An Act to authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for the procurement of vessels and aircraft and construction of shore and offshore establishments, to authorize for the Coast Guard a year-end strength for active duty personnel, to authorize for the Coast Guard average military student loads, and for other purposes.
PL 94-406 (H.R.11670), enacted 09/10/1976

PUBLIC LAW 94-406—SEPT. 10, 1976 
90 STAT. 1235 
Public Law 94-406 
94th Congress 
An Act 
To authorize appropriations for tlie Coast Guard for the procurement of vessels 
and aircraft and construction of shore and offshore establisliments, to authorize 
for the Coast Guard a year-end strength for active duty personnel, to authorize 
for the Coast Guard average military student loads, and for other purposes. 
He it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That funds are 
hereby authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 1977 for the use 
of the Coast Guard as follows: 
(1) For procurement of vessels: $86,168,000; 
For procurement of three port safety boats, one inland con-
struction tender, six aids to navigation boats, three harbor tug-
boats, thirty search and rescue boats, two high/medium endurance 
cutter replacements, ten high speed surface delivery systems for 
pollution control, and one motor life boat. 
(2) For procurement of aircraft: $24,300,000; 
For procurement of six medium-range surveillance aircraft. 
(3) For construction 
of shore and offshore 
establishments: 
$24,401,000; 
For construction at: 
(a) Portsmouth, Virginia—Phase IV of new Coast Guard 
Support Center; 
(b) Rodanthe, North Carolina—improvement of Oregon 
Inlet Station; 
(c) Elizabeth City, North Carolina—phase I of improve-
ment at Coast Guard Aircraft and Supply Center; 
(d) Alameda, California—construction of classroom build-
ing at Coast Guard Training Center; 
(e) New York, New York—phase II of New York vessel 
traffic service; 
(f) Loran-C National Implementation Plan—antenna 
erection, construction, and outfitting of stations at Malone, 
Florida, Grangeville, Louisiana, and Raymondville, Texas; 
antenna erection and outfitting of station at Elmira, New 
York; and construction and outfitting at Narrow Cape, 
Alaska; 
(g) Public family quarters—construction of family hous-
ing at Chicago, Illinois, Sitka, Alaska, and Point Judith, 
Rhode Island, or other locations; and 
(h) Provincetown, Massachusetts—construction of new 
station. 
(4) For procurement of vessels and/or aircraft for carrying out 
Coast Guard missions, including fishery law enforcement: $100,000,000. 
(5) For procurement of vessels with ice-breaking capability to be 
used on the Great Lakes: $50,000,000. 
SEC. 2. For fiscal year 1977, the Coast Guard is authorized an end 
strength for active duty personnel of 38,918; except that the ceiling 
shall not include members of the Ready Reserve called to active duty 
under the authority of section 764 of title 14, United States Code. 
Sept. 10, 1976 
[H.R. 11670] 
U.S. Coast 
Guard. 
Appropriation 
authorization. 
Active duty 
personnel 
strength. 
90 STAT. 1236 
PUBLIC LAW 94-406—SEPT. 10, 1976 
Military training 
student loads. 
14 u s e 656 note. 
14USCprec.211 
note. 
Alaska, cargo-
carrying vessels, 
exemptions 
permit. 
46 u s e 420. 
SEC. 3. For fiscal year 1977, average military training student loads 
for the Coast Guard are authorized as follows: 
(1^ recruit and special training, 4,209 students; 
(2) flight training, 154 students; 
(3) professional training in military and civilian institutions, 
372 students; and 
(4) officer acquisition, 1,175 students. 
SEC. 4. Section 475 of title 14, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (e) and redesignating subsections 
(f) and (g) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 
(2) by amending the redesignated subsection (f) to read as 
follows: 
"(f) The authority conferred by subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) 
may not be utilized after April 1, 1973, unless all reports required by 
subsection (e) have been filed with the Congress.". 
SEC. 5. After fiscal year 1977, funds may not be appropriated to or 
for the use of the Coast Guard (1) for the operation and maintenance 
of the Coast Guard; (2) for acquisition, construction, rebuilding, or 
improvement of aids to navigation, shore or offshore establishments, 
vessels, or aircraft, including equipment related thereto; (3) for altera-
tion of obstructive bridges; or (4) for research, development, tests, or 
evaluation related to any of the above, unless the appropriation of 
such funds has been authorized by legislation enacted after Decem-
ber 31, 1976. 
SEC. 6. (a) For each fiscal year after fiscal year 1977, the Congress 
shall authorize the end strength as of the end of each fiscal year for 
active duty personnel of the Coast Guard, and no funds may be appro-
priated for any such fiscal year to or for the use of the active duty 
personnel of the Coast Guard unless the end strength for such active 
duty personnel for such fiscal year has been authorized by law. 
(b) For each fiscal year after fiscal year 1977, the Congress shall 
authorize the average military training student loads for the Coast 
Guard. Such authorization shall be required for student loads for the 
following individual training categories: recruit and specialized train-
ing; flight training; professional training in military and civilian 
institutions; and officer acquisition training. No funds may be appro-
priated for any fiscal year after fiscal year 1977 for the use of training 
any military personnel of the Coast Guard in the aforementioned 
categories unless the average student loads for the Coast Guard for 
such fiscal year have been authorized by law. 
SEC. 7. No funds authorized or appropriated for operation and 
maintenance of the Coast Guard shall be used for enforcement of the 
Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 (46 U.S.C. 1451, et seq.) on Lake 
Winnipesaukee and Lake Winnisquam, their interconnecting water-
ways, or the Merrimack River in the State of New Hampshire during 
fiscal year 1977. 
SEC. 8. (a) In order to minimize hardships and to aid inhabitants 
of certain remote areas in the State of Alaska, the Secretary of the 
Department in which the Coast Guard is operating is authorized to 
issue permits exempting specific cargo-carrying vessels from all or 
part of the requirements of the following laws and the regulations 
ISSUGQ. t/llGrGIUlQCI* 
(1) section 4417 of the Revised Statutes (46 U.S.C. 391); 
(2) section 4417 of the Revised Statutes (46 U.S.C. 391a); 
(3) section 4426 of the Revised Statutes (46 U.S.C. 404); and 
(4) section 1 of the Act of August 27, 1935, as amended (46 
U.S.C. 88). 
PUBLIC LAW 94-406—SEPT. 10, 1976 
90 STAT. 1237 
Emergency 
situations. 
(b) A permit issued pursuant to subsection (a) may be granted 
only to a vessel engaged in transporting cargo, including bulk fuel, 
from point to point within the State of Alaska and only if— 
(1) the vessel does not exceed three hundred gross tons; 
(2) the vessel is in a condition which does not present an 
immediate threat to the safety of life or the environment; and 
(3) the vessel was operating in the waters off Alaska as of 
June 1,1976, or the vessel is a replacement for a vessel which was 
operating in the waters off Alaska as of June 1,1976, if the vessel 
which is being replaced is no longer in service, 
(c) Except in a situation declared to be an emergency by the Sec-
retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, a 
vessel operating under permit may not transport cargo to or from a 
point if the cargo could be transported by another commercial vessel 
which is reasonably available and which does not require exemptions 
to legally operate or if the cargo could be readily transported by 
overland routes. 
(d) A permit may be issued for a specific voyage or for a period of 
time not exceeding one year. The permit may impose specific require-
ments as to the amount or type of cargo to be carried, manning, the 
areas or specific routes over which the vessel may operate, or other 
similar matters. The duration of the permit and any restrictions con-
tained therein shall be at the sole discretion of the Secretary or his 
delegate. 
(e) If a designated Coast Guard official has reason to believe that 
a vessel to which a permit has been issued is in a condition or is used 
in a manner which creates an immediate threat to the safety of life or 
the environment or is operated in a manner which is inconsistent with 
the terms of the permit, the official may direct the operator to take 
immediate and reasonable steps to safeguard life and the environ-
ment, including directing the vessel to a port or other refuge. 
(f) If a vessel to which a permit has been issued creates an imme-
diate threat to the safety of life or the environment, or is operated in a 
manner inconsistent w^th the terms of the permit or the requirements 
of subsection (c) of this section, the permit may be revoked. The Penalty, 
owner, master, or person in charge of a vessel to which a permit is 
issued, who willfully permits the vessel to be used or uses the vessel 
in a manner inconsistent with the terms of the permit or subsection (c) 
of this section, shall be liable to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000. 
Approved September 10, 1976. 
Permit 
revocation. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 94-989 (Comm. on Merchant Marine and Fisheries) and No. 
94-1374 (Comm. of Conference). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 94-865 (Comm. on Commerce) and No. 94-1054 (Comm. of 
Conference). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 122 (1977): 
Apr. 5, considered and passed House. 
June 16, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Aug. 2, Senate agreed to conference report. 
Aug. 30, House agreed to conference report.