§ 946.5 Change in operations—commissioning and decommissioning.

(a) Before commissioning any new NEXRAD or ASOS weather observation system, the NWS shall prepare a Commissioning Report documenting that the system involved will perform to the Government's specifications; the system has been tested on site and performs reliably; satisfactory maintenance support is in place; sufficient staff with adequate training are available to operate the system; technical coordination with weather service users has been completed; and the system satisfactorily supports field office operations. (b) The Report required by paragraph (a) of this section shall be based on the scientific and technical criteria set forth in the NWS' NEXRAD and ASOS Commissioning Plans, as appropriate, which criteria shall be published in the Federal Register as the final commissioning criteria in accordance with sec. 704(b)(1) of the Act. In the case of an ASOS commissioning, the Report shall also document that the NWS has consulted with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and has determined that the weather services provided after commissioning will continue to be in full compliance with the applicable FAA flight aviation rules. (c) Before decommissioning any NWS radar, the NWS shall prepare a Decommissioning Report documenting that all replacement radars needed to provide equal coverage have been commissioned; confirmation of services with users has been completed; and that the radar being decommissioned is no longer needed to support field office operations. The Decommissioning Report shall be based on the scientific and technical criteria contained in the NWS' Radar Decommissioning Plan, which criteria shall be published in the Federal Register as the final decommissioning criteria in accordance with the requirements of sec. 704(b)(1) of the Act. (d) If the final commissioning criteria significantly modify the criteria upon which the previous commissioning of a NEXRAD and/or ASOS were based, the NWS shall confirm that the relevant system conforms with the final criteria adopted. The NWS shall not decommission any NWS radar until the final criteria have been adopted.