A bill to establish a national mercury monitoring program, and for other purposes

Summary: Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a national mercury monitoring program that monitors: (1) long-term changes in mercury levels and important ancillary measures in the air, and (2) long-term changes in mercury and methyl mercury levels and important ancillary measures in the water and soil or sediments and in aquatic and terrestrial organisms.

Requires the Administrator to: (1) select multiple monitoring sites representing multiple ecoregions that include national parks, wildlife refuges, National Estuarine Research Reserve units, and other sensitive ecological areas in which substantive changes are expected from reductions in domestic mercury emissions; (2) establish and publish standardized measurement protocols for the program; and (3) establish a centralized database for environmental mercury data.

Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish a Mercury Monitoring Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on the establishment, site selection, measurement, recording protocols, and operation of the program; (2) report on the program every two years and include, every four years, an assessment of the reduction in mercury deposition rates that are required to be achieved in order to prevent adverse human and ecological effects; and (3) make all data obtained under this Act available to the public through a dedicated website and on written request.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Comprehensive National Mercury 
Monitoring Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) mercury is a potent neurotoxin of significant 
        ecological and public health concern;
            (2) it is estimated that approximately 410,000 children 
        born each year in the United States are exposed to levels of 
        mercury in the womb that are high enough to impair neurological 
        development;
            (3) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have 
        found that 6 percent of women in the United States of 
        childbearing age have blood mercury levels in excess of values 
        determined to be safe by the Environmental Protection Agency;
            (4) exposure to mercury occurs largely by consumption of 
        contaminated fish, but fish and shellfish are important sources 
        of dietary protein, and a healthy fishing resource is important 
        to the economy of the United States;
            (5) in many locations, the primary route for mercury input 
        to aquatic ecosystems is atmospheric emissions, transport, and 
        deposition;
            (6) computer models and other assessment tools provide 
        varying effectiveness in predicting mercury concentrations in 
        fish, and broad-scale data sets are insufficient to test model 
        predictions; and
            (7) a comprehensive national mercury monitoring network to 
        accurately quantify regional and national changes in 
        atmospheric deposition, ecosystem contamination, and 
        bioaccumulation of mercury in fish and wildlife in response to 
        changes in mercury emissions would help policy makers, 
        scientists, and the public to better understand the sources, 
        consequences, and trends in United States mercury pollution.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Program.--The term ``program'' means the national 
        mercury monitoring program established under section 4.
            (3) Advisory committee.--The term ``Advisory Committee'' 
        means the Mercury Monitoring Advisory Committee established 
        under section 5.
            (4) Ancillary measure.--The term ``ancillary measure'' 
        means a measure that is used to understand the impact and 
        interpret results of measurements under the program.
            (5) Ecoregion.--The term ``ecoregion'' means a large area 
        of land and water that contains a geographically distinct 
        assemblage of natural communities, including similar land 
        forms, climate, ecological processes, and vegetation.
            (6) Mercury export.--The term ``mercury export'' means 
        mercury flux from a watershed to the corresponding water body, 
        or from one water body to another water body (such as a lake to 
        a river), generally expressed as mass per unit of time.
            (7) Mercury flux.--The term ``mercury flux'' means the rate 
        of transfer of mercury between ecosystem components (such as 
        between water and air), or between portions of ecosystem 
        components, expressed in terms of mass per unit of time or mass 
        per unit of area per time.
            (8) Surface sediment.--The term ``surface sediment'' means 
        sediment in the uppermost 2 centimeters of a lakebed or 
        riverbed.

SEC. 4. MONITORING PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation with 
        the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 
        the Director of the United States Geological Survey, the 
        Director of the National Park Service, the Administrator of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the heads 
        of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish a 
        national mercury monitoring program.
            (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the program is to track--
                    (A) long-term trends in atmospheric mercury 
                concentrations and deposition; and
                    (B) mercury levels in watersheds, surface water, 
                and fish and wildlife in terrestrial, freshwater, and 
                coastal ecosystems in response to changing mercury 
                emissions over time.
            (3) Monitoring sites.--
                    (A) In general.--In carrying out paragraph (1), not 
                later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
                Act and in coordination with the Advisory Committee, 
                the Administrator shall select multiple monitoring 
                sites representing multiple ecoregions of the United 
                States.
                    (B) Locations.--Locations of monitoring sites shall 
                include National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, 
                National Estuarine Research Reserve units, and 
                sensitive ecological areas in which substantive changes 
                are expected from reductions in domestic mercury 
                emissions.
                    (C) Colocation.--Monitoring sites shall be 
                colocated with sites from other long-term environmental 
                monitoring programs, where practicable, including sites 
                associated with the National Ecological Observatory 
                Network, Long-Term Ecological Research Network, and the 
                National Atmospheric Deposition Program.
                    (D) Monitoring protocols.--Not later than 1 year 
                after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
                Administrator, in coordination with the Advisory 
                Committee, shall establish and publish standardized 
                measurement protocols for the program under this Act.
            (4) Data collection and distribution.--Not later than 1 
        year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        Administrator, in coordination with the Advisory Committee, 
        shall establish a centralized database for existing and newly 
        collected environmental mercury data that can be freely 
        accessed on the Internet once data assurance and quality 
        standards established by the Administrator are met.
    (b) Functions.--
            (1) In general.--Under the program, the Administrator, in 
        consultation with the appropriate Federal agencies and the 
        Advisory Committee, shall at a minimum carry out monitoring 
        described in paragraphs (2) through (4) at the locations 
        selected under subsection (a)(3).
            (2) Air and watersheds.--The program shall monitor long-
        term changes in mercury levels and important ancillary measures 
        in the air, including--
                    (A) the measurement and recording of wet and 
                estimation of dry mercury deposition, mercury flux, and 
                mercury export;
                    (B) the measurement and recording of the level of 
                mercury reemitted from aquatic and terrestrial 
                environments into the atmosphere; and
                    (C) the measurement of sulfur species and ancillary 
                measurements to fully understand the cycling of mercury 
                through the ecosystem.
            (3) Water and soil chemistry.--The program shall monitor 
        long-term changes in mercury and methyl mercury levels and 
        important ancillary measures in the water and soil or 
        sediments, including--
                    (A) extraction and analysis of soil and sediment 
                cores;
                    (B) measurement and recording of total mercury and 
                methyl mercury concentration, and percent methyl 
                mercury in surface sediments;
                    (C) measurement and recording of total mercury and 
                methyl mercury concentration in surface water; and
                    (D) measurement and recording of total mercury and 
                methyl mercury concentrations throughout the water 
                column and sediments.
            (4) Aquatic and terrestrial organisms.--The program shall 
        monitor long-term changes in mercury and methyl mercury levels 
        and important ancillary measures in the aquatic and terrestrial 
        organisms, including--
                    (A) measurement and recording of total mercury and 
                methyl mercury concentrations in--
                            (i) zooplankton and other invertebrates;
                            (ii) yearling fish; and
                            (iii) commercially, recreationally, or 
                        conservation relevant fish; and
                    (B) measurement and recording of total mercury 
                concentrations in--
                            (i) selected insect- and fish-eating birds; 
                        and
                            (ii) measurement and recording of total 
                        mercury concentrations in selected insect- and 
                        fish-eating mammals.

SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Administrator, in consultation with the 
Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Director 
of the United States Geological Survey, the Director of the National 
Park Service, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, 
shall establish a scientific advisory committee, to be known as the 
``Mercury Monitoring Advisory Committee'', to advise the Administrator 
and those Federal agencies on the establishment, site selection, 
measurement, recording protocols, and operation of the national mercury 
monitoring program.
    (b) Membership.--The Advisory Committee shall consist of scientists 
who are not employees of the Federal Government, including--
            (1) 3 scientists appointed by the Administrator;
            (2) 2 scientists appointed by the Director of the United 
        States Fish and Wildlife Service;
            (3) 2 scientists appointed by the Director of the United 
        States Geological Survey;
            (4) 2 scientists appointed by the Director of the National 
        Park Service; and
            (5) 2 scientists appointed by the Administrator of the 
        National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

SEC. 6. REPORTS AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.

    (a) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act and every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator shall submit 
to Congress a report on the program, including trend data.
    (b) Assessment.--At least once every 4 years, the report required 
under subsection (a) shall include an assessment of the reduction in 
mercury deposition rates that are required to be achieved in order to 
prevent adverse human and ecological effects.
    (c) Availability of Data.--The Administrator shall make all data 
obtained under this Act available to the public through a dedicated 
website and on written request.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act--
            (1) $37,000,000 for fiscal year 2012;
            (2) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and
            (3) $29,000,000 for fiscal year 2014.