1.This Act may be cited as the
Weather Mitigation Research and
Development Policy Authorization Act of 2007
.
2.It is the purpose of this Act to develop and
implement a comprehensive and coordinated national weather mitigation policy
and a national cooperative Federal and State program of weather mitigation
research and development.
3.Congress finds the following:
(1)According to a
2003 report by the National Research Council, people in drought- and
hail-prone areas willingly spend significant resources on weather mitigation
programs, and in 2001 there were at least 66 operational programs being
conducted in 10 States across the United States. At the same time, less than a
handful of weather mitigation research programs are underway worldwide, and
related research in the United States has dropped to less than $500,000 per
year from a high of $20,000,000 in the late 1970s.
The NRC report
entitled Critical Issues in Weather Modification Research
also
states that a coordinated national program of weather modification
research is needed
. Such a program is supported by States that need a
scientific means of evaluating current programs and increasing their
effectiveness through applied research.
(2)Droughts in the
United States result in an average economic loss between $6,000,000,000 and
$8,000,000,000 annually, while severe hail producing storms result in up to
$2,300,000,000 damage to crops and over $2,000,000,000 in property loss
annually. Snowpack, rain enhancement, and hail suppression weather mitigation
projects help reduce these losses, and additional research in these areas will
make existing programs even more effective and permit them to better quantify
their impacts. Recent droughts in the Western United States have produced low
lake levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead and have led the Seven Colorado River
Basin States to create cooperative agreements. A separate cooperative agreement
is in place for wintertime snowfall enhancement programs in the States of Utah,
Colorado, and Wyoming to pursue water augmentation to benefit the entire
Colorado River System.
(3)Past and recent
evaluations of the potential for snowpack augmentation by cloud seeding in the
Colorado River Basin indicate a significant yield in runoff can be attained
through properly designed projects. A 2006 evaluation by the Bureau of
Reclamation of the Department of the Interior indicates the potential for
800,000 additional acre-feet of water.
(4)The impacts of
possible climate change and the human impact on weather are not well
understood. Weather mitigation research could provide data on what, if any,
impact pollution may have on the precipitation processes in cloud systems.
Research into inadvertent and planned weather mitigation may increase our
understanding and knowledge of any potential impacts.
(5)The recent
Weather Damage Modification Program conducted by the Bureau of Reclamation
employed a successful model for combining local, State, and Federal resources
in providing a means for scientific evaluation of operational cloud-seeding
projects (rainfall and snowfall enhancement and hail suppression) in North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California.
4.In this Act:
(1)The
term Board means the Weather Mitigation Advisory and Research
Board established under section 5(a).
(2)The term Executive Director means the
Executive Director of the Board appointed under section 5(d).
(3)The term research and development means
theoretical analysis, exploration, experimentation, and the extension of
investigative findings and theories of a scientific or technical nature into
practical application for experimental and demonstration purposes, including
the experimental production and testing of models, devices, equipment,
materials, and processes.
5.Weather
Mitigation Advisory and Research Board established
(a)There
is established in the National Science Foundation the Weather Mitigation
Advisory and Research Board to establish and coordinate the national research
and development program on weather mitigation described in section 6.
(b)
(1)The
Board shall consist of 11 members appointed by the Director of the National
Science Foundation as follows:
(A)At least 2
members shall be representatives of States that are currently supporting
operational weather mitigation programs.
(B)At least 2
members shall be a representative of the National Center for Atmospheric
Research of the National Science Foundation.
(C)At least 1 member
shall be a representative of National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
(D)At least 1 member
shall be a representative of the American Meteorological Society.
(E)At least 1 member
shall be a representative of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
(F)At least 1 member
shall be a representative of the National Academy of Sciences.
(G)At least 1 member
shall be a representative of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration of the Department of Commerce.
(H)At least 1 member
shall be a representative of the Department of Agriculture.
(I)At least 1 member
shall be a representative of institutions of higher education or research
institutes with experience in the field.
(2)A
member of the Board shall serve at the pleasure of the Director of the National
Science Foundation.
(3)Any
vacancy on the Board shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment.
(c)The Board shall select a Chair and Vice Chair from among
its members.
(d)The
Chair of the Board may appoint and terminate an executive director and such
other additional personnel as may be necessary to enable the Board to perform
its duties. The employment of an executive director shall be subject to
confirmation by the Board.
(e)The Board may establish advisory committees to advise
the Board and to make recommendations to the Board concerning legislation,
policies, administration, research, and other matters.
(f)Not later than 30 days after the date on which all
members of the Board have been appointed, the Board shall hold its first
meeting.
(g)The
Board shall meet at the call of the Chair.
(h)A
majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser
number of members may hold hearings.
(i)
(1)Studies,
investigations, and hearingsThe Board may conduct studies,
obtain information, and hold hearings necessary to carry out the purposes of
this Act.
(2)Cooperation
with other agenciesThe Board may cooperate with public or
private agencies to promote the purposes of this Act.
(3)The Board may enter into cooperative agreements with
the head of any department or agency of the United States, an appropriate
official of any State or political subdivision of a State, or an appropriate
official of any private or public agency or organization to conduct research
and development pertaining to weather mitigation.
(4)Conducting and
contracting for research and developmentThe Executive Director,
with the approval of the Board, may conduct or contract for research and
development activities in accordance with section 6.
6.National
research and development program on weather mitigation
(a)Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Executive Director shall develop and submit to Congress a plan
for the establishment and coordination of the national research and development
program required by section 5(a). Such plan shall—
(1)for the 10-year
period beginning in the year it is submitted, establish the goals and
priorities for Federal research that most effectively advance scientific
understanding of weather mitigation;
(2)describe specific
activities required to achieve such goals and priorities, including funding of
competitive research grants, training and support for scientists, and
participation in international research efforts;
(3)identify and
address, as appropriate, relevant programs and activities of the Federal
agencies and departments that would contribute to the program;
(4)consider and use,
as appropriate, reports and studies conducted by Federal agencies and
departments, weather modification organizations, and other expert scientific
bodies, including the National Research Council report entitled Critical
Issues in Weather Modification Research
;
(5)make
recommendations for the coordination of program activities with weather
mitigation activities of other national and international organizations;
and
(6)estimate Federal
funding for research activities to be conducted under the program.
(b)The national research and development program required
by section 5(a) may include the following activities related to weather
mitigation:
(1)Interdisciplinary
research and development and coordination of research and development and
activities to improve understanding of processes relating to planned and
inadvertent weather mitigation, including the following:
(A)Research related
to cloud and precipitation physics.
(B)Cloud dynamics
and cloud modeling.
(C)Improving cloud
seeding-related technologies.
(D)Severe weather
and storm research.
(E)Research related
to potential adverse affects of weather mitigation.
(2)Coordination with
relevant organizations that engage in weather mitigation research.
(3)Development
through partnerships among Federal agencies, State agencies with weather
modification experience, and academic institutions of new technologies and
approaches for weather mitigation.
(4)Establishing
scholarships and educational opportunities that encourage an interdisciplinary
approach to weather mitigation.
(5)Promotional
activities in accordance with subsection (c).
(6)Administering the
grant program described in subsection (d).
(c)Promotion of
research and developmentIn order to assist in expanding the
theoretical and practical knowledge of weather mitigation, the Board shall
promote and fund research and development, studies, and investigations with
respect to—
(1)improved forecast
and decision-making technologies for weather mitigation operations, including
tailored computer workstations and software and new observation systems with
remote sensors; and
(2)assessments and
evaluations of the efficacy of weather mitigation.
(d)Grant program
for research and development
(1)The Board may establish a grant program for the award of
grants to eligible entities for research and development projects that pertain
to weather mitigation. To the extent practicable, the grant program shall be
modeled after both the Atmospheric Modification Program implemented by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 1980, and the Weather Damage
Modification Program implemented by the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department
of the Interior in 2002.
(2)The
Board may not award a grant under this subsection in an amount that—
(A)is greater than
$500,000; or
(B)is less than
$50,000.
(3)The Board may not award a grant under this subsection for a
project if the Federal share of such project would be greater than 50 percent
of the project cost, which may include in-kind services furnished by the
participating State.
(4)For purposes of this subsection, an eligible entity is a
State agency, institution of higher education, or nonprofit organization that
has—
(A)an established
background and expertise in the field of weather mitigation; and
(B)experience with
working with and coordinating with State agencies.
(5)A recipient of a grant under this subsection may only use
the grant for a research and development project that—
(A)pertains to
weather mitigation; and
(B)was in operation
on the day before the date the grant was awarded.
7.Annual report on
activities
(a)Not later than
January 31, and annually thereafter, the Executive Director shall prepare and
submit to the President and Congress an annual report on the activities
conducted pursuant to this Act during the preceding calendar year, including
the following:
(1)A summary of the
achievements of Federal weather mitigation research, including Federally
supported external research, during the preceding fiscal year.
(2)An analysis of
the progress made toward achieving the goals and objectives of the plan
developed under section 6(a), including the identification of trends.
(3)A copy or summary
of the plan required by section 6(a) and any changes made to the plan.
(4)A summary of
agency budgets for weather mitigation activities for the preceding fiscal
year.
(5)Recommendations,
if any, regarding additional action or legislation that may be required to
assist in achieving the purposes of this Act.
(6)A description of
the relationship between research conducted on weather mitigation and research
conducted pursuant to the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2921 et
seq.), as well as research on weather forecasting and prediction.
(7)A description of
any potential adverse consequences on life, property, or water resource
availability from weather mitigation efforts, and any suggested means of
mitigating or reducing such consequences if such efforts are undertaken.
(b)The first report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted on January 31 in the second calendar year following the date of the
enactment of this Act.
8.Cooperation with
Weather Mitigation Advisory and Research BoardThe head of any department or agency of the
United States and the head of any other public or private agency or institution
that receives research funds from the United States shall, to the extent
practicable, cooperate with the Board for purposes of carrying out this
Act.
9.
(a)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to the
Board for the purposes of carrying out this Act $10,000,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2008 through 2017. Amounts appropriated pursuant to this
subsection shall remain available until expended.
(b)The
Board may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of services or
property.