[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 38 (Monday, March 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1602-S1603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MURKOWSKI:
  S. 566. A bill to provide for the establishment of the National 
Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System; to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce a bill and 
talk about an issue that has, unfortunately, become a regular 
occurrence in Alaska and holds great interest to the Nation and the 
world. I am talking about volcano monitoring. While erupting volcanoes 
are a early constant part of our lives in Alaska, it usually takes a 
worldwide event such the eruption last year of a volcano in Iceland, 
which disrupted air traffic in Europe and around the world, to capture 
the public's attention.
  Two years ago it was the eruption of Mount Redoubt, which cancelled 
hundreds of flights in Alaska that motivated me to introduce the 
National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System Act. I reintroduce 
the bill now because it is still vitally important to the United 
States.
  The volcanoes in Alaska make up well over three-quarters of U.S. 
volcanoes that have erupted in the last two hundred years. About 50 
volcanic eruptions occur around the world every year, according to the 
United States Geological Survey, USGS. The United States ranks third, 
behind Indonesia and Japan, in its number of historically active 
volcanoes.
  That is why it is so important to fund volcano monitoring, which in 
Alaska is through the Alaska Volcano Observatory. The Alaska Volcano 
Observatory, AVO, is one of five Volcano observatories in the United 
States. It is a joint program of the United States Geological Survey, 
the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and 
the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. AVO 
is unique in the United States and probably the world, in that it is a 
thoroughly collaborative undertaking of federal scientists, state 
scientists, and university faculty and students.
  AVO was formed in 1988, after an eruption of Mount Augustine, and 
uses federal, state, and university resources to monitor and study 
Alaska's hazardous volcanoes, to predict and record

[[Page S1603]]

eruptive activity, and to mitigate volcanic hazards to life and 
property. Alaska has over 30 active volcanoes currently being monitored 
by the Alaska Volcano Observatory. No other observatory in the world 
comes even close to that number. AVO also analyzes available satellite 
data twice daily for thermal anomalies and ash plumes at about 80 
volcanoes in the north Pacific. Russian volcanoes frequently put ash 
into areas where the U.S. has aviation safety responsibilities. 
Alaska's active volcanoes also offer superb opportunities for basic 
scientific investigations of volcanic processes. An important component 
of AVO's program is to conduct research at selected volcanic centers.
  Alaska's volcanoes are potentially hazardous to passenger and freight 
aircraft as jet engines sometimes fail after ingesting volcanic ash. On 
December 15, 1989, a Boeing 747 flying 240 kilometers, 150 miles, 
northeast of Anchorage encountered an ash cloud erupted from Redoubt 
Volcano and lost power in all four jet engines. The plane, with 231 
passengers aboard, lost more than 10,000 feet of elevation before the 
flight crew was able to restart the engines. After landing, it was 
determined the airplane had suffered about $80 million in damage. The 
U.S. Geological Survey said about 100 encounters of aircraft with 
volcanic ash were documented from 1983 to 2000. In some cases engines 
shut down briefly after sucking in volcanic debris, but there have been 
no fatal incidents.
  The FAA estimates, based on information provided by the Federal 
Aviation Administration, that more than 80,000 large aircraft per year, 
and 30,000 people per day, are in the skies over and potentially 
downwind of many of Alaska's volcanoes, mostly on the heavily traveled 
great-circle routes between Europe, North America, and Asia. Along this 
route, which coincidently follows the northern portion of the Pacific 
``ring of fire'', are over 100 volcanoes capable of depositing ash into 
the flight path. Some are in Japan, many are in Russia, but about half 
are in Alaska. By analyzing satellite imagery and working with the 
National Weather Service to predict where winds will carry the ash, AVO 
assists the Federal Aviation Administration in warning aircraft of 
areas to avoid.
  Volcanic eruptions from Cook Inlet volcanoes, Spurr, Redoubt, 
Iliamna, and Augustine, can have severe impacts, as these volcanoes are 
nearest to Anchorage, Alaska's largest population center. The last 
major series of eruptions of Mt. Redoubt occurred in the spring of 
2009. The Alaska Volcano Observatory had recorded 26 volcanic eruptions 
and/or explosions at Redoubt volcano.
  There were several impacts from this series of eruptions from Mount 
Redoubt. Two major lahars, mudflows, moved down the Drift River and 
partially inundated an oil terminal. Airborne ash clouds posed a hazard 
to aviation and caused multiple flight cancellations and reroutes. 
Alaska Airlines cancelled approximately 200 flights. FedEx, United 
Parcel Service and several other cargo airlines rerouted aircraft to 
Seattle. Ash fall forced Ted Stevens International Airport, the third 
busiest cargo airport in the world, to close for 20 consecutive hours. 
Disruption to the aviation industry was significant for passenger 
travel and cargo transportation between Asia and North America. Minor 
ash fall impacted several communities as far downwind as Delta 
Junction, Alaska, 400 miles northeast of Anchorage. Elmendorf Air Force 
Base assets were temporarily relocated. There were also impacts to oil 
field operations due to the cessation of oil storage at Chevron's Drift 
River Oil Terminal. The economic impact is estimated to be less than or 
equal to the Redoubt eruptions also disrupted air traffic in the 
region. Hundreds of commercial flights were cancelled and cargo 
companies were significantly impacted. This resulted in employees being 
placed on unpaid leave during periods when airport operations were shut 
down.
  International volcano monitoring is also a role of the Federal 
Government. It likely saved many lives--and significant money--in the 
case of the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, where 
the United States had military bases at the time. The cataclysmic 
eruption lasted more than 10 hours and sent a cloud of ash as high as 
22 miles into the air that grew to more than 300 miles across. The 
United States Geological Survey spent less than $1.5 million monitoring 
the volcano and was able to warn of the impending eruption, which 
allowed authorities to evacuate residents, as well as aircraft and 
other equipment from U.S. bases there. The USGS estimates that the 
efforts saved thousands of lives and prevented property losses of at 
least $250 million.
  It is not enough to justify a program by just identifying a danger. 
The more important question is whether something can be done to reduce 
the impact of a volcanic eruption in terms of property damage and loss 
of life. That means getting people out of harm's way by providing 
advance warning. And this is exactly what the USGS Volcano Hazards 
Program seeks to do through the existing volcano observatories in the 
United States.
  The advances made in monitoring can now provide much more accurate 
and timely predictions of eruptions. As an example, in 1989, AVO was 
only able to provide a few days warning before Mount Redoubt erupted. 
This year, they began to detect activity and notified the public two 
months before it eventually erupted.
  The biggest challenge remains finding an adequate and stable source 
of funding. The USGS Volcano Hazards Program has been constantly 
underfunded. Both USGS and the FAA provide funding, but it is not 
enough to manage all the observatories or provide for an expansion of 
the system to cover increased monitoring and volcano research.
  It is because of the inadequate funding, and critical importance of 
this program, that I intend to introduce a bill that will provide the 
funding stability that volcano monitoring needs. This program shows 
that with a modest investment, a very large benefit can be produced in 
reducing the impacts of catastrophic events.
  My legislation will establish a National Volcano Early Warning and 
Monitoring System within the United States Geological Survey to monitor 
warn and protect citizens from undue and avoidable harm from volcanic 
activity. The USGS will coordinate a management plan with the other 
relevant federal departments, including the Department of 
Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration; the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
  The legislation authorizes appropriations of $15 million annually to 
the Department of Interior to carry out the Act.
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