[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 13 (Wednesday, February 5, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S1022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE:
  S. 271. A bill to require the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that at 
least an equivalent level of service will be supplied to the public and 
affected agencies before closing National Weather Service field 
stations; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


    the national weather service office closure criteria act of 1997

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, today I am introducing legislation 
to create additional office closure certification criteria for National 
Weather Service offices located in geographical areas of concern 
designated by the National Research Council. The amendment is designed 
to guarantee that weather services will be fully maintained in these 
areas after the National Weather Service completes its modernization 
plan.
  My bill adds a new paragraph to section 706(e) of the Weather Service 
Modernization Act of 1992. This section deals with ``special 
circumstances'' under which the Secretary may not close or relocate a 
NWS field office unless he meets certain specified certification 
criteria in addition to the standard certification criteria that apply 
to all field offices.
  This legislation would create another special circumstance category 
for offices that serve parts of the country identified as ``areas of 
geographic concern'' in the National Research Council's June 1995, 
report on the modernization program. The NRC identified 32 such areas 
of concern across the country, including Caribou, ME, Williston, ND, 
Baton Rouge, LA, and Kalispell, MT, in which a National Weather Service 
field office has been proposed for closure under the modernization plan 
and the people who live in the area have expressed serious concerns 
about the impacts of it.
  My bill would prohibit the Secretary from closing or relocating these 
offices unless he first evaluates the effect of a closing or relocation 
on all weather information and services provided to local users; and, 
second, he includes in the standard certification required under 
section 706(b), a determination that at least an equivalent level of 
weather services will be provided in the future.
  This amendment provides an additional but very important layer of 
scrutiny to NWS plans to close field offices in areas of the country--a 
number of which are sparsely populated and rural--specified in the NRC 
report. It provides an extra safeguard for these communities to ensure 
that they will continue to receive at least the same level of weather 
information and services that they currently receive. Without adequate 
safeguards, the rural communities described in the amendment will face 
greater threats to public safety, infrastructure, private property, 
agricultural production, and the economy generally when a local weather 
office closes.
  As experience shows, the rural field offices, in particular, play a 
special role in gathering weather information from diverse and 
disparate locales across a large region, and in disseminating this 
information, along with standard NWS forecasts and flood warnings, to 
all citizens of the region. Field offices located outside these service 
areas may not be able to devote the same level of comprehensive, real-
time attention to weather events affecting these areas. Given the 
importance of accurate and timely weather information to rural areas 
subject to severe weather conditions, we cannot let the quality of 
weather services for these areas diminish. My legislation will help to 
prevent that from happening.
  Mr. President, this is good-government legislation. It helps to 
ensure that an essential Federal agency makes very well-informed and 
prudent decisions, and it enhances the protection of our citizens' 
lives and property.
  I introduced this legislation as an amendment to the NOAA 
reauthorization bill in the Commerce Committee last year. The amendment 
was adopted unanimously, but unfortunately the full Senate did not have 
an opportunity to consider the bill before adjournment. I intend to 
resume my efforts on this issue at the earliest opportunity in the new 
Congress. I hope other Senators will join me in cosponsoring this bill 
and in working toward its enactment.
                                 ______