[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 113 (Thursday, July 29, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H6428-H6429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MODIFYING DATE THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 
               AND APPLICABLE STATES MAY REQUIRE PERMITS

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (S. 3372) to modify the date on which the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and applicable 
States may require permits for discharges from certain vessels.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 3372

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

     SECTION 1. DISCHARGES INCIDENTAL TO NORMAL OPERATION OF 
                   VESSELS.

       Section 2(a) of Public Law 110-299 (33 U.S.C. 1342 note) is 
     amended by striking ``during the 2-year period beginning on 
     the date of enactment of this Act'' and inserting ``during 
     the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act 
     and ending on December 18, 2013''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) and the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. LoBiondo) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to 
revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on 
this bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of S. 3372. This piece of legislation has been 
approved twice by this Chamber. Just last week, H.R. 5301, proposed by 
my colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) passed 
easily on the floor of this Chamber.
  Both S. 3372 and H.R. 5301 are mere extensions of an already existing 
moratorium. This extension is necessary because the Environmental 
Protection Agency has determined that discharges from vessels under 79 
feet in length are not benign. But the agency needs additional time to 
expand coverage of its permitting program for these smaller vessels, 
and the EPA needs additional time to set appropriate Clean Water Act 
requirements to protect the Nation's waters from these type of 
discharges.
  So I urge my colleagues to join me and support S. 3372.

[[Page H6429]]

  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LoBIONDO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I urge all Members to support this very important measure. I want to 
particularly thank Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Mica, and Gene Taylor for their 
work on this measure. Again, I urge everyone to support the 
legislation.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 3372. Effective 2 
days from now, commercial fishermen, charter boat operators and owners 
of other commercial vessels less than 79 feet will have to apply for 
and receive individual permits from the EPA to discharge from their 
vessels such things as deck wash, bilge water, and the condensation 
from air conditioning units. Vessels that operate without these permits 
could be subject to citizen lawsuits and daily fines that exceed 
$32,000 per violation. To make matters worse, the EPA has informed 
Congress that they do not have the resources to process the hundreds of 
thousands of permits that would be required.
  This bill simply extends the current moratorium a few more years to 
ensure the EPA has time to analyze the results of the study they 
conducted on incidental discharges, review public comments, and develop 
proper permitting regulations.
  Although I am very pleased the House will be sending this bill to the 
President today, I still look forward to working with Chairman Oberstar 
on a broader bill to establish a fair and effective regime to regulate 
incidental discharges, as well as ballast water. As the Chairman knows, 
the current situation where we have 2 Federal agencies plus 28 
different states enforcing 30 different standards on ballast water is 
crippling our maritime industry. I know the Chairman is committed to 
working through those issues and I hope we will have a bill on the 
floor soon.
  Finally, I want to thank Chairman Oberstar for his leadership in 
moving this bill forward today, as well as Ranking Member Mica for his 
strong support and assistance. I also want to thank Senators Murkowski 
and Boxer for their tremendous efforts. Finally, I want to thank the 
staff on both sides for their outstanding work.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield such time 
as he may consume to the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman 
from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).
  Mr. OBERSTAR. I want to compliment the gentlewoman on her splendid 
work on this legislation and her leadership of the subcommittee, the 
gentleman from New Jersey for his consistent and persistent advocacy. 
And if we pass this bill tonight, it will go directly to the President.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3372, a bill that 
extends a provision prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) and States from requiring permits under Section 402 of the Clean 
Water Act for certain discharges that are incidental to the normal 
operation of commercial vessels less than 79 feet in length and all 
fishing vessels. This Chamber has now twice passed the language 
contained in S. 3372.
  I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) for his 
continued work on this issue. As I have said many times to my 
colleague, we will get this legislation signed into law.
  This legislation extends a narrowly tailored provision enacted by 
Congress in 2008 to establish a moratorium on permit requirements under 
the Clean Water Act for certain discharges from fishing vessels and 
those commercial vessels less than 79 feet in length. This legislation 
ensures that EPA has sufficient time to consider the implications of 
discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, while 
preserving the goals of the Clean Water Act to restore and maintain the 
chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters.
  When the moratorium was established two years ago, EPA was directed 
to conduct a study on discharges incidental to the normal operation of 
a vessel. The purpose of this study was to provide the Agency and 
Congress with additional information on the nature, types, volumes, and 
composition of vessel discharges, and the potential impact of these 
discharges on human health, welfare, and the environment.
  EPA completed this study earlier this year and determined that 
discharges from these smaller vessels are not benign. Appropriately, 
EPA plans on bringing these vessels within the scope of the National 
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. Currently, 
however, EPA does not have the framework in place or the resources to 
expand NPDES coverage to these smaller vessels.
  S. 3372 extends the current moratorium to December 18, 2013. This 
extension will allow EPA time to implement the appropriate Clean Water 
Act mechanisms for controlling, minimizing, and properly addressing 
these types of vessel discharges. It will also allow the Agency to plan 
for the inclusion of these smaller vessels when the Agency renews its 
Vessel General Permits program.
  The language contained in S. 3372 was included in H.R. 3619, the 
``Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010'', which passed the House on 
November 2, 2009. In addition, last week, the House passed H.R. 5301, 
introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo), which 
included this provision.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in support of S. 3372.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. I urge support for the bill. I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 3372.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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