II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1730

To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to make the Act more effective

in preventing oil pollution in the Nation’s waters through enhanced

prevention of, and improved response to, oil spills, and to ensure that

citizens and communities injured by oil spills are promptly and fully

compensated, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 7, 1996

Mr. CHAFEE (for himself, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mr. PELL)

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 make the Act

more effective in preventing oil pollution in the Nation’s

waters through enhanced prevention of, and improved

response to, oil spills, and to ensure that citizens and

communities injured by oil spills are promptly and fully

compensated, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Oil Spill Prevention and Response Improvement Act’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definition of Secretary.

TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF OIL SPILL PREVENTION

Sec. 101. Interim oil spill prevention measures for single-hull vessels.

Sec. 102. Incentive for oil shippers to convert single hull vessels to double hull

vessels.

Sec. 103. Prevention of oil spills by improvement of safety of towing vessels.

Sec. 104. Other oil prevention enhancement measures.

TITLE II—IMPROVEMENT OF RESPONSES TO OIL SPILLS

Sec. 201. Access to timely short-term financial assistance for persons injured

by oil spills.

Sec. 202. Advance planning and coordination to ensure prompt decisionmaking

on reopening and closing of fishing grounds.

Sec. 203. Qualification of major oil spills as major disasters.

Sec. 204. Access to oil spill liability trust fund for natural resource damages.

Sec. 205. Access to necessary information, expertise, and funding to mitigate

near-term ecological injury resulting from oil spill.

Sec. 206. Compliance with response plans.

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.

4 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec5 retary of Transportation, acting through the United

6 States Coast Guard.

7 TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF OIL

8 SPILL PREVENTION

9 SEC. 101. INTERIM OIL SPILL PREVENTION MEASURES FOR

10 SINGLE-HULL VESSELS.

11 (a) EFFECTIVENESS OF PROPOSED RULE.—Section

12 4115(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (46 U.S.C. 3703a

13 note) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting

15 the following:
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and

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

3 ‘‘(2) OPERATIONAL ELEMENTS.—If a final rule

4 under this subsection with respect to operational ele5 ments does not become effective by the date that is

6 59 months after the date specified in paragraph (1),

7 the proposed rule in the Supplemental Notice of

8 Proposed Rulemaking (60 Fed. Reg. 55,904 (1995))

9 shall be considered to be in effect as a final rule as

10 of that date and shall remain in effect until a final

11 rule becomes effective.

12 ‘‘(3) STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS.—If a final rule

13 under this subsection with respect to structural ele14 ments does not become effective by the date that is

15 64 months after the date specified in paragraph (1),

16 the proposed rule in the Notice of Proposed Rule17 making (58 Fed. Reg. 54,870 (1993)) shall be con18 sidered to be in effect as a final rule as of that date

19 and shall remain in effect until a final rule becomes

20 effective.’’.

21 (b) PREVENTION MEASURES.—Section 4115(b) of

22 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (46 U.S.C. 3703a note), as

23 amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the

24 end the following:

25 ‘‘(4) PROVISIONS TO BE INCLUDED.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In issuing rules under

2 this subsection, the Secretary shall include the

3 following provisions to the greatest extent prac4 ticable:

5 ‘‘(i) A requirement that a single hull

6 barge over 5,000 gross tons operating in

7 open ocean or coastal waters that is af8 fected by this section have at least 1 of the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(I) A crew member on board

11 and an operable anchor.

12 ‘‘(II) An emergency system on

13 board the vessel towing the barge to

14 retrieve the barge if the tow line rup15 tures.

16 ‘‘(III) Adoption of any other

17 measure that provides comparable

18 protection against grounding of the

19 barge as that provided by a measure

20 described in subclause (I) or (II).

21 ‘‘(ii) In cooperation with the captain

22 of the port for each port in which any tank

23 vessel not fitted with a double bottom that

24 covers the entire cargo tank length oper25 ates, establishment of a minimum under-
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1 keel clearance for the vessel when entering

2 the port or place of destination and when

3 departing port.

4 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In issuing rules

5 under this subsection, the Secretary shall—

6 ‘‘(i) require the use of all measures

7 that advance the objectives of this section,

8 not only those determined to be the most

9 cost-effective or most cost-efficient;

10 ‘‘(ii) take account of human safety,

11 including the safety of crew members on

12 affected tank vessels; and

13 ‘‘(iii) consider measures that prevent

14 collision or grounding of a tank vessel in

15 addition to those that reduce oil outflow

16 after such a collision or grounding has oc17 curred.’’.

18 SEC. 102. INCENTIVE FOR OIL SHIPPERS TO CONVERT SIN19 GLE HULL VESSELS TO DOUBLE HULL VES20 SELS.

21 Section 1004(c) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33

22 U.S.C. 2704(c)) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘Subsection

24 (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph

25 (4), subsection (a)’’; and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(4) DOUBLE-HULLED VESSELS.—The excep3 tion in paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply—

4 ‘‘(A) to a tank vessel that, as of the date

5 of enactment of this paragraph, is equipped

6 with a double hull; or

7 ‘‘(B) to a double hull vessel that is replac8 ing another tank vessel not equipped with a

9 double hull that is being retired at least 5 years

10 prior to the applicable retirement date under

11 section 3703a(c) of title 46, United States

12 Code.’’.

13 SEC. 103. PREVENTION OF OIL SPILLS BY IMPROVEMENT

14 OF SAFETY OF TOWING VESSELS.

15 (a) DEADLINE ON ISSUANCE OF FINAL REGULA16 TIONS.—If a final rule on navigation safety equipment for

17 towing vessels does not become effective by September 30,

18 1996, the proposed rule in the Notice of Proposed Rule19 making (60 Fed. Reg. 55890 (1995)) shall be considered

20 to be in effect as a final rule as of that date and shall

21 remain in effect until a final rule becomes effective.

22 (b) CONSIDERATION OF FIRE-SUPPRESSION EQUIP23 MENT IN TOWING SAFETY RULEMAKING.—In issuing a

24 final rule on Navigation Safety Equipment for Towing

25 Vessels in accordance with subsection (a), the Secretary
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1 shall establish a requirement that a towing vessel have a

2 fire-suppression system or other equipment to provide ade3 quate assurance that an onboard fire can be suppressed

4 under reasonably foreseeable circumstances.

5 SEC. 104. OTHER OIL PREVENTION ENHANCEMENT MEAS6 URES.

7 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY OF OIL SPILL

8 RISKS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall coordi10 nate with the Marine Board of the National Re11 search Council on a study into how the designation

12 of waters through which tank vessels transport oil,

13 and the designation of shipping lanes for tank ves14 sels, affect the risk of an oil spill.

15 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In the study under

16 paragraph (1), the Marine Board of the National

17 Research Council shall recommend to the Secretary

18 any changes to designations of waters that would

19 minimize the risk of oil spills.

20 (b) DREDGING OF RHODE ISLAND WATERWAYS.—

21 The Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers,

22 in conjunction with the Secretary and other relevant agen23 cies, shall—
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1 (1) review the report of the commission con2 vened by the Governor of Rhode Island on dredging

3 Rhode Island waterways; and

4 (2) not later than 120 days after issuance of

5 the report, submit to the Committee on Environment

6 and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee

7 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House

8 of Representatives any recommendations that the

9 Chief of Engineers may have concerning the feasibil10 ity and environmental effects of the dredging.

11 (c) LIGHTERING OPERATIONS.—The first sentence of

12 section 3715(b) of title 46, United States Code, is amend13 ed by striking ‘‘of this section’’ and inserting ‘‘that include

14 requirements that the Secretary determines will provide

15 protection to the environment that is as substantial as is

16 economically and technologically feasible.’’.

17 TITLE II—IMPROVEMENT OF

18 RESPONSES TO OIL SPILLS

19 SEC. 201. ACCESS TO TIMELY SHORT-TERM FINANCIAL AS20 SISTANCE FOR PERSONS INJURED BY OIL

21 SPILLS.

22 (a) DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS OR IMPAIR23 MENT OF EARNING CAPACITY.—Section 1002(b)(2)(E) of

24 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2702(b)(2)(E))

25 is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting
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1 the following: ‘‘, in part or in full. Payment or settlement

2 of a claim for interim, short-term damages representing

3 less than the full amount of damages to which the claim4 ant ultimately may be entitled under this subparagraph

5 shall not preclude recovery by the claimant for damages

6 not reflected in the paid or settled partial claim.’’.

7 (b) CLAIMS PROCEDURE.—Section 1013(d) of the Oil

8 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2713(d)) is amended

9 by inserting after ‘‘unavailable’’ the following: ‘‘including

10 a claim for interim, short-term damages representing less

11 than the full amount of damages to which the claimant

12 ultimately may be entitled,’’.

13 (c) ADVERTISEMENT.—Section 1014(b) of the Oil

14 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2714(b)) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘If a responsible party’’ and in16 serting the following:

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a responsible party’’;

18 and

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

20 ‘‘(2) CLAIM FOR INTERIM DAMAGES.—An ad21 vertisement under paragraph (1) shall state that a

22 claimant may present a claim for interim, short-term

23 damages representing less than the full amount of

24 damages to which the claimant ultimately may be

25 entitled and payment of such a claim shall not pre-
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1 clude recovery for damages not reflected in the paid

2 or settled partial claim.’’.

3 (d) SUBROGATION.—Section 1015(a) of the Oil Pol4 lution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2715(a)) is amended—

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub6 section (c); and

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow8 ing:

9 ‘‘(c) INTERIM DAMAGES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a responsible party, a

11 guarantor, or the Fund has made payment to a

12 claimant for interim, short-term damages represent13 ing less than the full amount of damages to which

14 the claimant ultimately may be entitled, subrogation

15 under subsection (a) shall apply only with respect to

16 the portion of the claim reflected in the paid interim

17 claim.

18 ‘‘(2) FINAL DAMAGES.—Payment of such a

19 claim shall not foreclose claimant’s right to recovery

20 of all damages to which a claimant otherwise is enti21 tled under this title or any other law.’’.
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1 SEC. 202. ADVANCE PLANNING AND COORDINATION TO EN2 SURE PROMPT DECISIONMAKING ON RE3 OPENING AND CLOSING OF FISHING

4 GROUNDS.

5 (a) NATIONAL GUIDANCE.—Section 311(j)(4)(D) of

6 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

7 1321(j)(4)(D)) is amended—

8 (1) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

9 (2) in clause (ii) by striking the period and in10 serting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

12 ‘‘(iii) acting through the Under Sec13 retary of Commerce for Oceans and At14 mosphere and in consultation with the Ad15 ministrator, the Director of the United

16 States Fish and Wildlife Service, and other

17 affected agencies, issue guidance for Area

18 Committees to use in developing a frame19 work for advanced planning and decision20 making with respect to the closing and re21 opening of fishing grounds following an oil

22 spill, which guidance shall include model

23 protocols and standards for the closing and

24 reopening of fishing areas.’’.
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1 (b) REQUIREMENT THAT AREA CONTINGENCY

2 PLANS CONTAIN AREA-SPECIFIC PROTOCOLS AND

3 STANDARDS.—

4 (1) COOPERATION WITH STATE AND LOCAL OF5 FICIALS.—Section 311(j)(4)(B)(ii) of the Federal

6 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

7 1321(j)(4)(B)(ii)) is amended by inserting after

8 ‘‘wildlife’’ the following: ‘‘, including advance plan9 ning with respect to the closing and reopening of

10 fishing grounds following an oil spill’’.

11 (2) FRAMEWORK.—Section 311(j)(4)(C) of the

12 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

13 1321(j)(4)(C)) is amended—

14 (A) by redesignating clauses (vii) and (viii)

15 as clauses (ix) and (x), respectively; and

16 (B) by inserting after clause (vi) the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(vii) develop a framework for advanced

19 planning and decisionmaking with respect to

20 the closing and reopening of fishing grounds

21 following an oil spill, including protocols and

22 standards for the closing and reopening of fish23 ing areas;’’.
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1 SEC. 203. QUALIFICATION OF MAJOR OIL SPILLS AS MAJOR

2 DISASTERS.

3 (a) ADDITION OF MAJOR OIL SPILLS TO LIST OF

4 DISASTERS QUALIFYING FOR NATIONAL DISASTER AS5 SISTANCE.—Section 102(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis6 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

7 5122(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘major oil spill’’ after

8 ‘‘flood,’’.

9 (b) SUBROGATION OF MONEYS PAID UNDER DES10 IGNATION OF MAJOR OIL SPILL AS MAJOR DISASTER.—

11 Section 1015 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C.

12 2715) (as amended by section 201(d)(2)) is amended by

13 adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(d) SUBROGATION OF MONEYS PAID UNDER DES15 IGNATION OF OIL SPILL AS MAJOR DISASTER.—The

16 United States shall acquire by subrogation the right to

17 seek from the responsible party, its guarantor, or the

18 Fund any moneys paid by the United States under section

19 102(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

20 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)) to provide

21 short-term financial assistance that has the effect of miti22 gating damages to which the recipient would be entitled

23 under this Act.’’.
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1 SEC. 204. ACCESS TO OIL SPILL LIABILITY TRUST FUND

2 FOR NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGES.

3 Section 6002 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33

4 U.S.C. 2752) is amended by striking subsection (b) and

5 inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall not

8 apply to—

9 ‘‘(A) section 1006(f), 1012(a) (2) or (4),

10 or 5006(b); or

11 ‘‘(b) an amount not exceeding $50,000,000

12 for any fiscal year that the President may make

13 available from the Fund to—

14 ‘‘(i) carry out section 311(c) of the

15 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33

16 U.S.C. 1321(c));

17 ‘‘(ii) conduct the assessment of natu18 ral resource damages required under sec19 tion 1006;

20 ‘‘(iii) develop restoration plans; and

21 ‘‘(iv) implement the initial phases of

22 restoration plans.

23 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts to which this

24 subsection applies shall remain available until ex25 pended.’’.
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1 SEC. 205. ACCESS TO NECESSARY INFORMATION, EXPER2 TISE, AND FUNDING TO MITIGATE NEAR3 TERM ECOLOGICAL INJURY RESULTING

4 FROM OIL SPILL.

5 (a) ACCESS TO FUNDS TO MITIGATE NEAR-TERM

6 INJURY.—Section 1012(a) of the Oil Pollution Act of

7 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)) is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (5) by striking the period at

9 the end of paragraph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

11 ‘‘(6) the payment of costs to mitigate ecological

12 injury (including the immediate costs of manage13 ment, a level and of a type that are needed to miti14 gate ecological injury, as determined solely by the

15 Federal On-Scene Coordinator).

16 (b) ACCESS TO SCIENTISTS WITH RELEVANT EX17 PERTISE.—

18 (1) IDENTIFYING SCIENTISTS IN AREA CONTIN19 GENCY PLANS.—Section 311(j)(4)(C) of the Federal

20 Water Pollution Control Act (as amended by section

21 202(b)(2)) is amended—

22 (A) by redesignating clauses (ix) and (x)

23 as clauses (x) and (xi), respectively; and

24 (B) by inserting after clause (vii) the fol25 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(viii) compile a list of local scientists,

2 both inside and outside Federal Government

3 service, with expertise in the environmental ef4 fects of spills of the types of oil typically trans5 ported in the area, who may be contacted to

6 provide information or participate in the sci7 entific support team convened in response to a

8 spill;’’.

9 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT

10 TEAM.—Section 4202(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990

11 (33 U.S.C. 1321 note) is amended by adding at the end

12 the following:

13 ‘‘(5) SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT TEAM.—

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

15 months after the date of enactment of this

16 paragraph, the Secretary shall establish a proc17 ess under which a scientific support team shall

18 be convened immediately in response to each oil

19 spill 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 response team and to recommend any

24 measures that will serve to mitigate ecological

25 injury immediately following such a spill.
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1 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION BY SCIENTISTS WITH

2 EXPERTISE.—The process under subparagraph

3 (A) shall provide for consideration for participa4 tion on a scientific support team to be given to

5 scientists identified in the area contingency plan

6 with expertise in the environmental effects of

7 the kind of oil that has been spilled or that has

8 actually or potentially affected natural re9 sources.

10 ‘‘(D) OPERATIONS OPEN TO THE PUB11 LIC.—To the extent it does not interfere with

12 its expeditious operation, the operations of a

13 scientific team shall be open to the public.’’.

14 (d) ACCESS TO USEFUL AND NECESSARY INFORMA15 TION.—

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF INFORMATION CLEAR17 INGHOUSE.—Section 7001(a) the Oil Pollution Act

18 of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761(a)) is amended—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘may designate’’ at the end

20 of paragraph (3) and all that follows through

21 ‘‘representative’’ and inserting ‘‘may designate.

22 A representative’’; and

23 (B) by adding at the end the following:

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

25 Interagency Committee shall disseminate and com-
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1 pile information regarding previous spills, including

2 data from universities, research institutions, State

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

4 (2) REQUIREMENT THAT NATIONAL RESPONSE

5 UNITS MAINTAIN INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL

6 EFFECTS OF OIL SPILLS.—Section 311(j)(2) of the

7 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

8 1321(j)(2)) is amended—

9 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (F)

10 and (G) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respec11 tively; and

12 (B) by inserting the following after sub13 paragraph (E):

14 ‘‘(F) shall maintain and update a body of

15 information on the environmental effects of var16 ious types of oil spills and how best to mitigate

17 those effects, which shall be kept in a form that

18 is readily transmittable to response teams re19 sponding to a spill under this Act;’’.

20 SEC. 206. COMPLIANCE WITH RESPONSE PLANS.

21 Section 311(c)(3)(B) of the Federal Water Pollution

22 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(c)(3)(B)) is amended by

23 striking ‘‘or as directed by the President’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘unless the President or the on-scene coordinator deter25 mines that deviation from the plan would provide for a
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1 more expeditious or effective response to the spill or miti2 gation of its environmental effects.’’.

Æ