Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 4.djvu/389

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

PUBLIC LAW 101-549—NOV. 15, 1990 104 STAT. 2705 pursuant to the Acid Precipitation Act of 1980, and development of a revised plan that identifies significant research gaps and establishes a coordinated program to address current and future research priorities. A draft of the revised plan shall be submitted by the Task Force to Congress within 6 months after the date of enactment of this subsection. The plan shall be available for public comment during President, the 60 day period after its submission, and a final plan shall be submitted by the President to the Congress within 45 days after the close of the comment period. (B) Coordination with participating Federal agencies, augmenting the agencies' research and monitoring efforts and sponsoring additional research in the scientific community as necessary to ensure the availability and quality of data and methodologies needed to evaluate the status and effectiveness of the acid deposition control program. Such research and monitoring efforts shall include, but not be limited to— "(i) continuous monitoring of emissions of precursors of acid deposition; "(ii) maintenance, upgrading, and application of models, such as the Regional Acid Deposition Model, that describe the interactions of emissions with the atmosphere, and models that describe the response of ecosystems to acid deposition; and "(iii) analysis of the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of the acid deposition control program. "(C) Publication and maintenance of a National Acid Lakes Registry that tracks the condition and change over time of a statistically representative sample of lakes in regions that are known to be sensitive to surface water acidification. "(D) Submission every two years of a unified budget recommendation to the President for activities of the Federal Government in connection with the research program described in this subsection. "(E) Beginning in 1992 and biennially thereafter, submis- Reports, sion of a report to Congress describing the results of its investigations and analyses. The reporting of technical information about acid deposition shall be provided in a format that facilitates communication with policymakers and the public. The report shall include— "(i) actual and projected emissions and acid deposition trends; "(ii) average ambient concentrations of acid deposition percursors and their transformation products; "(iii) the status of ecosystems (including forests and surface waters), materials, and visibility affected by acid deposition; "(iv) the causes and effects of such deposition, including changes in surface water quality and forest and soil conditions; "(v) the occurrence and effects of episodic acidification, particularly with respect to high elevation watersheds; and "(vi) the confidence level associated with each conclusion to aid policymakers in use of the information.