[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 91 (Friday, July 1, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7930-S7936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TSUNAMI PREPAREDNESS ACT
The Senate proceeded to consider the bill (S. 50) to authorize and
strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
tsunami detection, forecast, warning, and mitigation program, and for
other purposes, which had been reported from the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation, with an amendment.
(Strike the part shown in black brackets and insert the part shown in
italic.)
S. 50
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 tsunams, 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);
[[Page S7931]]
[(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.
[[Page S7932]]
[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.]
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;
(F) an archive of historical tsunami data, held at the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National
Geophysical Data Center; and
(G) other related programs, including those operated in
coordination with academic institutions.
(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, the Alaska Earthquake Information Center, and
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 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 to develop response
strategies, 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.
(15) On February 16, 2005, the United States, together with
53 other Nations participating in the Third Earth Observation
Summit in Brussels, Belgium, adopted a 10-year implementation
plan as the basis for establishing the Global Earth
Observation System of Systems.
(16) The Global Earth Observation System of Systems will
consist of existing and future earth observation systems,
including the United States tsunami detection and warning
system.
(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,
[[Page S7933]]
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) allow for such additional sensors as may be necessary
to provide other ocean and earth observation capabilities;
(D) provide for the establishment of a cooperative effort
between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and the United States Geological Survey under which the
Geological Survey and State earthquake information centers
provide rapid and reliable real-time seismic information to
the Administration from international and domestic seismic
networks;
(E) provide for information and data processing through the
tsunami warning centers established under subsection (c);
(F) be integrated into United States and global ocean and
earth observing systems, including the Global Earth
Observation System of Systems;
(G) provide a communications infrastructure, in
coordination with local communications providers, for at-risk
tsunami communities that supports rapid and reliable alert
and notification to the public, such as the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration's Weather, Alert, and
Readiness Network, which includes the weather radio and the
All Hazard Alert Broadcasting Radio; and
(H) the integration of NOAA's Advanced Weather Interactive
Processing System with other communications technologies.
(4) Federal cooperation.--In deploying and maintaining
detection buoys utilized in the tsunami warning system, the
Administrator should leverage the assistance and assets of
the United States Coast Guard, the Navy, and other Federal
agency assets in the region. Within 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide a
report to the Senate committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, the House of Representatives Committee on
Science, and the House of Representatives Committee on
Resources that summarizes the extent to which the United
States Coast Guard or any other Federal agency is assistance
in deploying and maintaining such buoys.
(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
stations, deep ocean detection buoys, and tidal monitoring
stations and providing such data to the national tsunami
archive;
(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) Data Management.--The Administrator shall maintain
national and regionally-based data management systems to
support and establish data management requirements for the
tsunami detection and monitoring system, including
requirements for--
(1) quality control and quality assurance;
(2) archiving and maintaining data;
(3) supporting integration of observations from the system
with other national and international water level
measurements, such as the Global Sea Level Monitoring System;
(4) integration of observations from the system with other
elements of the global and coastal components of the
integrated ocean and coastal observing system and the Global
Earth Observation System of Systems; and
(5) the development of and access to data sets and
integrated data products designed to support multi-hazard
regional vulnerability assessment and adaptation programs
such as the program established under section 8.
SEC. 4. TSUNAMI HAZARD MITIGATION PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Administrator of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration shall, in coordination with
other agencies and academic institutions, develop and conduct
a community-based tsunami hazard mitigation program to
improve tsunami preparedness of at-risk areas.
(b) Coordinating Committee.--In developing and 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;
(5) the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and
(6) 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 awareness and
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 awareness, preparedness, and
mitigation programs into ongoing hazard warning and risk
management programs in affected areas including the National
Response Plan and State coastal zone management plans;
(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(e).
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 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 capable of carrying multi-observation
technology in the regions described in section 3(a) of this
Act;
(3) ensure expansion or upgrade of the seismic monitoring
and tide gauge networks in the regions described in section
3(a); and
(4) complete the upgrades not later than December 31, 2007.
(b) 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 Observation System of Systems,
global seismic networks, and the Advanced National Seismic
System.
[[Page S7934]]
(c) Certification.--Amounts appropriated for any fiscal
year pursuant to section 9 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, the House
of Representatives Committee on Science, and the House of
Representatives Committee on Resources 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.
(d) Congressional Notifications.--The Administrator shall
notify the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, the House of Representatives Committee on
Science, and the House of Representatives Committee on
Resources 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.
(e) 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 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.
(f) 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, the Group on
Earth Observations, 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, and consistent with the 10-year
implementation plan for the Global Earth Observation System
of Systems.
(b) International Tsunami Information Center.--The
Administrator shall operate an International Tsunami
Information Center to improve tsunami preparedness for all
Pacific Ocean nations participating in the International
Tsunami Warning System of the Pacific, and which may also
provide such assistance to other nations participating in a
global tsunami warning system established through the
International Oceanographic Committee of UNESCO. As part of
its responsibilities in the Pacific, the Center shall--
(1) monitor international tsunami warning activities in the
Pacific;
(2) assist member states in establishing national warning
systems, and make information available on current
technologies for tsunami warning systems;
(3) maintain a library of materials to promulgate knowledge
about tsunamis in general and for use by the scientific
community; and
(4) disseminate information, including educational
materials and research reports.
(c) Technical Assistance.--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;
(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; and
(3) shall provide technical and other assistance to support
international tsunami education, response, vulnerability, and
adaptation programs.
(d) 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.
(e) Funding Assistance.--The Administrator, in coordination
with the Secretary of State, shall seek funding assistance
from participating nations needed to ensure establishment of
a fully functional global tsunami warning system.
(f) 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. COASTAL COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION
PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall establish an
integrated coastal vulnerability and adaptation program
focused on improving the resilience of coastal communities to
natural hazards and disasters. The program shall be regional
in nature, build upon and integrate existing Federal and
State programs, and provide usable products that will improve
preparedness of communities, businesses, and government
entities. The program may include the following activities:
(1) Development of multi-hazard vulnerability maps to
characterize and assess risks of coastal communities to a
range of natural hazards and provide a baseline for assessing
future risks.
(2) Multi-disciplinary vulnerability assessment research
and education that will help integrate risk management with
community development planning and policies.
(3) Risk management and leadership training for the public,
local officials, and institutions that will enhance
understanding and preparedness.
(4) Risk assessment technology development, including
research and development of emerging technologies and
practical application of existing or emerging technologies,
such as modeling, remote sensing, geospatial technology,
engineering, and observing systems.
(5) Risk management data and information services,
including access to data and products derived from observing
and detection systems, as well as development and maintenance
of new integrated data products that would support risk
assessment and risk management programs.
(6) Risk communication systems that coordinate with and
build upon existing alert, warning, and forecast systems and
actively engage policy officials, government agencies,
businesses, communities, non-governmental organizations, and
the media in the design and implementation of the system.
(b) Regional Pilot Projects.--
(1) In general.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Administrator shall, in consultation with
the appropriate Federal, State, tribal, and local
governmental entities, establish 3 pilot projects to conduct
regional assessments of the vulnerability of coastal areas of
the United States to hazards associated with tsunami and
other coastal hazards, including sea level rise, increases in
severe weather events, and climate variability and change.
Priority shall be given to collaborative partnership
proposals from regionally-based multi-organizational
coalitions. In preparing the regional assessments, the
Administrator shall collect and compile current information
on tsunami, climate change, sea level rise, natural hazards,
coastal erosion and mapping, and ongoing regional efforts to
address them.
(2) Scope.--Regional assessments under the pilot program
shall include an evaluation of--
(A) the social impacts associated with threats to and
potential losses of housing, communities, and infrastructure;
(B) the physical impacts such as coastal erosion, flooding
and loss of estuarine habitat, saltwater intrusion of
aquifers and saltwater encroachment, and species migration;
(C) the economic impact on local, State, tribal, and
regional economies, including the impact on coastal
infrastructure and the abundance or distribution of
economically important living marine resources; and
(D) opportunities to enhance the resilience of at-risk
communities, economic sectors, and natural resources.
(c) Selection Criteria.--The Administrator shall rely on
the following criteria in identifying appropriate regional
pilot projects:
(1) Vulnerability to tsunami, hurricanes, extreme weather,
flooding, climate, and other coastal hazards.
(2) Dependence on economic sectors and natural resources
that are particularly sensitive to coastal hazards.
(3) Opportunities to link and leverage related regional
risk observation, research, forecasting, assessment,
educational and risk management programs.
(4) Demonstration of strong, interagency collaboration in
the area of risk management.
(5) Access to NOAA and other Federal agency programs,
facilities, and infrastructure related to tsunami and other
coastal hazards monitoring, warning, forecasting, research
assessment, and data management.
(d) Regional Adaptation Plans.--The Administrator shall,
within 3 years after the commencement of each project under
subsection (b), submit to the Congress regional adaptation
plans--
(1) based on the information contained in the regional
assessments conducted under subsection (b);
(2) developed with the participation of other Federal
agencies, State, tribal, and local government agencies, and
non-governmental entities (including academia and the private
sector) that will be critical in the implementation of the
plan at the State, tribal, and local levels;
(3) that recommend targets and strategies to address
coastal impacts associated with tsunami, climate change, sea
level rise, or climate variability;
[[Page S7935]]
(4) that include recommendations for both short- and long-
term adaptation strategies; and
(5) that include recommendations on--
(A) Federal flood insurance program modifications;
(B) areas that have been identified as high risk through
mapping and assessment;
(C) enhancing the effectiveness of State coastal zone
management programs in mitigating or preventing coastal
risks;
(D) mitigation incentives such as rolling easements,
strategic retreat, State or Federal acquisition in fee simple
or other interest in land, construction standards, and
zoning;
(E) land and property owner education;
(F) economic planning for small communities dependent upon
affected coastal resources, including fisheries; and
(G) funding requirements and mechanisms.
(e) Technical Planning and Financial Assistance.--The
Administrator, through the National Ocean Service, shall
establish a coordinated program--
(1) to provide technical planning assistance and financial
assistance to coastal States, tribes, and local governments
as they develop and implement adaptation or mitigation
strategies and plans under this section; and
(2) to make products, information, tools, and technical
expertise generated from the development of the regional
assessment and the regional adaptation plan available to
coastal States for the purposes of developing their own
State, tribal, and local plans.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration--
(1) $35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2012
to carry out this Act (other than section 8); and
(2) $5,000,000 for each of such fiscal years to carry out
section 8, of which at least $3,000,000 for each fiscal year
shall be used to carry out the pilot projects authorized by
section 8(b).
Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, today I rise in support of S. 50, the
Tsunami Preparedness Act, which Senator Stevens and I introduced in
January 2004, and which is now being considered by the full Senate. We
are joined by 24 of our friends and colleagues as cosponsors, including
Senators Cantwell, Burns, Lautenberg, Snowe, Akaka, Murkowski, Clinton,
Smith, Murray, Lieberman, Landrieu, Bill Nelson, Kerry, Chambliss,
Wyden, Dayton, Boxer, Feinstein, Mikulski, Sarbanes, Corzine, Lott,
Gregg, and Ben Nelson.
This bill, which the Commerce Committee unanimously approved in
March, provides a scientific and technological response to minimize the
threats posed by tsunami to our own shores and coastal communities
around the world. While we have had limited observation and detection
capabilities dating back to 1949, we must have a more robust, reliable,
and well-maintained tsunami warning system. The appalling scope of the
Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004 made clear the need and the
urgency to develop more advanced detection capabilities.
Our legislation builds on our previous work and will establish a
warning system in the Pacific that is a model for the world. It also
provides for expansion and improvement to repair gaps that have been
identified recently.
Protecting human life and property from natural disaster requires
three components: the ability to reliably detect and forecast, the
capacity to broadcast warnings in a timely and informative manner, and
the capability to respond and safely evacuate coastal communities.
Above all, however, it requires the willingness to invest resources to
prepare for a threat that is largely unseen and unpredictable, until
the last moment, when a monstrous wave actually strikes.
The people of Alaska and Hawaii have long memories and a keen
awareness of the threat of tsunami. Perhaps it is because Hawaii sits
in a position of terrible vulnerability in the Pacific Ocean, which is
the site of 85 percent of the world's tsunami activity, and because
Alaska, perched on the northern edge of the Pacific's Ring of Fire,
suffers frequent tsunami-generating earthquakes. Yet we are not the
only States at risk from tsunami. There is a 14 percent chance that the
coast of Oregon will, within the next 50 years, see a tsunami similar
in magnitude to the one that recently took so many lives in the Indian
Ocean. A recent study by the University of Southern California found
that undersea slumping off the California coast could generate a
tsunami with the potential to take many thousands of lives and cause
over $40 billion in damages.
In order to protect local communities, Hawaii established in 1949 a
tsunami warning center, following a tragic Hilo tsunami. In response to
the Good Friday earthquake and tsunami of 1964, which accounted for 90
percent of the deaths in the State that year, Alaska established an
observatory in Palmer, AK, in 1967. Collaborations between the two
centers and other partners led to a nascent capacity for predicting and
warning coastal communities about potential tsunami in Alaska and
Hawaii and beyond.
As we came to understand the broader threat that tsunami posed, Ted
Stevens and I worked together to pass legislation in 1994 to direct the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, to develop a
Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. We are pleased to report that the
program has laid the foundation for tsunami preparedness.
Through its Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, PMEL, NOAA has
developed Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tunami--or ``DART''--
buoys, which accurately measure the subtle variations in the ocean's
sea level caused by tsunami traveling over open water. With these
measurements, as well as readings from coastal gauges, mathematical
models can forecast tsunami direction, speed, and inundation with
astonishing accuracy. Although the worldwide network of seismic sensors
operated by the U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, provides excellent notice
of earthquakes with the potential to generate tsunami, the DART buoys
represent a next-generation approach to detection and forecasting of
tsunami that will form the backbone of our domestic preparedness.
Interpreting these data and issuing warnings are Hawaii's Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center, and Alaska's West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning
Center, which jointly have the capacity to cover our domestic shores,
and, at the same time, to reach out to all cooperating nations of the
world.
Forecasting and warning networks, however, depend on ears who know
how to respond, and so the Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program has
partnered with States and local authorities to produce inundation
mapping, develop evacuation routes, and conduct tsunami education. As a
result of much hard work, 15 counties along the West Coast and in
Alaska and Hawaii have become national and world leaders by becoming
``tsunami ready.''
The appalling scope of the Indian Ocean tragedy illustrates the
importance and necessity of our work of the past 10 years, and with
stark clarity, we can see that despite our best efforts, much remains
to be done. Now, as before, Senator Stevens and I have come together to
lead the charge toward national and international tsunami preparedness.
The bill formally authorizes NOAA to establish, operate, and maintain
a dependable national tsunami warning system that would provide maximum
tsunami detection capability for the Nation. The system would build on
the model established in the Pacific, and provide for its repair,
expansion and modernization by the close of calendar year 2007. The
system would include four components: an expanded and upgraded
detection and warning system, a Federal-State tsunami hazard mitigation
program, a tsunami research program, and a modernization and upgrade
program. In addition, S. 50 would direct NOAA to provide any necessary
technical or other assistance to international efforts to establish
regional systems in other parts of the world, including the Indian
Ocean.
The detection and warning system established by the bill would cover
the Pacific Ocean region, as well as the Atlantic-Caribbean-Gulf of
Mexico region. The system would incorporate a variety of seismic and
tsunami detection technologies, including deep ocean buoys. The system
also would encompass tsunami warning centers charged with collecting
and analyzing the data and distributing warnings, including the
existing Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii and the West Coast/
Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska, as well as any others deemed
necessary by the NOAA Administrator.
The bill formally authorizes NOAA's Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program
and its community-based tsunami hazard mitigation program to improve
tsunami preparedness of at-risk areas. The bill directs a Federal-State
coordinating committee for the program to work together to improve
inundation mapping, community outreach and education, and promote and
integrate tsunami warning and mitigation measures, including rescue and
recovery
[[Page S7936]]
guidelines. The program would provide grants to States to ensure the
program elements are implemented in coastal communities.
The bill requires NOAA to establish, along with other agencies and
academic institutions, a tsunami research program to continuously
improve detection, prediction, communication, and mitigation science
and technology to support tsunami forecasts and warnings. This program
would also focus on the potential for improved communications systems
for tsunami and other hazard warnings, including telephones, wireless
and satellite technology, the Internet, television and radio, and any
innovative combination of these technologies.
Another critical component of the bill requires NOAA to upgrade and
modernize the U.S. tsunami detection system by December 2007, and
provide accountability for the long-term operation of the system. NOAA
is required to repair and upgrade the system, ensuring deployment of
existing deep ocean detection buoys and related detection equipment, as
well as notify Congress immediately not only of any equipment or system
failures that will impair regional detection, but also of significant
contractor failures or delays. In addition, the bill calls for the
National Academy of Sciences to review the system for further
modernization recommendations.
One of the changes we made to the bill resulted from testimony at the
committee's February 2, 2005, hearing, and focuses on improving warning
and preparedness for all coastal hazards, not only tsunami. The bill
now contains a Coastal Community Vulnerability and Adaptation program
at NOAA would encourage collaboration among Federal, State, local, and
regional efforts through pilot projects focusing on: No. 1, development
of vulnerability maps for coastal communities to a wide array of
potential hazards; No. 2, better integration of risk management with
community planning; No. 3, rick management leadership training for
public officials; No. 4, development of risk assessment technologies;
No. 5, new data services to support the new risk management activities;
and No. 6, new risk communication systems. The bill would authorize $5
million annually for fiscal year 2006-2012 for the program.
The bill also recognizes the need for global coordination on tsunami
preparedness, and as such, requires NOAA, and the interagency
coordinating committee of the U.S. Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program,
to provide technical assistance and advice to international entities as
part of an international effort to develop a fully functional global
tsunami warning system. The bill would also encourage nations to share
information and funding for such activities.
Finally, the bill authorizes $35 million annually for 6 years to
support tsnunami related activities. Through this legislation, the work
Senator Stevens and I started over ten years ago will step up to the
next level, and provide our Nation with coverage and protection that it
needs, while fulfilling our duties as citizens of the global community.
I believe that this bill will provide services of incalculable value
to our Nation. The return on our investment may not happen this day or
the next but it will happen. I hope that you will join me and my
cosponsors in supporting enactment of the Tsunami Preparedness Act.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, Oregon's 363 miles of coastline are
extremely susceptible to tsunamis. Just 2 weeks ago, at 7:40 p.m. on
June 14, 2005, the tsunami threat became reality for those living on or
visiting the coast. A 7.0 earthquake off the coast of California
triggered an automatic tsunami warning for the entire west coast of the
United States. The emergency response capabilities of these communities
were put to the test. Fortunately, the warning was called off at 9:09
p.m. after it was determined that the earthquake failed to produce a
tsunami.
Looking back, a lot of things went right. In Oregon, in cities such
as Seaside and Cannon Beach, the alarms were sounded and people
evacuated. However, there is a lot more that needs to be done. Models
indicate that should an offshore earthquake trigger a tsunami, coastal
towns will only have between 12 and 30 minutes before the first wave
hits the beach. On June 14, for many people on the coast, the
information would have come too late.
I am pleased that the Tsunami Preparedness Act, S. 50, of which I am
a consponsor and strong supporter, will pass the Senate by unanimous
consent today. The world has recently seen how potentially devastating
a tsunami can be. America needs to take steps to prepare and be ready.
Oregonians are acutely aware that, at some point, a tsunami could hit
the coast of the United States. This bill will give our coastal
communities opportunities that weren't afforded the victims of the
tragic tsunami in Southeast Asia last year. It will harness the brains
and expertise of universities, like Oregon State University and Oregon
Health and Science University, to improve our tsunami detection and
warning system and to make available the resources necessary to
adequately prepare, inform, and protect U.S. citizens.
The U.S. has the tools to establish a top-notch national tsunami
warning system and hazard mitigation program. Oregon universities are
leading the way in tsunami research, and the practical applications of
this research must be used. Our region, and the other vulnerable areas
in the Nation, will benefit from better knowledge about the tracking,
forecasting, and effects of tsunami waves. I look forward to the
implementation of the Tsunami Preparedness Act and to reviewing the
first annual report to Congress on the status and progress of work on
this issue.
The committee amendment was agreed to.
Amendment No. 1101
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
The amendment (No. 1101) was agreed to.
(The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of
Amendments.'')
The bill (S. 50), as amended, was read the third time, and passed.
____________________