3

CLAIM SUMMARY / DETERMINATION 

Claim Number: N20005-0001 

Claimant: Bryant Industrial Services, LLC 

Type of Claimant: Private 

Type of Claim: Removal Costs 

Claim Manager: 

Amount Requested: $62,719.12 

Action Taken: Offer in the amount of $62,168.09 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: 

 On October 25, 2019 at approximately 2339 local time, the San Padre Island Police 

Department reported that San Padre Island EMS were dispatched to the United States Coast 

Guard (USCG) South San Padre Island small boat station in reference to four (4) patients that 

had been pulled from the water by the Coast Guard and were transported to the Coast Guard’s 

San Padre Island station. The Police Report states that Coast Guard personnel relayed that the 

four men were the crew to a shrimping vessel that had begun to sink at the jetties/entrance to the 

Brownsville Ship Channel, a navigable waterway of the United States.1 Marine Safety 

Detachment (MSD) Brownsville reported the incident to the National Response Center (NRC) 

via report # 1262214 on October 26, 2019 at 00:00 local time.2

 On October 26, 2019, USCG Sector Corpus Christi issued a Captain of the Port (COTP) 

Administrative Order to the owner of the Commercial Fishing Vessel (CFV) LITTLE JOSEPH.3 

MSD Brownsville, in its capacity as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator’s Representative 

(FOSCR) determined that there was an actual discharge and continuing substantial threat of 

discharge of oil requiring on-site oil spill response and a subsequent salvage operation.4 

In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the owner of the CFV LITTLE JOSEPH 

was identified as the Responsible Party (RP) for the incident.5 The RP hired Bryant Industrial 

Services, LLC (“Bryant” or “Claimant”) to perform oil pollution response and salvage activities.6 

Bryant presented its invoices to the RP.7 The RP did not respond to the claimant. The claimant 

then presented its uncompensated removal costs claim to the National Pollution Funds Center 

(NPFC) for $62,719.12.8 The NPFC has thoroughly reviewed all documentation submitted with 

the claim, analyzed the applicable law and regulations, and after careful consideration, has 

determined that $62,168.09 of the requested $62,719.12 is compensable and offers this amount 

as full and final compensation of this claim. 

 

1

 San Padre Island Police Report # 19-02199 dated October 26, 2019. 

2

 National Response Center Report # 1262214 dated October 26, 2019. 

3

 USCG Captain of the Port (COTP) Admin Order dated October 26, 2019 to Mr. , owner of the vessel. 

4

 USCG POLREP Three and Final dated March 13, 2020. 

5

Id. 

6

 USCG POLREP One dated October 28, 2019. 

7

 Email from Claimant providing proof of presentment dated January 9, 2020. 

8

 33 CFR 136.103(c). 

(b), (b) (6) (b), (b) (6)
4

I. INCIDENT, RECOVERY OPERATIONS, AND RESPONSIBLE PARTY: 

Incident and Recovery Operations 

 

 USCG Sector Corpus Christi received notification from MSD Brownsville stating that on 

October 25, 2019, the CFV LITTLE JOSEPH SANK while transiting the Brownsville Ship 

Channel in Port Isabel, TX with a potential of approximately 9,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 50 

gallons of lubricating oil onboard.9 A COTP Administrative Order was issued to the vessel 

owner, Mr , detailing actions that needed to be completed including submitting a 

plan detailing specific response actions to mitigate or prevent the threat of any additional 

discharge from the vessel by 1600 local time on October 27, 2019.10

Bryant performed response actions under the direct supervision of the FOSCR as well as the 

State On-Scene Coordinator (SOSC), Texas General Land Office (TGLO).11 Bryant personnel 

initially arrived on-scene on October 26, 2019, working on a salvage plan with USCG Sector 

Corpus Christi personnel. Weather and an unfavorable sea state12 initially prevented operations, 

and so Bryant personnel and equipment were on stand-by from October 31 until November 5, 

2019. Once they were cleared to begin operations once more, Bryant personnel were able to 

remove fuel from the first two tanks (11/05/2019 and 11/07/2019), but not the third because of 

its position in the sand. 

It was at this same time that the RP, Mr. , reported that he was unable to 

continue recovery operations, and was issued a Notice of Federal Assumption on November 7, 

2019. It is at this point that the USCG took over removal operations, contracting with both Miller 

Environmental and Underwater Services for the remainder of the incident. A Federal Project 

Number N20005 was opened for this incident. 

Responsible Party 

 In accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the owner of the CFV LITTLE JOSEPH, 

Mr. , was identified as the Responsible Party (RP) for the incident.13 On September 

18, 2020, the NPFC issued a Responsible Party Notification Letter to Mr. .

14 A 

Responsible Party Notification letter notifies the owner and/or operator that a claim was 

presented to the National Pollution Funds Center (NPFC) seeking reimbursement of 

uncompensated removal costs incurred as a result of response services performed that resulted 

from a vessel or facility that was identified as the source of a discharge or substantial threat of a 

discharge of oil to navigable waters of the United States. 

 

II. CLAIMANT and RP: 

 

9USCG POLREP One dated October 28, 2019. 

10 USCG Captain of the Port (COTP) Admin Order dated October 26, 2019 to Mr. , owner of the 

vessel. 

11 TGLO case file #2019-3862. 

12 Email from MSTC , dated October 23, 2020. 

13 USCG POLREP One, Section 1(a), dated October 28, 2019. 

14 NPFC RP Notification Letter sent to Mr. via electronic mail and USPS Certified Mail. 

(b), (b) (6) (b), 

(b) 

(b), (b) (6) (b), (b) (6) (b), (b) (6) (b), (b) (6) (b), (b) (6) (b), (b) (6)
5

Absent limited circumstances, the Federal Regulations implementing the Oil Pollution Act of 

1990 (OPA)15 require all claims for removal costs or damages must be presented to the RP 

before seeking compensation from the NPFC.16 When an RP denies a claim or has not settled a 

claim after 90 days of receipt, a claimant may elect to present its claim to the NPFC.17

III. CLAIMANT AND NPFC: 

 Bryant presented its uncompensated costs claim to the National Pollution Funds Center 

(NPFC) for $62,719.12.18 The costs claimed are for Bryant personnel that responded on-scene 

beginning October 25 through November 7, 2019. The costs are for personnel time, divers, 

utility boats, fuel and miscellaneous supplies.19 

IV. DETERMINATION PROCESS: 

 The NPFC utilizes an informal process when adjudicating claims against the Oil Spill 

Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF).20 As a result, 5 U.S.C. § 555(e) requires the NPFC to provide a 

brief statement explaining its decision. This determination is issued to satisfy that requirement. 

 When adjudicating claims against the OSLTF, the NPFC acts as the finder of fact. In this 

role, the NPFC considers all relevant evidence, including evidence provided by claimants and 

evidence obtained independently by the NPFC, and weighs its probative value when determining 

the facts of the claim.21 The NPFC may rely upon, is not bound by the findings of fact, opinions, 

or conclusions reached by other entities.22 If there is conflicting evidence in the record, the 

NPFC makes a determination as to what evidence is more credible or deserves greater weight, 

and makes its determination based on the preponderance of the credible evidence. 

V. DISCUSSION: 

 An RP is liable for all removal costs and damages resulting from either an oil discharge or a 

substantial threat of oil discharge into a navigable water of the United States.23 An RP’s liability 

is strict, joint, and several.24 When enacting OPA, Congress “explicitly recognized that the 

existing federal and states laws provided inadequate cleanup and damage remedies, required 

large taxpayer subsidies for costly cleanup activities and presented substantial burdens to 

victim’s recoveries such as legal defenses, corporate forms, and burdens of proof unfairly 

 

15 33 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq. 

16 33 CFR 136.103. 

17 Id. 

18 33 CFR 136.103(c). 

19 See NPFC claim submission # N20005-0001, dated September 15, 2020. 

20 33 CFR Part 136. 

21 See, e.g., Boquet Oyster House, Inc. v. United States, 74 ERC 2004, 2001 WL 5187292, (E.D. La. 2011), “[T]he 

Fifth Circuit specifically recognized that an agency has discretion to credit one expert’s report over another when 

experts express conflicting views.” Citing Medina County v. Surface Transp. Bd., 602 F.3d 687 699 (5th Cir. 2010). 

22 See, e.g., Use of Reports of Marine Casualty in Claims Process by National Pollution Funds Center, 71 Fed. Reg. 

60553 (October 13, 2006) and Use of Reports of Marine Casualty in Claims Process by National Pollution Funds 

Center 72 Fed. Reg. 17574 (concluding that NPFC may consider marine casualty reports but is not bound by them). 

23 33 U.S.C. § 2702(a). 

24 See, H.R. Rep. No 101-653, at 102 (1990), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 779, 780. 
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favoring those responsible for the spills.”25 OPA was intended to cure these deficiencies in the 

law. 

 OPA provides a mechanism for compensating parties who have incurred removal costs where 

the responsible party has failed to do so. Removal costs are defined as “the costs of removal that 

are incurred after a discharge of oil has occurred or, in any case in which there is a substantial 

threat of a discharge of oil, the costs to prevent, minimize, or mitigate oil pollution from an 

incident.”26 The term “remove” or “removal” means “containment and removal of oil [...] from 

water and shorelines or the taking of other actions as may be necessary to minimize or mitigate 

damage to the public health or welfare, including, but not limited to fish, shellfish, wildlife, and 

public and private property, shorelines, and beaches.”27 

 The NPFC is authorized to pay claims for uncompensated removal costs that are consistent 

with the National Contingency Plan (NCP).28 The NPFC has promulgated a comprehensive set of 

regulations governing the presentment, filing, processing, settling, and adjudicating such 

claims.29 The claimant bears the burden of providing all evidence, information, and 

documentation deemed relevant and necessary by the Director of the NPFC, to support and 

properly process the claim.30

 Before reimbursement can be authorized for uncompensated removal costs, the claimant must 

demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence: 

(a) That the actions taken were necessary to prevent, minimize, or mitigate the effects of the 

incident; 

(b) That the removal costs were incurred as a result of these actions; 

(c) That the actions taken were directed by the FOSC or determined by the FOSC to be 

consistent with the National Contingency Plan. 

(d) That the removal costs were uncompensated and reasonable.31

 

 The NPFC analyzed each of these factors and determined the majority of the costs incurred by 

Bryant and submitted herein are compensable removal costs based on the supporting 

documentation provided. The NPFC determined all approved costs invoiced at the appropriate 

rate sheet pricing were billed in accordance with the rate schedule provided.32 All approved 

costs were supported by adequate documentation, which included the Bryant Invoicing, the 

TGLO Incident Report # 2019-3862 and FOSC statements. 

 The amount of compensable costs is $62,168.09, while $551.03 was deemed not compensable 

for the following reasons: 

 

 

25 Apex Oil Co., Inc. v United States, 208 F. Supp. 2d 642, 651-52 (E.D. La. 2002) (citing S. Rep. No. 101-94 

(1989), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 722).

26 33 U.S.C. § 2701(31). 

27 33 U.S.C. § 2701(30). 

28 See generally, 33 U.S.C. § 2712 (a)(4); 33 U.S.C. § 2713; and 33 CFR Part 136. 

29 33 CFR Part 136. 

30 33 CFR 136.105. 

31 33 CFR 136.203; 33 CFR 136.205. 

32 Bryant 2019 Rate Sheets.