Noncontiguous Disaster Shipping Act

The Noncontiguous Disaster Shipping Act would add a new authority to waive certain U.S. navigation and vessel-inspection rules for ships carrying cargo to or from areas of the United States that are not contiguous with the mainland (Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, and Alaska) when the President declares a major disaster or emergency under the Stafford Act for one of those areas. The waiver is intended to speed disaster relief by temporarily suspending compliance with certain safety and regulatory requirements. Waivers would last up to 10 days each, with possible extensions of up to 10 days, and the total duration for any one disaster could not exceed 45 days. The agency head issuing the waiver must notify Congress within 48 hours of issuance, and extensions are treated the same as waivers for notification purposes. The bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Moylan and several co-sponsors and referred to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.