HR4075-119

2. Fire weather forecasting and detection The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, shall establish a program (in this Act referred to as the Program) to improve fire weather and fire environment forecasting, detection, and delivery of products or services through collaboration with Federal and State agencies or departments, local emergency mangers, and relevant entities. The goals of the Program shall be to develop and improve accurate fire weather and fire environment forecasts and warnings in order to reduce loss of life, reduce injuries, protect property, and reduce damage to the economy from wildfires. The Program shall seek to improve the assessment of fire weather and fire environments, the understanding and prediction of wildfires, and the communications regarding such assessments with State and local emergency officials in a timely and streamlined fashion, with a focus on improving the following: The prediction of ignition, intensification and spread of wildfires. The observation and monitoring of fire weather and fire environments. The forecast and communication of smoke dispersion from wildfires. Information dissemination and risk communication to develop more effective watch and warning products relating to wildfires. The early detection of wildfires, including pre-ignition analysis and ground condition characterizations. The development, testing, and deployment of novel tools and techniques related to understanding, monitoring, and predicting fire weather and fire environments. The unique characteristics, including observation or modeling requirements, related to fires at the wildland-urban interface. The forecasting and understanding of the impacts of prescribed burns (as such term is defined in section 2 of the Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016 (16 U.S.C. 551c–1 note)). In developing the Program required under this section, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall solicit and take into consideration input from the weather industry, such academic entities as the Administrator considers appropriate, and other relevant stakeholders. To achieve the goals specified in subsection (b), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may conduct research, development, testing, demonstration, and operational transition activities related to fire weather and fire environments, including regarding the following: Tools and services to inform, support, and complement active land management, local emergency personnel, the United States Forest Service, and State, local, and Tribal entities during their response and mitigation efforts. Sensing technologies, such as infrared, microwave, and active sensors suitable for potential deployment on spacecraft, aircraft, and unmanned aircraft systems, to improve the monitoring and forecasting of fire fuel and active wildfires, wildfire behavior models and forecasts, mapping efforts, and the prediction of wildfires and the impacts of such. Grid-based assessments and outlooks of fuel moisture and danger levels. Social and behavior sciences related to fire weather and fire environment warning products. Advanced satellite detection products coupled with atmosphere and fire weather modeling systems. Education and training to expand the number of students and researchers in areas of study and research related to wildfires, fire weather, and fire environments. Modeling systems to link long-term climate predictions to localized or general land management decisions. Communication and outreach to communities, energy utilities, owners and operators of critical infrastructure, and other relevant stakeholders regarding fire weather and fire environment risk. Stewardship and dissemination, to the extent practicable, of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientific data and related products and services in formats meeting shared standards to enhance the interoperability, usability, and accessibility of such data in order to better meet the needs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, other Federal agencies, and relevant stakeholders. Improvement of spatial and temporal resolution observations. Any other topic or activity the Administrator determines relevant. The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with the heads of the agencies specified in section 3, or other appropriate stakeholders, including commercial partners, shall develop novel tools and technologies to support the activities of the Program and which may be applied to broader wildland fire research, monitoring, and mitigation activities, as practicable and appropriate. The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall collaborate with and support the non-Federal wildland fire research community, which includes institutions of higher education, private sector entities, nongovernmental organizations, and other relevant stakeholders, by making funds available through competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with the heads of other Federal agencies and relevant stakeholders, may enter into contracts with one or more private sector entities to obtain additional airborne and space-based data and observations that may enhance or supplement the understanding, monitoring, and prediction, of fire weather and fire environments, and the relevant Program activities under this section. In carrying out activities under paragraph (1), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall consult with private sector entities through the National Advisory Committee on Wildfires under section 4 to identify needed tools and data that can be best provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites and are most beneficial to wildfire and smoke detection and monitoring. To the maximum extent practicable, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall consult with the National Interagency Fire Center, including the Joint Fire Science Program, to avoid duplication of activities under this section and ensure the Administration’s focus on unique research activities best suited for transition to operations. The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall— assess the role and potential benefits of unmanned aircraft systems to improve data collection in support of fire weather and fire environment modeling, meteorological observations, predictions, and forecasts; identify objectives for testing such systems’ use for obtaining fire weather and fire environment observations, and other relevant activities; and transition unmanned aircraft systems technologies from research to operations as the Administrator considers appropriate. Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of the Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the activities under paragraph (1). Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may conduct pilot programs of unmanned aircraft systems for fire weather and fire environment observations, including relating to the following: Testing of unmanned aircraft systems in approximations of real-world scenarios. Assessment of the utility of meteorological data collected from fire response and assessment aircraft. Input into appropriate models of collected data to predict fire behavior, including coupled atmosphere and fire models. Collection of best management practices for deployment of unmanned aircraft systems for fire weather and fire environment observations. Except as provided under subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may not procure any unmanned aircraft system that is manufactured or assembled by an entity in a foreign country of concern. The prohibition under subparagraph (A) shall not apply to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration if the Administrator determines, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, that the procurement of an unmanned aircraft system is necessary for the sole purpose of marine or atmospheric science or management. The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may waive the prohibition under subparagraph (A) on a case-by-case basis— with the approval of the Secretary of Homeland Security; and upon written or electronic notification to appropriate committees of Congress not later than 30 days after any such waiver. The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in cooperation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall utilize the capabilities of unmanned aircraft systems as appropriate for fire weather and fire environment observations, and may use a wildfire airspace operations system that accounts for piloted aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, and other new and emerging capabilities after such airspace operations system is developed and determined ready for operational use by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 to carry out this subsection. In this section: The term appropriate committees of Congress means the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. The term critical infrastructure has the meaning given such term in section 1016(e) of Public Law 107–56 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)). The term foreign country of concern has the meaning given such term in section 9901 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651). The term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). The term unmanned aircraft system has the meaning given such term in section 44801 of title 49, United States Code. The term weather industry has the meaning given such term in section 2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (15 U.S.C. 8501).

5. Establishment of fire weather testbed The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall establish a fire weather testbed to enable engagement across the Federal Government, State and local governments, academia, private and federally funded research laboratories, the private sector, and end-users in order to evaluate the accuracy and usability of technology, models, fire weather products and services, and other research to accelerate the implementation, transition to operations, and use of new capabilities by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal and land management agencies, and other relevant stakeholders. In carrying out this section, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration may not transfer or reprogram any funds, detail any personnel, or make use of any infrastructure from cooperative institutes of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in existence as of the date of the enactment of this Act for the fire weather testbed established under subsection (a). There is authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 to carry out this section.