II 

Calendar No. 502 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3515 

[Report No. 111–242] 

To authorize and enhance the programs of the Department of the Interior 

relating to the detection of, response to, and mitigation and cleanup 

of oil spills on Federal land managed by the Department, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 21, 2010 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, and Mr. BINGAMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

AUGUST 2, 2010 

Reported by Mrs. BOXER, with an amendment and an amendment to the title 

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

A BILL 

To authorize and enhance the programs of the Department 

of the Interior relating to the detection of, response 

to, and mitigation and cleanup of oil spills on Federal 

land managed by the Department, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of the In3 terior Research and Technologies for Oil Spill Prevention 

4 and Response Act of 2010’’. 

5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

6 The purpose of this Act is to maintain and enhance 

7 the world-class research and facilities of the Department 

8 of the Interior and to ensure that there is adequate knowl9 edge, practices, and technologies to detect, respond to, 

10 contain, and clean up oil spills occurring on Federal land 

11 managed by the Department of the Interior, whether on12 shore or on the outer Continental Shelf. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

16 Science and Technology Advisory Board established 

17 under section 5(a). 

18 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Oil 

19 Spill Technology and Research Fund established by 

20 section 13(a). 

21 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

22 the program established under section 4(a). 


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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF THE INTE2 RIOR OIL SPILL RESEARCH AND DEVELOP3 MENT PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

5 program of research, development, technology demonstra6 tion, and risk assessment to address issues associated with 

7 the detection of, response to, and mitigation and cleanup 

8 of oil spills occurring on Federal land managed by the De9 partment of the Interior, whether onshore or on the outer 

10 Continental Shelf. 

11 (b) SPECIFIC AREAS OF FOCUS.—The program shall 

12 include research, development, demonstration, validation, 

13 personnel training, and other activities relating to— 

14 (1) technologies, materials, methods, and prac15 tices— 

16 (A) to detect the release of hydrocarbons 

17 from leaking exploration or production equip18 ment; 

19 (B) to characterize the rates of flow from 

20 leaking exploration and production equipment 

21 in locations that are remote or difficult to ac22 cess; 

23 (C) to protect the safety of workers ad24 dressing hydrocarbon releases from exploration 

25 and production equipment; 


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1 (D) to contain, respond to, and clean up 

2 oil spills, including with the use of dispersants, 

3 containment vessels, booms, and skimmers, par4 ticularly under worst-case release scenarios; 

5 (E) to contain, respond to, and clean up 

6 an oil spill in extreme or harsh conditions on 

7 the outer Continental Shelf; and 

8 (F) for environmental assessment, restora9 tion, and long-term monitoring; 

10 (2) fundamental scientific characterization of 

11 the behavior of oil and natural gas in and on soil 

12 and water, including miscibility, plume behavior, 

13 emulsification, physical separation, and chemical and 

14 biological degradation; 

15 (3) behavior and effects of emulsified, dis16 persed, and submerged oil in water; and 

17 (4) modeling, simulation, and prediction of oil 

18 flows from releases and the trajectories of releases 

19 on the surface, the subsurface, and in water. 

20 SEC. 5. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY BOARD. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into ap22 propriate arrangements with the National Academy of 

23 Sciences to establish an independent committee, to be 

24 known as the ‘‘Science and Technology Advisory Board’’, 


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1 to provide scientific and technical advice to the program, 

2 including— 

3 (1) the identification of knowledge gaps that 

4 the program should address; 

5 (2) the establishment of scientific and technical 

6 priorities; and 

7 (3) an annual review of the results and effec8 tiveness of the program, including successful tech9 nology development. 

10 (b) REPORTS.—Reports and recommendations of the 

11 Board shall promptly be made available to Congress and 

12 the public. 

13 SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY PLAN. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there16 after, the Secretary, in consultation with the Board, shall 

17 develop and publish a research and technology plan for 

18 the program. 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—The plan under this section shall— 

20 (1) identify research needs and opportunities; 

21 (2) propose areas of focus for the program; 

22 (3) establish program priorities, including prior23 ities for the research centers of excellence under sec24 tion 7, demonstration projects under section 8, and 

25 research grants under section 9; and 


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1 (4) estimate— 

2 (A) the extent of resources needed to con3 duct the program; and 

4 (B) timetables for completing research 

5 tasks under the program. 

6 (c) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall timely pub7 lish— 

8 (1) the plan under this section; and 

9 (2) a review of the plan by the Board. 

10 SEC. 7. RESEARCH CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 

11 (a) RESPONSE TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEEPWATER, 

12 ULTRA DEEPWATER, AND OTHER EXTREME ENVIRON13 MENT OIL SPILLS.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es15 tablish at 1 or more institutions of higher education 

16 a research center of excellence for the research, de17 velopment, and demonstration of technologies nec18 essary to respond to, contain, mitigate, and clean up 

19 deepwater, ultra deepwater, and other extreme envi20 ronment oil spills. 

21 (2) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall provide 

22 grants to the research center of excellence estab23 lished under paragraph (1) to conduct and oversee 

24 basic and applied research in the technologies de25 scribed in that paragraph. 


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1 (b) OIL SPILL RESPONSE AND RESTORATION.— 

2 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in co3 ordination with the Undersecretary of Commerce for 

4 Oceans and Atmosphere, shall establish at 1 or more 

5 institutions of higher education a research center of 

6 excellence for research and innovation in oil spill 

7 fate, behavior and effects, and damage assessment 

8 and restoration. 

9 (2) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall provide 

10 grants to the research center of excellence estab11 lished under paragraph (1) to conduct and oversee 

12 basic and applied research in the areas described in 

13 that paragraph. 

14 (c) OTHER RESEARCH CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.— 

15 The Secretary may establish such other research centers 

16 of excellence as the Secretary determines to be necessary 

17 for the research, development, and demonstration of tech18 nologies necessary to carry out this Act. 

19 SEC. 8. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, the 

21 Secretary shall conduct deepwater, ultra deepwater, and 

22 other extreme environment oil spill response demonstra23 tion projects for the purpose of developing and dem24 onstrating new integrated deepwater oil spill mitigation 

25 and response systems that use the information and impleVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:55 Aug 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3515.RS S3515

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1 ment the improved practices and technologies developed 

2 from the program. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The mitigation and response 

4 systems developed under subsection (a) shall use tech5 nologies and management practices for improving the re6 sponse capabilities to deepwater oil spills, including— 

7 (1) improved oil flow monitoring and calcula8 tion; 

9 (2) improved oil spill response capability; 

10 (3) improved subsurface mitigation tech11 nologies; 

12 (4) improved capability to track and predict the 

13 flow and effects of oil discharges in both subsurface 

14 and surface areas for the purposes of making oil 

15 mitigation and response decisions; and 

16 (5) any other activities necessary to achieve the 

17 purposes of the program. 

18 SEC. 9. RESEARCH GRANTS. 

19 In carrying out the program, the Secretary may 

20 award competitive grants in coordination with research 

21 centers of excellence under section 7 and consistent with 

22 the research and technology plan under section 6 to insti23 tutions of higher education or other research institu24 tions— 


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1 (1) to carry out projects that are relevant to the 

2 goals and priorities of the research and technology 

3 plan; and— 

4 (2)(A) to advance research and development; or 

5 (B) to demonstrate technologies. 

6 SEC. 10. PILOT PROGRAMS FOR FIELD TESTING TECH7 NOLOGIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordination 

9 with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

10 Agency, shall conduct a pilot program to conduct field 

11 tests on new oil spill response, mitigation, and cleanup 

12 technologies developed under the program in the waters 

13 of the United States. 

14 (b) RESULTS.—The results of the field tests con15 ducted under subsection (a) shall be used— 

16 (1) to refine oil spill technology research and 

17 development; and 

18 (2) to assist the Secretary and the Adminis19 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency in 

20 the development of safety and environmental regula21 tions under this Act and other applicable laws. 

22 SEC. 11. PEER REVIEW OF PROPOSALS AND RESEARCH. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any award of funds under the 

24 program shall be made only after the Secretary has carVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:55 Aug 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3515.RS S3515

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1 ried out an impartial peer review of the scientific and tech2 nical merit of the proposals for the award. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

4 that any research conducted under the program shall be 

5 peer-reviewed, transparent, and made available to the pub6 lic. 

7 SEC. 12. COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this Act, the Sec9 retary shall consult and coordinate, as appropriate, with 

10 other Federal agencies and programs, including the Inter11 agency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research 

12 established under section 7001 of the Oil Pollution Act 

13 of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761). 

14 (b) RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SECRETARY.—Notwith15 standing any requirements to consult or coordinate, the 

16 Secretary shall maintain authority, direction, and control 

17 of the program. 

18 SEC. 13. OIL SPILL TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH FUND. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

20 Treasury of the United States a revolving fund, to be 

21 known as the ‘‘Oil Spill Technology and Research Fund’’, 

22 consisting of such amounts as are transferred to the Fund 

23 under subsection (b), to be administered by the Secretary, 

24 to be available without fiscal year limitation and not sub25 ject to appropriation, to carry out the program. 


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1 (b) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—From any Federal royal2 ties, rents, and bonuses derived from Federal onshore and 

3 offshore oil and gas leases issued the Outer Continental 

4 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) or the Mineral 

5 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) that are deposited 

6 in the Treasury, and after distribution of any funds de7 scribed in subsection (c), there shall be transferred to the 

8 Fund $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 

9 2020, to remain available until expended. 

10 (c) PRIOR DISTRIBUTIONS.—The distributions re11 ferred to in subsection (b) are those required by law— 

12 (1) to States and to the Reclamation Fund 

13 under section 35(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

14 U.S.C. 191(a)); and 

15 (2) to other funds receiving amounts from Fed16 eral oil and gas leasing programs, including— 

17 (A) any recipients pursuant to section 8(g) 

18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

19 U.S.C. 1337(g)); 

20 (B) the land and water conservation fund, 

21 pursuant to section 2(c) of the Land and Water 

22 Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 

23 460l–5(c)); 


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1 (C) the Historic Preservation Fund, pursu2 ant to section 108 of the National Historic 

3 Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470h); and 

4 (D) the coastal impact assistance program 

5 established under section 31 of the Outer Conti6 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1356a). 

7 (d) PROHIBITION.—Amounts in the Fund may not 

8 be made available for any purpose other than a purpose 

9 described in subsection (a). 

10 (e) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

12 the end of each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 

13 2010, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

14 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 

15 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the 

16 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

17 Senate, and the Committee on Natural Resources of 

18 the House of Representatives a report on the oper19 ation of the Fund during the fiscal year. 

20 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report shall include, for 

21 the fiscal year covered by the report, the following: 

22 (A) A statement of the amounts deposited 

23 into the Fund. 


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1 (B) A description of the expenditures made 

2 from the Fund for the fiscal year, including the 

3 purpose of the expenditures. 

4 (C) Recommendations for additional au5 thorities to fulfill the purpose of the Fund. 

6 (D) A statement of the balance remaining 

7 in the Fund at the end of the fiscal year. 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Research and 

10 Technologies for Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act of 

11 2010’’. 

12 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

13 The purposes of this Act are— 

14 (1) to maintain and enhance the world-class re15 search and facilities of the Federal Government; and 

16 (2) to ensure that there are adequate knowledge, 

17 practices, and technologies to detect, respond to, con18 tain, and clean up oil spills, whether onshore or on 

19 the outer Continental Shelf. 

20 SEC. 3. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVICE AND GUID21 ANCE. 

22 Section 7001(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 

23 U.S.C. 2761(b)) is amended— 

24 (1) in the matter following paragraph (2), by 

25 striking ‘‘The National Institute of Standards and 


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1 Technology’’ and all that follows through ‘‘this sec2 tion.’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(3) SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY

5 BOARD.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairman shall 

7 enter into appropriate arrangements with the 

8 National Academy of Sciences to establish an 

9 independent committee, to be known as the 

10 ‘Science and Technology Advisory Board’, to 

11 provide scientific and technical advice to the 

12 Interagency Committee relating to research car13 ried out pursuant to the program established 

14 under subsection (c), including— 

15 ‘‘(i) the identification of knowledge 

16 gaps that the program should address; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the establishment of scientific and 

18 technical priorities; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) an annual review of the results 

20 and effectiveness of the program, including 

21 successful technology development. 

22 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.—Reports and recommenda23 tions of the Board shall promptly be made avail24 able to Congress and the public. 


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1 ‘‘(C) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS

2 AND TECHNOLOGY.—The National Institute of 

3 Standards and Technology shall provide the 

4 Interagency Committee with advice and guid5 ance on issues relating to quality assurance and 

6 standards measurements relating to activities of 

7 the Interagency Committee under this section.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. OIL POLLUTION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

9 PROGRAM. 

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

11 Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761(c)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and 

14 bioremediation’’ and inserting ‘‘bioremediation, 

15 containment vessels, booms, and skimmers, par16 ticularly under worst-case release scenarios’’; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

18 at the end; 

19 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as 

20 subparagraph (L); and 

21 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(J) research, development, and demonstra24 tion of new or improved technologies and systems 

25 to contain, respond to, and clean up a discharge 


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1 of oil in extreme or harsh conditions on the outer 

2 Continental Shelf; 

3 ‘‘(K) research to evaluate the relative effec4 tiveness and environmental impacts (including 

5 human and environmental toxicity) of 

6 dispersants; and’’; 

7 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (3) through 

8 (7) and (8) through (11) as paragraphs (4) through 

9 (8) and (11) through (14), respectively; 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF AGENCY OIL DIS13 CHARGE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

15 Interior, in coordination with the program es16 tablished under this subsection, the Interagency 

17 Committee, and such other agencies as the Presi18 dent may designate, shall carry out a program 

19 of research, development, technology demonstra20 tion, and risk assessment to address issues asso21 ciated with the detection of, response to, and 

22 mitigation and cleanup of discharges of oil oc23 curring on Federal land managed by the Depart24 ment of the Interior, whether onshore or on the 

25 outer Continental Shelf. 


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1 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC AREAS OF FOCUS.—The pro2 gram established under this paragraph shall pro3 vide for research, development, demonstration, 

4 validation, personnel training, and other activi5 ties relating to new and improved technologies 

6 that are effective at preventing or mitigating oil 

7 discharges and that protect the environment, in8 cluding technologies, materials, methods, and 

9 practices— 

10 ‘‘(i) to detect the release of hydro11 carbons from leaking exploration or produc12 tion equipment; 

13 ‘‘(ii) to characterize the rates of flow 

14 from leaking exploration and production 

15 equipment in locations that are remote or 

16 difficult to access; 

17 ‘‘(iii) to protect the safety of workers 

18 addressing hydrocarbon releases from explo19 ration and production equipment; 

20 ‘‘(iv) to control or contain the release 

21 of hydrocarbons from a blowout or other loss 

22 of well control; and 

23 ‘‘(v) in coordination with the Adminis24 trator and the Secretary of Commerce, for 


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1 environmental assessment, restoration, and 

2 long-term monitoring.’’; 

3 (4) in paragraph (5)(A)(i) (as redesignated by 

4 paragraph (2)), by striking the period at the end and 

5 inserting the following: ‘‘, including— 

6 ‘‘(I) fundamental scientific char7 acterization of the behavior of oil and 

8 natural gas in and on soil and water, 

9 including miscibility, plume behavior, 

10 emulsification, physical separation, 

11 and chemical and biological degrada12 tion; 

13 ‘‘(II) behavior and effects of 

14 emulsified, dispersed, and submerged 

15 oil in water; and 

16 ‘‘(III) modeling, simulation, and 

17 prediction of oil flows from releases 

18 and the trajectories of releases on the 

19 surface, the subsurface, and in water.’’; 

20 (5) in paragraph (7) (as redesignated by para21 graph (2))— 

22 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

23 through (D) as clauses (i) through (iv), respec24 tively; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘The United States Coast 

2 Guard’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The United States 

4 Coast Guard’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(B) EXTREME ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION

7 DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

9 the Interior, in conjunction with the heads 

10 of such other agencies as the President may 

11 designate, shall conduct deepwater, ultra 

12 deepwater, and other extreme environment 

13 oil discharge response demonstration 

14 projects for the purpose of developing and 

15 demonstrating new integrated deepwater oil 

16 discharge mitigation and response systems 

17 that use the information and implement the 

18 improved practices and technologies devel19 oped through the program under this sub20 section. 

21 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The mitigation 

22 and response systems developed under clause 

23 (i) shall use technologies and management 

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1 bilities to deepwater oil discharges, includ2 ing— 

3 ‘‘(I) improved oil flow monitoring 

4 and calculation; 

5 ‘‘(II) improved oil discharge re6 sponse capability; 

7 ‘‘(III) improved subsurface miti8 gation technologies; 

9 ‘‘(IV) improved capability to 

10 track and predict the flow and effects 

11 of oil discharges in both subsurface and 

12 surface areas for the purposes of mak13 ing oil mitigation and response deci14 sions; and 

15 ‘‘(V) any other activities necessary 

16 to achieve the purposes of the pro17 gram.’’; 

18 (6) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as redesig19 nated by paragraph (2)) the following: 

20 ‘‘(9) RESEARCH CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) RESPONSE TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEEP22 WATER, ULTRA DEEPWATER, AND OTHER EX23 TREME ENVIRONMENT OIL DISCHARGES.— 

24 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

25 of the Interior shall establish at 1 or more 


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1 institutions of higher education a research 

2 center of excellence for the research, develop3 ment, and demonstration of technologies 

4 necessary to respond to, contain, mitigate, 

5 and clean up deepwater, ultra deepwater, 

6 and other extreme-environment discharges of 

7 oil. 

8 ‘‘(ii) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

9 provide grants to the research center of ex10 cellence established under clause (i) to con11 duct and oversee basic and applied research 

12 in the technologies described in that clause. 

13 ‘‘(B) OIL DISCHARGE RESPONSE AND RES14 TORATION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Undersec16 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmos17 phere, in coordination with the Adminis18 trator and the Secretary of the Interior, 

19 shall establish at 1 or more institutions of 

20 higher education a research center of excel21 lence for research and innovation in the fate 

22 of, behavior and effects of, and damage as23 sessment and restoration relating to dis24 charges of oil. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) GRANTS.—The Undersecretary of 

2 Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere shall 

3 provide grants to the research center of ex4 cellence established under clause (i) to con5 duct and oversee basic and applied research 

6 in the areas described in that clause. 

7 ‘‘(C) OTHER RESEARCH CENTERS OF EX8 CELLENCE.—Any agency that is a member of the 

9 Interagency Committee may establish such other 

10 research centers of excellence as the agency deter11 mines to be necessary for the research, develop12 ment, and demonstration of technologies nec13 essary to carry out the program established 

14 under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(10) PILOT PROGRAM.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

17 Interior and the Administrator shall jointly con18 duct a pilot program to conduct field tests, in 

19 the waters of the United States, of new oil dis20 charge response, mitigation, and cleanup tech21 nologies developed under the program established 

22 under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(B) RESULTS.—The results of the field 

24 tests conducted under subparagraph (A) shall be 

25 used— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to refine oil discharge technology 

2 research and development; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) to assist the Secretary of the Inte4 rior and the Administrator in the develop5 ment of safety and environmental regula6 tions under this Act and other applicable 

7 laws.’’; 

8 (7) in paragraph (12) (as redesignated by para9 graph (2)), in the first sentence— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘paragraph (8)’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘paragraph (11)’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (10)’’ and in13 serting ‘‘paragraph (13)’’; and 

14 (8) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(15) RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY PLAN.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

17 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

18 and every 2 years thereafter, the Chairman, in 

19 consultation with the Board, shall develop and 

20 publish a research and technology plan for the 

21 program established under this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The plan under this 

23 paragraph shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) identify research needs and oppor25 tunities; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) propose areas of focus for the pro2 gram; 

3 ‘‘(iii) establish program priorities, in4 cluding priorities for demonstration projects 

5 under paragraph (7), the research centers of 

6 excellence under paragraph (9), and re7 search funding provided under paragraphs 

8 (11) and (12); and 

9 ‘‘(iv) estimate— 

10 ‘‘(I) the extent of resources needed 

11 to conduct the program; and 

12 ‘‘(II) timetables for completing re13 search tasks under the program. 

14 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION.—The Chairman shall 

15 timely publish— 

16 ‘‘(i) the plan under this paragraph; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) a review of the plan by the 

19 Board. 

20 ‘‘(16) PEER REVIEW OF PROPOSALS AND RE21 SEARCH.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any provision of funds 

23 under the program established under this sub24 section shall be made only after the agency pro25 viding the funding has carried out an impartial 


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1 peer review of the scientific and technical merit 

2 of the proposals for the funding. 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The agency pro4 viding funding shall ensure that any research 

5 conducted under the program shall be peer-re6 viewed, transparent, and made available to the 

7 public. 

8 ‘‘(17) OIL DISCHARGE TECHNOLOGY AND RE9 SEARCH FUND.— 

10 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab11 lished in the Treasury of the United States a re12 volving fund, to be known as the ‘Oil Spill Tech13 nology and Research Fund’ (referred to in this 

14 paragraph as the ‘Fund’), consisting of such 

15 amounts as are transferred to the Fund under 

16 subparagraph (B), to be administered by the 

17 Chairman, to be available without fiscal year 

18 limitation and not subject to appropriation, to 

19 carry out the program established under this 

20 subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—From any 

22 Federal royalties, rents, and bonuses derived 

23 from Federal onshore and offshore oil and gas 

24 leases issued the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

25 Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) or the Mineral LeasVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:55 Aug 03, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3515.RS S3515

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1 ing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) that are deposited 

2 in the Treasury, and after distribution of any 

3 funds described in subparagraph (C), there shall 

4 be transferred to the Fund $25,000,000 for each 

5 of fiscal years 2010 through 2020, to remain 

6 available until expended. 

7 ‘‘(C) PRIOR DISTRIBUTIONS.—The distribu8 tions referred to in subparagraph (B) are those 

9 required by law— 

10 ‘‘(i) to States and to the Reclamation 

11 Fund under section 35(a) of the Mineral 

12 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(a)); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) to other funds receiving amounts 

14 from Federal oil and gas leasing programs, 

15 including— 

16 ‘‘(I) any recipients pursuant to 

17 section 8(g) of the Outer Continental 

18 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(g)); 

19 ‘‘(II) the land and water con20 servation fund, pursuant to section 

21 2(c) of the Land and Water Conserva22 tion Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 

23 460l–5(c)); 

24 ‘‘(III) the Historic Preservation 

25 Fund, pursuant to section 108 of the 


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1 National Historic Preservation Act (16 

2 U.S.C. 470h); and 

3 ‘‘(IV) the coastal impact assist4 ance program established under section 

5 31 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

6 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1356a). 

7 ‘‘(D) PROHIBITION.—Amounts in the Fund 

8 may not be made available for any purpose other 

9 than a purpose described in subparagraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(E) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

12 days after the end of each fiscal year begin13 ning with fiscal year 2010, the Chairman 

14 shall submit to the Committees on Appro15 priations, Energy and Natural Resources, 

16 and Environment and Public Works of the 

17 Senate and the Committees on Appropria18 tions, Natural Resources, and Transpor19 tation and Infrastructure of the House of 

20 Representatives a report on the operation of 

21 the Fund during the fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(ii) CONTENTS.—Each report shall 

23 include, for the fiscal year covered by the re24 port, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(I) A statement of the amounts 

2 deposited in the Fund. 

3 ‘‘(II) A description of the expendi4 tures made from the Fund for the fiscal 

5 year, including the purpose of the ex6 penditures. 

7 ‘‘(III) Recommendations for addi8 tional authorities to fulfill the purpose 

9 of the Fund. 

10 ‘‘(IV) A statement of the balance 

11 remaining in the Fund at the end of 

12 the fiscal year.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 7001(f) of 

14 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761(f)) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

17 striking ‘‘(c)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘(c)(11)’’; 

18 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(c)(4)’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘(c)(5)’’; 

20 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(c)(6)’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘(c)(7)’’; and 

22 (4) in the matter following paragraph (2), by 

23 striking ‘‘(c)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘(c)(11)’’. 

24 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 7001(a)(4) of 

25 the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2761(a)(4)) is 


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1 amended by inserting ‘‘of the Interagency Committee (re2 ferred to in this section as the ‘Chairman’)’’ before the pe3 riod at the end. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to authorize 

and enhance Federal programs relating to research on 

the detection of, response to, and mitigation and cleanup 

of oil spills, and for other purposes.’’. 


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Calendar No. 502 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3515 

[Report No. 111–242] 

A BILL 

To authorize and enhance the programs of the Dement, and for other purposes. spills on Federal land managed by the Depart- of, response to, and mitigation and cleanup of oil partment of the Interior relating to the detection 

AUGUST 2, 2010 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 


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