109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1412

AN ACT

To amend the Ports and Waterways Safety Act to 

poses. obstructions to navigation, and for other purrequire notification of the Coast Guard regarding 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1412

AN ACT

To amend the Ports and Waterways Safety Act to require 

notification of the Coast Guard regarding obstructions 

to navigation, 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, 
2

•HR 1412 EH 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Delaware River Protec3 tion Act of 2005’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY COAST GUARD OF RE5 LEASE OF OBJECTS INTO THE NAVIGABLE 

6 WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

7 The Ports and Waterways Safety Act (33 U.S.C. 

8 1221 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 15. REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY COAST GUARD OF RE11 LEASE OF OBJECTS INTO THE NAVIGABLE 

12 WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

13 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—As soon as a person has 

14 knowledge of any release from a vessel or facility into the 

15 navigable waters of the United States of any object that 

16 creates an obstruction prohibited under section 10 of the 

17 Act of March 3, 1899, popularly known as the Rivers and 

18 Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899 (chapter 425; 33 

19 U.S.C. 403), such person shall notify the Secretary and 

20 the Secretary of the Army of such release. 

21 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTION ON USE OF NOTIFICATION.—Any 

22 notification provided by an individual in accordance with 

23 subsection (a) shall not be used against such individual 

24 in any criminal case, except a prosecution for perjury or 

25 for giving a false statement.’’. 
3

•HR 1412 EH 

1 SEC. 3. LIMITS ON LIABILITY. 

2 (a) ADJUSTMENT OF LIABILITY LIMITS.—

3 (1) TANK VESSELS.—Section 1004(a)(1) of the 

4 Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(a)(1)) is 

5 amended—

6 (A) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

7 subparagraph (C); 

8 (B) by striking subparagraph (A) and in9 serting the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) with respect to a single-hull vessel, 

11 including a single-hull vessel fitted with double 

12 sides only or a double bottom only—

13 ‘‘(i) $1,550 per gross ton for an inci14 dent that occurs in 2005; 

15 ‘‘(ii) $1,900 per gross ton for an inci16 dent that occurs in 2006; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) $2,250 per gross ton for an inci18 dent that occurs in 2007 or in any year 

19 thereafter; or 

20 ‘‘(B) with respect to a double-hull vessel 

21 (other than any vessel referred to in subpara22 graph (A))—

23 ‘‘(i) $1,350 per gross ton for an inci24 dent that occurs in 2005; 

25 ‘‘(ii) $1,500 per gross ton for an inci26 dent that occurs in 2006; and 
4

•HR 1412 EH 

1 ‘‘(iii) $1,700 per gross ton for any in2 cident that occurs in 2007 or in any year 

3 thereafter; or’’; and 

4 (C) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated 

5 by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph—

6 (i) in clause (i) by striking 

7 ‘‘$10,000,000’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘$14,000,000’’; and 

9 (ii) in clause (ii) by striking 

10 ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500,000’’. 

11 (2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—In the case 

12 of an incident occurring before the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, section 1004(a)(1) of the Oil Pol14 lution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(a)(1)) shall 

15 apply as in effect immediately before the effective 

16 date of this subsection. 

17 (b) ADJUSTMENT TO REFLECT CONSUMER PRICE

18 INDEX.—Section 1004(d)(4) of the Oil Pollution Act of 

19 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(d)(4)) is amended to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENT TO REFLECT CONSUMER

22 PRICE INDEX.—The President shall, by regulations 

23 issued no later than 3 years after the date of the en24 actment of the Delaware River Protection Act of 

25 2005 and no less than every 3 years thereafter, ad-
5

•HR 1412 EH 

1 just the limits on liability specified in subsection (a) 

2 to reflect significant increases in the Consumer Price 

3 Index.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT TO UPDATE PHILADELPHIA AREA 

5 CONTINGENCY PLAN. 

6 The Philadelphia Area Committee established under 

7 section 311(j)(4) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

8 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(4)) shall, by not later than 12 

9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

10 not less than annually thereafter, review and revise the 

11 Philadelphia Area Contingency Plan to include available 

12 data and biological information on environmentally sen13 sitive areas of the Delaware River and Delaware Bay that 

14 has been collected by Federal and State surveys. 

15 SEC. 5. SUBMERGED OIL REMOVAL. 

16 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Title VII of the Oil Pollution 

17 Act of 1990 is amended—

18 (1) in section 7001(c)(4)(B) (33 U.S.C. 

19 2761(c)(4)(B)) by striking ‘‘RIVERA,’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘RIVERA and the T/V ATHOS I;’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘SEC. 7002. SUBMERGED OIL PROGRAM. 

23 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—

24 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Undersecretary of 

25 Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, in conjunc-
6

•HR 1412 EH 

1 tion with the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall 

2 establish a program to detect, monitor, and evaluate 

3 the environmental effects of submerged oil. Such 

4 program shall include the following elements: 

5 ‘‘(A) The development of methods to re6 move, disperse or otherwise diminish the per7 sistence of submerged oil. 

8 ‘‘(B) The development of improved models 

9 and capacities for predicting the environmental 

10 fate, transport, and effects of submerged oil. 

11 ‘‘(C) The development of techniques to de12 tect and monitor submerged oil. 

13 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—The Secretary of Commerce 

14 shall, no later than 3 years after the date of the en15 actment of the Delaware River Protection Act of 

16 2005, submit to the Committee on Transportation 

17 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

18 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

19 Transportation and the Committee on Environment 

20 and Public Works of the Senate a report on the ac21 tivities carried out under this subsection and activi22 ties proposed to be carried out under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be ap24 propriated to the Secretary of Commerce $1,000,000 
7

•HR 1412 EH 

1 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010 to carry 

2 out this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(b) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—

4 ‘‘(1) REMOVAL OF SUBMERGED OIL.—The 

5 Commandant of the Coast Guard, in conjunction 

6 with the Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans 

7 and Atmosphere, shall conduct a demonstration 

8 project for the purpose of developing and dem9 onstrating technologies and management practices to 

10 remove submerged oil from the Delaware River and 

11 other navigable waters. 

12 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be ap13 propriated to the Commandant of the Coast Guard 

14 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 

15 2010 to carry out this subsection.’’. 

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

17 in section 2 of such Act is amended by inserting after the 

18 item relating to section 7001 the following:

‘‘Sec. 7002. Submerged oil program.’’.

19 SEC. 6. DELAWARE RIVER AND BAY OIL SPILL ADVISORY 

20 COMMITTEE. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Dela22 ware River and Bay Oil Spill Advisory Committee (in this 

23 section referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

24 (b) FUNCTIONS.—
8

•HR 1412 EH 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall, by not 

2 later than 1 year after the date the Commandant of 

3 the Coast Guard (in this section referred to as the 

4 ‘‘Commandant’’) completes appointment of the mem5 bers of the Committee, make recommendations to 

6 the Commandant, the Committee on Transportation 

7 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, 

8 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

9 Transportation of the Senate on methods to improve 

10 the prevention of and response to future oil spills in 

11 the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. 

12 (2) MEETINGS.—The Committee—

13 (A) shall hold its first meeting not later 

14 than 60 days after the completion of the ap15 pointment of the members of the Committee; 

16 and 

17 (B) shall meet thereafter at the call of the 

18 Chairman. 

19 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall consist of 

20 15 members who have particular expertise, knowledge, and 

21 experience regarding the transportation, equipment, and 

22 techniques that are used to ship cargo and to navigate 

23 vessels in the Delaware River and Delaware Bay, as fol24 lows: 
9

•HR 1412 EH 

1 (1) Three members who are employed by port 

2 authorities that oversee operations on the Delaware 

3 River or have been selected to represent these enti4 ties, of whom—

5 (A) one member must be an employee or 

6 representative of the Port of Wilmington; 

7 (B) one member must be an employee or 

8 representative of the South Jersey Port Cor9 poration; and 

10 (C) one member must be an employee or 

11 representative of the Philadelphia Regional Port 

12 Authority. 

13 (2) Two members who represent organizations 

14 that operate tugs or barges that utilize the port fa15 cilities on the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. 

16 (3) Two members who represent shipping com17 panies that transport cargo by vessel from ports on 

18 the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. 

19 (4) Two members who represent operators of oil 

20 refineries on the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. 

21 (5) Two members who represent environmental 

22 and conservation interests. 

23 (6) Two members who represent State-licensed 

24 pilots who work on the Delaware River and Dela25 ware Bay. 
10

•HR 1412 EH 

1 (7) One member who represents labor organiza2 tions that load and unload cargo at ports on the 

3 Delaware River and Delaware Bay. 

4 (8) One member who represents the general 

5 public. 

6 (d) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—The Commandant 

7 shall appoint the members of the Committee, after solic8 iting nominations by notice published in the Federal Reg9 ister. 

10 (e) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.—The Com11 mittee shall elect, by majority vote at its first meeting, 

12 one of the members of the Committee as the Chairman 

13 and one of the members as the Vice Chairman. The Vice 

14 Chairman shall act as Chairman in the absence of or inca15 pacity of the Chairman, or in the event of vacancy in the 

16 Office of the Chairman. 

17 (f) PAY AND EXPENSES.—

18 (1) PROHIBITION ON PAY.—Members of the 

19 Committee who are not officers or employees of the 

20 United States shall serve without pay. Members of 

21 the Committee who are officers or employees of the 

22 United States shall receive no additional pay on ac23 count of their service on the Committee. 

24 (2) EXPENSES.—While away from their homes 

25 or regular places of business, members of the Com-
11

•HR 1412 EH 

1 mittee may be allowed travel expenses, including per 

2 diem, in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by section 

3 5703 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (g) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall terminate 

5 one year after the completion of the appointment of the 

6 members of the Committee. 

7 SEC. 7. MARITIME FIRE AND SAFETY ACTIVITIES. 

8 The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 

9 (Public Law 107–295) is amended—

10 (1) in section 407—

11 (A) in the heading by striking ‘‘LOWER

12 COLUMBIA RIVER’’; and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘$987,400’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘$1,500,000’’; and 

15 (2) in the table of contents in section 1(b) by 

16 striking the item relating to section 407 and insert17 ing the following:

‘‘Sec. 407. Maritime fire and safety activities.’’.

Passed the House of Representatives June 27, 2005. 

Attest:

Clerk.