I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5025

To amend title 46, United States Code, to require the adoption of response

plans for nontank vessels.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 27, 2000

Mr. DEFAZIO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Transporation and Infrastructure

A BILL

To amend title 46, United States Code, to require the

adoption of response plans for nontank vessels.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maritime Safety Act

5 of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF REQUIREMENT FOR RESPONSE

7 PLANS FOR NONTANK VESSELS.

8 Subtitle II of title 46, United States Code, is

9 amended—
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1 (1) in the analysis at the beginning of the sub2 title, by adding after the item relating to chapter

3 147 the following:

‘‘48. Response plans for nontank vessels ............................ 4801’’;

4 and

5 (2) by adding at the end of part B the fol6 lowing:

7 ‘‘CHAPTER 48—RESPONSE PLANS FOR

8 NONTANK VESSELS

‘‘Sec.

‘‘4801. Definitions.

‘‘4802. Application.

‘‘4803. General response plan requirement.

‘‘4804. Regulations.

‘‘4805. Submittal of response plans.

‘‘4806. Review and approval of response plans.

9 ‘‘§ 4801. Definitions

10 ‘‘In this chapter:

11 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered vessel’ means a vessel

12 to which this chapter applies.

13 ‘‘(2) The term ‘maritime cooperative’ means

14 any association established by any combination of

15 owners or operators of marine terminals, marine fa16 cilities, or vessels, vessel agents, or maritime indus17 try groups, that provides oil spill response planning

18 and oil spill-related communications services.

19 ‘‘(3) The term ‘response plan’ means a plan for

20 the prevention of oil spills and the containment and
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1 cleanup of oil spills from the navigable waters of the

2 United States and for the protection of fisheries and

3 wildlife, natural resources, and public and private

4 property from such a spill.

5 ‘‘§ 4802. Application

6 ‘‘This chapter applies to any vessel over 300 gross

7 tons carrying oil as fuel on the navigable waters of the

8 United States, other than—

9 ‘‘(1) a tank vessel; and

10 ‘‘(2) a fishing vessel.

11 ‘‘§ 4803. General response plan requirement

12 ‘‘(a) After June 1, 2001, a vessel subject to this chap13 ter may not operate on the navigable waters of the United

14 States unless a response plan for that operation has been

15 approved by the Secretary and implemented.

16 ‘‘(b) Approval of a response plan by the Secretary

17 under this section must be renewed at least once every

18 5 years.

19 ‘‘§ 4804. Regulations

20 ‘‘Not later than January 1, 2003, the Secretary shall

21 issue regulations establishing the minimum requirements

22 for approval of response plans required under this chapter.

23 The regulations shall require that each such response

24 plan—
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1 ‘‘(1) include complete details concerning the re2 sponse to oil spills of various sizes from vessels to

3 which the plan applies;

4 ‘‘(2) to the maximum extent practicable, be de5 signed in terms of personnel, materials, and equip6 ment, necessary to remove oil and minimize any

7 damage to the environment resulting from a max8 imum probable spill and a worse case spill;

9 ‘‘(3) describe how the response plan relates to

10 and is coordinated with contingency plans developed

11 by a State, cooperative, port, or regional entity;

12 ‘‘(4) provide procedures for early detection of

13 an oil spill and timely notification of appropriate

14 Federal, State, and local authorities about the spill

15 in accordance with applicable State and Federal law;

16 ‘‘(5) demonstrate ownership of or access to an

17 emergency response communications network that—

18 ‘‘(A) covers all locations of operation or

19 transit by the vessel to which the response plan

20 applies; and

21 ‘‘(B) provides for immediate notification

22 and continual emergency communications dur23 ing cleanup response;
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1 ‘‘(6) state the number, training preparedness,

2 and fitness of all dedicated, prepositioned personnel

3 assigned to implement the plan;

4 ‘‘(7) incorporate periodic training and drill pro5 grams to evaluate whether the personnel and equip6 ment provided under the plan are in a state of oper7 ational readiness at all times;

8 ‘‘(8) state the means of protecting and miti9 gating the effects of an oil spill on the environment;

10 ‘‘(9) provide a detailed description of equip11 ment, training, and procedures to be used by the

12 crew of a vessel to minimize vessel damage, and to

13 stop or reduce oil spilling from the vessel;

14 ‘‘(10) provide arrangements for prepositioning

15 oil spill containment and cleanup equipment and

16 trained personnel;

17 ‘‘(11) provide arrangements for enlisting the

18 use of qualified and trained cleanup personnel to im19 plement the plan;

20 ‘‘(12) provide for the disposal of recovered oil

21 in accordance with local, State, and Federal law;

22 ‘‘(13) state the measures that have been taken

23 to reduce the likelihood that an oil spill will occur;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(14) state the amount and type of equipment

2 available to respond to a spill, where the equipment

3 is located, and the extent to which other response

4 plans rely on the same equipment.

5 ‘‘§ 4805. Submittal of response plans

6 ‘‘(a) A response plan under this chapter shall be sub7 mitted to the Secretary for each vessel to which this chap8 ter applies, within 12 months after the Secretary pre9 scribes regulations under this chapter.

10 ‘‘(b) A response plan under this chapter for oper11 ations of a vessel may be submitted by—

12 ‘‘(1) the owner or operator of the vessel, includ13 ing a person authorized to submit a plan under a

14 contract with the owner or operator pursuant to sub15 section (c);

16 ‘‘(2) the owner or operator of any facility at

17 which the vessel will be loading or unloading its

18 cargo; or

19 ‘‘(3) a qualified maritime cooperative in which

20 the owner or operator of the vessel is a participating

21 member.

22 ‘‘(c)(1) A person that has contracted with the owner

23 or operator of a vessel to provide containment and cleanup

24 services for operations of the vessel and that meets the

25 standards prescribed by the Secretary under this chapter
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1 may submit the response plan required under this chapter

2 for those operations.

3 ‘‘(2) Subject to conditions imposed by the Secretary,

4 a person referred to in paragraph (1) may submit a single

5 plan under this chapter for more than one vessel with re6 spect to which the person is contractually obligated to pro7 vide containment and cleanup services.

8 ‘‘(d)(1) A maritime cooperative may submit a re9 sponse plan under this chapter for a group of vessels

10 owned or operated by members of the cooperative.

11 ‘‘(2) A maritime cooperative shall have a lien on a

12 vessel owned or operated by a member of the

13 cooperative—

14 ‘‘(A) for any regular operating assessments

15 made by the cooperative with respect to the vessel;

16 and

17 ‘‘(B) for any direct costs incurred by the coop18 erative in providing oil spill response or oil spill-re19 lated communications services for the vessel.

20 ‘‘§ 4806. Review and approval of response plans

21 ‘‘(a) In reviewing a response plan submitted under

22 this chapter, the Secretary shall consider, among other

23 matters, the following factors:

24 ‘‘(1) The adequacy of containment and cleanup

25 equipment, personnel, communications equipment,
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1 notification procedures, response time, and logistical

2 arrangements for coordination and implementation

3 of response efforts to remove oil spills promptly and

4 properly and to protect the environment.

5 ‘‘(2) The nature and amount of vessel traffic

6 within the area covered by the plan.

7 ‘‘(3) The volume and type of oil being trans8 ported within the area covered by the plan.

9 ‘‘(4) The existence of navigational hazards

10 within the area covered by the plan.

11 ‘‘(5) The history and circumstances sur12 rounding prior spills of oil within the area covered

13 by the plan.

14 ‘‘(6) The sensitivity of fisheries and wildlife and

15 other natural resources within the area covered by

16 the plan.

17 ‘‘(7) Relevant information on previous spills

18 contained in on-scene coordinator reports covered by

19 the plan.

20 ‘‘(8) The extent to which reasonable, cost-effec21 tive measures to reduce the likelihood that a spill

22 will occur have been incorporated into the plan.

23 ‘‘(9) The number of covered vessels calling in

24 and the facilities located in the geographic area and

25 the resulting ability of State and local agencies and
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1 industry groups to develop, finance, and maintain a

2 response plan and spill response system for those

3 vessels.

4 ‘‘(10) The spill response equipment and re5 sources available to a person providing a response

6 plan for vessels under the response plans filed by the

7 person under State or Federal law for other covered

8 vessels or facilities owned or operated by that per9 son.

10 ‘‘(b) The Secretary may approve a response plan only

11 if the Secretary determines that the plan—

12 ‘‘(1) meets the requirements established under

13 section 4804 of this title; and

14 ‘‘(2) will ensure, to the maximum extent prac15 ticable, removal of oil promptly, properly, and with

16 minimal damage to the environment.

17 ‘‘(c) On approval of a response plan, the Secretary

18 shall issue to the person that submitted the plan a certifi19 cate stating that the plan has been approved. The certifi20 cate shall include the name of each vessel for which the

21 certificate is issued, the effective date of the plan, and the

22 date by which the plan must be submitted for renewal.

23 ‘‘(d) An owner or operator of a covered vessel or facil24 ity shall notify the Secretary in writing immediately of any

25 significant change affecting any response plan approved
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1 for the vessel or facility under this chapter, including

2 changes in any factor set forth in this section or regula3 tions prescribed under this section. The Secretary may re4 quire the owner or operator to update a response plan as

5 a result of these changes.

6 ‘‘(e) A holder of an approved response plan shall not

7 be considered to have violated the terms of the response

8 plan by furnishing to another person having a response

9 plan approved under this chapter, after notifying the Sec10 retary, equipment, materials or personnel to assist the

11 other person in a response to an oil discharge.

12 ‘‘(f) The Secretary may impose any reasonable term

13 or condition on approval or modification of a response plan

14 under this chapter that the Secretary determines is nec15 essary to ensure that the applicant—

16 ‘‘(1) has access to sufficient resources to pro17 tect environmentally sensitive areas and to prevent,

18 contain, clean up and mitigate potential oil dis19 charges from the vessel to which the plan applies;

20 ‘‘(2) maintains personnel levels sufficient to

21 carry out emergency operations; and

22 ‘‘(3) complies with the response plan.

23 ‘‘(g) The Secretary may not approve or renew a re24 sponse plan under this chapter unless the plan ensures
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1 the use by the applicant of the best technology available

2 at the time the response plan was submitted or renewed.

3 ‘‘(h) The Secretary may require an applicant or a

4 holder of an approved response plan to take steps nec5 essary to demonstrate its ability to carry out the response

6 plan, including—

7 ‘‘(1) periodic training;

8 ‘‘(2) response team exercises; and

9 ‘‘(3) verification of access to inventories of

10 equipment, supplies, and personnel identified as

11 available in the response plan.

12 ‘‘(i)(1) The Secretary may delegate to a State the au13 thority to approve response plans under this chapter for

14 vessel operations in that State, to the extent that the laws

15 of the State establish response plan requirements that are

16 substantially similar to requirements established by the

17 Secretary under section 4804 of this title.

18 ‘‘(2) This subsection does not authorize the Secretary

19 to delegate to a State the authority to regulate vessel de20 sign, construction, equipment, manning, training, or oper21 ational requirements.

22 ‘‘(j) The approval of a response plan by the Secretary

23 does not constitute an express assurance regarding the

24 adequacy of the plan or constitute a defense to liability

25 imposed under Federal or State law.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. LIMITS OF LIABILITY AND CERTIFICATES OF FINAN2 CIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR NONTANK VES3 SELS.

4 Section 1004 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33

5 U.S.C. 2703) is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘$600’’ and inserting ‘‘$806’’;

7 and

8 (2) by striking ‘‘$500,000’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘$672,000’’.

10 SEC. 4. VOYAGE DATA RECORDERS.

11 Section 3305 of title 46, United States Code, is

12 amended by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘(d)(1) A passenger vessel, small passenger vessel,

14 and freight vessel (including a foreign vessel) to which this

15 paragraph applies shall be equipped with a voyage data

16 recorder of a type prescribed by the Secretary. In pre17 scribing the type of voyage data recorder for a vessel, the

18 Secretary shall consider the type, size, and characteristics

19 of the vessel.

20 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection applies as fol21 lows:

22 ‘‘(A) To any small passenger vessel certified by

23 the Secretary to carry more than 100 passengers, a

24 high speed commercial vessel, or a passenger vessel

25 built after June 30, 2002.
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1 ‘‘(B) On and after June 30, 2002, to any roll2 on-roll-off passenger vessel on an international voy3 age (including a voyage-to-nowhere), if the vessel

4 was built before July 1, 2000.

5 ‘‘(C) On and after January 1, 2004, to any

6 passenger vessel or small passenger vessel on an

7 international voyage (including a voyage-to-no8 where), if the vessel was built before July 1, 2002.

9 ‘‘(D) On and after January 1, 2004, to any

10 freight vessel of 20,000 or more gross tons, if the

11 vessel was built after June 30, 2002.

12 ‘‘(E) On and after January 1, 2006, to any

13 freight vessel of 3,000 or more gross tons and less

14 than 20,000 gross tons, if the vessel was built after

15 June 30, 2002.

16 ‘‘(F) On and after January 1, 2007, to any

17 freight vessel of 20,000 or more gross tons on an

18 international voyage (including a voyage-to-no19 where), if the vessel was built before July 1, 2002.

20 ‘‘(G) On and after January 1, 2009, to any

21 freight vessel of 3,000 or more gross tons and less

22 than 20,000 gross tons, on an international voyage

23 (including a voyage-to-nowhere), if the vessel was

24 built before July 1, 2002.’’.
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1 SEC. 5. INVESTIGATIONS OF CASUALTY RESPONSE.

2 Section 6301 of title 46, United States Code, is

3 amended—

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘, and responses to those cas5 ualties,’’ after ‘‘marine casualties’’; and

6 (2) in paragraph (6) by inserting ‘‘or improve

7 the response to future casualties’’ after ‘‘recurrence

8 of the casualty’’.

9 SEC. 6. AUTOMATED INFORMATION SYSTEM.

10 (a) TRANSPONDER REQUIREMENT.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

12 the following vessels, while operating on the navi13 gable waters of the United States, shall be equipped

14 with a position indicating transponder and an appro15 priate situation display or other device suitable for

16 accessing information made available by the trans17 ponder system, in accordance with regulations pre18 scribed by the Secretary of Transportation:

19 (A) Vessels subject to Public Law 92–63.

20 (B) Small passenger vessels carrying more

21 than a number of passengers determined by the

22 Secretary of Transportation.

23 (C) Towing vessels while towing astern or

24 pushing ahead or alongside, except commercial

25 assistance towing vessels rendering assistance

26 to disabled small vessels.
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1 (2) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary may exempt a

2 vessel from paragraph (1) if the Secretary finds that

3 a transponder is not necessary for the safe naviga4 tion of the vessel on the waters on which the vessel

5 operates.

6 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Transportation

7 shall issue regulations implementing subsection (a), in8 cluding requirements for the operation and maintenance

9 of transponders required under subsection (a).

10 (c) APPLICATION.—Subsection (a) shall apply as fol11 lows:

12 (1) On and after July 1, 2002, to—

13 (A) vessels built after that date; and

14 (B) vessels operating within the geographic

15 boundaries of a Vessel Traffic Service.

16 (2) On and after July 1, 2003, to—

17 (A) passenger vessels;

18 (B) tankers; and

19 (C) towing vessels engaged in moving a

20 tank vessel.

21 (3) On and after July 1, 2005, to all other ves22 sels.
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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT LOADING AND UNLOAD2 ING OF VESSELS.

3 (a) PROHIBITION.—The Port and Waterways Safety

4 Act (33 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) is amended by adding at

5 the end the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 15. AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT LOADING AND UNLOAD7 ING OF VESSELS.

8 ‘‘The Secretary may prohibit the loading or unloading

9 of a vessel in any port or place subject to the jurisdiction

10 of the United States if the vessel is registered in a country

11 that the Secretary finds fails to adequately enforce safety

12 standards prescribed by the International Maritime Orga13 nization.’’.

14 (b) REVIEW.—Within one year after the date of en15 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall—

16 (1) determine the 5 countries having the great17 est number of vessels registered in the country that

18 were detained by the Coast Guard in 1999 for viola19 tion of a safety standard prescribed by the Inter20 national Maritime Organization; and

21 (2) review and report to the Congress regarding

22 whether those countries have, since December 31,

23 1999, adequately enforced safety standards pre24 scribed by such organization.

25 (c) INNOCENT PASSAGE AND TRANSIT NOT AF26 FECTED.—Nothing in this section is intended to prevent
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1 entry into waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United

2 States by a vessel under an international agreement to

3 which the United States is a party.

4 SEC. 8. ELIMINATION OF SINGLE HULLS OVER BUNKER

5 TANKS.

6 The Secretary of Transportation shall propose to and

7 seek to negotiate at the International Maritime Organiza8 tion the elimination of single hull bunker tanks on com9 mercial vessels capable of carrying more than 1,000 bar10 rels of fuel on board. The proposal shall include—

11 (1) a requirement prohibiting the operation of

12 any such vessel built after January 1, 2004, that

13 has a single hull bunker tank; and

14 (2) a phaseout schedule for such vessels built

15 before that date that have a single hull bunker tank.

Æ