H.R. 9674 — United States Coast Guard Corrosion Control Assistance Team Pilot Program Act

This section establishes the United States Coast Guard Corrosion Control Assistance Team Pilot Program within 180 days after enactment to provide on-site corrosion prevention and control technical assistance to field units upon request. It requires the program to maintain a repository of best practices, assess corrosion conditions and recommend maintenance, support personnel training, coordinate with the Department of Defense Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight, collect effectiveness data, and apply lessons from the Navy’s Corrosion Control Assistance Team program to quantify impacts on asset readiness and service life.

This section authorizes the Commandant to procure equipment, tools, and materials for corrosion assessment and control; train program personnel; contract with non-Federal entities for technical expertise; and develop data systems to support operations under the pilot program.

This section establishes at least 2 Corrosion Control Assistance Teams for the Coast Guard pilot program, each staffed by specialists with technical expertise in marine coatings, cathodic protection systems, C5I corrosion control, failure analysis, and preventive maintenance. Team members must hold AMPP certifications such as Coating Inspector or Cathodic Protection Specialist, and participating firms must be AMPP QP 5 accredited. It authorizes the Commandant to detail personnel from the military departments, contract with private-sector experts, and request support from the Department of Defense Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight.

This section requires the Coast Guard Commandant to submit an interim report on the pilot program to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure within 18 months of commencement, covering field unit visits, preliminary data on asset readiness and maintenance costs, and implementation challenges. It also requires a final report 90 days before termination that assesses effectiveness against program objectives, quantifies improvements in asset service life and readiness, details lessons from coordination with Department of Defense corrosion programs, evaluates feasibility and costs of a permanent program, and provides a recommendation on establishment with proposed structure, staffing, and funding. The Commandant must publish both reports on a publicly accessible Coast Guard website.

This section terminates the pilot program 3 years after it commences operations. It authorizes the Commandant to extend the program for up to 2 additional years upon determining that the program has demonstrated sufficient effectiveness and that more time is needed to collect data for a final decision on a permanent program, with notification to the specified congressional committees at least 180 days before the original termination date.

This section requires the Coast Guard Commandant to establish formal consultation mechanisms with the Department of Defense Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight when carrying out the pilot program. It directs the Commandant to leverage existing DoD corrosion prevention tools, processes, and best practices; develop Coast Guard-specific adaptations where appropriate; and conduct a formal review of the Navy Corrosion Control Assistance Team program before standing up the first Coast Guard team, while adopting applicable Navy procedures and establishing ongoing information-sharing mechanisms.

This section directs the Coast Guard Commandant to submit to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, within one year of enactment, an implementation plan for the pilot program. The plan must identify Coast Guard districts or units for the initial phase, propose an operations schedule, establish a framework with specific performance metrics for measuring outcomes, and describe planned consultations with the Department of Defense.