SOS 2.0 Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3969 To improve efforts to combat marine debris, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 25, 2019 Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. BEYER, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. KILMER, Mr. CASE, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. PINGREE, and Mr. CASTEN of Illinois) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Trans- portation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Nat- ural Resources, Ways and Means, Foreign Affairs, Energy and Com- merce, Science, Space, and Technology, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To improve efforts to combat marine debris, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Save Our Seas 2.0 Act’’ or the ‘‘SOS 2.0 Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3969 IH Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. TITLE I—ENHANCING THE DOMESTIC MARINE DEBRIS RESPONSE Subtitle A—Marine Debris Response Trust Fund Sec. 101. Marine Debris Response Trust Fund. Subtitle B—Marine Debris Foundation Sec. 111. Establishment and purposes of Foundation. Sec. 112. Board of Directors of the Foundation. Sec. 113. Rights and obligations of the Foundation. Sec. 114. Administrative services and support. Sec. 115. Volunteer status. Sec. 116. Report requirements; petition of attorney general for equitable relief. Sec. 117. United States release from liability. Sec. 118. Authorization of appropriations. Subtitle C—Genius Prize for Save Our Seas Innovations Sec. 121. Definitions. Sec. 122. Genius prize for Save Our Seas Innovations. Sec. 123. Save Our Seas Innovation Steering Committee. Sec. 124. Agreement with the marine debris foundation. Sec. 125. Judges. Sec. 126. Report to Congress. Sec. 127. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 128. Termination of authority. Subtitle D—Other Measures Relating to Combating Marine Debris Sec. 131. Prioritization of marine debris in existing innovation and entrepre- neurship programs. Sec. 132. Expansion of derelict vessel recycling. Sec. 133. Incentive for fishermen to collect and dispose of plastic found at sea. Sec. 134. Amendments to Marine Debris Program. Sec. 135. Marine debris on National Forest System land. Subtitle E—Studies and Reports Sec. 141. Report on opportunities for innovative uses of plastic waste. Sec. 142. Report on microfiber pollution. Sec. 143. Study on United States plastic pollution data. Sec. 144. Report on minimizing the creation of new plastic waste. Sec. 145. Study on mass balance methodologies to certify circular polymers. TITLE II—ENHANCED GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT TO COMBAT MARINE DEBRIS Sec. 201. Statement of policy on international cooperation to combat marine debris. Sec. 202. Prioritization of efforts and assistance to combat marine debris and improve plastic waste management. Sec. 203. United States leadership in international fora. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3969 IH Sec. 204. Enhancing international outreach and partnership of United States agencies involved in marine debris activities. Sec. 205. Negotiation of new international agreements. Sec. 206. Consideration of marine debris in negotiating international agree- ments. TITLE III—IMPROVING DOMESTIC INFRASTRUCTURE TO PREVENT MARINE DEBRIS Sec. 301. Definitions. Sec. 302. Strategy for improving waste management, recycling, and water man- agement. Sec. 303. Waste management State revolving funds. Sec. 304. Grant programs. Sec. 305. Study on repurposing plastic waste in infrastructure. Sec. 306. Study on options to advance technologies for converting plastic waste to chemicals, feedstocks, and other products. Sec. 307. Study on effects of microplastics in food supplies and sources of drinking water. Sec. 308. Report on eliminating barriers to increase the collection of recyclable materials. Sec. 309. Report on economic incentives to spur development of new end-use markets for recycled plastics. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) CIRCULAR ECONOMY.—The term ‘‘circular 3 economy’’ means an economy that uses a systems-fo- 4 cused approach and involves industrial processes and 5 economic activities that— 6 (A) are restorative or regenerative by de- 7 sign; 8 (B) enable resources used in such proc- 9 esses and activities to maintain their highest 10 values for as long as possible; and 11 (C) aim for the elimination of waste 12 through the superior design of materials, prod- 13 ucts, and systems (including business models). 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3969 IH (2) EPA ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘EPA 1 Administrator’’ means the Administrator of the En- 2 vironmental Protection Agency. 3 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 4 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 5 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 6 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 7 (4) MARINE DEBRIS.—The term ‘‘marine de- 8 bris’’ has the meaning given that term in section 7 9 of the Marine Debris Act (33 U.S.C. 1956). 10 (5) MARINE DEBRIS EVENT.—The term ‘‘ma- 11 rine debris event’’ means an event or related events 12 that affects or may imminently affect the United 13 States involving— 14 (A) marine debris caused by a natural 15 event, including a tsunami, flood, landslide, 16 hurricane, or other natural source; 17 (B) distinct, nonrecurring marine debris, 18 including derelict vessel groundings and con- 19 tainer spills, that have immediate or long-term 20 impacts on habitats with high ecological, eco- 21 nomic, or human-use values; or 22 (C) marine debris caused by an intentional 23 or grossly negligent act or acts that causes sub- 24 stantial economic or environmental harm. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3969 IH (6) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—The term ‘‘non- 1 Federal funds’’ means funds provided by— 2 (A) a State; 3 (B) an Indian Tribe; 4 (C) a territory of the United States; 5 (D) one or more units of local governments 6 or Tribal organizations (as defined in section 4 7 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 8 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)); 9 (E) a private for-profit entity; 10 (F) a nonprofit organization; or 11 (G) a private individual. 12 (7) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 13 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that 14 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Rev- 15 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under sec- 16 tion 501(a) of such Code. 17 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 18 (A) a State; 19 (B) an Indian Tribe; 20 (C) the District of Columbia; and 21 (D) a territory or possession of the United 22 States. 23 (9) UNDER SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Under 24 Secretary’’ means the Under Secretary of Commerce 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3969 IH for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of 1 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- 2 tion. 3 (10) WASTE MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘waste 4 management’’ means the systems, operation, super- 5 vision, and aftercare of processes and equipment 6 used for waste— 7 (A) collection; 8 (B) transport; 9 (C) recovery; 10 (D) reuse; 11 (E) recycling; and 12 (F) safe disposal of waste when recovery, 13 reuse, or recycling are not otherwise available. 14 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 15 It is the sense of Congress that— 16 (1) eliminating plastic waste from the oceans 17 requires a multi-faceted approach, including waste 18 reduction and prevention, reuse and recycling, and 19 innovation; 20 (2) both domestic and international efforts are 21 required to make progress in combating marine de- 22 bris; 23 (3) efforts by States, communities, and corpora- 24 tions to minimize the use of single-use plastic prod- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3969 IH ucts have been successful in raising awareness of the 1 marine debris issue; and 2 (4) while we make progress toward a more sus- 3 tainable future, we must recognize that there is sig- 4 nificant amount of plastic waste that has already 5 been created that must be prevented from entering 6 the oceans through recycling, reuse, repurposing, 7 and other innovative means. 8 TITLE I—ENHANCING THE DO- 9 MESTIC MARINE DEBRIS RE- 10 SPONSE 11 Subtitle A—Marine Debris 12 Response Trust Fund 13 SEC. 101. MARINE DEBRIS RESPONSE TRUST FUND. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the 15 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 16 the end the following: 17 ‘‘SEC. 9512. MARINE DEBRIS RESPONSE TRUST FUND. 18 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab- 19 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 20 to be known as the ‘Marine Debris Response Trust Fund’, 21 consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated or 22 credited to the Trust Fund as provided in this section. 23 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES OF TRUST FUND.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3969 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Marine De- 1 bris Response Trust Fund shall be available for the 2 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 3 to respond to a marine debris event described in 4 paragraph (2), which may include— 5 ‘‘(A) monitoring, response, and prevention; 6 ‘‘(B) providing funding to States, terri- 7 tories, Tribes, and other United States Govern- 8 ment and nongovernmental organizations sup- 9 porting prevention, cleanup, and response ef- 10 forts; or 11 ‘‘(C) administrative costs relating to dis- 12 tributing amounts from the Trust Fund. 13 ‘‘(2) MARINE DEBRIS EVENT DESCRIBED.—A 14 marine debris event described in this paragraph is 15 an event that affects or may affect the United 16 States involving— 17 ‘‘(A) marine debris caused by a natural 18 event, including a tsunami, flood, landslide, 19 hurricane, or other natural source; 20 ‘‘(B) distinct, nonrecurring marine debris, 21 including derelict vessel groundings and con- 22 tainer spills, that have immediate or long-term 23 impacts on habitats with high ecological, eco- 24 nomic, or human-use values; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3969 IH ‘‘(C) marine debris caused by an inten- 1 tional or grossly negligent act or acts that 2 causes substantial economic or environmental 3 harm. 4 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS ON EXPENDITURES.— 5 ‘‘(1) MAXIMUM PER EVENT.—The maximum 6 amount that may be paid from the Marine Debris 7 Response Trust Fund with respect to any single 8 event may not exceed $100,000,000. 9 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM BALANCE.—A payment may be 10 made from the Marine Debris Response Trust Fund 11 only if the amount in the Trust Fund after the pay- 12 ment will not be less than $1,000,000. 13 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM BALANCE.—Amounts in the Ma- 14 rine Debris Response Trust Fund may not exceed 15 $500,000,000. 16 ‘‘(d) INITIAL FUNDING.—There are authorized to be 17 appropriated to the Marine Debris Response Trust Fund 18 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 to establish the Trust 19 Fund. 20 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY TO BORROW.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 22 appropriated to the Marine Debris Response Trust 23 Fund, as repayable advances, such sums as may be 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3969 IH necessary to carry out the purposes of the Trust 1 Fund. 2 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OUTSTANDING.— 3 The maximum aggregate amount of repayable ad- 4 vances to the Marine Debris Response Trust Fund 5 outstanding at any one time may not exceed 6 $1,000,000. 7 ‘‘(3) REPAYMENT OF ADVANCES.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Advances made to the 9 Marine Debris Response Trust Fund shall be 10 repaid, and interest on such advances shall be 11 paid, to the general fund of the Treasury when 12 the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with 13 the Secretary of the Treasury, determines that 14 amounts are available for such purposes in the 15 Trust Fund. 16 ‘‘(B) FINAL REPAYMENT.—No advance 17 may be made to the Marine Debris Response 18 Trust Fund after September 30, 2035, and all 19 advances to such Fund shall be repaid on or be- 20 fore that date. 21 ‘‘(C) RATE OF INTEREST.—Interest on ad- 22 vances made pursuant to this subsection shall 23 be— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH H3969 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3969 IH ‘‘(i) at a rate determined by the Sec- 1 retary of the Treasury (as of the close of 2 the calendar month preceding the month in 3 which the advance is made) to be equal to 4 the current average market yield on out- 5 standing marketable obligations of the 6 United States with remaining periods to 7 maturity comparable to the anticipated pe- 8 riod during which the advance will be out- 9 standing, and 10 ‘‘(ii) compounded annually. 11 ‘‘(f) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Ma- 12 rine Debris Response Trust Fund shall— 13 ‘‘(1) be available without fiscal year limitation 14 and without apportionment; and 15 ‘‘(2) shall supplement and not supplant other 16 amounts available for responding to marine debris 17 events. 18 ‘‘(g) INVESTMENT.—The Secretary of the Treasury 19 shall invest amounts in the Marine Debris Response Trust 20 Fund in interest bearing obligations of the United States 21 to the extent such amounts are not required to meet cur- 22 rent withdrawals. Interest earned by such investments 23 shall be credited to, and become a part of, the Trust Fund. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Aug 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3969.IH [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]