[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 88 (Tuesday, June 28, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 DELAWARE RIVER PROTECTION ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 27, 2005

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1412, the Delaware 
River Protection Act, which institutes a variety of measures to protect 
the Delaware and other American rivers from future oil spills and 
environmental disasters and which I am pleased to have voted for. As 
the longest un-dammed river east of the Mississippi, the Delaware is a 
crucial part of America's infrastructure, serving as a key route for 
commercial shipping, a popular area for recreational activity, and a 
vital water source for hundreds of counties and municipalities on or 
near its path.
  In late November 2004, the tanker Athos I, accidentally hit an 
unmarked, submerged piece of iron pipe on the shore of the Delaware 
River near Paulsboro, NJ. The metal tore a hole in the ship's single 
hull, releasing roughly 265,000 gallons of crude oil into the river and 
soiling over 200 miles of coastline. Hundreds of birds became oil-
covered and died; countless fish--including many endangered short-nose 
sturgeon--were sickened or killed. The Coast Guard estimated the cost 
of cleanup to be in excess of $200 million--that in addition to 
revenues lost when shipping routes along the river were forced to close 
and power plants along the river were forced to shut down. But under 
current law, the tanker's owners are responsible for less than $50 
million of that cost; American taxpayers are forced to foot the bill 
for the rest.
  For almost 15 million people--including much of the New York 
metropolitan area--the Delaware is a primary source of drinking water. 
Polluting such a valuable resource should be far costlier than it 
currently is, in order to encourage companies to practice the safest 
shipping possible. The Delaware River Protection Act would have just 
that effect.
  First, the bill increases responsible parties' cleanup liability by 
nearly ninety percent for single-hulled vessels like the Athos I, and 
by over forty percent for double-hulled vessels, which are safer and 
more resistant to hull damage. The bill also requires any person with 
knowledge of submerged objects in U.S. waters to report those objects 
to the Coast Guard or be subject to civil and criminal penalties; prior 
Coast Guard notification of the iron pipe submerged in the Delaware's 
banks could have prevented the Athos incident entirely.
  Finally, the bill proposes two programs. The first, established 
jointly within the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, would be devoted to determining the environmental 
effects of submerged oil, and to developing methods to locate and 
remove it. The second, the Delaware River and Bay Oil Spill Advisory 
Committee, would be devoted solely to recommending ways to improve 
prevention of--and reaction to--oil spills on the Delaware.
  In all, this bill makes important strides toward the environmental 
protection that our planet, our region, and the fifteen million 
Americans who rely on the Delaware for drinking water need. Preventing 
future oil spills and related disasters on the Delaware River is a 
vital and necessary goal. For that reason, Mr. Speaker, I urge my 
colleagues to support the Delaware River Protection Act.

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