§2406. Monitoring and research of ecological effects

(a) Estuarine monitoring

The Administrator, in consultation with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, shall monitor the concentrations of organotin in the water column, sediments, and aquatic organisms of representative estuaries and near-coastal waters in the United States. This monitoring program shall remain in effect until 10 years after June 16, 1988. The Administrator shall submit a report annually to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President pro tempore of the Senate detailing the results of such monitoring program for the preceding year.

(b) Navy home port monitoring

The Secretary shall provide for periodic monitoring, not less than quarterly, of waters serving as the home port for any Navy vessel coated with an antifouling paint containing organotin to determine the concentration of organotin in the water column, sediments, and aquatic organisms of such waters.

(c) Navy research of ecological effects

The Secretary shall continue existing Navy programs evaluating the laboratory toxicity and environmental risks associated with the use of antifouling paints containing organotin.

(d) Assistance to States

To the extent practicable, the Administrator shall assist States in monitoring waters in such States for the presence of organotin and in analyzing samples taken during such monitoring.

(e) Five-year report

At the end of the 5-year period beginning on June 16, 1988, the Administrator shall submit a report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President pro tempore of the Senate providing an assessment of-

(1) the effectiveness of existing laws and rules concerning organotin compounds in ensuring protection of human health and the environment;

(2) compliance with water quality criteria established pursuant to section 2408 of this title and any applicable water quality standards; and

(3) recommendations for additional measures to protect human health and the environment.

( Pub. L. 100–333, §7, June 16, 1988, 102 Stat. 607 ; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title X, §1064(f), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 445 .)

Amendments

1996-Subsecs. (d) to (f). Pub. L. 104–106 redesignated subsecs. (e) and (f) as (d) and (e), respectively, and struck out heading and text of former subsec. (d). Text read as follows: "The Secretary shall submit a report annually to the Administrator and to the Governor of each State in which a home port for the Navy is monitored under subsection (b) of this section detailing the results of such monitoring in the State. Such reports shall be included in the annual report required to be submitted under subsection (a) of this section."

Navy Program To Monitor Ecological Effects of Organotin

Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title III, §333, Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2485 , as amended by Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title X, §1067(5), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 774 , provided that:

"(a) Monitoring Requirement.-The Secretary of the Navy shall, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, develop and implement a program to monitor the concentrations of organotin in the water column, sediments, and aquatic organisms of representative estuaries and near-coastal waters in the United States, as described in section 7(a) of the Organotin Antifouling Paint Control Act of 1988 (33 U.S.C. 2406(a)). The program shall be designed to produce high-quality data to enable the Environmental Protection Agency to develop water quality criteria concerning organotin compounds.

"(b) Funding.-The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall provide, in advance, such sums as are necessary to the Secretary of the Navy for the costs of developing and implementing the program under subsection (a).

"(c) Written Agreement.-The Secretary of the Navy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall enter into a written agreement setting forth the actions that the Secretary plans to take under subsection (a) and the funding that the Administrator agrees to provide under subsection (b). If the Secretary determines that the Administrator will not enter into such an agreement, the Secretary shall notify the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate not later than 30 days after such determination.

"(d) Nonimpairment of Mission.-Compliance with subsection (a) shall be conducted in such a manner so as not to impair the ability of the Department of the Navy to meet its operational requirements.

"(e) Report.-Not later than June 1, 1997, the Secretary of the Navy shall submit to Congress a report containing the following:

"(1) A description of the monitoring program developed pursuant to subsection (a).

"(2) An analysis of the results of the monitoring program as of the date of the submission of the report.

"(3) Information about the progress of Navy programs, referred to in section 7(c) of the Organotin Antifouling Paint Control Act of 1988 (33 U.S.C. 2406(c)), for evaluating the laboratory toxicity and environmental risks associated with the use of antifouling paints containing organotin.

"(4) An assessment, developed in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, of the effectiveness of existing laws and rules concerning organotin compounds in ensuring protection of human health and the environment.

"(f) Sense of Congress.-(1) It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, should develop, for purposes of the national pollutant discharge elimination system, a model permit for the discharge of organotin compounds at shipbuilding and ship repair facilities.

"(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'organotin' has the meaning provided in section 3 of the Organotin Antifouling Paint Control Act of 1988 (33 U.S.C. 2402).

"(g) Termination.-The program required by subsection (a) shall terminate five years after the date of the enactment of this Act [Sept. 23, 1996]."