IB 

Union Calendar No. 326 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5629 

[Report No. 111–567, Part I] 

To ensure full recovery from responsible parties of damages for physical 

and economic injuries, adverse effects on the environment, and clean 

up of oil spill pollution, to improve the safety of vessels and pipelines 

supporting offshore oil drilling, to ensure that there are adequate response plans to prevent environmental damage from oil spills, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 29, 2010 

Mr. OBERSTAR (for himself, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

of Texas, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. NADLER of New York, Mr. LARSEN of 

Washington, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. BISHOP of New York, and Ms. HIRONO) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 

the Judiciary and Natural Resources, 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 

JULY 27, 2010 

Additional sponsors: Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Mr. HARE, Mr. FILNER, 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. HALL of 

New York, and Mr. CARNAHAN

JULY 27, 2010 

Reported from the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JULY 27, 2010 

Committees on the Judiciary and Natural Resources discharged; committed to 

the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 29, 2010] 


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A BILL 

To ensure full recovery from responsible parties of damages 

for physical and economic injuries, adverse effects on 

the environment, and clean up of oil spill pollution, to 

improve the safety of vessels and pipelines supporting 

offshore oil drilling, to ensure that there are adequate 

response plans to prevent environmental damage from 

oil spills, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Oil 

5 Spill Accountability and Environmental Protection Act of 

6 2010’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

8 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Repeal of and adjustments to limitation on liability. 

Sec. 3. Evidence of financial responsibility for offshore facilities. 

Sec. 4. Damages to human health. 

Sec. 5. Clarification of liability for discharges from mobile offshore drilling units. 

Sec. 6. Standard of review for damage assessment. 

Sec. 7. Information on claims. 

Sec. 8. Limitation of Liability Act. 

Sec. 9. Death on the High Seas Act. 

Sec. 10. Jones Act. 

Sec. 11. Americanization of offshore operations in the exclusive economic zone. 

Sec. 12. Safety management systems for mobile offshore drilling units. 

Sec. 13. Safety standards for mobile offshore drilling units. 

Sec. 14. Coast Guard marine safety workforce. 

Sec. 15. Operational control of mobile offshore drilling units. 

Sec. 16. Leave retention authority. 

Sec. 17. Single-hull tankers. 

Sec. 18. Repeal of response plan waiver. 

Sec. 19. National Contingency Plan. 

Sec. 20. Tracking Database. 

Sec. 21. Safety of transportation-related offshore platforms. 

Sec. 22. Evaluation and approval of response plans; maximum penalties. 

Sec. 23. Oil and hazardous substance cleanup technologies. 

Sec. 24. Implementation of oil spill prevention and response authorities. 

Sec. 25. Disaster damage notification and assessment. 

Sec. 26. Impacts to Indian Tribes. 

Sec. 27. National Commission study of Federal management and oversight of offshore drilling. 

Sec. 28. Federal enforcement actions. 

Sec. 29. Time required before electing to proceed with judicial claim or against 

the Fund. 

Sec. 30. Report on former Coast Guard officials employed by recognized organizations of foreign flag administrations. 

Sec. 31. Authorized level of Coast Guard personnel. 

Sec. 32. Clarification of memorandums of understanding. 

Sec. 33. Study of health effects of oil spill. 

Sec. 34. Offshore energy security. 

Sec. 35. Oil spill response vessel database. 


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Sec. 36. Offshore sensing and monitoring systems. 

Sec. 37. Vice commandant; vice admirals. 

Sec. 38. Oil and gas exploration and production. 

Sec. 39. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. REPEAL OF AND ADJUSTMENTS TO LIMITATION ON 

2 LIABILITY. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1004 of the Oil Pollution 

4 Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘$800,000,,’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘$800,000,’’; and 

9 (ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semi10 colon at the end; 

11 (B) by striking paragraph (3); and 

12 (C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

13 paragraph (3); 

14 (2) in subsection (b)(2) by striking the second 

15 sentence; and 

16 (3) by striking subsection (d)(4) and inserting 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENT OF LIMITS ON LIABILITY.— 

19 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 

20 the Oil Spill Accountability and Environmental Pro21 tection Act of 2010, and at least once every 3 years 

22 thereafter, the President shall review the limits on li23 ability specified in subsection (a) and shall by regulaVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5629.RH H5629

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1 tion revise such limits upward to reflect either the 

2 amount of liability that the President determines is 

3 commensurate with the risk of discharge of oil pre4 sented by a particular category of vessel or any in5 crease in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is 

6 greater.’’. 

7 (b) APPLICATION.—The repeals and amendments made 

8 by this section shall apply to all claims arising from events 

9 or activities occurring on or after April 19, 2010, including 

10 to claims pending on or before the date of enactment of this 

11 Act. 

12 SEC. 3. EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR 

13 OFFSHORE FACILITIES. 

14 (a) MODIFICATION.—Section 1016(c)(1) of the Oil Pol15 lution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2716(c)(1)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘subpara17 graph (A) is’’ and all that follows before the period 

18 and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A) is $1,500,000,000’’; 

19 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(C) GREATER AMOUNT.— 

22 ‘‘(i) SPECIFIC FACILITIES.—If the 

23 President determines that an amount of fi24 nancial responsibility for a responsible 

25 party that is greater than the amount reVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5629.RH H5629

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1 quired by subparagraph (B) is justified 

2 based on the relative operational, environ3 mental, human health, and other risks posed 

4 by the quantity, quality, or location of oil 

5 that is explored for, drilled for, produced, or 

6 transported by the responsible party, the 

7 evidence of financial responsibility required 

8 shall be for an amount determined by the 

9 President. 

10 ‘‘(ii) ADJUSTMENT FOR ALL OFFSHORE

11 FACILITIES.— 

12 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

13 3 years after the date of enactment of 

14 the Oil Spill Accountability and Envi15 ronmental Protection Act of 2010, and 

16 at least once every 3 years thereafter, 

17 the President shall review the level of 

18 financial responsibility specified in 

19 subparagraph (B) and may by regula20 tion revise such level upwards to a 

21 level that the President determines is 

22 justified based on the relative oper23 ational, environmental, human health, 

24 and other risks posed by the quantity, 

25 quality, or location of oil that is exVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5629.RH H5629

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1 plored for, drilled for, produced, or 

2 transported by the responsible party. 

3 ‘‘(II) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.— 

4 Upon completion of a review specified 

5 in subclause (I), the President shall no6 tify Congress as to whether the Presi7 dent will revise the levels of financial 

8 responsibility and the factors for mak9 ing such determination.’’; and 

10 (3) by striking subparagraph (E). 

11 (b) APPLICATION; TRANSITION PERIOD.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall take effect on the date of enactment 

14 of this Act and shall apply to any lease for explo15 ration, development, or production of minerals, as de16 fined by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

17 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), that the Secretary of the Interior 

18 awards after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 (2) TRANSITION PERIOD.—Notwithstanding 

20 paragraph (1), not later than 6 months after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the President shall require 

22 any person who holds, on the date of enactment of 

23 this Act, a lease for exploration, development, or pro24 duction of minerals, as defined by the Outer Conti25 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), loVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5629.RH H5629

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1 cated in the navigable waters, adjoining shoreline, or 

2 the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States to 

3 provide evidence of financial responsibility consistent 

4 with the amendments made by this section. 

5 SEC. 4. DAMAGES TO HUMAN HEALTH. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1002(b)(2) of the Oil Pollu7 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2702(b)(2)) is amended by add8 ing at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(G) HUMAN HEALTH.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Damages to human 

11 health, including fatal injuries, which shall 

12 be recoverable by any claimant who has a 

13 demonstrable, adverse impact to human 

14 health or, in the case of a fatal injury to an 

15 individual, a claimant filing a claim on be16 half of such individual. 

17 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSION.—For purposes of 

18 clause (i), the term ‘human health’ includes 

19 mental health.’’. 

20 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub21 section (a) shall apply to all claims arising from events 

22 or activities occurring on or after April 19, 2010, including 

23 such claims pending on or before the date of enactment of 

24 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR DISCHARGES 

2 FROM MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1004(b)(2) of the Oil Pollu4 tion Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2704(b)(2)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘from any incident described in 

6 paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘from any discharge of 

7 oil, or substantial threat of a discharge of oil, into or 

8 upon the water’’; and 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘liable’’ and inserting ‘‘liable as 

10 described in paragraph (1)’’. 

11 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by sub12 section (a) shall apply to all claims arising from events 

13 or activities occurring on or after April 19, 2010, including 

14 such claims pending on or before the date of enactment of 

15 this Act. 

16 SEC. 6. STANDARD OF REVIEW FOR DAMAGE ASSESSMENT. 

17 Section 1006(e)(2) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

18 U.S.C. 2706(e)(2)) is amended— 

19 (1) in the heading by striking ‘‘REBUTTABLE

20 PRESUMPTION’’ and inserting ‘‘JUDICIAL REVIEW OF

21 ASSESSMENTS’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘have the force and effect’’ and 

23 all that follows before the period and inserting the fol24 lowing: ‘‘be subject to judicial review under sub25 chapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code 

26 (commonly known as the Administrative Procedure 


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1 Act), on the basis of the administrative record devel2 oped by the lead Federal trustee as provided in such 

3 regulations’’. 

4 SEC. 7. INFORMATION ON CLAIMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Oil Pollution Act of 

6 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

7 section 1013 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1013A. INFORMATION ON CLAIMS. 

9 ‘‘In the event of a spill of national significance, the 

10 President may require a responsible party or a guarantor 

11 of a source designated under section 1014(a) to provide to 

12 the President any information on or related to claims, ei13 ther individually, in the aggregate, or both, that the Presi14 dent requests, including— 

15 ‘‘(1) the transaction date or dates of such claims, 

16 including processing times; and 

17 ‘‘(2) any other data pertaining to such claims 

18 necessary to ensure the performance of the responsible 

19 party or the guarantor with regard to the processing 

20 and adjudication of such claims.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

22 contained in section 2 of such Act is amended by inserting 

23 after the item relating to section 1013 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 1013A. Information on claims.’’. 

24 (c) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this sec25 tion shall apply to all claims arising from events or activiVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5629.RH H5629

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1 ties occurring on or after April 19, 2010, including such 

2 claims pending on or before the date of enactment of this 

3 Act. 

4 SEC. 8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY ACT. 

5 (a) REPEAL.—Chapter 305 of title 46, United States 

6 Code, is amended— 

7 (1) by repealing sections 30505, 30506, 30507, 

8 30511, and 30512; and 

9 (2) by redesignating sections 30508 through 

10 30510 as sections 30505 through 30507, respectively. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AND CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990.—Section 1018 

13 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2718) is 

14 amended— 

15 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘or the 

16 Act of March 3, 1851’’; and 

17 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘, the Act 

18 of March 3, 1851 (46 U.S.C. 183 et seq.),’’. 

19 (2) TITLE 46.—Section 14305(a) of title 46, 

20 United States Code, is amended by striking para21 graph (5) and redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

22 (15) as paragraphs (5) through (14), respectively. 

23 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis at the 

24 beginning of chapter 305 of title 46, United States 

25 Code, is amended by striking the items relating to secVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5629.RH H5629

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1 tions 30505 through 30512 and inserting the fol2 lowing: 

‘‘30505. Provisions requiring notice of claim or limiting time for bringing action. 

‘‘30506. Provisions limiting liability for personal injury or death. 

‘‘30507. Vicarious liability for medical malpractice with regard to crew.’’. 

3 (c) APPLICATION.—The repeals and amendments made 

4 by this section shall apply to all claims arising from events 

5 or activities occurring on or after April 19, 2010, including 

6 to claims pending on or before the date of enactment of this 

7 Act. 

8 SEC. 9. DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS ACT. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Death on the High Seas Act 

10 (chapter 303 of title 46, United States Code), is amended— 

11 (1) in section 30302— 

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘or law’’ after ‘‘admi13 ralty’’; and 

14 (B) by striking the last sentence and insert15 ing ‘‘The action shall be for the exclusive benefit 

16 of the survivors, including the decedent’s spouse, 

17 parent, child, or dependent relatives.’’; 

18 (2) in section 30303— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘and nonpecuniary loss’’ 

20 after ‘‘pecuniary loss’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘by’’ and all that follows 

22 through the end, and inserting ‘‘, plus a fair 

23 compensation for the decedent’s pain and suf24 fering.’’; and 


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

2 this section, the term ‘nonpecuniary loss’ means 

3 losses authorized under general maritime law in4 cluding loss of care, comfort, and companion5 ship.’’; 

6 (3) in section 30305 by inserting ‘‘or law’’ after 

7 ‘‘admiralty’’; 

8 (4) in section 30306, by inserting ‘‘or law’’ after 

9 ‘‘admiralty’’; 

10 (5) by striking section 30307; and 

11 (6) in the analysis at the beginning of such 

12 chapter, by striking the item relating to section 

13 30307. 

14 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by sub15 section (a) shall apply to all claims arising from events 

16 or activities occurring on or after April 19, 2010, including 

17 such claims pending on or before the date of enactment of 

18 this Act. 

19 SEC. 10. JONES ACT. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30104 of title 46, United 

21 States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Laws’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (b), 

24 laws’’; 


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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before the 

2 first sentence; and 

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

4 ‘‘(b) NONPECUNIARY LOSSES FOR DEATH.—In addi5 tion to other amounts authorized by law, the recovery for 

6 a seaman who dies may also include nonpecuniary losses 

7 that are authorized under general maritime law, such as 

8 the loss of care, comfort, and companionship.’’. 

9 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by sub10 section (a) shall apply to all claims arising from events 

11 or activities occurring on or after April 19, 2010, including 

12 such claims pending on or before the date of enactment of 

13 this Act. 

14 SEC. 11. AMERICANIZATION OF OFFSHORE OPERATIONS IN 

15 THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE. 

16 (a) REGISTRY ENDORSEMENT REQUIRED.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12111 of title 46, 

18 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(e) RESOURCE ACTIVITIES IN THE EEZ.—Except for 

21 activities requiring an endorsement under sections 12112 

22 or 12113, only a vessel for which a certificate of documenta23 tion with a registry endorsement is issued and that is 

24 owned by a citizen of the United States (as determined 

25 under section 50501(d)) may engage in support of exploVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5629.RH H5629

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1 ration, development, or production of resources in, on, 

2 above, or below the exclusive economic zone or any other 

3 activity in the exclusive economic zone to the extent that 

4 the regulation of such activity is not prohibited under cus5 tomary international law.’’. 

6 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

7 paragraph (1) applies only with respect to explo8 ration, development, production, and support activi9 ties that commence on or after July 1, 2011. 

10 (b) LEGAL AUTHORITY.—Section 2301 of title 46, 

11 United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘title’’; 

13 and 

14 (2) by inserting after ‘‘1988’’ the following: ‘‘and 

15 the exclusive economic zone to the extent that the reg16 ulation of such operation is not prohibited under cus17 tomary international law’’. 

18 (c) TRAINING FOR COAST GUARD PERSONNEL.—Not 

19 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

20 the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard 

21 is operating shall establish a program to provide Coast 

22 Guard personnel with the training necessary for the imple23 mentation of the amendments made by this section. 


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1 SEC. 12. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR MOBILE OFF2 SHORE DRILLING UNITS. 

3 Section 3203 of title 46, United States Code, is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection 

6 (c); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(b) MOBILE OFFSHORE DRILLING UNITS.—The safe10 ty management system described in subsection (a) for a mo11 bile offshore drilling unit operating in waters subject to the 

12 jurisdiction of the United States (including the exclusive 

13 economic zone) shall include processes, procedures, and poli14 cies related to the safe operation and maintenance of the 

15 machinery and systems on board the unit that are used for 

16 the industrial business and functions of the unit, including 

17 drilling operations.’’. 

18 SEC. 13. SAFETY STANDARDS FOR MOBILE OFFSHORE 

19 DRILLING UNITS. 

20 Section 3306 of title 46, United States Code, is amend21 ed by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(k) In prescribing regulations for mobile offshore 

23 drilling units, the Secretary shall develop standards to ad24 dress a worst-case event involving a discharge as that term 

25 is defined in section 1001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 

26 (33 U.S.C. 2701).’’. 


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1 SEC. 14. COAST GUARD MARINE SAFETY WORKFORCE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of title 14, United States 

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 99. Marine safety workforce 

5 ‘‘(a) MARINE SAFETY WORKFORCE.—The Secretary, 

6 acting through the Commandant— 

7 ‘‘(1) shall designate a sufficient number of posi8 tions to be in the Coast Guard’s marine safety work9 force to perform vessel inspections and marine cas10 ualty investigations; and 

11 ‘‘(2) shall ensure that a sufficient number of 

12 fully qualified officers, members, and civilian employ13 ees of the Coast Guard are assigned to those positions. 

14 ‘‘(b) CAREER PATHS.—The Secretary, acting through 

15 the Commandant, shall ensure that appropriate career 

16 paths for an officer, member, or civilian employee of the 

17 Coast Guard who wishes to pursue a career in marine safe18 ty are identified in terms of the education, training, experi19 ence, and assignments necessary for career progression to 

20 the most senior marine safety positions. The Secretary shall 

21 make available published information on such career paths. 

22 ‘‘(c) QUALIFICATIONS.—With regard to the marine 

23 safety workforce, an officer, member, or civilian employee 

24 of the Coast Guard assigned as a— 

25 ‘‘(1) marine inspector shall have the training, 

26 experience, and qualifications equivalent to that reVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5629.RH H5629

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1 quired for a similar position at a classification soci2 ety recognized by the Secretary under section 3316 of 

3 title 46 for the type of vessel, system, or equipment 

4 that is inspected; 

5 ‘‘(2) marine casualty investigator shall have 

6 training, experience, and qualifications in investiga7 tion, marine casualty reconstruction, evidence collec8 tion and preservation, human factors, and docu9 mentation using best investigation practices by Fed10 eral and non-Federal entities; 

11 ‘‘(3) marine safety engineer shall have knowl12 edge, skill, and practical experience in— 

13 ‘‘(A) the construction and operation of com14 mercial vessels; 

15 ‘‘(B) judging the character, strength, sta16 bility, and safety qualities of such vessels and 

17 their equipment; or 

18 ‘‘(C) the qualifications and training of ves19 sel personnel; or 

20 ‘‘(4) marine inspector inspecting mobile offshore 

21 drilling units shall have knowledge, skill, and prac22 tical experience in— 

23 ‘‘(A) Federal, State, and international law 

24 compliance; 

25 ‘‘(B) personnel training; 


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1 ‘‘(C) drilling operations; 

2 ‘‘(D) mobile offshore drilling unit and mar3 itime safety; 

4 ‘‘(E) the effect of weather on mobile offshore 

5 drilling unit safety and operations; 

6 ‘‘(F) ship handling and positioning; and 

7 ‘‘(G) emergency procedures. 

8 ‘‘(d) APPRENTICESHIP REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An officer, member, or civil10 ian employee of the Coast Guard in training to be11 come a marine inspector, marine casualty investi12 gator, or a marine safety engineer shall serve a min13 imum of one-year apprenticeship, unless otherwise di14 rected by the Commandant, under the guidance of a 

15 qualified marine inspector (including an inspector of 

16 mobile offshore drilling units), marine casualty inves17 tigator, or marine safety engineer. The Commandant 

18 may authorize shorter apprenticeship periods for cer19 tain qualifications, as appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(2) HIGHLY SPECIALIZED VESSELS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the re22 quirement under paragraph (1), any officer, 

23 member, or employee of the Coast Guard as24 signed as a marine inspector or marine casualty 

25 investigator with responsibility for inspecting or 


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1 responding to casualties involving highly special2 ized vessels must have served a minimum of 6 

3 months apprenticeship with those vessels. 

4 ‘‘(B) HIGHLY SPECIALIZED VESSELS DE5 FINED.—In this paragraph the term ‘highly spe6 cialized vessel’ includes mobile offshore drilling 

7 units, tank vessels, and vessels carrying certain 

8 dangerous cargoes as defined by the Com9 mandant.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis at the be11 ginning of such chapter is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

‘‘99. Marine safety workforce.’’. 

13 (c) SUPPORT FOR MARITIME SAFETY AND SECURITY

14 TEAMS PARTICIPATING IN ‘‘DEEPWATER HORIZON’’ RE15 SPONSE.— 

16 (1) REVIEW AND REPORT.—The Secretary of the 

17 department in which the Coast Guard is operating 

18 shall review and report to Congress on the needs of 

19 maritime safety and security teams participating in 

20 patrols and setup of safety zones for, and manage21 ment of, the discharge of oil that began in 2010 in 

22 connection with the explosion on, and sinking of, the 

23 mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. 

24 (2) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro25 priated to such Secretary, to remain available until 


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1 expended, such sums as are necessary to support the 

2 response of the Coast Guard and any Coast Guard 

3 maritime safety and security team in such patrols, 

4 setup of safety zones, and management. 

5 SEC. 15. OPERATIONAL CONTROL OF MOBILE OFFSHORE 

6 DRILLING UNITS. 

7 (a) LICENSES FOR MASTERS OF MOBILE OFFSHORE

8 DRILLING UNITS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 71 of title 46, United 

10 States Code, is amended by redesignating sections 

11 7104 through 7114 as sections 7105 through 7115, re12 spectively, and by inserting after section 7103 the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘§ 7104. Licenses for masters of mobile offshore drill15 ing units 

16 ‘‘A license as master of a mobile offshore drilling unit 

17 may be issued only to an applicant who has been issued 

18 a license as master under section 7101(c)(1) and has dem19 onstrated the knowledge, understanding, proficiency, and 

20 sea service required to be responsible for all industrial busi21 ness or functions of a mobile offshore drilling unit, includ22 ing all drilling operations of that type of unit for which 

23 the applicant is to be licensed.’’. 

24 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7109 of 

25 such title, as so redesignated, is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘section 7106 or 7107’’ and inserting ‘‘section 7107 

2 or 7108’’. 

3 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis at the 

4 beginning of such chapter is amended by striking the 

5 items relating to sections 7104 through 7114 and in6 serting the following: 

‘‘7104. Licenses for masters of mobile offshore drilling units. 

‘‘7105. Certificates for medical doctors and nurses. 

‘‘7106. Oaths. 

‘‘7107. Duration of licenses. 

‘‘7108. Duration of certificates of registry. 

‘‘7109. Termination of licenses and certificates of registry. 

‘‘7110. Review of criminal records. 

‘‘7111. Exhibiting licenses. 

‘‘7112. Oral examinations for licenses. 

‘‘7113. Licenses of masters or mates as pilots. 

‘‘7114. Exemption from draft. 

‘‘7115. Fees.’’. 

7 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR CERTIFICATE OF INSPEC8 TION.—Section 8101(a)(2) of title 46, United States Code, 

9 is amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: 

10 ‘‘and shall at all times be under the command of a master 

11 licensed under section 7104’’. 

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

13 section shall take effect 6 months after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act. 

15 SEC. 16. LEAVE RETENTION AUTHORITY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 14, United 

17 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 425 the 

18 following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 426. Emergency leave retention authority 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A duty assignment for an active 

3 duty member of the Coast Guard in support of a declaration 

4 of a major disaster or emergency by the President under 

5 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As6 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) or in response to a 

7 spill of national significance shall be treated, for the pur8 pose of section 701(f)(2) of title 10, as a duty assignment 

9 in support of a contingency operation. 

10 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) SPILL OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.—The 

12 term ‘spill of national significance’ means a discharge 

13 of oil or a hazardous substance that is declared by the 

14 Commandant to be a spill of national significance. 

15 ‘‘(2) DISCHARGE.—The term ‘discharge’ has the 

16 meaning given that term in section 1001 of the Oil 

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

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 

19 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

20 section 425 the following: 

‘‘426. Emergency leave retention authority.’’. 

21 SEC. 17. SINGLE-HULL TANKERS. 

22 (a) APPLICATION OF TANK VESSEL CONSTRUCTION

23 STANDARDS.—Section 3703a(b) of title 46, United States 

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1 nating paragraphs (4) through (6) as paragraphs (3) 

2 through (5), respectively. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub4 section (a) takes effect on January 1, 2011. 

5 SEC. 18. REPEAL OF RESPONSE PLAN WAIVER. 

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

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

8 (1) by striking ‘‘a tank vessel, nontank vessel, 

9 offshore facility, or onshore facility’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

10 nontank vessel’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘tank vessel, nontank vessel, or 

12 facility’’ and inserting ‘‘nontank vessel’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘A mobile 

14 offshore drilling unit, as such term is defined in sec15 tion 1001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 

16 2701), is not eligible to operate without a response 

17 plan approved under this section.’’. 

18 SEC. 19. NATIONAL CONTINGENCY PLAN. 

19 (a) GUIDELINES FOR CONTAINMENT BOOMS.—Section 

20 311(d)(2) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

21 U.S.C. 1321(d)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(N) Guidelines regarding the use of con24 tainment booms to contain a discharge of oil or 

25 a hazardous substance, including identification 


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1 of quantities of containment booms likely to be 

2 needed, available sources of containment booms, 

3 and best practices for containment boom place4 ment, monitoring, and maintenance.’’. 

5 (b) SCHEDULE FOR USE OF DISPERSANTS, OTHER

6 CHEMICALS, AND OTHER SPILL MITIGATING DEVICES AND

7 SUBSTANCES.—Section 311(d) of the Federal Water Pollu8 tion Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(5) SCHEDULE FOR USE OF DISPERSANTS, 

11 OTHER CHEMICALS, AND OTHER SPILL MITIGATING

12 DEVICES AND SUBSTANCES.— 

13 ‘‘(A) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 15 

14 months after the date of enactment of this para15 graph, the President, acting through the Admin16 istrator, after providing notice and an oppor17 tunity for public comment, shall issue a revised 

18 regulation for the development of the schedule for 

19 the use of dispersants, other chemicals, and other 

20 spill mitigating devices and substances developed 

21 under paragraph (2)(G) in a manner that is 

22 consistent with the requirements of this para23 graph and shall modify the existing schedule to 

24 take into account the requirements of the revised 

25 regulation. 


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1 ‘‘(B) SCHEDULE LISTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 In issuing the regulation under subparagraph 

3 (A), the Administrator shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) with respect to dispersants, other 

5 chemicals, and other spill mitigating sub6 stances included or proposed to be included 

7 on the schedule under paragraph (2)(G)— 

8 ‘‘(I) establish minimum toxicity 

9 and efficacy testing criteria, taking 

10 into account the results of the study 

11 carried out under subparagraph (C); 

12 ‘‘(II) provide for testing or other 

13 verification (independent from the in14 formation provided by an applicant 

15 seeking the inclusion of such dispers16 ant, chemical, or substance on the 

17 schedule) related to the toxicity and ef18 fectiveness of such dispersant, chemical, 

19 or substance; 

20 ‘‘(III) establish a framework for 

21 the application of any such dispersant, 

22 chemical, or substance, including— 

23 ‘‘(aa) quantity restrictions or 

24 application conditions; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the quantity thresholds 

2 for which consultation with and 

3 approval by the Regional Re4 sponse Team and the Federal On5 Scene Coordinator is required; 

6 ‘‘(cc) the criteria to be used 

7 to develop the appropriate max8 imum quantity of any such dis9 persant, chemical, or substance 

10 that the Administrator determines 

11 may be used, both on a daily and 

12 cumulative basis; and 

13 ‘‘(dd) a ranking, by geo14 graphic area, of any such dispers15 ant, chemical, or substance based 

16 on a combination of its effective17 ness for each type of oil and its 

18 level of toxicity; 

19 ‘‘(IV) establish a requirement that 

20 the volume of oil or hazardous sub21 stance discharged, and the volume and 

22 location of any such dispersant, chem23 ical, or substance used, be measured 

24 and made publicly available; 


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1 ‘‘(V) notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of law, require the public 

3 disclosure of the specific chemical iden4 tity, including the chemical and com5 mon name of any ingredients con6 tained in, and specific chemical for7 mulas or mixtures of, any such dis8 persant, chemical, or substance; and 

9 ‘‘(VI) in addition to existing au10 thority, expressly provide a mechanism 

11 for the delisting of any such dispers12 ant, chemical, or substance based on 

13 any information made available to the 

14 Administrator that demonstrates that 

15 such dispersant, chemical, or substance 

16 poses a significant risk to or impact on 

17 human health or the environment; 

18 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a dispersant, other 

19 chemical, and other spill mitigating sub20 stance not specifically identified on the 

21 schedule, and prior to the use of such dis22 persant, chemical, or substance in accord23 ance with paragraph (2)(G), establish— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the minimum toxicity and ef2 ficacy levels for such dispersant, chem3 ical, or substance; 

4 ‘‘(II) the information, including 

5 the specific chemical identity, formula, 

6 and mixtures, on such dispersant, 

7 other chemical, or other spill miti8 gating substance that shall be made 

9 publicly available; and 

10 ‘‘(III) such additional informa11 tion as the Administrator determines 

12 necessary; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) with respect to other spill miti14 gating devices included or proposed to be 

15 included on the schedule under paragraph 

16 (2)(G)— 

17 ‘‘(I) require the manufacturer of 

18 such device to carry out a study of the 

19 risks and effectiveness of the device ac20 cording to guidelines developed and 

21 published by the Administrator; and 

22 ‘‘(II) in addition to existing au23 thority, expressly provide a mechanism 

24 for the delisting of any such device 

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1 able to the Administrator that dem2 onstrates that such device poses a sig3 nificant risk to or impact on human 

4 health or the environment. 

5 ‘‘(C) STUDY.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 

7 months after the date of enactment of this 

8 paragraph, the Administrator shall initiate 

9 a study of the potential risks and impacts 

10 to human health and the environment, in11 cluding acute and chronic risks, from the 

12 use of dispersants, other chemicals, and 

13 other spill mitigating substances, if any, 

14 that may be used to carry out the National 

15 Contingency Plan, including an assessment 

16 of such risks and impacts— 

17 ‘‘(I) on a representative sample of 

18 biota and types of oil from locations 

19 where such dispersants, chemicals, or 

20 substances may potentially be used; 

21 ‘‘(II) on human health, including 

22 individuals most likely to come into 

23 contact with such dispersants, chemi24 cals, or substances, such as oil spill re25 sponse action workers; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) that result from any by2 products created from the use of such 

3 dispersants, chemicals, or substances. 

4 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION FROM MANUFAC5 TURERS.— 

6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In conjunc7 tion with the study authorized by 

8 clause (i), the Administrator shall de9 termine the requirements for manufac10 turers of dispersants, chemicals, or sub11 stances to evaluate the potential risks 

12 and impacts to human health and the 

13 environment, including acute and 

14 chronic risks, associated with the use of 

15 the dispersants, chemicals, or sub16 stances and any byproducts generated 

17 by such use and to provide the details 

18 of such evaluation as a condition for 

19 listing on the schedule according to 

20 guidelines developed and published by 

21 the Administrator. 

22 ‘‘(II) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

23 FOR EVALUATION.—Any evaluation 

24 carried out by a manufacturer under 

25 this clause shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) information on the oils 

2 and locations where such 

3 dispersants, chemicals, or sub4 stances may potentially be used; 

5 ‘‘(bb) an evaluation of the 

6 variety of different dispersants, 

7 chemicals, or substances that may 

8 be used in a response; and 

9 ‘‘(cc) an assessment of appli10 cation and impacts from subsea 

11 use of the dispersant, chemical, or 

12 substance, including the potential 

13 long term effects of such use. 

14 ‘‘(D) PERIODIC REVISIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 

16 years after the date of the issuance of the 

17 regulation under this paragraph, and at 

18 least once every 5 years thereafter, the Ad19 ministrator shall review the schedule for the 

20 use of dispersants, other chemicals, and 

21 other spill mitigating devices and sub22 stances that may be used to carry out the 

23 National Contingency Plan and update or 

24 revise the schedule, as necessary, to ensure 


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1 the protection of human health and the en2 vironment. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EFFECTIVENESS.—The Adminis4 trator shall ensure, to the maximum extent 

5 practicable, that each update or revision to 

6 the schedule increases the minimum effec7 tiveness value necessary for listing a dis8 persant, other chemical, or other spill miti9 gating device or substance on the schedule. 

10 ‘‘(E) APPROVAL OF USE AND APPLICATION

11 OF DISPERSANTS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In issuing the reg13 ulation under subparagraph (A), the Ad14 ministrator shall require the approval of the 

15 Federal On-Scene Coordinator, in coordina16 tion with the Administrator, for all uses of 

17 a dispersant, other chemical, or other spill 

18 mitigating substance in any removal action, 

19 including— 

20 ‘‘(I) any such dispersant, chem21 ical, or substance that is included on 

22 the schedule developed pursuant to this 

23 subsection; or 

24 ‘‘(II) any dispersant, chemical, or 

25 other substance that is included as part 


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1 an approved area contingency plan or 

2 response plan developed under this sec3 tion. 

4 ‘‘(ii) REPEAL.—Any part of section 

5 300.910 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula6 tions, that is inconsistent with this para7 graph is hereby repealed. 

8 ‘‘(6) REVIEW OF AND DEVELOPMENT OF CRI9 TERIA FOR EVALUATING RESPONSE PLANS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) REVIEW.—Not later than 6 months 

11 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 

12 President shall review the procedures and stand13 ards developed under paragraph (2)(J) to deter14 mine their sufficiency in ceasing and removing 

15 a worst case discharge of oil or hazardous sub16 stances, and for mitigating or preventing a sub17 stantial threat of such a discharge. 

18 ‘‘(B) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year 

19 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 

20 President, after providing notice and an oppor21 tunity for public comment, shall undertake a 

22 rulemaking to— 

23 ‘‘(i) revise the procedures and stand24 ards for ceasing and removing a worst case 

25 discharge of oil or hazardous substances, 


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1 and for mitigating or preventing a substan2 tial threat of such a discharge; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) develop a metric for evaluating 

4 the National Contingency Plan, Area Con5 tingency Plans, and tank vessel, nontank 

6 vessel, and facility response plans consistent 

7 with the procedures and standards devel8 oped pursuant to this paragraph.’’. 

9 (c) INCLUSION OF CONTAINMENT BOOMS IN AREA

10 CONTINGENCY PLANS.—Section 311(j)(4)(C)(iv) of such Act 

11 (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(4)(C)(iv)) is amended by striking ‘‘(in12 cluding firefighting equipment)’’ and inserting ‘‘(including 

13 firefighting equipment and containment booms)’’. 

14 SEC. 20. TRACKING DATABASE. 

15 Section 311(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

16 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(13) TRACKING DATABASE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall cre20 ate a database to track all discharges of oil or 

21 hazardous substances— 

22 ‘‘(i) into the waters of the United 

23 States, adjoining shorelines, or into or upon 

24 the waters of the contiguous zone; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in connection with activities 

2 under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

3 Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) or the Deep4 water Port Act of 1974 (33 U.S.C. 1501 et 

5 seq.); or 

6 ‘‘(iii) which may affect natural re7 sources belonging to, appertaining to, or 

8 under the exclusive management authority 

9 of the United States (including resources 

10 under the Fishery Conservation and Man11 agement Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 

12 seq.)). 

13 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The database 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) include— 

16 ‘‘(I) the name of the vessel or fa17 cility; 

18 ‘‘(II) the name of the owner, oper19 ator, or person in charge of the vessel 

20 or facility; 

21 ‘‘(III) the date of the discharge; 

22 ‘‘(IV) the volume of the discharge; 

23 ‘‘(V) the location of the discharge, 

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1 ceiving waters that are or could be af2 fected by the discharge; 

3 ‘‘(VI) a record of any determina4 tion of a violation of this section or 

5 section 1002 of the Oil Pollution Act of 

6 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2702); 

7 ‘‘(VII) a record of any adminis8 trative or enforcement action taken 

9 against the owner, operator, or person 

10 in charge; and 

11 ‘‘(VIII) any additional informa12 tion that the President determines nec13 essary; 

14 ‘‘(ii) use data provided by the Envi15 ronmental Protection Agency, the Coast 

16 Guard, the Pipeline and Hazardous Mate17 rials Safety Administration, and other ap18 propriate Federal agencies; 

19 ‘‘(iii) use data protocols developed and 

20 managed by the Environmental Protection 

21 Agency; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) be publicly accessible, including 

23 by electronic means.’’. 


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1 SEC. 21. SAFETY OF TRANSPORTATION-RELATED OFF2 SHORE PLATFORMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 601 of title 49, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 60138. Safety of transportation-related offshore 

6 platforms 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

8 shall conduct an analysis of the adequacy of existing regula9 tions and standards for the safety of transportation-related 

10 offshore platforms and the impact of the integrity of such 

11 platforms on pipeline safety. 

12 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

13 the Secretary may consult with any agency, organization, 

14 or person with expertise in the design, construction, testing, 

15 operation, or maintenance of offshore platforms. 

16 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 24 

17 months after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec18 retary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 

19 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the 

20 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

21 the Senate a report describing the results of the analysis 

22 conducted under subsection (a). The report shall include 

23 any recommendations the Secretary may have for address24 ing the safety or integrity of transportation-related offshore 

25 platforms, including any recommendations for legislative or 

26 regulatory action. 


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1 ‘‘(d) TRANSPORTATION-RELATED OFFSHORE PLAT2 FORM DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘transportation3 related offshore platform’ means any platform— 

4 ‘‘(1) located beyond the shoreline of the United 

5 States in State or Federal waters; 

6 ‘‘(2) used for transporting gas or hazardous liq7 uid; and 

8 ‘‘(3) the design, construction, testing, operation, 

9 maintenance, and security of which is not regulated 

10 by another Federal agency. 

11 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section applies to 

12 a production facility.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such 

14 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘60138. Safety of transportation-related offshore platforms.’’. 

15 SEC. 22. EVALUATION AND APPROVAL OF RESPONSE 

16 PLANS; MAXIMUM PENALTIES. 

17 (a) AGENCY REVIEW OF RESPONSE PLANS.— 

18 (1) LEAD FEDERAL AGENCY FOR REVIEW OF RE19 SPONSE PLANS.—Section 311(j)(5)(A) of the Federal 

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

21 1321(j)(5)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(iii) In issuing the regulations under this para24 graph, the President shall ensure that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the owner, operator, or person in 

2 charge of a tank vessel, nontank vessel, or off3 shore facility described in subparagraph (C) will 

4 not be considered to have complied with this 

5 paragraph until the owner, operator, or person 

6 in charge submits a plan under clause (i) or (ii), 

7 as appropriate, to the Secretary of the depart8 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating, or 

9 the Administrator, with respect to such offshore 

10 facilities as the President may designate, and the 

11 Secretary or Administrator, as appropriate, de12 termines and notifies the owner, operator, or per13 son in charge that the plan, if implemented, will 

14 provide an adequate response to a worst case dis15 charge of oil or a hazardous substance or a sub16 stantial threat of such a discharge; and 

17 ‘‘(II) the owner, operator, or person in 

18 charge of an onshore facility described in sub19 paragraph (C)(iv) will not be considered to have 

20 complied with this paragraph until the owner, 

21 operator, or person in charge submits a plan 

22 under clause (i) either to the Secretary of Trans23 portation, with respect to transportation-related 

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1 retary or Administrator, as appropriate, deter2 mines and notifies the owner, operator, or person 

3 in charge that the plan, if implemented, will 

4 provide an adequate response to a worst-case dis5 charge of oil or a hazardous substance or a sub6 stantial threat of such a discharge. 

7 ‘‘(iv)(I) The Secretary of the department in 

8 which the Coast Guard is operating, the Secretary of 

9 Transportation, or the Administrator, as appropriate, 

10 shall require that a plan submitted to the Secretary 

11 or Administrator for a vessel or facility under clause 

12 (iii)(I) or (iii)(II) by an owner, operator, or person 

13 in charge— 

14 ‘‘(aa) contain a probabilistic risk analysis 

15 for all critical engineered systems of the vessel or 

16 facility; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) adequately address all risks identified 

18 in the risk analysis. 

19 ‘‘(II) The Secretary or Administrator, as appro20 priate, shall require that a risk analysis developed 

21 under subclause (I) include, at a minimum, the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(aa) An analysis of human factors risks, 

24 including both organizational and management 

25 failure risks. 


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1 ‘‘(bb) An analysis of technical failure risks, 

2 including both component technologies and inte3 grated systems risks. 

4 ‘‘(cc) An analysis of interactions between 

5 humans and critical engineered systems. 

6 ‘‘(dd) Quantification of the likelihood of 

7 modes of failure and potential consequences. 

8 ‘‘(ee) A description of methods for reducing 

9 known risks. 

10 ‘‘(III) The Secretary or Administrator, as appro11 priate, shall require an owner, operator, or person in 

12 charge that develops a risk analysis under subclause 

13 (I) to make the risk analysis available to the public.’’. 

14 (2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF RESPONSE

15 PLANS.—Section 311(j)(5)(E) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

16 1321(j)(5)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(E) With respect to any response plan sub18 mitted under this paragraph for an onshore facility 

19 that, because of its location, could reasonably be ex20 pected to cause significant and substantial harm to 

21 the environment by discharging into or on the navi22 gable waters or adjoining shorelines or the exclusive 

23 economic zone, and with respect to each response plan 

24 submitted under this paragraph for a tank vessel, 


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1 nontank vessel, or offshore facility, the President 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) promptly review the response plan; 

4 ‘‘(ii) verify that the response plan complies 

5 with subparagraph (A)(iv), relating to risk anal6 yses; 

7 ‘‘(iii) with respect to a plan for an offshore 

8 or onshore facility or a tank vessel that carries 

9 liquefied natural gas, provide an opportunity for 

10 public notice and comment on the response plan; 

11 ‘‘(iv) taking into consideration any public 

12 comments received and other appropriate factors, 

13 as determined by the President, require revisions 

14 to the response plan; 

15 ‘‘(v) approve, approve with revisions, or 

16 disapprove the response plan; 

17 ‘‘(vi) review the response plan periodically 

18 thereafter, and if applicable requirements are not 

19 met, acting through the head of the appropriate 

20 Federal department or agency— 

21 ‘‘(I) issue administrative orders direct22 ing the owner, operator, or person in charge 

23 to comply with the response plan or any 

24 regulation issued under this section; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) assess civil penalties or conduct 

2 other appropriate enforcement actions in 

3 accordance with subsections (b)(6), (b)(7), 

4 and (b)(8) for failure to develop, submit, re5 ceive approval of, adhere to, or maintain 

6 the capability to implement the response 

7 plan, or failure to comply with any other 

8 requirement of this section; 

9 ‘‘(vii) acting through the head of the appro10 priate Federal department or agency, require, at 

11 a minimum, biennial inspections conducted by 

12 such agency of the tank vessel, nontank vessel, or 

13 facility to ensure compliance with the response 

14 plan or identify deficiencies in such plan; 

15 ‘‘(viii) acting through the head of the ap16 propriate Federal department or agency, make 

17 the response plan available to the public, includ18 ing on the Internet; and 

19 ‘‘(ix) in the case of a plan for a nontank 

20 vessel, consider any applicable State-mandated 

21 response plan in effect on the date of enactment 

22 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transpor23 tation Act of 2004 and ensure consistency to the 

24 extent practicable.’’. 


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1 (3) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Section 311(j)(5) of 

2 such Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)(5)) is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(J) Not later than 2 years after the date of en5 actment of this subparagraph, and biennially there6 after, the President, acting through the Adminis7 trator, the Secretary of the department in which the 

8 Coast Guard is operating, and the Secretary of 

9 Transportation, shall submit to Congress a report 

10 containing the following information for each owner, 

11 operator, or person in charge that submitted a re12 sponse plan for a tank vessel, nontank vessel, or other 

13 facility under this paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(i) The number of response plans ap15 proved, disapproved, or approved with revisions 

16 under subparagraph (E) annually for tank ves17 sels, nontank vessels, and facilities of the owner, 

18 operator, or person in charge. 

19 ‘‘(ii) The number of inspections conducted 

20 under subparagraph (E) annually for tank ves21 sels, nontank vessels, and facilities of the owner, 

22 operator, or person in charge. 

23 ‘‘(iii) A summary of each administrative or 

24 enforcement action taken with respect each tank 

25 vessel, nontank vessel, and facility of the owner, 


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1 operator, or person in charge, including a de2 scription of the violation, the date of violation, 

3 the amount of each penalty proposed, and the 

4 final assessment of each penalty and an expla5 nation for any reduction in a penalty.’’. 

6 (4) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS FOR FACILI7 TIES.—Section 311(m)(2) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

8 1321(m)(2)) is amended in each of subparagraphs (A) 

9 and (B) by inserting ‘‘, the Secretary of Transpor10 tation,’’ before ‘‘or the Secretary of the department in 

11 which the Coast Guard is operating’’. 

12 (b) PENALTIES.— 

13 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES.— 

14 (A) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF TRANS15 PORTATION TO ASSESS PENALTIES.—Section 

16 311(b)(6)(A) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

17 1321(b)(6)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, the 

18 Secretary of Transportation,’’ before ‘‘or the Ad19 ministrator’’. 

20 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES FOR FAIL21 URE TO PROVIDE NOTICE.—Section 311(b)(6)(A) 

22 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(6)(A)) is further 

23 amended— 


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1 (i) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘para2 graph (3), or’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

3 (3),’’; 

4 (ii) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘any reg5 ulation’’ and inserting ‘‘any order or action 

6 required by the President under subsection 

7 (c) or (e) or any regulation’’; 

8 (iii) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

9 clause (iii); 

10 (iv) by inserting after clause (i) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(ii) who fails to provide notice to the 

13 appropriate Federal agency pursuant to 

14 paragraph (5), or’’; and 

15 (v) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘Whenever the President delegates the au17 thority to issue regulations under subsection 

18 (j), the agency that issues regulations pur19 suant to that authority shall have the au20 thority to assess a civil penalty in accord21 ance with this section for violations of such 

22 regulations.’’. 

23 (C) PENALTY AMOUNTS.—Section 

24 311(b)(6)(B) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

25 1321(b)(6)(B)) is amended— 


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1 (i) in clause (i)— 

2 (I) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and in3 serting ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

4 (II) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and in5 serting ‘‘$250,000’’; and 

6 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

7 (I) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and in8 serting ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

9 (II) by striking ‘‘$125,000’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’. 

11 (2) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 311(b)(7) of such 

12 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(7)) is amended— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘$2,500’’; 

18 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘described in subpara20 graph (A)’’; 

21 (ii) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘carry out 

22 removal of the discharge under an order of 

23 the President pursuant to subsection (c); or’’ 

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1 quired by the President pursuant to sub2 section (c),’’; 

3 (iii) in clause (ii) by striking 

4 ‘‘(1)(B)’’; 

5 (iv) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

6 clause (iii); 

7 (v) by inserting after clause (i) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(ii) fails to provide notice to the ap10 propriate Federal agency pursuant to para11 graph (5), or’’; and 

12 (vi) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘$100,000’’; 

14 (C) in subparagraph (C)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

17 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘Whenever the President delegates the au19 thority to issue regulations under subsection 

20 (j), the agency that issues regulations pur21 suant to that authority shall have the au22 thority to order injunctive relief or assess a 

23 civil penalty in accordance with this section 

24 for violations of such regulations and the 

25 authority to refer the matter to the Attorney 


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1 General for action under subparagraph 

2 (E).’’; 

3 (D) in subparagraph (D)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘$1,000,000’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘$3,000’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘$7,500’’; and 

8 (E) in subparagraph (E) by adding at the 

9 end the following: ‘‘The court may award appro10 priate relief, including a temporary or perma11 nent injunction, civil penalties, compliance re12 quirements, and punitive damages.’’. 

13 (3) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by 

14 this subsection shall apply to violations occurring on 

15 or after April 19, 2010. 

16 (c) CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL REMOVAL AUTHOR17 ITY.—Section 311(c)(1)(B)(ii) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

18 1321(c)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking the term ‘‘mon19 itor all’’ and inserting ‘‘monitor, including through the use 

20 of an administrative order, all’’. 

21 SEC. 23. OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE CLEANUP TECH22 NOLOGIES. 

23 Section 311(j) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

24 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(j)) is amended by adding at the end 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(9) OIL AND HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE CLEANUP

2 TECHNOLOGIES.—The President, acting through the 

3 Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

4 Guard is operating, shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) in coordination with the heads of other 

6 appropriate Federal agencies, establish a process 

7 for— 

8 ‘‘(i) quickly and effectively soliciting, 

9 assessing, and deploying offshore oil and 

10 hazardous substance cleanup technologies in 

11 the event of a discharge or substantial 

12 threat of a discharge of oil or a hazardous 

13 substance in United States waters; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) effectively coordinating with other 

15 appropriate agencies, industry, academia, 

16 small businesses, and others to ensure the 

17 best technology available is implemented in 

18 the event of such a discharge or threat; and 

19 ‘‘(B) in coordination with the heads of other 

20 appropriate Federal agencies, maintain a data21 base on best available oil and hazardous sub22 stance cleanup technologies in the event of a dis23 charge or substantial threat of a discharge of oil 

24 or a hazardous substance in United States wa25 ters.’’. 


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1 SEC. 24. IMPLEMENTATION OF OIL SPILL PREVENTION AND 

2 RESPONSE AUTHORITIES. 

3 Section 311(l) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

4 Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(l)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘(l) The President’’ and inserting 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(l) DELEGATION AND IMPLEMENTATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DELEGATION.—The President’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall del12 egate the responsibilities under subparagraph 

13 (B) to the Administrator. 

14 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Adminis15 trator shall ensure that Environmental Protec16 tion Agency personnel develop and maintain 

17 operational capability— 

18 ‘‘(i) for effective inspection, moni19 toring, prevention, preparedness, and re20 sponse authorities related to the discharge 

21 or substantial threat of a discharge of oil or 

22 a hazardous substance; 

23 ‘‘(ii) to protect human health and safe24 ty from impacts of a discharge or substan25 tial threat of a discharge of oil or a haz26 ardous substance; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) to review and approve of, dis2 approve of, or require revisions (if nec3 essary) to onshore facility response plans 

4 and to carry out all other responsibilities 

5 under subsection (j)(5)(E); and 

6 ‘‘(iv) to protect the environment and 

7 natural resources from impacts of a dis8 charge or substantial threat of a discharge 

9 of oil or a hazardous substance. 

10 ‘‘(3) COAST GUARD.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall del12 egate the responsibilities under subparagraph 

13 (B) to the Secretary of the department in which 

14 the Coast Guard is operating. 

15 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary 

16 shall ensure that Coast Guard personnel develop 

17 and maintain operational capability— 

18 ‘‘(i) to establish and enforce regula19 tions and standards for procedures, meth20 ods, equipment, and other requirements to 

21 prevent and to contain a discharge of oil or 

22 a hazardous substance from a tank vessel, 

23 nontank vessel, or offshore facility; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to establish and enforce regula2 tions, and to carry out all other responsibil3 ities, under subsection (j)(5)(A); 

4 ‘‘(iii) to review and approve of, dis5 approve of, or require revisions (if nec6 essary) to tank vessel, nontank vessel, and 

7 offshore facility response plans and to carry 

8 out all other responsibilities under sub9 section (j)(5)(E); 

10 ‘‘(iv) for effective inspection, moni11 toring, prevention, preparedness, and re12 sponse authorities related to the discharge 

13 or substantial threat of a discharge of oil or 

14 a hazardous substance from a tank vessel, 

15 nontank vessel, or offshore facility; 

16 ‘‘(v) to protect the public from impacts 

17 of a discharge or substantial threat of a dis18 charge of oil or a hazardous substance in 

19 United States waters; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) to protect the environment and 

21 natural resources from impacts of a dis22 charge or substantial threat of a discharge 

23 of oil or a hazardous substance in United 

24 States waters. 

25 ‘‘(C) ROLE AS FIRST RESPONDER.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The responsibilities 

2 delegated to the Secretary under subpara3 graph (B) shall be sufficient to allow the 

4 Coast Guard to act as a first responder to 

5 a discharge or substantial threat of a dis6 charge of oil or a hazardous substance from 

7 a tank vessel, nontank vessel, or offshore fa8 cility. 

9 ‘‘(ii) CAPABILITIES.—The President 

10 shall ensure that the Coast Guard has suffi11 cient personnel and resources to act as a 

12 first responder as described in clause (i), in13 cluding the resources necessary for on-going 

14 training of personnel, acquisition of equip15 ment (including containment booms, 

16 dispersants, and skimmers), and 

17 prepositioning of equipment. 

18 ‘‘(D) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may 

19 enter into contracts with private and nonprofit 

20 organizations for personnel and equipment in 

21 carrying out the responsibilities delegated to the 

22 Secretary under subparagraph (B). 

23 ‘‘(4) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall del2 egate the responsibilities under subparagraph 

3 (B) to the Secretary of Transportation. 

4 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Secretary of 

5 Transportation shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) establish and enforce regulations 

7 and standards for procedures, methods, 

8 equipment, and other requirements to pre9 vent and to contain discharges of oil and 

10 hazardous substances from transportation11 related onshore facilities; 

12 ‘‘(ii) have the authority to review and 

13 approve of, disapprove of, or require revi14 sions (if necessary) to transportation-related 

15 onshore facility response plans and to carry 

16 out all other responsibilities under sub17 section (j)(5)(E); and 

18 ‘‘(iii) ensure that Department of 

19 Transportation personnel develop and 

20 maintain operational capability— 

21 ‘‘(I) for effective inspection, moni22 toring, prevention, preparedness, and 

23 response authorities related to the dis24 charge or substantial threat of a dis25 charge of oil or a hazardous substance 


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1 from a transportation-related onshore 

2 facility; 

3 ‘‘(II) to protect the public from 

4 the impacts of a discharge or substan5 tial threat of a discharge of oil or a 

6 hazardous substance from a transpor7 tation-related onshore facility; and 

8 ‘‘(III) to protect the environment 

9 and natural resources from the impacts 

10 of a discharge or substantial threat of 

11 a discharge of oil or a hazardous sub12 stance from a transportation-related 

13 onshore facility.’’. 

14 SEC. 25. DISASTER DAMAGE NOTIFICATION AND ASSESS15 MENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 60108 of title 49, United 

17 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(e) DISASTER DAMAGE NOTIFICATION AND ASSESS19 MENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In the event of 

21 a manmade or natural disaster, the operator of a 

22 pipeline facility in an affected location shall notify 

23 the Secretary not later than 12 hours after the ces24 sation of the disaster, as determined by the Secretary, 

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1 retary, of any changes to the operational status of the 

2 pipeline facility, including information concerning 

3 physical damages, releases of highly volatile liquid, 

4 other hazardous liquid, or gas, disruptions in service, 

5 and projected dates for return to service. 

6 ‘‘(2) PREPARATION OF DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS.— 

7 Not later than 30 days after the cessation of a man8 made or natural disaster, as determined by the Sec9 retary, the operator of a pipeline facility in an af10 fected location shall develop and transmit to the Sec11 retary a written damage assessment. The damage as12 sessment, at a minimum, shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) identify any physical damage to the 

14 pipeline facility and any other credible threat or 

15 hazard to the pipeline facility; 

16 ‘‘(B) assess the extent of any physical dam17 age to the pipeline facility and any other cred18 ible threat or hazard to the pipeline facility; 

19 ‘‘(C) evaluate the integrity of the pipeline 

20 facility; 

21 ‘‘(D) if necessary, provide a schedule for re22 pairing or abandoning the pipeline facility; and 

23 ‘‘(E) meet any other requirements the Sec24 retary determines are appropriate by regulation. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ABANDONMENT.—An operator of a pipeline 

2 facility shall notify the Secretary promptly if the op3 erator determines that the pipeline facility must be 

4 abandoned as a result of a manmade or natural dis5 aster. 

6 ‘‘(4) OTHER.—An operator of a pipeline facility 

7 shall retain, and make available to the Secretary on 

8 request, a copy of any report prepared under this sub9 section for at least 5 years. 

10 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the fol11 lowing definitions apply: 

12 ‘‘(A) ABANDON.—The term ‘abandon’ means 

13 permanently remove from service. 

14 ‘‘(B) AFFECTED LOCATION.—The term ‘af15 fected location’ means any area directly or sub16 stantially affected by a manmade or natural dis17 aster, as determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(C) MANMADE OR NATURAL DISASTER.— 

19 The term ‘manmade or natural disaster’ means 

20 any hurricane, tornado, tidal wave, tsunami, 

21 earthquake, volcanic eruption, or, regardless of 

22 cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, or any simi23 lar catastrophe in the United States that causes, 

24 or may cause, substantial damage or injury to 


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1 persons, property, or the environment, as deter2 mined by the Secretary.’’. 

3 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

4 (1) FINAL RULE.—The Secretary of Transpor5 tation shall issue a final rule establishing procedures 

6 to carry out section 60108(e) of title 49, United 

7 States Code, not later than 1 year after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act. 

9 (2) INTERIM GUIDANCE.—For the period begin10 ning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending 

11 on the date of issuance of a rule under paragraph (1), 

12 or the date that is 45 days after such date of enact13 ment, whichever is earlier, the Secretary shall issue 

14 interim guidance to the operator of a pipeline facility 

15 requiring notification of the Secretary and an assess16 ment of pipeline facilities located in an affected area 

17 in the case of a manmade or natural disaster. 

18 SEC. 26. IMPACTS TO INDIAN TRIBES. 

19 Section 1002(b)(2) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

20 U.S.C. 2702(b)(2)) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘or a polit22 ical subdivision thereof’’ and inserting ‘‘a political 

23 subdivision of a State, or an Indian tribe’’; and 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (F) by striking ‘‘or a polit2 ical subdivision of a State’’ and inserting ‘‘a political 

3 subdivision of a State, or an Indian tribe’’. 

4 SEC. 27. NATIONAL COMMISSION STUDY OF FEDERAL MAN5 AGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF OFFSHORE 

6 DRILLING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Commission on the 

8 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling es9 tablished by Executive Order No. 13543 dated May 21, 2010 

10 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’), shall de11 velop recommendations for— 

12 (1) improvements to Federal laws, regulations, 

13 and industry practices applicable to offshore drilling 

14 that would— 

15 (A) ensure the effective oversight, inspection, 

16 monitoring, and response capabilities; and 

17 (B) protect human health and safety, occu18 pational health and safety, and the environment 

19 and natural resources; and 

20 (2) organizational or other reforms of Federal 

21 agencies or processes, including the creation of new 

22 agencies, as necessary, to ensure that the improve23 ments described in paragraph (1) are implemented 

24 and maintained. 


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1 (b) PURPOSES.—In developing recommendations 

2 under subsection (a), the Commission shall ensure that the 

3 following goals are met: 

4 (1) Ensuring the safe operation and mainte5 nance of offshore drilling platforms or vessels. 

6 (2) Protecting the health and safety of workers 

7 on offshore drilling platforms or vessels. 

8 (3) Protecting the overall environment and nat9 ural resources surrounding ongoing and potential off10 shore drilling sites. 

11 (4) Protecting the health and safety of workers 

12 that service offshore drilling platforms or vessels. 

13 (5) Developing and maintaining Federal agency 

14 expertise on the safe and effective use of offshore drill15 ing technologies, including technologies to minimize 

16 the risk of release of oil from offshore drilling plat17 forms or vessels. 

18 (6) Encouraging the development and implemen19 tation of efficient and effective oil spill response tech20 niques and technologies that minimize or eliminate 

21 any adverse effects on natural resources or the envi22 ronment that result from response activities. 

23 (7) Protecting the health and safety of first re24 sponders against releases of oil from offshore drilling 

25 platforms or vessels. 


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1 (8) Ensuring that the Federal agencies regu2 lating offshore drilling are staffed with, and managed 

3 by, career professionals, who are— 

4 (A) permitted to exercise independent pro5 fessional judgments and make safety the highest 

6 priority in carrying out their responsibilities; 

7 (B) not subject to undue influence from reg8 ulated interests or political appointees; and 

9 (C) subject to strict regulation to prevent 

10 improper relationships with regulated interests 

11 and to eliminate real or perceived conflicts of in12 terests. 

13 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—In coordination with the 

14 final public report to the President, the Commission shall 

15 submit to Congress a report containing the recommenda16 tions developed under subsection (a). 

17 SEC. 28. FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS. 

18 Section 309(g)(6)(A) of the Federal Water Pollution 

19 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1319(g)(6)(A)) is amended by strik20 ing ‘‘or section 311(b)’’. 


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1 SEC. 29. TIME REQUIRED BEFORE ELECTING TO PROCEED 

2 WITH JUDICIAL CLAIM OR AGAINST THE 

3 FUND. 

4 Paragraph (2) of section 1013(c) of the Oil Pollution 

5 Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2713(c)) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘90’’ and inserting ‘‘45’’. 

7 SEC. 30. REPORT ON FORMER COAST GUARD OFFICIALS EM8 PLOYED BY RECOGNIZED ORGANIZATIONS OF 

9 FOREIGN FLAG ADMINISTRATIONS. 

10 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, 

12 the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 

13 a report to the Committee on Transportation and Infra14 structure of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

15 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

16 on the employment during the preceding year of individuals 

17 who were Coast Guard officials in the previous 5-year pe18 riod, by recognized organizations contracted to administer 

19 maritime programs for foreign flag administrations. 

20 (b) OBJECTIVES OF REPORT.—At a minimum, the re21 port required by this section shall assess the extent to which 

22 former Coast Guard officials who received compensation 

23 from recognized organizations were assigned to work on 

24 matters over which the former Coast Guard officials had 

25 oversight, inspection responsibility, or decision-making au26 thority when the officials served in or worked for the Coast 


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1 Guard. The report shall assess the extent to which former 

2 Coast Guard officials were provided compensation by recog3 nized organizations and the positions held by former Coast 

4 Guard officials in the preceding calendar year. 

5 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENT.—The report re6 quired by this subsection shall not include the names of the 

7 former Coast Guard officials who received compensation 

8 from recognized organizations. 

9 (d) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Comptroller Gen10 eral may seek agreements with recognized organizations to 

11 obtain access to information for the purpose of preparing 

12 reports required by this section. 

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) FOREIGN FLAG ADMINISTRATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘foreign flag administration’’ means the maritime 

16 administration, maritime agency, or similar govern17 mental organization of a country other than the 

18 United States that maintains a register of vessels and 

19 performs some or all of the following statutory func20 tions with respect to maritime programs: 

21 (A) Issues certificates of registry and man22 ning certificates. 

23 (B) Conducts or contracts with recognized 

24 organizations to conduct safety inspections. 

25 (C) Issues radio station licenses. 


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1 (D) Certifies maritime officers and unli2 censed seamen and conducts inquiries into 

3 charges of incompetence or misconduct. 

4 (E) Regulates the construction, equipment, 

5 and operation of vessels under its flag. 

6 (F) Monitors vessels’ compliance with inter7 national and national standards for marine 

8 safety, pollution prevention, and security. 

9 (G) Investigates marine casualties. 

10 (2) RECOGNIZED ORGANIZATION.—The term 

11 ‘‘recognized organization’’ means an organization, 

12 such as a classification society or a corporation, to 

13 which a foreign flag administration has delegated 

14 some or all of its statutory functions with respect to 

15 maritime programs. 

16 (3) COAST GUARD OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘Coast 

17 Guard official’’ includes former Coast Guard officers, 

18 enlisted personnel, or civilian employees who had re19 sponsibilities for— 

20 (A) issuing certificates of registry and man21 ning certificates; 

22 (B) safety inspections; 

23 (C) certification of maritime officers and 

24 unlicensed seamen; 


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1 (D) conducting inquiries into charges of in2 competence or misconduct of maritime officers 

3 and unlicensed seamen; 

4 (E) regulation of the construction, equip5 ment, and operation of vessels; 

6 (F) monitoring vessels’ compliance with 

7 international and national standards for marine 

8 safety, pollution prevention, and security; or 

9 (G) investigating marine casualties. 

10 SEC. 31. AUTHORIZED LEVEL OF COAST GUARD PER11 SONNEL. 

12 The Coast Guard is authorized an end-of-year strength 

13 for active duty personnel of 47,300 for fiscal year 2011, of 

14 which at least 300 personnel shall be assigned to implement 

15 the activities of the Coast Guard under this Act, including 

16 the amendments made by this Act. 

17 SEC. 32. CLARIFICATION OF MEMORANDUMS OF UNDER18 STANDING. 

19 Not later than September 30, 2011, the President (act20 ing through the head of the appropriate Federal department 

21 or agency) shall implement or revise, as appropriate, mem22 orandums of understanding to clarify the roles and jurisdic23 tional responsibilities of the Environmental Protection 

24 Agency, the Coast Guard, the Department of Transpor25 tation, and other Federal agencies relating to the prevention 


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1 of oil discharges from tank vessels, nontank vessels, and fa2 cilities subject to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. 

3 SEC. 33. STUDY OF HEALTH EFFECTS OF OIL SPILL. 

4 (a) STUDY.—The Director of the Agency for Toxic Sub5 stances and Disease Registry and the Director of the Centers 

6 for Disease Control and Prevention shall jointly— 

7 (1) conduct a comprehensive study of— 

8 (A) the effects on human health of exposure 

9 to petroleum and other substances released in the 

10 oil spill or used or produced in response to the 

11 oil spill, including chemicals used to disperse the 

12 oil; 

13 (B) the effects on human health of secondary 

14 exposure to such substances in an aerosolized 

15 form; 

16 (C) whether such substances include or 

17 produce airborne carcinogens, and the effects of 

18 any such carcinogens; and 

19 (D) the effects of exposure described in sub20 paragraphs (A) and (B) on a child of an indi21 vidual born after the individual has been subject 

22 to such exposure; and 

23 (2) beginning as soon as practicable after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, complete a baseline as25 sessment to determine the health status of individuals 


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1 exposed as described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 

2 paragraph (1) in order to gather data that may be 

3 compared with data gathered later under paragraph 

4 (1) to determine any change in health status from 

5 continued exposure. 

6 (b) PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT.—The Director of 

7 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry shall 

8 conduct a public health assessment of persons who are 

9 thought to have an epidemiological link to the substances 

10 described in subsection (a)(1)(A). 

11 (c) REPORT.—The Directors shall submit to Congress 

12 a report on the results of the study and baseline assessment 

13 under subsection (a) and the assessment under subsection 

14 (b). The report shall be submitted not later than two years 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act and shall include 

16 the findings of the Directors on the matters covered by the 

17 report. The Directors shall include in the report a list of 

18 diseases or conditions that are found to exist within the 

19 populations specified in subsection (a)(1) and their rate of 

20 occurrence compared to the general population. 

21 (d) OIL SPILL DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, 

22 the term ‘‘oil spill’’ means the oil spill resulting from the 

23 explosion and collapse of the mobile offshore drilling unit 

24 Deepwater Horizon. 


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1 SEC. 34. OFFSHORE ENERGY SECURITY. 

2 (a) Offshore facilities constructed after the date of en3 actment of this Act for operation in the United States Ex4 clusive Economic Zone for purposes of any form of energy 

5 production shall be built in the United States. 

6 (b) Foreign-built offshore facilities not operating in the 

7 United States Exclusive Economic Zone for purposes of any 

8 form of energy production on the date of enactment of this 

9 Act shall not operate in the United States Exclusive Eco10 nomic Zone for such purposes after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act. 

12 SEC. 35. OIL SPILL RESPONSE VESSEL DATABASE. 

13 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Commandant of the Coast 

15 Guard shall complete an inventory of all vessels operating 

16 in the waters of the United States that are capable of meet17 ing oil spill response needs designated in the National Con18 tingency Plan authorized by section 311(d) of the Federal 

19 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1321(d)). 

20 (b) CATEGORIZATION.—The inventory required under 

21 subsection (a) shall categorize such vessels by capabilities, 

22 type, function, and location. 

23 (c) MAINTENANCE OF DATABASE.—The Commandant 

24 shall maintain a database containing the results of the in25 ventory required under subsection (a) and update the infor26 mation in the database on no less than a quarterly basis. 


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1 (d) AVAILABILITY.—The Commandant may make in2 formation regarding the location and capabilities of oil spill 

3 response vessels available to a Federal On-Scene Coordi4 nator designated under section 311 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

5 1321) to assist in the response to an oil spill or other inci6 dent in the waters of the United States. 

7 SEC. 36. OFFSHORE SENSING AND MONITORING SYSTEMS. 

8 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title IV of the Oil 

9 Pollution Act of 1990 is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 4119. OFFSHORE SENSING AND MONITORING SYS12 TEMS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The equipment required to be 

14 available under section 311(j)(5)(D)(iii) of the Federal 

15 Water Pollution Control Act for facilities listed in section 

16 311(j)(5)(C)(iii) of such Act and located in more than 500 

17 feet of water includes sensing and monitoring systems that 

18 meet the requirements of this section. 

19 ‘‘(b) SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS.—Sensing and moni20 toring systems required under subsection (a) shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) use an integrated, modular, expandable, 

22 multi-sensor, open-architecture design and technology 

23 with interoperable capability; 

24 ‘‘(2) be capable of— 

25 ‘‘(A) operating for at least 25 years; 


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1 ‘‘(B) real-time physical, biological, geologi2 cal, and environmental monitoring; 

3 ‘‘(C) providing alerts in the event of anoma4 lous circumstances; 

5 ‘‘(D) providing docking bases to accommo6 date spatial sensors for remote inspection and 

7 monitoring; and 

8 ‘‘(E) collecting chemical boundary condition 

9 data for drift and flow modeling; and 

10 ‘‘(3) include— 

11 ‘‘(A) an uninterruptible power source; 

12 ‘‘(B) a spatial sensor; and 

13 ‘‘(C) secure Internet access to real-time 

14 physical, biological, geological, and environ15 mental monitoring data gathered by the system 

16 sensors.’’. 

17 (b) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.—Within 60 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

19 department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall 

20 issue a request for information to determine the most capa21 ble and efficient domestic systems that meet the require22 ments under section 4119 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 

23 as amended by this section. 

24 (c) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—Within 180 days 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 


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1 department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall 

2 issue regulations to implement section 4119 of the Oil Pol3 lution Act of 1990 as amended by this section. 

4 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 

5 section 2 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 is amended by 

6 adding at the end of the items relating to such subtitle the 

7 following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 4119. Offshore sensing and monitoring systems.’’. 

8 SEC. 37. VICE COMMANDANT; VICE ADMIRALS. 

9 (a) VICE COMMANDANT.— 

10 (1) Section 41 of title 14, United States Code, is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘an admiral,’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘admirals,’’. 

13 (2) The fourth sentence of section 47 of such title 

14 is amended by striking ‘‘vice admiral’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘admiral’’. 

16 (b) VICE ADMIRALS.—Section 50 of such title is 

17 amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘§ 50. Vice admirals 

19 ‘‘(a)(1) The President may designate no more than 4 

20 positions of importance and responsibility that shall be held 

21 by officers who— 

22 ‘‘(A) while so serving, shall have the grade 

23 of vice admiral, with the pay and allowances of 

24 that grade; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall perform such duties as the Com2 mandant may prescribe. 

3 ‘‘(2) The President may appoint, by and with the ad4 vice and consent of the Senate, and reappoint, by and with 

5 the advice and consent of the Senate, to any such position 

6 an officer of the Coast Guard who is serving on active duty 

7 above the grade of captain. The Commandant shall make 

8 recommendations for such appointments. 

9 ‘‘(b)(1) The appointment and the grade of vice admiral 

10 shall be effective on the date the officer assumes that duty 

11 and, except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection 

12 or in section 51(d) of this title, shall terminate on the date 

13 the officer is detached from that duty. 

14 ‘‘(2) An officer who is appointed to a position des15 ignated under subsection (a) shall continue to hold the 

16 grade of vice admiral— 

17 ‘‘(A) while under orders transferring the officer 

18 to another position designated under subsection (a), 

19 beginning on the date the officer is detached from that 

20 duty and terminating on the date before the day the 

21 officer assumes the subsequent duty, but not for more 

22 than 60 days; 

23 ‘‘(B) while hospitalized, beginning on the day of 

24 the hospitalization and ending on the day the officer 


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1 is discharged from the hospital, but not for more than 

2 180 days; and 

3 ‘‘(C) while awaiting retirement, beginning on the 

4 date the officer is detached from duty and ending on 

5 the day before the officer’s retirement, but not for 

6 more than 60 days. 

7 ‘‘(c)(1) An appointment of an officer under subsection 

8 (a) does not vacate the permanent grade held by the officer. 

9 ‘‘(2) An officer serving in a grade above rear admiral 

10 who holds the permanent grade of rear admiral (lower half) 

11 shall be considered for promotion to the permanent grade 

12 of rear admiral as if the officer was serving in the officer’s 

13 permanent grade. 

14 ‘‘(d) Whenever a vacancy occurs in a position des15 ignated under subsection (a), the Commandant shall inform 

16 the President of the qualifications needed by an officer serv17 ing in that position or office to carry out effectively the 

18 duties and responsibilities of that position or office.’’. 

19 (c) REPEAL.—Section 50a of such title is repealed. 

20 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 51 of such 

21 title is amended— 

22 (1) by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) and 

23 inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(a) An officer, other than the Commandant, who, 

25 while serving in the grade of admiral or vice admiral, is 


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1 retired for physical disability shall be placed on the retired 

2 list with the highest grade in which that officer served. 

3 ‘‘(b) An officer, other than the Commandant, who is 

4 retired while serving in the grade of admiral or vice admiral, or who, after serving at least 21 5 ⁄2 years in the grade 

6 of admiral or vice admiral, is retired while serving in a 

7 lower grade, may in the discretion of the President, be re8 tired with the highest grade in which that officer served. 

9 ‘‘(c) An officer, other than the Commandant, who, after 

serving less than 21 10 ⁄2 years in the grade of admiral or vice 

11 admiral, is retired while serving in a lower grade, shall 

12 be retired in his permanent grade.’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘Area Commander, or Chief of 

14 Staff’’ in subsection (d)(2) and inserting ‘‘or Vice Ad15 miral’’. 

16 (e) CONTINUITY OF GRADE.—Section 52 of such title 

17 is amended by inserting ‘‘or admiral’’ after ‘‘vice admiral’’ 

18 the first place it appears. 

19 (f) CONTINUATION ON ACTIVE DUTY.—The second sen20 tence of section 290(a) of such title is amended to read as 

21 follows: ‘‘Officers, other than the Commandant, serving for 

22 the time being or who have served in the grade of vice admi23 ral or admiral are not subject to consideration for continu24 ation under this subsection, and as to all other provisions 


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1 of this section shall be considered as having been continued 

2 at the grade of rear admiral.’’. 

3 (g) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (1) The section caption for section 47 of such 

5 title is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘§ 47. Vice Commandant; appointment’’. 

7 (2) The section caption for section 52 of such 

8 title is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 52. Vice admirals and admiral, continuity of 

10 grade’’. 

11 (3) The analysis for chapter 3 of such title is 

12 amended— 

13 (A) by striking the item relating to section 

14 47 and inserting the following: 

‘‘47. Vice Commandant; appointment.’’; 

15 (B) by striking the item relating to section 

16 50a; 

17 (C) by striking the item relating to section 

18 50 and inserting the following: 

‘‘50. Vice admirals.’’; and 

19 (D) by striking the item relating to section 

20 52 and inserting the following: 

‘‘52. Vice admirals and admiral, continuity of grade.’’. 

21 (h) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 47 of such title 

22 is further amended by striking ‘‘subsection’’ in the fifth sen23 tence and inserting ‘‘section’’. 


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1 (i) TREATMENT OF INCUMBENTS; TRANSITION.— 

2 (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

3 the officer who, on the date of enactment of this Act, 

4 is serving as Vice Commandant— 

5 (A) shall continue to serve as Vice Com6 mandant; 

7 (B) shall have the grade of admiral with 

8 pay and allowances of that grade; and 

9 (C) shall not be required to be reappointed 

10 by reason of the enactment of that Act. 

11 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

12 an officer who, on the date of enactment of this Act, 

13 is serving as Chief of Staff, Commander, Atlantic 

14 Area, or Commander, Pacific Area— 

15 (A) shall continue to have the grade of vice 

16 admiral with pay and allowance of that grade 

17 until such time that the officer is relieved of his 

18 duties and appointed and confirmed to another 

19 position as a vice admiral or admiral; or 

20 (B) for the purposes of transition, may con21 tinue at the grade of vice admiral with pay and 

22 allowance of that grade, for not more than 1 

23 year after the date of enactment of this Act, to 

24 perform the duties of the officer’s former position 


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1 and any other such duties that the Commandant 

2 prescribes. 

3 SEC. 38. OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION. 

4 Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

5 (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking paragraph (24); and 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraph (25) as para8 graph (24). 

9 SEC. 39. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 (a) COAST GUARD.—In addition to amounts made 

11 available pursuant to section 1012(a)(5)(A) of the Oil Pol12 lution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2712(a)(5)(A)), there is au13 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the depart14 ment in which the Coast Guard is operating from the Oil 

15 Spill Liability Trust Fund established by section 9509 of 

16 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9509) the 

17 following: 

18 (1) For fiscal year 2011, $15,000,000. 

19 (2) For each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015, 

20 $16,000,000. 

21 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator of the 

23 Environmental Protection Agency from the Oil Spill Li24 ability Trust Fund to implement this Act and the amendVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:00 Jul 27, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H5629.RH H5629

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1 ments made by this Act $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2011 through 2015. 

3 (c) DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.—There is au4 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Transpor5 tation from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to carry 

6 out the purposes of this Act and the amendments made by 

7 this Act the following: 

8 (1) For each of fiscal years 2011 through 2013, 

9 $7,000,000. 

10 (2) For each of fiscal years 2014 and 2015, 

11 $6,000,000. 


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Union Calendar No. 326 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5629 

[Report No. 111–567, Part I] 

A BILL 

To ensure full recovery from responsible parties of 

and for other purposes. prevent environmental damage from oil spills, ensure that there are adequate response plans to and pipelines supporting offshore oil drilling, to oil spill pollution, to improve the safety of vessels verse effects on the environment, and clean up of damages for physical and economic injuries, adJULY 27, 2010 

Reported from the Committee on Transportation and 

J

Infrastructure 

ULY 27, 2010 

Committees on the Judiciary and Natural Resources disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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