15 U.S.C. § 9704 — Service coordination hydrologists at River Forecast Centers of the National Weather Service
submitted 4 years ago by Pub. L. 117-316 to r/title-15-COMMERCE-AND-TRADE · 533 words · no verdicts yet
Each National Weather Service River Forecast Center must have at least one service coordination hydrologist. The position coordinates hydrology services, users, agencies, flood information, and preparedness; the Director may assign these duties to other staff.
(a)(1) The National Weather Service Director must designate at least one service coordination hydrologist at each River Forecast Center.
(2) The duties in this section may also be performed by other employees; they are not limited to that position.
(b) The hydrologist’s main role is to carry out this section’s responsibilities.
(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), consistent with the analysis in section 409 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, and to increase impact-based decision-support services, each designated hydrologist must, for hydrology—
(A) serve the Center’s geographic area so National Weather Service product and service users can respond effectively and improve flood-event outcomes;
(B) work with users, including the public, academia, media, hydropower, transportation, recreation, agriculture, forestry, land, fisheries, and water-management interests, to evaluate the products’ and services’ adequacy and usefulness;
(C) work with appropriate River Forecast Centers, Weather Forecast Offices, and Federal, State*, local, and Tribal agencies to develop, propose, and carry out plans to develop, change, or tailor products and services;
(D) work in interagency partnerships to explore forecast-informed reservoir operations to reduce flood risk;
(E) keep flooding call lists, office flooding policies or procedures, and other flood-information or dissemination methods accurate and maintained; and
(F) work closely with emergency, floodplain-management, and other disaster-management agencies at all listed government levels to ensure planned, coordinated, effective preparedness and response.
(2) The Director may assign any paragraph (1) responsibility to other appropriate staff.
(d)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a designated hydrologist may—
(A) work with a State agency on plans to use National Weather Service products and services more effectively throughout the State;
(B) identify priority community-preparedness goals;
(C) make plans to meet those goals; and
(D) conduct flood-event preparedness planning and public education with and through State, local, and Tribal agencies and other disaster-management organizations.
(2) The Director may assign any paragraph (1) responsibility to other appropriate staff.
The Director of the National Weather Service (in this section referred to as the “Director”) shall designate at least 1 service coordination hydrologist at each River Forecast Center of the National Weather Service.
Performance of the responsibilities outlined in this section is not limited to the service coordination hydrologist position.
The primary role of the service coordination hydrologist shall be to carry out the responsibilities required by this section.
Subject to paragraph (2), consistent with the analysis described in section 409 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–25; 131 Stat. 112), and in order to increase impact-based decision support services, each service coordination hydrologist designated under subsection (a) shall, with respect to hydrology—
be responsible for providing service to the geographic area of responsibility covered by the River Forecast Center at which the service coordination hydrologist is employed to help ensure that users of products and services of the National Weather Service can respond effectively to improve outcomes from flood events;
liaise with users of products and services of the National Weather Service, such as the public, academia, media outlets, users in the hydropower, transportation, recreation, and agricultural communities, and forestry, land, fisheries, and water management interests, to evaluate the adequacy and usefulness of the products and services of the National Weather Service;
collaborate with such River Forecast Centers and Weather Forecast Offices and Federal, State*, local, and Tribal government agencies as the Director considers appropriate in developing, proposing, and implementing plans to develop, modify, or tailor products and services of the National Weather Service to improve the usefulness of such products and services;
engage in interagency partnerships with Federal, State, local, and Tribal government agencies to explore the use of forecast-informed reservoir operations to reduce flood risk;
ensure the maintenance and accuracy of flooding call lists, appropriate office flooding policy or procedures, and other flooding information or dissemination methodologies or strategies; and
work closely with Federal, State, local, and Tribal emergency and floodplain management agencies, and other agencies relating to disaster management, to ensure a planned, coordinated, and effective preparedness and response effort.
The Director may assign a responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such other staff as the Director considers appropriate to carry out such responsibility.
Subject to paragraph (2), a service coordination hydrologist designated under subsection (a) may, with respect to hydrology—
work with a State agency to develop plans for promoting more effective use of products and services of the National Weather Service throughout the State;
identify priority community preparedness objectives;
develop plans to meet the objectives identified under subparagraph (B); and
conduct flooding event preparedness planning and citizen education efforts with and through various State, local, and Tribal government agencies and other disaster management-related organizations.
The Director may assign a responsibility set forth in paragraph (1) to such other staff as the Director considers appropriate to carry out such responsibility.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 117–316, § 5, Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4408.)
- 2022Enacted · Pub. L. 117-316 · 136 Stat. 4408
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 117-316 on 2022-12-27.
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