II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1594 

To amend title 46, United States Code, to improve port safety and security 

for especially hazardous cargos, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 12, 2007 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. SMITH, and Mr. STEVENS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 46, United States Code, to improve port 

safety and security for especially hazardous cargos, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Maritime Hazardous Cargo Security Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. International committee for the safe and secure transportation of especially hazardous cargo. 

Sec. 3. Validation of compliance with ISPFC standards. 

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Sec. 4. Safety and security assistance for foreign ports. 

Sec. 5. Coast Guard port assistance program. 

Sec. 6. EHC facility risk-based cost sharing. 

Sec. 7. Transportation security incident mitigation plan. 

Sec. 8. Coast Guard national resource allocation plan. 

Sec. 9. Incident command system training. 

Sec. 10. Conveyance of certain National Defense Reserve Fleet Vessels. 

Sec. 11. Pre-positioning interoperable communications equipment at interagency operational centers. 

Sec. 12. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE SAFE AND 

2 SECURE TRANSPORTATION OF ESPECIALLY 

3 HAZARDOUS CARGO. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 701 of title 46, United 

5 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 70109 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 70109A. International committee for the safe and 

8 secure transportation of especially haz9 ardous cargo 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

11 with the Secretary of State and other appropriate entities, 

12 shall, in a manner consistent with international treaties, 

13 conventions, and agreements to which the United States 

14 is a party, establish a committee that includes representa15 tives of United States trading partners that supply tank 

16 or break-bulk shipments of especially hazardous cargo to 

17 the United States. 

18 ‘‘(b) SAFE AND SECURE LOADING, UNLOADING, AND

19 TRANSPORTATION OF ESPECIALLY HAZARDOUS CAR20 GOES.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary, in comstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 operation with the International Maritime Organization 

2 and in consultation with the International Standards Or3 ganization and shipping industry stakeholders, shall de4 velop protocols, procedures, standards, and requirements 

5 for receiving, handling, loading, unloading, vessel crewing, 

6 and transportation of especially hazardous cargo to pro7 mote the safe and secure operation of ports, facilities, and 

8 vessels that transport especially hazardous cargo to the 

9 United States. 

10 ‘‘(c) DEADLINES.—The Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) initiate the development of the committee 

12 within 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

13 Maritime Hazardous Cargo Security Act; and 

14 ‘‘(2) endeavor to have the protocols, procedures, 

15 standards, and requirements developed by the com16 mittee take effect within 3 years after the date of 

17 enactment of that Act. 

18 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall report annually 

19 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

20 Transportation, the House of Representatives Committee 

21 on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House of 

22 Representatives Committee on Homeland Security on the 

23 development, implementation, and administration of the 

24 protocols, procedures, standards, and requirements devel25 oped by the committee established under subsection (a).’’. 

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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal2 ysis for chapter 701 of title 46, United States Code, is 

3 amended by inserting after the item relating the section 

4 70109 the following: 

‘‘70109A. International committee for the safe and secure transportation of especially hazardous cargo.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. VALIDATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH ISPFC STAND6 ARDS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 701 of title 46, United 

8 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 70110 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘70110A. Port safety and security validations 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

12 with the Secretary of State, shall, in a manner consistent 

13 with international treaties, conventions, and agreements 

14 to which the United States is a party, develop and imple15 ment a voluntary program under which foreign ports and 

16 facilities can certify their compliance with applicable Inter17 national Ship and Port Facility Code standards. 

18 ‘‘(b) THIRD-PARTY VALIDATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec20 tion, the Secretary, in cooperation with the Inter21 national Maritime Organization and the Inter22 national Standards Organization, shall develop and 

23 implement a program under which independent, 

24 third-party entities are certified to validate a foreign 

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1 port’s or facility’s compliance under the program de2 veloped under subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—The inter4 national program shall include— 

5 ‘‘(A) international inspection protocols and 

6 procedures; 

7 ‘‘(B) minimum validation standards to en8 sure a port or facility meets the applicable 

9 International Ship and Port Facility Code 

10 standards; 

11 ‘‘(C) recognition for foreign ports or facili12 ties that exceed the minimum standards; 

13 ‘‘(D) uniform performance metrics by 

14 which inspection validations are to be con15 ducted; 

16 ‘‘(E) a process for notifying a port or facil17 ity, and its host nation, of areas of concern 

18 about the port’s or facility’s failure to comply 

19 with International Ship and Port Facility Code 

20 standards; 

21 ‘‘(F) provisional or probationary valida22 tions; 

23 ‘‘(G) conditions under which routine moni24 toring is to occur if a port or facility receives 

25 a provisional or probationary validation; 

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1 ‘‘(H) a process by which failed validations 

2 can be appealed; and 

3 ‘‘(I) an appropriate cycle for re-inspection 

4 and validation. 

5 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF THIRD PARTY ENTITIES.— 

6 The Secretary may not certify a third party entity to vali7 date ports or facilities under subsection (b) unless— 

8 ‘‘(1) the entity demonstrates to the satisfaction 

9 of the Secretary the ability to perform validations in 

10 accordance with the standards, protocols, proce11 dures, and requirements established by the program 

12 implemented under subsection (a); and 

13 ‘‘(2) the entity has no beneficial interest in or 

14 any direct control over the port and facilities being 

15 inspected and validated. 

16 ‘‘(d) MONITORING—The Secretary shall regularly 

17 monitor and audit the operations of each third party entity 

18 conducting validations under this section to ensure that 

19 it is meeting the minimum standards, operating protocols, 

20 procedures, and requirements established by international 

21 agreement. 

22 ‘‘(e) REVOCATION.—The Secretary shall revoke the 

23 certification of any entity determined by the Secretary not 

24 to meet the minimum standards, operating protocol, promstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cedures, and requirements established by international 

2 agreement for third party entity validations. 

3 ‘‘(f) PROTECTION OF SECURITY AND PROPRIETARY

4 INFORMATION.—In carrying out this section, the Sec5 retary shall take appropriate actions to protect from dis6 closure information that— 

7 ‘‘(1) is security sensitive, proprietary, or busi8 ness sensitive; or 

9 ‘‘(2) is otherwise not appropriately in the public 

10 domain. 

11 ‘‘(g) DEADLINES.—The Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) initiate procedures to carry out this section 

13 within 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

14 Maritime Hazardous Cargo Security Act; and 

15 ‘‘(2) develop standards under subsection (b) for 

16 third party validation within 2 years after the date 

17 of enactment of that Act. 

18 ‘‘(h) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall report annually 

19 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

20 Transportation, the House of Representatives Committee 

21 on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the House of 

22 Representatives Committee on Homeland Security on ac23 tivities conducted pursuant to this section.’’. 

24 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal25 ysis for chapter 701 of title 46, United States Code, is 

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1 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

2 70110 the following: 

‘‘70110A. Port safety and security validations.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. SAFETY AND SECURITY ASSISTANCE FOR FOREIGN 

4 PORTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 70110(e)(1) of title 46, 

6 United States Code, is amended by striking the second 

7 sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall 

8 establish a strategic plan to utilize those assistance pro9 grams to assist ports and facilities that are found by the 

10 Secretary under subsection (a) not to maintain effective 

11 antiterrorism measures in the implementation of port se12 curity antiterrorism measures.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Section 70110 of title 46, United States 

15 Code, is amended— 

16 (A) by inserting ‘‘OR FACILITIES’’ 

17 after ‘‘PORTS’’ in the section heading; 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘or facility’’ after ‘‘port’’ 

19 each place it appears; and 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘PORTS’’ in the heading 

21 for subsection (e) and inserting ‘‘PORTS, FA22 CILITIES,’’. 

23 (2) The chapter analysis for chapter 701 of title 

24 46, United States Code, is amended by striking the 

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1 item relating to section 70110 and inserting the fol2 lowing: 

‘‘70110. Actions and assistance for foreign ports or facilities and United States 

territories.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. COAST GUARD PORT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

4 Section 70110 of title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end thereof the following: 

6 ‘‘(f) COAST GUARD LEND-LEASE ASSISTANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may lend, 

8 lease, or otherwise provide equipment, and provide 

9 technical training and support, to the owner or oper10 ator of a foreign port or facility— 

11 ‘‘(A) to assist in bringing the port or facil12 ity into compliance with applicable International 

13 Ship and Port Facility Code standards; 

14 ‘‘(B) to assist the port or facility in meet15 ing standards established under section 70109A 

16 of this chapter; and 

17 ‘‘(C) to assist the port or facility in exceed18 ing the standards described in subparagraph 

19 (A) and (B). 

20 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall provide such assistance based 

22 upon an assessment of the risks to the security 

23 of the United States and the inability of the 

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1 wise to bring the port or facility into compli2 ance with those standards and to maintain com3 pliance with them; but 

4 ‘‘(B) may not provide such assistance un5 less the facility or port has been subjected to a 

6 comprehensive port security assessment by the 

7 Coast Guard or a third party entity certified by 

8 the Secretary under section 70110A(b) to vali9 date foreign port or facility compliance with 

10 International Ship and Port Facility Code 

11 standards. 

12 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall identify 

13 ports and facilities that qualify for assistance under 

14 this subsection within 180 days after the date of en15 actment of the Maritime Hazardous Cargo Security 

16 Act. 

17 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec19 retary such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

20 this subsection.’’. 

21 SEC. 6. EHC FACILITY RISK-BASED COST SHARING. 

22 The Commandant shall identify facilities sited or con23 structed on or adjacent to the navigable waters of the 

24 United States that receive, handle, load, or unload espe25 cially hazardous cargos that pose a risk greater than an 

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1 acceptable risk threshhold, as determined by the Secretary 

2 under a uniform risk assessment methodology. The Sec3 retary may establish a security cost-share plan to assist 

4 the Coast Guard in providing security for the transpor5 tation of especially hazardous cargo to such facilities. 

6 SEC. 7. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY INCIDENT MITIGA7 TION PLAN. 

8 Section 70103(b)(2) of title 46, United States Code, 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 

11 through (G) as subparagraphs (F) through (H), re12 spectively; and 

13 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(E) establish regional response and recovery 

16 protocols to prepare for, respond to, mitigate 

17 against, and recover from a transportation security 

18 incident consistent with section 202 of the Security 

19 and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 (6 

20 U.S.C. 942) and section 70103(a) of title 46, United 

21 States Code;’’. 

22 SEC. 8. COAST GUARD NATIONAL RESOURCE ALLOCATION 

23 PLAN. 

24 The Commandant shall develop a national resource 

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1 essary to meet safety and security requirements associated 

2 with receiving, handling, and loading especially hazardous 

3 cargo at United States ports and facilities, taking into ac4 count the Coast Guard assets and resources necessary to 

5 execute other Coast Guard missions. The Secretary shall 

6 submit the plan to the Congress at the same time as the 

7 President submits the Budget of the United States for fis8 cal year 2009, together with an estimate of the operational 

9 and capital costs required to assure an acceptable level 

10 of safety and security under the plan. 

11 SEC. 9. INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM TRAINING. 

12 The Secretary shall ensure that Federal, State, and 

13 local personnel responsible for the safety and security of 

14 vessels in port carrying especially hazardous cargo have 

15 successfully completed training in the Coast Guard’s inci16 dent command system. 

17 SEC. 10. CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN NATIONAL DEFENSE 

18 RESERVE FLEET VESSELS. 

19 Section 57102 of title 46, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘vessel or sell the vessel for 

22 cash.’’ in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘vessel, sell 

23 the vessel for cash, or convey the vessel under sub24 section (c) to the owner or operator of a port.’’; and 

25 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following: 

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1 ‘‘(c) CONVEYANCE TO PORT AUTHORITY.—The Sec2 retary, after consultation with the Maritime Administra3 tion, may convey a vessel described in subsection (a) to 

4 the owner or operator of a United States or foreign port— 

5 ‘‘(1) for use in safety or security operations at 

6 that port; 

7 ‘‘(2) with or without compensation; and 

8 ‘‘(3) subject to such limitations on its use and 

9 further disposition as the Secretary determines to be 

10 appropriate.’’. 

11 SEC. 11. PRE-POSITIONING INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICA12 TIONS EQUIPMENT AT INTERAGENCY OPER13 ATIONAL CENTERS. 

14 Section 70107A of title 46, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

17 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; and 

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(e) DEPLOYMENT OF INTEROPERABLE COMMUNICA21 TIONS EQUIPMENT AT INTERAGENCY OPERATIONAL CEN22 TERS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

24 that interoperable communications technology is demstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ployed at all interagency operational centers estab2 lished under subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out para4 graph (1), the Secretary shall consider the con5 tinuing technological evolution of communications 

6 technologies and devices, with its implicit risk of ob7 solescence, and shall ensure, to the maximum extent 

8 feasible, that a substantial part of the technology de9 ployed involves prenegotiated contracts and other ar10 rangements for rapid deployment of equipment, sup11 plies, and systems rather than the warehousing or 

12 storage of equipment and supplies currently avail13 able at the time the technology is deployed. 

14 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS.— 

15 The interoperable communications technology de16 ployed under paragraph (1) shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) be capable of re-establishing commu18 nications when existing infrastructure is dam19 aged or destroyed in an emergency or a major 

20 disaster; 

21 ‘‘(B) include appropriate current, widely22 used equipment, such as Land Mobile Radio 

23 Systems, cellular telephones and satellite equip24 ment, Cells-On-Wheels, Cells-On-Light-Trucks, 

25 or other self-contained mobile cell sites that can 

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1 be towed, backup batteries, generators, fuel, 

2 and computers; 

3 ‘‘(C) include contracts (including 

4 prenegotiated contracts) for rapid delivery of 

5 the most current technology available from 

6 commercial sources; 

7 ‘‘(D) include arrangements for training to 

8 ensure that personnel are familiar with the op9 eration of the equipment and devices to be de10 livered pursuant to such contracts; and 

11 ‘‘(E) be utilized as appropriate during live 

12 area exercises conducted by the United States 

13 Coast Guard. 

14 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL CHARACTERISTICS.—Portions 

15 of the communications technology deployed under 

16 paragraph (1) may be virtual and may include items 

17 donated on an in-kind contribution basis. 

18 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

19 this subsection shall be construed or interpreted to 

20 preclude the use of funds under this section by the 

21 Secretary for interim or long-term Internet Protocol22 based interoperable solutions, notwithstanding com23 pliance with the Project 25 standard.’’. 

24 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 

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1 (1) COMMANDANT.—The term ‘‘Commandant’’ 

2 means the Commandant of the Coast Guard. 

3 (2) ESPECIALLY HAZARDOUS CARGO.—The 

4 term ‘‘especially hazardous cargo’’ means anhydrous 

5 ammonia, ammonium nitrate, chlorine, liquefied nat6 ural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and any other sub7 stance identified by the Secretary of the department 

8 in which the Coast Guard is operating as especially 

9 hazardous cargo. 

10 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

12 Guard is operating. 

Æ 

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