Delaying EPA Fishing Boat Discharge Rules
Floor Speech
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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 5301, legislation to extend the period during which the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and States are prohibited from requiring a permit under section 402 of the federal water pollution control act for certain discharges that are incidental to normal operations of vessels, to reauthorize the national estuary program and for other purposes. I commend my colleague, Representative LoBiondo for his word on this bill and urge the House to support this legislation.
Madam Speaker, in light of the disaster caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, it is important that this Congress pay particularly close attention to the well being of our Nation's aquatic ecosystems.
H.R. 5301 accomplishes two things. First, this bill extends an existing moratorium for vessels less than 79 feet in length to obtain a permit under the Clean Water Act for discharges incidental to their normal operation. The Environmental Protection Agency has been studying the impacts of incidental discharges from these vessels and made the determination that these discharges are not universally benign. The agency has acknowledged however, that it will be unable to develop and issue appropriate permits for these vessels before the current moratorium expires on July 31, 2010. Extending the moratorium will allow for the additional time necessary to develop and issue appropriate guidelines to address such discharges consistent with the goals of the Clean Water Act.
Second, H.R. 5301 includes H.R. 4715, the ``Clean Estuaries Act of 2010'', as passed by the House of Representatives on April 15, 2010, which reauthorizes the National Estuary Program. Established in 1987, the National Estuary Program is charged with attaining or maintaining water quality in an estuary, places where rivers meet the sea. Reauthorizing this program is essential to protection of public water supplies and the protection or indigenous population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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