II 

Calendar No. 70 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 362 

[Report No. 109–56] 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2005 

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. STEVENS, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. 

KERRY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. AKAKA, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

APRIL 13, 2005 

Reported by Mr. STEVENS, with an amendment 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

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. 
2 

•S 362 RS 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

8 findings: 

9 (1) The oceans, which comprise nearly three 

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

11 source of food and provide a wealth of other natural 

12 products that are important to the economy of the 

13 United States and the world. 

14 (2) Ocean and coastal areas are regions of re15 markably high biological productivity, are of consid16 erable importance for a variety of recreational and 

17 commercial activities, and provide a vital means of 

18 transportation. 

19 (3) Ocean and coastal resources are limited and 

20 susceptible to change as a direct and indirect result 

21 of human activities, and such changes can impact 

22 the ability of the ocean to provide the benefits upon 

23 which the Nation depends. 

24 (4) Marine debris, including plastics, derelict 

25 fishing gear, and a wide variety of other objects, has 
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1 a harmful and persistent effect on marine flora and 

2 fauna and can have adverse impacts on human 

3 health. 

4 (5) Marine debris is also a hazard to naviga5 tion, putting mariners and rescuers, their vessels, 

6 and consequently the marine environment at risk, 

7 and can cause economic loss due to entanglement of 

8 vessel systems. 

9 (6) Modern plastic materials persist for decades 

10 in the marine environment and therefore pose the 

11 greatest potential for long-term damage to the ma12 rine environment. 

13 (7) Insufficient knowledge and data on the 

14 source, movement, and effects of plastics and other 

15 marine debris in marine ecosystems has hampered 

16 efforts to develop effective approaches for addressing 

17 marine debris. 

18 (8) Lack of resources, inadequate attention to 

19 this issue, and poor coordination at the Federal level 

20 has undermined the development and implementa21 tion of a Federal program to address marine debris, 

22 both domestically and internationally. 

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

24 (1) to establish programs within the National 

25 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the 
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1 United States Coast Guard to help identify, deter2 mine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine 

3 debris and its adverse impacts on the marine envi4 ronment and navigation safety, in coordination with 

5 other Federal and non-Federal entities; 

6 (2) to re-establish the Inter-agency Marine De7 bris Coordinating Committee to ensure a coordinated 

8 government response across Federal agencies; 

9 (3) to develop a Federal information clearing10 house to enable researchers to study the sources, 

11 scale and impact of marine debris more efficiently; 

12 and 

13 (4) to take appropriate action in the inter14 national community to prevent marine debris and re15 duce concentrations of existing debris on a global 

16 scale. 

17 SEC. 3. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PREVENTION AND REMOVAL 

18 PROGRAM. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—There is estab20 lished, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad21 ministration, a Marine Debris Prevention and Removal 

22 Program to reduce and prevent the occurrence and ad23 verse impacts of marine debris on the marine environment 

24 and navigation safety. 
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1 (b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.—Through the Marine 

2 Debris Prevention and Removal Program, the Adminis3 trator shall carry out the following activities: 

4 (1) MAPPING, IDENTIFICATION, IMPACT AS5 SESSMENT, REMOVAL, AND PREVENTION.—The Ad6 ministrator shall, in consultation with relevant Fed7 eral agencies, undertake marine debris mapping, 

8 identification, impact assessment, prevention, and re9 moval efforts, with a focus on marine debris posing 

10 a threat to living marine resources (particularly en11 dangered or protected species) and navigation safety, 

12 including— 

13 (A) the establishment of a process, build14 ing on existing information sources maintained 

15 by Federal agencies such as the Environmental 

16 Protection Agency and the Coast Guard, for 

17 cataloguing and maintaining an inventory of 

18 marine debris and its impacts found in the 

19 United States navigable waters and the United 

20 States exclusive economic zone, including loca21 tion, material, size, age, and origin, and im22 pacts on habitat, living marine resources, 

23 human health, and navigation safety; 

24 (B) measures to identify the origin, loca25 tion, and projected movement of marine debris 
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1 within the United States navigable waters, the 

2 United States exclusive economic zone, and the 

3 high seas, including the use of oceanographic, 

4 atmospheric, satellite, and remote sensing data; 

5 and 

6 (C) development and implementation of 

7 strategies, methods, priorities, and a plan for 

8 preventing and removing marine debris from 

9 United States navigable waters and within the 

10 United States exclusive economic zone, includ11 ing development of local or regional protocols 

12 for removal of derelict fishing gear. 

13 (2) REDUCING AND PREVENTING LOSS OF

14 GEAR.—The Administrator shall improve efforts and 

15 actively seek to prevent and reduce fishing gear 

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

17 gear on living marine resources and navigation safe18 ty, including— 

19 (A) research and development of alter20 natives to gear posing threats to the marine en21 vironment, and methods for marking gear used 

22 in specific fisheries to enhance the tracking, re23 covery, and identification of lost and discarded 

24 gear; and 
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1 (B) development of voluntary or manda2 tory measures to reduce the loss and discard of 

3 fishing gear, and to aid its recovery, such as in4 centive programs, reporting loss and recovery of 

5 gear, observer programs, toll-free reporting hot6 lines, computer-based notification forms, and 

7 providing adequate and free disposal recepticals 

8 at ports. 

9 (3) OUTREACH.—The Administrator shall un10 dertake outreach and education of the public and 

11 other stakeholders, such as the fishing industry, 

12 fishing gear manufacturers, and other marine-de13 pendent industries, on sources of marine debris, 

14 threats associated with marine debris and ap15 proaches to identify, determine sources of, assess, 

16 reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse 

17 impacts on the marine environment and navigational 

18 safety. Including outreach and education activities 

19 through public-private initiatives. The Administrator 

20 shall coordinate outreach and education activities 

21 under this paragraph with any outreach programs 

22 conducted under section 2204 of the Marine Plastic 

23 Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (33 

24 U.S.C. 1915). 

25 (c) GRANTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall pro2 vide financial assistance, in the form of grants, 

3 through the Marine Debris Prevention and Removal 

4 Program for projects to accomplish the purposes of 

5 this Act. 

6 (2) 50 PERCENT MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

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

8 subparagraph (B), Federal funds for any 

9 project under this section may not exceed 50 

10 percent of the total cost of such project. For 

11 purposes of this subparagraph, the non-Federal 

12 share of project costs may be provided by in13 kind contributions and other noncash support. 

14 (B) WAIVER.—The Administrator may 

15 waive all or part of the matching requirement 

16 under subparagraph (A) if the Administrator 

17 determines that no reasonable means are avail18 able through which applicants can meet the 

19 matching requirement and the probable benefit 

20 of such project outweighs the public interest in 

21 such matching requirement. 

22 (3) AMOUNTS PAID AND SERVICES RENDERED

23 UNDER CONSENT.— 

24 (A) CONSENT DECREES AND ORDERS.— 

25 The non-Federal share of the cost of a project 
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1 carried out under this Act may include money 

2 paid pursuant to, or the value of any in-kind 

3 service performed under, an administrative 

4 order on consent or judicial consent decree that 

5 will remove or prevent marine debris. 

6 (B) OTHER DECREES AND ORDERS.—The 

7 non-Federal share of the cost of a project car8 ried out under this Act may not include any 

9 money paid pursuant to, or the value of any in10 kind service performed under, any other admin11 istrative order or court order. 

12 (4) ELIGIBILITY.—Any natural resource man13 agement authority of a State, Federal or other gov14 ernment authority whose activities directly or indi15 rectly affect research or regulation of marine debris, 

16 and any educational or nongovernmental institutions 

17 with demonstrated expertise in a field related to ma18 rine debris, are eligible to submit to the Adminis19 trator a marine debris proposal under the grant pro20 gram. 

21 (5) GRANT CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.—With22 in 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

23 the Administrator shall promulgate necessary guide24 lines for implementation of the grant program, in25 cluding development of criteria and priorities for 
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1 grants. Such priorities may include proposals that 

2 would reduce new sources of marine debris and pro3 vide additional benefits to the public, such as recy4 cling of marine debris or use of biodegradable mate5 rials. In developing those guidelines, the Adminis6 trator shall consult with— 

7 (A) the Interagency Marine Debris Com8 mittee; 

9 (B) regional fishery management councils 

10 established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fish11 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 

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

13 (C) State, regional, and local governmental 

14 entities with marine debris experience; 

15 (D) marine-dependent industries; and 

16 (E) non-governmental organizations in17 volved in marine debris research, prevention, or 

18 removal activities. 

19 (6) PROJECT REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The 

20 Administrator shall review each marine debris 

21 project proposal to determine if it meets the grant 

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

23 than 120 days after receiving a project proposal 

24 under this section, the Administrator shall— 
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1 (A) provide for external merit-based peer 

2 review of the proposal; 

3 (B) after considering any written com4 ments and recommendations based on the re5 view, approve or disapprove the proposal; and 

6 (C) provide written notification of that ap7 proval or disapproval to the person who sub8 mitted the proposal. 

9 (7) PROJECT REPORTING.—Each grantee under 

10 this section shall provide periodic reports as required 

11 by the Administrator. Each report shall include all 

12 information required by the Administrator for evalu13 ating the progress and success in meeting its stated 

14 goals, and impact on the marine debris problem. 

15 SEC. 4. COAST GUARD PROGRAM. 

16 The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall, in co17 operation with the Administrator, undertake measures to 

18 reduce violations of MARPOL Annex V and the Act to 

19 Prevent Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) 

20 with respect to the discard of plastics and other garbage 

21 from vessels. The measures shall include— 

22 (1) the development of a strategy to improve 

23 monitoring and enforcement of current laws, as well 

24 as recommendations for statutory or regulatory 
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1 changes to improve compliance and for the develop2 ment of any appropriate amendments to MARPOL; 

3 (2) regulations to address implementation gaps 

4 with respect to the requirement of MARPOL Annex 

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

6 Ships (33 U.S.C. 1905) that all United States ports 

7 and terminals maintain receptacles for disposing of 

8 plastics and other garbage, which may include meas9 ures to ensure that a sufficient quantity of such fa10 cilities exist at all such ports and terminals, require11 ments for logging the waste received, and for Coast 

12 Guard comparison of vessel and port log books to 

13 determine compliance; 

14 (3) regulations to close record keeping gaps, 

15 which may include requiring fishing vessels under 

16 400 gross tons entering United States ports to 

17 maintain records subject to Coast Guard inspection 

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

19 at a minimum, include the time, date, type of gar20 bage, quantity, and location of discharge by latitude 

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

22 the port where such material is offloaded for dis23 posal; disposal, taking into account potential eco24 nomic impacts and technical feasibility; 
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1 (4) regulations to improve ship-board waste 

2 management, which may include expanding to small3 er vessels existing requirements to maintain ship4 board receptacles and maintain a ship-board waste 

5 management plan, taking into account potential eco6 nomic impacts and technical feasibility; 

7 (5) the development, through outreach to com8 mercial vessel operators and recreational boaters, of 

9 a voluntary reporting program, along with the estab10 lishment of a central reporting location, for incidents 

11 of damage to vessels caused by marine debris, as 

12 well as observed violations of existing laws and regu13 lations relating to disposal of plastics and other ma14 rine debris; and 

15 (6) a voluntary program encouraging United 

16 States flag vessels to inform the Coast Guard of any 

17 ports in other countries that lack adequate port re18 ception facilities for garbage. 

19 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION. 

20 (a) INTERAGENCY MARINE DEBRIS COMMITTEE ES21 TABLISHED.—There is established an Interagency Com22 mittee on Marine Debris to coordinate a comprehensive 

23 program of marine debris research and activities among 

24 Federal agencies, in cooperation and coordination with 

25 non-governmental organizations, industry, universities, 
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1 and research institutions, State governments, Indian 

2 tribes, and other nations, as appropriate, and to foster 

3 cost-effective mechanisms to identify, determine sources 

4 of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris, and its ad5 verse inpact on the marine environment and navigational 

6 safety, including the joint funding of research and mitiga7 tion and prevention strategies. 

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

9 senior official from— 

10 (1) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad11 ministration, who shall serve as the chairperson of 

12 the Committee; 

13 (2) the United States Coast Guard; 

14 (3) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

15 (4) the United States Navy; 

16 (5) the Maritime Administration of the Depart17 ment of Transportation; 

18 (6) the National Aeronautics and Space Admin19 istration; 

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

21 (8) the Department of State; 

22 (9) the Marine Mammal Commission; and 

23 (10) such other Federal agencies that have an 

24 interest in ocean issues or water pollution prevention 
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1 and control as the Administrator determines appro2 priate. 

3 (c) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall meet at least 

4 twice a year to provide a public, interagency forum to en5 sure the coordination of national and international re6 search, monitoring, education, and regulatory actions ad7 dressing the persistent marine debris problem. 

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

9 promulgate through regulation a definition of the term 

10 ‘‘marine debris’’. 

11 (e) REPORTING.— 

12 (1) INTERAGENCY REPORT ON MARINE DEBRIS

13 IMPACTS AND STRATEGIES.—Not later than 12 

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

15 the Committee, through the chairperson, and in co16 operation with the coastal States, Indian tribes, local 

17 governments, and non-governmental organizations, 

18 shall complete and submit to the Congress a report 

19 identifying the source of marine debris, examining 

20 the ecological and economic impact of marine debris, 

21 alternatives for reducing, mitigating, preventing, and 

22 controlling the harmful affects of marine debris, the 

23 social and economic costs and benefits of such alter24 natives, and recommendations regarding both do25 mestic and international marine debris issues. 
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1 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

2 paragraph (1) shall provide recommendations on— 

3 (A) establishing priority areas for action to 

4 address leading problems relating to marine de5 bris; 

6 (B) developing an effective strategy and 

7 approaches to preventing, reducing, removing, 

8 and disposing of marine debris, including 

9 through private-public partnerships; 

10 (C) providing appropriate infrastructure 

11 for effective implementation and enforcement of 

12 measures to prevent and remove marine debris, 

13 especially the discard and loss of fishing gear; 

14 (D) establishing effective and coordinated 

15 education and outreach activities; and 

16 (E) ensuring Federal cooperation with, and 

17 assistance to, the coastal States (as defined in 

18 section 304(4) of the Coastal Zone Management 

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

20 tribes, and local governments in the identifica21 tion, determination of sources, prevention, re22 duction, management, mitigation, and control of 

23 marine debris and its adverse impacts. 

24 (3) ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.—Not later 

25 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 
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1 Act, and every year thereafter, the Committee, 

2 through the chairperson, shall submit to the Com3 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

4 the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the 

5 House of Representatives a report that evaluates 

6 United States and international progress in meeting 

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

8 (A) the status of implementation of the 

9 recommendations of the Committee and anal10 ysis of their effectiveness; 

11 (B) a summary of the marine debris inven12 tory to be maintained by the National Oceanic 

13 and Atmospheric Administration; 

14 (C) a review of the National Oceanic and 

15 Atmospheric Administration program author16 ized by section 3 of this Act, including projects 

17 funded and accomplishments relating to reduc18 tion and prevention of marine debris; 

19 (D) a review of United States Coast Guard 

20 programs and accomplishments relating to ma21 rine debris removal, including enforcement and 

22 compliance with MARPOL requirements; and 

23 (E) estimated Federal and non-Federal 

24 funding provided for marine debris and rec25 ommendations for priority funding needs. 
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1 (f) MONITORING.—The Administrator, in cooperation 

2 with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

3 Agency, shall utilize the marine debris data derived under 

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

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

6 assist— 

7 (1) the Committee in ensuring coordination of 

8 research, monitoring, education, and regulatory ac9 tions; and 

10 (2) the United States Coast Guard in assessing 

11 the effectiveness of this Act and the Act to Prevent 

12 Pollution from Ships (33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.) in en13 suring compliance under section 2201 of the Marine 

14 Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 

15 (33 U.S.C. 1913). 

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

17 Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 

18 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914) is repealed. 

19 SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. 

20 The Interagency Marine Debris Committee shall de21 velop a strategy and pursue in the International Maritime 

22 Organization and other appropriate international and re23 gional forums, international action to reduce the incidence 

24 of marine debris, including— 
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1 (1) the inclusion of effective and enforceable 

2 marine debris prevention and removal measures in 

3 international and regional agreements, including 

4 fisheries agreements and maritime agreements; 

5 (2) measures to strengthen and to improve 

6 compliance with MARPOL Annex V; 

7 (3) national reporting and information require8 ments that will assist in improving information col9 lection, identification and monitoring of marine de10 bris; 

11 (4) the establishment of an international data12 base, consistent with the information clearinghouse 

13 established under section 7, that will provide current 

14 information on location, source, prevention, and re15 moval of marine debris; 

16 (5) the establishment of public-private partner17 ships and funding sources for pilot programs that 

18 will assist in implementation and compliance with 

19 marine debris requirements in international agree20 ments and guidelines; 

21 (6) the identification of possible amendments to 

22 and provisions in the International Maritime Organi23 zation Guidelines for the Implementation of Annex V 

24 of MARPOL for potential inclusion in Annex V; and 
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1 (7) when appropriate assist the responsible 

2 Federal agency in bilateral negotiations to effectively 

3 enforce marine debris prevention. 

4 SEC. 7. FEDERAL INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE. 

5 The Administrator, in coordination with the Com6 mittee, shall maintain a Federal information clearinghouse 

7 on marine debris that will be available to researchers and 

8 other interested parties to improve source identification, 

9 data sharing, and monitoring efforts through collaborative 

10 research and open sharing of data. The clearinghouse shall 

11 include— 

12 (1) standardized protocols to map locations of 

13 commercial fishing and aquaculture activities using 

14 Geographic Information System techniques; 

15 (2) a world-wide database which describes fish16 ing gear and equipment, and fishing practices, in17 cluding information on gear types and specifications; 

18 (3) guidance on the identification of types of 

19 fishing gear fragments and their sources developed 

20 in consultation with persons of relevant expertise; 

21 and 

22 (4) the data on mapping and identification of 

23 marine debris to be developed pursuant to section 

24 3(b)(1) of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

5 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

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

7 means the Interagency Marine Debris Committee es8 tablished by section 5 of this Act. 

9 (3) UNITED STATES EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC

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

11 zone’’ means the zone established by Presidential 

12 Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 

13 1983, including the ocean waters of the areas re14 ferred to as ‘‘eastern special areas’’ in article 3(1) 

15 of the Agreement between the United States of 

16 America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 

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

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

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

20 have the meaning given those terms in paragraphs 

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

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

23 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 There are authorized to be appropriated for each fis25 cal year 2006 through 2010— 
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1 (1) to the Administrator for the purpose of car2 rying out sections 3 and 7 of this Act, $10,000,000, 

3 of which no more than 10 percent may be for ad4 ministrative costs; and 

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

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

7 Commandant of the Coast Guard in carrying out 

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

9 no more than 10 percent may be used for adminis10 trative costs. 

Calendar No. 70 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 362 

[Report No. 109–56] 

A BILL 

To establish a program within the National Oceanic 

poses. with non-Federal entities, and for other purvironment and navigation safety, in coordination debris and its adverse impacts on the marine ensources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine States Coast Guard to help identify, determine and Atmospheric Administration and the United 

APRIL 13, 2005 

Reported with an amendment