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pending in the Senate.3 This legislation could be incorporated in the Coast Guard authorization bill later this year or separately enacted. Coastal and Great Lakes Vessels Finally, EPA just announced new emissions standards for newly manufactured marine diesel engines and remanufactured commercial marine diesel engines above 600 kilowatt or 800 horsepower with displacement less than 30 liters per cylinder installed on U.S.?flag vessels. These rules will apply to propulsion and marine auxiliary engines typically used on recreational and small fishing vessels, towboats, tugboats, and Great Lakes freighters. EPA Administrator Johnson "predicted that the restrictions, when fully in place by the year 2030, would help prevent 1,400 premature deaths a year and save billions of dollars in health costs."4 Environmental organizations and marine engine manufacturers were both supportive of the new rules.5 Oil Pollution Just when you think it's safe to go back in the water and that the subject of oil spills has been exhausted, another spill occurs in U.S. waters and attention is refocused on the subject. This, despite the fact that Congressional Research Service recently released a report concluding that while imports and consumption of oil have increased, the number and volume of oil spills (particularly spills from ships) have decreased.6 Of course, the Supreme Court will soon be weighing in with its decision in the case of Exxon Shipping v. Baker. The assessment of punitive damages against Exxon as a result of the 1989 catastrophic oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, is pending before the Supreme Court. The Court heard oral argument on February 28, 2008, and a decision should be rendered before the Court's term ends in June 2008. The incident of the Cosco Busan in
Footnotes 1 A further discussion of this important decision is found in Blank Rome's Maritime Development Advisory No. 6 of March 2008 at www.BlankRomeMaritime.com. 2 March 10, 2008 notice by CARB to Continue Enforcement of the Ocean-Going Vessel Auxiliary Diesel Engine Regulation. The CARB notice is described more fully at Maritime Developments Advisory, March 2008 (No.9) at www.BlankRome.com. 3 H.R. 802 passed the House on March 26, 2007, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. A markup of the House bill is imminent in the Senate as of this writing. 4 Reported in "In Revising Clean Air Rules, E.P.A. Draws Praise and Criticism in the Same Week", New York Times, Mar. 15, 2008 at A14. 5 NRDC said it was pleased with the new regulations, NYT, supra. Cummins, Inc., on behalf of the Engine Manufacturers Association, affirmed the industry's support of the EPA rule. www.cargobusinessnews.com. 6 CRS Report - Oil Spills in U.S. Coastal Waters, RL 33705 (2/5/08).
San Francisco Bay has precipitated further Congressional attention on the safety of shipping. On November 7, 2007, the container ship Cosco Busan hit the Bay Bridge, spilling over 50,000 gallons of bunker fuel. In the aftermath, Senators Boxer and Feinstein introduced two bills intended
to prevent future accidents. One, S.2430, the Boxer-Feinstein Maritime Emergency Prevention Act, would give the Coast Guard the authority to order ships to change speed or course in the event of an emergency or hazardous condition. The second, S. 2429, or a bill to amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990,
would raise the liability limits for cargo ships to the same level as oil tankers and allow deposits in the Damage Assessment Restoration Revolving Fund to be invested in interest-bearing obligations of the United States. Senator Lautenberg has introduced two
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