Metropolitan Weather Hazards Protection Act of 2015

Metropolitan Weather Hazards Protection Act of 2015

This bill directs the Department of Commerce to: (1) maintain and operate at least one Doppler weather radar site within 55 miles of each city in the United States with a population of more than 700,000, and (2) ensure that each such radar is available to the office of the National Weather Service that provides services to that city.

Commerce shall ensure that each such radar conforms with the same standards that apply to radars operated by Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including standards relating to the use of dual-polarization technology or other technologies included in Weather Surveillance Radar, 1988, Doppler (WSR-88D) radars.

When determining the location for construction of a radar meeting the requirements of this Act, Commerce shall consider nearby counties that have populations over 130,000 and do not otherwise have radar beam coverage below 10,00 feet from such Doppler radars.

Commerce shall report to Congress on the Doppler weather radar sites that need to be constructed or acquired to meet this Act's requirements.

[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3538 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3538

 To require the Secretary of Commerce to maintain and operate at least 
  one Doppler weather radar site within 55 miles of each city in the 
 United States that has a population of more than 700,000 individuals, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2015

Mr. Pittenger introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Commerce to maintain and operate at least 
  one Doppler weather radar site within 55 miles of each city in the 
 United States that has a population of more than 700,000 individuals, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Metropolitan Weather Hazards 
Protection Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR OPERATION OF DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR SITES NEAR 
              LARGE CITIES.

    (a) Requirement.--Beginning not later than 450 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall--
            (1) maintain and operate at least one Doppler weather radar 
        site within 55 miles of each city in the United States that has 
        a population of more than 700,000 individuals; and
            (2) ensure that each radar maintained and operated near a 
        city described in paragraph (1) is available to the office of 
        the National Weather Service that provides services to such 
        city.
    (b) Standards.--The Secretary shall ensure that each radar 
maintained and operated under subsection (a) conforms with the same 
standards that apply to radars operated by the Secretary, acting 
through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, on the day before the date of the enactment of this 
Act, including standards relating to the use of dual-polarization 
technology or other technologies included in Weather Surveillance 
Radar, 1988, Doppler (WSR-88D) radars.
    (c) Considerations.--When determining the location for constructing 
a radar to meet the requirements of subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
take into consideration nearby counties that have populations of more 
than 130,000 and do not otherwise have radar beam coverage below 10,000 
feet from Weather Surveillance Radar, 1988, Doppler (WSR-88D) radars.
    (d) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
        Congress a report detailing the Doppler weather radar sites 
        that need to be constructed or acquired in order to meet the 
        requirement of subsection (a).
            (2) Contents.--The report submitted under paragraph (1) 
        shall include the following:
                    (A) Feasible locations for placement and 
                construction of radar sites, determined by the 
                Secretary to provide the necessary meteorological 
                capabilities to best protect a city described in 
                subsection (a).
                    (B) A timeline for when construction or acquisition 
                of each radar site will be complete.
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