II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2913 

To establish a national mercury monitoring program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 18, 2009 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. CARPER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish a national mercury monitoring program, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive Na5 tional Mercury Monitoring Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that 

8 (1)(A) mercury is a potent neurotoxin of signifi9 cant ecological and public health concern; 


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1 (B) exposure to mercury occurs largely by con2 sumption of contaminated fish; 

3 (C) children and women of childbearing age 

4 who consume large quantities of fish are at high risk 

5 of adverse effects; 

6 (D) it is estimated that more than 630,000 

7 children born each year in the United States are ex8 posed to levels of mercury in the womb that are high 

9 enough to impair neurological development; and 

10 (E) the Centers for Disease Control and Pre11 vention have found that 8 percent of women in the 

12 United States of childbearing age have blood mer13 cury levels in excess of values determined to be safe 

14 by the Environmental Protection Agency; 

15 (2)(A) as of 2006, 3,080 fish consumption 

16 advisories due to mercury contamination have been 

17 issued for 48 States, including 23 statewide 

18 advisories for freshwater and 12 statewide advisories 

19 for coastal waters; 

20 (B) that is a 26 percent increase over the num21 ber of advisories issued in 2004; 

22 (C) those advisories represent more than 

23 22,000 square miles of lakes and 882,000 miles of 

24 rivers; 


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1 (D) however, fish and shellfish are an impor2 tant source of dietary protein, and a healthy fishing 

3 resource is important to the economy of the United 

4 States; and 

5 (E) the extent of fish consumption advisories 

6 underscores the extensive human and ecological 

7 health risk posed by mercury pollution; 

8 (3)(A) in many locations, the primary route for 

9 mercury input to aquatic ecosystems is atmospheric 

10 emissions, transport, and deposition; 

11 (B) the cycling of mercury in the environment 

12 and resulting accumulation in biota are not fully un13 derstood; and 

14 (C) computer models and other assessment 

15 tools provide varying effectiveness in predicting mer16 cury concentrations in fish, and no broad-scale data 

17 sets exist to test model predictions; 

18 (4)(A) on September 14 through 17, 2003, the 

19 Environmental Protection Agency cosponsored a So20 ciety of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 

21 workshop involving more than 30 international ex22 perts to formulate a system to quantify and docu23 ment mercury changes in the various environment 

24 fields resulting from anticipated reductions in mer25 cury emissions in the United States; and 


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1 (B) the resulting plan proposes a holistic, 

2 multimedia, long-term mercury monitoring program 

3 that is documented in 2 sources— 

4 (i) on January 1, 2005, the article entitled 

5 ‘‘Monitoring the Response to Changing Mercury 

6 Deposition’’ was published in the journal Envi7 ronmental Science and Technology; and 

8 (ii) in 2008, the book entitled ‘‘Ecosystem 

9 Responses to Mercury Contamination: Indica10 tors of Change’’ was published by CRC Press; 

11 (5) as of the date of enactment of this Act, 

12 many regulations limiting mercury emissions from 

13 different sources have gone into effect or will be im14 plemented, but ongoing monitoring programs are not 

15 adequately measuring the environmental benefits 

16 and effectiveness of mercury emission controls; 

17 (6) on May 15, 2006, the Office of Inspector 

18 General of the Environmental Protection Agency 

19 issued a report entitled, ‘‘Monitoring Needed to As20 sess Impact of EPA’s Clean Air Mercury Rule 

21 (CAMR) on Potential Hotspots’’, Report No. 2006– 

22 P–0025, which states, in part— 

23 (A) ‘‘Without field data from an improved 

24 monitoring network, EPA’s ability to advance 

25 mercury science will be limited and ‘utility-atVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:40 Dec 22, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2913.IS S2913

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1 tributable hotspots’ that pose health risks may 

2 occur and go undetected’’; and 

3 (B) ‘‘We recommend that the EPA develop 

4 and implement a mercury monitoring plan to 

5 assess the impact of CAMR, if adopted, on mer6 cury deposition and fish tissue and evaluate and 

7 refine mercury estimation tools and models’’; 

8 (7)(A) on January 1, 2007, the articles entitled 

9 ‘‘Biological Mercury Hotspots in the Northeastern 

10 U.S. and Southeastern Canada’’ and ‘‘Contamina11 tion in Remote Forest and Aquatic Ecosystems in 

12 the Northeastern U.S.: Sources, Transformations 

13 and Management Options’’ were published in the 

14 journal BioScience; and 

15 (B) the authors of the articles— 

16 (i) identified 5 biological mercury hotspots 

17 and 9 areas of concern in the northeastern 

18 United States and southeastern Canada associ19 ated primarily with atmospheric mercury emis20 sions and deposition; 

21 (ii) located an area of particularly high 

22 mercury deposition adjacent to a coal-fired util23 ity in southern New Hampshire; and 

24 (iii) concluded that local impacts from 

25 mercury emissions should be closely monitored 


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1 in order to assess the impact of Federal and 

2 State policies; and 

3 (8)(A) building on previous efforts in 2003, on 

4 May 5 through 7, 2008, the Environmental Protec5 tion Agency coconvened a workshop with experts 

6 from the United States Geological Survey, the Na7 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 

8 United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Na9 tional Park Service, State and tribal agencies, the 

10 BioDiversity Research Institute, the National At11 mospheric Deposition Program, industry, and other 

12 institutions; 

13 (B) more than 50 workshop scientists partici14 pated and agreed on a goal and major design ele15 ments for a national mercury monitoring program, 

16 including a national distribution of approximately 20 

17 intensive sites to understand the sources, con18 sequences, and trends in United States mercury pol19 lution; 

20 (C) the consortium found that ‘‘policy makers, 

21 scientists and the public need a comprehensive and 

22 integrated mercury monitoring network to accurately 

23 quantify regional and national changes in atmos24 pheric deposition, ecosystem contamination, and bioVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:40 Dec 22, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2913.IS S2913

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1 accumulation of mercury in fish and wildlife in re2 sponse to changes in mercury emissions.’’; and 

3 (D) the workshop findings are published in a 

4 report of the Environmental Protection Agency 

5 (430–K–09–001). 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis9 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ10 mental Protection Agency. 

11 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi12 sory Committee’’ means the Mercury Monitoring Ad13 visory Committee established under section 5. 

14 (3) ANCILLARY MEASURE.—The term ‘‘ancillary 

15 measure’’ means a measure that is used to under16 stand the impact and interpret results of measure17 ments under the program. 

18 (4) ECOREGION.—The term ‘‘ecoregion’’ means 

19 a large area of land and water that contains a geo20 graphically distinct assemblage of natural commu21 nities, including similar land forms, climate, ecologi22 cal processes, and vegetation. 

23 (5) MERCURY EXPORT.—The term ‘‘mercury 

24 export’’ means mercury flux from a watershed to the 

25 corresponding water body, or from 1 water body to 


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1 another water body (such as a lake to a river), gen2 erally expressed as mass per unit of time. 

3 (6) MERCURY FLUX.—The term ‘‘mercury flux’’ 

4 means the rate of transfer of mercury between eco5 system components (such as between water and air), 

6 or between portions of ecosystem components, ex7 pressed in terms of mass per unit of time or mass 

8 per unit of area per time. 

9 (7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

10 the national mercury monitoring program estab11 lished under section 4. 

12 (8) SURFACE SEDIMENT.—The term ‘‘surface 

13 sediment’’ means sediment in the uppermost 2 centi14 meters of a lakebed or riverbed. 

15 SEC. 4. MONITORING PROGRAM. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con18 sultation with the Director of the United States Fish 

19 and Wildlife Service, the Director of the United 

20 States Geological Survey, the Director of the Na21 tional Park Service, the Administrator of the Na22 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 

23 the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, 

24 shall establish a national mercury monitoring pro25 gram. 


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1 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is 

2 to track— 

3 (A) long-term trends in atmospheric mer4 cury concentrations and deposition; and 

5 (B) mercury levels in watersheds, surface 

6 waters, and fish and wildlife in terrestrial, 

7 freshwater, and coastal ecosystems in response 

8 to changing mercury emissions over time. 

9 (3) MONITORING SITES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out para11 graph (1), not later than 1 year after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act and in coordination 

13 with the Advisory Committee, the Adminis14 trator, after consultation with the heads of Fed15 eral agencies described in paragraph (1) and 

16 considering the requirement for reports under 

17 section 6, shall select multiple monitoring sites 

18 representing multiple ecoregions of the United 

19 States. 

20 (B) LOCATIONS.—Locations of monitoring 

21 sites shall include national parks, wildlife ref22 uges, National Estuarine Research Reserve 

23 units, and other sensitive ecological areas that 

24 include long-term protection and in which subVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:40 Dec 22, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2913.IS S2913

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1 stantive changes are expected from reductions 

2 in domestic mercury emissions. 

3 (C) COLOCATION.—If practicable, moni4 toring sites shall be colocated with sites from 

5 other long-term environmental monitoring pro6 grams. 

7 (4) MONITORING PROTOCOLS.—Not later than 

8 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Administrator, in coordination with the Advisory 

10 Committee, shall establish and publish standardized 

11 measurement protocols for the program under this 

12 Act. 

13 (5) DATA COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION.— 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with 

16 the Advisory Committee, shall establish a centralized 

17 database for existing and newly collected environ18 mental mercury data that can be freely accessed 

19 once data assurance and quality standards estab20 lished by the Administrator are met. 

21 (b) AIR AND WATERSHEDS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The program shall monitor 

23 long-term changes in mercury levels and important 

24 ancillary measures in the air at locations selected 

25 under subsection (a)(3). 


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1 (2) MEASUREMENTS.—The Administrator, in 

2 consultation with the Director of the United States 

3 Fish and Wildlife Service, the Director of the United 

4 States Geological Survey, the Director of the Na5 tional Park Service, the Administrator of the Na6 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and 

7 the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, 

8 shall determine appropriate measurements, includ9 ing— 

10 (A) the measurement and recording of wet 

11 and estimation of dry mercury deposition, mer12 cury flux, and mercury export; 

13 (B) the measurement and recording of the 

14 level of mercury reemitted from aquatic and 

15 terrestrial environments into the atmosphere; 

16 and 

17 (C) the measurement of sulfur species and 

18 ancillary measurements at a portion of locations 

19 selected under subsection (a)(3) to fully under20 stand the cycling of mercury through the eco21 system. 

22 (c) WATER AND SOIL CHEMISTRY.—The program 

23 shall monitor long-term changes in mercury and methyl 

24 mercury levels and important ancillary measures in the 

25 water and soil or sediments at locations selected under 


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1 subsection (a)(3) that the Administrator, in primary con2 sultation with the Director of the United States Geological 

3 Survey, determines to be appropriate, including— 

4 (1) extraction and analysis of soil and sediment 

5 cores; 

6 (2) measurement and recording of total mer7 cury and methyl mercury concentration, and percent 

8 methyl mercury in surface sediments; 

9 (3) measurement and recording of total mer10 cury and methyl mercury concentration in surface 

11 water; and 

12 (4) measurement and recording of total mer13 cury and methyl mercury concentrations throughout 

14 the water column and sediments. 

15 (d) AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL ORGANISMS.—The 

16 program shall monitor long-term changes in mercury and 

17 methyl mercury levels and important ancillary measures 

18 in the aquatic and terrestrial organisms at locations se19 lected under subsection (a)(3) that the Administrator, in 

20 primary consultation with the Director of the United 

21 States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator 

22 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

23 determines to be appropriate, including— 

24 (1) measurement and recording of total mer25 cury and methyl mercury concentrations in— 


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1 (A) zooplankton and other invertebrates; 

2 (B) yearling fish; and 

3 (C) commercially, recreationally, or con4 servation relevant fish; and 

5 (2) measurement and recording of total mer6 cury concentrations in— 

7 (A) selected insect- and fish-eating birds; 

8 and 

9 (B) measurement and recording of total 

10 mercury concentrations in selected insect- and 

11 fish-eating mammals. 

12 SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be established a 

14 scientific advisory committee, to be known as the ‘‘Mer15 cury Monitoring Advisory Committee’’, to advise the Ad16 ministrator and Federal agencies described in section 

17 4(a)(1), on the establishment, site selection, measurement 

18 and recording protocols, and operation of the program. 

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee shall 

20 consist of scientists who are not employees of the Federal 

21 Government, including— 

22 (1) 3 scientists appointed by the Administrator; 

23 (2) 2 scientists appointed by the Director of the 

24 United States Fish and Wildlife Service; 


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1 (3) 2 scientists appointed by the Director of the 

2 United States Geological Survey; 

3 (4) 2 scientists appointed by the Director of the 

4 National Park Service; and 

5 (5) 2 scientists appointed by the Administrator 

6 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis7 tration. 

8 SEC. 6. REPORTS AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE. 

9 (a) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act and every 2 years thereafter, the 

11 Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the 

12 program, including trend data. 

13 (b) ASSESSMENT.—At least once every 4 years, the 

14 report required under subsection (a) shall include an as15 sessment of the reduction in mercury deposition rates that 

16 are required to be achieved in order to prevent adverse 

17 human and ecological effects. 

18 (c) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—The Administrator 

19 shall make all data obtained under this Act available to 

20 the public through a dedicated website and on written re21 quest. 

22 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

24 this Act— 

25 (1) for fiscal year 2011 to— 


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1 (A) the Environmental Protection Agency 

2 $15,000,000; 

3 (B) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

4 Service $9,000,000; 

5 (C) the United States Geological Survey 

6 $5,000,000; 

7 (D) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

8 Administration $4,000,000; and 

9 (E) the National Park Service $4,000,000; 

10 (2) for fiscal year 2012 to— 

11 (A) the Environmental Protection Agency 

12 $12,000,000; 

13 (B) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

14 Service $7,000,000; 

15 (C) the United States Geological Survey 

16 $4,000,000; 

17 (D) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

18 Administration $3,000,000; and 

19 (E) the National Park Service $3,000,000; 

20 (3) for fiscal year 2013 to— 

21 (A) the Environmental Protection Agency 

22 $12,000,000; 

23 (B) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

24 Service $7,000,000; 


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1 (C) the United States Geological Survey 

2 $4,000,000; 

3 (D) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

4 Administration $3,000,000; and 

5 (E) the National Park Service $3,000,000; 

6 and 

7 (4) such sums as are necessary for each of fis8 cal years 2014 through 2016 to— 

9 (A) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

10 (B) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

11 Service; 

12 (C) the United States Geological Survey; 

13 (D) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

14 Administration; and 

15 (E) the National Park Service. 

Æ 


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