S 1119

To reauthorize and improve the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act, and for other purposes.

May 26, 2011

Mr. INOUYE (for himself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. BEGICH, Ms. SNOWE, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

To reauthorize and improve the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Trash Free Seas Act of 2011'.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF PURPOSES OF MARINE DEBRIS RESEARCH, PREVENTION, AND REDUCTION ACT.

Section 2 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1951) is amended--

(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

`(1) to address the adverse impacts of marine debris on the marine environment, navigation safety, and the United States economy through research, source identification, assessment, reduction, removal, and prevention;'; and

(2) in paragraph (3), by inserting `and maintain' after `to develop'.

SEC. 3. REVISION OF NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION MARINE DEBRIS PROGRAM.

(a) Renaming of Program-

(1) IN GENERAL- Subsection (a) of section 3 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1952) is amended by striking `Marine Debris Prevention and Removal Program' and inserting `Marine Debris Program'.

(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT- Such section is amended in the heading by striking `prevention and removal'.

(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Paragraph (7) of section 7 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1956) is amended by striking `Marine Debris Prevention and Removal Program' and inserting `Marine Debris Program'.

(b) Expansion of Program Purposes- Subsection (a) of section 3 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1952), as amended by subsection (a)(1), is further amended--

(1) by striking `reduce and prevent' and inserting `research, assess, reduce, and prevent'; and

(2) by striking `and navigation safety.' and inserting `, navigation safety, and the United States economy.'.

(c) Revision of Program Components- Subsection (b) of such section is amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and inserting the following:

`(1) RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENT- The Administrator shall, in consultation with relevant Federal agencies, undertake marine debris research and assessment, reduction and prevention efforts, with a focus on marine debris posing a threat to living marine resources, the marine environment, navigation safety, or the United States economy including the following:

`(A) Research and assessment of derelict fishing gear.

`(B) Research and assessment of plastics, with respect 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 exclusive economic zone, including impacts on living marine resources, the marine environment, navigation safety, and the United States economy.

`(D) Measures to identify the origin, location, 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 OCCURRENCE AND IMPACTS- The Administrator shall undertake efforts to prevent, reduce, and remove the occurrence and impacts of marine debris, including the adverse impacts of derelict fishing gear, including by--

`(A) working with other Federal agencies to address land-based sources of marine debris;

`(B) conducting research and development of alternatives to gear posing threats to the marine environment, and methods for marking gear used in specific fisheries to enhance the tracking, recovery, and identification of lost and discarded gear;

`(C) developing effective nonregulatory measures and incentives to cooperatively reduce the volume of lost and discarded fishing gear and to aid in its recovery;

`(D) developing and implementing strategies, methods, priorities, and a plan for tracking, preventing and removing marine debris that is in, or likely to enter, United States navigable waters or the United States exclusive economic zone, including the development of local or regional protocols for removal of derelict fishing gear and other marine debris;

`(E) providing national and regional coordination to assist States, Indian tribes, and regional organizations in addressing local marine debris issues;

`(F) promoting international action to reduce the incidence of marine debris; and

`(G) developing and disseminating tools and products related to the activities described in subparagraphs (A) through (E).

`(3) OUTREACH AND EDUCATION-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The Administrator shall undertake outreach and education of the public and other stakeholders, such as the fishing industry, fishing gear manufacturers, other marine-dependent industries, and the plastic and waste management industries, on sources of marine debris, threats associated with marine debris, and approaches to identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, remove, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the marine environment, navigation safety, and the United States economy, including outreach and education activities through public-private initiatives.

`(B) COORDINATION- The Administrator shall coordinate outreach and education activities under this paragraph with any outreach programs conducted under section 2204 of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1915).'.

(d) Modification of Requirement To Prescribe Criteria and Guidelines for Grant Program- Paragraph (5) of subsection (c) of such section is amended to read as follows:

`(5) GRANT CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES- Applicants for and recipients of grants awarded under this subsection shall comply with such criteria and guidelines as the Administrator shall prescribe to carry out the provisions of this subsection.'.

SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF FEDERAL INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.

Section 6 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1955) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking `and monitoring efforts' and inserting `monitoring efforts, and best practices'; and

(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting `or other for-profit industries' after `the fishing industry'.

SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF MARINE DEBRIS.

(a) In General- Section 7 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1956), as amended by section 3(a)(3), is further amended by adding at the end the following:

`(9) MARINE DEBRIS- The term `marine debris' means any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or the Great Lakes.'.

(b) Conforming and Technical Amendment- Section 5 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1954) is amended to read as follows:

`SEC. 5. BIENNIAL PROGRESS REPORTS OF THE INTERAGENCY MARINE DEBRIS COORDINATING COMMITTEE.

`(a) In General- Not less frequently than once every 2 years, the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee established pursuant to section 2203(a) of the Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987 (33 U.S.C. 1914(a)) (in this section referred to as the `Interagency Committee') shall, acting through the chairperson of the Interagency Committee, submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report that evaluates United States and international progress in meeting the purposes of this Act.

`(b) Contents- Each report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the following:

`(1) The status of implementation of any recommendations and strategies of the Interagency Committee and analysis of their effectiveness.

`(2) A summary of the marine debris inventory to be maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

`(3) A review of the Marine Debris Program established by section 3, including projects funded and accomplishments relating to reduction and prevention of marine debris.

`(4) A review of Coast Guard programs and accomplishments relating to marine debris removal, including enforcement and compliance with MARPOL requirements.

`(5) Estimated Federal and non-Federal funding provided for marine debris and recommendations for priority funding needs.'.

SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 9 of the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1958) is amended, in the matter before paragraph (1), by striking `through 2010--' and inserting `through 2015--'.

END