I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 468 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 12, 2017 

Mr. CURBELO of Florida (for himself, Mr. SOTO, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. KATKO, Ms. ROSLEHTINEN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. DIAZ-BALART) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIABILITY OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF FOR2 EIGN FACILITIES. 

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

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

5 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701) is amend6 ed— 

7 (A) in paragraph (26)(A)— 

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

9 or offshore facility, any person’’ and in10 serting ‘‘onshore facility, offshore facility, 

11 or foreign offshore unit or other facility lo12 cated seaward of the exclusive economic 

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

14 under any land within a foreign country, 

15 any person’’; and 

16 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘off17 shore facility, the person who’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘offshore facility or foreign offshore 

19 unit or other facility located seaward of the 

20 exclusive economic zone, including a facil21 ity located in, on, or under any land within 

22 a foreign country, the person or entity 

23 that’’; 

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

25 the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jan 25, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H468.IH H468

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1 cluding any foreign individual and any foreign 

2 public or private entity’’; and 

3 (C) in paragraph (32)— 

4 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

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

6 through (G), respectively; 

7 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

8 (C) the following: 

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

10 a foreign offshore unit or other facility located 

11 seaward of the exclusive economic zone, includ12 ing a facility located in, on, or under any land 

13 within a foreign country, any person owning or 

14 operating the facility, and any leaseholder, per15 mit holder, assignee, or holder of a right of use 

16 and easement granted under applicable foreign 

17 law for the area in which the facility is lo18 cated.’’; and 

19 (iii) in subparagraph (G) (as so redes20 ignated), by striking ‘‘or offshore facility, 

21 the persons’’ and inserting ‘‘offshore facil22 ity, or foreign offshore unit or other facil23 ity located seaward of the exclusive eco24 nomic zone, including a facility located in, 


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1 on, or under any land within a foreign 

2 country, the persons or entities’’. 

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

4 1015(c) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

5 2715(c)) is amended, in the third sentence, by add6 ing before the period at the end the following: ‘‘, or 

7 any other facility located seaward of the exclusive 

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

9 under any land within a foreign country’’. 

10 (b) FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT

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

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

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

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

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

Æ 


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