39–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPT. 113–398 " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session Part 1 

MARINE DEBRIS EMERGENCY ACT OF 2013 

APRIL 2, 2014.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, from the Committee on Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1425] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1425) to amend the Marine Debris Act to better address 

severe marine debris events, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 

recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 1425 is to amend the Marine Debris Act to 

better address severe marine debris events. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act 

(Public Law 109–449) was enacted in 2006 to legislatively authorize the marine debris program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The program supports national 

and international efforts to research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of marine debris. The program coordinates and supports activities within NOAA and with other federal agencies. It also supports local and regional projects through grants issued to state and 

local agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations, academia, 

and industry. 

The law was amended in the 112th Congress (Public Law 112– 

213). The amendments modified the Act to: rename the law as the 

‘‘Marine Debris Act,’’ strike outdated provisions; rename the program the Marine Debris Program; revise the program components 

to include ‘‘identifying, determining sources of, assessing, preventing, reducing, and removing marine debris’’; make the annual 


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reports biennial; expand the confidentiality provisions to all industries that submit information; define ‘‘severe marine debris event’’ 

and codify the existing NOAA and U.S. Coast Guard marine debris 

definition; and require NOAA to determine whether the March 

2011 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami and the October 

2012 hurricane Sandy each caused a severe marine debris event 

and if that determination is made, report to certain Congressional 

committees. The law did not require any further action after NOAA 

reported to Congress. 

H.R. 1425 would further amend the Marine Debris Act to establish a shortened and priority grant process for grants addressing 

severe marine debris events. NOAA would have 60 days to approve 

or disapprove the grants. If the grant is approved, grant funds 

would also be approved and preference for grant funding would be 

for those grants addressing severe marine debris events, including 

any that have or are likely to introduce marine invasive species. 

H.R. 1425 would allow governors to request NOAA to make a severe marine debris determination and would require a response 

within 30 days, either a declaration or a response why a declaration wasn’t made. The bill would also require NOAA to educate 

grant recipients to address marine invasive species that may be associated with the marine debris. The bill also defines ‘‘marine 

invasive species’’ as ‘‘marine nonindigenous species’’ as defined in 

section 1003 of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention 

and Control Act of 1990 that will or is likely to: cause economic or 

environmental harm; threaten diversity or abundance of native 

species or the ecological stability of infested waters; or disrupt commercial, agricultural, aquacultural, or recreational activities dependent on the infested waters. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1425 was introduced on April 9, 2013, by Congresswoman 

Suzanne Bonamici (D–OR). The bill was referred to the Committee 

on Transportation and Infrastructure and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources. Within the Committee on Natural 

Resources, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, 

Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs. On June 13, 2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On December 4, 2013, the 

Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs was 

discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Don Young (R– 

AK) offered an amendment designated .002 to the bill; the amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. No further amendments 

were offered and the bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably 

reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 


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COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII 

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides 

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 1425—Marine Debris Emergency Act of 2013 

H.R. 1425 would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) to process applications for certain grants 

within 60 days, if feasible. The bill also would authorize the agency 

to prioritize grant funding for certain events involving marine debris. Finally, if the governor of a state requests that NOAA make 

priority funding available for a particular marine debris event, the 

agency must determine whether the event is eligible for such funding within 30 days. 

Based on information provided by NOAA, CBO estimates that 

implementing the bill would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Because, under the bill, the agency would have discretion over whether to expedite the processing of grant applications 

and make priority funding available, CBO expects that implementing the bill would have a minimal impact on the agency’s 

workload. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

H.R. 1425 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required by 

clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 

this bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or 

tax expenditures. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would 

have no significant impact on the federal budget. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to amend the Marine Debris Act to better address severe marine debris events. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 


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COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5 

Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that this 

bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any specific 

rule-making proceedings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed in italic 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

MARINE DEBRIS ACT 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 3. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM. 

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

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a Marine 

Debris Program to identify, determine sources of, assess, prevent, 

reduce, and remove marine debris and address the adverse impacts 

of marine debris on the economy of the United States, the marine 

environment, and navigation safety. 

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

the Program and subject to the availability of appropriations, 

shall— 

(1) identify, determine sources of, assess, prevent, reduce, 

and remove marine debris, with a focus on marine debris posing a threat to living marine resources and navigation safety; 

(2) provide national and regional coordination to assist 

States, Indian tribes, and regional organizations in the identification, determination of sources, assessment, prevention, reduction, and removal of marine debris; 

(3) undertake efforts to reduce the adverse impacts of lost 

and discarded fishing gear on living marine resources and 

navigation safety, including— 

(A) research and development of alternatives to gear 

posing threats to the marine environment and methods for 

marking gear used in certain fisheries to enhance the 


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tracking, recovery, and identification of lost and discarded 

gear; and 

(B) the development of effective nonregulatory measures 

and incentives to cooperatively reduce the volume of lost 

and discarded fishing gear and to aid in gear recovery; 

(4) undertake outreach and education activities for the public 

and other stakeholders on sources of marine debris, threats associated with marine debris, and approaches to identifying, determining sources of, assessing, preventing, reducing, and removing marine debris and its adverse impacts on the United 

States economy, the marine environment, and navigation safety, including outreach and education activities through publicprivate initiatives; and 

(5) develop, in consultation with the Interagency Committee, 

interagency plans for the timely response to events determined 

by the Administrator to be severe marine debris events, including plans to— 

(A) coordinate across agencies and with relevant State, 

tribal, and local governments to ensure adequate, timely, 

and efficient response; 

(B) assess the composition, volume, and trajectory of marine debris associated with a severe marine debris event; 

and 

(C) estimate the potential impacts of a severe marine debris event, including economic impacts on human health, 

navigation safety, natural resources, tourism, and livestock, including aquaculture. 

(c) GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND CONTRACTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, acting through the Program, shall enter into cooperative agreements and contracts 

and provide financial assistance in the form of grants for 

projects to accomplish the purpose set forth in section 2. 

(2) GRANT COST SHARING REQUIREMENT.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph 

(B), Federal funds for any grant under this section may 

not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of such project. For 

purposes of this subparagraph, the non-Federal share of 

project costs may be provided by in-kind contributions and 

other noncash support. 

(B) WAIVER.—The Administrator may waive all or part 

of the matching requirement under subparagraph (A) if 

the Administrator determines that no reasonable means 

are available through which applicants can meet the 

matching requirement and the probable benefit of such 

project outweighs the public interest in such matching requirement. 

(3) AMOUNTS PAID AND SERVICES RENDERED UNDER CON- SENT.— 

(A) CONSENT DECREES AND ORDERS.—If authorized by 

the Administrator or the Attorney General, as appropriate, 

the non-Federal share of the cost of a project carried out 

under this Act may include money paid pursuant to, or the 

value of any in-kind service performed under, an administrative order on consent or judicial consent decree that will 

remove or prevent marine debris. 


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(B) OTHER DECREES AND ORDERS.—The non-Federal 

share of the cost of a project carried out under this Act 

may not include any money paid pursuant to, or the value 

of any in-kind service performed under, any other administrative order or court order. 

(4) ELIGIBILITY.—Any State, local, or tribal government 

whose activities affect research or regulation of marine debris, 

and any institution of higher education, nonprofit organization, 

or commercial organization with expertise in a field related to 

marine debris, is eligible to submit to the Administrator a marine debris proposal under the grant program. 

(5) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The Administrator 

shall— 

(A) review each marine debris project proposal to determine if it meets the grant criteria and supports the goals 

of this Act; 

(B) after considering any written comments and recommendations based on the review, approve or disapprove 

the proposal; and 

(C) provide notification of that approval or disapproval 

to the person who submitted the proposal. 

(6) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each grantee under this section 

shall provide periodic reports as required by the Administrator. 

Each report shall include all information required by the Administrator for evaluating the progress and success in meeting 

its stated goals, and impact of the grant activities on the marine debris problem. 

(d) SEVERE MARINE DEBRIS EVENTS.— (1) PRIORITY CONSIDERATION AND DISBURSEMENT.—Not later 

than 60 days after receiving an application for a grant under 

subsection (c) with respect to a severe marine debris event, the 

Administrator shall, to the extent feasible— 

(A) approve or disapprove the application; and 

(B) if approving the application, provide the approved 

grant funds to the grant recipient. 

(2) PREFERENCE.—In evaluating applications for grants 

under subsection (c), the Administrator shall give preference to 

projects that address severe marine debris events, including 

projects that address a severe marine debris event that has introduced or is likely to introduce marine invasive species to the 

United States. 

(3) REQUEST FOR A DECLARATION.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of a State may request 

that the Administrator declare a severe marine debris 

event, in such State or a region that includes such State, 

for purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2). 

(B) RESPONSE TO REQUESTS.—Not later than 30 days 

after receiving a request under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall either— 

(i) declare a severe marine debris event with respect 

to the request; or 

(ii) provide a response to the Governor who submitted the request, explaining why the Administrator 

has not declared a severe marine debris event with respect to the request. 


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(e) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator shall take appropriate steps to 

encourage recipients of grants under this section to— 

(1) educate staff and volunteers engaged in marine debris response efforts on the potential threats that marine debris and 

marine invasive species may pose to the United States with respect to living marine resources, the marine environment, navigation, and public health; and 

(2) coordinate marine debris response efforts with appropriate 

Federal, State, and local government and nongovernmental entities. 

(f) MARINE INVASIVE SPECIES DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

‘‘marine invasive species’’ means a marine nonindigenous species (as 

defined in section 1003 of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4702)) the introduction 

of which to the United States will, or is likely to— 

(1) cause economic or environmental harm; 

(2) threaten the diversity or abundance of native species or 

the ecological stability of infested waters; or 

(3) disrupt commercial, agricultural, aquacultural, or recreational activities dependent on infested waters. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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