Alaska senators get behind bill to clean up America's trashed coastlines
WASHINGTON — Alaska's U.S. senators and a bipartisan group of colleagues introduced a bill Wednesday aimed at managing the problem of marine debris off America's coasts and in inland waterways.
A new bill introduced in the Senate on Wednesday would provide a route to funnel more money to states plagued by marine debris — the millions of tons of trash that drifts toward U.S. shores, littering coastlines and tangling in fishing nets.
The bill focuses on using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's authority to authorize more funding for cleanup and response to marine debris. Like declaring a disaster, a governor could request a declaration — and matching funds — from the NOAA administrator.
The bill also encourages the State Department to engage with countries responsible for much of the world's marine debris and focus on reducing the trash going into the ocean.
Read more: https://www.adn.com/politics/2017/03/29/alaska-senators-introduce-bipartisan-marine-debris-bill/