I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4778 
To require the Secretary of the Army to conduct a survey and monitoring 
of off-shore sites in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands where chemical 
munitions were disposed of by the Armed Forces, to support research 
regarding the public and environmental health impacts of chemical muni-
tions disposal in the ocean, and to require the preparation of a report 
on remediation plans for such disposal sites. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 16, 2006 
Mr. ABERCROMBIE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Army to conduct a survey 
and monitoring of off-shore sites in the vicinity of the 
Hawaiian Islands where chemical munitions were dis-
posed of by the Armed Forces, to support research re-
garding the public and environmental health impacts of 
chemical munitions disposal in the ocean, and to require 
the preparation of a report on remediation plans for 
such disposal sites. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hawaiian Waters 
Chemical Munitions Safety Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Until 1970 the United States Armed Forces 
routinely dumped military chemical munitions in 
ocean waters. 
(2) According to the report entitled ‘‘Off-Shore 
Disposal of Chemical Agents and Weapons Con-
ducted by the United States’’, which was prepared 
by the Army’s Historical Research and Response 
Team in 2001, chemical munitions were dumped at 
a minimum of three locations near the Hawaiian Is-
lands, and the weapons disposed of at these sites in-
cluded 1,100 one-thousand pound cyanogen chloride 
bombs, 20 one-thousand pound hydrogen cyanide 
bombs, 125 five-hundred pound cyanogen chloride 
bombs, 15,000 one-hundred-and-fifteen pound mus-
tard gas bombs, 31,000 mustard gas-filled mortar 
shells, 1,000 one-ton containers of mustard gas 
agent, 190 one-ton containers of lewisite agent, 
16,000 one-hundred pound mustard gas bombs, and 
4,220 tons of various ordinance filled with hydrogen 
cyanide. 
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(3) The report also specified that chemical mu-
nitions were dumped off the coasts of Alabama, 
Alaska, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and 
Virginia. 
(4) The lack of research into the effect of long- 
term seawater exposure on chemical munitions and 
the potential risks to the public and the environment 
has created significant public concern in Hawaii, es-
pecially among communities near coastal military fa-
cilities and military munitions disposal areas. 
(5) The dumping of chemical munitions in the 
ocean is now prohibited by the Marine Protection, 
Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 U.S.C. 
1401 et seq.). 
(6) The United States is a signatory of both the 
Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by 
Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, with an-
nexes, done at Washington, London, Mexico City, 
and Moscow December 29, 1972, and entered into 
force August 20, 1975 (26 UST 2403) and the Con-
vention on the Prohibition of the Development, Pro-
duction, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons 
and on Their Destruction, with annexes, done at 
Paris January 13, 1993, and entered into force 
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April 29, 1997 (commonly known as the ‘‘Chemical 
Weapons Convention’’). 
SEC. 3. RESPONSE TO DISPOSAL OF CHEMICAL MUNITIONS 
WITHIN HAWAIIAN WATERS. 
(a) SURVEY
AND IDENTIFICATION
OF DISPOSAL 
SITES.— 
(1) SURVEY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the 
Army shall conduct a survey of all underwater sites 
within 12 miles of the Hawaiian Islands where 
chemical munitions are known or believed to have 
been disposed of by the Armed Forces between 1941 
and 1972. 
(2) SURVEY
PURPOSE.—The purpose of the 
survey is to characterize the location and size of the 
disposal sites, the types and numbers of chemical 
munitions at the sites, and the condition of chemical 
munitions at the sites. 
(3) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than Sep-
tember 30, 2009, the Secretary of the Army shall 
submit to Congress a report containing the results 
of the survey. 
(b) IDENTIFICATION OF NAVIGATIONAL HAZARDS.— 
The Secretary of the Army shall cooperate with the Sec-
retary of Commerce to ensure that nautical charts and 
other navigation materials for Hawaiian coastal waters in-
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clude hazards to private activities and commercial ship-
ping or fishing operations identified as a result of the sur-
vey conducted under subsection (a). 
(c) MONITORING.— 
(1) MONITORING REQUIRED.—Within one year 
after the completion of the survey required by sub-
section (a), the Secretary of the Army shall imple-
ment the appropriate monitoring mechanisms to rec-
ognize and track the potential release of hazardous 
chemical agents into the marine environment from 
the disposal sites covered by the survey. 
(2) ELEMENTS.—The monitoring regime shall 
include appropriate sampling, testing, and evaluation 
of Hawaiian coastal waters for signs of contamina-
tion from chemical munitions that may pose a risk 
to public health and the marine environment. 
(d) RESEARCH.—The Secretary of the Army, acting 
through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army 
for Installations and Environment, shall establish a pro-
gram to conduct research and provide research grants for 
the purpose of studying the long-term effects of seawater 
exposure on chemical munitions, potential public health 
risks associated with ocean disposal of chemical munitions, 
and the environmental impact of the ocean disposal of 
chemical munitions. 
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(e) REMEDIATION.— 
(1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Within one year after 
the completion of the survey required by subsection 
(a), the Secretary of the Army shall submit to Con-
gress a report containing the following: 
(A) An analysis of the feasibility of imple-
menting multiple remediation measures at the 
disposal sites covered by the survey. 
(B) Cost estimates for such remediation 
measures. 
(C) An analysis of the public health and 
environmental safety risks of the disposal sites. 
(2) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—The feasibility 
analysis required by paragraph (1)(A) shall take into 
account the cost of remediation measures, the public 
health and environmental damage risk of remedi-
ation measures, and the risk to personnel engaged in 
remediation measures. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 
Æ 
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