II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1561 

To ensure safe, secure, and reliable marine shipping in the Arctic, including 

the availability of aids to navigation, vessel escorts, oil spill response 

capability, and maritime search and rescue in the Arctic, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 3, 2009 

Mr. BEGICH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To ensure safe, secure, and reliable marine shipping in the 

Arctic, including the availability of aids to navigation, 

vessel escorts, oil spill response capability, and maritime 

search and rescue in the Arctic, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arctic Marine Shipping 

5 Assessment Implementation Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1561 IS

1 (1) The United States is an Arctic nation 

2 with— 

3 (A) an approximately 700-mile border with 

4 the Arctic Ocean; 

5 (B) more than 100,000,000 acres of land 

6 above the Arctic Circle; and 

7 (C) an even broader area defined as Arctic 

8 by temperature, which includes the Bering Sea 

9 and Aleutian Islands. 

10 (2) The Arctic region of the United States— 

11 (A) is home to an indigenous population 

12 which has subsisted for millennia on the abun13 dance in marine mammals, fish, and wildlife, 

14 many of which are unique to the region; 

15 (B) is known to the indigenous population 

16 as Inuvikput or the ‘‘place where we live’’; and 

17 (C) has produced more than 

18 16,000,000,000 barrels of oil and, according to 

19 the United States Geological Survey, may hold 

20 an additional 30,000,000,000 barrels of oil and 

21 220,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 

22 making the region of fundamental importance 

23 to the national interest of the United States. 

24 (3) Temperatures in the United States Arctic 

25 region have warmed by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius over 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1561 IS

1 the past half-century, a rate of increase that is twice 

2 the global average. 

3 (4) The Arctic ice pack is rapidly diminishing 

4 and thinning, and the National Oceanic and Atmos5 pheric Administration estimates the Arctic Ocean 

6 may be ice free during summer months in as few as 

7 30 years. 

8 (5) Such changes to the Arctic region are hav9 ing a significant impact on the indigenous people of 

10 the Arctic, their communities and ecosystems, as 

11 well as the marine mammals, fish, and wildlife upon 

12 which they depend. 

13 (6) Such changes are opening new portions of 

14 the United States Arctic continental shelf to possible 

15 development for offshore oil and gas, commercial 

16 fishing, marine shipping, and tourism. 

17 (7) It is in the interests of the United States 

18 to work with the State of Alaska and the United 

19 States neighbors in the Arctic region to ensure that 

20 shipping in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas is 

21 safe for mariners, protective of the natural environ22 ment, including the air, land, water, and wildlife of 

23 the Arctic, and mindful of the needs of longstanding 

24 subsistence users of Arctic resources. 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1561 IS

1 (8) It is in the interests of the United States 

2 to ensure that shipping in the Arctic Ocean and ad3 jacent seas is secure, that United States sovereign 

4 and security interests, including the freedom of navi5 gation rights of United States and foreign vessels to 

6 transit international straits, are respected and pro7 tected, consistent with international and customary 

8 law, that access is provided throughout the Arctic 

9 Ocean for legitimate research vessels of all nations, 

10 and that peaceful relations are maintained in the 

11 Arctic region. 

12 (9) It is in the interests of the United States 

13 to cooperate to establish a system of international 

14 cooperation to support reliable shipping, with meth15 ods for joint investment in providing mariners aids 

16 to navigation, ports of refuge, vessel-to-shore com17 munication, weather and ice forecasting, ship track18 ing and reporting, hydrographic mapping, and 

19 search and rescue capability. 

20 (10) The United States has continuing re21 search, security, environmental, and commercial in22 terests in the Arctic region that rely on the avail23 ability of polar class icebreakers of the Coast Guard 

24 that were commissioned in the 1970s and are in 

25 need of replacement. 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1561 IS

1 (11) Sovereign interests of the United States in 

2 the Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea regions may grow 

3 with submission of a United States claim for an ex4 tended continental shelf, pending the United States 

5 becoming a party to the United Nations Convention 

6 on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay De7 cember 10, 1982. 

8 (12) Building new icebreakers, forward oper9 ating bases, aids to navigation, and other facilities, 

10 and establishing coordinated shipping regulations 

11 and oil spill prevention and response capability 

12 through international cooperation requires long lead 

13 times. 

14 (13) Beginning such efforts, with the comple15 tion of an Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment by the 

16 8-nation Arctic Council, is essential to protect 

17 United States interests given the extensive current 

18 use of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas by vessels 

19 of many nations. 

20 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

21 The purpose of this Act is to ensure safe, secure, and 

22 reliable maritime shipping in the Arctic, including the 

23 availability of aids to navigation, vessel escorts, spill re24 sponse capability, and maritime search and rescue in the 

25 Arctic. 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1561 IS

1 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the meaning given 

3 that term in section 112 of the Arctic Research and Policy 

4 Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 

5 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON INTERNATIONAL AGREE6 MENTS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that, to carry out the pur8 pose of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

9 with the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through 

10 the Commandant of the Coast Guard, should work to es11 tablish agreements to promote coordinated action among 

12 the United States, Russia, Canada, Iceland, Norway, and 

13 Denmark and other seafaring and Arctic nations with re14 spect to— 

15 (1) placement and maintenance of aids to navi16 gation in waters of the Arctic; 

17 (2) improved navigational charts; 

18 (3) the monitoring of ocean conditions including 

19 wind, waves, and currents and the timely reporting 

20 of information about ice and weather conditions; 

21 (4) appropriate icebreaking escort, tug, and sal22 vage capabilities; 

23 (5) oil spill prevention and response capability; 

24 (6) maritime domain awareness, including long25 range vessel tracking and communications facilities; 

26 (7) search and rescue; and 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1561 IS

1 (8) facilities for ship generated waste. 

2 SEC. 6. COAST GUARD ARCTIC MISSION ANALYSIS. 

3 (a) SUBMISSION OF REPORT ANALYSIS TO CON4 GRESS.— 

5 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR SUBMISSION.—Not 

6 later than 90 days following the completion of the 

7 High Latitude Polar Ice-Breaking Mission Analysis 

8 Report, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall 

9 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress— 

10 (A) such report; and 

11 (B) consistent with section 93(a)(24) of 

12 title 14, United States Code, any recommenda13 tions of the Commandant related to such re14 port. 

15 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS

16 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appro17 priate committees of Congress’’ means the Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

19 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation 

20 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. 

21 (b) MISSION REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS.— 

22 (1) MISSION REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS.—Not 

23 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1561 IS

1 shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, 

2 execute a contract with an independent entity to— 

3 (A) conduct an analysis of future mission 

4 requirements of the Coast Guard in the Arctic 

5 and Antarctic; and 

6 (B) estimate the necessary resources to 

7 provide for such requirements. 

8 (2) SUBMISSION OF ANALYSIS AND ESTI9 MATE.—Not later than 120 days after the date that 

10 the contract described in paragraph (1) is executed, 

11 the analysis and estimate described in subparagraph 

12 (A) and (B) of that paragraph shall be submitted 

13 to— 

14 (A) the appropriate committees of Con15 gress; 

16 (B) the Commandant of the Coast Guard; 

17 and 

18 (C) the Comptroller General of the United 

19 States. 

20 (3) ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not 

21 later than 90 days after the submission of the anal22 ysis and estimate described in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) the Commandant of the Coast Guard 

24 shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

25 Congress, consistent with section 93(a)(24) of 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1561 IS

1 title 14, United States Code, any recommenda2 tions of the Commandant related to such anal3 ysis and estimate; and 

4 (B) the Comptroller General shall submit 

5 to the appropriate committees of Congress any 

6 recommendations of the Comptroller General 

7 related to such analysis and estimate. 

8 (4) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS

9 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appro10 priate committees of Congress’’ means— 

11 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Transportation and the Committee on 

13 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

14 of the Senate; and 

15 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 and the Committee on Transportation and In17 frastructure of the House of Representatives. 

18 SEC. 7. ARCTIC VESSEL TRAFFIC RISK ASSESSMENTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to sections 4 and 5 of 

20 the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 

21 1223 and 1224), the Commandant of the Coast Guard, 

22 in consultation with the appropriate Area Committee es23 tablished under section 311(j)(4) of the Federal Water 

24 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(4)), shall pre25 pare— 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1561 IS

1 (1) not later than 2 years after the date of the 

2 enactment of this Act, a vessel traffic risk assess3 ment for the Bering Strait, Alaska; and 

4 (2) not later than 3 years after the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act, a vessel traffic risk assess6 ment for the Arctic Ocean waters adjacent to Alas7 ka’s North Slope. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—A vessel traffic risk assessment, 

9 prepared pursuant to subsection (a), shall describe for the 

10 Bering Strait or the Arctic Ocean, as appropriate— 

11 (1) the amount and character of present and 

12 estimated future shipping traffic in the region; and 

13 (2) the current and projected use and effective14 ness in reducing risk of— 

15 (A) traffic separation schemes and routing 

16 measures; 

17 (B) long-range vessel tracking systems de18 veloped under section 70115 of title 46, United 

19 States Code; 

20 (C) towing, response, or escort tugs; 

21 (D) vessel traffic services; 

22 (E) emergency towing packages on vessels; 

23 (F) increased spill response equipment in24 cluding equipment appropriate for severe weath25 er and sea conditions; 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1561 IS

1 (G) the automatic identification system de2 veloped under section 70114 of title 46, United 

3 States Code; 

4 (H) particularly sensitive sea areas, impor5 tant ecological areas, areas to be avoided, and 

6 other traffic exclusion zones; 

7 (I) aids to navigation; 

8 (J) vessel response plans, facility response 

9 plans, any other response plans that the Sec10 retary deems necessary; and 

11 (K) area contingency plans and the effec12 tiveness of the several response plans to support 

13 an area contingency plans. 

14 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—An assessment, prepared 

16 pursuant to this section, may include any appro17 priate recommendations to enhance the safety and 

18 security, or lessen potential adverse environmental 

19 impacts, of marine shipping. 

20 (2) CONSULTATION.—Prior to making any rec21 ommendation described in paragraph (1), the Com22 mandant of the Coast Guard, acting through the ap23 propriate Area Committee established under section 

24 311(j)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

25 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(4)), shall consult with afVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:49 Aug 04, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1561.IS S1561

PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1561 IS

1 fected Federal, State, and local government agen2 cies, representatives of the fishing industry, Alaska 

3 Natives from the region, the conservation commu4 nity, and the merchant shipping and oil transpor5 tation industries. 

6 SEC. 8. CENTRAL BERING SEA HARBOR OF REFUGE. 

7 (a) CONSULTATION AND DETERMINATION.—Not 

8 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

9 Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall consult 

10 with the Secretary of the Army to determine the viability 

11 of and the improvements necessary to make the harbor 

12 at St. George Island, Alaska, a fully functional harbor of 

13 refuge throughout the year to enhance safety of life at sea 

14 and protection from oil pollution in the Central Bering 

15 Sea. 

16 (b) COMPLETION OF HARBOR.—Not later than 3 

17 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary of the Army shall complete the harbor at St. George 

19 Island, Alaska, including the improvements determined 

20 under subsection (a) and any engineering design needed 

21 for safe navigation. 

22 SEC. 9. REPORT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF ARCTIC DEEP 

23 WATER PORT. 

24 (a) STUDY.— 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1561 IS

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

2 Coast Guard shall conduct a study on the feasibility 

3 and potential of establishing a deep water sea port 

4 in the Arctic to protect and advance strategic United 

5 States interests within the evolving and ever more 

6 important Arctic region. 

7 (2) SCOPE.—The study required under para8 graph (1) shall address the following issues: 

9 (A) The capability that such a port would 

10 provide. 

11 (B) Potential and optimum locations for 

12 such a port. 

13 (C) Resources needed to establish such a 

14 port. 

15 (D) The time frame needed to establish 

16 such a port. 

17 (E) The infrastructure required to support 

18 such a port. 

19 (F) Any other issues the Secretary deter20 mines necessary to complete the study. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

23 shall submit to the congressional defense committees a re24 port on the findings of the study conducted under sub25 section (a). 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1561 IS

1 SEC. 10. TRANSFER OF FUNDS FOR ICEBREAKING SERV2 ICES. 

3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Di4 rector of the National Science Foundation shall transfer 

5 all amounts provided pursuant to any Act for the procure6 ment of polar icebreaking services to the United States 

7 Coast Guard Appropriation Accounts, and such amounts 

8 shall remain available until expended for operating ex9 penses, renovation, and improvement. 

10 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro12 priated to the Secretary of Homeland Security— 

13 (1) $40,000,000 in fiscal year 2011 for the de14 sign of a new polar class icebreaker; 

15 (2) $800,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 

16 and 2012 for the construction of 2 polar capable ice17 breakers; 

18 (3) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 

19 through 2015 for seasonal operations in the Arctic; 

20 (4) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

21 through 2015 to carry out any agreements referred 

22 to in section 5; 

23 (5) $4,000,000, to remain available until ex24 pended, for a vessel traffic risk assessments to be 

25 conducted pursuant to section 7; and 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1561 IS

1 (6) $100,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 

2 2011 through 2013 for the construction of forward 

3 operating bases, including aircraft hangar, bunk and 

4 mess facilities in Barrow, Nome, and Saint Paul Is5 land, Alaska. 

6 (b) HYDROGRAPHIC SERVICES.—Section 306 of the 

7 Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of 1998 (33 

8 U.S.C. 892d) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(7) To acquire hydrographic data, provide hy11 drographic services, and conduct coastal change 

12 analyses necessary to ensure safe navigation, and to 

13 improve the management of coastal change in the 

14 Arctic, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 

15 and 2012. 

16 ‘‘(8) To acquire hydrographic data and provide 

17 hydrographic services in the Arctic necessary to de18 lineate the United States extended continental shelf, 

19 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 and 

20 2012.’’. 

Æ 


PWALKER on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with BILLS