[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 346 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 150
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 346
[Report No. 115-113]
To provide for the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning
and Monitoring System.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 8 (legislative day, February 6), 2017
Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Ms. Cantwell, and Ms. Hirono) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources
June 15, 2017
Reported by Ms. Murkowski, with amendments
[Omit the part struck through 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,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Volcano Early Warning and
Monitoring System Act''.
<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 50,000 passengers who travel
on jets over Alaska and the North Pacific 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 the State of 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 the State 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 early warnings typically weeks
or months 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--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the successful forecasts and warnings
of Augustine Volcano in 1986 and 2006, Redoubt Volcano
in 1989 through 1990 and 2009, and Mt. Spurr in 1992;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) warnings and forecasts of lava flow
advancement in Hawaii during the ongoing eruption of
Kilauea;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (11) the United States Geological Survey and
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 Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park,
Hawaii;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
located in Yellowstone National Park in the States of
Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) the California Volcano Observatory,
located in 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 numerous serious monitoring gaps, leaving the United
States exposed to preventable damage from large volcanic
eruptions.</DELETED>
SEC. 32. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United
States Geological Survey.
(2) System.--The term ``System'' means the National Volcano
Early Warning and Monitoring System established under section 4
3(a)(1).
SEC. 43. NATIONAL VOLCANO EARLY WARNING AND MONITORING SYSTEM.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish within the
United States Geological Survey a system, 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.
(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the System are--
(A) to organize, modernize, standardize, and
stabilize the monitoring systems of the volcano
observatories in the United States, which includes the
Alaska Volcano Observatory, California Volcano
Observatory, Cascades Volcano Observatory, Hawaiian
Volcano Observatory, and Yellowstone Volcano
Observatory; and
(B) to unify the monitoring systems of volcano
observatories in the United States into a single
interoperative system.
(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--
(A) upgrading existing networks on monitored
volcanoes;
(B) installing new networks on unmonitored
volcanoes; and
(C) employing geodetic and other components when
applicable.
(b) System Components.--
(1) In general.--The System shall include--
(A) a national volcano watch office that is
operational 24 hours a day and 7 days a week;
(B) a national volcano data center; and
(C) an external grants program to support research
in volcano monitoring science and technology.
(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 System
receivers, satellite and airborne radar interferometry,
acoustic pressure sensors, and spectrometry to measure gas
emissions.
(c) Management.--
(1) Management plan.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 180 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.
(B) Inclusions.--The management plan submitted
under subparagraph (A) shall include--
(i) annual cost estimates for modernization
activities and operation of the System;
(ii) annual milestones, standards, and
performance goals; and
(iii) recommendations for, and progress
towards, establishing new, or enhancing
existing, partnerships to leverage resources.
(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, to be appointed by the
Secretary.
(3) Partnerships.--The Secretary may enter into cooperative
agreements with institutions of higher education and State
agencies designating the institutions of higher education and
State agencies as volcano observatory partners for the System.
(4) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate the
activities under this Act with the heads of relevant Federal
agencies, including--
(A) the Secretary of Transportation;
(B) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation
Administration;
(C) the Administrator of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration; and
(D) the Director of the Federal Emergency
Management Administration.
(d) Annual Report.--Annually, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report that describes the activities carried out under this
Act.
SEC. 54. FUNDING.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act for each
of fiscal years 2017 through 2027.
(b) Effect on Other Sources of Federal Funding.--Amounts made
available under this section shall supplement, and not supplant,
Federal funds made available for other United States Geological Survey
hazards activities and programs.
Calendar No. 150
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 346
[Report No. 115-113]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning
and Monitoring System.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 15, 2017
Reported with amendments