H. Res. 602

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

October 15, 1998.

Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution the

House shall be considered to have taken from the Speaker’s

table the bill (H.R. 2204) to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1998 and 1999 for the Coast Guard, and for other

purposes, and the Senate amendment thereto, and to have

concurred in the Senate amendment with an amendment as

follows:

In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate amendment, insert the following:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coast Guard Author3 ization Act of 1998’’.

4 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

5 The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION

Sec. 101. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 102. Authorized levels of military strength and training.

Sec. 103. LORAN-C.

TITLE II—COAST GUARD MANAGEMENT
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Sec. 201. Severance pay.

Sec. 202. Authority to implement and fund certain awards programs.

Sec. 203. Use of appropriated funds for commercial vehicles at military funerals.

Sec. 204. Authority to reimburse Novato, California, Reuse Commission.

Sec. 205. Law enforcement authority for special agents of the Coast Guard Investigative Service.

Sec. 206. Report on excess Coast Guard property.

Sec. 207. Fees for navigation assistance service.

Sec. 208. Aids to navigation report.

TITLE III—MARINE SAFETY

Sec. 301. Extension of territorial sea for certain laws.

Sec. 302. Penalties for interfering with the safe operation of a vessel.

Sec. 303. Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee.

Sec. 304. Alcohol testing.

Sec. 305. Protect marine casualty investigations from mandatory release.

Sec. 306. Safety management code report and policy.

Sec. 307. Oil and hazardous substance definition and report.

Sec. 308. National Marine Transportation System.

Sec. 309. Availability and use of EPIRBS for recreational vessels.

Sec. 310. Search and rescue helicopter coverage.

Sec. 311. Petroleum transportation.

Sec. 312. Seasonal Coast Guard helicopter air rescue capability.

Sec. 313. Ship reporting systems.

TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 401. Vessel identification system amendments.

Sec. 402. Conveyance of Coast Guard Reserve training facility, Jacksonville,

Florida.

Sec. 403. Documentation of certain vessels.

Sec. 404. Conveyance of Nahant parcel, Essex County, Massachusetts.

Sec. 405. Unreasonable obstruction to navigation.

Sec. 406. Financial responsibility for oil spill response vessels.

Sec. 407. Conveyance of Coast Guard property to Jacksonville University in

Jacksonville, Florida.

Sec. 408. Penalty for violation of International Safety Convention.

Sec. 409. Coast Guard City, USA.

Sec. 410. Conveyance of Communication Station Boston Marshfield Receiver

Site, Massachusetts.

Sec. 411. Clarification of liability of persons engaging in oil spill prevention and

response activities.

Sec. 412. Vessels not seagoing motor vessels.

Sec. 413. Land conveyance, Coast Guard Station Ocracoke, North Carolina.

Sec. 414. Conveyance of Coast Guard property in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan.

Sec. 415. Interim authority for dry bulk cargo residue disposal.

Sec. 416. Conveyance of lighthouses.

Sec. 417. Conveyance of Coast Guard LORAN Station Nantucket.

Sec. 418. Conveyance of decommissioned Coast Guard vessels.

Sec. 419. Amendment to conveyance of vessel S/S RED OAK VICTORY.

Sec. 420. Transfer of Ocracoke Light Station to Secretary of the Interior.

Sec. 421. Vessel documentation clarification.

Sec. 422. Dredge clarification.
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Sec. 423. Double hull alternative designs study.

Sec. 424. Vessel sharing agreements.

Sec. 425. Reports.

Sec. 426. Report on tonnage calculation methodology.

Sec. 427. Authority to convey National Defense Reserve Fleet Vessels.

Sec. 428. Authority to convey National Defense Reserve Fleet Vessel, JOHN

HENRY.

Sec. 429. Applicability of authority to release restrictions and encumbrances.

Sec. 430. Barge APL–60.

Sec. 431. Vessel financing flexibility.

Sec. 432. Hydrographic functions.

TITLE V—ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS FOR JONES ACT WAIVERS

Sec. 501. Findings.

Sec. 502. Administrative waiver of coastwise trade laws.

Sec. 503. Revocation.

Sec. 504. Definitions.

Sec. 505. Sunset.

TITLE VI—HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA

Sec. 601. Short title.

Sec. 602. Findings.

Sec. 603. Assessments.

Sec. 604. Northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxia.

Sec. 605. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 606. Protection of States’ rights.

1 TITLE I—AUTHORIZATION

2 SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

3 Funds are authorized to be appropriated for nec4 essary expenses of the Coast Guard, as follows:

5 (1) For the operation and maintenance of the

6 Coast Guard—

7 (A) for fiscal year 1998, $2,715,400,000;

8 and

9 (B) for fiscal year 1999, $2,854,700,000;

10 of which $25,000,000 shall be derived each fis11 cal year from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund

12 to carry out the purposes of section 1012(a)(5)

13 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and of which
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1 not less than $408,000,000 shall be available

2 for expenses related to drug interdiction.

3 (2) For the acquisition, construction, rebuild4 ing, and improvement of aids to navigation, shore

5 and offshore facilities, vessels, and aircraft, includ6 ing equipment related thereto—

7 (A) for fiscal year 1998, $399,850,000, of

8 which $2,000,000 shall be made available for

9 concept evaluation for a replacement vessel for

10 the Coast Guard icebreaker MACKINAW; and

11 (B) for fiscal year 1999, $510,300,000, of

12 which $5,300,000 shall be made available to

13 complete the conceptual design for a replace14 ment vessel for the Coast Guard icebreaker

15 MACKINAW;

16 to remain available until expended, of which

17 $20,000,000 shall be derived each fiscal year from

18 the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to carry out the

19 purposes of section 1012(a)(5) of the Oil Pollution

20 Act of 1990 and of which not less than $62,000,000

21 shall be available for expenses related to drug inter22 diction.

23 (3) For research, development, test, and evalua24 tion of technologies, materials, and human factors

25 directly relating to improving the performance of the
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1 Coast Guard’s mission in support of search and res2 cue, aids to navigation, marine safety, marine envi3 ronmental protection, enforcement of laws and trea4 ties, ice operations, oceanographic research, and de5 fense readiness—

6 (A) for fiscal year 1998, $19,000,000; and

7 (B) for fiscal year 1999, $18,300,000;

8 to remain available until expended, of which

9 $3,500,000 shall be derived each fiscal year from the

10 Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to carry out the pur11 poses of section 1012(a)(5) of the Oil Pollution Act

12 of 1990.

13 (4) For retired pay (including the payment of

14 obligations otherwise chargeable to lapsed appropria15 tions for this purpose), payments under the Retired

16 Serviceman’s Family Protection and Survivor Bene17 fit Plans, and payments for medical care of retired

18 personnel and their dependents under chapter 55 of

19 title 10, United States Code—

20 (A) for fiscal year 1998, $653,196,000;

21 and

22 (B) for fiscal year 1999, $691,493,000.

23 (5) For alteration or removal of bridges over

24 navigable waters of the United States constituting

25 obstructions to navigation, and for personnel and
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1 administrative costs associated with the Bridge Al2 teration Program—

3 (A) for fiscal year 1998, $17,000,000; and

4 (B) for fiscal year 1999, $26,000,000,

5 to remain available until expended.

6 (6) For environmental compliance and restora7 tion at Coast Guard facilities (other than parts and

8 equipment associated with operations and mainte9 nance), $26,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998

10 and 1999, to remain available until expended.

11 SEC. 102. AUTHORIZED LEVELS OF MILITARY STRENGTH

12 AND TRAINING.

13 (a) ACTIVE DUTY STRENGTH.—The Coast Guard is

14 authorized an end-of-year strength for active duty person15 nel of—

16 (1) 37,944 as of September 30, 1998; and

17 (2) 38,038 as of September 30, 1999.

18 (b) MILITARY TRAINING STUDENT LOADS.—The

19 Coast Guard is authorized average military training stu20 dent loads as follows:

21 (1) For recruit and special training—

22 (A) for fiscal year 1998, 1,424 student

23 years; and

24 (B) for fiscal year 1999, 1,424 student

25 years.
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1 (2) For flight training—

2 (A) for fiscal year 1998, 98 student years;

3 and

4 (B) for fiscal year 1999, 98 student years.

5 (3) For professional training in military and ci6 vilian institutions—

7 (A) for fiscal year 1998, 283 student

8 years; and

9 (B) for fiscal year 1999, 283 student

10 years.

11 (4) For officer acquisition—

12 (A) for fiscal year 1998, 814 student

13 years; and

14 (B) for fiscal year 1999, 810 student

15 years.

16 SEC. 103. LORAN-C.

17 (a) FISCAL YEAR 1999.—There are authorized to be

18 appropriated to the Department of Transportation, in ad19 dition to the funds authorized for the Coast Guard for

20 operation of the LORAN-C System, for capital expenses

21 related to LORAN-C navigation infrastructure,

22 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1999. The Secretary of Trans23 portation may transfer from the Federal Aviation Admin24 istration and other agencies of the department funds ap-
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1 propriated as authorized under this section in order to re2 imburse the Coast Guard for related expenses.

3 (b) COST-SHARING PLAN.—Not later than 6 months

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

5 Transportation shall develop and submit to the Committee

6 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate

7 and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

8 of the House of Representatives a plan for cost-sharing

9 arrangements among Federal agencies for such capital

10 and operating expenses related to LORAN-C navigation

11 infrastructure, including such expenses of the Coast

12 Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration.

13 TITLE II—COAST GUARD

14 MANAGEMENT

15 SEC. 201. SEVERANCE PAY.

16 (a) WARRANT OFFICERS.—Section 286a(d) of title

17 14, United States Code, is amended by striking the last

18 sentence.

19 (b) SEPARATED OFFICERS.—Section 286a of title 14,

20 United States Code, is amended by striking the period at

21 the end of subsection (b) and inserting ‘‘, unless the Sec22 retary determines that the conditions under which the offi23 cer is discharged or separated do not warrant payment

24 of that amount of severance pay.’’.
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1 (c) EXCEPTION.—Section 327 of title 14, United

2 States Code, is amended by striking the period at the end

3 of paragraph (b)(3) and inserting ‘‘, unless the Secretary

4 determines that the conditions under which the officer is

5 discharged or separated do not warrant payment of that

6 amount of severance pay.’’.

7 SEC. 202. AUTHORITY TO IMPLEMENT AND FUND CERTAIN

8 AWARDS PROGRAMS.

9 Section 93 of title 14, United States Code, is amend10 ed—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

12 end of paragraph (u);

13 (2) by striking the period at the end of para14 graph (v) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

15 (3) by adding at the end the following new

16 paragraph:

17 ‘‘(w) provide for the honorary recognition of in18 dividuals and organizations that significantly con19 tribute to Coast Guard programs, missions, or oper20 ations, including State and local governments and

21 commercial and nonprofit organizations, and pay

22 for, using any appropriations or funds available to

23 the Coast Guard, plaques, medals, trophies, badges,

24 and similar items to acknowledge such contribution
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1 (including reasonable expenses of ceremony and

2 presentation).’’.

3 SEC. 203. USE OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS FOR COMMER4 CIAL VEHICLES AT MILITARY FUNERALS.

5 Section 93 of title 14, United States Code, as amend6 ed by section 202 of this Act, is further amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

8 end of paragraph (v);

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (w) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new

12 paragraph:

13 ‘‘(x) rent or lease, under such terms and condi14 tions as are considered by the Secretary to be advis15 able, commercial vehicles to transport the next of

16 kin of eligible retired Coast Guard military personnel

17 to attend funeral services of the service member at

18 a national cemetery.’’.

19 SEC. 204. AUTHORITY TO REIMBURSE NOVATO, CALIFOR20 NIA, REUSE COMMISSION.

21 The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard

22 may use up to $25,000 to provide economic adjustment

23 assistance for the City of Novato, California, for the cost

24 of revising the Hamilton Reuse Planning Authority’s reuse

25 plan as a result of the Coast Guard’s request for housing
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1 at Hamilton Air Force Base. If the Department of De2 fense provides such economic adjustment assistance to the

3 City of Novato on behalf of the Coast Guard, then the

4 Coast Guard may use the amount authorized for use in

5 the preceding sentence to reimburse the Department of

6 Defense for the amount of economic adjustment assistance

7 provided to the City of Novato by the Department of De8 fense.

9 SEC. 205. LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY FOR SPECIAL

10 AGENTS OF THE COAST GUARD INVESTIGA11 TIVE SERVICE.

12 (a) AUTHORITY.—Section 95 of title 14, United

13 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘§ 95. Special agents of the Coast Guard Investiga15 tive Service law enforcement authority

16 ‘‘(a)(1) A special agent of the Coast Guard Investiga17 tive Service designated under subsection (b) has the fol18 lowing authority:

19 ‘‘(A) To carry firearms.

20 ‘‘(B) To execute and serve any warrant or other

21 process issued under the authority of the United

22 States.

23 ‘‘(C) To make arrests without warrant for—

24 ‘‘(i) any offense against the United States

25 committed in the agent’s presence; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) any felony cognizable under the laws

2 of the United States if the agent has probable

3 cause to believe that the person to be arrested

4 has committed or is committing the felony.

5 ‘‘(2) The authorities provided in paragraph (1) shall

6 be exercised only in the enforcement of statutes for which

7 the Coast Guard has law enforcement authority, or in exi8 gent circumstances.

9 ‘‘(b) The Commandant may designate to have the au10 thority provided under subsection (a) any special agent of

11 the Coast Guard Investigative Service whose duties in12 clude conducting, supervising, or coordinating investiga13 tion of criminal activity in programs and operations of the

14 United States Coast Guard.

15 ‘‘(c) The authority provided under subsection (a)

16 shall be exercised in accordance with guidelines prescribed

17 by the Commandant and approved by the Attorney Gen18 eral and any other applicable guidelines prescribed by the

19 Secretary of Transportation or the Attorney General.’’.

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

21 at the beginning of chapter 5 of title 14, United States

22 Code, is amended by striking the item related to section

23 95 and inserting the following:

‘‘95. Special agents of the Coast Guard Investigative Service law enforcement authority.’’.
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1 SEC. 206. REPORT ON EXCESS COAST GUARD PROPERTY.

2 Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment

3 of this Act, the Administrator of the General Services Ad4 ministration and the Commandant of the Coast Guard

5 shall submit to the Congress a report on the current proce6 dures used to dispose of excess Coast Guard property and

7 provide recommendations to improve such procedures. The

8 recommendations shall take into consideration measures

9 that would—

10 (1) improve the efficiency of such procedures;

11 (2) improve notification of excess property deci12 sions to and enhance the participation in the prop13 erty disposal decisionmaking process of the States,

14 local communities, and appropriate non-profit orga15 nizations;

16 (3) facilitate the expeditious transfer of excess

17 property for recreation, historic preservation, edu18 cation, transportation, or other uses that benefit the

19 general public; and

20 (4) ensure that the interests of Federal tax21 payers are protected.

22 SEC. 207. FEES FOR NAVIGATION ASSISTANCE SERVICE.

23 Section 2110 of title 46, United States Code, is

24 amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

25 ‘‘(k) The Secretary may not plan, implement or final26 ize any regulation that would promulgate any new mari-
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1 time user fee which was not implemented and collected

2 prior to January 1, 1998, including a fee or charge for

3 any domestic icebreaking service or any other navigational

4 assistance service. This subsection expires on September

5 30, 2001.’’.

6 SEC. 208. AIDS TO NAVIGATION REPORT.

7 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment

8 of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall

9 submit to Congress a report on the use of the Coast

10 Guard’s aids to navigation system. The report shall in11 clude an analysis of the respective use of the aids to navi12 gation system by commercial interests, members of the

13 general public for personal recreation, Federal and State

14 government for public safety, defense, and other similar

15 purposes. To the extent practicable within the time al16 lowed, the report shall include information regarding de17 gree of use of the various portions of the system.

18 TITLE III—MARINE SAFETY

19 SEC. 301. EXTENSION OF TERRITORIAL SEA FOR CERTAIN

20 LAWS.

21 (a) PORTS AND WATERWAYS SAFETY ACT.—Section

22 102 of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act (33 U.S.C.

23 1222) is amended by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(5) ‘Navigable waters of the United States’ in25 cludes all waters of the territorial sea of the United
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1 States as described in Presidential Proclamation

2 5928 of December 27, 1988.’’.

3 (b) SUBTITLE II OF TITLE 46.—

4 (1) Section 2101 of title 46, United States

5 Code, is amended—

6 (A) by redesignating paragraph (17a) as

7 paragraph (17b); and

8 (B) by inserting after paragraph (17) the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(17a) ‘navigable waters of the United States’

11 includes all waters of the territorial sea of the

12 United States as described in Presidential Proclama13 tion 5928 of December 27, 1988.’’.

14 (2) Section 2301 of that title is amended by in15 serting ‘‘(including the territorial sea of the United

16 States as described in Presidential Proclamation

17 5928 of December 27, 1988)’’ after ‘‘of the United

18 States’’.

19 (3) Section 4102(e) of that title is amended by

20 striking ‘‘operating on the high seas’’ and inserting

21 ‘‘owned in the United States and operating beyond

22 3 nautical miles from the baselines from which the

23 territorial sea of the United States is measured’’.

24 (4) Section 4301(a) of that title is amended by

25 inserting ‘‘(including the territorial sea of the United
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1 States as described in Presidential Proclamation

2 5928 of December 27, 1988)’’ after ‘‘of the United

3 States’’.

4 (5) Section 4502(a)(7) of that title is amended

5 by striking ‘‘on the high seas’’ and inserting ‘‘be6 yond 3 nautical miles from the baselines from which

7 the territorial sea of the United States is measured,

8 and which are owned in the United States’’.

9 (6) Section 4506(b) of that title is amended by

10 striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(2) is operating—

12 ‘‘(A) in internal waters of the United

13 States; or

14 ‘‘(B) within 3 nautical miles from the

15 baselines from which the territorial sea of the

16 United States is measured.’’.

17 (7) Section 8502(a)(3) of that title is amended

18 by striking ‘‘not on the high seas’’ and inserting:

19 ‘‘not beyond 3 nautical miles from the baselines

20 from which the territorial sea of the United States

21 is measured’’.

22 (8) Section 8503(a)(2) of that title is amended

23 by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the follow24 ing:

25 ‘‘(2) operating—
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1 ‘‘(A) in internal waters of the United

2 States; or

3 ‘‘(B) within 3 nautical miles from the

4 baselines from which the territorial sea of the

5 United States is measured.’’.

6 SEC. 302. PENALTIES FOR INTERFERING WITH THE SAFE

7 OPERATION OF A VESSEL.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2302 of title 46, United

9 States Code, is amended—

10 (1) by amending the section heading to read as

11 follows:

12 ‘‘§ 2302. Penalties for negligent operations and inter13 fering with safe operation’’;

14 and

15 (2) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘that endan16 gers’’ and inserting ‘‘or interfering with the safe op17 eration of a vessel, so as to endanger’’.

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

19 at the beginning of chapter 23 of title 46, United States

20 Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section

21 2302 and inserting the following:

‘‘2302. Penalties for negligent operations and interfering with safe operation.’’.

22 SEC. 303. GREAT LAKES PILOTAGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

23 Section 9307 of title 46, United States Code, is

24 amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘§ 9307. Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee

2 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall establish a Great Lakes Pi3 lotage Advisory Committee. The Committee—

4 ‘‘(1) may review proposed Great Lakes pilotage

5 regulations and policies and make recommendations

6 to the Secretary that the Committee considers ap7 propriate;

8 ‘‘(2) may advise, consult with, report to, and

9 make recommendations to the Secretary on matters

10 relating to Great Lakes pilotage;

11 ‘‘(3) may make available to the Congress rec12 ommendations that the Committee makes to the Sec13 retary; and

14 ‘‘(4) shall meet at the call of—

15 ‘‘(A) the Secretary, who shall call such a

16 meeting at least once during each calendar

17 year; or

18 ‘‘(B) a majority of the Committee.

19 ‘‘(b)(1) The Committee shall consist of 7 members

20 appointed by the Secretary in accordance with this sub21 section, each of whom has at least 5 years practical experi22 ence in maritime operations. The term of each member

23 is for a period of not more than 5 years, specified by the

24 Secretary. Before filling a position on the Committee, the

25 Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register

26 soliciting nominations for membership on the Committee.
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1 ‘‘(2) The membership of the Committee shall in2 clude—

3 ‘‘(A) 3 members who are practicing Great

4 Lakes pilots and who reflect a regional balance;

5 ‘‘(B) 1 member representing the interests of

6 vessel operators that contract for Great Lakes pilot7 age services;

8 ‘‘(C) 1 member representing the interests of

9 Great Lakes ports;

10 ‘‘(D) 1 member representing the interests of

11 shippers whose cargoes are transported through

12 Great Lakes ports; and

13 ‘‘(E) 1 member representing the interests of the

14 general public, who is an independent expert on the

15 Great Lakes maritime industry.

16 ‘‘(c)(1) The Committee shall elect one of its members

17 as the Chairman and one of its members as the Vice

18 Chairman. The Vice Chairman shall act as Chairman in

19 the absence or incapacity of the Chairman, or in the event

20 of a vacancy in the office of the Chairman.

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall, and any other interested

22 agency may, designate a representative to participate as

23 an observer with the Committee. The representatives shall,

24 as appropriate, report to and advise the Committee on

25 matters relating to Great Lakes pilotage. The Secretary’s
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1 designated representative shall act as the executive sec2 retary of the Committee and shall perform the duties set

3 forth in section 10(c) of the Federal Advisory Committee

4 Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

5 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall, whenever practicable,

6 consult with the Committee before taking any significant

7 action relating to Great Lakes pilotage.

8 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall consider the information,

9 advice, and recommendations of the Committee in formu10 lating policy regarding matters affecting Great Lakes pi11 lotage.

12 ‘‘(e)(1) A member of the Committee, when attending

13 meetings of the Committee or when otherwise engaged in

14 the business of the Committee, is entitled to receive—

15 ‘‘(A) compensation at a rate fixed by the Sec16 retary, not exceeding the daily equivalent of the cur17 rent rate of basic pay in effect for GS–18 of the

18 General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5 in19 cluding travel time; and

20 ‘‘(B) travel or transportation expenses under

21 section 5703 of title 5.

22 ‘‘(2) A member of the Committee shall not be consid23 ered to be an officer or employee of the United States for

24 any purpose based on their receipt of any payment under

25 this subsection.
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1 ‘‘(f)(1) The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

2 U.S.C. App.) applies to the Committee, except that the

3 Committee terminates on September 30, 2003.

4 ‘‘(2) 2 years before the termination date set forth in

5 paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Committee shall sub6 mit to the Congress its recommendation regarding wheth7 er the Committee should be renewed and continued beyond

8 the termination date.’’.

9 SEC. 304. ALCOHOL TESTING.

10 (a) ADMINSTRATIVE PROCEDURE.—Section 7702 of

11 title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking the

12 second sentence of subsection (c)(2) and inserting the fol13 lowing: ‘‘The testing may include preemployment (with re14 spect to dangerous drugs only), periodic, random, and rea15 sonable cause testing, and shall include post-accident test16 ing.’’.

17 (b) INCREASE IN CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 2115 of

18 title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking

19 ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’.

20 (c) INCREASE IN NEGLIGENCE PENALTY.—Section

21 2302(c)(1) of title 46, United States Code, is amended

22 by striking ‘‘$1,000 for a first violation and not more than

23 $5,000 for a subsequent violation; or’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘$5,000; or’’.

25 (d) POST SERIOUS MARINE CASUALTY TESTING.—
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1 (1) Chapter 23 of title 46, United States Code,

2 is amended by inserting after section 2303 the fol3 lowing:

4 ‘‘§2303a. Post serious marine casualty alcohol testing

5 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall establish procedures to en6 sure that after a serious marine casualty occurs, alcohol

7 testing of crew members or other persons responsible for

8 the operation or other safety-sensitive functions of the ves9 sel or vessels involved in such casualty is conducted no

10 later than 2 hours after the casualty occurs, unless such

11 testing cannot be completed within that time due to safety

12 concerns directly related to the casualty.

13 ‘‘(b) The procedures in subsection (a) shall require

14 that if alcohol testing cannot be completed within 2 hours

15 of the occurrence of the casualty, such testing shall be con16 ducted as soon thereafter as the safety concerns in sub17 section (a) have been adequately addressed to permit such

18 testing, except that such testing may not be required more

19 than 8 hours after the casualty occurs.’’.

20 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of

21 chapter 23 of title 46, United States Code, is

22 amended by inserting after the item related to sec23 tion 2303 the following:

‘‘2303a. Post serious marine casualty alcohol testing’’.
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1 SEC. 305. PROTECT MARINE CASUALTY INVESTIGATIONS

2 FROM MANDATORY RELEASE.

3 Section 6305(b) of title 46, United States Code, is

4 amended by striking all after ‘‘public’’ and inserting a pe5 riod and ‘‘This subsection does not require the release of

6 information described by section 552(b) of title 5 or pro7 tected from disclosure by another law of the United

8 States.’’.

9 SEC. 306. SAFETY MANAGEMENT CODE REPORT AND POL10 ICY.

11 (a) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCE12 MENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL SAFETY MANAGEMENT

13 CODE.—

14 (1) The Secretary of Transportation (in this

15 section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall conduct

16 a study—

17 (A) reporting on the status of implementa18 tion of the International Safety Management

19 Code (hereinafter referred to in this section as

20 ‘Code’);

21 (B) detailing enforcement actions involving

22 the Code, including the role documents and re23 ports produced pursuant to the Code play in

24 such enforcement actions;

25 (C) evaluating the effects the Code has had

26 on marine safety and environmental protection,
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1 and identifying actions to further promote ma2 rine safety and environmental protection

3 through the Code;

4 (D) identifying actions to achieve full com5 pliance with and effective implementation of the

6 Code; and

7 (E) evaluating the effectiveness of internal

8 reporting and auditing under the Code, and rec9 ommending actions to ensure the accuracy and

10 candidness of such reporting and auditing.

11 These recommended actions may include proposed

12 limits on the use in legal proceedings of documents

13 produced pursuant to the Code.

14 (2) The Secretary shall provide opportunity for

15 the public to participate in and comment on the

16 study conducted under paragraph (1).

17 (3) Not later than 18 months after the date of

18 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to

19 the Congress a report on the results of the study

20 conducted under paragraph (1).

21 (b) POLICY.—

22 (1) Not later than 9 months after submission of

23 the report in subsection (a)(3), the Secretary shall

24 develop a policy to achieve full compliance with and
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1 effective implementation of the Code. The policy

2 may include—

3 (A) enforcement penalty reductions and

4 waivers, limits on the use in legal proceedings

5 of documents produced pursuant to the Code,

6 or other incentives to ensure accurate and can7 did reporting and auditing;

8 (B) any other measures to achieve full

9 compliance with and effective implementation of

10 the Code; and

11 (C) if appropriate, recommendations to

12 Congress for any legislation necessary to imple13 ment one or more elements of the policy.

14 (2) The Secretary shall provide opportunity for

15 the public to participate in the development of the

16 policy in paragraph (1).

17 (3) Upon completion of the policy in paragraph

18 (1), the Secretary shall publish the policy in the

19 Federal Register and provide opportunity for public

20 comment on the policy.

21 SEC. 307. OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE DEFINITION

22 AND REPORT.

23 (a) DEFINITION OF OIL.—Section 1001(23) of the

24 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701(23)) is amend25 ed to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(23) ‘oil’ means oil of any kind or in any form,

2 including petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse, and

3 oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil, but

4 does not include any substance which is specifically

5 listed or designated as a hazardous substance under

6 subparagraphs (A) through (F) of section 101(14)

7 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

8 Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601)

9 and which is subject to the provisions of that Act;’’.

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date

11 of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast

12 Guard shall submit a report to the Congress on the status

13 of the joint evaluation by the Coast Guard and the Envi14 ronmental Protection Agency of the substances to be clas15 sified as oils under the Federal Water Pollution Control

16 Act and title I of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, including

17 opportunities provided for public comment on the evalua18 tion.

19 SEC. 308. NATIONAL MARINE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation,

21 through the Coast Guard and the Maritime Administra22 tion, shall, in consultation with the National Ocean Service

23 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,

24 the Corps of Engineers, and other interested Federal

25 agencies and departments, establish a task force to assess
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1 the adequacy of the nation’s marine transportation system

2 (including ports, waterways, harbor approach channels,

3 and their intermodal connections) to operate in a safe, ef4 ficient, secure, and environmentally sound manner.

5 (b) TASK FORCE.—

6 (1) The task force shall be chaired by the Sec7 retary of Transportation or his designee and may be

8 comprised of the representatives of interested Fed9 eral agencies and departments and such other non10 federal entities as the Secretary deems appropriate.

11 (2) The provisions of the Federal Advisory

12 Committee Act shall not apply to the task force.

13 (c) ASSESSMENT.—

14 (1) In carrying out the assessment under this

15 section, the task force shall examine critical issues

16 and develop strategies, recommendations, and a plan

17 for action. Pursuant to such examination and devel18 opment, the task force shall—

19 (A) take into account the capability of the

20 marine transportation system, the adequacy of

21 depth of approach channels and harbors, and

22 the cost to the Federal Government to accom23 modate projected increases in foreign and do24 mestic traffic over the next 20 years;
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1 (B) consult with senior public and private

2 sector officials, including the users of that sys3 tem, such as ports, commercial carriers, ship4 pers, labor, recreational boaters, fishermen, and

5 environmental organizations;

6 (C) sponsor public and private sector ac7 tivities to further refine and implement (under

8 existing authority) the strategies, recommenda9 tions, and plan for action;

10 (D) evaluate the capability to dispose of

11 dredged materials that will be produced to ac12 commodate projected increases referred to in

13 subparagraph (A); and

14 (E) evaluate the future of the navigational

15 aid system including the use of virtual aids to

16 navigation on electronic charts.

17 (2) The Secretary shall report to Congress on

18 the results of the assessment no later than July 1,

19 1999. The report shall reflect the views of both the

20 public and private sectors. The Task Force shall

21 cease to exist upon submission of the report in this

22 paragraph.
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1 SEC. 309. AVAILABILITY AND USE OF EPIRBS FOR REC2 REATIONAL VESSELS.

3 The Secretary of Transportation, through the Coast

4 Guard and in consultation with the National Transpor5 tation Safety Board and recreational boating organiza6 tions, shall, within 24 months of the date of enactment

7 of this Act, assess and report to Congress on the use of

8 emergency position indicating beacons (EPIRBs) and

9 similar devices by operators of recreational vessels on the

10 Intracoastal Waterway and operators of recreational ves11 sels beyond the Boundary Line. The assessment shall at

12 a minimum—

13 (1) evaluate the current availability and use of

14 EPIRBs and similar devices by the operators of rec15 reational vessels and the actual and potential con16 tribution of such devices to recreational boating safe17 ty; and

18 (2) provide recommendations on policies and

19 programs to encourage the availability and use of

20 EPIRBS and similar devices by the operators of rec21 reational vessels.

22 SEC. 310. SEARCH AND RESCUE HELICOPTER COVERAGE.

23 Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment

24 of this Act, the Commandant shall submit a report to the

25 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of
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1 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In2 frastructure of the House of Representatives—

3 (1) identifying waters out to 50 miles from the

4 territorial sea of Maine and other States that cannot

5 currently be served by a Coast Guard search and

6 rescue helicopter within 2 hours of a report of dis7 tress or request for assistance from such waters;

8 (2) providing options for ensuring that all wa9 ters of the area referred to in paragraph (1) can be

10 served by a Coast Guard search and rescue heli11 copter within 2 hours of a report of distress or re12 quest for assistance from such waters;

13 (3) providing an analysis assessing the overall

14 capability of Coast Guard search and rescue assets

15 to serve each area referred to in paragraph (1) with16 in 2 hours of a report of distress or request for as17 sistance from such waters; and

18 (4) identifying, among any other options the

19 Commandant may provide as required by paragraph

20 (2), locations in the State of Maine that may be

21 suitable for the stationing of a Coast Guard search

22 and rescue helicopter and crew, including any Coast

23 Guard facility in Maine, the Bangor Air National

24 Guard Base, and any other locations.
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1 SEC. 311. PETROLEUM TRANSPORTATION.

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

3 (1) FIRST COAST GUARD DISTRICT.—The term

4 ‘‘First Coast Guard District’’ means the First Coast

5 Guard District described in section 3.05-1(b) of title

6 33, Code of Federal Regulations.

7 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

8 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast

9 Guard is operating.

10 (3) WATERS OF THE NORTHEAST.—The term

11 ‘‘waters of the Northeast’’—

12 (A) means the waters subject to the juris13 diction of the First Coast Guard District; and

14 (B) includes the waters of Long Island

15 Sound.

16 (b) REGULATIONS RELATING TO WATERS OF THE

17 NORTHEAST.—

18 (1) TOWING VESSEL AND BARGE SAFETY FOR

19 WATERS OF THE NORTHEAST.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Decem21 ber 31, 1998, the Secretary shall promulgate

22 regulations for towing vessel and barge safety

23 for the waters of the Northeast.

24 (B) INCORPORATION OF RECOMMENDA25 TIONS.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

2 in clause (ii), the regulations promulgated

3 under this paragraph shall give full consid4 eration to each of the recommendations for

5 regulations contained in the report entitled

6 ‘‘Regional Risk Assessment of Petroleum

7 Transportation in the Waters of the

8 Northeast United States’’ issued by the

9 Regional Risk Assessment Team for the

10 First Coast Guard District on February 6,

11 1997, and the Secretary shall provide a de12 tailed explanation if any recommendation

13 is not adopted.

14 (ii) EXCLUDED RECOMMENDA15 TIONS.—The regulations promulgated

16 under this paragraph shall not incorporate

17 any recommendation referred to in clause

18 (i) that relates to anchoring or barge re19 trieval systems.

20 (2) ANCHORING AND BARGE RETRIEVAL SYS21 TEMS.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Novem23 ber 30, 1998, the Secretary shall promulgate

24 regulations under section 3719 of title 46,

25 United States Code, for the waters of the
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1 Northeast, that shall give full consideration to

2 each of the recommendations made in the re3 port referred to in paragraph (1)(B)(i) relating

4 to anchoring and barge retrieval systems, and

5 the Secretary shall provide a detailed expla6 nation if any recommendation is not adopted.

7 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

8 subparagraph (A) prevents the Secretary from

9 promulgating interim final regulations that

10 apply throughout the United States relating to

11 anchoring and barge retrieval systems that con12 tain requirements that are as stringent as the

13 requirements of the regulations promulgated

14 under subparagraph (A).

15 SEC. 312. SEASONAL COAST GUARD HELICOPTER AIR RES16 CUE CAPABILITY.

17 The Secretary of Transportation is authorized to take

18 appropriate actions to ensure the establishment and oper19 ation by the Coast Guard of a helicopter air rescue capa20 bility that—

21 (1) is located at Gabreski Airport,

22 Westhampton, New York; and

23 (2) provides air rescue capability from that lo24 cation from April 15 to October 15 each year.
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1 SEC. 313. SHIP REPORTING SYSTEMS.

2 Section 11 of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act

3 (Public Law 92-340; 33 U.S.C. 1230), is amended by add4 ing at the end of the following:

5 ‘‘(d) SHIP REPORTING SYSTEMS.—The Secretary, in

6 cooperation with the International Maritime Organization,

7 is authorized to implement and enforce two mandatory

8 ship reporting systems, consistent with international law,

9 with respect to vessels subject to such reporting systems

10 entering the following areas of the Atlantic Ocean: Cape

11 Cod Bay, Massachusetts Bay, and Great South Channel

12 (in the area generally bounded by a line starting from a

13 point on Cape Ann, Massachusetts at 42 deg. 39’ N., 70

14 deg. 37’ W; then northeast to 42 deg. 45’ N., 70 deg.

15 13’ W; then southeast to 42 deg. 10’ N., 68 deg. 31 W,

16 then south to 41 deg. 00’ N., 68 deg. 31’ W; then west

17 to 41 deg. 00’ N., 69 deg. 17’ W; then northeast to 42

18 deg. 05’ N., 70 deg. 02’ W, then west to 42 deg. 04’ N.,

19 70 deg. 10’ W; and then along the Massachusetts shoreline

20 of Cape Cod Bay and Massachusetts Bay back to the point

21 on Cape Ann at 42 deg. 39’ N., 70 deg. 37’ W) and in

22 the coastal waters of the Southeastern United States with23 in about 25 nm along a 90 nm stretch of the Atlantic

24 seaboard (in an area generally extending from the shore25 line east to longitude 80 deg. 51.6’ W with the southern
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1 and northern boundary at latitudes 30 deg. 00’ N., 31

2 deg. 27’ N., respectively).’’.

3 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

4 SEC. 401. VESSEL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM AMENDMENTS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 121 of title 46, United

6 States Code, is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘or is not titled in a State’’ in

8 section 12102(a);

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

10 ‘‘§12124. Surrender of title and number

11 ‘‘(a) A documented vessel shall not be titled by a

12 State or required to display numbers under chapter 123,

13 and any certificate of title issued by a State for a docu14 mented vessel shall be surrendered in accordance with reg15 ulations prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation.

16 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may approve the surrender under

17 subsection (a) of a certificate of title for a vessel covered

18 by a preferred mortgage under section 31322(d) of this

19 title only if the mortgagee consents.’’.

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter analy21 sis for chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code, is

22 amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

‘‘12124. Surrender of title and number’’.

23 (c) OTHER AMENDMENTS.—Title 46, United States

24 Code, is amended—
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1 (1) by striking section 31322(b) and inserting

2 the following:

3 ‘‘(b) Any indebtedness secured by a preferred mort4 gage that is filed or recorded under this chapter, or that

5 is subject to a mortgage, security agreement, or instru6 ments granting a security interest that is deemed to be

7 a preferred mortgage under subsection (d) of this section,

8 may have any rate of interest to which the parties agree.’’;

9 (2) by striking ‘‘mortgage or instrument’’ each

10 place it appears in section 31322(d)(1) and inserting

11 ‘‘mortgage, security agreement, or instrument’’;

12 (3) by striking section 31322(d)(3) and insert13 ing the following:

14 ‘‘(3) A preferred mortgage under this sub15 section continues to be a preferred mortgage even if

16 the vessel is no longer titled in the State where the

17 mortgage, security agreement, or instrument grant18 ing a security interest became a preferred mortgage

19 under this subsection.’’;

20 (4) by striking ‘‘mortgages or instruments’’ in

21 subsection 31322(d)(2) and inserting ‘‘mortgages,

22 security agreements, or instruments’’;

23 (5) by inserting ‘‘a vessel titled in a State,’’ in

24 section 31325(b)(1) after ‘‘a vessel to be docu25 mented under chapter 121 of this title,’’;
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1 (6) by inserting ‘‘a vessel titled in a State,’’ in

2 section 31325(b)(3) after ‘‘a vessel for which an ap3 plication for documentation is filed under chapter

4 121 of this title,’’; and

5 (7) by inserting ‘‘a vessel titled in a State,’’ in

6 section 31325(c) after ‘‘a vessel to be documented

7 under chapter 121 of this title,’’.

8 SEC. 402. CONVEYANCE OF COAST GUARD RESERVE TRAIN9 ING FACILITY, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law—

12 (1) the land and improvements thereto compris13 ing the Coast Guard Reserve training facility in

14 Jacksonville, Florida, is deemed to be surplus prop15 erty; and

16 (2) the Commandant of the Coast Guard shall

17 dispose of all right, title, and interest of the United

18 States in and to that property, by sale, at fair mar19 ket value.

20 (b) RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.—Before a sale is

21 made under subsection (a) to any other person, the Com22 mandant of the Coast Guard shall give to the city of Jack23 sonville, Florida, the right of first refusal to purchase all

24 or any part of the property required to be sold under that

25 subsection.
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1 SEC. 403. DOCUMENTATION OF CERTAIN VESSELS.

2 (a) GENERAL WAIVER.—Notwithstanding section 27

3 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 (46 App. U.S.C. 883),

4 section 8 of the Act of June 19, 1886 (46 App. U.S.C.

5 289), and sections 12106 and 12108 of title 46, United

6 States Code, the Secretary of Transportation may issue

7 a certificate of documentation with appropriate endorse8 ment for each of the following vessels:

9 (1) SEAGULL (United States official number

10 1038605).

11 (2) BAREFOOT CONTESA (United States of12 ficial number 285410).

13 (3) PRECIOUS METAL (United States official

14 number 596316).

15 (4) BLUE HAWAII (State of Florida registra16 tion number FL0466KC).

17 (5) SOUTHERN STAR (United States official

18 number 650774).

19 (6) KEEWAYDIN (United States official num20 ber 662066).

21 (7) W.G. JACKSON (United States official

22 number 1047199).

23 (8) The vessel known as hopper barge E–15

24 (North Carolina State official number 264959).
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1 (9) MIGHTY JOHN III (formerly the NIAG2 ARA QUEEN, Canadian registration number

3 318746).

4 (10) MAR Y PAZ (United States official num5 ber 668179).

6 (11) SAMAKEE (State of New York registra7 tion number NY 4108 FK).

8 (12) NAWNSENSE (United States official

9 number 977593).

10 (13) ELMO (State of Florida registration num11 ber FL5337BG).

12 (14) MANA-WANUI (United States official

13 number 286657).

14 (15) OLD JOE (formerly TEMPTRESS;

15 United States official number 991150).

16 (16) M/V BAHAMA PRIDE (United States of17 ficial number 588647).

18 (17) WINDWISP (United States official num19 ber 571621).

20 (18) SOUTHLAND (United States official

21 number 639705).

22 (19) FJORDING (United States official num23 ber 594363).

24 (20) M/V SAND ISLAND (United States offi25 cial number 542918).
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1 (21) PACIFIC MONARCH (United States offi2 cial number 557467).

3 (22) FLAME (United States official number

4 279363).

5 (23) DULARGE (United States official number

6 653762).

7 (24) DUSKEN IV (United States official num8 ber 952645).

9 (25) SUMMER BREEZE (United States offi10 cial number 552808).

11 (26) ARCELLA (United States official number

12 1025983).

13 (27) BILLIE-B-II (United States official num14 ber 982069).

15 (28) VESTERHAVET (United States official

16 number 979206).

17 (29) BETTY JANE (State of Virginia registra18 tion number VA 7271 P).

19 (30) VORTICE, Bari, Italy, registration num20 ber 256.

21 (31) The barge G. L. 8 (Canadian official num22 ber 814376).

23 (32) YESTERDAYS DREAM (United States

24 official number 680266).
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1 (33) ENFORCER (United States official num2 ber 502610).

3 (34) The vessel registered as State of Oregon

4 registration number OR 766 YE.

5 (35) AMICI (United States official number

6 658055).

7 (36) ELIS (United States official number

8 628358).

9 (37) STURE (United States official number

10 617703).

11 (38) CAPT GRADY (United States official

12 number 626257).

13 (39) Barge number 1 (United States official

14 number 933248).

15 (40) Barge number 2 (United States official

16 number 256944).

17 (41) Barge number 14 (United States official

18 number 501212).

19 (42) Barge number 18 (United States official

20 number 297114).

21 (43) Barge number 19 (United States official

22 number 503740).

23 (44) Barge number 21 (United States official

24 number 650581).
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1 (45) Barge number 22 (United States official

2 number 650582).

3 (46) Barge number 23 (United States official

4 number 650583).

5 (47) Barge number 24 (United States official

6 number 664023).

7 (48) Barge number 25 (United States official

8 number 664024).

9 (49) Barge number 26 (United States official

10 number 271926).

11 (50) FULL HOUSE (United States official

12 number 1023827).

13 (51) EMBARCADERO (United States official

14 number 669327).

15 (52) S.A., British Columbia (Canada official

16 number 195214).

17 (53) FAR HORIZONS (United States official

18 number 1044011).

19 (54) LITTLE TOOT (United States official

20 number 938858).

21 (55) EAGLE FEATHERS (United States offi22 cial number 1020989).

23 (56) ORCA (United States official number

24 665270).
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1 (57) TAURUS (United States official number

2 955814).

3 (58) The barge KC–251 (United States official

4 number CG019166; National Vessel Documentation

5 Center number 1055559).

6 (59) VIKING (United States official number

7 224430).

8 (60) SARAH B (United States official number

9 928431).

10 (b) FALLS POINT.—Notwithstanding section 27 of

11 the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 (46 U.S.C. App. 883),

12 section 8 of the Act of June 19, 1886 (46 U.S.C. App.

13 289), and section 12106 of title 46, United States Code,

14 the Secretary of Transportation may issue a certificate of

15 documentation with appropriate endorsement for employ16 ment in the coastwise trade for the vessel FALLS POINT,

17 State of Maine registration number ME 5435 E.

18 (c) COASTAL TRADER.—Section 1120(g) of the

19 Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–

20 324; 110 Stat. 3978) is amended by inserting ‘‘COASTAL

21 TRADER (United States official number 683227),’’ after

22 ‘‘vessels’’.

23 (d) NINA, PINTA, AND SANTA MARIA REP24 LICAS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 27

2 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 (46 U.S.C. App.

3 883), section 8 of the Act of June 19, 1886 (46

4 U.S.C. App. 289), and section 12106 of title 46,

5 United States Code, the Secretary may issue a cer6 tificate of documentation with appropriate endorse7 ment for employment in the coastwise trade only for

8 the purpose of carrying passengers for hire for each

9 of the vessels listed in paragraph (2).

10 (2) VESSEL DESCRIPTIONS.—The vessels re11 ferred to in paragraph (1) are the following:

12 (A) NINA (United States Coast Guard

13 vessel identification number CG034346).

14 (B) PINTA (United States Coast Guard

15 vessel identification number CG034345).

16 (C) NAO SANTA MARIA (United States

17 Coast Guard vessel identification number

18 CG034344).

19 (e) DOCUMENTATION OF VESSEL COLUMBUS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 27

21 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 (46 App. U.S.C.

22 883), sections 12102 and 12106 of title 46, United

23 States Code, and the endorsement limitation in sec24 tion 5501(a)(2)(B) of Public Law 102–587, and

25 subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of Transpor-
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1 tation may issue a certificate of documentation with

2 appropriate endorsement for employment in the

3 coastwise trade for the vessel COLUMBUS (United

4 States official number 590658).

5 (2) LIMITATION.—Coastwise trade referred to

6 in paragraph (1) may not include the transportation

7 of dredged material from a project in which the stat8 ed intent of the Corps of Engineers, in its Construc9 tion Solicitation, or of another contracting entity, is

10 that the dredged material is—

11 (A) to be deposited above mean high tide

12 for the purpose of beach nourishment;

13 (B) to be deposited into a fill area for the

14 purpose of creation of land for an immediate

15 use identified in the Construction Solicitation

16 other than disposal of the dredged material; or

17 (C) for the intention of immediate sale or

18 resale unrelated to disposal.

19 (f) FOILCAT.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections

21 12106 and 12108 of title 46, United States Code,

22 section 8 of the Passenger Vessel Act (46 U.S.C.

23 App. 289), and section 27 of the Merchant Marine

24 Act, 1920 (46 U.S.C. App. 883), the Secretary of

25 Transportation may issue a certificate of documenta-
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1 tion with appropriate endorsement for employment

2 in the coastwise trade for the vessel FOILCAT

3 (United States official number 1063892). The en4 dorsement shall provide that the vessel shall operate

5 under the certificate of documentation only within

6 the State of Hawaii and that the vessel shall not op7 erate on any route served by a passenger ferry as of

8 the date the Secretary of Transportation issues a

9 certificate of documentation under this Act.

10 (2) TERMINATION.—The endorsement issued

11 under paragraph (1) shall be in effect for the vessel

12 FOILCAT for the period—

13 (A) beginning on the date on which the

14 vessel is placed in service to initiate a high15 speed marine ferry demonstration project spon16 sored by the State of Hawaii; and

17 (B) ending on the last day of the 36th

18 month beginning after the date on which it be19 came effective under subparagraph (A).

20 SEC. 404. CONVEYANCE OF NAHANT PARCEL, ESSEX COUN21 TY, MASSACHUSETTS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast

23 Guard, may convey, by an appropriate means of convey24 ance, all right, title, and interest of the United States in

25 and to the United States Coast Guard Recreation Facility
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1 Nahant, Massachusetts, to the Town of Nahant (the

2 ‘‘Town’’) unless the Commandant, or his delegate, in his

3 sole discretion determines that the conveyance would not

4 provide a public benefit.

5 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF PROPERTY.—The Com6 mandant may identify, describe, and determine the prop7 erty to be conveyed under this section.

8 (c) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—The conveyance of

9 property under this section shall be made—

10 (1) without payment of consideration; and

11 (2) subject to such terms and conditions as the

12 Commandant may consider appropriate to protect

13 the interests of the United States, including the res14 ervation of easements or other rights on behalf of

15 the United States.

16 (d) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—The conveyance of

17 real property pursuant to this section shall be subject to

18 the condition that all right, title, and interest in such

19 property shall immediately revert to the United States if—

20 (1) the property, or any part thereof, ceases to

21 be owned and used by the Town;

22 (2) the Town fails to maintain the property

23 conveyed in a manner consistent with the terms and

24 conditions in subsection (c); or
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1 (3) at least 30 days before such reversion, the

2 Commandant provides written notice to the Town

3 that the property conveyed is needed for national se4 curity purposes.

5 SEC. 405. UNREASONABLE OBSTRUCTION TO NAVIGATION.

6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

7 liftbridge over the back channel of the Schuylkill River in

8 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is deemed to unreasonably ob9 struct navigation.

10 SEC. 406. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OIL SPILL RE11 SPONSE VESSELS.

12 Section 1004 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33

13 U.S.C. 2704) is amended—

14 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘(except’’

15 and all that follows through ‘‘Act)’’ and inserting a

16 comma; and

17 (2) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the

18 following:

19 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN TANK VESSELS.—Subsection

20 (a)(1) shall not apply to—

21 ‘‘(A) a tank vessel on which the only oil

22 carried as cargo is an animal fat or vegetable

23 oil, as those terms are used in section 2 of the

24 Edible Oil Regulatory Reform Act; and
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1 ‘‘(B) a tank vessel that is designated in its

2 certificate of inspection as an oil spill response

3 vessel (as that term is defined in section 2101

4 of title 46, United States Code) and that is

5 used solely for removal.’’.

6 SEC. 407. CONVEYANCE OF COAST GUARD PROPERTY TO

7 JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY IN JACKSON8 VILLE, FLORIDA.

9 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor11 tation may convey to Jacksonville University, located

12 in Jacksonville, Florida, without consideration, all

13 right, title, and interest of the United States in and

14 to the property comprising the Long Branch Rear

15 Range Light, Jacksonville, Florida.

16 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF PROPERTY.—The Sec17 retary may identify, describe, and determine the

18 property to be conveyed under this section.

19 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Any conveyance of

20 any property under this section shall be made—

21 (1) subject to the terms and conditions the

22 Commandant may consider appropriate; and

23 (2) subject to the condition that all right, title,

24 and interest in and to property conveyed shall imme25 diately revert to the United States if the property,
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1 or any part thereof, ceases to be used by Jackson2 ville University.

3 SEC. 408. PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL

4 SAFETY CONVENTION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2302 of title 46, United

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing new subsection:

8 ‘‘(e)(1) A vessel may not transport Government-im9 pelled cargoes if—

10 ‘‘(A) the vessel has been detained and deter11 mined to be substandard by the Secretary for viola12 tion of an international safety convention to which

13 the United States is a party, and the Secretary has

14 published notice of that detention and determination

15 in an electronic form, including the name of the

16 owner of the vessel; or

17 ‘‘(B) the operator of the vessel has on more

18 than one occasion had a vessel detained and deter19 mined to be substandard by the Secretary for viola20 tion of an international safety convention to which

21 the United States is a party, and the Secretary has

22 published notice of that detention and determination

23 in an electronic form, including the name of the

24 owner of the vessel.
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1 ‘‘(2) The prohibition in paragraph (1) expires for a

2 vessel on the earlier of—

3 ‘‘(A) 1 year after the date of the publication in

4 electronic form on which the prohibition is based; or

5 ‘‘(B) any date on which the owner or operator

6 of the vessel prevails in an appeal of the violation of

7 the relevant international convention on which the

8 detention is based.

9 ‘‘(3) As used in this subsection, the term ‘Govern10 ment-impelled cargo’ means cargo for which a Federal

11 agency contracts directly for shipping by water or for

12 which (or the freight of which) a Federal agency provides

13 financing, including financing by grant, loan, or loan guar14 antee, resulting in shipment of the cargo by water.’’.

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

16 subsection (a) takes effect January 1, 1999.

17 SEC. 409. COAST GUARD CITY, USA.

18 The Commandant of the Coast Guard may recognize

19 the community of Grand Haven, Michigan, as ‘‘Coast

20 Guard City, USA’’. If the Commandant desires to recog21 nize any other community in the same manner or any

22 other community requests such recognition from the Coast

23 Guard, the Commandant shall notify the Committee on

24 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and

25 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of
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1 the House of Representatives 90 days prior to approving

2 such recognition.

3 SEC. 410. CONVEYANCE OF COMMUNICATION STATION BOS4 TON MARSHFIELD RECEIVER SITE, MASSA5 CHUSETTS.

6 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—

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

8 Coast Guard may convey, by an appropriate means

9 of conveyance, all right, title, and interest of the

10 United States in and to the Coast Guard Commu11 nication Station Boston Marshfield Receiver Site,

12 Massachusetts, to the Town of Marshfield, Massa13 chusetts (the ‘‘Town’’) unless the Commandant, or

14 his delegate, in his sole discretion determines that

15 the conveyance would not provide a public benefit.

16 (2) LIMITATION.—The Commandant shall not

17 convey under this section the land on which is situ18 ated the communications tower and the microwave

19 building facility of that station.

20 (3) IDENTIFICATION OF PROPERTY.—

21 (A) The Commandant may identify, de22 scribe and determine the property to be con23 veyed to the Town under this section.

24 (B) The Commandant shall determine the

25 exact acreage and legal description of the prop-
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1 erty to be conveyed under this section by a sur2 vey satisfactory to the Commandant. The cost

3 of the survey shall be borne by the Town.

4 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Any conveyance of

5 property under this section shall be made—

6 (1) without payment of consideration; and

7 (2) subject to the following terms and condi8 tions:

9 (A) The Commandant may reserve utility,

10 access, and any other appropriate easements on

11 the property conveyed for the purpose of oper12 ating, maintaining, and protecting the commu13 nications tower and the microwave building fa14 cility.

15 (B) The Town and its successors and as16 signs shall, at their own cost and expense,

17 maintain the property conveyed under this sec18 tion in a proper, substantial, and workmanlike

19 manner as necessary to ensure the operation,

20 maintenance, and protection of the communica21 tions tower and the microwave building facility.

22 (C) Any other terms and conditions the

23 Commandant considers appropriate to protect

24 the interests of the United States, including the
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1 reservation of easements or other rights on be2 half of the United States.

3 (c) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—The conveyance of

4 real property pursuant to this section shall be subject to

5 the condition that all right, title, and interest in such

6 property shall immediately revert to the United States if—

7 (1) the property, or any part thereof, ceases to

8 be owned and used by the Town;

9 (2) the Town fails to maintain the property

10 conveyed in a manner consistent with the terms and

11 conditions in subsection (b); or

12 (3) at least 30 days before such reversion, the

13 Commandant provides written notice to the Town

14 that the property conveyed is needed for national se15 curity purposes.

16 SEC. 411. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY OF PERSONS EN17 GAGING IN OIL SPILL PREVENTION AND RE18 SPONSE ACTIVITIES.

19 (a) CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR PREVENTING

20 SUBSTANTIAL THREAT OF DISCHARGE.—Section 311 of

21 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321)

22 is amended—

23 (1) in subsection (a)(8) by striking ‘‘to mini24 mize or mitigate damage’’ and inserting ‘‘to prevent,

25 minimize, or mitigate damage’’;
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

2 end of subsection (a)(23), by striking the period at

3 the end of subsection (a)(24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’,

4 and by adding at the end of subsection (a) the fol5 lowing:

6 ‘‘(25) ‘removal costs’ means—

7 ‘‘(A) the costs of removal of oil or a haz8 ardous substance that are incurred after it is

9 discharged; and

10 ‘‘(B) in any case in which there is a sub11 stantial threat of a discharge of oil or a hazard12 ous substance, the costs to prevent, minimize,

13 or mitigate that threat.’’; and

14 (3) in subsection (c)(4)(A), by striking the pe15 riod at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘relating

16 to a discharge or a substantial threat of a discharge

17 of oil or a hazardous substance.’’.

18 (b) OIL SPILL MECHANICAL REMOVAL.—Section

19 311(a)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33

20 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘and (C)’’ and inserting ‘‘, (C)’’;

22 and

23 (2) by inserting before the semicolon at the end

24 the following: ‘‘, and (D) discharges incidental to
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1 mechanical removal authorized by the President

2 under subsection (c) of this section’’.

3 SEC. 412. VESSELS NOT SEAGOING MOTOR VESSELS.

4 (a) VESSEL TURMOIL.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The vessel described in

6 paragraph (2) is deemed for all purposes, including

7 title 46, United States Code, and all regulations

8 thereunder, to be a recreational vessel of less than

9 300 gross tons, if—

10 (A) it does not carry cargo or passengers

11 for hire; and

12 (B) it does not engage in commercial fish13 eries or oceanographic research.

14 (2) VESSEL DESCRIBED.—The vessel referred

15 to in paragraph (1) is the vessel TURMOIL (British

16 official number 726767).

17 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may establish

19 a pilot program to exempt a vessel of at least 300

20 gross tons as measured under chapter 143 or chap21 ter 145 of title 46, United States Code, from the re22 quirement to be inspected under section 3301(7) of

23 title 46, United States Code, as a seagoing motor

24 vessel, if—
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1 (A) the vessel does not carry any cargo or

2 passengers for hire;

3 (B) the vessel does not engage in commer4 cial service, commercial fisheries, or oceano5 graphic research; and

6 (C) the vessel does not engage in towing.

7 (2) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The author8 ity to grant the exemptions under this subsection ex9 pires 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

10 Any specific exemptions granted under this sub11 section shall nonetheless remain in effect.

12 SEC. 413. LAND CONVEYANCE, COAST GUARD STATION

13 OCRACOKE, NORTH CAROLINA.

14 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—The Secretary of

15 Transportation may convey, without consideration, to the

16 State of North Carolina (in this section referred to as the

17 ‘‘State’’), all right, title, and interest of the United States

18 in and to a parcel of real property, together with any im19 provements thereon, in Ocracoke, North Carolina, consist20 ing of such portion of the Coast Guard Station Ocracoke,

21 North Carolina, as the Secretary considers appropriate for

22 purposes of the conveyance.

23 (b) CONDITIONS.—The conveyance under subsection

24 (a) shall be subject to the following conditions:
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1 (1) That the State accept the property to be

2 conveyed under that subsection subject to such ease3 ments or rights of way in favor of the United States

4 as the Secretary considers to be appropriate for—

5 (A) utilities;

6 (B) access to and from the property;

7 (C) the use of the boat launching ramp on

8 the property; and

9 (D) the use of pier space on the property

10 by search and rescue assets.

11 (2) That the State maintain the property in a

12 manner so as to preserve the usefulness of the ease13 ments or rights of way referred to in paragraph (1).

14 (3) That the State utilize the property for

15 transportation, education, environmental, or other

16 public purposes.

17 (c) REVERSION.—(1) If the Secretary determines at

18 any time that the property conveyed under subsection (a)

19 is not being used in accordance with subsection (b), all

20 right, title, and interest in and to the property, including

21 any improvements thereon, shall revert to the United

22 States, and the United States shall have the right of im23 mediate entry thereon.
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1 (2) Upon reversion under paragraph (1), the property

2 shall be under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ad3 ministrator of General Services.

4 (d) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—The exact acreage

5 and legal description of the property conveyed under sub6 section (a), and any easements or rights of way granted

7 under subsection (b)(1), shall be determined by a survey

8 satisfactory to the Secretary. The cost of the survey shall

9 be borne by the State.

10 (e) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The

11 Secretary may require such additional terms and condi12 tions with respect to the conveyance under subsection (a),

13 and any easements or rights of way granted under sub14 section (b)(1), as the Secretary considers appropriate to

15 protect the interests of the United States.

16 SEC. 414. CONVEYANCE OF COAST GUARD PROPERTY IN

17 SAULT SAINTE MARIE, MICHIGAN.

18 (a) REQUIREMENT TO CONVEY.—The Secretary of

19 Transportation (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec20 retary’’) shall promptly convey, without consideration, to

21 American Legion Post No. 3 in Sault Sainte Marie, Michi22 gan, all right, title, and interest of the United States in

23 and to the parcel of real property described in section 202

24 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 (Public

25 Law 101–640), as amended by section 323 of the Water
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1 Resources Development Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–

2 580), comprising approximately 0.565 acres, together with

3 any improvements thereon.

4 (b) CONDITION.—The conveyance under subsection

5 (a) shall be subject to the condition that the property be

6 used as a clubhouse for the American Legion Post No.

7 3.

8 (c) REVERSION.—(1) If the Secretary determines at

9 any time that the property conveyed under subsection (a)

10 is not being used in accordance with subsection (b), all

11 right, title, and interest in and to the property, including

12 any improvements thereon, shall revert to the United

13 States, and the United States shall have the right of im14 mediate entry thereon.

15 (2) Upon reversion under paragraph (1), the property

16 shall be under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ad17 ministrator of General Services.

18 (d) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—The exact acreage

19 and legal description of the property conveyed under sub20 section (a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory

21 to the Secretary. The cost of the survey shall be borne

22 by the American Legion Post No. 3.

23 (e) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The

24 Secretary may require such additional terms and condi25 tions with respect to the conveyance under subsection (a)
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1 as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the inter2 ests of the United States.

3 SEC. 415. INTERIM AUTHORITY FOR DRY BULK CARGO RES4 IDUE DISPOSAL.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—

6 (1) Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of

7 Transportation shall continue to implement and en8 force the United States Coast Guard 1997 Enforce9 ment Policy for Cargo Residues on the Great Lakes

10 and revisions thereto that are made in accordance

11 with that Policy (hereinafter in this section referred

12 to as the ‘‘Policy’’) for the purpose of regulating in13 cidental discharges from vessels of residues of dry

14 bulk cargo into the waters of the Great Lakes under

15 the jurisdiction of the United States.

16 (2) Any discharge under this section shall com17 ply with all terms and conditions of the Policy.

18 (b) EXPIRATION OF INTERIM AUTHORITY.—The Pol19 icy shall cease to have effect on the date which is the earli20 est of—

21 (1) the effective date of regulations promul22 gated pursuant to legislation enacted subsequent to

23 the enactment of this Act providing for the regula24 tion of incidental discharges from vessels of dry bulk

25 cargo residue into the waters of the Great Lakes
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1 under the jurisdiction of the United States is en2 acted; or

3 (2) September 30, 2002.

4 SEC. 416. CONVEYANCE OF LIGHTHOUSES.

5 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—

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

7 Coast Guard, or the Administrator of the General

8 Services Administration, as appropriate, may convey,

9 by an appropriate means of conveyance, all right,

10 title, and interest of the United States in and to

11 each of the following properties:

12 (A) Light Station Sand Point, located in

13 Escanaba, Michigan, to the Delta County His14 torical Society.

15 (B) Light Station Dunkirk, located in

16 Dunkirk, New York, to the Dunkirk Historical

17 Lighthouse and Veterans’ Park Museum.

18 (C) The Mukilteo Light Station, located in

19 Mukilteo, Washington, to the City of Mukilteo.

20 (D) Eagle Harbor Light Station, located in

21 Michigan, to the Keweenaw County Historical

22 Society.

23 (E) Cape Decision Light Station, located

24 in Alaska, to the Cape Decision Lighthouse So25 ciety.
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1 (F) Cape St. Elias Light Station, located

2 in Alaska, to the Cape St. Elias Light Keepers

3 Association.

4 (G) Five Finger Light Station, located in

5 Alaska, to the Juneau Lighthouse Association.

6 (H) Point Retreat Light Station, located in

7 Alaska, to the Alaska Lighthouse Association.

8 (I) Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, located in

9 New York, to the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse

10 Preservation Society.

11 (J) Georgetown Light, located in George12 town County, South Carolina, to the South

13 Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

14 (K) Coast Guard Light Station Two Har15 bors, located in Lake County, Minnesota, to the

16 Lake County Historical Society.

17 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF PROPERTY.—The Com18 mandant or Administrator, as appropriate, may

19 identify, describe, and determine the property to be

20 conveyed under this subsection.

21 (3) EXCEPTION.—The Commandant or Admin22 istrator, as appropriate, may not convey any histori23 cal artifact, including any lens or lantern, located on

24 the property at or before the time of the conveyance.

25 (b) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The conveyance of property

2 under this section shall be made—

3 (A) without payment of consideration; and

4 (B) subject to the terms and conditions re5 quired by this section and other terms and con6 ditions the Commandant or the Administrator,

7 as appropriate, may consider, including the res8 ervation of easements and other rights on be9 half of the United States.

10 (2) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—In addition to

11 any term or condition established under this section,

12 the conveyance of property under this section shall

13 be subject to the condition that all right, title, and

14 interest in the property shall immediately revert to

15 the United States if—

16 (A) the property, or any part of the prop17 erty—

18 (i) ceases to be used as a nonprofit

19 center for public benefit for the interpreta20 tion and preservation of maritime history;

21 (ii) ceases to be maintained in a man22 ner that is consistent with its present or

23 future use as a site for Coast Guard aids

24 to navigation or compliance with this Act;

25 or
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1 (iii) ceases to be maintained in a man2 ner consistent with the conditions in para3 graph (5) established by the Commandant

4 or the Administrator, as appropriate, pur5 suant to the National Historic Preserva6 tion Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.);

7 or

8 (B) at least 30 days before that reversion,

9 the Commandant or the Administrator, as ap10 propriate, provides written notice to the owner

11 that the property is needed for national security

12 purposes.

13 (3) MAINTENANCE OF NAVIGATION FUNC14 TIONS.—The conveyance of property under this sec15 tion shall be made subject to the conditions that the

16 Commandant or Administrator, as appropriate, con17 siders to be necessary to assure that—

18 (A) the lights, antennas, and associated

19 equipment located on the property conveyed,

20 which are active aids to navigation, shall con21 tinue to be operated and maintained by the

22 United States for as long as they are needed for

23 this purpose;

24 (B) the owner of the property may not

25 interfere or allow interference in any manner
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1 with aids to navigation without express written

2 permission from the Commandant or Adminis3 trator, as appropriate;

4 (C) there is reserved to the United States

5 the right to relocate, replace, or add any aid to

6 navigation or make any changes to the property

7 conveyed as may be necessary for navigational

8 purposes;

9 (D) the United States shall have the right,

10 at any time, to enter the property without no11 tice for the purpose of operating, maintaining

12 and inspecting aids to navigation, and for the

13 purpose of enforcing compliance with subsection

14 (b); and

15 (E) the United States shall have an ease16 ment of access to and across the property for

17 the purpose of maintaining the aids to naviga18 tion in use on the property.

19 (4) OBLIGATION LIMITATION.—The owner of

20 the property is not required to maintain any active

21 aid to navigation equipment on the property, except

22 private aids to navigation permitted under section

23 83 of title 14, United States Code.

24 (5) MAINTENANCE OF PROPERTY.—The owner

25 of the property shall maintain the property in a
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1 proper, substantial, and workmanlike manner, and

2 in accordance with any conditions established by the

3 Commandant or the Administrator, as appropriate,

4 pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act

5 of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), and other applica6 ble laws.

7 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

8 (1) AIDS TO NAVIGATION.—The term ‘‘aids to

9 navigation’’ means equipment used for navigation

10 purposes, including but not limited to, a light, an11 tenna, sound signal, electronic navigation equipment,

12 or other associated equipment which are operated or

13 maintained by the United States.

14 (2) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ means the

15 person identified in subsection (a)(1), and includes

16 any successor or assign of that person.

17 (3) DELTA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.—The

18 term ‘‘Delta County Historical Society’’ means the

19 Delta County Historical Society (a nonprofit cor20 poration established under the laws of the State of

21 Michigan, its parent organization, or subsidiary, if

22 any).

23 (4) DUNKIRK HISTORICAL LIGHTHOUSE AND

24 VETERANS’ PARK MUSEUM.—The term ‘‘Dunkirk

25 Historical Lighthouse and Veterans’ Park Museum’’
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1 means Dunkirk Historical Lighthouse and Veterans’

2 Park Museum located in Dunkirk, New York, or, if

3 appropriate as determined by the Commandant, the

4 Chautauqua County Armed Forces Memorial Park

5 Corporation, New York.

6 (5) LAKE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.—The

7 term ‘‘Lake County Historical Society’’ means the

8 Lake County Historical Society (a nonprofit corpora9 tion established under the laws of the State of Min10 nesota), its parent organization or subsidiary, if any,

11 and its successors and assigns.

12 (d) NOTIFICATION.—Not less than one year prior to

13 reporting to the General Services Administration that a

14 lighthouse or light station eligible for listing under the Na15 tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 470

16 et seq.) and under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard is

17 excess to the needs of the Coast Guard, the Commandant

18 of the Coast Guard shall notify the State in which the

19 lighthouse or light station is located, (including the State

20 Historic Preservation Officer, if any) the appropriate po21 litical subdivision of that State, and any lighthouse, his22 toric, or maritime preservation organizations in that State,

23 that such property is excess to the needs of the Coast

24 Guard.
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1 (e) EXTENSION OF PERIOD FOR CONVEYANCE OF

2 WHITLOCK’S MILL LIGHT.—Notwithstanding section

3 1002(a)(3) of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1996,

4 the conveyance authorized by section 1002(a)(2)(AA) of

5 that Act may take place after the date required by section

6 1002(a)(3) of that Act but no later than December 31,

7 1998.

8 SEC. 417. CONVEYANCE OF COAST GUARD LORAN STATION

9 NANTUCKET.

10 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—

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

12 United States Coast Guard may convey, by an ap13 propriate means of conveyance, all right, title, and

14 interest of the United States in and to approxi15 mately 29.4 acres of land, together with the im16 provements thereon, at Coast Guard LORAN Sta17 tion Nantucket, Nantucket, Massachusetts, to the

18 Town of Nantucket, Massachusetts (‘‘the Town’’)

19 unless the Commandant, or his delegate, in his sole

20 discretion determines that the conveyance would not

21 provide a public benefit.

22 (2) IDENTIFICATION OF PROPERTY.—

23 (A) The Commandant may identify, define,

24 describe, and determine the real property to be

25 conveyed under this section.
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1 (B) The Commandant shall determine the

2 exact acreage and legal description of the prop3 erty to be conveyed under this section by a sur4 vey satisfactory to the Commandant. The cost

5 of the survey shall be borne by the Town.

6 (b) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The conveyance of real prop8 erty under this section shall be made—

9 (A) without payment of consideration; and

10 (B) subject to the following terms and con11 ditions:

12 (i) The Town shall not, upon the

13 property conveyed, allow, conduct, or per14 mit any activity, or operate, allow, or per15 mit the operation of, any equipment or ma16 chinery, that would interfere or cause in17 terference, in any manner, with any aid to

18 navigation located upon property retained

19 by the United States at Coast Guard

20 LORAN Station Nantucket, without the

21 express written permission from the Com22 mandant.

23 (ii) The Town shall maintain the real

24 property conveyed in a manner consistent

25 with the present and future use of any
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1 property retained by the United States at

2 Coast Guard LORAN Station Nantucket

3 as a site for an aid to navigation.

4 (iii) Any other terms and conditions

5 the Commandant considers appropriate to

6 protect the interests of the United States,

7 including the reservation of easements or

8 other rights on behalf of the United States.

9 (2) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—The convey10 ance of real property pursuant to this section shall

11 be subject to the condition that all right, title, and

12 interest in such property shall immediately revert to

13 the United States if—

14 (A) the property, or any part thereof,

15 ceases to be owned and used by the Town;

16 (B) the Town fails to maintain the prop17 erty conveyed in a manner consistent with the

18 terms and conditions in paragraph (1); or

19 (C) at least 30 days before such reversion,

20 the Commandant provides written notice to the

21 Town that the property conveyed is needed for

22 national security purposes.
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1 SEC. 418. CONVEYANCE OF DECOMMISSIONED COAST

2 GUARD VESSELS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast

4 Guard may convey all right, title, and interest of the

5 United States in and to each of 2 decommissioned ‘‘White

6 Class’’ 133-foot Coast Guard vessels to Canvasback Mis7 sion, Inc. (a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the

8 State of Oregon; in this section referred to as ‘‘the recipi9 ent’’), without consideration, if—

10 (1) the recipient agrees—

11 (A) to use the vessel for purposes of pro12 viding medical services to Central and South

13 Pacific island nations;

14 (B) not to use the vessel for commercial

15 transportation purposes except those incident to

16 the provisions of those medical services;

17 (C) to make the vessel available to the

18 United States Government if needed for use by

19 the Commandant in times of war or a national

20 emergency; and

21 (D) to hold the Government harmless for

22 any claims arising from exposure to hazardous

23 materials, including asbestos and poly24 chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), after conveyance

25 of the vessel, except for claims arising from the

26 use by the Government under paragraph (1)(C);
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1 (2) the recipient has funds available that will be

2 committed to operate and maintain each vessel con3 veyed in good working condition, in the form of

4 cash, liquid assets, or a written loan commitment,

5 and in the amount of at least $400,000 per vessel;

6 and

7 (3) the recipient agrees to any other conditions

8 the Commandant considers appropriate.

9 (b) MAINTENANCE AND DELIVERY OF VESSELS.—

10 Prior to conveyance of a vessel under this section, the

11 Commandant shall, to the extent practical, and subject to

12 other Coast Guard mission requirements, make every ef13 fort to maintain the integrity of the vessel and its equip14 ment until the time of delivery. If a conveyance is made

15 under this section, the Commandant shall deliver the ves16 sel at the place where the vessel is located, in its present

17 condition, and without cost to the Government. The con18 veyance of the vessel under this section shall not be consid19 ered a distribution in commerce for purposes of section

20 6(e) of Public Law 94-469 (15 U.S.C. 2605(e)).

21 (c) OTHER EXCESS EQUIPMENT.—The Commandant

22 may convey to the recipient of a vessel under this section

23 any excess equipment or parts from other decommissioned

24 Coast Guard vessels for use to enhance the vessel’s oper-
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1 ability and function as a medical services vessel in Central

2 and South Pacific Islands.

3 SEC. 419. AMENDMENT TO CONVEYANCE OF VESSEL S/S

4 RED OAK VICTORY.

5 Section 1008(d)(1) of the Coast Guard Authorization

6 Act of 1996 is amended by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘3 years’’.

8 SEC. 420. TRANSFER OF OCRACOKE LIGHT STATION TO

9 SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

10 The Administrator of the General Services Adminis11 tration shall transfer administrative jurisdiction over the

12 Federal property consisting of approximately 2 acres,

13 known as the Ocracoke Light Station, to the Secretary

14 of the Interior, subject to such reservations, terms, and

15 conditions as may be necessary for Coast Guard purposes.

16 All property so transferred shall be included in and admin17 istered as part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

18 SEC. 421. VESSEL DOCUMENTATION CLARIFICATION.

19 Section 12102(a)(4) of title 46, United States Code,

20 and section 2(a) of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 U.S.C.

21 App. 802(a)) are each amended by—

22 (1) striking ‘‘president or other’’; and

23 (2) inserting a comma and ‘‘by whatever title,’’

24 after ‘‘chief executive officer’’.
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1 SEC. 422. DREDGE CLARIFICATION.

2 Section 5209(b) of the Oceans Act of 1992 (46

3 U.S.C. 2101 note) is amended by adding at the end there4 of the following:

5 ‘‘(3) A vessel—

6 ‘‘(A) configured, outfitted, and operated

7 primarily for dredging operations; and

8 ‘‘(B) engaged in dredging operations which

9 transfers fuel to other vessels engaged in the

10 same dredging operations without charge.’’.

11 SEC. 423. DOUBLE HULL ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS STUDY.

12 Section 4115(e) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (46

13 U.S. Code 3703a note) is amended by adding at the end

14 thereof the following:

15 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary of Transportation shall

16 coordinate with the Marine Board of the National

17 Research Council to conduct the necessary research

18 and development of a rationally based equivalency

19 assessment approach, which accounts for the overall

20 environmental performance of alternative tank vessel

21 designs. Notwithstanding the Coast Guard opinion

22 of the application of sections 101 and 311 of the

23 Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 and 1321), the

24 intent of this study is to establish an equivalency

25 evaluation procedure that maintains a high standard
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1 of environmental protection, while encouraging inno2 vative ship design. The study shall include:

3 ‘‘(i) development of a generalized cost spill

4 data base, which includes all relevant costs such

5 as clean-up costs and environmental impact

6 costs as a function of spill size;

7 ‘‘(ii) refinement of the probability density

8 functions used to establish the extent of vessel

9 damage, based on the latest available historical

10 damage statistics, and current research on the

11 crash worthiness of tank vessel structures;

12 ‘‘(iii) development of a rationally based ap13 proach for calculating an environmental index,

14 to assess overall outflow performance due to

15 collisions and groundings; and

16 ‘‘(iv) application of the proposed index to

17 double hull tank vessels and alternative designs

18 currently under consideration.

19 ‘‘(B) A Marine Board committee shall be estab20 lished not later that 2 months after the date of en21 actment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of

22 1998. The Secretary of Transportation shall submit

23 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans24 portation of the Senate and the Committee on

25 Transportation and Infrastructure in the House of
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1 Representatives a report on the results of the study

2 not later than 12 months after the date of enact3 ment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998.

4 ‘‘(C) Of the amounts authorized by section

5 1012(a)(5)(A) of this Act, $500,000 is authorized to

6 carry out the activities under subparagraphs (A) and

7 (B) of this paragraph.’’.

8 SEC. 424. VESSEL SHARING AGREEMENTS.

9 (a) Section 5 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C.

10 App. 1704) is amended by adding at the end thereof the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(g) VESSEL SHARING AGREEMENTS.—An ocean

13 common carrier that is the owner, operator, or bareboat,

14 time, or slot charterer of a United States-flag liner vessel

15 documented pursuant to sections 12102(a) or (d) of title

16 46, United States Code, is authorized to agree with an

17 ocean common carrier that is not the owner, operator or

18 bareboat charterer for at least one year of United States19 flag liner vessels which are eligible to be included in the

20 Maritime Security Fleet Program and are enrolled in an

21 Emergency Preparedness Program pursuant to subtitle B

22 of title VI of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C.

23 App. 1187 et seq.), to which it charters or subcharters

24 the United States-flag vessel or space on the United

25 States-flag vessel that such charterer or subcharterer may
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1 not use or make available space on the vessel for the car2 riage of cargo reserved by law for United States-flag ves3 sels.’’.

4 (b) Section 10(c)(6) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46

5 U.S.C. App. 1709(c)(6)) is amended by inserting ‘‘author6 ized by section 5(g) of this Act, or as’’ before ‘‘otherwise’’.

7 (c) Nothing in this section shall affect or in any way

8 diminish the authority or effectiveness of orders issued by

9 the Maritime Administration pursuant to sections 9 and

10 41 of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 U.S.C. App. 808 and

11 839).

12 (d) Section 3(6)(B) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46

13 U.S.C. App. 1702(6)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘parcel14 tanker.’’ and inserting ‘‘parcel-tanker or by vessel when

15 primarily engaged in the carriage of perishable agricul16 tural commodities (i) if the common carrier and the owner

17 of those commodities are wholly-owned, directly or indi18 rectly, by a person primarily engaged in the marketing and

19 distribution of those commodities and (ii) only with re20 spect to the carriage of those commodities.’’.

21 SEC. 425. REPORTS.

22 (a) SWATH TECHNOLOGY.—The Commandant of

23 the Coast Guard shall, within 18 months after the date

24 of enactment of this Act, report to the Senate Committee

25 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House
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1 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on the

2 applicability of Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull

3 (SWATH) technology, including concepts developed by the

4 United States Office of Naval Research, to the design of

5 Coast Guard vessels.

6 (b) MARINE GUIDANCE SYSTEMS.—The Secretary of

7 Transportation shall, within 12 months after the date of

8 the enactment of this Act, evaluate and report to the Con9 gress on the suitability of marine sector laser lighting, cold

10 cathode lighting, and ultraviolet enhanced vision tech11 nologies for use in guiding marine vessels and traffic.

12 SEC. 426. REPORT ON TONNAGE CALCULATION METHODOL13 OGY.

14 The Administrator of the Panama Canal Commission

15 shall, within 90 days of the date of enactment of this Act,

16 submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra17 structure of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

19 Senate a report detailing the methodology employed in the

20 calculation of the charge of tolls for the carriage of on21 deck containers and the justification thereof.

22 SEC. 427. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY NATIONAL DEFENSE RE23 SERVE FLEET VESSELS.

24 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—Notwithstanding any

25 other law, the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in
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1 this section as ‘‘the Secretary’’) may convey all right, title,

2 and interest of the Federal Government in and to either

3 or both of the vessels S.S. AMERICAN VICTORY

4 (United States official number 248005) and S.S. HAT5 TIESBURG VICTORY (United States official number

6 248651) to The Victory Ship, Inc., located in Tampa,

7 Florida (in this section referred to as the ‘‘recipient’’), and

8 the recipient may use each vessel conveyed only as a me9 morial to the Victory class of ships.

10 (b) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—

11 (1) DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—In carrying out

12 subsection (a), the Secretary shall deliver a vessel—

13 (A) at the place where the vessel is located

14 on the date of conveyance;

15 (B) in its condition on that date; and

16 (C) at no cost to the Federal Government.

17 (2) REQUIRED CONDITIONS.—The Secretary

18 may not convey a vessel under this section unless—

19 (A) the recipient agrees to hold the Gov20 ernment harmless for any claims arising from

21 exposure to hazardous material, including as22 bestos and polychlorinated biphenyls, after con23 veyance of the vessel, except for claims arising

24 before the date of the conveyance or from use
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1 of the vessel by the Government after that date;

2 and

3 (B) the recipient has available, for use to

4 restore the vessel, in the form of cash, liquid as5 sets, or a written loan commitment, financial

6 resources of at least $100,000.

7 (3) ADDITIONAL TERMS.—The Secretary may

8 require such additional terms in connection with the

9 conveyance authorized by this section as the Sec10 retary considers appropriate.

11 (c) OTHER UNNEEDED EQUIPMENT.—The Secretary

12 may convey to the recipient of any vessel conveyed under

13 this section any unneeded equipment from other vessels

14 in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, for use to restore

15 the vessel conveyed under this section to museum quality.

16 SEC. 428. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY NATIONAL DEFENSE RE17 SERVE FLEET VESSEL, JOHN HENRY.

18 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONVEY.—Notwithstanding any

19 other law, the Secretary of Transportation (in this section

20 referred to as ‘‘the Secretary’’) may convey all right, title,

21 and interest of the United States Government in and to

22 the vessel JOHN HENRY (United States official number

23 599294) to a purchaser for use in humanitarian relief ef24 forts, including the provision of water and humanitarian

25 goods to developing nations.
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1 (b) TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.—

2 (1) DELIVERY OF VESSEL.—In carrying out

3 subsection (a), the Secretary shall deliver the ves4 sel—

5 (A) at the place where the vessel is located

6 on the date of conveyance;

7 (B) in its condition on that date;

8 (C) at no cost to the United States Gov9 ernment; and

10 (D) only after the vessel has been redesig11 nated as not militarily useful.

12 (2) REQUIRED CONDITIONS.—The Secretary

13 may not convey a vessel under this section unless—

14 (A) competitive procedures are used for

15 sales under this section;

16 (B) the vessel is sold for not less than the

17 fair market value of the vessel in the United

18 States, as determined by the Secretary of

19 Transportation;

20 (C) the recipient agrees that the vessel

21 shall not be used for commercial transportation

22 purposes or for the carriage of cargoes reserved

23 to United States flag commercial vessels under

24 section 901(b) and 901f of the Merchant Ma-
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1 rine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1241(b) and

2 1241f);

3 (D) the recipient agrees to hold the Gov4 ernment harmless for any claims arising from

5 exposure to hazardous material, including as6 bestos and polychlorinated biphenyls, after the

7 conveyance of the vessel, except for claims aris8 ing before the date of the conveyance or from

9 use of the vessel by the Government after that

10 date; and

11 (E) the recipient provides sufficient evi12 dence to the Secretary that it has financial re13 sources in the form of cash, liquid assets, or a

14 written loan commitment of at least $100,000.

15 (F) the recipient agrees to make the vessel

16 available to the Government if the Secretary re17 quires use of the vessel by the Government for

18 war or national emergency.

19 (G) the recipient agrees to document the

20 vessel under chapter 121 of title 46, United

21 States Code.

22 (3) ADDITIONAL TERMS.—The Secretary may

23 require such additional terms in connection with the

24 conveyance authorized by this section as the Sec25 retary considers appropriate.
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1 (c) PROCEEDS.—Any amounts received by the United

2 States as proceeds from the sale of the M/V JOHN

3 HENRY shall be deposited in the Vessel Operations Re4 volving Fund established by the Act of June 2, 1951

5 (chapter 121; 46 U.S.C. App. 1241a) and shall be avail6 able and expended in accordance with section 6(a) of the

7 National Maritime Heritage Act (16 U.S.C. App.

8 5405(a)).

9 SEC. 429. APPLICABILITY OF AUTHORITY TO RELEASE RE10 STRICTIONS AND ENCUMBRANCES.

11 Section 315(c)(1) of the Federal Maritime Commis12 sion Authorization Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–595; 104

13 Stat. 2988) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘3 contiguous tracts’’ and in15 serting ‘‘4 tracts’’; and

16 (2) by striking ‘‘Tract A’’ and all that follows

17 through the end of the paragraph and inserting the

18 following:

‘‘Tract 1—Commencing at a point N45° 28′ 31′′ E 198.3 feet from point ‘A’

as shown on plat of survey of ‘Boundary Agreement of CAFB’

by D.W. Jessen and Associates, Civil Engineers, Lake Charles,

Louisiana, dated August 7, 1973, and filed in Plat Book 23,

at page 20, Records of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana; thence

S44° 29′ 09′′ E 220 feet; thence N45° 28′ 31′′ E 50 feet;

thence N44° 29′ 09′′ W 220 feet; thence S45° 28′ 31′′ W 50

feet to the point of commencement and containing 11,000

square feet (0.2525 acres).
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‘‘Tract 2—Commencing at a point N45° 28′ 31′′ E 198.3 feet from point ‘A’

as shown on plat of survey of ‘Boundary Agreement of CAFB’

by D.W. Jessen and Associates, Civil Engineers, Lake Charles,

Louisiana, dated August 7, 1973, and filed in Plat Book 23,

at page 20, Records of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana; thence

S44° 29′ 09′′ E 169.3 feet; thence S45° 28′ 31′′ W 75 feet;

(Deed Call S45° 30′ 51′′ W 75 feet), thence N44° 29′ 09′′ W

169.3 feet; thence N45° 28′ 31′′ E 75 feet to the point of commencement and containing 12,697 square feet (0.2915 acres).

‘‘Tract 3—Commencing at a point N45° 28′ 31′′ E 248.3 feet from point ‘A’

as shown on plat of survey of ‘Boundary Agreement of CAFB’

by D.W. Jessen and Associates, Civil Engineers, Lake Charles,

Louisiana, dated August 7, 1973, and filed in Plat Book 23,

at page 20, Records of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana; thence

S44° 29′ 09′′ E 220 feet; thence N45° 28′ 31′′ E 50 feet;

thence N44° 29′ 09′′ W 220 feet; thence S45° 28′ 31′′ W 50

feet to the point of commencement and containing 11,000

square feet (0.2525 acres).

‘‘Tract 4—Commencing at a point N45° 28′ 31′′ E 123.3 feet and S44° 29′

09′′ E 169.3 feet from point ‘A’ as shown on plat of survey

of ‘Boundary Agreement of CAFB’ by D.W. Jessen and Associates, Civil Engineers, Lake Charles, Louisiana, dated August

7, 1973, and filed in Plat Book 23, at page 20, Records of

Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana; thence S44° 29′ 09′′ E 50.7 feet;

thence N45° 28′ 31′′ E 75 feet; thence N44° 29′ 09′′ W 50.7

feet; thence S45° 28′ 31′′ W 75 feet (Deed Call S45° 30′ 51′′

W 75 feet) to the point of commencement and containing

3,802 square feet (0.0873 acres).

‘‘Composite Description—A tract of land lying in section 2, Township 10

South—Range 8 West, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, and being

mone [sic] particularly described as follows: Begin at a point

N45° 28′ 31′′ E 123.3 feet from point ‘A’ as shown on plat

of survey of ‘Boundary Agreement of CAFB’ by D.W. Jessen

and Associates, Civil Engineers, Lake Charles, Louisiana,

dated August 7, 1973, and filed in Plat Book 23, at page 20,

Records of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana; thence N45° 28′ 31′′

E 175.0 feet; thence S44° 29′ 09′′ E 220.0 feet; thence S45°

28′ 31′′ W 175.0 feet; thence N44° 29′ 09′′ W 220.0 feet to

the point of beginning, containing 0.8035 acres.’’.

1 SEC. 430. BARGE APL–60.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 27 of the

3 Merchant Marine Act, 1920 (46 U.S.C. App. 883), section

4 8 of the Act of June 19, 1886 (46 U.S.C. App. 289), and

5 section 12106 of title 46, United States Code, the Sec6 retary may issue a certificate of documentation with ap-
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1 propriate endorsement for employment in the coastwise

2 trade for the barge APL–60 (United States official num3 ber 376857).

4 (b) LIMITATIONS.—The vessel described in sub5 section (a) may be employed in the coastwise trade only

6 for the purpose of participating in the ship disposal initia7 tive initially funded by the Department of Defense Appro8 priations Act, 1999, for the duration of that initiative.

9 (c) TERMINATION.—A coastwise endorsement issued

10 under subsection (a) shall terminate on the earlier of—

11 (1) the completion of the final coastwise trade

12 voyage associated with the ship disposal initiative

13 described in subsection (b); or

14 (2) the sale or transfer of the vessel described

15 in subsection (a) to an owner other than the owner

16 of the vessel as of October 1, 1998.

17 SEC. 431. VESSEL FINANCING FLEXIBILITY.

18 The Secretary of Transportation may guarantee obli19 gations under section 1103 of the Merchant Marine Act,

20 1936 (46 App. U.S.C.1273), for the vessels planned for

21 construction to be purchased by the American West

22 Steamboat Company and to be named QUEEN OF THE

23 YUKON, which will operate on the Yukon and Tanana

24 Rivers, and EMPRESS OF THE NORTH, which will op25 erate in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. Notwithstand-
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1 ing sections 509, 1103(c)), and 1104A(b) of the Merchant

2 Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1159, 1273(c), and

3 1274(b)), the Secretary of Transportation may guarantee

obligations of 871 4 ⁄2 percent of the purchase price of such

5 vessels. Each obligation guaranteed under this section

6 may have a maturity date of 25 years from the date of

7 delivery of the vessel concerned.

8 SEC. 432. HYDROGRAPHIC FUNCTIONS.

9 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (b) and (c) shall

10 take effect immediately after the later of—

11 (1) the enactment of the Hydrographic Services

12 Improvement Act of 1998; or

13 (2) the enactment of this Act.

14 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

15 306 of the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of

16 1998 is amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘SEC. 306. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad19 ministrator the following:

20 ‘‘(1) To carry out nautical mapping and chart21 ing functions under the Act of 1947 and sections

22 303 and 304, except for conducting hydrographic

23 surveys, $33,000,000 for fiscal year 1999,

24 $34,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and $35,000,000

25 for fiscal year 2001.
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1 ‘‘(2) To conduct hydrographic surveys under

2 section 303(a)(1), including the leasing of ships,

3 $33,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $35,000,000 for

4 fiscal year 2000, and $37,000,000 for fiscal year

5 2001. Of these amounts, no more than $16,000,000

6 is authorized for any one fiscal year to operate hy7 drographic survey vessels owned and operated by the

8 Administration.

9 ‘‘(3) To carry out geodetic functions under the

10 Act of 1947, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1999,

11 $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and $30,000,000

12 for fiscal year 2001.

13 ‘‘(4) To carry out tide and current measure14 ment functions under the Act of 1947, $22,500,000

15 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2001. Of these

16 amounts $4,500,000 is authorized for each fiscal

17 year to implement and operate a national quality

18 control system for real-time tide and current and

19 maintain the national tide network, and $7,000,000

20 is authorized for each fiscal year to design and in21 stall real-time tide and current data measurement

22 systems under section 303(b)(4).’’.

23 (c) REPEAL OF REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—Section

24 305 of the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act of

25 1998 is amended by striking subsections (a) and (d).
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1 TITLE V—ADMINISTRATIVE

2 PROCESS FOR JONES ACT

3 WAIVERS

4 SEC. 501. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds that—

6 (1) current coastwise trade laws provide no ad7 ministrative authority to waive the United-States8 built requirement of those laws for the limited car9 riage of passengers for hire on vessels built or re10 built outside the United States;

11 (2) requests for such waivers require the enact12 ment of legislation by the Congress;

13 (3) each Congress routinely approves numerous

14 such requests for waiver and rarely rejects any such

15 request; and

16 (4) the review and approval of such waiver re17 quests is a ministerial function which properly

18 should be executed by an administrative agency with

19 appropriate expertise.

20 SEC. 502. ADMINISTRATIVE WAIVER OF COASTWISE TRADE

21 LAWS.

22 Notwithstanding sections 12106 and 12108 of title

23 46, United States Code, section 8 of the Act of June 19,

24 1886 (46 U.S.C. App. 289), and section 27 of the Mer25 chant Marine Act, 1920 (46 U.S.C. App. 883), the Sec-
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1 retary of Transportation may issue a certificate of docu2 mentation with appropriate endorsement for employment

3 in the coastwise trade as a small passenger vessel or an

4 uninspected passenger vessel for an eligible vessel author5 ized to carry no more than 12 passengers for hire if the

6 Secretary, after notice and an opportunity for public com7 ment, determines that the employment of the vessel in the

8 coastwise trade will not adversely affect—

9 (1) United States vessel builders; or

10 (2) the coastwise trade business of any person

11 who employs vessels built in the United States in

12 that business.

13 SEC. 503. REVOCATION.

14 The Secretary may revoke an endorsement issued

15 under section 502, after notice and an opportunity for

16 public comment, if the Secretary determines that the em17 ployment of the vessel in the coastwise trade has substan18 tially changed since the issuance of the endorsement,

19 and—

20 (1) the vessel is employed other than as a small

21 passenger vessel or an uninspected passenger vessel;

22 or

23 (2) the employment of the vessel adversely af24 fects—

25 (A) United States vessel builders; or
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1 (B) the coastwise trade business of any

2 person who employs vessels built in the United

3 States.

4 SEC. 504. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this title:

6 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

7 the Secretary of Transportation.

8 (2) ELIGIBLE VESSEL.—The term ‘‘eligible ves9 sel’’ means a vessel that—

10 (A) was not built in the United States and

11 is at least 3 years of age; or

12 (B) if rebuilt, was rebuilt outside the

13 United States at least 3 years before the certifi14 cation requested under section 502, if granted,

15 would take effect.

16 (3) SMALL PASSENGER VESSEL; UNINSPECTED

17 PASSENGER VESSEL; PASSENGER FOR HIRE.—The

18 terms ‘‘small passenger vessel’’, ‘‘uninspected pas19 senger vessel’’, and ‘‘passenger for hire’’ have the

20 meaning given such terms by section 2101 of title

21 46, United States Code.

22 SEC. 505. SUNSET.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), this

24 title (other than this section) shall have no force or effect

25 on or after September 30, 2002.
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1 (b) ENDORSEMENTS CONTINUE.—Any certificate or

2 endorsement issued under section 502 before the date re3 ferred to in subsection (a) of this section shall continue

4 in effect until otherwise invalidated or revoked under

5 chapter 121 of title 46, United States Code.

6 TITLE VI—HARMFUL ALGAL

7 BLOOMS AND HYPOXIA

8 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE.

9 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Harmful Algal Bloom

10 and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998’’.

11 SEC. 602. FINDINGS.

12 The Congress finds that—

13 (1) the recent outbreak of the harmful microbe

14 Pfiesteria piscicida in the coastal waters of the

15 United States is one example of potentially harmful

16 algal blooms composed of naturally occurring species

17 that reproduce explosively and that are increasing in

18 frequency and intensity in the Nation’s coastal wa19 ters;

20 (2) other recent occurrences of harmful algal

21 blooms include red tides in the Gulf of Mexico and

22 the Southeast; brown tides in New York and Texas;

23 ciguatera fish poisoning in Hawaii, Florida, Puerto

24 Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands; and
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1 shellfish poisonings in the Gulf of Maine, the Pacific

2 Northwest, and the Gulf of Alaska;

3 (3) in certain cases, harmful algal blooms have

4 resulted in fish kills, the deaths of numerous endan5 gered West Indian manatees, beach and shellfish bed

6 closures, threats to public health and safety, and

7 concern among the public about the safety of sea8 food;

9 (4) according to some scientists, the factors

10 causing or contributing to harmful algal blooms may

11 include excessive nutrients in coastal waters, other

12 forms of pollution, the transfer of harmful species

13 through ship ballast water, and ocean currents;

14 (5) harmful algal blooms may have been respon15 sible for an estimated $1,000,000,000 in economic

16 losses during the past decade;

17 (6) harmful algal blooms and blooms of non18 toxic algal species may lead to other damaging ma19 rine conditions such as hypoxia (reduced oxygen con20 centrations), which are harmful or fatal to fish,

21 shellfish, and benthic organisms;

22 (7) according to the National Oceanic and At23 mospheric Administration in the Department of

24 Commerce, 53 percent of United States estuaries ex25 perience hypoxia for at least part of the year and a
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1 7,000 square mile area in the Gulf of Mexico off

2 Louisiana and Texas suffers from hypoxia;

3 (8) according to some scientists, a factor be4 lieved to cause hypoxia is excessive nutrient loading

5 into coastal waters;

6 (9) there is a need to identify more workable

7 and effective actions to reduce nutrient loadings to

8 coastal waters;

9 (10) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad10 ministration, through its ongoing research, edu11 cation, grant, and coastal resource management pro12 grams, possesses a full range of capabilities nec13 essary to support a near and long-term comprehen14 sive effort to prevent, reduce, and control harmful

15 algal blooms and hypoxia;

16 (11) funding for the research and related pro17 grams of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad18 ministration will aid in improving the Nation’s un19 derstanding and capabilities for addressing the

20 human and environmental costs associated with

21 harmful algal blooms and hypoxia; and

22 (12) other Federal agencies such as the Envi23 ronmental Protection Agency, the Department of

24 Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation,

25 along with the States, Indian tribes, and local gov-
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1 ernments, conduct important work related to the

2 prevention, reduction, and control of harmful algal

3 blooms and hypoxia.

4 SEC. 603. ASSESSMENTS.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INTER-AGENCY TASK

6 FORCE.—The President, through the Committee on Envi7 ronment and Natural Resources of the National Science

8 and Technology Council, shall establish an Inter-Agency

9 Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia (here10 inafter referred to as the ‘‘Task Force’’). The Task Force

11 shall consist of the following representatives from—

12 (1) the Department of Commerce (who shall

13 serve as Chairman of the Task Force);

14 (2) the Environmental Protection Agency;

15 (3) the Department of Agriculture;

16 (4) the Department of the Interior;

17 (5) the Department of the Navy;

18 (6) the Department of Health and Human

19 Services;

20 (7) the National Science Foundation;

21 (8) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin22 istration;

23 (9) the Food and Drug Administration;

24 (10) the Office of Science and Technology Pol25 icy;
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1 (11) the Council on Environmental Quality; and

2 (12) such other Federal agencies as the Presi3 dent considers appropriate.

4 (b) ASSESSMENT OF HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS.—

5 (1) Not later than 12 months after the date of

6 enactment of this title, the Task Force, in coopera7 tion with the coastal States, Indian tribes, and local

8 governments, industry (including agricultural organi9 zations), academic institutions, and non-govern10 mental organizations with expertise in coastal zone

11 management, shall complete and submit to the Con12 gress an assessment which examines the ecological

13 and economic consequences of harmful algal blooms,

14 alternatives for reducing, mitigating, and controlling

15 harmful algal blooms, and the social and economic

16 costs and benefits of such alternatives.

17 (2) The assessment shall—

18 (A) identify alternatives for preventing un19 necessary duplication of effort among Federal

20 agencies and departments with respect to harm21 ful algal blooms; and

22 (B) provide for Federal cooperation and

23 coordination with and assistance to the coastal

24 States, Indian tribes, and local governments in

25 the prevention, reduction, management, mitiga-
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1 tion, and control of harmful algal blooms and

2 their environmental and public health impacts.

3 (c) ASSESSMENT OF HYPOXIA.—

4 (1) Not later than 12 months after the date of

5 enactment of this title, the Task Force, in coopera6 tion with the States, Indian tribes, local govern7 ments, industry, agricultural, academic institutions,

8 and non-governmental organizations with expertise

9 in watershed and coastal zone management, shall

10 complete and submit to the Congress an assessment

11 which examines the ecological and economic con12 sequences of hypoxia in United States coastal wa13 ters, alternatives for reducing, mitigating, and con14 trolling hypoxia, and the social and economic costs

15 and benefits of such alternatives.

16 (2) The assessment shall—

17 (A) establish needs, priorities, and guide18 lines for a peer-reviewed, inter-agency research

19 program on the causes, characteristics, and im20 pacts of hypoxia;

21 (B) identify alternatives for preventing un22 necessary duplication of effort among Federal

23 agencies and departments with respect to hy24 poxia; and
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1 (C) provide for Federal cooperation and

2 coordination with and assistance to the States,

3 Indian tribes, and local governments in the pre4 vention, reduction, management, mitigation,

5 and control of hypoxia and its environmental

6 impacts.

7 (e) DISESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.—The

8 President may disestablish the Task Force after submis9 sion of the plan in section 604(d).

10 SEC. 604. NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO HYPOXIA.

11 (a) ASSESSMENT REPORT.—Not later than May 30,

12 1999, the Task Force shall complete and submit to Con13 gress and the President an integrated assessment of hy14 poxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico that examines: the

15 distribution, dynamics, and causes; ecological and eco16 nomic consequences; sources and loads of nutrients trans17 ported by the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico; ef18 fects of reducing nutrient loads; methods for reducing nu19 trient loads; and the social and economic costs and bene20 fits of such methods.

21 (b) SUBMISSION OF A PLAN.—No later than March

22 30, 2000, the President, in conjunction with the chief ex23 ecutive officers of the States, shall develop and submit to

24 Congress a plan, based on the integrated assessment sub25 mitted under subsection (a), for reducing, mitigating, and
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1 controlling hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In de2 veloping such plan, the President shall consult with State,

3 Indian tribe, and local governments, academic, agricul4 tural, industry, and environmental groups and representa5 tives. Such plan shall include incentive-based partnership

6 approaches. The plan shall also include the social and eco7 nomic costs and benefits of the measures for reducing,

8 mitigating, and controlling hypoxia. At least 90 days be9 fore the President submits such plan to the Congress, a

10 summary of the proposed plan shall be published in the

11 Federal Register for a public comment period of not less

12 than 60 days.

13 SEC. 605. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec15 retary of Commerce for research, education, and monitor16 ing activities related to the prevention, reduction, and con17 trol of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, $15,000,000 for

18 fiscal year 1999, $18,250,000 for fiscal year 2000, and

19 $19,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, to remain available until

20 expended. The Secretary shall consult with the States on

21 a regular basis regarding the development and implemen22 tation of the activities authorized under this section. Of

23 such amounts for each fiscal year—

24 (1) $1,500,000 for fiscal year 1999, $1,500,000

25 for fiscal year 2000, and $2,000,000 for fiscal year
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1 2001 may be used to enable the National Oceanic

2 and Atmospheric Administration to carry out re3 search and assessment activities, including procure4 ment of necessary research equipment, at research

5 laboratories of the National Ocean Service and the

6 National Marine Fisheries Service;

7 (2) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $5,500,000

8 for fiscal year 2000, and $5,500,000 for fiscal year

9 2001 may be used to carry out the Ecology and

10 Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB)

11 project under the Coastal Ocean Program estab12 lished under section 201(c) of Public Law 102–567;

13 (3) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $2,000,000

14 for fiscal year 2000, and $2,000,000 for fiscal year

15 2001 may be used by the National Ocean Service of

16 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra17 tion to carry out a peer-reviewed research project on

18 management measures that can be taken to prevent,

19 reduce, control, and mitigate harmful algal blooms;

20 (4) $5,500,000 for each of the fiscal years

21 1999, 2000, and 2001 may be used to carry out

22 Federal and State annual monitoring and analysis

23 activities for harmful algal blooms administered by

24 the National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic

25 and Atmospheric Administration; and
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1 (5) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $3,750,000

2 for fiscal year 2000, and $4,000,000 for fiscal year

3 2001 may be used for activities related to research

4 and monitoring on hypoxia by the National Ocean

5 Service and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric

6 Research of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

7 Administration.

8 SEC. 606. PROTECTION OF STATES’ RIGHTS.

9 (a) Nothing in this title shall be interpreted to ad10 versely affect existing State regulatory or enforcement

11 power which has been granted to any State through the

12 Clean Water Act or Coastal Zone Management Act of

13 1972.

14 (b) Nothing in this title shall be interpreted to expand

15 the regulatory or enforcement power of the Federal Gov16 ernment which has been delegated to any State through

17 the Clean Water Act or Coastal Zone Management Act

18 of 1972.

Attest:

Clerk.