I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3391 
To provide for the establishment of a national mercury monitoring program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 4, 2011 
Ms. PINGREE of Maine (for herself, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. JACKSON 
of Illinois, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide for the establishment of a national mercury 
monitoring program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive Na-
tional Mercury Monitoring Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Mercury is a potent neurotoxin of signifi-
cant ecological and public health concern. 
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(2) It is estimated that more than 410,000 chil-
dren born each year in the United States are ex-
posed to levels of mercury in the womb that are high 
enough to impair neurological development. 
(3) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention has found that 6 percent of women in the 
United States of childbearing age have blood mer-
cury levels in excess of values determined to be safe 
by the Environmental Protection Agency. 
(4) Exposure to mercury occurs largely by con-
sumption of contaminated fish. At the same time, 
fish and shellfish are an important source of dietary 
protein, and a healthy fishing resource is important 
to the economy of the United States. 
(5) Fish and shellfish contain high-quality pro-
tein and other essential nutrients, are low in satu-
rated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. A well- 
balanced diet that includes a variety of fish and 
shellfish can contribute to heart health and chil-
dren’s proper growth and development. A national 
mercury monitoring network will provide consistent 
scientific data on the status of this vital nutritional 
and commercial resource. 
(6) In many locations, the primary route for 
mercury input to aquatic ecosystems is atmospheric 
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emissions, transport, and deposition. Computer mod-
els and other assessment tools provide varying effec-
tiveness in predicting mercury concentrations in fish 
and existing broad-scale data sets are insufficient to 
test model predictions. 
(7) As the Federal Government and State gov-
ernments advance regulations to curb mercury emis-
sions, such regulations should be evaluated by a na-
tionwide monitoring network that can document 
whether such regulations are effective. 
SEC. 3. MONITORING PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con-
sultation with the heads of applicable Federal agen-
cies, shall establish a long-term national-scale mer-
cury monitoring program to track— 
(A) long-term trends in atmospheric mer-
cury concentrations and deposition; and 
(B) in response to changing mercury emis-
sions over time, mercury levels in— 
(i) watersheds and surface waters; 
and 
(ii) fish and wildlife in terrestrial, 
freshwater, and coastal ecosystems. 
(2) MONITORING SITES.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act and in 
coordination the Mercury Monitoring Advisory 
Committee, the Administrator, in consultation 
with the heads of the applicable Federal agen-
cies, shall select multiple monitoring sites for 
the mercury monitoring program established 
under 
this 
section 
representing 
different 
ecoregions of the United States. 
(B) LOCATIONS.—Locations of monitoring 
sites for the mercury monitoring program es-
tablished under this section shall include, na-
tional parks, national wildlife refuges, national 
estuarine reserves, and sensitive ecological areas 
in which substantive changes are expected from 
reductions in domestic mercury emissions. Such 
monitoring sites shall be co-located with sites 
from other long-term environmental monitoring 
programs, as practicable, including sites associ-
ated with the National Ecological Observatory 
Network, Long Term Ecological Research Net-
work, and the National Atmospheric Deposition 
Program. 
(3) MONITORING PROTOCOLS.—Not later than 
1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and 
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in coordination with the Mercury Monitoring Advi-
sory Committee, the Administrator shall establish 
and publish standardized measurement protocols for 
the mercury monitoring program established under 
this section, including data assurance and quality 
standards consistent with standards developed by 
the Federal Geographic Data Committee for use by 
Federal agencies and other data gathering entities. 
(4) DATA COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION.— 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act and in coordination with the Mercury 
Monitoring Advisory Committee, the Administrator 
shall establish a centralized database for existing 
and newly collected environmental mercury data that 
can be freely accessed online once data assurance 
and quality standards established by the Adminis-
trator under paragraph (3) are met. 
(b) AIR
AND WATERSHEDS.—The mercury moni-
toring program established under this section shall mon-
itor long-term changes in mercury levels in air and water-
sheds at sites selected under subsection (a)(2), including 
through— 
(1) the measurement and recording of wet, and 
estimation of dry, mercury deposition, mercury flux, 
and mercury export; 
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(2) the measurement and recording of the level 
of mercury reemitted from aquatic and terrestrial 
environments into the atmosphere; and 
(3) the measurement of sulfur species and an-
cillary measurements at a portion of the monitoring 
sites to fully understand the cycling of mercury 
through the ecosystem. 
(c) WATER AND SOIL CHEMISTRY.—The mercury 
monitoring program established under this section shall 
monitor long-term changes in mercury and methylmercury 
levels in water and soil at sites selected under subsection 
(a)(2), including through— 
(1) extraction and analysis of sediment cores; 
(2) measurement and recording of total mer-
cury and methylmercury concentration, and percent 
methylmercury in surface sediments; 
(3) measurement and recording of total mer-
cury and methylmercury concentration in surface 
water; and 
(4) measurement and recording of total mer-
cury and methylmercury concentrations throughout 
the water column and sediments. 
(d) AQUATIC AND TERRESTRIAL ORGANISMS.—The 
mercury monitoring program established under this sec-
tion shall monitor long-term changes in mercury and 
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methylmercury levels in the aquatic and terrestrial orga-
nisms at sites selected under subsection (a)(2), including 
through— 
(1) measurement and recording of total mer-
cury 
and 
methylmercury 
concentrations 
in 
zooplankton and other invertebrates; 
(2) measurement and recording of total mer-
cury and methylmercury concentrations in yearling 
fish; 
(3) measurement and recording of total mer-
cury and methylmercury concentrations in commer-
cially, recreationally, or conservation relevant fish; 
(4) measurement and recording of total mer-
cury concentrations in selected insect- and fish-eat-
ing birds; and 
(5) measurement and recording of total mer-
cury concentrations in selected insect- and fish-eat-
ing mammals. 
SEC. 4. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a sci-
entific advisory committee, to be known as the ‘‘Mercury 
Monitoring Advisory Committee’’, to advise the Adminis-
trator and the heads of the applicable Federal agencies 
on the establishment, site selection, measurement, record-
ing protocols, data integration, standardization protocols, 
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reporting, funding, and operation of the national mercury 
monitoring program established under this Act. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Mercury Monitoring Advi-
sory Committee shall consist of scientists who are not em-
ployees 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 Adminis-
tration. 
SEC. 5. REPORTS. 
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Adminis-
trator shall transmit to Congress a report on the mercury 
monitoring program established under this Act, including 
trend data. Once every 4 years, such a report shall include 
an assessment of the reduction in mercury deposition rates 
that must be achieved in order to prevent adverse human 
and ecological effects. 
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SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act— 
(1) for fiscal year 2013, $37,000,000; 
(2) for fiscal year 2014, $29,000,000; and 
(3) for fiscal year 2015, $29,000,000. 
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(2) APPLICABLE FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘applicable Federal agency’’ may include the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service, the United States 
Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
and any other Federal agency, bureau, or depart-
ment the Administrator determines relevant. 
(3) ECOREGION.—The term ‘‘ecoregion’’ means 
a large, as determined by the Administrator, area of 
land and water that contains a geographically dis-
tinct assemblage of natural communities, including 
similar land forms, climate, ecological processes, and 
vegetation. 
(4) MERCURY
EXPORT.—The term ‘‘mercury 
export’’ means mercury flux from a watershed to the 
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corresponding water body, or from one water body 
to another (such as a lake to a river), generally ex-
pressed as mass per unit time. 
(5) MERCURY FLUX.—The term ‘‘mercury flux’’ 
means the rate of transfer of mercury between eco-
system components (such as between water and air), 
or between portions of ecosystem components, ex-
pressed in terms of mass per unit time or mass per 
unit area per time. 
(6) MERCURY
MONITORING
ADVISORY
COM-
MITTEE.—The term ‘‘Mercury Monitoring Advisory 
Committee’’ means the Mercury Monitoring Advisory 
Committee established under section 4. 
(7) SURFACE SEDIMENT.—The term ‘‘surface 
sediment’’ means sediment in the uppermost 2 centi-
meters of a lakebed or riverbed. 
Æ 
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