Fates a Dan 10 mir o 300 meter were in der asal nargine cut us Dr The asi moAS TIM BAT a folow her nation. The ate mai usa zre gam si me nenang Fem me mus: IH INISHer des ate IngramE

Adair mail vere amning how the suction und meration of ness auctus nav rente a Frien romsinice under The Port and Vaervas de mad the messen me micral egoriations now interway u tereion comes TV HOTELone m Marine Polution md Lawn Tea

Taar ma omorrow Istmo vil du i tviter perts. Promossa mies o facilitate the movement whore of ws much as 4 milion partes ni a tay in me suge action ma istered a great teal of moves. Cinzas in Yew Jessy mit Leia vare have viced their act of rusasm for having hearty is much of as

his Yarion now moors in day pine tres ner sors and their beaches and interanus ratele vin poilution mú runaway development..

The Guit rates me mer hand, are virnessing something of a foot race between the local government and private enterprise to see who gets the first superport nuit. Va expect to hear from elected officials and other pokesmen presenting lot points of view.

There are several basic facts vich seem to point to the need for deepwater oil terminais. First. It is said that this Nation will require the importation of about is million barreis of ni per day im 1985 to accomplish its daily functions.

Second, it is estimated to be cheaper to carry great volumes of oil in a few large tankers rather than a number of smailer ones. Consequently, the oil tanker feet of the future will have ships which average about 200.000 to 300.300 deadweight toms in size, compared with today's ships which are about 50.300 to 45.000 deadweight tons. And, third, existing C.S. ports with the exception of Long Beach Calif, and Seattle Wash...cannot accommodate vessels which require a depth of water in excess of to fear to maneuver. Fuily loaded, a modern supertanker of 200.000 dead weight tons or more draws from 60 to 100 feet of water.

Although there are 50 ports in the world today which can handle supertankers, the United States is without a single place to tie up and offload one of the 463 tankers of the so-called "super" category now in existence. To get the depth of water needed on the Atlantic Ocean, a mooring system may have to be located as far as 40 miles

out to sea.

Moreover, the United States plans to develop with the assistance of construction subsidies its own fleet of 30 to 40 supertankers. If there are no ports to receive them, the United States will then have 30 to 40 "Flying Dutchmen," doomed to sail the seas but unable to find rest at home.

But, even if there is no alternative to constructing deepwater ports, we must not be too hasty in building them if it means legitimate environmental concerns will be ignored. These concerns must be recognized and accommodated if all U.S. interests are to be satisfied.

The Federal Government and the several States need additional regulatory authority to properly handle this aspect of deepwater port development. A wide range of other regulatory gaps need to be filled as well. International jurisdiction, Federal-State jurisdiction, basic Federal regulatory authority, taxation, financing, landside impact, are but a few of the other factors which cannot be ignored in superport policy.

To be sure, the fundamental question of whether or not superports are actually needed is necessarily a part of the much larger energy policy question. It would be counter-productive to consider the need for superports, without, reference to energy policy in general. This committee does not intend to divorce consideration of superport policy from its deliberations on energy...

(The bill and agency comments follow :)

98D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION

S.80

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 4, 1978

Mi Holaawas (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. MAGNUSON, Mr. ROTH, and Mr. Mawvana) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred To the Committaa on Commerce

A BILL

To amand the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972 to pivovide fai authority to be placed in the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration for the certification of the any-fronmental soundness of the site selection, construction, and operation of offshore artificial structures for port and formined powsoupling, siopan, and other such facilities to be hd A Am Awww, water

4. Nome em 1: rause of Ecoresenia

2

1 "TITLE III-SITING, CONSTRUCTION, AND OPER

5 "SEC. 301. This title may be cited as the 'Offshore

6 Marine Environment Protection Act of 1973'.

"FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

"SEC. 302. (a) The Congress finds

"(1) that the construction and operation of large

scale offshore artificial structures, both fixed and floating, designed to be used as ports and terminals, powerplants, airports, research platforms, and other uses, are presently planned;

"(2) that there is a nationwide need to oversee the planning, construction, and operation of such facilities to prevent damage to coastal navigable waters, the coastal zone and the resources therein, including,

but not limited to, fish, shellfish, and wildlife, marine

and coastal resources and recreational and scenic values, which waters and resources are hereafter in this Act referred to as the 'marine environment'; and

"(3) that the planned development of such fa

cilities involves and affects interstate and foreign com

merce, fisheries and wildlife, and navigation and will

3

1

affect United States citizens and the marine environ

2

ment over a broad geographical area.

3 "(b) The purpose of this Act is to provide for the 4 fullest protection of the marine environment possible to 5 prevent adverse impact which may result from the construc6 tion and operation of such facilities by authorizing and direct7 ing the Secretary of the Department in which the National 8 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is operating to issue 9 a certification that in respect of any artificial structure all 10 possible precautions have been taken to protect the marine 11 environment, or to deny such certification if the facility is 12 adjudged by the Secretary to pose an unreasonable threat to 13 the integrity of the marine environment.

14

15

"DEFINITIONS

"SEO. 303. For the purposes of the Act the term—

"(a) 'Secretary' means the Secretary of the Depart

47 ment in which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad18 ministration is operating.

19

"(b) Artificial structure' means any manmade structure, 20 either fixed or floating, located in navigable waters of the 21 United States more than five hundred feet to the seaward of

2 the mean low water mark or located beyond the territorial

sua sia afatev 22 sow at the l'aired States dat se afiniend za be within the

4x of the Tudod States, and whel se intended for