[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1437 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1437

To amend the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 to 
 direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide 
comprehensive and regularly updated Federal precipitation information, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2021

  Ms. Sherrill (for herself, Ms. Ross, Ms. Norton, Mr. Pascrell, Ms. 
Johnson of Texas, Mr. Crist, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Sires, and Ms. Moore 
of Wisconsin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 to 
 direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide 
comprehensive and regularly updated Federal precipitation information, 
                        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 ``Providing Research and Estimates of 
Changes In Precipitation Act'' or the ``PRECIP Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING INNOVATION 
              ACT OF 2017.

    (a) In General.--Section 508 of the Weather Research and 
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8521) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

        ``TITLE VI--IMPROVING FEDERAL PRECIPITATION INFORMATION

``SEC. 601. STUDY ON PRECIPITATION ESTIMATION.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of the PRECIP Act, the Administrator, in consultation with 
other Federal agencies as appropriate, shall seek to enter an agreement 
with the National Academies--
            ``(1) to conduct a study on the state of practice and 
        research needs for precipitation estimation, including probable 
        maximum precipitation estimation; and
            ``(2) to submit, not later than 24 months after the date on 
        which such agreement is finalized, to the Committee on Science, 
        Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
        Senate, and make publicly available on a website, a report on 
        the results of the study under paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Study.--The report under subsection (a) shall include the 
following:
            ``(1) An examination of the current state of practice for 
        precipitation estimation at scales appropriate for 
        decisionmaker needs, and rationale for further evolution of 
        this field.
            ``(2) An evaluation of best practices for precipitation 
        estimation that are based on the best-available science, 
        include assumptions of non-stationarity, and can be utilized by 
        the user community.
            ``(3) A framework for--
                    ``(A) the development of a National Guidance 
                Document for estimating extreme precipitation in a 
                changing climate; and
                    ``(B) evaluation of the strengths and challenges of 
                the full spectrum of approaches, including for probable 
                maximum precipitation studies.
            ``(4) A description of existing research needs in the field 
        of precipitation estimation in order to modernize current 
        methodologies and incorporate the impacts of climate change on 
        precipitation.
            ``(5) A description of in-situ, airborne, and space-based 
        observation requirements, that could enhance precipitation 
        estimation and development of models, including an examination 
        of the use of geographic information systems and geospatial 
        technology for integration, analysis, and visualization of 
        precipitation data.
            ``(6) A recommended plan for a Federal research and 
        development program, including specifications for costs, 
        timeframes, and responsible agencies for addressing identified 
        research needs.
            ``(7) An analysis of the respective roles in precipitation 
        estimation of various Federal agencies, academia, State, 
        tribal, territorial, and local governments, and other public 
        and private stakeholders.
            ``(8) Recommendations for data management to promote long-
        term needs such as enabling retrospective analyses and data 
        discoverability, interoperability, and reuse.
            ``(9) Recommendations for how data and services from the 
        entire enterprise can be best leveraged by the Federal 
        Government.
            ``(10) Such other topics as the Administrator or National 
        Academies consider appropriate.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
$1,500,000 to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 
carry out this study.

``SEC. 602. IMPROVING PRECIPITATION FREQUENCY ESTIMATES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Administrator shall--
            ``(1) not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 
        this title and not less than every 5 years thereafter, update 
        precipitation frequency estimates for the United States, such 
        that each update includes at least one precipitation frequency 
        atlas that incorporates assumptions of non-stationarity;
            ``(2) develop products targeted at users of this data in 
        support of the mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration;
            ``(3) make publicly available, in a searchable, 
        interoperable format, all precipitation frequency estimate 
        studies developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration that the Administrator has the legal right to 
        redistribute and that are deemed to be at an appropriate stage 
        of development on an internet website of the National Oceanic 
        and Atmospheric Administration; and
            ``(4) ensure all precipitation frequency estimate data, 
        products, and supporting documentation and metadata are 
        preserved, curated, and served by the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration, as appropriate.
    ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 
carry out this section $3,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 
2030.

``SEC. 603. IMPROVING PROBABLE MAXIMUM PRECIPITATION ESTIMATES.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which 
the National Academies makes public the report under section 601, the 
Administrator, in consideration of the report recommendations, shall 
consult with relevant partners, including users of the data, on the 
development of a plan to--
            ``(1) not later than 6 years after the completion of the 
        National Academies report under section 601 and not less than 
        every 10 years thereafter, update probable maximum 
        precipitation estimates for the United States, such that each 
        update includes estimates that incorporate assumptions of non-
        stationarity;
            ``(2) coordinate with partners to conduct research in the 
        field of extreme precipitation estimation, in accordance with 
        the research needs identified by the National Academies report 
        under section 601;
            ``(3) make publicly available, in a searchable, 
        interoperable format, all probable maximum precipitation 
        studies developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration that the Administrator has the legal right to 
        redistribute and deemed to be at an appropriate state of 
        development on an internet website of the National Oceanic and 
        Atmospheric Administration; and
            ``(4) ensure all probable maximum precipitation estimate 
        data, products, and supporting documentation and metadata 
        developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration are preserved, curated, and served by the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as 
        appropriate.
    ``(b) National Guidance Document for the Development of Probable 
Maximum Precipitation Estimates.--The Administrator, in collaboration 
with Federal agencies, State, territorial, tribal and local 
governments, academia and other partners the Administrator deems 
appropriate, shall develop a National Guidance Document that--
            ``(1) provides best practices that can be followed by 
        Federal and State regulatory agencies, private meteorological 
        consultants, and other users that perform probable maximum 
        precipitation studies;
            ``(2) considers the recommendations provided in the 
        National Academies study in section 601;
            ``(3) facilitates review of probable maximum precipitation 
        studies by regulatory agencies;
            ``(4) provides confidence in regional and site-specific 
        probable maximum precipitation estimates; and
            ``(5) includes such other topics as the Administrator deems 
        appropriate.
    ``(c) Publication.--Not later than 2 years after the date on which 
the National Academies makes public the report under section 601, the 
Administrator shall make publicly available the National Guidance 
Document under subsection (b) on an internet website of the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
    ``(d) Updates.--The Administrator shall update the National 
Guidance Document not less than once every 10 years after the 
publication of the National Guidance Document under subsection (c) and 
publish such updates in accordance with such subsection.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 
carry out this section:
            ``(1) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2022.
            ``(2) $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2023.
            ``(3) $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.
            ``(4) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2025.
            ``(5) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.
            ``(6) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2027.

``SEC. 604. DEFINITIONS.

    `` In this title:
            ``(1) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the 
        Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and 
        Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.
            ``(2) National academies.--The term `National Academies' 
        means the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 
        Medicine.
            ``(3) Precipitation frequency atlas.--The term 
        `precipitation frequency atlas' means a geographical atlas, 
        such as the NOAA Atlas 14, that contains precipitation 
        frequency estimates for the United States with associated lower 
        and upper bounds of a determined confidence interval and 
        supplementary information on temporal distribution of heavy 
        precipitation, analysis of seasonality, and trends in annual 
        maximum series data.
            ``(4) Precipitation frequency estimate.--The term 
        `precipitation frequency estimate' means the magnitude 
        associated with specific average recurrence interval or annual 
        exceedance probability for a given duration.
            ``(5) United states.--The term `United States' means, 
        collectively, each State of the United States, the District of 
        Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 
        Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the 
        Virgin Islands of the United States, and any other territory or 
        possession of the United States.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1(b) of the Weather Research and 
Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501 note) is amended in 
the table of contents by adding at the end the following:

        ``TITLE VI--IMPROVING FEDERAL PRECIPITATION INFORMATION

``Sec. 601. Study on Precipitation Estimation.
``Sec. 602. Improving Precipitation Frequency Estimates.
``Sec. 603. Improving Probable Maximum Precipitation Estimates.
``Sec. 604. Definitions.''.
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