(E) coordinating with the tsunami hazard 
mitigation program described in section 5 to en-
sure ongoing sharing of information between 
forecasters and emergency management offi-
cials; and 
(F) making data gathered under this Act 
and post-warning analyses conducted by the 
National Weather Service or other relevant Ad-
ministration offices available to researchers. 
(e) TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY; MAINTENANCE AND 
UPGRADES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 
the National Weather Service, in consultation with 
other relevant Administration offices, shall—
(A) develop requirements for the equip-
ment used to forecast tsunami, which shall in-
clude provisions for multipurpose detection plat-
forms, reliability and performance metrics, and 
to the maximum extent practicable how the 
equipment will be integrated with other United 
States and global ocean and coastal observation 
systems, the global earth observing system of 
systems, global seismic networks, and the Ad-
vanced National Seismic System;
(B) develop and execute a plan for the 
transfer of technology from ongoing research 
described in section 6 into the program under 
this section; and 
(C) ensure that maintaining operational 
tsunami detection equipment is the highest pri-
ority within the program carried out under this 
Act. 
(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—
(A) Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the National Weather 
Service, in consultation with other relevant Ad-
ministration offices, shall transmit to Congress 
a report on how the tsunami forecast system 
under this section will be integrated with other 
United States and global ocean and coastal ob-
servation systems, the global earth observing 
system of systems, global seismic networks, and 
the Advanced National Seismic System. 
(B) Not later than 3 years after the date 
of enactment to this Act, the National Weather 
Service, in consultation with other relevant Ad-
ministration offices, shall transmit a report to 
Congress on how technology developed under
section 6 is being transferred into the program 
under this section. 
(f) FEDERAL COOPERATION.—When deploying and 
maintaining tsunami detection technologies, the Adminis-
trator shall seek the assistance and assets of other appro-
priate Federal agencies. 
(g) ANNUAL EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATION.—At the 
same time Congress receives the budget justification docu-
ments in support of the President’s annual budget request 
for each fiscal year, the Administrator shall transmit to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
of the Senate and the Committee on Science of the House 
of Representatives a certification that—
(1) identifies the tsunami detection equipment 
deployed pursuant to this Act, as of December 31 of 
the preceding calendar year; 
(2) certifies which equipment is operational as 
of December 31 of the preceding calendar year; 
(3) in the case of any piece of such equipment 
that is not operational as of such date, identifies 
that equipment and describes the mitigation strategy 
that is in place—
(A) to repair or replace that piece of equip-
ment within a reasonable period of time; or
(B) to otherwise ensure adequate tsunami 
detection coverage; 
(4) identifies any equipment that is being devel-
oped or constructed to carry out this Act but which 
has not yet been deployed, if the Administration has 
entered into a contract for that equipment prior to 
December 31 of the preceding calendar year, and 
provides a schedule for the deployment of that 
equipment; and 
(5) certifies that the Administrator expects the 
equipment described in paragraph (4) to meet the 
requirements, cost, and schedule provided in that 
contract. 
(h) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS.—The Adminis-
trator shall notify the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
Science of the House of Representatives within 30 days 
of—
(1) impaired regional forecasting capabilities 
due to equipment or system failures; and 
(2) significant contractor failures or delays in 
completing work associated with the tsunami fore-
casting and warning system. 
(i) REPORT.—Not later than January 31, 2010, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall transmit
a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
Science of the House of Representatives that—
(1) evaluates the current status of the tsunami 
detection, forecasting, and warning system and the 
tsunami hazard mitigation program established 
under this Act, including progress toward tsunami 
inundation mapping of all coastal areas vulnerable to 
tsunami and whether there has been any degrada-
tion of services as a result of the expansion of the 
program; 
(2) evaluates the National Weather Service’s 
ability to achieve continued improvements in the de-
livery of tsunami detection, forecasting, and warning 
services by assessing policies and plans for the evo-
lution of modernization systems, models, and com-
putational abilities (including the adoption of new 
technologies); and 
(3) lists the contributions of funding or other 
resources to the program by other Federal agencies, 
particularly agencies participating in the program. 
(j) EXTERNAL REVIEW.—The Administrator shall 
enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of 
Sciences to review the tsunami detection, forecast, and 
warning program established under this Act to assess fur-
ther modernization and coverage needs, as well as long-
term operational reliability issues, taking into account 
measures implemented under this Act. The review shall 
also include an assessment of how well the forecast equip-
ment has been integrated into other United States and 
global ocean and coastal observation systems and the glob-
al earth observing system of systems. Not later than 2 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis-
trator shall transmit a report containing the National 
Academy of Sciences’ recommendations, the Administra-
tor’s responses to the recommendations, including those 
where the Administrator disagrees with the Academy, a 
timetable to implement the accepted recommendations, 
and the cost of implementing all the Academy’s rec-
ommendations, to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
Science of the House of Representatives. 
(k) REPORT.—Not later than 3 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish 
a process for monitoring and certifying contractor per-
formance in carrying out the requirements of any contract 
to construct or deploy tsunami detection equipment, in-
cluding procedures and penalties to be imposed in cases 
of significant contractor failure or negligence.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through the 
National Weather Service and in consultation with other 
relevant Administration offices, shall conduct a commu-
nity-based tsunami hazard mitigation program to improve 
tsunami preparedness of at-risk areas in the United States 
and its territories. 
(b) COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—In conducting the 
program under this section, the Administrator shall estab-
lish a coordinating committee comprising representatives 
of Federal, State, local, and tribal government officials. 
The Administrator may establish subcommittees to ad-
dress region-specific issues. The committee shall—
(1) recommend how funds appropriated for car-
rying out the program under this section will be allo-
cated; 
(2) ensure that areas described in section 4(c) 
in the United States and its territories can have the 
opportunity to participate in the program; 
(3) provide recommendations to the National 
Weather 
Service 
on 
how 
to 
improve 
the 
TsunamiReady program, particularly on ways to 
make communities more tsunami resilient through 
the use of inundation maps and other mitigation 
practices; and
(4) ensure that all components of the program 
are integrated with ongoing hazard warning and risk 
management activities, emergency response plans, 
and mitigation programs in affected areas, including 
integrating information to assist in tsunami evacu-
ation route planning. 
(c) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The program under 
this section shall—
(1) use inundation models that meet a standard 
of accuracy defined by the Administration to im-
prove the quality and extent of inundation mapping, 
including assessment of vulnerable inner coastal and 
nearshore areas, in a coordinated and standardized 
fashion to maximize resources and the utility of data 
collected; 
(2) promote and improve community outreach 
and education networks and programs to ensure 
community readiness, including the development of 
comprehensive coastal risk and vulnerability assess-
ment training and decision support tools, implemen-
tation of technical training and public education pro-
grams, and providing for certification of prepared 
communities; 
(3) integrate tsunami preparedness and mitiga-
tion programs into ongoing hazard warning and risk
management activities, emergency response plans, 
and mitigation programs in affected areas, including 
integrating information to assist in tsunami evacu-
ation route planning; 
(4) promote the adoption of tsunami warning 
and mitigation measures by Federal, State, tribal, 
and local governments and nongovernmental entities, 
including educational programs to discourage devel-
opment in high-risk areas; and 
(5) provide for periodic external review of the 
program. 
(d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 
be construed to require a change in the chair of any exist-
ing tsunami hazard mitigation program subcommittee. 
SEC. 6. TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM. 
The Administrator shall, in consultation with other 
agencies and academic institutions, and with the coordi-
nating committee established under section 5(b), establish 
or maintain a tsunami research program to develop detec-
tion, forecast, communication, and mitigation science and 
technology, including advanced sensing techniques, infor-
mation and communication technology, data collection, 
analysis, and assessment for tsunami tracking and numer-
ical forecast modeling. Such research program shall—
(1) consider other appropriate research to miti-
gate the impact of tsunami; 
(2) coordinate with the National Weather Serv-
ice on technology to be transferred to operations; 
(3) include social science research to develop 
and assess community warning, education, and evac-
uation materials; and 
(4) ensure that research and findings are avail-
able to the scientific community. 
SEC. 7. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NET-
WORK. 
(a) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM.—
The Administrator, through the National Weather Service 
and in consultation with other relevant Administration of-
fices, in coordination with other members of the United 
States Interagency Committee of the National Tsunami 
Hazard Mitigation Program, shall provide technical assist-
ance and training to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic 
Commission, the World Meteorological Organization, and 
other international entities, as part of international efforts 
to develop a fully functional global tsunami forecast and 
warning system comprising regional tsunami warning net-
works, modeled on the International Tsunami Warning 
System of the Pacific.
(b) INTERNATIONAL TSUNAMI INFORMATION CEN-
TER.—The Administrator, through the National Weather 
Service and in consultation with other relevant Adminis-
tration offices, in cooperation with the Intergovernmental 
Oceanographic Commission, shall operate an International 
Tsunami Information Center to improve tsunami pre-
paredness for all Pacific Ocean nations participating in 
the International Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific, 
and may also provide such assistance to other nations par-
ticipating in a global tsunami warning system established 
through the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commis-
sion. As part of its responsibilities around the world, the 
Center shall—
(1) monitor international tsunami warning ac-
tivities around the world; 
(2) assist member states in establishing na-
tional warning systems, and make information avail-
able on current technologies for tsunami warning 
systems; 
(3) maintain a library of materials to promul-
gate knowledge about tsunami in general and for use 
by the scientific community; and 
(4) disseminate information, including edu-
cational materials and research reports.
(c) DETECTION EQUIPMENT; TECHNICAL ADVICE 
AND TRAINING.—In carrying out this section, the Na-
tional Weather Service—
(1) shall give priority to assisting nations in 
identifying vulnerable coastal areas, creating inunda-
tion maps, obtaining or designing real-time detection 
and reporting equipment, and establishing commu-
nication and warning networks and contact points in 
each vulnerable nation; 
(2) may establish a process for transfer of de-
tection and communication technology to affected 
nations for the purposes of establishing the inter-
national tsunami warning system; and 
(3) shall provide technical and other assistance 
to support international tsunami programs. 
(d) DATA-SHARING REQUIREMENT.—The National 
Weather Service, when deciding to provide assistance 
under this section, may take into consideration the data 
sharing policies and practices of nations proposed to re-
ceive such assistance, with a goal to encourage all nations 
to support full and open exchange of data. 
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Ad-
ministrator to carry out this Act—
(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, of 
which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami hazard 
mitigation program under section 5; and 
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami research 
program under section 6; 
(2) $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, of 
which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami hazard 
mitigation program under section 5; and 
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami research 
program under section 6; 
(3) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, of 
which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami hazard 
mitigation program under section 5; and 
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami research 
program under section 6;
(4) $28,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, of 
which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami hazard 
mitigation program under section 5; and 
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami research 
program under section 6; and 
(5) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2012, of 
which—
(A) not less than 27 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami hazard 
mitigation program under section 5; and 
(B) not less than 8 percent of the amount 
appropriated shall be for the tsunami research 
program under section 6. 
Passed the House of Representatives December 6, 
2006. 
Attest:
Clerk.
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 1674
AN ACT 
To authorize and strengthen the tsunami detection, 
forecast, warning, and mitigation program of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion, to be carried out by the National Weather 
Service, and for other purposes.