[House Report 113-398]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Rept. 113-398
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session Part 1
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MARINE DEBRIS EMERGENCY ACT OF 2013
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April 2, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1425]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1425) to amend the Marine Debris Act to better
address severe marine debris events, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1425 is to amend the Marine Debris Act
to better address severe marine debris events.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act
(Public Law 109-449) was enacted in 2006 to legislatively
authorize the marine debris program within the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The program supports
national and international efforts to research, prevent, and
reduce the impacts of marine debris. The program coordinates
and supports activities within NOAA and with other federal
agencies. It also supports local and regional projects through
grants issued to state and local agencies, tribes, non-
governmental organizations, academia, and industry.
The law was amended in the 112th Congress (Public Law 112-
213). The amendments modified the Act to: rename the law as the
``Marine Debris Act,'' strike outdated provisions; rename the
program the Marine Debris Program; revise the program
components to include ``identifying, determining sources of,
assessing, preventing, reducing, and removing marine debris'';
make the annual reports biennial; expand the confidentiality
provisions to all industries that submit information; define
``severe marine debris event'' and codify the existing NOAA and
U.S. Coast Guard marine debris definition; and require NOAA to
determine whether the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and
subsequent tsunami and the October 2012 hurricane Sandy each
caused a severe marine debris event and if that determination
is made, report to certain Congressional committees. The law
did not require any further action after NOAA reported to
Congress.
H.R. 1425 would further amend the Marine Debris Act to
establish a shortened and priority grant process for grants
addressing severe marine debris events. NOAA would have 60 days
to approve or disapprove the grants. If the grant is approved,
grant funds would also be approved and preference for grant
funding would be for those grants addressing severe marine
debris events, including any that have or are likely to
introduce marine invasive species. H.R. 1425 would allow
governors to request NOAA to make a severe marine debris
determination and would require a response within 30 days,
either a declaration or a response why a declaration wasn't
made. The bill would also require NOAA to educate grant
recipients to address marine invasive species that may be
associated with the marine debris. The bill also defines
``marine invasive species'' as ``marine nonindigenous species''
as defined in section 1003 of the Nonindigenous Aquatic
Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 that will or is
likely to: cause economic or environmental harm; threaten
diversity or abundance of native species or the ecological
stability of infested waters; or disrupt commercial,
agricultural, aquacultural, or recreational activities
dependent on the infested waters.
Committee Action
H.R. 1425 was introduced on April 9, 2013, by Congresswoman
Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure and in addition to the
Committee on Natural Resources. Within the Committee on Natural
Resources, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on
Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs. On June 13,
2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On December
4, 2013, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the
bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and
Insular Affairs was discharged by unanimous consent.
Congressman Don Young (R-AK) offered an amendment designated
.002 to the bill; the amendment was adopted by unanimous
consent. No further amendments were offered and the bill, as
amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 1425--Marine Debris Emergency Act of 2013
H.R. 1425 would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) to process applications for certain
grants within 60 days, if feasible. The bill also would
authorize the agency to prioritize grant funding for certain
events involving marine debris. Finally, if the governor of a
state requests that NOAA make priority funding available for a
particular marine debris event, the agency must determine
whether the event is eligible for such funding within 30 days.
Based on information provided by NOAA, CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would have no significant impact on the
federal budget. Because, under the bill, the agency would have
discretion over whether to expedite the processing of grant
applications and make priority funding available, CBO expects
that implementing the bill would have a minimal impact on the
agency's workload. Enacting the bill would not affect direct
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do
not apply.
H.R. 1425 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would have no significant impact on the
federal budget.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to amend the Marine Debris Act to
better address severe marine debris events.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Compliance With H. Res. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
MARINE DEBRIS ACT
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SEC. 3. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment of Program.--There is established, within
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a Marine
Debris Program to identify, determine sources of, assess,
prevent, reduce, and remove marine debris and address the
adverse impacts of marine debris on the economy of the United
States, the marine environment, and navigation safety.
(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 the identification, determination of
sources, assessment, prevention, reduction, and removal
of marine debris;
(3) undertake efforts to reduce the 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 certain fisheries to enhance the tracking,
recovery, and identification of lost and
discarded gear; and
(B) the development of effective
nonregulatory measures and incentives to
cooperatively reduce the volume of lost and
discarded fishing gear and to aid in gear
recovery;
(4) undertake outreach and education activities for
the public and other stakeholders on sources of marine
debris, threats associated with marine debris, and
approaches to identifying, determining sources of,
assessing, preventing, reducing, and removing marine
debris and its adverse impacts on the United States
economy, the marine environment, and navigation safety,
including outreach and education activities through
public-private initiatives; and
(5) develop, in consultation with the Interagency
Committee, interagency plans for the timely response to
events determined by the Administrator to be severe
marine debris events, including plans to--
(A) coordinate across agencies and with
relevant State, tribal, and local governments
to ensure adequate, timely, and efficient
response;
(B) assess the composition, volume, and
trajectory of marine debris associated with a
severe marine debris event; and
(C) estimate the potential impacts of a
severe marine debris event, including economic
impacts on human health, navigation safety,
natural resources, tourism, and livestock,
including aquaculture.
(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.
(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) 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.
(6) 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.
(d) Severe Marine Debris Events.--
(1) Priority consideration and disbursement.--Not
later than 60 days after receiving an application for a
grant under subsection (c) with respect to a severe
marine debris event, the Administrator shall, to the
extent feasible--
(A) approve or disapprove the application;
and
(B) if approving the application, provide the
approved grant funds to the grant recipient.
(2) Preference.--In evaluating applications for
grants under subsection (c), the Administrator shall
give preference to projects that address severe marine
debris events, including projects that address a severe
marine debris event that has introduced or is likely to
introduce marine invasive species to the United States.
(3) Request for a declaration.--
(A) In general.--The Governor of a State may
request that the Administrator declare a severe
marine debris event, in such State or a region
that includes such State, for purposes of
paragraphs (1) and (2).
(B) Response to requests.--Not later than 30
days after receiving a request under
subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall
either--
(i) declare a severe marine debris
event with respect to the request; or
(ii) provide a response to the
Governor who submitted the request,
explaining why the Administrator has
not declared a severe marine debris
event with respect to the request.
(e) Guidance.--The Administrator shall take appropriate steps
to encourage recipients of grants under this section to--
(1) educate staff and volunteers engaged in marine
debris response efforts on the potential threats that
marine debris and marine invasive species may pose to
the United States with respect to living marine
resources, the marine environment, navigation, and
public health; and
(2) coordinate marine debris response efforts with
appropriate Federal, State, and local government and
nongovernmental entities.
(f) Marine Invasive Species Defined.--In this section, the
term ``marine invasive species'' means a marine nonindigenous
species (as defined in section 1003 of the Nonindigenous
Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C.
4702)) the introduction of which to the United States will, or
is likely to--
(1) cause economic or environmental harm;
(2) threaten the diversity or abundance of native
species or the ecological stability of infested waters;
or
(3) disrupt commercial, agricultural, aquacultural,
or recreational activities dependent on infested
waters.
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