PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘Resolve, Directing Certain State Agencies To Consider the Effects of Marine Debris’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and inserting the following:
‘
‘Preamble. Whereas, the ocean environment and its resources are vital to the economy, cultural identity and daily lives of many Maine citizens and communities; and
Whereas,  coastal residents and communities in Maine depend on healthy and abundant ocean resources for their livelihoods, recreation and ways of life; and
Whereas,  the oceans annually receive an estimated 4,800,000 to 12,700,000 metric tons of plastic waste; and
Whereas,  there is a projected increase in the amount of plastic marine debris based on current production and consumption; and
Whereas,  plastics of all sizes have been shown to adsorb micropollutants and organic contaminants in the environment; and
Whereas,  large pieces of plastic, including plastics from recreational and commercial fishing, marine vessels and marine fishing gear, degrade into progressively smaller fragments through chemical and physical processes, eventually resulting in microscopic particles of plastic that remain in the environment indefinitely; and
Whereas,  plastics are a recognized contaminant of concern that threatens wildlife and human health; and
Whereas,  a wide range of organisms, from zooplankton to mussels to fish to baleen whales, are capable of ingesting contaminated microplastics; and
Whereas,  consumption of contaminated species is thought to increase the potential for harm to human health from hazardous chemicals; and
Whereas,  Maine persons who fish commercially land approximately 305,500,000 pounds of seafood annually for human consumption and one study estimates European shellfish consumers consume between 1,800 and 11,000 microplastics per year; and
Whereas,  marine debris can be large but difficult to see in the ocean if partially or totally submerged, and a vessel that encounters marine debris at sea can suffer costly damage, either to its structure or through a tangled propeller or clogged intake; and
Whereas,  marine debris can be a vector for invasive species, which can have a devastating impact on local fisheries and ecosystems and can be costly to manage or eradicate; and
Whereas,  increasing marine debris has the potential to threaten livelihoods and activities that have been at the core of Maine's coastal communities for hundreds of years; now, therefore, be it
Sec. 1 Department of Marine Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to consider the effects of marine debris. Resolved: That, until January 1, 2019, when the Department of Marine Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife or Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry takes any action, that department shall consider the marine debris that may be generated by that action, the effects of marine debris that may be generated by that action and how the potential marine debris may be managed and mitigated.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, replaces the bill, which was a concept draft, with a resolve that directs the Department of Marine Resources, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to consider the potential for the generation, management, mitigation and effects of marine debris related to actions of those agencies.