National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Authorization Act of 1990 - Title I: Ocean and Coastal Programs - Ocean and Coastal Programs Authorization Act of 1990 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce to carry out activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) relating to: (1) mapping, charting, and geodesy; (2) observation and assessment; (3) ocean and coastal management, under title III of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (not to be used for activities authorized separately under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act); (4) climate and air quality research; (5) atmospheric research; and (6) ocean and Great Lakes research.
Mandates that the Office of the Chief Scientist of NOAA submit to the Congress a plan for implementation of a nationwide climate services system and applied climatology program.
Authorizes appropriations to the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research for research on methods to control and eradicate harmful exotic species in the Great Lakes, with certain portions earmarked for the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and for the National Sea Grant College Program. Prohibits use of these funds for research relating to sea lampreys.
Authorizes appropriations: (1) pursuant to provisions of the National Sea Grant College Program Act for priority oyster disease research; and (2) to the National Sea Grant College Program for technical assistance to Pacific island nations on certain marine-related problems through the Pacific Island Network program.
Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to carry out activities of NOAA relating to: (1) executive direction and administrative activities; (2) acquisition, construction, maintenance, and operation of facilities; (3) marine services; and (4) aircraft services.
Prohibits the Secretary of Commerce from reprogramming an amount authorized under this Act without prior notice to the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Requires, notwithstanding specified provisions of Federal law, the price of a nautical chart or other product created or published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and sold after enactment of this Act be the price in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
Requires the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology to conduct a study and report to the House of Representatives and the Senate regarding satellite oceanography.
Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to submit to the House of Representatives and the Senate a report on how current and planned Federal satellite capabilities can aid Federal fisheries laws enforcement and international fisheries conservation programs implementation.
Establishes in NOAA a Cooperative Institute of Fisheries Oceanography in partnership with Duke University and the Consolidated University of North Carolina. Authorizes appropriations.
Authorizes the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to acquire real property and improvements in the area of Newport News-Norfolk, Virginia, for the purpose of consolidating facilities of NOAA.
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress on the status and modernization needs of NOAA and the funding required to meet those needs.
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to submit to specified congressional committees a plan for the movement of the National Marine Fisheries Service facilities on Kodiak Island, Alaska, to an alternative location within the boundaries of the Kodiak Island Borough.
Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make grants and provide other financial assistance to States and provide technical assistance to develop geographic information systems, relating to lands and waters within the coastal zone, suitable for use in making land-use regulatory decisions by Federal, State, and local government agencies. Limits grants to 50 percent of the cost of developing a system. Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) data standards and exchange formats for systems developed with such assistance; and (2) guidelines to facilitate the exchange of information between Federal, State, and local governments and private users.
Title II: National Weather Service - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to enable NOAA to carry out the operations and research duties of the National Weather Service (NWS), including meteorological, hydrological, and oceanographic public warnings and forecasts and related applied research.
Instructs the Secretary to direct the Office of the Chief Scientist of NOAA to establish an advisory committee of tropical cyclone research experts to make recommendations concerning Atlantic tropical cyclone research activities and reconnaissance procedures.
Directs the Secretary to establish a five-year joint program for collecting operational and reconnaissance data, conducting research, and analyzing data on Atlantic tropical cyclones to assist the forecast and warning program and increase the understanding of the causes and behavior of Atlantic tropical cyclones. Directs the Secretary to develop and submit to the Congress a management plan for the program.
Earmarks amounts for the Stormscale Operational and Research Meteorological (STORM) program.
Authorizes appropriations to enable NOAA to carry out the public warning and forecast systems duties of the NWS, including the development, acquisition, and implementation of major public warning and forecast systems.
Directs the Secretary to prepare for the Congress an annually updated National Implementation Plan for NWS modernization. Lists required plan contents. Requires that the first update describe resources necessary for demonstration of modernized weather forecasting technologies at a northeastern U.S. site.
Prohibits the Secretary from closing, consolidating, automating, or relocating any office or forecast office of the NWS without certifying to specified congressional committees that the action will not result in any degradation of weather services to the affected area. Prohibits corresponding actions in connection with offices located at an airport, unless an air safety appraisal permits certification that safety will not be decreased. Prohibits corresponding actions with respect to any NWS office that is the only one in a State, unless certification can be made that comparable weather services will remain available to in-State users.
Title III: National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service - Authorizes appropriations to fund NOAA's satellite observing systems duties, including spacecraft procurement, launch, and associated ground station system changes involving polar orbiting and geostationary environmental satellites and land remote sensing satellites. Earmarks amounts for geologic sea surface research and basic geological remote sensing for energy resources at the Cooperative Institute for Applied Remote Sensing.
Authorizes appropriations to enable NOAA to carry out its duties relating to data and information services, including climate, ocean, and geophysical data services and environmental assessment and information services.
Amends the Land Remote-Sensing Commercialization Act of 1984 to mandate that any license issued under specified provisions of that Act specify that the licensee shall promptly make available all unenhanced data which the Secretary of the Interior (currently, the Secretary of Commerce) may request under specified provisions of the Act relating to archiving of data.
Amends provisions of the Act relating to archiving in order to transfer from the Secretary of Commerce to the Secretary of the Interior responsibility for: (1) providing for long-term storage, maintenance, and upgrading of the basic, global, land remote-sensing data set; (2) requesting data needed for the basic data set from a system operator; (3) making data which is in the public domain available to requesting parties; and (4) using existing Government facilities, to the extent practicable, in carrying out these functions.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to consult with the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that archiving activities are consistent with the terms and conditions of any contract, agreement, or license under specified provisions of the Act.
Title IV: Agricultural Weather Information - National Agricultural Weather Information System Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) establish in the Department of Agriculture an Agricultural Weather Office to plan and administer the National Agricultural Weather Information System (to be comprised of such Office and the State agricultural weather information systems); and (2) establish the Advisory Board on Agricultural Weather.
Authorizes the Secretary, through the Office, to: (1) enter into cooperative activities; and (2) provide grants for atmospheric and climatology research and for State agricultural weather information systems.
Authorizes appropriations.
Title V: Tropical Cyclone Research Program - Tropical Cyclone Research Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Commerce to establish a five-year joint program, which expands on the plan established in provisions of this Act relating to Atlantic tropical cyclones, for collecting operational and reconnaissance data, conducting research, and analyzing data on tropical cyclones to assist the forecast and warning program and increase the understanding of the causes and behavior of tropical cyclones. Sets forth the responsibilities of each Secretary.
Directs those Secretaries to jointly develop and submit to the Congress management plans for: (1) the program established by this Act; and (2) continued tropical cyclone surveillance and reconnaissance which will adequately protect the citizens of U.S. coastal areas.
Mandates that the management plan and program: (1) provide for a minimum of the same level and quality of protection as the current tropical cyclone surveillance and reconnaissance program; and (2) in no way allow any reduction in the level, quality, timeliness, sustainability, and area served of both the existing principal and back-up severe storm reconnaissance and tracking systems.
Title VI: Growth Decision Aid - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) conduct a study of the environmental implications and potential consequences of growth and development of urban, suburban, and rural communities; and (2) produce a decision aid to assist State and local authorities in planning and managing growth and development while preserving environmental quality.