[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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