apart. so we need a magnet in the middle, and it is the process, it is the idea that a compromise is an honorable thing and diversity of opinion actually only works for a society when you bring it into a process with people who do differ with you, because you know something they don't, you've had experiences they haven't, and if you actually have to work through these things and say yes, no, yes, no, you wind up with a product that gets you the right direction. that's the most important thing. we got to do it on this debt. if we don't deal with it, we will sooner or later some day or another though we're dragging it out too much to suit me, have growth come back here, and interest rates will go up so fast you won't be able to catch your breath. then everybody will say why didn't we do this earlier. so we should have a considered plan now. but all of you have to make

compromise honorable. >> mr. president, thank you very much. [ applause ] >> we're live on capitol hill now for a senate commerce science and transportation subcommittee hearing on tsunami debris from japan reaching u.s. coast lines. set to testify are two government official from the u.s. coast guard and the oceanic administration.

we'll call the meeting to order. this is the subsmitty on oceans atmosphere fisheries and coast guard, today's hearing on stemming the tide of u.s. response to tsunami generated marine debris. welcome we think an important hearing on the marine debris headed to the west coast from japanese tragedy and its long term implip indications. we welcome david m. kennedy of noaa's service. we welcome admiral gary thomas for the united states coast guard. thank you both for being here this morning. the earthquake and tsunami which struck northern japan just over a year ago was an unprecedented human tragedy. in minutes it claimed thousands of lives, destroyed communities and touched off the failure after nuclear power plants. the tsunami left the legacy which our west coast states thousands of miles from that

epicenter are dealing with now, and will deal for many years to come. marine debris is nothing new. it has exsirsed for centuries made worse by plastics which don't degrade. to some like beach comb here's find occasional messages in the bottle, it's a delight. to others it's an eyesore or worse. many now recognize marine debris as a threat to fish, marine mammals and sea birds, through death by evening tanglement and digestion. the tsunami unleashed debris on an unprecedented scale. some 5 million tons swept out to sea. while most sank, 1.5 million tons of tsunami generated debris is still afloat driven by winds and currents toward the west coast of north america. but there's 3 million pounds of plastic trash which will flood into our inner tidal ecosystems

and is already here. we've read the press reports of soccer balls found on the middleton island in my state and the fishing floats and styrofoam insulation washing up on kayak and montague islands. these are mostly the high windage item which float high in the water and are pushed by wind. then there's the ghost squid boat which was sunk by the coast guard. i want to thank you, admiral, for doing that. evening the harley-davidson which washed up in brit irk columbia. from alaska to washington the reports of tsunami debris are coming in. including reports of containers of hazardous materials such as oil and solvents, not surprising when you consider that entire cities, their gas stations, garages, warehouses, stores and industrial plants all washed into the sea and now becoming a threat to our shores.

one of my constituents, chris pollster of the gulf of alaska worked on marine debris issues for most of the last decade. he described the debris as a slow motion environmental disaster that will far exceed any single pollution event to hit the west coast of north america including exxon valdez and the santa barbara oil spills. i'm submitting his letter for the record and one from the juneau based marine conservation alliance foundation which has helped coordinate marine debris efforts in alaska for years. since the event noaa's program has monitored the incoming tides they model drift patterns and tracked reports as they come in. i know noaa has further plans to monitor this but my constituents to be honest with you are asking that this debris already here, what's the plan, how are we going to deal with this? and how are we going to clean it up? in some cases, some think it's a

little late. now this summer, but over the year this is debris will be arriving to our shores. that is the purpose of today's hearing, give the debris -- give the clear threat what is our national plan to stem the tide of the tsunami debris. while i heard the debris carries no threat of radiation since it went out to sea before the reactors' failures i want to ask what you know about the possible threat and monitoring done because of its concern to many. i want to emphasize the point before i call in the ranking member and then senator from washington, we had a hearing probably two months, three months ago. this issue came up and we were told, things are i don't want to say under control but we're monitoring it carefully. every time i go back to alaska, i hear over and over again, the large sightings and there are photos here of some of the debris that's starting to wash up. it's growing rapidly and almost

seems like there is, while let's see what happens plan. that's not acceptable. especially today at 7:00 a.m. alaska time, the copper river opening will occur which means literally six hours later when that incredible fish gets caught t the salmon, it will be in the washington ports for market, the first fish out. so we fear what the impact may be so. we're anxious to hear not about what you're seeing today but what are the plans, what are the efforts, aggressively to deal with this issue as it continues to move forward. let me have the ranking member senator snowe make her comments. >> thank you, mr. chirm and for convening this hearing today to discuss this very important topic. marine debris resulting from last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami in japan. i think it is important to provide this kind of attention on and focus on this critical

issue. on march 11, 2011 the island nation was struck by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake causing a tsunami that resulted in tremendous devastation as we all know killing nearly 16,000 with additional 3,000 missing and presumed dead. over 200 square miles were inundated, some waste traveled six miles inland reaching a maximum height over 100 feet in places. entire communities were washed to sea. this disaster was far worse than what had been previously been considered the worst case scenar scenario. in japan should be commend forward their effort in preparing for such a disaster. despite the tremendous loss of lives, countless people were saved by advance preparation. fr% of japan's coast was protected by sea walls and prompting warning of the major tsunami alloweded time for many to evacuate. but the height of the tsunami is greater than thought possible. sea walls were built to hold the sea, they were breached and washed away.

tragically at least 101 designated evacuation sites were flooded and people followed the evacuation orders and thought they reached safety still perish. the devastation resulting from this demonstrates we can always do better to prepare. the high breaking job of rebuilding from this tsunami still continues in japan and is estimated to cost more than $3 tour billion making this the most costly natural disaster in history. with some communities gone it's not always clear how the rebuilding should begin. 5 million tons of debris were swept into the ocean. much of this sank offshore but some of it as much as 1.5 million tons continue to float and was carried out to sea by the winds and currents. this debris includes boats, household goods, toys, everything from infrastructure to personal possessions. the first items to arrive in our water were high windage items, those that float high enough in the water to be primarily blown by the wind. recently updated model from noaa

includes wind and current conditions from the past year suggests that tsunami debris likely began in the winter twof 011 to 2012. the first confirmed debris from the tsunami was identified on march 20 when 160 foot fishing boat was spotted off the coast of canada. recognizing that this ship posed a navigational hazard the coast guard sank it 17 days later. we do not actually know how much more debris is coming our way. nor do we know what will wash ashore. low windage items that are primarily moved by the ocean currents will take longer to reach our pacific coastline. the years before we'll know the extent of the debris. this will add to the already substantial burden that marine debris places on our oceans. along with my west coast colleagues who states are now directly impacted by this event i have long supported work that addresses the effects of marine debris on the health of our

oceans. most recently last year i co-sponsored trash free sea acts to reauthorization noaa's marine debris program and direct the agency to develop a plan on how best to respond to marine debris from the tsunamis, floods, land slides and hurricanes. and yet, despite the ongoing problem marine debris and the expected increase in marine debris from the japanese tsunami, the president's budget request proposed a reduction in funding to this program. i'm pleased that the senate recognizes the importance of the marine debris program and would increase its funding by 400,000 for fiscal year 2013. providing the resources necessary to continue tracking and addressing the impact of the tsunami debris. i look forward to hearing from my witnesses today, learning more about this topic, david kennedy, i appreciate the excellent job you and your staff have conducted at the national ocean services. and keeping us up to date

regarding the status of debris from the tsunami. admiral thomas t coast guard is our first line of defense against this wave of debris coming toward our shores and i'm eager to hear more about the coast guard plans in addressing this issue that has potentially safety and navigational hazards posed serious nature by the debris. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you very much. let me turn to senator cantwell and then the hearing. >> thank you. i want to thank you and the ranking member for holding this important hearing and mr. chairman, for your continued focus on this, washington and alaska, i would say washington, alaska, oregon and california, hawaii, are all very united in our concern over the economic impacts that tsunami debris can have to our region. our state, washington state's coastal economy produces $10.8 billion in economic activity and it supports over 165,000 jobs.

so anything that threatens that coastal economy is something we're going to pay a lot of attention to. so, we're here today to talk about how we're going to get a response from noaa on what is this threat, the measurement of the threat and what the response splan to that threat. a few short weeks ago we marked the one-year anniversary of the devastating tsunami in japan and the people of washington state, because of our connection with japan, have a great sense of loss and we remember those people who have lost their lives. seeing that devastation, when the waters rolled back and we saw what happened, shocked many people, not just in america but around the world. and so it has become clear to us what unbelievable economic damage can happen and what can be at risk. so for our commercial and recreational fishing and our vessel construction of ships, our tourism, our thriving ecosystem we all want to know what the plan is. so, mr. chairman, i feel like

you do, that we aren't getting the answers that we need. i would like to submit a statement from the mayor of the city of long beach, he reflects a unique and staggering concern about what tsunami debris can do to his community and he wants to know what the plan s. mr. chairman, we also had in this just last few weeks an incident in washington state where a crabber vessel was sunk and now oil leaking from that vessel is threatening the shell fish industry in our state. so it doesn't take a lot to imagine what would happen if the response plan is just we'll sink it. we need something much more elaborate to understand and stop this debris before it actually reaches our shores. that's what we want to see and hats what we're hoping to get from a response plan today. it's very important that the resources are there to mobilize

the emergency research funds from the rapid program t national sighens foundation rapid program which would give scientists the tools that they need to analyze and to tell us about this likely debris chart and where it will go and what areas it will impact. we also want to make sure that this science is available to other scientists in the northwest. it's almost as if there is an attitude that the tsunami debris is top secret and we can't get the information. it shouldn't be this way. the information and data, the best guess scenario, should be available to everyone and all communities so that they can plan. we would hope that once that information is made available that that would be part of an action plan that then could be implemented by the coast guard, by noaa but certainly would give those communities this sense that they can plan for what this likely impact could be. we know that not every plan is

going to be carried out in the detail that it was originally proposed. but having no plan or not understanding what the plan is, or just counseling people individually doesn't give the people of washington state the certainty and predictability they would like to see. many people said we wouldn't see any of this impact till 2013 or 2014. and now ships and motorcycle, and this various debris, is showing up and people want answers. so mr. chairman, i look forward to the witnesses being here today. i know that they play a role and it's not -- it's not all on their shoulders. but we certainly, this senator, is going to continue to push until noaa responds in the appropriate way of giving our coastal communities the answers they deserve. i thank the chairman. >> thank you. let me start with our first witness m david kennedy, assistant administrator of national ocean science, oceanic and atmospheric administration known as noaa.

>> thank you. chairman and members of the subcommittee. thank you for the opportunity to testify on the program and its activities to agrees the marine debris by last year's tsunami. noaa is very concerned and taking active steps to address the threats tsunami debris poses. we're leading efforts with federal, state, and local partners to collect data, assess the debris, and reduce possible impacts. i'd like to give you some background on the marine debris program, the faed ral government's lead and highlight a few examples of now noaa is responding. the noaa program is small but it has a big impact on a big problem. the world's oceans and shores are plagued by manmade debris that causes untold economic losses to coastal communities, and threatens wildlife, habitat, human health, safety and navigation. the program of 13 staff conducts

activities to research, prevent and reduce marine debris and its impacts, in addition to its science, outreach and education, the program also spends a significant portion of its budget supporting long term community-based removal projects. these projects benefit coastal habitats and water ways but they are not rapid response. the program which sits in noaa's office has historically received approximately $4 million in annual appropriations. regional coordinators throughout country provide support to these projects and lend expertise to stakeholders in coastal states and territories. as chair of the coordinating committee, noaa works in partnership across federal agencies to assure coordination on nat al and international marine debris efforts. since the disaster struck japan, noaa's activities led by the marine debris program focused on understanding the scope of the threat to our coasts from tsunami-generated debris.

noaa mobilized after the disaster to share the latest information on the threat and we were continuing to collect data on the debris quantity and type and location and movement. at the same time we're coordinating heavily with state and local response agencies to share information and draft response plans that will help reduce impacts to communities, natural resources and navigation. the government of japan has been referenced here before estimated that the tsunami swept 5 million tons of debris in the ocean and 1.5 million tons of that floated. it is unclear how much of it and what type survived a year at sea but we expect it could be bunt items such as floats, lumber, plastics, containers and vessels. radiation experts assure us it is highly unlikely any debris is radioactive but there is a possibility that hazardous items such as oil drums will wash ashore. the potential area where debris may have drifted in the north pacific ocean is vast. equally a swas three times the

united states. in order to locate significant concentrations or large items we're gathering data from multiple sources. including ocean going vessels, aircraft and satellites. our models which have given mod an understand of where debris may be located today, help focus our decisions. no o we have eyes regularly on the water from commercial fishing and shipping vessels, scientific expeditions and recreational pilots. the u.s. coast guard reports any sightings logged during regular enforcement oversight missions, and in some cases they've conducted flights with noaa representatives on board. we continue to receive and analyze high-resolution satellite imagery to find debris in targeted areas where our models suggest may be located. we will continue to use sophisticated detection models

as they become available to us. we have baseline information on debris stranded on u.s. coastlines in advance of possible influx of tsunami debris. changes in volume and type of debris may be the only indication that tsunami debris has arrived, so noaa plans to conduct marine debris surveys in all impacted areas for the next two years. in order to gain a more complete picture of where debris is showing up, we have established an e-mail address where anyone, including the general public, may report sightings. debris removal will likely fall to the states in most cases, and with tight budgets it is necessary to ensure that removal plans make the best use of existing resources. noaa is coordinating with state and local resources to include rapid response protocols. workshops have taken place in hawaii and washington state. and results will help guide workshops planled for alaska, oregon, and california. noaa will continue to pursue on the ground research, prevention, and reduction of marine debris nationwide and leverage every

resource available to address debris from the japanese tsunami. however, comprehensively responding to the tsunami debris will take substantial resources. emergency trust funds exist, but there is not a current fund for marine response on this scale. so it's critical that we continue to have a complete engagement at every level -- federal, state, and local. it will not be possible for noaa to coordinate a debris response without each state's participation. noaa is committed to protecting our communities from the impacts of debris and looks forward to working with the committee to achieve this outcome. i would like to thank the committee for its attention to the marine debris problem and force continued efforts to authorize the noaa debris program. thanks, and i'm willing to take questions. >> thank you very much. rear admiral kerry thomas, director of response policy, u.s. coast guard. >> good morning. chairman begich, ranking member snowe, senator cantwell, i'm

cari thomas. i'm pleased to have this opportunity to discuss with you the services roles and authorities it applies to protect the u.s. waters, shorelines and exclusive economic zone from the potential impacts of the marine debris created by the devastating 2011 japan tsunami. being responsible for response policy, my duties include overseeing incident management policies. i draw upon my 14 different assignments where i was involved with several types of incidents including hurricanes, ship groundings, airplane crashes, mass migrations and hundreds of search and rescue cases, some of which included marine debris. today i'll provide an overview of coast guard efforts related to marine debris, delineate the coast guard's role in supporting noaa and provide operational nal examples that address the need for advanced challenges caused by marine debris. as discussed by mr. kennedy, noaa is the lead agency for these activities for marine

debris. noaa's marine debris program leads this effort and noaa chairs the marine debris coordinating committee. the coast guard supports noaa by participating as a member of that committee. the marine debris research prevention reduction act of 2006 identifies the coast guard as an agency that noaa should coordinate with to address marine debris issues. to date, the coast guard has been fully engaged with noaa in support of marine debris monitoring and tracking to ensure the safe navigation of shipping and to protect the marine environment. coast guard actions in support of noaa depend on the type of debris. the coast guard is the federal on-site coordinator for the coastal zone with lead removal actions under the national contingency plan for any debris that poses a threat via potential oil or hazardous substance to the environment. the coast guard may also develop and issue broadcast notice to mariners and advise vessel traffic of potential hazards to navigation. the service also has the authority to destroy these

hazards for navigation to make sure that we're making protecting lives and preserving property. if debris creates a hazardous gags in channels, the coast guard typically works with the army corps of engineers, the lead federal agency for all obstructions determined to be in federally maintained channels or waterway to address the matter. coast guard services and personnel may be requested by noaa to help with identifying, tracking, monitoring debris by conducting overflight ls with noaa representatives on board. the coast guard and noaa acti actively work and plan together at all levels at both agencies. at the national level, the coast guard participates in biweekly interagency conference calls hosted by noaa to provide strategic interagency coordination, awareness and information sharing. at the regional and local level weather the coast guard pacific area, the 13th district, the 14th district, and the 17th district are all actively engaged with all partners. the coast guard and noaa

recently coordinated ten interagency public meetings in oregon to provide information on agency authorities and capabilities. similar meet rgs planned for hawaii, california, in coming months. we also participated in an interagency marine debris workshop in washington state to support washington state's drafting of a marine debris contingency plan. the coast guard's recent sinking of the derelict fishing vessel provides an excellent example of how we use our authorities and assets to address the challenges associated with marine debris. several weeks ago, the service began tracking that fishing vessel which was originally sighted by the canadian coast guard. we used information to notify mariners of the vessel's position via broadcast notice to mariners. the derelict vessel's path would take it near the dixon entrance where approximately 800 commercial transits occurred in the preceding six months.

the location and projected track made it a serious threat to the safe navigation of other vessels in the vicinity. the coast guard deemed the derelict vessel to be a hazard to navigation and on april 5th, "anna kappa" successfully sank the ship at sea. having been the captain of a ship like "anna kappa" nearly 20 years ago, i was proud of their ability to perform this mission. as i tell others, weed lives, the environment, and in this case we saved the supply chain so vital to the economic strength of the nation that includes putting fuel and food on our tables. it could have been disrupted by the damage that that ship might have caused. coast guard will continue to work closely with noaa to address the potential navigation hazards of marine debris and respond to any substantial pollution threats or hazardous navigation. thank you, and i look forward to answering any questions you may have. >> thank you very much. we'll start with five-minute rounds. but the way i like to do the committee, each member will have an opportunity to do five

minutes but we sometimes will interject with each other because we're small enough here, but we only have a limbed time today. let me first say my observation, then i have some specific questions. we're going to do a lot of planning, a lot of discussion, a lot of meetings. but what the reality is, communities are fearing that the federal government will not respond to what's really needed, which is cleanup. if this was a one-time event all at once, we'd declare an emergency and be on the ground like that. but this is going to be a slow drag stuff for who knows how long which will impact. so i guess first, mr. kennedy, you had mentioned -- i have several questions, but i want to go to your comments. you said there will be a need for significant funds, but states are going to be responsible. to be very frank with you, it's somewhat frustrating to hear that statement because the role

of the federal government in emergencies is to assist states, not just say it's your responsibility, good luck, because that's not acceptable. i understand you're having discussions with them and so forth. do you think the federal government has a role to partner and put some hard cash on the table? monitoring for the next two years it will be easy to monitor because there will be a pile of junk piled up that we'll say, well, it's there. but that's not a plan. that's just more studies about what might happen after the fact. i think what we're anxious for is what are we going to do to prevent a lot of this starting to come ashore. so can you give me some more commentary on what noaa's role should be, and do you have the funds to do it, and why are we not stepping forward and saying we are going to develop plans of action to clean it