41 



mental program and commit new resources to a solid national effort. If ever there 

 was a situation in which an ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure, this is it. 



In closing, I would like to emphasize the importance of this hearing in raising the 

 awareness of those in other coastal areas to the threats exotic species pose to their 

 industries and their environment. I should point out that when our original legisla- 

 tion was introduced, it would have created a ballast management and discharge re- 

 quirement protecting all of our coasts. But without an infestation comparable to the 

 zebra mussel, there was not as much awareness of— -or support for — this provision 

 in other regions of the country. So I want the record to be cfear that we in the Great 

 Lakes region were not being selfish or insular in the approach we have undertaken. 



I do hope that when we seek reauthorization of this legislation, many of my col- 

 leagues on this Committee will seek to include their states in a prevention program 

 similar to what we now have in the Great Lakes. I would also call to your attention 

 a bill I have introduced, the Innovative Ballast Management Act (S. 1648), which 

 would help develop technological solutions to ballast transfers of exotic species. I am 

 proud to have the support of Senator Akaka for this initiative. 



Again, my thanks to you, Senator Akaka, for your leadership on this issue, and 

 also express my appreciation to our witnesses today, many of whom have helped to 

 get the 1990 Non-indigenous species program off to a fairly positive start. 



Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank 

 you for your statement. 



At this time, we would Uke to begin with our witnesses. On the 

 first panel we have Dr. Windle, and with her is Dr. Chornesky. 

 Both worked on the study produced by the Office of Technology As- 

 sessment. 



We are happy to have you and we await your testimony. 



TESTIMONY OF PHYLLIS N. WINDLE,^ SENIOR ASSOCIATE, OF- 

 FICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C.; AC- 

 COMPANIED BY ELIZABETH CHORNESKY, ANALYST, 



Ms. WiNDLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We appreciate your ef- 

 forts in this area and your interest in our particular study. 



OTA always hopes for a long shelf life in its reports, perhaps 10 

 years, even 20 years, and we have every hope that that will be true 

 of our general analysis of this problem. Unfortunately, in one mat- 

 ter we are already out of date. If you can see the maps here, we 

 know that some time between 1992 and last Friday when your wit- 

 ness announced it, African bees spread to Arizona and New Mexico; 

 and some time between 1993 when we had our last data and last 

 week at the International Zebra Mussel Conference in Wisconsin, 

 zebra mussels reached Oklahoma and there are expected to be ad- 

 ditional spreads once the full impact of last year's midwestem 

 floods are known. 



On Friday, you heard abundant testimony about the economic 

 and environmental harm caused by non-indigenous species, so I., 

 will not repeat that, but suffice it to say that I can guarantee that 

 non-indigenous species affect not only Hawaii, but every Member's 

 State that serves on this Committee. We all pay some of those bil- 

 lions of dollars in control costs and other expenses. 



You asked us specifically to address the adequacy of current pol- 

 icy. As you noted yourself, it is commonly accepted that the Federal 

 Government has no national policy on harmful non-indigenous spe- 

 cies. In some cases, problems are due to missing elements in key 

 legislation, especially the Lacey Act and the Federal Noxious Weed 

 Act. For example, Federal laws leave both obvious and subtle gaps 

 in coverage that States do not adequately fill. This includes some 



^ The prepared statement of Ms. Windle appears on page 95. 



