13 



[The statement of Captain Donohoe may be found at end of hear- 

 ing.] 



Mr. LiPiNSKi. And our last witness to testify this morning will be 

 Marc P. Lasky. Mr. Lasky. 



STATEMENT OF MARC P. LASKY, CHIEF, DIVISION OF NAVAL AR- 

 CHITECTURE, OFFICE OF THE ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR 

 FOR SHIPBUILDING AND SHIP OPERATIONS, MARITIME ADMIN- 

 ISTRATION 



Mr. Lasky. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the sub- 

 committee. I appreciate the invitation to testify on behalf of the 

 Maritime Administration concerning the Ballast Water Control 

 Act. 



You have heard a lot of testimony on what the damage is, I 

 won't go over that. I will say that the uncontrolled discharge of 

 ballast water is a major international problem that can be expected 

 to worsen and a satisfactory long-term solution to the problem is 

 needed. 



We especially recognize how important a solution is to this prob- 

 lem to the Great Lakes. The Maritime Administration supports the 

 goals of this legislation, including further study and demonstration. 

 In an effort to assist the Coast Guard in carrying out the require- 

 ments of this bill, we believe that concerned Federal agencies 

 should cosponsor an assessment of various technologies available 

 under development for the control and treatment of harmful aquat- 

 ic organisms in ballast water. This assessment could be followed by 

 a demonstration project of one or more of the promising technol- 

 ogies, as required by the bill. 



MARAD could also assist the Coast Guard in cooperatively ad- 

 ministering and providing technical expertise for one or more of 

 any funded demonstrations required by the Ballast Control Act. I 

 have several examples of how our agency already performs these 

 functions. 



We have a limited research and development fund, however. We 

 currently make the best use of these by conducting a variety of 

 small scale research programs in a broad area. We do this in coop- 

 eration with other Federal agencies and the private sector. 



For example, one program I wiU mention is the maritime oper- 

 ational safety program, which is concerned with advanced vessel 

 navigation and communication systems, and operational proce- 

 dures and maintenance policies that enhance maritime safety. 

 Projects under this program are selected jointly with the National 

 Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard. 



Another program of particular relevance in the R&D area is our 

 small business innovation research program. This encourages small 

 businesses to develop innovative solutions to government and in- 

 dustry problems. 



Programs under the small business program address human fac- 

 tors, environmental protection, and improvements in terminal, 

 cargo, and ship operations. These are just a couple of examples. 

 This particular program is administered by the department's Volpe 

 Center, in cooperation with the Coast Guard. 



