Mystic Seaport, Director, Maritime Studies Program. We have Mr. 

 Bruce Shupp from the New York Department of Environmental 

 Conservation. He is the Chief of the Bureau of Fisheries, Division 

 of Fish and Wildlife. Mr. George Ryan, Lake Carriers Association, 

 he is the President of that organization. We have Captain Michael 

 J. Donohoe, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Marine Environmental Pro- 

 tection Division, and from the Maritime Administration, we have 

 Mr. Marc P. Lasky, Chief, Division of Naval Architecture, Office of 

 the Associate Administrator for Shipbuilding and Ship Operations. 



Welcome to each and every one of you. I sincerely appreciate 

 your all being here this morning. We are going to be starting with 

 Ms. Kimball and her testimony, and then we will go to Dr. Carlton, 

 Mr. Shupp, Mr. Ryan, Captain Donohoe, and Mr. Lasky. 



Ms. Kimball, the floor is yours. 



STATEMENT OF KATE KIMBALL, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY 

 FOR OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND AT- 

 MOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, ACCOMPANIED BY GARY B. ED- 

 WARDS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR FISHERIES, U.S. FISH AND 

 WILDLIFE SERVICE, COCHAIR, AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES 

 TASK FORCE 



Ms. Kimball. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am Kate Kimball, 

 Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere. I appreci- 

 ate this opportunity to present the goals and accomplishments of 

 the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force and NOAA's efforts as 

 cochair of that task force. 



As you know, the task force was established under the Nonindi- 

 genous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990. The 

 task force's primary goals are to prevent introductions, control im- 

 pacts, disseminate information and coordinate research. 



Due to current fiscal conditions, sufficient funds authorized 

 under the act have not been appropriated. Notwithstanding this 

 limitation, the task force has moved forward to fulfill the mandates 

 of the act. We are proud of our achievements to date. I will begin 

 by describing the task force's efforts related to the ballast water 

 control program and then turn to the aquatic nuisance species pro- 

 gram. 



As part of the national ballast water control program, the task 

 force is mandated to conduct ballast exchange and biological stud- 

 ies. Because funds were not available to initiate the studies, the 

 task force has been unable to meet the statutory deadlines but we 

 have kept Congress informed of our progress to date. 



This summer funds were identified for both studies. The ballast 

 exchange studies will be initiated with EPA funds in the spring of 

 1994 and conducted at NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Re- 

 search Lab. Additional funds from NOAA and the Fish and Wild- 

 life Service will enable the study to be completed by June of 1995. 

 The biological study was initiated with the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service funds in July 1993. In 1994, case studies of impacts on Flor- 

 ida and the San Francisco Bay delta region will be assessed. Addi- 

 tional funds from NOAA and EPA will be used to complete the 

 case studies by September 1994. 



