I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5313 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to require offshore oil rigs to install 

acoustic control systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2010 

Mr. SCHOCK (for himself and Mr. PUTNAM) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to require offshore 

oil rigs to install acoustic control systems, 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 ‘‘Offshore Safety and 

5 Response Improvement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ACOUSTIC CONTROL SYSTEM REQUIREMENT FOR 

2 OFFSHORE OIL RIGS. 

3 The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the 

4 Secretary of Energy, shall study the use, effectiveness, and 

5 specifications of acoustic control systems for offshore oil 

6 rigs, and, not later than one year after the date of the 

7 enactment of this Act, shall— 

8 (1) promulgate, and publish in the Federal 

9 Register, regulations for carrying out the leasing 

10 provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

11 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) that— 

12 (A) identify approved acoustic control sys13 tems for offshore oil rigs; and 

14 (B) require any lessee under that Act 

15 using an offshore oil rig to install an acoustic 

16 control system identified under subparagraph 

17 (A) not later than two years after the date on 

18 which the Secretary publishes the regulations; 

19 or 

20 (2) submit to Congress, and make available to 

21 the public, a report describing in detail the reasons 

22 acoustic control systems are not necessary for off23 shore oil rigs. 


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1 SEC. 3. NATIONAL OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES POL2 LUTION CONTINGENCY PLAN REVISION. 

3 Not later than one year after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the President, acting through the Ad5 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and 

6 in consultation with the Secretary of the department in 

7 which the Coast Guard is operating, shall revise the Na8 tional Contingency Plan developed under section 311(d) 

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

10 1321(d)) to include specific response procedures for var11 ious predetermined scenarios and conditions relating to 

12 discharges of oil, including the location and amount of a 

13 discharge, and the length of time that has elapsed since 

14 a discharge occurred. In revising the National Contin15 gency Plan under this section, the President shall solicit 

16 comments from the Secretary of the Interior, the Gov17 ernors of coastal States, and owners or operators of off18 shore oil rigs or oil transportation services. 

19 SEC. 4. OIL SPILL REMOVAL TECHNOLOGY REVIEW. 

20 Not later than one year after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental 

22 Protection Agency and the Secretary of the Interior shall 

23 jointly review and submit to Congress a report regarding 

24 the following: 


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1 (1) Technologies and methods for removal of oil 

2 from an oil spill that are used in Federal responses 

3 to such spills. 

4 (2) The length of time each of the technologies 

5 and methods described in paragraph (1) has been in 

6 use in such responses. 

7 (3) Technologies and methods for removal of oil 

8 from an oil spill that are available world-wide. 

9 (4) Technologies and methods for removal of oil 

10 from an oil spill that are in development. 

11 (5) The investments being made by the Envi12 ronmental Protection Agency and the Department of 

13 the Interior in the development of improved tech14 nologies and methods for the removal of oil from an 

15 oil spill, including the amount of funds obligated for 

16 such purpose using amounts appropriated for the 

17 fiscal year or years covered by the 12-month period 

18 preceding the date of submission to Congress of the 

19 report required by this section. 

20 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) ACOUSTIC CONTROL SYSTEM.—The term 

23 ‘‘acoustic control system’’ means a remote-control 

24 emergency shut-off system for an offshore oil rig, as 

25 further defined by the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 (2) OFFSHORE OIL RIG.—The term ‘‘offshore 

2 oil rig’’ means any vessel or facility that is used for 

3 the drilling of oil or gas in exploration, development, 

4 or production on the outer Continental Shelf (as 

5 those terms are used in section 2 of the Outer Conti6 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331)). 

7 (3) OIL SPILL.—The term ‘‘oil spill’’ means any 

8 discharge of oil into navigable waters (as those 

9 terms are defined in section 1001 of the Oil Pollu10 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701)). 

11 (4) REMOVAL.—The term ‘‘removal’’ has the 

12 meaning given that term in section 1001 of the Oil 

13 Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701). 

Æ 


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