Title II — Wind

“202. Purpose

“It is the purpose of the Congress in this title to achieve a major measurable reduction in losses of life and property from windstorms through the establishment and maintenance of an effective Windstorm Impact Reduction Program. The objectives of such Program shall include—

“(1) the education of households, businesses, and communities about the risks posed by windstorms, and the identification of locations, structures, lifelines, and segments of the community which are especially vulnerable to windstorm damage and disruption, and the dissemination of information on methods to reduce those risks;

“(2) the development of technologically and economically feasible design and construction methods and procedures to make new and existing structures, in areas of windstorm risk, windstorm resilient, giving high priority to the development of such methods and procedures for lifelines, structures associated with a potential high loss of life, and structures that are especially needed in times of disasters, such as hospitals and public safety and shelter facilities;

“(3) the implementation, in areas of major windstorm risk, of instrumentation to record and gather data on windstorms and the characteristics of the wind during those events, and continued research to increase the understanding of windstorm phenomena;

“(4) the development, publication, and promotion, in conjunction with State and local officials and professional organizations, of model building codes and standards and other means to encourage consideration of information about windstorm risk in making decisions about land use policy and construction activity; and

“(5) the facilitation of the adoption of windstorm risk mitigation measures in areas of windstorm risk by households, businesses, and communities through outreach, incentive programs, and other means.”

“204. National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program

“(a) Establishment—There is established the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program.

“(b) Program Activities—The activities of the Program shall be designed to—

“(1) research and develop cost-effective, feasible methods, tools, and technologies to reduce the risks posed by windstorms to the built environment, especially to lessen the risk to existing structures and lifelines;

“(2) improve the understanding of windstorms and their impacts on households, businesses, communities, buildings, structures, and lifelines, through interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research that involves engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences; and

“(3) facilitate the adoption of windstorm risk reduction measures by households, businesses, communities, local, State and Federal governments, national standards and model building code organizations, architects and engineers, building owners, and others with a role in planning for disasters and planning, constructing, retrofitting, and insuring buildings, structures, and lifelines through—

“(A) grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and technical assistance;

“(B) development of hazard maps, standards, guidelines, voluntary consensus standards, and other design guidance for windstorm risk reduction for buildings, structures, and lifelines;

“(C) outreach and information dissemination to communities on site specific windstorm hazards and ways to reduce the risks from those hazards; and

“(D) development and maintenance of a repository of information, including technical data, on windstorm hazards and risk reduction;

“(c) Responsibilities of Program Agencies

“(1) Lead agency—The National Institute of Standards and Technology (in this section referred to as the Institute) shall be responsible for planning and coordinating the Program. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the Institute shall—

“(A) ensure that the Program includes the necessary components to promote the implementation of windstorm risk reduction measures by households, businesses, communities, local, State, and Federal governments, national standards and model building code organizations, architects and engineers, building owners, and others with a role in planning and preparing for disasters, and planning constructing, and retrofitting, and insuring buildings, structures, and lifelines;

“(B) support the development of performance-based engineering tools, and work with the appropriate groups to promote the commercial application of such tools, through wind-related building codes, standards, and construction practices;

“(C) ensure the use of social science research and findings in informing the development of technology and research priorities, in communicating windstorm risks to the public, in developing windstorm risk mitigation strategies, and in preparing for windstorm disasters;

“(D) coordinate all Federal post-windstorm investigations; and

“(E) when warranted by research or investigative findings, issue recommendations for changes in model codes to the relevant code development organizations, and report back to Congress on whether such recommendations were adopted.

“(2) National Institute of Standards and Technology—In addition to the lead agency responsibilities described under paragraph (1), the Institute shall be responsible for carrying out research and development to improve model codes, standards, design guidance and practices for the construction and retrofit of buildings, structures, and lifelines. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the Institute shall—

“(A) support the development of instrumentation, data processing, and archival capabilities, and standards for the instrumentation and its deployment, to measure wind, wind loading, and other properties of severe wind and structure response;

“(B) coordinate with other appropriate Federal agencies to make the data described in subparagraph (A) available to researchers, standards and code developers, and local planners;

“(C) support the development of tools and methods for the collection of data on the loss of and damage to structures, and data on surviving structures after severe windstorm events;

“(D) improve the knowledge of the impact of severe wind on buildings, structures, lifelines, and communities;

“(E) develop cost-effective windstorm impact reduction tools, methods, and technologies;

“(F) work, in conjunction with other appropriate Federal agencies, to support the development of wind standards and model codes; and

“(G) in conjunction with other appropriate Federal agencies, work closely with standards and model code development organizations, professional societies, and practicing engineers, architects, and others involved in the construction of buildings, structures, and lifelines, to promote better building practices, including by—

“(i) supporting the development of technical resources for practitioners to implement new knowledge; and

“(ii) supporting the development of methods and tools to incorporate wind engineering principles into design and construction practices.

“(3) Federal Emergency Management Agency—The Federal Emergency Management Agency, consistent with the Agency’s all hazards approach, shall support the development of risk assessment tools and effective mitigation techniques, assist with windstorm-related data collection and analysis, and support outreach, information dissemination, and implementation of windstorm preparedness and mitigation measures by households, businesses, and communities, including by—

“(A) working to develop or improve risk-assessment tools, methods, and models;

“(B) work closely with other appropriate Federal agencies to develop and facilitate the adoption of windstorm impact reduction measures, including by—

“(i) developing cost-effective retrofit measures for existing buildings, structures, and lifelines to improve windstorm performance;

“(ii) developing methods, tools, and technologies to improve the planning, design, and construction of new buildings, structures, and lifelines;

“(iii) supporting the development of model wind codes and standards for buildings, structures, and lifelines; and

“(iv) developing technical resources for practitioners that reflect new knowledge and standards of practice; and

“(C) develop and disseminate guidelines for the construction of windstorm shelters.

“(4) National oceanic and atmospheric administration—The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall support atmospheric sciences research and data collection to improve the understanding of the behavior of windstorms and their impact on buildings, structures, and lifelines, including by—

“(A) working with other appropriate Federal agencies to develop and deploy instrumentation to measure speed and other characteristics of wind, and to collect, analyze, and make available such data;

“(B) working with officials of State and local governments to ensure that they are knowledgeable about, and prepared for, the specific windstorm risks in their area;

“(C) supporting the development of suitable wind speed maps and other derivative products that support building codes and other hazard mitigation approaches for buildings, structures, and lifelines, and, to the extent possible, ensure that such maps and other derivative products are developed consistent with the multihazard advisory maps authorized by section 203(k) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133(k));

“(D) conducting a competitive, peer-reviewed process which awards grants and cooperative agreements to complement the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s wind-related and storm surge-related research and data collection activities;

“(E) working with other appropriate Federal agencies and State and local governments to develop or improve risk-assessment tools, methods, and models; and

“(F) working with other appropriate Federal agencies to develop storm surge models to better understand the interaction between windstorms and bodies of water.

“(5) National science foundation—The National Science Foundation shall be responsible for funding basic research that furthers the understanding of windstorms, wind engineering, and community preparation and response to windstorms. In carrying out this paragraph, the Director of the National Science Foundation shall—

“(A) support multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research that will improve the resiliency of communities to windstorms, including—

“(i) research that improves the safety and performance of buildings, structures, and lifelines;

“(ii) research to support more effective windstorm mitigation and response measures, such as developing better knowledge of the specific types of vulnerabilities faced by segments of the community vulnerable to windstorms, addressing the barriers they face in adopting mitigation and preparation measures, and developing methods to better communicate the risks of windstorms and to promote mitigation; and

“(iii) research on the response of communities to windstorms, including on the effectiveness of the emergency response, and the recovery process of communities, households, and businesses;

“(B) support research to understand windstorm processes, windstorm patterns, and windstorm frequencies;

“(C) encourage prompt dissemination of significant findings, sharing of data, samples, physical collections, and other supporting materials, and development of intellectual property so research results can be used by appropriate organizations to mitigate windstorm damage;

“(D) work with other Program agencies to maintain awareness of, and where appropriate cooperate with, windstorm risk reduction research efforts in other countries, to ensure that the Program benefits from relevant information and advances in those countries; and

“(E) include to the maximum extent practicable diverse institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native-serving institutions, and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions.”

“207. Authorization of Appropriations

“(a) Federal emergency management agency—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out this title—

“(1) $9,682,000 for fiscal year 2013;

“(2) $9,972,500 for fiscal year 2014;

“(3) $10,271,600 for fiscal year 2015;

“(4) $10,579,800 for fiscal year 2016; and

“(5) $10,897,200 for fiscal year 2017.

“(b) National science foundation—There are authorized to be appropriated to the National Science Foundation for carrying out this title—

“(1) $9,682,000 for fiscal year 2013;

“(2) $9,972,500 for fiscal year 2014;

“(3) $10,271,600 for fiscal year 2015;

“(4) $10,579,800 for fiscal year 2016; and

“(5) $10,897,200 for fiscal year 2017.

“(c) National institute of standards and technology—There are authorized to be appropriated to the National Institute of Standards and Technology for carrying out this title—

“(1) $4,120,000 for fiscal year 2013;

“(2) $4,243,600 for fiscal year 2014;

“(3) $4,370,900 for fiscal year 2015;

“(4) $4,502,000 for fiscal year 2016; and

“(5) $4,637,100 for fiscal year 2017.

“(d) National oceanic and atmospheric administration—There are authorized to be appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for carrying out this title—

“(1) $2,266,000 for fiscal year 2013;

“(2) $2,334,000 for fiscal year 2014;

“(3) $2,404,000 for fiscal year 2015;

“(4) $2,476,100 for fiscal year 2016; and

“(5) $2,550,400 for fiscal year 2017.”