[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4778 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4778

To require the Secretary of the Army to conduct a survey and monitoring 
   of off-shore sites in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands where 
  chemical munitions were disposed of by the Armed Forces, to support 
   research regarding the public and environmental health impacts of 
     chemical munitions disposal in the ocean, and to require the 
 preparation of a report on remediation plans for such disposal sites.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2006

 Mr. Abercrombie introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Army to conduct a survey and monitoring 
   of off-shore sites in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands where 
  chemical munitions were disposed of by the Armed Forces, to support 
   research regarding the public and environmental health impacts of 
     chemical munitions disposal in the ocean, and to require the 
 preparation of a report on remediation plans for such disposal sites.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hawaiian Waters Chemical Munitions 
Safety Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Until 1970 the United States Armed Forces routinely 
        dumped military chemical munitions in ocean waters.
            (2) According to the report entitled ``Off-Shore Disposal 
        of Chemical Agents and Weapons Conducted by the United 
        States'', which was prepared by the Army's Historical Research 
        and Response Team in 2001, chemical munitions were dumped at a 
        minimum of three locations near the Hawaiian Islands, and the 
        weapons disposed of at these sites included 1,100 one-thousand 
        pound cyanogen chloride bombs, 20 one-thousand pound hydrogen 
        cyanide bombs, 125 five-hundred pound cyanogen chloride bombs, 
        15,000 one-hundred-and-fifteen pound mustard gas bombs, 31,000 
        mustard gas-filled mortar shells, 1,000 one-ton containers of 
        mustard gas agent, 190 one-ton containers of lewisite agent, 
        16,000 one-hundred pound mustard gas bombs, and 4,220 tons of 
        various ordinance filled with hydrogen cyanide.
            (3) The report also specified that chemical munitions were 
        dumped off the coasts of Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, 
        Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South 
        Carolina, and Virginia.
            (4) The lack of research into the effect of long-term 
        seawater exposure on chemical munitions and the potential risks 
        to the public and the environment has created significant 
        public concern in Hawaii, especially among communities near 
        coastal military facilities and military munitions disposal 
        areas.
            (5) The dumping of chemical munitions in the ocean is now 
        prohibited by the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries 
        Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.).
            (6) The United States is a signatory of both the Convention 
        on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and 
        Other Matter, with annexes, done at Washington, London, Mexico 
        City, and Moscow December 29, 1972, and entered into force 
        August 20, 1975 (26 UST 2403) and the Convention on the 
        Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use 
        of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, with annexes, 
        done at Paris January 13, 1993, and entered into force April 
        29, 1997 (commonly known as the ``Chemical Weapons 
        Convention'').

SEC. 3. RESPONSE TO DISPOSAL OF CHEMICAL MUNITIONS WITHIN HAWAIIAN 
              WATERS.

    (a) Survey and Identification of Disposal Sites.--
            (1) Survey required.--The Secretary of the Army shall 
        conduct a survey of all underwater sites within 12 miles of the 
        Hawaiian Islands where chemical munitions are known or believed 
        to have been disposed of by the Armed Forces between 1941 and 
        1972.
            (2) Survey purpose.--The purpose of the survey is to 
        characterize the location and size of the disposal sites, the 
        types and numbers of chemical munitions at the sites, and the 
        condition of chemical munitions at the sites.
            (3) Report required.--Not later than September 30, 2009, 
        the Secretary of the Army shall submit to Congress a report 
        containing the results of the survey.
    (b) Identification of Navigational Hazards.--The Secretary of the 
Army shall cooperate with the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that 
nautical charts and other navigation materials for Hawaiian coastal 
waters include hazards to private activities and commercial shipping or 
fishing operations identified as a result of the survey conducted under 
subsection (a).
    (c) Monitoring.--
            (1) Monitoring required.--Within one year after the 
        completion of the survey required by subsection (a), the 
        Secretary of the Army shall implement the appropriate 
        monitoring mechanisms to recognize and track the potential 
        release of hazardous chemical agents into the marine 
        environment from the disposal sites covered by the survey.
            (2) Elements.--The monitoring regime shall include 
        appropriate sampling, testing, and evaluation of Hawaiian 
        coastal waters for signs of contamination from chemical 
        munitions that may pose a risk to public health and the marine 
        environment.
    (d) Research.--The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Office 
of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations and 
Environment, shall establish a program to conduct research and provide 
research grants for the purpose of studying the long-term effects of 
seawater exposure on chemical munitions, potential public health risks 
associated with ocean disposal of chemical munitions, and the 
environmental impact of the ocean disposal of chemical munitions.
    (e) Remediation.--
            (1) Report required.--Within one year after the completion 
        of the survey required by subsection (a), the Secretary of the 
        Army shall submit to Congress a report containing the 
        following:
                    (A) An analysis of the feasibility of implementing 
                multiple remediation measures at the disposal sites 
                covered by the survey.
                    (B) Cost estimates for such remediation measures.
                    (C) An analysis of the public health and 
                environmental safety risks of the disposal sites.
            (2) Special considerations.--The feasibility analysis 
        required by paragraph (1)(A) shall take into account the cost 
        of remediation measures, the public health and environmental 
        damage risk of remediation measures, and the risk to personnel 
        engaged in remediation measures.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.
                                 <all>