[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1561 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1561

  To ensure safe, secure, and reliable marine shipping in the Arctic, 
 including the availability of aids to navigation, vessel escorts, oil 
   spill response capability, and maritime search and rescue in the 
                    Arctic, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 2009

  Mr. Begich introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure safe, secure, and reliable marine shipping in the Arctic, 
 including the availability of aids to navigation, vessel escorts, oil 
   spill response capability, and maritime search and rescue in the 
                    Arctic, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment 
Implementation Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States is an Arctic nation with--
                    (A) an approximately 700-mile border with the 
                Arctic Ocean;
                    (B) more than 100,000,000 acres of land above the 
                Arctic Circle; and
                    (C) an even broader area defined as Arctic by 
                temperature, which includes the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
                Islands.
            (2) The Arctic region of the United States--
                    (A) is home to an indigenous population which has 
                subsisted for millennia on the abundance in marine 
                mammals, fish, and wildlife, many of which are unique 
                to the region;
                    (B) is known to the indigenous population as 
                Inuvikput or the ``place where we live''; and
                    (C) has produced more than 16,000,000,000 barrels 
                of oil and, according to the United States Geological 
                Survey, may hold an additional 30,000,000,000 barrels 
                of oil and 220,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural 
                gas, making the region of fundamental importance to the 
                national interest of the United States.
            (3) Temperatures in the United States Arctic region have 
        warmed by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius over the past half-century, a 
        rate of increase that is twice the global average.
            (4) The Arctic ice pack is rapidly diminishing and 
        thinning, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration estimates the Arctic Ocean may be ice free 
        during summer months in as few as 30 years.
            (5) Such changes to the Arctic region are having a 
        significant impact on the indigenous people of the Arctic, 
        their communities and ecosystems, as well as the marine 
        mammals, fish, and wildlife upon which they depend.
            (6) Such changes are opening new portions of the United 
        States Arctic continental shelf to possible development for 
        offshore oil and gas, commercial fishing, marine shipping, and 
        tourism.
            (7) It is in the interests of the United States to work 
        with the State of Alaska and the United States neighbors in the 
        Arctic region to ensure that shipping in the Arctic Ocean and 
        adjacent seas is safe for mariners, protective of the natural 
        environment, including the air, land, water, and wildlife of 
        the Arctic, and mindful of the needs of longstanding 
        subsistence users of Arctic resources.
            (8) It is in the interests of the United States to ensure 
        that shipping in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas is secure, 
        that United States sovereign and security interests, including 
        the freedom of navigation rights of United States and foreign 
        vessels to transit international straits, are respected and 
        protected, consistent with international and customary law, 
        that access is provided throughout the Arctic Ocean for 
        legitimate research vessels of all nations, and that peaceful 
        relations are maintained in the Arctic region.
            (9) It is in the interests of the United States to 
        cooperate to establish a system of international cooperation to 
        support reliable shipping, with methods for joint investment in 
        providing mariners aids to navigation, ports of refuge, vessel-
        to-shore communication, weather and ice forecasting, ship 
        tracking and reporting, hydrographic mapping, and search and 
        rescue capability.
            (10) The United States has continuing research, security, 
        environmental, and commercial interests in the Arctic region 
        that rely on the availability of polar class icebreakers of the 
        Coast Guard that were commissioned in the 1970s and are in need 
        of replacement.
            (11) Sovereign interests of the United States in the Arctic 
        Ocean and Bering Sea regions may grow with submission of a 
        United States claim for an extended continental shelf, pending 
        the United States becoming a party to the United Nations 
        Convention on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay December 
        10, 1982.
            (12) Building new icebreakers, forward operating bases, 
        aids to navigation, and other facilities, and establishing 
        coordinated shipping regulations and oil spill prevention and 
        response capability through international cooperation requires 
        long lead times.
            (13) Beginning such efforts, with the completion of an 
        Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment by the 8-nation Arctic 
        Council, is essential to protect United States interests given 
        the extensive current use of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas 
        by vessels of many nations.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to ensure safe, secure, and reliable 
maritime shipping in the Arctic, including the availability of aids to 
navigation, vessel escorts, spill response capability, and maritime 
search and rescue in the Arctic.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the term ``Arctic'' has the meaning given that term in 
section 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 
4111).

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.

    It is the sense of Congress that, to carry out the purpose of this 
Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, acting through the Commandant of the Coast Guard, 
should work to establish agreements to promote coordinated action among 
the United States, Russia, Canada, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark and 
other seafaring and Arctic nations with respect to--
            (1) placement and maintenance of aids to navigation in 
        waters of the Arctic;
            (2) improved navigational charts;
            (3) the monitoring of ocean conditions including wind, 
        waves, and currents and the timely reporting of information 
        about ice and weather conditions;
            (4) appropriate icebreaking escort, tug, and salvage 
        capabilities;
            (5) oil spill prevention and response capability;
            (6) maritime domain awareness, including long-range vessel 
        tracking and communications facilities;
            (7) search and rescue; and
            (8) facilities for ship generated waste.

SEC. 6. COAST GUARD ARCTIC MISSION ANALYSIS.

    (a) Submission of Report Analysis to Congress.--
            (1) Requirement for submission.--Not later than 90 days 
        following the completion of the High Latitude Polar Ice-
        Breaking Mission Analysis Report, the Commandant of the Coast 
        Guard shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress--
                    (A) such report; and
                    (B) consistent with section 93(a)(24) of title 14, 
                United States Code, any recommendations of the 
                Commandant related to such report.
            (2) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
        means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
        the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 
        Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.
    (b) Mission Requirements Analysis.--
            (1) Mission requirements analysis.--Not later than 90 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant of 
        the Coast Guard shall, subject to the availability of 
        appropriations, execute a contract with an independent entity 
        to--
                    (A) conduct an analysis of future mission 
                requirements of the Coast Guard in the Arctic and 
                Antarctic; and
                    (B) estimate the necessary resources to provide for 
                such requirements.
            (2) Submission of analysis and estimate.--Not later than 
        120 days after the date that the contract described in 
        paragraph (1) is executed, the analysis and estimate described 
        in subparagraph (A) and (B) of that paragraph shall be 
        submitted to--
                    (A) the appropriate committees of Congress;
                    (B) the Commandant of the Coast Guard; and
                    (C) the Comptroller General of the United States.
            (3) Additional recommendations.--Not later than 90 days 
        after the submission of the analysis and estimate described in 
        paragraph (2)--
                    (A) the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit 
                to the appropriate committees of Congress, consistent 
                with section 93(a)(24) of title 14, United States Code, 
                any recommendations of the Commandant related to such 
                analysis and estimate; and
                    (B) the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
                appropriate committees of Congress any recommendations 
                of the Comptroller General related to such analysis and 
                estimate.
            (4) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this 
        subsection, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation and the Committee on Homeland Security 
                and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and the 
                Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 
                House of Representatives.

SEC. 7. ARCTIC VESSEL TRAFFIC RISK ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) In General.--Pursuant to sections 4 and 5 of the Ports and 
Waterways Safety Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1223 and 1224), the Commandant 
of the Coast Guard, in consultation with the appropriate Area Committee 
established under section 311(j)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(4)), shall prepare--
            (1) not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, a vessel traffic risk assessment for the Bering 
        Strait, Alaska; and
            (2) not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, a vessel traffic risk assessment for the Arctic 
        Ocean waters adjacent to Alaska's North Slope.
    (b) Contents.--A vessel traffic risk assessment, prepared pursuant 
to subsection (a), shall describe for the Bering Strait or the Arctic 
Ocean, as appropriate--
            (1) the amount and character of present and estimated 
        future shipping traffic in the region; and
            (2) the current and projected use and effectiveness in 
        reducing risk of--
                    (A) traffic separation schemes and routing 
                measures;
                    (B) long-range vessel tracking systems developed 
                under section 70115 of title 46, United States Code;
                    (C) towing, response, or escort tugs;
                    (D) vessel traffic services;
                    (E) emergency towing packages on vessels;
                    (F) increased spill response equipment including 
                equipment appropriate for severe weather and sea 
                conditions;
                    (G) the automatic identification system developed 
                under section 70114 of title 46, United States Code;
                    (H) particularly sensitive sea areas, important 
                ecological areas, areas to be avoided, and other 
                traffic exclusion zones;
                    (I) aids to navigation;
                    (J) vessel response plans, facility response plans, 
                any other response plans that the Secretary deems 
                necessary; and
                    (K) area contingency plans and the effectiveness of 
                the several response plans to support an area 
                contingency plans.
    (c) Recommendations.--
            (1) In general.--An assessment, prepared pursuant to this 
        section, may include any appropriate recommendations to enhance 
        the safety and security, or lessen potential adverse 
        environmental impacts, of marine shipping.
            (2) Consultation.--Prior to making any recommendation 
        described in paragraph (1), the Commandant of the Coast Guard, 
        acting through the appropriate Area Committee established under 
        section 311(j)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
        (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(4)), shall consult with affected Federal, 
        State, and local government agencies, representatives of the 
        fishing industry, Alaska Natives from the region, the 
        conservation community, and the merchant shipping and oil 
        transportation industries.

SEC. 8. CENTRAL BERING SEA HARBOR OF REFUGE.

    (a) Consultation and Determination.--Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 
Guard shall consult with the Secretary of the Army to determine the 
viability of and the improvements necessary to make the harbor at St. 
George Island, Alaska, a fully functional harbor of refuge throughout 
the year to enhance safety of life at sea and protection from oil 
pollution in the Central Bering Sea.
    (b) Completion of Harbor.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall complete the 
harbor at St. George Island, Alaska, including the improvements 
determined under subsection (a) and any engineering design needed for 
safe navigation.

SEC. 9. REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF ARCTIC DEEP WATER PORT.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall 
        conduct a study on the feasibility and potential of 
        establishing a deep water sea port in the Arctic to protect and 
        advance strategic United States interests within the evolving 
        and ever more important Arctic region.
            (2) Scope.--The study required under paragraph (1) shall 
        address the following issues:
                    (A) The capability that such a port would provide.
                    (B) Potential and optimum locations for such a 
                port.
                    (C) Resources needed to establish such a port.
                    (D) The time frame needed to establish such a port.
                    (E) The infrastructure required to support such a 
                port.
                    (F) Any other issues the Secretary determines 
                necessary to complete the study.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional 
defense committees a report on the findings of the study conducted 
under subsection (a).

SEC. 10. TRANSFER OF FUNDS FOR ICEBREAKING SERVICES.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Director of the 
National Science Foundation shall transfer all amounts provided 
pursuant to any Act for the procurement of polar icebreaking services 
to the United States Coast Guard Appropriation Accounts, and such 
amounts shall remain available until expended for operating expenses, 
renovation, and improvement.

SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security--
            (1) $40,000,000 in fiscal year 2011 for the design of a new 
        polar class icebreaker;
            (2) $800,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012 for 
        the construction of 2 polar capable icebreakers;
            (3) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015 
        for seasonal operations in the Arctic;
            (4) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015 
        to carry out any agreements referred to in section 5;
            (5) $4,000,000, to remain available until expended, for a 
        vessel traffic risk assessments to be conducted pursuant to 
        section 7; and
            (6) $100,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 2011 through 
        2013 for the construction of forward operating bases, including 
        aircraft hangar, bunk and mess facilities in Barrow, Nome, and 
        Saint Paul Island, Alaska.
    (b) Hydrographic Services.--Section 306 of the Hydrographic 
Services Improvement Act of 1998 (33 U.S.C. 892d) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(7) To acquire hydrographic data, provide hydrographic 
        services, and conduct coastal change analyses necessary to 
        ensure safe navigation, and to improve the management of 
        coastal change in the Arctic, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
        years 2011 and 2012.
            ``(8) To acquire hydrographic data and provide hydrographic 
        services in the Arctic necessary to delineate the United States 
        extended continental shelf, $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
        2011 and 2012.''.
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