04/23/2008 GAAS:200:08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
Governors of California, Oregon and Washington Request Congressional Support for Maritime Pollution Prevention Act
The letter below signed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oregon Governor Theodore R. Kulongoski, and Washington Governor Christine O. Gregoire was sent today to U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Chairman Daniel Inouye requesting his support of H.R. 802, the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2007, which is key to protecting public health in coastal regions and expanding international global trade by vessels to and from the United States.
April 23, 2008
The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye
Chairman
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation
United
States
Senate
722 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-1102
Dear Chairman Inouye,
We write to request your support of H.R. 802, the Maritime Pollution
Prevention Act of 2007. This legislation
was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and referred to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on March 28, 2007. The legislation would authorize the
Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard to issue enforcement
regulations for the MARPOL Annex VI, which was approved by the Senate in
2006. Implementing the international
treaty amendment is an important first step in protecting the health of our
citizens in coastal regions and in expanding international global trade by
vessels to and from the United
States. This treaty amendment has the broad support of
regulators, ports, environmental organizations and the maritime industry in our
three states.
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
negotiations to establish cleaner global ship standards are at a critical
juncture. The U.S. government has proposed
amendments to MARPOL Annex VI that have broad national support. We stated our support for the U.S.
proposal in the West Coast Governors' Agreement on Ocean Health Draft Action
Plan. However, the U.S. government's ability to negotiate in the
global arena is severely hampered because Congress did not pass legislation defining
and enforcing the current treaty in U.S. waters. We believe the U.S. position would be
significantly strengthened if we complete treaty ratification by submitting the
pending legislation to the President. It
is imperative that the Senate act immediately so the United States can take a strong position
in ongoing negotiations and at the March 2008 meeting of the IMO Marine Environmental Protection Committee. This is where the U.S. position, as well as competing
positions, will be considered for future action.
We strongly support an international regulatory solution to
reduce emissions from ships. We believe
it must be sufficient to meet the air quality needs of not only our three
states, but all areas of the U.S.
and Canada.
Implementing the U.S. proposal to the IMO will
reduce soot emissions, which will help address climate change. We all agree that now is the
time to act on reducing the environmental impacts of ships.
We strongly support your efforts in completing the crucial
work necessary to approve MARPOL Annex VI implementing legislation. We hope you will seize this unique opportunity
in which industry, environmental organizations and regulatory agencies are
aligned in moving forward for the common good of the people of the United States.
Sincerely,
Arnold
Schwarzenegger Theodore R. Kulongoski Christine O. Gregoire
State of California State
of Oregon State of Washington
