108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2443

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard

for fiscal year 2004, to amend various laws administered by the Coast Guard, and for otherpurposes.

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2443

AN ACT

To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal

year 2004, to amend various laws administered by the

Coast Guard, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be referred to as the ‘‘Coast Guard and

3 Maritime Transportation Act of 2003’’.

4 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

5 The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 102. Authorized levels of military strength and training.

TITLE II—COAST GUARD MANAGEMENT

Sec. 201. Long-term leases.

Sec. 202. Nonappropriated fund instrumentalities.

Sec. 203. Term of enlistments.

Sec. 204. Enlisted member critical skill training bonus.

Sec. 205. Indemnification for disabling vessels liable to seizure or examination.

Sec. 206. Administrative, collection, and enforcement costs for certain fees and

charges.

Sec. 207. Expansion of Coast Guard housing authorities.

Sec. 208. Requirement for constructive credit.

Sec. 209. Maximum age for retention in an active status.

Sec. 210. Payments.

Sec. 211. Coast Guard fellowship program.

Sec. 212. Air search and rescue facility in Muskegon County, Michigan.

Sec. 213. National Coast Guard Museum.

Sec. 214. Limitation on number of commissioned officers.

Sec. 215. Redistricting notification requirement.

Sec. 216. ROTC demonstration project.

Sec. 217. Shock mitigation requirements.

Sec. 218. Coast Guard yard.

Sec. 219. Recommendations to Congress by Commandant of the Coast Guard.

Sec. 220. Assignment of officer to National War College.

Sec. 221. Coast Guard education loan repayment program.

TITLE III—NAVIGATION

Sec. 301. Marking of underwater wrecks.

Sec. 302. Use of electronic devices; cooperative agreements.

Sec. 303. Inland navigation rules promulgation authority.

TITLE IV—SHIPPING

Sec. 401. Reports from charterers.

Sec. 402. Suspension of documents in lieu of mandatory revocation for proved

drug convictions.

Sec. 403. Inspection of records of merchant mariners’ documents.
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Sec. 404. Exemption of unmanned barges from citizenship requirements regarding command of vessel.

Sec. 405. Compliance with International Safety Management Code.

Sec. 406. Civil penalties for failure to comply with recreational vessel and associated equipment safety standards.

Sec. 407. Revision of temporary suspension criteria in document suspension

and revocation cases.

Sec. 408. Revision of bases for document suspension and revocation cases.

Sec. 409. Hours of service on towing vessels.

Sec. 410. Automatic identification system electronic charts.

Sec. 411. Prevention of departure.

Sec. 412. Service of foreign nationals for maritime educational purposes.

Sec. 413. Classification societies.

Sec. 414. Membership of area maritime security advisory committees.

Sec. 415. Security plans.

TITLE V—FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

Sec. 501. Authorization of appropriations for Federal Maritime Commission.

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 601. Increase in civil penalties for violations of certain bridge statutes.

Sec. 602. Conveyance of decommissioned Coast Guard cutters.

Sec. 603. Tonnage measurement.

Sec. 604. Operation of vessel STAD AMSTERDAM.

Sec. 605. Great Lakes National Maritime Enhancement Institute.

Sec. 606. Agile Port and Intelligent Border Security National Demonstration

Project.

Sec. 607. Koss Cove.

Sec. 608. Miscellaneous certificates of documentation.

Sec. 609. Regulations.

Sec. 610. Report regarding security inspection of vessels and vessel-borne cargo

containers entering the United States.

Sec. 611. Conveyance of decommissioned Coast Guard vessels.

Sec. 612. Assateague lighthouse lens.

Sec. 613. Study of the role of Coast Guard ice breakers in supporting United

States operations in the Antarctic and the Arctic.

Sec. 614. Correction of references to national driver register.

Sec. 615. Wateree River.

Sec. 616. Alaska Merchant Mariners’ documents pilot program.

Sec. 617. Conveyance of Sentinel Island Light Station, Alaska.

Sec. 618. Maritime intelligence and long-range vessel tracking system.

Sec. 619. Columbia slough.

Sec. 620. Sense of Congress regarding carbon monoxide and watercraft.

Sec. 621. Sense of Congress regarding naming new vessels under the deepwater

program for cities of the United States.

Sec. 622. Port security grant authority.

Sec. 623. Security assessment of Indian Point Energy Center.

Sec. 624. Mitigation of penalty due to avoidance of a certain hazardous condition.

Sec. 625. Designation of Empress of the North as a tour vessel.

Sec. 626. Sense of Congress regarding timely review and adjustment of Great

Lakes pilotage rates.

Sec. 627. Priority for public transportation systems in making grants for implementation of security plans.
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Sec. 628. Limitation on bridge alteration projects.

TITLE VII—AMENDMENTS RELATING TO OIL POLLUTION ACT OF

1990

Sec. 701. Vessel response plans for nontank vessels over 400 gross tons.

Sec. 702. Requirements for tank level and pressure monitoring devices.

Sec. 703. Liability and cost recovery.

Sec. 704. Oil spill recovery institute.

Sec. 705. Alternatives.

1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION

2 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

3 Funds are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal

4 year 2004 for necessary expenses of the Coast Guard as

5 follows:

6 (1) For the operation and maintenance of the

7 Coast Guard, $4,865,000,000, of which $25,000,000

8 is authorized to be derived from the Oil Spill Liabil9 ity Trust Fund to carry out the purposes of section

10 1012(a)(5) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

11 (2) For the acquisition, construction, rebuild12 ing, and improvement of aids to navigation, shore

13 and offshore facilities, vessels, and aircraft, includ14 ing equipment related thereto, $1,147,000,000, of

15 which—

16 (A) $23,500,000 is authorized to be de17 rived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to

18 carry out the purposes of section 1012(a)(5) of

19 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990; and

20 (B) $702,000,000 is authorized for acqui21 sition and construction of shore and offshore fa-
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1 cilities, vessels, and aircraft, including equip2 ment related thereto, and other activities that

3 constitute the Integrated Deepwater System

4 program.

5 (3) For research, development, test, and evalua6 tion of technologies, materials, and human factors

7 directly relating to improving the performance of the

8 Coast Guard’s mission in search and rescue, aids to

9 navigation, marine safety, marine environmental

10 protection, enforcement of laws and treaties, ice op11 erations, oceanographic research, and defense readi12 ness, $22,000,000, to remain available until ex13 pended, of which $3,500,000 is authorized to be de14 rived from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to

15 carry out the purposes of section 1012(a)(5) of the

16 Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

17 (4) For retired pay (including payment of obli18 gations otherwise chargeable to lapsed appropria19 tions for this purpose), payments under the Retired

20 Serviceman’s Family Protection and Survivor Ben21 efit Plans, and payments for medical care of retired

22 personnel and their dependents under chapter 55 of

23 title 10, United States Code, $1,020,000,000.

24 (5) For alteration or removal of bridges over

25 navigable waters of the United States constituting
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1 obstructions to navigation, and for personnel and

2 administrative costs associated with the Bridge Al3 teration Program, $19,250,000, to remain available

4 until expended.

5 (6) For environmental compliance and restora6 tion at Coast Guard facilities (other than parts and

7 equipment associated with operation and mainte8 nance), $17,000,000, to remain available until ex9 pended.

10 (7) For maintenance and operation of facilities,

11 supplies, equipment, and services necessary for the

12 Coast Guard Reserve, as authorized by law,

13 $114,000,000.

14 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED LEVELS OF MILITARY STRENGTH

15 AND TRAINING.

16 (a) ACTIVE DUTY STRENGTH.—The Coast Guard is

17 authorized an end-of-year strength for active duty per18 sonnel of 45,500 as of September 30, 2004.

19 (b) MILITARY TRAINING STUDENT LOADS.—The

20 Coast Guard is authorized average military training stu21 dent loads as follows:

22 (1) For recruit and special training for fiscal

23 year 2004, 2,500 student years.

24 (2) For flight training for fiscal year 2004, 125

25 student years.
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1 (3) For professional training in military and ci2 vilian institutions for fiscal year 2004, 350 student

3 years.

4 (4) For officer acquisition for fiscal year 2004,

5 1,200 student years.

6 TITLE II—COAST GUARD

7 MANAGEMENT

8 SEC. 201. LONG-TERM LEASES.

9 Section 93 of title 14, United States Code, is

10 amended—

11 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (a) through (x)

12 in order as paragraphs (1) through (23);

13 (2) in paragraph (18) (as so redesignated) by

14 striking the comma at the end and inserting a semi15 colon;

16 (3) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘For the pur17 pose’’; and

18 (4) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(b)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(14), a lease

20 described in paragraph (2) of this subsection may be for

21 a term of up to 20 years.

22 ‘‘(2) A lease referred to in paragraph (1) is a lease—

23 ‘‘(A) to the United States Coast Guard Acad24 emy Alumni Association for the construction of an
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1 Alumni Center on the grounds of the United States

2 Coast Guard Academy; or

3 ‘‘(B) to an entity with which the Commandant

4 has a cooperative agreement under section 4(e) of

5 the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, and for which

6 a term longer than 5 years is necessary to carry out

7 the agreement.’’.

8 SEC. 202. NONAPPROPRIATED FUND INSTRUMENTALITIES.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 14, United

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘§ 152. Nonappropriated fund instrumentalities: con13 tracts with other agencies and instru14 mentalities to provide or obtain goods

15 and services

16 ‘‘The Coast Guard Exchange System, or a morale,

17 welfare, and recreation system of the Coast Guard, may

18 enter into a contract or other agreement with any element

19 or instrumentality of the Coast Guard or with another

20 Federal department, agency, or instrumentality to provide

21 or obtain goods and services beneficial to the efficient

22 management and operation of the Coast Guard Exchange

23 System or that morale, welfare, and recreation system.’’.
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

2 at the beginning of chapter 7 of title 14, United States

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘152. Nonappropriated fund instrumentalities: contracts with other agencies and

instrumentalities to provide or obtain goods and services.’’.

4 SEC. 203. TERM OF ENLISTMENTS.

5 Section 351(a) of title 14, United States Code, is

6 amended by striking ‘‘terms of full years not exceeding

7 six years.’’ and inserting ‘‘a period of at least two years

8 but not more than six years.’’.

9 SEC. 204. ENLISTED MEMBER CRITICAL SKILL TRAINING

10 BONUS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 14, United

12 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 373 the

13 following:

14 ‘‘§ 374. Critical skill training bonus

15 ‘‘(a) The Secretary may provide a bonus, not to ex16 ceed $20,000, to an enlisted member who completes train17 ing in a skill designated as critical, if at least four years

18 of obligated active service remain on the member’s enlist19 ment at the time the training is completed. A bonus under

20 this section may be paid in a single lump sum or in peri21 odic installments.

22 ‘‘(b) If an enlisted member voluntarily or because of

23 misconduct does not complete the member’s term of obli24 gated active service, the Secretary may require the mem-
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1 ber to repay the United States, on a pro rata basis, all

2 sums paid under this section. The Secretary may charge

3 interest on the amount repaid at a rate, to be determined

4 quarterly, equal to 150 percent of the average of the yields

5 on the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned during the calendar

6 quarter preceding the date on which the amount to be re7 paid is determined.’’.

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

9 at the beginning of chapter 11 of title 14, United States

10 Code, is amended by inserting the following after the item

11 relating to section 373:

‘‘374. Critical skill training bonus.’’.

12 SEC. 205. INDEMNIFICATION FOR DISABLING VESSELS LIA13 BLE TO SEIZURE OR EXAMINATION.

14 (a) REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT TO FIRE WARNING

15 SHOT.—Subsection (a) of section 637 of title 14, United

16 States Code, is amended—

17 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’;

18 (2) by striking ‘‘after a’’ and all that follows

19 through ‘‘signal,’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to para20 graph (2),’’; and

21 (3) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(2) Before firing at or into a vessel as authorized

23 in paragraph (1), the person in command or in charge of

24 the authorized vessel or authorized aircraft shall fire a gun

25 as a warning signal, except that the prior firing of a gun
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1 as a warning signal is not required if that person deter2 mines that the firing of a warning signal would unreason3 ably endanger persons or property in the vicinity of the

4 vessel to be stopped.’’.

5 (b) EXTENSION TO MILITARY AIRCRAFT OF COAST

6 GUARD INTERDICTION AUTHORITY.—Subsection (c) of

7 such section is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the

9 semicolon; and

10 (2) in paragraph (2) by—

11 (A) inserting ‘‘or military aircraft’’ after

12 ‘‘surface naval vessel’’; and

13 (B) striking ‘‘; or’’ and all that follows

14 through paragraph (3) and inserting a period.

15 (c) REPEAL OF TERMINATION OF APPLICABILITY TO

16 NAVAL AIRCRAFT.—Subsection (d) of such section is re17 pealed.

18 (d) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—

19 (1) CORRECTION.—Section 637 of title 14,

20 United States Code, is amended in the section head21 ing by striking ‘‘immunity’’ and inserting ‘‘indem22 nification’’.

23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec24 tions at the beginning of chapter 17 of title 14,
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1 United States Code, is amended by striking the item

2 relating to section 637 and inserting the following:

‘‘637. Stopping vessels; indemnification for firing at or into vessel.’’.

3 SEC. 206. ADMINISTRATIVE, COLLECTION, AND ENFORCE4 MENT COSTS FOR CERTAIN FEES AND

5 CHARGES.

6 Section 664 of title 14, United States Code, is

7 amended—

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub9 section (f);

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(c) In addition to the collection of fees and charges

13 established under this section, the Secretary may recover

14 from the person liable for the fee or charge the costs of

15 collecting delinquent payments of the fee or charge, and

16 enforcement costs associated with delinquent payments of

17 the fees and charges.

18 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary may employ any Federal,

19 State, or local agency or instrumentality, or any private

20 enterprise or business, to collect a fee or charge estab21 lished under this section.

22 ‘‘(2) A private enterprise or business employed by the

23 Secretary to collect fees or charges—
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1 ‘‘(A) shall be subject to reasonable terms and

2 conditions agreed to by the Secretary and the enter3 prise or business;

4 ‘‘(B) shall provide appropriate accounting to

5 the Secretary; and

6 ‘‘(C) may not institute litigation as part of that

7 collection.

8 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall account for the agency’s

9 costs of collecting a fee or charge as a reimbursable ex10 pense, subject to the availability of appropriations, and the

11 costs shall be credited to the account from which ex12 pended.’’; and

13 (3) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(g) In this section the term ‘costs of collecting a fee

15 or charge’ includes the reasonable administrative, account16 ing, personnel, contract, equipment, supply, training, and

17 travel expenses of calculating, assessing, collecting, enforc18 ing, reviewing, adjusting, and reporting on a fee or

19 charge.’’.

20 SEC. 207. EXPANSION OF COAST GUARD HOUSING AU21 THORITIES.

22 (a) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—Section 680 of

23 title 14, United States Code, is amended—

24 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) in

25 order as paragraphs (4) and (5); and
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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(3) The term ‘eligible entity’ means any pri4 vate person, corporation, firm, partnership, or com5 pany and any State or local government or housing

6 authority of a State or local government.’’.

7 (b) DIRECT LOANS FOR PROVIDING HOUSING.—Sec8 tion 682 of title 14, United States Code, is amended—

9 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘LOAN

10 GUARANTEES’’ and inserting ‘‘DIRECT LOANS AND

11 LOAN GUARANTEES’’;

12 (2) by redesignating subsections (a) and (b) as

13 (b) and (c) respectively;

14 (3) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so re15 designated) the following:

16 ‘‘(a) DIRECT LOANS.—(1) Subject to subsection (c),

17 the Secretary may make direct loans to an eligible entity

18 in order to provide funds to the eligible entity for the ac19 quisition or construction of housing units that the Sec20 retary determines are suitable for use as military family

21 housing or as military unaccompanied housing.

22 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall establish such terms and

23 conditions with respect to loans made under this sub24 section as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect

25 the interests of the United States, including the period
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1 and frequency for repayment of such loans and the obliga2 tions of the obligors on such loans upon default.’’;

3 (4) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated) by

4 striking ‘‘subsection (b),’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

5 (c),’’; and

6 (5) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated)—

7 (A) in the heading by striking ‘‘GUAR8 ANTEE’’; and

9 (B) by striking ‘‘Loan guarantees’’ and in10 serting ‘‘Direct loans and loan guarantees’’.

11 (c) LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS WITH ELIGIBLE ENTI12 TIES.—Section 684 of title 14, United States Code, is

13 amended—

14 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘NON15 GOVERNMENTAL’’ and inserting ‘‘ELIGIBLE’’;

16 (2) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘nongovern17 mental’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible’’;

18 (3) in subsection (b)(1) by striking ‘‘a non19 governmental’’ and inserting ‘‘an eligible’’;

20 (4) in subsection (b)(2) by striking ‘‘a non21 governmental’’ and inserting ‘‘an eligible’’; and

22 (5) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘nongovern23 mental’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible’’.
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1 (d) HOUSING DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS IN ALAS2 KA.—Section 687(g) of title 14, United Sates Code, is

3 amended—

4 (1) in the heading by striking ‘‘PROJECT’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘PROJECTS’’;

6 (2) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘a demonstra7 tion project’’ and inserting ‘‘demonstration

8 projects’’;

9 (3) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘Kodiak, Alas10 ka;’’ and inserting ‘‘Kodiak, Alaska, or any other

11 Coast Guard installation in Alaska;’’;

12 (4) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘the dem13 onstration project’’ and inserting ‘‘such a dem14 onstration project’’; and

15 (5) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘the dem16 onstration project’’ and inserting ‘‘such demonstra17 tion projects’’.

18 (e) DIFFERENTIAL LEASE PAYMENTS.—Chapter 18

19 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by inserting

20 after section 687 the following:

21 ‘‘§ 687a. Differential lease payments

22 ‘‘Pursuant to an agreement entered into by the Sec23 retary and a lessor of military family housing or military

24 unaccompanied housing to members of the armed forces,

25 the Secretary may pay the lessor an amount, in addition
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1 to the rental payments for the housing made by the mem2 bers, as the Secretary determines appropriate to encour3 age the lessor to make the housing available to members

4 of the armed forces as military family housing or as mili5 tary unaccompanied housing.’’.

6 (f) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at

7 the beginning of chapter 18 of title 14, United States

8 Code, is amended—

9 (1) by striking the item related to section 682

10 and inserting the following:

‘‘682. Direct loans and loan guarantees.’’;

11 (2) in the item related to section 684 by strik12 ing ‘‘nongovernmental’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible’’; and

13 (3) by inserting after the item related to section

14 687 the following:

‘‘687a. Differential lease payments.’’.

15 SEC. 208. REQUIREMENT FOR CONSTRUCTIVE CREDIT.

16 Section 727 of title 14, United States Code, is

17 amended in the second sentence by striking ‘‘three years’’

18 and inserting ‘‘one year’’.

19 SEC. 209. MAXIMUM AGE FOR RETENTION IN AN ACTIVE

20 STATUS.

21 Section 742 of title 14, United States Code, is

22 amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘§ 742. Maximum age for retention in an active status

2 ‘‘(a) A Reserve officer, if qualified, shall be trans3 ferred to the Retired Reserve on the day the officer be4 comes 60 years of age unless on active duty. If not quali5 fied for retirement, a Reserve officer shall be discharged

6 effective upon the day the officer becomes 60 years of age

7 unless on active duty.

8 ‘‘(b) A Reserve officer on active duty shall, if quali9 fied, be retired effective upon the day the officer become

10 62 years of age. If not qualified for retirement, a Reserve

11 officer on active duty shall be discharged effective upon

12 the day the officer becomes 62 years of age.

13 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a)and (b), the Sec14 retary may authorize the retention of a Reserve rear admi15 ral or rear admiral (lower half) in an active status not

16 longer than the day on which the officer concerned be17 comes 64 years of age.

18 ‘‘(d) For purposes of this section, ‘active duty’ does

19 not include active duty for training, duty on a board, or

20 duty of a limited or temporary nature if assigned to active

21 duty from an inactive duty status.’’.

22 SEC. 210. PAYMENTS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 14, United

24 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing:
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1 ‘‘§ 517. Payments

2 ‘‘(a) The Secretary may require that travel or trans3 portation allowances due a civilian employee or military

4 member of the Coast Guard be disbursed directly to the

5 issuer of a Federal contractor-issued travel charge card,

6 but only in an amount not to exceed the authorized travel

7 expenses charged by that Coast Guard member to that

8 travel charge card issued to that employee or member.

9 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may also establish requirements

10 similar to those established by the Secretary of Defense

11 pursuant to section 2784a of title 10 for deduction or

12 withholding of pay or retired pay from a Coast Guard em13 ployee, member, or retired member who is delinquent in

14 payment under the terms of the contract under which the

15 card was issued and does not dispute the amount of the

16 delinquency.’’.

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

18 at the beginning of chapter 13 of title 14, United States

19 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘517. Payments.’’.

20 SEC. 211. COAST GUARD FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Title 14, United States Code,

22 is amended by adding at the end of chapter 11 the fol23 lowing:
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1 ‘‘§ 337. Coast Guard Congressional Fellowship Pro2 gram

3 ‘‘(a) There is established in the Coast Guard a Coast

4 Guard Congressional Fellowship Program to broaden

5 Coast Guard officers’ knowledge of the Congress.

6 ‘‘(b) The Commandant may appoint 4 mid-grade offi7 cers as fellows under the program, subject to the following

8 limitations:

9 ‘‘(1) The maximum length of a fellowship is one

10 year.

11 ‘‘(2) A fellow may be assigned to an office of

12 the House of Representatives or the Senate, includ13 ing a committee, during the period of the fellowship,

14 or may rotate between such offices.

15 ‘‘(3) To protect against abuses of separation of

16 powers principles and conflicts of interest, a fellow

17 may not engage in duties that will result in any di18 rect or indirect benefit to the Coast Guard, other

19 than broadening the fellow’s knowledge.

20 ‘‘(c) An individual violating this section is subject to

21 appropriate discipline by the Commandant.’’.

22 (b) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—Section

23 337(b)(1) of title 14, United States Code, as amended by

24 this section, does not apply to an individual serving on

25 June 10, 2003, as a Coast Guard congressional fellow.
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1 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

2 at the beginning of chapter 11 of title 14, United States

3 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to

4 section 336 the following:

‘‘337. Coast Guard Congressional Fellowship Program.’’.

5 SEC. 212. AIR SEARCH AND RESCUE FACILITY IN MUS6 KEGON COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

7 (a) LEASE AUTHORITY.—The Commandant may

8 enter into a long-term lease for a period of up to 20 years

9 with Muskegon County, Michigan, for use of a facility con10 structed by the County at Muskegon County Airport as

11 an air search and rescue station, if such a facility that

12 meets criteria established under subsection (b) is available.

13 (b) CRITERIA.—Any facility leased under subsection

14 (a) must meet criteria established by the Commandant.

15 SEC. 213. NATIONAL COAST GUARD MUSEUM.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title 14, United

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘§ 98. National Coast Guard Museum

20 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commandant of the

21 Coast Guard may, subject to subsections (b) and (c), es22 tablish a National Coast Guard Museum on Federal lands

23 that are administered by the Coast Guard and specified

24 by the Commandant.
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1 ‘‘(b) LOCATION.—The National Coast Guard Mu2 seum may be located at, or in close proximity to, the Coast

3 Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.

4 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES.—The Sec5 retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op6 erating shall not expend any Federal funds for the plan7 ning, engineering, design, construction, operation, or

8 maintenance of any museum established under subsection

9 (a).

10 ‘‘(d) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PLAN.—Before

11 the date on which the Commandant establishes a museum

12 under subsection (a), the Commandant shall provide to the

13 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the

14 House of Representatives a plan for operating and main15 taining such a museum, including—

16 ‘‘(1) estimated operation and maintenance

17 costs;

18 ‘‘(2) proposed sources of operation and mainte19 nance funds; and

20 ‘‘(3) a certification by the Inspector General of

21 the Department in which the Coast Guard is oper22 ating that items included in the plan pursuant to

23 paragraph (1) and (2) are reasonable and realistic.’’.
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

2 at the beginning of chapter 5 of title 14, United States

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘98. National Coast Guard Museum.’’.

4 SEC. 214. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF COMMISSIONED OF5 FICERS.

6 Notwithstanding section 42(a) of title 14, United

7 States Code, the total number of commissioned officers,

8 excluding commissioned warrant officers, on active duty

9 in the Coast Guard shall not exceed 6,700 in fiscal year

10 2004.

11 SEC. 215. REDISTRICTING NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.

12 The Commandant shall notify the Committee on

13 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep14 resentatives at least 180 days before—

15 (1) implementing any plan to reduce the num16 ber of, change the location of, or change the geo17 graphic area covered by any existing Coast Guard

18 Districts; or

19 (2) shifting of more than 10 per cent of the

20 personnel or equipment from the station where such

21 personnel or equipment is based.

22 SEC. 216. ROTC DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of preparing se24 lected students for commissioned service in the Coast

25 Guard, the Secretary of the Department in which the
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1 Coast Guard is operating (in this section referred to as

2 the ‘‘Secretary’’), in consultation with the Superintendent

3 of the Coast Guard Academy, may establish and maintain

4 a Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps demonstration

5 project at the University of Alaska (in this section referred

6 to as the ‘‘University’’).

7 (b) OBLIGATIONS OF UNIVERSITY, GENERALLY.—As

8 part of any demonstration project undertaken under this

9 section, the University shall—

10 (1) give the senior commissioned Coast Guard

11 officer who is assigned to the project the academic

12 rank of professor;

13 (2) adopt, as a part of its curriculum, a 4-year

14 course of military instruction as prescribed by the

15 Secretary; and

16 (3) provide advanced training to eligible mem17 bers of the project.

18 (c) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for mem19 bership in the project an individual must—

20 (1) be a student at the University;

21 (2) be a citizen of the United States;

22 (3) be selected for advanced training under pro23 cedures prescribed by the Secretary;

24 (4) enlist in the Coast Guard for the period

25 prescribed by the Secretary;
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1 (5) contract (with the consent of the individ2 ual’s parent or guardian if the individual is a minor)

3 with the Secretary, or a designated representative of

4 the Secretary, to serve for the period required by the

5 program;

6 (6) agree in writing to accept an appointment,

7 if offered, as a commissioned officer in the Coast

8 Guard and to serve for the period prescribed by the

9 Secretary;

10 (7) either—

11 (A) complete successfully—

12 (i) the first 2 years of the 4-year Sen13 ior Coast Guard Reserve Officers’ Training

14 Corps course; or

15 (ii) field training or a practice cruise

16 of a duration prescribed by the Secretary

17 as a preliminary requirement for admission

18 to the advanced course; or

19 (B) at the discretion of the Secretary con20 cerned, agree in writing to complete field train21 ing or a practice cruise, as prescribed by the

22 Secretary, within 2 years after admission to the

23 advanced course; and
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1 (8) execute a certificate of loyalty in such form

2 as the Secretary prescribes or take a loyalty oath as

3 prescribed by the Secretary.

4 (d) SERVICE OBLIGATION.—A member of the project

5 who is selected for advanced training under subsection (c),

6 and who does not complete the course of instruction, or

7 who completes the course but declines to accept a commis8 sion when offered, may be ordered to active duty by the

9 Secretary to serve in the member’s enlisted grade or rating

10 for such period of time as the Secretary prescribes but

11 not for more than 2 years.

12 (e) APPOINTMENT AS OFFICER.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon satisfactorily com14 pleting the academic and military requirements of

15 the program of advanced training under subsection

16 (c), a member of the project who was selected for

17 advanced training under subsection (c) may be ap18 pointed as a regular or reserve officer in the Coast

19 Guard in the grade of second lieutenant or ensign,

20 even if under 21 years of age.

21 (2) DATE OF RANK.—The date of rank of offi22 cers appointed under this subsection in May or June

23 of any year is the date of graduation of cadets from

24 the Coast Guard Academy. The Secretary shall es-
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1 tablish the date of rank of all other officers ap2 pointed under this subsection.

3 (3) COMPUTATION OF LENGTH OF SERVICE.—

4 In computing length of service for any purpose, an

5 officer appointed under this subsection may not be

6 credited with enlisted service for the period covered

7 by advanced training under this section, other than

8 any period of enlisted service performed in the Coast

9 Guard.

10 (f) APPOINTMENT AS CADET.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may appoint

12 as a cadet in the Coast Guard reserve any eligible

13 member of the project who will be under 31 years

14 of age on December 31 of the calendar year in which

15 the member is eligible under this section for appoint16 ment as an ensign in the Coast Guard.

17 (2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—To be an el18 igible member of the project for purposes of para19 graph (1) a member must—

20 (A) be a citizen of the United States;

21 (B) be specially selected for the financial

22 assistance program under procedures prescribed

23 by the Secretary;
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1 (C) enlist in the Coast Guard reserve as a

2 cadet for the period prescribed by the Sec3 retary;

4 (D) contract (with the consent of the mem5 ber’s parent or guardian if the member is a

6 minor) with the Secretary, or a designated rep7 resentative of the Secretary, to serve for the pe8 riod required by the project; and

9 (E) agree in writing that, at the discretion of

10 the Secretary, the member will—

11 (i)(I) accept an appointment, if offered, as

12 a commissioned officer in Coast Guard, and, if

13 the member is commissioned as a regular offi14 cer and the member’s regular commission is

15 terminated before the sixth anniversary of the

16 member’s date of rank, the member accept an

17 appointment, if offered, in the Coast Guard re18 serve and not resign before that anniversary or

19 before such other date, not beyond the eighth

20 anniversary of the member’s date of rank, that

21 the Secretary may prescribe; and

22 (II) serve on active duty for 4 or more

23 years;

24 (ii)(I) accept an appointment, if offered, as

25 a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard; and
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1 (II) serve in the Coast Guard reserve until

2 the eighth anniversary of the receipt of such ap3 pointment, unless otherwise extended under

4 subsection (g)(4), under such terms and condi5 tions as shall be prescribed by the Secretary; or

6 (iii)(I) accept an appointment, if offered,

7 as a commissioned officer in the Coast Guard;

8 and

9 (II) serve in the Coast Guard reserve until

10 at least the sixth anniversary and, at the discre11 tion of the Secretary, up to the eighth anniver12 sary of the receipt of such appointment, unless

13 such appointment is otherwise extended under

14 subsection (g)(4), under such terms and condi15 tions as may be prescribed by the Secretary.

16 The performance of service under subparagraph

17 (E)(ii) or (E)(iii) may include periods of active duty,

18 active duty for training, and other service in an ac19 tive or inactive status in the Coast Guard reserve,

20 except that performance of service under subpara21 graph (E)(iii) shall include not less than 2 years of

22 active duty.

23 (3) APPOINTMENT AS OFFICER.—Upon satis24 factorily completing the academic and military re25 quirements of the project, a cadet may be appointed
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1 as a regular or reserve officer in the grade of second

2 lieutenant or ensign, even if under 21 years of age.

3 (4) DATE OF RANK.—The date of rank of offi4 cers appointed under this subsection in May or June

5 of any year is the date of graduation of cadets from

6 Coast Guard Academy in that year. The Secretary

7 shall establish the date of rank of all other officers

8 appointed under this subsection.

9 (5) SERVICE OBLIGATION.—A cadet who does

10 not complete the 4-year course of instruction, or who

11 completes the course but declines to accept a com12 mission when offered, may be ordered to active duty

13 by the Secretary to serve in the member’s enlisted

14 grade or rating for such period of time as the Sec15 retary prescribes but not for more than 4 years.

16 (g) ADVANCED STANDING.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may give to

18 any enlisted member of the Coast Guard, or any per19 son who has served on active duty in any armed

20 force, such advanced standing in the program as

21 may be justified by the member’s education and

22 training.

23 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR ADVANCED TRAINING.—In

24 determining a member’s eligibility for advanced

25 training, the Secretary may credit the member with
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1 any military training that is substantially equivalent

2 in kind to that prescribed for admission to advanced

3 training and was received while the member was tak4 ing a course of instruction in a program under the

5 jurisdiction of another armed force or while the

6 member was on active duty in the armed forces.

7 (3) EXCUSE FROM PRESCRIBED INSTRUC8 TION.—The Secretary may excuse from a portion of

9 the prescribed course of military instruction, includ10 ing field training and practice cruises, any member

11 found qualified on the basis of the member’s pre12 vious education, military experience, or both.

13 (4) PARTICIPATION FOLLOWING UNDER14 GRADUATE STUDIES.—An individual may become,

15 remain, or be readmitted as, a member of the ad16 vanced training program after receiving a

17 baccalaureate degree or completing preprofessional

18 studies if the member has not completed the course

19 of military instruction or all field training or prac20 tice cruises prescribed by the Secretary. If a member

21 of the project has been accepted for resident grad22 uate or professional study, the Secretary may delay

23 the commencement of the member’s obligated period

24 of active duty, and any obligated period of active

25 duty for training or other service in an active or in-
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1 active status in the Coast Reserve, until the member

2 has completed that study.

3 (5) RELEASE FROM PROJECT.—The Secretary,

4 if the Secretary determines that the interest of the

5 service so requires, may release any individual from

6 the project and discharge the member from the

7 Coast Guard.

8 (h) MISCELLANEOUS AUTHORITIES.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may issue to

10 the senior commissioned Coast Guard officer who is

11 assigned to the project, or to the officers of the

12 Coast Guard who are designated as accountable or

13 responsible for such property—

14 (A) supplies, means of transportation in15 cluding aircraft, arms and ammunition, and

16 military textbooks and educational materials;

17 and

18 (B) uniform clothing, except that he may

19 pay monetary allowances for uniform clothing

20 at such rate as he may prescribe.

21 (2) FLIGHT INSTRUCTION.—The Secretary may

22 provide, or contract with civilian flying or aviation

23 schools or educational institutions to provide, the

24 personnel, aircraft, supplies, facilities, services, and

25 instruction necessary for flight instruction and ori-
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1 entation for properly designated members of the

2 project.

3 (3) MEDICAL CARE.—The Secretary—

4 (A) may transport members of, and des5 ignated applicants for membership in, the

6 project to and from installations when it is nec7 essary for them to undergo medical or other ex8 aminations or for the purposes of making visits

9 of observation; and

10 (B) may furnish to such members subsist11 ence, quarters, and necessary medical care, in12 cluding hospitalization, while they are at, or

13 traveling to or from, such an installation.

14 (4) PARTICIPATION IN FLIGHTS AND

15 CRUISES.—The Secretary may authorize members

16 of, and designated applicants for membership in, the

17 project to participate in aerial flights in Coast

18 Guard aircraft and in indoctrination cruises in naval

19 vessels.

20 (5) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary

21 may, to the extent amounts are available, provide for

22 the payment of financial assistance to students par23 ticipating in the project, including for tuition, fees,

24 books, and laboratory expenses.
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1 (i) DETAIL OF RESERVE OFFICERS.—The Secretary

2 may detail regular or reserve Coast Officers for instruc3 tional and administrative duties related to the project.

4 SEC. 217. SHOCK MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS.

5 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Chapter 17 of title 14, United

6 Sates Code, is amended by adding the end the following:

7 ‘‘§ 675. Shock mitigation requirements

8 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall establish a shock standard

9 for Coast Guard vessels.

10 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall include shock mitigation re11 quirements for boat decking in each procurement of a ves12 sel for the Coast Guard that does not meet the standard

13 established under subsection (a).

14 ‘‘(c) Requirements under subsection (a) shall specify

15 the weight and durability of decking material, effects on

16 decking material of repeated use and weather conditions,

17 and the capability of decking material to mitigate im18 pacts.’’.

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

20 at the beginning of chapter 17, of title 14, United States

21 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘675. Shock mitigation requirements.’’.

22 SEC. 218. COAST GUARD YARD.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 648 of title 14, United

24 States Code, is amended by—
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1 (1) amending the section heading to read as fol2 lows:

3 ‘‘§ 648. Industrial work’’;

4 (2) inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before the existing text; and

5 (3) adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(b) The Commandant may enter into a contract or

7 cooperative agreement with any person for the perform8 ance of work on a local, State, or Federal government ves9 sel, or the engine, ordnance, electronics, or other equip10 ment related to such a vessel.’’.

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

12 at the beginning of chapter 17 of title 14, United States

13 Code, is amended by amending the item relating to section

14 648 to read as follows:

‘‘648. Industrial work.’’.

15 SEC. 219. RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONGRESS BY COM16 MANDANT OF THE COAST GUARD.

17 Section 93 of title 14, United States Code, is

18 amended—

19 (1) in paragraph (w) by striking ‘‘and’’ after

20 the semicolon at the end;

21 (2) in paragraph (x) by striking the period at

22 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(y) after informing the Secretary, make such

25 recommendations to the Congress relating to the
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1 Coast Guard as the Commandant considers appro2 priate.’’.

3 SEC. 220. ASSIGNMENT OF OFFICER TO NATIONAL WAR

4 COLLEGE.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 14, United

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘§ 152. Assignment of officer to National War College

9 ‘‘The Commandant shall assign an officer in the

10 grade of captain to serve as the Coast Guard’s Service

11 Chair at the National War College.’’.

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents

13 at the beginning of chapter 7 of title 14, United States

14 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘152. Assignment of officer to National War College.’’.

15 SEC. 221. COAST GUARD EDUCATION LOAN REPAYMENT

16 PROGRAM.

17 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—Chapter 13 of title 14,

18 United States Code, is amended by inserting after section

19 471 the following:

20 ‘‘§ 472. Education loan repayment program

21 ‘‘(a)(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the

22 Secretary may repay—

23 ‘‘(A) any loan made, insured, or guaranteed

24 under part B of title IV of the Higher Education

25 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.);
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1 ‘‘(B) any loan made under part D of such title

2 (the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program,

3 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.); or

4 ‘‘(C) any loan made under part E of such title

5 (20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.).

6 Repayment of any such loan shall be made on the basis

7 of each complete year of service performed by the bor8 rower.

9 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may repay loans described in

10 paragraph (1) in the case of any person for service per11 formed on active duty as an enlisted member of the Coast

12 Guard in a specialty specified by the Secretary.

13 ‘‘(b) The portion or amount of a loan that may be

repaid under subsection (a) is 331 14 ⁄3 percent or $1,500,

15 whichever is greater, for each year of service.

16 ‘‘(c) If a portion of a loan is repaid under this section

17 for any year, interest on the remainder of such loan shall

18 accrue and be paid in the same manner as is otherwise

19 required.

20 ‘‘(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to au21 thorize refunding any repayment of a loan.

22 ‘‘(e) The Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe a

23 schedule for the allocation of funds made available to carry

24 out this section during any year for which funds are not
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1 sufficient to pay the sum of the amounts eligible for repay2 ment under subsection (a).’’.

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

4 at the beginning of chapter 13 of title 14, United States

5 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to

6 section 471 the following:

‘‘472. Education loan repayment program.’’.

7 TITLE III—NAVIGATION

8 SEC. 301. MARKING OF UNDERWATER WRECKS.

9 Section 15 of the Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C.

10 409), is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘day and’’ and inserting ‘‘day

12 and, unless otherwise authorized by the Com13 mandant of the Coast Guard,’’; and

14 (2) by striking ‘‘lighted lantern’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘light’’.

16 SEC. 302. USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES; COOPERATIVE

17 AGREEMENTS.

18 Section 4(a) of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act

19 of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 1223(a)) is amended by—

20 (1)(A) striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

21 end of paragraph (4);

22 (B) striking the period at the end of paragraph

23 (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

24 (C) adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(6) may prohibit the use on the bridge of a

2 vessel of electronic or other devices that interfere

3 with communications and navigation equipment.’’;

4 and

5 (2) adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—(1) The Sec7 retary may enter into cooperative agreements with public

8 or private agencies, authorities, associations, institutions,

9 corporations, organizations, or other persons to carry out

10 the functions under subsection (a)(1).

11 ‘‘(2) A nongovernmental entity may not under this

12 subsection carry out an inherently governmental function.

13 ‘‘(3) As used in this paragraph, the term ‘inherently

14 governmental function’ means any activity that is so inti15 mately related to the public interest as to mandate per16 formance by an officer or employee of the Federal Govern17 ment, including an activity that requires either the exer18 cise of discretion in applying the authority of the Govern19 ment or the use of judgment in making a decision for the

20 Government.’’.

21 SEC. 303. INLAND NAVIGATION RULES PROMULGATION AU22 THORITY.

23 (a) REPEAL OF INLAND RULES.—Section 2 of the

24 Inland Navigational Rules Act of 1980 (33 U.S.C. 2001–

25 38) is repealed.
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1 (b) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.—Section 3

2 of the Inland Navigational Rules Act of 1980 (33 U.S.C.

3 2001) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘SEC. 3. INLAND NAVIGATION RULES.

5 ‘‘The Secretary of the Department in which the Coast

6 Guard is operating may issue inland navigation regula7 tions applicable to all vessels upon the inland waters of

8 the United States and technical annexes that are as con9 sistent as possible with the respective annexes to the Inter10 national Regulations.’’.

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) is effective on

12 the effective date of final regulations prescribed by the

13 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard

14 is operating under section 3 of the Inland Navigation

15 Rules Act of 1980 (33 U.S.C. 2001), as amended by this

16 Act.

17 TITLE IV—SHIPPING

18 SEC. 401. REPORTS FROM CHARTERERS.

19 Section 12120 of title 46, United States Code, is

20 amended by striking ‘‘owners and masters’’ and inserting

21 ‘‘owners, masters, and charterers’’.
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1 SEC. 402. SUSPENSION OF DOCUMENTS IN LIEU OF MANDA2 TORY REVOCATION FOR PROVED DRUG CON3 VICTIONS.

4 Section 7704(b) of title 46, United States Code, is

5 amended by inserting ‘‘suspended or’’ after ‘‘shall be’’.

6 SEC. 403. INSPECTION OF RECORDS OF MERCHANT MARI7 NERS’ DOCUMENTS.

8 Section 7319 of title 46, United States Code, is

9 amended by striking ‘‘The records are not open to general

10 or public inspection.’’.

11 SEC. 404. EXEMPTION OF UNMANNED BARGES FROM CITI12 ZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS REGARDING COM13 MAND OF VESSEL.

14 (a) EXEMPTION FROM LIMITATION ON COMMAND.—

15 Section 12110(d) of title 46, United States Code, is

16 amended by inserting ‘‘or an unmanned barge not engaged

17 on a coastwise voyage’’ after ‘‘recreational endorsement’’.

18 (b) EXEMPTION FROM SEIZURE AND FOR19 FEITURE.—Section 12122(b)(6) of title 46, United States

20 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or an unmanned barge not

21 engaged on a coastwise voyage’’ after ‘‘recreational en22 dorsement’’.
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1 SEC. 405. COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL SAFETY

2 MANAGEMENT CODE.

3 (a) APPLICATION OF EXISTING LAW.—Section

4 3202(a) of title 46, United States Code, is amended to

5 read as follows:

6 ‘‘(a) MANDATORY APPLICATION.—This chapter ap7 plies to a vessel that—

8 ‘‘(1)(A) is transporting more than 12 pas9 sengers described in section 2101(21)(A) of this

10 title; or

11 ‘‘(B) is of at least 500 gross tons as measured

12 under section 14502 of this title, or an alternate

13 tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title

14 as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104

15 of this title, that is a tanker, freight vessel, bulk

16 freight vessel, high speed freight vessel, or self-pro17 pelled mobile offshore drilling unit; and

18 ‘‘(2)(A) is engaged on a foreign voyage; or

19 ‘‘(B) is a foreign vessel departing from a place

20 under the jurisdiction of the United States on a voy21 age, any part of which is on the high seas.’’.

22 (b) COMPLIANCE OF REGULATIONS WITH INTER23 NATIONAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT CODE.—Section

24 3203(b) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by

25 striking ‘‘vessels engaged on a foreign voyage.’’ and insert-
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1 ing ‘‘vessels to which this chapter applies under section

2 3202(a) of this title.’’.

3 SEC. 406. CIVIL PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH

4 RECREATIONAL VESSEL AND ASSOCIATED

5 EQUIPMENT SAFETY STANDARDS.

6 Section 4311(b) of title 46, United States Code, is

7 amended—

8 (1) by striking the first sentence and inserting

9 ‘‘A person violating section 4307(a) of this title is

10 liable to the United States Government for a civil

11 penalty of not more than $5,000, except that the

12 maximum civil penalty may be not more than

13 $250,000 for a related series of violations.’’; and

14 (2) in the second sentence, by striking

15 ‘‘4307(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘4307(a)’’.

16 SEC. 407. REVISION OF TEMPORARY SUSPENSION CRITERIA

17 IN DOCUMENT SUSPENSION AND REVOCA18 TION CASES.

19 Section 7702(d) of title 46, United States Code, is

20 amended—

21 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘if, when act22 ing under the authority of that license, certificate, or

23 document—’’ and inserting ‘‘if—’’;
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1 (2) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by inserting ‘‘, while

2 acting under the authority of that license, certificate,

3 or document,’’ after ‘‘has’’;

4 (3) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon at the

5 end of paragraph (1)(B)(ii);

6 (4) by striking the period at the end of para7 graph (1)(B)(iii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

8 (5) by adding at the end of paragraph (1)(B)

9 the following:

10 ‘‘(iv) is a threat to the safety or security

11 of a vessel or a public or commercial structure

12 located within or adjacent to the marine envi13 ronment.’’.

14 SEC. 408. REVISION OF BASES FOR DOCUMENT SUSPEN15 SION AND REVOCATION CASES.

16 Section 7703 of title 46, United States Code, is

17 amended—

18 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘incompetence,’’; and

20 (B) by striking the comma after ‘‘mis21 conduct’’;

22 (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon at the

23 end of paragraph (2);

24 (3) by striking the period at the end of para25 graph (3) and inserting a semicolon; and
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1 (4) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(4) has committed an act of incompetence; or

3 ‘‘(5) is a threat to the safety or security of a

4 vessel or a structure located within or adjacent to

5 the marine environment.’’.

6 SEC. 409. HOURS OF SERVICE ON TOWING VESSELS.

7 (a) REGULATIONS.—Section 8904 of title 46, United

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end of the fol9 lowing:

10 ‘‘(c) The Secretary may prescribe by regulation re11 quirements for maximum hours of service (including re12 cording and record-keeping of that service) of individuals

13 engaged on a towing vessel that is at least 26 feet in

14 length measured from end to end over the deck (excluding

15 the sheer).’’.

16 (b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—Prior to pre17 scribing regulations under this section the Secretary shall

18 conduct and report to the Congress on the results of a

19 demonstration project involving the implementation of

20 Crew Endurance Management Systems on towing vessels.

21 The report shall include a description of the public and

22 private sector resources needed to enable implementation

23 of Crew Endurance Management Systems on all United

24 States-flag towing vessels.
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1 SEC. 410. AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM ELEC2 TRONIC CHARTS.

3 Section 70114(a)(1) of title 46, United States Code,

4 is amended by inserting ‘‘, including an electronic chart

5 and related display,’’ after ‘‘automatic identification sys6 tem’’ the first place it appears.

7 SEC. 411. PREVENTION OF DEPARTURE.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3505 of title 46, United

9 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘§ 3505. Prevention of departure

11 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 3303 of this title, a foreign

12 vessel carrying a citizen of the United States as a pas13 senger or that embarks passengers from a United States

14 port may not depart from a United States port if the Sec15 retary finds that the vessel does not comply with the

16 standards stated in the International Convention for the

17 Safety of Life at Sea to which the United States Govern18 ment is currently a party.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3303 of

20 title 46, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and

21 section 3505’’ after ‘‘chapter 37’’.

22 SEC. 412. SERVICE OF FOREIGN NATIONALS FOR MARITIME

23 EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.

24 Section 8103(b)(1)(A) of title 46, United State Code,

25 is amended to read as follows:

26 ‘‘(A) each unlicensed seaman must be—
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1 ‘‘(i) a citizen of the United States;

2 ‘‘(ii) an alien lawfully admitted to the

3 United States for permanent residence; or

4 ‘‘(iii) a foreign national who is enrolled in

5 the United States Merchant Marine Academy.’’.

6 SEC. 413. CLASSIFICATION SOCIETIES.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3316 of title 46, United

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing:

10 ‘‘(c)(1) A person shall not operate in interstate or for11 eign commerce as a classification society unless the Sec12 retary has reviewed and approved the person with respect

13 to the conduct of those operations.

14 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may approve a person for pur15 poses of paragraph (1) only if the Secretary determines

16 that—

17 ‘‘(A) the vessels surveyed by the person while

18 acting as a classification society have an adequate

19 safety record; and

20 ‘‘(B) the person has an adequate program to—

21 ‘‘(i) develop safety standards for vessels

22 surveyed by the person;

23 ‘‘(ii) make the safety records of the person

24 available to the Secretary in an electronic for25 mat;
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1 ‘‘(iii) provide the safety records of a vessel

2 surveyed by the person to any other classifica3 tion society that requests those records for the

4 purpose of conducting a survey of the vessel;

5 and

6 ‘‘(iv) request the safety records of a vessel

7 the person will survey from any classification

8 society that previously surveyed the vessel.

9 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall issue regulations imple10 menting this subsection, including regulations describing

11 activities that constitute operation in interstate or foreign

12 commerce as a classification society.’’.

13 (b) APPLICATION.—Section 3316(c)(1) of title 46,

14 United States Code, shall apply with respect to operation

15 as a classification society on or after January 1, 2005.

16 SEC. 414. MEMBERSHIP OF AREA MARITIME SECURITY AD17 VISORY COMMITTEES.

18 Section 70112(b) of title 46, United States Code, is

19 amended by adding at the end to following:

20 ‘‘(5) Membership of an Area Maritime Security Advi21 sory Committee shall include representatives of the port

22 industry, terminal operators, port labor organizations, and

23 other users of the port areas.’’.
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1 SEC. 415. SECURITY PLANS.

2 Section 70103(c) of title 46, United States Code, is

3 amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (1)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘operator of a vessel or fa6 cility’’ and inserting ‘‘operator of a vessel (in7 cluding a foreign vessel) or facility’’; and

8 (B) by striking ‘‘a security plan’’ and in9 serting ‘‘in writing a detailed security plan’’;

10 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘A vessel’’

11 and inserting ‘‘A vessel (including a foreign vessel)’’;

12 (3) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘(including a

13 foreign vessel)’’ after ‘‘authorize a vessel’’; and

14 (4) in paragraph (7), by inserting ‘‘(including a

15 foreign vessel)’’ after ‘‘operator of a vessel’’.

16 TITLE V—FEDERAL MARITIME

17 COMMISSION

18 SEC. 501. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FED19 ERAL MARITIME COMMISSION.

20 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Federal

21 Maritime Commission $18,471,000 for Fiscal Year 2004.

22 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

23 SEC. 601. INCREASE IN CIVIL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS

24 OF CERTAIN BRIDGE STATUTES.

25 (a) GENERAL BRIDGE ACT OF 1906.—Section 5(b)

26 of Act of March 23, 1906 (chapter 1130; 33 U.S.C. 495),
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1 popularly known as the General Bridge Act, is amended

2 by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000 for a violation

3 occurring in 2004; $10,000 for a violation occurring in

4 2005; $15,000 for a violation occurring in 2006; $20,000

5 for a violation occurring in 2007; and $25,000 for a viola6 tion occurring in 2008 and any year thereafter’’.

7 (b) DRAWBRIDGES.—Section 5(c) of the Act entitled

8 ‘‘An Act making appropriations for the construction, re9 pair, and preservation of certain public works on rivers

10 and harbors, and for other purposes’’, approved August

11 18, 1894 (33 U.S.C. 499(c)), is amended by striking

12 ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000 for a violation occurring

13 in 2004; $10,000 for a violation occurring in 2005;

14 $15,000 for a violation occurring in 2006; $20,000 for a

15 violation occurring in 2007; and $25,000 for a violation

16 occurring in 2008 and any year thereafter’’.

17 (c) ALTERATION, REMOVAL, OR REPAIR OF

18 BRIDGES.—Section 18(c) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act

19 making appropriations for the construction, repair, and

20 preservation of certain public works on rivers and harbors,

21 and for other purposes’’, approved March 3, 1899 (33

22 U.S.C. 502(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and in23 serting ‘‘$5,000 for a violation occurring in 2004; $10,000

24 for a violation occurring in 2005; $15,000 for a violation

25 occurring in 2006; $20,000 for a violation occurring in
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1 2007; and $25,000 for a violation occurring in 2008 and

2 any year thereafter’’.

3 (d) GENERAL BRIDGE ACT OF 1946.—Section

4 510(b) of the General Bridge Act of 1946 (33 U.S.C.

5 533(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘$5,000 for a violation occurring in 2004; $10,000 for a

7 violation occurring in 2005; $15,000 for a violation occur8 ring in 2006; $20,000 for a violation occurring in 2007;

9 and $25,000 for a violation occurring in 2008 and any

10 year thereafter’’.

11 SEC. 602. CONVEYANCE OF DECOMMISSIONED COAST

12 GUARD CUTTERS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast

14 Guard shall convey all right, title, and interest of the

15 United States in and to a vessel described in subsection

16 (b) to the person designated in subsection (b) with respect

17 to the vessel (in this section referred to as the ‘‘recipi18 ent’’), without consideration, if the person complies with

19 the conditions under subsection (c).

20 (b) VESSELS DESCRIBED.—The vessels referred to in

21 subsection (a) are the following:

22 (1) The Coast Guard Cutter BRAMBLE, to be

23 conveyed to the Port Huron Museum of Arts and

24 History (a nonprofit corporation under the laws of
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1 the State of Michigan), located in Port Huron,

2 Michigan.

3 (2) The Coast Guard Cutter PLANETREE, to

4 be conveyed to Jewish Life (a nonprofit corporation

5 under the laws of the State of California), located in

6 Sherman Oaks, California.

7 (3) The Coast Guard Cutter SUNDEW, to be

8 conveyed to Duluth Entertainment and Convention

9 Center Authority (a nonprofit corporation under the

10 laws of the State of Minnesota), located in Duluth,

11 Minnesota.

12 (c) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of any conveyance

13 of a vessel under subsection (a), the Commandant shall

14 require the recipient to—

15 (1) agree—

16 (A) to use the vessel for purposes of edu17 cation and historical display;

18 (B) not to use the vessel for commercial

19 transportation purposes;

20 (C) to make the vessel available to the

21 United States Government if needed for use by

22 the Commandant in time of war or a national

23 emergency; and

24 (D) to hold the Government harmless for

25 any claims arising from exposure to hazardous
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1 materials, including asbestos and poly2 chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), after conveyance

3 of the vessel, except for claims arising from use

4 of the vessel by the Government under subpara5 graph (C);

6 (2) have funds available that will be committed

7 to operate and maintain the vessel conveyed in good

8 working condition—

9 (A) in the form of cash, liquid assets, or

10 a written loan commitment; and

11 (B) in an amount of at least $700,000;

12 and

13 (3) agree to any other conditions the Com14 mandant considers appropriate.

15 (d) MAINTENANCE AND DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—

16 Prior to conveyance of a vessel under this section, the

17 Commandant shall, to the extent practical, and subject to

18 other Coast Guard mission requirements, make every ef19 fort to maintain the integrity of the vessel and its equip20 ment until the time of delivery. The Commandant shall

21 deliver a vessel conveyed under this section at the place

22 where the vessel is located, in its present condition, and

23 without cost to the Government. The conveyance of a ves24 sel under this section shall not be considered a distribution
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1 in commerce for purposes of section 6(e) of Public Law

2 94–469 (15 U.S.C. 2605(e)).

3 (e) OTHER EXCESS EQUIPMENT.—The Commandant

4 may convey to the recipient of a vessel under this section

5 any excess equipment or parts from other decommissioned

6 Coast Guard vessels for use to enhance the vessel’s oper7 ability and function as an historical display.

8 SEC. 603. TONNAGE MEASUREMENT.

9 (a) M/V BLUEFIN.—The gross tonnage of the M/

10 V BLUEFIN (United States official number 620431) as

11 measured under regulations prescribed under section

12 14502 of title 46, United States Code, is deemed to be

13 488 tons.

14 (b) M/V COASTAL MERCHANT.—The gross ton15 nage of the M/V COASTAL MERCHANT (United States

16 official number 1038382) as measured under regulations

17 prescribed under section 14502 of title 46, United States

18 Code, is deemed to be 493 tons.

19 (c) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION.—Subsection (a)

20 or (b) shall not apply on and after any date on which the

21 Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard

22 is operating determines, respectively, that the vessel M/

23 V BLUEFIN or the vessel M/V COASTAL MERCHANT

24 has undergone any major modification.
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1 SEC. 604. OPERATION OF VESSEL STAD AMSTERDAM.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 8 of the

3 Act of June 19, 1886 (46 App. U.S.C. 289), and the rul4 ing by the Acting Director of the International Trade

5 Compliance Division of the Customs Service on May 17,

6 2002 (Customs Bulletins and Decisions, Vol. 36, No. 23,

7 June 5, 2002), the vessel STAD AMSTERDAM (Inter8 national Maritime Organization number 9185554) shall be

9 authorized to carry within United States waters and be10 tween ports or places in the United States individuals who

11 are not directly and substantially connected with the oper12 ation, navigation, ownership, or business of the vessel, who

13 are friends, guests, or employees of the owner of the ves14 sel, and who are not actual or prospective customers for

15 hire of the vessel.

16 (b) LIMITATION.—This section does not authorize the

17 vessel STAD AMSTERDAM to be used to carry individ18 uals for a fare or to be chartered on a for-hire basis in

19 the coastwise trade.

20 SEC. 605. GREAT LAKES NATIONAL MARITIME ENHANCE21 MENT INSTITUTE.

22 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary of Transportation

23 may designate a National Maritime Enhancement Insti24 tute for the Great Lakes Region.

25 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In addition to the ac26 tivities that may be undertaken by that Institute under
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1 section 8(b) of Public Law 101–115 (46 App. U.S.C.

2 1121–2), the Great Lakes National Maritime Enhance3 ment Institute may—

4 (1) conduct research and evaluate short sea

5 shipping market opportunities on the Great Lakes,

6 including the expanded use of freight ferries, im7 proved mobility, and regional supply chain efficiency;

8 (2) evaluate markets for foreign trade between

9 ports on the Great Lakes and draft-limited ports in

10 Europe and Africa;

11 (3) evaluate the environmental benefits of wa12 terborne transportation in the Great Lakes region;

13 (4) analyze the effect of the Harbor Mainte14 nance Tax on Great Lakes shipping;

15 (5) study the state of shipbuilding and ship re16 pair base on the Great Lakes;

17 (6) evaluate opportunities for passenger vessel

18 services on the Great Lakes;

19 (7) analyze the origin to destination flow of

20 freight cargo in the Great Lakes region that may be

21 transported on vessels to relieve congestion in other

22 modes of transportation;

23 (8) evaluate the economic viability establishing

24 transshipment facilities for oceangoing cargoes;
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1 (9) evaluate the adequacy of the infrastructure

2 in ports to meet the needs of marine commerce; and

3 (10) study and develop new vessel designs for

4 domestic and international shipping on the Great

5 Lakes.

6 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

7 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000

8 for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2008 for the activi9 ties described in subsection (b).

10 SEC. 606. AGILE PORT AND INTELLIGENT BORDER SECU11 RITY NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

13 may carry out an Agile Port and Intelligent Border Secu14 rity National Demonstration Project under the Center for

15 the Commercial Deployment of Transportation Tech16 nologies to develop and deploy dual use transportation

17 technologies for commercial applications, including the fol18 lowing:

19 (1) Agile port facilities, including inland multi20 modal transportation facilities.

21 (2) Advanced cargo and passenger vessel hull

22 design, propulsion systems, and construction.

23 (3) Regional supply chain efficiency, improved

24 mobility, and air quality.
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1 (4) Maritime, port, cargo, and supply chain se2 curity, and total asset visibility.

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry

4 out the demonstration project under subsection (a) there

5 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Trans6 portation $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

7 SEC. 607. KOSS COVE.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law or existing policy, the cove described in sub10 section (b) shall be known and designated as ‘‘Koss Cove’’,

11 in honor of the late Able Bodied Seaman Eric Steiner

12 Koss of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis13 tration vessel RAINIER who died in the performance of

14 a nautical charting mission off the coast of Alaska.

15 (b) COVE DESCRIBED.—The cove referred to in sub16 section (a) is—

17 (1) adjacent to and southeast of Point

18 Elrington, Alaska, and forms a portion of the south19 ern coast of Elrington Island;

(2) 3 20 ⁄4 mile across the mouth;

21 (3) centered at 59 degrees 56.1 minutes North,

22 148 degrees 14 minutes West; and

23 (4) 45 miles from Seward, Alaska.

24 (c) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any law, regula25 tion, document, record, map, or other paper of the United
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1 States to the cove described in subsection (b) is deemed

2 to be a reference to Koss Cove.

3 SEC. 608. MISCELLANEOUS CERTIFICATES OF DOCUMENTA4 TION.

5 Notwithstanding section 27 of the Merchant Marine

6 Act, 1920 (46 App. U.S.C. 883), section 8 of the Act of

7 June 19, 1886 (24 Stat. 81, chapter 421; 46 App. U.S.C.

8 289), and section 12106 of title 46, United States Code,

9 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard

10 is operating may issue a certificate of documentation with

11 appropriate endorsement for employment in the coastwise

12 trade for the following vessels:

13 (1) OCEAN LEADER (United States official

14 number 679511).

15 (2) REVELATION (United States official

16 number 1137565).

17 SEC. 609. REGULATIONS.

18 No later than February 1, 2004, the Secretary of the

19 department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall

20 implement final regulations to carry out section 12106(e),

21 title 46, United States Code.
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1 SEC. 610. REPORT REGARDING SECURITY INSPECTION OF

2 VESSELS AND VESSEL-BORNE CARGO CON3 TAINERS ENTERING THE UNITED STATES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the

6 Department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall

7 report to the Congress regarding the numbers and types

8 of vessels and vessel-borne cargo containers that enter the

9 United States in a year.

10 (b) CONTENTS.—The report under this section shall

11 include the following:

12 (1) A section regarding security inspection of

13 vessels that includes the following:

14 (A) A complete breakdown of the numbers

15 and types of vessels that entered the United

16 States in the most recent 1-year period for

17 which information is available.

18 (B) The cost incurred by the Federal Gov19 ernment in inspecting such vessels in such 1-

20 year period, including specification and com21 parison of such cost for each type of vessel.

22 (C) An estimate of the per-vessel cost that

23 would be incurred by the Federal Government

24 in inspecting in a foreign port each type of ves25 sel that enters the United States each year, in-
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1 cluding costs for personnel, vessels, equipment,

2 and funds.

3 (D) An estimate of the annual total cost

4 that would be incurred by the Federal Govern5 ment in inspecting in foreign ports all vessels

6 that enter the United States each year, includ7 ing costs for personnel, vessels, equipment, and

8 funds.

9 (2) A section regarding security inspection of

10 containers that includes the following:

11 (A) A complete breakdown of the numbers

12 and types of vessel-borne cargo containers that

13 entered the United States in the most recent 1-

14 year period for which information is available,

15 including specification of the number of 1 TEU

16 containers and the number of 2 TEU con17 tainers.

18 (B) The cost incurred by the Federal Gov19 ernment in inspecting such containers in such

20 1-year period, including specification and com21 parison of such cost for a 1 TEU container and

22 for a 2 TEU container.

23 (C) An estimate of the per-container cost

24 that would be incurred by the Federal Govern25 ment in inspecting in a foreign port each type
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1 of vessel-borne container that enters the United

2 States each year, including costs for personnel,

3 vessels, equipment, and funds.

4 (D) An estimate of the annual total cost

5 that would be incurred by the Federal Govern6 ment in inspecting in foreign ports all vessel7 borne containers that enter the United States

8 each year, including costs for personnel, vessels,

9 equipment, and funds.

10 SEC. 611. CONVEYANCE OF DECOMMISSIONED COAST

11 GUARD VESSELS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the scheduled decommis13 sioning of a Coast Guard vessel listed in subsection (d),

14 the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall convey all

15 right, title, and interest of the United States in and to

16 that vessel to the respective recipient listed in subsection

17 (d) for that vessel, if—

18 (1) the recipient agrees—

19 (A) to use the vessel for public safety ac20 tivities;

21 (B) not to use the vessel for commercial

22 transportation purposes;

23 (C) to make the vessel available to the

24 United States Government if needed for use by
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1 the Commandant in time of war or a national

2 emergency; and

3 (D) to hold the Government harmless for

4 any claims arising from exposure to hazardous

5 materials, including asbestos and poly6 chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), after conveyance

7 of the vessel, except for claims arising from use

8 by the Government under subparagraph (C);

9 (2) the recipient has funds available that will be

10 committed to operate and maintain the vessel con11 veyed in good working condition, in the form of

12 cash, liquid assets, or a written loan commitment;

13 and

14 (3) the recipient agrees to any other conditions

15 the Commandant considers appropriate.

16 (b) MAINTENANCE AND DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—

17 Prior to conveyance of the vessel under this section, the

18 Commandant shall, to the extent practical, and subject to

19 other Coast Guard mission requirements, make every ef20 fort to maintain the integrity of the vessel and its equip21 ment until the time of delivery. If a conveyance is made

22 under this section, the Commandant shall deliver the ves23 sel at the place where the vessel is located, in its present

24 condition, and without cost to the Government. The con25 veyance of the vessel under this section shall not be consid-
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1 ered a distribution in commerce for purposes of section

2 6(e) of Public Law 94–469 (15 U.S.C. 2605(e)).

3 (c) OTHER EXCESS EQUIPMENT.—The Commandant

4 may convey to the recipient any excess equipment or parts

5 from other decommissioned Coast Guard vessels for use

6 to enhance the vessel’s operability and function.

7 (d) VESSELS AND RECIPIENTS.—The vessels and re8 cipients referred to in subsection (a) are the following:

9 (1) A 21-foot rigid hull Coast Guard vessel, to

10 the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, Berrien

11 County, Michigan.

12 (2) A 44-foot motor life boat, to the Port Nor13 ris Fire Company, Commercial Township, New Jer14 sey.

15 (3) A 44-foot motor life boat, to the City of

16 Margate, New Jersey.

17 (4) A 44-foot motor life boat, to the Lower

18 Alloway Creek Fire Company, Hancocks Bridge,

19 New Jersey.

20 (5) A 44-foot motor life boat, to the Fortescue

21 Fire Rescue Company 1, Downe Township, New

22 Jersey.

23 (6) A 21-foot rigid hull inflatable, to the

24 Longport Volunteer Fire Department, Longport,

25 New Jersey.
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1 (7) A 21-foot rigid hull inflatable, to West

2 Wildwood Fire Company, West Wildwood, New Jer3 sey.

4 (8) A 21-foot rigid hull inflatable, to the San

5 Diego Unified Port District, California.

6 SEC. 612. ASSATEAGUE LIGHTHOUSE LENS.

7 The Secretary of the department in which the Coast

8 Guard is operating shall convey to the Oyster and Mari9 time Museum, located in Chincoteague, Virginia, without

10 consideration, all right, title, and interest of the United

11 States in and to the first order Fresnel lens formerly used

12 in the Assateague Lighthouse located on Assateague Is13 land, Virginia.

14 SEC. 613. STUDY OF THE ROLE OF COAST GUARD ICE

15 BREAKERS IN SUPPORTING UNITED STATES

16 OPERATIONS IN THE ANTARCTIC AND THE

17 ARCTIC.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast

19 Guard may enter into an arrangement with the Polar Re20 search Board and the Marine Board of the National Acad21 emy of Sciences to—

22 (1) conduct a study of the role of Coast Guard

23 icebreakers in supporting United States operations

24 in the Antarctic and the Arctic, including—
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1 (A) roles in logistics and material support

2 and a general inventory of contributions to

3 science in both regions;

4 (B) alternative methods for staging, sup5 porting, and conducting Arctic and Antarctic

6 activities other than by use of Coast Guard ice7 breakers;

8 (C) the operational status of the POLAR

9 STAR and POLAR SEA, including the pro10 jected life expectancy of vessel systems, and

11 strategies for extending the service life of these

12 vessels; and

13 (D) key short-term and long-term func14 tions provided by the Coast Guard icebreaker

15 fleet and how these functions might be ad16 dressed under different service life extension

17 and replacement scenarios; and

18 (2) conduct a study of changes in the roles and

19 missions of Coast Guard icebreakers in the support

20 of future marine operations in the Arctic that may

21 develop due to environmental change, including—

22 (A) the amount and kind of icebreaking

23 support that may be required in the future to

24 support marine operations in the Northern Sea

25 Route and the Northwest Passage;
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1 (B) the suitability of the Polar Class ice2 breakers for these new roles; and

3 (C) appropriate changes in existing laws

4 governing Coast Guard icebreaking operations

5 and the potential for new operating regimes.

6 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the

7 date of enactment of the Act, the Commandant shall sub8 mit a report on the studies required under subsection (a)

9 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

10 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

11 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.

12 (c) CHARGE FOR ICEBREAKING SERVICES.—After

13 the date on which the Commandant submits the report

14 under subsection (b), and notwithstanding any other pro15 vision of law, the Secretary of the department in which

16 the Coast Guard is operating may charge other Federal

17 agencies for the Secretary’s cost of providing icebreaking

18 and related transportation services to those agencies.

19 SEC. 614. CORRECTION OF REFERENCES TO NATIONAL

20 DRIVER REGISTER.

21 Title 46, United States Code, is amended—

22 (1) in section 7302—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘section 206(b)(7) of the

24 National Driver Register Act of 1982 (23
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1 U.S.C. 401 note)’’ and inserting ‘‘30305(b)(5)

2 of title 49’’; and

3 (B) by striking ‘‘section 205(a)(3)(A) or

4 (B) of that Act’’ and inserting ‘‘30304(a)(3)(A)

5 or (B) of title 49’’;

6 (2) in section 7702(d)(1)(B)(iii) by striking

7 ‘‘section 205(a)(3)(A) or (B) of the National Driver

8 Register Act of 1982’’ and inserting ‘‘section

9 30304(a)(3)(A) or (B) of title 49’’; and

10 (3) in section 7703(3) by striking ‘‘section

11 205(a)(3)(A) or (B) of the National Driver Register

12 Act of 1982’’ and inserting ‘‘section 30304(a)(3)(A)

13 or (B) of title 49’’.

14 SEC. 615. WATEREE RIVER.

15 For purposes of bridge administration, the portion of

16 the Wateree River in the State of South Carolina, from

17 a point 100 feet upstream of the railroad bridge located

18 at approximately mile marker 10.0 to a point 100 feet

19 downstream of such bridge, is declared to not be navigable

20 waters of the United States for purposes of the General

21 Bridge Act of 1946 (33 U.S.C. 525 et seq.).

22 SEC. 616. ALASKA MERCHANT MARINERS’ DOCUMENTS

23 PILOT PROGRAM.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the department

25 in which the Coast Guard is operating shall conduct a pilot
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1 program in the 17th Coast Guard District to demonstrate

2 methods to improve processing and procedures for issuing

3 merchant mariners’ documents.

4 (b) USE OF EXISTING TOOLS.—Before conducting

5 the pilot program authorized under subsection (a), the

6 Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the Air Force

7 regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the content

8 management technology and information management

9 tools that are currently used by the department of the Air

10 Force in the Air Force Publishing Directorate.

11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

12 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the de13 partment in which the Coast Guard is operating

14 $5,000,000 to carry out the pilot program under sub15 section (a).

16 SEC. 617. CONVEYANCE OF SENTINEL ISLAND LIGHT STA17 TION, ALASKA.

18 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

20 provision of law, the Secretary of the Department in

21 which the Coast Guard is operating shall convey, by

22 an appropriate means of conveyance, all right, title,

23 and interest of the United States in and to the Sen24 tinel Island Light Station and Sentinel Island, Alas25 ka, to the Gastineau Channel Historical Society.
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1 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF PROPERTY.—The Sec2 retary may identify, describe, and determine the

3 property to be conveyed under this subsection.

4 (3) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not

5 under this section convey—

6 (A) any historical artifact, including any

7 lens or lantern, located on property conveyed

8 under this section at or before the time of the

9 conveyance; or

10 (B) any interest in submerged land.

11 (b) GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any conveyance of property

13 under this section shall be made—

14 (A) without payment of consideration; and

15 (B) subject to the terms and conditions re16 quired by this section and other terms and con17 ditions the Secretary may consider appropriate,

18 including the reservation of easements and

19 other rights on behalf of the United States.

20 (2) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—In addition to

21 any term or condition established under this section,

22 any conveyance of property under this section shall

23 be subject to the condition that all right, title, and

24 interest in the property, at the option of the Sec25 retary shall revert to the United States and be
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1 placed under the administrative control of the Sec2 retary, if—

3 (A) the property, or any part of the

4 property—

5 (i) ceases to be available and acces6 sible to the public, on a reasonable basis,

7 for educational, park, recreational, cul8 tural, historic preservation, or other simi9 lar purposes specified for the property in

10 the terms of conveyance;

11 (ii) ceases to be maintained in a man12 ner that is consistent with its present or

13 future use as a site for Coast Guard aids

14 to navigation or compliance with this sec15 tion; or

16 (iii) ceases to be maintained in a man17 ner consistent with the conditions in para18 graph (4) established by the Secretary pur19 suant to the National Historic Preserva20 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.); or

21 (B) at least 30 days before that reversion,

22 the Secretary provides written notice to the

23 owner that the property is needed for national

24 security purposes.
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1 (3) MAINTENANCE OF NAVIGATION FUNC2 TIONS.—Any conveyance of property under this sec3 tion shall be made subject to the conditions that the

4 Secretary considers to be necessary to assure that—

5 (A) the lights, antennas, and associated

6 equipment located on the property conveyed

7 that are active aids to navigation shall continue

8 to be operated and maintained by the United

9 States for as long as they are needed for this

10 purpose;

11 (B) the owner of the property may not

12 interfere or allow interference in any manner

13 with aids to navigation without express written

14 permission from the Commandant of the Coast

15 Guard;

16 (C) there is reserved to the United States

17 the right to relocate, replace, or add any aids

18 to navigation or make any changes to the prop19 erty conveyed as may be necessary for naviga20 tional purposes;

21 (D) the United States shall have the right,

22 at any time, to enter the property without no23 tice for the purpose of operating, maintaining,

24 and inspecting aids to navigation and for the
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1 purpose of enforcing compliance with this sub2 section; and

3 (E) the United States shall have an ease4 ment of access to and across the property for

5 the purpose of maintaining the aids to naviga6 tion in use on the property.

7 (4) MAINTENANCE OF PROPERTY.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B), the owner of a property conveyed

10 under this section shall maintain the property

11 in a proper, substantial, and workmanlike man12 ner, and in accordance with any conditions es13 tablished by the Secretary pursuant to the Na14 tional Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470

15 et seq.) and other applicable laws.

16 (B) LIMITATION.—The owner of a prop17 erty conveyed under this section is not required

18 to maintain any active aids to navigation on the

19 property, except private aids to navigation au20 thorized under section 83 of title 14, United

21 States Code.

22 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi23 nitions apply:

24 (1) AIDS TO NAVIGATION.—The term ‘‘aids to

25 navigation’’ means equipment used for navigation
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1 purposes, including a light, antenna, radio, sound

2 signal, electronic navigation equipment, or other as3 sociated equipment that are operated or maintained

4 by the United States.

5 (2) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means, for

6 property conveyed under this section, the person to

7 which property is conveyed under subsection (a)(1),

8 and any successor or assign of that person.

9 SEC. 618. MARITIME INTELLIGENCE AND LONG-RANGE VES10 SEL TRACKING SYSTEM.

11 (a) MARITIME INTELLIGENCE.—

12 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

13 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec14 retary of the department in which the Coast Guard

15 is operating $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 to im16 plement a system to carry out section 70113(a) of

17 title 46, United States Code.

18 (2) SYSTEM REQUIREMENT.—Any system im19 plemented with amounts made available under this

20 subsection shall—

21 (A) include a vessel terrorism risk profiling

22 system that assigns incoming vessels a risk rat23 ing; and

24 (B) be based on independently verified in25 telligence data.
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1 (b) VESSEL TRACKING SYSTEM.—

2 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

3 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec4 retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard

5 is operating $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 to

6 carry out section 70115 of title 46, United States

7 Code.

8 (2) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—Any automated

9 vessel tracking system implemented with amounts

10 made available under this subsection shall be oper11 ated by an existing nonprofit maritime organization

12 that—

13 (A) operates satellite communications sys14 tems, and vessel tracking software and hard15 ware; and

16 (B) can have nationwide vessel tracking

17 capability in operation by no later than 90 days

18 after the date the organization enters into a

19 contract with the Coast Guard to establish and

20 operate the system.

21 SEC. 619. COLUMBIA SLOUGH.

22 Section 325 of Public Law 97–369 (96 Stat. 1785)

23 is repealed.
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1 SEC. 620. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING CARBON MON2 OXIDE AND WATERCRAFT.

3 It is the sense of the Congress that the Coast Guard

4 should continue—

5 (1) to place a high priority on addressing the

6 safety risks posed to boaters by elevated levels of

7 carbon monoxide that are unique to watercraft; and

8 (2) to work with vessel and engine manufactur9 ers, the American Boat & Yacht Council, other Fed10 eral agencies, and the entire boating community in

11 order to determine the best ways to adequately ad12 dress this public safety issue and minimize the num13 ber of tragic carbon monoxide-related boating deaths

14 that occur each year.

15 SEC. 621. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NAMING NEW

16 VESSELS UNDER THE DEEPWATER PROGRAM

17 FOR CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES.

18 It is the sense of the Congress that the Coast Guard

19 should consider including in its naming protocols for new

20 vessels constructed under the Deepwater Program the

21 names of cities of the United States and its territories and

22 possessions.

23 SEC. 622. PORT SECURITY GRANT AUTHORITY.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 70107 of title 46, United

25 States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘Secretary of

2 Transportation, acting through the Maritime Admin3 istrator,’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary, acting through

4 the Commandant of the Coast Guard,’’;

5 (2) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’

6 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary, act7 ing through the Commandant of the Coast Guard,’’;

8 and

9 (3) by striking ‘‘Department of Transportation’’

10 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘department in

11 which the Coast Guard is operating’’.

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a)—

13 (1) shall take effect October 1, 2004; and

14 (2) shall not affect any grant made before that

15 date.

16 SEC. 623. SECURITY ASSESSMENT OF INDIAN POINT EN17 ERGY CENTER.

18 Not later than one year after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the department in which

20 the Coast Guard is operating shall—

21 (1) conduct a vulnerability assessment under

22 section 70102(b) of title 46, United States Code, of

23 the navigable waters adjacent to Indian Point En24 ergy Center, located in Westchester County, New

25 York; and
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1 (2) submit a report on that assessment to the

2 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of

3 the House of Representatives and the Committee on

4 Commerce, Science and Transportation of the Sen5 ate.

6 SEC. 624. MITIGATION OF PENALTY DUE TO AVOIDANCE OF

7 A CERTAIN HAZARDOUS CONDITION.

8 (a) TREATMENT OF VIOLATION.—For purposes of

9 any administrative proceeding to consider mitigation of

10 any civil penalty for a violation described in subsection (b),

11 such violation is deemed to have been committed by reason

12 of a safety concern.

13 (b) VIOLATION DESCRIBED.—A violation referred to

14 in subsection (a) is any violation of the Act of June 19,

15 1886 (chapter 421; 46 App. U.S.C. 289), occurring before

16 August 1, 2003, and consisting of operation of a passenger

17 vessel in transporting passengers—

18 (1) between the Port of New Orleans and an19 other port on the Gulf of Mexico at a time when the

20 power lines across the Mississippi River at

21 Chalmette, Louisiana, are a hazard to the safe re22 turn transport of passengers on that vessel to the

23 Port of New Orleans; or
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1 (2) in repositioning the vessel to the Port of

2 New Orleans after that hazard is temporarily re3 solved.

4 SEC. 625. DESIGNATION OF EMPRESS OF THE NORTH AS A

5 TOUR VESSEL.

6 Notwithstanding any other law, the passenger vessel

7 EMPRESS OF THE NORTH (United States official

8 number 1140867) is deemed to be a tour vessel for the

9 purpose of the regulations promulgated by the Secretary

10 of the Interior under section 3(h) of Public Law 91–383

11 (16 U.S.C. 1a–2(h)) and section 3 of the Act of August

12 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 3), with respect to vessel operations

13 in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

14 SEC. 626. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING TIMELY RE15 VIEW AND ADJUSTMENT OF GREAT LAKES PI16 LOTAGE RATES.

17 It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of

18 the department in which the Coast Guard is operating

19 should, on a timely basis, review and adjust the rates pay20 able under part 401 of title 46, Code of Federal Regula21 tions, for services performed by United States registered

22 pilots on the Great Lakes.
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1 SEC. 627. PRIORITY FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYS2 TEMS IN MAKING GRANTS FOR IMPLEMENTA3 TION OF SECURITY PLANS.

4 Section 70107(e) of title 46, United State Code, is

5 amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(5) PRIORITY FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

7 SYSTEMS.—

8 ‘‘(A) PRIORITY.—In making grants under

9 subsection (a) the Secretary of Transportation

10 shall give priority to otherwise eligible projects

11 concerning implementation of security plans

12 with respect to public transportation systems.

13 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall

14 issue regulations establishing procedures and

15 requirements for awarding grants pursuant to

16 the priority required by this paragraph.’’.

17 SEC. 628. LIMITATION ON BRIDGE ALTERATION PROJECTS.

18 The Coast Guard may conduct bridge alteration

19 projects using amounts authorized under section

20 101(1)(B)(iv) of this Act only to the extent that the steel,

21 iron, and manufactured products used in such projects are

22 produced in the United States, unless the Commandant

23 of the Coast Guard determines such action to be incon24 sistent with the public interest or the cost unreasonable.
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1 TITLE VII—AMENDMENTS RE2 LATING TO OIL POLLUTION

3 ACT OF 1990

4 SEC. 701. VESSEL RESPONSE PLANS FOR NONTANK VES5 SELS OVER 400 GROSS TONS.

6 (a) NONTANK VESSEL DEFINED.—Section 311(j) of

7 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

8 1321(j)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(9) NONTANK VESSEL DEFINED.—In this sub10 section, the term ‘nontank vessel’ means a self-pro11 pelled vessel of 400 gross tons (as measured under

12 section 14502 of title 46, United States Code, or an

13 alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of

14 such title as prescribed by the Secretary under sec15 tion 14104 of such title) or greater, other than a

16 tank vessel, that carries oil of any kind as fuel for

17 main propulsion and that—

18 ‘‘(A) is a vessel of the United States; or

19 ‘‘(B) operates on the navigable waters of

20 the United States.’’.

21 (b) AMENDMENTS TO REQUIRE RESPONSE PLANS.—

22 Section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

23 (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) is amended—

24 (1) in paragraph (5) in the heading by inserting

25 ‘‘, NONTANK VESSEL,’’ after ‘‘VESSEL’’;
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1 (2) in paragraph 5(A) by inserting ‘‘, nontank

2 vessel,’’ after ‘‘vessel’’;

3 (3) in paragraph (5)(B), in the matter pre4 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, nontank vessels,’’

5 after ‘‘vessels’’;

6 (4) in paragraph (5)(B), by redesignating

7 clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses (iii) and (iv), respec8 tively, and by inserting after clause (i) the following:

9 ‘‘(ii) A nontank vessel.’’;

10 (5) in paragraph (5)(D)—

11 (A) by inserting ‘‘, nontank vessel,’’ after

12 ‘‘vessel’’;

13 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon

14 at the end of clause (iii);

15 (C) by striking the period at the end of

16 clause (iv) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

17 (D) by adding after clause (iv) the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(v) for nontank vessels, consider any ap20 plicable State-mandated response plan and en21 sure consistency to the extent practicable.’’;

22 (6) in paragraph (5)(E), in the matter pre23 ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘nontank vessel,’’

24 after ‘‘vessel,’’;
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1 (7) in paragraph (5)(E)(i) by inserting

2 ‘‘nontank vessel,’’ , after ‘‘vessel,’’;

3 (8) in paragraph (5)(F) by striking ‘‘tank ves4 sel or’’ and inserting ‘‘vessel or’’;

5 (9) in paragraph (5)(G) by inserting ‘‘nontank

6 vessel,’’ after ‘‘vessel,’’;

7 (10) in paragraph (5)(H) by inserting ‘‘and

8 nontank vessel’’ after ‘‘each tank vessel’’;

9 (11) in paragraph (6) in the matter preceding

10 subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘Not later than 2

11 years after the date of enactment of this section, the

12 President shall require—’’ and inserting ‘‘The Presi13 dent may require—’’;

14 (12) in paragraph (6)(B) by inserting ‘‘, and

15 nontank vessels carrying oil of any kind as fuel for

16 main propulsion,’’ after ‘‘cargo’’; and

17 (13) in paragraph (7) by inserting ‘‘, nontank

18 vessel,’’ after ‘‘vessel’’.

19 (c) IMPLEMENTATION DATE.—The President shall

20 not require the owner or operator of a nontank vessel (as

21 defined section 311(j)(9) of the Federal Water Pollution

22 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(9), as amended by this

23 section) to prepare and submit a vessel response plan for

24 such vessel before the end of the one-year period beginning

25 on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 702. REQUIREMENTS FOR TANK LEVEL AND PRES2 SURE MONITORING DEVICES.

3 Section 4110 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (46

4 U.S.C. 3703 note) is amended—

5 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Not later

6 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this

7 Act, the Secretary shall’’ and inserting ‘‘The Sec8 retary may’’;

9 (2) in subsection (b)—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘Not later than 1 year

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

12 Secretary shall’’ and inserting ‘‘No sooner than

13 1 year after the Secretary prescribes regula14 tions under subsection (a), the Secretary may’’;

15 and

16 (B) by striking ‘‘the standards’’ and in17 serting ‘‘any standards’’.

18 SEC. 703. LIABILITY AND COST RECOVERY.

19 (a) DEFINITION OF OWNER OR OPERATOR.—Section

20 1001(26) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C.

21 2701(26)) is amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘(26) ‘owner or operator’—

23 ‘‘(A) means—

24 ‘‘(i) in the case of a vessel, any person

25 owning, operating, or chartering by demise,

26 the vessel;
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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an onshore or off2 shore facility, any person owning or oper3 ating such facility;

4 ‘‘(iii) in the case of any abandoned

5 offshore facility, the person who owned or

6 operated such facility immediately prior to

7 such abandonment;

8 ‘‘(iv) in the case of any facility, title

9 or control of which was conveyed due to

10 bankruptcy, foreclosure, tax delinquency,

11 abandonment, or similar means to a unit

12 of State or local government, any person

13 who owned, operated, or otherwise con14 trolled activities at such facility imme15 diately beforehand;

16 ‘‘(v) notwithstanding subparagraph

17 (B)(i), any State or local government that

18 has caused or contributed to a discharge or

19 substantial threat of a discharge of oil

20 from a vessel or facility ownership or con21 trol of which was acquired involuntarily

22 through bankruptcy, tax delinquency,

23 abandonment, or other circumstances in

24 which the government involuntarily ac-
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1 quires title by virtue of its function as sov2 ereign; and

3 ‘‘(vi) notwithstanding subparagraph

4 (B)(ii), a person that is a lender and that

5 holds indicia of ownership primarily to pro6 tect a security interest in a vessel or facil7 ity if, while the borrower is still in posses8 sion of the vessel or facility encumbered by

9 the security interest, the person—

10 ‘‘(I) exercises decisionmaking

11 control over the environmental compli12 ance related to the vessel or facility,

13 such that the person has undertaken

14 responsibility for oil handling or dis15 posal practices related to the vessel or

16 facility; or

17 ‘‘(II) exercises control at a level

18 comparable to that of a manager of

19 the vessel or facility, such that the

20 person has assumed or manifested

21 responsibility—

22 ‘‘(aa) for the overall man23 agement of the vessel or facility

24 encompassing day-to-day deci-
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1 sionmaking with respect to envi2 ronmental compliance; or

3 ‘‘(bb) over all or substan4 tially all of the operational func5 tions (as distinguished from fi6 nancial or administrative func7 tions) of the vessel or facility

8 other than the function of envi9 ronmental compliance; and

10 ‘‘(B) does not include—

11 ‘‘(i) a unit of State or local govern12 ment that acquired ownership or control of

13 a vessel or facility involuntarily through

14 bankruptcy, tax delinquency, abandonment,

15 or other circumstances in which the gov16 ernment involuntarily acquires title by vir17 tue of its function as sovereign;

18 ‘‘(ii) a person that is a lender that

19 does not participate in management of a

20 vessel or facility, but holds indicia of own21 ership primarily to protect the security in22 terest of the person in the vessel or facil23 ity; or

24 ‘‘(iii) a person that is a lender that

25 did not participate in management of a
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1 vessel or facility prior to foreclosure, not2 withstanding that the person—

3 ‘‘(I) forecloses on the vessel or

4 facility; and

5 ‘‘(II) after foreclosure, sells, re6 leases (in the case of a lease finance

7 transaction), or liquidates the vessel

8 or facility, maintains business activi9 ties, winds up operations, undertakes

10 a removal action under 311(c) of the

11 Federal Water Pollution Control Act

12 (33 U.S.C. 311(c)) or under the direc13 tion of an on-scene coordinator ap14 pointed under the National Contin15 gency Plan, with respect to the vessel

16 or facility, or takes any other measure

17 to preserve, protect, or prepare the

18 vessel or facility prior to sale or dis19 position,

20 if the person seeks to sell, re-lease (in the

21 case of a lease finance transaction), or oth22 erwise divest the person of the vessel or fa23 cility at the earliest practicable, commer24 cially reasonable time, on commercially

25 reasonable terms, taking into account mar-
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1 ket conditions and legal and regulatory re2 quirements;’’.

3 (b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—Section 1001 of the Oil

4 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701) is amended by

5 striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of paragraph

6 (36), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (37)

7 and inserting a semicolon, and by adding at the end the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(38) ‘participate in management’—

10 ‘‘(A)(i) means actually participating in the

11 management or operational affairs of a vessel

12 or facility; and

13 ‘‘(ii) does not include merely having the ca14 pacity to influence, or the unexercised right to

15 control, vessel or facility operations; and

16 ‘‘(B) does not include—

17 ‘‘(i) performing an act or failing to

18 act prior to the time at which a security

19 interest is created in a vessel or facility;

20 ‘‘(ii) holding a security interest or

21 abandoning or releasing a security interest;

22 ‘‘(iii) including in the terms of an ex23 tension of credit, or in a contract or secu24 rity agreement relating to the extension, a

25 covenant, warranty, or other term or con-
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1 dition that relates to environmental compli2 ance;

3 ‘‘(iv) monitoring or enforcing the

4 terms and conditions of the extension of

5 credit or security interest;

6 ‘‘(v) monitoring or undertaking one or

7 more inspections of the vessel or facility;

8 ‘‘(vi) requiring a removal action or

9 other lawful means of addressing a dis10 charge or substantial threat of a discharge

11 of oil in connection with the vessel or facil12 ity prior to, during, or on the expiration of

13 the term of the extension of credit;

14 ‘‘(vii) providing financial or other ad15 vice or counseling in an effort to mitigate,

16 prevent, or cure default or diminution in

17 the value of the vessel or facility;

18 ‘‘(viii) restructuring, renegotiating, or

19 otherwise agreeing to alter the terms and

20 conditions of the extension of credit or se21 curity interest, exercising forbearance;

22 ‘‘(ix) exercising other remedies that

23 may be available under applicable law for

24 the breach of a term or condition of the ex25 tension of credit or security agreement; or
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1 ‘‘(x) conducting a removal action

2 under 311(c) of the Federal Water Pollu3 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(c)) or

4 under the direction of an on-scene coordi5 nator appointed under the National Con6 tingency Plan,

7 if such actions do not rise to the level of partici8 pating in management under subparagraph (A)

9 of this paragraph and paragraph (26)(A)(vi);

10 ‘‘(39) ‘extension of credit’ has the meaning pro11 vided in section 101(20)(G)(i) of the Comprehensive

12 Environmental Response, Compensation and Liabil13 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)(G)(i));

14 ‘‘(40) ‘financial or administrative function’ has

15 the meaning provided in section 101(20)(G)(ii) of

16 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com17 pensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.

18 9601(20)(G)(ii));

19 ‘‘(41) ‘foreclosure’ and ‘foreclose’ each has the

20 meaning provided in section 101(20)(G)(iii) of the

21 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa22 tion and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.

23 9601(20)(G)(iii));

24 ‘‘(42) ‘lender’ has the meaning provided in sec25 tion 101(20)(G)(iv) of the Comprehensive Environ-
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1 mental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of

2 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)(G)(iv));

3 ‘‘(43) ‘operational function’ has the meaning

4 provided in section 101(20)(G)(v) of the Comprehen5 sive Environmental Response, Compensation and Li6 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)(G)(v)); and

7 ‘‘(44) ‘security interest’ has the meaning pro8 vided in section 101(20)(G)(vi) of the Comprehen9 sive Environmental Response, Compensation and Li10 ability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(20)(G)(vi)).’’.

11 (c) DEFINITION OF CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP.—

12 Section 1003 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C.

13 2703) is amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION OF CONTRACTUAL RELATION15 SHIP.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection

17 (a)(3) the term ‘contractual relationship’ includes,

18 but is not limited to, land contracts, deeds, ease19 ments, leases, or other instruments transferring title

20 or possession, unless—

21 ‘‘(A) the real property on which the facility

22 concerned is located was acquired by the re23 sponsible party after the discharge of the oil on,

24 in, or at the facility;
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1 ‘‘(B) one or more of the circumstances de2 scribed in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of

3 paragraph (2) is established by the responsible

4 party by a preponderance of the evidence; and

5 ‘‘(C) the responsible party complies with

6 paragraph (3).

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED CIRCUMSTANCE.—The cir8 cumstances referred to in paragraph (1)(B) are the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(A) At the time the responsible party ac11 quired the real property on which the facility is

12 located the responsible party did not know and

13 had no reason to know that oil that is the sub14 ject of the discharge or substantial threat of

15 discharge was located on, in, or at the facility.

16 ‘‘(B) The responsible party is a govern17 ment entity that acquired the facility—

18 ‘‘(i) by escheat;

19 ‘‘(ii) through any other involuntary

20 transfer or acquisition; or

21 ‘‘(iii) through the exercise of eminent

22 domain authority by purchase or con23 demnation.

24 ‘‘(C) The responsible party acquired the

25 facility by inheritance or bequest.
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1 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—For pur2 poses of paragraph (1)(C), the responsible party

3 must establish by a preponderance of the evidence

4 that the responsible party—

5 ‘‘(A) has satisfied the requirements of sec6 tion 1003(a)(3)(A) and (B);

7 ‘‘(B) has provided full cooperation, assist8 ance, and facility access to the persons that are

9 authorized to conduct removal actions, includ10 ing the cooperation and access necessary for the

11 installation, integrity, operation, and mainte12 nance of any complete or partial removal action;

13 ‘‘(C) is in compliance with any land use re14 strictions established or relied on in connection

15 with the removal action; and

16 ‘‘(D) has not impeded the effectiveness or

17 integrity of any institutional control employed

18 in connection with the removal action.

19 ‘‘(4) REASON TO KNOW.—

20 ‘‘(A) APPROPRIATE INQUIRIES.—To estab21 lish that the responsible party had no reason to

22 know of the matter described in paragraph

23 (2)(A), the responsible party must demonstrate

24 that—
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1 ‘‘(i) on or before the date on which

2 the responsible party acquired the real

3 property on which the facility is located,

4 the responsible party carried out all appro5 priate inquiries, as provided in subpara6 graphs (B) and (D), into the previous own7 ership and uses of the real property on

8 which the facility is located in accordance

9 with generally accepted good commercial

10 and customary standards and practices;

11 and

12 ‘‘(ii) the responsible party took rea13 sonable steps to—

14 ‘‘(I) stop any continuing dis15 charge;

16 ‘‘(II) prevent, minimize or miti17 gate any substantial threat of dis18 charge; and

19 ‘‘(III) prevent or limit any

20 human, environmental, or natural re21 source exposure to any previously dis22 charged oil.

23 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS ESTABLISHING STAND24 ARDS AND PRACTICES.—Not later than 2 years

25 after the date of the enactment of this para-
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1 graph, the Secretary, in consultation with the

2 Administrator of the Environmental Protection

3 Agency, shall by regulation establish standards

4 and practices for the purpose of satisfying the

5 requirement to carry out all appropriate inquir6 ies under subparagraph (A).

7 ‘‘(C) CRITERIA.—In promulgating regula8 tions that establish the standards and practices

9 referred to in subparagraph (B), the Secretary

10 shall include in such standards and practices

11 provisions regarding each of the following:

12 ‘‘(i) The results of an inquiry by an

13 environmental professional.

14 ‘‘(ii) Interviews with past and present

15 owners, operators, and occupants of the fa16 cility and the real property on which the

17 facility is located for the purpose of gath18 ering information regarding the potential

19 for contamination at the facility and on the

20 real property on which the facility is lo21 cated.

22 ‘‘(iii) Reviews of historical sources, in23 cluding, to the extent available, chain of

24 title documents, aerial photographs, build25 ing department records, and land use
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1 records, to determine previous uses and oc2 cupancies of the real property on which the

3 facility is located since the property was

4 first developed.

5 ‘‘(iv) Searches for recorded environ6 mental cleanup liens against the facility

7 and the real property on which the facility

8 is located that are filed under Federal,

9 State, or local law.

10 ‘‘(v) Reviews of Federal, State, and

11 local government records, waste disposal

12 records, underground storage tank records,

13 and waste handling, generation, treatment,

14 disposal, and spill records, concerning con15 tamination at or near the facility and on

16 the real property on which the facility is

17 located.

18 ‘‘(vi) Visual inspections of the facility,

19 the real property on which the facility is

20 located, and adjoining properties.

21 ‘‘(vii) Specialized knowledge or experi22 ence on the part of the responsible party.

23 ‘‘(viii) The relationship of the pur24 chase price to the value of the facility and

25 the real property on which the facility is
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1 located, if the facility or the real property

2 was not contaminated.

3 ‘‘(ix) Commonly known or reasonably

4 ascertainable information about the facility

5 and the real property on which the facility

6 is located.

7 ‘‘(x) The degree of obviousness of the

8 presence or likely presence of contamina9 tion at the facility and on the real property

10 on which the facility is located, and the

11 ability to detect contamination by appro12 priate investigation.

13 ‘‘(D) INTERIM STANDARDS AND PRAC14 TICES.—

15 ‘‘(i) REAL PROPERTY PURCHASED BE16 FORE MAY 31, 1997.—With respect to real

17 property purchased before May 31, 1997,

18 in making a determination with respect to

19 a responsible party described in subpara20 graph (A), a court or appropriate official

21 shall take into account—

22 ‘‘(I) any specialized knowledge or

23 experience on the part of the respon24 sible party;
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1 ‘‘(II) the relationship of the pur2 chase price to the value of the facility

3 and the real property on which the fa4 cility is located, if the facility or the

5 real property was not contaminated;

6 ‘‘(III) commonly known or rea7 sonably ascertainable information

8 about the facility and the real prop9 erty on which the facility is located;

10 ‘‘(IV) the obviousness of the

11 presence or likely presence of contami12 nation at the facility and on the real

13 property on which the facility is lo14 cated; and

15 ‘‘(V) the ability of the responsible

16 party to detect contamination by ap17 propriate inspection.

18 ‘‘(ii) REAL PROPERTY PURCHASED ON

19 OR AFTER MAY 31, 1997.—With respect to

20 real property purchased on or after May

21 31, 1997, until the Secretary promulgates

22 the regulations described in clause (ii), the

23 procedures of the American Society for

24 Testing and Materials, including the docu25 ment known as ‘Standard E1527–97’, enti-
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1 tled ‘Standard Practice for Environmental

2 Site Assessment: Phase I Environmental

3 Site Assessment Process’, shall satisfy the

4 requirements in subparagraph (A).

5 ‘‘(E) SITE INSPECTION AND TITLE

6 SEARCH.—In the case of real property for resi7 dential use or other similar use purchased by a

8 nongovernmental or noncommercial entity, in9 spection and title search of the facility and the

10 real property on which the facility is located

11 that reveal no basis for further investigation

12 shall be considered to satisfy the requirements

13 of this paragraph.

14 ‘‘(5) PREVIOUS OWNER OR OPERATOR.—Noth15 ing in this paragraph or in section 1003(a)(3) shall

16 diminish the liability of any previous owner or oper17 ator of such facility who would otherwise be liable

18 under this Act. Notwithstanding this paragraph, if a

19 responsible party obtained actual knowledge of the

20 discharge or substantial threat of discharge of oil at

21 such facility when the responsible party owned the

22 facility and then subsequently transferred ownership

23 of the facility or the real property on which the facil24 ity is located to another person without disclosing

25 such knowledge, the responsible party shall be treat-
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1 ed as liable under 1002(a) and no defense under sec2 tion 1003(a) shall be available to such responsible

3 party.

4 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION ON DEFENSE.—Nothing in

5 this paragraph shall affect the liability under this

6 Act of a responsible party who, by any act or omis7 sion, caused or contributed to the discharge or sub8 stantial threat of discharge of oil which is the sub9 ject of the action relating to the facility.’’.

10 SEC. 704. OIL SPILL RECOVERY INSTITUTE.

11 (a) TERMINATION OF FUNDING FOR INSTITUTE.—

12 Section 5001(i) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33

13 U.S.C. 2731(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30,

14 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘one year after the Secretary of the

15 department in which the Coast Guard is operating, in con16 sultation with the Secretary of the Interior, determines

17 that oil and gas exploration, development, and production

18 in Alaska have ceased’’.

19 (b) USE OF FUNDING FOR SECTION 1012 OF OPA.—

20 Subsection (c) of section 5006 of the Oil Pollution Act

21 of 1990, as added by section 1102(b)(4) of Public Law

22 104–324 (110 Stat. 3965; 33 U.S.C. 2736(c)), is amended

23 by striking ‘‘with the eleventh year following the date of

24 enactment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of

25 1996,’’ and inserting ‘‘one year after the Secretary of the
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1 department in which the Coast Guard is operating, in con2 sultation with the Secretary of the Interior, determines

3 that oil and gas exploration, development, and production

4 in Alaska have ceased,’’.

5 SEC. 705. ALTERNATIVES.

6 Section 4115(e)(3) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990

7 (46 U.S.C. 3703a note) is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(3) No later than one year after the date of

9 enactment of the Coast Guard and Maritime Trans10 portation Act of 2003, the Secretary shall, taking

11 into account the recommendations contained in the

12 report by the Marine Board of the National Re13 search Council entitled ‘Environmental Performance

14 of Tanker Design in Collision and Grounding’ and

15 dated 2001, establish and publish an environmental

16 equivalency evaluation index (including the method17 ology to develop that index) to assess overall outflow

18 performance due to collisions and groundings for

19 double hull tank vessels and alternative hull de20 signs.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives November 5,

2003.

Attest:

Clerk.