WASHINGTON, DC – For years, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), has been a Congressional leader in strengthening oil spill laws nation-wide. Today, during a hearing on the Coast Guard’s fiscal year 2009 budget, Cantwell, chair of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, secured a firm commitment from Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen that the Coast Guard will finally enforce critical oil spill laws passed by Congress in 2004.

 

““It is time for even greater vigilance in the Coast Guard’s mission of environmental protection and oil spill response,” said Cantwell. “Over the past several years, I have heard a growing chorus of worry from my constituents that the Coast Guard is not living up to its traditional responsibilities. From marine safety to oil spill response, the list of concerns is long and growing.”

 

In 2004, Congress passed legislation requiring the Coast Guard to issue regulations requiring all non-tank vessels larger than 400 gross tons to carry an oil spill vessel response plan.  The Coast Guard, however, has not yet issued a final rule to implement this law.  Last December, Senator Cantwell askedAdmiral Allen about the Coast Guard’s failure to implement this 2004 mandate.  Admiral Allen responded that it was stuck as part of a regulatory backlog of more than 90 such Coast Guard mandates.  Unsatisfied with this response, Senator Cantwell again peppered Admiral Allen with questions about the long-overdue oil spill regulations in today’s budget hearing.

 

Under pressure from Cantwell, Admiral Allen made an unprecedented announcement that the Coast Guard will use its own authority to control or deny port entry to a non-tank vessel if they fail to have a Coast Guard-approved oil spill response plan.

 

“I am encouraged that the Coast Guard has made the decision to cut through the regulatory red tape and begin enforcing oil spill laws as passed by Congress in 2004.  Congress knew this was wise policy years ago, and I’m glad to see that the Coast Guard is stepping up to the plate to protect our nation’s waterways,” Cantwell continued.    

 

Also in today’s hearing, Cantwell continued her aggressive oversight of the Coast Guard’s troubled Deepwater acquisition program. In December 2007, the Senate passed by unanimous consent Cantwell’s Deepwater reform bill that would ensure open competition for future Deepwater contracts, end Coast Guard reliance on a single private sector entity to oversee the entire project, and mandate better technical oversight by Coast Guard engineering staff.

 

“As Chair of this subcommittee, vigorous oversight of the Deepwater Program has been, and continues to be, one of my top priorities,” said Cantwell.  “I am absolutely committed to ensuring the problems and abuses of the past aren’t repeated.  Those who serve in the Coast Guard and all of us who depend on them demand that we do better.”

The Deepwater program is the Coast Guard’s $24 billion effort to modernize its aging fleet of approximately 90 cutters and 200 aircraft used in missions more than 50 miles off the coastline. It is the largest procurement effort in the Coast Guard’s history. Numerous reports from the GAO and the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General outlined the Deepwater Program’s extensive problems.  For example, the first two National Security Cutters—Deepwater’s flagship vessels—are hundreds of millions of dollars over-budget. There are persistent concerns whether the contractor’s design fails to meet the Coast Guard’s performance requirements.  Eight patrol boats rebuilt at a cost of over $100 million were engineered so poorly that the ships cracked and have been decommissioned by the Coast Guard because they are no longer seaworthy.

 

 

# # #