II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3298 

To amend the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to establish the Federal Oil Spill 

Research Committee, and to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control 

Act to include in a response plan certain planned and demonstrated 

investments in research relating to discharges of oil and to modify the 

dates by which a response plan must be updated. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2012 

Ms. CANTWELL 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 to establish the 

Federal Oil Spill Research Committee, and to amend 

the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to include in 

a response plan certain planned and demonstrated investments in research relating to discharges of oil and to 

modify the dates by which a response plan must be 

updated. 

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 Spill Technology 

5 and Research Act of 2012’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH COMMITTEE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7001 of the Oil Pollution 

3 Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761) is amended to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 7001. FEDERAL OIL SPILL RESEARCH COMMITTEE. 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com7 mittee, to be known as the ‘Federal Oil Spill Research 

8 Committee’ (referred to in this section as the ‘Com9 mittee’). 

10 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

11 ‘‘(1) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be 

12 composed of— 

13 ‘‘(A) at least 1 representative of the Na14 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

15 ‘‘(B) at least 1 representative of the 

16 United States Coast Guard; 

17 ‘‘(C) at least 1 representative of the Envi18 ronmental Protection Agency; 

19 ‘‘(D) at least 1 representative of the De20 partment of the Interior; and 

21 ‘‘(E) at least 1 representative of each of 

22 such other Federal agencies as the President 

23 considers to be appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Under Secretary of 

25 Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (referred to 

26 in this section as the ‘Under Secretary’) shall desVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:52 Jun 14, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3298.IS S3298

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1 ignate a Chairperson from among members of the 

2 Committee who represent the National Oceanic and 

3 Atmospheric Administration. 

4 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—At a minimum, the members 

5 of the Committee shall meet once each quarter. 

6 ‘‘(c) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RESEARCH.—The Committee shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) coordinate a comprehensive program 

9 of oil pollution research, technology develop10 ment, and demonstration among the Federal 

11 agencies, in cooperation and coordination with 

12 industry, institutions of higher education, re13 search institutions, State governments, tribal 

14 governments, and other countries, as the Com15 mittee considers to be appropriate; and 

16 ‘‘(B) foster cost-effective research mecha17 nisms, including the cost sharing of research. 

18 ‘‘(2) REPORTS ON CURRENT STATE OF OIL DIS19 CHARGE PREVENTION AND RESPONSE CAPABILI20 TIES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

22 days after the date of enactment of the Oil Spill 

23 Technology and Research Act of 2012, the 

24 Committee shall submit to Congress a report on 


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1 the state of oil discharge prevention and re2 sponse capabilities that— 

3 ‘‘(i) identifies current research pro4 grams conducted by governments, univer5 sities, and corporate entities; 

6 ‘‘(ii) assesses the current status of 

7 knowledge on oil pollution prevention, re8 sponse, and mitigation technologies; 

9 ‘‘(iii) assesses applicability and effec10 tiveness of the prevention, response, and 

11 mitigation technologies under clause (ii) to 

12 each class of crude, bitumen crude, and di13 luted bitumen crude; 

14 ‘‘(iv) establishes national research pri15 orities and goals for oil pollution tech16 nology development relating to prevention, 

17 response, mitigation, and environmental ef18 fects; 

19 ‘‘(v) identifies regional oil pollution re20 search needs and priorities for a coordi21 nated program of research at the regional 

22 level developed in consultation with the 

23 State and local governments and tribal 

24 governments; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) assesses the current state of dis2 charge response equipment, and deter3 mines areas in need of improvement, in4 cluding with respect to the quantity, age, 

5 quality, and effectiveness of equipment, or 

6 necessary technological improvements; 

7 ‘‘(vii) evaluates— 

8 ‘‘(I) regional Federal, State, trib9 al, and private vessel assets available 

10 for skim response; and 

11 ‘‘(II) regional Federal, State, 

12 tribal, and private vessel assets avail13 able for general response needs, such 

14 as data collection, damage assess15 ment, and oiled wildlife response; 

16 ‘‘(viii) assesses— 

17 ‘‘(I) the current state of real-time 

18 data available to mariners, including 

19 data on water level, currents, ice 

20 cover, ice floes, weather system track21 ing, weather forecasting, and other 

22 weather data; 

23 ‘‘(II) whether a lack of timely 

24 weather information increases the risk 

25 of oil discharges; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) whether marine weather 

2 zones impact the risk of oil discharge; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ix) includes such other information 

5 or recommendations as the Committee de6 termines to be appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(B) 5-YEAR UPDATES.—Not later than 5 

8 years after the date of enactment of the Oil 

9 Spill Technology and Research Act of 2012, 

10 and every 5 years thereafter, the Committee 

11 shall submit to Congress a report updating the 

12 information contained in the previous report 

13 submitted under subparagraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(d) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 

16 of the Committee under subsection (c)(1), the Com17 mittee shall establish a program to conduct oil pollu18 tion research and development. 

19 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—The program es20 tablished under paragraph (1) shall provide for re21 search, development, and demonstration of new or 

22 improved technologies and methods that are effective 

23 in preventing, detecting, responding to, mitigating, 

24 and restoring damage from oil discharges and that 

25 protect the environment, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) high priority research areas described 

2 in the reports under subsection (c)(2); 

3 ‘‘(B) environmental effects of acute and 

4 chronic oil discharges on coastal and marine re5 sources, including impacts on protected areas, 

6 such as sanctuaries, and protected species; 

7 ‘‘(C) long-term effects of major discharges 

8 and the long-term cumulative effects of smaller 

9 endemic discharges; 

10 ‘‘(D) new technologies to detect accidental 

11 or intentional overboard discharges; 

12 ‘‘(E) response, containment, and removal 

13 capabilities, such as improved booms, oil skim14 mers, and storage capacity; 

15 ‘‘(F) oil discharge risk assessment meth16 ods, including the identification of areas of high 

17 risk and potential risk reductions for the pre18 vention of discharges; 

19 ‘‘(G) capabilities for predicting the envi20 ronmental fate, transport, and effects of oil dis21 charges, including prediction of the effective22 ness of discharge response systems to contain 

23 and remove oil discharges, and how these pre24 diction capabilities vary by— 

25 ‘‘(i) marine weather zone; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) degree of available marine weath2 er data; 

3 ‘‘(iii) weather factors, surface and 

4 wind currents, and seasonality; 

5 ‘‘(iv) weather zones which have ice 

6 cover, ice floes, or other ice features; 

7 ‘‘(v) environmental factors, such as 

8 naturally occurring oil consuming bacteria; 

9 ‘‘(vi) bathymetric features, such as is10 lands and atolls; 

11 ‘‘(vii) class of crude oil; and 

12 ‘‘(viii) mixed or thinned crude, such 

13 as diluted bitumen crude; 

14 ‘‘(H) methods to restore and rehabilitate 

15 natural resources and ecosystem functions dam16 aged by oil discharges; 

17 ‘‘(I) potential impacts on ecosystems, habi18 tat, and wildlife from the additional toxicity, 

19 heavy metal concentrations, and increased cor20 rosiveness of mixed crude, such as diluted bitu21 men crude; 

22 ‘‘(J) methods to restore and rehabilitate 

23 natural resources and ecosystem services dam24 aged by oil discharges; 


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1 ‘‘(K) research and training, in consultation 

2 with the National Response Team, to improve 

3 the ability of industry and the Federal Govern4 ment to remove an oil discharge quickly and ef5 fectively; 

6 ‘‘(L) technology and method development 

7 for oil pollution prevention, such as improved 

8 blowout preventers and emergency shutoff 

9 equipment; 

10 ‘‘(M) oil pollution technology evaluation; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(N) any other priorities identified by the 

13 Committee. 

14 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

16 days after the date of submission of the report 

17 under subsection (c)(2)(A), the Committee shall 

18 submit to Congress a plan for the implementa19 tion of the program required by paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT BY NATIONAL ACADEMY

21 OF SCIENCES.—The Chairperson of the Com22 mittee, acting through the Administrator of the 

23 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra24 tion, shall enter into an arrangement with the 


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1 National Academy of Sciences under which the 

2 National Academy of Sciences shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) provide advice and guidance in 

4 the preparation and development of the 

5 plan required by subparagraph (A); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) assess the adequacy of the plan 

7 as submitted, and submit a report to Con8 gress on the conclusions of the assessment. 

9 ‘‘(e) GRANT PROGRAM IN SUPPORT OF RESEARCH

10 AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary shall 

12 manage a program of competitive grants to univer13 sities or other research institutions, including State 

14 universities or research institutions and tribal biolo15 gists, or groups of universities or research institu16 tions, or partnerships between public entities, non17 profit organizations, universities or other research 

18 institutions, for the purposes of conducting the pro19 gram established under subsection (d). 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS AND CONDITIONS.—In con21 ducting the program, the Under Secretary— 

22 ‘‘(A) shall establish a notification and ap23 plication procedure; 

24 ‘‘(B) may establish such conditions and re25 quire such assurances as are appropriate to enVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:52 Jun 14, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3298.IS S3298

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1 sure the efficiency and integrity of the grant 

2 program; and 

3 ‘‘(C) may provide grants under the pro4 gram on a matching or nonmatching basis. 

5 ‘‘(f) ADVICE AND GUIDANCE.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall ac7 cept comments and input from State and local gov8 ernments, tribal governments, industry representa9 tives, institutions of higher education, and other 

10 stakeholders in carrying out the duties of the Com11 mittee under subsection (c). 

12 ‘‘(2) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—The Committee may 

13 establish an advisory council consisting of non14 government experts and stakeholders for the purpose 

15 of providing guidance to the Committee on matters 

16 under this section. 

17 ‘‘(g) FACILITATION.—The Committee may develop 

18 joint partnerships or enter into memoranda of agreement 

19 or memoranda of understanding with institutions of high20 er education, States, and other entities, including tribal 

21 biologists, to facilitate the program required by subsection 

22 (d). 

23 ‘‘(h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of the Oil Spill Technology and Re25 search Act of 2012, and annually thereafter, the ChairVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:52 Jun 14, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3298.IS S3298

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1 person of the Committee shall submit to Congress a report 

2 that describes— 

3 ‘‘(1) the activities carried out under this section 

4 during the preceding fiscal year; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the activities that are proposed to be car6 ried out under this section for the fiscal year during 

7 which the report is submitted. 

8 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com10 merce to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each of the 

11 fiscal years 2012 through 2015, to remain available until 

12 expended.’’. 

13 (b) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY OF INTERAGENCY

14 COMMITTEE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Coordi16 nating Committee on Oil Pollution Research estab17 lished under section 7001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 

18 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761) (as in effect on the day be19 fore the date of enactment of this Act), and all au20 thority of that Committee, terminate on the date of 

21 enactment of this Act. 

22 (2) FUNDING.—Any funds made available for 

23 the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pol24 lution Research described in paragraph (1) and re25 maining available as of the date of enactment of this 


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1 Act shall be transferred to and available for use by 

2 the Federal Oil Spill Research Committee (as estab3 lished under section 2(a) of this Act), without fur4 ther appropriation or fiscal year limitation. 

5 SEC. 3. RESPONSE PLAN UPDATE REQUIREMENT. 

6 Section 311(j)(5) of the Federal Water Pollution 

7 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(5)) is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (D)— 

9 (A) by amending clause (v) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(v)(I) be updated at least every 5 

12 years; 

13 ‘‘(II) require the use of the best avail14 able technology and methods to contain 

15 and remove, to the maximum extent prac16 ticable, a worst-case discharge (including a 

17 discharge resulting from fire or explosion), 

18 and to mitigate or prevent a substantial 

19 threat of such a discharge; and 

20 ‘‘(III) be resubmitted for approval 

21 upon each update (which shall be consid22 ered to be a significant change to the re23 sponse plan) under this clause;’’; 

24 (B) in clause (vi), by striking the period at 

25 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(vii) include planned and dem3 onstrated investments in research relating 

4 to oil discharges, risk assessment, and de5 velopment of technologies for oil discharge 

6 response and prevention.’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(J) TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS.—The 

9 Coast Guard may establish requirements and 

10 issue guidance for the use of best available 

11 technology and methods under subparagraph 

12 (D)(v), which technology and methods shall be 

13 based on performance metrics and standards, to 

14 the maximum extent practicable.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. OIL DISCHARGE TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Department 

17 in which the Coast Guard is operating (referred to in this 

18 section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a program for 

19 the formal evaluation and validation of oil pollution con20 tainment and removal methods and technologies. 

21 (b) APPROVAL.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The program shall establish 

23 a process for new methods and technologies to be 

24 submitted, evaluated, and gain validation for use in 


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1 responses to discharges of oil and inclusion in re2 sponse plans. 

3 (2) CONSIDERATION OF CAPABILITY.—Fol4 lowing each validation of a method or technology de5 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con6 sider whether the method or technology meets a per7 formance capability warranting designation of a new 

8 standard for best available methods or technology. 

9 (3) LACK OF VALIDATION.—The lack of valida10 tion of a method or technology under this section 

11 shall not preclude— 

12 (A) the use of the method or technology in 

13 response to a discharge of oil; or 

14 (B) the inclusion of the method or tech15 nology in a response plan. 

16 (c) TECHNOLOGY CLEARINGHOUSE.—Each method 

17 and technology validated under this section shall be in18 cluded in the comprehensive list of discharge removal re19 sources maintained through the National Response Unit 

20 of the Coast Guard. 

21 (d) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, 

22 the Secretary shall consult with— 

23 (1) the Secretary of the Interior; 

24 (2) the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

25 and Atmospheric Administration; 


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1 (3) the Administrator of the Environmental 

2 Protection Agency; and 

3 (4) the Secretary of Transportation. 

4 SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

5 Section 5001(c)(4) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

6 (33 U.S.C. 2731(c)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘, as part 

7 of its responsibilities under section 7001(b)(2)’’. 

Æ 


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