15 U.S.C. § 8512 — Weather research and forecasting innova-

Page 2425 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 8512 Sec. 8532. Commercial weather data. 8533. Unnecessary duplication. SUBCHAPTER III—FEDERAL WEATHER COORDINATION 8541. Environmental Information Services Working Group. 8542. Interagency weather research and forecast in- novation coordination. 8543. Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and National Weather Service exchange program. 8544. Visiting fellows at National Weather Service. 8545. Warning coordination meteorologists at weather forecast offices of National Weath- er Service. 8546. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration Weather Ready All Hazards Award Program. 8547. Report on contract positions at National Weather Service. 8548. Weather enterprise outreach. 8549. Hurricane hunter aircraft. 8550. Improvements to Cooperative Observer Pro- gram of National Weather Service. SUBCHAPTER IV—IMPROVING FEDERAL PRECIPITATION INFORMATION 8561. Study on precipitation estimation. 8562. Improving probable maximum precipitation estimates. 8563. Definitions. § 8501. Definitions In this chapter: (1) Seasonal The term ‘‘seasonal’’ means the time range between 3 months and 2 years. (2) State The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, a terri- tory, or possession of the United States, in- cluding a Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia. (3) Subseasonal The term ‘‘subseasonal’’ means the time range between 2 weeks and 3 months. (4) Under Secretary The term ‘‘Under Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. (5) Weather industry and weather enterprise The terms ‘‘weather industry’’ and ‘‘weather enterprise’’ are interchangeable in this chap- ter, and include individuals and organizations from public, private, and academic sectors that contribute to the research, development, and production of weather forecast products, and primary consumers of these weather fore- cast products. (Pub. L. 115–25, § 2, Apr. 18, 2017, 131 Stat. 92.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, is Pub. L. 115–25, April 18, 2017, 131 Stat. 91, known as the Weather Re- search and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out below and Tables. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE OF 2022 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 117–229, div. D, § 1, Dec. 16, 2022, 136 Stat. 2313, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting subchapter IV of this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Providing Research and Estimates of Changes In Precipitation Act’ or the ‘PRECIP Act’.’’ SHORT TITLE OF 2019 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 115–423, § 1, Jan. 7, 2019, 132 Stat. 5454, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting section 8550 of this title and section 4010 of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Wa- ters, amending sections 313d, 8512, 8518 to 8521, 8531, and 8532 of this title and sections 4001 to 4002 and 4009 of Title 33, enacting provisions set out as a note under section 4001 of Title 33, and amending provisions set out as a note under section 313d of this title] may be cited as the ‘National Integrated Drought Information Sys- tem Reauthorization Act of 2018’.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 115–25, § 1(a), Apr. 18, 2017, 131 Stat. 91, pro- vided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting this chapter and sec- tions 3206a and 3208 of Title 33, Navigation and Navi- gable Waters, amending sections 3201 to 3207 of Title 33, and enacting and repealing provisions set out as notes under section 3201 of Title 33] may be cited as the ‘Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017’.’’ SUBCHAPTER I—UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH AND FORECASTING IMPROVE- MENT § 8511. Public safety priority In conducting research, the Under Secretary shall prioritize improving weather data, mod- eling, computing, forecasting, and warnings for the protection of life and property and for the enhancement of the national economy. (Pub. L. 115–25, title I, § 101, Apr. 18, 2017, 131 Stat. 92.) § 8512. Weather research and forecasting innova- tion (a) Program The Assistant Administrator for the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research shall con- duct a program to develop improved under- standing of and forecast capabilities for atmos- pheric events and their impacts, placing priority on developing more accurate, timely, and effec- tive warnings and forecasts of high impact weather events that endanger life and property. (b) Program elements The program described in subsection (a) shall focus on the following activities: (1) Improving the fundamental under- standing of weather consistent with section 8511 of this title, including the boundary layer and other processes affecting high impact weather events. (2) Improving the understanding of how the public receives, interprets, and responds to warnings and forecasts of high impact weather events that endanger life and property. (3) Research and development, and transfer of knowledge, technologies, and applications to the National Weather Service and other ap- propriate agencies and entities, including the United States weather industry and academic partners, related to— Page 2426 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 8512a (A) advanced radar, radar networking technologies, and other ground-based tech- nologies, including those emphasizing rapid, fine-scale sensing of the boundary layer and lower troposphere, and the use of innovative, dual-polarization, phased-array tech- nologies; (B) aerial weather observing systems; (C) high performance computing and infor- mation technology and wireless communica- tion networks; (D) advanced numerical weather prediction systems and forecasting tools and tech- niques that improve the forecasting of tim- ing, track, intensity, and severity of high impact weather, including through— (i) the development of more effective mesoscale models; (ii) more effective use of existing, and the development of new, regional and na- tional cloud-resolving models; (iii) enhanced global weather models; and (iv) integrated assessment models; (E) quantitative assessment tools for measuring the impact and value of data and observing systems, including Observing Sys- tem Simulation Experiments (as described in section 8517 of this title), Observing Sys- tem Experiments, and Analyses of Alter- natives; (F) atmospheric chemistry and inter- actions essential to accurately character- izing atmospheric composition and pre- dicting meteorological processes, including cloud microphysical, precipitation, and at- mospheric electrification processes, to more effectively understand their role in severe weather; and (G) additional sources of weather data and information, including commercial observ- ing systems. (4) A technology transfer initiative, carried out jointly and in coordination with the Direc- tor of the National Weather Service, and in co- operation with the United States weather in- dustry and academic partners, to ensure con- tinuous development and transition of the lat- est scientific and technological advances into operations of the National Weather Service and to establish a process to sunset outdated and expensive operational methods and tools to enable cost-effective transfer of new meth- ods and tools into operations. (5) Advancing weather modeling skill, re- claiming and maintaining international lead- ership in the area of numerical weather pre- diction, and improving the transition of re- search into operations by— (A) leveraging the weather enterprise to provide expertise on removing barriers to improving numerical weather prediction; (B) enabling scientists and engineers to ef- fectively collaborate in areas important for improving operational global numerical weather prediction skill, including model de- velopment, data assimilation techniques, systems architecture integration, and com- putational efficiencies; (C) strengthening the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s ability to undertake research projects in pursuit of substantial advancements in weather fore- cast skill; (D) utilizing and leverage existing re- sources across the National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administration enterprise; and (E) creating a community global weather research modeling system that— (i) is accessible by the public; (ii) meets basic end-user requirements for running on public computers and net- works located outside of secure National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration information and technology systems; and (iii) utilizes, whenever appropriate and cost-effective, innovative strategies and methods, including cloud-based computing capabilities, for hosting and management of part or all of the system described in this subsection. (c) Extramural research (1) In general In carrying out the program under this sec- tion, the Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research shall collaborate with and support the non-Federal weather re- search community, which includes institu- tions of higher education, private entities, and nongovernmental organizations, by making funds available through competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. (2) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that not less than 30 percent of the funds for weather research and development at the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research should be made avail- able for the purpose described in paragraph (1). (d) Annual report Each year, concurrent with the annual budget request submitted by the President to Congress under section 1105 of title 31 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Under Secretary shall submit to Congress a de- scription of current and planned activities under this section. (Pub. L. 115–25, title I, § 102, Apr. 18, 2017, 131 Stat. 92; Pub. L. 115–423, § 4(a), Jan. 7, 2019, 132 Stat. 5456; Pub. L. 117–263, div. J, title CVI, § 10601(c)(8), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 3997.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (b)(4), (5). Pub. L. 117–263 redesignated par. (4) relating to advancing weather modeling skill as (5). 2019—Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 115–423 added par. (4) re- lating to advancing weather modeling skill. § 8512a. Learning excellence and good examples from new developers (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Administration The term ‘‘Administration’’ means the Na- tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- tion.