PREPARATION AS ARTIFICIAL REEFS AND SCRAPPING OF OBSOLETE VESSELS.

SEC. 3504. PREPARATION AS ARTIFICIAL REEFS AND SCRAPPING OF OBSOLETE VESSELS. (a) Financial Assistance to States for Preparation of Transferred Obsolete Ships for Use as Artificial Reefs.—(1) Public Law 92–102 (16 U.S.C. 1220 et seq.) is amended— (A) by redesignating section 7 as section 8; and (B) by inserting after section 6 the following new section 7: “SEC. 7. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO STATE TO PREPARE TRANSFERRED SHIP. “(a) Assistance Authorized.—The Secretary, subject to the availability of appropriations, may provide, to any State to which an obsolete ship is transferred under this Act, financial assistance to prepare the ship for use as an artificial reef, including for— “(1) environmental remediation; “(2) towing; and “(3) sinking. “(b) Amount of Assistance.—The Secretary shall determine the amount of assistance under this section with respect to an obsolete ship based on— “(1) the total amount available for providing assistance under this section; “(2) the benefit achieved by providing assistance for that ship; and “(3) the cost effectiveness of disposing of the ship by transfer under this Act and provision of assistance under this section, compared to other disposal options for that ship. “(c) Terms and Conditions.—The Secretary— “(1) shall require a State seeking assistance under this section to provide cost data and other information determined by the Secretary to be necessary to justify and document the assistance; and “(2) may require a State receiving such assistance to comply with terms and conditions necessary to protect the environment and the interests of the United States.”. (2) Section 4(4) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 1220a(4)) is amended by inserting “(except for any financial assistance provided under section 7)” after “at no cost to the Government”. (b) Environmental Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels for Use as Artificial Reefs.—(1) Not later than September 30, 2003, the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Maritime Administration, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall jointly develop environmental best management practices to be used in the preparation of vessels for use as artificial reefs. (2) The environmental best management practices under paragraph (1) shall be developed in consultation with the heads of other Federal agencies, and State agencies, having an interest in the use of vessels as artificial reefs.116 STAT. 2755 (3) The environmental best management practices under paragraph (1) shall— (A) include practices for the preparation of vessels for use as artificial reefs to ensure that vessels so prepared will be environmentally sound in their use as artificial reefs; (B) ensure that such practices are consistent nationwide; (C) establish baselines for estimating the costs associated with the preparation of vessels for use as artificial reefs; and (D) include mechanisms to enhance the utility of the Artificial Reefing Program of the Maritime Administration as an option for the disposal of obsolete vessels. (4) The environmental best management practices developed under paragraph (1) shall serve as national guidelines to be used by Federal agencies for the preparation of vessels for use as artificial reefs. (5) The Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Congress a report on the environmental best management practices developed under paragraph (1) through the existing ship disposal reporting requirements in section 3502 of Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (as enacted into law by Public Law 106–398; 1654A–492). The report shall describe such practices, and may include such other matters as the Secretary considers appropriate. (c) Pilot Program on Export of Obsolete Vessels for Dismantlement and Recycling.—(1)(A) The Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of State, and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall jointly carry out one or more pilot programs through the Maritime Administration to explore the feasibility and advisability of various alternatives for exporting obsolete vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet for purposes of the dismantlement and recycling of such vessels. (B) The pilot programs shall be carried out in accordance with applicable provisions of law and regulations. (2)(A) The pilot programs under paragraph (1) shall be carried out during fiscal year 2003. (B) The pilot programs shall include a total of not more than four vessels. (C) The authority provided by this subsection is in addition to any other authority available to Maritime Administration for exporting obsolete vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. (3) Activities under the pilot programs under paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) Exploration of the feasibility and advisability of a variety of alternatives (developed for purposes of the pilot programs) for exporting obsolete vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet for purposes of the dismantlement and recycling of such vessels. (B) Response by the Maritime Administration to proposals from the international ship recycling industry for innovative and cost-effective disposal solutions for obsolete vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, including an evaluation of the feasibility and advisability of such proposals. (C) Demonstration of the extent to which the cost-effective dismantlement or recycling of obsolete vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet can be accomplished abroad in manner that appropriately addresses concerns regarding worker health and safety and the environment.116 STAT. 2756 (D) Opportunities to transfer abroad processes, methodologies, and technologies for ship dismantlement and recycling in order to support the pilot programs and to improve international practices and standards for ship dismantlement and recycling. (E) Exploration of cooperative efforts with foreign governments (under a global action program on ship recycling or other program) in order to foster economically and environmentally sound ship recycling abroad. (4) The Secretary of Transportation shall submit to Congress a report on the pilot programs under paragraph (1) through the existing ship disposal reporting requirements in section 3502 of Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001. The report shall include a description of the activities under the pilot programs, and such recommendations for further legislative or administrative action as the Secretary considers appropriate. (d) Construction.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to establish a preference for the reefing or export of obsolete vessels in the National Defense Reserve Fleet over other alternatives available to the Secretary for the scrapping of such vessels under section 3502(d)(3) of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001.