PUBLIC LAW 109–449—DEC. 22, 2006 120 STAT. 3333

Public Law 109–449

109th Congress

An Act

To establish a program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

and the United States Coast Guard to help identify, determine sources of, assess,

reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the marine environment and navigation safety, in coordination with non-Federal entities, 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 ‘‘Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act’’.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are—

(1) to help identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce,

and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the

marine environment and navigation safety;

(2) to reactivate the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee; and

(3) to develop a Federal marine debris information clearinghouse.

SEC. 3. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PREVENTION AND REMOVAL PROGRAM.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—There is established, within

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a Marine

Debris Prevention and Removal Program to reduce and prevent

the occurrence and adverse impacts of marine debris on the marine

environment and navigation safety.

(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The Administrator, acting through

the Program and subject to the availability of appropriations, shall

carry out the following activities:

(1) MAPPING, IDENTIFICATION, IMPACT ASSESSMENT,

REMOVAL, AND PREVENTION.—The Administrator shall, in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, undertake marine

debris mapping, identification, impact assessment, prevention,

and removal efforts, with a focus on marine debris posing

a threat to living marine resources and navigation safety,

including—

(A) the establishment of a process, building on existing

information sources maintained by Federal agencies such

as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast

Guard, for cataloguing and maintaining an inventory of

marine debris and its impacts found in the navigable

waters of the United States and the United States exclusive

economic zone, including location, material, size, age, and

33 USC 1952.

33 USC 1951.

Marine Debris

Research,

Prevention, and

Reduction Act.

33 USC 1951

note.

Dec. 22, 2006

[S. 362]

120 STAT. 3334 PUBLIC LAW 109–449—DEC. 22, 2006

origin, and impacts on habitat, living marine resources,

human health, and navigation safety;

(B) measures to identify the origin, location, and projected movement of marine debris within United States

navigable waters, the United States exclusive economic

zone, and the high seas, including the use of oceanographic,

atmospheric, satellite, and remote sensing data; and

(C) development and implementation of strategies,

methods, priorities, and a plan for preventing and removing

marine debris from United States navigable waters and

within the United States exclusive economic zone, including

development of local or regional protocols for removal of

derelict fishing gear and other marine debris.

(2) REDUCING AND PREVENTING LOSS OF GEAR.—The

Administrator shall improve 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.

(3) OUTREACH.—The Administrator shall undertake outreach and education of the public and other stakeholders, such

as the fishing industry, fishing gear manufacturers, and other

marine-dependent industries, and the plastic and waste

management industries, on sources of marine debris, threats

associated with marine debris and approaches to identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris

and its adverse impacts on the marine environment and navigational safety, including outreach and education activities

through public-private initiatives. The Administrator shall

coordinate outreach and education activities under this paragraph with any outreach programs conducted under section

2204 of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control

Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1915).

(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(1).

(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

PUBLIC LAW 109–449—DEC. 22, 2006 120 STAT. 3335

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) GRANT CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.—Within 180 days

after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator

shall promulgate necessary guidelines for implementation of

the grant program, including development of criteria and priorities for grants. In developing those guidelines, the Administrator shall consult with—

(A) the Interagency Committee;

(B) regional fishery management councils established

under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.);

(C) State, regional, and local governmental entities

with marine debris experience;

(D) marine-dependent industries; and

(E) nongovernmental organizations involved in marine

debris research, prevention, or removal activities.

(6) 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.

(7) 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.

SEC. 4. COAST GUARD PROGRAM.

(a) STRATEGY.—The Commandant of the Coast Guard, in consultation with the Interagency Committee, shall—

33 USC 1953.

Notification.

Deadline.

120 STAT. 3336 PUBLIC LAW 109–449—DEC. 22, 2006

(1) take actions to reduce violations of and improve

implementation of MARPOL Annex V and the Act to Prevent

Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) with respect

to the discard of plastics and other garbage from vessels;

(2) take actions to cost-effectively monitor and enforce

compliance with MARPOL Annex V and the Act to Prevent

Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), including through

cooperation and coordination with other Federal and State

enforcement programs;

(3) take actions to improve compliance with requirements

under MARPOL Annex V and section 6 of the Act to Prevent

Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1905) that all United States

ports and terminals maintain and monitor the adequacy of

receptacles for the disposal of plastics and other garbage,

including through promoting voluntary government-industry

partnerships;

(4) develop and implement a plan, in coordination with

industry and recreational boaters, to improve ship-board waste

management, including recordkeeping, and access to waste

reception facilities for ship-board waste;

(5) take actions to improve international cooperation to

reduce marine debris; and

(6) establish a voluntary reporting program for commercial

vessel operators and recreational boaters to report incidents

of damage to vessels and disruption of navigation caused by

marine debris, and observed violations of laws and regulations

relating to the disposal of plastics and other marine debris.

(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall submit

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of

the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

of the House of Representatives a report evaluating the Coast

Guard’s progress in implementing subsection (a).

(c) EXTERNAL EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON ANNEX

V.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast Guard

shall enter into an arrangement with the National Research

Council under which the National Research Council shall

submit, by not later than 18 months after the date of the

enactment of this Act and in consultation with the Commandant

and the Interagency Committee, to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of

Representatives a comprehensive report on the effectiveness

of international and national measures to prevent and reduce

marine debris and its impact.

(2) CONTENTS.—The report required under paragraph (1)

shall include—

(A) an evaluation of international and domestic

implementation of MARPOL Annex V and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) and

recommendations of cost-effective actions to improve

implementation and compliance with such measures to

reduce impacts of marine debris;

(B) recommendation of additional Federal or international actions, including changes to international and

Contracts.

Deadline.

Reports.

Plan.

PUBLIC LAW 109–449—DEC. 22, 2006 120 STAT. 3337

domestic law or regulations, needed to further reduce the

impacts of marine debris; and

(C) evaluation of the role of floating fish aggregation

devices in the generation of marine debris and existing

legal mechanisms to reduce impacts of such debris, focusing

on impacts in the Western Pacific and Central Pacific

regions.

SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.

(a) INTERAGENCY MARINE DEBRIS COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—

Section 2203 of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control

Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914) is amended—

(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:

‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY MARINE DEBRIS COORDINATING COMMITTEE.—There is established an Interagency Marine

Debris Coordinating Committee to coordinate a comprehensive program of marine debris research and activities among Federal agencies, in cooperation and coordination with non-governmental

organizations, industry, universities, and research institutions,

States, Indian tribes, and other nations, as appropriate.’’; and

(2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘public, interagency’’

before ‘‘forum’’.

(b) DEFINITION OF MARINE DEBRIS.—The Administrator and

the Commandant of the Coast Guard, in consultation with the

Interagency Committee established under subsection (a), shall

jointly develop and promulgate through regulations a definition

of the term ‘‘marine debris’’ for purposes of this Act.

(c) REPORTS.—

(1) INTERAGENCY REPORT ON MARINE DEBRIS IMPACTS AND

STRATEGIES.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after the

date of the enactment of this Act, the Interagency Committee, through the chairperson, shall complete and submit

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation

and Infrastructure and the Committee on Resources of

the House of Representatives a report that—

(i) identifies sources of marine debris;

(ii) the ecological and economic impact of marine

debris;

(iii) alternatives for reducing, mitigating, preventing, and controlling the harmful affects of marine

debris;

(iv) the social and economic costs and benefits

of such alternatives; and

(v) recommendations to reduce marine debris both

domestically and internationally.

(B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report shall provide

strategies and recommendations on—

(i) establishing priority areas for action to address

leading problems relating to marine debris;

(ii) developing strategies and approaches to prevent, reduce, remove, and dispose of marine debris,

including through private-public partnerships;

(iii) establishing effective and coordinated education and outreach activities; and

Regulations.

33 USC 1954.

120 STAT. 3338 PUBLIC LAW 109–449—DEC. 22, 2006

(iv) ensuring Federal cooperation with, and assistance to, the coastal States (as that term is defined

in section 304 of the Coastal Zone Management Act

of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)), Indian tribes, and local

governments in the identification, determination of

sources, prevention, reduction, management, mitigation, and control of marine debris and its adverse

impacts.

(2) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later than 3 years

after the date of the enactment of this Act, and biennially

thereafter, the Interagency Committee, through the chairperson, shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science,

and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on

Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on

Resources of the House of Representatives a report that evaluates United States and international progress in meeting the

purpose of this Act. The report shall include—

(A) the status of implementation of any recommendations and strategies of the Interagency Committee and

analysis of their effectiveness;

(B) a summary of the marine debris inventory to be

maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration;

(C) a review of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration program authorized by section 3, including

projects funded and accomplishments relating to reduction

and prevention of marine debris;

(D) a review of Coast Guard programs and accomplishments relating to marine debris removal, including enforcement and compliance with MARPOL requirements; and

(E) estimated Federal and non-Federal funding provided for marine debris and recommendations for priority

funding needs.

SEC. 6. FEDERAL INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.

The Administrator, in coordination with the Interagency Committee, shall—

(1) maintain a Federal information clearinghouse on marine

debris that will be available to researchers and other interested

persons to improve marine debris source identification, data

sharing, and monitoring efforts through collaborative research

and open sharing of data; and

(2) take the necessary steps to ensure the confidentiality

of such information (especially proprietary information), for

any information required by the Administrator to be submitted

by the fishing industry under this section.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the

Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration.

(2) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Interagency

Committee’’ means the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating

Committee established under section 2203 of the Marine Plastic

Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914).

33 USC 1956.

33 USC 1955.

PUBLIC LAW 109–449—DEC. 22, 2006 120 STAT. 3339

(3) UNITED STATES EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term

‘‘United States exclusive economic zone’’ means the zone established by Presidential Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated

March 10, 1983, including the ocean waters of the areas referred

to as ‘‘eastern special areas’’ in article 3(1) of the Agreement

between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June

1, 1990.

(4) MARPOL; ANNEX V; CONVENTION.—The terms

‘‘MARPOL’’, ‘‘Annex V’’, and ‘‘Convention’’ have the meaning

given those terms under section 2(a) of the Act to Prevent

Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901(a)).

(5) NAVIGABLE WATERS.—The term ‘‘navigable waters’’

means waters of the United States, including the territorial

sea.

(6) TERRITORIAL SEA.—The term ‘‘territorial sea’’ means

the waters of the United States referred to in Presidential

Proclamation No. 5928, dated December 27, 1988.

(7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means the Marine

Debris Prevention and Removal Program established under

section 3.

(8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means—

(A) any State of the United States that is impacted

by marine debris within its seaward or Great Lakes boundaries;

(B) the District of Columbia;

(C) American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana

Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands; and

(D) any other territory or possession of the United

States, or separate sovereign in free association with the

United States, that is impacted by marine debris within

its seaward boundaries.

SEC. 8. RELATIONSHIP TO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.

Nothing in this Act supersedes, or limits the authority of the

Secretary of the Interior under, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands

Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year

2006 through 2010—

(1) to the Administrator for carrying out sections 3 and

6, $10,000,000, of which no more than 10 percent may be

for administrative costs; and

(2) to the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast

Guard is operating, for the use of the Commandant of the

33 USC 1958.

33 USC 1957.

120 STAT. 3340 PUBLIC LAW 109–449—DEC. 22, 2006

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 362:

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 109–332, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Resources) and Pt. 2 (Comm. on

Transportation and Infrastructure).

SENATE REPORTS: No. 109–56 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transportation).

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:

Vol. 151 (2005): July 1, considered and passed Senate.

Vol. 152 (2006): Sept. 27, considered and passed House, amended.

Dec. 8, Senate concurred in House amendment.

Æ

Coast Guard in carrying out section 4, $2,000,000, of which

no more than 10 percent may be used for administrative costs.

Approved December 22, 2006.