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S. 2094, Vessel Incidental Discharge Act 1 (October 22, 2014)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo1978 and id is 1 raw text is: CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE October 22, 2014 S. 2094 Vessel Incidental Discharge Act As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on July 23, 2014 S. 2094 would amend the environmental standards for some water that is discharged from ships and permanently exempt certain smaller vessels from those standards. Under current law, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set and enforce those standards. S. 2094 would change the procedures for how the United States regulates water discharged from certain vessels. The legislation would increase the administrative responsibilities of USCG to implement certain laws that govern water discharged from ships and require that USCG complete those responsibilities in consultation with EPA. Under current law, most of those responsibilities are administered by EPA under the Clean Water Act. Under the bill, EPA would no longer issue water discharge permits to vessels. However, based on information from EPA, CBO estimates that any cost savings to the agency would be negligible because it would still have other responsibilities under the Clean Water Act. Based on information from the USCG, CBO estimates that the Coast Guard would gradually add 15 staff members over the next couple of years at a cost of $5 million over the 2015-2019 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Those additional staff would conduct enforcement actions and review any proposals from states for more stringent water discharge standards. Enacting S. 2094 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. S. 2094 contains intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). The bill would preempt state and local laws relating to water discharges from vessels by establishing a national uniform standard and set of best management practices. CBO estimates that this preemption would not impose costs on state and local governments. Although it would limit the applications of state and local regulations, the bill would impose no duty on state or local governments that would result in additional spending or a loss of revenues.

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