The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“MILLE LACS LAKE FREEDOM TO FISH ACT OF 2012” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H5606-H5608 on Aug. 28, 2012.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
MILLE LACS LAKE FREEDOM TO FISH ACT OF 2012
Mr. CRAVAACK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5797) to amend title 46, United States Code, with respect to Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5797
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mille Lacs Lake Freedom To Fish Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. MILLE LACS LAKE, MINNESOTA.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the owner or operator of a vessel operating on Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, shall not, with respect to such vessel, be subject to any Federal requirement under subtitle II of title 46, United States Code, relating to licensing or vessel inspection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Cravaack) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.
General Leave
Mr. CRAVAACK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 5797.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
Mr. CRAVAACK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, in March 2010, the U.S. Coast Guard ruled that Mille Lacs Lake was a federally navigable body of water based on historical interstate commerce.
Specifically, the Coast Guard justified their actions by using a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determination from 1981 that said because lumberjacks in the 1800s floated logs on Mille Lacs Lake and down the Rum River, Mille Lacs Lake should now be made a federally navigable water body. Currently, the Rum River is dammed in three places, and the same Corps of Engineers report said that the dams prohibit through navigation. In addition, two previous Army Corps determinations in 1931 and 1974 also considered the river nonnavigable.
I would like to submit the U.S. Coast Guard determination for the Record.
Memorandum
From: D. L. Nichols, CAPT, USCG, CGD Eight (dl).To: S. L. Hudson, CAPT, USCG, CG Sector Upper Mississippi
River (s).Subj: Navigability Determination for Mille Lacs Lake,
Minnesota.Ref: (a) 33 C.F.R. Sec. 2.36; (b) 33 C.F.R. Sec. 3.40-1; (c)
33 C.F.R. Sec. 3.45-1.
1. For the purpose of determining its jurisdictional authority, the Coast Guard has determined that Mille Lacs Lake is a ``navigable waterway of the United States.''
2. The geographic boundary between the Eighth Coast Guard District and the Ninth Coast Guard District currently runs through Mille Lacs Lake. This navigability determination is for the entirety of Mille Lacs Lake. The Ninth District Legal Staff has reviewed and agrees with this determination.
3. No federal statute addresses the navigability of Mille Lacs Lake, and no federal court has determined the navigability of the waterway. Furthermore, Mille Lacs Lake is not subject to tidal influence. This navigability determination is based on the historical use of the waterway. Specifically, Mille Lacs Lake has been used, in connection with other waters, as a highway for substantial interstate or foreign commerce.
4. Navigability determinations are administrative findings based on the criteria set forth in 33 C.F.R. 2.36. The precise definitions of ``navigable waters of the United States'' and ``navigability'' are dependent ultimately on judicial interpretation and cannot be made conclusively by administrative agencies.
5. This opinion solely represents the opinion of the Coast Guard as to the extent of its own jurisdiction to enforce laws and regulations, and does not represent an opinion as to the extent of the jurisdiction of the United States or any of its agencies.
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Memorandum
From: CGD Eight.To: File.Subj: Legal Support for Navigability Determination for Mille
Lacs Lake, Minnesota.Ref: (a) CGD Eight (dl) memo of 3 March 2010, Navigability
Determination for Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota; (b) 33
C.F.R. Sec. 2.36; (c) 33 C.F.R. Sec. 3.40-1; (d) 33
C.F.R. Sec. 3.45-1.
1. Purpose. This memorandum documents the legal basis for the Coast Guard's determination of navigability in ref (a).
2. Discussion.
a. Internal waterways of the United States not subject to tidal influence are ``navigable waters of the United States'' if they ``[a]re or have been used, or are or have been susceptible for use, by themselves or in connection with other waters, as highways for substantial interstate or foreign commerce, notwithstanding natural or man-made obstructions that require portage.'' 33 C.F.R. Sec. 2.36(a)(3)(i)(emphasis added). The test is one of historic navigability. U.S. v. Harrell, 926 F.2d 1036 (11th Cir. 1991). In 1921 the Supreme Court discussed the issue of obstructions by stating that a waterway ``capable of carrying commerce among the states is within the power of Congress to preserve for purposes of future transportation, even though it . . . be incapable of such use according to present methods, either by reason of changed conditions or because of artificial obstructions.'' Economy Light & Power Co. v. U.S., 256 U.S. 113, 122 (1921); see also U.S. v. Appalachian Power Co., 311 U.S. 377, 408 (``When once found navigable, a waterway remains so.''). When logs are floated on a waterway in interstate commerce, the waterway is a highway for interstate commerce. See id. at 405; Wisconsin Public Service Corp. v. Federal Power commission, 147 F.2d 743 (7th Cir. 1945); United States v. Underwood, 344 F. Supp. 486, 490
(M.D. Fla. 1972).
B. In April 1981 the ACOE conducted an historical analysis of commerce on Mille Lacs Lake and the Run River in Minnesota. See encl. (1). Historical accounts in the document reveal a history of interstate commerce on Mille Lacs Lake. Specifically, Mille Lacs Lake was ``used in the transportation of logs'' from 1848 to 1904, and evidence shows that at least a portion of the logs floated were transported to markets outside of the state. Encl (1) at 5.
3. Conclusion. Mille Lacs Lake has been used in the past as a highway for interstate commerce. The Coast Guard thus determines that Mille Lacs Lake is a ``navigable water of the United States'' and the Coast Guard may properly enforce applicable federal law on this waterway.
Enclosure: Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) memo of 2 April 1981: Navigability Determination for Mille Lacs Lake and Rum River, Minnesota
Now the U.S. Coast Guard is forcing all Mille Lacs Lake fishing guides to spend time and money to obtain a Federal boating license. This license and associated costs can run well over $2,000, and according to testimony by the U.S. Coast Guard in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, they have to travel to Toledo, Ohio, or St. Louis, Missouri, in order to apply for these licenses in person and to take the tests.
This new U.S. Coast Guard regulation is killing jobs by making it impractical for some fishing guides to even stay in business and making it even more expensive for tourists to hire their services.
The Mille Lacs Lake Freedom to Fish Act removes this burdensome, administrative overreach from the U.S. Coast Guard and restores to the State of Minnesota the original authority to permit and inspect vessels.
I truly appreciate all the Coast Guard does, I truly do. But the State of Minnesota already patrols Mille Lacs Lake quite well and the Coast Guard's authority over the lake is an unwanted intrusion. It's duplicative, and it's currently nonexistent. This would be a new area of jurisdiction for the Coast Guard requiring additional assets and manpower.
The State has rules and inspection procedures in place to keep its residents safe and has been doing so for as long as anybody can remember. The State is perfectly capable of enforcing boating laws on Mille Lacs Lake, and ultimately Mille Lacs Lake belongs to Minnesotans and should not be controlled by the Federal Government.
We heard from the U.S. Coast Guard on the issue in a Coast Guard Subcommittee hearing on May 24, 2011. Rear Admiral Kevin Cook and Deputy JAG Calvin Lederer testified about the burden this would impose on Minnesota fishing guides. Additionally, they were unable to provide adequate justification for the navigability determination beyond the Army Corps report.
My legislation would stop fishing guides from being forced to spend over $2,000 on obtaining a fishing license they simply just don't need. Ultimately, it will allow Minnesotans to focus on what is most important--enjoying one of Minnesota's most beautiful lakes.
This has been fully vetted by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and National Association of State Boating Law Administrators. This legislation is also supported by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, fishing guides and resort owners, Minnesota Anglers for Habitat and Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance.
I would like to submit for the Record a letter of support from the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance.
Minnesota Outdoor
Heritage Alliance,
June 31, 2012.
Representative Cravaack: As president of the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance (MOHA), I am always interested in legislation that preserves our constitutional right to hunt and fish, improves sportsmen recruitment and retention or increases the economic viability of these pursuits for Minnesota's sportsmen and women. Because of these organizational goals, I am submitting this letter in favor of the Mille Lacs Freedom to Fish (HR 5797) legislation. Since many Minnesota guides are small, family owned concerns that have been in business for many years, additional regulations and fees are not only unnecessary but also cost prohibitive and dangerous to our time honored way of guiding and fishing. Moving this legislation forward will address these concerns and update the laws in a way that is not only safe but beneficial for our fishing industry and our fishing license holders.
Sincerely,
Tim Spreck,
MOHA President.
Senator Klobuchar also introduced companion legislation that has been cosponsored by Senator Franken. In the committee markup, Representative Tim Walz and Ranking Member Rahall lent their support as well, making this truly a bipartisan and bicameral piece of legislation.
I'd like to thank Geoff Gosselin and John Rayfield of the Coast Guard Subcommittee staff for their working with me on the language of this amendment, as well as Tom Dillon from legislative counsel. I would also like to thank Joel Amato, the chief boiler inspector from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry for providing his guidance and expertise, as well as Mr. Kim Elverum from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and George Nitti of Nitti's Hunters Point Resort.
Although the text of this bill is short, a lot of work went into making sure that this accomplishes the goals of restoring jurisdiction to Minnesota.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5797 exempts the owners and operators of small passenger vessels operating on Mille Lacs Lake in central Minnesota from U.S. Coast Guard licensing and inspection requirements.
This bill provides rather narrow regulatory relief. However, because this bill was rushed to legislation, to markup without first having a hearing on the bill itself or having the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation consider the specific bill, no one can say for sure what consequences might arise in the future. My concerns are somewhat allayed by learning the State of Minnesota has an adequate program to regulate vessels operating on its inland lakes, including Mille Lacs.
Nonetheless, the Coast Guard has expressed concerns that the limitations imposed on its vessel safety authorities by this bill could create uncertainty and some confusion among the boating public, especially regarding marine casualty investigations and maritime liability.
Notwithstanding these objections, and because the bill, as reported, would no longer vacate the Coast Guard's 2010 determination that Mille Lacs Lake is navigable, I do not object to the bill moving forward today.
With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CRAVAACK. I thank my respected colleague for his kind remarks, and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation to Minnesota.
I yield back the balance of my time, as well.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Cravaack) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5797, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to exempt the owners and operators of vessels operating on Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, from certain Federal requirements.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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