J&A 41 USC 253 (c) (1)

Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposes to enter into a 20 year lease for approximately 1.011 acres of improved land for National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Program (PTWP) office to be located at 95-1007 Honu'apo Road, Naalehu, Hawaii 96772. Background: NOAA's role is to provide tsunami detection, forecasting and warnings for the Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean regions, the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico [The Tsunami Warning and Education Act of 2007, 33 U.S.C. - 3201, et seq., (P.L. 109-479)]. With regard to tsunamis, the mission of NOAA's National Weather Service is to protect lives and property from tsunami hazards by providing timely, accurate, reliable, and effective tsunami information to coastal populations and emergency management within its area of responsibility; and by advancing other aspects of tsunami hazard mitigation such as community preparedness and public education. This is accomplished though NOAA's Tsunami Warning Centers, National Weather Service Forecast Offices, Tsunami Ready, and the Caribbean Tsunami Warning Program. The Pacific (Hawaii) Regional Tsunami Warning System was set up in 1970 by the University of Hawaii as a contracted experiment for the Honolulu Observatory. The experiment was a success and the system was turned over to the Honolulu Observatory, NOAA/NWS. The original Tsunami monitoring gauge was destroyed by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami of November 29, 1975. A license agreement was reached with the Ka'u Sugar Company in 1977. The tsunami instrumentation shelter was re-built on the Ka'u Sugar Company's property. Data from the gauge is telemetered in real-time to the Honolulu Observatory at Ewa Beach, on Oahu. The property has been sold to a private land owner, Mr. Richard Alderson in March 2009.