Great Lakes Winter Commerce Act of 2021

II Calendar No. 197 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 576 To amend title 14, United States Code, to require the Coast Guard to conduct icebreaking operations in the Great Lakes to minimize commer- cial disruption in the winter months, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 3, 2021 Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. PETERS, Mr. CASEY, and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation DECEMBER 16, 2021 Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To amend title 14, United States Code, to require the Coast Guard to conduct icebreaking operations in the Great Lakes to minimize commercial disruption in the winter months, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 576 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Winter 2 Commerce Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES ICEBREAKING OPERATIONS. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 5 of 5 title 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 6 end the following: 7 ‘‘§ 564. Great Lakes icebreaking operations 8 ‘‘(a) ICEBREAKING OPERATIONS.—The Commandant 9 shall conduct icebreaking operations in the Great Lakes 10 in accordance with the standard for icebreaking operations 11 under subsection (b). 12 ‘‘(b) STANDARD FOR ICEBREAKING OPERATIONS.— 13 In carrying out subsection (a)— 14 ‘‘(1) except as provided in paragraph (2), the 15 Commandant shall keep ice-covered waterways in the 16 Great Lakes open to navigation not less than 90 17 percent of the hours that commercial vessels and fer- 18 ries attempt to transit such ice-covered waterways; 19 and 20 ‘‘(2) in a year in which the Great Lakes are not 21 open to navigation because of ice of a thickness that 22 occurs on average only once every 10 years, the 23 Coast Guard shall keep ice-covered waterways in the 24 Great Lakes open to navigation at least 70 percent 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 576 RS of the hours that commercial vessels and ferries at- 1 tempt to transit such ice-covered waterways. 2 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 3 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE.—Not later than July 1 of each 4 year, the Commandant shall submit to Congress a 5 report on the icebreaking operations conducted by 6 the Coast Guard in the Great Lakes for the fiscal 7 year. 8 ‘‘(2) CONTENT.—The report required under 9 paragraph (1) shall include the total number of 10 hours that United States icebreakers conducted 11 icebreaking operations in each of the types of Great 12 Lakes waters described in paragraph (3) and the 13 total number of hours that Canadian icebreakers 14 conducted icebreaking operations in the type of 15 Great Lakes waters described in subparagraphs 16 (3)(A) and (3)(C). 17 ‘‘(3) TYPES OF GREAT LAKES WATERS.—The 18 types of waters described in this paragraph are— 19 ‘‘(A) United States waters, excluding 20 waters described in subparagraph (C); 21 ‘‘(B) Canadian waters, excluding waters 22 described in subparagraph (C); and 23 ‘‘(C) frequent border crossing waters. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 576 RS ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH INDUSTRY.—The Com- 1 mandant shall coordinate Great Lakes icebreaking oper- 2 ations with operators of commercial vessels. 3 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 ‘‘(1) COMMERCIAL VESSEL.—The term ‘com- 5 mercial vessel’ means any privately owned cargo ves- 6 sel of at least 500 tons, as measured under section 7 14502 of title 46 or an alternate tonnage measured 8 under section 14302 of such title as prescribed by 9 the Secretary under section 14104 of such title, op- 10 erating in the Great Lakes during the winter season. 11 ‘‘(2) GREAT LAKES.—The term ‘Great 12 Lakes’— 13 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term in 14 section 118 of the Federal Water Pollution 15 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1268); and 16 ‘‘(B) includes harbors. 17 ‘‘(3) ICE-COVERED WATERWAY.—The term ‘ice- 18 covered waterway’ means any portion of the Great 19 Lakes in which commercial vessels operate that is 70 20 percent or greater covered by ice, but does not in- 21 clude any waters adjacent to piers or docks for 22 which commercial icebreaking services are available 23 and adequate for the ice conditions. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 576 RS ‘‘(4) OPEN TO NAVIGATION.—The term ‘open to 1 navigation’ means navigable to the extent necessary 2 to meet the reasonable demands of commerce, mini- 3 mize delays to passenger ferries, extricate vessels 4 and persons from danger, prevent damage due to 5 flooding, and conduct other Coast Guard missions as 6 required. 7 ‘‘(5) REASONABLE DEMANDS OF COMMERCE.— 8 The term ‘reasonable demands of commerce’ means 9 the safe movement of commercial vessels transiting 10 ice-covered waterways in the Great Lakes, regardless 11 of type of cargo, at a speed consistent with the de- 12 sign capability of Coast Guard icebreakers operating 13 in the Great Lakes. 14 ‘‘(6) FREQUENT BORDER CROSSING WATERS.— 15 The term ‘frequent border crossing waters’ means 16 the United States waters and Canadian waters of— 17 ‘‘(A) Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior; 18 ‘‘(B) the St. Mary’s River; 19 ‘‘(C) the Detroit and St. Clair rivers sys- 20 tem; and 21 ‘‘(D) Western Lake Erie from the Detroit 22 River to Pelee Passage.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 576 RS (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of analysis 1 for chapter 5 of title 14, United States Code, is amended 2 by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘564. Great Lakes icebreaking operations.’’. (c) REPORT.—Not later than the first July 1 after 4 the first winter in which the Commandant of the Coast 5 Guard is subject to the requirements of section 564 of title 6 14, United States Code, the Commandant shall submit to 7 the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 8 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com- 9 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 10 on the cost to the Coast Guard of meeting the require- 11 ments of such section. 12 SEC. 3. GREAT LAKES ICEBREAKER ACQUISITION. 13 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 8107(a) of the Elijah 14 E. Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2020 15 (Public Law 116–283) is amended by striking 16 ‘‘$160,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$350,000,000’’. 17 (b) EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding sections 18 1105(a)(2), 1131, and 1132 of title 14, United States 19 Code, and the requirements in the Competition in Con- 20 tracting Act (10 U.S.C. 2304), and subject to the avail- 21 ability of appropriations, the Commandant shall acquire 22 the icebreaker described in section 8107(a) of the Elijah 23 E. Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2020 24 (Public Law 116–283) through other than full and open 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 576 RS competition in an accelerated timeframe and award the 1 contract on the basis of contractor qualification and price. 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Winter 4 Commerce Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES ICEBREAKING OPERATIONS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 5 of title 7 14, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 8 the following: 9 ‘‘§ 564. Great Lakes icebreaking operations 10 ‘‘(a) GAO REPORT.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 12 the date of the enactment of this section, the Comp- 13 troller General of the United States shall submit to 14 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- 15 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor- 16 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representa- 17 tives a report on the Coast Guard Great Lakes 18 icebreaking program. 19 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 20 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 21 ‘‘(A) An evaluation of the economic impact 22 related to vessel delays or cancellations associ- 23 ated with ice coverage on the Great Lakes. 24 ‘‘(B) An evaluation of mission needs. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 576 RS ‘‘(C) An evaluation of the impact that the 1 proposed standards described in subsection (b) 2 would have on— 3 ‘‘(i) Coast Guard operations in the 4 Great Lakes; 5 ‘‘(ii) Northeast icebreaking missions; 6 and 7 ‘‘(iii) inland waterway operations. 8 ‘‘(D) A fleet mix analysis for meeting such 9 proposed standards. 10 ‘‘(E) A description of any resources nec- 11 essary to support the fleet mix resulting from 12 such fleet mix analysis, including for crew and 13 operating costs. 14 ‘‘(F) Recommendations to the Commandant 15 for improvements to the Great Lakes icebreaking 16 program, including with respect to facilitating 17 commerce and meeting all Coast Guard mission 18 needs. 19 ‘‘(b) PROPOSED STANDARDS FOR ICEBREAKING OPER- 20 ATIONS.—The proposed standards described in this sub- 21 section are the following: 22 ‘‘(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 23 Commandant shall keep ice-covered waterways in the 24 Great Lakes open to navigation not less than 90 per- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 576 RS cent of the hours that commercial vessels and ferries 1 attempt to transit such ice-covered waterways. 2 ‘‘(2) In a year in which the Great Lakes are not 3 open to navigation because of ice of a thickness that 4 occurs on average only once every 10 years, the Com- 5 mandant shall keep ice-covered waterways in the 6 Great Lakes open to navigation at least 70 percent of 7 the hours that commercial vessels and ferries attempt 8 to transit such ice-covered waterways. 9 ‘‘(c) REPORT BY COMMANDANT.—Not later than 90 10 days after the date on which the Comptroller General sub- 11 mits the report under subsection (a), the Commandant shall 12 submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- 13 portation of the Senate and the Committee on Transpor- 14 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 15 a report that includes the following: 16 ‘‘(1) A plan for Coast Guard implementation of 17 any recommendation made by the Comptroller Gen- 18 eral under subparagraph (F) of subsection (a)(2) the 19 Commandant considers appropriate. 20 ‘‘(2) With respect to any recommendation made 21 under such subparagraph that the Commandant de- 22 clines to implement, a justification for such decision. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 576 RS ‘‘(3) A review of, and a proposed implementation 1 plan for, the results of the fleet mix analysis under 2 subparagraph (D) of that subsection. 3 ‘‘(4) Any proposed modifications to the stand- 4 ards for icebreaking operations in the Great Lakes.’’. 5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of analysis for 6 chapter 5 of title 14, United States Code, is amended by 7 adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘564. Great Lakes icebreaking operations.’’. SEC. 3. DATABASE ON ICEBREAKING OPERATIONS IN THE 9 GREAT LAKES. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commandant of the Coast 11 Guard (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Commandant’’) shall 12 establish and maintain a database for collecting, archiving, 13 and disseminating data on icebreaking operations and com- 14 mercial vessel transit in the Great Lakes during ice season. 15 (b) ELEMENTS.—The database required under sub- 16 section (a) shall include the following: 17 (1) Attempts by commercial vessels and ferries to 18 transit ice-covered waterways in the Great Lakes that 19 are unsuccessful because of inadequate icebreaking. 20 (2) The period of time that each commercial ves- 21 sel or ferry was unsuccessful at transiting due to in- 22 adequate icebreaking. 23 (3) The amount of time elapsed before each such 24 commercial vessel or ferry was successfully broken out 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 576 RS of the ice and whether it was accomplished by the 1 Coast Guard or commercial icebreaking assets. 2 (4) Relevant communications of each such com- 3 mercial vessel or ferry with the Coast Guard and 4 commercial icebreaking services during such period. 5 (5) A description of any mitigating cir- 6 cumstance, such as Coast Guard icebreaker diversions 7 to higher priority missions that may have contributed 8 to the amount of time described in paragraph (3). 9 (c) VOLUNTARY REPORTING.—Any reporting by opera- 10 tors of commercial vessels or ferries under this Act shall 11 be voluntary. 12 (d) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Commandant shall 13 make the database available to the public on a publicly ac- 14 cessible internet website of the Coast Guard. 15 (e) CONSULTATION WITH INDUSTRY.—With respect to 16 the Great Lakes icebreaking operations of the Coast Guard 17 and the development of the database required under sub- 18 section (a), the Commandant shall consult operators of com- 19 mercial vessels and ferries. 20 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 (1) COMMERCIAL VESSEL.—The term ‘‘commer- 22 cial vessel’’ means any privately owned cargo vessel 23 of at least 500 tons, as measured under section 14502 24 of title 46, or an alternate tonnage measured under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Dec 17, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S576.RS S576 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 576 RS section 14302 of such title as prescribed by the Sec- 1 retary under section 14104 of such title, operating in 2 the Great Lakes during the winter season. 3 (2) GREAT LAKES.—The term ‘‘Great Lakes’’ 4 means the United States waters of Lake Superior, 5 Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake 6 Ontario, their connecting waterways, and their adja- 7 cent harbors. 8 (3) ICE-COVERED WATERWAY.—The term ‘ [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]