I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 362 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 11, 2005 

Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

AN ACT 

To establish a program within the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration and the United States Coast 

Guard to help identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts 

on the marine environment and navigation safety, in 

coordination with non-Federal entities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Debris Re5 search, Prevention, and Reduction Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following 

3 findings: 

4 (1) The oceans, which comprise nearly three 

5 quarters of the Earth’s surface, are an important 

6 source of food and provide a wealth of other natural 

7 products that are important to the economy of the 

8 United States and the world. 

9 (2) Ocean and coastal areas are regions of re10 markably high biological productivity, are of consid11 erable importance for a variety of recreational and 

12 commercial activities, and provide a vital means of 

13 transportation. 

14 (3) Marine debris, including plastics, derelict 

15 fishing gear, and a wide variety of other objects, has 

16 a harmful and persistent effect on marine flora and 

17 fauna and can have adverse impacts on human 

18 health. 

19 (4) Marine debris is also a hazard to naviga20 tion, putting mariners and rescuers, their vessels, 

21 and consequently the marine environment at risk, 

22 and can cause economic loss due to entanglement of 

23 vessel systems. 

24 (5) Plastic materials persist for decades in the 

25 marine environment and therefore pose the greatest 
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1 potential for long-term damage to the marine envi2 ronment. 

3 (6) Insufficient knowledge and data on the 

4 source, movement, and effects of plastics and other 

5 marine debris in marine ecosystems has hampered 

6 efforts to develop effective approaches for addressing 

7 marine debris. 

8 (7) Lack of resources, inadequate attention to 

9 this issue, and poor coordination at the Federal level 

10 has undermined the development and implementa11 tion of a Federal program to address marine debris, 

12 both domestically and internationally. 

13 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

14 (1) to establish programs within the National 

15 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 

16 United States Coast Guard to help identify, deter17 mine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine 

18 debris and its adverse impacts on the marine envi19 ronment and navigation safety, in coordination with 

20 other Federal and non-Federal entities; 

21 (2) to re-establish the Inter-agency Marine De22 bris Coordinating Committee to ensure a coordinated 

23 government response across Federal agencies; 

24 (3) to develop a Federal information clearing25 house to enable researchers to study the sources, 
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1 scale and impact of marine debris more efficiently; 

2 and 

3 (4) to take appropriate action in the inter4 national community to prevent marine debris and re5 duce concentrations of existing debris on a global 

6 scale. 

7 SEC. 3. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PREVENTION AND REMOVAL 

8 PROGRAM. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—There is estab10 lished, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad11 ministration, a Marine Debris Prevention and Removal 

12 Program to reduce and prevent the occurrence and ad13 verse impacts of marine debris on the marine environment 

14 and navigation safety. 

15 (b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—Through the Marine 

16 Debris Prevention and Removal Program, the Adminis17 trator shall carry out the following activities: 

18 (1) MAPPING, IDENTIFICATION, IMPACT AS19 SESSMENT, REMOVAL, AND PREVENTION.—The Ad20 ministrator shall, in consultation with relevant Fed21 eral agencies, undertake marine debris mapping, 

22 identification, impact assessment, prevention, and 

23 removal efforts, with a focus on marine debris pos24 ing a threat to living marine resources, particularly 

25 species identified as endangered or threatened under 
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1 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

2 1531 et seq.) and species protected under the Ma3 rine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

4 1631 et seq.), and navigation safety, including— 

5 (A) the establishment of a process, build6 ing on existing information sources maintained 

7 by Federal agencies such as the Environmental 

8 Protection Agency and the Coast Guard, for 

9 cataloguing and maintaining an inventory of 

10 marine debris and its impacts found in the nav11 igable waters of the United states and the 

12 United States exclusive economic zone, includ13 ing location, material, size, age, and origin, and 

14 impacts on habitat, living marine resources, 

15 human health, and navigation safety; 

16 (B) measures to identify the origin, loca17 tion, and projected movement of marine debris 

18 within the United States navigable waters, the 

19 United States exclusive economic zone, and the 

20 high seas, including the use of oceanographic, 

21 atmospheric, satellite, and remote sensing data; 

22 and 

23 (C) development and implementation of 

24 strategies, methods, priorities, and a plan for 

25 preventing and removing marine debris from 
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1 United States navigable waters and within the 

2 United States exclusive economic zone, includ3 ing development of local or regional protocols 

4 for removal of derelict fishing gear. 

5 (2) REDUCING AND PREVENTING LOSS OF

6 GEAR.—The Administrator shall improve efforts and 

7 actively seek to prevent and reduce fishing gear 

8 losses, as well as to reduce adverse impacts of such 

9 gear on living marine resources and navigation safe10 ty, including— 

11 (A) research and development of alter12 natives to gear posing threats to the marine en13 vironment, and methods for marking gear used 

14 in specific fisheries to enhance the tracking, re15 covery, and identification of lost and discarded 

16 gear; and 

17 (B) development of voluntary or manda18 tory measures to reduce the loss and discard of 

19 fishing gear, and to aid its recovery, such as in20 centive programs, reporting loss and recovery of 

21 gear, observer programs, toll-free reporting hot22 lines, computer-based notification forms, and 

23 providing adequate and free disposal receptacles 

24 at ports. 
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1 (3) OUTREACH.—The Administrator shall un2 dertake outreach and education of the public and 

3 other stakeholders, such as the fishing industry, 

4 fishing gear manufacturers, and other marine-de5 pendent industries, on sources of marine debris, 

6 threats associated with marine debris and ap7 proaches to identify, determine sources of, assess, 

8 reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse 

9 impacts on the marine environment and navigational 

10 safety, including outreach and education activities 

11 through public-private initiatives. The Administrator 

12 shall coordinate outreach and education activities 

13 under this paragraph with any outreach programs 

14 conducted under section 2204 of the Marine Plastic 

15 Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (33 

16 U.S.C. 1915). 

17 (c) GRANTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pro19 vide financial assistance, in the form of grants, 

20 through the Marine Debris Prevention and Removal 

21 Program for projects to accomplish the purposes of 

22 this Act. 

23 (2) 50 PERCENT MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

25 subparagraph (B), Federal funds for any 
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1 project under this section may not exceed 50 

2 percent of the total cost of such project. For 

3 purposes of this subparagraph, the non-Federal 

4 share of project costs may be provided by in5 kind contributions and other noncash support. 

6 (B) WAIVER.—The Administrator may 

7 waive all or part of the matching requirement 

8 under subparagraph (A) if the Administrator 

9 determines that no reasonable means are avail10 able through which applicants can meet the 

11 matching requirement and the probable benefit 

12 of such project outweighs the public interest in 

13 such matching requirement. 

14 (3) AMOUNTS PAID AND SERVICES RENDERED

15 UNDER CONSENT.— 

16 (A) CONSENT DECREES AND ORDERS.—If 

17 authorized by the Administrator or the Attor18 ney General, as appropriate, the non-Federal 

19 share of the cost of a project carried out under 

20 this Act may include money paid pursuant to, 

21 or the value of any in-kind service performed 

22 under, an administrative order on consent or 

23 judicial consent decree that will remove or pre24 vent marine debris. 
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1 (B) OTHER DECREES AND ORDERS.—The 

2 non-Federal share of the cost of a project car3 ried out under this Act may not include any 

4 money paid pursuant to, or the value of any in5 kind service performed under, any other admin6 istrative order or court order. 

7 (4) ELIGIBILITY.—Any natural resource man8 agement authority of a State, Federal or other gov9 ernment authority whose activities directly or indi10 rectly affect research or regulation of marine debris, 

11 and any educational or nongovernmental institutions 

12 with demonstrated expertise in a field related to ma13 rine debris, are eligible to submit to the Adminis14 trator a marine debris proposal under the grant pro15 gram. 

16 (5) GRANT CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.—With17 in 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

18 the Administrator shall promulgate necessary guide19 lines for implementation of the grant program, in20 cluding development of criteria and priorities for 

21 grants. Such priorities may include proposals that 

22 would reduce new sources of marine debris and pro23 vide additional benefits to the public, such as recy24 cling of marine debris or use of biodegradable mate-
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1 rials. In developing those guidelines, the Adminis2 trator shall consult with— 

3 (A) the Interagency Marine Debris Com4 mittee; 

5 (B) regional fishery management councils 

6 established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fish7 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 

8 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); 

9 (C) State, regional, and local governmental 

10 entities with marine debris experience; 

11 (D) marine-dependent industries; and 

12 (E) non-governmental organizations in13 volved in marine debris research, prevention, or 

14 removal activities. 

15 (6) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The 

16 Administrator shall review each marine debris 

17 project proposal to determine if it meets the grant 

18 criteria and supports the goals of the Act. Not later 

19 than 120 days after receiving a project proposal 

20 under this section, the Administrator shall— 

21 (A) provide for external merit-based peer 

22 review of the proposal; 

23 (B) after considering any written com24 ments and recommendations based on the re25 view, approve or disapprove the proposal; and 
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1 (C) provide written notification of that ap2 proval or disapproval to the person who sub3 mitted the proposal. 

4 (7) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each grantee under 

5 this section shall provide periodic reports as required 

6 by the Administrator. Each report shall include all 

7 information required by the Administrator for evalu8 ating the progress and success in meeting its stated 

9 goals, and impact on the marine debris problem. 

10 SEC. 4. COAST GUARD PROGRAM. 

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

12 Guard shall, in cooperation with the Administrator, under13 take measures to reduce violations of MARPOL Annex V 

14 and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 

15 1901 et seq.) with respect to the discard of plastics and 

16 other garbage from vessels. The measures shall include— 

17 (1) the development of a strategy to improve 

18 monitoring and enforcement of current laws, as well 

19 as recommendations for statutory or regulatory 

20 changes to improve compliance and for the develop21 ment of any appropriate amendments to MARPOL; 

22 (2) regulations to address implementation gaps 

23 with respect to the requirement of MARPOL Annex 

24 V and section 6 of the Act to Prevent Pollution from 

25 Ships (33 U.S.C. 1905) that all United States ports 
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1 and terminals maintain receptacles for disposing of 

2 plastics and other garbage, which may include meas3 ures to ensure that a sufficient quantity of such fa4 cilities exist at all such ports and terminals, require5 ments for logging the waste received, and for Coast 

6 Guard comparison of vessel and port log books to 

7 determine compliance, taking into account potential 

8 economic impacts and technical feasibility; 

9 (3) regulations to close record keeping gaps, 

10 which may include requiring fishing vessels under 

11 400 gross tons entering United States ports to 

12 maintain records subject to Coast Guard inspection 

13 on the disposal of plastics and other garbage, that, 

14 at a minimum, include the time, date, type of gar15 bage, quantity, and location of discharge by latitude 

16 and longitude or, if discharged on land, the name of 

17 the port where such material is offloaded for dis18 posal, taking into account potential economic im19 pacts and technical feasibility; 

20 (4) regulations to improve ship-board waste 

21 management, which may include expanding to small22 er vessels existing requirements to maintain ship23 board receptacles and maintain a ship-board waste 

24 management plan, taking into account potential eco25 nomic impacts and technical feasibility; 
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1 (5) the development, through outreach to com2 mercial vessel operators and recreational boaters, of 

3 a voluntary reporting program, along with the estab4 lishment of a central reporting location, for incidents 

5 of damage to vessels caused by marine debris, as 

6 well as observed violations of existing laws and regu7 lations relating to disposal of plastics and other ma8 rine debris; and 

9 (6) a voluntary program encouraging United 

10 States flag vessels to inform the Coast Guard of any 

11 ports in other countries that lack adequate port re12 ception facilities for garbage. 

13 (b) ON-SHORE OIL AND GAS SPILLS.—The Com14 mandant of the Coast Guard shall expedite implementa15 tion of the Coast Guard’s responsibilities with respect to 

16 on-shore oil and gas spills. 

17 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION. 

18 (a) INTERAGENCY MARINE DEBRIS COMMITTEE ES19 TABLISHED.—There is established an Interagency Com20 mittee on Marine Debris to coordinate a comprehensive 

21 program of marine debris research and activities among 

22 Federal agencies, in cooperation and coordination with 

23 non-governmental organizations, industry, universities, 

24 and research institutions, State governments, Indian 

25 tribes, and other nations, as appropriate, and to foster 
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1 cost-effective mechanisms to identify, determine sources 

2 of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris, and its ad3 verse impact on the marine environment and navigational 

4 safety, including the joint funding of research and mitiga5 tion and prevention strategies. 

6 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall include a 

7 senior official from— 

8 (1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad9 ministration, who shall serve as the chairperson of 

10 the Committee; 

11 (2) the United States Coast Guard; 

12 (3) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

13 (4) the United States Navy; 

14 (5) the Maritime Administration of the Depart15 ment of Transportation; 

16 (6) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin17 istration; 

18 (7) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 

19 (8) the Department of State; 

20 (9) the Marine Mammal Commission; and 

21 (10) such other Federal agencies that have an 

22 interest in ocean issues or water pollution prevention 

23 and control as the Administrator determines appro24 priate. 
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1 (c) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet at least 

2 twice a year to provide a public, interagency forum to en3 sure the coordination of national and international re4 search, monitoring, education, and regulatory actions ad5 dressing the persistent marine debris problem. 

6 (d) DEFINITION.—The Committee shall develop and 

7 promulgate through regulation a definition of the term 

8 ‘‘marine debris’’. 

9 (e) REPORTING.— 

10 (1) INTERAGENCY REPORT ON MARINE DEBRIS

11 IMPACTS AND STRATEGIES.—Not later than 12 

12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

13 the Committee, through the chairperson, and in co14 operation with the coastal States, Indian tribes, local 

15 governments, and non-governmental organizations, 

16 shall complete and submit to the Congress a report 

17 identifying the source of marine debris, examining 

18 the ecological and economic impact of marine debris, 

19 alternatives for reducing, mitigating, preventing, and 

20 controlling the harmful affects of marine debris, the 

21 social and economic costs and benefits of such alter22 natives, and recommendations regarding both do23 mestic and international marine debris issues. 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

25 paragraph (1) shall provide recommendations on— 
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1 (A) establishing priority areas for action to 

2 address leading problems relating to marine de3 bris; 

4 (B) developing an effective strategy and 

5 approaches to preventing, reducing, removing, 

6 and disposing of marine debris, including 

7 through private-public partnerships; 

8 (C) providing appropriate infrastructure 

9 for effective implementation and enforcement of 

10 measures to prevent and remove marine debris, 

11 especially the discard and loss of fishing gear; 

12 (D) establishing effective and coordinated 

13 education and outreach activities; and 

14 (E) ensuring Federal cooperation with, and 

15 assistance to, the coastal States (as defined in 

16 section 304(4) of the Coastal Zone Management 

17 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(4))), Indian 

18 tribes, and local governments in the identifica19 tion, determination of sources, prevention, re20 duction, management, mitigation, and control of 

21 marine debris and its adverse impacts. 

22 (3) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later 

23 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, and every year thereafter, the Committee, 

25 through the chairperson, shall submit to the Com-
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1 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

2 the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the 

3 House of Representatives a report that evaluates 

4 United States and international progress in meeting 

5 the purposes of this Act. The report shall include— 

6 (A) the status of implementation of the 

7 recommendations of the Committee and anal8 ysis of their effectiveness; 

9 (B) a summary of the marine debris inven10 tory to be maintained by the National Oceanic 

11 and Atmospheric Administration; 

12 (C) a review of the National Oceanic and 

13 Atmospheric Administration program author14 ized by section 3 of this Act, including projects 

15 funded and accomplishments relating to reduc16 tion and prevention of marine debris; 

17 (D) a review of United States Coast Guard 

18 programs and accomplishments relating to ma19 rine debris removal, including enforcement and 

20 compliance with MARPOL requirements; and 

21 (E) estimated Federal and non-Federal 

22 funding provided for marine debris and rec23 ommendations for priority funding needs. 

24 (f) MONITORING.—The Administrator, in cooperation 

25 with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
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1 Agency, shall utilize the marine debris data derived under 

2 this Act and title V of the Marine Protection, Research, 

3 and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) to 

4 assist— 

5 (1) the Committee in ensuring coordination of 

6 research, monitoring, education, and regulatory ac7 tions; and 

8 (2) the United States Coast Guard in assessing 

9 the effectiveness of this Act and the Act to Prevent 

10 Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) in en11 suring compliance under section 2201 of the Marine 

12 Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 

13 (33 U.S.C. 1913). 

14 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2203 of the 

15 Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 

16 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914) is repealed. 

17 SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. 

18 The Interagency Marine Debris Committee shall de19 velop a strategy that may be pursued by the United States 

20 in the International Maritime Organization and other ap21 propriate international and regional forums to reduce the 

22 incidence of marine debris, including— 

23 (1) the inclusion of effective and enforceable 

24 marine debris prevention and removal measures in 
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1 international and regional agreements, including 

2 fisheries agreements and maritime agreements; 

3 (2) measures to strengthen and to improve 

4 compliance with MARPOL Annex V; 

5 (3) national reporting and information require6 ments that will assist in improving information col7 lection, identification and monitoring of marine de8 bris; 

9 (4) the establishment of an international data10 base, consistent with the information clearinghouse 

11 established under section 7, that will provide current 

12 information on location, source, prevention, and re13 moval of marine debris; 

14 (5) the establishment of public-private partner15 ships and funding sources for pilot programs that 

16 will assist in implementation and compliance with 

17 marine debris requirements in international agree18 ments and guidelines; 

19 (6) the identification of possible amendments to 

20 and provisions in the International Maritime Organi21 zation Guidelines for the Implementation of Annex V 

22 of MARPOL for potential inclusion in Annex V; and 

23 (7) when appropriate assist the responsible 

24 Federal agency in bilateral negotiations to effectively 

25 enforce marine debris prevention. 
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1 SEC. 7. FEDERAL INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE. 

2 The Administrator, in coordination with the Com3 mittee, shall maintain a Federal information clearinghouse 

4 on marine debris that will be available to researchers and 

5 other interested parties to improve source identification, 

6 data sharing, and monitoring efforts through collaborative 

7 research and open sharing of data. The clearinghouse shall 

8 include— 

9 (1) standardized protocols to map the general 

10 locations of commercial fishing and aquaculture ac11 tivities using Geographic Information System tech12 niques; 

13 (2) a world-wide database which describes fish14 ing gear and equipment, and fishing practices, in15 cluding information on gear types and specifications; 

16 (3) guidance on the identification of types of 

17 fishing gear fragments and their sources developed 

18 in consultation with persons of relevant expertise; 

19 and 

20 (4) the data on mapping and identification of 

21 marine debris to be developed pursuant to section 

22 3(b)(1) of this Act. 

23 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 
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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

3 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

4 (2) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

5 means the Interagency Marine Debris Committee es6 tablished by section 5 of this Act. 

7 (3) UNITED STATES EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC

8 ZONE.—The term ‘‘United States exclusive economic 

9 zone’’ means the zone established by Presidential 

10 Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 

11 1983, including the ocean waters of the areas re12 ferred to as ‘‘eastern special areas’’ in article 3(1) 

13 of the Agreement between the United States of 

14 America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 

15 on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990. 

16 (4) MARPOL; ANNEX V; CONVENTION.—The 

17 terms ‘‘MARPOL’’, ‘‘Annex 5’’, and ‘‘Convention’’ 

18 have the meaning given those terms in paragraphs 

19 (3) and (4) of section 2(a) of the Act to Prevent 

20 Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901(a)). 

21 (5) NAVIGABLE WATERS.—The term ‘‘navigable 

22 waters’’ has the meaning given that term by section 

23 502(7) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

24 (33 U.S.C. 1362(7)). 
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1 SEC. 9. APPLICATION WITH OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

2 LANDS ACT. 

3 Nothing in this Act supersedes, or limits the author4 ity of the Secretary of the Interior under, the Outer Conti5 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) 

6 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated for each fis8 cal year 2006 through 2010— 

9 (1) to the Administrator for the purpose of car10 rying out sections 3 and 7 of this Act, $10,000,000, 

11 of which no more than 10 percent may be for ad12 ministrative costs; and 

13 (2) to the Secretary of the Department in which 

14 the Coast Guard is operating, for the use of the 

15 Commandant of the Coast Guard in carrying out 

16 sections 4 and 6 of this Act, $5,000,000, of which 

17 no more than 10 percent may be used for adminis18 trative costs. 

Passed the Senate July 1, 2005. 

Attest: EMILY J. REYNOLDS, 

Secretary.