International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1920 To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to assess certain fees on shipping and other vessels, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 8, 2023 Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. PADILLA, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on En- vironment and Public Works A BILL To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protec- tion Agency to assess certain fees on shipping and other vessels, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Maritime 4 Pollution Accountability Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) the greenhouse gas emissions from the ma- 8 rine shipping industry— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1920 IS (A) account for nearly 3 percent of total 1 global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions; 2 and 3 (B) are increasing rapidly; 4 (2) the International Maritime Organization 5 has failed to require emissions reductions with re- 6 spect to marine shipping that are consistent with 7 global decarbonization targets; and 8 (3) ports are a large source of air pollution and 9 contribute to poor air quality in the neighborhoods 10 surrounding the ports, leading to worse health out- 11 comes for those who live in those neighborhoods. 12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 15 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 16 mental Protection Agency. 17 (2) CALENDAR QUARTER.—The term ‘‘calendar 18 quarter’’ means a period of 3 calendar months that 19 ends on, as applicable, March 31, June 30, Sep- 20 tember 30, or December 31 of the applicable cal- 21 endar year. 22 (3) CARGO OR FREIGHT.—The term ‘‘cargo or 23 freight’’ does not include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1920 IS (A) passengers transported for compensa- 1 tion or hire; 2 (B) bunker fuel; 3 (C) ship’s stores; 4 (D) sea stores; or 5 (E) the legitimate equipment necessary to 6 the operation of a vessel. 7 (4) COVERED VOYAGE.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered voy- 9 age’’ means a voyage— 10 (i) made using a self-propelled vessel 11 of 10,000 gross tonnage or more, the pri- 12 mary purpose of which is transporting 13 cargo or freight; and 14 (ii) that begins when the vessel leaves 15 the port of origin and terminates when the 16 offloading operations at the final port of 17 call are completed. 18 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘covered 19 voyage’’ does not include a voyage— 20 (i) that has been included as an OCS 21 source (as defined in subsection (a)(4) of 22 section 328 of the Clean Air Act (42 23 U.S.C. 7627)) because the voyage has the 24 potential to emit any air pollutant as de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1920 IS scribed in subparagraph (C)(i) of that sub- 1 section and is, as a result, regulated pursu- 2 ant to that section; or 3 (ii) made for the purposes of trans- 4 porting military cargo, food aid, or sup- 5 plies for disaster or emergency relief. 6 (5) CRITERIA AIR POLLUTANT.—The term ‘‘cri- 7 teria air pollutant’’ is within the meaning of the 8 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). 9 (6) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 10 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ has the meaning given 11 the term in section 107 of title 46, United States 12 Code. 13 (7) FINAL PORT OF CALL.—The term ‘‘final 14 port of call’’, with respect to a covered voyage, 15 means, as applicable— 16 (A) the port in the United States where 17 the vessel making the covered voyage offloaded 18 the last of the cargo or freight of the vessel ul- 19 timately bound for the United States that was 20 onboard the vessel on departure from the port 21 of origin; or 22 (B) if the last of the cargo or freight of the 23 vessel ultimately bound for the United States 24 that was onboard the vessel on departure from 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1920 IS the port of origin is offloaded in a foreign port, 1 the most recent port of call in the United 2 States prior to offloading the last of the cargo 3 or freight of the vessel that is ultimately bound 4 for the United States. 5 (8) IMPORTER.—The term ‘‘importer’’ means 1 6 of the parties that qualifies as an importer of record 7 under section 484(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 8 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484(a)(2)(B)). 9 (9) INTERMEDIATE PORT.—The term ‘‘inter- 10 mediate port’’, with respect to a covered voyage, 11 means each foreign port of call of the vessel of the 12 covered voyage between the port of origin and the 13 initial port of call of the vessel in the United States. 14 (10) PORT OF ORIGIN.—The term ‘‘port of ori- 15 gin’’, with respect to a covered voyage, means the 16 first port of the vessel making the covered voyage 17 before docking at a port in the United States after 18 departing which a majority (by mass) of the cargo 19 or freight of the vessel is ultimately bound for the 20 United States. 21 (11) ULTIMATELY BOUND FOR THE UNITED 22 STATES.—The term ‘‘ultimately bound for the 23 United States’’, with respect to cargo or freight, in- 24 cludes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1920 IS (A) all cargo or freight that is offloaded in 1 the United States by a vessel making a covered 2 voyage; and 3 (B) all cargo or freight that is— 4 (i) initially offloaded at an inter- 5 mediate port; and 6 (ii) subsequently transported to the 7 United States by sea, land, or air. 8 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on January 1, 2024, 10 the operator of each covered voyage shall submit to the 11 Administrator, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and 12 the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 13 the information described in subsection (b). 14 (b) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The information re- 15 ferred to in subsection (a), with respect to a covered voy- 16 age, is— 17 (1) the port of origin; 18 (2) the total distance traveled from the port of 19 origin to the final port of call; 20 (3) the total time spent traveling between the 21 port of origin and the final port of call; 22 (4) the total mass of each type of fuel con- 23 sumed between the port of origin and the final port 24 of call; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1920 IS (5) the total mass of cargo or freight trans- 1 ported between the port of origin and the final port 2 of call; 3 (6) each port of call in the United States; 4 (7) each intermediate port; 5 (8) the final port of call; 6 (9) the mass of cargo or freight on board the 7 applicable vessel on leaving the port of origin; 8 (10) the percentage of cargo or freight (by 9 mass) offloaded or onloaded at any intermediate 10 port, as compared to the capacity of the applicable 11 vessel and the load of the applicable vessel; 12 (11) the ultimate destination (by country) of 13 cargo or freight offloaded at intermediate ports, as 14 compared to the capacity of the applicable vessel and 15 the load of the applicable vessel; 16 (12) the mass of cargo or freight on board the 17 applicable vessel on arrival at or departure from, as 18 applicable, each port of call in the United States; 19 (13) the total time spent in each port of call in 20 the United States; 21 (14) the total period of time that the applicable 22 vessel is connected to and reliant on the electrical 23 grid while in port at a port of call in the United 24 States; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1920 IS (15) the total mass of each type of fuel con- 1 sumed— 2 (A) in any port of call in the United 3 States; and 4 (B) within the exclusive economic zone; 5 (16) the total period of time spent— 6 (A) north of 60 degrees north latitude; or 7 (B) south of 60 degrees south latitude; 8 (17) for each period described in paragraph 9 (16), the total mass of each type of fuel consumed 10 during that period; and 11 (18) any other information that the Adminis- 12 trator, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and 13 the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Pro- 14 tection, in conjunction with the Secretary of the 15 Treasury, determines is necessary to accurately de- 16 termine the amount of the fees assessed under sec- 17 tions 5 and 6. 18 (c) DEADLINE.—The operator of a covered voyage 19 shall submit the information required under subsection (a) 20 for each covered voyage of the operator that ended during 21 a calendar quarter by not later than 30 days after the 22 end of that calendar quarter. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1920 IS SEC. 5. FEE ON LIFECYCLE CARBON DIOXIDE-EQUIVALENT 1 EMISSIONS FROM CARGO VESSELS. 2 (a) LIFECYCLE CO2–E EMISSIONS PROFILE FOR 3 MARITIME FUELS.—Not later than January 1, 2024, the 4 Administrator shall develop a lifecycle carbon dioxide- 5 equivalent (CO2–e) emissions profile for each fuel used in 6 maritime shipping to express the emissions from the com- 7 bustion of that fuel in carbon dioxide-equivalent per unit 8 mass combusted. 9 (b) ASSESSMENT OF FEE.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on January 1, 11 2024, not later than 30 days after the date on which 12 the Administrator receives from the operator of a 13 covered voyage the information required to be sub- 14 mitted under section 4(a), the Administrator, in con- 15 junction with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 16 assess on the operator a fee with respect to the cov- 17 ered voyage in an amount determined in accordance 18 with paragraph (2). 19 (2) AMOUNT OF FEE.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 21 graph (B) and subsection (d), the amount of a 22 fee assessed under subsection (a) with respect 23 to a covered voyage shall be the total sum of, 24 for each type of fuel consumed during the cov- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1920 IS ered voyage, the product obtained by multi- 1 plying— 2 (i) the total mass of the fuel con- 3 sumed during the covered voyage; 4 (ii) the carbon dioxide-equivalent 5 emissions of the fuel, expressed in metric 6 tons per unit mass of fuel consumed, as 7 determined under subsection (a); and 8 (iii) $150. 9 (B) ADJUSTMENTS.— 10 (i) INFLATION.—Beginning in cal- 11 endar year 2025, the Administrator shall 12 annually increase the amount described in 13 subparagraph (A)(iii) by the percentage 14 that is equal to the sum obtained by add- 15 ing— 16 (I) the rate of inflation, as deter- 17 mined by the Administrator using the 18 changes for the 12-month period end- 19 ing the preceding November 30 in the 20 Consumer Price Index for All Urban 21 Consumers published by the Bureau 22 of Labor Statistics of the Department 23 of Labor; and 24 (II) 5 percentage points. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1920 IS (ii) VOYAGES IN POLAR REGIONS.— 1 For any portion of a covered voyage that 2 involves travel north of 60 degrees north 3 latitude or south of 60 degrees south lati- 4 tude, the amount described in subpara- 5 graph (A)(iii) with respect to fuel con- 6 sumed during that portion of the voyage, 7 after adjustment under clause (i), if appli- 8 cable, shall be tripled. 9 (3) DEADLINE.—A fee assessed under para- 10 graph (1) shall be due and payable to the Adminis- 11 trator not later than the later of— 12 (A) the date that is 30 days after the date 13 on which the fee is assessed; and 14 (B) the end of the calendar year in which 15 the fee is assessed. 16 (4) PENALTY.—Notwithstanding any other pro- 17 vision of law or any circumstances that jeopardize 18 the safety of a vessel the voyage of which is a cov- 19 ered voyage, the persons aboard such a vessel, or the 20 environment, if an operator fails to pay a fee as- 21 sessed under paragraph (1) by the date described in 22 paragraph (3)— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1920 IS (A) the Administrator shall inform the 1 Commandant of the Coast Guard of the failure 2 of the operator to pay the fee; and 3 (B) the Commandant of the Coast Guard 4 shall, until the Administrator informs the Com- 5 mandant of the Coast Guard that all out- 6 standing fees assessed under paragraph (1) 7 have been paid, prohibit— 8 (i) the operator from operating within 9 the waters of the United States; and 10 (ii) vessels of the operator from dock- 11 ing at ports of call in the United States. 12 (c) ALTERNATE FEE FOR IMPORTED CARGO.— 13 (1) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED IMPORTING 14 VOYAGE.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘qualified im- 15 porting voyage’’ means a voyage made using a ves- 16 sel— 17 (A) the primary purpose of which is trans- 18 porting cargo or freight; and 19 (B) that, at a foreign port of call, offloads 20 cargo or freight that is ultimately intended to 21 be transported to the United States by sea, 22 land, or air. 23 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 24 (A) REPORTING.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:44 Jul 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1920.IS S1920 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1920 IS (i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on Janu- 1 ary 1, 2024, each importer for which a 2 qualified importing voyage has cargo or 3 freight that is bound for the United States 4 shall submit to the Administrator the in- 5 formation described in subsection (b) of 6 section 4 in accordance with that section 7 (except as otherwise provided in this para- 8 graph). 9 (ii) TREATMENT.—For purposes of 10 clause (i), any reference contained in sec- 11 tion 4(b) to— 12 (I) the ‘‘final port of call’’ shall 13 be considered to be a reference [Text truncated for display. 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