Clean Ocean Preservation Act of 2003

        [Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 113 Introduced in House (IH)]

108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 113

To establish the HARS-specific PCB effects level, expressed in a
certain Memorandum of Agreement issued by the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Corps of Engineers, as a final criterion.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 7, 2003

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Andrews, Mr.
LoBiondo, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Holt, and Mr. Rothman)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To establish the HARS-specific PCB effects level, expressed in a
certain Memorandum of Agreement issued by the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Corps of Engineers, as a final criterion.

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 ``Clean Ocean Preservation Act of
2003''.

SEC. 2. EFFECT OF MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.

(a) In General.--The joint Memorandum of Agreement signed in
September of 2000 by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army
Corps of Engineers established an effects level of 113 parts per
billion, of poly-chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) detected in the tissue of
worms tested in sediments to be used as remediation material at the
Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS) off the coast of New Jersey. This
HARS-specific effects level for PCBs is hereby established as final
criterion for making decisions regarding placement of sediments as
remediation material at the HARS. The arithmetic mean concentration,
without use of statistical confidence intervals, reported for the
analyses of the worm tissue replicates exposed to the tested sediments
shall not exceed the criterion.
(b) Minimum Level.--The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency, using the rulemaking authority provided pursuant to
the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, may only
promulgate a rule, with regard to sediments to be used as remediation
material at the Historic Area Remediation Site off the coast of New
Jersey, that is equal or more protective of human health and the
environment than the 113 PCB criterion.
(c) Application.--The criterion established in subsection (a) shall
be effective as of the date of enactment of this Act.
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