[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 782 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 283
111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 782

                          [Report No. 111-133]

To provide for the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning 
                         and Monitoring System.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 2, 2009

  Ms. Murkowski (for herself and Mr. Begich) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

                             March 2, 2010

              Reported by Mr. Bingaman, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning 
                         and Monitoring System.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``National Volcano Early 
Warning and Monitoring System Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the United States and the territories of the 
        United States contain 169 hazardous volcanoes;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) since 1980, eruptions have claimed many lives 
        and cost billions of dollars in property damage in the United 
        States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) ash eruptions pose a hazard to high-flying jet 
        aircraft, including the more than 20,000 passengers who travel 
        on jets over Alaska every day;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) in 1989, an eruption of Redoubt Volcano, 
        Alaska, caused in-flight failure of all 4 engines of a 
        passenger Boeing 747 aircraft;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) international flights over the Commonwealth of 
        the Northern Mariana Islands and the intense domestic air 
        traffic of the Pacific Northwest also face potential engine 
        failure in the event of an eruption;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) mudflows from ice-clad Cascade volcanoes of 
        the States of Washington, Oregon, and California pose a serious 
        hazard to cities and transportation arteries in the Pacific 
        Northwest;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) lava flows, toxic gas emissions, and 
        explosions impact residents and visitors to Hawaii and have the 
        potential to cause catastrophic property damage;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) frequent seismic unrest requires careful 
        monitoring in the Mammoth Lakes area of California and 
        Yellowstone National Park in the States of Wyoming, Montana, 
        and Idaho;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) modern technology, in the form of geophysical 
        monitoring networks on the ground and the use of near-real time 
        satellite data, makes possible warnings before eruptions, 
        giving emergency response agencies and the public time to 
        prepare, which minimizes potential damage to property and loss 
        of life;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) the efficacy of monitoring is being 
        demonstrated by the forecast and subsequent tracking of 
        explosive eruptions of Redoubt Volcano by the Alaska Volcano 
        Observatory, a partnership of the United States Geological 
        Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Alaska 
        Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) the United States Geological Survey and the 
        university and State partners of the United States Geological 
        Survey operate--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Alaska Volcano Observatory located 
                in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Cascades Volcano Observatory 
                located in Vancouver, Washington;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory 
                located in Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park, 
                Hawaii;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory 
                located in Yellowstone National Park in the State of 
                Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) the Long Valley Observatory, located 
                in Mammoth Lakes and Menlo Park, California; 
                and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (12) a detailed survey of the volcanoes in the 
        United States and the monitoring status of those volcanoes has 
        revealed a serious monitoring gap, leaving the United States 
        exposed to preventable damage from large volcanic 
        eruptions.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the 
        United States Geological Survey.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) System.--The term ``System'' means the 
        National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System 
        established under section 4(a)(1).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. NATIONAL VOLCANO EARLY WARNING AND MONITORING 
              SYSTEM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Establishment.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish 
        within the United States Geological Survey a program, to be 
        known as the ``National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring 
        System'', to monitor, warn, and protect citizens of the United 
        States from undue and avoidable harm from volcanic 
        activity.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Purposes.--The purposes of the System are--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) to organize, modernize, standardize, 
                and stabilize the monitoring systems of the volcano 
                observatories in the United States; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) to unify the monitoring systems of 
                volcano observatories in the United States into a 
                single interoperative system.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Objective.--The objective of the System is to 
        monitor all the volcanoes in the United States at a level 
        commensurate with the threat posed by the volcanoes by--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) upgrading existing networks on 
                monitored volcanoes; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) installing new networks on unmonitored 
                volcanoes.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) System Components.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The System shall include--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) a national volcano watch office that 
                is operational 24 hours a day and 7 days a 
                week;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) a national volcano data center; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) an external grants program to support 
                research in volcano monitoring science and 
                technology.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Modernization activities.--Modernization 
        activities under the System shall include the comprehensive 
        application of emerging technologies, including digital 
        broadband seismometers, real-time continuous global positioning 
        systems, radar satellite interferometry, and spectrometry to 
        measure gas emission.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Management.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Management plan.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--Not later than 90 days 
                after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
                shall submit to Congress a 5-year management plan for 
                establishing and operating the System.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) Inclusions.--The management plan 
                submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (i) annual cost estimates for 
                        modernization activities and operation of the 
                        System;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (ii) annual milestones, standards, 
                        and performance goals; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    (iii) recommendations for, and 
                        progress towards, establishing new, or 
                        enhancing existing, partnerships to leverage 
                        resources.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Advisory committee.--The Secretary shall 
        establish an advisory committee to assist the Secretary in 
        implementing the System, to be comprised of representatives of 
        relevant agencies and members of the scientific community 
        appointed by the Secretary.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Partnerships.--The Secretary may enter into 
        cooperative agreements with universities and State agencies 
        designating the universities and agencies as volcano 
        observatory partners for the System.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate 
        the activities under this Act with the heads of relevant 
        Federal agencies, including--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Secretary of 
                Transportation;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the Administrator of the Federal 
                Aviation Administration;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) the Administrator of the National 
                Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) the Director of the Federal Emergency 
                Management Administration.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Annual Report.--Annually, the Secretary shall submit 
to Congress a report that describes the activities carried out under 
this Act.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to 
carry out this Act $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and each fiscal 
year thereafter.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Volcano Early Warning and 
Monitoring Program Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Program.--The term ``program'' means the National 
        Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring Program established under 
        section 3(a).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL VOLCANO EARLY WARNING AND MONITORING PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish within the United 
States Geological Survey a program to be known as the ``National 
Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring Program''.
    (b) Components.--The program shall consist of a national volcano 
watch office and data center, which shall oversee and coordinate the 
activities of United States Geological Survey regional volcano watch 
and data centers.
    (c) Purposes.--The purposes of the program are--
            (1) to monitor and study volcanoes and volcanic activity 
        throughout the United States at a level commensurate with the 
        threat posed by each volcano; and
            (2) to warn and protect people and property from undue and 
        avoidable harm from volcanic activity.

SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT.

    (a) Management Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare a management 
        plan for establishing and operating the program.
            (2) Inclusions.--The management plan shall include--
                    (A) annual cost estimates of--
                            (i) operating the program; and
                            (ii) updating the data collection, 
                        monitoring, and analysis systems;
                    (B) annual standards and performance goals; and
                    (C) recommendations for establishing new, or 
                enhancing existing, partnerships with State agencies or 
                universities.
    (b) Partnerships.--The Secretary may enter into cooperative 
agreements or partnerships with State agencies and universities, under 
which the Secretary may designate the agency or university as volcano 
observatory partners for the program.
    (c) Coordination With Other Federal Agencies.--The Secretary shall 
coordinate activities authorized under this Act with the heads of 
relevant Federal agencies including--
            (1) the Secretary of Transportation;
            (2) the Secretary of Commerce;
            (3) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation 
        Administration; and
            (4) the Director of the Federal Emergency Management 
        Administration.
    (d) Grant Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may establish a competitive 
        grant program to support research and monitoring of volcanic 
        activities in furtherance of this Act.
            (2) Cost-sharing requirement.--The non-Federal share of the 
        total cost of an activity provided assistance under this 
        subsection shall be 25 percent.
    (e) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall annually submit to Congress 
a report that describes the activities undertaken during the previous 
year to carry out this Act.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2019.
                                                       Calendar No. 283

111th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                 S. 782

                          [Report No. 111-133]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To provide for the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning 
                         and Monitoring System.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 2, 2010

                       Reported with an amendment