[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1680 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1680
To require the issuance of regulations pursuant to the National
Invasive Species Act of 1996 to assure, to the maximum extent
practicable, that vessels entering the Great Lakes do not discharge
ballast water that introduces or spreads nonindigenous aquatic species
and treat such ballast water and its sediments through the most
effective and efficient techniques available, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 2, 2001
Mr. Hoekstra (for himself, Mr. Barcia, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Camp, Mr. Upton,
Mr. Smith of Michigan, Mr. Rogers of Michigan, Mr. Stupak, Mr. McHugh,
Mr. English, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Kucinich, and Ms. Slaughter) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the issuance of regulations pursuant to the National
Invasive Species Act of 1996 to assure, to the maximum extent
practicable, that vessels entering the Great Lakes do not discharge
ballast water that introduces or spreads nonindigenous aquatic species
and treat such ballast water and its sediments through the most
effective and efficient techniques available, and for other purposes.
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 ``Great Lakes Ecology Protection Act
of 2001''.
SEC. 2. BALLAST WATER TREATMENT REGULATIONS REQUIRED.
(a) In General.--Section 1101(b) of the Nonindigenous Aquatic
Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4711(b)) is
amended by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Transportation shall
issue regulations to prevent the introduction and spread of
aquatic nuisance species within the Great Lakes.
``(2) Contents of the regulations.--The regulations
required by paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) ensure to the maximum extent practicable that
ballast water containing aquatic nuisance species is
not discharged into the Great Lakes;
``(B) protect the safety of each vessel, its crew,
and passengers, if any;
``(C) apply to all vessels capable of discharging
ballast water, whether equipped with ballast water tank
systems or otherwise, that enter the Great Lakes after
operating on waters beyond the exclusive economic zone;
``(D) require such vessels to--
``(i) carry out any discharge or exchange
of ballast water before entering the Great
Lakes; or
``(ii) carry out any discharge or exchange
of ballast water within the Great Lakes only in
compliance with the regulations;
``(E) take into consideration different vessel
operating conditions;
``(F) require the use of environmentally sound
treatment methods for ballast water and ballast
sediments in preventing and controlling infestations of
aquatic nuisance species;
``(G) provide for certification by the master of
each vessel entering the Great Lakes that such vessel
is in compliance with the regulations;
``(H) assure compliance through--
``(i) sampling procedures;
``(ii) inspection of records; and
``(iii) imposition of sanctions in
accordance with subsection (g)(1);
``(I) be based on the best scientific information
available;
``(J) not supersede or adversely affect any
requirement or prohibition pertaining to the discharge
of ballast water into the waters of the United States
under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and
``(K) include such other matters as the Secretary
considers appropriate.''.
(b) Treatment Methods Defined.--Section 1003 of such Act (16 U.S.C.
4702) is amended by--
(1) redesignating paragraphs (13), (14), (15), (16), and
(17) in order as paragraphs (14), (15), (16), (17), and (18);
and
(2) inserting after paragraph (12) the following:
``(13) `treatment methods' means the treatment of the
contents of ballast water tanks, including the sediments within
such tanks, to remove or destroy living biological organisms
through--
``(A) filtration;
``(B) the application of biocides or ultraviolet
light;
``(C) thermal methods; or
``(D) other treatment techniques approved by the
Secretary;''.
(c) Maximizing Public Participation in the Formulation of Required
Regulations.--The Secretary of Transportation shall maximize public
participation in the issuance of regulations required by the amendment
made by subsection (a), by--
(1) publishing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking;
(2) publishing the advance notice of proposed rulemaking
and the proposed rule through means designed to reach persons
likely to be subject to or affected by the regulations;
(3) making the text of the advance notice of proposed
rulemaking and of the proposed rule available through
electronic means;
(4) providing not less than 120 days for public comment on
the proposed rule;
(5) providing for an effective date that is not less than
30 days after the date of publication of the final rule; and
(6) such other means as the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(d) Required Regulatory Schedule.--
(1) Issuance of advance notice of proposed rulemaking.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall issue an
advance notice of proposed rulemaking for the
regulations required by the amendment made by
subsection (a) within 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
(B) Timetable for implementation.--The advanced
notice of proposed rulemaking shall contain a detailed
timetable for--
(i) the implementation of treatment methods
determined to be technologically available and
cost-effective at the time of the publication
of the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking;
and
(ii) the development, testing, evaluation,
approval, and implementation of additional
technologically innovative treatment methods.
(2) Issuance of final regulations.--The Secretary shall
issue final regulations--
(A) with respect to the implementation of treatment
methods referred to in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by not
later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this
Act; and
(B) with respect to the additional technologically
innovative treatment methods referred to in paragraph
(1)(B)(ii), by not later than the earlier of--
(i) the date established by the timetable
under paragraph (1)(B) for implementation of
such methods; or
(ii) 720 days after the date of enactment
of this Act.
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