Marine Debris Research Prevention and Reduction Act

Senator Inouye (D-HI) introduced the Marine Debris Research Prevention and Reduction Act (S. 362) to establish a program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Coast Guard to help identify, determine sources of, assess, reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the marine environment and navigation safety, in coordination with non-Federal entities, and for other purposes. If enacted, this bill would, among other things, require U.S. ports to maintain receptacles for disposing of plastics and other garbage from ships and require the Coast Guard to carefully examine ships’ garbage records to ensure proper disposal. (HK Law).