text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``National Volcano Early Warning and 
  Monitoring System Act''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress finds that--
              (1) the United States and the territories of the United 
          States contain 169 hazardous volcanoes;
              (2) since 1980, eruptions have claimed many lives and cost 
          billions of dollars in property damage in the United States;
              (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;
              (4) in 1989, an eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, caused 
          in-flight failure of all 4 engines of a passenger Boeing 747 
          aircraft;
              (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;
              (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;
              (7) lava flows, toxic gas emissions, and explosions impact 
          residents and visitors to Hawaii and have the potential to 
          cause catastrophic property damage;
              (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;
              (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;
              (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;
              (11) the United States Geological Survey and the university 
          and State partners of the United States Geological Survey 
          operate--
                      (A) the Alaska Volcano Observatory located in 
                  Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska;
                      (B) the Cascades Volcano Observatory located in 
                  Vancouver, Washington;
                      (C) the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory located in 
                  Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii;
                      (D) the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory located in 
                  Yellowstone National Park in the State of Wyoming, 
                  Montana, and Idaho; and
                      (E) the Long Valley Observatory, located in Mammoth 
                  Lakes and Menlo Park, California; and
              (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.
  
  SEC. 3. 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(a)(1).
  
  SEC. 4. NATIONAL VOLCANO EARLY WARNING AND MONITORING SYSTEM.
  
      (a) Establishment.--
              (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.
              (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; 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; and
                      (B) installing new networks on unmonitored 
                  volcanoes.
      (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 systems, 
          radar satellite interferometry, and spectrometry to measure gas 
          emission.
      (c) Management.--
              (1) Management plan.--
                      (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.
                      (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 appointed by the 
          Secretary.
              (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.
              (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. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  
      There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 
  out this Act $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and each fiscal year 
  thereafter.
target: National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), to establish within USGS a National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System program to monitor volcanic activity and to warn and protect U.S. citizens from harm.
  
  Sets forth as System purposes to organize, modernize, standardize, and stabilize monitoring systems of U.S. volcano observatories and to unify monitoring systems into a single interoperative system. Sets forth as System objectives to monitor all U.S. volcanoes at a level commensurate with the threat they pose by upgrading existing networks on monitored volcanoes and installing new networks on unmonitored volcanoes.
  
  Requires the System to include: (1) a national volcano watch office that is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week; (2) a national volcano data center; and (3) an external grants program to support research in volcano monitoring science and technology.
  
  Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit to Congress a five-year management plan for establishing and operating the System and an annual report; (2) establish an advisory committee; and (3) coordinate activities under this Act with the heads of relevant federal agencies. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with universities and state agencies as volcano observatory partners.
feat_title: To provide for the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System.