SEAL Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3020 To establish a congressionally chartered seaway development corporation in the Arctic, consistent with customary international law, with the intention of uniting Arctic nations in a cooperative Arctic shipping union, where voluntary collective maritime shipping fees will help fund the infrastructural and environmental demands of safe and reliable shipping in the region. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 23, 2019 Mr. YOUNG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a congressionally chartered seaway development corporation in the Arctic, consistent with customary international law, with the intention of uniting Arctic nations in a cooperative Arctic shipping union, where voluntary collective maritime shipping fees will help fund the infrastructural and environmental demands of safe and reliable shipping in the region. 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 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3020 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shipping and Environ- 2 mental Arctic Leadership Act’’ or the ‘‘SEAL Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) ARCTIC.—The term ‘‘Arctic’’ has the mean- 6 ing given the term in section 112 of the Arctic Re- 7 search and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4111). 8 (2) ARCTIC SEA ROUTES.—The term ‘‘Arctic 9 Sea Routes’’ means the international Northern Sea 10 Route, the Transpolar Sea Route, and the North- 11 west Passage. 12 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 13 Congress finds the following: 14 (1) The Arctic seas have historically been con- 15 sidered impassable and impractical maritime routes, 16 but diminishing Arctic sea ice, better icebreaking 17 technology, and global demand for Arctic resources 18 has opened up opportunity for international trade 19 routes through Arctic Ocean waters. 20 (2) According to the National Oceanic and At- 21 mospheric Administration, over the last 20 years at- 22 mospheric temperatures have increased at a rate at 23 least 3 times the global average, and as of 2011 sea 24 ice thickness was 42 percent below what it was in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3020 IH 1979. If trends continue, summers may produce ice- 1 free waters in the Arctic Ocean by the late 2030s. 2 (3) The Bering Strait is experiencing signifi- 3 cant increases in international traffic from vessels 4 using the Arctic Sea Routes. Increases in inter- 5 national traffic are projected to continue. 6 (4) While the Arctic Council’s agreements on 7 search and rescue, spill prevention and response, 8 and initiatives through the International Maritime 9 Organization to bring about a mandatory polar code 10 are significant, little or no cooperation yet exists in 11 the Arctic region to bring about needed maritime in- 12 frastructure, nor do Arctic coastal states and user 13 states cooperate in establishing common seaway ad- 14 ministration. International coordination and invest- 15 ment in infrastructure for shipping routes, ice- 16 breaker service and refuge, ports, spill prevention 17 and response, salvage, and LNG bunkering, would 18 be collectively beneficial for all associated states, the 19 environment, and global commerce. 20 (5) Trans-Arctic shipping brings substantial 21 commercial benefits. Shipping distance between Eu- 22 rope and Asia could be reduced by 4,500 nautical 23 miles, saving a week’s time and 40 percent in freight 24 shipping distances compared to alternative routes. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3020 IH Through a voluntary tariff model, user nations from 1 the remainder of the world can be invited to share 2 with Arctic nations the capital and operating costs 3 necessary for safe and reliable infrastructure in the 4 Arctic Ocean and its approaches. 5 (6) As this new frontier emerges, the United 6 States should assume leadership to ensure safe, se- 7 cure, and reliable Arctic seaway development, and 8 further to ensure that the Arctic becomes a place of 9 international cooperation rather than competition or 10 conflict. 11 (7) Setting precedent for cooperative infrastruc- 12 ture investment and greater reliability in domestic 13 and international shipping is the St. Lawrence Sea- 14 way between the United States and Canada, which 15 links the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The 16 Seaway operates in internal waters, rather than 17 international waters, but offers ship operators a co- 18 ordinated suite of services, similar to what is needed 19 in the Arctic Ocean and its approaches. 20 (8) The St. Lawrence Seaway Development 21 Corporation, established in 1954, is a model for a 22 United States Government corporation that con- 23 structs, operates, and maintains sea passage infra- 24 structure in water bodies shared with another na- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3020 IH tion. It corresponds with its Canadian counterpart, 1 the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. 2 In 2010 the Great Lakes-Seaway system gen- 3 erated— 4 (A) 226,833 United States and Canadian 5 jobs; 6 (B) $33,600,000,000 in business revenue 7 from maritime activity; and 8 (C) $4,600,000,000 in Federal, State, pro- 9 vincial, and local tax revenue from maritime ac- 10 tivity. 11 (9) In 2012 the Russian Duma passed legisla- 12 tion to create a single management agency called the 13 Northern Sea Route Administration, to manage all 14 infrastructural and navigational services across what 15 Russia claims to be its Arctic territorial waters. This 16 is a claim the United States and many other nations 17 do not recognize. Russia is investing heavily into 18 Northern Sea Route infrastructure, anticipating an 19 increase in cargo transport from 1,800,000 tons in 20 2010 to 64,000,000 tons by 2020. The Russian 21 Northern Sea Route Administration charges escort 22 fees for international cargo ships as high as 23 $500,000, and aims to collect a share of revenues 24 that might otherwise be paid as tariffs on the Suez 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3020 IH Canal where collections totaled $5,300,000,000 in 1 2017. 2 (10) The Russian Federation has considered 3 legislation to require all energy traffic on the North- 4 ern Sea Route to be carried by Russian-flagged 5 ships. 6 (11) Rising transit in United States Arctic re- 7 gion waters necessitates a management agency and 8 infrastructure investment in a transportation sys- 9 tem. As identified in the Ten-Year Prioritization of 10 Infrastructure Needs in the United States Arctic 11 prepared by the United States Committee on the 12 Marine Transportation System Arctic Transpor- 13 tation Integrated Action Team for the United States 14 Department of Transportation, there is a significant 15 infrastructure gap in the Arctic in the areas of— 16 (A) navigable waterways, such as waterway 17 coordination with international stakeholders; 18 (B) physical infrastructure, such as infra- 19 structure around Port Clarence and Port of 20 Nome in Alaska to support commercial activity; 21 (C) informational infrastructure, such as 22 up-to-date nautical charts and electronic aids to 23 navigation; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3020 IH (D) MTS Response Services, such as emer- 1 gency response and rescue capabilities; and 2 (E) vessel operations, such as United 3 States icebreaking capabilities. 4 (12) The Arctic offers economic value to the 5 United States through commercial shipping and 6 international trade routes, energy, mining, commer- 7 cial fishing, tourism, and tug and barge operations. 8 The Arctic offers environmental and cultural value 9 through ecological significance, unique wildlife, in- 10 digenous peoples and Alaskan communities, and sci- 11 entific research. The Arctic offers security value to 12 the United States as a way to move United States 13 vessels and forces between the world’s oceans, and 14 through other waters. While the United States does 15 not support mandatory tariffs in this region, it does 16 not currently have a way to collect voluntary tariffs 17 for providing assistance to vessels crossing through 18 the Bering Strait or the Arctic Ocean. 19 (13) Reinvesting into infrastructural and envi- 20 ronmental demands with funds collected from inter- 21 national shipping fees will be essential to the long- 22 term viability of the Arctic. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3020 IH (14) Environmental protection of the Arctic 1 takes the form of pollution prevention, clean-up, and 2 accident response. 3 (15) Arctic prevention and clean-up involves all 4 feasible efforts to remove or mitigate pollutants from 5 the environment. Arctic ecosystems are more suscep- 6 tible to biological damage from pollutants than more 7 temperate climates. Existing removable hazards, 8 such as dumped radioactive waste and other toxic 9 substances, must be handled. 10 (16) Arctic pollution prevention takes collective 11 adherence to regulations and best practices. United 12 States leadership on clean practices in the Arctic will 13 be essential in the ecosystem’s sustainability. Provi- 14 sion of bunkering facilities to enable the use of clean 15 LNG fuels for ships will strengthen pollution preven- 16 tion. 17 (17) Environmental response capabilities in the 18 Arctic are weak, sparse, and have only begun to be 19 internationally coordinated. Transportation of oil 20 and gas and maritime traffic is expected to increase 21 significantly in the Arctic, which will increase the 22 risk of accidents. The Arctic region is particularly 23 vulnerable to pollution from oil and gas shipping. 24 Because oil spills in ice are considerably more com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3020 IH plicated to address than oil spills in open waters, ef- 1 fects of oil spills could remain in the region for peri- 2 ods of 50 years or more. In 2010 the International 3 Maritime Organization passed Guidelines for Ships 4 Operating in Polar Waters, citing, ‘‘the need to en- 5 sure that all ship systems both are capable of func- 6 tioning effectively under anticipated operating condi- 7 tions and provide adequate levels of safety in acci- 8 dent and emergency situations’’. 9 (18) In June 2014, the Government Account- 10 ability Office (GAO) reported that the Coast Guard 11 was experiencing a gap in its heavy icebreaking ca- 12 pacity and was without a heavy icebreaker from 13 2010 to 2013. Tariffs collected through this system 14 can help United States public and private icebreaker 15 capacity grow, and induce additional private invest- 16 ment in marine safety and services. 17 (19) During the most recent United States 18 Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, May 2017, the 19 Arctic Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine En- 20 vironment Working Group established an Arctic 21 Shipping Best Practices Information Forum to help 22 serve as a resource hub of information, guidance, 23 and guidelines that aid decision-makers involved in 24 Arctic maritime navigation and those affected by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3020 IH maritime operations related to the Polar Code. In- 1 surers of Arctic shipping encouraged this Forum to 2 help bring about safer and more reliable shipping in 3 the Arctic region, and to reduce losses. This Act is 4 in support of the same goals. 5 SEC. 4. CREATION OF THE ARCTIC SEAWAY DEVELOPMENT 6 CORPORATION. 7 There is hereby created, subject to the direction and 8 supervision of the Secretary of Transportation, in conjunc- 9 tion with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense 10 operating through the Secretary of the Army, and the Sec- 11 retary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is op- 12 erating, a body corporate to be known as the Arctic Sea- 13 way Development Corporation (hereinafter referred to as 14 the ‘‘Corporation’’). 15 SEC. 5. SERVICES. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation, 17 in conjunction with the Secretary of the Department in 18 which the Coast Guard is operating, the Secretary of De- 19 fense acting through the Secretary of the Army, and the 20 Secretary of State, shall approve services for which the 21 Corporation established under section 4 may charge a toll 22 to vessels. 23 (b) MANAGEMENT.— 24 (1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3020.IH H3020 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3020 IH (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab- 1 lished the Board of Directors of the Corpora- 2 tion (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Board of 3 Directors’’), which shall be composed of 9 mem- 4 bers as described in subparagraph (B). 5 (B) COMPOSITION.—The Board of Direc- 6 tors shall consist of— 7 (i) the Chair of the Board of Direc- 8 tors to be appointed and designated by the 9 President of the United States; 10 (ii) the Administrator of the National 11 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 12 (iii) the Secretary of State; 13 (iv) the Secretary of Transportation; 14 (v) the Secretary of the Department 15 in which the Coast Guard is operating; and 16 (vi) 4 senior representatives nomi- 17 nated by the Governor of Alaska and des- 18 ignated by the Secretary of Transpor- 19 tation, of whom— 20 (I) 1 shall represent the govern- 21 ment of the State of Alaska; 22 (II) 1 shall represent the Alaska 23 business community; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Jun 08, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\ [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]