[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11838-S11840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         MARINE DEBRIS RESEARCH, PREVENTION, AND REDUCTION ACT

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask the Chair lay before the Senate a 
message from the House of Representatives on the bill (S. 362) to 
establish a program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration and the United States Coast Guard to help identify, 
determine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris and its 
adverse impacts on the marine environment and navigation safety, in 
coordination with non-Federal entities, and for other purposes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the House of Representatives:

                                 S. 362

       Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 362) entitled 
     ``An Act to establish a program within the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Coast 
     Guard to help identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, 
     and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the 
     marine environment and navigation safety, in coordination 
     with non-Federal entities, and for other purposes'', do pass 
     with the following amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Marine Debris Research, 
     Prevention, and Reduction Act''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to help identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, 
     and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the 
     marine environment and navigation safety;
       (2) to reactivate the Interagency Marine Debris 
     Coordinating Committee; and
       (3) to develop a Federal marine debris information 
     clearinghouse.

     SEC. 3. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PREVENTION AND REMOVAL PROGRAM.

       (a) Establishment of Program.--There is established, within 
     the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a Marine 
     Debris Prevention and Removal Program to reduce and prevent 
     the occurrence and adverse impacts of marine debris on the 
     marine environment and navigation safety.
       (b) Program Components.--The Administrator, acting through 
     the Program and subject to the availability of 
     appropriations, shall carry out the following activities:
       (1) Mapping, identification, impact assessment, removal, 
     and prevention.--The Administrator shall, in consultation 
     with relevant Federal agencies, undertake marine debris 
     mapping, identification, impact assessment, prevention, and 
     removal efforts, with a focus on marine debris posing a 
     threat to living marine resources and navigation safety, 
     including--
       (A) the establishment of a process, building on existing 
     information sources maintained by Federal agencies such as 
     the Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard, for 
     cataloguing and maintaining an inventory of marine debris and 
     its impacts found in the navigable waters of the United 
     States and the United States exclusive economic zone, 
     including location, material, size, age, and origin, and 
     impacts on habitat, living marine resources, human health, 
     and navigation safety;
       (B) 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; and
       (C) development and implementation of strategies, methods, 
     priorities, and a plan for preventing and removing marine 
     debris from United States navigable waters and within the 
     United States exclusive economic zone, including development 
     of local or regional protocols for removal of derelict 
     fishing gear and other marine debris.
       (2) Reducing and preventing loss of gear.--The 
     Administrator shall improve efforts to reduce adverse impacts 
     of lost and discarded fishing gear on living marine resources 
     and navigation safety, including--
       (A) 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; and
       (B) development of effective nonregulatory measures and 
     incentives to cooperatively reduce the volume of lost and 
     discarded fishing gear and to aid in its recovery.
       (3) Outreach.--The Administrator shall undertake outreach 
     and education of the public and other stakeholders, such as 
     the fishing industry, fishing gear manufacturers, and 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, and prevent marine 
     debris and its adverse impacts on the marine environment and 
     navigational safety, including outreach and education 
     activities through public-private initiatives. 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).
       (c) Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts.--
       (1) In general.--The Administrator, acting through the 
     Program, shall enter into cooperative agreements and 
     contracts and provide financial assistance in the form of 
     grants for projects to accomplish the purpose set forth in 
     section 2(1).
       (2) Grant cost sharing requirement.--
       (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     Federal funds for any grant under this section may not exceed 
     50 percent of the total cost of such project. For purposes of 
     this subparagraph, the non-Federal share of project costs may 
     be provided by in-kind contributions and other noncash 
     support.
       (B) Waiver.--The Administrator may waive all or part of the 
     matching requirement under subparagraph (A) if the 
     Administrator determines that no reasonable means are 
     available through which applicants can meet the matching 
     requirement and the probable benefit of such project 
     outweighs the public interest in such matching requirement.
       (3) Amounts paid and services rendered under consent.--
       (A) Consent decrees and orders.--If authorized by the 
     Administrator or the Attorney General, as appropriate, the 
     non-Federal share of the cost of a project carried out under 
     this Act may include money paid pursuant to, or the value of 
     any in-kind service performed under, an administrative order 
     on consent or judicial consent decree that will remove or 
     prevent marine debris.
       (B) Other decrees and orders.--The non-Federal share of the 
     cost of a project carried out under this Act may not include 
     any money paid pursuant to, or the value of any in-kind 
     service performed under, any other administrative order or 
     court order.
       (4) Eligibility.--Any State, local, or tribal government 
     whose activities affect research or regulation of marine 
     debris, and any institution of higher education, nonprofit 
     organization, or commercial organization with expertise in a 
     field related to marine debris, is eligible to submit to the 
     Administrator a marine debris proposal under the grant 
     program.
       (5) Grant criteria and guidelines.--Within 180 days after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
     shall promulgate necessary guidelines for implementation of 
     the grant program, including development of criteria and 
     priorities for grants. In developing those guidelines, the 
     Administrator shall consult with--
       (A) the Interagency Committee;
       (B) regional fishery management councils established under 
     the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
     (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.);
       (C) State, regional, and local governmental entities with 
     marine debris experience;
       (D) marine-dependent industries; and
       (E) nongovernmental organizations involved in marine debris 
     research, prevention, or removal activities.
       (6) Project review and approval.--The Administrator shall--
       (A) review each marine debris project proposal to determine 
     if it meets the grant criteria and supports the goals of this 
     Act;
       (B) after considering any written comments and 
     recommendations based on the review, approve or disapprove 
     the proposal; and
       (C) provide notification of that approval or disapproval to 
     the person who submitted the proposal.
       (7) Project reporting.--Each grantee under this section 
     shall provide periodic reports as required by the 
     Administrator. Each report shall include all information 
     required by the Administrator for evaluating the progress and 
     success in meeting its stated goals, and impact of the grant 
     activities on the marine debris problem.

     SEC. 4. COAST GUARD PROGRAM.

       (a) Strategy.--The Commandant of the Coast Guard, in 
     consultation with the Interagency Committee, shall--
       (1) take actions to reduce violations of and improve 
     implementation of MARPOL Annex V and the Act to Prevent 
     Pollution from Ships (33

[[Page S11839]]

     U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) with respect to the discard of plastics 
     and other garbage from vessels;
       (2) take actions to cost-effectively monitor and enforce 
     compliance with MARPOL Annex V and the Act to Prevent 
     Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), including 
     through cooperation and coordination with other Federal and 
     State enforcement programs;
       (3) take actions to improve compliance with requirements 
     under MARPOL Annex V and section 6 of the Act to Prevent 
     Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1905) that all United States 
     ports and terminals maintain and monitor the adequacy of 
     receptacles for the disposal of plastics and other garbage, 
     including through promoting voluntary government-industry 
     partnerships;
       (4) develop and implement a plan, in coordination with 
     industry and recreational boaters, to improve ship-board 
     waste management, including recordkeeping, and access to 
     waste reception facilities for ship-board waste;
       (5) take actions to improve international cooperation to 
     reduce marine debris; and
       (6) establish a voluntary reporting program for commercial 
     vessel operators and recreational boaters to report incidents 
     of damage to vessels and disruption of navigation caused by 
     marine debris, and observed violations of laws and 
     regulations relating to the disposal of plastics and other 
     marine debris.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard 
     shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
     Representatives a report evaluating the Coast Guard's 
     progress in implementing subsection (a).
       (c) External Evaluation and Recommendations on Annex V.--
       (1) In general.--The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall 
     enter into an arrangement with the National Research Council 
     under which the National Research Council shall submit, by 
     not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act and in consultation with the Commandant and the 
     Interagency Committee, to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
     and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
     Representatives a comprehensive report on the effectiveness 
     of international and national measures to prevent and reduce 
     marine debris and its impact.
       (2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1) 
     shall include--
       (A) an evaluation of international and domestic 
     implementation of MARPOL Annex V and the Act to Prevent 
     Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) and 
     recommendations of cost-effective actions to improve 
     implementation and compliance with such measures to reduce 
     impacts of marine debris;
       (B) recommendation of additional Federal or international 
     actions, including changes to international and domestic law 
     or regulations, needed to further reduce the impacts of 
     marine debris; and
       (C) evaluation of the role of floating fish aggregation 
     devices in the generation of marine debris and existing legal 
     mechanisms to reduce impacts of such debris, focusing on 
     impacts in the Western Pacific and Central Pacific regions.

     SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.

       (a) Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee.--
     Section 2203 of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and 
     Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914) is amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Establishment of Interagency Marine Debris 
     Coordinating Committee.--There is established an Interagency 
     Marine Debris Coordinating Committee to coordinate a 
     comprehensive program of marine debris research and 
     activities among Federal agencies, in cooperation and 
     coordination with non-governmental organizations, industry, 
     universities, and research institutions, States, Indian 
     tribes, and other nations, as appropriate.''; and
       (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ``public, interagency'' 
     before ``forum''.
       (b) Definition of Marine Debris.--The Administrator and the 
     Commandant of the Coast Guard, in consultation with the 
     Interagency Committee established under subsection (a), shall 
     jointly develop and promulgate through regulations a 
     definition of the term ``marine debris'' for purposes of this 
     Act.
       (c) Reports.--
       (1) Interagency report on marine debris impacts and 
     strategies.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Interagency Committee, through 
     the chairperson, shall complete and submit to the Committee 
     on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
     the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the 
     Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives a 
     report that--
       (i) identifies sources of marine debris;
       (ii) the ecological and economic impact of marine debris;
       (iii) alternatives for reducing, mitigating, preventing, 
     and controlling the harmful affects of marine debris;
       (iv) the social and economic costs and benefits of such 
     alternatives; and
       (v) recommendations to reduce marine debris both 
     domestically and internationally.
       (B) Recommendations.--The report shall provide strategies 
     and recommendations on--
       (i) establishing priority areas for action to address 
     leading problems relating to marine debris;
       (ii) developing strategies and approaches to prevent, 
     reduce, remove, and dispose of marine debris, including 
     through private-public partnerships;
       (iii) establishing effective and coordinated education and 
     outreach activities; and
       (iv) ensuring Federal cooperation with, and assistance to, 
     the coastal States (as that term is defined in section 304 of 
     the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)), 
     Indian tribes, and local governments in the identification, 
     determination of sources, prevention, reduction, management, 
     mitigation, and control of marine debris and its adverse 
     impacts.
       (2) Annual progress reports.--Not later than 3 years after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially 
     thereafter, the Interagency Committee, through the 
     chairperson, shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
     Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee 
     on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on 
     Resources of the House of Representatives a report that 
     evaluates United States and international progress in meeting 
     the purpose of this Act. The report shall include--
       (A) the status of implementation of any recommendations and 
     strategies of the Interagency Committee and analysis of their 
     effectiveness;
       (B) a summary of the marine debris inventory to be 
     maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration;
       (C) a review of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration program authorized by section 3, including 
     projects funded and accomplishments relating to reduction and 
     prevention of marine debris;
       (D) a review of Coast Guard programs and accomplishments 
     relating to marine debris removal, including enforcement and 
     compliance with MARPOL requirements; and
       (E) estimated Federal and non-Federal funding provided for 
     marine debris and recommendations for priority funding needs.

     SEC. 6. FEDERAL INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.

       The Administrator, in coordination with the Interagency 
     Committee, shall--
       (1) maintain a Federal information clearinghouse on marine 
     debris that will be available to researchers and other 
     interested persons to improve marine debris source 
     identification, data sharing, and monitoring efforts through 
     collaborative research and open sharing of data; and
       (2) take the necessary steps to ensure the confidentiality 
     of such information (especially proprietary information), for 
     any information required by the Administrator to be submitted 
     by the fishing industry under this section.

     SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration.
       (2) Interagency committee.--The term ``Interagency 
     Committee'' means the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating 
     Committee established under section 2203 of the Marine 
     Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 
     1914).
       (3) United states exclusive economic zone.--The term 
     ``United States exclusive economic zone'' means the zone 
     established by Presidential Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated 
     March 10, 1983, including the ocean waters of the areas 
     referred to as ``eastern special areas'' in article 3(1) of 
     the Agreement between the United States of America and the 
     Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, 
     signed June 1, 1990.
       (4) MARPOL; annex v; convention.--The terms ``MARPOL'', 
     ``Annex V'', and ``Convention'' have the meaning given those 
     terms under section 2(a) of the Act to Prevent Pollution from 
     Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901(a)).
       (5) Navigable waters.--The term ``navigable waters'' means 
     waters of the United States, including the territorial sea.
       (6) Territorial sea.--The term ``territorial sea'' means 
     the waters of the United States referred to in Presidential 
     Proclamation No. 5928, dated December 27, 1988.
       (7) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Marine Debris 
     Prevention and Removal Program established under section 3.
       (8) State.--The term ``State'' means--
       (A) any State of the United States that is impacted by 
     marine debris within its seaward or Great Lakes boundaries;
       (B) the District of Columbia;
       (C) American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, 
     Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands; and
       (D) any other territory or possession of the United States, 
     or separate sovereign in free association with the United 
     States, that is impacted by marine debris within its seaward 
     boundaries.

     SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.

       Nothing in this Act supersedes, or limits the authority of 
     the Secretary of the Interior under, the Outer Continental 
     Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).

     SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal 
     year 2006 through 2010--
       (1) to the Administrator for carrying out sections 3 and 6, 
     $10,000,000, of which no more than 10 percent may be for 
     administrative costs; and
       (2) to the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast 
     Guard is operating, for the use of the Commandant of the 
     Coast Guard in carrying out section 4, $2,000,000, of which 
     no more than 10 percent may be used for administrative costs.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
concur in the House amendment, the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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