Clean Vessel Act of 1992, United States
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The Clean Vessel Act of 1992 is intended to lessen water pollution by reducing the overboard discharge of vessel sewage. The Act established a five-year recreational boater sewage disposal program and amended the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777) to allow the Secretary of Interior to issue grants to coastal and inland states for the construction and installation of pumpout stations and waste reception facilities to dispose of recreational boater sewage. The Federal funds are also to be used for public outreach and for the renovation, operation, and maintenance of pumpout and dump stations. Funds that are disbursed to the states, D.C. and Puerto Rico for approved grants are eligible for a 75% reimbursement of the project costs. The insular areas, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands are eligible for up to 100% of the project costs.
The Act requires each coastal State to conduct a survey to determine the number and location of all operational pumpout facilities and the number of recreational vessels in the area with certain marine sanitation devices or portable toilets. It also requires coastal states to develop and submit a plan for the construction and/or renovation of pumpout stations and waste reception facilities within the coastal zone of the state. In addition, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere must publish charts indicating the locations of pumpout and waste reception facilities. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to issue grants to inland states which demonstrate a need for pumpout stations and waste reception devices.
The Grant Program
The Clean Vessel Grant Program was authorized by the Clean Vessel Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-587).
The 1992 Act established a five-year federal grant program and provided $40 million out of the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund for the CVA Program. The revenues in the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund were derived from manufacturers’ excise taxes on sport fishing equipment and a portion of the gasoline fuel tax attributable to small engines and motorboats.
The original Clean Vessel Act provided for the following funds to be paid out of the Sport Fish Restoration Account for the grant program: $5 million for Fiscal Year 1993, $7.5 million for each of Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995, and $10 million for each of Fiscal Years 1996 and 1997.
Public Law 105-178, (112 Stat. 485) Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, signed into law on June 9, 1998, reauthorized the program for $10 million starting with fiscal year 1999 through fiscal year 2003.
Public Law 109-59, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005, reauthorized the Sport Fish Restoration Act through 2009 and made changes in the ways in which annual appropriations are distributed. Among these changes, the Sport Fish Restoration Account was renamed the Sport Fish Restoration Trust Fund, and the distribution of these funds for projects under the Clean Vessel Act was amended. Under this law, 2 percent of the Sport Fish Restoration Trust Fund is allocated to DOI for qualified projects under the Clean Vessel Act of 1992.
Further Reading
- Clean Vessel Act overview
- [http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/CVA/CVA_History.htm Clean Vessel Act Grant Program overview
See also environmental laws of [../156779/index.html United States Fish and Wildlife Service]
