II 

Calendar No. 620 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2094 

To provide for the establishment of nationally uniform and environmentally 

sound standards governing discharges incidental to the normal operation 

of a vessel. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 6, 2014 

Mr. BEGICH (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COCHRAN, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. NELSON, 

Mr. PRYOR, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. THUNE, Mr. TOOMEY, 

Mr. VITTER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WICKER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. KING, Mr. 

SHELBY, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. GRAHAM, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. ISAKSON, 

Mr. WARNER, Mr. COONS, Mr. MANCHIN, and Mrs. HAGAN) introduced 

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

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 8, 2014 

Reported by Mr. ROCKEFELLER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of nationally uniform and 

environmentally sound standards governing discharges 

incidental to the normal operation of a vessel. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Vessel Incidental Discharge Act’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Regulation and enforcement. 

Sec. 5. Uniform national standards and requirements for the regulation of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel. 

Sec. 6. Treatment technology certification. 

Sec. 7. Exemptions. 

Sec. 8. Alternative compliance program. 

Sec. 9. Judicial review. 

Sec. 10. Effect on State authority. 

Sec. 11. Application with other statutes. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings: 

9 (1) Beginning with enactment of the Act to 

10 Prevent Pollution from Ships in 1980 (22 U.S.C. 

11 1901 et seq.), the United States Coast Guard has 

12 been the principal Federal authority charged with 

13 administering, enforcing, and prescribing regulations 

14 relating to the discharge of pollutants from vessels 

15 engaged in maritime commerce and transportation. 

16 (2) The Coast Guard estimates there are ap17 proximately 21,560,000 State-registered recreational 

18 vessels, 75,000 commercial fishing vessels, and 

19 33,000 freight and tank barges operating in United 

20 States waters. 


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1 (3) From 1973 to 2005, certain discharges inci2 dental to the normal operation of a vessel were ex3 empted by regulation from otherwise applicable per4 mitting requirements. 

5 (4) Over the 32 years during which this regu6 latory exemption was in effect, Congress enacted 

7 statutes on a number of occasions dealing with the 

8 regulation of discharges incidental to the normal op9 eration of a vessel, including— 

10 (A) the Act to Prevent Pollution from 

11 Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) in 1980; 

12 (B) the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance 

13 Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 

14 4701 et seq.); 

15 (C) the National Invasive Species Act of 

16 1996 (110 Stat. 4073); 

17 (D) section 415 of the Coast Guard Au18 thorization Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 3434) and 

19 section 623 of the Coast Guard and Maritime 

20 Transportation Act of 2004 (33 U.S.C. 1901 

21 note), which established interim and permanent 

22 requirements, respectively, for the regulation of 

23 vessel discharges of certain bulk cargo residue; 

24 (E) title XIV of division B of Appendix D 

25 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001 


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1 (114 Stat. 2763), which prohibited or limited 

2 certain vessel discharges in certain areas of 

3 Alaska; 

4 (F) section 204 of the Maritime Transpor5 tation Security Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 1902a), 

6 which established requirements for the regula7 tion of vessel discharges of agricultural cargo 

8 residue material in the form of hold washings; 

9 and 

10 (G) title X of the Coast Guard Authoriza11 tion Act of 2010 (33 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.), 

12 which provided for the implementation of the 

13 International Convention on the Control of 

14 Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, 2001. 

15 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

16 for the establishment of nationally uniform and environ17 mentally sound standards and requirements for the man18 agement of discharges incidental to the normal operation 

19 of a vessel. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis23 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ24 mental Protection Agency. 


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1 (2) AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES.—The term 

2 ‘‘aquatic nuisance species’’ means a nonindigenous 

3 species (including a pathogen) that threatens the di4 versity or abundance of native species or the ecologi5 cal stability of navigable waters or commercial, agri6 cultural, aquacultural, or recreational activities de7 pendent on such waters. 

8 (3) BALLAST WATER.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘ballast 

10 water’’ means any water, including any sedi11 ment suspended in such water, taken aboard a 

12 vessel— 

13 (i) to control trim, list, draught, sta14 bility, or stresses of the vessel; or 

15 (ii) during the cleaning, maintenance, 

16 or other operation of a ballast water treat17 ment technology of the vessel. 

18 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘ballast 

19 water’’ does not include any pollutant that is 

20 added to water described in subparagraph (A) 

21 that is not directly related to the operation of 

22 a properly functioning ballast water treatment 

23 technology under this Act. 

24 (4) BALLAST WATER PERFORMANCE STAND25 ARD.—The term ‘‘ballast water performance standVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 09, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2094.RS S2094

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1 ard’’ means the numerical ballast water discharge 

2 standard set forth in section 151.2030 of title 33, 

3 Code of Federal Regulations or section 151.1511 of 

4 title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, as applicable, 

5 or a revised numerical ballast water performance 

6 standard established under subsection (a)(1)(B), (b), 

7 or (c) of section 5 of this Act. 

8 (5) BALLAST WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY

9 OR TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘ballast 

10 water treatment technology’’ or ‘‘treatment tech11 nology’’ means any mechanical, physical, chemical, 

12 or biological process used, alone or in combination, 

13 to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or 

14 discharge of aquatic nuisance species within ballast 

15 water. 

16 (6) BIOCIDE.—The term ‘‘biocide’’ means a 

17 substance or organism, including a virus or fungus, 

18 that is introduced into or produced by a ballast 

19 water treatment technology to reduce or eliminate 

20 aquatic nuisance species as part of the process used 

21 to comply with a ballast water performance standard 

22 under this Act. 

23 (7) DISCHARGE INCIDENTAL TO THE NORMAL

24 OPERATION OF A VESSEL.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘discharge 

2 incidental to the normal operation of a vessel’’ 

3 means— 

4 (i) a discharge into navigable waters 

5 from a vessel of— 

6 (I)(aa) ballast water, graywater, 

7 bilge water, cooling water, oil water 

8 separator effluent, anti-fouling hull 

9 coating leachate, boiler or economizer 

10 blowdown, byproducts from cathodic 

11 protection, controllable pitch propeller 

12 and thruster hydraulic fluid, distilla13 tion and reverse osmosis brine, eleva14 tor pit effluent, firemain system efflu15 ent, freshwater layup effluent, gas 

16 turbine wash water, motor gasoline 

17 and compensating effluent, refrigera18 tion and air condensate effluent, sea19 water pumping biofouling prevention 

20 substances, boat engine wet exhaust, 

21 sonar dome effluent, exhaust gas 

22 scrubber washwater, or stern tube 

23 packing gland effluent; or 

24 (bb) any other pollutant associ25 ated with the operation of a marine 


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1 propulsion system, shipboard maneu2 vering system, habitability system, or 

3 installed major equipment, or from a 

4 protective, preservative, or absorptive 

5 application to the hull of a vessel; 

6 (II) weather deck runoff, deck 

7 wash, aqueous film forming foam ef8 fluent, chain locker effluent, non-oily 

9 machinery wastewater, underwater 

10 ship husbandry effluent, welldeck ef11 fluent, or fish hold and fish hold 

12 cleaning effluent; or 

13 (III) any effluent from a properly 

14 functioning marine engine; or 

15 (ii) a discharge of a pollutant into 

16 navigable waters in connection with the 

17 testing, maintenance, or repair of a sys18 tem, equipment, or engine described in 

19 subclause (I)(bb) or (III) of clause (i) 

20 whenever the vessel is waterborne. 

21 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘discharge 

22 incidental to the normal operation of a vessel’’ 

23 does not include— 

24 (i) a discharge into navigable waters 

25 from a vessel of— 


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1 (I) rubbish, trash, garbage, incin2 erator ash, or other such material dis3 charged overboard; 

4 (II) oil or a hazardous substance 

5 as those terms are defined in section 

6 311 of the Federal Water Pollution 

7 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321); 

8 (III) sewage as defined in section 

9 312(a)(6) of the Federal Water Pollu10 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

11 1322(a)(6)); or 

12 (IV) graywater referred to in sec13 tion 312(a)(6) of the Federal Water 

14 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

15 1322(a)(6)); 

16 (ii) an emission of an air pollutant re17 sulting from the operation onboard a vessel 

18 of a vessel propulsion system, motor driven 

19 equipment, or incinerator; or 

20 (iii) a discharge into navigable waters 

21 from a vessel when the vessel is operating 

22 in a capacity other than as a means of 

23 transportation on water. 

24 (8) GEOGRAPHICALLY LIMITED AREA.—The 

25 term ‘‘geographically limited area’’ means an area— 


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1 (A) with a physical limitation, including 

2 limitation by physical size and limitation by au3 thorized route, that prevents a vessel from oper4 ating outside the area, as determined by the 

5 Secretary; or 

6 (B) that is ecologically homogeneous, as 

7 determined by the Secretary, in consultation 

8 with the heads of other Federal departments or 

9 agencies as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

10 (9) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufac11 turer’’ means a person engaged in the manufacture, 

12 assemblage, or importation of ballast water treat13 ment technology. 

14 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

15 means the Secretary of the department in which the 

16 Coast Guard is operating. 

17 (11) VESSEL.—The term ‘‘vessel’’ means every 

18 description of watercraft or other artificial contriv19 ance used, or practically or otherwise capable of 

20 being used, as a means of transportation on water. 

21 SEC. 4. REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT. 

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

23 with the Administrator, shall establish and implement en24 forceable uniform national standards and requirements for 


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1 the regulation of discharges incidental to the normal oper2 ation of a vessel. The standards and requirements shall— 

3 (1) be based upon the best available technology 

4 economically achievable; and 

5 (2) supersede any permitting requirement or 

6 prohibition on discharges incidental to the normal 

7 operation of a vessel under any other provision of 

8 law. 

9 (b) ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT.—The 

10 Secretary shall administer and enforce the uniform na11 tional standards and requirements under this Act. Each 

12 State may enforce the uniform national standards and re13 quirements under this Act. 

14 SEC. 5. UNIFORM NATIONAL STANDARDS AND REQUIRE15 MENTS FOR THE REGULATION OF DIS16 CHARGES INCIDENTAL TO THE NORMAL OP17 ERATION OF A VESSEL. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (1) BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT REQUIRE20 MENTS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

22 other provision of law, the requirements set 

23 forth in the final rule, Standards for Living Or24 ganisms in Ships’ Ballast Water Discharged in 

25 U.S. Waters (77 Fed. Reg. 17254 (March 23, 


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1 2012), as corrected at 77 Fed. Reg. 33969 

2 (June 8, 2012)), shall be the management re3 quirements for a ballast water discharge inci4 dental to the normal operation of a vessel until 

5 the Secretary revises the ballast water perform6 ance standard under subsection (b) or adopts a 

7 more stringent State standard under subpara8 graph (B) of this paragraph. 

9 (B) ADOPTION OF MORE STRINGENT

10 STATE STANDARD.—If the Secretary makes a 

11 determination in favor of a State petition under 

12 section 10, the Secretary shall adopt the more 

13 stringent ballast water performance standard 

14 specified in the statute or regulation that is the 

15 subject of that State petition in lieu of the bal16 last water performance standard in the final 

17 rule described under subparagraph (A). 

18 (2) INITIAL MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR

19 DISCHARGES OTHER THAN BALLAST WATER.—Not 

20 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 

21 this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Ad22 ministrator, shall issue a final rule establishing best 

23 management practices for discharges incidental to 

24 the normal operation of a vessel other than ballast 

25 water. 


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1 (b) REVISED BALLAST WATER PERFORMANCE

2 STANDARD; 8-YEAR REVIEW.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the feasibility re4 view under paragraph (2), not later than January 1, 

5 2022, the Secretary, in consultation with the Admin6 istrator, shall issue a final rule revising the ballast 

7 water performance standard under subsection (a)(1) 

8 so that a ballast water discharge incidental to the 

9 normal operation of a vessel will contain— 

10 (A) less than 1 living organism per 10 

11 cubic meters that is 50 or more micrometers in 

12 minimum dimension; 

13 (B) less than 1 living organism per 10 mil14 liliters that is less than 50 micrometers in min15 imum dimension and more than 10 micrometers 

16 in minimum dimension; 

17 (C) concentrations of indicator microbes 

18 that are less than— 

19 (i) 1 colony-forming unit of 

20 toxicogenic Vibrio cholera (serotypes O1 

21 and O139) per 100 milliliters or less than 

22 1 colony-forming unit of that microbe per 

23 gram of wet weight of zoological samples; 

24 (ii) 126 colony-forming units of esch25 erichia coli per 100 milliliters; and 


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1 (iii) 33 colony-forming units of intes2 tinal enterococci per 100 milliliters; and 

3 (D) concentrations of such additional indi4 cator microbes and of viruses as may be speci5 fied in regulations issued by the Secretary in 

6 consultation with the Administrator and such 

7 other Federal agencies as the Secretary and the 

8 Administrator consider appropriate. 

9 (2) FEASIBILITY REVIEW.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 2 years 

11 before January 1, 2022, the Secretary, in con12 sultation with the Administrator, shall complete 

13 a review to determine the feasibility of achiev14 ing the revised ballast water performance stand15 ard under paragraph (1). 

16 (B) CRITERIA FOR REVIEW OF BALLAST

17 WATER PERFORMANCE STANDARD.—In con18 ducting a review under subparagraph (A), the 

19 Secretary shall consider whether revising the 

20 ballast water performance standard will result 

21 in a scientifically demonstrable and substantial 

22 reduction in the risk of introduction or estab23 lishment of aquatic nuisance species, taking 

24 into account— 


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1 (i) improvements in the scientific un2 derstanding of biological and ecological 

3 processes that lead to the introduction or 

4 establishment of aquatic nuisance species; 

5 (ii) improvements in ballast water 

6 treatment technology, including— 

7 (I) the capability of such treat8 ment technology to achieve a revised 

9 ballast water performance standard; 

10 (II) the effectiveness and reli11 ability of such treatment technology in 

12 the shipboard environment; 

13 (III) the compatibility of such 

14 treatment technology with the design 

15 and operation of a vessel by class, 

16 type, and size; 

17 (IV) the commercial availability 

18 of such treatment technology; and 

19 (V) the safety of such treatment 

20 technology; 

21 (iii) improvements in the capabilities 

22 to detect, quantify, and assess the viability 

23 of aquatic nuisance species at the con24 centrations under consideration; 


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1 (iv) the impact of ballast water treat2 ment technology on water quality; and 

3 (v) the costs, cost-effectiveness, and 

4 impacts of— 

5 (I) a revised ballast water per6 formance standard, including the po7 tential impacts on shipping, trade, 

8 and other uses of the aquatic environ9 ment; and 

10 (II) maintaining the existing bal11 last water performance standard, in12 cluding the potential impacts on 

13 water-related infrastructure, recre14 ation, propagation of native fish, 

15 shellfish, and wildlife, and other uses 

16 of navigable waters. 

17 (C) LOWER REVISED PERFORMANCE

18 STANDARD.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary, in 

20 consultation with the Administrator, deter21 mines on the basis of the feasibility review 

22 and after an opportunity for a public hear23 ing that no ballast water treatment tech24 nology can be certified under section 6 to 

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1 formance standard under paragraph (1), 

2 the Secretary shall require the use of the 

3 treatment technology that achieves the per4 formance levels of the best treatment tech5 nology available. 

6 (ii) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE.—If 

7 the Secretary, in consultation with the Ad8 ministrator, determines that the treatment 

9 technology under clause (i) cannot be im10 plemented before the implementation dead11 line under paragraph (3) with respect to a 

12 class of vessels, the Secretary shall extend 

13 the implementation deadline for that class 

14 of vessels for not more than 36 months. 

15 (iii) COMPLIANCE.—If the implemen16 tation deadline under paragraph (3) is ex17 tended, the Secretary shall recommend ac18 tion to ensure compliance with the ex19 tended implementation deadline under 

20 clause (ii). 

21 (D) HIGHER REVISED PERFORMANCE

22 STANDARD.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary, in 

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1 nology exists that exceeds the revised bal2 last water performance standard under 

3 paragraph (1) with respect to a class of 

4 vessels, the Secretary shall revise the bal5 last water performance standard for that 

6 class of vessels to incorporate the higher 

7 performance standard. 

8 (ii) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE.—If 

9 the Secretary, in consultation with the Ad10 ministrator, determines that the treatment 

11 technology under clause (i) can be imple12 mented before the implementation deadline 

13 under paragraph (3) with respect to a 

14 class of vessels, the Secretary shall accel15 erate the implementation deadline for that 

16 class of vessels. If the implementation 

17 deadline under paragraph (3) is acceler18 ated, the Secretary shall provide not less 

19 than 24 months notice before the acceler20 ated deadline takes effect. 

21 (3) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE.—The revised 

22 ballast water performance standard under paragraph 

23 (1) shall apply to a vessel beginning on the date of 

24 the first drydocking of the vessel on or after Janu25 ary 1, 2022, but not later than December 31, 2024. 


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1 (4) REVISED PERFORMANCE STANDARD COM2 PLIANCE DEADLINES.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may es4 tablish a compliance deadline for compliance by 

5 a vessel (or a class, type, or size of vessel) with 

6 a revised ballast water performance standard 

7 under this subsection. 

8 (B) PROCESS FOR GRANTING EXTEN9 SIONS.—In issuing regulations under this sub10 section, the Secretary shall establish a process 

11 for an owner or operator to submit a petition 

12 to the Secretary for an extension of a compli13 ance deadline with respect to the vessel of the 

14 owner or operator. 

15 (C) PERIOD OF EXTENSIONS.—An exten16 sion issued under subparagraph (B) may— 

17 (i) apply for a period of not to exceed 

18 18 months from the date of the applicable 

19 deadline under subparagraph (A); and 

20 (ii) be renewable for an additional pe21 riod of not to exceed 18 months. 

22 (D) FACTORS.—In issuing a compliance 

23 deadline or reviewing a petition under this 

24 paragraph, the Secretary shall consider, with 

25 respect to the ability of an owner or operator to 


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1 meet a compliance deadline, the following fac2 tors: 

3 (i) Whether the treatment technology 

4 to be installed is available in sufficient 

5 quantities to meet the compliance deadline. 

6 (ii) Whether there is sufficient ship7 yard or other installation facility capacity. 

8 (iii) Whether there is sufficient avail9 ability of engineering and design resources. 

10 (iv) Vessel characteristics, such as en11 gine room size, layout, or a lack of in12 stalled piping. 

13 (v) Electric power generating capacity 

14 aboard the vessel. 

15 (vi) Safety of the vessel and crew. 

16 (E) CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS.— 

17 (i) DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary 

18 shall approve or deny a petition for an ex19 tension of a compliance deadline submitted 

20 by an owner or operator under this para21 graph. 

22 (ii) DEADLINE.—If the Secretary does 

23 not approve or deny a petition referred to 

24 in clause (i) on or before the last day of 

25 the 90-day period beginning on the date of 


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1 submission of the petition, the petition 

2 shall be deemed approved. 

3 (c) FUTURE REVISIONS OF VESSEL INCIDENTAL

4 DISCHARGE STANDARDS; DECENNIAL REVIEWS.— 

5 (1) REVISED BALLAST WATER PERFORMANCE

6 STANDARDS.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

7 the Administrator, shall complete a review, 10 years 

8 after the issuance of a final rule under subsection 

9 (b) and every 10 years thereafter, to determine 

10 whether further revision of the ballast water per11 formance standard would result in a scientifically de12 monstrable and substantial reduction in the risk of 

13 the introduction or establishment of aquatic nui14 sance species. 

15 (2) REVISED STANDARDS FOR DISCHARGES

16 OTHER THAN BALLAST WATER.—The Secretary, in 

17 consultation with the Administrator, may include in 

18 a decennial review under this subsection best man19 agement practices for discharges covered by sub20 section (a)(2). The Secretary shall initiate a rule21 making to revise 1 or more best management prac22 tices for such discharges after a decennial review if 

23 the Secretary, in consultation with the Adminis24 trator, determines that revising 1 or more of such 

25 practices would substantially reduce the impacts on 


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1 navigable waters of discharges incidental to the nor2 mal operation of a vessel other than ballast water. 

3 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting a review 

4 under paragraph (1), the Secretary, the Adminis5 trator, and the heads of other appropriate Federal 

6 agencies as determined by the Secretary, shall con7 sider the criteria under section 5(b)(2)(B). 

8 (4) REVISION AFTER DECENNIAL REVIEW.— 

9 The Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking to revise 

10 the current ballast water performance standard after 

11 a decennial review if the Secretary, in consultation 

12 with the Administrator, determines that revising the 

13 current ballast water performance standard would 

14 result in a scientifically demonstrable and substan15 tial reduction in the risk of the introduction or es16 tablishment of aquatic nuisance species. 

17 SEC. 6. TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATION. 

18 (a) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Beginning 60 days 

19 after the date that the requirements for testing protocols 

20 are issued under subsection (i), no manufacturer of a bal21 last water treatment technology shall sell, offer for sale, 

22 or introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate 

23 commerce, or import into the United States for sale or 

24 resale, a ballast water treatment technology for a vessel 


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1 unless the treatment technology has been certified under 

2 this section. 

3 (b) CERTIFICATION PROCESS.— 

4 (1) EVALUATION.—Upon application of a man5 ufacturer, the Secretary shall evaluate a ballast 

6 water treatment technology with respect to— 

7 (A) the effectiveness of the treatment tech8 nology in achieving the current ballast water 

9 performance standard when installed on a ves10 sel (or a class, type, or size of vessel); 

11 (B) the compatibility with vessel design 

12 and operations; 

13 (C) the effect of the treatment technology 

14 on vessel safety; 

15 (D) the impact on the environment; 

16 (E) the cost effectiveness; and 

17 (F) any other criteria the Secretary con18 siders appropriate. 

19 (2) APPROVAL.—If after an evaluation under 

20 paragraph (1) the Secretary determines that the 

21 treatment technology meets the criteria, the Sec22 retary may certify the treatment technology for use 

23 on a vessel (or a class, type, or size of vessel). 

24 (3) SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION.—The Sec25 retary shall establish, by regulation, a process to 


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1 suspend or revoke a certification issued under this 

2 section. 

3 (c) CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS.— 

4 (1) IMPOSITION OF CONDITIONS.—In certifying 

5 a ballast water treatment technology under this sec6 tion, the Secretary, in consultation with the Admin7 istrator, may impose any condition on the subse8 quent installation, use, or maintenance of the treat9 ment technology onboard a vessel as is necessary 

10 for— 

11 (A) the safety of the vessel, the crew of the 

12 vessel, and any passengers aboard the vessel; 

13 (B) the protection of the environment; or 

14 (C) the effective operation of the treatment 

15 technology. 

16 (2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—The failure of an 

17 owner or operator to comply with a condition im18 posed under paragraph (1) shall be considered a vio19 lation of this section. 

20 (d) PERIOD FOR USE OF INSTALLED TREATMENT

21 EQUIPMENT.—Notwithstanding anything to the contrary 

22 in this Act or any other provision of law, the Secretary 

23 shall allow a vessel on which a system is installed and op24 erated to meet a ballast water performance standard 

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1 standing any revision of a ballast water performance 

2 standard occurring after the system is ordered or installed 

3 until the expiration of the service life of the system, as 

4 determined by the Secretary, so long as the system— 

5 (1) is maintained in proper working condition; 

6 and 

7 (2) is maintained and used in accordance with 

8 the manufacturer’s specifications and any treatment 

9 technology certification conditions imposed by the 

10 Secretary under this section. 

11 (e) CERTIFICATES OF TYPE APPROVAL FOR THE

12 TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY.— 

13 (1) ISSUANCE.—If the Secretary approves a 

14 ballast water treatment technology for certification 

15 under subsection (b), the Secretary shall issue a cer16 tificate of type approval for the treatment technology 

17 to the manufacturer in such form and manner as the 

18 Secretary determines appropriate. 

19 (2) CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS.—A certificate 

20 of type approval issued under paragraph (1) shall 

21 specify each condition imposed by the Secretary 

22 under subsection (c). 

23 (3) OWNERS AND OPERATORS.—A manufac24 turer that receives a certificate of type approval for 

25 the treatment technology under this subsection shall 


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1 provide a copy of the certificate to each owner and 

2 operator of a vessel on which the treatment tech3 nology is installed. 

4 (f) INSPECTIONS.—An owner or operator who re5 ceives a copy of a certificate under subsection (e)(3) shall 

6 retain a copy of the certificate onboard the vessel and 

7 make the copy of the certificate available for inspection 

8 at all times while the owner or operator is utilizing the 

9 treatment technology. 

10 (g) BIOCIDES.—The Secretary may not approve a 

11 ballast water treatment technology under subsection (b) 

12 if— 

13 (1) it uses a biocide or generates a biocide that 

14 is a pesticide, as defined in section 2 of the Federal 

15 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 

16 U.S.C. 136), unless the biocide is registered under 

17 that Act or the Secretary, in consultation with Ad18 ministrator, has approved the use of the biocide in 

19 such treatment technology; or 

20 (2) it uses or generates a biocide the discharge 

21 of which causes or contributes to a violation of a 

22 water quality standard under section 303 of the 

23 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

24 1313). 

25 (h) PROHIBITION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), the use of a ballast water treatment tech3 nology by an owner or operator of a vessel shall not 

4 satisfy the requirements of this Act unless it has 

5 been approved by the Secretary under subsection 

6 (b). 

7 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

8 (A) COAST GUARD SHIPBOARD TECH9 NOLOGY EVALUATION PROGRAM.—An owner or 

10 operator may use a ballast water treatment 

11 technology that has not been certified by the 

12 Secretary to comply with the requirements of 

13 this section if the technology is being evaluated 

14 under the Coast Guard Shipboard Technology 

15 Evaluation Program. 

16 (B) BALLAST WATER TREATMENT TECH17 NOLOGIES CERTIFIED BY FOREIGN ENTITIES.— 

18 An owner or operator may use a ballast water 

19 treatment technology that has not been certified 

20 by the Secretary to comply with the require21 ments of this section if the technology has been 

22 certified by a foreign entity and the certification 

23 demonstrates performance and safety of the 

24 treatment technology equivalent to the requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 09, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2094.RS S2094

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1 ments of this section, as determined by the Sec2 retary. 

3 (i) TESTING PROTOCOLS.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, 

5 in consultation with the Secretary, shall issue require6 ments for land-based and shipboard testing protocols or 

7 criteria for— 

8 (1) certifying the performance of each ballast 

9 water treatment technology under this section; and 

10 (2) certifying laboratories to evaluate such 

11 treatment technologies. 

12 SEC. 7. EXEMPTIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—No permit shall be required or 

14 prohibition enforced under any other provision of law for, 

15 nor shall any standards regarding a discharge incidental 

16 to the normal operation of a vessel under this Act apply 

17 to— 

18 (1) a discharge incidental to the normal oper19 ation of a vessel if the vessel is less than 79 feet in 

20 length and engaged in commercial service (as de21 fined in section 2101(5) of title 46, United States 

22 Code); 

23 (2) a discharge incidental to the normal oper24 ation of a vessel if the vessel is a fishing vessel, in25 cluding a fish processing vessel and a fish tender 


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1 vessel, (as defined in section 2101 of title 46, United 

2 States Code); 

3 (3) a discharge incidental to the normal oper4 ation of a vessel if the vessel is a recreational vessel 

5 (as defined in section 2101(25) of title 46, United 

6 States Code); 

7 (4) the placement, release, or discharge of 

8 equipment, devices, or other material from a vessel 

9 for the sole purpose of conducting research on the 

10 aquatic environment or its natural resources in ac11 cordance with generally recognized scientific meth12 ods, principles, or techniques; 

13 (5) any discharge into navigable waters from a 

14 vessel authorized by an on-scene coordinator in ac15 cordance with part 300 of title 40, Code of Federal 

16 Regulations, or part 153 of title 33, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations; 

18 (6) any discharge into navigable waters from a 

19 vessel that is necessary to secure the safety of the 

20 vessel or human life, or to suppress a fire onboard 

21 the vessel or at a shoreside facility; or 

22 (7) a vessel of the armed forces of a foreign na23 tion when engaged in noncommercial service. 

24 (b) BALLAST WATER DISCHARGES.—No permit shall 

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1 sion of law for, nor shall any ballast water performance 

2 standards under this Act apply to— 

3 (1) a ballast water discharge incidental to the 

4 normal operation of a vessel determined by the Sec5 retary to— 

6 (A) operate exclusively within a geographi7 cally limited area; 

8 (B) take up and discharge ballast water 

9 exclusively within 1 Captain of the Port Zone 

10 established by the Coast Guard unless the Sec11 retary determines such discharge poses a sub12 stantial risk of introduction or establishment of 

13 an aquatic nuisance species; 

14 (C) operate pursuant to a geographic re15 striction issued as a condition under section 

16 3309 of title 46, United States Code, or an 

17 equivalent restriction issued by the country of 

18 registration of the vessel; or 

19 (D) continuously take on and discharge 

20 ballast water in a flow-through system that 

21 does not introduce aquatic nuisance species into 

22 navigable waters; 

23 (2) a ballast water discharge incidental to the 

24 normal operation of a vessel consisting entirely of 

25 water suitable for human consumption; or 


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1 (3) a ballast water discharge incidental to the 

2 normal operation of a vessel in an alternative com3 pliance program established pursuant to section (8). 

4 (c) VESSELS WITH PERMANENT BALLAST WATER.— 

5 No permit shall be required or prohibition enforced under 

6 any other provision of law for, nor shall any ballast water 

7 performance standard under this Act apply to, a vessel 

8 that carries all of its permanent ballast water in sealed 

9 tanks that are not subject to discharge. 

10 (d) VESSELS OF THE ARMED FORCES.—Nothing in 

11 this Act shall be construed to apply to a vessel of the 

12 Armed Forces, as defined in section 101(a) of title 10, 

13 United States Code. 

14 SEC. 8. ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM. 

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

16 with the Administrator, may promulgate regulations es17 tablishing 1 or more compliance programs as an alter18 native to ballast water management regulations issued 

19 under section 5 for a vessel that— 

20 (1) has a maximum ballast water capacity of 

21 less than 8 cubic meters; 

22 (2) is less than 3 years from the end of the use23 ful life of the vessel, as determined by the Secretary; 

24 or 


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1 (3) discharges ballast water into a facility for 

2 the reception of ballast water that meets standards 

3 promulgated by the Administrator, in consultation 

4 with the Secretary. 

5 (b) PROMULGATION OF FACILITY STANDARDS.—Not 

6 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

7 the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, 

8 shall promulgate standards for— 

9 (1) the reception of ballast water from a vessel 

10 into a reception facility; and 

11 (2) the disposal or treatment of the ballast 

12 water under paragraph (1). 

13 SEC. 9. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—An interested person may file a 

15 petition for review of a final regulation promulgated under 

16 this Act in the United States Court of Appeals for the 

17 District of Columbia Circuit. 

18 (b) DEADLINE.—A petition shall be filed not later 

19 than 120 days after the date that notice of the promulga20 tion appears in the Federal Register. 

21 (c) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), a 

22 petition that is based solely on grounds that arise after 

23 the deadline to file a petition under subsection (b) has 

24 passed may be filed not later than 120 days after the date 

25 that the grounds first arise. 


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1 SEC. 10. EFFECT ON STATE AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—No State or political subdivision 

3 thereof may adopt or enforce any statute or regulation of 

4 the State or political subdivision with respect to a dis5 charge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Notwithstanding subsection 

8 (a), a State or political subdivision thereof may enforce 

9 a statute or regulation of the State or political subdivision 

10 with respect to ballast water discharges incidental to the 

11 normal operation of a vessel that specifies a ballast water 

12 performance standard that is more stringent than the bal13 last water performance standard under section 5(a)(1)(A) 

14 and is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act if 

15 the Secretary, after consultation with the Administrator 

16 and any other Federal department or agency the Secretary 

17 considers appropriate, makes a determination that— 

18 (1) compliance with any performance standard 

19 specified in the statute or regulation can in fact be 

20 achieved and detected; 

21 (2) the technology and systems necessary to 

22 comply with the statute or regulation are commer23 cially available; and 

24 (3) the statute or regulation is consistent with 

25 obligations under relevant international treaties or 

26 agreements to which the United States is a party. 


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1 (c) PETITION PROCESS.— 

2 (1) SUBMISSION.—The Governor of a State 

3 seeking to enforce a statute or regulation under sub4 section (b) shall submit a petition requesting the 

5 Secretary to review the statute or regulation. 

6 (2) CONTENTS; DEADLINE.—A petition shall— 

7 (A) be accompanied by the scientific and 

8 technical information on which the petition is 

9 based; and 

10 (B) be submitted to the Secretary not later 

11 than 90 days after the date of enactment of 

12 this Act. 

13 (3) DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

14 make a determination on a petition under this sub15 section not later than 90 days after the date that 

16 the petition is received. 

17 SEC. 11. APPLICATION WITH OTHER STATUTES. 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this Act 

19 shall be the exclusive statutory authority for regulation by 

20 the Federal Government of discharges incidental to the 

21 normal operation of a vessel to which this Act applies. Ex22 cept as provided under section 5(a)(1)(A), any regulation 

23 in effect on the date immediately preceding the effective 

24 date of this Act relating to any permitting requirement 

25 for or prohibition on discharges incidental to the normal 


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1 operation of a vessel to which this Act applies shall be 

2 deemed to be a regulation issued pursuant to the authority 

3 of this Act and shall remain in full force and effect unless 

4 or until superseded by new regulations issued hereunder. 

5 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

6 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ves7 sel Incidental Discharge Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

9 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Regulation and enforcement. 

Sec. 5. Uniform national standards and requirements for the regulation of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel. 

Sec. 6. Treatment technology certification. 

Sec. 7. Exemptions. 

Sec. 8. Alternative compliance program. 

Sec. 9. Judicial review. 

Sec. 10. Effect on State authority. 

Sec. 11. Application with other statutes. 

10 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

11 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 

12 (1) Beginning with enactment of the Act to Pre13 vent Pollution from Ships in 1980 (22 U.S.C. 1901 

14 et seq.), the United States Coast Guard has been the 

15 principal Federal authority charged with admin16 istering, enforcing, and prescribing regulations relat17 ing to the discharge of pollutants from vessels engaged 

18 in maritime commerce and transportation. 

19 (2) The Coast Guard estimates there are ap20 proximately 21,560,000 State-registered recreational 


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1 vessels, 75,000 commercial fishing vessels, and 33,000 

2 freight and tank barges operating in United States 

3 waters. 

4 (3) From 1973 to 2005, certain discharges inci5 dental to the normal operation of a vessel were ex6 empted by regulation from otherwise applicable per7 mitting requirements. 

8 (4) Over the 32 years during which this regu9 latory exemption was in effect, Congress enacted stat10 utes on a number of occasions dealing with the regu11 lation of discharges incidental to the normal oper12 ation of a vessel, including— 

13 (A) the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships 

14 (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) in 1980; 

15 (B) the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance 

16 Prevention and Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 

17 4701 et seq.); 

18 (C) the National Invasive Species Act of 

19 1996 (110 Stat. 4073); 

20 (D) section 415 of the Coast Guard Author21 ization Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 3434) and section 

22 623 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transpor23 tation Act of 2004 (33 U.S.C. 1901 note), which 

24 established interim and permanent requirements, 


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1 respectively, for the regulation of vessel dis2 charges of certain bulk cargo residue; 

3 (E) title XIV of division B of Appendix D 

4 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001 

5 (114 Stat. 2763), which prohibited or limited 

6 certain vessel discharges in certain areas of Alas7 ka; 

8 (F) section 204 of the Maritime Transpor9 tation Security Act of 2002 (33 U.S.C. 1902a), 

10 which established requirements for the regulation 

11 of vessel discharges of agricultural cargo residue 

12 material in the form of hold washings; and 

13 (G) title X of the Coast Guard Authoriza14 tion Act of 2010 (33 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.), which 

15 provided for the implementation of the Inter16 national Convention on the Control of Harmful 

17 Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, 2001. 

18 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

19 for the establishment of nationally uniform and environ20 mentally sound standards and requirements for the man21 agement of discharges incidental to the normal operation 

22 of a vessel. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency. 

4 (2) AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES.—The term 

5 ‘‘aquatic nuisance species’’ means a nonindigenous 

6 species (including a pathogen) that threatens the di7 versity or abundance of native species or the ecologi8 cal stability of navigable waters or commercial, agri9 cultural, aquacultural, or recreational activities de10 pendent on such waters. 

11 (3) BALLAST WATER.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘ballast 

13 water’’ means any water, including any sedi14 ment suspended in such water, taken aboard a 

15 vessel— 

16 (i) to control trim, list, draught, sta17 bility, or stresses of the vessel; or 

18 (ii) during the cleaning, maintenance, 

19 or other operation of a ballast water treat20 ment technology of the vessel. 

21 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘ballast 

22 water’’ does not include any pollutant that is 

23 added to water described in subparagraph (A) 

24 that is not directly related to the operation of a 


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1 properly functioning ballast water treatment 

2 technology under this Act. 

3 (4) BALLAST WATER PERFORMANCE STAND4 ARD.—The term ‘‘ballast water performance stand5 ard’’ means the numerical ballast water discharge 

6 standard set forth in section 151.2030 of title 33, 

7 Code of Federal Regulations or section 151.1511 of 

8 title 33, Code of Federal Regulations, as applicable, 

9 or a revised numerical ballast water performance 

10 standard established under subsection (a)(1)(B), (b), 

11 or (c) of section 5 of this Act. 

12 (5) BALLAST WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY

13 OR TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘ballast 

14 water treatment technology’’ or ‘‘treatment tech15 nology’’ means any mechanical, physical, chemical, or 

16 biological process used, alone or in combination, to 

17 remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or dis18 charge of aquatic nuisance species within ballast 

19 water. 

20 (6) BIOCIDE.—The term ‘‘biocide’’ means a sub21 stance or organism, including a virus or fungus, that 

22 is introduced into or produced by a ballast water 

23 treatment technology to reduce or eliminate aquatic 

24 nuisance species as part of the process used to comply 


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1 with a ballast water performance standard under this 

2 Act. 

3 (7) DISCHARGE INCIDENTAL TO THE NORMAL

4 OPERATION OF A VESSEL.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘discharge in6 cidental to the normal operation of a vessel’’ 

7 means— 

8 (i) a discharge into navigable waters 

9 from a vessel of— 

10 (I)(aa) ballast water, graywater, 

11 bilge water, cooling water, oil water 

12 separator effluent, anti-fouling hull 

13 coating leachate, boiler or economizer 

14 blowdown, byproducts from cathodic 

15 protection, controllable pitch propeller 

16 and thruster hydraulic fluid, distilla17 tion and reverse osmosis brine, elevator 

18 pit effluent, firemain system effluent, 

19 freshwater layup effluent, gas turbine 

20 wash water, motor gasoline and com21 pensating effluent, refrigeration and 

22 air condensate effluent, seawater 

23 pumping biofouling prevention sub24 stances, boat engine wet exhaust, sonar 

25 dome effluent, exhaust gas scrubber 


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1 washwater, or stern tube packing gland 

2 effluent; or 

3 (bb) any other pollutant associ4 ated with the operation of a marine 

5 propulsion system, shipboard maneu6 vering system, habitability system, or 

7 installed major equipment, or from a 

8 protective, preservative, or absorptive 

9 application to the hull of a vessel; 

10 (II) weather deck runoff, deck 

11 wash, aqueous film forming foam efflu12 ent, chain locker effluent, non-oily ma13 chinery wastewater, underwater ship 

14 husbandry effluent, welldeck effluent, or 

15 fish hold and fish hold cleaning efflu16 ent; or 

17 (III) any effluent from a properly 

18 functioning marine engine; or 

19 (ii) a discharge of a pollutant into 

20 navigable waters in connection with the 

21 testing, maintenance, or repair of a system, 

22 equipment, or engine described in subclause 

23 (I)(bb) or (III) of clause (i) whenever the 

24 vessel is waterborne. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘discharge in2 cidental to the normal operation of a vessel’’ does 

3 not include— 

4 (i) a discharge into navigable waters 

5 from a vessel of— 

6 (I) rubbish, trash, garbage, incin7 erator ash, or other such material dis8 charged overboard; 

9 (II) oil or a hazardous substance 

10 as those terms are defined in section 

11 311 of the Federal Water Pollution 

12 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321); 

13 (III) sewage as defined in section 

14 312(a)(6) of the Federal Water Pollu15 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

16 1322(a)(6)); or 

17 (IV) graywater referred to in sec18 tion 312(a)(6) of the Federal Water 

19 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

20 1322(a)(6)); 

21 (ii) an emission of an air pollutant re22 sulting from the operation onboard a vessel 

23 of a vessel propulsion system, motor driven 

24 equipment, or incinerator; or 


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1 (iii) a discharge into navigable waters 

2 from a vessel when the vessel is operating in 

3 a capacity other than as a means of trans4 portation on water. 

5 (8) GEOGRAPHICALLY LIMITED AREA.—The term 

6 ‘‘geographically limited area’’ means an area— 

7 (A) with a physical limitation, including 

8 limitation by physical size and limitation by 

9 authorized route, that prevents a vessel from op10 erating outside the area, as determined by the 

11 Secretary; or 

12 (B) that is ecologically homogeneous, as de13 termined by the Secretary, in consultation with 

14 the heads of other Federal departments or agen15 cies as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

16 (9) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufacturer’’ 

17 means a person engaged in the manufacture, assem18 blage, or importation of ballast water treatment tech19 nology. 

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

21 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

22 Guard is operating. 

23 (11) VESSEL.—The term ‘‘vessel’’ means every 

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1 ance used, or practically or otherwise capable of being 

2 used, as a means of transportation on water. 

3 SEC. 4. REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

5 the Administrator, shall establish and implement enforce6 able uniform national standards and requirements for the 

7 regulation of discharges incidental to the normal operation 

8 of a vessel. The standards and requirements shall— 

9 (1) be based upon the best available technology 

10 economically achievable; and 

11 (2) supersede any permitting requirement or 

12 prohibition on discharges incidental to the normal op13 eration of a vessel under any other provision of law. 

14 (b) ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT.—The Sec15 retary shall administer and enforce the uniform national 

16 standards and requirements under this Act. Each State 

17 may enforce the uniform national standards and require18 ments under this Act. 

19 SEC. 5. UNIFORM NATIONAL STANDARDS AND REQUIRE20 MENTS FOR THE REGULATION OF DIS21 CHARGES INCIDENTAL TO THE NORMAL OP22 ERATION OF A VESSEL. 

23 (a) REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 (1) BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT REQUIRE25 MENTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, the requirements set forth 

3 in the final rule, Standards for Living Orga4 nisms in Ships’ Ballast Water Discharged in 

5 U.S. Waters (77 Fed. Reg. 17254 (March 23, 

6 2012), as corrected at 77 Fed. Reg. 33969 (June 

7 8, 2012)), shall be the management requirements 

8 for a ballast water discharge incidental to the 

9 normal operation of a vessel until the Secretary 

10 revises the ballast water performance standard 

11 under subsection (b) or adopts a more stringent 

12 State standard under subparagraph (B) of this 

13 paragraph. 

14 (B) ADOPTION OF MORE STRINGENT STATE

15 STANDARD.—If the Secretary makes a deter16 mination in favor of a State petition under sec17 tion 10, the Secretary shall adopt the more strin18 gent ballast water performance standard speci19 fied in the statute or regulation that is the sub20 ject of that State petition in lieu of the ballast 

21 water performance standard in the final rule de22 scribed under subparagraph (A). 

23 (2) INITIAL MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR

24 DISCHARGES OTHER THAN BALLAST WATER.—Not 

25 later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 


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1 Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Adminis2 trator, shall issue a final rule establishing best man3 agement practices for discharges incidental to the nor4 mal operation of a vessel other than ballast water. 

5 (b) REVISED BALLAST WATER PERFORMANCE STAND6 ARD; 8-YEAR REVIEW.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the feasibility re8 view under paragraph (2), not later than January 1, 

9 2022, the Secretary, in consultation with the Admin10 istrator, shall issue a final rule revising the ballast 

11 water performance standard under subsection (a)(1) 

12 so that a ballast water discharge incidental to the 

13 normal operation of a vessel will contain— 

14 (A) less than 1 organism that is living or 

15 has not been rendered harmless per 10 cubic me16 ters that is 50 or more micrometers in minimum 

17 dimension; 

18 (B) less than 1 organism that is living or 

19 has not been rendered harmless per 10 milliliters 

20 that is less than 50 micrometers in minimum di21 mension and more than 10 micrometers in min22 imum dimension; 

23 (C) concentrations of indicator microbes 

24 that are less than— 


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1 (i) 1 colony-forming unit of toxicogenic 

2 Vibrio cholera (serotypes O1 and O139) per 

3 100 milliliters or less than 1 colony-forming 

4 unit of that microbe per gram of wet weight 

5 of zoological samples; 

6 (ii) 126 colony-forming units of esch7 erichia coli per 100 milliliters; and 

8 (iii) 33 colony-forming units of intes9 tinal enterococci per 100 milliliters; and 

10 (D) concentrations of such additional indi11 cator microbes and of viruses as may be specified 

12 in regulations issued by the Secretary in con13 sultation with the Administrator and such other 

14 Federal agencies as the Secretary and the Ad15 ministrator consider appropriate. 

16 (2) FEASIBILITY REVIEW.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 2 years be18 fore January 1, 2022, the Secretary, in consulta19 tion with the Administrator, shall complete a re20 view to determine the feasibility of achieving the 

21 revised ballast water performance standard 

22 under paragraph (1). 

23 (B) CRITERIA FOR REVIEW OF BALLAST

24 WATER PERFORMANCE STANDARD.—In con25 ducting a review under subparagraph (A), the 


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1 Secretary shall consider whether revising the bal2 last water performance standard will result in a 

3 scientifically demonstrable and substantial re4 duction in the risk of introduction or establish5 ment of aquatic nuisance species, taking into ac6 count— 

7 (i) improvements in the scientific un8 derstanding of biological and ecological 

9 processes that lead to the introduction or es10 tablishment of aquatic nuisance species; 

11 (ii) improvements in ballast water 

12 treatment technology, including— 

13 (I) the capability of such treat14 ment technology to achieve a revised 

15 ballast water performance standard; 

16 (II) the effectiveness and reli17 ability of such treatment technology in 

18 the shipboard environment; 

19 (III) the compatibility of such 

20 treatment technology with the design 

21 and operation of a vessel by class, type, 

22 and size; 

23 (IV) the commercial availability 

24 of such treatment technology; and 


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1 (V) the safety of such treatment 

2 technology; 

3 (iii) improvements in the capabilities 

4 to detect, quantify, and assess the viability 

5 of aquatic nuisance species at the concentra6 tions under consideration; 

7 (iv) the impact of ballast water treat8 ment technology on water quality; and 

9 (v) the costs, cost-effectiveness, and im10 pacts of— 

11 (I) a revised ballast water per12 formance standard, including the po13 tential impacts on shipping, trade, and 

14 other uses of the aquatic environment; 

15 and 

16 (II) maintaining the existing bal17 last water performance standard, in18 cluding the potential impacts on 

19 water-related infrastructure, recre20 ation, propagation of native fish, shell21 fish, and wildlife, and other uses of 

22 navigable waters. 

23 (C) LOWER REVISED PERFORMANCE STAND24 ARD.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary, in 

2 consultation with the Administrator, deter3 mines on the basis of the feasibility review 

4 and after an opportunity for a public hear5 ing that no ballast water treatment tech6 nology can be certified under section 6 to 

7 comply with the revised ballast water per8 formance standard under paragraph (1), 

9 the Secretary shall require the use of the 

10 treatment technology that achieves the per11 formance levels of the best treatment tech12 nology available. 

13 (ii) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE.—If 

14 the Secretary, in consultation with the Ad15 ministrator, determines that the treatment 

16 technology under clause (i) cannot be imple17 mented before the implementation deadline 

18 under paragraph (3) with respect to a class 

19 of vessels, the Secretary shall extend the im20 plementation deadline for that class of ves21 sels for not more than 36 months. 

22 (iii) COMPLIANCE.—If the implementa23 tion deadline under paragraph (3) is ex24 tended, the Secretary shall recommend acVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 09, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2094.RS S2094

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1 tion to ensure compliance with the extended 

2 implementation deadline under clause (ii). 

3 (D) HIGHER REVISED PERFORMANCE

4 STANDARD.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary, in 

6 consultation with the Administrator, deter7 mines that ballast water treatment tech8 nology exists that exceeds the revised ballast 

9 water performance standard under para10 graph (1) with respect to a class of vessels, 

11 the Secretary shall revise the ballast water 

12 performance standard for that class of ves13 sels to incorporate the higher performance 

14 standard. 

15 (ii) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE.—If 

16 the Secretary, in consultation with the Ad17 ministrator, determines that the treatment 

18 technology under clause (i) can be imple19 mented before the implementation deadline 

20 under paragraph (3) with respect to a class 

21 of vessels, the Secretary shall accelerate the 

22 implementation deadline for that class of 

23 vessels. If the implementation deadline 

24 under paragraph (3) is accelerated, the Sec25 retary shall provide not less than 24 months 


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1 notice before the accelerated deadline takes 

2 effect. 

3 (3) IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE.—The revised 

4 ballast water performance standard under paragraph 

5 (1) shall apply to a vessel beginning on the date of 

6 the first drydocking of the vessel on or after January 

7 1, 2022, but not later than December 31, 2024. 

8 (4) REVISED PERFORMANCE STANDARD COMPLI9 ANCE DEADLINES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may es11 tablish a compliance deadline for compliance by 

12 a vessel (or a class, type, or size of vessel) with 

13 a revised ballast water performance standard 

14 under this subsection. 

15 (B) PROCESS FOR GRANTING EXTEN16 SIONS.—In issuing regulations under this sub17 section, the Secretary shall establish a process for 

18 an owner or operator to submit a petition to the 

19 Secretary for an extension of a compliance dead20 line with respect to the vessel of the owner or op21 erator. 

22 (C) PERIOD OF EXTENSIONS.—An extension 

23 issued under subparagraph (B) may— 


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1 (i) apply for a period of not to exceed 

2 18 months from the date of the applicable 

3 deadline under subparagraph (A); and 

4 (ii) be renewable for an additional pe5 riod of not to exceed 18 months. 

6 (D) FACTORS.—In issuing a compliance 

7 deadline or reviewing a petition under this 

8 paragraph, the Secretary shall consider, with re9 spect to the ability of an owner or operator to 

10 meet a compliance deadline, the following fac11 tors: 

12 (i) Whether the treatment technology to 

13 be installed is available in sufficient quan14 tities to meet the compliance deadline. 

15 (ii) Whether there is sufficient ship16 yard or other installation facility capacity. 

17 (iii) Whether there is sufficient avail18 ability of engineering and design resources. 

19 (iv) Vessel characteristics, such as en20 gine room size, layout, or a lack of installed 

21 piping. 

22 (v) Electric power generating capacity 

23 aboard the vessel. 

24 (vi) Safety of the vessel and crew. 

25 (E) CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS.— 


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1 (i) DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary 

2 shall approve or deny a petition for an ex3 tension of a compliance deadline submitted 

4 by an owner or operator under this para5 graph. 

6 (ii) DEADLINE.—If the Secretary does 

7 not approve or deny a petition referred to 

8 in clause (i) on or before the last day of the 

9 90-day period beginning on the date of sub10 mission of the petition, the petition shall be 

11 deemed approved. 

12 (c) FUTURE REVISIONS OF VESSEL INCIDENTAL DIS13 CHARGE STANDARDS; DECENNIAL REVIEWS.— 

14 (1) REVISED BALLAST WATER PERFORMANCE

15 STANDARDS.—The Secretary, in consultation with the 

16 Administrator, shall complete a review, 10 years after 

17 the issuance of a final rule under subsection (b) and 

18 every 10 years thereafter, to determine whether fur19 ther revision of the ballast water performance stand20 ard would result in a scientifically demonstrable and 

21 substantial reduction in the risk of the introduction 

22 or establishment of aquatic nuisance species. 

23 (2) REVISED STANDARDS FOR DISCHARGES

24 OTHER THAN BALLAST WATER.—The Secretary, in 

25 consultation with the Administrator, may include in 


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1 a decennial review under this subsection best manage2 ment practices for discharges covered by subsection 

3 (a)(2). The Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking to 

4 revise 1 or more best management practices for such 

5 discharges after a decennial review if the Secretary, 

6 in consultation with the Administrator, determines 

7 that revising 1 or more of such practices would sub8 stantially reduce the impacts on navigable waters of 

9 discharges incidental to the normal operation of a 

10 vessel other than ballast water. 

11 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting a review 

12 under paragraph (1), the Secretary, the Adminis13 trator, and the heads of other appropriate Federal 

14 agencies as determined by the Secretary, shall con15 sider the criteria under section 5(b)(2)(B). 

16 (4) REVISION AFTER DECENNIAL REVIEW.—The 

17 Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking to revise the 

18 current ballast water performance standard after a 

19 decennial review if the Secretary, in consultation 

20 with the Administrator, determines that revising the 

21 current ballast water performance standard would re22 sult in a scientifically demonstrable and substantial 

23 reduction in the risk of the introduction or establish24 ment of aquatic nuisance species. 


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1 SEC. 6. TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY CERTIFICATION. 

2 (a) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Beginning 1 year 

3 after the date that the requirements for testing protocols are 

4 issued under subsection (i), no manufacturer of a ballast 

5 water treatment technology shall sell, offer for sale, or intro6 duce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce, 

7 or import into the United States for sale or resale, a ballast 

8 water treatment technology for a vessel unless the treatment 

9 technology has been certified under this section. 

10 (b) CERTIFICATION PROCESS.— 

11 (1) EVALUATION.—Upon application of a manu12 facturer, the Secretary shall evaluate a ballast water 

13 treatment technology with respect to— 

14 (A) the effectiveness of the treatment tech15 nology in achieving the current ballast water 

16 performance standard when installed on a vessel 

17 (or a class, type, or size of vessel); 

18 (B) the compatibility with vessel design and 

19 operations; 

20 (C) the effect of the treatment technology on 

21 vessel safety; 

22 (D) the impact on the environment; 

23 (E) the cost effectiveness; and 

24 (F) any other criteria the Secretary con25 siders appropriate. 


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1 (2) APPROVAL.—If after an evaluation under 

2 paragraph (1) the Secretary determines that the treat3 ment technology meets the criteria, the Secretary may 

4 certify the treatment technology for use on a vessel (or 

5 a class, type, or size of vessel). 

6 (3) SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION.—The Sec7 retary shall establish, by regulation, a process to sus8 pend or revoke a certification issued under this sec9 tion. 

10 (c) CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS.— 

11 (1) IMPOSITION OF CONDITIONS.—In certifying a 

12 ballast water treatment technology under this section, 

13 the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, 

14 may impose any condition on the subsequent installa15 tion, use, or maintenance of the treatment technology 

16 onboard a vessel as is necessary for— 

17 (A) the safety of the vessel, the crew of the 

18 vessel, and any passengers aboard the vessel; 

19 (B) the protection of the environment; or 

20 (C) the effective operation of the treatment 

21 technology. 

22 (2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—The failure of an 

23 owner or operator to comply with a condition im24 posed under paragraph (1) shall be considered a vio25 lation of this section. 


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1 (d) PERIOD FOR USE OF INSTALLED TREATMENT

2 EQUIPMENT.—Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in 

3 this Act or any other provision of law, the Secretary shall 

4 allow a vessel on which a system is installed and operated 

5 to meet a ballast water performance standard under this 

6 Act to continue to use that system, notwithstanding any 

7 revision of a ballast water performance standard occurring 

8 after the system is ordered or installed until the expiration 

9 of the service life of the system, as determined by the Sec10 retary, so long as the system— 

11 (1) is maintained in proper working condition; 

12 and 

13 (2) is maintained and used in accordance with 

14 the manufacturer’s specifications and any treatment 

15 technology certification conditions imposed by the 

16 Secretary under this section. 

17 (e) CERTIFICATES OF TYPE APPROVAL FOR THE

18 TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY.— 

19 (1) ISSUANCE.—If the Secretary approves a bal20 last water treatment technology for certification under 

21 subsection (b), the Secretary shall issue a certificate 

22 of type approval for the treatment technology to the 

23 manufacturer in such form and manner as the Sec24 retary determines appropriate. 


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1 (2) CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS.—A certificate 

2 of type approval issued under paragraph (1) shall 

3 specify each condition imposed by the Secretary 

4 under subsection (c). 

5 (3) OWNERS AND OPERATORS.—A manufacturer 

6 that receives a certificate of type approval for the 

7 treatment technology under this subsection shall pro8 vide a copy of the certificate to each owner and oper9 ator of a vessel on which the treatment technology is 

10 installed. 

11 (f) INSPECTIONS.—An owner or operator who receives 

12 a copy of a certificate under subsection (e)(3) shall retain 

13 a copy of the certificate onboard the vessel and make the 

14 copy of the certificate available for inspection at all times 

15 while the owner or operator is utilizing the treatment tech16 nology. 

17 (g) BIOCIDES.—The Secretary may not approve a bal18 last water treatment technology under subsection (b) if— 

19 (1) it uses a biocide or generates a biocide that 

20 is a pesticide, as defined in section 2 of the Federal 

21 Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 

22 136), unless the biocide is registered under that Act 

23 or the Secretary, in consultation with Administrator, 

24 has approved the use of the biocide in such treatment 

25 technology; or 


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1 (2) it uses or generates a biocide the discharge of 

2 which causes or contributes to a violation of a water 

3 quality standard under section 303 of the Federal 

4 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313). 

5 (h) PROHIBITION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), the use of a ballast water treatment tech8 nology by an owner or operator of a vessel shall not 

9 satisfy the requirements of this Act unless it has been 

10 approved by the Secretary under subsection (b). 

11 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

12 (A) COAST GUARD SHIPBOARD TECHNOLOGY

13 EVALUATION PROGRAM.—An owner or operator 

14 may use a ballast water treatment technology 

15 that has not been certified by the Secretary to 

16 comply with the requirements of this section if 

17 the technology is being evaluated under the Coast 

18 Guard Shipboard Technology Evaluation Pro19 gram. 

20 (B) BALLAST WATER TREATMENT TECH21 NOLOGIES CERTIFIED BY FOREIGN ENTITIES.— 

22 An owner or operator may use a ballast water 

23 treatment technology that has not been certified 

24 by the Secretary to comply with the requirements 

25 of this section if the technology has been certified 


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1 by a foreign entity and the certification dem2 onstrates performance and safety of the treat3 ment technology equivalent to the requirements of 

4 this section, as determined by the Secretary. 

5 (i) TESTING PROTOCOLS.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, 

7 in consultation with the Secretary, shall issue requirements 

8 for land-based and shipboard testing protocols or criteria 

9 for— 

10 (1) certifying the performance of each ballast 

11 water treatment technology under this section; and 

12 (2) certifying laboratories to evaluate such treat13 ment technologies. 

14 SEC. 7. EXEMPTIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—No permit shall be required or pro16 hibition enforced under any other provision of law for, nor 

17 shall any standards regarding a discharge incidental to the 

18 normal operation of a vessel under this Act apply to— 

19 (1) a discharge incidental to the normal oper20 ation of a vessel if the vessel is less than 79 feet in 

21 length and engaged in commercial service (as defined 

22 in section 2101(5) of title 46, United States Code); 

23 (2) a discharge incidental to the normal oper24 ation of a vessel if the vessel is a fishing vessel, in25 cluding a fish processing vessel and a fish tender vesVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Dec 09, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2094.RS S2094

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1 sel, (as defined in section 2101 of title 46, United 

2 States Code); 

3 (3) a discharge incidental to the normal oper4 ation of a vessel if the vessel is a recreational vessel 

5 (as defined in section 2101(25) of title 46, United 

6 States Code); 

7 (4) the placement, release, or discharge of equip8 ment, devices, or other material from a vessel for the 

9 sole purpose of conducting research on the aquatic en10 vironment or its natural resources in accordance with 

11 generally recognized scientific methods, principles, or 

12 techniques; 

13 (5) any discharge into navigable waters from a 

14 vessel authorized by an on-scene coordinator in ac15 cordance with part 300 of title 40, Code of Federal 

16 Regulations, or part 153 of title 33, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations; 

18 (6) any discharge into navigable waters from a 

19 vessel that is necessary to secure the safety of the ves20 sel or human life, or to suppress a fire onboard the 

21 vessel or at a shoreside facility; or 

22 (7) a vessel of the armed forces of a foreign na23 tion when engaged in noncommercial service. 

24 (b) BALLAST WATER DISCHARGES.—No permit shall 

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1 sion of law for, nor shall any ballast water performance 

2 standards under this Act apply to— 

3 (1) a ballast water discharge incidental to the 

4 normal operation of a vessel determined by the Sec5 retary to— 

6 (A) operate exclusively within a geographi7 cally limited area; 

8 (B) take up and discharge ballast water ex9 clusively within 1 Captain of the Port Zone es10 tablished by the Coast Guard unless the Sec11 retary determines such discharge poses a sub12 stantial risk of introduction or establishment of 

13 an aquatic nuisance species; 

14 (C) operate pursuant to a geographic re15 striction issued as a condition under section 

16 3309 of title 46, United States Code, or an 

17 equivalent restriction issued by the country of 

18 registration of the vessel; or 

19 (D) continuously take on and discharge bal20 last water in a flow-through system that does not 

21 introduce aquatic nuisance species into navi22 gable waters; 

23 (2) a ballast water discharge incidental to the 

24 normal operation of a vessel consisting entirely of 

25 water suitable for human consumption; or 


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1 (3) a ballast water discharge incidental to the 

2 normal operation of a vessel in an alternative compli3 ance program established pursuant to section 8. 

4 (c) VESSELS WITH PERMANENT BALLAST WATER.— 

5 No permit shall be required or prohibition enforced under 

6 any other provision of law for, nor shall any ballast water 

7 performance standard under this Act apply to, a vessel that 

8 carries all of its permanent ballast water in sealed tanks 

9 that are not subject to discharge. 

10 (d) VESSELS OF THE ARMED FORCES.—Nothing in 

11 this Act shall be construed to apply to a vessel of the Armed 

12 Forces, as defined in section 101(a) of title 10, United 

13 States Code. 

14 SEC. 8. ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE PROGRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation with 

16 the Administrator, may promulgate regulations estab17 lishing 1 or more compliance programs as an alternative 

18 to ballast water management regulations issued under sec19 tion 5 for a vessel that— 

20 (1) has a maximum ballast water capacity of 

21 less than 8 cubic meters; 

22 (2) is less than 3 years from the end of the useful 

23 life of the vessel, as determined by the Secretary; or 

24 (3) discharges ballast water into a facility for 

25 the reception of ballast water that meets standards 


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1 promulgated by the Administrator, in consultation 

2 with the Secretary. 

3 (b) PROMULGATION OF FACILITY STANDARDS.—Not 

4 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

5 the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, shall 

6 promulgate standards for— 

7 (1) the reception of ballast water from a vessel 

8 into a reception facility; and 

9 (2) the disposal or treatment of the ballast water 

10 under paragraph (1). 

11 SEC. 9. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—An interested person may file a pe13 tition for review of a final regulation promulgated under 

14 this Act in the United States Court of Appeals for the Dis15 trict of Columbia Circuit. 

16 (b) DEADLINE.—A petition shall be filed not later than 

17 120 days after the date that notice of the promulgation ap18 pears in the Federal Register. 

19 (c) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), a 

20 petition that is based solely on grounds that arise after the 

21 deadline to file a petition under subsection (b) has passed 

22 may be filed not later than 120 days after the date that 

23 the grounds first arise. 


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1 SEC. 10. EFFECT ON STATE AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—No State or political subdivision 

3 thereof may adopt or enforce any statute or regulation of 

4 the State or political subdivision with respect to a discharge 

5 incidental to the normal operation of a vessel after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act. 

7 (b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Notwithstanding subsection 

8 (a), a State or political subdivision thereof may enforce a 

9 statute or regulation of the State or political subdivision 

10 with respect to ballast water discharges incidental to the 

11 normal operation of a vessel that specifies a ballast water 

12 performance standard that is more stringent than the bal13 last water performance standard under section 5(a)(1)(A) 

14 and is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act if the 

15 Secretary, after consultation with the Administrator and 

16 any other Federal department or agency the Secretary con17 siders appropriate, makes a determination that— 

18 (1) compliance with any performance standard 

19 specified in the statute or regulation can in fact be 

20 achieved and detected; 

21 (2) the technology and systems necessary to com22 ply with the statute or regulation are commercially 

23 available; and 

24 (3) the statute or regulation is consistent with 

25 obligations under relevant international treaties or 

26 agreements to which the United States is a party. 


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1 (c) PETITION PROCESS.— 

2 (1) SUBMISSION.—The Governor of a State seek3 ing to enforce a statute or regulation under subsection 

4 (b) shall submit a petition requesting the Secretary to 

5 review the statute or regulation. 

6 (2) CONTENTS; DEADLINE.—A petition shall— 

7 (A) be accompanied by the scientific and 

8 technical information on which the petition is 

9 based; and 

10 (B) be submitted to the Secretary not later 

11 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this 

12 Act. 

13 (3) DETERMINATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

14 make a determination on a petition under this sub15 section not later than 90 days after the date that the 

16 petition is received. 

17 SEC. 11. APPLICATION WITH OTHER STATUTES. 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this Act 

19 shall be the exclusive statutory authority for regulation by 

20 the Federal Government of discharges incidental to the nor21 mal operation of a vessel to which this Act applies. Except 

22 as provided under section 5(a)(1)(A), any regulation in ef23 fect on the date immediately preceding the effective date of 

24 this Act relating to any permitting requirement for or pro25 hibition on discharges incidental to the normal operation 


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1 of a vessel to which this Act applies shall be deemed to be 

2 a regulation issued pursuant to the authority of this Act 

3 and shall remain in full force and effect unless or until su4 perseded by new regulations issued hereunder. 


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Calendar No. 620 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2094 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of nationally uniation of a vessel. erning discharges incidental to the normal oper- form and environmentally sound standards govDECEMBER 8, 2014 

Reported with an amendment 


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