{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-1996-10-21-pt1-PgS12466", "1996-10-21", 104, 2, null, null, "THE NEED FOR BALLAST MANAGEMENT--H.R. 4283", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S12466", "S12467", "[{\"name\": \"John H. Glenn Jr.\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Larry Pressler\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", "[{\"congress\": \"104\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"3217\"}, {\"congress\": \"104\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"3217\"}, {\"congress\": \"104\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"4283\"}, {\"congress\": \"104\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"4283\"}, {\"congress\": \"104\", \"type\": \"HR\", \"number\": \"4283\"}]", "142 Cong. Rec. S12466", "Congressional Record, Volume 142 Issue 143 (Monday, October 21, 1996)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 143 (Monday, October 21, 1996)]\n[Senate]\n[Pages S12466-S12467]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n               THE NEED FOR BALLAST MANAGEMENT--H.R. 4283\n\n Mr. GLENN. I thank the Senator from South Dakota for his\nefforts in responding to the urgent national need for ballast\nmanagement to prevent unintentional introduction of nonnative species\ninto U.S. waters. As you know, some Senators raised concerns about the\ninitial House-passed version of the National Invasive Species Act [H.R.\n3217] because it does not give assurance that onerous requirements will\nnot be imposed upon vessels that exercise the safety exemption from\nnational ballast exchange requirements. This version, [H.R. 4283],\nrectifies that problem. The Great Lakes Program which already leaves\nsole discretion over safety to the ship master, and already requires\nalternatives if high seas exchange is not possible, will not be\naffected by this amendment. I ask the Senator, is it his opinion that\nthe Coast Guard will actively seek to identify alternatives of which\nvessels may avail themselves in other coastal regions, and will it\nrequest vessels to conduct these alternative precautions on a voluntary\nbasis in the new national program?\n  Mr. PRESSLER. As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce,\nScience and Transportation that has jurisdiction of the U.S. Coast\nGuard, I would expect the Coast Guard to actively seek alternatives\napplicable to other regions, routinely identify those alternatives to\nballast exchange for vessels which use the safety exemption, and\nencourage their use prior to discharging unexchanged water in the port\nof call.\n  Mr. GLENN. I also ask the Senator, if he believes that the Coast\nGuard will keep careful records regarding the extent to which the\nsafety exemption is utilized, under what circumstances, and the extent\nto which vessels attempt in good faith to use alternatives that may be\nidentified?\n  Mr. PRESSLER. Yes, I expect the Coast Guard to include each of those\nitems in its reporting requirements, and to include a careful\nassessment of those matters in its report to Congress so that Congress\ncan make decisions regarding the impact of this exemption and the need\nfor revision of the law.\n  Mr. GLENN. As I mentioned, the Great Lakes Program currently requires\nalternatives to ballast exchange if high seas exchange is not possible\ndue to safety concerns. While these alternatives are not overly\nonerous, I can understand industry's concern in other regions where the\nalternatives have not yet been developed.\n  A cooperative relationship between the Committee of Environment and\nPublic Works at the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation\nis crucial to the passage of this legislation and its effective\nimplementation. I hope that these two Committees that share\njurisdiction over this issue continue to work together to evaluate\nprogress under the National Invasive Species Act.\n  Mr. PRESSLER. I look forward to a continued cooperative relationship\nbetween the two committees as well as with the bill author and\ncosponsors.\n  Mr. GLENN. H.R. 4283 includes an exemption from the National Ballast\nManagement Program for crude oil tankers engaged in coastwise trade.\nWhile the majority of this trade is conducted between Hawaii and\nAlaska, the risk to receiving waters of ballast water from these\nvessels may be significant. As the Senator knows, there is concern that\nfish pathogens may have been transported to Alaskan waters via this\ntrade. I would hope that every effort will be made to study the\nbaseline conditions of the Prince William Sound ecosystem to assure\nthat invasive species problems in fact have\n\n[[Page S12467]]\n\nnot been arising from this trade, and will not arise in the future.\n  Mr. PRESSLER. I join the Senator in urging such a study.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-1996-10-21-pt1-PgS12466"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.485177082940936, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}