THE BALLAST WATER CONTROL ACT 



WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1993 



House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Mer- 

 chant Marine, Subcommittee on Fisheries Manage- 

 ment, AND Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Navi- 

 gation, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fish- 

 eries, 



Washington, DC. 

 The Subcommittees met, pursuant to call, at 10:05 a.m., in room 

 1334, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. William O. Lipinski 

 (Chairman of the Subcommittee on Merchant Marine) presiding. 



Present: Representatives Lipinski, Taylor and Kingston; Subcom- 

 mittee on Merchant Marine. 



Representatives Manton, Hughes, Pallone, Coble, Ravenel, Kings- 

 ton, and Torkildsen; Subcommittee on Fisheries Management. 



Representative Hockbrueckner; Subcommittee on Coast Guard 

 and Navigation. 



Staff Present: Keith Lesnick, Staff Director; Randy Morris, Legis- 

 lative Clerk; Natalie Hidalgo, Professional Staff; David Honness, 

 Professional Staff; Shelby Mertes, Staff Aide; Lori Rosa, Profession- 

 al Staff; Vicki Credle, NOAA Detailee; Carol Alvarado, Legislative 

 Assistant to Mr. Green; Lee Crockett, Professional Staff; Sue Wal- 

 dron. Press Assistant; Cj^thia M. Wilkinson, Minority Chief Coun- 

 sel; Kip Robinson, Minority Counsel; Margherita Woods, Staff As- 

 sistant; Rebecca Dye, Minority Counsel. 



STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM O. LIPINSKI, A U.S. REPRESENTA- 

 TIVE FROM ILLINOIS, AND CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE ON 

 MERCHANT MARINE 



Mr. Lipinski. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls 

 and children of all ages, I want to welcome you here this morning. 



Today, we are going to conduct a joint hearing with the Subcom- 

 mittees on Merchant Marine, Coast Guard and Navigation and 

 Fisheries Management. I would like to take this opportunity to 

 thank Chairman Tauzin and Chairman Manton for agreeing to 

 hold this session. Those gentlemen should be here in very short 

 order. 



One of the most difficult problems plaguing the delicate ecosys- 

 tem of our inland waterways and coasts is the introduction and 

 spread of aquatic nuisances such as the zebra mussel, sea lamprey 

 and river ruffe. The zebra mussel and sea lamprey have taken a 

 tremendous toll on the well-being of the Great Lakes and the ruffe 

 threatens to do the same. As caretakers of the world's largest fresh 

 surface water system, we have a responsibility to ensure that the 



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