II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1564 

To enhance the readiness of the United States to deal with increased maritime 

and development activity in the Arctic as a result of climate change, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 3, 2009 

Mr. BEGICH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To enhance the readiness of the United States to deal with 

increased maritime and development activity in the Arctic 

as a result of climate change, 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 ‘‘Arctic Oil Spill Re5 search and Prevention Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The United States is an Arctic nation 

9 with— 


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1 (A) an approximately 700-mile border with 

2 the Arctic Ocean; 

3 (B) more than 100,000,000 acres of land 

4 above the Arctic Circle; and 

5 (C) an even broader area defined as Arctic 

6 by temperature which includes the Bering Sea 

7 and Aleutian Islands. 

8 (2) The Arctic region of the United States— 

9 (A) is home to an indigenous population 

10 which has subsisted for millennia on the abun11 dance in marine mammals, fish, and wildlife, 

12 many of which are unique to the region; 

13 (B) is known to the indigenous population 

14 as Inuvikput or the ‘‘place where we live’’; and 

15 (C) has produced more than 

16 16,000,000,000 barrels of oil and, according to 

17 the United States Geological Survey, may hold 

18 an additional 30,000,000,000 barrels of oil and 

19 220,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 

20 making the region of fundamental importance 

21 to the national interest of the United States. 

22 (3) Temperatures in the United States Arctic 

23 region have warmed by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius over 

24 the past half-century, a rate of increase that is twice 

25 the global average. 


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1 (4) The Arctic ice pack is rapidly diminishing 

2 and thinning, and the National Oceanic and Atmos3 pheric Administration estimates the Arctic Ocean 

4 may be ice free during summer months in as few as 

5 30 years. 

6 (5) Such changes to the Arctic region are hav7 ing a significant impact on the indigenous people of 

8 the Arctic, their communities and ecosystems, as 

9 well as the marine mammals, fish, and wildlife upon 

10 which they depend. 

11 (6) Such changes are opening new portions of 

12 the United States Arctic continental shelf to possible 

13 development for offshore oil and gas, commercial 

14 fishing, marine shipping, and tourism. 

15 (7) The dynamic and harsh conditions of work16 ing in the Arctic Ocean could significantly increase 

17 the risk of a maritime accident. 

18 (8) The environmental effects of Arctic oil de19 velopment require continued study and technological 

20 improvement, and oil spill response assets in the 

21 United States Arctic are minimal. 

22 (9) Research into the recovery of oil in Arctic 

23 waters is essential to United States environmental 

24 preparedness and maritime security. 


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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are— 

3 (1) to enhance the readiness of the United 

4 States to respond to a maritime accident in the Arc5 tic; 

6 (2) to enhance the understanding of the behav7 ior of oil in cold water and ice; and 

8 (3) to advance the science, technology, and re9 sponse capabilities of preventing, treating, and re10 covering oil spilled in the Arctic waters. 

11 SEC. 4. ARCTIC MARITIME READINESS AND OIL SPILL PRE12 VENTION. 

13 The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall assess 

14 and take action to reduce the risk and improve the United 

15 States capability to respond to a maritime disaster in the 

16 United States Beaufort and Chukchi Sea. Such assess17 ment and actions shall include the prioritization of re18 sources to address— 

19 (1) oil spill response capabilities and infrastruc20 ture, including oil spill trajectory models; 

21 (2) coordinating contingency plans and agree22 ments with other agencies and departments of the 

23 United States, industry, and foreign governments to 

24 respond to an Arctic oil spill; 

25 (3) expansion of search and rescue capabilities, 

26 infrastructure, and logistics, including improvements 


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1 of the Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System 

2 (SAROPS); 

3 (4) provisional designation of ports and harbors 

4 of refuge; 

5 (5) evaluation and enhancement of navigational 

6 infrastructure; 

7 (6) evaluation and enhancement of vessel moni8 toring and communications infrastructure; and 

9 (7) integration of local and traditional knowl10 edge and concerns into prevention and response 

11 strategies. 

12 SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND ACTION TO CONDUCT OIL SPILL 

13 PREVENTION. 

14 The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Ad15 ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad16 ministration and in collaboration with the heads of other 

17 agencies or departments of the United States with appro18 priate Arctic science expertise, shall direct research and 

19 take action to improve the United States ability to conduct 

20 oil spill prevention, response, and recovery in Arctic wa21 ters. Such research and action shall include the 

22 prioritization of resources— 

23 (1) to address— 

24 (A) ecological baselines and Environmental 

25 Sensitivity Indexes; 


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1 (B) identification of ecological important 

2 areas, critical habitats, and migratory behav3 iors; 

4 (C) improvements in oil technologies for 

5 collecting observational data essential for safe 

6 navigation and response strategies in the event 

7 of an oil spill in both open water and ice-cov8 ered seasons, including data related to currents, 

9 winds, weather, waves, environmental spill mon10 itoring, and ice forecasting; 

11 (D) development of a robust operational 

12 monitoring program during the open water and 

13 ice-covered seasons; 

14 (E) improvements in technologies and un15 derstanding of cold water oil recovery and res16 toration; and 

17 (F) the integration of local and traditional 

18 knowledge into oil recovery research studies; 

19 and 

20 (2) to conduct hydrographic and bathymetric 

21 surveys and improve navigational charting of Arctic 

22 waters. 

23 SEC. 6. RISK ASSESSMENT. 

24 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR RISK ASSESSMENT.—Not 

25 later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of 


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1 this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall request that the 

2 National Research Council conduct a risk assessment to 

3 identify and evaluate existing spill prevention and re4 sponse standards and develop recommendations that will 

5 enhance safety and lessen the potential adverse environ6 mental impacts of industrial activities in Arctic waters. 

7 Such assessment shall include the recommendations of the 

8 National Research Council to identify a comprehensive 

9 suite of measures, based on the best available technology, 

10 designed to prevent and respond to oil spills in the Arctic. 

11 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Commerce 

12 shall consult with the Commandant of the Coast Guard, 

13 the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agen14 cy, the Director of the Minerals Management Service, and 

15 the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv16 ice in preparing the specifications for the risk assessment 

17 described in subsection (a). 

18 (c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The National Re19 search Council shall submit to Congress the risk assess20 ment described in subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 7. FUNDING FOR ARCTIC OIL SPILL RESEARCH AND 

22 DEVELOPMENT. 

23 (a) OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990.—Section 7001 of 

24 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) in subsection (f)— 

2 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Not’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘In addition to the amounts made 

4 available pursuant to subsection (g), not’’; and 

5 (B) in the flush text following paragraph 

6 (2), by striking ‘‘All’’ and inserting ‘‘Except for 

7 those activities authorized in subsection (g),’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub10 section: 

11 ‘‘(g) ARCTIC OIL SPILL RESEARCH AND DEVELOP12 MENT.—Not to exceed $8,150,000 of amounts in the 

13 Fund shall be available annually for Arctic oil spill re14 search and development for fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012, 

15 2013, and 2014. Of such sums— 

16 ‘‘(1) $2,150,000 annually shall be available to 

17 the Coast Guard, of which $150,000 annually shall 

18 be available to Coast Guard for the expenses of the 

19 Interagency Coordinating Committee in Oil Pollution 

20 Research with regard to activities associated with 

21 Arctic oil spill research and development; 

22 ‘‘(2) $2,000,000 annually shall be available to 

23 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra24 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(3) $2,000,000 annually shall be available to 

2 the Environmental Protection Agency; and 

3 ‘‘(4) $2,000,000 annually shall be available to 

4 the Minerals Management Service.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

6 1012(a)(5)(C) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

7 2712(a)(5)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘$27,250,000’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘$35,400,000’’. 

9 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 

11 2011 through 2015 to carry out this Act— 

12 (1) to the Secretary of the department in which 

13 the Coast Guard is operating, $15,000,000 for infra14 structure and operational activities; and 

15 (2) to the Secretary of Commerce, $15,000,000. 

Æ 


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