Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2008

To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2008, and for other purposes.

10/30/2007--Reported to House amended, Part III. Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2007 - Title I: Authorization -
(Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY2008 for the Coast Guard for:
(1) Coast Guard operation and maintenance, with a portion to be derived from more...the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for certain purposes under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA purposes);
(2) acquisition, construction, rebuilding, and improvement of aids to navigation, shore and offshore facilities, vessels, and aircraft, including related equipment (designating an amount for the Integrated Deepwater System Program and a Fund amount for OPA purposes);
(3) Coast Guard research, development, test, and evaluation of technologies, materials, and human factors, with a portion from the Fund for OPA purposes;
(4) retired pay, payments under the Retired Serviceman's Family Protection and Survivor Benefit Plans, and payments for medical care of retired personnel and their dependents;
(5) alteration or removal of bridges over U.S. navigable waters constituting navigation obstructions, and for the Bridge Alteration Program;
(6) environmental compliance and restoration at Coast Guard facilities; and
(7) the Coast Guard Reserve program, including personnel and training costs, equipment, and services.
(Sec. 102) Authorizes the Coast Guard active duty personnel end-of-year strength and average military training student loads.
(Sec. 103) Transfers to the Secretary of Transportation, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authorities of the Secretary of Homeland Security to approve the construction, alteration, or operation of a bridge, drawbridge, or causeway over U.S. navigable waters and to require the alteration, repair, or removal of that bridge, drawbridge, or causeway. Title II: Coast Guard -
(Sec. 201) Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating (Secretary) to appoint civilian employees of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating as appellate military judges, available for assignment to the Coast Guard Court of Criminal Appeals.
(Sec. 202) Allows Coast Guard industrial activities to accept orders and enter into reimbursable agreements with establishments, agencies, and departments of the Department of Defense.
(Sec. 203) Requires reimbursement for medical-related travel expenses for certain persons residing on islands in the continental United States.
(Sec. 204) Revises requirements regarding the number and distribution of commissioned officers on the active duty promotion list.
(Sec. 205) Removes provisions excluding the Coast Guard from provisions relating to Armed Forces retirement homes. (Authorizes Coast Guard participation in the Armed Forces Retirement Home system.)
(Sec. 206) Authorizes grants to, or cooperative agreements, contracts, or other agreements with, international maritime organizations to acquire information about merchant vessel inspections, security, safety, classification, and port state or flag state law enforcement or oversight.
(Sec. 207) Allows a Coast Guard member who serves on active duty in support of a declaration of a major disaster or emergency by the President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to retain accumulated leave that otherwise would be forfeited at the end of a fiscal year.
(Sec. 208) Allows Coast Guard members, in their official duties, to carry a firearm and, while at a facility:
(1) make an arrest without a warrant for any offense against the United States (under current law, for any offense against the United States committed in their presence); and
(2) as otherwise provided by law, seize property.
(Sec. 209) Repeals a provision requiring that the initial appointment of the Director of the Boating Safety Office be in the grade of Captain.
(Sec. 210) Requires that the Coast Guard Vice Commandant have the grade of admiral while serving as Vice Commandant. Replaces provisions authorizing the appointment of Atlantic and Pacific area commanders with provisions authorizing appointment of a Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, a Deputy Commandant for National Operations and Policy, a Commander for the Force Readiness Command, and a Commander of Operations Command, all to have the grade of vice admiral while serving in those positions. Removes provisions allowing the appointment of a Coast Guard Chief of Staff.
(Sec. 211) Establishes the Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee to advise the Secretary regarding medical certification determinations for issuance of merchant mariner credentials, medical standards and guidelines for the physical qualifications of operators of commercial vessels, medical examiner education, and medical research.
(Sec. 212) Authorizes the appointment of temporary commissioned officers in:
(1) the Regular Coast Guard from among holders of merchant seamen licenses (under current law, from among licensed officers of the U.S. merchant marine); and
(2) the Coast Guard Reserve from among Coast Guard Reserve commissioned warrant officers.
(Sec. 213) Modifies requirements regarding selection boards.
(Sec. 214) Directs the Secretary to test and report to Congress on an integrated laser engagement system for training Coast Guard members assigned to small vessels in the use of individual weapons and machine guns on those vessels.
(Sec. 215) Allows firing at or into a vessel that fails to stop on being ordered to do so if the firing vessel or aircraft is owned by a government and used for noncommercial service and is under Coast Guard tactical control and at least one Coast Guard member is assigned and conducting a Coast Guard mission on the vessel or aircraft. (Permits indemnification of Coast Guard personnel so firing if death or injury results.) Requires that vessels and aircraft designated by the Secretary (under current law, that Coast Guard vessels and aircraft) be distinguished by an identifying insignia.
(Sec. 216) Authorizes the Coast Guard Commandant to appoint an ombudsman in each Coast Guard district to serve as a liaison between representatives of port stakeholders, including the Area Maritime Security Advisory Committees and the Coast Guard, to improve communications between and among port stakeholders, ensure timely dispute resolution, and investigate complaints by a petitioner operating in a port. Title III: Shipping and Navigation -
(Sec. 301) Allows, notwithstanding any limitation in specified provisions to the contrary, the rebuilding or replacement of a vessel documented under specified provisions with a fishery endorsement in order to improve vessel safety and operational efficiencies (including fuel efficiency). Amends the American Fisheries Act to authorize the North Pacific Council to recommend conservation and management measures for approval by the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that the requirement under this section does not diminish the effectiveness of fishery management plans of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area or the Gulf of Alaska. Sets forth special rules, including rules pertaining to vessel size limits, certain catcher vessels, fishery endorsement limitations, and replacement vessels in the Gulf of Alaska.
(Sec. 302) Amends the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1884 to authorize the levy of nonfederal sales taxes on goods and services provided to or by vessels or watercraft (other than vessels or watercraft primarily engaged in foreign commerce) that operate on U.S. navigable waters.
(Sec. 303) Amends the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1915 to:
(1) increase the civil penalty for an owner of a vessel that violates regulations establishing anchorage grounds for safe navigation in U.S. waters; and
(2) extend the Coast Guard's authority to establish anchorage grounds for vessels from three nautical miles to 12 nautical miles.
(Sec. 304) Subjects any person who knowingly or intentionally possesses a controlled substance on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to a civil penalty.
(Sec. 305) Revises various provisions regarding the measurement of vessels, including changing the definition of "vessel engaged on a foreign voyage" and modifying international tonnage certificate provisions.
(Sec. 306) Requires that a seaman assigned to a vessel docked at a facility with an approved security plan and pilots and representatives of seamen's welfare and labor organizations who board and depart from the vessel be provided access through the facility at no cost to the individual.
(Sec. 307) Amends provisions regarding uninspected commercial fishing industry vessels to revise safety requirements. Establishes a Fishing Safety Training Grants Program to provide funding to conduct fishing vessel safety training and for purchase of safety equipment and training aids for use in those training programs. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a Fishing Safety Research Grant Program to provide funding to conduct research on methods of improving the safety of the commercial fishing industry, including vessel design, emergency and survival equipment, enhancement of vessel monitoring systems, communications devices, deicing technology, and severe weather detection. Applies existing provisions regarding load lines of vessels to fishing vessels built or having a major conversion completed after January 1, 2008. Modifies the vessels to which certain survey and classification requirements apply or, as of specified dates, will apply. Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating (Secretary) to prescribe a safety compliance program as an alternative to such survey and classification requirements.
(Sec. 308) Modifies record keeping requirements regarding issuances, denials, suspensions, and revocations of licenses, certificates of registry, merchant mariners' documents, and related endorsements.
(Sec. 309) Removes provisions exempting certain vessels engaged in the offshore mineral and oil industry from specified towing vessel manning requirements.
(Sec. 310) Authorizes the Secretary to establish a liability limit for a deepwater port used only in connection with natural gas transportation.
(Sec. 311) Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to require a claim to be presented for recovery of removal costs for an incident within three (under current law, six) years after the date of completion of all removal actions for that incident.
(Sec. 312) Requires vessels (except those on a voyage from the United States to Canada) that are subject to inspection under provisions relating to inspection and regulation of vessels to have an official logbook with specified entries.
(Sec. 313) Allows an individual authorized to enforce federal shipping law to remove a vessel's certificate, order the individual in charge of the vessel to return the vessel to a mooring, and direct that individual to take steps necessary for the safety of individuals on board.
(Sec. 314) Prohibits approval of a survival craft unless the craft ensures that no part of an individual is immersed in water. Prohibits allowing a survival craft that does not meet that requirement to remain in service after January 1, 2013.
(Sec. 315) Applies provisions relating to the management of vessels to a passenger or small passenger vessel that is transporting more passengers than a number prescribed by the Secretary based on the number of individuals on the vessel that could be killed or injured in a marine casualty.
(Sec. 316) Prohibits discrimination against a seaman for various reasons such as that the seaman testified in a maritime safety law enforcement proceeding or cooperated with a safety investigation.
(Sec. 317) Amends the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 to extend until September 30, 2009, (or the promulgation of related regulations, whichever is earlier) the authority of the Secretary to regulate incidental discharges of dry bulk cargo into Great Lakes waters. (Current law authorizes the Secretary to regulate such discharges until September 30, 2008, or until the promulgation of related regulations, whichever is earlier.)
(Sec. 318) Authorizes the Secretary to delegate to the American Bureau of Shipping or another classification society various powers relating to inspections, examinations, and related certificates for floating installations used to explore for, develop, produce, or store resources from seabeds or subsoils.
(Sec. 319) Prohibits a vessel or facility that lacks a registry endorsement for foreign trade (or trade with Guam, American Samoa, Wake, Midway, or Kingman Reef) from engaging in regassifying on navigable waters unless the vessel or facility transported the gas from a foreign port.
(Sec. 320) Repeals provisions requiring an applicant for a license or certificate of registry to take an oath before a designated officical that the applicant will perform faithfully and honestly, according to the best skill and judgment of the applicant, all the duties required by law. Repeals provisions requiring an applicant for a merchant mariner's document to take an oath that the applicant will perform faithfully and honestly all the duties required by law and will carry out the lawful orders of superior officers.
(Sec. 321) Allows advance renewals of merchant mariners' documents, merchant seamen's licenses, and certificates of registry.
(Sec. 322) Prohibits the Secretary, if an individual was fingerprinted when the individual applied for a transportation security card under specified provisions, from requiring the fingerprinting of the individual for the issuance or renewal of a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document.
(Sec. 323) Allows the Secretary to extend for one year a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner document to enable the Coast Guard to eliminate a processing backlog.
(Sec. 324) Directs the Secretary to develop an interim clearance process for issuance of a merchant mariner document to enable a newly hired seaman to begin working on an offshore supply vessel or towing vessel if the Secretary makes an initial determination that the seaman does not pose a safety and security risk.
(Sec. 325) Requires the Commandant to report to specified congressional committees on expanding the streamlined evaluation process program previously affiliated with the Houston Regional Examination Center to all Coast Guard processing centers, including proposals to simplify the application process to help eliminate errors in completing the application form.
(Sec. 326) Directs the Secretary of Transportation, through the Administrator of the Maritime Administration, to report to specified congressional committees on methods to address the current and future shortage in the number of merchant mariners, including regarding whether an educational loan program providing loans for the cost of on-the-job training would provide an incentive for workers and help alleviate the shortage.
(Sec. 327) Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating (Secretary) to submit to specified congressional committees:
(1) a plan to ensure that the process for an application (by an individual who has, or has applied for, a transportation security card under specified provisions) for a merchant mariner document can be completed entirely by mail; and
(2) a report on the redesign of the merchant mariner document.
(Sec. 328) Makes the Commandant responsible for ensuring appropriate waterside security services, based on the threat, vulnerability, and consequence of a terrorist attack, around liquefied natural gas terminals and around tankers transporting liquefied natural gas in security zones established by the Coast Guard. Regulates the participation of state or local governments in providing such security. Allows the Coast Guard to use state or local government resources to assist in enforcing any security zone established by the Coast Guard and allows any federal, state, or local entity enforcing such a zone to seek reimbursement from the terminal. Prohibits the Secretary from approving a facility security plan under specified provisions for a liquefied natural gas terminal unless the Secretary certifies that the Coast Guard sector in which the terminal is located has all of the assets it needs to provide waterside security around the terminal and for tankers transporting liquefied natural gas. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions -
(Sec. 401) Modifies specifications related to the issuance of a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement for the vessel GALLANT LADY.
(Sec. 402) Authorizes the Secretary, notwithstanding specified provisions, to issue a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement for the OCEAN VERITAS.
(Sec. 403) Requires the National Maritime Enhancement Institute for the Great Lakes region (under current law, the Secretary) to conduct maritime transportation studies of the Great Lakes region. Increases the specific studies included. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary to convey to Nantucket, Massachusetts, the Station Brant Point Boat House located at Coast Guard Station Brant Point, Nantucket, Massachusetts, for use for a public purpose, and to enter into a lease authorizing Nantucket to occupy the land on which the buildings are located.
(Sec. 405) Caps the total delayed payment of wages (at ten times the unpaid wages that are subject to the claim) in a class action suit by seamen on a passenger vessel capable of carrying over 500 passengers on foreign, intercoastal, and coastwise voyages when payment of wages is not made by specified deadlines without sufficient cause. Regulates other aspects of seamen's wages regarding such vessels.
(Sec. 406) Modifies provisions relating to vessel manning requirements for fish tender vessels in the Aleutian trade.
(Sec. 407) Requires the Commandant, on the decommissioning of the Coast Guard Cutter STORIS, to convey the vessel to the USCG Cutter STORIS Museum and Maritime Education Center, LLC, in the state of Alaska, provided certain conditions are met.
(Sec. 408) Removes provisions relating to licenses to salvage on the coast of Florida.
(Sec. 409) Grants the Town of Jupiter Island, Florida, notwithstanding any other law, a right of first refusal for an exchange of specified real property within the jurisdiction of the Town, including any improvements, for other real property of equal or greater value.
(Sec. 410) Authorizes the Commandant, notwithstanding any other law, to convey to Elizabeth City State University in the state of North Carolina an HU-25 Falcon Jet aircraft under the administrative jurisdiction of the Coast Guard if the Commandant makes specified determinations.
(Sec. 411) Authorizes the Commandant, notwithstanding the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, to convey to the Sheriff's Departments of Coahoma, Warren, and Washington Counties, Mississippi, Coast Guard trailerable boats and any equipment or parts from other Coast Guard vessels that the Commandant determines are excess to the needs of the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security.
(Sec. 414) Requires the Commandant, notwithstanding any other law, on the scheduled decommissioning of any Coast Guard 41-foot patrol boat, to give the government of Haiti a right of first refusal for conveyance of that vessel.
(Sec. 415) Allows, through the end of 2012 (under current law, the end of 2011), chartering of a foreign flag vessel to set, relocate, or recover mooring equipment of a mobile offshore drilling unit located over the Outer Continental Shelf if the Secretary of Transportation makes certain determinations.
(Sec. 416) Requires the Commandant, through the appropriate Area Committee under specified provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, to prepare a vessel traffic risk assessment for Cook Inlet, Alaska, and for the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, within two years after the date of enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 417) Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating (Secretary) to issue a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement for the vessel MARYLAND INDEPENDENCE if certain conditions are met.
(Sec. 418) Requires the Commandant to study an area commonly identified as Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, located in Buffalo, New York, and report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on the most cost-effective method for providing shore facilities and the feasibility of consolidating and relocating shore facilities on a portion of the existing site while meeting and expanding Sector Buffalo operational requirements. Requires that the report contain a preliminary plan for the design, engineering, and construction of the proposed project.
(Sec. 419) Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to station additional Coast Guard assets in the United States Virgin Islands for port security and other associated purposes. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Ballast Water Treatment - Ballast Water Treatment Act of 2007 -
(Sec. 503) Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to replace provisions relating to preventing the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species in the Great Lakes through the exchange of ballast water with provisions relating to the introduction and spread of such species from ballast water and other ship-borne vectors. (The new provisions are not focused only on the Great Lakes.) Prohibits the uptake or discharge of ballast water or sediment in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States except as specified in these provisions, subject to exceptions. Requires vessel operators to conduct all ballast water management operations in accordance with an approved ballast water management plan that meets requirements prescribed by regulation. Requires maintenance of a ballast water record book. Prohibits the discharge of ballast water in waters subject to U.S. jurisdiction except after conducting ballast water exchange, using a treatment technology meeting certain requirements, or using environmentally-sound alternative ballast water treatment technology. Allows exceptions, including for safety or stability. Allows waiver for a substantial business hardship. Sets forth exchange and treatment requirements. Requires notice to vessel owners and operators of any area in waters subject to the U.S. jurisdiction in which vessels may not uptake ballast water due to known conditions. Prohibits the removal or disposition of sediment from spaces designed to carry ballast water except in accordance with specified requirements, including that the removal or disposition be more than 200 nautical miles from land or into a reception facility meeting certain requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to inspect vessels and allows states to administer their own inspection and enforcement programs. Authorizes the Secretary to detain vessels and provides for civil penalties (including in rem liability), criminal penalties, and revocation of clearance. Declares that provisions in this title relating to ballast water exchange requirements and treatment requirements supersede any inconsistent state or local law. Requires a report to specified congressional committees on vessel-borne vectors of aquatic nuisance species and pathogens other than ballast water and sediment, including vessel hulls and equipment and from vessels equipped with ballast tanks that carry no ballast water.
(Sec. 504) Directs the Secretary to conduct specified surveys of the number of living organisms in ballast water and report to specified congressional committees.
(Sec. 505) Replaces provisions regarding a ballast water management demonstration program with provisions directing the Secretary to establish a Shipboard Technology Evaluation Program to evaluate alternative ballast water management methods aboard vessels. Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to:
(1) conduct a program to demonstrate such ballast water treatment technologies evaluated aboard vessels;
(2) establish a grant program to provide funding for acquiring, installing, and operating ballast water treatment technologies aboard vessels participating in the program; and
(3) conduct a program to demonstrate and verify technologies and practices to monitor and control the introduction of aquatic invasive species by ship pathways other than the release of ballast water.
(Sec. 506) Directs the President to prepare and publish a national rapid response plan for killing, removing, or minimizing the spread of aquatic nuisance species in the waters of the United States.
(Sec. 507) Authorizes appropriations to carry out specified provisions of this title and to carry out provisions of existing law relating to the national ballast information clearinghouse. Title VI: Alien Smuggling -
(Sec. 601) Amends federal criminal law relating to failure to heave to, obstruction of boarding, or providing false information to provide for increased terms of imprisonment for intentional violation of the provisions if the violation relates to:
(1) alien smuggling;
(2) peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons;
(3) shipping provisions of federal criminal law;
(4) destruction of, or interference with, vessels or maritime facilities;
(5) stolen property (including regarding vehicles, goods and securities, livestock, counterfeiting, criminal copyright infringement, and other matters regardless of whether maritime aspects are involved);
(6) transportation for illegal sexual activity and related crimes;
(7) maritime drug law enforcement; and
(8) the regulation of anchorage and movement of vessels during a national emergency. Limits the use of a necessity defense.
(Sec. 602) Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend sentencing guidelines and policy statements regarding alien smuggling offenses and criminal failure to heave to or obstruction of boarding. Title VII: Miscellaneous Homeland Security Provisions -
(Sec. 701) Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a program to help prevent acts of terrorism and other activity that jeopardizes maritime homeland security by seeking the cooperation of the commercial and recreational boating industries and the public to improve awareness of activity in the maritime domain and report suspicious and unusual activity.
(Sec. 702) Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to report to specified congressional committees and to the Comptroller General on the implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program (TWIC). Requires an assessment of that report by the Comptroller General. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to report to specified congressional committees after completion of the pilot program (required by existing law) to test the business processes, technology, and operational impacts required to deploy transportation security card readers at secure areas of the marine transportation system. Requires an assessment of that report by the Comptroller General.
(Sec. 703) Requires the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees comparing background records checks required under provisions relating to transportation security cards and those conducted by states for similar homeland security purposes.
(Sec. 704) Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security to report to specified congressional committees on the establishment of Interagency Operational Centers for Port Security required by specified provisions of the SAFE Port Act.
(Sec. 705) Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating (Secretary) to establish at least two maritime security response teams to act as the Coast Guard's rapidly deployable counterterrorism and law enforcement response units that can apply advanced interdiction skills in response to threats of maritime terrorism.
(Sec. 706) Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to begin to increase the number of detection canine teams certified by the Coast Guard for maritime-related security by at least 10 canine teams annually through fiscal year 2012 and to encourage owners and operators of port facilities, passenger cruise liners, oceangoing cargo vessels, and other vessels to strengthen security through the use of highly trained detection canine teams. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 707) Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating (Secretary) to lend, lease, donate, or otherwise provide equipment, and provide technical training and support, to the owner or operator of a foreign port or facility to assist:
(1) in bringing the port or facility into (or exceeding) compliance with applicable International Ship and Port Facility Code standards; and
(2) the port or facility in meeting (or exceeding) specified standards.
(Sec. 708) Prohibits any federal agency from licensing, approving, or otherwise authorizing the construction, expansion, or operation of an offshore or waterfront facility for the transfer of liquefied natural gas from ships to land or from land to ships unless the Secretary of Homeland Security has approved the construction, expansion, or operation.
(Sec. 709) Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the Commandant, to conduct, in the maritime environment, a pilot program for the mobile biometric identification of suspected individuals, including terrorists, to enhance border security and for other purposes. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to evaluate the costs and feasibility of expanding the capability to all Coast Guard cutters, stations and deployable maritime teams and other appropriate Department of Homeland Security maritime vessels and units. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 710) Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to report to Congress regarding the threat, vulnerability, and consequence of a terrorist attack on gasoline and chemical cargo shipments in port activity areas in the United States.
(Sec. 711) Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a pilot program to test and deploy preventive radiological/nuclear detection equipment on Coast Guard vessels and other locations. Requires that the pilot program leverage existing federal grant funding.
(Sec. 712) Requires the owner or operator of a cruise ship that embarks or disembarks passengers in a United States port to notify the Secretary of Homeland Security of any covered security incident that occurs on the cruise ship in the course of the voyage in which a U.S. person is involved, in conjunction with any advance notice of arrival to a United States port required by certain provisions. Defines "covered security incident" to mean any act or omission that results in death, serious bodily injury, sexual assault, or a missing person, or poses a significant threat to the cruise ship, any cruise ship passenger, any port facility, or any person in or near the port.
(Sec. 713) Modifies requirements regarding port security antiterrorism efforts in ports and facilities in foreign countries and U.S. territories.
(Sec. 714) Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the effects that the Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) has on companies that employ seasonal employees.
(Sec. 715) Requires an independent assessment and report to specified congressional committees comparing the safety and security risk associated with vessel-based and facility-based liquefied natural gas regasification processes conducted within three miles from land versus such processes conducted more than three miles from land.
(Sec. 716) Prohibits construing this Act to diminish or affect the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Commandant under specified Acts. Title VIII: Coast Guard Integrated Deepwater Program - Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act -
(Sec. 802) Prohibits the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating from using a private sector entity as a lead systems integrator for future Integrated Deepwater Systems Program (Program) procurements. Allows completion of existing delivery and task orders. Allows the Secretary to obtain assistance from federal agencies and, by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, from private sector entities. Directs the Secretary, subject to exception, to use full and open competition for certain Deepwater Program acquisitions. Imposes other Program requirements, including certain required contract terms, development of a life cycle cost estimate, and assignment of a separate contract officers. Requires a report to specified congressional committees identifying the technology risks and level of maturity for major technologies used on each class of asset acquisitions under the Program. Requires a report to specified congressional committees on:
(1) each Early Operational Assessment and the plan for addressing each assessment's findings; and
(2) how the recommendations of each assessment regarding the first in class of a new cutter class have been addressed before initiation of construction.
(Sec. 803) Requires the Coast Guard commandant to appoint or designate a career reserved employee as Chief Acquisition Officer for the Coast Guard to monitor Coast Guard acquisition activities, increase the use of full and open competition, and ensure the use of detailed performance specifications when performance-based contracting is used. Requires the commandant, subject to appropriations, to establish special rate supplements that provide higher pay levels for employees necessary to carry out the amendment made by this paragraph.
(Sec. 804) Directs the Secretary to cause each cutter, other than a National Security Cutter, acquired after enactment of this Act to be classed by the American Bureau of Shipping. Requires certain other testing and certification to be done by independent third parties. Requires the Secretary to cause the first in class of a major asset acquisition of a cutter or an aircraft to be subjected to an assessment of operational capability conducted by the Secretary of the Navy.
(Sec. 805) Requires specified reports, including concerning :
(1) National Security Cutters;
(2) the Program,
(3) change orders;
(4) technology risks and maturity;
(5) cost overruns,
(6) a plan for management of acquisitions programs, financial management, engineering and logistics management, and contract management; and
(7) any Coast Guard mission performance gap due to the removal of Program assets from service.
(Sec. 807) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a memorandum of understanding or a memorandum of agreement with the Secretary of the Navy to provide for the use of the Navy Systems Commands to assist the Coast Guard with the oversight of Coast Guard major acquisition programs.

Sponsor

• Rep. James Oberstar [D, MN-8]
• and 2 Co-Sponsors
  • Rep. Elijah Cummings [D, MD-7]
  • Rep. Steven LaTourette [R, OH-14]
  close

Committees

• House Transportation and Infrastructure
• 4 more
  • House Homeland Security
  • House Judiciary
  • House Energy and Commerce
  • House Transportation and Infrastructure
  close

Amendments

This bill has 14 amendments. See All AmendmentsHide All Amendments

Amendments to H.R.2830

Number	Status	Purpose
H.Amdt1023	Pass	An amendment numbered 1 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 and offered as a manager's amendment to make sundry changes to the bill.
H.Amdt1024	Pass	An amendment numbered 2 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to amend section 720 of the substitute (regarding waterside security around liquified natural gas tankers and terminals) to state that the Coast Guard may consider security assets and personnel provided by state and local officials contracted or otherwise made available to an LNG terminal operator in determining whether security resources are available to carry out necessary waterside security measures.
H.Amdt1025	Pass	An amendment numbered 3 in Part B of House Report 110-604 to require the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to maintain on an Internet site a numerical accounting of missing persons and alleged crimes committed on cruise ships. The database would be updated quarterly and aggregated by cruise line. The amendment would require cruise lines to include a link to this database on their public websites.
H.Amdt1026	Pass	An amendment numbered 4 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to state the findings of Congress that stateless submersible or semi-submersible vessels on international voyages are a serious international problem, facilitate international crimes, and are a threat to the safety and security of the United States. The amendment would make it a federal criminal offense subject to fines, imprisonment, or both for the operation and embarkation of any stateless submersible or semi-submersible vessel.
H.Amdt1027	Pass	An amendment numbered 5 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to state that the marine safety provisions of the bill shall not impair the legal authority of the Coast Guard to carry out its homeland security mission, including protecting ports and waterways, stopping human smuggling, and preventing terrorist organizations from attacking the United States.
H.Amdt1028	Pass	An amendment numbered 6 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to strike section 708 of the substitute amendment (maritime biometric identification) and replace it with a requirement that the Commandant of the Coast Guard, within one year of enactment, conduct a program for the mobile biometric identification of suspected individuals, including terrorists, to enhance border security. It also would require a cost analysis of expanding these capabilities to other Coast Guard and DHS vessels. The analysis may include a plan to give priority to vessels and units more likely to encounter those suspected of making illegal border crossings through the maritime environment.
H.Amdt1029	Pass	An amendment numbered 7 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to notify the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) of any determination by the Secretary that a proposed waterside liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility is suitable or unsuitable for the marine traffic associated with the LNG facility. Within 90 days of such notification, FERC must respond to the Secretary's determination with what action the Commission has taken regarding a proposal to construct and operate a waterside LNG.
H.Amdt1030	Pass	An amendment numbered 8 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to allow the Secretary of Homeland Security to use a secondary authentication system for individuals applying for transportation security cards when fingerprints are not able to be taken or read to enhance transportation security.
H.Amdt1031	Pass	An amendment numbered 9 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to require the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to study, within 180 days of enactment, the role of state and local law enforcement in augmenting Coast Guard resources by enforcing Coast Guard-imposed security zones around vessels transiting to, through, or from U.S. ports and conducting port security patrols.
H.Amdt1032	Withdrawn	An amendment numbered 10 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to strike title X (appeals to national transportation safety board) and title XI (marine safety) from the bill.
H.Amdt1033	Pass	An amendment numbered 11 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, within 90 days of enactment, to conduct a mission requirement analysis for the navigable portions of the Rio Grande River, Texas, international water boundary. The analysis would identify what resources would be needed to further the Coast Guard's mission along the Rio Grande River.
H.Amdt1034	Pass	An amendment numbered 12 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to include vessels that operate exclusively in the Great Lakes ecosystem among vessels that would be required to have a ballast water treatment system, at the request of the Secretary of Agriculture.
H.Amdt1035	Pass	An amendment numbered 14 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to assess, within 30 days of enactment, the enrollment sites for transportation security cards, including the feasibility of keeping them open for longer durations and the quality of their customer service and application processing times.
H.Amdt1036	Pass	An amendment numbered 15 printed in Part B of House Report 110-604 to permit the Commandant of the Coast Guard to convey, without consideration, the Coast Guard Station Marquette and Lighthouse Point in Marquette County, Michigan, to the City of Marquette, Michigan. The conveyance could not occur until the Coast Guard has relocated to a newly constructed station, any environmental remediation required under federal law has been completed, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard determines that retention of the lighthouse is not needed for Coast Guard missions.

---

Bill Status

Make a Bill Status Widget (What's this?)(Close help)

OpenCongress widgets allow you to display information about bills and issue areas on your own website or blog. First, select which bill or issue you want to track, then customize the appearance of the panel, and finally paste a simple chunk of HTML into your site. Now your community will have an easy, up-to-date way to track the status of important bills and issues in Congress.

Introduced		Voted on by House		Voted on by Senate		Considered By President		Bill Becomes Law
June 22, 2007		April 24, 2008

Related Bills:

• H.R.2399
• S.1892
• H.Res.1126

Related Issue Areas:

• Women
• Whistle blowing
• Weather forecasting
• Water pollution control
• 173 more
• Water pollution
• Waste disposal in rivers, lakes, etc.
• Wage restitution
• Travel costs
• Transportation workers
• Transportation engineering
• Transportation
• Terrorists
• Terrorism
• Technology assessment
• Technology
• Taxation
• Tankers
• Survivors' benefits
• Surveys
• Student loan funds
• State taxation
• State and local government
• Sports
• Solid wastes
• Soldiers' homes
• Smuggling
• Signs and symbols
• Ships
• Security measures
• Searches and seizures
• Science policy
• Salvage
• Sales tax
• Risk
• Retiree health benefits
• Retired military personnel
• Research grants
• Research and development
• Recruiting of employees
• Rape
• Public lands
• Public contracts
• Politics and government
• Petroleum industry
• Petroleum in submerged lands
• Pest control
• Pensions
• Patrol ships
• Patrol aircraft
• Passenger ships
• Ombudsman
• Oil pollution
• Offshore structures
• Officer personnel
• Ocean mining
• Oaths
• Nuclear terrorism
• North Carolina
• Non-native species
• New York State
• Navigational aids
• Navigation
• Natural resources
• Natural gas
• Museums
• Missing persons
• Military transportation
• Military training
• Military promotions
• Military personnel
• Military pensions
• Military leave
• Military dependents
• Merchant seamen
• Merchant marine
• Medicine
• Medical research
• Medical education
• Medical care
• Massachusetts
• Marine terminals
• Marine safety
• Marine resources
• Marine pollution
• Local taxation
• Liquefied natural gas
• Licenses
• Liability for environmental damages
• Leases
• Law
• Lasers
• Land transfers
• Labor
• Judges
• Job training
• Islands
• International agencies
• International affairs
• Immigration
• Identification of criminals
• Identification devices
• Humanities
• Human engineering
• Housing
• Higher education
• Hazardous waste sites
• Hazardous substances
• Haiti
• Great Lakes
• Government trust funds
• Government procurement
• Government paperwork
• Government lending
• Government information
• Government employees
• Forfeiture
• Foreign policy
• Florida
• Fishing boats
• Fishery management
• Firearms
• Fingerprints
• Fines (Penalties)
• Federal preemption
• Federal officials
• Federal aid to research
• Federal advisory bodies
• Families
• Executive reorganization
• Executive departments
• Equipment and supplies
• Environmental protection
• Energy transportation
• Emergency management
• Education
• Drug law enforcement
• Drug abuse
• Dogs
• Discrimination in employment
• Disciplining of employees
• Disaster relief
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of Defense
• Defense procurement
• Defense policy
• Defense contracts
• Criminal justice information
• Criminal justice
• Courts-martial and courts of inquiry
• Counterterrorism
• Cost effectiveness
• Congressional reporting requirements
• Congressional investigations
• Congress
• Competitive bidding
• Colleges
• Coastwise shipping
• Coast guard
• Claims
• Civil rights
• Chemicals
• Caribbean area
• Business records
• Business
• Budgets
• Bridges
• Boats and boating
• Bering Sea
• Authorization
• Arrest
• Armed forces reserves
• Aquatic pests
• Appellate courts
• Animals
• Aliens
• Alaska
• Armed forces

In the News

May 13, 2008 Letter: Weldon says 'aye' to Coast Guard

The Coast Guard reauthorization bill, HR 2830, was voted on April 24. The letter stated that I voted “no” on this bill for final passage, but this is not ...

Source: Vero Beach Press-Journal (subscription), FL
Was this article useful? Yes or No

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

May 03, 2008 Noise is just fine

In "House passes bill to treat ballast water on ships," Dan Egan described the support HR 2830 (the Coast Guard Authorization Act) enjoys from lawmakers and ...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI
Was this article useful? Yes or No

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

April 29, 2008 House Passes Coast Guard Legislation That Addresses Ballast Water ...

The ballast water provisions of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008 (HR 2830) would require vessel operators to conduct all ballast water management ...

Source: Ecolog.com (subscription), Canada
Was this article useful? Yes or No

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

28 more articles...
See highest rated news articles

Blog Coverage

May 16, 2008 Coast Guard Reauthorization Emphasizes Fishing Safety

(5/16) The US House of Representatives has approved legislation (HR 2830) that includes a series of fishing vessel safety improvements.

Source: Safety.BLR.Com News
Was this article useful? Yes or No

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

May 03, 2008 Ohio Medical Board

Summary and Text of Amendments for HR 2830 - Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2007. Amendments Of The United States Ok, so I tried again to till the soil in the back yard Ohio University’s trustees voted unanimously to negotiate a new ...

Source: Foraki84
Was this article useful? Yes or No

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

May 01, 2008 Where The Rubber Meets The Road (5/1/08)

Voting 395-7, the House approved an $8.4 billion fiscal 2008 budget (HR 2830) for the Coast Guard that funds the agency's traditional marine-safety mission along with post-9/11 national-security duties. A yes vote was to pass the bill. ...

Source: The Liberal Doomsayer
Was this article useful? Yes or No

Did you find this article useful? Your opinion counts - together, we're finding the very best news and blog coverage about Congress available on the web.

84 more posts...
See highest rated blog posts

Information made available by: