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research activities under law, $100,718,000 for fiscal year 1992 and $103,877,000 for fiscal year 1993. Moneys appropriated pursu ant to this authorization shall be used to fund those activities relating to climate and air quality research specified by the Act of 1890, the Act of 1947, and any other law involving such activities. Such activities include interannual and seasonal climate research, long-term climate and air quality research, and the National Climate Program.

(b) CLIMATE AND GLOBAL CHANGE.-Of the sums authorized under subsection (a), $67,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1992 and 1993 are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of studying climate and global change. Such program shall augment and integrate existing programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and shall include global observations, monitoring, and data and information management relating to the study of changes in the Earth's climatic system, fundamental research on critical oceanic and atmospheric processes, and climate prediction and diagnostics.

SEC. 104. ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out its atmospheric research activities under law, $43,935,000 for fiscal year 1992 and $44,781,000 for fiscal year 1993. Moneys appropriated pursuant to this authorization shall be used to fund those activities relating to atmospheric research specified by the Act of 1890 and by any other law involving such activities. Such activities include research for developing improved observation and prediction capabilities for atmospheric processes, as well as solar-terrestrial services and research.

SEC. 105. SATELLITE OBSERVING SYSTEMS.

(a) IN GENERAL. (1) There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out its satellite observing systems activities under law, $305,744,000 for fiscal year 1992 and $336,000,000 for fiscal year 1993. Moneys appropriated pursuant to this authorization shall be used to fund those activities relating to data and information services specified by the Act of 1890 and by any other law involving such activities. Such activities include spacecraft procurement, launch, and associated ground station modifications for polar orbiting and geostationary environmental satellite systems, as well as the operation of such satellites and land remote-sensing satellites.

(2) Of the sums authorized under paragraph (1), $2,300,000 in fiscal year 1993 are authorized for the administration by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the ground stations for the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system. Such administration shall be carried out in consultation with the

Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense.

(b) EMERGENCY CONTINGENCY FUND.-There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, $110,000,000 for fiscal year 1992, to be deposited in an Emergency Weather Satellite Contingency Fund. Such Fund shall be available subject to the restrictions of appropriations Acts, without fiscal year limitation, to the Secretary only for the purpose of enabling the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to maintain geostationary environmental satellite coverage for monitoring and prediction of

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hurricanes and severe storms, including but not limited to the procurement of gap filler satellites, launch vehicles, and payments to foreign governments.

(c) STRATEGIC PLAN. (1) The Secretary of Commerce and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall jointly develop and, not more than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a strategic plan for development, procurement, and operation of the environmental satellite program of the Department of Com

merce.

(2) The objectives of the strategic plan shall be

(A) to ensure continuous and adequate operational environmental satellite coverage; and

(B) to require direct Federal fiscal and administrative accountability in all aspects of such environmental satellite program.

(3) The strategic plan shall

(A) delineate the management duties and functions of each Federal department or agency involved in such satellite program;

(B) establish funding responsibilities for each Federal department or agency in a manner which reflects their respective management duties and functions;

(C) set forth procedures to be followed in the development, procurement, and operations of environmental satellites in such program;

(D) minimize the potential for developmental and procurement problems, and for cost overruns;

(E) provide for effective interagency and international coordination;

(F) provide for research and development activities to ensure that the procurement of operational environmental satellites relies on proven technologies, and to investigate potential improvements in data applications and operations for such satellites in order to improve the national weather warning and forecast system; and

(G) specify legislative and administrative actions necessary to implement the plan and to accomplish the objectives described in paragraph (2).

(d) GEOSTATIONARY ŠATELLITE COMPLETE PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce for all fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 1993, not to exceed $1,005,255,000, to remain available until expended, to complete the procurement of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites I, J, K, L, and M, and the procurement of the launching and supporting ground systems of such satellites.

(2) None of the funds are authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year under paragraph (1), unless, within 60 days after the submission of the President's budget request for such fiscal year, the Secretary of Commerce

(A) certifies to the Congress that

(i) the results of testing indicate that the satellite instruments are likely to meet the technical performance

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Reports.

15 USC 1537.

PUBLIC LAW 102-567-OCT. 29, 1992

specifications included in the satellite contract as in effect on October 1, 1992;

(ii) the procurements can be completed without requiring further authorization of appropriations beyond amounts authorized under paragraph (1); and

(iii) the Secretary foresees no gap in two-satellite service operations resulting from non-performance of the satellite contract; or

(B) submits to the Congress a report which describes(i) the circumstances which prevent a certification under subparagraph (A);

(ii) remedial actions undertaken or to be undertaken with respect to such circumstances;

(iii) the effects of such circumstances on the launch schedule and satellite coverage; and

(iv) a justification for proceeding with the program, if appropriate.

SEC. 106. DATA AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS.

(a) IN GENERAL.-There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce, to enable the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out its data and information services activities under law, $32,628,000 for fiscal year 1992 and $39,596,000 for fiscal year 1993. Moneys appropriated pursuant to this authorization shall be used to fund those activities relating to data and information services specified by the Act of 1890 and by any other law involving such activities. Such activities include climate data services, ocean data services, geophysical data services, and environmental assessment and information services.

(b) MODERNIZATION INITIATIVE.Of the sums authorized under subsection (a), $10,000,000 in fiscal year 1992 and $15,000,000 in fiscal year 1993 are authorized to be appropriated for the purpose of modernizing the data and information systems of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to meet increasing requirements for managing, archiving, and distributing environmental data and information.

(c) NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR Data ManageMENT, ARCHIVAL, AND DISTRIBUTION.-(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act and at least biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall complete an assessment of the adequacy of the environmental data and information systems of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In conducting such an assessment, the Secretary shall take into consideration the need

to

(A) provide adequate capacity to manage, archive, and disseminate environmental data and information collected and processed, or expected to be collected and processed, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other appropriate departments and agencies;

(B) establish, develop, and maintain information bases, including necessary management systems, which will promote consistent, efficient, and compatible transfer and use of data;

(C) develop effective interfaces among the environmental data and information systems of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other appropriate departments and agencies;

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(D) develop and use nationally accepted formats and standards for data collected by various national and international sources; and

(E) integrate and interpret data from different sources to produce information that can be used by decisionmakers in developing policies that effectively respond to national and global environmental concerns.

(2) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall develop and submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a comprehensive plan, based on the assessment under paragraph (1), to modernize and improve the environmental data and information systems of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report shall

(A) set forth modernization and improvement objectives for the 10-year period beginning with the year in which the plan is submitted, including facility requirements and critical new technological components that would be necessary to meet the objectives set forth;

(B) propose specific agency programs and activities for implementing the plan;

(C) identify the data and information management, archival, and distribution responsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with respect to other Federal departments and agencies and international organizations, including the role of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with respect to large data systems like the Earth Observing System Data and Information System; and

(D) provide an implementation schedule and estimate funding levels necessary to achieve modernization and improvement objectives.

SEC. 107. HURRICANE RECONNAISSANCE PROGRAM.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. (1) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Commerce shall establish a 5-year joint program for collecting operational and reconnaissance data, conducting research, and analyzing data on tropical cyclones to assist the forecast and warning program and increase the understanding of the causes and behavior of tropical cyclones.

(2) The Secretary of Commerce shall establish the Tropical Cyclone Research Advisory Committee, an advisory committee of tropical cyclone research scientists, to make recommendations for tropical cyclone research activities and reconnaissance procedures.

(b) RESPONSIBILITIES. (1) The Secretary of Defense shall have the responsibility for maintaining, flying, and funding tropical cyclone reconnaissance aircraft to accomplish the program established under this section and to transfer the data to the Secretary of Commerce. Program responsibility may not be transferred to any other Federal department or agency, including the Coast Guard, without the agreement and approval of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the head of any other Federal agency or department to which the responsibility is transferred.

(2) The Secretary of Commerce shall have the responsibility to provide funding for data gathering and research by remote sens

Reports.

15 USC 313 note.

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15 USC 313 note.

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ing, ground sensing, research aircraft, and other technologies necessary to accomplish the program established under this section. (c) MANAGEMENT PLANS. (1) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Commerce shall jointly develop and, within 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to the Congress a management plan for the program established under this section, which shall include organizational structure, goals, major tasks, and funding profiles for the 5-year duration of the program.

(2) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Tropical Cyclone Research Advisory Committee established by section 107(a)(2), shall jointly develop and, within 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to the Congress a management plan providing for continued tropical cyclone surveillance and reconnaissance which will adequately protect the citizens of the coastal areas of the United States.

(3) The management plans and programs required by this section shall in every sense provide for at least the same degree and quality of protection (such as early warning capability and accuracy of fixing a storm's location) as currently exists with a combination of satellite technology and manned reconnaissance flights. Additionally, such plans and programs shall in no way allow any reduction in the level, quality, timeliness, sustainability, or area served (including the State of Hawaii) of both the existing principal and back-up tropical cyclone reconnaissance and tracking systems.

SEC. 108. UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH PROGRAM.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.-The Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology through the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences, shall establish a United States Weather Research Program to―

(1) increase benefits to the Nation from the substantial investment in modernizing the public weather warning and forecast system in the United States;

(2) improve local and regional weather forecasts and warnings;

(3) address critical weather-related scientific issues; and (4) coordinate governmental, university, and private-sector efforts.

(b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.-Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences, shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a plan for implementation of the United States Weather Research Program which shall—

(1) establish, for the 10-year period beginning in the year the plan is submitted, the goals and priorities for Federal weather research which most effectively advance the scientific understanding of weather processes and provide information to improve weather warning and forecast systems in the United States;

(2) describe specific activities, including research activities, data collection and data analysis requirements, predictive modeling, participation in international research efforts, demonstra