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WATER QUALITY

IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1969

Mr. BOLLING. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 340 and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

H. RES. 340

Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to move that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 4148) to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, and for other purposes. After general debate, which shall be confined to the bill and shall continue not to exceed three hours, to be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Public Works, the bill shall be read for amendment under the five-minute rule. It shall be in order to consider without the intervention of any point of order the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Public Works now printed in the bill, and such substitute for the purpose of amendment shall be considered under the five-minute rule as an original bill. At the conclusion of such consideration the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with such amendments as may have been adopted, and any Member may demand a separate vote in the House on any amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole to the bill or committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except motion to recommit with or without instructions.

one

Mr. BOLLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 minutes to the gentleman from Cal

ifornia (Mr. SMITH) and, pending that, I yield myself such time as I may

consume.

Mr. Speaker, when this rule was considered in the Committee on Rules there was some controversy over the jurisdiction between the committee handling the bill and the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. The Committee on Rules overwhelmingly decided that the bill should be sent to the floor with the rule that has just been read.

Mr. Speaker, points of order were waived on the bill as a whole because there are some transfer funds, and the establishment of a revolving fund-not transfer of funds, but payment of cash is authorized in the acquisition of land, and that is the reason for the waiver of points of order.

Insofar as I know, there is no substantial controversy over the rule. I understand there is some on the bill itself, but not too much.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

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Mr. Speaker, as stated by the distinguished gentleman from Missouri, House Resolution 340 does provide for 3 hours of debate under an open rule for consideration of the bill H.R. 4148, entitled "The Water Quality Improvement Act of 1969."

Points of order are waived as against the substitute bill, and the committee amendments.

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the bill is to improve the means available to control pollution of offshore waters and rivers of the United States. Major sections of the bill seek to control such sources of pollution as, first, oil and other sea-carried pollutants; second, sewage from vessels; third, acid and other pollutants from mines; and, fourth, pollution from any federally operated source. Additionally, the bill provides for research grants and a scholarship program for students, both programs to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior.

The bill applies to oil discharges on the high seas in the contiguous zone along our coastline. Such discharges are forbidden except in emergency situations. Civil penalties of up to $10,000 for an oil discharge are provided. Operators of facilities or ships are required to remove any discharge of oil or other pollutants. If the United States must do the removal work, the cost shall be borne by the polluter up to $10 million or $100 per gross registered ton-of ships-whichever is the lesser. The bill also sets up a revolving fund of $20,000,000 for use in cleanups. effort is to place responsibility for damage done by discharges of oil or other pollutants by ships or shore-area facilities upon the owners and operators, and to require them to be primarily responsible for necessary cleanup operations.

The

The bill also seeks to remove pollutants discharged into the water in the form of raw sewage from vessels. The Coast Guard will oversee a program designed to insure that such raw sewage is treated before discharging it. New vessels are to have approved toilet facilities installed by December 31, 1971, or within 2 years of the time the Coast Guard promulgates standards and regulations. For existing vessels the time period is set at within 5 years after such promulgation. The States will be brought into the program with respect to their intrastate waters.

After the effective dates of the standards set by the Coast Guard, it shall be unlawful to operate a vessel which does not comply. These regulations will apply to pleasure boats as well as commercial vessels, in short, any vessel which has toilet facilities will be required to treat its raw sewage before discharging it into the water. Civil penalties are provided for violations and in proper cases injunctive relief may be sought.

The Secretary is also authorized to make grants to universities for research and for planning and developing of training for students in the field of design and operation of waste treatment works. He may also provide scholarship grants. Authorizations for educational grants are $12,000,000 for 1970 and for 1971 and 1972 the figure is $25,000,000 per annum.

Finally, the bill provides for research in a number of water quality problems. The current level of funding is extended for two additional years, through fiscal 1971. Funding levels authorized are $65,000,000 per annum. Areas in which research work is to be continued include: First, prevention, removal and control of lake pollution; second, prevention of oil pollution; third, research into prevention of pollution discharges from recreational vessels and the development of treatment facilities for such craft; and, fourth, funding for appropriate demonstration projects.

Total authorizations contained in the bill are $348,000,000 covering fiscal years 1970 through 1972. Major items include:

move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question was ordered.
The resolution was agreed to.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Mr. FALLON. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 4148) to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, and for other purposes.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Maryland.

The motion was agreed to.

IN THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill H.R. 4148, with Mr. SMITH of Iowa in the chair. The Clerk read the title of the bill. By unanimous consent, the first reading of the bill was dispensed with.

The CHAIRMAN. Under the rule the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. FALLON) will be recognized for 11⁄2 hours, and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. CRAMER) will be recognized for 11⁄2 hours.

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. FALLON).

Mr. FALLON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may con

sume.

Mr. Chairman, H.R. 4148, the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1969, has been developed after extensive hearings by the Committee on Public Works, both here in Washington and in Santa Barbara, Calif., and is the culmination of the consideration given by this body and the Public Works Committee during the 90th Congress. H.R. 4148 was reported out unanimously by the committee.

The legislation covers discharges of oil and other hazardous substances

from vessels and onshore and offshore facilities, including the cleanup of these discharges and prevention thereof, the control of untreated or inadequately treated sewage from vessels, the extension of the research, development, and training program of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, the effect of Federal activities and federally licensed or perImitted activities on our Nation's waters, and establishes a new training program designed to provide more efficient waste treatment works, both at the municipal and industrial level. Finally, the legislation would change the name of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration to the National Water Quality Administration in order to provide a more positive emphasis to the program.

It is clear that the need for this legislation is quite urgent. The history of oil spills dating back to the one we all remember; namely, the Torrey Canyon off the coast of England, the Ocean Eagle in the San Juan Harbor, P.R., and the disastrous oil spill off the Santa Barbara coast, only serve to demonstrate that unless action is taken immediately to provide the tools necessary to cope with these spills more of our coastline beaches and marine resources could be destroyed or severely damaged. The public outcry that has developed in the past year in connection with these spills shows that there is considerable interest throughout the country in this legislation.

In addition to the more dramatic aspects of this legislation; namely, those relating to oil spills, there is also a very definite need to improve, accelerate, and expand our research and demonstration and training efforts in the water pollution control area and to control sewage that is discharged from both commercial and recreational vessels into our Nation's waterways. This legislation meets these needs.

In the area of financing of waste treatment works, we are most con

cerned with the fact that to date this program has not been adequately financed despite the Congress' considerable efforts in 1966 and subsequent years to establish a graduated and meaningful level of financing the Federal share of these works. We are hopeful that recommendations will be made by the executive branch to increase the financing in the forthcoming fiscal year through additional appropriations over and above the meager amounts appropriated during the last Congress. If, however, this cannot be accomplished, the Committee on Public Works will consider alternative legislative approaches during this session of the 91st Congress.

Mr. Chairman, I urge unanimous approval of this important and far-reaching Water Quality Improvement Act of 1969. It is a major conservation measure that deserves the support of every Member of Congress.

Let me conclude by paying tribute to the members of the Committee on Public Works, my colleagues who have worked so diligently, so hard and so long on this legislation which is before us today. I would particularly commend the ranking minority member of the committee, and one of the leaders in the field of water pollution control, my good friend from Minnesota, the Honorable JOHN A. BLAT

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NIK, and all the other members of the committee on both sides of the aisle. Mr. Chairman, I urge passage of H.R. 4148.

Mr. FALLON. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. BLATNIK), chairman of the subcommittee handling this legislation, as much time as he may require.

Mr. BLATNIK. Mr. Chairman, at the outset on behalf of the entire committee, I would like to pay our respects to our able and effective and certainly highly regarded chairman, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. FALLON).

He worked diligently with all of us every step of the way, and we therefore doubly appreciate the kind words he said about those of us who worked on the development of this legislation. Many of us, on both sides of the aisle, joined together to resolve the problems so that we could present a strong and workable proposal. A tremendous amount of frustrating day-in and dayout work was handled with talent and patience by both the majority and the minority staffs. In our meetings we had the benefit of experience and advice from representatives of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, the Coast Guard, and the State Department, as well as constant contact with the various State agencies and conservationists.

Mr. Chairman, very thoughtful care has gone into this very complicated and involved matter, and particularly that section dealing with enormous catastrophic oil spills where the complex problems of liability and responsibility, as well as preventive aspects, are involved. We have also evolved recommendations on what can be done when these catastrophes do occur, in spite of whatever preventive measures were pursued. That remedial work, which is inevitably a laborious and extensive job, will be explained in more detail by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. WRIGHT) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. HOWARD), both of whom have devoted long hours to this legislation.

We will also hear from good spokesmen for the minority on this program. Their unanimous work and support have continued the genuine bipartisanship that has characterized our pollution control work over the years.

The Committee on Public Works had extensive hearings on this legislation starting in the 90th Congress and continuing in the 91st Congress in February and March of this year.

During the 90th Congress, the committee considered legislation on the con

trol of oil pollution discharges, the treatment of sewage from vessels, the extension and expansion of the vital water pollution research programs, and legislation to provide more money for the financing of needed waste treatment works. The committee reported out strong legislation in all of these areas, and that legislation unanimously passed the House of Representatives on two occasions but unfortunately the time ran out on the 90th Congress before differences in the House and Senate versions could be resolved in conference.

Since last year the need for this legislation, particularly in the area of oil pollution control, has been dramatically brought to the attention of the Congress and into the public eye by one of the worst oil pollution disasters in the Nation's history. The catastrophe in Santa Barbara, Calif., was a realistic example of the damages which can result from a major oil spill.

It was the committee's objective in our hearings and in our discussions leading up to the reporting of this legislation to recommend legislation which would adequately meet all contingencies and avoid the need for additional legislation if and when a new disaster occurs. In pursuit of this objective, we obtained meaningful data from industry and governmental witnesses on the best means and methods of preventing discharges of oil and other hazardous matter, the costs of removing these pollutants from our waters, beaches and shores when they occur, the availability of insurance and its costs, and the extent to which measures and devices have been developed to remove oil and matter.

In addition to the oil pollution problem, this legislation extends the water pollution research program authorization 2 additional years, provides new emphasis on the problems of acid mine drainage water pollution, and lake eutrophication and related lake pollution problems.

H.R. 4148 further provides for control of sewage from vessels, establishes a training program for individuals in the field of design, operation, and maintenance of modern waste treatment works, and requires applicants for a Federal license or permit to conduct an activity which may result in discharge into the navigable waters of the United States to obtain a State certification that the activity will not reduce the quality of the water below applicable water quality standards. Finally, this legislation changes the name of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration to the National Water Quality Administration so as to provide a psychological lift to the program by providing a more positive approach through preventive measures to maintain adequate water quality levels.

This legislation has been endorsed by the administration. We have received a letter dated April 3, 1969, from Russell E. Train, the Undersecretary of the Interior, to the chairman of the Public Works Committee, the Honorable GEORGE H. FALLON. Under leave to extend my remarks, I include a copy of the letter at this point:

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your Committee has requested the Department's views on H.R. 4158 as reported by your Committee on March 25, 1969.

H.R. 4148, which is known as the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1969, covers the subjects of oil and matter discharges from vessels, onshore facilities, and offshore facilities; untreated or inadequately treated sewage from vessels; research and development in the area of acid mine pollution, lake pollution, oil pollution, and sewage from vessels; pollution from Federal installations and facilities; and waste discharges from activities constructed and operated under Federal license or permit. It also extends the research provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act an additional 2 fiscal years, and changes the name of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration to the National Water Quality Administration.

In regard to the provisions on the control of pollution by oil and other matter, the legislation would

Provide that any individual in charge of a vessel or onshore or offshore facility who has knowledge of the discharge of oil or matter