Governors of California, Oregon and Washington Request Congressional Support for Maritime Pollution Prevention Act

04/23/2008 -- The letter below signed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oregon Governor Theodore R. Kulongoski, and Washington Governor Christine O. Gregoire was sent today to U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chairman Daniel Inouye requesting his support of H.R. 802.

Container ship off San Francisco: Photo by Adam Knight (CC)

H.R. 802, the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2007, is key to protecting public health in coastal regions and expanding international global trade by vessels to and from the United States.

April 23, 2008

The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye
Chairman
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
United States Senate
722 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1102

Dear Chairman Inouye,

We write to request your support of H.R. 802, the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2007. This legislation was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on March 28, 2007. The legislation would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard to issue enforcement regulations for the MARPOL Annex VI, which was approved by the Senate in 2006. Implementing the international treaty amendment is an important first step in protecting the health of our citizens in coastal regions and in expanding international global trade by vessels to and from the United States. This treaty amendment has the broad support of regulators, ports, environmental organizations and the maritime industry in our three states.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) negotiations to establish cleaner global ship standards are at a critical juncture. The U.S. government has proposed amendments to MARPOL Annex VI that have broad national support. We stated our support for the U.S. proposal in the West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health Draft Action Plan. However, the U.S. government's ability to negotiate in the global arena is severely hampered because Congress did not pass legislation defining and enforcing the current treaty in U.S. waters. We believe the U.S. position would be significantly strengthened if we complete treaty ratification by submitting the pending legislation to the President. It is imperative that the Senate act immediately so the United States can take a strong position in ongoing negotiations and at the March 2008 meeting of the IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee. This is where the U.S. position, as well as competing positions, will be considered for future action.

We strongly support an international regulatory solution to reduce emissions from ships. We believe it must be sufficient to meet the air quality needs of not only our three states, but all areas of the U.S. and Canada. Implementing the U.S. proposal to the IMO will reduce soot emissions, which will help address climate change. We all agree that now is the time to act on reducing the environmental impacts of ships.

We strongly support your efforts in completing the crucial work necessary to approve MARPOL Annex VI implementing legislation. We hope you will seize this unique opportunity in which industry, environmental organizations and regulatory agencies are aligned in moving forward for the common good of the people of the United States.

Source: California Governor

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