ruben.maritime: US Congress reconsiders Marpol VI

US Congress reconsiders Marpol VI

WASHINGTON, DC 07 February – Legislation to implement Marpol Annex VI in the US was re-introduced yesterday in Congress and appears headed for speedy approval. The measure, which died in the last congressional session because it failed to win approval by both houses by adjournment, was re-introduced by Minnesota democrat James Oberstar and is scheduled to be marked up today by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, was said by Washington maritime lawyer Dennis Bryant. Congress changed the bill somewhat from the version originally suggested by the White House by handing most authority for enforcement to the Coast Guard, while the Bush administration had originally tasked the Environmental Protection Agency with those duties, said Bryant, an attorney with Holland & Knight. In addition to being supported by the environmental lobby, the bill also has support of the maritime industry, including Intertanko and the Chamber of Shipping of America. Passage of the bill will bring the US into line with the rest of the world on air pollution standards, Bryant says, and may stave off several states – such as California – that have been proposing their own standards.

Etiquetas: IMO, international maritime affairs