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Washington, d.c. – The Coast Guard Authorization bill (H.R. 3619) has passed out of the House of Representatives.  Many provisions championed by Rep. Young including H.R. 2865, his Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment Implementation bill, have been included in the Authorization.  

“This bill is incredibly important, and I applaud my good friend Chairman Oberstar for moving it through committee quickly and getting it to the floor,” said Rep. Young.  “The Coast Guard serves a vital role in Alaska by responding to hundreds of search and rescue cases each year, enforces fisheries laws, and provides national security.  This authorization bill contains numerous key provisions that will benefit our entire Country and many provisions important to Alaska specifically including language that extends the Vessel Discharge Evaluation and Review Act through December 2013, exempting commercial fishing vessels from having to apply for permits from EPA for incidental discharges such as graywater, bilge water, and deck runoff. The current exemption expires July 2010.  

“The Coast Guard is essential to our country and will continue to play an important role through our future.  Climate change means new opportunities for Alaska’s arctic region and the Coast Guard will play a vital part in our economic future as they are tasked with overseeing these routes. 

“Additionally this authorization includes language that would require dual tug escorts for double hulled oil tankers at Prince William Sound.  This will allow for greater redundancy in a place where severe weather and human error can lead to disaster.  Twenty years ago, the state of Alaska suffered the worst tragedy of its history, during the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.  We are still learning from the mistakes of that disaster and this bill works toward a safer and better future for our waterways and for the men and women of the Coast Guard.” 

Additional provisions in H.R. 3619 beneficial to Alaska:

• Jones Act Waiver for the Ketchikan Alaska Ship and Dry Dock
• Absorption of Rep. Young’s Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment Implementation bill which authorizes funding and authority to provide aids to navigation, arctic oil spill prevention and response, icebreaking escort tug and salvage, long range vessel tracking, search and rescue, promotes international agreements among Arctic nations, and authorizes an icebreaker study and cost assessment to determine if new vessels should be constructed or rebuild current ones
• Deadline to report on assessment of needs for additional Coast Guard presence in high latitude regions, including need for forward operating bases
• Ship emission reduction demonstration project
• Dual tug escorts in Prince William Sound
• Cold weather survival training
• Decommissioning of STORIS cutter to be turned into maritime museum in Juneau
• Increase size limits for offshore supply vessels from 500 to 6,000 gross tons
• Alaska Anchor Handlers which allows foreign anchor handlers to be used in oil and gas development off Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf until Jones Act vessels are constructed and exploration is allowed to proceed
• Vessel Traffic Risk Assessment for Cook Inlet
• Department of Homeland Security is required to ensure the new LORAN (long range navigation system) is operational before the old LORAN system is  decommissioned

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