[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 93 (Wednesday, May 31, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Carper):
  S. 1772. A bill to establish a national mercury monitoring program, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works.
  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise today to introduce the 
Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act. I want to thank Senator 
Carper, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works 
Committee, for his partnership on this bill. Our bipartisan bill would 
help ensure that we have accurate information about the extent of 
mercury pollution in the United States.
  Mercury is a potent neurotoxin. It poses significant ecological and 
public health concerns, especially for children and pregnant women. 
Mercury exposure has gone down as U.S. mercury emissions have declined; 
however, levels remain unacceptably high in some areas. It is estimated 
that nearly 100,000 to 200,000 children born in the United States have 
been exposed to levels of mercury in the womb that are high enough to 
impair their neurological development. This exposure can impose a 
lifelong disability.
  In Maine, some of our lands and bodies of water face higher mercury 
pollution compared to the national average. Maine has been called the 
``tailpipe of the nation,'' as the winds carry pollution, including 
mercury, from the west into Maine.
  A system for collecting information, such as we have for acid rain 
and other pollution, does not exist currently for mercury, even though 
it is a more toxic pollutant. A comprehensive national mercury 
monitoring network is needed to help protect human health and track the 
effect of emissions reductions. This monitoring network would also help 
policymakers, scientists, and the public better understand the sources, 
consequences, and trends in U.S. mercury pollution.
  Specifically, our legislation would do the following: First, it would 
direct the Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction with the 
Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, National Park 
Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other 
appropriate Federal Agencies, to establish a national mercury 
monitoring program. This program would be tasked to measure and monitor 
mercury levels in the air and watersheds, water and soil chemistry, and 
in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial organisms at multiple sites 
across the Nation.
  Second, our bill would establish a scientific advisory committee to 
advise on the establishment, site selection, measurement, recording 
protocols, and operations of the monitoring program.
  Third, our bill would establish a centralized database for existing 
and newly collected environmental mercury data that can be accessed on 
the internet and that is compatible with similar international efforts.
  Fourth, our bill would require a report to Congress every 2 years on 
the program, including trend data, and an assessment every 4 years of 
the reduction in mercury deposition rates that would need to be 
achieved in order to prevent adverse human and ecological effects.
  Fifth, the bill would authorize $95 million over 3 years to carry out 
these activities.
  We must establish a comprehensive, robust national mercury monitoring 
network to provide the data needed to help make decisions that can 
protect the people of Maine and the Nation. I urge my colleagues to 
join me in supporting this important bipartisan legislation, the 
Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act.
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