[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3764 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3764

 To amend title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 
 Act of 2017 to research the impact of obstructions on radar detection 
          and prediction capabilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 31, 2023

 Mr. Feenstra (for himself, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mrs. Bice, Mrs. Miller-
   Meeks, and Mr. Collins) introduced the following bill; which was 
      referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title IV of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation 
 Act of 2017 to research the impact of obstructions on radar detection 
          and prediction capabilities, 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 ``Weather Innovation for the Next 
Generation Act of 2023'' or the ``WING Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. RADAR OBSTRUCTION RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Radar Obstruction Research.--Title IV of the Weather Research 
and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8514 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 415. RADAR OBSTRUCTION RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND 
              EVALUATION PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Director of the National Weather Service, 
in coordination with the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Research, shall establish a Research, Development, Test, 
and Evaluation Program (in this section referred to as the `Program') 
to ensure the continued performance of weather radar detection and 
prediction capabilities with physical obstructions in the line of sight 
of such radar.
    ``(b) Requirements.--In carrying out the Program, the Director, in 
consultation with the Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological 
Services, shall--
            ``(1) partner with industry, academia, Federal, State, and 
        local government entities, and any other entity the Director 
        considers appropriate;
            ``(2) identify and test existing or near-commercial 
        technologies and solutions that mitigate the potential impact 
        of obstructions on weather radar;
            ``(3) research additional solutions that could mitigate the 
        effects of an obstruction on weather radar, including--
                    ``(A) signal processing algorithms;
                    ``(B) short-term forecasting algorithms to replace 
                contaminated data; and
                    ``(C) the use of dual polarization characteristics 
                in mitigating the effects of wind turbines on weather 
                radar; and
            ``(4) develop commercially viable technical mitigation 
        solutions for obstructions to weather radar capabilities.
    ``(c) Priority.--In carrying out the requirements described in 
subsection (b), the Director shall prioritize consideration of the 
following technology-based mitigation solutions:
            ``(1) Multifunction phased array radar.
            ``(2) The replacement of contaminated data with commercial 
        radar data.
            ``(3) The utilization of data from private-sector-
        associated meteorological towers.
            ``(4) Providing wind farm boundaries and consolidated wind 
        farm areas to display on local forecasting equipment.
            ``(5) Installing and providing access to rain gauges.
            ``(6) Any other technology-based mitigation solution the 
        Director determines could overcome beam blockage or ghost 
        echoes.
    ``(d) Termination.--The authority of the Director to carry out the 
Program shall terminate on the earlier of--
            ``(1) September 30, 2028; or
            ``(2) one year after date on which the final recommendation 
        required by subsection (e)(2) is submitted by the Director.
    ``(e) Report; Recommendation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than two years after the date 
        of the enactment of this section and annually thereafter until 
        the Program terminates pursuant to subsection (d), the Director 
        shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation of the 
        Program, including an evaluation of each technology-based 
        mitigation solution identified for priority consideration 
        pursuant to subsection (c), and a recommendation regarding 
        additional identification and testing of new technologies based 
        on such consideration.
            ``(2) Final recommendation.--Not later than five years 
        after the date of the enactment of this section, the Director 
        shall provide to Congress a recommendation on whether 
        additional research, testing, and development through the 
        Program established under subsection (a) is needed, and a 
        determination of whether a cessation of field research, 
        development, testing, and evaluation is appropriate.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Beam blockage.--The term `beam blockage' means a 
        signal that is partially or fully blocked due to an 
        obstruction.
            ``(2) Director.--The term `Director' means the Director of 
        the National Weather Service.
            ``(3) Ghost echo.--The term `ghost echo' means radar signal 
        reflectivity or velocity return errors in radar data due to the 
        close proximity of an obstruction.
            ``(4) Obstruction.--The term obstruction includes--
                    ``(A) a wind turbine that could limit the 
                effectiveness of a weather radar system; and
                    ``(B) any building that disrupts or limits the 
                effectiveness of a weather radar system.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections in section 1(b) of 
the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 414 the following new 
item:

``415. Radar obstruction Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation 
                            Program.''.
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