[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 50 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  1st Session
                                 S. 50

   To authorize and strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
 Administration's tsunami detection, forecast, warning, and mitigation 
                    program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 24, 2005

  Mr. Inouye (for himself, Mr. Stevens, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Burns, Mr. 
  Lautenberg, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Akaka, Ms. Murkowski, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
 Smith, and Mrs. Murray) 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 National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
 Administration's tsunami detection, forecast, warning, and mitigation 
                    program, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tsunami Preparedness Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Tsunami are a series of large waves of long wavelength 
        created by the displacement of water by violent undersea 
        disturbances such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, 
        landslides, explosions, and the impact of cosmic bodies.
            (2) Tsunami have caused, and can cause in the future, 
        enormous loss of human life, injury, destruction of property, 
        and economic and social disruption in coastal and island 
        communities.
            (3) While 85 percent of tsunami occur in the Pacific Ocean, 
        and coastal and island communities in this region are the most 
        vulnerable to the destructive results, tsunami can occur at any 
        point in any ocean or related body of water where there are 
        earthquakes, volcanoes, or any other activity that displaces a 
        large volume of water.
            (4) A number of States and territories are subject to the 
        threat of tsunamis, including Alaska, California, Hawaii, 
        Oregon, Washington, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 
        Virgin Islands.
            (5) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is 
        responsible for maintaining a tsunami detection and warning 
        system for the Nation, issuing warnings to United States 
        communities at risk from tsunami, and preparing those 
        communities to respond appropriately, through--
                    (A) the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa 
                Beach, Hawaii, which serves as a warning center for 
                Hawaii, all other United States assets in the Pacific, 
                and Puerto Rico;
                    (B) the Alaska/West Coast Tsunami Warning Center in 
                Palmer, Alaska, which is responsible for issuing 
                warnings for Alaska, British Columbia, California, 
                Oregon, and Washington;
                    (C) the Federal-State national tsunami hazard 
                mitigation program;
                    (D) a tsunami research and assessment program, 
                including programs conducted by the Pacific Marine 
                Environmental Laboratory;
                    (E) the TsunamiReady Program, which educates and 
                prepares communities for survival before and during a 
                tsunami; and
                    (F) other related programs.
            (6) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
        also represents the United States as a member of the 
        International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System 
        in the Pacific, administered by the Intergovernmental 
        Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, for which the Pacific 
        Tsunami Warning Center acts as the operational center and 
        shares seismic and water level information with 26 member 
        states, and maintains UNESCO's International Tsunami 
        Information Center, in Honolulu, Hawaii, which provides 
        technical and educational assistance to member states.
            (7) The Tsunami Warning Centers receive seismographic 
        information from the Global Seismic Network, an international 
        system of earthquake monitoring stations, from the United 
        States Geological Survey National Earthquake Information 
        Center, and from cooperative regional seismic networks, and use 
        these data to issue tsunami warnings and integrate the 
        information with data from their own tidal and deep ocean 
        monitoring stations, to cancel or verify the existence of a 
        damaging tsunami. Warnings are disseminated by the National 
        Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to State emergency 
        operation centers.
            (8) Current gaps in the International Tsunami Warning 
        System, such as the lack of regional warning systems in the 
        Indian Ocean, the southwest Pacific Ocean, Central and South 
        America, the Mediterranean Sea, and Caribbean, pose risks for 
        coastal and island communities.
            (9) The tragic and extreme loss of life experienced by 
        countries in the Indian Ocean following the magnitude 9.0 
        earthquake and resulting tsunami in that region on December 26, 
        2004, illustrates the destructive consequences which can occur 
        in the absence of an effective tsunami warning and notification 
        system.
            (10) An effective tsunami warning and notification system 
        is part of a multi-hazard disaster warning and preparedness 
        program and requires near real-time seismic, sea level, and 
        oceanographic data, high-speed data analysis capabilities, a 
        high-speed tsunami warning communication system, a sustained 
        program of education and risk assessment, and an established 
        local communications infrastructure for timely and effective 
        dissemination of warnings to activate evacuation of tsunami 
        hazard zones.
            (11) The Tsunami Warning System for the Pacific is a model 
        for other regions of the world to adopt, and can be expanded 
and modernized to increase detection, forecast, and warning 
capabilities for vulnerable states and territories, reduce the 
incidence of costly false alarms, improve reliability of measurement 
and assessment technology, and increase community preparedness.
            (12) Tsunami warning and preparedness capability can be 
        developed in other vulnerable areas of the world, such as the 
        Indian Ocean, by identifying tsunami hazard zones, educating 
        populations, developing alert and notification communications 
        infrastructure, and by deploying near real-time tsunami 
        detection sensors and gauges, establishing hazard communication 
        and warning networks, expanding global monitoring of seismic 
        activity, encouraging the increased exchange of seismic and 
        tidal data between nations, and improving international 
        coordination when a tsunami is detected.
            (13) UNESCO has recognized the need to establish tsunami 
        warning systems for regions beyond the Pacific Basin that are 
        vulnerable to tsunami, including the Indian Ocean, and has 
        convened a working group to lead an effort to expand the 
        International Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific to such 
        vulnerable regions.
            (14) The international community and all vulnerable nations 
        should take coordinated efforts to establish and participate in 
        regional tsunami warning systems and other hazard warnings 
        systems developed to meet the goals of the United Nations 
        International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to improve tsunami detection, forecast, warnings, 
        notification, preparedness, and mitigation in order to protect 
        life and property both in the United States and elsewhere in 
        the world;
            (2) to improve and modernize the existing Pacific Tsunami 
        Warning System to increase coverage, reduce false alarms and 
        increase accuracy of forecasts and warnings, and expand 
        detection and warning systems to include other vulnerable 
        States and United States territories, including the Caribbean/
        Atlantic/Gulf region;
            (3) to increase and accelerate mapping, modeling, research, 
        assessment, education, and outreach efforts in order to improve 
        forecasting, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery 
        of tsunami and related coastal hazards;
            (4) to provide technical and other assistance to speed 
        international efforts to establish regional tsunami warning 
        systems in vulnerable areas worldwide, including the Indian 
        Ocean; and
            (5) to improve Federal, State, and international 
        coordination for tsunami and other coastal hazard warnings and 
        preparedness.

SEC. 3. TSUNAMI DETECTION AND WARNING SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration shall operate regional tsunami detection and 
warning systems for the Pacific Ocean region and for the Atlantic 
Ocean, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico region that will provide maximum 
detection capability for United States coastal tsunami.
    (b) System Requirements.--
            (1) Pacific system.--The Pacific tsunami warning system 
        shall cover the entire Pacific Ocean area, including the 
        Western Pacific, the Central Pacific, the North Pacific, the 
        South Pacific, and the East Pacific and Arctic areas.
            (2) Atlantic, caribbean, and gulf of mexico system.--The 
        Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf system shall cover areas of the 
        Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico that the 
        Administrator determines--
                    (A) to be geologically active, or to have 
                significant potential for geological activity; and
                    (B) to pose measurable risks of tsunamis for States 
                along the coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean or the 
                Gulf of Mexico.
            (3) Components.--The systems shall--
                    (A) utilize an array of deep ocean detection buoys, 
                including redundant and spare buoys;
                    (B) include an associated tide gauge and water 
                level system designed for long-term continuous 
                operation tsunami transmission capability;
                    (C) provide for establishment of a cooperative 
                effort between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration and the United States Geological Survey 
                under which the Geological Survey provides rapid and 
                reliable seismic information to the Administration from 
                international and domestic seismic networks;
                    (D) provide for information and data processing 
                through the tsunami warning centers established under 
                subsection (c);
                    (E) be integrated into United States and global 
                ocean and earth observing systems; and
                    (F) provide a communications infrastructure for at-
                risk tsunami communities that supports rapid and 
                reliable alert and notification to the public such as 
                the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
                weather radio and the All Hazard Alert Broadcasting 
                Radio.
    (c) Tsunami Warning Centers.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator shall establish tsunami 
        warning centers to provide a link between the detection and 
        warning system and the tsunami hazard mitigation program 
        established under section 4 including--
                    (A) a Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii;
                    (B) a West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center 
                in Alaska; and
                    (C) any additional warning centers determined by 
                the Administrator to be necessary.
            (2) Responsibilities.--The responsibilities of each tsunami 
        warning center shall include--
                    (A) continuously monitoring data from 
                seismological, deep ocean, and tidal monitoring 
                stations;
                    (B) evaluating earthquakes that have the potential 
                to generate tsunami;
                    (C) evaluating deep ocean buoy data and tidal 
                monitoring stations for indications of tsunami 
                resulting from sources other than earthquakes; and
                    (D) disseminating information and warning bulletins 
                appropriate for local and distant tsunamis to 
                government agencies and the public and alerting 
                potentially impacted coastal areas for evacuation.
    (d) Transfer of Technology; Maintenance and Upgrades.--In carrying 
out this section, the Administrator shall--
            (1) promulgate specifications and standards for forecast, 
        detection, and warning systems, including detection equipment;
            (2) develop and execute a plan for the transfer of 
        technology from ongoing research to long-term operations;
            (3) ensure that detection equipment is maintained in 
        operational condition to fulfill the forecasting, detection and 
        warning requirements of the regional tsunami detection and 
        warning systems;
            (4) obtain, to the greatest extent practicable, priority 
        treatment in budgeting for, acquiring, transporting, and 
        maintaining weather sensors, tide gauges, water level gauges, 
        and tsunami buoys incorporated into the system including 
        obtaining ship time; and
            (5) ensure integration of the tsunami detection system with 
        other United States and global ocean and coastal observation 
        systems, the global earth observing system of systems, global 
        seismic networks, and the Advanced National Seismic System.
    (e) Certification.--Amounts appropriated for any fiscal year 
pursuant to section 8 to carry out this section may not be obligated or 
expended for the acquisition of services for construction or deployment 
of tsunami detection equipment unless the Administrator certifies in 
writing to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Science 
within 60 calendar days after the date on which the President submits 
the Budget of the United States for that fiscal year to the Congress 
that--
            (1) each contractor for such services has met the 
        requirements of the contract for such construction or 
        deployment;
            (2) the equipment to be constructed or deployed is capable 
        of becoming fully operational without the obligation or 
        expenditure of additional appropriated funds; and
            (3) the Administrator does not reasonably foresee 
        unanticipated delays in the deployment and operational schedule 
        specified in the contract.

SEC. 4. TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration is authorized to conduct a community-based 
tsunami hazard mitigation program to improve tsunami preparedness of 
at-risk areas.
    (b) Coordinating Committee.--In conducting the program, the 
Administrator shall establish a coordinating committee comprising 
representatives of--
            (1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
            (2) the United States Geological Survey;
            (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
            (4) the National Science Foundation; and
            (5) affected coastal States and territories.
    (c) Program Components.--The program shall--
            (1) improve the quality and extent of inundation mapping, 
        including assessment of vulnerable inner coastal areas;
            (2) promote and improve community outreach and education 
        networks and programs to ensure community readiness, including 
        the development of multi-hazard risk and vulnerability 
        assessment training and decision support tools, implementation 
        of technical training and public education programs, and 
        provide for certification of prepared communities;
            (3) integrate tsunami preparedness and mitigation programs 
        into ongoing hazard warning and risk management programs in 
        affected areas including the National Response Plan;
            (4) promote the adoption of tsunami warning and mitigation 
        measures by Federal, State, tribal, and local governments and 
        non-governmental entities through a grant program for training, 
        development of guidelines, and other purposes;
            (5) through the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the 
        lead agency, develop tsunami specific rescue and recovery 
        guidelines for the National Response Plan, including long-term 
        mitigation measures, educational programs to discourage 
        development in high-risk areas, and use of remote sensing and 
        other technology in rescue and recovery operations;
            (6) require budget coordination, through the 
        Administration, to carry out the purposes of this Act and to 
        ensure that participating agencies provide necessary funds for 
        matters within their respective areas of authority and 
        expertise; and
            (7) provide for periodic external review of the program and 
        for inclusion of the results of such reviews in the report 
        required by section 6(c).

SEC. 5. TSUNAMI RESEARCH PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration shall, in coordination with other agencies 
and academic institutions, establish a tsunami research program to 
develop detection, prediction, communication, and mitigation science 
and technology that supports tsunami forecasts and warnings, including 
advanced sensing techniques, information and communication technology, 
data collection, analysis and assessment for tsunami tracking and 
numerical forecast modeling that will--
            (1) help determine--
                    (A) whether an earthquake or other seismic event 
                will result in a tsunami; and
                    (B) the likely path, severity, duration, and travel 
                time of a tsunami;
            (2) develop techniques and technologies that may be used to 
        communicate tsunami forecasts and warnings as quickly and 
effectively as possible to affected communities;
            (3) develop techniques and technologies to support 
        evacuation products, including real-time notice of the 
        condition of critical infrastructure along tsunami evacuation 
        routes for public officials and first responders; and
            (4) develop techniques for utilizing remote sensing 
        technologies in rescue and recovery operations.
    (b) Communications Technology.--The Administrator, in consultation 
with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 
Information and the Federal Communications Commission, shall 
investigate the potential for improved communications systems for 
tsunami and other hazard warnings by incorporating into the existing 
network a full range of options for providing those warnings to the 
public, including, as appropriate--
            (1) telephones, including special alert rings;
            (2) wireless and satellite technology, including cellular 
        telephones and pagers;
            (3) the Internet, including e-mail;
            (4) automatic alert televisions and radios;
            (5) innovative and low-cost combinations of such 
        technologies that may provide access to remote areas; and
            (6) other technologies that may be developed.

SEC. 6. TSUNAMI SYSTEM UPGRADE AND MODERNIZATION.

    (a) System Upgrades.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration shall--
            (1) authorize and direct the immediate repair of existing 
        deep ocean detection buoys and related components of the 
        system;
            (2) ensure the deployment of an array of deep ocean 
        detection buoys in the regions described in section 3(a) of 
        this Act;
            (3) ensure expansion or upgrade of the tide gauge network 
        in the regions described in section 3(a); and
            (4) complete the upgrades not later than December 31, 2007.
    (b) Congressional Notifications.--The Administrator shall notify 
the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 
House of Representatives Committee on Science of--
            (1) impaired regional detection coverage due to equipment 
        or system failures; and
            (2) significant contractor failures or delays in completing 
        work associated with the tsunami detection and warning system.
    (c) Annual Report.--The Administrator shall transmit an annual 
report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
and the House of Representatives Committee on Science on the status of 
the tsunami detection and warning system, including accuracy, false 
alarms, equipment failures, improvements over the previous year, and 
goals for further improvement (or plans for curing failures) of the 
system, as well as progress and accomplishments of the national tsunami 
hazard mitigation program.
    (d) External Review.--The National Academy of Science shall review 
the tsunami detection, forecast, and warning system operated by the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under this Act to 
assess further modernization and coverage needs, as well as long-term 
operational reliability issues, taking into account measures 
implemented under this Act, and transmit a report containing its 
recommendations, including an estimate of the costs of implementing 
those recommendations, to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on 
Science within 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. GLOBAL TSUNAMI WARNING AND MITIGATION NETWORK.

    (a) International Tsunami Warning System.--The Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in coordination with 
other members of the United States Interagency Committee of the 
National Tsunami Mitigation Program, shall provide technical assistance 
and advice to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, 
the World Meteorological Organization, and other international 
entities, as part of international efforts to develop a fully 
functional global tsunami warning system comprised of regional tsunami 
warning networks, modeled on the International Tsunami Warning System 
of the Pacific.
    (b) Detection Equipment; Technical Advice.--In carrying out this 
section, the Administrator--
            (1) shall give priority to assisting nations in identifying 
        vulnerable coastal areas, creating inundation maps, obtaining 
        or designing real-time detection and reporting equipment, and 
        establishing communication and warning networks and contact 
        points in each vulnerable nation; and
            (2) may establish a process for transfer of detection and 
        communication technology to affected nations for the purposes 
        of establishing the international tsunami warning system.
    (c) Data-Sharing Requirement.--The Administrator may not provide 
assistance under this section for any region unless all affected 
nations in that region participating in the tsunami warning network 
agree to share relevant data associated with the development and 
operation of the network.
    (d) Receipt of International Reimbursement Authorized.--The 
Administrator may accept payment to, or reimbursement of, the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in cash or in kind from 
international organizations and foreign authorities, or payment or 
reimbursement made on behalf of such an authority, for expenses 
incurred by the Administrator in carrying out any activity under this 
Act. Any such payments or reimbursements shall be considered a 
reimbursement to the appropriated funds of the Administration.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $35,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2006 through 2012 to carry out this Act.
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