§ 4701. Findings and purposes
(a)
Findings
The Congress finds that—
(1)
the discharge of untreated water in the ballast tanks of vessels and through other means results in unintentional introductions of nonindigenous species to fresh, brackish, and saltwater environments;
(2)
when environmental conditions are favorable, nonindigenous species become established, may compete with or prey upon native species of plants, fish, and wildlife, may carry diseases or parasites that affect native species, and may disrupt the aquatic environment and economy of affected nearshore areas;
(4)
the potential economic disruption to communities affected by the zebra mussel due to its colonization of water pipes, boat hulls and other hard surfaces has been estimated at $5,000,000,000 by the year 2000, and the potential disruption to the diversity and abundance of native fish and other species by the zebra mussel and ruffe, round goby, and other nonindigenous species could be severe;
(5)
the zebra mussel was discovered on Lake Champlain during 1993 and the opportunity exists to act quickly to establish zebra mussel controls before Lake Champlain is further infested and management costs escalate;
(6)
in 1992, the zebra mussel was discovered at the northernmost reaches of the Chesapeake Bay watershed;
(8)
since the Chesapeake Bay is the largest recipient of foreign ballast water on the East Coast, there is a risk of further invasions of other nonindigenous species;
(9)
the zebra mussel is only one example of thousands of nonindigenous species that have become established in waters of the United States and may be causing economic and ecological degradation with respect to the natural resources of waters of the United States;
(10)
since their introduction in the early 1980’s in ballast water discharges, ruffe—
(11)
examples of nonindigenous species that, as of October 26, 1996, infest coastal waters of the United States and that have the potential for causing adverse economic and ecological effects include—
(12)
many aquatic nuisance vegetation species, such as Eurasian watermilfoil, hydrilla, water hyacinth, and water chestnut, have been introduced to waters of the United States from other parts of the world causing or having a potential to cause adverse environmental, ecological, and economic effects;
(13)
if preventive management measures are not taken nationwide to prevent and control unintentionally introduced nonindigenous aquatic species in a timely manner, further introductions and infestations of species that are as destructive as, or more destructive than, the zebra mussel or the ruffe infestations may occur;
(b)
Purposes
The purposes of this chapter are—
(1)
to prevent unintentional introduction and dispersal of nonindigenous species into waters of the United States through ballast water management and other requirements;
(2)
to coordinate federally conducted, funded or authorized research, prevention [1] control, information dissemination and other activities regarding the zebra mussel and other aquatic nuisance species;
(3)
to develop and carry out environmentally sound control methods to prevent, monitor and control unintentional introductions of nonindigenous species from pathways other than ballast water exchange;
[1] So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma.