H.R. 5609 · 113th Congress
Vessel Incidental Discharge Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 113th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
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HunterSponsor14 cosponsors · 6 D, 8 R
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Cooper
EC
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Cummings
WE
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Enyart
JH
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Herrera Beutler
WJ
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Jones
DJ
R
Jolly
FL
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LoBiondo
BL
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Luetkemeyer
CR
D
Richmond
DY
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Young
SC
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Capito
BC
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Cassidy
GG
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Green
BT
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Thompson10 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Vessel Incidental Discharge Act - Sets forth provisions concerning standards for waste water discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, including discharges of ballast water (water taken into the ship's ballast to maintain stability).
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Sep 18, 2014
Vessel Incidental Discharge Act - Sets forth provisions concerning standards for waste water discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, including discharges of ballast water (water taken into the ship's ballast to maintain stability).
Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish and implement enforceable uniform national standards for the regulation of discharges from vessels into navigable waters and best management practices for discharges other than ballast water.
Sets as the national standard the Coast Guard's 2012 "Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters." Requires DHS to revise the ballast water performance standard so that those discharges will contain less than specified concentrations of living organisms, indicator microbes, and viruses if DHS finds that the standard would be feasible.
Requires ballast water treatment technology to be certified by DHS. Prohibits DHS from certifying a technology that uses certain biocides (substances or organisms introduced into or produced by the technology to reduce or eliminate aquatic nuisance species).
Sets forth exemptions from permit requirements, prohibitions of any other law, and discharge standards under this Act for specified discharges and vessels.
Authorizes DHS to establish alternative programs for compliance with ballast water discharge regulations for specified vessels. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate standards for the reception of ballast water from a vessel into a reception facility and the disposal or treatment of the ballast water.
Establishes this Act as the exclusive statutory authority for federal regulation of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel to which this Act applies.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Vessel Incidental Discharge Act
Latest action (Sep 19, 2014): Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works · Origin: House · Introduced: Sep 18, 2014
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.