[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 130 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9969-S9970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FAIRCLOTH (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. 
        Warner, and Mr. Robb):
  S. 1219. A bill to require the establishment of a research and grant 
program for the eradication or control of Pfiesteria pisicicida and 
other aquatic toxins.


                  the pfiesteria research act of 1997

  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I rise to talk about a bill I am 
introducing today, the Pfiesteria Research Act of 1997. I thank my 
colleagues who have joined me as original cosponsors of this bill: 
Senator Barbara Mikulski, Senator Paul Sarbanes and Senator John 
Warner.
  This bill is the first Federal legislative response to this 
mysterious microbe which has been linked to fish kills and also to 
human health problems all along the east coast, but particularly in the 
Chesapeake Bay area and along the coast of North Carolina.
  Pfiesteria has become more than a problem affecting one State and, as 
such, a Federal, broader response is necessary. The No. 1 need is 
research into this mystery, what causes it, why it occurs, and how it 
can be stopped.
  We need to involve the best research laboratories in the country, at 
Government agencies, at universities, and at State agencies, to study 
the problem and to find a solution.
  Specifically, this bill does two things. First, it authorizes the 
EPA, the National Marine Fisheries Service,

[[Page S9970]]

the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, the Centers 
for Disease Control, and the Department of Agriculture to establish a 
research program for the eradication or control of Pfiesteria and other 
aquatic toxins.
  Second, the bill directs these agencies to make grants to 
universities and other such entities in affected States for the 
eradication or control of Pfiesteria and other aquatic toxins.
  Given the potentially serious health and environmental effects--and 
they have clearly been demonstrated by the number of people who have 
gotten sick in the Maryland-Virginia area because of it, and it has 
been deadly to hundreds of thousands of fish--significant Federal 
action needs to be taken to eradicate it and make sure this regional 
threat does not become a national threat.
  I hope this bill will be passed in the very near future and funds 
will then be appropriated to fully fund it. I look forward to working 
with my colleagues on this matter, and I particularly thank my 
colleague from Maryland, Barbara Mikulski, for her assistance with the 
bill.
  I send the bill to the desk and ask for its appropriate referral.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1219

       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 ``Pfiesteria Research Act of 
     1997''.

     SEC. 2. PFIESTERIA AND OTHER AQUATIC TOXINS RESEARCH AND 
                   GRANT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, the Secretary of Commerce (acting through 
     the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service of the 
     National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services (acting through the 
     Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health 
     Sciences and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
     and Prevention), and the Secretary of Agriculture shall--
       (1) establish a research program for the eradication or 
     control of Pfiesteria piscicida and other aquatic toxins; and
       (2) make grants to colleges, universities, and other 
     entities in affected States for the eradication or control of 
     Pfiesteria piscicida and other aquatic toxins.
       (b) Grants.--In carrying out subsection (a)(2), the heads 
     of the agencies referred to in subsection (a) shall make 
     grants to--
       (1) North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North 
     Carolina, for the establishment of an Applied Aquatic Ecology 
     Center and for research conducted by the Center relating to 
     aquatic toxins;
       (2) the University System of Maryland and the Agricultural 
     Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland, for the 
     establishment of a cooperative Agro-Ecosystem Center for 
     research and demonstration projects related to aquatic 
     toxins, such as Pfiesteria piscicida, including projects that 
     relate to dietary, waste management, and other alternative-
     use related strategies that reduce the undesirable nutrient 
     and other chemical content from waste into waterways; and
       (3) the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of the College 
     of William and Mary in Gloucester Point, Virginia, for the 
     establishment of a Marine Pathology and Applied Ecology 
     Center and for research conducted by the Center relating to 
     the effect of algal toxins on marine fish and shellfish and 
     to understanding human influences on estuarine planktonic 
     communities with an emphasis on harmful algal species, except 
     that a portion of the grants made under this paragraph shall 
     be allocated to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, 
     for research support.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out 
     this section, of which not less than--
       (1) $1,883,619 for fiscal year 1998, and $655,890 for 
     fiscal year 1999, shall be used to carry out subsection 
     (b)(1);
       (2) $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 and 1999 shall 
     be used to carry out subsection (b)(2); and
       (3) $1,750,000 for fiscal year 1998, and $545,000 for 
     fiscal year 1999, shall be used to carry out subsection 
     (b)(3).

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, today I am delighted to join my 
colleagues Senator Faircloth, Senator Mikulski and Senator Warner as a 
principal cosponsor of this proposal providing additional Federal 
assistance to efforts combating Pfiesteria outbreaks in the Chesapeake 
Bay and other Atlantic coast waterways.
  The micro-organism Pfiesteria piscicida, linked to fish kills and 
human health problems this summer in the Pocomoke River on Maryland's 
Eastern Shore, is a matter about which we are all deeply concerned. The 
Governor has recently closed down two Eastern Shore waterways in 
Maryland, and fish with lesions characteristic of Pfiesteria have also 
been discovered in Delaware, Virginia, and other Atlantic coast 
waterways.
  Since the Pfiesteria outbreaks began, we, in Congress, have worked 
individually and collectively on a variety of initiatives to assist the 
States in battling this toxic micro-organism. The Federal agency 
response team, led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is providing valuable 
funding and technical assistance to the States.
  The Federal assistance thus far includes habitat and water quality 
monitoring and fish lesion assessment. At my and Senator Mikulski's 
request, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 
National Institute of Environment Health Sciences are providing 
scientific teams and technical assistance for human health risk-
assessment efforts. In Maryland, the Cooperative Laboratory at Oxford 
is playing an especially key role by coordinating ongoing fisheries-
related investigations.
  The Pfiesteria Research Act of 1997 would add a critical dimension to 
the Federal response, one that would assist farmers with agricultural-
related research and demonstrations related to outbreaks of Pfiesteria 
and other aquatic toxins. This measure would provide this assistance by 
establishing a cooperative Agro-Ecosystem Center between the University 
System of Maryland and the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, and 
authorizing not less than $2 million in grants to the center. The 
University System of Maryland and the Beltsville Center are world 
leaders in conducting agricultural research and demonstration projects. 
I am confident that both have the substantial scientific and technical 
expertise necessary to lead the dietary, waste management, and other 
nutrient-reduction efforts authorized in this measure to combat 
Pfiesteria.
  Mr. President, the Federal Government has worked closely with 
affected States as they respond to Pfiesteria outbreaks. I urge my 
colleagues to support this measure and to provide much-needed 
assistance to farmers to battle Pfiesteria in the Chesapeake Bay and 
along other Atlantic coast waterways.
                                 ______