A bill to modify the date on which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and applicable States may require permits for discharges from certain vessels.

I want to compliment the gentlewoman on her splendid work on this legislation and her leadership of the subcommittee, the gentleman from New Jersey for his consistent and persistent advocacy. And if we pass this bill tonight, it will go directly to the President.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3372, a bill that extends a provision prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and States from requiring permits under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act for certain discharges that are incidental to the normal operation of commercial vessels less than 79 feet in length and all fishing vessels. This Chamber has now twice passed the language contained in S. 3372.

I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) for his continued work on this issue. As I have said many times to my colleague, we will get this legislation signed into law.

This legislation extends a narrowly tailored provision enacted by Congress in 2008 to establish a moratorium on permit requirements under the Clean Water Act for certain discharges from fishing vessels and those commercial vessels less than 79 feet in length. This legislation ensures that EPA has sufficient time to consider the implications of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, while preserving the goals of the Clean Water Act to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters.

When the moratorium was established two years ago, EPA was directed to conduct a study on discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel. The purpose of this study was to provide the Agency and Congress with additional information on the nature, types, volumes, and composition of vessel discharges, and the potential impact of these discharges on human health, welfare, and the environment.

EPA completed this study earlier this year and determined that discharges from these smaller vessels are not benign. Appropriately, EPA plans on bringing these vessels within the scope of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. Currently, however, EPA does not have the framework in place or the resources to expand NPDES coverage to these smaller vessels.

S. 3372 extends the current moratorium to December 18, 2013. This extension will allow EPA time to implement the appropriate Clean Water Act mechanisms for controlling, minimizing, and properly addressing these types of vessel discharges. It will also allow the Agency to plan for the inclusion of these smaller vessels when the Agency renews its Vessel General Permits program.

The language contained in S. 3372 was included in H.R. 3619, the ``Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010'', which passed the House on November 2, 2009. In addition, last week, the House passed H.R. 5301, introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo), which included this provision.

I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in support of S. 3372.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I urge all Members to support this very important measure. I want to particularly thank Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Mica, and Gene Taylor for their work on this measure. Again, I urge everyone to support the legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 3372. Effective 2 days from now, commercial fishermen, charter boat operators and owners of other commercial vessels less than 79 feet will have to apply for and receive individual permits from the EPA to discharge from their vessels such things as deck wash, bilge water, and the condensation from air conditioning units. Vessels that operate without these permits could be subject to citizen lawsuits and daily fines that exceed $32,000 per violation. To make matters worse, the EPA has informed Congress that they do not have the resources to process the hundreds of thousands of permits that would be required.

This bill simply extends the current moratorium a few more years to ensure the EPA has time to analyze the results of the study they conducted on incidental discharges, review public comments, and develop proper permitting regulations.

Although I am very pleased the House will be sending this bill to the President today, I still look forward to working with Chairman Oberstar on a broader bill to establish a fair and effective regime to regulate incidental discharges, as well as ballast water. As the Chairman knows, the current situation where we have 2 Federal agencies plus 28 different states enforcing 30 different standards on ballast water is crippling our maritime industry. I know the Chairman is committed to working through those issues and I hope we will have a bill on the floor soon.

Finally, I want to thank Chairman Oberstar for his leadership in moving this bill forward today, as well as Ranking Member Mica for his strong support and assistance. I also want to thank Senators Murkowski and Boxer for their tremendous efforts. Finally, I want to thank the staff on both sides for their outstanding work.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3372) to modify the date on which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and applicable States may require permits for discharges from certain vessels.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of S. 3372. This piece of legislation has been approved twice by this Chamber. Just last week, H.R. 5301, proposed by my colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) passed easily on the floor of this Chamber.

Both S. 3372 and H.R. 5301 are mere extensions of an already existing moratorium. This extension is necessary because the Environmental Protection Agency has determined that discharges from vessels under 79 feet in length are not benign. But the agency needs additional time to expand coverage of its permitting program for these smaller vessels, and the EPA needs additional time to set appropriate Clean Water Act requirements to protect the Nation's waters from these type of discharges.

So I urge my colleagues to join me and support S. 3372.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).

I urge support for the bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 433, S. 3372.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.