[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 116 (Wednesday, August 1, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H5609-H5612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MARINE DEBRIS ACT AMENDMENTS OF 2012
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 1171) to reauthorize and amend the Marine Debris
Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1171
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 ``Marine Debris Act Amendments
of 2012''.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this
Act an amendment is expressed as an amendment to a section or
other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made
to a section or other provision of the Marine Debris
Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1951 et
seq.), as in effect immediately before the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 3. SHORT TITLE AMENDMENT.
Section 1 (33 U.S.C. 1951 note) is amended by striking
``Research, Prevention, and Reduction''.
[[Page H5610]]
SEC. 4. PURPOSE.
Section 2 (33 U.S.C. 1951) is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
``The purpose of this Act is to address the adverse impacts
of marine debris on the United States economy, the marine
environment, and navigation safety through identification,
determination of sources, assessment, prevention, reduction,
and removal of marine debris.''.
SEC. 5. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM.
(a) Name of Program.--
(1) In general.--Section 3 (33 U.S.C. 1952) is amended--
(A) in the section heading by striking ``prevention and
removal''; and
(B) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``Prevention and Removal Program to reduce
and prevent'' and inserting ``Program to identify, determine
sources of, assess, prevent, reduce, and remove''; and
(ii) by inserting ``the economy of the United States,''
after ``marine debris on''; and
(iii) by inserting a comma after ``environment''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Paragraph (7) of section 7 (33
U.S.C. 1956) is amended by striking ``Prevention and
Removal''.
(b) Program Components.--Section 3(b) (33 U.S.C. 1952(b))
is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Program Components.--The Administrator, acting
through the Program and subject to the availability of
appropriations, shall--
``(1) identify, determine sources of, assess, prevent,
reduce, and remove marine debris, with a focus on marine
debris posing a threat to living marine resources and
navigation safety;
``(2) provide national and regional coordination to assist
States, Indian tribes, and regional organizations in
identification, determination of sources, assessment,
prevention, reduction, and removal of marine debris;
``(3) undertake 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; and
``(4) undertake outreach and education of the public and
other stakeholders on sources of marine debris, threats
associated with marine debris, and approaches to identify,
determine sources of, assess, prevent, reduce, and remove
marine debris and its adverse impacts on the United States
economy, the marine environment, and navigational safety,
including outreach and education activities through public-
private initiatives.''.
(c) Repeal.--Section 2204 of the Marine Plastic Pollution
Research and Control Act of 1987 and the item relating to
that section in the table of contents contained in section 2
of the United States-Japan Fishery Agreement Approval Act of
1987 (33 U.S.C. 1915) are repealed.
(d) Grant Criteria and Guidelines.--Section 3(c) (33 U.S.C.
1952(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``section 2(1)'' and
inserting ``section 2'';
(2) by repealing paragraph (5); and
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs
(5) and (6).
SEC. 6. REPEAL OF OBSOLETE PROVISIONS.
Section 4 (33 U.S.C. 1953) is amended--
(1) by striking ``(a) Strategy.--''; and
(2) by repealing subsections (b) and (c).
SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS.
(a) Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (b),
section 2203 of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and
Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914) is redesignated and
moved to replace and appear as section 5 of the Marine Debris
Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1954).
(2) Clerical amendment.--The item relating to section 2203
in the table of contents contained in section 2 of the United
States-Japan Fishery Agreement Approval Act of 1987 is
repealed.
(b) Biennial Progress Reports.--Section 5(c)(2) (33 U.S.C.
1954(c)(2)), as in effect immediately before the enactment of
this Act--
(1) is redesignated as subsection (e) of section 5, as
redesignated and moved by the amendment made by subsection
(a) of this section; and
(2) is amended--
(A) by striking ``Annual progress reports.--'' and all that
follows through ``thereafter'' and inserting ``Biennial
Progress Reports.--Bienially'';
(B) by inserting ``Natural'' before ``Resources'';
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (E) as
paragraphs (1) through (5) of such subsection; and
(D) by moving such subsection 2 ems to the left.
SEC. 8. CONFIDENTIALITY OF SUBMITTED INFORMATION.
Section 6(2) (33 U.S.C. 1955(2)) is amended by striking
``by the fishing industry''.
SEC. 9. MARINE DEBRIS DEFINITION.
Section 7 (33 U.S.C. 1956) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (9), and
moving such paragraph to appear after paragraph (8); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) Marine debris.--The term `marine debris' means any
persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed
and directly or indirectly, and intentionally or
unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine
environment or the Great Lakes.''.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 9 (33 U.S.C. 1958) is amended--
(1) by striking ``are'' and inserting ``is'';
(2) by striking ``2006 through 2010'' and all that follows
through ``(1)'' and inserting ``through fiscal year 2015'';
(3) in paragraph (1), by striking ``$10,000,000'' and
inserting ``$4,900,000''; and
(4) by striking ``; and'' and all that follows through the
end of paragraph (2) and inserting a period.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alaska.
General Leave
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 1171.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Alaska?
There was no objection.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
H.R. 1171, the Marine Debris Act Amendments of 2012, reauthorizes the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's, NOAA, Marine Debris
Program at currently appropriated levels through 2015. The program has
played a crucial role in preventing and reducing the amount of trash on
our beaches and in the ocean.
I think it's important to note that this program is not regulatory in
nature. It takes a voluntary approach to improving the conditions of
our marine environment.
Failure to adequately address marine debris has major consequences on
our economy. Large objects floating in our oceans threaten the safe
navigation of cargo ships and recreational boaters. Derelict fishing
gear costs commercial fishermen millions of dollars in lost revenue.
And debris washing up on our shores forces the closing of beaches, a
major blow to local economies reliant on tourism.
In Alaska, NOAA's Marine Debris has worked with local partners to
conduct more than 20 projects that have removed 750,000 pounds of
debris from our shoreline since 2006. But the problem of marine debris
is about to get worse for Alaska and other Pacific coast States. NOAA
estimates there's 1.5 million tons of debris headed our way as a result
of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and the tsunami.
Alaskans are already finding Styrofoam, plastic, wood, and other
lightweight debris washing up on our islands. In May, the Coast Guard
was forced to sink an abandoned Japanese vessel laden with fuel oil
before it broke open on the Southeast panhandle.
Reauthorization of the Marine Debris Program is critical to help
Alaska and other coastal States protect our economies and ecosystems
and ensure the safety of those transiting our waters.
I want to commend Representative Sam Farr from California for
introducing this bill. As an original cosponsor of this important
bipartisan effort, I urge all Members to support the bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1171, bipartisan legislation
that reauthorizes the Marine Debris Research Prevention and Reduction
Act through fiscal year 2016.
Just this June, on the Pacific coast, an entire 70-foot dock washed
up on the coast of Oregon. This is only one piece of the estimated 1.5
million tons of marine debris from the disastrous 2011 Japanese tsunami
that will wash up on the west coast. Disasters like this are why it is
so important that we reauthorize this legislation today.
Marine debris remains a persistent threat to maritime safety and to
the health of our oceans and to our lakes.
[[Page H5611]]
Thanks to the enactment of the Marine Debris Research Prevention and
Reduction Act in 2006, we now have a much better understanding of
marine debris and its impact on our shorelines.
This law led to the establishment of effective partnerships between
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, and the
United States Coast Guard. It has led to better coordinated research
and debris removal activities, and it built greater understanding of
the challenges we face in addressing this threat.
Marine debris is a much larger and growing problem than we first
thought, and with the recent disaster in Japan, it will continue to
grow. Cleaning up marine debris takes coordination between several
agencies and States and requires expensive resources to clean up.
Earlier this week, NOAA provided a new analysis estimating that it
now costs the agency, on average, more than $4,300 to remove 1 ton of
marine debris from the environment. NOAA also said that the dock that
washed up on the shores of Oregon will cost $85,000 alone.
Despite what we've learned, and despite the fact that States on the
Pacific coast and Hawaii will have to contend with 1.5 million tons of
marine debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami for years to come, the
majority has insisted on cutting authorized funding levels for this
program in half. Cutting authorized funding for this program at this
time seems shortsighted, and I'm confident that the Senate will insist
on the higher authorized funding level in any final compromise bill.
But despite those reservations about the reduced funding levels in
this bill as reported by the majority, it is imperative that we
reauthorize the Marine Debris Act today to address this growing threat
in our future.
I want to thank the sponsor of the legislation, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Farr), for his extraordinary leadership on this issue.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1171.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may
consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr).
Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I truly appreciate the support we've seen in a
bipartisan fashion here for this legislation known as the Marine Debris
Act Amendments of 2012.
This bill was first carried and introduced in the United States
Senate by Senator Inouye and the late Senator Ted Stevens. They
recognized, Senator Inouye from Hawaii, the entire island surrounded by
ocean, and so much washes up on the shores of the islands, and Alaska,
with probably one of the longest coastlines in the United States,
certainly impacts from the ocean on them. And that's why it's so nice
and wonderful to have my colleague Don Young from Alaska, the only
Representative in the House from Alaska, to be a strong proponent of
this.
As he pointed out, Alaska has already seen the consequences of not
having reauthorization when the Japanese tsunami has started to wash
up. They've spent, in the first wave of the tsunami debris, Alaska's
already spent over $200,000 of State money in just aerial monitoring of
the local debris from the Japanese tsunami.
What this legislation does in reauthorization is allow States to
receive grants from NOAA so that the States can deal with their
coastline debris problems.
{time} 2000
It is important we do this for an even bigger purpose, which is that,
frankly, life on land is dependent on the quality of life at sea. We
know that we have over the years and decades been dumping everything we
don't like on land--and can't figure out where else to dump it--into
the ocean. At the same time, we take whatever we want out of the ocean.
Dumping and taking can upset the system so badly that you have oceans
die; and, certainly, we have big parts of the ocean that are dying
because of all the debris and waste that are in the oceans.
What this bill does is allow the Coast Guard, in working with NOAA,
which is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to
jointly look at, monitor and figure out ways to clean this stuff up. If
we don't do that, we're going to suffer. It's like living in pollution
in your own backyard. Eventually, there are consequences.
I think that those of us who have done ocean legislation over the
years--and Don Young has been one of the greater ones to understand
it--realize that, in solving the problem, it's going to require local
action and that it's going to require national and international
coordination. It's not our ocean alone. It goes all over the world, and
things in the ocean go all over the world. Just think of the old
stories about bottles and where they wind up. Now we see with the
tsunami that all this Japanese land mass stuff that was washed into the
sea is now showing up in Alaska and is showing up in Oregon and has
shown up on the beaches in California--in Capitola, where I live.
This problem is also going to require some partnerships between the
private sector and the fishermen community, in that it knows where some
of these drift nets are, and between the public sector. It's going to
require innovative technology. You have to detect it. We have found
nets that have been left in Monterey Bay that are too heavy to lift out
with conventional craft. We're going to have to go back to the fishing
boats and to the families who lost those nets and use their fishing
boats, which is a private enterprise supported by the public know-how
of how to retrieve those nets. I think it's very exciting. It's
certainly going to require education so that people don't keep dumping
things they don't want into the ocean.
There are consequences for dumping. California is now addressing it
in every local community by just storm water, the fact that all the
water that falls on our streets and roads picks up oil and picks up
other stuff that isn't compatible with ocean life and washes into it.
We have done a lot to clean up sewers and to say we're not going to
dump that stuff out into the ocean anymore, but we're still allowing
other storm water to get out there. California is addressing this
almost community by community, that being: How do we stop storm water
and polluted storm water from getting into the ocean?
So this legislation of reauthorizing debris cleanup is much more than
just giving NOAA some money to go out there and figure it out. It's
really an entire program of figuring out how to keep oceans healthy.
I appreciate the bipartisan support. I appreciate the leadership of
Mr. Young, and I appreciate the leadership on the committees. This bill
went to two committees--to the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee and to the Natural Resources Committee. Both committees
passed it out in bipartisan fashion, and now we have to pass it in the
Senate. I hope it's not too late, and I hope Congressman Young will
work with me in getting bipartisan support in the Senate so that we can
get this bill to the President and get it signed before the calendar
year runs out.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I want to thank the gentleman from California. Mr. Farr has been one
of the leaders who has been concerned with the oceans, and this debris
bill is crucially important to the State of California and especially
to Alaska. Mr. Farr came to me many months ago and said we've got to
get this done. We've got to get this done. A lot of people weren't
interested, and now we finally get to a point where we see what's
occurring from the tsunami, although we may not have that recur again.
The crisis in the ocean, though, is detrimental, as I mentioned in my
opening statement, to the fishermen whom I represent and to the
recreational people whom I represent. So to get it out of the ocean
even before it reaches the beaches is crucially important. The beaches
sometimes are sort of fun to beachcomb, but if there is something bad
that's in the ocean, we should try to retrieve it sooner, if possible;
and when it gets there, we really want to be able to take care of it.
There should be more money--I won't disagree with the gentleman from
Washington--but we're moving this down the road. We'll see what happens
on the Senate side, and we'll see if we can't get a little more effort,
because it's a partnership program that makes
[[Page H5612]]
this thing work. A lot of people have interest in Alaska and in trying
to clean the beaches after it arrives, and we're trying to get more
people interested in cleaning the ocean up before it does arrive.
Hopefully, it will work together.
With that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LARSEN of Washington. I have no more speakers, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I have no more speakers, so I yield back the
balance of my time.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.
1171, the Marine Debris Act Amendments of 2012. I want to commend my
colleague and friend Congressman Sam Farr from California for
introducing this legislation and continually working for its passage.
As a member of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans,
one of my top priorities was to take action on legislation to address
our nation's ocean environment. I am pleased to say that this
legislation, H.R. 1171, would continue to combat the adverse impacts of
marine debris on the United States economy, the marine environment, and
navigation safety through identification, determination of sources,
assessment, prevention, reduction, and removal of marine debris.
This legislation will reauthorize NOAA's existing Marine Debris
Program to support important projects throughout the country, including
beach cleanups, derelict fishing gear location and removal, and
educational campaigns. The program helps to identify, determine sources
of, assess, prevent, reduce, and remove marine debris, with a focus on
marine debris posing a threat to living marine resources and navigation
safety. This reauthorizing language would serve to streamline these
programs by avoiding any overlaps or conflicts with other federal
agencies.
The legislation would help protect the environment and the economy of
coastal communities throughout the Nation. Earlier this year, tsunami
debris washed ashore the coasts of Oregon and Washington, calling
attention to the need for a comprehensive plan to coordinate clean-up
efforts. Indeed, the impacts of the March 2011 tsunami in Japan will
continue to impact our shores over the coming months and years and this
bill gives us the tools to respond to this situation. In particular,
Guam would greatly benefit from the passage of the Marine Debris Act
Amendments of 2012 as it would give states and local communities the
additional tools needed to effectively care for our marine environments
and wildlife.
Again, I applaud Representative Farr for introducing this
legislation. I thank Chairman Mica, Chairman Hastings, Ranking Member
Rahall and Ranking Member Markey for their leadership in bringing this
important bill which enhances our understanding of the marine
environment to the House floor. I encourage my colleagues to continue
supporting this important legislation that addresses one of the most
serious threats to our oceans today.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 1171, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________