II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2009

To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 1, 1996

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

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 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 ‘‘Oil Pollution Act

5 Amendments of 1996’’.

6 TITLE I—OIL POLLUTION ACT

7 AMENDMENTS

8 SEC. 101. COMPLETION OF FINAL REGULATIONS UNDER

9 SECTION 4115(b).

10 The Secretary of the department in which the Coast

11 Guard is operating shall issue a final rule under Section
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1 4115(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (46 U.S.C. 3703a

2 note) with respect to operations elements not later than

3 September 30, 1996.

4 SEC. 102. TOWING VESSEL SAFETY.

5 (a) SINGLE HULL BARGE REQUIREMENTS.—

6 (1) PREVENTION MEASURES.—Subtitle I of title

7 IV of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (46 U.S.C.

8 3703a note), as amended by adding at the end the

9 following:

10 ‘‘SEC. 4119. SINGLE HULL BARGE REQUIREMENTS.

11 ‘‘The Secretary shall issue rules to require that a sin12 gle hull barge over 5,000 gross tons operating in open

13 ocean or coastal waters that is affected by this section

14 have at least 1 of the following:

15 ‘‘(1) a crew member on board and an operable

16 anchor;

17 ‘‘(2) an emergency system on board the vessel

18 towing the barge to retrieve the barge if the tow line

19 ruptures; or

20 ‘‘(3) any other measure that provides com21 parable protection against grounding of the barge as

22 that provided by a measure described in paragraph

23 (1) or (2).
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1 ‘‘SEC. 4120. MINIMUM UNDER-KEEL CLEARANCES FOR TANK

2 VESSELS.

3 ‘‘The captain of the port for each port in which any

4 tank vessel operates shall establish, in consultation with

5 local marine transportation industry officials, a minimum

6 under-keel clearance for the vessel when entering the port

7 or place of destination and when departing port, taking

8 into account local navigational considerations.’’.

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 2 of the

10 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 is amended by adding at

11 the end of the table of sections for subtitle I of title

12 IV the following items:

‘‘Sec. 4119. Single hull barge requirements.

‘‘Sec. 4120. Minimum under-keel clearances for tank vessels.’’.

13 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR FIRE SUPPRESSION DE14 VICES.—Section 4102 of title 46, United States Code, is

15 amended by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary—

17 ‘‘(A) in consultation with the Towing Safe18 ty Advisory Committee; and

19 ‘‘(B) taking into consideration the charac20 teristics, methods of operation, and nature of

21 the service of towing vessels,

22 may require, to the extent appropriate, the installa23 tion, maintenance, and use of a fire suppression sys24 tem or other equipment to provide adequate assur-
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1 ance that an onboard fire can be suppressed under

2 reasonably foreseeable circumstances.’’.

3 SEC. 103. REPORTS.

4 (a) STUDY ON LIGHTERING REGULATIONS.—Within

5 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the

6 Secretary of Transportation shall review existing require7 ments for lightering operations in the United States Ex8 clusive Economic Zone to ensure the safe transfer of oil

9 at sea while imposing no undue economic burdens, as com10 pared to accepted international standards, on tank vessels

11 transporting oil to or from the United States and report

12 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor13 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation

14 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.

15 (b) STUDY ON TANKER LANES.—The Secretary of

16 Transportation shall coordinate with the Marine Board of

17 the National Research Council on a study of how the des18 ignation of waters through which tank vessels transport

19 oil, and the designation of shipping lanes for tank vessels,

20 affect the risk of an oil spill. The Marine Board shall rec21 ommend to the Secretary any changes to designations of

22 waters that would reduce the risk of oil spills to a mini23 mum level of risk, and report its recommendations to the

24 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of
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1 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In2 frastructure of the House of Representatives.

3 SEC. 104. CASUALTY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

4 (a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN.—Not later than one year

5 after enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor6 tation shall, in consultation with appropriate State agen7 cies, submit to the Committee on Transportation and In8 frastructure of the House of Representatives and the Com9 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

10 Senate a plan to increase reporting of vessel accidents to

11 appropriate State law enforcement officials.

12 (b) PENALTIES FOR VIOLATING REPORTING RE13 QUIREMENTS.—Section 6103(a) of title 46, United States

14 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or 6102’’ after ‘‘6101’’

15 the second place it appears.

16 SEC. 105. DOUBLE HULL INCENTIVES.

17 (a) SECURED LENDERS AND CERTAIN OWNERS.—

18 Paragraph (26) of section 1001 of the Oil Pollution Act

19 of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701) is amended by striking ‘‘the

20 vessel,’’ and inserting ‘‘the vessel, but does not include (i)

21 a person having a security interest in, or security title to,

22 any vessel under a contract of conditional sale, equipment

23 trust, chattel or corporate mortgage, or other instrument

24 of similar nature, nor (ii) a lessor or charterer of any ves25 sel under a bona fide lease or demise charter, unless such
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1 person, lessor, or charterer has actual possession or con2 trol, or participates in the management, of the vessel at

3 the time of a discharge of oil,’’.

4 (b) APPLICATION LIMITED TO SINGLE HULL TANK5 ERS AND DOUBLE HULL TANK VESSELS MORE THAN 20

6 YEARS OLD.—Subsection (c) of section 1004 of the Oil

7 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704) is amended by

8 adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION LIMITED.—Subparagraph

10 (B) of paragraph (1) of this subsection applies only

11 to—

12 ‘‘(A) single hull tank vessels; and

13 ‘‘(B) double hull tank vessels more than 20

14 years of age.’’.

15 SEC. 106. CONCURSUS.

16 Section 1017(c) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33

17 U.S.C. 2717(c)) is amended by striking subsection (c) and

18 inserting the following:

19 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURE.—

20 ‘‘(1) The responsible party or guarantor may,

21 within 6 months after a claimant shall have pre22 sented a claim under section 1013 for costs or dam23 ages under section 1002, file a petition in the appro24 priate United States District Court for limitation of,

25 or exoneration from, liability pursuant to sections
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1 1003 or 1004 of this Act. After an action is com2 menced under this paragraph in a court, that court

3 shall retain jurisdiction over the actions without re4 gard to whether the requested relief is granted. The

5 responsible party or its guarantor shall demonstrate

6 to the court evidence of financial responsibility ap7 proved by the Secretary, as required by section

8 1016.

9 ‘‘(2) Upon compliance with the requirements of

10 paragraph (1), all claims and proceedings, other

11 than claims presented to the responsible party under

12 section 1013(a), shall cease, and, upon application of

13 the responsible party, the District Court shall enjoin

14 the further prosecution of any action or proceeding

15 in any State or United States court against the ves16 sel, responsible party, guarantor, or their property

17 with respect to any claim arising under this Act.

18 The court shall issue a notice to all persons assert19 ing claims with respect to which the complaint seeks

20 limitation or exoneration, requiring them to present

21 their respective claims upon the responsible party

22 pursuant to section 1013(a). If a claim is not settled

23 by the responsible party or guarantor as provided in

24 section 1013(c), then those persons may file their re25 spective claims with the clerk of the court within
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1 such time and in such manner as the court may di2 rect.

3 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this section shall preclude a

4 person from filing a concurrent limitation action

5 under section 4203 of the Revised Statutes of the

6 United States (46 U.S.C. App. 183), commonly

7 known as the Limited Liability Act.’’.

8 SEC. 107. IN REM JURISDICTION.

9 Section 1002 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33

10 U.S.C. 2702) is amended by adding at the end the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(e) IN REM JURISDICTION.—A vessel that dis13 charges or poses a substantial threat of a discharge of oil,

14 within the meaning of subsection (a) of this section, shall

15 be liable for the removal costs and damages specified in

16 subsection (b) that result from the incident. The costs and

17 damages shall constitute a maritime lien on the vessel and

18 may be recovered in an action in rem in the district court

19 of the United States for any district within which the ves20 sel is found.’’.

21 SEC. 108. LIMITED DOUBLE HULL EXEMPTIONS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The double hull construction re23 quirements of section 3703a of title 46, United States

24 Code, do not apply to—
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1 (1) a vessel documented under chapter 121 of

2 title 46, United States Code, that was equipped with

3 a double hull before August 12, 1992;

4 (2) a barge of less than 1,500 gross tons carry5 ing refined petroleum product in bulk as cargo in or

6 adjacent to waters of the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea,

7 and Arctic Ocean and waters tributary thereto and

8 in the waters of the Aleutian Islands and the Alas9 kan Peninsula west of 155 degrees west longitude;

10 or

11 (3) a vessel in the National Defense Reserve

12 Fleet pursuant to section 11 of the Merchant Ship

13 Sales Act of 1946 (50 U.S.C. App. 1744).

14 (b) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPOR15 TATION.—

16 (1) OPERATION OF BARGES IN OTHER WA17 TERS.—The operation of barges described in sub18 section (a)(2) outside waters described in that sub19 section shall be on such conditions as the Secretary

20 of Transportation may require.

21 (2) NO EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITY OF THE

22 SECRETARY.—Except as provided in subsection (a),

23 nothing in this section affects the authority of the

24 Secretary of Transportation to regulate the con25 struction, operation, or manning of barges and ves-
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1 sels in accordance with applicable laws and regula2 tions.

3 (c) BARGE DEFINED.—For purposes of this section,

4 the term ‘‘barge’’ has the meaning given that term in sec5 tion 2101 of title 46, United States Code.

6 SEC. 109. OIL SPILL RESPONSE VESSELS.

7 (a) DESCRIPTION.—Section 2101 of title 46, United

8 States Code, is amended—

9 (1) by redesignating paragraph (20a) as (20b);

10 and

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (20) the fol12 lowing new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(20a) ‘oil spill response vessel’ means a vessel

14 that is designated in its certificate of inspection as

15 such a vessel, or that is adapted to respond to a dis16 charge of oil or a hazardous material.’’.

17 (b) EXEMPTION FROM LIQUID BULK CARRIAGE RE18 QUIREMENTS.—Section 3702 of title 46, United States

19 Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘(f) This chapter does not apply to an oil spill re22 sponse vessel if—

23 ‘‘(1) the vessel is used only in response-related

24 activities; or

25 ‘‘(2) the vessel is—
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1 ‘‘(A) not more than 500 gross tons;

2 ‘‘(B) designated in its certificate of inspec3 tion as an oil spill response vessel; and

4 ‘‘(C) engaged in response-related activi5 ties.’’.

6 (c) MANNING.—Section 8104(p) of title 46, United

7 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(p) The Secretary may prescribe the watchstanding

9 and work hours requirements for an oil spill response ves10 sel.’’.

11 (d) MINIMUM NUMBER OF LICENSED INDIVID12 UALS.—Section 8301(e) of title 46, United States Code,

13 is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘(e) The Secretary may prescribe the minimum num15 ber of licensed individuals for an oil spill response vessel.’’.

16 (e) MERCHANT MARINER DOCUMENT REQUIRE17 MENTS.—Section 8701(a) of title 46, United States Code,

18 is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the

20 end of paragraph (7),

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (8) and inserting a semicolon and ‘‘and’’; and

23 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following

24 new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(9) the Secretary may prescribe the individuals

2 required to hold a merchant mariner’s document

3 serving onboard an oil spill response vessel.’’.

4 (f) EXEMPTION FROM TOWING VESSEL REQUIRE5 MENT.—Section 8905 of title 46, United States Code, is

6 amended by adding at the end the following new sub7 section:

8 ‘‘(c) Section 8904 of this title does not apply to an

9 oil spill response vessel while engaged in oil spill response

10 or training activities.’’.

11 (g) INSPECTION REQUIREMENT.—Section 3301 of

12 title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

13 end the following new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(14) oil spill response vessels.’’.

15 TITLE II—MARINE SCIENCE EN16 HANCEMENT FOR OIL SPILL

17 PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

18 SEC. 201. OPENING AND CLOSING OF FISHING GROUNDS.

19 Section 305(c) of the Magnuson Fishery Conserva20 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)) is amended

21 by striking paragraph (3) and by inserting the following

22 after paragraph (2):

23 ‘‘(3) Any emergency regulation which changes

24 an existing fishery management plan shall be treated

25 as an amendment to such plan for the period in
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1 which such regulation is in effect. Any emergency

2 regulation promulgated under this subsection—

3 ‘‘(A) shall be published in the Federal

4 Register together with the reasons therefor;

5 ‘‘(B) shall, except as provided in subpara6 graph (C), remain in effect for not more than

7 180 days after the date of publication, and may

8 be extended by publication in the Federal Reg9 ister for an additional period of not more than

10 180 days, provided the public has had an op11 portunity to comment on the emergency regula12 tion, and, in the case of a Council recommenda13 tion for emergency regulations, the Council is

14 actively preparing a fishery management plan,

15 amendment, or proposed regulations to address

16 the emergency on a permanent basis;

17 ‘‘(C) that responds to a public health

18 emergency or an oil spill may remain in effect

19 until the circumstances that created the emer20 gency no longer exist, provided that the public

21 has an opportunity to comment after the regu22 lation is published and, in the case of a public

23 health emergency, the Secretary of Health and

24 Human Services concurs with the Secretary’s

25 action; and
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1 ‘‘(D) may be terminated by the Secretary

2 at an earlier date by publication in the Federal

3 Register of a notice of termination, except for

4 emergency regulations promulgated under para5 graph (2) in which case such early termination

6 may be made only upon the agreement of the

7 Secretary and the Council concerned.’’.

8 SEC. 202. NOAA SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT.

9 Section 4202(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33

10 U.S.C. 1321 note) is amended by adding at the end the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(5) SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT TEAM.—

13 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6

14 months after the date of enactment of the Oil

15 Pollution Act Amendments of 1996, the Under

16 Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmos17 phere shall establish and maintain a scientific

18 support team to respond, as required, to oil

19 spills covered by this Act.

20 ‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the sci21 entific support team shall be to provide useful

22 or necessary scientific information and support

23 to the Federal On-Scene Coordinator, primarily

24 in coastal and navigable waters, and to rec25 ommend any measures that will serve to miti-
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1 gate adverse ecological impact as a consequence

2 of the spill.

3 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION BY SCIENTISTS WITH

4 EXPERTISE.—The scientific support team—

5 ‘‘(i) shall be comprised of scientists

6 who are experts in the trajectories of oil

7 spills and hazardous material releases, oil

8 and hazardous material behavior and

9 transformation, environmental impacts,

10 and recovery from spills, releases, and re11 lated removal actions, environmental trade12 off analyses, environmental aspects of con13 tingency planning, and association man14 agement tools; and

15 ‘‘(ii) may include local or regional sci16 entists identified in the area contingency

17 plan with expertise which would help en18 sure a more effective response.’’.

19 SEC 203. ACCESS TO USEFUL AND NECESSARY INFORMA20 TION.

21 (A) ESTABLISHMENT OF INFORMATION CLEARING22 HOUSE.—Section 7001(a) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990

23 (33 U.S.C. 2761(a)) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘may designate’’ at the end of

25 paragraph (3) and all that follows through ‘‘rep-
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1 resentative’’ and inserting ‘‘may designate. A rep2 resentative’’; and

3 (2) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(4) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The

5 Interagency Committee shall disseminate and com6 pile information regarding previous spills, including

7 data from universities, research institutions, State

8 governments, and other nations, as appropriate.’’.

9 (b) REQUIREMENT THAT NATIONAL RESPONSE

10 UNITS MAINTAIN INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL EF11 FECTS OF OIL SPILLS.—Section 311(j) of the Federal

12 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) is

13 amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(9) The Under Secretary of Commerce and the

15 Secretary of the Interior, through the United States

16 Fish and Wildlife Service, in coordination with ap17 propriate agencies, shall maintain and update a body

18 of information on the environmental effects of var19 ious types of oil spills and how best to mitigate those

20 effects, which shall be kept in a form that is readily

21 transmittable to response teams responding to a spill

22 under this Act;’’.

23 SEC. 204. NOAA PROGRAM TO REDUCE OIL SPILL RISK AND

24 IMPROVE NAVIGATION SAFETY.

25 (a) REDUCTION OF OIL SPILL RISK.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the

2 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

3 shall establish a cost-effective, non-regulatory pro4 gram to reduce the risk of oil spills through improv5 ing navigation safety, promote prompt and effective

6 response and remediation when oil spills occur, en7 hance recovery and restoration efforts, and advance

8 other purposes of this Act. Such a program shall—

9 (A) focus on particular geographic areas at

10 risk from spills of oil or hazardous materials;

11 (B) collaborate closely with local maritime

12 commerce and coastal management interests,

13 including private industry, local, state, and fed14 eral agencies, and other appropriate institu15 tions;

16 (C) include a matching grant program to

17 provide initial funding for local forums com18 prised of maritime commerce and coastal man19 agement interests to advance navigation safety

20 and other oil or hazardous materials spill pre21 vention activities, to improve response and re22 mediation, and to enhance the restoration of

23 coastal zone resources. Grants made under this

24 section shall be matched with 25 percent non-
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1 federal funds in the first two years of the pro2 gram, and 50 percent thereafter;

3 (D) promote efficiencies by involving, to

4 the extent appropriate and practical, capabili5 ties offered by National Oceanic and Atmos6 pheric Administration and other federal and

7 state programs that could further the purposes

8 of this section; and

9 (E) meet multiple navigation or coastal

10 management needs to the extent practicable.

11 (2) LOCAL OR REGIONAL ELEMENTS.—Local or

12 regional elements for this program shall be devel13 oped in consultation with local maritime commerce

14 and coastal management communities. Program ele15 ments may include, but are not limited to—

16 (A) local forums to promote safe naviga17 tion, effective oil spill or hazardous material

18 spill response and remediation, restoration, and

19 related coastal management activities;

20 (B) Physical Oceanographic Real Time

21 Systems and other technologies that further

22 safe navigation and oil and hazardous materials

23 spill response and restoration, and other coastal

24 management activities;
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1 (C) research and development on means to

2 improve the safety of oil transport, the efficacy

3 of oil and hazardous materials spill response,

4 remediation techniques, and restoration prac5 tices;

6 (D) activities to improve the delivery of

7 navigation, weather, vessel traffic, and other in8 formation required for safe navigation;

9 (E) providing information collected pursu10 ant to the National Oceanographic and Atmos11 pheric Administration’s navigation and position12 ing responsibilities in formats useful in oil spill

13 response, remediation, and restoration activi14 ties; and

15 (F) other activities as appropriate consist16 ent with the purposes of this Act, the Coastal

17 Zone Management Act of 1972 and the Na18 tional Ocean Service navigation and positioning

19 and coastal management authorities.

20 (3) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Administrator

21 shall phase the implementation of this program by

22 region such that it is operating nationally within 5

23 years of the date of the enactment of this Act.

24 (4) AUTHORIZATION.—For purposes of this

25 subsection, there is authorized to be appropriated
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1 $2,000,000 in the first year, $3,000,000 in the sec2 ond year, and $5,000,000 for each succeeding fiscal

3 year.

4 SEC. 205. NOAA MARINE SERVICES MODERNIZATION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of modernizing

6 the Administration’s services that support safe and effi7 cient maritime navigation, and accelerating the public

8 availability of improved navigation services and products,

9 the Administrator is authorized to withdraw from the Oil

10 Spill Liability Trust Fund established by the Oil

11 Polluction Act of 1990 an amount not to exceed

12 $15,000,000 per year to remain available until expended,

13 for each of 10 fiscal years commencing with the first fiscal

14 year after the enactment of this provision.

15 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds available to the Admin16 istration pursuant to subsection (a) shall be used exclu17 sively to pay the costs of enabling, modernizing, enhanc18 ing, or expanding the capabilities of the Administration

19 to conduct, either directly or by contract, programs and

20 activities related to commercial marine navigation, includ21 ing—

22 (1) the nautical charting program;

23 (2) marine tides and circulation programs;

24 (3) charting survey ship support, including sup25 port provided by private contractors; and
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1 (4) marine weather services applicable to com2 mercial navigation safety in the waters of the United

3 States.

4 (c) CHARTING SURVEY SHIP SUPPORT.—The Admin5 istration shall obtain charting survey ship support from

6 private sector contractors to the maximum extent feasible

7 consistent with—

8 (1) maintaining quality control over navigation

9 products and services to protect the public interest

10 in navigation safety and prevention of maritime acci11 dents, and to protect the United States from liability

12 for gaining to ensure such quality control; and

13 (2) maintaining within the Administration the

14 scientific and technical capabilities necessary to per15 form, or oversee contractor performance of, all as16 pects of the development of marine navigation prod17 ucts and services.

18 (d) TRANSFER OF AERONAUTICAL CHARTING.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following functions are

20 transferred from the National Oceanic and Atmos21 pheric Administration to the Federal Aviation Ad22 ministration:

23 (A) The functions vested in the Secretary

24 of Commerce by sections 1 and 2 of the Act of

25 August 6, 1947 (33 U.S.C. 883a and 883b) re-
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1 lating to aeronautical surveys for the purposes

2 of aeronautical charting and the compilation,

3 printing, and distribution of aeronautical

4 charts.

5 (B) The functions vested in the Secretary

6 of Commerce by section 1307 of title 44,

7 United States Code, relating to establishment of

8 prices at which aeronautical charts and related

9 products may be sold.

10 (C) So much of the functions of the Sec11 retary of Commerce and the Department of

12 Commerce as is incidental to or necessary for

13 the performance by, or under, the Adminis14 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration of

15 the functions transferred by this subsection or

16 that relate primarily to those functions.

17 (2) INCIDENTAL TRANSFERS.—

18 (A) So much of the personnel, property,

19 records, and unexpended balances of appropria20 tions, allocations, and other funds employed,

21 used, held, available, or to be made available in

22 connection with the functions transferred to the

23 Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis24 tration by this section as the Director of the

25 Office of Management and budget shall deter-
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1 mine shall be transferred to the Federal Avia2 tion Administration at such time as the Direc3 tor shall direct.

4 (B) Such other measures as the Director

5 of the Office of Management and Budget deter6 mines to be necessary in order to effectuate the

7 transfers described in paragraph (1) of this

8 subsection shall be carried out in such manner

9 as the Director shall direct.

10 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The transfers made by

11 this subsection shall be completed not later than

12 September 30, 1998.

13 TITLE III—DEEPWATER PORT

14 MODERNIZATION

15 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Deepwater Port Mod17 ernization Act’’.

18 SEC. 302. DECLARATIONS OF PURPOSE AND POLICY.

19 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are to—

20 (1) update and improve the Deepwater Port Act

21 of 1974;

22 (2) assure that the regulation of deepwater

23 ports is not more burdensome or stringent than nec24 essary in comparison to the regulation of other

25 modes of importing or transporting oil;
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1 (3) recognize that deepwater ports are generally

2 subject to effective competition from alternative

3 transportation modes and eliminate, for as long as

4 a port remains subject to effective competition, un5 necessary Federal regulatory oversight or involve6 ment in the ports’ business and economic decisions;

7 and

8 (4) promote innovation, flexibility, and effi9 ciency in the management and operation of deep10 water ports by removing or reducing any duplicative,

11 unnecessary, or overly burdensome Federal regula12 tions or license provisions.

13 (b) POLICY.—Section 2(a) of the Deepwater Port Act

14 of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501(a)) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

16 (3);

17 (2) by striking the period at the end of para18 graph (4) and inserting a semicolon; and

19 (3) by inserting at the end the following;

20 ‘‘(5) promote the construction and operation of

21 deepwater ports as a safe and effective means of im22 porting oil into the United States and transporting

23 oil from the outer continental shelf while minimizing

24 tanker traffic and the risks attendant thereto; and
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1 ‘‘(6) promote oil production on the outer con2 tinental shelf by affording an economic and safe

3 means of transportation of outer continental shelf oil

4 to the United States mainland.’’.

5 SEC. 303. DEFINITIONS.

6 (a) ANTITRUST LAWS.—Section 3 of the Deepwater

7 Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1502) is amended—

8 (1) by striking paragraph (3); and

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through

10 (19) as paragraphs (3) through (18), respectively.

11 (b) DEEPWATER PORT.—The first sentence of sec12 tion 3(9) of such Act, as redesignated by subsection (a),

13 is amended by striking ‘‘such structures,’’ and all that fol14 lows through ‘‘section 23.’’ and inserting the following;

15 ‘‘structures, located beyond the territorial sea and off the

16 coast of the United States and which are used or intended

17 for use as a port or terminal for the transportation, stor18 age, and further handling of oil for transportation to any

19 State, except as otherwise provided in section 23, and for

20 other uses not inconsistent with the purposes of this Act,

21 including transportation of oil from the United States,

22 outer continental shelf.’’.
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1 SEC. 304. LICENSES.

2 (a) ELIMINATION OF UTILIZATION RESTRICTIONS.—

3 Section 4(a) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33

4 U.S.C. 1503(a)) is amended by striking the last sentence.

5 (b) ELIMINATION OF PRECONDITION TO LICENS6 ING.—Section 4(c) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1503(c)) is

7 amended—

8 (1) by striking paragraph (7); and

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (8), (9), and

10 (10) as paragraphs (7), (8), and (9), respectively.

11 (c) CONDITIONS PRESCRIBED BY SECRETARY.—Sec12 tion 4(e)(1) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1503(e)) is amended

13 by striking the first sentence and inserting the following:

14 ‘‘In issuing a license for the ownership, construction, and

15 operation of a deepwater port, the Secretary shall pre16 scribe those conditions which the Secretary deems nec17 essary to carry out the provisions and requirements of this

18 Act or which are otherwise required by any Federal de19 partment or agency pursuant to the terms of this Act. To

20 the extent practicable, conditions required to carry out the

21 provisions and requirements of this Act shall be addressed

22 in license conditions rather than by regulation and, to the

23 extent practicable, the license shall allow a deepwater

24 port’s operating procedures to be stated in an operations

25 manual, approved by the Coast Guard, in accordance with

26 section 10(a) of this Act, rather than in detailed and spe-
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1 cific license conditions or regulations; except that basic

2 standards and conditions shall be addressed in regula3 tions.’’.

4 (d) ELIMINATION OF RESTRICTION ON TRANS5 FERS.—Section 4(e)(2) of such Act (33 U.S.C.

6 1503(e)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘application’’ and in7 serting ‘‘license’’.

8 (e) FINDINGS REQUIRED FOR TRANSFERS.—Section

9 4(f) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1503(f)) is amended to read

10 as follows:

11 ‘‘(f) AMENDMENTS, TRANSFERS, AND REINSTATE12 MENTS.—The Secretary may amend, transfer, or reinstate

13 a license issued under this Act if the Secretary finds that

14 the amendment, transfer, or reinstatement is consistent

15 with the requirements of this Act.’’.

16 SEC. 305. INFORMATIONAL FILINGS.

17 Section 5(c) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33

18 U.S.C. 1504(c)) is amended by adding the following:

19 ‘‘(3) Upon written request of any person subject to

20 this subsection, the Secretary may make a determination

21 in writing to exempt such person from any of the informa22 tional filing provisions enumerated in this subsection or

23 the regulations implementing this section if the Secretary

24 determines that such information is not necessary to facili25 tate the Secretary’s determinations under section 4 of this
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1 Act and that such exemption will not limit public review

2 and evaluation of the deepwater port project.’’.

3 SEC. 306. ANTITRUST REVIEW.

4 Section 7 of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33

5 U.S.C. 1506) is repealed.

6 SEC. 307. OPERATION.

7 (a) AS COMMON CARRIER.—Section 8(a) of the

8 Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1507(a)) is

9 amended by inserting after ‘‘subtitle IV of title 49, United

10 States Code,’’ the following: ‘‘and shall accept, transport,

11 or convey without discrimination all oil delivered to the

12 deepwater port with respect to which its license is issued,’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 8(b) of

14 such Act is amended by striking the first sentence and

15 the first 3 words of the second sentence and inserting the

16 following: ‘‘A licensee is not discriminating under this sec17 tion and’’.

18 SEC. 308. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND

19 NAVIGATIONAL SAFETY.

20 Section 10(a) of the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 (33

21 U.S.C. 1509(a)) is amended—

22 (1) by inserting after ‘‘international law’’ the

23 following: ‘‘and the provision of adequate opportuni24 ties for public involvement’’; and
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘shall prescribe by regulation

2 and enforce procedures with respect to any deep3 water port, including, but not limited to,’’ and in4 serting the following: ‘‘shall prescribe and enforce

5 procedures, either by regulation (for basic standards

6 and conditions) or by the licensee’s operations man7 ual, with respect to’’.

Æ