by an entity in a foreign country of con-
cern. 
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(B) EXEMPTION.—The prohibition under 
subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the Admin-
istrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration if the Administrator de-
termines, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, that the procurement of an 
unmanned aircraft system is necessary for the 
sole purpose of marine or atmospheric science or 
management. 
(C) WAIVER.—The Administrator of the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
may waive the prohibition under subparagraph 
(A) on a case-by-case basis— 
(i) with the approval of the Secretary 
of Homeland Security; and 
(ii) upon written or electronic notifica-
tion to appropriate committees of Congress 
not later than 30 days after any such waiv-
er. 
(5) AIRSPACE
OPERATIONS
SYSTEM.—The Ad-
ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, in cooperation with the Adminis-
trator of the National Aeronautics and Space Admin-
istration, shall utilize the capabilities of unmanned 
aircraft systems as appropriate for fire weather and 
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fire environment observations, and may use a wildfire 
airspace operations system that accounts for piloted 
aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, and other new 
and emerging capabilities after such airspace oper-
ations system is developed and determined ready for 
operational use by the Administrator of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration. 
(6) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
From amounts made available for Procurement, Ac-
quisition, and Construction of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, there is authorized 
to be appropriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 to 
carry out this section. 
(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 
The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 
means the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech-
nology and the Committee on Homeland Security of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate. 
(2) 
CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 
term 
‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given such 
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term in section 1016(e) of Public Law 107–56 (42 
U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 
(3) FOREIGN COUNTRY OF CONCERN.—The term 
‘‘foreign country of concern’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 9901 of the William M. (Mac) 
Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651). 
(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 101 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(5) UNMANNED
AIRCRAFT
SYSTEM.—The term 
‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 44801 of title 49, United States 
Code. 
(6) WEATHER
INDUSTRY.—The term ‘‘weather 
industry’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innova-
tion Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501). 
SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COMMITTEE ON 
WILDFIRES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
Office of Science and Technology Policy shall establish an 
interagency coordinating committee to be known as the 
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‘‘Interagency Coordinating Committee on Wildfires’’ (in 
this section referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). The chair of 
the Committee shall be the Administrator of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The Committee shall coordinate the de-
velopment of accurate and timely wildfire forecasting, detec-
tion, monitoring, and delivery of related products or serv-
ices that best assist State and local emergency officials while 
avoiding duplication of activities. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—In addition to the chair, the Com-
mittee shall be composed of the heads or appropriate des-
ignees of the following program agencies: 
(1) The Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
(2) The United States Fire Administration. 
(3) The United States Forest Service. 
(4) The National Aeronautics and Space Admin-
istration. 
(5) The Department of the Interior. 
(6) The Department of Agriculture. 
(7) The United States Geological Survey. 
(8) The Office of Science and Technology Policy. 
(9) Any other Federal department or agency the 
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Pol-
icy considers appropriate. 
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(d) STRATEGIC PLAN.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Committee shall 
submit to Congress a strategic plan for the Program that 
includes the following: 
(1) A description of short-term, mid-term, and 
long-term objectives to achieve the purpose specified in 
subsection (b). 
(2) A description of how agencies specified in 
subsection (c) will collaborate with stakeholders and 
take into account stakeholder needs and recommenda-
tions in developing such objectives. 
(3) A description of existing and new observa-
tional and data infrastructure needed to accomplish 
such objectives. 
(4) A description of the role of each such agency 
in achieving such objectives. 
(5) Guidance regarding how the Committee’s rec-
ommendations are best used in climate adaptation 
planning for Federal, State, local, Tribal, and terri-
torial entities. 
(e) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS.—The heads of agen-
cies specified in subsection (c) may enter into one or more 
interagency agreements providing for cooperation and col-
laboration in the development of wildfire forecasting, detec-
tion, and monitoring tools, instruments, technologies, and 
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research to accomplish the purpose described in subsection 
(b). 
(f) COLLABORATION.—The head of each agency speci-
fied in subsection (c) shall, to the extent practicable, in-
crease engagement and cooperation with international, aca-
demic, State, and local communities regarding the infra-
structure, data, and scientific research necessary to best ad-
vance the forecasting, detection, and monitoring of and 
preparation for wildfires. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WILDFIRES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the submission of the strategic plan required by sec-
tion 3(d), the Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy shall establish a national advisory 
committee to be known as the ‘‘National Advisory 
Committee on Wildfires’’ (in this section referred to 
as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). The Advisory Com-
mittee shall consist of not fewer than seven and not 
more than 15 members who are qualified to provide 
advice regarding wildfire forecasting, detection, moni-
toring, and delivery of related products or services, 
including from the following entities: 
(A) Research and academic institutions. 
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(B) Public communication or broadcast en-
tities. 
(C) Emergency management agencies. 
(D) State, local, or Tribal governments. 
(E) The National Association of State For-
esters. 
(F) Business communities. 
(G) Other entities as designated by the Di-
rector of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy. 
(2) PROHIBITION.—Members of the Advisory 
Committee may not be employees of the Federal Gov-
ernment. 
(b) ASSESSMENT.—The Advisory Committee shall offer 
assessments and recommendations relating to the following: 
(1) Tailored forecasting, detection, and moni-
toring products and tools. 
(2) Communication and delivery methods of 
wildfire forecasting, detection, and monitoring infor-
mation. 
(3) Opportunities to streamline Federal fore-
casting, monitoring, and detection information to 
local emergency personnel and communities. 
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