Sec. 2. Findings; purpose

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Congress makes the following findings: Beginning in 1980 with the enactment of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships ( 33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq. ), the Coast Guard has been the principal Federal authority charged with administering, enforcing, and prescribing regulations relating to the discharge of pollutants from vessels engaged in maritime commerce and transportation. The Coast Guard estimates there are approximately 21,560,000 State-registered recreational vessels, 75,000 commercial fishing vessels, and 33,000 freight and tank barges operating in United States waters.

From 1973 to 2005, certain discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel were exempted by regulation from otherwise applicable permitting requirements. Over the 32 years during which this regulatory exemption was in effect, Congress enacted statutes on a number of occasions dealing with the regulation of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, including— the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships ( 33 U.S.C. 1901 et seq. ) in 1980; the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 ( 16 U.S.C. 4701 et seq. ); the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 ( Public Law 104–332 ; 110 Stat. 4073); section 415 of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1998 ( Public Law 105–383 ; 112 Stat. 3434) and section 623 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004 ( Public Law 108–293 ; 33 U.S.C. 1901 note), which established interim and permanent requirements, respectively, for the regulation of vessel discharges of certain bulk cargo residue; title XIV of division B of Appendix D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001 ( Public Law 106–554 ; 114 Stat. 2763A–315), which prohibited or limited certain vessel discharges in certain areas of Alaska; section 204 of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 ( 33 U.S.C. 1902a ), which established requirements for the regulation of vessel discharges of agricultural cargo residue material in the form of hold washings; and title X of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 ( 33 U.S.C. 3801 et seq. ), which provided for the implementation of the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, 2001.

The purpose of this Act is to provide for the establishment of nationally uniform and environmentally sound standards and requirements for the management of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel.

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