II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 125 

To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to impose penalties and provide 

for the recovery of removal costs and damages in connection with certain 

discharges of oil from foreign offshore units, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 12, 2017 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to impose penalties 

and provide for the recovery of removal costs and damages in connection with certain discharges of oil from 

foreign offshore units, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Foreign Spill Protec5 tion Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LIABILITY OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF FOR7 EIGN FACILITIES. 

8 (a) OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990 AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1001 of the Oil 

2 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701) is amend3 ed— 

4 (A) in paragraph (26)(A)— 

5 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘onshore 

6 or offshore facility, any person’’ and in7 serting ‘‘onshore facility, offshore facility, 

8 or foreign offshore unit or other facility lo9 cated seaward of the exclusive economic 

10 zone, including a facility located in, on, or 

11 under any land within a foreign country, 

12 any person’’; and 

13 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘off14 shore facility, the person who’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘offshore facility or foreign offshore 

16 unit or other facility located seaward of the 

17 exclusive economic zone, including a facil18 ity located in, on, or under any land within 

19 a foreign country, the person or entity 

20 that’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (27), by inserting before 

22 the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, in23 cluding any foreign individual and any foreign 

24 public or private entity’’; and 

25 (C) in paragraph (32)— 


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1 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

2 (D) through (F) as subparagraphs (E) 

3 through (G), respectively; 

4 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

5 (C) the following: 

6 ‘‘(D) FOREIGN FACILITIES.—In the case of 

7 a foreign offshore unit or other facility located 

8 seaward of the exclusive economic zone, includ9 ing a facility located in, on, or under any land 

10 within a foreign country, any person owning or 

11 operating the facility, and any leaseholder, per12 mit holder, assignee, or holder of a right of use 

13 and easement granted under applicable foreign 

14 law for the area in which the facility is lo15 cated.’’; and 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (G) (as so redes17 ignated), by striking ‘‘or offshore facility, 

18 the persons’’ and inserting ‘‘offshore facil19 ity, or foreign offshore unit or other facil20 ity located seaward of the exclusive eco21 nomic zone, including a facility located in, 

22 on, or under any land within a foreign 

23 country, the persons or entities’’. 

24 (2) ACTIONS ON BEHALF OF FUND.—Section 

25 1015(c) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 


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1 2715(c)) is amended, in the third sentence, by add2 ing before the period at the end the following: ‘‘, or 

3 any other facility located seaward of the exclusive 

4 economic zone, including a facility located in, on, or 

5 under any land within a foreign country’’. 

6 (b) FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT

7 AMENDMENT.—Section 311(a)(6) of the Federal Water 

8 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(a)(6)) is amended 

9 by striking ‘‘(B)’’ and all that follows through ‘‘and (C)’’ 

10 and inserting the following ‘‘(B) in the case of a facility, 

11 any person owning or operating the facility, and (C)’’. 

Æ 


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