I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1171 
To reauthorize and amend the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and 
Reduction Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2011 
Mr. FARR (for himself, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms. 
BORDALLO, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, and Mr. PIERLUISI) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Natural 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 
A BILL 
To reauthorize and amend the Marine Debris Research, 
Prevention, and Reduction Act. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marine Debris Act Re-
authorization Amendments of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
Section 2 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, 
and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1951) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
‘‘The purposes of this Act are— 
‘‘(1) to address the adverse impacts of marine 
debris to the marine environment, navigation safety, 
and the economy through investigation and source 
identification, assessment, reduction, removal, and 
prevention; 
‘‘(2) to continue the Interagency Marine Debris 
Coordinating Committee; and 
‘‘(3) to develop and maintain the Federal ma-
rine debris information clearinghouse.’’. 
SEC. 3. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM. 
Section 3 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, 
and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1952) is amended by strik-
ing so much as precedes subsection (c) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 3. NOAA MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—There is es-
tablished, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, a Marine Debris Program to— 
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‘‘(1) investigate, identify sources of, assess, re-
duce, remove, and prevent the occurrence of marine 
debris; and 
‘‘(2) address, and where practicable prevent, 
adverse impacts of marine debris on the marine en-
vironment, navigation safety, and the economy. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 
‘‘(1) INVESTIGATIONS AND ASSESSMENT.—The 
Administrator shall, in consultation with relevant 
Federal agencies, undertake marine debris investiga-
tion and assessment efforts, with a focus on marine 
debris posing a threat to the marine environment, 
navigation safety, and the economy, including— 
‘‘(A) investigation, analysis, and assess-
ment of derelict fishing gear; 
‘‘(B) investigation, analysis, and assess-
ment of plastics, as pertains to the health of the 
marine environment; 
‘‘(C) the establishment of a process for 
maintaining an inventory of marine debris types 
and their impacts found in the navigable waters 
of the United States and the United States ex-
clusive economic zone, including impacts on the 
marine environment, navigation safety, and the 
economy; and 
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‘‘(D) measures to identify the source, loca-
tion, and projected movement of marine debris 
within United States navigable waters, the 
United States exclusive economic zone, and the 
high seas, including the use of oceanographic, 
atmospheric, satellite, and remote sensing data. 
‘‘(2) PREVENT, REDUCE, AND REMOVE OCCUR-
RENCE AND IMPACTS.—The Administrator shall im-
prove efforts to prevent, reduce, and remove marine 
debris, including activities to address the adverse im-
pacts of derelict fishing gear, including— 
‘‘(A) working with other Federal agencies 
to address land-based sources of marine debris; 
‘‘(B) developing fishing gear modifications 
or alternatives to conventional fishing gear pos-
ing a threat to the marine environment; 
‘‘(C) developing effective nonregulatory 
measures and incentives to cooperatively reduce 
the volume of lost and discarded fishing gear 
and to aid in its recovery; and 
‘‘(D) developing and implementing strate-
gies, methods, priorities, and a plan for pre-
venting and removing marine debris in or likely 
to enter United States navigable waters or the 
United States exclusive economic zone, includ-
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ing development of local or regional protocols 
for removal of derelict fishing gear and other 
marine debris. 
‘‘(3) NATIONAL
AND
REGIONAL
COORDINA-
TION.—The Administrator shall undertake national 
and regional coordination to assist States, Indian 
tribes, and regional organizations to address marine 
debris issues that are particular to their areas, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(A) facilitating information exchange 
within and among States and Indian tribes on 
issues relating to marine debris investigation 
and assessment, prevention, reduction, and re-
moval activities; and 
‘‘(B) serving as an expert resource to 
State, tribal, and local governments, nongovern-
ment organizations, fishing communities, indus-
try, and other entities with an interest in ma-
rine debris. 
‘‘(4) DEVELOPMENT
OF
TOOLS
AND
PROD-
UCTS.—The Administrator shall develop tools and 
products to improve efforts to address marine de-
bris, and make these available to researchers, the 
marine debris community, and the general public. 
The tools and products may include— 
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‘‘(A) best practices; 
‘‘(B) protocols for monitoring marine de-
bris; 
‘‘(C) technology; and 
‘‘(D) reporting methods. 
‘‘(5) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.—The Ad-
ministrator, acting through the Marine Debris Pro-
gram, may lead the development and implementation 
of a strategy, in coordination with other relevant 
programs, that may be pursued by the United States 
with other nations and in appropriate international 
and regional forums, to promote international action 
to reduce the incidence of marine debris, including— 
‘‘(A) the adoption of effective marine de-
bris prevention and removal measures in inter-
national and regional agreements, including 
fisheries agreements and maritime agreements; 
‘‘(B) the development of standardized na-
tional reporting and information guidelines that 
will assist in improving information collection 
and identification and monitoring of marine de-
bris; 
‘‘(C) consistent with the information clear-
inghouse established under section 6, the pro-
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motion of ‘best practices to address marine de-
bris’; 
‘‘(D) the establishment of public-private 
partnerships and funding sources for pilot pro-
grams that will assist in implementation of ma-
rine debris prevention and removal measures in 
international agreements and guidelines; 
‘‘(E) when appropriate, provision of assist-
ance to the responsible Federal agency in bilat-
eral and multilateral efforts to effectively ad-
dress marine debris prevention; and 
‘‘(F) actions to implement the relevant rec-
ommendations of the National Research Council 
report entitled ‘Tackling Marine Debris in the 
21st Century’ and dated 2008.’’. 
SEC. 4. GLOBAL MARINE DEBRIS COORDINATION CON-
FERENCE. 
The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduc-
tion Act (33 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.) is amended by redesig-
nating sections 7, 8, and 9 in order as sections 8, 9, and 
10, and by inserting after section 6 the following new sec-
tion: 
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‘‘SEC. 7. GLOBAL MARINE DEBRIS COORDINATION CON-
FERENCE. 
‘‘The Administrator, in coordination with representa-
tives of the domestic and nondomestic marine debris com-
munity, shall host a Global Marine Debris Coordination 
Conference not less often than every four years, beginning 
in 2015. The Conference shall be developed with a steering 
committee composed of domestic and nondomestic marine 
debris experts, led by the Administrator.’’. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF MARINE DEBRIS. 
Section 8 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, 
and Reduction Act, as redesignated by section 4 of this 
Act, is amended— 
(1) by moving paragraph (3) (relating to the 
definition of ‘‘United States exclusive economic 
zone’’) to appear as the last paragraph of the sec-
tion; 
(2) by moving paragraph (6) (relating to the 
definition of ‘‘territorial sea’’) to appear immediately 
before such last paragraph, as so moved; 
(3) by amending the paragraphs after para-
graph (2) as paragraphs (4) through (10); 
(4) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
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‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).’’; and 
(6) by inserting after paragraph (3), as so re-
designated, the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) MARINE DEBRIS.—The term ‘marine de-
bris’ means any man-made object that— 
‘‘(A) intentionally or unintentionally, is 
discarded, disposed of, or abandoned; and 
‘‘(B) enters the coastal or marine environ-
ment— 
‘‘(i) directly from a vessel, a facility, 
or shore; or 
‘‘(ii) indirectly, by being carried via a 
river, stream, or storm drain or by other 
means.’’. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 10 of the Marine Debris Research, Preven-
tion, and Reduction Act, as redesignated by section 4 of 
this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘for each fiscal year 2006 
through 2010’’ and inserting ‘‘for each of fiscal years 
2012 through 2016’’. 
Æ 
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