MTS National Advisory Council

MTS National Advisory Council
Safety and Environmental Protection Subcommittee
Minutes of the Meeting held
April 20, 2001

Acting Chairman and MTSNAC Liaison Charles Kurz, II called the meeting to order at 1340. Mr. Kurz expressed appreciation to Jonathan Benner for hosting the meeting. Attendees were invited to introduce themselves and their organizational affiliation.

The Minutes of the March 14, 2001 meeting were reviewed and no changes were made.

Mr. Kurz noted upcoming events of interest to the MTS initiative including the upcoming MTSNAC meeting on May 3-4, 2001 at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY; Financing Freight Transportation Improvements Conference from April 29 to May 2, 2001 in St. Louis; Human Factors Conference on April 24-25, 2001 in Washington, DC; Port Waterways Capacity Conference on April 23, 2001 in Washington, DC and the Intermodal Workshop on Channel Design during the first week of Mary 2001 in Norfolk, VA. Mr. Kurz also noted that Secretary of Transportation Minetta would be attending a portion of MTSNAC meeting and Council would be focusing on developing and finalizing specific recommendations for transmission to the Secretary.

Discussion of Issues

Mr. Kurz summarized MTSNAC action on the Subcommittee resolutions on near miss reporting and maritime personnel alertness/fatigue/ endurance management, noting that the resolutions are remanded to the Subcommittee for further review. While these issues will remain on the agenda, the Subcommittee agreed to focus on the two newly introduced issues summarized below.

Mr. Greco briefed the Subcommittee on the issue paper relating to Criminalization of Maritime Accidents. He noted concerns with the application of strict criminal liability provisions of the Migratory Bird and Refuse Acts to individuals involved in maritime pollution incidents. He also noted that the negative aspects of this situation include impedance of the free flow of information during post-spill response and investigation activities, retention of competent seafarers and the applicability of these statutes to all modes of transportation. The invited ICMTS attendees agreed to take this issue back to their SEP Subcommittee for further discussion. The Subcommittee agreed unanimously to forward the briefing paper and resolution with agreed upon changes to MTSNAC for review and adoption.

Mr. Kirchner then briefed the Subcommittee on the issue paper relating to NOAA Promote Safe Navigation Programs. Noting the continuous lack of adequate funding for hydrographic, charting, meteorological and real time information systems, the Subcommittee agreed that this was an issue warranting attention by the Council and agreed to forward the revised version of the briefing paper and resolution to MTSNAC for review and adoption. The Chairperson of the ICMTS SEP Subcommittee, in attendance at the meeting, also noted that this issue was high on their priority list and supported the MTSNAC SEP Subcommittee decision to forward to MTSNAC. The briefing paper and resolution, with agreed upon changes, were unanimously adopted by the Subcommittee. Mssrs. Benner and Kirchner also agreed to forward a copy of the briefing paper and resolution as well as discuss this issue with the Infrastructure Subcommittee Chairperson prior to the MTSNAC meeting.

Due to the lack of time, the issue of port state control was deferred to the next meeting. The Subcommittee noted that Msrs. Cox and Kirchner have agreed to prepare a briefing paper on this issue for review by the Subcommittee.

Integration of SEP Issues in White Paper

Mr. Kurz recommended and the Subcommittee agreed to changes in the White Paper which more fully highlight the concepts of MTS safety and environmentally responsible operation into the current text. Several members of the Subcommittee expressed concerns as to the current status of the White Paper and its expected final disposition, particularly with regard to the continuous revision process currently underway at the MTSNAC and Awareness Subcommittee level.

Update on MTS Activities (MTSNAC, ICTMTS, other Subcommittees)

Mr. Kurz announced that meetings of the Infrastructure, Human Resources and R&D Subcommittees will be held on the morning of May 3, 2001 at the US Merchant Marine Academy and prior to the MTSNAC meeting scheduled to begin on the afternoon of May 3, 2001. Dr. Jean Snider briefed the Subcommittee on the activities of the ICMTS SEP Subcommittee and provided copies of their survey of current activities which summarize ongoing projects relative to vessel operations and the human element, reception facilities/vessel discharges, air/water discharges, nonindigenous species, dredging, waterways traffic management, hydrography/navigation products/weather, ship/terminal interface and port development/terminal operations.

New Business

Two items of new business were discussed. Mssrs. Bruce Parker and Richard Legatski briefed the Subcommittee on the upcoming MTS R&D Conference, sponsored by the ICMTS which will be held on November 14-16, 2001 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. The Conference is directed at recent or planned technical or scientific developments aimed at improving the safety, efficiency or management of waterways, ports and their intermodal connections or some other aspect of the MTS. Additional information on the Conference is available at www.waterways_RD.gov. A call for papers has been issued with topic statements/abstracts due by July 1, 2001.

Dr. Snider and Mr. Legatski also briefed the Subcommittee on the planned Industry Fair which is scheduled for June 19, 2001 on Capitol Hill (between the Capitol and the Supreme Court Building). More information will be forthcoming as to the opportunities for private sector exhibits and presentations. The Secretaries of Commerce and Transportation as well as Members of Congress are expected for this industry fair which is designed at increasing the visibility and highlighting the importance of the marine transportation system.

Public Comment Period

There were no public comments provided at this meeting.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the MTSNAC SEP Subcommittee will be held on June 7, 2001 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the law offices of Troutman and Sanders, 401 9^th Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004. Interested attendees are invited to note that the ICMTS SEP Subcommittee will also be meeting on June 7, 2001 at 9:30 a.m. at the Department of Commerce, and are invited to attend the MTSNAC SEP Subcommittee meeting that afternoon.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:20 p.m.