Vessel Incidental Discharge Act
Latest action. By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 113-304.
Vessel Incidental Discharge Act - (Sec. 4) Requires Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to:
establish and implement enforceable uniform national standards for the regulation of discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel into navigable waters;
issue a rule establishing best management practices for discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel other than ballast water within two years;
complete a review to determine the feasibility of achieving the ballast water performance standard at least two years before January 1, 2022; and
issue a rule to revise the standard so that a ballast water discharge will contain less than specified concentrations of living organisms, indicator microbes, and viruses by January 1, 2022.
(Ballast water is any water taken aboard a vessel to control trim, list, draught, stability, or stresses of the vessel, or during the operation of a ballast water treatment technology of the vessel. A treatment technology includes any mechanical, physical, chemical, or biological process used to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of aquatic nuisance species within ballast water.)
(Sec. 5) Deems the management requirements for a ballast water discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel to be those set forth in the final rule, "Standards for Living Organisms in Ships' Ballast Water Discharged in U.S. Waters" (March 23, 2012), as corrected (June 8, 2012) until DHS revises the ballast water performance standard or adopts a more stringent state standard pursuant to this Act.
Applies the revised ballast water performance standard to a vessel on the first dry docking of the vessel on or after January 1, 2022, but no later than December 31, 2024.
Allows DHS to establish a deadline for compliance by a vessel (or a class, type, or size of vessel) with a revised ballast water performance standard. Provides a process for petitioning for an extension of a deadline, including factors to be considered. Requires DHS to accelerate an implementation deadline if a treatment technology can be implemented before the deadline date.
The summary continues for 8 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on December 8, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 10, 2014: By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 113-304.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Mark Begich (D-AK) introduced it on March 6, 2014, and 32 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 15 Democrats, 16 Republicans, 1 independent.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 6, 2014, 4571 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4292 days ago, on December 10, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers