I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8726 

To direct the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere 

of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish 

a Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program to reduce air pollution and 

harmful underwater acoustic impacts and the risk of fatal vessel whale 

strikes by recognizing voluntary reductions in the speed of vessels 

transiting the western coast of the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 13, 2024 

Mr. CARBAJAL (for himself and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To direct the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans 

and Atmosphere of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish a Blue Whales and 

Blue Skies Program to reduce air pollution and harmful 

underwater acoustic impacts and the risk of fatal vessel 

whale strikes by recognizing voluntary reductions in the 

speed of vessels transiting the western coast of the 

United States, 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 cited as the ‘‘Alan S. Lowenthal 

3 Blue Whales, Blue Skies Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. BLUE WHALES AND BLUE SKIES PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under Secretary 

7 of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere of the National 

8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation 

9 with the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Admin10 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall es11 tablish the Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program, to— 

12 (1) reduce air pollution, greenhouse gasses, 

13 harmful underwater acoustic impacts, and the risk 

14 of fatal whale strikes by encouraging voluntary re15 duction in the speed of eligible vessels transiting the 

16 Program area; and 

17 (2) annually award Blue Whales and Blue Skies 

18 Excellence Awards for verified successful participa19 tion in, and compliance with, the Program by eligible 

20 vessels. 

21 (b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Under Sec22 retary shall— 

23 (1) model the Program after the Protecting 

24 Blue Whales and Blue Skies Vessel Speed Reduction 

25 Program, which is administered by the Air Pollution 

26 Control Districts of Santa Barbara, Ventura, San 


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1 Luis Obispo, Monterey Bay Counties and the Bay 

2 Area Air Quality Management District, the Channel 

3 Islands, Monterey Bay, Cordell Bank, and Greater 

4 Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries, and the 

5 California Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the Envi6 ronmental Defense Center (a nonprofit corporation 

7 established under the laws of the State of California 

8 as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act), and the National Marine Sanctuary Founda10 tion; and 

11 (2) develop the Program in consultation with 

12 the entities referred to in paragraph (1). 

13 (c) ANNUAL AWARDS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under the Program, the 

15 Under Secretary shall annually award Blue Whales 

16 and Blue Skies Excellence Awards to owners of eligi17 ble vessels that have met the requirements during 

18 the preceding year. 

19 (2) AWARD CONDITIONS.—As a condition of an 

20 award under this subsection, each eligible vessel of 

21 the awardee shall, at a minimum transit the Pro22 gram area at a speed of 10 knots or lower, or, in 

23 certain circumstances described by the Under Sec24 retary in guidance established under the Program, 

25 below a different maximum speed. 


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1 (d) OFFICIAL LOGO.—The Under Secretary shall cre2 ate an official logo to be recognized as the symbol of excel3 lence in compliance with the Program. 

4 (e) USE OF OFFICIAL LOGO.—Subject to any 

5 licencing requirements, the logo described in subsection 

6 (d) may be used by shipping companies with eligible ves7 sels for which a Blue Whales and Blue Skies Excellence 

8 Award is awarded under this section, as long as the logo 

9 is displayed alongside— 

10 (1) the name of the shipping company; 

11 (2) the year for which such award was made; 

12 and 

13 (3) the percentage of distance traveled by a 

14 participating vessel at a reduced speed through the 

15 Program area by eligible vessels of the shipping 

16 company in such year that the shipping company 

17 was in compliance with the Program, calculated as 

18 the percentage of distance traveled by a vessel at 10 

19 knots or lower through the Program area by all ves20 sels of the shipping company in such year, excluding 

21 transits directed by the Coast Guard to proceed in 

22 excess of the speed requirements of the Program. 

23 (f) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—No later than 4 years 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

25 Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) consider the feasibility of extending the pro2 gram to encompass all shipping channels along the 

3 United States Pacific coast between Canada and 

4 Mexico; and 

5 (2) report the findings and recommendations 

6 under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Transpor7 tation and Infrastructure and the Committee on 

8 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, 

9 and to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

10 Transportation of the Senate. 

11 (g) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this section shall be 

12 construed— 

13 (1) to require participation in the Program; 

14 (2) to authorize appropriations for, or the pro15 vision of, any financial incentive for participation in 

16 the Program; or 

17 (3) to authorize any action that affects naviga18 tion safety. 

19 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) ELIGIBLE VESSEL.—The term ‘‘eligible ves21 sel’’ means a vessel that is 300 gross tons or greater 

22 and has been approved by the Under Secretary to 

23 participate in the program. 


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1 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

2 the Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program estab3 lished under this section. 

4 (3) PROGRAM AREA.—The term ‘‘Program 

5 area’’— 

6 (A) means the marine area surrounding 

7 the western coast of the United States, as is 

8 designated by the Under Secretary for purposes 

9 of this section; and 

10 (B) includes, at a minimum, the geo11 graphic area identified in the existing Vessel 

12 Reduction Program described in subsection 

13 (b)(1). 

Æ 


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