[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1119 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 367
112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1119

                          [Report No. 112-161]

To reauthorize and improve the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and 
                 Reduction Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 26, 2011

 Mr. Inouye (for himself, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Begich, Ms. Snowe, Ms. 
Murkowski, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. 
Wyden) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
       to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

                             April 25, 2012

             Reported by Mr. Rockefeller, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To reauthorize and improve the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and 
                 Reduction Act, and for other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Trash Free Seas Act of 
2011''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF PURPOSES OF MARINE DEBRIS RESEARCH, 
              PREVENTION, AND REDUCTION ACT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 2 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and 
Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1951) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
        following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) to address the adverse impacts of marine 
        debris on the marine environment, navigation safety, and the 
        United States economy through research, source identification, 
        assessment, reduction, removal, and prevention;''; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``and 
        maintain'' after ``to develop''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. REVISION OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 
              ADMINISTRATION MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Renaming of Program.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Subsection (a) of section 3 of 
        the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 
        U.S.C. 1952) is amended by striking ``Marine Debris Prevention 
        and Removal Program'' and inserting ``Marine Debris 
        Program''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Clerical amendment.--Such section is amended 
        in the heading by striking ``prevention and 
        removal''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Conforming amendment.--Paragraph (7) of 
        section 7 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1956) is amended by striking 
        ``Marine Debris Prevention and Removal Program'' and inserting 
        ``Marine Debris Program''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Expansion of Program Purposes.--Subsection (a) of 
section 3 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1952), as amended by subsection 
(a)(1), is further amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by striking ``reduce and prevent'' and 
        inserting ``research, assess, reduce, and prevent''; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by striking ``and navigation safety.'' and 
        inserting ``, navigation safety, and the United States 
        economy.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Revision of Program Components.--Subsection (b) of 
such section is amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and 
inserting the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Research and assessment.--The Administrator 
        shall, in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, 
        undertake marine debris research and assessment, reduction and 
        prevention efforts, with a focus on marine debris posing a 
        threat to living marine resources, the marine environment, 
        navigation safety, or the United States economy including the 
        following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) Research and assessment of derelict 
                fishing gear.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Research and assessment of plastics, 
                with respect to the health of the marine 
                environment.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) The establishment of a process for 
                maintaining an inventory of marine debris types and 
                their impacts found in the navigable waters of the 
                United States and the United States exclusive economic 
                zone, including impacts on living marine resources, the 
                marine environment, navigation safety, and the United 
                States economy.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) Measures to identify the origin, 
                location, and projected movement of marine debris 
                within United States navigable waters, the United 
                States exclusive economic zone, and the high seas, 
                including the use of oceanographic, atmospheric, 
                satellite, and remote sensing data.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Prevent, reduce, and remove occurrence and 
        impacts.--The Administrator shall undertake efforts to prevent, 
        reduce, and remove the occurrence and impacts of marine debris, 
        including the adverse impacts of derelict fishing gear, 
        including by--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) working with other Federal agencies 
                to address land-based sources of marine 
                debris;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) conducting research and development 
                of alternatives to gear posing threats to the marine 
                environment, and methods for marking gear used in 
                specific fisheries to enhance the tracking, recovery, 
                and identification of lost and discarded 
                gear;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) developing effective nonregulatory 
                measures and incentives to cooperatively reduce the 
                volume of lost and discarded fishing gear and to aid in 
                its recovery;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) developing and implementing 
                strategies, methods, priorities, and a plan for 
                tracking, preventing and removing marine debris that is 
                in, or likely to enter, United States navigable waters 
                or the United States exclusive economic zone, including 
                the development of local or regional protocols for 
                removal of derelict fishing gear and other marine 
                debris;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(E) providing national and regional 
                coordination to assist States, Indian tribes, and 
                regional organizations in addressing local marine 
                debris issues;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(F) promoting international action to 
                reduce the incidence of marine debris; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(G) developing and disseminating tools 
                and products related to the activities described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (E).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Outreach and education.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall 
                undertake outreach and education of the public and 
                other stakeholders, such as the fishing industry, 
                fishing gear manufacturers, other marine-dependent 
                industries, and the plastic and waste management 
                industries, on sources of marine debris, threats 
                associated with marine debris, and approaches to 
                identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, remove, 
                and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on 
                the marine environment, navigation safety, and the 
                United States economy, including outreach and education 
                activities through public-private 
                initiatives.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) Coordination.--The Administrator 
                shall coordinate outreach and education activities 
                under this paragraph with any outreach programs 
                conducted under section 2204 of the Marine Plastic 
                Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 
                1915).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Modification of Requirement To Prescribe Criteria and 
Guidelines for Grant Program.--Paragraph (5) of subsection (c) of such 
section is amended to read as follows:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Grant criteria and guidelines.--Applicants 
        for and recipients of grants awarded under this subsection 
        shall comply with such criteria and guidelines as the 
        Administrator shall prescribe to carry out the provisions of 
        this subsection.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF FEDERAL INFORMATION 
              CLEARINGHOUSE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 6 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and 
Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1955) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and monitoring 
        efforts'' and inserting ``monitoring efforts, and best 
        practices''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or other for-
        profit industries'' after ``the fishing industry''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF MARINE DEBRIS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Section 7 of the Marine Debris Research, 
Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1956), as amended by section 
3(a)(3), is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(9) Marine debris.--The term `marine debris' 
        means any persistent solid material that is manufactured or 
        processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or 
        unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine 
        environment or the Great Lakes.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Conforming and Technical Amendment.--Section 5 of such 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1954) is amended to read as follows:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``SEC. 5. BIENNIAL PROGRESS REPORTS OF THE INTERAGENCY MARINE 
              DEBRIS COORDINATING COMMITTEE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    ``(a) In General.--Not less frequently than once every 2 
years, the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee established 
pursuant to section 2203(a) of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research 
and Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914(a)) (in this section referred 
to as the `Interagency Committee') shall, acting through the 
chairperson of the Interagency Committee, submit to the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Natural 
Resources of the House of Representatives a report that evaluates 
United States and international progress in meeting the purposes of 
this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Contents.--Each report submitted pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall include the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) The status of implementation of any 
        recommendations and strategies of the Interagency Committee and 
        analysis of their effectiveness.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) A summary of the marine debris inventory to 
        be maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) A review of the Marine Debris Program 
        established by section 3, including projects funded and 
        accomplishments relating to reduction and prevention of marine 
        debris.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) A review of Coast Guard programs and 
        accomplishments relating to marine debris removal, including 
        enforcement and compliance with MARPOL requirements.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Estimated Federal and non-Federal funding 
        provided for marine debris and recommendations for priority 
        funding needs.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF 
              APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 9 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and 
Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1958) is amended, in the matter before 
paragraph (1), by striking ``through 2010--'' and inserting ``through 
2015--''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Trash Free Seas Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF PURPOSES OF MARINE DEBRIS RESEARCH, PREVENTION, 
              AND REDUCTION ACT.

    Section 2 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1951) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
            ``(1) to address the adverse impacts of marine debris on 
        the marine environment, navigation safety, and the United 
        States economy through research, source identification, 
        assessment, reduction, removal, and prevention;''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``and maintain'' after 
        ``to develop''.

SEC. 3. REVISION OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION 
              MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM.

    (a) Renaming of Program.--
            (1) In general.--Subsection (a) of section 3 of the Marine 
        Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1952) 
        is amended by striking ``Marine Debris Prevention and Removal 
        Program'' and inserting ``Marine Debris Program''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--Such section is amended in the 
        heading by striking ``prevention and removal''.
            (3) Conforming amendment.--Paragraph (7) of section 7 of 
        such Act (33 U.S.C. 1956) is amended by striking ``Marine 
        Debris Prevention and Removal Program'' and inserting ``Marine 
        Debris Program''.
    (b) Expansion of Program Purposes.--Subsection (a) of section 3 of 
such Act (33 U.S.C. 1952), as amended by subsection (a)(1), is further 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``reduce and prevent'' and inserting 
        ``research, assess, reduce, and prevent''; and
            (2) by striking ``and navigation safety.'' and inserting 
        ``, navigation safety, and the United States economy.''.
    (c) Revision of Program Components.--Subsection (b) of such section 
is amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and inserting the 
following:
            ``(1) Research and assessment.--The Administrator shall, in 
        consultation with relevant Federal agencies, undertake marine 
        debris research and assessment, reduction and prevention 
        efforts, with a focus on marine debris posing a threat to 
        living marine resources, the marine environment, navigation 
        safety, or the United States economy, including the following:
                    ``(A) Research and assessment of derelict fishing 
                gear.
                    ``(B) Research and assessment of plastics, with 
                respect to the health of the marine environment.
                    ``(C) The establishment of a process for 
                maintaining an inventory of marine debris types and 
                their impacts found in the navigable waters of the 
                United States and the United States exclusive economic 
                zone, including impacts on living marine resources, the 
                marine environment, navigation safety, and the United 
                States economy.
                    ``(D) Measures to identify the origin, location, 
                and projected movement of marine debris within United 
                States navigable waters, the United States exclusive 
                economic zone, and the high seas, including the use of 
                oceanographic, atmospheric, satellite, and remote 
                sensing data.
            ``(2) Prevent, reduce, and remove occurrence and impacts.--
        The Administrator shall undertake efforts to prevent, reduce, 
        and remove the occurrence and impacts of marine debris, 
        including the adverse impacts of derelict fishing gear, 
        including by--
                    ``(A) working with other Federal agencies to 
                address land-based sources of marine debris;
                    ``(B) conducting research and development of 
                alternatives to gear posing threats to the marine 
                environment, and methods for marking gear used in 
                specific fisheries to enhance the tracking, recovery, 
                and identification of lost and discarded gear;
                    ``(C) conducting research--
                            ``(i) related to shoreline resiliency to 
                        marine debris impacts; and
                            ``(ii) for purposes of--
                                    ``(I) navigation safety;
                                    ``(II) protecting living marine 
                                resources;
                                    ``(III) protecting the marine 
                                environment; or
                                    ``(IV) protecting the economy of 
                                the United States;
                    ``(D) developing effective nonregulatory measures 
                and incentives to cooperatively reduce the volume of 
                lost and discarded fishing gear and to aid in its 
                recovery;
                    ``(E) developing interagency action plans for the 
                preparation for, and timely response to, a severe 
                marine debris event that include--
                            ``(i) plans to coordinate State, tribal, 
                        and local governments which respond to other 
                        types of marine debris to ensure adequate, 
                        timely, and efficient response;
                            ``(ii) utilizing appropriate Federal 
                        agencies and departments, State, tribal, and 
                        local governments, including the Interagency 
                        Committee, to assess the unique and unknown 
                        potential impacts of a severe marine debris 
                        event; and
                            ``(iii) adequately prioritizing response 
                        needs for a severe marine debris event, 
                        including assessing--
                                    ``(I) potential impacts to human 
                                health;
                                    ``(II) potential impacts to natural 
                                resources;
                                    ``(III) potential impacts to 
                                navigation safety;
                                    ``(IV) potential impacts to 
                                livestock and aquaculture health; and
                                    ``(V) models capable of projecting 
                                debris volume and trajectory to allow 
                                the committee to prioritize and direct 
                                resources to regional response 
                                programs;
                    ``(F) carrying out research relating to assessing 
                the potential economic impacts of severe marine debris 
                events on the economies of coastal States, including 
                impacts to fishing, shipping, transportation, 
                aquaculture, ecotourism, and other industries, as the 
                Administrator considers appropriate;
                    ``(G) developing and implementing strategies, 
                methods, priorities, and a plan for tracking, 
                preventing, and removing marine debris that is in, or 
                likely to enter, United States navigable waters or the 
                United States exclusive economic zone, including the 
                development of local or regional protocols for removal 
                of derelict fishing gear and other marine debris;
                    ``(H) providing national and regional coordination 
                to assist States, Indian tribes, and regional 
                organizations in addressing local marine debris issues;
                    ``(I) promoting international action to reduce the 
                incidence of marine debris; and
                    ``(J) developing and disseminating tools and 
                products related to the activities described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (I).
            ``(3) Outreach and education.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall 
                undertake outreach and education of the public and 
                other stakeholders, such as the fishing industry, 
                fishing gear manufacturers, other marine-dependent 
                industries, and the plastic and waste management 
                industries, on sources of marine debris, threats 
                associated with marine debris, and approaches to 
                identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, remove, 
                and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on 
                the marine environment, navigation safety, and the 
                United States economy, including outreach and education 
                activities through public-private initiatives.
                    ``(B) Coordination.--The Administrator shall 
                coordinate outreach and education activities under this 
                paragraph with any outreach programs conducted under 
                section 2204 of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research 
                and Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1915).''.
    (d) Modification of Requirement To Prescribe Criteria and 
Guidelines for Grant Program.--Paragraph (5) of subsection (c) of such 
section is amended to read as follows:
            ``(5) Grant criteria and guidelines.--Applicants for and 
        recipients of grants awarded under this subsection shall comply 
        with such criteria and guidelines as the Administrator shall 
        prescribe to carry out the provisions of this subsection.''.

SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF FEDERAL INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.

    Section 6 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1955) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and monitoring 
        efforts'' and inserting ``monitoring efforts, and best 
        practices''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or other for-profit 
        industries'' after ``the fishing industry''.

SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF MARINE DEBRIS.

    (a) In General.--Section 7 of the Marine Debris Research, 
Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1956), as amended by section 
3(a)(3), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) Marine debris.--The term `marine debris' means any 
        persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and 
        directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, 
        disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or the 
        Great Lakes.
            ``(10) Severe marine debris event.--The term `severe marine 
        debris event' means a period, as determined by the 
        Administrator, of atypically large amounts of marine debris 
        inside, or about to enter, the United States exclusive economic 
        zone caused by--
                    ``(A) a natural disaster, including a tsunamis, 
                flood, landslide, or hurricane; or
                    ``(B) any other source, as identified by the 
                Administrator.''.
    (b) Conforming and Technical Amendment.--Section 5 of such Act (33 
U.S.C. 1954) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 5. BIENNIAL PROGRESS REPORTS OF THE INTERAGENCY MARINE DEBRIS 
              COORDINATING COMMITTEE.

    ``(a) In General.--Not less frequently than once every 2 years, the 
Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee established pursuant 
to section 2203(a) of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control 
Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914(a)) (in this section referred to as the 
`Interagency Committee') shall, acting through the chairperson of the 
Interagency Committee, submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
of Representatives a report that evaluates United States and 
international progress in meeting the purposes of this Act.
    ``(b) Contents.--Each report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) 
shall include the following:
            ``(1) The status of implementation of any recommendations 
        and strategies of the Interagency Committee and analysis of 
        their effectiveness.
            ``(2) A summary of the marine debris inventory to be 
        maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration.
            ``(3) A review of the Marine Debris Program established by 
        section 3, including projects funded and accomplishments 
        relating to reduction and prevention of marine debris.
            ``(4) A review of Coast Guard programs and accomplishments 
        relating to marine debris removal, including enforcement and 
        compliance with MARPOL requirements.
            ``(5) Estimated Federal and non-Federal funding provided 
        for marine debris and recommendations for priority funding 
        needs.''.

SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 9 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction 
Act (33 U.S.C. 1958) is amended, in the matter before paragraph (1), by 
striking ``through 2010--'' and inserting ``through 2016--''.
                                                       Calendar No. 367

112th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1119

                          [Report No. 112-161]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To reauthorize and improve the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and 
                 Reduction Act, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             April 25, 2012

                       Reported with an amendment