I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3217
To provide for ballast water management to prevent the introduction and
spread of nonindigenous species into the waters of the United States,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 29, 1996
Mr. LATOURETTE (for himself, Mr. SAXTON, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. RIVERS, Ms.
KAPTUR, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. QUINN, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr.
MILLER of California, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. FRANKS of
New Jersey, Mr. PETRI, Mr. HOKE, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. DINGELL, Mr.
ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, and Mrs. MORELLA) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
A BILL
To provide for ballast water management to prevent the
introduction and spread of nonindigenous species into
the waters of the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Na-
tional Invasive Species Act of 1996’’.
(b) REFERENCES.—Whenever in this Act an amend-
ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment
to or repeal of a section or other provision, the reference
shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi-
sion of the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention
and Control Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4701 et seq.).
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE NONINDIGENOUS AQUATIC
NUISANCE PREVENTION AND CONTROL ACT
OF 1990.
(a) FINDINGS; DEFINITIONS.—
(1) FINDINGS.—Section 1002 (16 U.S.C. 4701)
is amended—
(A) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and
inserting the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(2) when environmental conditions are favor-
able, nonindigenous species become established and
may disrupt the aquatic environment and economy
of affected nearshore areas;
‘‘(3) the zebra mussel was unintentionally intro-
duced into the Great Lakes and has infested—
‘‘(A) waters south of the Great Lakes, into
a good portion of the Mississippi River drain-
age;
‘‘(B) waters west of the Great Lakes, into
the Arkansas River in Oklahoma; and
‘‘(C) waters east of the Great Lakes, into
the Hudson River and Lake Champlain;’’; and
(B) in paragraph (4)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘by the zebra mussel
and 
ruffe, 
round 
goby, 
and 
other
nonindigenous species’’ after ‘‘other spe-
cies’’;
(ii) by striking the period and insert-
ing a semicolon; and
(iii) by adding at the end the follow-
ing new paragraphs:
‘‘(5) because the zebra mussel was discovered in
Lake Champlain in 1993, an opportunity exists to
act quickly to manage zebra mussels before the in-
festation of, and control costs for, zebra mussels es-
calate;
‘‘(6) in 1992, the zebra mussel was discovered
at the northernmost reaches of the Chesapeake Bay
watershed;
‘‘(7) the zebra mussel poses an imminent risk
of invasion in the main waters of the Chesapeake
Bay;
‘‘(8) since the Chesapeake Bay is the largest re-
cipient of foreign ballast water on the East Coast,
there is a risk of further invasions of other
nonindigenous species;
‘‘(9) the zebra mussel is only one example of
thousands of nonindigenous species that have be-
come established in the waters of the United States
and may be causing economic and ecological deg-
radation with respect to the natural resources of wa-
ters of the United States;
‘‘(10) since the introduction in ballast water
discharges in the early 1980’s of ruffe, small perch-
like fish, ruffe—
‘‘(A) have caused severe declines in popu-
lations of other species of fish in Duluth Har-
bor (in Minnesota and Wisconsin);
‘‘(B) have spread to Lake Huron; and
‘‘(C) are likely to spread quickly to most
other waters in North America if action is not
taken promptly to control their spread;
‘‘(11) examples of nonindigenous species that,
as of the date of enactment of the National Invasive
Species Act of 1996, infest coastal waters of the
United States and that have the potential for caus-
ing adverse economic and ecological effects are—
‘‘(A) the mitten crab (Eriochei sinensis)
that has become established on the Pacific
Coast;
‘‘(B) the green crab (Carcinus maenus)
that has become established in the coastal wa-
ters of the Atlantic Ocean;
‘‘(C) the brown mussel (Perna perna) that
has become established along the Gulf of Mex-
ico; and
‘‘(D) certain shellfish pathogens;
‘‘(12) if preventive management measures are
not taken nationwide to prevent and control uninten-
tionally introduced nonindigenous aquatic species in
a timely manner, further introductions and infesta-
tions of species that are as destructive, or more de-
structive, than the zebra mussel or the ruffe infesta-
tions, may occur;
‘‘(13) once introduced into the waters of the
United States, nonindigenous aquatic nuisance spe-
cies are unintentionally transported and introduced
into inland lakes and rivers by recreational boaters,
commercial barge traffic, and a variety of other
pathways; and
‘‘(14) resolving the problems associated with
nonindigenous aquatic nuisance species will require
the participation and cooperation of the Federal
Government and State governments, and investment
in the development of prevention technologies.’’.
(2) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1003 (16 U.S.C.
4702) is amended—
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘assist-
ant Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Sec-
retary’’;
(B) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(9)
through (15) as paragraphs (12) through (18),
respectively; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (8) the
following:
‘‘(9) ‘Great Lakes region’ means the 8 States
that border on the Great Lakes;
‘‘(10) ‘Indian tribe’ means any Indian tribe,
band, nation, or other organized group or commu-
nity, including any Alaska Native village or regional
corporation (as defined in or established pursuant to
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.)) that is recognized as eligible for the
special programs and services provided by the Unit-
ed States to Indians because of their status as Indi-
ans; and
‘‘(11) 
‘interstate 
organization’ 
means 
an
interjurisdictional entity—
‘‘(A) established by—
‘‘(i) an interstate compact that is ap-
proved by Congress;
‘‘(ii) a Federal statute; or
‘‘(iii) a treaty or other international
agreement with respect to which the Unit-
ed States is a party; and
‘‘(B)(i) that represents 2 or more—
‘‘(I) States or political subdivisions
thereof; or
‘‘(II) Indian tribes; or
‘‘(ii) that represents—
‘‘(I) 1 or more States or political sub-
divisions thereof; and
‘‘(II) 1 or more Indian tribes; or
‘‘(iii) that represents the Federal Govern-
ment (or any political subdivision thereof) and
1 or more foreign governments (or any political
subdivisions thereof); and
‘‘(C) has jurisdiction over, serves as forum
for coordinating, or otherwise has a role or re-
sponsibility for the management of any land, or
other natural resource.’’.
(b) AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES CONTROL PRO-
GRAM.—
(1) AMENDMENT
TO
HEADING.—The subtitle
heading to subtitle B (16 U.S.C. 4711 et seq.) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘Subtitle B—Prevention of Unin-
tentional 
Introductions 
of
Nonindigenous Aquatic Species’’
(2) NONINDIGENOUS AQUATIC NUISANCE SPE-
CIES.—Section 1101 (16 U.S.C. 4711) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 1101. AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES IN THE WATERS
OF THE UNITED STATES.
‘‘(a) GREAT LAKES GUIDELINES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall issue voluntary guidelines to prevent the
introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species
into the Great Lakes through the exchange of bal-
last water of vessels prior to entering those waters.
‘‘(2) CONTENT
OF
GUIDELINES.—The guide-
lines issued under this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) ensure to the maximum extent prac-
ticable that ballast water containing aquatic
nuisance species is not discharged into the
Great Lakes;
‘‘(B) protect the safety of—
‘‘(i) each vessel; and
‘‘(ii) the crew and passengers of each
vessel;
‘‘(C) take into consideration different ves-
sel operating conditions; and
‘‘(D) be based on the best scientific infor-
mation available.
‘‘(3) EDUCATION AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall carry out
education and technical assistance programs and
other measures to encourage compliance with the
guidelines issued under this subsection.
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Task Force, shall
issue regulations to prevent the introduction and
spread of aquatic nuisance species into the Great
Lakes through the ballast water of vessels.
‘‘(2) CONTENT OF REGULATIONS.—The regula-
tions issued under this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) apply to all vessels that enter a Unit-
ed States port on the Great Lakes after operat-
ing on the waters beyond the exclusive economic
zone;
‘‘(B) require a vessel to—
‘‘(i) carry out exchange of ballast
water on the waters beyond the exclusive
economic zone prior to entry into any port
within the Great Lakes;
‘‘(ii) carry out an exchange of ballast
water in other waters where the exchange
does not pose a threat of infestation or
spread of aquatic nuisance species in the
Great Lakes and other waters of the Unit-
ed States, as recommended by the Task
Force under section 1102(a)(1); or
‘‘(iii) use environmentally sound alter-
native ballast water management methods
if the Secretary determines that such alter-
native methods are as effective as ballast
water exchange in preventing and control-
ling infestations of aquatic nuisance spe-
cies;
‘‘(C) not affect or supersede any require-
ments or prohibitions pertaining to the dis-
charge of ballast water into waters of the Unit-
ed States under the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);
‘‘(D) provide for sampling procedures to
monitor compliance with the requirements of
the regulations;
‘‘(E) prohibit the operation of a vessel in
the Great Lakes if the master of the vessel has
not certified to the Secretary or the Secretary’s
designee by not later than the departure of that
vessel from the first lock in the St. Lawrence
Seaway that the vessel has complied with the
requirements of the regulations;
‘‘(F) request the Secretary of the Treasury
to withhold or revoke the clearance required by
section 4197 of the Revised Statutes (46 U.S.C.
App. 91) of a vessel, the owner or operator of
which is in violation of the regulations;
‘‘(G) protect the safety of—
‘‘(i) each vessel; and
‘‘(ii) the crew and passengers of each
vessel;
‘‘(H) take into consideration different op-
erating conditions; and
‘‘(I) be based on the best scientific infor-
mation available.
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS.—In addition
to promulgating regulations under paragraph (1),
the Secretary, in consultation with the Task Force,
shall, not later than 2 years after November 4,
1992, issue regulations to prevent the introduction
and spread of aquatic nuisance species into the
Great Lakes through ballast water carried on vessels
that enter a United States port on the Hudson River
north of the George Washington Bridge.
‘‘(c) VOLUNTARY NATIONAL GUIDELINES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of the National Invasive Spe-
cies Act of 1996, the Secretary shall issue voluntary
guidelines to prevent the unintentional introduction
and spread of nonindigenous species in waters of the
United States by ballast water operations and other
operations of vessels (as determined by the Sec-
retary).
‘‘(2) CONTENT OF GUIDELINES.—The voluntary
guidelines issued under this subsection shall—
‘‘(A) ensure to the maximum extent prac-
ticable that aquatic nuisance species are not
discharged into the waters of the United States
from vessels;
‘‘(B) apply to all vessels that operate in
waters of the United States;
‘‘(C) direct a vessel that is carrying ballast
water into the waters of the United States after
operating beyond the exclusive economic zone
to—
‘‘(i) carry out the exchange of ballast
water of the vessel in waters beyond the
exclusive economic zone;
‘‘(ii) exchange the ballast water of the
vessel in other waters where the exchange
does not pose a threat of infestation or
spread of nonindigenous species in the wa-
ters of the United States, as recommended
by 
the 
Task 
Force 
under 
section
1102(a)(1); or
‘‘(iii) use environmentally sound alter-
native ballast water management methods,
including modification of the vessel ballast
tanks and intake systems, if the Secretary
determines that such alternative methods
are at least as effective as ballast water ex-
change in preventing and controlling infes-
tations of aquatic nuisance species;
‘‘(D) direct vessels to carry out manage-
ment practices that the Secretary determines to
be necessary to reduce the probability of unin-
tentional nonindigenous species transfer result-
ing from—
‘‘(i) ship operations other than ballast
discharge; and
‘‘(ii) ballasting practices of vessels
that enter waters of the United States with
no ballast on board;
‘‘(E) provide for recordkeeping that shall
be maintained on board each vessel and made
available for inspection, upon request of the
Secretary and in a matter consistent with sub-
section (h), in order to enable the Secretary to
determine compliance with the guidelines, in-
cluding—
‘‘(i) with respect to each ballast water
exchange referred to in clause (ii), report-
ing on the precise location and thorough-
ness of the exchange; and
‘‘(ii) any other information that the
Secretary considers necessary to assess the