Volcano Early Warning Reauthorization

Full Title:
A bill to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to reauthorize the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System, and for other purposes.

Summary#

This bill changes the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act to reauthorize and update the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System. It adds newer instruments and technology names (for example, Global Navigation Satellite System instead of Global Positioning System) and lists unoccupied aerial vehicles, infrasound arrays, visible and infrared cameras, and advanced digital telemetry networks. The bill requires maintaining or expanding the technical instruments and infrastructure needed for those technologies, especially advanced digital telemetry networks.

The bill changes management rules. It allows partnerships to include new or existing cooperative agreements, requires updates to the management plan at least once every 5 years after submission, and adds the Chief of the Forest Service to certain coordination roles. It creates an implementation committee that must include representatives of State agencies (or their designees) subject to cooperative agreements, institutions of higher education, and each volcano observatory named in the law. The Secretary must also, in coordination with State emergency management partners, identify who is responsible for public communication and messaging to avoid confusion or duplication.

The bill also amends funding and reauthorization dates in the statute.

What it means for you#

  • If you work for a State agency, a volcano observatory, or an institution of higher education, the bill requires involvement in an implementation committee if your agency is subject to a cooperative agreement.
  • If you are a State emergency management partner, the bill directs coordination with the Secretary to clearly identify who handles public communication and messaging.
  • The system would include and support newer monitoring tools and networks named in the bill.
  • No publicly available information on direct, immediate impacts to individual members of the public is included in the bill text.

Expenses#

  • The bill amends the statute to change an authorization amount from $55,000,000 to $75,000,000 and extends the statutory year references from 2023 to 2033 and from 2024 to 2034.
  • No publicly available information on total program costs, annual spending profiles, or budget offsets beyond these authorization figures is included in the bill text.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.