(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 pas-
sengers 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 do-
mestic 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 explo-
sions 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 Cali-
fornia and Yellowstone National Park in the States 
of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho; 
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(9) modern technology, in the form of geo-
physical monitoring networks on the ground and the 
use of near-real time satellite data, makes possible 
warnings before eruptions, giving emergency re-
sponse agencies and the public time to prepare, 
which minimizes potential damage to property and 
loss of life; 
(10) the efficacy of monitoring is being dem-
onstrated by the forecast and subsequent tracking of 
explosive eruptions of Redoubt Volcano by the Alas-
ka 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 lo-
cated in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska; 
(B) the Cascades Volcano Observatory lo-
cated in Vancouver, Washington; 
(C) the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory lo-
cated in Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park, 
Hawaii; 
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(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 Di-
rector 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 MONI-
TORING SYSTEM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 
within the United States Geological Survey a pro-
gram, to be known as the ‘‘National Volcano Early 
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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 vol-
cano observatories in the United States; and 
(B) to unify the monitoring systems of vol-
cano 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 mon-
itored 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 
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(C) an external grants program to support 
research in volcano monitoring science and 
technology. 
(2) MODERNIZATION
ACTIVITIES.—Moderniza-
tion 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 Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress a 5-year man-
agement plan for establishing and operating the 
System. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The management plan 
submitted under subparagraph (A) shall in-
clude— 
(i) annual cost estimates for mod-
ernization activities and operation of the 
System; 
(ii) annual milestones, standards, and 
performance goals; and 
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(iii) 
recommendations 
for, 
and 
progress towards, establishing new, or en-
hancing 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 com-
prised 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 agen-
cies as volcano observatory partners for the System. 
(4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall co-
ordinate the activities under this Act with the heads 
of relevant Federal agencies, including— 
(A) the Secretary of Transportation; 
(B) the Administrator of the Federal Avia-
tion Administration; 
(C) the Administrator of the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration; and 
(D) the Director of the Federal Emergency 
Management Administration. 
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(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 Sec-
retary to carry out this Act $15,000,000 for fiscal year 
2010 and each fiscal year thereafter. 
Æ 
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