Summary

Adds new weather-related definitions to flood decision-support law and reauthorizes and expands the National Landslide Preparedness Act. The changes broaden who can participate and receive grants (including Tribal and Native Hawaiian organizations), add and clarify interagency roles (including NASA), require stronger planning/monitoring and regional partnerships (including Alaska), update the 3D elevation program, improve warning and emergency response activities, and direct $35 million from USGS amounts for implementation. Overall, the bill strengthens federal support for landslide and flood readiness by improving definitions, expanding partnerships and eligible recipients, boosting mapping and monitoring capacity, and providing dedicated funding for hazard assessment, planning, and warning improvements.

Key Points

• Adds statutory definitions for "atmospheric river," "atmospheric river flooding event," and "extreme precipitation event" to improve flood decision support language.
• Reauthorizes and expands the National Landslide Preparedness Act with new definitions, partners, planning, and monitoring requirements.
• Includes Tribal and Native Hawaiian organizations explicitly as eligible partners and grant recipients.
• Adds NASA to the set of interagency participants supporting landslide preparedness and requires assessments to guide the national strategy.
• Directs $35 million from USGS-available amounts to carry out the landslide preparedness provisions.
• Expands regional partnerships (including Alaska) to strengthen local preparedness and response capacities.
• Amends the 3D Elevation Program to prioritize better elevation data and to include Tribal partners.
• Strengthens requirements for warning systems, monitoring, and emergency-response improvements tied to landslide and flood risk.

Categories & Tags